Gluten-Free in Montreal: Lola Rosa

May 5, 2014May 5, 2014Leave a comment

I usually order the chili served on brown rice and add avocado.

A good place for a gluten-free friendly vegetarian/vegan lunch or casual dinner in downtown Montreal is Lola Rosa. It’s right near my work, the food is fresh and the menu items that are gluten-free are clearly marked. They also now have a new location on Parc. They deliver which is great for me as there are not many gluten-free lunch options near my work for those days that I forget to pack a lunch and it’s too cold, rainy or busy to leave my desk.

I usually order the chili with avocado on top, the salad or a half order of the nachos. The other day I tried the vegan nachos and had the choco coco tart, which were delicious and vegan. There are several gluten-free main course options, at least one or two desserts and the soup of the day has been gluten-free whenever I have asked.

Lola Rosa

545, Rue Milton Montreal

4581, Avenue du Parc

http://lola-rosa.ca/site/

Choco Coco Vegan Tart

Gluten-Free and Vegan Poutine

Gluten-Free Passover Dinner

April 23, 2014April 23, 2014Leave a comment

Toasting friends and a great gluten-free seder.

Toasting friends and a great gluten-free Passover dinner

The title of this blog comes from my friends and family who are my GFBFFs (gluten-free best friends forever). I am very blessed with a group of friends who are very accommodating to the fact that I have celiac disease and constantly go out of their way to assure I can eat safely whether it be at one of their homes or when we are out.

This was on display this past week when my friend invited us all over for a Passover dinner that was 95% gluten-free and 100% vegetarian. I always find it easier when cooking for a group to keep the meal 100% gluten-free or at least to keep the non gluten-free items completely separate, in this case we prepared the glutenous part of the meal in a different area and served it separately. Here are some ideas to help make your next Passover more gluten-free friendly.

On the menu:

Gluten-Free Matzo Ball Soup: We used a gluten-free mix and added garlic, onion, carrot and celery to the broth.

Vegetable Latkes made with potato starch and “matzo meal” made from gf kosher for passover crackers: we didn’t really use a recipe. We grated carrot, zucchini and onion in a food processor, removed the excess liquid and combined the veggies with eggs, potato starch and the crackers (which had been pulsed pulsed in a blender). Then we fried them in oil. It was that easy.

Flourless chocolate cookies: http://food52.com/recipes/19209-divine-gluten-free-chocolate-cookies-no-seriously These were delicious and according to the hostess easy to make. A great anytime gluten-free recipe.

Two of my GFBFFs Prepping Dinner

Gluten-Free Matzo Ball Soup

Gluten-Free Matzo Ball Soup Mix

Gluten-Free Kosher for Passover Crackers

Gluten-Free Veggie Latkes made with zucchini, carrot and onion

Flourless Cookies

Coconut Sugar Cookies (Gluten-Free & Vegan)

March 30, 2014March 19, 2015Leave a comment

These sugar cookies are amazing, simple and not missing a thing. No one will ever know these cookies are gluten-free and vegan. They are great with or without the icing and would make great Christmas cookies. They are perfect for anyone who has a sweet tooth, as the cookie itself is on the sweet side and the icing is basically pure sugar. While gf and vegan, be warned these are decadent little sugar bombs (I think my sugar tolerance has been lowered by all the healthy baking). Also, this icing recipe is a great go to. I had no idea you could make icing with coconut oil, vanilla and icing sugar and no mixer.

Since this recipe is perfectly explained and I made no changes I decided to just share a link. Make sure to try this recipe.

http://www.yammiesglutenfreedom.com/2013/12/chewy-coconut-sugar-cookies-gluten-free.html

Easy Smashed Chickpea Salad (Gluten-Free)

January 14, 2014Leave a comment

This smashed chickpea salad is one of my favorite things to make and it only takes a few minutes. I often make a double batch to eat throughout the week. It is great on it’s own, as a filler in a sandwich or as an addition to a salad. My preference is to serve it on gluten-free toast with mayo.

The simple combo of chickpeas, lemon, red onion and parsley is always perfect. It’s an easy thing to throw together for a group and make in large quantities if you want to bring something that is healthy and gluten-free for everyone to share.

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 TBSP finely chopped red onion
1 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
Zest and juice from half a lemon (you can use more to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
A few TBSPs of olive oil (to taste)

Note: This is really a no measurement recipe. I just gave suggestions, feel free to play with amounts.

Mix everything but the olive oil in a medium sized bowl and lightly smash the chickpea mixture with a fork or a potato masher (I sometimes omit this step if using it as a salad). Add the olive oil and mix it all together.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

4 Ingredient Flourless Gluten-Free PB Cookies

November 8, 2013March 19, 20152 Comments

The are easiest cookies you will ever make

This recipe had been on the back of the Kraft light PB jar since I was first diagnosed with celiac disease and has been a life saver. These take 3 minutes to put together and taste great. I add chocolate or butterscotch chips to mine (this time I added both).

1 cup Kraft Peanut Butter**
1/2 cup white sugar (I use a little less and it works out fine)
1 egg
gf semi-sweet chocolate chips or butterscotch chips (optional)

Heat the oven to 325 F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
In a bowl combine all the ingredients. Mix well with a spoon.
Add as many chocolate chips as you want (or skip this step).
If the dough isn’t firm enough you can put it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Roll cookies into balls and flatten with a fork (any size works, just adjust the cooking time).
Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on your oven. Do not overcook, they harden after 15 minutes.

These cookies are the reason I am quite picky about gluten-free cookies in general. Why pay $8 for 10 packaged, dry cookies when you can make these in less than 20 minutes with 3 inexpensive ingredients you most probably have on hand. These are great to make at last minute when you get invited somewhere and want to bring something fresh baked.

**I don’t think this recipe will work well with natural PB as there are very few ingredients and the consistency of natural PB is quite different. It should work well with other brands of “unhealthy” PB.