
for my children.
To be a mom, I had to be able to bake chocolate chip cookies.
.
So my goal: Find the right recipes, brands, and methods to prepare everyday meals we could all enjoy together. (I'm grateful for starting this journey before the availability of all the products that are now available---for learning how to cook and bake and feed my family with a minimal amount of processed foods.)
This was a process. And for this I thank my beloved children, who never complained about the less than wonderful meals I would at times prepare, or the extra time I now spent in the kitchen, or the melt downs I would sometimes have over the frustration of it all. One time in particular is a memory I will forever cherish.
Gluten-free pasta wasn’t what it is now, or at least the brands I first tried were not the ones I currently use. I remember putting a blob of what should have been spaghetti noodles (but in actuality was starchy mush) on the table. I felt horrible for serving this to my family. My kids, bless their hearts, looked at it, slowly served themselves small helpings, and said, “This isn’t so bad.” (Yup, I still tear up.) Their response, more than anything, gave me the incentive and the drive to find and to provide meals that were safe for me and edible for everyone else.
When I was first diagnosed, I had no idea there existed replacements for wheat flour and baked goods or for pastas and for pizza. Discovering Carol Fenster's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe was that turning point for me.
I cried, literally cried. I cried over a simple batch of chocolate chip cookies. This wasn't really a "simple" batch of cookies. This was the moment I knew I would be OK. I would be OK because my kids could still have the mom who could give them home baked chocolate chip cookies.