I’m dreaming of a gluten free Christmas…

Stuck on what to cook for Christmas lunch?  We have put together a few of our favourite recipes to give you some inspiration.

As your guests arrive, it’s always nice to have a few drinks and nibbles ready before the big feast comes out.

This Apple Pomegranate Sparkler from Yummy Mummy Kitchen is a light and refreshing drink that will work up your guest’s appetite.

{Photography & styling by Yummy Mummy Kitchen}

We love cheese, so there is always a cheese platter at our parties. This cute Christmas tree cheese platter from The Nibble is such a great idea!

{Photography & styling by The Nibble}

Or for something quick and simple, these Prosciutto Wrapped Pears by A Cozy Kitchen would make a delicious starter.

{Photography & styling by A Cozy Kitchen}

For the main event, turkey and glazed ham is always on our table.

For a gluten free stuffing, try this Quinoa Sage Stuffing by Living Simply Gluten Free.

{Photography & styling by Living Simply Gluten Free}

Or how can you go past this Honey & Orange Glazed Ham by Wheel and Barrow? It will make any Christmas table look fancy!

{Photography & styling by Wheel and Barrow}

For a light salad on the side, try this Grilled Watermelon Salad from Planet Carol's Anthropological Guide to the Universe, sounds unusual but it is surprising a nice combination.

{Photography & styling by Planet Carol's Anthropological Guide to the Universe}

And now for our favourite part of the day … DESSERT!!

Gluten Free on a shoestring has a recipe for GF Christmas Panettone, which looks amazing.

{Photography & styling by Gluten Free on a shoestring}

If this is too complicated, you can purchase it at EnotecaSileno

Or try this “no baking” Dark Chocolate Bark with Pistachios, dried Cranberries and Sea Salt recipe from With Style & Grace. It's so simple and looks delicious!

{Photography & styling by With Style & Grace}

And lastly, why not spice up your GF cupcakes with this cute Christmas Tree decorating idea from Erica's Sweet Tooth.

{Photography & styling by Erica's Sweet Tooth}

We hope these ideas have helped make your gluten free Christmas less stressful. 

Wishing you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Looking forward to bringing you much more in 2013.

 

Cucina Italiana – Gluten Free Cooking Class

I’m always eager to learn something new in the kitchen and being diagnosed with coeliac didn’t change this, it actually made me more determined to create my favourite meals gluten free.

If there is a cooking show on the telly, that’s what I’m watching and I’m always on the lookout for a great cooking class, even more so post coeliac disease. So when I found out that Luciana Sampogna from Cucina Italiana had introduced gluten free cooking classes to her schedule, I was excited!

I had been to Luciana’s cooking class pre-coeliac and knew how amazing her food was, so it was a must for me to take one of her GF cooking classes.

The cooking classes take place in Luciana’s home, which reminds me of a beautiful Tuscan villa! When we arrive, the tables are all set up with the measured ingredients that will be used during the class. Luciana lets us know at the beginning of the class that the wooden tables have been turned around and sanded back so that the gluten flour that she uses in her other classes is removed.

All precautions have been made to remove any traces of gluten, but as the kitchen is used predominately for cooking that contains gluten, she does warn the class that there could be “traces” of gluten.

Luciana first demonstrates how the dish should be made, before encouraging us to re-create the dish. The gluten free menu is delicious, we made freshly made Tagliatelle with the Classical Bolognese Sauce, Gnocchi di Patate (potato gnocchi) served with Classical Sugo al Pomodoro (red tomato sauce) and for dessert we had a divine White Chocolate Cake. Yum, yum & yum!

The best part about these classes is that at the end, we all sit down on a communal table and get to eat every dish we made during the class. You even get a beautiful GF antipasto with GF bread and a glass of wine to enjoy with you meal!

As part of the package, you get a recipe sheet of all the dishes you made during the class. You can also buy the special GF flour that is imported from Italy, along with utensils and other little gadgets.

This class was definitely worth it, I have made the pasta a few times before and my non-coeliac family and friends love it!

Cucina Italiana

84 Johnston St, Annandale

(02) 8021 2699

www.cucinaitaliana.com.au
 

 

The Grounds of Alexandria

We recently stumbled across The Grounds of Alexandria on the weekend. It’s absolutely the cutest! So we were glad when we found out they catered for gluten free.

Once an old pie factory, the warehouse has been converted into a funky, rustic cafe which looks out onto a glorious garden in full bloom with fresh seasonal veggies, herbs and even chickens!

You can choose to eat either in the cafe or order take-away and eat outside in the gardens. There was a 20 minute wait for the cafe (they take your details & call you once a table is available), which we didn’t mind as we got a chance to go and check out the Italian Deli “Salt Meats Cheese” across from the cafe.

The deli is definitely worth a visit. It has an amazing selection of flavoured salts, which you can purchase by weight of your choice, beautiful cheeses and some amazing products from around the world! They even stock gluten free pastas and biscuits! So it goes without saying that we walked away with a small bag of goodies (not wise to shop on an empty stomach!)

Once our table was ready and we looked over the menu, we were informed that the gluten free bread had run out! Such a shame, but we weren’t let down by the Roast Beef salad, with marinated peppers, shaved pecorino and capers and the Slow Cooked Lamb with yoghurt, chickpeas, roasted pumpkin and vinaigrette! Both were very delicious and substantial salads.

The Grounds of Alexandria is definitely worth a visit, you just need to be prepared to wait in queue on the weekends (if you choose to eat at the cafe), which isn’t such a bad thing as you can wander around the grounds because there is plenty to see!

The Grounds of Alexandria
Building 7A, 2 Huntley Street, Alexandria Sydney
(02) 9699 2225
www.groundsroasters.com
 
 

Gluten Free Vegetable & Tofu Thai Red Curry

Apologies for being so quiet here at the 2SS headquarters! We are still here… I guess we have just been busy with day-to-day life!

But we promise we will make it up to you! We have some very exciting blogs underway, we can hardly wait to share them with all of you!

With summer on its way (I can hear my bikinis teasing me already from the back of my drawers) I’m attempting to eat a tad bit healthier. So when the weather did a 360 on the weekend and decided to be cold again, I was craving a homemade curry. Rather than making my standard beef or chicken curry, I decided to jam pack it with veggies and add tofu as my meat substitute. This curry is super easy and quick, so can be made when you are rushed for time.
 
{Gluten Free Recipe} VEGETABLE & TOFU THAI RED CURRY

1 carrot, thinly sliced into strips
A handful of round beans, remove tips and slice in half
1 zucchini, sliced
3 spring onions, sliced
6 button mushrooms, sliced
Small can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
Small can baby corn, drained
1 packet medium-firm tofu, sliced into cubes (approximately 350g)
400ml coconut milk
2 teaspoons GF Thai red curry paste
Fish sauce*
Lime juice

1. In a small saucepan, boil carrots and beans in lightly salted water for 3 minutes and drain.

2. In a wok, bring the coconut milk and 1/2 cup of water to the boil. Stir in curry paste and simmer for about 1 minute, until dissolved.

3. Add all the vegetables and tofu to the coconut milk and stir. Add a generous squirt of fish sauce and simmer for 3-5 minutes until vegetables are tender.

4. Remove from heat and add a squeeze of lime juice to taste. Serve with rice.

* If you want to make this dish 100% vegetarian, you can substitute the fish sauce with GF soy sauce or tamari. Or simply season with salt and pepper.


 

The Adventures of Miss Lulu’s Dessert Parlour

We are always on the lookout for fabulous new gluten free products that are interesting, fun and of course deliciously tasty! Which is exactly what we found when we stumbled across Miss Lulu’s Dessert Parlour.

I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Miss Lulu the other day and was lucky enough to try some of her delicious creations! Each bite transported me back into childhood parties full of cupcakes, cream and sprinkles. Loved each one!

It’s hard to believe that these treats are gluten free, dairy free, yeast free, soy free and egg free. Even my gluten eating husband enjoyed them with me!

Miss Lulu has been kind enough to answer a few questions we had for her, to give us a little glimpse inside her world.

Miss Lulu: Firstly I’d like to say that I love what you’re doing to help & support the gluten free community.  It is so wonderful!  Thank you so much for featuring me on your blog – it is such an honour and I am so touched by it xo

2SS: Tell us a little about Miss Lulu’s Dessert Parlour.

Miss Lulu: Miss Lulu’s Dessert Parlour wants to bring back the fun, magic & childhood nostalgia to the sensitive tummy. I was so sick of poking at a piece of fruit whilst everyone else gobbled down a gluten-laced, butter-soaked treat and saying it was okay.  The looks of pity were very hard to smile through! The dream was to be able to share my safe treats with everyone else and for no one to bat an eyelid. My vision has always been a family eating together with smiles all round!

2SS: What are your food intolerances?

Miss Lulu: When I was first diagnosed with coeliac disease I was in a world of sensitivity – as well as coeliac disease, I also had a good dose of lactose intolerance as well as issues with amines (these include things like chocolate, bananas & tomatoes), salicylates (certain fruits and vegetables, honey, nuts) & sucrose.  As you can probably imagine it was a bit of a nightmare!  I have to admit I wasn’t a big fan of my dietician when she kept eliminating more and more foods after my diagnosis! For three years I didn’t eat out from fear of getting sick. My mother’s vegetable soup - which she made for me everyday - sustained me during those years. It was an elixir that many of my friends say saved my life.  Thank you to Mama Lulu! Slowly as my tummy healed I was able to re-introduce foods containing amines, salicylates & sucrose and now I only have to ask for gluten & dairy free – and I also eat out again thanks to Mr Lulu (who informs everyone of my dietary requirements because he knows I feel really uncomfortable doing it – thank you Mr Lulu!)

2SS: When did you start Miss Lulu’s Dessert Parlour?

Miss Lulu: I launched the Miss Lulu’s Dessert Parlour online store in December 2011and we got an order within the first few minutes of launching! What an exhilarating panic attack!  And the first call I got that day I thought was a joke from a friend and the poor man had to convince me that he was in fact a real customer!  I felt so awful about it!  It’s been a steep learning curve since then and I’ve modified all of my original recipes quite a bit – I want to constantly improve and make the products better every time.

2SS: Where did the name Miss Lulu come from?

Miss Lulu: My mum, dad & sister have called me Lulu affectionately since I was a little girl.  My mum would only use my real name if I was in BIG trouble!!  Because Miss Lulu’s Dessert Parlour is so much about trying to bring back the magic of childhood nostalgia it was the perfect fit. If I used my real name I’d feel like I was in trouble all the time!

2SS: Where do you get your inspirations from when you are creating Miss Lulu treats?

Miss Lulu: I’m happy to announce that at first - my inspiration was greed!  There are not many gluten AND dairy free sweet treats so I was getting desperate.  The first treat I tried to conquer was the chocolate éclair – not the ones with plain cream in them but the ones with chocolate custard cream. What I realised is that desperation certainly takes you to crazy places! There were many MANY failed attempts but the moment I hit the jackpot I was over the moon and back! Then I made trip to New York & visited an amazing place called BabyCakes NYC. The overwhelming happiness I felt at being able to choose almost everything in such a gorgeous bakery really inspired me. I found myself craving the experience on a daily basis back in Australia and I wanted to travel to NYC specifically to eat their treats (an expensive and unrealistic exercise!). I thought to myself – how can I get this magical feeling back home? No one was doing it and I wanted to bring this feeling back to others as well. Since then it’s been the most rewarding thing I’ve EVER done – especially when someone discovers us for the first time and they realise they can have something – the look of surprise and relief is always very heartwarming.

Now, my treats are inspired by our customers.

2SS: Which one of your creations is your all time favourite treat?

Miss Lulu: OHHHH – that is a very hard one to answer. It really depends on my mood – but the coffee éclairs and chocolate éclairs are pretty irresistible to me. Then the donuts with fresh strawberry glaze and the apple crumble cupcake. These are the ones I find the hardest to resist after making anyway! But I eat, sorry "test", everything very happily.

2SS: Which treat was the trickiest recipe to perfect?

Miss Lulu: I would say the dairy free cream.  I have tried so many substitute products that are just plain awful and depressing. This took years to perfect and I just couldn’t get it right.  I was able to grin and bear it – but in the testing phase I would always test it out on tummies of steel (who have no idea how lucky they are!) and only declared victory when I got the thumbs up from them. The biggest shock is that the majority of our customers are tummies of steel and don’t even care that we cater for sensitive tummies – that was always in my wildest dreams but I honestly never expected that to happen.

2SS: Where can we find Miss Lulu’s delicious treats?

Miss Lulu: Right now you can find us online at www.misslulus.com.au and we also appear at the Northside Produce Market in North Sydney every third Saturday of the month.  We pop up in the odd place now and again too. We’re hoping to one day have our own little wonderland cafe where people can escape to – but baby steps first!

2SS: Have you always loved to bake or is this a new passion because of your intolerances?

Miss Lulu: I have always loved to EAT!  Baking was just a means to get me to that place of satisfaction and it became essential when I couldn’t find the things I craved.

2SS: Where are your favourite places to eat out?

Miss Lulu: In Sydney - my favourite places are Spice Temple, China Lane, Longrain & Billy Kwong’s – oh and my mum’s place!

In Melbourne (because I can’t resist telling you) – Cumulus Inc, Ezard, Taxi Dining and oh my goodness LORD OF THE FRIES YUM!

2SS: What is your top tip for gluten free baking?

Miss Lulu: My top tip would be perseverance – don’t give up when something doesn’t work because when your recipe finally works – it’s such a great feeling of achievement!

Miss Lulu’s Dessert Parlour
www.misslulus.com.au

Northside Produce Market, North Sydney (every third Saturday of the month)

 

Bon appétit! Julia Child’s 100th Birthday

Tomorrow the world celebrates the birthday of an iconic chef – Julia Child. Had Julia still been with us today she would have been celebrating her 100^th birthday! Sadly Julia died in 2004, of kidney failure, just two days shy of her 92^nd birthday. For those of you who don’t know, Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality, famous for introducing French cuisine to the American people, with her debut cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”.

I admit, before watching the movie “Julie and Julia” I didn’t know who she was. Her TV show, “The French Chef”, premiered in 1963… Just a little before my time ;o) The movie is based on two true stories. One of Julia Child, and the other of Julie Powell, who assigns herself a project to cook all 524 recipes from the cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in 365 days, and blogs about her journey.

Julia Child and her husband Paul, moved to Paris just two years after their marriage. While Paul worked, Julia struggled to find something to fill her time with that she enjoyed. She soon decided that she would attend the famous “Le Cordon Bleu” cooking school, to learn how to cook. Cooking came naturally to Julia and she soon became in love with it. She had discovered her passion and was fearless in the kitchen!

Along her travels Julia met Simone Beck, who was writing a French cookbook for Americans with her friend Louisette Bertholle. And together the three women wrote a book about French cooking for Americans – “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”.

So in honour of Julia Child’s 100^th Birthday I have decided to try one of her recipes. After a lot of thought I decided I would make ‘Boeuf Bourguignon’. A traditional French beef stew, slow cooked in red wine. This was also the very first dish that Julia Child prepared on her TV series, “The French Chef”!

  

But after watching the original cooking show (see clip above), doing a bit of research, and finding the original recipe from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", I was nearly ready to give up before I even started! There are a lot of steps involved and it seemed more complicated than I had originally expected! But nonetheless I pulled myself together (before I had a Julie Powell kitchen breakdown, like in the movie Julie and Julia) and decided I was going to tackle this!

And I’m so glad I did! The end product was absolutely delicious and the whole kitchen had a gorgeous smell of wine and herbs. The dish was a perfect hearty winter meal and I’m sure I will make this again. Traditionally this is served with boiled potatoes, however I opted for a side of steamed rice. You can make this a day ahead of serving, and supposedly freezes well too. So here is my gluten free and simplified version of ‘Boeuf Bourguignon’. In the words of Julia Child, Bon appétit!

Recipe adapted from "Mastering The Art Of French Cooking" by Julia Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle.

{Gluten Free Recipe} GF BOEUF BOURGUIGNON

90g pancetta (or bacon), sliced thickly

1.5 kgs chuck beef, cubed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 carrot, diced

1 onion, diced

2 1/2 tablespoons GF cornflour

1 1/2 cups good red wine

2-3 cups GF beef stock

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 clove garlic, crushed

Sprig of thyme

1 large bay leaf

Salt

Pepper

BRAISED ONIONS

12 Eschalots

Water

1 tablespoon butter

Salt

SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS

300g mushrooms, quartered

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

Salt

1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Dry the beef cubes in paper towels (they will not brown if damp).

2. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized frypan until hot, and fry the pancetta for 2-3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish.

3. In the same pan, fry the beef, a few pieces at a time, until nicely browned on all sides. Remove to a side dish and then fry the carrot and onion until brown.

4. Place the pancetta, beef and vegetables into a heavy-based casserole dish, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cornflour and toss to coat the beef. On a medium heat keep tossing for 1-2 minutes more to lightly brown the flour.

5. Add the red wine and enough beef stock so the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic and herbs, and bring to the simmer.

6. Cover the casserole dish with the lid and set in the lower third of the oven. Allow to slowly cook for 2 hours. Keep an eye on this as each oven varies cooking times. The meat should be easily pierced with a fork and a thick gravy should bubble around it.

7. Whilst the beef is in the oven prepare the onions and mushrooms. To easily peel the eschalots, place in a bowl of boiling water for a minute. Remove and cut off the root side, the skin should then peel off without a problem. Leave them whole.

8. Place the eschalots in a saucepan and half cover with water. Add butter and salt, and bring to simmer. Cover and cook for a further 20 minutes or until tender.

9. For the mushrooms, heat the olive oil and butter in a fry pan until hot (the butter is hot enough when the butter foam subsides). Add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt. Sauté for 2-3 mins or until lightly browned.

10. Once the beef is tender remove casserole dish from the oven. Skim the fat off the sauce, which may have risen while cooking. Add the cooked onions and mushrooms to the meat, and simmer over the heat for 2-3 minutes.

11. Serve with potatoes or rice, and a full-bodied red wine. Serves 6-8 people.

 

My Gluten Free Bali Adventures: Part 3 – Seminyak

Amazing sunsets poolside at the W Retreat & Spa, Seminyak

After travelling to Nusa Dua and Ubud, our next stop in beautiful Bali was Seminyak – one of the trendiest parts of Bali with great boutique shopping, high-end restaurants and bars, as well as some great day spas and hair salons! However being just north of Kuta, there can be a fair bit of traffic. You will see plenty of people on motorbikes, and when I say plenty, I mean almost everybody! Parents will even carry their babies on motorbikes! (Cringe!).

Our home for the next 7 nights was the W Retreat & Spa, Seminyak. This resort was stunning! It was very modern, the rooms spacious, and as it was situated right on the beach the sunsets were just beautiful (always with a cocktail in hand)! The W had some great restaurants, which were all very accommodating for gluten free dining. I hit the jackpot third time lucky with gluten free bread being available!

Breakfast at Star Fish Bloo, in the resort was fantastic. Although it was buffet, you could order anything you wanted from the a-la-carte menu and it was included in the buffet price. There were quite a few interesting breakfast dishes which could all be made gluten free and I made sure to try out a few! Dishes included eggs benedict, French toast, scrambled eggs with lobster and mascarpone, and croque de monsieur, which was GF bread served with prosciutto, a fried egg and a creamy cheese sauce. Oh and the hash browns were also gluten free!

Scrambled eggs with lobster and mascarpone, hash browns and GF bread

There was also a selection of Asian breakfasts although the GF selection was minimal. I have never been a big fan of eating Asian for breakfast so I wasn’t too fussed, but just for the sake of trying something, one morning I did give the rice porridge a go. This was rice boiled in coconut milk and to be honest it just tasted like salted boiled rice. Not my kind of breakfast, sorry.

While we are talking breakfast, we did venture out of our hotel a few mornings and were extremely pleased with the food we found. The Deck, part of the Semara Resort & Spa Seminyak, is a casual dining restaurant and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. GF bread is available and they can make a variety of dishes GF, just ask the waitperson.

My gluten free BLT and scrambled eggs at 'The Deck'

Petitenget Café was another favourite. They too offered GF bread! I had a delicious breakfast of potted eggs, with streaky bacon and sweet chilli jam salsa. Yum… it was so good!

Potted eggs and GF bread at Petitenget Café

The shopping in Seminyak is fantastic! I cannot stress this enough, take a half empty suitcase so you can fill it up! Majority of the shops are boutique style so you will find it a bit of a challenge to bargain. Usually the prices are set, and that’s what you pay. I picked up some beautiful dresses, bags and shoes. The homewares are also to die for! I would love to be able to decorate my house in Balinese style furniture!

GF Nasi Goreng by the pool at the W Retreat & Spa, Seminyak

After watching the sunset at Ku De Ta – a beautiful open bar situated right on Seminyak beach – while sipping delicious cocktails (try ‘The Monk’ – an exotic combination of vodka, lychee and guava), we decided it was time for a feed. Ku De Ta does have a restaurant however the menu was quiet modern and seemed very westernised. We were craving Indonesian flavours so we headed out, on the hunt for a good gluten free Indonesian meal.

Delicious cocktails at Ku De Ta

We found a place called “The Living Room”, and luckily for me, when I asked about gluten free they understood straight away! The setting was absolutely gorgeous. It was like being inside a grand master suite. The food is more towards the fine dining end, but so worth it. For starters we had Beef Carpaccio with wasabi miso oil. For main I ordered a more traditional dish of Duck legs prepared in a tasty Balinese Betutu sauce, served with fragrant lemon yellow rice and baby beans. So delicious!

Delicious GF dinner at 'The Living Room'

The next night we decided we wanted to check out the much talked about ‘Sarong’, which was not far from the resort we were staying at. I recommend making reservations for dinner as it can get quite busy and you don’t want to get turned down from such an amazing place like this! It doesn’t surprise me that Sarong has been voted as one of the top 5 restaurants in Asia! So already being impressed, when I asked the waiter if he could recommend some gluten free dishes and he brought back a GF menu, you can only imagine how ecstatic I was! In my head I was jumping up and down with excitement and doing somersaults around the room.

After ordering our cocktails (number one priority) we decided on our entrée. We ordered the “Raw tuna betel leaf with lemongrass shallots & lemon basil” and “Salt & pepper squid with Vietnamese dipping sauce”. Yes people, the salt and pepper squid was gluten free! The entrées were equally as delicious, with the betel leaves absolutely bursting with flavour!

Amazing entrees at Sarong!

For mains we shared a “Snapper with chili jam, long beans, baby corn, red chili & Thai basil” and “Chili beef with shitake mushrooms, snowpeas, capsicum & green shallot”. Both were just as good as the entrées. The food was delicious and fresh, the service was immaculate, and the décor beautiful. We could not find a fault in this place.

Snapper with chili jam

Chili beef with shitake mushrooms

Needless to say we also returned here on our second last night because we just enjoyed the dining experience so much! This time we shared the “Raw tuna betel leaves” as well as tasting the “Chicken betel leaf with flat leaf coriander, lime, roasted chili and capsicum relish”. And for main I had a “Light green curry of snapper with Thai eggplant, oyster mushrooms, coconut cream and sweet basil”. Wow wow wow! Both times I was completely satisfied!

Green snapper curry at Sarong

We watched many sunsets while in Seminyak. The most famous place at the moment is “Potato Head Club”. It’s a great open bar, overlooking the beach. Set out with daybeds and a pool, as well as a sheltered bar seating area. Potato Head Club was not as fantastic as we had hoped it would be. Admittedly we were there in the low-season so it wasn’t as busy as expected. But there was also a pretentious vibe about the place. There were a few restaurants in the bar, however we didn’t find them overly appealing. The Asian style restaurant “Lilin” didn’t have a very exciting selection of gluten free food, and when we enquired at “Tapping Shoes” the French cuisine restaurant, we were told by the waitress that the chef could accommodate us but not tonight because he was too busy. Needless to say, with the amount of amazing food we discovered elsewhere I would not rush back.

Another great place for viewing sunsets is the “SOS Rooftop Bar” at the “Anantara”. This bar is not very well known, which is a shame because the setting is gorgeous and the cocktails were delicious. All that was missing was a bit of atmosphere. After our drinks we headed to the restaurant downstairs “Wild Orchid” who were also very accommodating to my GF needs. For entrée I had a Balinese style soup, and for main satay skewers of chicken, beef and lamb, which were still sizzling on the plate! We were lucky enough to be there on a night where they had a traditional Balinese dance show.

GF satay skewers at 'Wild Orchid'

We decided to give our stomachs a small break from Indonesian cuisine and headed to “La Lucciola” one night. A beautiful Italian restaurant located right on the beach, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. At night the restaurant is lit up with candles and fairy lights, and looks gorgeous. We had to wait for our table, as we didn’t have a reservation. This wasn’t too bad as we ordered cocktails and some bar food and by the time the food arrived our table was ready.

Yummy Pan roasted barramundi at 'La Lucciola'

There wasn’t a huge selection of GF from the bar menu but the waiters were kind enough to make me some fresh grilled calamari, which was a nice start to the meal. For mains there was a larger selection of meats and fish to choose from. I ordered the “Pan roasted barramundi with prosciutto, celeriac puree, snow peas, and red wine reduction” which the chefs were able to make GF for me. The staff was very accommodating for my needs and very friendly. To end the meal on a high, I ordered a trio of Watermelon and Mango sorbet, and Coconut gelato. The entire meal was delicious!

A sweet and refreshing end to my meal!

Our last meal we decided to stay local, and dine at “Fire”, a restaurant at the W, as we had a late flight to catch. The staff was very helpful, not only for my dietary needs but getting the food out fast, as they knew we had a plane to catch. Although had we known Jetstar was going to cancel our flight, we may not have bothered eating so fast! The food was lovely. I ordered scallop ceviche to start, followed by pork belly served with corn on the cob, coleslaw and a delicious special GF dipping sauce.

Fueling up for our flight home - massive pork belly from 'Fire'

We arrived safely home with no signs of Bali Belly – however a bigger belly? Perhaps!

Terima kasih (meaning thank you in Balinese) for re-living my gluten free adventures in Bali with me, through my last three blogs. I hope you have enjoyed it and I have inspired you to travel.

Here’s a list of places I recommend when visiting Seminyak, Bali.

Star Fish Bloo

@ W Retreat & Spa Seminyak

The Deck

@ Semara Resort & Spa Seminyak

Petitenget Café

Jl Petitenget, Seminyak

The Living Room

Jl. Petitenget 2000, Kerobokan

Sarong (An absolute must!!!)

Jl. Petitenget No. 19X, Kerobokan Bali

Wild Orchid

@ Anantara Seminyak

La Lucciola

Jl. Kayu Aya, Seminyak

Fire

@ W Retreat & Spa Seminyak

Bali Bakery

Jl. Kayu Jati No.1 Seminyak Square, Bali

Bali Deli

Jl. Kunti 117 X  Seminyak