It seems like forever since I last wrote on here. It is only 17 days, so the computer tells me, but it feels like a lifetime. So much has happened in those two and a bit weeks, and now I am packing again. My visit to Cornwall was creatively brilliant – and I was able to enjoy some great local produce along the way too! Then it was home to journalistic deadlines, an announcement about my own magazine, off to do some commentary at a horse show, and now getting ready for the British National Championships. I promise to blog…
the delicate diner
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Continue ReadingI am indulging in a pure, unadulterated weekend off. The magazine has gone to print, I’ve got yesterday’s Saturday Kitchen outrage off my chest, Andy Murray won yesterday – #GoMurray – and it’s a gloriously sunny Sunday. This last week was full of international visitors, and one especially got the tour around some of my favourite local shops. Barry has been a friend for more years than I care to remember, and he works in the Middle East with Arabian horses. Having arrived at ours on Monday night, I took Barry to Bungay on Tuesday for my famed ‘Black Dog…
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Continue ReadingThey always say, ask a busy person if you want to get things done, but sometimes, that busy person is just too busy even for themselves. Since 2004, I have owned and run The Arabian Magazine, a publication dedicated to the Arabian horse, and that has seen me travel the world and experience my wildest dreams that were, on many occasions, more incredible and ‘pinch me, is this real?’ than I ever dared to dream. I am also Chair of the Norfolk & Suffolk Arabian Horse Group, a committee that I have been involved with since I was 15 years old, and…
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Continue ReadingSaturday afternoon, and it is stormy and wet. I have just conjured up a banana, walnut and chocolate gluten-free loaf cake, and that is now doing its thing in the oven. And while it cooks, and the delicious aromas begin to fill the house, it gives me time to think. Time to try and find the words to attempt to do my meal out yesterday the justice that it deserves. I always like to write any blog, feature or article at least a day after the event. That way, things have had time to settle. Emotions have calmed. Memories have clarified.…
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Continue ReadingOutside, the sun is shining but it is cold! Mother Nature seems to tempt us with a few days of warmth before sending cold winds back to send us racing indoors in search of jumpers and warming cups of coffee. In spite of this weather rollercoaster, nature’s own bounty is plentiful and for that reason, May remains my favourite month of the year. From the cherry blossom dressing the trees to the arrival of fresh Norfolk asparagus in the shops, there are signs everywhere that summer, is at last, unfurling herself and is ready to warm us in her soothing…
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Continue ReadingI don’t know about you, my dear Delicate Diners, but Scotch eggs are something that I miss very much in my gluten-free life. They scream of picnics, of summer days, of eating outside – at the beach, a show, in the garden at a party with family around you, wasps buzzing around a groaning plastic table covered in open jars and jugs of Pimms. Yes, the great British Scotch egg is a thing of delight indeed. The history of this golden ball of crumbed delight is varied. Fortnum & Mason claim to have made the first one in the 18th…
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Continue ReadingWe had a slice last night – badly sliced and decadent in the extreme, and it was light, flavoursome, aromatic, balanced, indulgent and wickedly delicious, all in one mouthful. I did wonder if a slice late in the evening, before going to bed, was a good idea, but I slept well.
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Continue ReadingThis time next week, the second Your Gluten Freedom Expo will be taking place at The Forum in Norwich. The Expo will bring together a whole range of gluten-free – and often dairy-free, low sugar and vegan, too – offerings under the same roof. With cooking demos and educational talks taking place throughout the day, this Expo really is worth a visit.
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Continue ReadingOh dear. I am enjoying time catching up with my friends and, being the foodie types, we like to eat out. So yesterday and today, I met up with friends; yesterday, the food was sent back; today, we walked out. I know that being a Delicate Diner does make things a little more difficult than usual but I am quite shocked at both yesterday’s and today’s experiences, for different reasons. Although both could result in serious consequences. Day two, further down, is the more disturbing read if you are Coealic or gluten intolerant and it raises many questions about education…
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Continue ReadingI am sorry for being so absent – my few days in Las Vegas was very busy, full of migraines and headaches, meetings and work, and then the horse show to focus on too! The food was average in the hotel I was in and was summed up by this cake below… I’d ordered steak for the last night in Vegas, and gone through all the options with my waiter. There was no sauce option for me – even the champagne sauce contains gluten (seriously?!) – so the waiter proudly presented me with a plate of steak with lemon butter sauce, that…