Although I’ve only been a member of the CCA-NL since June of 2012, at every meeting that I’ve attended thus far, there’s been freebies to take home. At our meeting this past week, Allergic Solution had sent the Chapter samples of their various mixes, and there were enough packages for each member who attended to bring home multiple packs.
According to their website, they claim that having food allergies doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve a delicious treat. They say that many people possess multiple allergies or sensitivities and that their mixes were created with this in mind. Allergic Solution mixes are free of: corn, dairy/casein, eggs, gluten/wheat, peanuts, tree-nuts and soy.
This morning we decided to make the Pancake & Waffle Mix. I topped my pancakes with some vanilla greek yogurt, our Aunt M’s homemade raspberry jam, and a little drizzle of maple syrup. Because the toppings were so flavourful, it was hard to judge on the taste of the pancake itself, but it seemed like a good pancake to me. They appeared to be slightly denser than non-GF pancakes but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They reminded me of a crepe consistency which I enjoyed because I’ve yet to have a crepe since going gluten-free. When it comes to pancakes, for me personally, it’s the toppings that make the pancake. So, if you share in my philosophy in pancakes, have one or more dietary restrictions, and are looking to try out a new pancake mix, you’ll likely find that you enjoy Allergic Solution’s Waffle & Pancake Mix as well.
Allergic Solution Pancakes, vanilla yogurt, raspberry jam, & maple syrup
Best of all, for this weekend only, Allergic Solution’s mixes are 50% off, or 2 for 1 (however you wish to look at it). You can find the mixes at various stores as listed here on their website, however, I think the deal applies only to their online store. They also sell their mixes in bulk, and also sell several gift baskets which include various pans, waffle iron, or additional ingredients (depending on the particular type of basket chosen) which I thought would make a nice gift for someone who is a multiple food allergy sufferer. Keep in mind though, if you are buying online that you also have to consider shipping costs as well.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this mix, considering that they are egg-free, but I have to say that I enjoyed the crepe-like texture of this mix! I also like that they vegan-friendly and diabetic-friendly. Due to the fact that there is no sugar added, are dairy-free and gluten-free, the mixes would be a great option for those with strict dietary restrictions as a means to control disruptive digestion issues (much like my aunt who has to be gluten-free, dairy-free and consume minimum amounts of sugar in order to keep her collagenous colitis symptoms under control).
They also have a Facebook Page if you want to stay in the loop on similar deals.
Have you tried this mix? If so, what did you think?
As I mentioned in my earlier post which profiled the FREE FOR ALL COOKING: 150 EASY GLUTEN-FREE, ALLERGY-FRIENDLY RECIPES cookbook, it only took about a year and one “snowpocalypse” to attempt this recipe. I’ll apologize in advance for the lack of “oomph” that my pancake pictures bring to the table …. but I assure you that the taste made up for the lack of presentation effort on my part. What happened was: we were in the middle of the worst snow storm (actually blizzard) that I can remember since moving to St. John’s in 2001, and we were racing against time to prepare breakfast before our power cut out again. In hindsight – probably not the smartest move on my part, to profile a recipe for my blog under these circumstances ….. but I had psyched myself up for these pancakes when I went to bed, and they were the first thing that I thought of when I woke up that morning. I needed those pancakes to be in my belly!
To give you an idea of how intense the storm was, nearly 50cm fell and wind gusts of more than 100 km/h were experienced. We were one of the few lucky sections of the city to only loose our power for about 30 minutes. The power went out early Friday morning and for some, it was late Saturday afternoon before power was reinstated. The airport had also shut down until midnight Saturday night due to the storm (which was further impacted by an ongoing strike by maintenance workers). Like I said, it was one of the most intense snow storms that the city had seen in years.
Before: Mid Afternoon, Thursday January 10th 2013. After: Mid Morning Friday January 11th 2013.
Ever since I had my first pumpkin cinnamon roll from Gluten Free Treasures at my local Farmer’s Market, I realized that I was IN LOVE with everything pumpkin! So when I stumbled across the Pumpkin Pancake recipe in this cookbook, I knew that it would be the first recipe that I would attempt.
As I mentioned in my post that profiled the cookbook, the recipes are written for use with Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Blend. Considering that I didn’t have all of the ingredients in my pantry to mix a batch of her flour blend, I turned to another fine lady named “Pamela” and opened the package of her baking and pancake mix that my friend, Felicia, had surprised me with a while back. Felicia raved about the mix but … once again … I hadn’t found the time to test it out. I thought that I would substitute the Pamela’s flour blend for that of Jules’ blend and see how it turned out.
I won’t reproduce the recipe here, but the recipe did consist of:
gluten-free flour
baking powder
pumpkin pie spice
cinnamon
egg (or egg substitute)
cooking oil
brown sugar
pureed pumpkin
milk
optional: raisins, cranberries or chocolate chips (I opted for plain pumpkin pancakes).
Although we eat food with dairy, we don’t normally purchase milk for use as a beverage, and as a result there was none in the fridge to use in the recipe. Luckily I had a carton of almond milk in the cupboard. We had eggs in the fridge so they were used in the recipe. At some point I might attempt an eggless version … but for the time being, I was running against the clock to finish the pancakes before the power cut out again (thankfully though, it remained on for the remainder of the day).
The pancakes were a little denser than a regular pancake because of the pumpkin … but then again …. all gluten-free pancakes are denser than your ‘regular’ pancake, so no difference there. Regardless of the density of the pancake, the result was absolutely delicious!
The recipe serves 4 and because my guy decided that he would only take one pancake to eat with his breakfast ….. it meant that I had enough for leftovers! There’s nothing better than warming up a pancake when you’re in the office on a Monday morning!! Just don’t forget the maple syrup! ….. unless you’re allergic …. then, go ahead and forget the maple syrup! 😉
As I was scanning through the recipe to write this post, I noticed that Jules suggests that you strategically place chocolate chips after flipping to create the illusion of a jack-o-latern … Jules: I like your style! And I like love Halloween. I will DEFINITELY be making jack-o-lantern pumpkin pancakes, next Halloween! 🙂
Jules has several recipes related to pumpkin included in the cookbook, which is great because now I have more ways to feed my love of pumpkin. Up next? Pumpkin Corn Muffins! 🙂
I ordered this cookbook quite some time ago with the intention of trying out some new recipes. It only took about a year later and one “snowpocalypse” to attempt my first recipe from it. The result? Deliciousness! … But I’ve saved the details for a separate post 🙂
I discovered this cookbook, along with several others that I have yet to try out, from the Living Without Website. A list of all their cookbooks that are available for sale are found here: http://www.livingwithout.com/products/ … The magazine is a US publication and there is usually a link for Canadian purchases, which can mean higher prices but most always means higher shipping costs. I’d recommend checking out Chapters.ca or Amazon.ca to see if you can find a better deal, as you can combine with other products and receive free shipping if you cart total is usually above $25 (or some other determined amount).
What I like about this cookbook is that it is broken into two parts:
Part I: Essentials for Gluten-Free Baking
Part II: The Recipes
The majority of Part I is dedicated to ingredients and substitutions. Jules starts out by giving an overview of the items that one might find in their pantry which are basic/naturally gluten-free. She then gives a list of safe, gluten-free ingredients (such as grains, pseudocereals, beans, etc.) and then follows up with a list of evil non-gluten-free grains and other ingredients to avoid.
One of the most useful parts of the book is the Handy Substitution Guide. The guide starts out talking about Flour and how Jules devised her Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Blend. It then discusses other premixed blends, as well as making your own gluten-free blend.
She then lists other gluten-free ingredients that you should keep on hand, such as baking powder, baking soda, yeast, sugar and sweeteners, gluten-free oats/cereals/chips, as well as flax seeds. She gives an overview of each one, lists several brands that she has used, and also makes some references to use in recipes found throughout the book.
Egg substitutes are the next topic and one that I thought was presented very well. She briefly discusses store-bought egg replacers but goes into great detail about homemade egg replacers. She gives a recipe for 12 different egg replacer recipes and groups them according to what they are best suited for:
Quick-breads
Yeast breads
Batters
Pancakes
Cakes
Brownies
Cookies
Savory Dishes
Replacing Egg Yolks
Frying foods or browning crusts
Dairy and soy substitutes are also presented. Substitutes for milk, buttermilk, Half-and-Half/heavy cream, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, yogurt/sour cream, butter/shortening, cheese/cream cheese, ice-cream/whipped cream are explained with recipes for non-dairy evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk given.
Nut substitutes are explained and are broken out according to whether you are looking for the nutty texture, or the nutty taste.
Jules then discusses alcohols in baking. She notes that although distilled alcohols are gluten-free, you need to be weary of added flavourings. She also discusses use of gluten-free beers in her recipes, as well as flavour extracts.
My favourite part of the book is that there are food restriction icons for each recipe which include: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free or Vegetarian. Many of the recipes are possible this way because Jules highlights the option for substitution. For example, for many of the egg replacements she suggests which Egg Replacer recipe to use which will save you time when executing the recipe! 🙂
Part I is then capped off with some baking notes … which I thought came in handy. For example, I had no idea that kneading gluten-free doughs actually do more harm than good (…. Good tip, Jules! Thanks)
Once you’ve digested (figuratively, of course) all of this info, it’s time to jump into the next stage of actual digestion – the recipe execution!! Part II is broken out into:
Breakfast Foods
Appetizers & Side Dishes
Breads & Rolls
Soups
Main Events; and last but not least
Desserts (the largest section! Jules, you know the way to a girl’s heart!)
This cookbook looks fantastic and should give those with food allergies and food intolerances the ability to enjoy fantastic meals and treats without having to worry about their safety or digestion woes!!
As I try out recipes from this cookbook, I’ll update with links below!
If you are currently using this cookbook, please share what your favourite recipes are!
I couldn’t resist misquoting “The Mask” who misquoted Sally Fields’ 1985 Oscar Acceptance speech. I thought it was fitting, because my family and friends obviously love me enough to put up with and cater to my gluten intolerance.
Here are a few examples:
If I’m dropping my Guy to work and as he’s about to give me a kiss as he exits the car, he’ll shout “Wait, I just ate a glutenous breakfast sandwich!!” as he turns to kiss me on the cheek instead.
They call me up to check on items before using it in dishes if I am heading to their house for a meal.
For those who now have a good handle on what naturally has gluten and what doesn’t, their attention has now shifted to ways in which cross-contamination can occur in prep.
They tell me about, send me links to, pick me up a sample of any new gluten free products that they see.
They forward me gluten-free recipes, or even surprise me with gluten free cookbooks.
They have started modifying their naturally containing gluten recipes so that I don’t feel left out!
They keep their cupboards stocked with gluten free snacks (in the event that I pop by and I’m hungry).
They offer to let me pick a place that they know that I can get good gluten-free options at when we dine out.
The biggest challenge has been for my family back home in my small rural hometown, Twillingate (which had a rough population of just over 2400 people as of 2006). Because it’s a small town, there’s not a lot of options when looking for food alternatives and often food has to be bought at the closest “large centre” (i.e. Gander, with a population of roughly 11,000 in 2011), which is roughly a hour and a half drive away. So, this year when I travelled home for Christmas, I came bearing my own bag of gluten-free goodies: canned soup, wraps, Nourish bread & bagels, toaster-bags, Cashew Lärabars, Kind Fruit & Nut bars, plus additional supplies to make gluten-free cookies during my visit.
The first night that I arrived I asked my mom what was for supper and she was so proud that she had made a separate Mac & Cheese without the Ritz Crackers. When I asked her where she picked up the gluten-free pasta she looked at me with the most mortified look and said “But, you can eat macaroni ….. !? ….. I’ve heard you say a dozen times that you’ve had pasta for supper” and I smiled as I looked to her and said “I can eat gluten-free macaroni”. Poor Mom was devastated that she had been so careful to make my meal safe for me to eat, only to discover that it was completely made of gluten. She said that she figured that it would probably take her all of Christmas to get over the fact that she didn’t have a safe meal for me when I got home that night. I told her that I had brought some gluten free groceries with me and that I could very quickly open and warm a can of soup. After supper she scored brownie-points when she broke out some Chocolate Mice (cookies) that she had made for me (not sure what they are? Check out this recipe on Rock Recipes). She had picked up some Gluten Free Rice Krispies, had checked the chocolate chips and other ingredients for sources of gluten, and even had went so far to buy a brand new jar of peanut butter so that she didn’t have to worry about glutenous crumb-contamination in the jar!) They were delicious and I probably ate 7 (no joke!) that first night!! Mom also had my Aunt G pick up a package of President’s Choice Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies when she was in Gander so I also gorged myself on those as well over the holiday when everyone else was eating homemade cookies. The next day my mom made a delicious pot of homemade soup which fed me for several meals while I was home – Mom’s homemade soup is one of my favourites! I thought that I had left a pack of Glutino table crackers to go with the soup but I must have finished them off the last time I was out or brought them back to the city with me. I will have to remember for the next time I pack my GF grocery bag! 🙂
When I stopped by my mom-in-law’s the next day I discovered, that she had discovered, that one of the local grocery stories starting stocking Udi’s gluten-free products in its freezer section. She had picked up Udi’s GF white sandwich bread (which I actually hadn’t tried up until this point because we never really did buy much bread before I went gluten-free), Udi’s GF Cinnamon Rolls (which I also hadn’t tried up until this point), and also had picked up a pack of gluten-free flour when she was in Gander earlier that month.
One night my Aunt G had invited us up for supper. She made ham, baked and scalloped potatoes, as well as marinated carrots. My aunt remembered that the tomato soup in her recipe for marinated carrots contained gluten so she made me a version that she substituted with ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar. She also remembered to take out some scalloped potatoes before she added the cream of mushroom soup which contains gluten (she had no idea that you can get gluten-free cream of mushroom soup in St. John’s, so for the next time that I’m out and she makes it, I’ll be sending her out some GF Cream of Mushroom Soup so that she can make one casserole dish of gluten-free scalloped potatoes instead of fooling around to make different versions). And to top it all off, Aunt G had also picked up President’s Choice Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies for me as well!
I was so excited to see my family finding ways to accommodate my intolerance. Both my mom, aunt, and mom-in-law pride themselves on making our favourite meals when we come home and they finally felt like they could cook for me again 🙂
My mom-in-law (or “Mama Sheila” as I like to refer to her) used the gluten free flour to make Homemade Stew with “Baked Pudding”. For those of you who aren’t sure what I’m referring to when I say Baked Pudding, I stumbled upon this recipe (we call it baked pudding but she calls it a biscuit/pastry).
Mama Sheila didn’t use these exact recipes but I assume that they were very similar. I’m pretty sure that she substituted the gluten-free flour for the regular wheat flour in the baked pudding. Normally when you make something with gluten-free flour you add a binding agent (such as guar gum, among others), but the like-for-like substitution seemed to work out just as good. Generally we lay the baked pudding on a plate, and then pour the stew over the baked pudding and let the gravy soak into the pudding. Veggies, gravy, baked pudding …. what more could a girl ask for?
One of our Christmas traditions that we’ve established over the past 5+ years is that we (my Guy and I) will open Christmas presents at my house first thing on Christmas morning and then we drive on over (to the opposite side of the harbour) to open presents with his parents. A few years back (several before I went gluten free), Mama Sheila made a “Breakfast Strata” for the first time and it was absolutely delicious!! The Breakfast Strata has since become a part of our Christmas morning tradition, and so she was able to use the Udi’s GF bread and the GF Rice Krispies to make me my very one Gluten Free version. Basically it’s bread, eggs, ham, peppers, cheese, a few seasonings and topped with Rice Krispies. We’ve agreed to only have it on Christmas day so that it remains extra special!
Can you say Om Nom Nom!?
Unfortunately Mama Doreen (i.e. my mom) had to work most of the time that I was home for the holiday. So, where I could, I stayed at her place to maximize my time with her before she headed to, or after she got home from, work. On the mornings that she had to get up early and head to work, I ended up having breakfast (or in some cases, brunch) at Mama Sheila’s. One morning my dad-in-law, or Papa Garry as I like to refer to him as, made me Gluten Free French Toast using the Udi’s bread. One morning I had a simple breakfast of fresh fruit, greek yogurt and Udi’s toast. The final brunch was a huge family effort. If there’s one thing that the Guy family are good at – it’s brunch! Gluten-Free pancakes, turkey bacon, hash brown patties, and Mama Sheila even discovered some gluten free maple sausages that were delicious!! 🙂
Christmas was a gluten free success but our trip was short. My Guy had to head back to work on the 27th so we were on the road again on Boxing Day to head back into town. I had a few days to get ready for the arrival of my BFF, Jenny, from Toronto who came baring gluten-free chocolates … which included two boxes of Coco Mira Crunch in Mocha Latte and Dark Chocolate flavours … That girl knows that way to my heart!!
My guy’s Aunt Marguerite has been making lovely gift baskets ever year and we she always gives us an awesome one every year for Christmas. Throughout the year she’ll collect things that are of interest to us (some examples: BBQing or meal prep gear for Rob, cake decorating or gluten-free items for me) and in the Fall she’ll arrange them all to make a fantastic basket! This year she had a box of President’s Choice Gluten-Free The Smart Cookie, a box of Chocolate Chip Quinoa cookies and Cinnamon Quinoa Crunchies from GoGo Quinoa. Other goodies included chocolate, homemade pickles, homemade jams, as well as some non-GF items for my guy and a pack of dog treats for our Lakeland Terrier, Jax.
Aunt Marguerite also invited us over for a meal during Christmas while her daughter Corinne and family were still visiting from Calgary. Not long after I went gluten free back in 2011, I found out that Aunt Marguerite’s other daughter, Renee had also went gluten-free. As a result, Aunt Marguerite has become very knowledgable in preparing gluten-free meals. When we went for supper I discovered that she had made a roast with gravy made from cornstarch in lieu of regular flour; had made baby carrots and peas which were naturally gluten-free; a creamy mashed potato dish in which she checked all the ingredients to ensure that they were gluten-free; a broccoli casserole in which she grated up Udi’s Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns to use as a crust; and to top it all off she made me a big batch of gluten-free chocolate cookies (which I am still enjoying as of today)! It was a fabulous meal 🙂
Rob won a turkey at his curling club and decided to give it to our good friends Darren and Tracey to smoke on their Big Green Egg. Sadly, like many of the other meals that we had over the holidays, I forgot to get a photo of the smoked bird before Darren carved it. Rob made a gluten free dressing using Udi’s white bread and I had made asparagus and “turnip fries” to bring out as well. When we arrived to Darren & Tracey’s we found that Mitch and Felicia were also there and Felicia was busy peeling carrots and potatoes which we quickly boiled as Tracey made gravy using corn starch (as I had forgotten to bring out some gluten free flour with me). The meal turned out lovely and Darren & Tracey were awesome enough to smoke the turkey and have us out for supper, despite the fact that they were recovering from colds. Such troopers!! 🙂
This was only my second Gluten-Free Christmas, and I have to say that it was incredibly delicious and absolutely perfect thanks to my super-awesome family & friends! xoxo
Care to share any ways that your friends and family have successfully adapted to your gluten-free or food allergy-free lifestyle?
Last week we vacationed in Prince Edward Island (PEI) via Nova Scotia. It was a great break! We flew into Halifax on Friday morning and my guy, Rob, met up with his buddies to drive to Moncton for a Curling Bonspiel while our friends Sheena & Chris picked me up to stay with them for the weekend at their home in Upper Tantallon.
Not being sure of the ease of dining out gluten-free in PEI or the Upper Tantallon area while in Nova Scotia, I made sure to bring my own gluten-free snacks and relied on internet searches for ideas of where to eat out. One of the sites that I heavily relied on was The Celiac Scene.
My usual Saturday morning routine when home in Newfoundland is to go to the St. John’s Farmers Market early in the morning to ensure that I get some good gluten-free goodies before they are all sold out. Sheena had asked if I wanted to go to the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market on Saturday morning and I just assumed that she was just being polite on account of her knowing that I enjoy heading to my local market on Saturday mornings. Turns out that she also likes to spend a couple of hours at the Market! I was super excited to enjoy some girl time together in addition to enjoying the market 🙂
I had no idea how big the Market would be. There were two levels and possibly close to a hundred vendors. I was tickled pink! Here I am enjoying gluten-free gelato. Not sure if you can see but there are 3 aisles of vendors plus another level of vendors on the top.
We spent a good two hours roaming through and had breakfast at a green/organic vendor called Selwood Green. I had a Kale Scramble with local bacon, and a local greens salad which was delicious. They even had gluten-free bread, however they do use it in the same toaster as regular bread. I decided to try it out to see if I would react. The potato-millet bread tasted delicious and it came from Schoolhouse Gluten-Free Gourmet which is a vendor at the Market. I didn’t grow a gluten-baby from the cross-contamination, but my stomach did feel a bit upset. I wasn’t entirely sure if this was due to trying Kale for the first time or if it was due to gulten crumbs from the toaster. I decided to pick up a loaf to bring to PEI with us, and ended up using the same toaster at the cabin. My stomach was upset most of the week so I now suspect that I even have to avoid using a toaster that has been used to toast glutenous bread. First when I went gluten-free, I was able to tolerate this, however over the past year my stomach has become even more sensitive and I am now going to have to start using Toast It Bags. For those of you living in the St. John’s, NL area – You can purchase these at the Nourish Gluten-Free Bakery in Paradise.
We considered having a fire in the backyard on Saturday night and we went to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for S’mores. That’s when I came across this multi-pack of Hot Chocolate.
I haven’t had Coffee Crisp since going Gluten-free and after a quick perusal of the ingredients (and a later consultation with Nestle), I discovered that the mix was actually gluten-free! I had some that night and it was FANTASTIC!! It tasted just like eating a Coffee Crisp!! 🙂
Sheena had arranged for us to rent a cottage in Rocky Point, PEI. We drove to Moncton on Sunday afternoon to pick up Rob and then crossed Confederation Bridge into PEI. It was the first time that I had been back to PEI since I was little. We got to the cabin around 7:00 that night I loved how the owners had decorated it – lots of bright colours, bold and funky patterns and a mixture of retro and rugged furniture/appliances.
Once we were done exploring the cabin, we headed into Charlottetown to find something to eat. We landed at a place called Gahan House Brewery which had gluten-free items identified on their menu. Most of the options were seafood, which I’m not a huge lover of but I do like Salmon and settled on that. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a cheesecake that was on the menu that was considered gluten-free. I let Rob have a couple of bites of it before I curled my arm around the perimeter of the plate and pulled it in close to my body to shield it from Rob’s reach. Rob let out a high pitched “Raaarrrrn” (think: squealing cat noise) and I asked if he could blame me, considering that I haven’t been able to eat cheesecake at a restaurant in a very long time. He nodded and said that I had a good point, but he continued to eye my plate.
Monday morning I got up super early before everyone else and decided to read my book out on the veranda. It was soooo relaxing, especially when the hummingbirds would come by and drink from the feeder :). The book I’m reading? It’s called The Procrastination Equation ….. I bought it in May and only started to read it on the plane … a sure sign that I need to be reading the book, 😛
Once everyone else got up, Rob made breakfast for us (complete with Mimosas!). Then we went to a few outlet shops and did a little bit of shopping in downtown Charlottetown. We stumbled upon the menu for Redwater Rustic Grille and I discovered that they offered Gluten-Free PASTA!! I was ecstatic!! I’ve only ever been able to enjoy gluten-free pasta at home, made by myself. This surely would be my new favourite place! 🙂 I also had a delicious Gluten-Free flatbread as an appetizer!
The next day we went looking for a place that we had seen on The Celiac Scene for lunch, only to discover that I didn’t really fancy the options, instead we stumbled across a place called Globe World Flavours which had better gluten-free options identified on its menu. I discovered that they also served gluten-free pasta as well but I opted for Pad Tai instead, and it was delicious! That night we picked up food for a BBQ and had a few drinks on the deck. All the good food (and the golf for the boys) knocked us out early that night.
The next morning the boys went golfing again and Sheena and I decided to try out a nearby beach. It was a very tidal beach so there were a couple of sandbars and there were many people there digging for clams. The wave action had also left a ripple effect in the sand. We put down some towels and started to read our books but the sand was still somewhat wet and started to seep up and make us wet. It was also windy and I’m super-prone to ear aches so we had to call it a morning. We then decided to head to Pizza Delight for dinner (as I can order gluten-free pizza there) and brought some pizzas back for the boys to enjoy once they were finished golfing. That night we decided to relax at the cabin again. I had a headache (from sleeping in various beds, as well as a flight and a long drive) so I slept most of the evening only to wake at 10:00 and discover that everyone else was ready for bed :S
Thursday we were supposed to drive back to Halifax but due to the lack of getting in the ocean or a pool we decided to book a cabin in Cavendish and hang out there for the day. On the way we popped into the PEI Preserve Company because Sheena had read that they had a café with gluten free options. While checking the place out, I discovered that they had Gluten-Free ice cream cones. I hadn’t bought an ice cream cone since going gluten-free and I had one with maple espresso ice cream. It was delicious and I was so excited that I requested a photo to be taken. We got to the cabin, dropped off our gear and decided to take a drive through the main stretch of Cavendish so I could revisit the places that we frequented on our family vacations when I was a kid. …. Everything seemed so much grander in my memories. We roamed through the Boardwalk, drove past Ripley’s Believe It or Not and the Wax Museum, drove past where Rainbow Valley used to be, popped into Cavendish beach for an hour, and grabbed a quick lunch all within the span of a couple of hours. And I thought, how did we spend a week to two here when I was a kid? Again, the place seemed much larger in my memories. I was glad that we had spent the majority of our week in Rocky Point because it appears that Cavendish is really a family vacation spot. … or a golfer’s spot. Rob counted 4 golf courses in the span of a kilometer — while wiping the drool from his chin 😉
We then spent the remainder of our afternoon in the pool and hot tub before getting cleaned up and heading back to the PEI Preserve Company for supper. It’s always a good sign when they decide to put the dessert on the front page of their menu. I decided to try their potato and bacon pie which was in a garlic cream sauce. It was delicious! And I actually had options for dessert! I was hoping that I could have the Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake for dessert but they didn’t have any available apparently. Then she said that there was Strawberry Shortcake which was gluten-free so I decided to have that because I didn’t know when I would be able to enjoy such a dessert while dining out again.
The next morning we went back to the PEI Preserve Company for breakfast. And it was good. They offered Gluten-free bread but when I asked she said that it is toasted in the same rotisserie that they use for regular bread. I figured that this was fine but when it came out, I could see a lot of crumbs on the surface on it so rather than risking a swollen and uncomfortable “gluten baby belly” and being sick for the whole ride back to Halifax, I decided to skip the bread. Which worked out because it turned out that they had made more Bailey’s Irish Cream Cheesecake and I had room in my belly to eat it …. despite it being before 11:00 in the morning.
After breakfast we headed back to Halifax and got to Sheena & Chris’ around mid afternoon. We cleaned up and went downtown for supper and ate at a place called The Carlton Music Bar and Grill. There I enjoyed several glasses of delicious Sangria and another pasta dish! This time it was an amazing chicken fusilli in a cream pesto sauce and the others all agreed that it tasted so good that it didn’t taste like it was gluten-free. For dessert, there were two gluten-free options and Sheena just happened to order the other one (some sort of chocolate almond or possibly hazelnut torte) and I had a mousse that was chocolately/mocha/hazelnut (although apparently it wasn’t quite memorable enough for me to remember exactly what it was).
At one point while eating dessert, the following conversation occurred:
Sheena: “This kinda reminds me of those chocolately balls you eat at Christmas”
Me: “Ferrero Rocher?”
Sheena: “Yeah, that’s it”.
Krista: <Inserts fork into Sheena’s dessert (very stealthily), pulls plate across table, quickly samples without permission> “I haven’t been able to eat one of those things since going gluten-free!!!!!!!”
<This is the point where they all stared at me as if I was a starving seagull…>
And I can confirm that Sheena’s dessert was a tasty one 🙂
The next morning we went to the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market for Round Two. We went back to Selwood Greens for breakfast and roamed around the vendors. I enjoyed some gluten-free Biscotti flavoured gelato from Foxhill Cheese, among some other goodies. Then we headed back to Sheena & Chris’ so we could get ready for our friend’s wedding that afternoon. It was the wedding of Rob’s best friend from high school, Michelle. We hadn’t seen her in a long time to it was nice to see her get married and to be able to chat with her off and on throughout the evening 🙂
Rob has always said that he wants to do a cross Canada trip for a vacation some year and I’ve always said that I would love to make that trip into a “restaurant tour” where we pick different restaurants along the way and plan our route around it. This trip felt very much like a snapshot of what that trip would be like. In order to dine out, we had to do research beforehand (which usually involved consulting The Celiac Scene scene, and in some cases, Urban Spoon for ideas), locate the restaurant of choice and finally enjoy a good gluten-free experience.
Did I honestly expect to have such a fantastic gluten-free dining out experience considering that we would be visiting an island that is roughly just under 1/4th of the population of (and over 70 times smaller than) Newfoundland? Well …. no, not in my wildest dreams. Gluten-free dining out is relatively new to the St. John’s area and has only popped up in the last couple of years. Considering that PEI’s capital city, Charlottetown, is about 1/3rd of the population of Newfoundland’s capital, St. John’s – I didn’t have high hopes for a lot of variety and suspected it was likely that I could end up being sick from cross-contamination at least once if not more. To my surprise, the Charlottetown dining scene was far more evolved when it came to gluten-free menu development. At first I wondered if it was because PEI was a small population and that many people were choosing to remain in PEI rather than relocating after post-secondary, and therefore a prevalence of a Celiac Disease in the province. But then Sheena had mentioned that PEI has a highly acclaimed culinary institute, and it’s likely that many new chefs are incorporating dietary restrictions into their menus after just learning about it. There were also many occasions where other dietary restrictions were identified on the menu such as dairy-free and vegetarian, which I always love to see 🙂
All in all, it was a fantastic vacation. I find that being in nature resets/rejuvenates me, and it was great to hang out with our friends, see other friends get married and enjoy some fantastic food! For the first time since going gluten free I felt like I had a real “Foodie” experience again. It was awesome. And therefore it is only fitting that I share with you this video that I stumbled upon during the trip:
Have you ever had poor expectations for an adequate dining experience during vacationing, only to discover the most amazing meals and/or restaurants?
Until next time,
Krista
p.s. Did anyone else automatically start singing the “Schoolhouse Rock!” theme song when you read the words Schoolhouse Gluten-Free Gourmet??
Food Allergies Etcetera 