Last week 4 of us went on a holiday to Vancouver and Seattle. Vancouver to visit a dear friend and then on to Seattle to do some US shopping. As Canadians, we have for the last 5 years headed to the west coast and then down to the US. It is really only a 11 hour drive to the coast and we always have a great time there.

In Vancouver, we always head to the Granville Market to check out fresh produce and many varieties of food and flavors to try. This year was no exception and here are a few photos of the Market.

After a great weekend with our friend Gabe, the four of us then drove down to Seattle to do some shopping. One of our favorite things to do in Seattle is spend some time downtown at the Public Market.

If you love fresh produce and local food this is the place to go. Last year when we were there the temperature had risen to 104 degrees-too hot for me! I was glad that this time the temperature was in the mid 90’s-still hot, but better than a 100. Of course, one of the first things you need to do is stop at the Starbucks on the street, and grab a cold drink. For your info the birthplace of Starbucks is in Seattle.

Make sure you spend a few minutes watching the fun at Pikes Fish Market. This year, we became part of the antics and had fish thrown over our heads. Plus, you get to sample buttery smoked salmon and fresh crab legs.

Check out the store MarketSpice for jars of spices and my son Davids favorite, a couple boxes of there Earl Grey tea.

There is a long row of many vendors offering fresh produce.

One of my favorites this year were the sweet and crunchy sugar peas-everyday I bought a large bag of peas for $5.

Here is what my son David had for breakfast that day. A giant crab leg.

This year we decided to do a harbour cruise. And it is definitely something that I would highly recommend to do. Especially when the temperature is rising: the breeze off the water is wonderful. We took the 2 ½ hour cruise through Puget Sound, the locks through to Lake Washington. Before going, we popped into the Public Market and took us a picnic along. Delicious on a hot summer day. Here are a few photos of our boat cruise.

Here is the Sleepless in Seattle house. Alyssa and I were so excited to see and take pictures of it.

By the way, the house is for sale for $3 million dollars, if you are looking for a vacation home.

As a gluten free person, I found that there was a lot of very good food for me to eat.
I had gluten free Chinese food at PF Chang’s China Bistro in Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood. The manager Kory Mackenzie gave us outstanding service as well as our server Jordan. Check out there gluten free menu online with many options available.

I had my favorite, a gluten free, soft and chewy oatmeal cookie called the Monster Cookie at Cinnamon Works, which is located along the Public Market.

At the University Village shopping district, we had a fabulous lunch at Sonrisa Modern Mex restaurant. Nothing I love better than fresh Mexican food done really well.

Well Kevin and I are back from our week in LA. We stayed at the lovely Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach. The weather was fantastic, and we basically relaxed in the sun and sand for the week.

Eating Gluten-free for the week was no problem. I found that I could eat off most menus and did not get ill. Well, I did one night, but that was my fault. We ate at Café Pierre in Manhattan Beach and the food was incredible. I had ordered the frisee salad with farmstead cheddar, soft poached egg, and pancetta. All seemed fine until the salad arrived. My poached egg was actually breaded. Yes, I should have sent it back. But all of us celiacs do this at times. I did not want to bother anyone. I did not want to seem fussy. But my main course was roasted jidon chicken breast with baby artichokes. I have never, ever, in my life had such good chicken. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

So, yes, the next day I was ill and spent a lot of time in the washroom. But again, it was not the restaurants fault. It was mine. We also ate at Rock’n Fish restaurant in Manhattan Beach. The first time we were there I ordered the super spicy bbq shrimp. Delicious!

The second time we went, I actually asked if it had any wheat in the sauce-and our waitress, Danielle, informed me that they had a gluten free menu. The manager of the restaurant has celiacs and wanted food that she could eat too. And guess what? My “new awlins hot bbq shrimp” was on the gluten free menu.

I also had for the first time “oak-grilled artichokes with garlic aioli”. Hmmmmmm…yummy! My husband wasn’t really impressed. Thought they tasted like nothing for the amount of “choke” you get. I was thrilled with my grilled goodness.

Another place we discovered to have lunch was Chipotle Mexican Grill. This restaurant was recently featured on Oprah. The founder of this chain wanted to open a fast food restaurant that used fresh, non-greasy, local ingredients. I was very impressed. Both times I had the chicken salad. Lettuce, grilled chicken, a choice of salsas, corn,fresh avocado, etc. The salad, which was huge was $5.95! It tasted great and the avocado had a nice bite to it.

My husband had the chicken burrito, which when rolled up, needed 2 hands to hold on to.

So I am sharing some photos of our trip. Especially here in Calgary, where all we see is a lot of brown outside. And we also got snow while we were away, it was fabulous to see lots of green, flowers, and feel warm sun everyday.

Happy Easter Everyone! I am off to California for a week of sun and sand. Thought I would leave you with a lovely lemon dessert to look at.

Lemon cake infused with lemon zest,
Homemade lemon curd with 1 cup of fresh lemon juice,
Whipped cream folded into lemon curd for the icing,
Strawberries, Raspberries and blueberries marinating in Lemoncello.

Too much lemon?
You will have to try it and see.
I will post recipe when I get back.

This weekend we spent in Kananaskis country.

My husband’s company had their annual weekend away Christmas party.

It is a great time to spend catching up with co-workers and their families-plus spending time with our own.

This year only my youngest came with us-so Kevin and I still had a lot of time by ourselves relaxing.

We stayed at the Delta Kananaskis Lodge and because this is my second year of being gluten-free, I was very comfortable staying there. They are quite accommodating for me, and that is one less thing for me to worry about when I am away.

I was quite impressed, on Friday morning-when I attended the breakfast held in the Signature club- they had gluten-free muffins available. They were quite good, and even had real carrots grated in them.

In the restaurant, when I mention that I am celiac-they take time making our meal, making sure all the cookware is cleaned and no cross-contamination happens.

My only disappointment was in the Saturday function. Everyone else had a lovely pumpkin panna cotta-Me? I got fresh fruit.

Now-I love fruit, it is just every year. I get fruit! There are so many lovely desserts that they could make for all to enjoy.

What about crème caramel?

Crustless cheesecake?

Flourless dark chocolate cake?

All these everyone could enjoy!!

But, please-if you are traveling through the mountains in Alberta- I highly recommend the Delta Kananaskis Lodge.

The views are breathtaking!

The service is warm and welcoming!

And there is nothing better on a cold winter day, then to snuggle up on the couch and sit by there roaring fire either on the Signature side or in the main lodge.

Here are some more winter photos from the weekend.

We ourselves came back to a winter storm in Calgary- Here is what the front of the house looked like.

Yikes!

One thing I have found since being in Texas, is there really are NO gluten-free bread products.

I have been to 3 different grocery stores here: Randalls (a Safeway company), HEB, and Super Walmart.

In Calgary my Safeway has 2 different freezers to find bread products. I can get various Gluten-Free breads, muffins, and pizza crusts from Kinnikinnick.

I also have another freezer where I can find GLUTINO products-breads, bagels, and pizza crusts. I can also get gluten-free frozen waffles from a company called Lifestream.

Here, in Texas. I find none of these options, or anything else gluten free.

I have even asked at these stores if they have anything. All, I get is a blank look of “What is gluten free?” It surprises me that there is nothing available to people with celiac’s disease. Well-here in Woodlands, Texas I have not found anything.

With 1 out of 100 people suffering with celiacs-I am not sure what most Americans do.

Now, the one thing they do have here though is gluten free Chex cereal. 2 kinds are available: rice and corn. Both are labeled gluten-free and are really good.

I have enjoyed eating cereal every morning while being here. I will miss my morning treat… as Chex is NOT available in Canada.

Ahh..travelling…I love to travel. I have learned in the last couple of years to be much more patient and to go with the flow. I am off to Texas for 2 weeks to visit my girlfriend. And as it always seems to be, getting from Calgary to Houston is not as easy at it seems.

Weather in Calgary lately has not been great. Winter came very early for us-which meant snow, icy roads and cold.

My flight was supposed to leave at 8:15am but in the night Calgary got a lot of snow. I knew my flight might leave a little late, but I underestimated how late we would be. We boarded the plane after 8 and I was thinking, so far so good. It wasn’t until all passengers were seated and the door was closed-did the pilot get on the mic and inform us that there was a long line up for de-icing so we were sitting for a hour. Well, 50 minutes later, the pilot got on the mic again to say that a plane heading to de-icing had gotten stuck in the snow-so it was at least another hour to wait. As it ended up, we sat on the plane for 3 hours! Not leaving until 11am.

Was I upset? No! There was nothing I could do about the delay and I knew sometime that day I would be in TEXAS!

Being celiac actually helped me in this situation, because I always carry food wherever I go. We all know that airlines do not provide food anymore, and the one’s that do make us pay for it. I can’t eat any of it anyways so I pack my own. THANK goodness, I did today. My gluten free english muffin, that I made at 5 am, came in very handy when I was hungry.

What about the other passengers?

What about the poor businessman who thought he would eat lunch when he got into Houston?

Our 3 1/2 hour flight ended up being 6 1/2 hours on the plane-most passengers were probably starving-or they ended up spending $10-20 on junk food.
Me? Not only did I have the muffin but I had other snacks in my bag (like sesame snaps – I always carry sesame snaps in my purse)

In a wierd way, being gluten-free has made me a better traveller. For I am better prepared for the ups and downs of travelling.
Eventually, I did make it to Houston. And I am enjoying my time with my girlfriend. In my next blog I will let you know how my gluten-free journey in Texas goes.