Before the end of each year, I sit down and think about what I’d like to achieve for the next year and nearly always they contain a few gluten-free related ones! This year I’ve set out four relatively small resolutions.
1. Master spring rolls
Chinese spring rolls are what I crave the most being coeliac. I love Chinese food so much – why is it always the unhealthy foods we crave first?! I wish I craved fruit or raw vegetables – but alas my weakness is fried food. I got an Actifry from my boyfriend for Christmas and I bought an add-on called a ‘snacking basket’ and I reckon I could fry my spring rolls in that. The Actifry mostly only needs 1 tbsp of oil to cook a meal so it’s certainly the healthier option to make chips and other fried dishes.
2. Make gnocchi that doesn’t fall apart
I’ve tried to make gnocchi a handful of times and each time I get very angry. I make it and it looks relatively normal and I plop it into the pan to boil and they just fall to sloppy pieces almost immediately. I want to make edible gnocchi goddamnit – and this year is going to be the year I become queen of the gnocchi.
3. Make pasta from scratch
I’ve never even tried to attempt this because it just looks like I would end up a crying mess after I inevitably mess the pasta up. But I was watching the Channel 4 program Four in a Bed and in their activity they made pasta. I’m under no illusion that making gluten-free pasta is much harder but if they learnt in 30 minutes I can, too! So I’ll let you know how that one turns out…
4. Bake bread more often
I miss mainly the smell of fresh bread, rather than the taste – which you might find odd. But after A LOT of trial and error, I’ve finally found a bread recipe and a way to make the bread that ends with tasty sandwiches and a loaf I will actually finish. So equipped with my new bread tin, I’m going to make a concerted effort to make a few loaves of bread a month. I can use it for bread crumbs, for eggs Benedict – for all kinds!
So there they are my four New Year’s resolutions, have you got any? Let me know on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram!