Hiatus over

Its been a long time since I wrote anything on here but life just took over I'm afraid.
The move went OK. Had lots of fun and games with Comcast but I've pretty much come to expect that. Then we had a week to get everything vaguely organised before the in-laws arrived on the 22nd. It was great them being here as they helped a lot.They were barely off the plane before they started unpacking boxes. They spent their first day buying a christmas tree, going to IKEA for furniture, putting up said christmas tree and assembling furtniture. Bless 'em. Christmas Eve was spent in about 4 different supermarkets getting all the food for Christmas Day. We had a traditional Turkey dinner. I made a lovely soup to start though. Completely endo friendly and it was a hit. The main meal was Roast Turkey, loads of veg, gravy. Then we had a Gluten free Black Forest Gateaux for dessert which I found in Trader Joes.. Its the brand 'dolce senza grano' (sweet without wheat). Very delicious and authentic.

We had a boxing day party on the 26th. For those non-British of you, this is also a holiday in the UK and it involves basically seeing the family you didn't see on Christmas day and eating cold turkey. It apparantly comes from days gone by when the servants of the house would get the day off and the masters of the house would box up the leftovers and give to them. We decided to combine it with a bit of a housewarming party. I made loads of food but no-one really ate anything. I made a huge pasta salad but used normal pasta so I couldn't even eat the leftovers of that.
The day after that we got invited to some friends house (bear in mind these are friends that know I don't eat wheat). We weren't the only people there - they had visitors too, and some other friends were there, but I walked in and saw them cooking pizza! I thought, oh well I'll just have to grin and bear it. Being a nice polite British person I didn't want to cause a fuss. So, David was my knight in shining armor. He made sure he was sat next to me and discreetly took all my dough off me when I was done eating the topping.I think we got away with it too. I basically ate loads of salad and luckily had had a big lunch so wasn't really hungry. You may wonder why not just say "I'm sorry but I can't eat pizza". The answer is I have no idea, except for this ingrained sense of British politeness in me. It is easier said than done when you know your host has gone to a lot of trouble to make this dinner for you. I think it would have been a different story if it was just us at the dinner table but there was about 10 people many of whom I didn't know very well and I guess I just didn't want them all to know my business. It would be a lot easier if I could just say, sorry I'm coeliac! But I'd have to go into the whole story, and really didn't want to. The next few days passed in a not very exciting culinary adventure. Turkey curry, bean burritos, pasta pesto. New Years Eve I stayed in with my in-laws. David had to leave for Iowa (he's a cameraman so is on the campaign trail now until whenever) on New Years Eve. We were going to go out but we were all pretty exhausted and couldn't really be bothered. So, we made a nice dinner. Celery Soup, roast chicken, loads of veg and cheesecake (I didn't eat the base) and watched TV before going to bed just after midnight. I took my in-laws to the airport yesterday so all is back to normal now.

Here is the recipe for the soup I made on Christmas Day. Its not my own and is taken from a book called 'Soups and Breads' by Bay Books.

Chilli, Chickpea and Coriander Soup
30g (1oz) butter (olive oil can be substituted)
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
425g (14oz) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1/3 cup (20g/3/4 oz) chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves and stalks
1 tsp grated lemon rind
2 1/2 cups (600ml/20 fl oz) chicken or vegetable stock

1. Heat the butter or olive oil in a large pan. Cook the onion, garlic and chilli for 2-3 minutes, or until softened but not browned. Add the spices and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the chickpeas.

2. Process in a food processor until smooth. Add the coriander and lemon rind, pour on the stock and process until smooth. Reheat gently for 15 minutes, stirring frequently, but do not allow the soup to boil. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.