My first foray into the gluten free world...

I'm one of those people who absolutely hates it when a friend or coworker's dietary restrictions are overlooked at an event. Friends who are lactose or gluten intolerant are frequently left to provide their own food, as though the food the can eat is somehow less tasty.

I began thinking about this as a girlfriend of mine is undergoing testing for a number of conditions that may be related to a brush with anaphylaxis shock last week. Her reaction to the news that she was being tested for celiac disease was immediate and virulent. It brought to harsh light the realities of how people can feel about something like this condition (for a better look at what celiac is exactly visit the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness).  Another girlfriend of mine, also a coworker, is having a baby and thus, logically, a shower is in the works for her. This is an emotionally trying time for her (prayers for her little, growing family are certainly needed. Visit Team-Ewan.com to show your support for this beautiful family) and one of my concerns is always that her gluten intolerance is overlooked at functions that we as a department or team have. As such, I'm making forays into the gluten free world.. so that if/when a shower is planned for her I can ensure that she has goodies which she can also consume.

My first foray, such as it was, involved Betty Crocker's new gluten free cake mix. I figured that they're normal mixes were decent so it might be a good place to start. I will interject here with the fact that, while a baker, I know absolutely nothing about baking gluten free. After doing some quick research I established that, with Hubs not working at this time, going completely from scratch would not be cost effective.  So off we went to the store to see what our local grocer carried.... answer? Everything but the chocolate mix I wanted to try. My goal here is cupcakes. They're cute, easily decorate-able for a baby shower... and easy to transport. I flubbed the instructions on the back of the box a bit, I will admit.... it specifically called for gluten free vanilla. I used what I had on hand...but I'll fix that in the non trial run (if I establish that mine is actually gluten containing) My goal here? To see if I and others in the house liked these cupcakes. As a gluten consuming household I figured if we liked them... they'd probably be a good way to go! I'll say they weren't as sweet as I think of cake being... but it wasn't in an off-putting way. We're hoping to try the chocolate to determine if that one will be sweeter. Maybe I'll do a marble of both... who knows!

If I don't like the results of the next two tests I already have a back up in mind... we'll test that one this weekend. What? You want to know what that back up is? Oh all right here it is: Wheatless in Seattle! Every single thing at this wonderful establishment is gluten and wheat free. One other thing? They provide some of their tasties to places like Romio's. If it's the same cheese cake that I fell in love with years ago... then we're already BFFs!

Well friends, I'll leave you with this for now... I apologize for getting a little long winded... hopefully future posts on this particular subject (if there are any) will not be quite so long.