Gluten, Wheat, & Dairy Free Cookbook Review

Kayleigh here. Continuing our foray into gluten free cookbooks, we were recently given the chance to borrow gluten, wheat, & dairy free, a cookbook compiled under the group name Love Food. As the name suggests, this cookbook covers everything from breakfast to dessert with an enormous variety of cuisines and flavor profiles to choose from. Being the adventurous foodies we are, nearly every recipe in this book sounded tempting just from the ingredient list, but the food photography really hit it home, displaying a mouthwatering close-up of each and every dish in the book. If you are not hungry when you start flipping through the pages, this will quickly change.

As opposed to many of the cookbooks we have reviewed here in the past, this one is unashamed to ask for ingredients like all-purpose gluten free flour and dairy-free cream cheese in its allergen-free pages. If you are like us and don’t really keep a bread or AP flour substitute on hand, just use a blend you have had success with in the past. But if you have found a tried and true store-bought mix, or are making one of the many flourless entrees in the book, then no substitutions are necessary!

Going for the most unusual entry of the cookbook, we made the Golden Pilaf. Hearty buckwheat makes for the bulk of it, but it is the orange juice-soaked onions, nutty pine nuts, and plumply sweet raisins that drive the flavor. We made a double batch of it on the weekend, and found it lost none of the delightful taste and texture as microwaved leftovers even a week later. Try serving it with a fried egg on top, and mix the liquid yolk into the dish- it adds an amazing richness!

Another dish we made with delicious success was the Shrimp Noodles- a wonderful coconut/peanut butter curry with bright bell peppers, crisp bok choy, and sweet shrimp standing in colorful contrast to the rich golden sauce. I love how this dish calls for rice noodles instead of plain white rice, since it just seems to compliment the noodle-like strips of vegetables much better.

Jason here. This cook book has a lot of cool recipes in it. As silly as it seems, I like cook books that are heavy on pictures. My own method of finding meals revolves less around thinking up a food type or item, and finding a recipe similar to it in a cook book, and more of flip through the pictures until something strikes my fancy. Like Kayleigh mentioned, every recipe in the book has a full page picture of the finished product. 

This leads me into my next compliment to this book. It is simply well presented. I’ve looked through other cookbooks which try to cram in as many recipes as possible, and read more like a newspaper. Gluten, Wheat, & Dairy Free however has a super crisp presentation. Every recipe is presented on the left page in a large easy to read font. This makes it great for quick glances when you’re in the middle of cooking. As I mentioned above, the right page is entirely taken up with a single close up picture of the finished product. It’s just very aesthetically pleasing to read cook book.

It’s a mixed bag for me that it is also a dairy free cook book. On one hand it is super handy to have around when we have a lactose and tolerant friend over. While it is not explicitly a vegan cookbook, the dairy free part lends itself to have a quite a few vegan recipes as well. On the other hand, I am not lactose intolerant, so milk substitutions often seem unnecessary. Either way, the recipes are delicious so I would say it a great edition to anyone’s cookbook collection.

The Golden Pilaf was particularly good. I don’t often find earthy, nutty recipes. The sweet raisins and pine nuts really worked together to just give it this unique earthy, yet fruity taste. The downside to this recipe is that we found out pine nuts are pretty expensive in our area. My favorite benefit to this meal, was how easy it is to whip a large batch, and then package it up for leftovers.

If you’re looking for a colorful cookbook, with a unique combination of dairy and gluten free I would say look no further. This book would make a great edition to any collection, but might not make the best starter recipe book, as it is not as packed full as other books. I sort of saw this as a benefit, but it’s worth mentioning.

Lil' Jon Restaurant and Lounge Review

 EDIT - We visited Lil' Jon again in September, 2014. While we did not order food this time, we saw a sign up front saying that they have gluten free bread available as an option now, but note that the kitchen is not proofed against cross contamination. From the wording, it sounds they warn against people with gluten allergies dining here, so it is hard to say if we just got lucky the first time we went, or they do try to accommodate and want to put a disclaimer. If anyone has more information, please let us know in the comments below!

Jason here. Another little breakfast place we visited lately was Lil' Jon.

While they don’t have a gluten free menu, or even items marked off, we found some reviews online saying it was safe to eat. I was a little skeptical, but was willing to give it a try. I don’t mind having to ask if items are gluten free.

Unfortunately, the first thing I noticed about Little Johns was how fast things were moving. Everything felt extremely rushed. I barely felt like I had a chance to ask if anything was gluten free, and when I did I wasn’t sure if they really paid attention. To be honest, I felt a little uneasy. 

I ordered some eggs, bacon, and hash browns. To start, the hash browns were really good. They were extra crunchy, just how I like them. The bacon was also very crunchy, but a little overly salty. The eggs were over easy, just how I ordered them. Other than that, the breakfast was pretty generic. 

Ultimately, I think that is my problem with Little Johns. The food is just too generic to be worth going out to eat. I can make eggs, bacon, and hash browns at home that taste just as good, just as quickly. If the atmosphere was nicer, I would feel a little better about taking guests out to eat, but it just all felt to rush. 

Kayleigh here. Interestingly, my view differed a bit from Jason's. Now, I can be easily bribed by the fact they let me order a side of peanut butter (why can’t all breakfast places do that!), AND it was crunchy peanut butter. But the food was all pretty decent, servers were very attentive and always available, and the prices are definitely right. Probably the diviest sort of place a gluten-free diner can get away with going to, but sometimes that is just the kind of feeling you want in a restaurant. No frills, no pampering, just a hot food in the morning without the need to cook something up yourself.

As of right now, there is no official website, but most of the menu has been posted by a friendly Yelper here.

Gluten Free Cooking for the Host/Hostess

Kayleigh here. The tone of this post is going to be a little different- not necessarily for the celiac, but for the friends and family of that gluten-mourning person. When you first discover that someone close to you has developed a serious intolerance, that can change plans and rituals around for you almost as much as for them. And without such a big incentive to research every little fact about what does and does not contain gluten, the only safe way to put foods out seems to be by buying exclusively from the gluten free shelves at the supermarket. Safe? Certainly. But not so kind on your wallet, especially if you do not want to sacrifice any of the parties, dinners, and outings you are used to having with them.

The good news is, catering to a gluten-free person is really not as hard as it seems at first. Fresh produce, basic meats, and most cheeses and plain milks are guaranteed gluten free, without needing to check any sort of ingredient label. Buy single spices instead of blends to season the foods, and you have avoided another confusion. Add some rice or potatoes to the side, and you have made yourself a stress-free, gluten-free meal!

For parties, put the crackers and bread squares on separate plates from safe dips and spreads. Offer cut raw vegetables, plain potato chips, and tortilla chips as well (they are almost always gluten free!). In fact, if you bread any fried foods in crushed tortilla chips, cornstarch, or cornmeal, then even that will be safe! Most importantly, keep the packages of anything you put out, and let your buddy read the ingredient list for themselves. And really, do not feel guilty about asking them to bring hamburger buns or dressings/sauces for themselves. It is a whole lot cheaper than you going out and buying a whole package, and will make them feel a lot safer, since they are avoiding any accidental cross contamination.

One last tip- try to cook for them using either very clean/new cookware, or coat surfaces in tinfoil or plastic wrap. This will be an easy way to avoid touching any breadcrumbs or contaminated areas with the gluten free foods. Also, try to make sure that everyone else you are inviting is aware of what is and is not gluten free in the spread, so they know to use spoons to get dip instead of dipping the cracker straight in, and to not swap around serving utensils between dishes.

Jason here. If you are not a gluten free household, or used to cooking gluten free, it can be a little overwhelming. I’ve found many people have a knee-jerk reaction where they suddenly can’t think of any food that doesn’t contain bread or pasta. It’s less that gluten free food doesn’t exist, and more that panic of trying to think of something on the spot. Like mentioned, basic meats, cheeses, vegetables, fruits are all going to be gluten free. To get the starch fix, through in some form of potato and you’re done.

When I go to parties, I’m often worried about accidentally eating gluten. Either I am not certain exactly what was used to cook the dish, or I am worried about cross contamination. If you are hosting a party where guests are encouraged to bring food, also ask your guests to bring along allergy cards for their dish. If someone takes the time to explicitly mark their dish as gluten free, and I feel pretty safe about eating it. Sometimes it’s just not possible to prevent cross contamination. In a large enough party, someone is going to dip a cracker from one plate, into the gluten free dip. The best way to help out your gluten intolerant guests is to help them get to the food earlier. The earlier they can grab a plate, the less of a chance crumbs have fallen where they shouldn’t have.

Just remember when you have a gluten intolerant guest, don’t panic. It’s really not as difficult as you might at first think. Some simple food items mentioned above, and simple safe measures taken while prepping the food, and you are good to go!