Most of the samples we get for the group are food-based - imagine that!

While this sample is not directly edible, the end results from this cookbook appear to be very edible!

[I suppose you could eat this book if you wanted to, but it probably would not be very good eats. Besides, if you ate it, you wouldn't be able to create the really good eats found inside!]

I came home for lunch on Friday and this found on our front-step. I haven't had a chance to actually try any of the recipes, but I did have a chance to look through it on Saturday while I waited for my van to get repaired.

[The nice county police officer felt the need to pull me over to tell me my driver-side headlight was out. I really didn't know...]

Barbara shares a bit of her story in the first five pages of the book. She tells us how and why she came to write "The Intolerant Gourmet: Glorious Food Without Gluten & Lactose". I must say, I like her philosophy!

"Many of us are intolerant of bad food, ersatz food, and poor cooking. Despite my problems and my character, I have found that I can cook excellent food and, on my way to this happy present, I have learned a great deal about the art, theory, and practice of using unfamiliar ingredients and making things that are delicious."

"Those of us who are Intolerant Gourmets - either of gluten, lactose or both - tend to think that we have a disease and perhaps even a curse. In truth, while it is a disease and difficult to live with, it may be a blessing in disguise."

"Food is not just about flavor. It is also about sensation ... Butter and cream are hard to replace; but as I have tested recipes and written this book, I am constantly endeavoring to find equivalent replacements for the pleasure."

"This is a book that will satisfy your need for mashed potatoes and other buttery dishes and pasta - but not with substitutes and eccentricities. It is meant to serve as an all-purpose cookbook for us intolerants and our intolerant friends and family."

"New or old I hope that readers will tolerate me and enjoy the food. They don't have to be Intolerant Gourmets to do so. This food is to be shared by all."

Perhaps the reason I like Barbara's philosophy, is because it appears to be close to my own. I like to cook - so when I figured out that gluten needed to be removed, I chose to take up the gauntlet that was presented to me. All too often, members of the gluten-free community hear that gluten-free food is terrible, awful and just plain gross. I beg to differ! In order to change that perception, we [Peg and myself] share recipes and photos of the dishes we create on this website, the group's Facebook page and our own personal Facebook pages. We also take every opportunity we can to let gluten-eating people try gluten-free foods. More times than not we hear "Wow! This is really good!". There is a whole world of naturally gluten-free good eats out there - we just need to broaden our horizons a bit - perhaps even think "outside the bread box".

In my opinion, going gluten-free has given far more than it has taken from me - many times over.

It's not just about the recipes

Since I like to learn, I dig the fact that this book helps educate us about the various ingredients we will be using and the methods we will be using to prepare these wonderful ingredients. Education is the key to many things - yes, even cooking. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime". Barbara is teaching us "to fish"!

Layout

Like many other cookbooks, this is organized by logical categories: Breakfast, Hors d' oeuvre & First Courses, Pasta & Risotto, Soups, Salads, Fish & Seafood, Chicken and Other Birds, Beef, Pig, Lamb, Other meats, Vegetable Main Courses, Sides, Desserts, Sauces, Basic Recipes, and Starches.

There are also color photos of 16 dishes! Makes you hungry just looking at them.

Click here to take a peek inside. There are 300 recipes in this book!

I only wish it was bound differently so that would lay perfectly flat. Don't want to be getting this great book dirty when using it in the kitchen!

Thanks!

A special thanks to Emily at Workman Publishing for asking if our group would like to take Barbara's new book for test drive!

Workman Publishing Company • 225 Varick St. • New York, NY 10014-4381
Customer Service: 1-800-722-7202

Tags: Cookbooks