This book has been a god-send. I love cooking, but suffer from all the allergies listed in the book, and have been struggling to adjust to not eating all the lovely food I used to enjoy. There are lots of mouth-watering recipes which will ensure you continue to enjoy good food - beef en croute, blackberry and apple cake, brownies, chilli and herb cornbread, blueberry muffins, brandy snaps, passion cake, shortbread, steak and kidney pudding, sweet pepper tart and even wedding cake to name but a few.
Whilst it is heavy on desserts, that is where most problems come from if you suffer from these common allergies. It is true that it is very heavy on eggs, which I am also allergic too, but I have adapted the recipes very successfully after a quick search on the internet where you can find some alternatives to eggs - try replacing an egg with 1 tsp baking powder+1 tbsp water+1 tbsp vinegar for leavening - add more baking powder if you want better results. For binding, try 1/2 mashed banana (cut down on the sugar content of the recipe); 1 tbsp rice syrup (again cut down on the sugar content); or a 1/4 cup of apple puree (the pectin in the apple works as a binder) - all are the equivalent of one egg. You may have to adjust the liquid content of some of the recipes using trial and error, but it is worth the effort!
This book should not be used exclusively for all your recipes, but it has lots of excellent ideas, is very well presented, and will bring the pleasure back into your diet. You, your friends and family will enjoy tasty meals without feeling ill afterwards, and will be pleasantly surprised that food can actually taste better without all those nasties. Allergies can be fun!
