We don't want anyone to think that we are doctors, nurses, dietitians or professional cooks.  We are just two people on a gluten-free diet and we aren't willing to settle for second best.

In March of 1999, Meredith was diagnosed with dermatitis herpetiformis and told that she would need to be on a gluten-free diet for the rest of her life. She is my best friend and the household's cook, so I joined her in the diet (because family support is critical for success in any diet venture). After two weeks on the diet, I discovered that my stomach ache had gone away and lot of other strange symptoms were greatly reduced. We were both committed to the gluten-free diet.

Unfortunately, it isn't that easy! The ready-to-eat foods available locally were stale, by mail they were expensive and stale or gooey. Rice flour as a substitute for wheat was barely acceptable and adding starches improved things only slightly. Rice flour baked goods weren't any good when hot out of the oven and had to be frozen immediately to preserve freshness. But we were determined to have a good chocolate chip cookie and all of the other good things that come out of an oven. Then we discovered that yeast made us both sick. Bread experiments came to a screaming halt. In November of 1999 we discovered Jowar flour and started a whole new baking style. In June of 2000, our flour source disappeared. Down to eight pounds of sorghum flour, we were in a panic. An Internet search led me to the National Grain Sorghum Producers Association and that contact led me to Gerald Simonsen and Twin Valley Mills. And to a much finer sorghum flour!

My daughter, Sazja, has been a baking assistant and an official taste tester.  She also set the level for the cookbook.  If it seems oversimplified, well, we tried to answer the questions she asked.  This has been a work-in-progress and additions have been stuck in where ever they would fit.

The picture on the cover of the CD is Sazja's son, Theo (7 months), happily accepting a gluten-free cookie.  This particular cookie is the base recipe for the chocolate chip cookie, without the chocolate chips.

Not all recipes conversions work the first time, some don't ever work.  The pizza dough started as a biscuit (hockey puck) and has turned into an all purpose dough/crust.  Yeast-free bread took months of trial and error and is still being modified daily.  Luckily, we have chickens and dogs who will eat our miss-adventures.

This CD is divided into three food groups:  Comfort foods, meal additions and whole meals.  Recipes are written for a minimum of 2 people, because there are at least 2 of us eating.  We do not address low-fat or low sodium concerns.  There are sections on kitchen tools and ingredients, with use, storage and safe-handling advice.  Feel free to print a copy of the recipes, for your "spill on it in the kitchen" use.  We hope that you will find a few recipes here that will make your life easier.  

Always remember to use caution when adding a new food into your diet.  Check with your health care provider if you are in doubt.

Amy Perry

Meredith Wiking

Copyright © 2001 Amy Perry, Meredith Wiking. All rights reserved.