Spices and all things nice

I’ve just sat down to write after having a quick slice of toast despite the incredible heat here in Cape Town. The smell of toast permeates the house and I’m garnering up the courage to go for my running club this evening. The slice of toast more to ensure I have some fuel for the run rather than an desire to eat-this heat is terrible.

But, I want to chat about my favourite gluten free bread recipe. Even better than the one I posted last week (although it is still divine). I wanted a recipe using chickpea and tapioca flours as I really don’t like rice flour all that much. Being an anthropologist and new to Cape Town, I explored the area known as the Bo-Kaap. An area of the city known as the Cape Malay quarter with a rich socio-cultural and religious history. The famous houses in Wale Street are brightly painted and the streets bustle with the activity of the residents as they go about daily life. Atlas Trading is a wonderful spice shop where the smell of spices greets you before you can see the doorway. For anyone who enjoys spices, this is a must. Huge bins of ginger, various masalas, cinnamon, curry leaves, fresh chillies and any other spice you can think of! They also stock rice, potato, tapioca, chickpea, buckwheat and corn flours as well as corn starch and potato starch (potato starch is not the same as the flour but tapioca flour and starch can be used interchangeably). The flour prices are so cheap and you can get the exact amount of flour you need. I won’t be going anywhere else to get spices of gluten free flours in Cape Town I can assure you! I love going to Atlas and the staff there are friendly and helpful.

I found a recipe using chickpea flour at Gluten Free on a Shoestring and I make it in my bread maker. In my first few attempts at this bread, I substituted the corn starch with potato starch. The bread came out just fine but was a little dry even when fresh. It made fantastic toast however-no crumbling and very tasty. On a trip to Atlas, I bought some cornstarch and tried the recipe as is. What a HUGE difference. Freshly cut, the bread is soft and spongy but nice and firm and is perfect for a sandwich. This is my go to bread to keep in the freezer or time the bread maker so I wake up to fresh, hot bread for breakfast.

I decided to experiment a little further this weekend. I made up the loaf and added calamata olives and fresh rosemary. The loaf was consumed before it had time to cool! I made no changes to the basic recipe except to only use 1 cup of water-so slightly less as the olives contributed some liquid to the mixture. So, get creative when you try this loaf and let me know how it comes out!

I’d love your feedback.

Until next week x

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Adventures in Gluten free

I’m half Italian, I live to eat and I like to eat. A lot. So, imagine being my being told I cannot eat pasta, bread and pizza due to gluten intolerance? I’m half Italian! Food is central to my life and those know me well will tell you that a hungry me is NOT an option worth exploring. What kind of runner is not able to carbo load before a race? Not that I ever needed an excuse but it is part of the ritual after all.

I went straight into denial mode. Until, I could no longer deny that gluten was not doing my body or my moods any good. I entered the world of gluten free eating and living and it was a maze of ingredients I’d never heard of nor could I get in the small Eastern Cape town I was living in and all the label reading was a nightmare to say the least. The textures and tastes of gluten free food in general were alien to me and quite frankly I was frustrated and overwhelmed and of course I periodically gave into my desires for glutenous food. And promptly regretted it.

The convenience that bread and crackers were for a busy working girl’s lunch or pre-run/workout snack left me wandering around the shop getting hungrier and more frustrated. Don’t get me wrong, I love salads and fruit. My sister and I used to eat the salad meant for the whole family between the two of us. But, they just don’t fill me up and between my metabolism and the amount I love to exercise, well- I don’t think of them as food per se, rather delicious additions to food. I have struggled, fumbled, spent a small fortune on gluten free food that tastes like cardboard, gone hungry at functions and faced the sneers of people who assume I am being a fussy or picky eater.

Having recently moved to Cape Town, a whole new variety of options has opened up. Two minutes from my house is an Italian restaurant that has gluten free pasta and pizza options. Gluten free bread is available more readily too-at a price of course-and fewer waitrons look at me sideways when I order a burger and ask them to leave the roll behind. The internet, once you figure out where to look is an amazing resource for ideas and recipes but often the ingredients are non existent here, difficult to get or really expensive.

So, in a rare moment of inspired creativity I decided to begin a blog-based around issues of gluten free eating and living, especially for those who love to exercise, with a  South African slant. Watch this space as I share my insights, recipes and experiments with food, spices, cocktails and whatever else tickles my freckled fancy. Or yours should you care to share your pearls of wisdom with me!

Ciao, I’m off for a run xx