Oh, give me a home . . . where gluten-free is the norm . . .

Several weeks before Christmas, my parents took JFG and me to a veritable gluten-free wonderland in Phoenix. Gluten-Free Creations, located on Thomas Rd., bills itself as "your gourmet made-from-scratch" bakery specializing in gluten- and wheat-free baked goods, held an open-house where, for a set fee, we could sample almost all of their baked goods.

Here's what's amazing about Gluten-Free Creations. Their sale space is a brick hut, in a not-great-part-of-town, behind another business (I think it's a used car lot, or a tire store, or something along those lines). It's tiny, with a small staff, a small kitchen, and several teeny refrigerators. And yet, for this tasting, they managed to make almost a dozen kinds of cookies and bars, meatballs, sandwiches, pigs-in-a-blanket, cakes, pies and other holiday treats. At the end of the tasting, they sent us home with four packages of delicious cookies. I was completely stuffed and didn't even try everything.

For those of you with celiac disease or a wheat allergy, you know what a blessing it is to be able to eat everything on the table, with no fear. We, along with the other families at the event, were like grateful pilgrims experiencing a minor miracle. Maybe not like the healing of the lame, but perhaps like a crying statue.

JFG may have different preferences, but I recommend:

M&M cookies

mint chocolate chip cookies

brownies

chocolate donuts (yes, really!)

pumpkin bread

sandwich bread

hamburger buns (these made bacon blue-cheese hamburgers possible for JFG again -- not sure that's a good thing; they taste better toasted)

seven-layer bars

pecan oatmeal cranberry bars

But I would try anything they they made, honestly. I'm anxious to sample the angelfood cake mix, and have several bread mixes I haven't even cracked open yet! The website does not list all of their products, so if you're in Phoenix I really recommend driving ALL THE WAY downtown to check them out. They also provide food (mostly bread and pizza crust) to dozens of restaurants in town, as well as gift certificates.

You'll need the gift certificates, by the way. Although their products are almost as good and in some cases as good as glutenized equivalents, this is still a boutique grocery store. The food carries a hefty price tag -- buy only if you really intend to eat . . . or wait for another tasting event. Definitely worth it. Thanks, Mom!