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The Incidentally Gluten Free Cookbook

Just what we all need, another cookbook!  Everyone seems to be publishing books at the moment, particularly in the "Paleo" niche.  Most don't add much to the sum of human knowledge. I wanted to call your attention to this one though.

It comes from a couple of British writers - Melanie Dobromylskyj and Karla Rohde - two school-friends who have pulled together a superb compendium of gluten free recipes in The Incidentally Gluten Free Cookbook. 

This is a real paper book, not a cheap pdf (although cheap pdfs are not all bad) which through its 12 chapters presents a mouthwatering array of food that you can eat if you are avoiding gluten.

As an aside here I better mention that I am - as far as I can manage - gluten free.  A couple of years ago I was getting more and more IBS.  Stomach cramps, poor digestion and diarrhoea were regular companions which went when I cut out wheat.  No beer, bread or pasta.  No pastry..... thats it really.  As long as I avoid them I am fine.  I went to the doctor and they did a test for celiac disease - which my uncle has - and it came back negative.  However the doctor said that with IBS if you avoid something and it makes it better - i.e. wheat for me - then avoid it...so I do. 
Interestingly Bizarro et al in a fairly recent review - Cutting-edge issues in celiac disease and in gluten intolerance - showed that gluten sensitivity shares similar symptoms with celiac, and exists as a separate condition.
The book gives you 12 sections:
  1. Fish dishes
  2. Chicken
  3. Pork
  4. Lamb and Mutton
  5. Beef
  6. Vegetarian
  7. Soups and Sides
  8. Others (e.g. chutneys and spanish torillas)
  9. Puddings
  10. Cakes and biscuits - here is where they get into their stride!  You can tell that they like baking
  11. Christmas food and drink - fancy Vanilla Kipferl?!
  12. Useful Information

In the last chapter there is a nice explanation of Why Gluten is so Bad for So Many of Us written by Melanie's husband Peter.  (Peter has some degree of fame in the world of the internet through his blgo Hyperlipid and I had the pleasure of visiting him and Melanie a couple of years ago when they were living in Scotland.)  This section is really well drafted looking at some key problems that can be traced to gluten consumption for some people - for example leaky gut, autoimmune disease, a "stress" response in the gut.

There is all sorts of stuff in this book, with some excellent photos too!   If you want a taste of the sort of things in the book, check out the blog Critters and Cake where some of the recipes are shared.  Amid all the paleo orthorexia this is a nice old fashioned recipe book which makes you feel all warm and cozy, with memories of cake and biscuits on cold winters afternoons after school.

It is not a cheap book.  You can blame that on Lulu, but that being said it is really good quality - nicely printed on good quality paper and it looks good in my kitchen!
a scale, pepper, olive oil and rice wine vinegar....oh and a recipe book!


Anyway, to sum up it is a great book and is highly recommended by me!  Get your copy via Lulu through this link:   The Incidentally Gluten Free Cookbook



Comments

Justin Ross said…
So... if a book gets released as a PDF only, it deserves less respect than one that gets printed (unless it's your PDF, of course)?

Regardless of whether they're "cutting edge" or "reshaping paradigms of fitness" or whatever, most of the paleo/GF cookbooks I've seen lately (yes, even the PDF ones) have been helpful, intelligent, well-thought-out books that act as fairly valuable resources for people that don't want to google for half an hour trying to pick a recipe for their dinner.

Denigrating cookbooks for not being physical editions (when electronic is the direction books are going these days anyway) is, frankly, a last-generation attitude. We in the paleo/GF community get enough crap from other sources. We don't need it from within.
June 17, 2012 at 8:42 AM
Chris said…
er....you are a bit over sensitive there I think? I am surprised by your comment and its tone. pdfs are cheaper to produce that is all I said.

I prefer paper books to pdf ones. They are much easier to read. I might be old fashioned, but so be it.
June 17, 2012 at 9:42 AM
Chris G said…
Saucer of milk?
June 17, 2012 at 5:41 PM
Wholesale Food said…
I am vegetarian and gluten free.It's easy to read..
June 18, 2012 at 2:37 AM
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