Cooking Blues

Sometimes I wonder if cooking is overrated.  Specific ingredients.  Long hours in the kitchen.  Debates between chefs, brands, and what is considered to be healthy.  There's the sink full of dishes... 

Then again, in some shape or form, food is absolutely necessary to be able to go on living -- especially if you are one who keeps close watch as to what you put in your mixing bowl.  When done right, food is down right amazing. Therefore, cooking definitely has high rankings in life.  (No wonder we have so many great cookbooks here!). 

Got the cooking blues and are not sure what to make on this stretch of snow and rainy days?  Sometimes I find myself turning pages until I find something good or go back to a long forgotten favorite.

I highly recommend Gluten Free Italian.  It is sure to be a homey pleaser, and it is one of the top selling gluten free books we have.  Within this cookbook there are many meals that don't contain wheat and are low in sugar.  Try the Spinach and Potato Frittata, breadsticks, Focaccia bread, and the various fettuccine dishes. So far, everything I've made so far has been absolutely delicious.

If you have to eat, you might as well make the best of it right?

cookbooks...they're a huge part of life, you know?

Many people know that I am the children's lit expert here. However, what you may not know, is that I am also quite the expert with allergy-cookbooks. So, you may occasionally see a few spectacular cookbooks reviewed here.

If done right, gluten free foods can be moist and simply amazing! Try out Elizabeth Barbone's Easy Gluten-Free Baking. It has become a staple in my kitchen -- particularly for the desserts.

This cookbook uses minimal ingredients and the base of these recipes is white rice flour -- one of the easier gluten free flours to acquire. Furthermore, even though this book hesitates to use substituted ingredients, I had no trouble making these recipes corn and dairy free.

The chocolate cake is moist and delicious. The brownies practically taste like fudge and even the "normal wheat-eaters" won't be able to tell the difference. Now, the best part of this cookbook is the "Taste Like" section... The Thin Mints are AWESOME! Just ask the staff, they are better than the real things.



Here are some other recipes that sound...heavenly:
chocolate waffles
cranberry bread
double chocolate chip cookies
jam thumbprints
gingerbread cakes and cookies
chocolate pixies
mint brownies
apple pie
pumpkin pie
oreos
twinkies (without all the disgusting preservatives!)

(Is your mouth watering yet? Yummy!)

If you need to buy allergy cookbooks (which now have their own section in our cooking wall of books!) for you or as a gift, come find me. I have more on the shelf to recommend and can help you navigate through them if they are unfamiliar territory for you.

:-d In the words of Julia Child, "Bon Appétit!"