Reviews
What people are saying:
…your book is beautiful and one of my favorites
Peggy A. Wagener, Living Without magazine
“...a beautifully illustrated collectionof tantalizing gluten-free recipes presented simply and practically…providing many gluten-free solutions for family favorites a celiac couldn’t otherwise enjoy.”
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Elaine Monarch, Executive Director Celiac Disease Foundation |
Excerpt below from Shauna James Ahern, Gluten Free Girl……
…….Finally the book I probably love the best is the one I bought first.
Karen Robertson’s book, Cooking Gluten-Free, is a marvelous cookbook. It’s filled with sophisticated recipes like Mustard-Crusted Black Cod with White Asparagus, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Leek-Potato Puree, and a Seville Orange Vinaigrette.
It sounds like Danny food.
In fact, I bought this cookbook about 5 years ago to the day, within a month of first being diagnosed. Flipping through this book made me feel hopeful. With the judicious inclusion of chef-created recipes, this book made me feel like I could perhaps eat in a restaurant again, after all. (Of course, I married a chef.) I dreamed of Roasted Asparagus Quesadillas with Cactus Salsa, and Tomato Bread Salad, and Cranberry Soufflé. I made her Jerk Chicken with Cilantro Mango Salsa and posted it on this site back in 2005. (That was back when I still copied down recipes from other people and published them. I stopped doing that shortly after, thank goodness.) Someone wrote to me just last week, saying she had found that post and made the chicken and loved what I created.
I didn’t create that. That was Karen Robertson.
Karen self-published Cooking Gluten-Free back in 2002, long before this current spate of gluten-free cookbooks flooded the market. She was a pioneer. And now, five years later, going back to her book, I realize she always had it right.
Her all-purpose flour mix, adapted from one by Wendy Wark, is close to the one Danny and I have been working up in our kitchen. It has taken me five years of working and thinking and understanding the flours before I could come up with an AP mix. (We’ll be sharing it with you soon.) But Karen had a great one in her book all along. See that photo on the left? Know what it is? Flour tortillas. I had forgotten the recipe was in this book. I mixed up a batch of all-purpose mix, added oil and water, let the dough rest for 10 minutes, and turned on the cast-iron skillet. Flour tortillas. When Danny came home, I gave him one. “Shut up!” he said, mock slapping my arm. “Honey, these are great. They’re flour tortillas.”
They’re not mine. They’re Karen Robertson’s.
For lunch yesterday we had chile rellenos with mango salsa. That was a good lunch.
Cooking Gluten-Free is filled with interesting, sophisticated recipes, both ones donated by dozens of chefs like Tom Douglas, Charlie Trotter, and Suzanne Goin and Karen’s original recipes. Like Danny and me, she believes that there is much more to gluten-free life than baked goods, so the bulk of her book is savory recipes. However, her baked goods are flawless. I’m making her carrot bread tomorrow.
Self publishing a lavish hardback book, like the one I bought in 2005, has become expensive. For quite awhile, Karen’s book was out of print, which is why many of you have not heard of it before. It’s back, however. Karen is publishing the third edition as a CD. You can pop it into the computer and read it on your screen, but you can also print out individual recipes easily. Here is where you can order Karen’s digital book online.
And if you’re gluten-free, or just love food, you should definitely order Karen’s book.
Shauna James Ahern, The Gluten Free Girl
…Thank You! I made the sour cream coffee cake to take with me to Tahoe for a week of skiing. The cake was EXCELLENT! The best gluten free baked “anything”; I have ever had, and I do a lot of baking. I’ve already sent off the recipe to 4 of my siblings who either are celiac or have children with celiac. I can’t wait to try the other recipes. Your cookbook is practical, creative, beautiful (I love the artwork) and the recipes can be made by all levels of cooks.
Rose Cruickshank, South Florida Celiac Group
…Robertson shows how easy it is to create delicious, healthy baked goods using a special flour mix that she combines with amaranth, teff, buckwheat, or quinoa flour…
PCC Natural Markets, Sound Consumer newspaper
I love the pizza crust recipe-
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Cynthia Kupper, Executive Director Gluten Intolerance Group |
…A delightful collection of creative recipes that use plenty of nutritious ingredients: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes adding both flavor and nutrition to meals. To enhance their nutritional value, baked goods incorporate flours made from amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, and brown rice. Healthy oils are also suggested. A wonderful book that allows the gluten intolerant person healthy and delicious gluten-free alternatives.
Shelley Case, B. Sc., RD, Author
Gluten Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide
..we absolutely love it. Not only are the recipes great but the artwork is very nicely done as well thanks for putting out such a great book, particularly for those of us who are passionate about food!
Yvonne Gifford and Jessica Hale, www.glutenfreeda.com
..your book is spectacular! Beautiful!…
Cynthia Lair, author, Feeding the Whole Family
…celebrated chefs from across the country have contributed easy and delectable dinner recipes for the home cook.
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Celiac Sprue Association Book review |
…a lot of information and great recipes are packed into 200+ pages
Eileen Vincent, Camano Island, Washington
…Robertson developed recipes for baked goods that would taste just like those that use wheat flour- the book includes plenty of practical tips, from lunch and snack ideas for kids to recipe-conversion ideas alluring enough to make even a person without celiac disease think about switching to a gluten-free diet!
Maggie Larrick, Pacific Publishing, Queen Anne/Magnoila News
…encouragement to people who have learned they have to change their way of cooking
Julie Hawkins, Arlington, Texas
I just opened a box of your books and was thrilled with what I saw!…What a truly beautiful book!
Lori Ross, PCC Natural Markets, Seattle Washington
…the book looks great!.
Tom Douglas, chef/owner, Dahlia Lounge, Palace Kitchen, Etta’s Seafood
“Gorgeous watercolorsgrace most pages…a unique flour mix is used to create moist, tender baked goods…over 190 recipes allow the wheat-free and gluten-free individual to take pleasure in food again.”
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Cynthia Kupper, Executive Director Gluten Intolerance Group |
…your brown rice bread is wonderful. Thanks for writing such a fine book.
Rolf Meyersohn, New York
…beautiful as well as endless things I want to make. What is most impressive is the additional detail and commentary
Michele Benson, Woodinville, Washington
I like the fact that some meals are marked with a clock to indicate a quick meal, those will be my favorites there are a couple of celiac books out, but they are not inspiring
Jack Gilman, Naples, Florida
“This book meets a need for gourmet dishes without gluten. Its presentation is as appealing as the dishes described. We are ordering a copy for our division dietitian and for the parent resource center.”
Phillip I. Tarr, M.D., Director, Division of Gastroenterology, Dept. of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
