Josie’s Kitchen

I spent some time with Josie...in her kitchen.

Josie’s son was diagnosed anaphylactic to wheat, eggs, milk, peanuts, legumes, sesame seeds and tree nuts at the age of eight months. She has become an expert on feeding him, keeping him well, and not making his childhood be about a boy with allergies (in a nutshell). She has also incorporated the diet for her whole family.

She is warm, thoughtful, and very gracious. She opened up her pantry and we went through all her gluten-free products.

Here are some tips from Josie:

1. 1.Once you open the gluten-free products, you really have to preserve them. They will not keep. Use zip locks and air tight packaging.
   

2. 2.Josie would often find products in ‘regular’ grocery stores in the beginning that were Kosher Parv (kosher for passover) and that often meant they were gluten free. (check the label)
   

3. 3.Rice pasta - cook exactly 12 minutes, then run under cold water - Instead of in the collander, pour the pasta into the pot and fill with cold water. This way, the pasta doesn’t get broken up. The pasta doesn’t keep well in the refrigerator. When reheating, steam or add water.
   

4. 4.Mixes are crucial. They get you through...especially with children. Josie often breaks down the mixes into 1/2 r 1/4 ratio, because once cooked, things don’t keep well.For
   

5. 5.For cake mixes,  Josie often substitutes yogurt in place of water (for instance, if the recipe asks for 1/4 cup water, she will put in 1/8 cup yogurt (regular, rice or soy), and 1/8 water. This gives a better consistancy to the cake.
   

6. 6.Read everything. Don’t care what others think, don’t feel self-conscious or that you’re holding up the line in the store....
   

7. 7.Not all the gluten-free items are in the gluten-free aisle. They are throughout the store sometimes. You need time to shop.
   

8. 8.Keep Tapioco flour in the house to sprinkle in place of regular flour - when rolling out pizza dough and baking.