Soups: Dairy Free, Gluten Free & More

My quest for good soup is a long one. Getting Dairy Free soup in Ireland has been a problem since I moved here way back in 1998 but if you search hard enough you can find almost anything. The bigger problem is the taste. I thought that I just didn't like soup but I have discovered that what i like is a rich, hearty, thick homemade soup that doesn't taste like it came out of a can.

Suma: Carrot and Coriander Soup

Suma’s carrot & Coriander soup is one of my favourite canned soups. Truth be told I am not, in the greater scheme of things, a fan of canned soups. They always have what I call an overriding ‘tinned-can’ flavour so when I say that I like this one I mean that it is thick and full of flavour and reminds me of homemade soup or a soup from Cornucopia which translates to Yum Yum Yum! -I am also an advocate for Suma’s Split Pea soup but that one contains Wheat and Gluten.


- Dairy free
- Gluten Free
- Wheat Free
- Corn Free
- Soy Free
- Mustard Free
- Nut Free
- No Added Sugar
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Organic
- Free of Artificial Flavour

Ingredients: Water, Carrots (30%), Onions, Sunflower Oil, Coriander Leaf (0.7%), Garlic, Sea Salt, Black Pepper

Nutritional Information per 100g:
Energy 122kj/29kcal
Protein 0.3g
Carbohydrate 3.1g
of which sugars 2.7g
Fat 1.7g
of which saturates 0.2g
Fibre 0.9g
Sodium 0.2g


The Really !nteresting Food Co: Hot & Spicy Mexican Bean Soup

(Pictured in the title shot) Very spicy but not as hearty and chunky as the picture on the can would lead you to believe. It’s hard to get a Gluten Free and Dairy Free soup and I appreciate the availability but this one is a bit more typical for a canned soup (meaning that it has that famous ‘canned soup’ flavour) and doesn’t really urge me to write home about it.





- Dairy Free
- Wheat Free
- Gluten Free
- Free from Artificial Colours
- Free from Artificial Flavourings
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- GMO Free

Ingredients: Water, Tomatoes (12.4g), Pinto Beans (8.5%), Onion, Tomato Puree (8.2%), Red Peppers, Coriander, Sunflower Oil, Sea Salt, Garlic, Chilli Powder, Mint, Pepper

Nutritional Information per 100g:
Energy 113kJ/27kcal
Protein 1.2g
Carbohydrate 3.4g
Fat 0.9g

Is Sake Gluten Free, Dairy Free & Soy Free? Not Necessarily

Last month I was all about Asian cuisine which leads me to one of my favourite drinks: Sake. Sake is by far on my Top 10 alcoholic drinks of choice. There is just something about the straight and earthy taste that makes it hard for me to shoot back. I love to linger on it and hold it in my mouth. I’m probably considered a cheap date because I like the less expensive, heated sakes but sadly for F. I can’t be too cheap because I ‘need’ my sake to be of slightly higher quality to avoid any food allergy mishaps.

Sake is an alcohol made from highly polished rice grains. For this reason people are quick to announce it as Gluten Free but between alcohol consumption and wishful thinking it is important to keep your eye on the game and take nothing for granted. The bad news is that sake can contain:

- Barley
- Wheat bi-products
- Lactic acid
- Soya

Obviously, as happens with most ‘added ingredients’, they are used for the overriding purpose of cheaper production. However, in the case of Barley (Gluten) the ingredient in question is Koji enzymes. The Koji mold is usually grown on miso which is made with barley (and fermented soy). A lot of people still consider this to be Gluten Free due to the double product separation and filtration. So it’s one of those foggy ones that has to weigh on personal opinion (note: I have seen a Sake advertised as 100% Gluten Free in America, if you can get your hands on it).

If you are a Sake lover then this might all come as a kick in the teeth but all is not lost. If you are Gluten Free (and feel safe with the product separation), Wheat Free or Dairy Free listen up... To ensure that you are getting top quality (additive free) sake you need to keep an eye out for a few words which will be labelled on the bottle identifying better quality sakes:

‘Junmai’ - means pure with no additional ingredients added. Nothing added except the traditional ingredients of rice, water, yeast and white koji mold

‘Gingo’ - similar to Junmai but of an even higher, purer quality

‘Daiginjo’ - an even higher grade of sake than both Junmai and Gingo

I hope this helps you let loose and get down to the business of enjoying your drink!
Kampai!

Dublin's Soul Bakery - Tempting Allergy Free Baked Goods

I believe that I made a quick mention of ‘Soul Bakery’ in my Dunnes Stores post on March 18th but I think that a little more should be said:
Soul Bakery, which is a Dublin based bakery, is not predominately a ‘free from’ company but they are allergy aware and have a few products which are food allergy friendly…
The best thing about Soul Bakery is that all of the ingredients are simple and straight forward. Soya is not a staple (like in SO MANY bread products!) and I like nothing more than to be able to pick up a product and read everything on the label in less than 20 seconds and to know what every ingredient is without having to wonder and ponder its food allergy safety (i.e. Spelt Bread: Spelt Flour, Salt, Filtered Water). Oh yes, and the other great thing about the Soul Bakery is that the products taste good – always important!!

Apricot Delight
This is a dense loaf which is generously filled with sultanas and apricots. Despite it being preservative free it lasts longer than you would think for a fresh loaf and is a great sweet treat. I actually can’t believe that the Apricot Delight loaf has no added sugar because it really is quite sweet and I think that it would taste amazing with tea or coffee!
- Egg free
- Dairy free
- Corn free
- Soya free
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Nut free (although not guaranteed & nuts are used in the factory)
- No added sugar
- No preservatives
- Potato free

Apple & Walnut Log
This log looks scrumptious. Again it has a generous amount of icing and walnuts which is so important, to me at least, and especially important for the price. Soul Bakery describe the Apple & Walnut log as “One of our sweet treats…like strudel only yummier”. And it is similar to a strudel only larger (Pictured above).
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Corn free
- Soya free
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- No preservatives
- Potato free

Spelt Bread
I haven’t tried this bread myself, but if you are spelt advocate then this is probably the one for you. The special thing about this dairy free loaf is that it uses spelt, which as you probably know, is an ancient form of wheat and to compliment this the loaf is actually made in a fashion that was popular 100 years ago.
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Corn free
- Soya free
- Potato free
- No preservatives
- No additives
- No added yeast (but it is left to ferment for up to 24 hours)

Healthy Seed Soda Bread
This one is a bit of a mystery with a secret ingredient and all! But it is completely yeast free and one of Soul Bakery’s most popular breads, or so they say..
- Yeast free


You can find Soul Bakery Goods stocked in Dunnes Stores and a few gourmet grocers, like Nolan’s Food Fare in Terenure. They also make appearance at a lot of different markets about the country such as:
- Drogheda Market
- Dun Laoghaire Market
- Navan Market (co. Meath)
- Carlow Farmers Market (co. Carlow)
- Cornelscourt
- Abbeyleix Market (co. Laois)
- Red Stables Farmers Market - St. Ann’s Park, Clontarf
- Howth Farmers Market

I think that maybe their website is still in the process of creation because it’s a bit confused and unclear but there is a brilliant calendar of what markets they will be appearing in and when, which is enormously helpful. Regarding the ‘Our Breads’ section there are only a couple of breads listed and the information is a bit sporadic.

Soul Bakery
Clondalkin
Dublin 22
Tel: 01 457 6640
www.soulbakery.ie
www.soulbakery.info
Suppliers: markets (see their website for details), Dunnes Stores, Nolan’s Food Fare in Terenure, Eurospar in Applewood, Swords and no doubt other gourmet Grocers about the city (I will update this list as I uncover them!)