Kim's gluten free rice sourdough challenge

We're quite a foodie little team here at FoodLovers and when Ben decided to run a sourdough challenge on the blog, making his own starter from scratch running in conjunction with Our Daily Bread, I thought I should represent my own. I love bread. Who doesn't love the smell of freshly baked bread, or the mouth watering aroma of bread toasting...? But you see I can't eat it. I have Coeliac Disease. However this doesn't mean that I cannot appreciate real bread as I used to before I was diagnosed.

In keeping with the foodie experiments in the office, I too am taking up a sourdough challenge - just this one happens to be gluten free. In all honesty, I haven't even tried many of the ready made gluten free breads as they are dry, laced with additives to make it like "real bread" and deliver none of the satisfaction of simple well made bread - such as loaves from Born & Bread. So now I am attempting to make my own - truly from scratch - starting with the brown rice sourdough as per the recipe in Bread Matters by Andrew Whitely which uses brown rice flour, rich in wild yeasts as the natural leven for my gluten free bread. Like Ben, I will post the activity of the sourdough each day complete with pictures and observations, finishing with my first, home baked gluten free Potato and Quinoa Bread. I am quite excited about the prospect of eating amazing gluten free bread...have you ever had such a thing?

Masterchef: Gregg Wallace's Spoonfuls Go Large

Has anyone been watching the new series of Mastercef? In the FoodLovers' office, it's been a big topic of conversation. As far as I'm concerned, though, there's 2 things which I feel the need to comment on.

The first is Gregg Wallace's tasting of the dishes the contestants make. Do you think there's some backstage rule that he and John Torode are allowed only one mouthful of every dish? Gregg has become something of a master at piling a spoon so high with food (particularly puddings) that it wobbles under the weight - rather like himself. In fact, he should probably contact Guiness about setting a world record...

The second point which has dominated my viewing experience is one of annoyance. Sad though it may be, I like to play along with the show when watching and,during the first, so-called 'invention' round, think what I would make with the ingredients given. Yet time after time the irritating voiceover woman (who I, perhaps unfairly, hold responsible) fails to give a full list of ingredients. "Mint, lamb, chilli, avocado and yoghurt", she will say and only when I have nearly finished mentally creating my dish of chilli rubbed lamb chops with a mint raita will I see one of the contestants peeling a mango and realise that I could actually have made a slightly more interesting avocado, mango and mint salad to accompany the chops. My dish is ruined!

Does anyone else do the same - or is it just me? What are your views on the latest series? And what would you cook in the final round? I'd love to hear your thoughts. If enough people feel the same about the voice-over, perhaps we should form some kind of petition...

2009 Predictions

Hi everyone - Happy New year. I've just been looking through the latest batch of foodie mags and press releases and they all seem to be making predictions for the year ahead. All well and good - but be a bit bold, people! According to Olive magazine, cooking from scratch is going to be big. And people are going to be more environmentally friendly and more into local food and provenance. Is it just me or were all these mentioned last year, and the year before? And as for predictions that we're all going to be more more price conscious by shopping around for the best deal and using cheaper cuts of meat, isn't that a bit of a credit-crunch no-brainer? Still, I would question Olive's prediction that we as a public will turn our nose up at champagne in favour of cheaper sparkling wines and Metro's suggestion that we'll abandon high-end restaurants for cheaper alternatives. For special ocassions, I'm sure both will still be wanted. The prediction that trattorias, cafes, bistros and other less-formal restaurants will be big is a little more worthwhile but, with meze, tapas and antipaste bars already popular and growing in number, it's still a bit of a cop out. I'd be interested to see if any of you have any proper predictions. What will be the big new superfood? The latest top cuisine? What will the big name chefs be doing - who'll be going up and who'll be going down? My main prediction is probably more of a wish - that Teff flour (an ancient form of wheat used to make Ethiopian Injeera bread) becomes readily available - it could also be a bit of a superfood given its high protein content. Maybe it will be the next Spelt or Kamut! In the meantime, if anyone knows where I could get some Teff flour, please let me know!!

Happy Food Loving New Year!

First of all I want to wish all Food Lovers a happy and delicious 2009. According to the press, its going to be a year of cooking and eating at home. I have to admit, for New Years Eve we treated ourselves to supper at Le Cafe Anglais in the anticipation of cutting back on eating out in the new year - so maybe I am just like everyone else. The other trend being reported is the down turn in organic food sales... I am a dedicated subscriber to my muddy, just picked organic veg box - and will be turning to my new season savoy cabbage tonight instead of meeting with my partner for an impromptu dinner on the way home from work.

If you are one of the reported foodies cutting back on the eating out - spend a little of that saving supporting our farmers in these tough times and make your suppers all the more interesting. What else would Food Lovers spend their money on...?