Holiday Orders, Redux

Well, Easter has come and gone, and boy, did we enjoy some wonderful baked goods this holiday!

Our menu changed somewhat from what we had originally planned. When my sister-in-law went to place our order for bakery items at Mr. Ritts, she found that most of the products we had chosen were no longer available, and had to wing it. She did a great job, I have to say.

In lieu of the coffeecake, we got cinnamon biscotti -- the perfect breakfast treat, particularly for coffee lovers like me. There was no discernible difference in texture or flavor from regular (read: gluten) biscotti. Instead of the almond macaroons, the mock oatmeal raisin cookies made for a nice treat to snack on throughout the weekend -- even the non-celiacs thought they tasted good. We also got an apple torte of some sort, which, unfortunately, I couldn't have as it wasn't dairy-free, but which I understand was excellent.

The orange angel food cake served for dessert Saturday night (and then again at brunch Sunday morning) was an absolute hit. It truly was wonderful; we all loved it, and felt that it even was better than a traditional angel food. The slight citrus flavor was delicate, the cake itself was dense and moist. We certainly will be ordering this one again.

The crowning dessert for the weekend was the carrot cake. Mr. Ritts offers a dairy-free vanilla frosting, so the cake came beautifully decorated, as well as safe for all of us to eat. Again, we all enjoyed it. If you have an event and are looking for a dessert to make a sensation, I would put this cake at the top of the list. It's sure to be a crowd-pleaser, for both celiacs and non-celicacs alike.

To check out the current product list for Mr. Ritts Gluten-free Bakery, visit www.mrritts.com.

So, we ended up having to be flexible about what we wanted -- and that was more than fine. I think we all were happy with how the menus turned out. More and more, I'm finding that flexibility is a key component in handling a restricted diet. If you can be flexible with your expectations, generally, dealing with the restrictions is quite manageable. It may not always be easy -- in my case, to be gluten-free, casein-free and soy-free -- but it is manageable.