I believe that I’ve written before about my new “diet” without gluten. The concept was suggested initially by my doctor and supported by an herbalist whom I visited, all in an effort to help me get rid of this allergic cough that I’ve had forever. I sound like a two-pack-a-day smoker and I don’t smoke! I am also looking to drop the baby weight that I gained (nearly 27 years ago!)

I found a cheap-o cookbook (apparently it’s so cheap-o that I can’t find it anywhere!) about gluten-free and dairy-free cooking and, while I’m not living dairy-free yet, it had some good looking recipes and so I decided to buy it and bring it home. So far, I’ve tried two recipes.One for a “Spicy Carrot and Lentil Soup” and another for “Soda Bread”.

The first, while it has come out (twice, now!) a little bit too thick for my taste, is a really yummy lunch or dinner (or both if you’re really lazy!) I added some steamed cauliflower for texture and thinned it a bit with some extra chicken broth. I think it will be even yummier tomorrow when I add some additional cooked lentils. I didn’t have chili powder so I substituted (not one for one, though) some cayenne pepper. Mr. N’ley thinks it would be good with some sausage … I think meatless is good but this is a family issue and best kept at home. 🙂

I’m not at all sure why the “Soda” bread is soda bread because it has no soda in it whatsoever. But, perhaps it mimics Irish Soda Bread … not sure, exactly. Suffice it to say, however that the bread came out quite well. It’s a bit sweet which surprised me  … until I realized that it had juice and four tablespoons of Maine’s best maple syrup in it. I like the bread a lot and when you’re living gluten-free, bread is something that I, at least, crave! There is quite a bit of fruit in this bread and that, combined with the sweetness, will make this a delish breakfast bread. Toasted with a little bit of organic Maine butter … mmmmm.

With that, there’s some Gifford’s ice cream in the fridge and I think I hear it calling my name!

PS – the book’s title is *** Wheat, Dairy & Gluten Free: over 70 delicious ideas published in 2010 by Paragon Books, UK. Good luck finding it! 🙂

*** Queen Bee’s note: I just got a much appreciated email from a caring reader who pointed out what I know but didn’t post any information about on the old posts. The book above uses Spelt flour which is a wheat product and not really gluten-free. It may not give gluten sensitive tummys as much trouble as wheat flour but if you’re really sensitive, you probably do not want to use this book or spelt flour. Be  safe! Use real gluten-free flours!