After completing a business degree, traveling around Asia for a brief stint, and taking some time to familiarize himself with the French language, a young British Columbian by the name of Sean Aiken decided to not decide. On a career, that is. Rather, taking his obvious love for travel and meeting new people, he set out across Canada and the United States on a treasure hunt to find a job he could engage in passionately.

After working one job a week for 52 weeks, and being picked up by major broadcasting giants such as CBC, Rachel Ray, Good Morning America, Sean scored a book deal with Random House, has a documentary in the making on his experiences, and has achieved what practically every Generation "Y-er" has to come to terms with - the capability to deal with constant and rapid change.

My boyfriend is a friend of Sean's, from fall 2007, when they both spent their time romping around Quebec City, singing Bob Marley in the Francais Langue Seconde chorus, and making a concerted effort to learn Quebecois French.

At some point last May 2009, while I was interning with a diversity expert in Toronto, and Dan in a music classroom back in Quebec City, Sean gave Dan a ring to see if he would proofread all the bits and pieces he had tied together from his yearlong experience. Of course Dan agreed and took great pleasure in editing and making commentary on the new author's work. For his labour, Sean told Dan to take his lady friend (that being me) out for a meal the next time I came up to Quebec City for a visit.

Seven months after the Mediterranean burger (gluten-free with no bun), fries (with no flour coating, and no contaminants in the oil), pesto mayonnaise and garden salad at Chez Victor, complimented with a half-litre of red and a conversation about self-discovery and fulfillment, Dan showed me the cover of One Week Job - 1 man. 1 year. 52 jobs, which is due to be released this spring, 2010. Of course, this got me thinking about creativity, challenges, and optimism in a world where most youngsters in our generation have between 7 and 12 jobs over the course of their lifetime.

The aforementioned adjectives are crucial to remember when cooking gluten-free cuisine.

Creativity, the ability to be clever and imaginative, unique and inspirational, bold, keen and passionate while pursuing the task at hand is what motivates me most when it comes to food. Trial and tribulation has taught me that when you're confused as to what to make for dinner because nothing in your fridge and cupboards seem to match up that well, you survey your options, think about flavour combination, and dive off the deep end. Sure, 9 times out of 10, your creation is kinda gross (place the leftover thai tofu soup, bitter because you accidentally added too much lime rind in the freezer, along with the dry banana buckwheat muffins and send away with long-distance boyfriend when he visits. Make sure to add some good homemade pesto so he doesn't think you're dumping all the reject recipes on his pallet) - but the 10th time, you've succeeded and it's AWESOME! Note to generation X-ers - apply this formula to school and employment. If we switch programs a few times, don't blame us. If we can't figure out what we want to do work-wise, it's not our fault. If we emerge in our mid-thirties a little weary, with some debt and no children, but our tummies are happy and full, we're still looking brightly forward.

Kristen's "I don't have any tomato sauce, but I just bought a pepper grinder" Pasta:

2 cups of gluten free pasta (spirals work nicely)
1 box worth of mushrooms (the fresh ones, people. Don't think I mean from a can)
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 red onion
three cloves of garlic
4 cups fresh baby spinach
Feta Cheese
A handful of chopped green olives
5 diced sundried tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of one lemon
LOTS of coarsely cracked pepper

Saute all the veggies together, on a medium heat, starting with the onion and the garlic. Add fresh pepper as you go along, as well as a little olive oil and a quarter of the lemon.

Cook your pasta, insuring that you add a bit of vegetable oil so it doesn't stick together. Gluten free pasta is sneaky, appearing uncooked, uncooked, uncooked and then suddenly overcooking when you're not looking. After about 6 minutes of letting it boil, be sure to check it every minute.

Toss pasta in with cooked vegetables, remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Add generous (copious, even) amounts of feta cheese. Add olives and sundried tomatoes. Crack desired amount of black pepper over the pasta, and serve.

This dish is really excellent if you make it 24 hours in advance, and let it sit before heating it up and serving it. All the flavours make love to one another, and pick your tongue as an alter for their marriage.

From Vieux Port to Le Petit Patrie
up Atwater to NDG
Along Jean-Talon, down Le Plateau,
Feet and feet and feet of snow!

Come young, come old, come big, come small
Winter is here in Montreal!
Grab your down-filled, fur-trimmed jacket
Go outside and make a racket!

Take a look down Cartier
See those creaking branches sway?
Winter's here, she's long, she's cold
Extremely bitter and mighty bold

And for this boundless, drawn-out season
We can create a million reasons
To come together, preheat our ovens
Absorb ourselves in home-baked lovin!

Prepare our friends, arrange our kitchens
Brace ourselves for this wild mission
Millet, quinoa, teff and corn
A gluten-free creation's born!

Amaranth, sorghum, brown rice flour
Cookies and cakes with patience and power
Be sure to use a binding force
Xanthan gum, ground fine, not coarse!

Be adventurous, 'tis the season
Adapt the tradition with rhyme and reason!
From matzo balls to naan with ghee
We can do it, gluten-free!

Ah yes, it's true. The winter season arrived last week in Montreal in full force. After a mild and rainy November, we awoke last Sunday to flurries and temperatures of minus twenty with the windchill. We danced around the house, made chili with cornbread and gingerbread houses (ahem... shanty towns... it was the first time), and rejoiced while watching the snow fall gently, dressing tree branches and covering the remains of the De Lorimier/Gilford communal garden.

What a beautiful time of year. With that being said, winter can be somewhat of a polarizing quarterly interval. Quebecers, generally speaking, love outdoor winter activities, warm drinks and woolly Alpaca sweaters. But we also detest shoveling our steep, winding staircases and having to pay obscene amounts of money to Hydro Quebec for heat every two months.

However, I find one major motivator in storing energy and maintaining a positive attitude during the days where only 10 hours of sunshine reach us is creating, smelling, slicing, buttering and savouring scrumptious and delectable homemade baked goods. But baking is no easy feat when you lose the ability to use wheat flour. In fact, baking gluten free is like watching a little kid make their first snowman - no matter how meticulous they are in the prodding, the molding, the shaping and the placing, it might topple right over fifteen minutes after the creation is complete.

Never assume that substitutes are duplicates. Powder snow is not the same as packing snow. Aldo summer sandals are not the same as Birkenstocks. Coffee from Tim Horton's is not a Second Cup brew. Wheat flour is NOT the same as rice flour. If you see a gluten-free baking mixture with only rice flour and potato starch, DO NOT BUY. Save your $6.50 for the Birkenstocks next summer.

Save your sanity too, and try this amazing shortbread recipe we've been making to compliment tea in the mornings. If you have a gluten tolerant person in the house, you can also simply substitute wheat flour for gluten-free flour. But don't be surprised when they can't tell the difference!!

Cream one pound unsalted butter with one cup packed brown sugar

Blend in 4 cups of gluten free flour mixture (El Peto all-purpose works in a pinch), 1 cup of gluten-free corn starch (most brands are gluten free, but you can always check on the Internet, or call the company), and 1/4 teaspoon salt

Chill for a short while (half an hour), and then divide the dough in half

Pat to one-inch circle with hands

Cut with cookie cutters, sprinkle with desired decorative sugars

Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes - do not brown.

In the heart of Mont Royal's plateau neighbourhood, situated on the corner of rue Boyer and rue Rachel, is a tiny, charismatic café called Café Rico. Each Saturday morning, at around 10a.m., I make my way down Avenue du Mont Royal, along Parc Lafontaine, and into this warm, open space. While sipping on a delicious fair trade latte, and listening to the musical flavours of Mahler, Ariane Moffat and others, I am most comfortable preparing my high school classes. The café buzz is a mosaic of languages, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and others. Paintings from Costa Rica hang on the brick walls, complimenting individual tabletops made by a local Montréal artist. Pamphlets and and posters for a variety of social justice events are displayed boldly on the walls. in many ways, Café Rico is a reflection of Montréal's multicultural society, one which embraces differences and demands change for the good of its people.

And for my own good, Café Rico consistently supplies me with three essentials that keep me smiling even on the rainiest of Saturdays. First of all, their Internet is free, and faster than my high speed at home. Secondly, they roast their own beans daily, and provide me with a massive bowl of steaming, smooth coffee complimented with organic cane sugar, and a tiny silver spoon for an astonishing $2.50. However the third reason, a seemingly odd one to those sans dietary restrictions, is that the wonderful "Franish" employees at Café Rico never rain on my parade when I bring in my own gluten free treat to compliment my java beverage.

In a world where Montréal bagels, danishes and croissants line the table of every staff meeting, and pizza is a the number one choice amongst colleagues for late nights in the office, the idea of settling down on a Saturday morning at Café Rico in a worn-in wicker chair with a freshly pulled shot, steamed 2%, and a gluten free chocolate-pecan-cranberry cookie with an almond base center is a heavenly one.

I bet Starbucks wouldn't let me do that.

On a more serious note, and a sadder one also, it is true to say that not everyone in my celiactuation enjoys the same quality of life that I do. I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about Celiac Disease in others shoes besides my own. A couple weeks ago, while randomly searching the net for new recipe ideas, I stumbled across a sixteen year old girl's trial with Celiac Disease. She said, "I absolutely hate living like this, and I often think about cheating on my diet. Whenever I go out with my friends, to the movies, or to a birthday party, I cannot eat one single thing that is served. Ever."

This poor teen is not alone. I imagine all the fathers and mothers of Celiac and gluten intolerant children, who are forced to either up their grocery bill astronomically every month, or make two different meals for their families. Both are time consuming, annoying, and expensive. I think also of senior citizens who get diagnosed with Celiac, after growing up in the 1940's, '50's, '60's and onwards, where Wonder Bread reigned over the bakery section, and even milk formula for babies used flour to "add to substance". Imagine, that after 80 years of developing a particular eating pattern, as we all do, you are told to go home and throw out everything in your cupboards and most of the food in your fridge.

This may sound crazy, over-exaggerated, and dramatic. But for those of you that know me personally (probably everyone reading this entry, but here's to hoping!), it's not.

Underneath all the dietary restrictions, the cost, and the time consumption of the gluten free regime lies an important factor that impedes the lives of gluten free people, that being the intense social restrictions we often feel in a variety of social settings.

A recent article I read in the Toronto Star asserted that sufferers of Celiac Disease often become "socially alienated" due to the inability to partake in normal social outings, by ordering a beer, or a meal that actually comes out safe (not contaminated) and tasty. As sad as this sounds, social alienation amongst Celiac sufferers is a reality when one lacks a close social network of friends and family who truly understand the severity of cross-contamination, and are honestly committed to a safe, holistic, organic, gluten-free approach.

If I had been diagnosed with this disease in my teenage years, I would have been that girl I mentioned a few paragraphs earlier - frustrated, angry, upset, alone, and very likely hungry, as all her friends enjoy an extra-large pepperoni pizza and chocolate cake at a sweet sixteen.

These stories and their characters are true ones, living right here on the island of Montréal. With recent breakthroughs in genetic testing and endoscopic procedures, more and more Canadians are getting diagnosed every day. And unlike peanut allergies, fish allergies, bee stings, and all others that elicit an immediate anaphylactic shock reaction, I have found in the past six months that in some situations our allergy is not treated with the same caution as it needs to be.

The gluten-free community in Montréal needs help! I've been seriously brainstorming, adapting recipes, trying out new desserts, and thinking about ways I can make a difference. Especially in a city such as Montréal, where we are so immersed in French culture, I recognize the fact that people in my city need support, a community, and most importantly, accessible and reasonably priced gluten free cuisine. I see some small progress - there are a couple restaurants who have heard of the allergy, and are willing to make accommodations. There are cafés, like my wonderful Café Rico, who always let me bring in my own goodies. But it's not enough! I imagine all the Montréalers out there who are lost, confused, and burdened by their new and difficult lifestyle.

On a much happier and positive note, we threw the best potluck of all times three weeks ago to celebrate my 24th birthday. About twenty of my closest friends and family gathered with myself and mes nouvelles colocs, all bearing gifts of gluten free side dishes. My little brother made gluten-free cake and icing from scratch. Other dishes included caramelized onion, black bean and cocoa dip, seasoned root vegetables, lentil chili, quinoa with butternut squash, peas and carrots, and crème brulée amongst others. We had two raclettes going simultaneously - A Québécoise grilling tradition that was borrowed from the Swiss. We had Fp2 playing live in the nook space. We had wine, Frenglish conversation, laughter, and a lot of food.

The next day, two of my friends commented that on their walk home, their stomachs felt remarkably fine despite the large amounts of food and drink consumed over the course of the night. We concluded that it was likely because all of our tummies weren't stuffed with white, starchy bread, a staple consumed in mass amounts at most communal suppers.

When feeling low about eating gluten free, organize a dinner where all of your friends bring a small side dish that doesn't contain gluten. Trust me - if your friends love you, no one will be reluctant, and it will actually add a fun and interesting challenge to the whole dinner. Plus, everyone will get to eat great, natural food.

If you're lucky enough to have a raclette, try this pork tenderloin marinade. Make sure to visit your local fromagerie for real raclette cheese! If you don't own a raclette, you can keep the pork rolled, and roast it in your oven.

Ginger-Soy Pork Tenderloin

1 kilogram of fresh (preferably organic) pork tenderloin
1 1/2 cups of gluten free soya sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, or a large tupperware container. Cut up pork into small, bite size pieces (if you are roasting the pork in the oven, you can leave it whole). Marinade for at least two hours, and up to twenty-four hours in the fridge.

Grill on raclette with complimentary vegetables, including bell peppers, mushrooms and asparagus. Melt raclette cheese over a mixture of pork and vegetables, as indicated under the raclette grill. Serve with gluten free toast, or simply as is.

Le choix de la crepe....

Have you ever made a spontaneous decision that would drastically affect your life, at the drop of a hat?

Did you notice a trigger to that decision? Some sort of revelation? Wedding proposal?
School acceptance? Job transfer? Gluten-free crepes at Jean Talon market?

Sometimes things in life just click into place. Three weeks ago, I was visiting Montréal and playing tour guide with friends from a French program in Sherbrooke, Québec. We were frolicking around the city, hitting all my favourite sites – parc lafontaine, fair trade coffee at café rico, hot cocoa at juliette et chocolat, and before we hit the infamous Tam Tam jams, a stop at Jean Talon market to grab some grub for a picnic.

This market in particular is a utopia – the middle of the market is comprised of dozens of fruit and vegetable stands, most of the produce grown locally and organically right here in the province of Québec. Surrounding the market are shops and stands, for n’importe quoi – there are poissonaries (fresh fish), fromagaries (cheese stores and stands), la viande organique (organic meat places), boulangeries (bakeries), and much more.

After a lovely latté with the ladies at Premièr Moisson (the best bakery in Montréal), we waited in line to grab some baguettes for them to take with us on out picnic adventure. I’d just finished explaining to my friends that it was fine they got bread – I don’t want to be one of those "because I can’t, you can’t" types of people. Truthfully, I have outgrown my cravings for baked goods… but of course, I have to admit I’d still be eating it if I could. Baguettes, avocados, pineapple, tomatoes, gluten-free saucisse (sausage) and Québec goat cheese were the continents of our backpacks. We were almost ready to head back to our bikes when my friend Nathalie noticed rather darkish looking crepes being tossed on the griddles right in front of our faces.

Darkish looking crepes = buckwheat flour

Buckwheat flour = gluten free

I rushed up to the girl working at the stand, and asked what the crepes were made of.
With a smile she said,

"On les a fait avec la farine sarrasin seulement. Vous avez une allergie au gluten? Pas de problème"

Translation – These crepes are made with buckwheat flour only. If you have a gluten
allergy, you can eat these ones..

It hit me all at once – I wanted to be in the city, with all its gluten free goodness waiting to be discovered. And this, my friends, is how I came to my decision of moving back to Montréal, pretty much instantaneously.

Gluten free crepes are amazing to eat out, but if you can master them at home, they are
much cheaper! I plan on doing so as soon as I find an apartment, and a job that pays for good cheese. You can make them with a variety of different flours, including rice flour, quinoa flour and buckwheat flour. Here is a great starter recipe, with lots of wonderful ideas to put inside…..

BUCKWHEAT CREPES

1 cup of pure buckwheat flour
1 2/3 cups milk
3 eggs
teaspoon of raw sugar, or maple syrup
2 tablespoons of melted butter
pinch of salt

Blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. I find it is easiest to simply use a fork, and work out all the lumps. When making any kind of crepe, it is important to get the right consistency, and depending on the recipe (or how many times you double or triple it), the consistency can change. Have extra milk and buckwheat flour ready. Your final product should be much thinner than a pancake mixture, and should spread nice and evenly in the pan.

Heat up a frying pan or crepe pan with a little bit of butter (the temperature really
depends on your oven – it could be number 4, 6, or 8 depending on how hot your
elements are!). Use a ladle to pour crepe batter into your pan. Again, the size of your pan determines the amount of batter you will use. You want those babies to be thin!!!! They should be a complement to the crepe fillings, which we’ll talk about in a bit.

When cooking the crepes, use a silicone spatula. You will find it is much easier to work your way around the crepe, and flip it over gently. Once you have flipped the crepe over, you can add your fillings, and then close the crepe by carefully turning it on its side.

Let your delicious and unique fillings sit inside the crepe while the pan is still on the element for about 45 seconds to 1 minute. Finally, gently slide the crepe, with the aid of the silicone spatula, onto the pan!

IDEAS FOR SWEET CREPES…..
Fillings:
any type of berry that is in season!
Bananas
Peaches, plums, pears
Goat Cheese

Toppings:
Maple syrup or maple butter
Chocolate
Honey


IDEAS FOR SAVORY CREPES:
cheese – swiss, strong cheddar, mozzarella, goat
legumes – asparagus, spinach, arugula, mushrooms,
meats – honey maple ham, bacon, pepperoni

Toppings:
- PURE maple syrup! It is a Quebec tradition to put pure maple syrup on savory crepes,
and what a tradition it is. Give ‘er a go.

Let Them Eat Cake!!!!!

“I want to have my cake, eat it, and have everyone tell me I lost weight”

This hilariously extended expression, alluding to the impossible, may not be that far out of the ballpark for people with gluten intolerance and Celiac disease. Affecting approximately one in one hundred North Americans, it is estimated that only 3% of gluten intolerant people are actually diagnosed with the allergy. That means that thousands of North Americans are still living with the odd and seemingly unconnected symptoms – bowel and indigestion problems, fatigue, nausea, canker sores, skin rashes and depression, to name a few.

Although it is my full-fledged intention to create a food blog for people with gluten intolerance and Celiac disease, it is of course necessary to introduce myself, elaborate upon the condition, and convince all new followers that gluten free food is not only unbelievably delicious, but it may have the power to change your whole perspective on life.

My name is Kristen O’Sullivan, and I love food. As a young child, I used to sit at our kitchen table during mealtimes, and hum my way through each bite. Yes, I know faces of young children often light up when given fast food, cakes and candies, or maybe if you’re lucky, their favourite meal at home that just happens to be somewhat healthy. My face (and my vocal chords) would brighten immediately before any meal – I’d sing my way through spaghetti, tap my fork and knife to the tune of beef goulash, and perform a descant when it came to the savouries, such as lemon rosemary chicken on the BBQ, complemented with garlic mashed potatoes.

As I was munching away, my mother was suffering with symptoms of Celiac disease. She has recently shared with me that stomach/intestinal/bowel malfunctions, canker sores, and chronic fatigue kept her in the bathroom for hours, convinced she had some unknown cancer that no one could diagnose. This was the mid-1990’s, and gluten intolerance was considered an extremely rare and under researched condition. When she did finally get diagnosed, her own research and meetings with nutritionists left her eating scrambled eggs for three months straight. Now, I love my eggs with goat cheese, mushrooms, bacon and asparagus, but even that concoction for three months in a row will send your sanity and your cholesterol through the roof!!!

With small gains being made in the medical realm of gluten intolerance during the last few decades, we learned as a family that Celiac is a genetic condition and can be passed from parent to child. My mother (Sue, as we can affectionately refer to her from this point forward), frantically rushed my perfectly healthy brother and me to our respective family doctors to have the proper antibody testing (blood work). I was twenty years old at the time. My younger brother and I secretly celebrated when both of our tests came back negative – and headed back to Montreal where we were studying at university and eating olive bread sandwiches from Première Moisson.

Last summer (2008), I was living the life of a francophile in Quebec City – teaching English, serving ice cream in Vieux Quebec, and frolicking on the plains of Abraham with friends. Oh yeah – and I was sick as hell. Every morning I would wake up feeling nauseous, unable to even look at a bowl of cereal. Testing negative for Celiac three years earlier, I immediately crossed it off my list of maladies. Having moved in with the boyfriend for the first time, I began to worry I might be pregnant (probably worsening my actual health and mental condition). We were eating healthy, and I was averaging twenty kilometers on my bike every day. An atheist, I began to pray – not to some God, but just to anyone. This became a ritual before I went to sleep, but every morning I was disappointed. I eventually started ignoring the way my body felt, and focused on my summer, and my upcoming move to Toronto.

Things only got worse. In Toronto, my condition seemed to get slightly better, but every week or so there would be a sudden attack. I would wake up exhausted, and nauseated, with grey looking skin and baggy eyes. My boyfriend began examining the various shade of purpley-blue under my eyes every night, and commenting on the spectrum of colour. Sometimes my professors would tell me how tired I looked, and I would get pretty offended. Between the months of November and January, I had to go on antibiotics four times for sinus infections. On top of that, I had a cold or the flu every three weeks, like clockwork. Then in January, I started to feel sad, everyday. I would wake up, and immediately feel like I wanted to cry. I knew I didn’t want to be upset but I couldn’t help it – nothing in particular was triggering these emotions. Eventually, my doctor (after I asked) booked me an endoscopy – photographs and scrapings of the stomach liner, and a referral to a gastroenterologist.

I walked into my procedure, decidedly without anesthetic, and feeling naked in an open-back robe. As the nurse was preparing the equipment and reiterating how brave I was for staying awake, in walked who I now refer to as hot, hot Dr. Green. He began with the standard questions: age, family history, etc. He then moved on to why I was being scoped. I meekly suggested that for the past eight months, I’d been feeling sick and tired, and my family doctor couldn’t figure out why. I mentioned that my mother and maternal grandfather have Celiac disease, although my blood work had returned negative a few years back. He stopped looking at his clipboard, immediately made eye contact and stated with confidence, “oh, don’t worry. If your blood work was negative, there is no way you have Celiac disease”. He then proceeded to convince me that camping in Quebec may have caused bacterial infections that can last for months. I can’t lie. His beauty and doctoral aura left me feeling assured. I probably had pasta for dinner.

Three weeks later, I had just returned to my apartment with four friends, two large pizzas, apricot beer and Edward Burtynsky’s Manufactured Landscapes. The phone rang just as we were getting settled. It was Sue, and she sounded funny. You know the type of phone call – either a family member has died, they’ve lost their job, or in the case of my family, it could just mean you’ve screwed up big time. I called her out on her funny tone, bracing myself for finding out I hadn’t paid my visa bill, or something of the like.

“Well, as I thought, you have Celiac”

I was dumbfounded. And pissed. The two together – pissed and dumbfounded. I don’t really remember the rest of the conversation, or the movie, or how good those last slices of pizza with goat cheese, green olives and sun dried tomatoes tasted.

But the next morning, I woke up feeling a little relieved. This diagnosis meant a couple of things. One, I wasn’t a hypochondriac. Two, there was a reason for all of my symptoms, and I had the power to make them go away. Three, I already had a support team – my mom, my close friends who are amazing chefs, and a boyfriend who by now has learned as much as I have about Celiac – and who came up with a creative title for those who promote awareness about the condition: “celiactivist”.

Except for one more massive sinus infection a week after I got diagnosed, my symptoms have diminished drastically. There are still days I feel sick, and tired. However I haven’t had a cold, the flu, or a sinus infection for three months. My itchy patches of skin disappeared. My attitude towards my life has changed immensely.

But being Celiac is no piece of cake - literally. You probably can’t eat half of the things you see in your grocery store (skip the cereal section, the bakery, the pre-made frozen foods, the cracker isle, and most of the sauces). But what you can do is discover the world of foods, including alternative grains and flours, that is at your disposal. Spending the time to make meals from scratch takes effort, but it’s also wildly rewarding, economical and environmentally friendly.

The second weekend of my diagnosis I packed up my bags and headed up to Kingston for some TLC. I visited a good friend of mine, Ms. Debbie Lobbazoo, a brilliant sociologist and mad cook on the side. Together, we made a variety of gluten free and lactose free foods (most Celiacs are also lactose intolerant, at least for a few months after diagnosis. This is due to the damage in the intestines). We caught up over soy lattes, simmered spicy sausage paella while sipping red wine, and ate our “famous Canadian breakfast” – peanut butter and jelly French toast made with cinnamon rice bread and Deb’s grandfather’s pure smoky maple syrup. With a special flour mix created by my Nana, we came up with this fine delight:

Gluten Free Lemon Cake – “Let them eat cake!!!”


1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
*You can substitute one cup of canola oil if you are following a lactose free diet

1 cup granulated white sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (make sure the vanilla in your cupboard is safe by calling the company)

One package of lemon pudding mix

2 cups of Nana’s Flour Mix (see below for recipe)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest of 1 large lemon

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (grate the lemon for the rind, then squeeze out the juice)

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Oil a 9-inch spring form pan. Like all other cake mixtures, you can turn this cake into a bunt loaf, or cupcakes, if you so desire.

Cream together butter and sugar in a mixing bowl, or an electric mixer if you have one. Add in one egg at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add in your vanilla extract and lemon zest.

Sift together your dry ingredients – the flour mixture, baking powder and salt. Slowly add this to your wet ingredients, along with the lemon juice, Mix just until both parts have incorporated into one another.

Using a flat spatula, pour your mixture into your pan and smoothen it out. Place it in the oven, and bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean

Icing

Sift your confectioners’ sugar with two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Your consistency should look like a glaze, and should run over the side of the cake when poured on).

Pour over your fresh cake. Allow enough time to harden before serving

*If you make this cake right before serving, put it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to allow the icing to harden. You can make the cake in advance, and store it in a sealed container. The cake will last for several days in the fridge.

Nana’s Flour Mixture

I whip up this mixture in mass, so I always have it on hand when baking. You can find all of its components in the gluten free section of Canadian Bulk Barn stores.

6 cups white rice flour
3 cups potato starch
1 cup tabioca flour
10 teaspoons of guar gum

Suggestions:

Not all recipes call for guar gum. You can wait and put it in when you’ve found a baked good you’d like to try out, however I always just put it in my flour mixture at the beginning. Guar gum is a great source of fiber, and fiber is often lacking in gluten free diets due to our dietary restrictions such as bran.

Speaking of fiber, you can substitute brown rice flour, or use half and half. I find this works best for baked goods that are savory (cheese biscuits for example, but not chocolate chip cookies)