gluten free vancouver

Monday, November 21, 2011

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Monday, September 19, 2011

blog update

hello everyone! we have been a bit quiet here on the blog lately, and we apologize. we have been behind the scenes creating our new website, which will be launching very soon. stay tuned for the details! we have some great posts coming your way, and for now you can stay up to date via our facebook and twitter pages. Andrea & Robyn.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

gluten free products at homesense

the next time you take a shopping trip to Homesense, a home decor discount department store in Canada, you can also pick up a variety of gluten free baking mixes, flour, cookies, and snacks in the kitchen section! Andrea and I were really surprised and excited to see so many gluten free products here, just as we were when we discovered gluten free products at Ikea.

some of the products include GoGo Quinoa Quinoa Flour (500g), Josef Animal Cookies, and Coco Mira Hazelnut Crunch cookies, which are really good! Andrea and I have also tried pizza made from Better Batter gluten free all purpose flour mix, and it was excellent. we both also really like products from GoGo Quinoa including their cereals, pasta, and chocolate chip cookies.

over the past six months we have been here twice and on each trip we have noticed the product stocks vary, but between both trips here is a full list of the gluten free products we found at Homesense:

Better Batter- all purpose flour, seasoned flour mix
1-2-3 Gluten Free- chocolate pound cake mix, cookie mix (add your own fillings) *also free of dairy, casein, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and soy
Gluten Free Pantry- sandwich bread mix
The Pure Pantry- chocolate chip cookie mix, sugar cookie mix
Cherry Brook Kitchen- chocolate chip cookie mix, sugar cookie mix, pancake and waffle mix, chocolate chip pancake mix, yellow cake mix, fudge brownie mix *also peanut, dairy, egg, and nut free
Coffarro's Baking Co.- chocolate chip, cranberry almond, and lemon vanilla biscotti *also dairy free
Amazing Dad's BBQ Sauce- original, honey-lemon, honey-garlic
Go Go Quinoa- quinoa flour, orange zest cookies
Jo-seph- vanilla o's cookies, animal cookies
Kind- gluten free fruit and nut bars
Bakery on Main- peanut butter and chocolate granola bars ($5.99)
Andean Dream- coconut and chocolate chip quinoa cookies ($5.99)
Truly Organic Baking- pancake and waffle mix
Glutino- pretzel sticks, pretzel twists
Flamous - falafel ships
La Yapa Organic- red and golden quinoa
Yummy Earth- organic lollipops and candy drops (post coming soon on their gummy bears)

the prices that were marked on these products the days that we visited appeared to be fairly reasonable, with all of the gluten free baking mixes priced at $4.99, while the Pure Pantry, Better Batter and GoGo Quinoa flour mixes were $5.99. we also appreciate that Homesense has labeled the shelving with a green gluten free label, however be careful as products tend to shift around and you might find a non-gluten free item on the same shelf.

happy gluten free shopping! Robyn.

homesense

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Edible Canada at the Market: gluten free in Granville Island

photo credit www.ediblecanada.com

a great new restaurant opened recently in Granville Island, across from the Public Market, called Edible Canada at the Market! the best part is, they have a lot of gluten free dishes including gluten free bread supplied from a local baking company, High Crow Gluten Free Baking! we recently wrote about how much we love High Crow, and you can read our review here. Andrea and I have said for years that while we love Granville Island to buy local produce, meats and cheeses (you may recall our post about Oyama Sausage in the market), there has always been a lack of gluten free dining options...until now.

Edible Canada at the Market focuses on seasonally based ingredients that are also local, and sustainable. they have also created a unique patio herb garden around the restaurant which we loved, and their menu is inspired by their neighbours - the vendors and suppliers from the Public Market. we also appreciate that they indicate which menu items are gluten free, vegetarian and dairy free with three unique symbols. the staff are very aware of gluten sensitivities, including celiac disease, making this a very enjoyable and relaxing dining experience. Edible Canada at the Market is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus weekend brunch. our favourites include the breakfast taco's which are made with a gluten free soft corn tortilla, scrambled eggs, pico de gallo, chorizo sausage,and avocado crema. and to our absolute delight and amazement, there are gluten free fish and chips and onion rings on the menu that tasted great.

here is the full list of amazing gluten free items that you can choose from:

breakfast:

breakfast taco's
island breakfast

brunch:

breakfast taco's
island breakfast
farmer's salad
fish and chips

lunch:

seafood soup
slik spiced albacore tuna
roasted north arm farms baby beets
spring salmon salad
pemberton meadows streak frites
grilled bc salmon
fish and chips
fries
market salad
onion rings (although not marked gf on the menu, they are gf)
wild cultivated bc mushrooms
canadian burger (ask for gluten free bun)

dinner:

seafood soup
slik spiced albacore tuna
roasted north arm farms baby beets
cornmeal crusted fanny bay oysters
farmer's salad
spring salmon salad
fried fraser valley chicken and duck crispy terrine
pemberton meadows steak frites
birch syrup and kasu roasted sablefish
grilled bc salmon
sloping hills pork belly and loin
fries
market salad
onion rings (although not marked gf on the menu, they are gf)
wild cultivated bc mushrooms

we were also delighted to see high chairs and booster seats, and coloring books and crayons to keep little ones occupied! let us know what you think of Edible Canada at the Market! Robyn + Andrea.

edible canada | high crow gluten free | oyama sausage | granville island public market

Friday, August 12, 2011

gluten free s'mores, a serious indulgence

I recently saw a very inciting photo of homemade s'mores on the blog cooking with my kid, and decided to see how I could make it gluten free! the two primary ingredient obstacles are graham cracker crumbs, and marshmallow fluff. I had actually never heard of marshmallow fluff so I had to google it. apparently it is something you can buy, but I had no idea if it was gluten free, and honestly I wasn't even sure I could find this type of product in a store in Vancouver as I was reading an American blog.

I searched online for recipes and when I found one I was happy to discover that the ingredients in the marshmallow fluff are gluten free already! as for the graham crackers, most websites suggested substituting them with crushed gluten free cookies, like shortbread, or even almonds. so, I went to the store intending to buy Pamela's shortbread cookies, but while I was cruising the cookie aisle, I found Kinnikinnick's gluten free graham crackers, which they call S'moreables. they are gluten free obviously, but also nut and dairy free.

for those with egg or dairy sensitivities, the ingredients in the smore's and marshmallow fluff recipes include eggs and butter. however, these can easily be substituted with an egg replacer like Ener-G's egg replacer which is gluten free. instead of butter try Earth Balance's non-dairy butter spread. I like the 'red' container as it is also soy free. I have used both butter and Earth Balance spread for this recipe, and found real butter worked much better, and resulted in a tastier s'more. the marshmallow fluff requires corn syrup, but brown rice syrup works too, Lundberg makes one.

the gluten free s'mores taste just as amazing as they look, and each time I've made them, the whole batch is gone within hours!

let’s make it gluten free!

s’mores ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter at room temperature, I like Avalon’s organic butter because it contains no color, try Earth Balance for an non dairy alternative
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar, I like Roger’s organic sugar
2 large baking chocolate bars, I used Camino’s semi sweet baking chocolate, it comes with two bars but I only used one because they are very thick
1 large egg, or use Ener-G egg replacer
1 ½ cups marshmallow fluff (see recipe below)
1 tsp vanilla, I use Simply Organic’s vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose gluten free flour, I used Bob’s Red Mill
¾ cup graham crackers processed fine. I used Kinnikinnick’s gluten free S’moreables graham style crackers, half a box makes approx. ¾ cup. a food processor works great for this, or a simple rolling pin will do.
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

s’mores instructions:

preheat the oven to 350 degrees
grease an 8-inch square baking pan
using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy
beat in egg and vanilla
set aside
in another bowl whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, salt
slowly add flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until combined
divide the dough in half and press half of the dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan
spread the marshmallow fluff over the dough
break the chocolate bar into squares and place evenly on top of the marshmallow
place the remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff , this can be tricky as the dough is kind of sticky, and so is the marshmallow! (one of the original blog post commenters suggested rolling it out on wax paper first the flipping it over and placing on top of the chocolate, a fabulous idea!)
bake for 30 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned.
cool completely before cutting into squares, makes 16

marshmallow fluff ingredients:

3 egg whites, room temperature (I never knew how important this was, cold eggs will not fluff!) use Ener-G egg replacer for an egg free version
2 cups of light corn syrup, or Lundberg’s brown rice syrup
½ tsp salt
2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted, I like Wholesome Sweeteners fair trade certified organic powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, I like Simply Organic’s vanilla extract

marshmallow fluff instructions:

in a large bowl of an electric mixer, or a regular bowl if you are using a hand mixer, add egg whites, corn syrup, and salt
mix for approximately five minutes on high, or until the mixture is thick and the volume has almost doubled, it will look like fluff!
on low speed add the powdered sugar and mix until well blended
add the vanilla extract and mix until well blended

note:

you only need to make half of this recipe to complete the s’mores recipe above. if you make the whole amount, you can keep the extra in an air tight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

you will love these s'mores, and they won't taste gluten free! warning, they are very addictive, and very sweet! happy baking, Andrea.

kinnikinnick smoreables | camino semi sweet baking chocolate | ener-g egg replacer | earth balance dairy free spread

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

gluten free dinner party at whole foods market

you are cordially invited to a gluten free dinner party hosted by Whole Foods Market Cambie! this very special event will take place on Thursday August 11^th from 6:30pm - 8:00pm. everything on the menu is gluten free! Andrea and I will also be there to talk about living gluten free in Vancouver, and we are excited to meet many of you in person. it will be a delicious and informative evening!

the gluten free dinner party includes appetizers, sparkling cocktails, a main course, followed by dessert. the gluten free menu has been specially created by Whole Foods Health Starts Here chef Mark Lukan. this promises to be an intimate gathering of like-minded foodies, and of course a great chance to eat and talk gluten free!

Date: August 11th

Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm

Location: Whole Foods Market Cambie (in the Floral Department)

Cost: $20

Appetizers:

Chilled Peach and Corn Soup

Grilled Veggie Kabobs

Thai Shrimp and Carrot Salad

Main:

Chicken & Peach Skewers or

Tofu Skewers with Peach Chipotle Glaze

Summer Saute

Brown Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms and Apricots

Dessert:

Grilled Peaches with crumbly Streusel Topping

all gluten free and all delicious!

for more information and to register, please contact Whole Foods Market Cambie customer service at 778-370-4210. to reserve your seat you will need to register and pay in person at Whole Foods Market Cambie Guest Services.

we hope to see you there! Robyn + Andrea.

whole foods market cambie

Thursday, July 14, 2011

summer vacation!

hello gluten free vancouver readers!

Andrea and I are so appreciative that our blog continues to receive so much positive feedback, despite the fact that we have been noticeably absent over the last few weeks. it has been a very busy time for us in our respective careers. but, we have also been actively working away behind the scenes on the blog too, and have some great articles and features lined up that we can't wait to share with you.

one of our exciting announcements is that we will be launching our website glutenfree-vancouver.ca by september! our new layout will make it easier to navigate various gluten free topics, and overall it will have a fresh new look.

Andrea is lucky to be on summer vacation for a few weeks and she has left me in charge! I hope to post a few articles over the next few weeks, and of course you can continue to receive the lastest and greatest gluten free news over on our facebook and twitter pages.

I hope you are all enjoying the summer season! Robyn.

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Monday, November 21, 2011