In order to produce The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Eating, writer Eve Adamson paired up with dietitian Tricia Thompson, MS, RD. Thompson specializes in nutrition consulting for celiac disease, a condition in which the ingestion of gluten found in wheat, barley, and rye results in damage to the body in ways that reduce its ability to absorb needed nutrition. In order to best understand the concerns of gluten-free eaters, Adamson went entirely gluten-free while writing it.

Adamson and Thompson explain what celiac disease is, why you shouldn't try to diagnose yourself, and how to get a proper diagnosis. They give you a general idea of the foods that do and don't have gluten in them, as well as a guide to reading food labels and interpreting menus. While they can't tell you which specific items will or won't have gluten (as this changes all the time), they give you an idea of which foods tend to have gluten in them, or have gluten-free alternatives available. They also recommend some specific favorite gluten-free brands that each author prefers.

They even manage to fit in some recipes. There's a baking mix and several recipes that use it. Given that it's particularly tough to bake without gluten, I of course had to try this out. The baking mix's 'secret ingredient' is xanthan gum. This is a rather expensive ingredient, but when you consider that a teaspoon of the stuff is enough to last through a batch of cookies and a pancake breakfast, you realize that the high price spreads itself out pretty well.

The pancakes were incredibly delicious and surprisingly thick and decadent. To quote my husband, "I expected to say that these were good for gluten-free, but they're just *good*." We both agreed that we'd happily make those again as a delicious recipe in its own right.

If you have to eat gluten-free or have a friend or family member you want to help out in that regard, I highly recommend this book. It's packed full of fascinating and useful information, encouragement, and delicious recipes!

For a longer version of this review, as well as food photos from our gluten-free experiments, visit Errant Dreams. ( )

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