Saturday 16 November 2013

Fantasia's Magical Little Mushrooms

Fantasia's Magical Little Mushrooms

Whilst watching Fantasia the other day, I was reminiscing about how i wanted my own little magical mushroom all for myself to cwtch and to dance for me! 

Well it got me thinking, how could i make some lovely cute mushrooms that would be a great party canapé.

Then! as if by magic I was sent this lovely photo of some egg meringue mushrooms made by The Joy Of Baking from a friend.

This came at just the right time as i had just watched the Great British Bake Off and really wanted to make a Vegan Daquoise Meringue Coffee Cake so this was perfect timing to do everything at once.



How delicious does this look?!! Mary Berry's Hazelnut Dacquoise 

But i thought if i could use Orgran's Egg Replacer for the no egg meringues and then make my Vegan Cheesecake with No Caffeine coffee then it should be perfect!....And it turned out perfect! even if i do say so myself.
My Version Free From Vegan Coffee & Hazelnut Dacquoise



Here it is!

If you want to make this for yourself it is: Vegan, Vegetarian, Egg Free, Dairy Free, Lactose Free, Rice Free, Caffeine Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soya Free, Wheat Free & Gluten Free.
(RECIPE HERE)

Now for the mushrooms, since the no egg meringue didn't stay as stiff as i wished with the shapes i wished to cook. I instead made two halves of the mushroom stalk so that it would be able to stand up, just like a mushroom. I also wanted my mushrooms to have some character so i added some carob powder to the meringue mix and didn't thoroughly combine it together so that it would be speckled.






To make the stalks all you need to do is spread some cheesecake onto the two halves then press the point together, add some more cheesecake mixture to the bottom if there is a gap.

To attach the stalks to the mushroom cap, scoop a hole out of the bottom, being careful not to push the spoon through the top. add some cheesecake mixture to the hole and push the stalk into the mixture and there you have it.

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Saturday 2 November 2013

Liverpool Free From Allergy Show - 26th Oct 2013 - Endometriosis Safe & Vouchers too!

Liverpool Free From Allergy Show
26th Oct 2013 - BT Convention Center 



We made our way in to the BT convention center and were ushered down the escalator to someone to take our tickets and welcome us into the event.

There was a mountain of rice milk that we could help ourselves to. Due to my sensitivity to rice i didn't take any home with me.

We were met by a sea of people and smiling faces wanting us to sample their products, I talked to quite a few representatives about their products many i could not have, but Mr T munched through quite a buffet of food that was offered to him.

I will be talking about the stalls that had food that were free from and Endometriosis Safe. I have noted underneath if the products that i have mentioned are also rice free for those that cannot have rice.

Nairns
Rice Free
www.narins-oatcakes.com
01316 207000


Nairns were doing a 5 for £5 deal on their stall which included their whole range.

They were also giving away free packs of their new easy porridge oats, and samples of their lovely biscuits and oatcakes, like usual they were very yummy. I found out that if you have Coeliacs Disease you can order the porridge from your pharmacy on prescription, Check it out here .
Oatcake Promotions:
Sainsbury's: Buy 2 get the 2nd half price -£2
Tescos: selling at £1.50
Waitrose: selling at £1.50

At the stall they were giving away recipe cards to use with their oatcakes and the marinade for the chargrilled prawns sounds delicious, Heres the recipe:
Chargrilled Prawns Marinade:
1 Garlic Clove, Crushed.
Grated Zest & Juice of 1 Lime
Grated Zest of 1 Lemon
1/2 Red Chili, Deseeded and chopped
2 Tsp Xylitol
2 Tsp Tamari No Soya Sauce
1 Tbls Olive Oil
12 Large Raw Prawns (peeled & deveined)

Method: For the marinade mix together all the ingredients and pour over the prawns. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Explore Asian
Rice Free
www.explore-asian.com
08447 745888
This delightful stall offered lots of information about their products and had a lot of time for each of their customers, They had on offer two hot recipes to try one had cheese but the other was a thai coconut black bean pasta, it was lovely, they had the offer 2 for £5 too so why not.

This pasta was new to me, its not surprising as they are only available at one store: Natures Healthbox Online - £2.99 each.
They offer two endo-friendly pasta these include:
Organic Mung Bean Fettuccine 200g - Mung Beans & Water.
Organic Black Bean Spaghetti 200g - Black Beans & Water.

The friendly gentleman pictured also told me that this pasta can also be 'cooked' Raw! just soak the pasta for a night or two and it will be ready to eat. Magic! Also unlike some of the pastas i have tried this stays Al Dente when cooked or soaked and can be re-cooked and still holds its shape.

I do urge you to try this pasta if you can because it is absolutely scrumptious

Sherriffs Food Ltd
Rice Free
www.sherriffsfoods.co.uk
01327 358577

All the products on this stall were £1 Bargain.

They were giving away packets of corn cakes with quinoa which made me decide on buying a few, they do not taste that different to normal corn on their own. Still had a lovely flavour.

Goodness Direct - £1.56
Ocado - £1.40
Granary Whole Foods - £1.17 - 3 for £3.53

Products:
Corn Cakes with: Amaranth, Quinoa, Flax Seeds, Natural.

Natures Path
www.naturespath.co.uk
01635 520555
This stall was quite surprising actually, I usually buy this product and eat in moderation as it contains rice, but is so lush, as i was asking about their upcoming product Beetroot Corn Tortillas, The lady at the stall passed me four 75p off vouchers which was nice of her.
Also where i buy my packets sell like hot cakes and some times i cannot get my hands, the gentleman told me 2 for £5, when i told him they are £1.50 where i usually shop he reduced the price and then some to £1 per packet, i bought two packets but i should have bought even more to store as they last.

I have a few Granola inspired recipes on my other site Josephine Eliza  theres a search button at the top on the right, just search granola in the box.

Isabel's
Rice Free
www.isabelsfreefrom.co.uk
08712 313399

The Isabel's stall was giving away free Yorkshire Pudding mix which intrigued me when i got home to try as it was rice free which surprised me.

Ingredients: 
Cassava Flour, Potato Flour, Maize Flour, Salt, Natural Flavour. 

I am going to try and make a Endometriosis Safe version of these perfect looking Yorkshires which means no eggs and using vegan milk.
We shall see how that goes...

It worked!

Take a look at the recipe on Josephine Eliza Here
KOKO Dairy Free
Rice Free
www.kokodairyfree.com
01564 731980

At the Koko stall there was this mesmerizing pink liquid on show, to be honest i was thirsty and went for it, forgetting about the maltodextrin in the ingredients eek. I was told that the product is refined down to the point that there is not a trace of gluten or wheat left in their product and has been tested thoroughly to be able to be given the thumbs up to be named safe for gluten, wheat and dairy sufferers. - The question i have is: Why put Maltodextrin in your product if you are going to refine it so much that it is no longer traceable, there is no point surely?. 
Well anyway to come back to the strawberry coconut milk itself, it was absolutely delicious, I wanted to buy some from them but they told me that they had sold out just 3 hours into setting up their stall!!...I can see why they were popular though.

Ocado - £1.39
Goodness Direct - £1.99

Xylitol 

50p off Total Sweet in Tesco Stores 
Only one voucher per customer
Valid until: 31/12/2013
Code: FFA001





Goodness Direct
£10 off your shop over £35 
This offer is on their website
Valid until: 30/11/13
Code: 32234P33

£10 off your shop over £35
This offer was given to me at the expo
Valid until: 30/06/14
Code: 32234N55

LA Roche-Posay
Skin products for ultra-sensitive skin: 10% off all products 
Valid Until: 30/11/13
www.gardenpharmacy.co.uk
Code: 799976C3

ILUMI
Ready Meals - Free From: Dairy, Gluten & Nuts.
£10 off when you spend £25
Just sign up to get the offer
www.ilumiworld.com/allergyshow

I have sifted through and looked up the ingredients to tell you which are endo safe for you all.
*Aromatic Thai Red Chicken Curry
*Thai Red Curry Sauce
*Cardamom Chicken
*Chicken Gravy
*Kerala Chicken Curry
*Kerala Curry Sauce
*Moroccan Style Vegetable Tagine
*Spanish Style Rice & Vegetables
*Spicy Butternut Squash Soup
*Tomato & Herb Sauce
*Tomato & Red Pepper Soup
*Vegetable & Chickpea Jalfrezi
*White Long Grain Rice
*Yellow Basmati Rice

Clearspring 
15% off and free delivery
 on your first order of £50
Valid Until: 31/12/13
Code: Mail15

And here are my goodies from the event and loads of reading material to go though.

Oh and also something fun, in Costa Coffee there was a hanging skeleton at our table hugging a sugar sachet....Happy Halloween Weekend!


Hope you enjoy all the vouchers.

x x x

NFL Pittsburgh Steelers Vs Minnesota Vikings Game


Pittsburgh Steelers VS Minnesota Vikings 
Sunday 29 September 2013 
London Wembley Stadium 








After getting excited about my first NFL international game at Regent Street and literally all of the day before. The day of the game i was extremely excited there was no calming me down.





There were sooo many people everywhere, Apparently 83,518 people were there to watch the game! WOW!

As you would expect everything was American themed with street food including Mac & Cheese, Buffalo wings, Cheese Burgers and loads more. All greasy pre-match foods.

There were games and competitions to enter and of course a massive que to see the super bowl trophy again.




This area people had picnics on the floor and also on the right was the very very long line for the toilets, that was just one of them.

After an hour of looking round we headed off to the entrance before everyone swarmed to the gates.



















How appropriate we were gate J for Josephine!

Just look at all the different team jerseys and caps.



 And we were in!! I was told off for posing for a photo by an elder man, I just giggled and he cracked a smile. Bonus!

The Cheerleaders were really good, well them, the atmosphere and the music combined got me wiggling in my seat.


Then it was time for the pre-match entertainment which included Tinie Tempah.


A lot of fire and military men!


Look how Tiny Tinie is!






And...

Gene Simmons!! From the Legendary band KISS sang the star spangled banner!






To be brutality honest i thought he could of given the anthem a lot more

heart and soul and maybe some powder. I love the American anthem and I love Gene Simmons but i'm afraid the two didn't mix very well.



Now for some Steeler shots...




                                             


 Final Score:
Pittsburgh Steelers: 27 - 34 :Minnesota Vikings 

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