A spot of crabbing anyone?!
It’s a cold, grey, and quiet day — the first day back at school after half term — and the house feels unusually empty. I have plenty of work to catch up on: writing, emails, and other tasks. Still, I miss the noise and laughter that usually fill the rooms.
Last week we enjoyed a lovely holiday near Looe in Cornwall. Most days were spent rockpooling and crabbing. With a bit of planning, evenings required very little cooking: my mum cooked one night, we had an Ilumi meal another evening, and other nights were simple affairs like jacket potatoes or gluten-free meals eaten out.
One of the many poor crabs we caught!
Before we arrived, Mr M found that a chippy in Looe — The Catch — offered gluten-free fish and chips. That sounded ideal since Roo and Pickle adore fish and chips, and it meant another night off from cooking. Unfortunately, the experience was underwhelming. The batter was so firm it felt like you needed a hammer to break it, and the fish selection was surprisingly limited for a fishing port like Looe. We’ve been spoiled by our local monthly gluten-free fish and chip spot at Greendale Farm, where the batter is light and crispy and there’s a much better choice of fish.
We also discovered a pasty shop that makes gluten-free pasties to order. Sarah’s Pasty Shop is always busy, so we were eager to try one. The children weren’t impressed — they’re not really pastry people — and the pastry itself was quite hard, but the filling was very tasty. The visit has inspired me to try making my own gluten-free pasties to see if I can improve on what we had, so watch this space.
One small gem for gluten-free cake was a tiny café called Daisy’s. They served a divine lemon cake made with carrot and parsnip that disappeared before I could take a photo. It was moist, flavorful, and hard to resist. Daisy’s also offers gluten-free pasties and stocks gluten-free bread. The owner was lovely, and I’d highly recommend stopping by if you’re in the area.
On the topic of food, I’ve been reading about arsenic in rice. A recent study from Belfast examined arsenic levels in rice-based products and found that more than half exceeded proposed EU limits. Reports about this are circulating in the press, but it’s worth approaching sensational headlines with caution.
There is, however, some encouraging news from research in Belfast. Scientists have identified a protein in rice that helps prevent arsenic from accumulating in the grains. If rice varieties with naturally high levels of this protein can be identified, or if plants can be bred or engineered to express more of it, that could significantly reduce arsenic in rice crops.
For now, I’ll continue to limit how much rice we eat while following developments. Meanwhile I’m looking forward to testing some homemade gluten-free pasties and revisiting the little cafés and shops we enjoyed on our trip.