Gluten-Free Matzo

If you saw my post last year, about this time, I was trying to figure out what to do for Passover.  There are several traditional foods eaten during the Seder, a religious service combined with meal, that covers the Exodus from Egypt.  One of the key items is Matzo, a thin sheet of unleavened bread.  Some compare it to a cracker, others to cardboard.  I am one of the rare people who actually enjoy eating matzo.  Granted, by day 5 or 6 of eating it, its not necessarily liking me.  Its generally made of just wheat and water.  From start to finish, it must be made in 18 minutes or less to be considered Kosher for Passover.  There are a few other acceptable grains, but to be gluten free, the only grain acceptable would be oat.  And there are only 2 known distributors of Kosher for Passover gluten-free oat matzo in the world (at least that I have found).  One is out of London, and the other is Lakewood Machine Shmurah Matzoh out of New Jersey. 

Last week I was in Skokie, IL at Hungarian Kosher Foods.  They had most of the Passover groceries out and on the shelves.  I asked about gluten-free matzo, and they hadn't arrived yet.  The man who I asked seemed knowledgeable on the subject, and said that last year they only received 10 boxes.  Ten Boxes.  That's not cases.  Hundreds shop at this store for Passover, and I'm sure more than ten families have gluten issues.  However, it didn't matter.  We were not buying it, because the cost of one box exceeds the cost of 10 boxes of wheat matzo.  I am not exaggerating. 

So what just made my day?  The UPS man rang the bell.  No, it wasn't him.  It was what he was delivering.  I was expecting a package from Amazon, but that wasn't what I got.  Instead, inside was a box of Lakewood Matzoh.  At first I wondered if I accidentally ordered it, but then I realized where it came from.  My in-laws sent it so the Babe could experience a normal part of the holiday.  Super thoughtful of them.  Now I will be guarding it for the next week and half until the holiday to prevent it from damage, and then carefully rationing it out to last us through the holiday.