Thursday, October 15, 2009

In the heart of Mont Royal's plateau neighbourhood, situated on the corner of rue Boyer and rue Rachel, is a tiny, charismatic café called Café Rico. Each Saturday morning, at around 10a.m., I make my way down Avenue du Mont Royal, along Parc Lafontaine, and into this warm, open space. While sipping on a delicious fair trade latte, and listening to the musical flavours of Mahler, Ariane Moffat and others, I am most comfortable preparing my high school classes. The café buzz is a mosaic of languages, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and others. Paintings from Costa Rica hang on the brick walls, complimenting individual tabletops made by a local Montréal artist. Pamphlets and and posters for a variety of social justice events are displayed boldly on the walls. in many ways, Café Rico is a reflection of Montréal's multicultural society, one which embraces differences and demands change for the good of its people.

And for my own good, Café Rico consistently supplies me with three essentials that keep me smiling even on the rainiest of Saturdays. First of all, their Internet is free, and faster than my high speed at home. Secondly, they roast their own beans daily, and provide me with a massive bowl of steaming, smooth coffee complimented with organic cane sugar, and a tiny silver spoon for an astonishing $2.50. However the third reason, a seemingly odd one to those sans dietary restrictions, is that the wonderful "Franish" employees at Café Rico never rain on my parade when I bring in my own gluten free treat to compliment my java beverage.


In a world where Montréal bagels, danishes and croissants line the table of every staff meeting, and pizza is a the number one choice amongst colleagues for late nights in the office, the idea of settling down on a Saturday morning at Café Rico in a worn-in wicker chair with a freshly pulled shot, steamed 2%, and a gluten free chocolate-pecan-cranberry cookie with an almond base center is a heavenly one.

I bet Starbucks wouldn't let me do that.

On a more serious note, and a sadder one also, it is true to say that not everyone in my celiactuation enjoys the same quality of life that I do. I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about Celiac Disease in others shoes besides my own. A couple weeks ago, while randomly searching the net for new recipe ideas, I stumbled across a sixteen year old girl's trial with Celiac Disease. She said, "I absolutely hate living like this, and I often think about cheating on my diet. Whenever I go out with my friends, to the movies, or to a birthday party, I cannot eat one single thing that is served. Ever."

This poor teen is not alone. I imagine all the fathers and mothers of Celiac and gluten intolerant children, who are forced to either up their grocery bill astronomically every month, or make two different meals for their families. Both are time consuming, annoying, and expensive. I think also of senior citizens who get diagnosed with Celiac, after growing up in the 1940's, '50's, '60's and onwards, where Wonder Bread reigned over the bakery section, and even milk formula for babies used flour to "add to substance". Imagine, that after 80 years of developing a particular eating pattern, as we all do, you are told to go home and throw out everything in your cupboards and most of the food in your fridge.

This may sound crazy, over-exaggerated, and dramatic. But for those of you that know me personally (probably everyone reading this entry, but here's to hoping!), it's not.

Underneath all the dietary restrictions, the cost, and the time consumption of the gluten free regime lies an important factor that impedes the lives of gluten free people, that being the intense social restrictions we often feel in a variety of social settings.

A recent article I read in the Toronto Star asserted that sufferers of Celiac Disease often become "socially alienated" due to the inability to partake in normal social outings, by ordering a beer, or a meal that actually comes out safe (not contaminated) and tasty. As sad as this sounds, social alienation amongst Celiac sufferers is a reality when one lacks a close social network of friends and family who truly understand the severity of cross-contamination, and are honestly committed to a safe, holistic, organic, gluten-free approach.

If I had been diagnosed with this disease in my teenage years, I would have been that girl I mentioned a few paragraphs earlier - frustrated, angry, upset, alone, and very likely hungry, as all her friends enjoy an extra-large pepperoni pizza and chocolate cake at a sweet sixteen.

These stories and their characters are true ones, living right here on the island of Montréal. With recent breakthroughs in genetic testing and endoscopic procedures, more and more Canadians are getting diagnosed every day. And unlike peanut allergies, fish allergies, bee stings, and all others that elicit an immediate anaphylactic shock reaction, I have found in the past six months that in some situations our allergy is not treated with the same caution as it needs to be.

The gluten-free community in Montréal needs help! I've been seriously brainstorming, adapting recipes, trying out new desserts, and thinking about ways I can make a difference. Especially in a city such as Montréal, where we are so immersed in French culture, I recognize the fact that people in my city need support, a community, and most importantly, accessible and reasonably priced gluten free cuisine. I see some small progress - there are a couple restaurants who have heard of the allergy, and are willing to make accommodations. There are cafés, like my wonderful Café Rico, who always let me bring in my own goodies. But it's not enough! I imagine all the Montréalers out there who are lost, confused, and burdened by their new and difficult lifestyle.

On a much happier and positive note, we threw the best potluck of all times three weeks ago to celebrate my 24th birthday. About twenty of my closest friends and family gathered with myself and mes nouvelles colocs, all bearing gifts of gluten free side dishes. My little brother made gluten-free cake and icing from scratch. Other dishes included caramelized onion, black bean and cocoa dip, seasoned root vegetables, lentil chili, quinoa with butternut squash, peas and carrots, and crème brulée amongst others. We had two raclettes going simultaneously - A Québécoise grilling tradition that was borrowed from the Swiss. We had Fp2 playing live in the nook space. We had wine, Frenglish conversation, laughter, and a lot of food.

The next day, two of my friends commented that on their walk home, their stomachs felt remarkably fine despite the large amounts of food and drink consumed over the course of the night. We concluded that it was likely because all of our tummies weren't stuffed with white, starchy bread, a staple consumed in mass amounts at most communal suppers.

When feeling low about eating gluten free, organize a dinner where all of your friends bring a small side dish that doesn't contain gluten. Trust me - if your friends love you, no one will be reluctant, and it will actually add a fun and interesting challenge to the whole dinner. Plus, everyone will get to eat great, natural food.

If you're lucky enough to have a raclette, try this pork tenderloin marinade. Make sure to visit your local fromagerie for real raclette cheese! If you don't own a raclette, you can keep the pork rolled, and roast it in your oven.

Ginger-Soy Pork Tenderloin

1 kilogram of fresh (preferably organic) pork tenderloin
1 1/2 cups of gluten free soya sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, or a large tupperware container. Cut up pork into small, bite size pieces (if you are roasting the pork in the oven, you can leave it whole). Marinade for at least two hours, and up to twenty-four hours in the fridge.

Grill on raclette with complimentary vegetables, including bell peppers, mushrooms and asparagus. Melt raclette cheese over a mixture of pork and vegetables, as indicated under the raclette grill. Serve with gluten free toast, or simply as is.