Cookies

Annalise Roberts is anything but new to the gluten-free and celiac scene. At this date she is involved with celiac groups, has four books, one being  a second edition, teaches GF baking and produces and manages the ever-growing popular website, www.foodphilosopher.com, with her sister Dr. Claudia Pillow, co-author of her most recent book.
I’ve been using Gluten-Free Baking Classics (second edition) for some time now. The recipes are not only out-of-this-world but easy to play with. When adding my own touches and changes, I still have success.

Annalise’s intention with her first book, Gluten-Free Baking Classics, was to share recipes that not only taste good and are fool-proof but to offer basics for a new cook or novice to adapt the recipes easily to their own favorite dishes.
This 2nd edition offers 42 new, unique, and delicious additions—flour tortillas, doughnut holes, egg-fresh pasta, and, as I told her, my new absolute favorite, the richest, moistest “can’t-get-enough,” to-die-for “banana muffins.”

When opening any of her cookbooks, I feel as if I have a sincere friend sharing all her tried and true helpful advice, letting me in an all her little food “secrets.” Each book shares all the little nuances of that particular book’s recipes so there can be ultimate success in anyone’s kitchen following her exact recipes or adding your own touches. She really let’s you into her “test kitchen” and wants you to succeed in yours.

Her Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine is the book any GF cook needs to avoid the all-too-common dried out or “fallen” breads. The various reasons for these mistakes and tips for how to make many delicious, mouth-watering breads such as multi-grain, challah, and artisan breads are again liberally offered. She stresses the use of the Zojirushi Home Bakery Bread Machine model BBCC-X20 and V20 with their amazing self-adjustment capabilities.

Annalise’s concerns for health and the knowledge that so many celiac and gluten-free eaters, who find themselves surrounded by grains, often forget that this is only a portion of our food pyramid led her to another book, the Gluten-Free Good Health Cookbook, co-authored with her sister, Dr. Claudio Pillow.

Dr. Pillow had been teaching GF nutrition classes for many years, but not being celiac, she was not on a GF diet. She decided to try the diet for 2 months. Swelling in her toe and finger joints subsided, her weight stabilized, she felt better, and she had loads more energy. Soon after, she personally fine-tuned her diet with a better balance of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and carbohydrates . With this new lifestyle, the numbers of patients stood out to her who didn’t see the link between the foods they were eating and their health.

The medical profession emphasizes drugs to treat symptoms, yet what is needed is to locate the underlying cause. Food sensitivities, allergies, and intolerances, and of course celiac disease, result in physiological reactions, giving us warning signs: inflammation of various degrees and symptoms. Their book, the Gluten-Free Good Health Cookbook shows how to neutralize this inflammation and strengthen the immune system, leading to weight loss and restoring health, physical fitness, and mental clarity. In a nutshell, this book shows you how to eat smart to protect your health, offering 140 delicious and new recipes.

Taking into account the allergens which may reside within it, each recipe has detailed “cook’s notes” offering additional hints, suggestions, and/or details. Annalise Roberts has stepped into a more detailed territory than usual, one which is travelled by many others preceding her, but with her abundant experience in this field and teaming up with her sister, what results is a book unlike others.                                              

Annalise holds a world of knowledge and experience, and we are all very fortunate that she has generously taken care to see that we have the opportunity to take advantage of this in our kitchens and households.

I give Annalise and her three books a thumbs up and HIGHLY recommend them. Please visit her site:  www.foodphilosopher.com

Tina Turbin
www.glutenfreehelp.info