I love to cook. I love to bake. I love to explore and experiment, and I love to eat.

I used to hate cooking. I was the Queen of Lean Cuisine! I worked in restaurants so I could eat takeout for 50% off…my how times have changed! Now I do everything from scratch, for goodness’ sake!!

So this whole celiac thing has thrown me for a loop. What a learning curve!! It isn’t that it’s a hard transition – our kitchen is cleaned out and sanitized and decontaminated. Our pantries are stocked with everything gluten-free…

However!

Gluten-free does not equal gluten-y. Even if it says “all-purpose baking mix”, you cannot just toss it into your flour tortilla recipe.

You. Will. Fail.

So my three years of stockpiling culinary capades and altering them to fit my tastes has been for naught. I’ve got nothing.

So here I am, armed with $105 of gluten-free flours, starches and gums. I’ve got online resources, shelves of cookbooks, and all the support in the world. I’ve got a week of experimentation ahead, and a lifetime to discover…

Yet instead of feeling hopeful, I’ll be frank: I’m overwhelmed. I bought some Udi gluten-free snicker doodles and took my bugz to Boston Pizza for a gluten-free lunch.

It was sooooo good!! And my icky-picky bugz ate every crumb!

So while I mourn the loss of my gooey, sticky breads and cakes, I have a new gastronomic journey to embark on. Maybe it will be the birth of a MagzD Gluten-Free blog…who knows.

All I know is that it can only go up from here. And “here” is a pile of grainy crumbs on the bottom of a baking pan.

Help…??