Every now and then you meet someone who really "gets" you. Nicole Hunn is one of those people for me. She's spunky, quirky, has a keen sense of humor, is not afraid of being honest, a beautiful smile, and she knows how to pinch a penny. Nicole and I have a very similar ideas about being gluten free on a budget. We have different ways of saving money, we each have our own favorite gluten free flours... but we know all about living within in our means -- or at least trying too!
Nicole's cookbook, Gluten Free on a Shoestring (named after her amazing blog), was published in February of this year and I must say it's been a smash hit! What I love about Nicole is her honesty. She's a home cook. She isn't a fancy restaurant chef. She's not trying to impress anybody... she just wants you to be comfortable and happy making gluten free meals that your whole family will love. She wants you to know you don't have to leave your old comfort foods behind. Nicole's book is packed with recipes like pizza dough, cheese crackers, plain bagels, macaroni and cheese, meat"love", and chicken pot pie. Desserts like yellow cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, and apple pie. These are the foods that people like me love, remember, and want again. I just want to make food that will make people happy. I'm really not interested in fancy. I'm not interested in expensive ingredients. I just want to make food that smiles and makes people ask for seconds!
Nicole does that for you. She makes it easy. She goes a step further than even I do, by showing you how to make all these amazing things with one gluten free flour mix. I choose to use a blend of 2/3 whole grains & 1/3 starches simply because that works better for my gluten & sugar intolerant body... but for most gluten free folks these recipes using Nicole's favorite Better Batter flour will be a saving grace.
And I have a special copy just for one of you! A beautiful, brand new signed copy of Nicole's amazing book!
Would you like a copy?
Simply check out the table of contents in Nicole's book. Leave me a comment here on the blog and tell me what the first recipe is that you would make and why. Then, if you'd like to have an additional entry, tell your friends on facebook or twitter about Nicole, or about her book, or about my blog and this giveaway -- then leave me another comment here on the blog and let me know how & where you shared!
This contest will be open through Friday August 26th at midnight. I'll announce the winner here on the blog on Saturday August 27th.
Now get cooking!
There are so many wonderful sounding recipes in this book that it is hard to decide which one I would try first. I think it would be the corn and zucchini fritters. They sound good and it is a nice way to use some of the zucchini from my garden.
ReplyDeleteIt is very hard to pick the first recipe to try. The pasta dough is one I have been eager to make. I would like to be able to make pasta and not have to buy it.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try the Apple Cinnamon Toaster pastries!
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I would make is either the pizza dough or the cheese crackers!
ReplyDeleteI would try the cinnamon rolls first because I have not found a good GF recipe for those yet! Your blog is SO appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI'm always looking for pizza recipes!
ReplyDeleteI would make either the sandwich bread of bagels.
ReplyDeleteCinnamon Rolls !
ReplyDeletehave never been able to resist them..
The apple-cinnamon toaster pastries are calling my name. It has been years since a pop-tart like treat!
ReplyDeleteI would make the Ricotta Pancakes because I have not found a pancake recipe that I absolutely love yet.
ReplyDeletePizza Dough!! Because I've never made it from scratch before. I'm new to the world of GF, but already "real" pizza dough is what I miss most!
ReplyDeletejspeed29 (at) gmail (dot) com
I'd like to try the Chicken En Croute...
ReplyDeleteBrooke
www.TheAnnessaFamily.blogspot.com
I would make the soft pretzels first. I just love soft pretzels.
ReplyDeleteI'm always a sucker for pizza. I'm always looking for a good crust. But it was the wonton wrappers that caught my eye. My husband LOVES asian food. I'd love to be able to make wontons or egg rolls for him again!
ReplyDeleteThe banana blueberry muffins sound tasty! Thanks for sharing about the cookbook and I'd love to own a copy!
ReplyDeleteI want to try the pizza dough and black bean hummus!
ReplyDeleteI think the first thing I'd try would either be the sourdough bread or the bagels. There are so many that sound great though!
ReplyDeleteAshley
ashley4him (at) bellsouth (dot) net
Well for me I would have to say the bagels, well maybe the bread, actually I would have to make everything in chapter 5 right away because around here we love our bread!!! Books looks great and will 6 GF people in the family we could sure use this :)
ReplyDeleteThanks!
wworks@shaw.ca
I would love to try the gluten free cinnamon rolls on page 76. Yum!! Thank you for the giveaway.
ReplyDeletekoinonia572001@yahoo.com
Chocolate chip butter cookies sound wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteJust shared this on my facebook page.
ReplyDeleteDevils food cake and brownie pie because I want chocolate. A lot of chocolate (I am either hormonal or got enough gluten on monday to trigger some depression and chocolate is better for me than a whopper with fries).
ReplyDeleteOh wow! So many to choose from! I am going to have to go with the wonton wrappers, because I SOOO miss stuffed wontons and dumplings! YUM!
ReplyDelete:)
Most of these things I make already, but I'd love to try my hand at gougeres!
ReplyDeleteI shared this on Twitter!
ReplyDeleteAnd Facebook!
ReplyDeleteWow, they all sound great. I can't pick one so I'll pick two -baked eggplant and the banana cream pie.
ReplyDeleteI looked at the recipe book you are giving away. The very first thing I would try would be the sweet pastry crust. My sons love pie, but they don't like the after effects of gluten, so I can't wait to win the book and try all the recipes!
ReplyDeleteCarrie, I have a question. I clicked on the link for the flour mix, and instead of the recipe I was expecting, it sent me to a place where I can buy the flour. :( That doesn't seem very "shoestring" to this mother of five!! After nearly ten years of g.f. baking and cooking, I have developed my own flour mix that works for virtually everything, and it really IS shoestring! I make up a batch of about 22 cups of flour mix and go through it virtually every week! My mix costs me roughly $6-7 for about five pounds. If I had to buy 5 lbs of flour mix weekly from the recommended site, that would be $20+ and would blow my budget through the roof.
ReplyDeleteI know it takes all kinds of cookbooks to satisfy all kinds of cooks, but I guess my concern is that, as a mother of a large family who really IS on a shoestring, it seems to base an entire cookbook on a pricey flour mix is self-defeating. And I have concerns that, since mixes are really individualized, that her recipes wouldn't work with my mix. Know what I mean?
I am totally *NOT* knocking the author or the cookbook; I love the idea of down-home cooking... I hope you understand.
I've been following her blog for a little while and have been really wanting to try ALL THE BREADS! the french bread, english muffins, bagels.. all these are things my husband hates being gluten free.. i am not finding anything he likes!
ReplyDeleteOk, I would definitely try the cinnamon rolls! I haven't found a good recipe yet. :-) (Josh Jen Weiss - Facebook)
ReplyDeleteBagels! I miss them SO much!
ReplyDeleteWow, hard to choose, too many that look good, but I think maybe the Chicken & Dumplings.
ReplyDeleteKaren Joy - It's a good point. One thing I've learned in this big, vast gluten free blogging world of ours is that each of us have a different method of saving money for our families. I personally am not a fan of the better batter flours, not for simplicity's sake but because my body can't handle the onslaught of starches -- but I also know that's just one opinion out of too many to count... and I know MANY people would rather spend a little more money buying an already "premade" mix than create their own, even if it would be a more frugal option either because they don't have the time or the space to save a lot of different flours on their own... So I get the need to buy a mix like this and honestly if I was able to find one that met my dietary needs I'd probably try it out and stick with it if I liked it. Nicole's a genius for coming up with the recipes she has and even though I may not exactly agree with her choice of flour, I think her cookbook is a great choice for people who are brand new to this journey and need a place to start and recipes that will please their palate like the old flour they are used too would. I'm glad you shared your thoughts and I do heartily agree there are more frugal options... but I know different things for different people! :-) Glad you chimed in!
ReplyDeleteI'd be all over those wonton wrappers! I've been craving chinese food like wontons, dumplings and crab rangoons since I started the gluten-free lifestyle! They sound so yummy right now!
ReplyDeleteI would probably start up with the "Traditional Hummus", I have never tried fresh homemade hummus!! Then of course I would move on maybe to a main dish. It so hard you have so many wonderful recipes to choose from!!! I'm going to pass this on to my friends~We have a small support gluten free support group!!
ReplyDeleteI would make the wonton wrappers because I SO miss crab rangoon. I need this cookbook! :)
ReplyDeleteSince I love my desserts, I'd have to say the Devils Food cake but really I'd like to make the whole meal from the books recipes!
ReplyDeleteI would most definitely make Nicole's Cinnamon Rolls. I miss them the most!!! A delicious, fresh from the oven sticky bun with maybe some cream cheese icing - pure heaven!
ReplyDeletePOPOVERS! i knew immediately when i saw the book's cover what i would make first. popovers are a childhood favorite of mine that i've yet to master GF.
ReplyDeleteI would try the sweet pie crust recipe; since going gluten free I've yet to find a pie crust I'm happy with and we miss our pies! The Cinnamon Raisin or English Muffin breads also look really yummy!
ReplyDeleteOh, I can't decide. Cinnamon Rolls look yummy and so does the sourdough bread. I miss sourdough bread.
ReplyDeleteCoffee cake - definitely coffee cake. Hopefully with cinnamon and maybe a struesel topping? Because that is the one thing I miss the most, is a good breakfast-y sweet starchy something to have with my coffee.
ReplyDeletei would definitely try the cinnamon rolls - my gf husband would be beyond grateful to have them back in his life! :)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try the cinnamon roll recipe.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try the cinnamon roll recipe.
ReplyDeleteSo many yummy sounding recipes but I the one thing I absolutely love is bread pudding, so I would try that first. It is my number 1 comfort food.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be the perfect time of year to try the apple cake recipe! We live in New England and by the end of next month I'll have macintosh apples coming out of my ears lol!
ReplyDelete(Carrie when are you going to do a GF cookbook?) ; )
I would try Nicole's pizza crust first. I have never been able to fix a gluten-free pizza crust that tastes like the real thing. Most times it's either too think or it crunches like a potato chip.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an excellent cookbook! I would love to win it and try out some of the recipes.
Sherri W.
Ricotta pancakes!!!
ReplyDeleteI miss eating pancakes!!
I would try Nicole's pizza crust first. I have never been able to fix a gluten-free pizza crust that tastes like the real thing. Most times it's either too think or it crunches like a potato chip.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an excellent cookbook! I would love to win it and try out some of the recipes.
Sincerely,
Sherri W.
First of all, I'm excited to find your blog - and I wouldn't have without this giveaway. I got here via the FB post from GF on a Shoestring. Great blog, from one GF Carrie to another :)
ReplyDeletePeeked at the table contents (confess that I've been meaning to look at the cookbook but haven't had the time - busy GF mom) and it's hard to choose. First thought was Won Ton wrappers - it would be great fun to make some asian style rolls & won tons, boy do I miss those. Then I saw the Corn & Zuchinni Fritters. They sound fantastic and in season, but honestly, I can't resist what I miss most of all being GF - Cinnamon Rolls. The memory of my grandma's incredible homemade cinnamon rolls reigns supreme and I'd love to try this recipe to see how it compares.
I look forward to explore your past posts and following the new ones. Thanks for your hard work spreading a good GF word.
Carrie
The first thing I would make would be the Perfect Yellow Cupcakes, followed by all the other cupcake recipes; as I would love to start up my own cupcake business:)
ReplyDeleteThis book looks great with recipes I can see myself actually cooking! I think I would have to start with the pumpkin chocolate chip bars, especially with pumpkin season right around the corner. (amy_floyd@lansetup.com)
ReplyDeleteAs Nicole says... "Bread, Glorious Bread!" I would try any of those recipes first. Since being diagnosed, i have missed the taste of "real" bread and haven't found a great substitute.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the opportunity.
Sincerely, Julie
jstrehle@pennfoundation.org
I gladly posted this link on my FB page (Caroline Chromy Gort) and after I have a chance to try some recipes I'll share them on my GF FB page - Doesn't Taste Gluten Free - where I post recommendations of GF items & recipes that don't taste GF.
ReplyDeleteCarrie Gort
what an awesome book! i'm struggling to choose which recipe i'd start with - probably sweet pastry dough as i haven't made a pie crust yet that i like. or butter milk biscuits. or the apple-cinnamon toaster pastries. or lentil sloppy joes. i can't decide!
ReplyDeleteI would try the apple cinnamon toaster pastries if I had to pick just one recipe. These sound like a great quick on the go breakfast item for the family and I am the only one gluten free-they won't have to know..
ReplyDeletecool! looking thru the table of contents, I'd try the Pate A choux! I would love to make that GF.
ReplyDeleteamylapain at yahoo.com
Potato Bread! Oh how I miss that!
ReplyDeleteI would love to try the banana blueberry muffin recipe. Why? Because I'm new to the gluten free/milk free/soy free/egg free diet that my 14mo old daughter was recently diagnosed as needing. I am desperate for recipes that won't break our bank account.
ReplyDeleteI'd totally rock the wonton wrappers... I miss crab rangoons like crazy!!
ReplyDeleteCinnamon Raisin Bagels are calling my name......
ReplyDeletePizza Crust! My family LOVES Pizza, but with being gf it is difficult for me to find a pizza crust recipe that they enjoy that doesn't take me all day to 'create'.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think it will have to be wonton wrappers and banana cream pie.I know that's 2 choices, but I can't chose any less.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to get to the cook once a week and once a month section too.
Wow! That's a hard choice. I think it would have to be the potato gnocchi though. I love gnocchi and have been wanting some for a long time. Sounds completely delicious!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I miss the most being gluten-free are the delicious gnocchis I grew up eating made by my very Italian grandmother. So, hands down, the first recipe I'd try from Nicole's book would be the ricotta gnocchis. The focaccia also sounds amazing. And the perfect chocolate birthday cake is a recipe I'll be requesting when my special days comes around this fall.
ReplyDeleteK.
ksdodd@hotmail.com
so many goodies to choose from! i'm going with the perfect yellow cupcakes though- yum :)
ReplyDeleteCarrie, thank you for the honest response. And, yes, I'm with you. I love me some whole grains. We just eat SO MUCH from scratch and if it was all "white" flours, our health would be hurting, in a hurry! Still. Kudos to her for making such a lovely cookbook, and it IS filled with a number of things that I've not seen elsewhere, and I have about 15 g.f. cookbooks (plus about 15 more non-g.f.)!!
ReplyDelete(((hugs)))) Karen! I know what you mean, I think I must be a cookbook collector although that was never a distinct intention of mine! lol!!
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE this cookbook! It's a tie between the coffeecake and the soft pretzel. . . . oh how I miss soft pretzels!
ReplyDeletecinnamon rolls,definitely
ReplyDeletedannette.brown@yahoo.com
Hands down, it would be the popovers. Oh, how I have missed popovers. . . . . and then Irish Soda bread, . . . . . and then Gougeres . . .. .oh, you only asked for one.
ReplyDeleteThe chocolate chip butter cookies are my first choice. Pizza dough, coffee cake and cinnamon rolls are next! I miss all of those so much!
ReplyDeleteFor me it would be the sourdough starter, followed up by the sourdough bread. That is the one thing I've missed the most since going gluten free. And the one person in the area that I know makes gluten free sourdough bread.... doesn't make it taste like sourdough bread. Not even close. Something I'm saddened by.
ReplyDeleteanaquita@gmail.com
Here are a few words from Nicole about using Better Batter vs. other GF all purpose flour mixes and her recipes: "Although I use and recommend Better Batter, in the book and on the blog I make it a point to stress that my recipes can be made with ANY gluten-free flour blend that is truly 'all-purpose.' If she has a blend that works for everything, then it would work in all my recipes that call for an all-purpose gluten-free flour. I think that's an important distinction. It's not a Better Batter cookbook. It's an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend of-your-choice cookbook."
ReplyDeletethe first thing I would make from this cookbook is the pate a choux - that dough is so versatile and I could make alot of the French pastries I've been missing out on
ReplyDeleteI "shared" this on the "support group" I started on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteIf I win this book, the first thing that I will make is the chicken pot pie, which is something that I have not successfully mastered since going gluten free. The very next morning I will make the pumpkin bread!
ReplyDeleteI shared information about this on Twitter and Facebook.
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/#!/freejayetee
http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Gluten-and-Dairy-Free-JT/195759863786044
Sweet potato biscuits. I love sweet potato and it sounds unique.
ReplyDeleteSo i have to say this book is amazing for us gfer's! I hope to buy a copy if im not picked because there are too many great recipes that you just cannot find...! That being said my pick is the lentil sloppy joe's...how super delish do those sound. I would pair it with the irish soda bread which i have been obsessed with and have not found a yummy recipe yet....bon appetit!!!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to try the soft pretzels. Yum! I haven't had one in forever.
ReplyDeletelovelydomesticdiva (at) gmail (dot) com
The Pate a Choux recipe on pg. 49 because it's the closest thing to puff pastry, which we have tried to make GF in this house and failed at! Lots of other great looking choices, too, though!
ReplyDeleteI posted a link recommending Nicole's book on my facebook page. Thanks for the extra entry! :-)
ReplyDeleteI would make Cheese Crackers first. I used to LOVE cheese crackers and have been able to make a lot of other gluten free things but have yet to experiment with making crackers.
ReplyDeleteHmm.. I think I would try making the potato gnocchi. At my favorite italian restaurant I would always order (before being diagnosed) a creamy tomato basil gnocchi dish. My gosh it was delicious. I can already imagine light fluffy potato pasta balls swimming in chicken and alfredo sauce.
ReplyDeleteBANANA PANCAKE MUFFINS i need to get the recipe for that in the book!! <3
ReplyDeleteSo many recipes to choose from, but right now I am craving the cinnamon apple toaster pastries and the sweet and sour chicken. YUM!!!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to try the Banana Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust, because this sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteChicken. Pot. Pie. Love it!!
ReplyDeleteWONTON WRAPPERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis book looks wonderful! Having just moved to NYC (husband starting graduate school) I definitely need the "shoestring" part of the book! The asian sauces sound delicious - sweet and sour, chinese hot sauce, and hoisin! I'd love to make all of those myself.
ReplyDeleteSandwich Bread. Or bagels, lol.
ReplyDeleteI would like to make the cinnamon rolls. I miss the cinnabon ones and would really like to solve my cravings.
ReplyDeleteJan (jmarela@hotmail.com)
Love cookbooks and would love this one..I would like to try and make bagels..great for breadkfast
ReplyDeleteIt would have to be the chicken pot pie! I used to love them as a girl and because of my gluten allergy, I haven't had one in years! Mmmmmm, the creamy gravy, the flaky crust! Sounds heavenly!!!
ReplyDelete