Living well gluten-free

      There is a growing public awareness of individual sensitivity to certain types of food, and gluten is high on the list of culprits. However, recognizing symptoms of gluten-intolerance is not always straightforward. Also, once diagnosed as gluten-intolerant, how to avoid an ingredient which is so commonly used?

‘The living gluten-free answerbook’ by Suzanne Bowland answers many of the most pressing questions, such as the difference between food-allergies and food-intolerance, how to decipher food-labels, and how to negotiate eating out.

For practical recipe advice, the following book is highly recommended by one of our Hurunui library borrowers:

‘Everyday gluten-free cooking: living well without wheat’ by Bette Hagman

It tells you how to make your own gluten-free pasta, muesli, muffins, pies and even hot-cross buns from ingredients readily available in most supermarkets.

Sylvia

Cooking, kitchen gardens and children: an inspired combination

 ‘Stephanie Alexander:

                                  kitchen garden cooking with kids’

Stephanie Alexander is a highly acclaimed Australian chef and food writer and is involved with the Kitchen Garden Foundation, set up to encourage life-long healthy eating habits by engaging primary school children in the production and preparation of food.

This book tells the inspiring story of the first kitchen garden project at Collingwood College, including the planning of the garden and kitchen facilities and the first years of growing, harvesting and cooking. Because it goes into a lot of detail (e.g. planting lists, permaculture principles), the book is a great resource for anyone thinking about planting their own kitchen garden.

The book also includes 120 mouthwatering recipes, such as ‘Sweetcorn fritters with crisp sage leaves and herb yoghurt’ and ‘Roasted winter vegetables with rosemary and garlic’. In 2007 the recipe book won  Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Award for best children’s cookbook.

Stephanie Alexander was the feature guest at Nine to Noon on Thursday 14 February; the audio of the interview is available on the National Radio web site (for a limited time), click on the following link:

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20080214

Sylvia