Simply allergy-free: quick and tasty recipes for every night of the week

279 Pages·2013·8.68 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Gordon

simply allergy-free
Quick and Tasty Recipes for Every Night of the Week
Elizabeth Gordon
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MELANI BAUMAN AND LORNA PALMER
Copyright © 2013 by Elizabeth Gordon ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No
part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be
expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission
should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and
Permissions Department, PO Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.
Lyons Press is an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.
Project editor: Meredith Dias Text design: Sheryl P. Kober Layout artist:
Maggie Peterson Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gordon, Elizabeth, 1976-Simply allergy-free : quick and tasty recipes for
every night of the week / Elizabeth Gordon ; photographs by Melani
Bauman and Lorna Palmer.
page cm
ISBN 978-0-7627-9544-4
1. Food allergy—Diet therapy—Recipes. I. Title.
RC588.D53G673 2013
641.5’6318—dc23
2012044119
{ For my mother, }
who showed me that nothing is impossible.

Contents

Copyright
Introduction
A Brand-New List of Ingredients Defined
Substitutions
Measurement Conversions for Cooks outside the United States
Main Courses
Sides
Dressings and Dippers
Desserts
Where to Shop
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Introduction
When I sat down to write this book, I asked myself what I wanted to
accomplish this time around. With my first book, I wanted to show my
readers that they could be terrific bakers despite multiple food allergies.
In my second book, I set out to create recipes that were evocative of
happy times, times spent with family and friends; I wanted to share
familiar recipes that could be passed down through the generations,
recipes that transcended food allergies and tasted delicious. But with this
book, I want to invite you, dear reader, into my kitchen and give you
access to the dishes that I really cook every single day. I want to show
you that my food allergies are not a hindrance; they are a lifestyle. My
food allergies do not make my life expensive or labor-intensive.
Long before I wrote cookbooks, I was just a girl in Ohio. My mother
cooked for us every night, and though I know that this sounds very
Norman Rockwell, in fact, it was quite pragmatic. Yes, of course, we sat
down as a family every night and talked about our days, but really these
family dinners were about making food that was budget conscious, quick,
and healthy. Today, I cook dinner for my family as many nights a week as
I possibly can. It’s less expensive and safer for me to eat this way,
because there is little risk for an allergic reaction when I know all the
ingredients in my food. Thanks to work, school, extracurricular activities,
and life in general, this scenario isn’t always realistic for every family,
every night, but I still believe in cooking dinner as often as possible. You
will see that many of the recipes in this book are freezer friendly and can
be made ahead of time so that you can get dinner on the table lickety-
split. There are several slow-cooker recipes in this book, because I found
that using the slow cooker lets me out of the kitchen to spend a few extra
minutes with my children and to enjoy all of the other aspects of my life.
To me, life is about wonderful celebrations, family, and friends, but it is
also about daily living and living each day to the fullest. I like to make
things that are interesting, colorful, wheat-and egg-free for me, and that I
could just as likely serve on a Tuesday night as on Thanksgiving. I do not
like to make fussy or expensive things, just straightforward, practical,
delicious food that doesn’t cost a fortune to prepare. It’s important to me
that these recipes can be mixed and matched to form fantastic menus
and that the leftovers from tonight’s dinner could be reworked just a little
to make something delicious tomorrow night. I like to think of these
recipes as the little black dress of my pantry—simple and economical
fare that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. The
foundations of a great meal, these are recipes that never go out of style.
To me, beauty and adventure are also important to daily living, and I
like my recipes to reflect both. Eating is just as much a visual experience
as it is about flavors and textures, so I try to create colorful recipes that
not only taste delicious but also look appealing. Variety is also important
from both a taste and health perspective. No one, not even our taste
buds, likes being bored, and I truly believe that multiple food allergies
should never translate into bland food. Hence, you will find many different
ethnic foods within these pages.
I hope that you will find Simply Allergy-Free the definitive book on
quick and easy gluten-, dairy-, soy-, nut-, and egg-free daily dining. The
recipes inside are delicious and beautiful, things you will want to serve
again and again, dishes for weeknights and special occasions alike.
From Apple Streusel Cake (p. 138) to Zucchini Fritters (p. 110), I hope
that you will enjoy this peek into my gluten-, dairy-, soy-, nut-, and egg-
free recipe box. This is how my family eats every day of the year, and I
hope yours will, too.