Milestone Birthdays and Gluten Free Cake

This past weekend we celebrated my sister and my father's birthdays with a joint birthday party. My sister and my dad were born on the same date in July, and both celebrated milestone birthdays this year. My sister turned 30 and my dad turned 65. My mom and I decided to prepare a big party for them both. We chose to do something a little different this year, since we typically just have an outdoor BBQ with hamburgers and steaks. Instead, we hired a catering service called La Cantina Catering to come and prepare the main meal for us, while we provided the appetizers and dessert.

My Son's 5th Birthday Party was a Success!

Over the weekend we threw my son a 5th birthday party for a few of his friends. Last year we went to Chuck E. Cheese, but this year he wanted to go bowling. We checked around, and settled on Woodbridge Bowl, which offers 10 pin bowling, but with lighter balls, ramps, and bumpers. Their party deal was reasonably priced, and included a party size pizza, chips, juice for the kids, and coffee for the parents. We also ordered chicken fingers and fries for the adults.

Like any parent with a child who has food restrictions, I was ready to provide all of my son's food for him, so I was surprised to learn that they could accommodate us to a certain degree. The bowling alley ordered us a gluten free personal pizza for my son, and provided gluten free chips for the chip bowls. It was a little thing, but it meant a lot to my son, who got to eat a pizza that looked just like everyone else's. We served him the chips before all those little gluten-filled hands hit the chip bowls, and everything was fine.

It's a Birthday!

Today is my youngest son's 1st birthday! We had a small party with family over the weekend, and the weather was perfect for a backyard bash. This year has gone by very quickly, but I'm excited to see how much he's grown and changed over the past 12 months. I'm looking forward to what comes next! He is a very sweet child, curious to discover new things and always smiling. I'm a lucky lady to have two beautiful children!



Newborn

 

We opted for a simple pizza lunch, with veggies and potato chips. We couldn't find a pizza place that makes large enough gluten free pizzas to feed the whole party, so we ordered regular pizzas from the bakery that made the cake, and then my son and his cousin made their own gluten free pizzas. All the food was consumed outside, and the kids at their pizzas at their own little picnic table.



The little pizza chefs hard at work

We ordered a gluten and dairy free cake for the event, because I never want my older son to feel left out in his own house. We order all our cakes from the same place, Brookelynn Bistro, a small bakery and bistro close to where we live. We've been eating there since our oldest son was still a baby, and the location went by a different name. The woman who runs it remains the same, and their food is absolutely incredible. The cakes are no exceptions.



The small uneven section at the front is our fault, not the baker's!

We ordered a round, gluten and dairy free cake to serve 10. There were 13 people at the party, and even after feeding everyone I was left with almost half a cake. I sliced it into pieces and froze them separately so that my son will have cake to bring with him when he gets invited to events like birthday parties where there aren't any gluten free desserts.



Triple layer, gluten and dairy free chocolate cake with whipped icing

The birthday boy made it through most of the party, but needed a little catnap near the end. It was great to have everyone over and celebrating with us. A 1st birthday party success!

 

50 Jars of Tomatoes and a Birthday Party

This morning's birthday party was a lot of fun for my son.  We brought along some gluten free hot dogs and hamburgers to match the menu, and I baked a few gluten free cupcakes for him to enjoy as a substitute for birthday cake.  I used the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix to make the cupcakes, and the Duncan Hines fluffy white frosting that I had leftover from when I made the Devil's Food Cake.  They baked up perfectly, were nice and moist, and had a great vanilla flavour.  YUM! 

The only problem we're now encountering is that my son has reached the age where he realizes that his cupcakes are not the same as the birthday cake that everyone else is eating, but he's not old enough yet to really understand why.  I explain to him that the cake will make him sick, but he still doesn't get it.  I think next time I'll try matching the colour of the icing to the cake to perhaps make it seem more similar.  He did enjoy his cupcakes though, and there were no meltdowns, so I'm happy.

On the tomato front, they got done today, and I brought home about 50 jars of freshly canned tomatoes that we can use as sauce, in chili, or soups, or casseroles...the possibilities are endless!  We now have some canned roasted red peppers and some canned tomatoes to get us through the winter.  There's nothing like opening up a jar of tomatoes in the dead of winter knowing that they were preserved right at their freshest point, when the best looking specimens available at the grocery store are pale and nowhere near ripe. 

Weekly menu plan goes up tomorrow! 

Posting will resume properly tomorrow

Today my parents have generously offered to babysit so that my husband and I can go out for my birthday.  My mom is coming over in a few minutes so that we can have the whole day and my dad will arrive after work.  This means that all of my responsibilities for today have been thrown out the window!  Tomorrow I'll be back on track. 

Enjoy your Saturday!

Happy Birthday to Me

Another day, another year older!  Actually, I've never minded my birthdays.  In my family getting older has never been seen as something to dread.  In fact, on both sides of my family there are numerous examples of relatives enjoying every stage of their lives for different reasons, and some who have lived to extremely ripe old ages!  I look back at my past with fondness, but I wouldn't want to go back-there's so much I'm looking forward to that it doesn't make sense to spend all my time wistfully looking backwards!

This morning I woke up to a bouquet of flowers and a very confused two year old who couldn't understand why it wasn't still his birthday!  So we sang a round of Happy Birthday for all three of us, and it was the best way I can think of to start a birthday!  Tomorrow night there's a much deserved night out with my husband thanks to my wonderful, babysitting parents.

As far as birthdays go, so far so good!

Birthday Party Rundown

As mentioned yesterday, the birthday party was a success.  The photos, not so much.  For some reason, most of them are a bit blurry, so excuse the quality.  I wasn't taking the photos, so maybe the camera setting was off.  Everything else was perfect though!  The Sesame Street theme sent my son into a tizzy of excitement, and he insisted on wearing his Elmo pyjama top.  If you look closely, you'll also see that he insisted on putting on his cousin's pink princess shoes and refused to take them off!

The birthday boy, in an Elmo shirt and princess shoes!

He didn't really understand that all the gifts were for him, and once he opened one, he would get completely absorbed in the toy and had to be coaxed back over to open another!  Here's one of his new toys.  My parents bought my husband a real kit that looks about the same for Christmas, so my son was very excited to get a tool kit just like his Dad's!

The kit comes apart, and came with pliers, a hammer, screwdriver, etc.

As I mentioned in this previous post, everything at the party was gluten and dairy free, and no one even noticed.  The only question I had to answer was if there was any bread, and I just explained to everyone that my son can't have it so there were crackers instead.  The food was excellent, and there was very little left over.  My biggest concern was the cake, but once I opened the box all my fears were put to rest.  Look at the masterpiece Terra Mia Bakery put together for us:

We had fifteen people at the party, and we got 24 regular sized slices from it.  The inside was a three layer, double chocolate sponge cake with a whipped cream-style filling.  The cake was light and airy but not dry, and the icing was full of flavour but not overly sweet.  Our guests began questioning how my son could eat the cake with his dietary restrictions.  Everyone was completely surprised when they discovered that the cake contained no gluten and no dairy.

Three layers of chocolate deliciousness!

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As you can see, my son enjoyed it too!

In fact, it was so good that people asked to bring slices home with them.  By the time everyone was gone, this was all that was left.

 

And my husband finished that off before bed!  I'm really happy that the cake was a success because it was the most stressful part of the planning.  Decorations, gifts, invites are pretty straightforward to get ready.  Even the main dishes were fairly simple to plan and order after a bit of research.  The cake was an entirely different matter. We had some bakeries tell us that they could do dairy free OR gluten free, but not both.  The baker we almost went with told us that we should just get an 8 inch cake because most people probably won't like the cake anyway.  The bakery we chose, Terra Mia Bakery, we found by accident, and it felt like the stars had aligned in our favour.  We were quoted for a 10 inch round cake, but the baker put together a larger square cake, with an extra two pieces as the little boxes on top for no extra charge.  The service was fantastic, the price was $45, which is $10 less than all of the other quotes we had received, and the cake was to die for.  As soon as they get a website I'll post it on here for local readers.

I am, however, hoping that someone else got a good shot of my husband, son and I, because this is the only one from my camera, and it's a little blurry.

 

                                                 I guess I can't have everything!

Happy Birthday Etienne!

My little man turned two today, and the birthday party was a success!  Mommy's exhausted, so I'll post a full account tomorrow with photos.  Let me just say before I head off to bed, that his cake ROCKED!  Who said gluten and dairy free can't be delicious?  Seriously, I am thrilled with the bakery who made his Sesame Street themed cake that went above and beyond our expectations.  It was so good people asked to take home the leftovers. 

I'm still getting used to the idea that I'll probably have to stop referring to his age in months soon....

Just a quick note...

Tomorrow is my son's second birthday, and with all the running around to prepare for the party I haven't really had much time to reflect on the past two years.  It seems like it's all happened so fast!  The struggle to get his health in order has been a tough one, but we know that we're blessed to have relatively small concerns.  Watching him change from a helpless baby to a fiercely independent little boy who can run and sing and help get himself dressed has been an amazing experience.  Every day he comes out with some new phrase that makes us laugh, or sings a song I didn't know that he knew. 

So although I still have to wrap his gift and fill out the card, decorate, pick up the food and cake, cut his hair and deal with the check engine light that just popped on in the car, I think I'll make a cup of tea, pull out some photos and take a few minutes to savour the memories of the past two years.

Planning a Gluten and Dairy Free Birthday Party

My son turns two on Sunday, and this is the first year we'll be preparing for a gluten and dairy free party.  The party is mostly family, with just my son and his cousin as the two children.  Since it's in the afternoon, post-lunch and pre-dinner, we decided to go with a simple appetizer style menu that everyone can enjoy.

Here's our menu:

Artisanal Meat Platter: We ordered from Metro (Dominion in some areas).  We spoke with staff and they were very open to ensuring the safety of the tray for our son.  We read the ingredients on the different meats for the tray and approved the brands that were safe.  Black forest ham, roast beef, rosemary ham, Montreal smoked-meat and oven roast turkey.  The staff was helpful and accommodating of our requests. We've ordered from them before, and were happy with the quality and service.  We'll pair it with a few varieties of gluten free crackers instead of bread.  My son refers to any sliced meat as "sandwich", so as long as there's some available, he'll be satisfied.

Grilled Vegetable Platter:  This we ordered from Longo's, because it doesn't come with any cheese.  Again, the service was great, and we were able to check out all the ingredients before agreeing to the order.  The platter has marinated mushrooms, eggplant, roasted red peppers, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes and asparagus.  It will pair nicely with the meat and has enough variety to keep everyone happy!

Salad: We'll put our own together and pick up a gluten free dressing.

Snacks: plain potato chips, GF pretzels, GF candy

Fruit Platter

Gluten and Dairy Free Cake:  We have been looking for a suitable cake for a while now, and I was pleased to discover that there are actually several bakeries that could accommodate us.  We eventually settled on a cake from a bakery that we came across by accident on our way to another place, Terra Mia Bakery.  Unfortunately they don't yet have a website.  The sign outside advertised gluten free cookies and cakes, and we went in.  We settled on a 10 inch, double chocolate cake, with dairy free whipped cream and sugar icing.  My mouth is watering already.  I hope it tastes as good as it sounds!  The bakery bakes their own line of gluten free cookies, which are delicious.  The baker and the owner came out to discuss our needs, and went over all of the ingredients and options with us.  Keeping my fingers crossed!