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.