CCA Conference 2013

June passed by in a whirlwind. I’ve been enjoying myself and the nice weather, when it was here, but there are two weeks that seem unaccounted for. I got a cold on a Monday, stayed home Tuesday, went to work Wed & Thurs (feeling better), flew to Toronto for the Celiac Conference in Mississauga, sinus filled up by the time I landed. Thinking it was just from the flight, as sometimes happens when flying, I went to the conference on Friday. Waking up Sat morning I realized I had another cold, but instead of staying in bed to get better, I contaminated people across Canada. Did you hear someone sneezing and coughing? That was me!!! Sorry, to spread my germs, but I paid for the conference and my flight (lodgings was free at my sister’s and thankfully she remained healthy because I’d never hear the end of it) so I was going to go. Also, my asthma started flaring up because of this cold so I spent the following week sucking on my inhaler and coming home from work and crashing on the couch. It felt like playing catch-up for the next week or two.

How was it? It was pretty good. Laurence Wall was the Emcee and kept up entertained when energy began to lag and kept the speakers on track. The presentations were interesting and I’ll post some information. The CCA certification program is more interesting than it would appear as more big-name companies, like Marc Angelo, are joining and making it easier for Celiacs to pick up items without having to worry. It makes sense as it brings the companies a new target market: those with gluten-issues.

The Gluten-Free Market Place was packed and one of the places to be. But I did expect it to be bigger; it is Toronto after all (Yes, I know Mississauga is a separate city; the same but different) and everything is bigger in T.O. And I expected more people to be selling stuff. You have an almost captive audience that wants to buy your product; sell it!! There were a lot of vendors from the general vicinity and by that I mean within a 2-3 hour drive, which is do-able in that neck of the woods. Growing up in that area (an hour down the 401) I was happy to see businesses from small cities and towns and they were doing well (Seriously, what’s wrong with Ottawa?!?!). The downside is that I would be able to return to their business unless I was visiting family since Ottawa is so far away. That left me a little disappointed, but I did make some purchases to make up for it. I was very very careful though this year after I was left with a two-month sugar addiction from the Ottawa CCA conference in 2011.

All But Gluten is new in stores and the ladies were giving out samples. The focaccia is delicious and makes a nice sandwich bread sliced lengthwise. Adian’s is fabulous bread products that can be found throughout T.O and I’ve heard that a few health stores here in Ottawa carry it. It’s good.

  

There are small-ish bakeries like Queen B Pastry in T.O, Little B’s Bakery in Southwestern Ontario, Tia’s Bakery in Cambridge who makes the best mock-rye bread ever ( I went back to purchase more), Winnie’s GF Foods in Waterloo who makes great homemade pierogies, Newton’s No Gluten is based in Guelph  and their goodies looked good, and lastly Sweet Temptations in Aberfoyle made delicious cupcakes (I broke down to peanut butter & chocolate). Although Jakki was running low here, I turned around and saw a long flat dolly full of cupcakes on their way.

 

 

There are also some gf shops popping up too. What a nice feeling, to go into a store where you could buy anything! Imagine! People in T.O are lucky to have Gluten Free & Me (Oakville) and Goodbye Gluten.

 There were so many great things: popcorn seasoning, sauces, samosas. Bard’s beer was there, but the man didn’t offer me a sample (it was after noon, after all) so I popped over to the vodka vendor. 

 

  

Now technically liquor is gluten-free because the gluten proteins can’t get through the finishing filtering process (it’s all the stuff added later that can cause problems) so I was intrigued in how Tag was different. The vendors were quite proud of Tag, of it being gf (it comes from corn), and it being a premium brand (aka expensive). Instead of telling the woman how much I love great vodka, like Chopin & Grey Goose, I should have kept my mouth shut. Like the woman beside me I got a little taster shot and a cosmopolitan and the woman serving me waited expectantly. I took a sip and quickly thought ‘Please don’t let my face show what I’m really feeling’ because that tends to happen without me realizing. I was polite and lied; it was horrible. Hello; I found a new anti-freeze!! Thank goodness I had the cosmo to mask the burn. There is a saying that good vodka should taste like water (it is the water of life) and I believe that if it doesn’t taste like water, than it is crap. Yes, I’m a vodka snob and proud of it.

I’ve saved one of the best things for last. These cheeky ‘G F Yourself’ t-shirts are designed by Jody Leigh, who took her love of design another step after being diagnosed Celiac. I love them and debated with myself all afternoon about picking one up. I had to pass in the end, but I’ll pick one up someday soon. A cheeky gal needs a cheeky t-shirt.

Cabbage Rolls

Being half Polish I grew up with my Babcia’s cabbage rolls and of course they were the best. Seriously, they were. My Granny, her daughter, also made them, but they didn’t come close to my Babcia’s.

When I visited my sister in Mississauga last winter we hit a few of the Polish stores. She wasn’t fond of the one near her work (I also encountered their lack of customer service) and this isn’t the old country. In Mississauga, where 50-60% of the population is Polish, there is a Polish store in almost every strip mall and better options if they are lacking (I was like a kid in a candy store at Starsky; sadly I can’t eat much of it anymore). We left every store with cabbage rolls looking for the best one and surprisingly, we were disappointed each time. They were so bland. My Polish teacher laughed because they aren’t made with spices, but my Babcia’s always were (and so are mine).

Imagine my surprise when I found some fabulous cabbage rolls in my own backyard. Because my neighbourhood has a great variety of stores I don’t venture into The Market that much anymore, but one day I did and popped into the Sausage Kitchen.

I don’t venture there very often these days because the lovely pierniki (gingerbread) and paczki (doughnuts) and perfect pierogi are off limits, the rich chocolate drink has enough caffeine to keep me up all night, and it seemed a bit far to go for condiments. Plus as a vegetarian, I didn’t need to pick up any meat (now as a carnivore I shop in my neighbourhood). Well, they have cabbage rolls and they are the best I’ve ever picked up. They are big, full of flavour, and have the perfect amount of tomato sauce. Of course you can buy them singly, but at 2 for $5 why get just one? Yes, I can make great cabbage rolls myself, but that’s a lot of work for one person (The Honey doesn’t like cabbage so it’s just me). Now I’ve got a place to go for my next cabbage roll craving (they also have quite the selection of sausages and meat that are gluten-free).

If you can’t get to The Market or are vegetarian, your health food store may have products by Antipastos Kitchen. These vegetarian cabbage rolls look delicious and are packed then baked in tomato sauce. 

Now I was a little confused at first because they are labelled gluten-free and in theory, cabbage rolls are gluten-free. My Babcia’s and Granny’s never had gluten, all the ones in Mississauga didn’t have gluten, the Sausage Kitchen’s don’t have gluten, and my Polish teacher says one would never put it in a cabbage roll (so I’m chalking it up to the typical North American craziness of putting stuff where it doesn’t belong). Now, these cabbage rolls were tasty, but I was disappointed. Where were the vegetables? I assumed by the picture that these cabbage rolls would have quite a few vegetables, but they were chopped quite small and I found them to get lost in the rice and sauce.

Antipastos Kitchen packages four cabbage rolls in a container for around $10, depending on the store, so the price isn’t too bad. The instructions are to bake it from frozen, but it takes a long time and seems like a waste to turn on the oven for something so small. So it might be worth a shot to thaw them overnight and adjust the cooking time accordingly. Antipastos Kitchen also makes gluten-free squash ravioli, which were good, but needed more filling in my opinion. In the meantime, I think I’ll stick to the Sausage Kitchen for my cabbage rolls.

Fettuccine’s

There’s a pasta shop down on Elgin St that I’ve walked by a million times, both when we lived in that part of town and on lunchtime walks. Being a pasta shop I didn’t really think twice about going in, because really, what would they have to offer me? On a recent walk-by, a friend noticed ‘Gluten-free Pasta’ written in the window of Fettuccine's and we didn’t pause to think twice about it; we went right in.

In the shop there are a few tables and a counter with some chairs at the front window. Seems nice for people watching while having a quick lunch out. There is also a counter running from one side of the shop to the other with a variety of pasta and sauces. For us, since it was late at night, it was choose what you’d like and it was put into a container. For lunch and dinner it may be something different. I was intrigued by the take-out lasagnas with the big gluten-free sticker on the label.

This little lasagna is perfect for two people, or one with a serving for leftovers. It is full of perfectly cooked noodles, sauce, cheese and beef. The instructions on the label were perfect for someone like me. Someone who hasn’t made lasagna in many many years. The Honey even enjoyed it and it was a lovely dinner with a side of salad.

I had also picked up a container of a vodka tomato sauce. At the time I remembered the vodka tomato sauce I used to make. A delicious recipe an old colleague gave me. I couldn’t wait to try it; and unfortunately I was disappointed. Compared to the lasagna, there wasn’t much flavour or anything really and there was a ton of mushrooms. Great, if you like mushrooms, but I do not.

Buying this little lasagna put me in the mood to try one on my own, mainly due to the price. Although this little guy was good, I don’t know if I’d pay the price again. Maybe if I couldn’t cook, sure. I was a little put-off because nothing was priced and it was quite a guessing game then some sticker shock at the cash register (Is it that price all the time or only because it’s gf? Hmmm). I did find a recipe later that week and pulled out some lasagna rice noodles a friend had given me and put something, informally, together. It was good, maybe just as good. Hmmm, maybe I’ll do another one later this week.

Pierogies and Ravioli

Even with the full-on gluten versions, you can be hard-pressed to find good frozen pierogies or ravioli. In my gluten days I became very picky, especially after living in Eastern Europe where homemade ones are everywhere. I quickly found good ones upon returning and send friends there still (the Sausage Kitchen has some of the best), but with gluten out of my diet I’ve been out of luck. I’m sure Italians and those who love ravioli feel the same – Ya, I’ve seen those line ups inside the good Italian shops.

I’ve wanted to try and make my own, but making pierogies from scratch is a big process, whether or not they’re gf. And it’s a lot of work when there are only two of you. So I got a little excited back in the spring when I heard that a store out in Kanata carried gluten-free pierogies. One day, when I happened to be off, I took a trip out to the suburbs and ventured to Grace in the Kitchen. Grace seems to have a bit of everything – high end kitchen products, the gadget that you can’t live without, those specialty food items that are perfect for party coming up, great desserts and coffee, fine cheeses, and of course some gluten-free goodies. Their shelves don’t have too many items that you can’t find anywhere else, but their freezer is the jackpot. And wouldn’t you know it there were bags of frozen gluten-free pierogies and ravioli. I was out of luck on my first visit, but the clerk was happy to put down my name for a phone call when they came in.

  

Conte’sPasta is in New Jersey and I must admit their pierogies are pretty good. Nothing will replace the fresh homemade pierogies I remember, but they are the closest thing in the gf world (I’ve had a few and their not that great). The only thing that would make them better is to use thinner dough; it’s just too thick for a pierogi. I’m sure that Italians would say the same about the ravioli. While I might think Conte’s are really good, they might not compare to someone’s nona’s ravioli.

Of course with ravioli being pasta (even the gf kind), you boil it to cook it; pierogies are different. There are those who boil and those who sauté. I’m in the sautéing group and Conte’s don’t sauté that well since they need to be thawed then pan-fried. It isn’t very easy and it doesn’t look very pretty. They boil up flawlessly though. As an experiment I boiled then sautéed them and it worked out pretty good. With some fried onions and a little plain yogurt, they were a nice dinner. Even The Honey was happy with them, and my mom didn’t think they were too bad either.

Grace also has a few gluten-free baked items available at their coffee counter. I picked up a delicious chocolate walnut cookie that was so rich and to-die-for.

The price for the pierogies and ravioli seems a little scary at first ($7.99/bag), but considering the amount and being gluten-free, it’s not too bad. From memory, there are about 12-14 pierogies/bag, which suffice for a bunch of small starters or 2-3 dinners. And the pierogies and pasta are filling, so 6-8/person is enough. Since this discovery I have found them also at Natural Pantry and RainbowFoods.

Manotick Gluten Free Bakery

If you take a drive south of the city and just keep going, you’ll eventually come upon Manotick. What was once a small village is now a bedroom community for many who work in Ottawa. While it has grown a bit, it has retained its small town atmosphere and friendliness. Earlier in the year when my mom was visiting and working in the area, she happened to be in a strip mall and saw this sign from a distance. The words ‘gluten-free’ jumped out at her and she had to see for herself.

Inside the Manotick Natural Market she found the Manotick Gluten Free Bakery. After eying many of the items she came home with a loaf of no-rye bread, a few butter tart squares and date squares.

The bread had a nice consistency to it; not doughy or dry, and tasted good. And it actually tasted like a real rye. Mmmm. The butter tart squares were a little on the dry side, but the date squares were moist and really good.

There are so many items to choose from. Ummm, I take that back. If you go at the end of the day or week, the pickings are slim because you took too long to get there. I imagine, though, that the bakers are busy prepping for their busy Saturdays and Sundays. There are squares, scones, pies (fruit and meat), bread (fresh and frozen) and new items that the bakery tries out.

From downtown it is a bit of a drive, but if you avoid rush hour then the drive is effortless (and probably under 30 mins).