Tide & Boar is a Little Bit Boring for Celiacs

Our second place on our U.S.-bound road trip last week was The Tide & Boar, a gastropub in Moncton. Pubs can be tricky for Celiacs to eat at, but I was hopeful that this would actually be a gastropub, which typically focuses on fresh, local food.

We were off to a good start when I asked about gluten-free options and was told that there was a gluten-free menu. Michael ordered one of the craft beers on tap while I stuck with a Diet Pepsi since we still had the drive to Woodstock ahead of us. (They do have Mongozo beer and Magners’ cider, which are both gluten-free. The selection isn’t as nice as their regular beer menu but it’s nice to have some options.)

The waiter quickly came back with the gluten-free menu, which is just a copy of the regular menu with notations as to what can be made gluten-free. The waiter also explained that they do not have a dedicated fryer. This meant that many of the items marked gluten-free aren’t suitable for Celiacs.

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Jane’s Gluten-Free Foods is Worth the Drive

I’ll be honest: I’m not a huge fan of health and natural food stores. Sure, they might have some gluten-free stuff, but it’s often super expensive and so health-ified that no normal person would want to consume it. Because of this, I haven’t made too much of an effort to get to Moncton to visit Jane’s Gluten-Free Foods.

However, we passed through Moncton on our way to the United States last week, and I finally decided to stop in. Am I ever sorry that I didn’t make it up sooner! The entire store is gluten-free with lots of vegan, vegetarian, organic, and dairy-free options. You’ll find brands that you recognize as well as lots of unique items. I’ve never seen a bigger selection of Udi’s products in one place! As well, the store is extremely clean and well-organized, making it easy to find what you’re looking for.

I wished that we were going right home so that I could really stock up. However, I eventually decided on the following items:

• Schar’s cheese puffs
• Cup 4 Cup flour
• Bakery on Main granola bars
• Rudi’s plain tortillas

Most of these brands are very hard to find in Canada – I usually drive to Bangor for Schar’s products, for example.

The best place to get information about what Jane’s is currently carrying is on Facebook or Twitter. They have a new website, too, that’s just getting set up. If you make the trip, we’d love to hear what kind of goodies you bring back!

What’s For Dinner? Soy-Glazed Scallops!

Why We Love It

This light, fresh meal can be prepared in minutes. It’s easy enough for a weeknight supper and fancy enough for weekend entertaining.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground ginger (you can also use dried)
• About 12 large scallops (about one and a half pounds)
• One pepper (any color), onion, or other vegetable (or use a combination of veggies)
• Four wooden or metal skewers

Method

1. Preheat barbeque to medium.
2. If using wooden skewers, soak them in a bowl of water.
3. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and ginger. Put half the marinade into a plastic container, add the scallops, and mix together. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
4. Place the other half of the marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat and allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Chop vegetables into chunks.
6. After scallops have finished marinating, thread scallops and vegetables alternately onto skewers.
7. Barbeque skewers for about three minutes per side, basting with boiled marinade.

Tips

• Marinate the scallops as you’re heating up the grill.
• You can also broil the scallops for the same amount of time.
• Serve the skewers with a side of steamed rice to create a complete meal.

(Original Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/soy-glazed-scallops)

10 Fast, Easy, Gluten-Free Meal Ideas

As the days get longer and warmer, who wants to spend a ton of time in the kitchen? Luckily, we’ve got 10 easy, fast, gluten-free meal ideas that are sure to please the whole family.

Quinoa Salad

This quinoa recipe is ready in about half an hour. To speed things up, make a batch of quinoa on the weekend and then just mix in your veggies and dressing. You can also add grilled fish to this recipe, which usually takes about 10 minutes to prepare.

Grilled Fish

In fact, grilled fish is one of our favourite fast meals! For something a little fancier, try these Garlic-Ginger Salmon Packets.

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Piez Bistro Serves Up Delicious Pizza Pies!

I first heard of Piez Bistro a few months ago, when a Facebook friend liked and shared their page. The picture of a gluten-free blueberry Danish posted one morning was enough to make me drool! Not long after, The Chronicle Herald posted a very positive review. This led to a conversation on Facebook and Twitter about their gluten-free options and practices. The owner’s young daughter has Celiac disease, leading her to create a gluten-friendly bistro. Although their kitchen is not completely gluten-free, everything is made from scratch on-site and they are very aware of cross-contamination.

Last Friday was a dreary day, and I was feeling under the weather due to an impending cold. I decided that some gluten-free pizza was just what I needed! We made the drive over to Dartmouth and arrived at Piez Bistro in the midst of the supper rush. All six tables were occupied, and the tables outside were out of the question due to the weather. There was also a lineup around the counter. However, that gave us time to review the chalkboard-style menu hanging over the order counter/kitchen area.

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