Why in the world am I writing a gluten free cookbook?
I'm writing a cookbook, filled with recipes for easy, tasty, gluten free treats. If you're here, you probably know that. But you might not know what goes into a project like this.
Let me tell you, it's fun. A complete adventure. A bit overwhelming. Sometimes quite tiring. And if you're not careful, it can be very fattening!
It all started when I brought some brownies to the office for someone's going away party. As usual, they disappeared quickly, and no one believed that they were gluten free. Someone told me I should write a cookbook. I laughed at them; I had a full time job and plenty going in my life.
But it grew on me.
People asked for my recipes all the time. No one who tasted them ever said 'that's not bad for gluten free;' they said things like 'wow, that's great chocolate cake. I had no idea it was gluten free!' Those who did know about my celiac disease asked me for help when a friend, relative, or even they themselves were diagnosed.
My recipes are simple. Most use just a couple of easy-to-find, inexpensive flours. Perfect confidence builders for newly diagnosed celiacs, or the parents of newly diagnosed celiac children. An easy way to put love and comfort back into their lives, when everything is new and scary.
So I thought, how hard can it be?
I started to assemble recipes. After 25 years of a gluten-free life, I have shelves of marked up cookbooks and my own recipes. I began to pick out the most-requested recipes for goodies, and to make them again, carefully taking notes on my notes. My friends became captive tasters.
Then the lockdown started. I kept baking, and dropping care packages in friends' mailboxes. And of course I kept on tasting the recipes myself, tweaking, noting, clarifying...and padding my various already padded bits! Add 30 minutes of light weights and 10,000 steps per day to the routine. Sigh.
Life is short. I lick the bowl.
Then came recipe testing with strangers, and I thank my tasting team for their honest feedback and their photos, some of which you see here. More writing, refining, testing.
I started the marketing work, with branding and messaging. The warm chocolatey colors you see on this site are courtesy of my work with Laura Gambell from LauraMichelleDigital. A formal photo shoot is coming up soon, for which I worked with style consultant Sophie Adang of Stylemixers. And the photos will be taken by Agnieszka Wurmus of A Brilliant Photo. More on those soon, here and on Instagram and Pinterest.
For now, I am baking like crazy, getting everything ready. My kitchen is a madhouse. My oven is about to go on strike. And my home smells like something deliciously gluten free and sweet every day.
I will publish the book in September, as an e-book. Full-color photos in a printed copy are very expensive, and I want everyone to be able to afford the book.
Come along on this gluten free journey
I would love to have your company. Bookmark this site. Read the blog, follow me on Pinterest and Instagram. Let me know how your gluten free journey is going. Let's share stories. Subscribe to my newsletter for updates about the book, and special happenings just for subscribers.
And buckle up, it's going to be a tasty gluten free ride!
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