About

Once upon a blog…

It’s me. Nicole. Remember me from the sidebar?

I have 3 children. Their names are, in order of importance (just kidding – in order of birth), Bailey (b. 2002), Jonathan (b. 2004) & Ava (b. 2005). If I told you how old they are, I’d have to update this page every time one of them had a birthday. And I just can’t make that sort of commitment to the About page. ;)

My son, Jonathan, has celiac disease. We discovered this when he was just a baby, a very sick little baby. What was gluten? I had no idea. This was 2004. Almost no one in the United States knew what gluten was. Okay, I’m sure there were people, but I didn’t know them yet.

Like most people, I found that going gluten-free was no small task. There was a lot of trial. Even more error. And a lot of money spent on not-so-tasty mixes (again, it was 2004), strange and exotic flours and the like. But I was happy for any gluten-free products that I could find. The high cost was a footnote.

Then the Great Recession hit, and in 2009, I lost my job as a practicing lawyer. The high-cost of all that gluten-free food and ingredients really started to hit home. So I started this blog to talk about it, and to spread the love. I figured I couldn’t be the only one feeling the strain, could I? Was I the only one longing for good-tasting foods that were safe to eat, simple to make and didn’t break the bank? Ones that the whole family — GF and non-GF members alike — could eat and enjoy? (Thankfully, all of you answered my question. The answer was and remains a resounding ‘no. not the only one.’)

A few months later, and boom! This bliggity blog was mentioned in a New York Times article about the high cost of celiac disease (conclusion: it’s really high). Then a literary agent contacted me about turning the blog into a cookbook. We put together a proposal in 2 weeks, gave Da Capo/Perseus an exclusive right to bid, and they did! They bought it.

Now I spend my time doing what I love: developing new recipes, writing about it, & hopefully helping others realize that gluten-free can & should be enjoyable…and affordable.

Oh, and now I’m working on another cookbook! It will be a true companion piece to Shoestring. Think Shoestring, but super quick & even easier. Shortcuts! We’ll get great-tasting gluten-free food on that table of yours on a workaday weekday faster than you can say, “I thought it was your turn to make dinner tonight!”

I thought you’d never get here! But you did. And I’m glad. Stick around, would you? We’ve got lots of catching up to do.

Love,
Nicole