Some of my favourite memories I have are going to my Aunt’s house to help make her famous, homemade pizza. In Italian, we refer to an Aunt, as “Zia.” Now, my Zia Nadia cannot be simply described, as being my favourite Zia—which she of course she is! My Zia Nadia is my number one cheerleader, and the person I can call to talk about anything.

When I was younger, I used to pretend that I had a famous talk-show. I called it, “The Julia Show!” For the record, I was pretty proud of that name. In my defence, I was ten when I came up with it. On the show, I portrayed the role of the stereotypical, chatty talk-show host. My Zia had the role of an esteemed chef from Milan, Italy, who was suppose to teach me and my millions of (non-existent) viewers how to make authentic, Italian pizza.

I can still vividly remember parading around my Zia’s kitchen, in a Minnie-Mouse themed apron, holding onto a karaoke microphone, as I spewed out a million questions that she was obligated to create answers too. See, I wasn’t lying when I told you, I was one talkative, little girl. 

Telling my Zia Nadia that I was going gluten and dairy free was easy because she is such an accommodating person. Another thing I love about my Zia Nadia is, she never fails to be understanding and supportive of me; I know she’s always in my corner no matter what. 

I told my Zia that I was feeling slightly depressed about not being able to indulge in eating her pizza anymore. My Zia told me not to fret; she was going to research into food blogs (she’s a big fan of them), and find a recipe for gluten-free pizza. I told her it wouldn’t be able to compete with her homemade one, but she reassured that she would find something as tasty. 

My Zia and I spent the next few Sundays trying to make a gluten and dairy free pizza. No matter how promising, or even appetizing the images on the blogs looked, all the pizzas that we produced were not like hers; let me tell you! It was quite frustrating!!

My Zia, however, refused to admit defeat. She relentlessly researched and finally stumbled across a blog called Keto Diet. On this blog, she discovered another recipe for gluten-free dough called, Thin Keto Pizza Crust. The following Sunday I went to her house, and she and I decided to give this recipe a try.

This Crust is composed of almond flour, and coconut flour. You can check out the image below of how the pizza crust looks.

Slajerova , Martina. “Thin Keto Crust Pizza .” KetoDiet, ketodietapp.com/Blog/lchf/thin-keto-pizza-crust.

After the pizza finished cooking, my Zia and I were both so anxious to have a bite of it. I picked up a slice of the pizza, and my Zia followed suit. We had topped our pizza with Daiya mozzarella style shreds, roasted red peppers, soft mushrooms, and thinly, sliced black olives. I took a small bite and my mouth was instantaneously, bombarded with intense flavour. 

My Zia and I were so thrilled that our pizza was a success that we high-fived, and then went to devour the delicious, piping hot pizza.

I chose to share this story with you, my readers, because it taught me a valuable lesson. It made me learn that food can be used as a medium that people discover commonality with, and therefore, forge a bond over. My Zia and I’s mutual love for Italian pizza is what forged our relationship, and pathed the way for the two of us to become super close. Through the act of making and eating the pizza, my Zia and I shared stories, exchanged book reviews, and had our own talk show. This also made me learn that liking the same food can also be a bridge that leads people to find other common interests, which can also further strengthen the bond of a relationship.

I think it was important for my Zia to find an alternative pizza recipe because she wanted to ensure that we still got together a few times a month to make pizza because it was something special we shared. 

She had nothing to worry about because nothing would ever be capable of changing the close-knit relationship we share. Even if we could not have discovered a replacement pizza recipe, my Zia Nadia and I would have just had to find another one of our favourite, Italian dishes to create together.

References List:

Slajerova, Martina. “KetoDiet.” KetoDiet, ketodietapp.com/Blog.

Slajerova , Martina. “Thin Keto Pizza Crust.” Thin Keto Pizza Crust, ketodietapp.com/Blog/lchf/thin-keto-pizza-crust.

Do you ever dread going out to eat with your family or your friends? Do you ever feel anxious when you go to a restaurant, and you have to bombard your server with questions to clarify that the dish you are ordering is free of any ingredients you are allergic or intolerant too? If you have said yes to all of the following questions, then you know exactly how I feel.

Last month was my birthday, and I wanted to go out and have a celebration with my friends. The problem was many restaurants have limited gluten and dairy-free options. The only dish I seem to order regularly is salad with grilled chicken. When it comes to the dessert menu, choices are even slimmer.

There goes my idea of having a special birthday dinner. Just when I was going to give up all hope, I stumbled upon a restaurant called, Sorelle and Co. Sorelle and Co. is a restaurant that serves all gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and vegan dishes and desserts. There are two locations in Ontario; one is located in 1050 Rutherford Rd in Vaughan, and the other is located at 161 Yorkville Ave in Toronto.

According to the Sorelle and Co. website, the inspiration for the restaurant came from a woman, who’s five daughters suffered from a variety of food allergies, such as, gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, and nuts. This motivated the girls’ mother to create the restaurant, as a safe place where her daughters could go to eat.

I knew that it would be the perfect place to host my birthday because not only it would accommodate my diet restrictions, but it would also accommodate a good friend of mine. Jess has gluten and dairy intolerances and is vegan. She is definitely someone that can relate to my struggles.

At my birthday dinner, it was such a treat to experience going to a restaurant and being handed a menu where I could choose anything that is featured on it. For once in my life, I had many options in regards to what I was going to eat; for a minute, I didn’t even know what to pick!

Being Italian, I decided on lasagna since I have not eaten it in years. The food was absolutely delicious. Check out this picture of the food we ate.

My favourite part, however, was selecting a dessert! Oh my goodness! Walking up the counter where they had the freshly baked desserts on display felt like I was a kid in a candy store. The desserts varied from cupcakes to cookies, to donuts, to cakes, and they even had smores.

The dessert I picked out was a vanilla-glazed donut that was embellished with multi-coloured candy sprinkles. My review of the doughnut can be summed up in one word: Yum! Each bite was to die for and honestly better than the last.

Here is a picture of the yummy desserts we enjoyed!

Now, if you are craving desserts as much as I am after writing this, you can check out this blog I found called Gluten, Sugar, Dairy Free Lifestyle, and try their sweet dessert recipes. My favourite recipe that I’ve tried is one for Pumpkin Cake.

I believe that focusing on nurturing the special connections that matter the most to us is what makes life more enjoyable and meaningful. I think that Sorelle and Co. is the perfect place to go to with family or friends because of how inclusive it is. It is a place where anyone no matter what their dietary restrictions are can go to indulge in good food, as they bond with the closest people in their life to celebrate birthdays, milestones, and other special occasions.

I highly recommend that the next time you go out to eat, you visit one of the locations of Sorelle and Co. I know, you will not regret it!

References List:

DeBerge, Michelle. “Home.” Gluten Sugar Dairy Free LifeStyle, 6 Feb. 2019, glutensugardairyfree.com/.

Sorelle and Co., http://www.sorelleandco.com/.