Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook

Publishers Information

About Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook

Publisher Web Link: http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/tenspeed/

The number of people with food allergies is skyrocketing, leaving puzzled cooks and anxious parents eager to find recipes for “normal” foods that are both safe and delicious. The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook features 100 tried-and-true recipes that are completely free of all ingredients responsible for 90 percent of food allergies, sparing bakers the all-too-common frustration of having to make unsatisfactory substitutions or rework recipes entirely. To make things even easier, energized and empathetic mom Cybele Pascal demystifies alternative foodstuffs and offers an insider’s advice about choosing safe products and sources for buying them.

As the head baker for a food-allergic family, food writer Pascal shares her most in-demand treats and how to make them work without allergenic ingredients. Her collection includes a delightfully familiar array of sweets and savory goodies that are no longer off-limits, from Glazed Vanilla Scones, Cinnamon Rolls, and Lemon-Lime Squares to Chocolate Fudge Brownies, Red Velvet Cake, and every kid’s favorite: Pizza.

In addition to being a lifeline for people with food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances, these entirely vegan recipes are perfect for anyone looking to avoid artificial and refined ingredients, and those interested in baking with healthful new gluten-free flours such as quinoa, sorghum, and amaranth. Best of all, Pascal has fine-tuned each recipe to please the palates of the most exacting critics: her young sons. Lennon and Monte like these tasty treats even better than their traditional counterparts, and you will too! (http://www.randomhouse.com/)

Author Information

About Cybele Pascal

Author Web Link: http://www.cybelepascal.com/

Hi! I’m Cybele Pascal and I’m the mother of a food allergic family.  My son Lennon was diagnosed with severe dairy and soy allergies in 2001, and our life in the kitchen was forever changed.

Lennon and I were put on strict avoidance diets (I was breastfeeding him), and instructed to cut Dairy, Soy, Wheat, Eggs, Peanuts, Tree nuts, Fish and Shellfish from our diet.

Though this was admittedly challenging in the beginning, I viewed it as challenge I would conquer. I tied on my apron, opened my cupboards, and set about revamping the way I cooked from scratch.  Out went the milk, eggs, flour, soy, and all the thousands of allergenic derivatives we take for granted in our kitchen.  And from there, a new cuisine was born. 

In 2001, there were no cookbooks  that eliminated all top 8 allergens responsible for 90% of food allergies. Nobody had written it. But those were the recipes I needed, so I wrote the book myself.   I spent about two years creating the recipes that eventually became The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook.

Why did I do this?  A) because I had to, and B) I love to cook. I began working in restaurants at 14 years old.  I started as a dishwasher, but spent my days peering wistfully into the kitchen.  The guys in there were the ones having fun.

The following year, at 15, I signed up to be the vegetarian cook for 50 students at my boarding school, Putney. I made their dinner every night, and I loved every single messy minute of it. The next summer, at 16,  I was promoted from dishwasher to cook, and restaurant kitchens became my new stomping ground.  I cooked on and off for many years to make a living.   I never imagined it would come in so handy in the years to come.

Cooking “Allergen-free Cuisine” is both a necessity and a passion for me.  I love the science of it, the challenge, and the way it’s all new. But I also cook this way because my family is a textbook case of food allergies. Lennon outgrew his dairy and soy allergies by the time he was 6, but he is still allergic to tree nuts, shellfish, kiwis, and has tested positive for allergies to wheat, barley, and eggs.  I am allergic to walnuts, shellfish, and many types of fish, as well as having milder allergies to wheat, oats, yeast, citrus, and stone fruits (peaches, plums, etc).  My husband Adam is allergic to dairy, (and also lactose intolerant). And my youngest son, Monte, who was allergic to eggs as an infant, also has allergic asthma, for which he must stay away from dairy.

So I  continue to cook allergen-free,  for my family, but also, for the many people out there like us. I cook, I write, and I share.  So please come back to my site, for new recipes, tips on new allergen-free products, tidbits from my life with a food allergic family, or sometimes just straight-up tidbits.  And for a sumptuous book on baking, check out my new cookbook, available now for pre-order, The Allergen-free Baker’s Handbook. See you in the kitch! (http://www.cybelepascal.com/)

Cookbooks by Cybele Pascal

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My Cookbook

Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook

by Cybele Pascal

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My Cookbook

The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook

by Cybele Pascal