Bakery goods

So one of the things you obviously miss when you can not eat gluten, is bread. That's pretty much the only thing I can't eat whose absence still rips my heart out on occasion. Sometimes Mr. Pick-it-Up will buy a french loaf (still warm) and start chunking butter onto it and gnawing at it right in front of me. Although he apologizes, his eyes glaze over and he sails away on a sea of ecstasy, so I can never really vouch for the level of sincerity in his proclamation. It's really sad that a man who simply cannot live without bread, butter and peanut butter should end up married to someone with a (potential) gluten intolerance. Seriously. That's a gigantic kick in the butt by lady luck. He must have really made someone mad in a past life, and that person must be having quite a chuckle at his current "situation". Forget the fact that I also don't eat red meat- have I mentioned that before?

So where my sister lives, there are a lot of granola munching, tree-hugging folk who appreciate the beauty of food that is organic, non-genetically-modified, free from ingredients most reasonably intelligent folk cannot pronounce, etc. So when we visited her local grocery store to find out what the gluten-free selection might be, I wasn't just shocked, I was bowled over, inspired and GREEN with envy. There is an entire section of fresh-baked (yes, I said FRESH- not FROZEN) bread, muffins, cookies, granola, pizza crust, scones, etc. all based on brown rice flour. Oh...sweet....mercy.... I died. Seriously. This is UNHEARD of in my neck of suburbia though this is making me re-think a little trip out to yuppy-land near me as this might be quite common where the hip and beautiful people live. Anyways, I bought a seedy bread, some cheese and herb buns, some fresh granola bars, and today, PIZZA CRUST. Now, I actually order gluten-free pizza from my local joint at home and I can say that it may as well be baked on the box itself. However, I'm pleased to have something to eat that resembles the pizza that "normal people" eat. But the pizza crust I had tonight actually made me smile, and I did not in any way feel jealous of my sister and the kids for eating their spelt/corn crust that we found there too. Mine SERIOUSLY rocked. We put pesto on instead of red sauce for the base, and found a nacho-flavoured soy cheese that was SO incredible. I put some organic mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes on it, then topped it with some torn fresh basil shreds. HEAVEN. I seriously was having an "I-remember-when-it-didn't-suck-to-eat-like-me" moment.

I hope all of you have that same feeling when you sit down for dinner tonight...or tomorrow...and the next night...

Bakery goods