How it all began…

As a kid I loved to cook.  I found any reason I could to help my mom in the kitchen.  At a pretty young age she started to let me cook for myself.  It started with packing my lunch for school. Then she got me a grilled cheese maker. That year I made every type of grilled cheese that could ever exist. As I got older, I started making more complicated recipes, like the chocolate chip cookies on the back of Nestlé Toll House bag.

By the age of 11 I was contributing to the Thanksgiving meal. The picture above is the cornbread I made for the Thanksgiving of 2001.

When I was 15 I found out that I had celiac disease. This was 2005. When I realized that I had to eat gluten-free it was really hard. I was a teenager. I just wanted to go over to my friend’s houses and eat pizza. I remember the first time my mom and I went grocery shopping for gluten free things, I cried. Walking down the aisles, all I could focus on was everything I could not have anymore. Luckily, Milwaukee at the time, was pretty progressive in the the gluten free scene. It had a gluten free bakery and the first ever gluten free grocery store where I could walk in and buy anything I wanted. No need to read a label. These options with the pairing of a mother who was determined to cook great food for me, helped me transform my mindset. I began to focus on all the things I could have and not just the things I couldn’t.

My mom and I started to cook all the time. We tried out new products and converted family recipes. To this day, if we make or buy something that is awful we just throw it away, shrug it off, and hope for better the next time. I think most chefs go through the same experience.

At 25 I found out that I could not have dairy either. Just like gluten, I went through a mourning period. I mean I grew up in Wisconsin, America’s Dairyland. I loved cheese. However, I knew I had to start focusing on what I could have, instead of the opposite.

So here we are today. I have been dairy free and gluten free since 2016 and I am always cooking. I hope those with food allergies can benefit from hearing my story and seeing my journey. I also hope that anyone, food allergies or not, can enjoy and use the recipes I make. It’s time for some Damn Good Food.

~Callie

P.S. This blog is dedicated to my mother who started me on my cooking journey and is an excellent partner in the kitchen.