When you or your child has been diagnosed with
severe food allergies, it really comes down to two choices. You can either keep
trying to make multiple versions of everything at meal time or you can choose
to move everyone over to the allergy free side of things. Elizabeth Gordon
faced that problem as she explains in the introduction to the recently released
Complete
Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook:
Every Recipe Is Free Of Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nuts, and Eggs and
went with the later decision. That resulted in this cookbook which also tries
to help users deal with the high cost of such a diet.
After the introduction explaining how the book came about there is a six page dictionary of ingredients with detailed explanations. That is followed by a three page detailed explanation regarding various substitutions which is then followed by a conversion page for metrics. With the basics out of the way it is on to the recipes.
The recipes begin with “Breakfast Goodies” section
that features 13 recipes. Beyond the expected suggestions for granolas of
different types there are recipes for “Biscuits” (pages 6-7), “Jelly Donuts”
(pages 10-11) and “French Toast” (pages 16-17) among others. Each recipe opens
with a small anecdote, features detailed instructions along with the ingredient
list, and in most cases has a tip of some sort regarding substitution,
freezing, storage, etc. along with a color photograph of the dish.
Unfortunately, there is not any nutritional information regarding fats, sugars,
salt, etc. with any of the recipes in the book.
“Starters” begins on page 24-25 and features 11
recipes. “Italian Wedding Soup” (page 28) is here as is “Corn Chowder” (page
31) and “Buffalo Wings” (pages 32-33) among others. Some items, such as “Pigs
in a Blanket” (pages 36-37) could do double duty as a breakfast item while “Nachos”
(pages 38-39) definitely belongs here.
11 different types of “Salads” come next with Dijon Vinaigrette
flavored “Potato Salad” (pages 44-45) starting things off. Also here are
recipes for “Tabbouleh” (pages 48-49), “Pasta Salad” (pages 52-53) and
“Coleslaw” (page 56) among others.
If you can’t eat eggs, most condiments are out of
the question. Elizabeth Gordon shows you how to deal with this in “Condiments,
Dressing, and Basics.” If you are looking for “BBQ Sauce” (Page 61), “Mayo”
(page 62) or even “Croutons” (page 66) among other things this is a section to
check.
“Main Courses” comes up next starting on pages 68-69
and features 33 recipes. In addition to several dealing with beef and chicken,
there are recipes for “Corn Dogs” (pages 70-71), “Tamale Pie” (pages 82-83),
“Sloppy Joe” (pages 86-87), “Chicken Soft Tacos” (pages 106-107) and “Pizza”
(pages 114-115) among others.
You have to have “Sides” and you have them here. Whether
you want “Hush Puppies” (pages 126-127), “Oven Baked Fries” (pages 132-133) or
“Onion Rings” (pages 142-143) there is something here. The Onion Rings use the
author’s “All-Purpose Breading” (page 66) used on several dishes scattered
throughout the book.
One can’t forget “Desserts.” The 22 recipes in this
section starting on pages 145-146 feature such delectables as “Mint Thin
Wafers” (page 147), “Double Chocolate Chip Ice Cream” (pages 158-159) and
“Cherry Pie” (page 162-163) among others.
The book closes with a five page section on where to
shop for the ingredients, a one page acknowledgement, and a four page index. A
one paragraph author bio completes the book.
Despite the lack of nutritional information
regarding fats, calories, protein, etc., this is a well done cookbook. The
photographs by Susan Byrnes provide a very nice touch to the wealth of
information in the Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook: Every Recipe Is Free Of Gluten, Dairy, Soy,
Nuts, and Eggs. Variety in the dishes is also present with many much
easier than some others to make, but all are geared to please the maximum
number of people possible.
Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook: Every Recipe Is Free Of Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nuts, and Eggs
Elizabeth
Gordon
Photography
by Susan Byrnes
Lyons
Press (imprint of Globe Pequot Press)
January
2012
ISBN#
978-0-7627751-8
Hardback
208
Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2012
Author of the e-book short story collection Mind
Slices available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords in a
variety of formats. Contributor to the Carpathian Shadows, Volume II anthology
available in print and e-book.
3 comments:
I am trying to decide if my son's issues may be his diet. This looks like a helpful cookbook. I think if I used the recipes and eliminated all the allergy types of food, we may see some improvements. Thank you for the review. My favorite cookbook that I use every day in the kitchen is called, "Holly Clegg's trim&TERRIFIC KITCHEN 101: Secrets to Cooking Confidence" by author Holly Clegg. This a how to book on cooking, which includes tools, tips and recipes for anyone who wants to learn how to improve their cooking. I am learning to be a much better cook from this book. http://www.hollyclegg.com
Hope it helps with your son. Thanks for reading and commenting, Lauren.
You are welcome!
Post a Comment