PASSOVER TIPS

With Passover 2008 starting on the evening of April 19, I thought I'd share some tips.

As my longtime readers might remember, for a "matzoh ball" mix I'm a fan of Lieber's Knaidel Mix (right), which is made from potatoes.

Among the gluten-free products that are suitable for Passover are treats from Shabtai Gourmet, which include old-fashioned bakery sweets such as rainbow cookies. Shabtai, which markets its products at supermarkets and health food stores as well as Amazon and FreshDirect, has been reaching out for years to gluten-free people in the greater metropolitan area and beyond, including this blogger and Mike Eberhart of Gluten Free Blog. So far I've found that, with Shabtai, preferences are surprisingly varied (for instance, Mike and I both like the Meltaway Crumbs, but he and my mom seem to like the layer cakes more than I do, and I once had a very decadent almond pasty marble cakey treat that I'm having trouble identifying at this point), so I think you could do worse than sampling various Shabtai products and judging for yourself. (It's great to have choices, isn't it?)

For the DIY crowd, Gluten-Free Bay offers many Passover recipes. And Ellen Allard at I Am Gluten Free offers her own recipes including one for a matzo substitute using a mix from Breads from Anna. Here is Ellen's accompanying video.



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BEST WISHES TO BETTE

About six hours after I posted in this space, word came that Bette Hagman had passed away. Cynthia Kupper of the Gluten Intolerance Group wrote the following:

It is with great sadness that I inform you that Bette Hagman passed away quietly this afternoon at home. I took her nearly a hundred good wishes messages yesterday. She was pleased to get them and she and the caregiver were reading them before I left. They brought smiles and tears to her. They were exactly what she needed. Any messages that continue to come in will be given to her daughter.

Thank you all for your kindness and support for Bette. I know both she and her daughter appreciated it very much. Bette inspired and helped more people than she will ever know. We will miss her.

Messages for Bette Hagman's daughter Karol can still be sent to any of the addresses listed below.

The work of gluten-free cookbook pioneer Bette Hagman (pictured in this article) has been celebrated by the CeliacChicks and Ellen Allard of I Am Gluten Free among countless others who have pored over her recipes and other writings over the years. Hagman's reach is far: A lecturer and longtime member of the Seattle-based Gluten Intolerance Group, she is also listed as a Contributing Editor of the Westchester-based magazine Gluten-Free Living.

If you have any favorite Bette Hagman recipes or anecdotes, this is a good time to share them with her, as per this letter from Cynthia Kupper of the Gluten Intolerance Group.

Dear gluten-free friends;

It is with sadness and a heavy heart that I share this news and ask for your support - one last time - for a dear, sweet lady - Bette Hagman.

Bette Hagman is seriously ill. She is trying to be strong by is weakening quickly by this illness.

We want Bette, the author of the Gluten Free Gourmet series of cookbooks, to know how much she has done to make a difference in the gluten-free diet by pioneering great tasting gluten-free foods.

Bette reads every card and note that comes to her. We want her to know she is not forgotten and her work is appreciated. Please consider sending your thoughts, emails and cards to Bette via the GIG office. We will deliver them to her daily. Please act now. Let her know how much we appreciate her.

Send your notes and cards to:

Bette Hagman
c/o GIG
31214 - 124 Ave SE
Auburn WA 98092-3667

Or send an email to: gig@gluten.net. In the subject line put: For Bette Hagman

You may also fax a note to: 253-833-6675

Please keep Bette and her daughter Karole in your thoughts and prayers.

Cynthia Kupper, RD, CD
Executive Director
Gluten Intolerance Group of North America

For related coverage, see Gluten Free Gobsmacked and Gluten-Free Fun.

GF MATZO

With the help of her husband Peter, Ellen Allard of I Am Gluten Free has come up with an online video and a set of instructions for making a "quick" gluten-free matzo using a mix from Breads from Anna. (It's a dairy, Sephardic matzo, in case that's a concern.)

In her post, Ellen also offers recipes for macaroons and other traditional Passover foods. Charoset is a sweet fruit-and-nut mix that can function like a jam or a cranberry jelly. Just beware of the horseradish--it's hot and actually used at a Passover meal to draw tears of pain. I kid you not--the hottest horseradish I ever had practically made steam come out of my ears!

Come to think of it, maybe someone put horseradish in this cow's feed.



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