Fenster - Gluten-Free 101: The Essential Beginners Guide to Easy Gluten-Free Cooking

Toto, I have a feeling were not in Kansas anymore, says Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Thats how I feel about our new gluten-free world; its not the same world I entered more than two decades ago. And its certainly not the same as when I wrote the first edition of Gluten-Free 101 in 2003. We have new laws, new ingredients, and new techniques that make our gluten-free food so much safer and better. Given all these changes, I had to totally rewrite this book to bring it up to date for you.

But why would I write a gluten-free cookbook in the first place? It may surprise you to learn that I am an accidental author. Writing cookbooksespecially gluten-free cookbookswas not part of my life plan. But life is full of ironies.

You see, I am the daughter of a Nebraska farmera farmer who grew wheat. Wheat was a good thing at our house. It put food on the table and paid for my college tuition. After college, I married into a wheat-farming family. In fact, that is all that they raise on their farm in western Nebraska. Furthermore, my father-in-law is an internationally known professor emeritus of agronomy at the University of Nebraska. What is his main area of expertise? You guessed itwheat!

After I first discovered my intolerance to the gluten protein in wheat, I thought I was the only person on the planet who had to avoid this seemingly healthy food. At least, I certainly didnt know anyone else with this life-altering situation, and back in 1988, there wasnt much information on the topic. The Internetas we know it todaydid not exist. I was in a state of denial for some time, bewildered by this unexpected turn of events that disrupted my otherwise wonderful life. Because the condition was virtually unknown, there was little concern from others, and I was often told it was all in my head. There were virtually no gluten-free foods in stores back then, so I had to revise my entire repertoire of recipes to exclude wheat. Over time, I met more and more people who also avoided wheat and realized that my revised recipes might help others. Following the old adage about turning lemons into lemonade, the idea for a cookbook was born.

Today, 25 years later, I know that I am one of about 21 million Americans who live with what is now called non-celiac gluten sensitivity. I do not have the genes that are associated with celiac diseasean autoimmune condition that affects another 1 percent or about 3 million Americansbut I am still sickened by the gluten in wheat and related grains, so I must avoid it. That is much easier today than it was back then because the gluten-free industry has mushroomed into a multi-billion dollar industry, with large corporations introducing gluten-free products alongside the mom-and-pop entrepreneurs who founded the industry decades ago.

Growth of the industry was fueled by the passage of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) of 2004, which requires manufacturers to identify the eight major food allergens, including wheat, on any food manufactured after January 1, 2006. In August 2013, the FDA defined gluten-free as a product with less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. There is no requirement that gluten-free foods be labeled gluten-free, but when a manufacturer chooses to put gluten-free on food packaging, the item must comply with the new FDA definition.

Adopting a gluten-free lifestyle makes it imperative that we prepare much of our own food at home, not only for safety reasons but also because it is much less expensive than dining out. Beginners need simple recipeslike the dishes they grew up withso they can eat well and stay healthy.

This new edition builds on all the new ingredients and techniques introduced since 2003 to be bigger and better in the following ways.