October 12, 2015 at 3:19 p.m.
Mother-daughter duo to sign books at Trig's
Mother-daughter duo to sign books at Trig's
The signing will take place in the store's produce department. This will be the third book signing for the duo, as they have also signed books in Sault St. Marie Mich., and in Canada. Limited quantities of the book will be available for purchase.
Inspiration for the cookbook was drawn from their shared intolerance for gluten. Heet has Celiac disease, and Van Ess is intolerant to gluten.
Gluten is a substance present in cereal grains, especially wheat, that is responsible for the elastic texture of dough. A mixture of two proteins, it causes illness in people with Celiac disease.
The mother and daughter worked on recipes and the book for about four years, Van Ess said.
Van Ess said working with her daughter was the best experience she's ever had.
"We found out so much about each other," she said. "We were close already, but she lives six hours away. We became closer during the whole process and we're working on a second cookbook."
The pair are kicking around titles for the new book.
Van Ess and Heet traveled back and forth between Sault St. Marie, Mich., and Rhinelander to collaborate on the book, as well as throw dinner parties and take pictures of the prepared food.
Van Ess's favorite recipe is for corn dogs, while Heet's favorite recipe is chicken alfredo. The cookbook also includes recipes for baked goods.
"It's just like a regular cookbook, only gluten-free," Van Ess said.
"We had to do a lot of research on it," Van Ess said. "It's incredible what people with Celiac disease have to watch ... It's pretty tough on them. I consider myself lucky."
A challenge that the duo found is some of the products labeled "gluten-free" are inferior, Van Ess said. A flour made from garbanzo beans has a strong scent and taste of fish, for example.
"We went through a lot of bad recipes," Van Ess said. "It was a trial and error, hit and miss."
It is expensive to start out with a gluten-free diet initially, Van Ess said. It was costly to experiment with the foods needed to create the recipe book, she said, with the bonus for readers being that they do not have to use the same trial-and-error method after they purchase the book.
Readers and cooks can simply buy the amount of ingredients necessary for each recipe. "It goes a long way," Van Ess said.
The book was released Sept. 8 from Tate Publishing. It is available at Barnes and Noble, Costco, and will be carried at Trig's in the future.
Katie Perttunen may be reached at [email protected].
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