Another Evening of Girls and Baking

Thursday evening was another gluten-free baking workshop hosted by Alea at My Real Food Life, and it was another success. The agenda for that night was: gluten-free pumpkin waffles, gluten-free batter for chicken (or whatever), gluten-free tortillas, gluten-free chocolate cake, and lastly gluten-free rosemary crackers. I must say that the crackers were quite fragrant and could be smelled throughout the kitchen, even before being baked. The fresh rosemary was the prominent fragrance of the evening.

Like the first workshop, it was great to hang out with others with similar difficulties, frustrations, and moments of joy. People meshed really well chatting about family, work, the weather, and of course what they were making. Some returned from the first workshop and it was like seeing an old friend.

Even though hands were busy mixing, chopping, and flipping there was ample time to chat.

  

Lots of time when goodies were being baked.

 

There was a guest appearance by Peter from Judy’s Magic Mixes. It was great to hear him speak about their (him and his wife) learning, what works, what doesn’t, the demand of products out there. It was great to have him there and he was patient in answering many questions. He was my partner in making the pumpkin waffles so it was nice to pick his brain a bit on the subject of gluten-free flours.

Everything tasted so good and went quickly. Unlike last time there weren’t many leftovers to take home, but that’s a good thing. We couldn’t resist our handmade wares. It seemed at every bite you could hear ‘Mmmmmm’ or ‘Oh that is so good’.

Girls and Baking

This week has been an interesting one. The weather finally got better and I’ve been going out for more walks. It’s peaceful walking along the river hearing the water lapping against the shoreline. There are usually geese in the distance or flying overhead honking away. Something about it is peaceful. I’ve also been quite busy in the kitchen; with many successes too. As a result, all of this has put me in a bit of a better mood.


This little guy also put a smile on my face on Thursday. Every time I passed the window I got a glimpse of him. He enjoyed the sunshine all morning.

Thursday my friend and I also dropped off some gluten-free brownies for a charity bake sale out in Kemptville. I worked hard on those (and the six pans) to make sure they were perfect. I hope they sold; 1) to assist the cat sanctuary and 2) because they were my gf brownies.

In the evening I had a fun night with a bunch of girls (women actually) in a kitchen baking to our hearts content. Alea at My Real Food Life organized a gluten-free baking workshop and man, was it a nice way to spend an evening. All of us were different, but one thing linked us: we were all gluten-free for one reason or another. There was a mother-daughter team (the daughter was diagnosed a year ago), two friends who were both GF (one because her son was celiac), and a woman who was going or had gone gluten-free because she felt better. The rest of us at some point found out what gluten did to our bodies and made changes accordingly.


While stirring, rolling, and sifting, we asked each other questions about one’s diagnosis, talked about products and restaurants, and so many other things.

As our endeavours finished and were ready to eat, topics shifted to our frustrations, both in being celiac and in being diagnosed. I counted myself lucky as my GP at the time was more than happy to brush me off onto someone else. Her loss, but my gain in working with someone who could help me go along a correct path for my body. And more recently, luck would put me in contact with someone, who again, helped me work out what I needed to do and how to accomplish getting my body healthy again. But many, here and elsewhere, are not.

No matter what our cooking skills and knowledge beforehand we all came away with something – whether it be a recipe, a helpful tidbit, or some new contacts. I’m pleased with my cooking skills, but I figured ‘What the hell. I might just learn something new.’ (by the way, I like going through life with this mantra) and I did. I learnt that I can help my bread rise by using the oven on a really low setting, especially if I lack a ‘warm spot’ for it to happen naturally.


A nice day indeed, and finishing it off with a bunch of like-minded women (and good food) was the icing on the gluten-free cake.