Chatellerault and the Chocolate Factory!

Chatellerault hosted the Festival National du Chocolat this weekend. We went along today to see what it was all about. When we arrived and saw the number of cars already parked and the number behind us waiting for a space we began to suspect that this may be bigger and busier than we'd imagined!

4.50 Euros gave entry to another world!

There were chocolate creations of every kind, size and shape...

There were chocolate based liqueurs, wines, spreads, cakes and biscuits as well as chocolate tool kits and chocolate shirts and ties....... even a chocolate Kama-Sutra (we did get a picture but it is not blogable!)

 

There were chocolate sculptures...

and even chocolate inspired jewellery! (Jean take note!!)

All in all there was something for everyone and we came away having tasted enough chocolate to last us - well, till this evening at least!

April Fool

 Yesterday we put together our new barbecue which was straight forward enough even though the instructions were limited.

It was more or less a case of "if it looks right, get it screwed in place".

The nearly finished barbecue looked like this...........

If we lived in the UK you would probably think this was an April Fool but with the weather sunny and the temperature at 21°C tonight we actually had our first barbecue.

With a lovely piece of pork to cook, Colin got busy...

Are we nearly there yet? Elizabeth's inside preparing the salad

Or she should be.... but then again, someone's got to take the photos!

Ready to serve! I'm off to enjoy the meal with a nice glass of wine. The first barbecue of 2011 - the first of many, we hope!

Thoughts of the Barbecue!

Today we have just ordered our new barbecue below. We did not bring our old one from England as it had seen better days.

It reminded us of the great pieces of pork we barbecued last summer and have frequently grilled during the winter months. The secret though is to buy them when they are on offer - which is quite often - and a piece like the one below will set you back between €3 and €4. Usually this one would set you back around €7-10.

 Then just grill or barbecue; they are far tastier barbecued.---------------

Now thats what I call barbecued !!

But the finished results are great served with a salad. And ALL gluten free!!

Roll on the better weather....  What the  **** get that barecue here!!

Postscript to France sans Gluten..

When writing "France sans Gluten" the other evening I left out an important section.

I omitted to mention that I had been treated to a most enjoyable gluten-free lamb stew,  followed by gluten-free chocolate Angel Food Cake made with chestnut flour, when we were invited to a very special  "Nouvelle New Year" with Susan, Simon and friends in Preuilly-sur-Claise.

Apologies to Susan for this omission and a special thanks for her comment on "France sans Gluten".

For those of you who haven't already read Simon and Susan's blog,  Days on the Claise,  they show how it should be done!!

Thanks to them for giving us the inspiration to have a go ourselves.

France "sans gluten"

How can you live in France and not eat the wonderful baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolat and all the gorgeous confections the French are so good at?

Unfortunately I have an autoimmune disease called Coeliac disease. Gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye triggers an immune reaction in people with coeliac disease and damages the lining of the small intestine and sometimes other parts of the body.

Hence no baguettes, croissants, etc... etc...

Over here in France I've struggled to find anything much manufactured specifically for Coeliacs and this has limited my diet as even a trace of gluten is sufficient to cause damage.

I've tried baking my own bread using flours made from rice, potato and maize to name a few, but success has been limited.

Then this week I had a break through! I took a recipe from the Doves Farm website and adapted it slightly to match what I had in store and the result was edible! In fact it was more than edible; it was very good!

My version of the recipe for Gluten-free, wheat-free White Bread is as follows:

1kg Gluten free flour (I used half Doves Farm and half Glutafin multipurpose white mix)
5ml Salt
20ml Dried yeast
60ml sugar
700ml half milk and water mixed
10ml red wine vinegar
90ml sunflower oil
4 eggs

Method:
Mix flours, salt, yeast and sugar
In another bowl mix milk and water, vinegar and eggs
Add flour mixture and mix - I used a mixer with a dough hook.
Spoon oil over and bring together into a ball.
At this stage the mix is very sticky so flour your hands well and knead for five to ten minutes.
Put into a 2LB loaf tin and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 mins at 220C or 200 in a fan oven

If it comes out looking and tasting like mine I'm sure any Coeliac would be happy with the result. It's a vast improvement on most of the commercially available Gluten-free breads out there.

  

So happy bread making to any Coeliacs out there wondering if they will ever enjoy the taste of bread again!!

p.s.Any sources of gluten free flour here in France would be greatly appreciated. I imported all mine from the UK!!