The Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free Kitchen

December 19, 2011
For anyone with food allergies or intolerances, or dietary restrictions, this earnest volume—an expansion of the author’s 2002 book, Recipes for Dairy-Free Living, with 50 new recipes—is a helpful resource. In addition to being dairy-free and gluten-free, its 150 recipes all feature a “free of” key showing which other common dietary red flags (eggs, soy, nuts, sugar) it avoids. While there are plenty of vegetarian entries (like mushroom kale lasagna and grilled polenta with vegetable ragout) there are also dishes for those who crave fish, poultry, and meat—including salmon cakes with kiwi-papaya salsa; chicken with potato and leek in tarragon cream; and lamb tagine with dates. Side dishes include wild lemon pilaf with currants, with accompaniments like olive anchovy tapenade. For dessert there’s a pumpkin cheesecake and a chocolate orange pudding with soy velvet whipped cream. Rounding out the book is a selection of basic formulas for such substitutes as gluten-free flour mix and a dairy milk alternative, which arm readers with tools they can use in a variety of recipes.

December 1, 2011

Jardine, a nutrition educator and outreach coordinator for Whole Foods, has updated and revamped her 2001 title Recipes for Dairy-Free Living for readers also looking to exclude gluten from their diets. She offers an easy-to-understand medical perspective on dairy and gluten allergies along with a thorough lesson on reading labels and learning to shop with a gluten- and dairy-free diet in mind. While many of Jardine's recipes call for special ingredients that might be hard for some readers to find, she offers some original cooking techniques intended to contribute to overall dietary health as well as foundational recipes for ingredients like gluten-free flour mix and date syrup. This book is written from a natural foods, healthful perspective, though not all the dishes are vegetarian or vegan. VERDICT The tempting recipes and new cooking techniques included here will appeal to those with a medical reason to eliminate dairy and gluten as well as inquisitive, health-conscious cooks.--Laura Krier, California Digital Lib., Oakland

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