I've just had the most fabulous Easter (in spite of the weather) and the entire thing was gluten-free.
You may wonder why I'm boasting.
The thing is, I see lots of posts about how coeliacs (or anyone who has to avoid a food group) feel miserable at special events (my posts included).
So I thought it was about time I shared a happy moment. Let me whisk you back to last week...
I decided to watch Julie & Julia. If you've not seen it, it's a wonderful film starring Meryl Streep and it's all about food. In practically every scene, someone's gorging on something delectable. (And when I say gorging, I mean practically fighting off other forks for more of the yummy food in front of them.) The focus is on how wonderful food should be and how one should take one's time in preparing it.
The main food focus is Julia Child's version of Beef Bourguignon. They bang on so much about how good it is that I felt I had to try it, and spent most of Good Friday searching out the ingredients.
My aim was to make the delectable bourguignon for my family on Easter Saturday. I was thankful to have a spare four hours. (FOUR HOURS! Oh all right, three of these hours were spent waiting for the dish to cook in the oven and the other hour I had small people running around my feet.)
At the last minute, however, I realised I would be the only excited person in the room if no-one else had seen the film. So when my parents arrived, I sat everyone in front of the dvd player and we watched Julie & Julia before devouring what I can only describe as four hours (and about four weeks' pay) well spent.
I then enjoyed another two days of celebration with roast lamb, a special simnel cake and a variety of suitable eggs. Today, I rather reluctantly realised I would be having 'normal' food again. You know, quickly heated baked beans - that sort of thing. But I'm still smiling at the memory of the beef; it really was worth all the effort.
If you'd also like to make Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon, here's the recipe I used. Just be sure to swap plain gluten-free flour in if you're serving a coeliac. And please let me know how you get on by sharing your experience below!