The Rye Deli Haul

Whilst in Rye, James and I took a look in their Deli as it seemed bursting with some really interesting and unique food! As you would expect from a deli there were plenty of quiches, pies, cheeses and meats but also a wide range of cupboard foods, from crackers to boozy chocolates, there was something for everyone!

They had a huge range of different gluten free bits too, brands that I find it hard to get hold of or even some I had never heard of! The staff were also exceptionally helpful, they tried to help find products that may have been of interest to me and locate certain items they knew they had, it was a very refreshing shopping experience!

I could have bought so much but as we are moving soon I thought it would be best just to get a couple of bits and pop back there, maybe in the winter, I love shopping in small towns in the cold weather!

So here is what I chose;

RW Garcia Organic Veggie Tortilla Chips - £3.95
We love nacho nights and most Mexican food, so when I saw these and the blue tortilla chips, I knew I had to try one! In the end I decided on the veggie ones as the blue ones are meant to taste like normal tortillas, whereas these are spinach and garlic, beetroot and onion and carrot, tomato and sesame flavours. They sound really unique and tasty with some Mexican dips and fajitas!

Farmhouse Biscuits - Traditionally made English biscuits with chocolate chips - £3.95
Let's be honest, the packaging drew me to this product, particularly for Christmas! The whole styling spoke to me and I hope they taste as good as they look! I have had quite a few chocolate chip biscuits but these look crisp and buttery, so I'm hoping for great things!

If you are ever in Rye I would seriously suggest you pop in the Rye Deli and take a look around, I will certainly be going back for some of their fresh produce too!

Hannah x

Sunday Funday - Rye

It was surprisingly sunny on Sunday, so James and I headed over to Rye as we fancied browsing a seaside town. Of course no matter where we are, we are looking for free from goodies and all things kitchen related! Being full of independent shops I love Rye, as a small business owner myself I love supporting others running their unique and interesting business ventures!

If you know me in person you would know that the whole 50's era is something I am in love with so when I found the vintage kitchen shop, Jane Wicks Kitchenalia, I couldn't resist having a look! I honestly wanted to buy one of everything but I was reserved and chose an up-cycled tray which was painted pink for £14. I am so in love with it! The pastel pink suits the style of our flat and our wedding so it can be used in both! I thought it would be lovely to pop confetti bags or pre made sweetie favours on our pick and mix table!

The vintage shop next door had old school 1/3 pint milk bottles for £3. My dad had told me for years how he used to get milk at school in these small 1/3 pint bottle and were one of his found memories of being a child, so I couldn't resist as I saw a new prop potential! I was tempted to buy more but I was just wasn't too sure where I would put them all! But nevertheless I love it all the same!

I would love to know if you know any seaside towns or small towns like Rye, I love anything like this so I would love to know more places to go!

Hannah x

The Brownie Bar - Gluten free Triple Chocolate Brownie

The Brownie Bar were at the Cake and Bake show this year. My brother came back with a mass of brownies to hand out to the family and for a change I was able to be included, as they make gluten free versions and he got hold of one for me!

Being wrapped individually to avoid cross contamination, this free from brownie looked amazing on first appearance before even trying it. The white and milk chips peaking out of the sides of a gooey looking centre. The top was a typical crispy crunchy brownie, but it was the layer underneath that really made it stand out from the crowd, slightly dense but super soft and gooey, this brownie certainly has a luxurious texture to it. Having an occasional large chocolate chunk to add an extra bit of creaminess. They are simply to die for!

Being very rich in flavour, with a quite dark brownie base which is then lifted by the milk and white chips laced through the bake, makes a truly perfect flavour. Let's face it we have all had a lot of brownies, as they seem to be the free from option for most coffee shops, but I was left so impressed with these!

Looking online they seem to not only do gluten free but also gluten and dairy free options! The flavours all sound so tasty too! The Triple chocolate was fab but the salted caramel, nutella and raspberry ones also sound delicious!

If you are interested in looking at their range you can find it here! Also the boxes are pick and mix which means you can try one of each flavour! I assume they will be individually wrapped like mine were so you could even order some for the gluten eaters without fear of them touching!

Hannah x

Delicious Alchemy Haul!

On Sunday my brother headed over to the Excel centre to take part in the Magic card game show. As he was leaving he saw the cake and bake show was on too, so he popped in and picked me up a few gluten free goodies!

He knows I love Delicious Alchemy a great deal and I had bored his ears off at work that week about their new gingerbread mix! So as they had their normal three for £5 deal he picked me up a pack of the gingerbread mix, the stuffing mix and another brownie mix as I had used my last one for a coffee corner at a craft fair I organised earlier last week.

He also got me a pack of the christmas cake mix as I missed out on this one last year. However this was not in the deal, but was still only £4 and the bag is huge! As I will hopefully be in our new home for Christmas I can't wait to bake this and have friends round to watch the Christmas specials of Vicar of Dibley and Gavin and Stacey whilst tucking into cake and mulled wine!

Of course when I bake these I will let you know the outcome, I am intending to make the fudge with the brownie mix for Christmas too, so we will see how that goes!

Hannah x

Simple Mills Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

On Tuesday James and I had a day off so we thought we would do some baking. As we didn't have much time we thought the Simple Mills mix from Make it Gluten Free Ltd would be perfect. I love these natural mixes with ingredients that are easy to understand, so you know exactly what is in the cookies.

This really simple packet mix only requires 15 minutes, and that includes the baking! Just a couple of ingredients later, you have perfect cookies!

To make these cookies, we added 2 tablespoons of milk, 4 tablespoons of oil and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to a bowl. Mix these together and then slowly add the dry mix. We then put tablespoon sized balls on a baking tray and flattened them, pop them in the oven for 10 minutes and that's it! Perfect chewy centre and crispy outer choc chip cookies.

The amount of chips in each cookie was unbelievable, they were packed! I trialed them on the whole family and everyone enjoyed them which is always a good sign! Like all the Simple Mills mixes I have tried, the main component in this mix was almond flour, I have yet to have a dry or crumbly bake when using an almond flour, so I do have a lot of confidence in these mixes turning out as they should first time! I was not let down by this mix either, the texture was so true to what I could remember. On the website it states you could make 20ish cookies, as the box is American and has an american recipe it said makes 12. I made 10 in the end as I wanted quite large cookies, as these are one thing hard to find in the shops gluten free.

If you are looking for a large cookie, like the ones I look longingly at in a bakery, I would strongly suggest giving this mix a go. Being quick and pretty mess free it isn't too time consuming and means it's an easy evening bake, possibly even quicker than popping to the shops for treats!

Retailing at £5.20 you can find these mixes from Make it Gluten Free Ltd either on their website or at one of the many shows they attend, I believe they are in the Excel Centre this weekend if you are looking to try some products!

Hannah x