Life Tastes Good Again

 More of my history- From the time I became aware of Celiac Disease, celiacs ate bread from the health food store that resembled some sort of dry composite material. It was nothing like food or like bread for that matter, but we were thankful to have it. Disappointed, but thankful. I remember buying this bread that had unearthly long use by dates at a high price and hungrily eating it.

In the late 80's I found a little cookbook in a health food store with recipes using just rice flour. They were not too palatable. The one thing I did like was a ginger cake recipe with a thick lemon sauce. I would pull a piece out of the fridge and pour the thick pudding like lemon sauce over top and heat it in the microwave. The sauce lubricated the cake enough that it could be chewed swallowed and enjoyed.

I remember facing the celiac diet in the work place. I remember eating potato chips and sliced turkey from the deli out of desperation and so much rice! This was the life. Life before I knew about Bette Haagman, xanthan gum and pre-labelling laws. Blessed labelling laws.

Finally some help-
Sadly, the story did not continue quickly.
In 2005 I heard about a cooking class for Celiacs at Macey's grocery store. I attended and tasted a bread recipe from Kirsti Kirkland and Betsy Thomas'
Life Tastes Good Again cookbook.  I quickly made this bread for my celiac mother. We were all thrilled. Gluten free baking with new flours that was more than edible. It had become enjoyable.
Waffles? Cookies? Pizza? Really? What a help this has been.

Soon after that our suspicions were confirmed I had celiac offspring.
Now staples at our house included; Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Potato Starch, Xanthan gum and other odd things. We also buy Masa and other things that are naturally gluten free. Feeding celiac family members is an expensive problem to solve.
But, there are many who have struggled, worked and shared their knowledge and learning willingly.

These ladies sell their cookbook online and they are worth every penny, but in addition they share their recipes online at no cost. They have also developed a line of mixes for the busy or less adventurous cook. (The waffle mix is my favorite.)

Feeding celiac family members is tough at best, but recipes that you can trust beat feeding the garbage disposal expensive flops!

Best Wishes!