Why Jen loves gluten-free food!

​Food is an experience. It’s in the taste, the smell, and the look of a dish that food makes its impact. Food is partnered with the experience of love and friendship, of family and celebrating. Food is ever present as the guest at every life event, from weddings to end of life celebrations and special dinners for a job well done to 50th wedding anniversaries. Food is balm that can calm a soul and warm a heart. It’s role in life can become a very valued one, like a friend that has stuck with you for ages knowing exactly what you need and when.
 
When I was growing up, we didn’t call ourselves “foodies” we called ourselves Italians!
 
I have such fond memories of our family gatherings. Of course, there was a good time, laughing and joking while several conversations were happening at the same time. No matter the event we were celebrating, delicious food was always present center stage. In time I DID realize that my family was not the only to experience this relationship with food. It was not just us Italians! Through the years I witnessed so many families honoring their family traditions through food. I saw important days marked by their favorite food. I saw smiles and happiness when they remembered the food they made or they shared a story about who made the dish best in their family.
 
So this leads me to my family and how I became a foodie. As I mentioned, I was raised in an Italian American family in New York. Both sets of grandparents were born in Italy so my parents were the first Americans in our family. Both sets of grandparents took Sunday dinner very seriously, meaning, there was a tremendous amount of food just in case every person at the table wanted a second serving or on the off chance 5-8 other people were going to drop by!  At a very young age, I saw the importance food played in our lives and it went way beyond nurturing our body.
 
What I witnessed was joy! Whoever was hosting the meal created part of the celebration or gathering through their food. Throughout my entire childhood, I saw each meal created in love for us. It was an expression of my mom and dad’s family heritage (Sicilian and Neapolitan) coupled with a desire to make those at the table happy. Another part of the joy experienced was from the actual taste of these delicious dishes that were created.
 
You can see how I started to form my love of food but I need to let you in on the “why” our lives became strictly gluten-free though.  Since the age of eight I had suffered with tremendous stomach pain and distress, which is just a nice way of saying that most of the time after I ate, I would have to rush to the bathroom. We searched for an answer to this mysterious illness that would sometimes give me a break here and there, but frustratingly enough it would also have bouts of last for days on end. There was never any rhyme or reason so I just had to learn to cope with it. The doctors were mystified.  I was resolved to truck on through life and enjoy it the best I could when I could, which were on my up days. Although my chief complaints were my stomach, food was still a great love of mine; I just didn’t know why it didn’t like me back.
 
In 2003, I discovered the answer to this lifelong battle with stomach illness (and so many more symptoms I gathered in the 27 years) was in fact an auto-immune disease called Celiac disease. I also learned, shortly after, that our three children, who were suffering much the same as I did with a large variety of symptoms, had the same disease. The cure for such a disease, a strict gluten-free diet.
 
Eureka! We had an answer to decades of prayers, pain, and tears. My brain started rattling off all that would now happen in my life: more energy, no more pain in my bones, no more stomach distress, no more hospital visits…I just couldn’t contain my joy!  Then my brain also reminded me, “What the heck is gluten!”  
 
As you may recall, 2003 was a time when there wasn’t anything at the grocery store that said these strange words “gluten-free” on the packaging.  Clearly, I wasn’t the only person clueless about gluten. I had to learn how to feed myself and the kids. I had to read labels. I had to learn how to BAKE! Yikes! I was a cook through and through, but baking was nowhere in my wheelhouse.

​I thought about my childhood and my love of the food my family made, I thought about the family gatherings and big parties I would create menus of way too much food for. How the heck was I going to feed people my food and have it taste the same as food with gluten in it.
 
I cried in the closet. I didn’t want to kids to feel defeated like I felt. Then I realized I needed to step up and control this narrative!
 
I became “Vigilantly Mom”, with an invisible cape, as I attacked every single recipe tried to make them gluten-free and edible. I had so much to learn about this seriousness of adhering strictly to this new lifestyle. I took our health very seriously. I was hyper aware of every situation where the kids would be exposed to food, In a calm controlled manner I took over. It was so much easier to take control of their food prep and intake rather than risking their wellness. In order to do this…I had to learn how to bake! I researched where to find food and gluten-free flours. I was determined to have our children have a wonderful childhood full of fun and comradery like they did before the diagnosis. I didn’t want them to have any negative focus on what they couldn’t have but rather to celebrate that they could still have everything but now it was just homemade. I wanted them to have a cupcake when the others kids were celebrating their birthdays in school. (Side note: You do not realize how often there are celebrations and treats in school until you have to bake something similar to what is being provided and then do those times three!). I wanted people to come to our home and enjoy themselves as they always had.
 
I played in the kitchen. In the beginning it was a crap shoot that I just kept plugging along with because there was no other option as far as I could see. I saw my kids grow into people who appreciated the food they were given in the spirit of love in which it was made. They showed their gratitude from an early age thanking me for baking their treats and then tanking me for making their Christmas (or celebrations) so special.  We forged some amazing family traditions as a result of our diagnosis. They grew to be adults who not only continued their gratitude for food, but also being appreciative of where the food came from and how it nurtured their bodies and how certain foods were better for their wellness. This cookbook contains some of our recipes from our 20 years of baking and cooking gluten-free because let’s face it, each one of us in this family has our favorite things! After all we are from a long line of ‘foodies.
 
Food has continued to remain, as I always hoped it would, an extension of love. It was once my way to show the kids that they could live a normal life with their gluten-free food and be healthy at the same time.
 
I worked to unlock some key dishes that we all felt happy to share with the gluten-eating world. The food was so good I was asked to share the recipes. My son suggested I create a YouTube channel to share the recipes rather than having to email everyone who asked. So, I did. And when I owned a restaurant for five years, I saw a need to offer safe gluten-free sandwiches and salads to not only my own family but to the community; I did that too.
 
I wanted to write this cookbook to help others get comfortable in the kitchen and enjoy the recipes my family enjoys. I hope through this cookbook and my story, you can take a literal page from my book, and focus more on the energy of providing a meal made from love, rather than if it is worthy of a social media post. I cannot express how many creations I have made when I jokingly stated, “Close your eyes and take a bite! You won’t be disappointed!”  I knew the taste was there if I hadn’t mastered the appearance just yet. After all I am a real person; I may not be classically trained but yet trained out of love and then necessity. They say that necessity is the mother of all inventions, so that explains a lot. I would like to add to that old adage that necessity can be the mother of invention and great joy!
 
I also knew that even the gluten-eaters would love the dish. I would say after they ate, that it JUST HAPPENS TO BE GLUTEN-FREE!  “I am not a master baker, but the flavor is there. The gluten maybe gone, but the flavor rocks on!”  Your creations are the same. When you create in love for your family, they will be so happy you made such an effort that they will not be giving you stars or thumbs up for looks but for the effort you put forth! They will LOVE you playing around in the kitchen for them!
 
I don’t know how else to be other than authentically me, and that is how I wanted to present my cookbook to you. Just a little laid back and not judging ourselves. After all, if a cake flops or you take it out of the pan too early, you can always make cake pops with it! Nothing is a lost venture!