Welcoming Kitchen by Kim Lutz: CBOW

Cookbook of the Week

Cookbook author Kim Lutz has created recipes that are free from common food allergens, and also vegan and gluten-free. Recipes are family friendly.

For people with any kind of food allergy, a simple chore such as grocery shopping can be a challenge. Those looking for allergen-free and gluten-free recipes and meal planning ideas, can find it in Welcoming Kitchen, which also gives helpful pantry stocking solutions. Menus are included for all occasions, with simple, healthy recipes.

Amazon: Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen- & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes

Kim Lutz is a cookbook author and runs the blog, Welcoming Kitchen, with her co-author, Megan Hart, a registered dietitian. All recipes they post there are free of the eight common allergens (dairy, eggs, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, fish, and shellfish), gluten-free, and also vegan. In her book of the same name, Lutz shares the story of discovering her son had a food allergy a couple of months after his birth. Because she was still nursing him, she had to find foods she could eat and cook with that agreed with her son: healthy and good tasting yet allergen-free.

Pantry Basics and Shopping Tips

Stocking up on pantry basics should always start with checking the labels. Lutz recommends that labels should always be checked each time before purchasing, even if the canned or dried goods are home favorites as manufacturers may change their recipe for a product. Some items may have hidden sources of gluten, wheat, soy, and dairy products. Choosing a product that is specifically dairy-free, gluten-free, or even tree nut-free, will help eliminate any problems once they are brought home.

Lutz’s ingredients in her recipes include items probably already in your pantry. One of her goals was to create recipes with ingredients that were accessible to most readers. Fresh fruits and vegetables, applesauce, pure maple syrup, grains and rice, dried beans, xanthan gum, and vegetable broths, are all relatively easy to find at the store, and make up the bulk of her recipes.

Welcoming Kitchen Cookbook Overview and Chapters

Welcoming Kitchen has 10 recipe chapters, in addition to a listing of different menus created from the recipes, including a cocktail party, holiday dinner, and game day buffet. The recipes cover the basics: Appetizers & Snacks; Salads & Soups; Lunches & Dinners; Grains & Beans; Vegetables; Pasta Options; Sidekicks; Muffins & Breads, Breakfasts; and Desserts. The helpful resource list in the back includes organizations with their contact information that specialize in food sensitivity.

Recommended for Those with Food Allergies

Lutz’s goal to find foods that could ‘welcome’ everyone in the kitchen, no matter what allergy or dietary restriction, was successful. Readers who are vegans, or lactose-intolerant, or even if they have a food allergy, can all cook tasty meals from the same book. Since most recipes include ingredients found easily, anyone wanting to incorporate low-fat and healthy foods into family meals would find this book ‘welcoming’ in their kitchen.

Artichoke Fritters

Ingredients
  

  • 1 15- ounce can artichoke hearts
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic pepper
  • 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
  • 1/2 cup rice milk
  • Canola oil

Instructions
 

  • Drain and thoroughly rinse artichoke hearts, and then drain again. Slice artichoke hearts in half.
  • In a shallow bowl, combine cornmeal, garlic pepper, and cayenne if using. 3. Pour rice milk into another bowl.
  • Heat oil in a medium skillet until shimmery.
  • Dip artichokes, one at a time, into the rice milk, then into the cornmeal mixture. Use a spoon to ensure that all of the artichoke is covered.
  • Fry the artichokes until golden on one side, and then turn to cook on the other side. Place cooked artichokes onto a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.

Book Information

  • Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen- & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes; by Kim Lutz
  • Sterling, 2011
  • ISBN13: 9781402771859
  • Hardcover with Jacket, 256 pages

Recipe reprinted with permission from Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher and any opinions are my own.