About Us

Trish likes
*kitchen adventures
*reading - mostly non-fiction
*bright colors and things that are shiny
*grilled food and fresh fruit
*cottonwood trees
*the state of New Jersey
[oh, if you think I'm holding out on you, read my "100 Random Things About Me"]

Trish dislikes
*slow drivers
*things falling on the floor
*mannequins
*going to bed before the party's over

the boy likes
*an abundance of clean socks
*the zombie apocalypse
*almond poppy seed muffins
*silver smithing
*craftsman architecture + mid-century design
*gear and gear shopping
*hair brushes

the boy dislikes
*network television
*little dogs
*clogged gutters or drains
*early mornings

 

together we like

*fresca
*pirates

*the internet
*exploring in the mountains

There are two of us here - I do most of the cooking and baking, and well, he handles the eating like a champ. At this point in our lives, we both have Celiac disease, and I have a casein (dairy) allergy and he has a soy allergy. Before this all happened, we loved exploring the restaurants around town. I could drive down State Street and point to each restaurant and tell you what you should order. (Ever been to Coachman's Dinner and Pancake House? Get the waffle special.) We loved listening to Wiretap on our local NPR affiliate, going to art and history museums, shopping for weird survivalist gear, and checking out books from the library.


This was us before Celiac disease:

The boy and I before the premier of Pirates of the Great Salt Lake, 2007.

He looks a lot healthier now :).

How we got here.

The week the boy was diagnosed.

First there was one. In July 2008, my boyfriend began a gluten free lifestyle for celiac disease. This was a huge change for us, since we cook together and eat together. The night we started, I headed to the grocery store. Stuck in the "natural aisle," I bought most of the things labeled "gluten free" for him to try. I was completely overwhelmed. Reading labels through my exhausted, hot tears, I left with my pricey loot.

We learned. We experimented. We bought mediocre packaged food, and later found that baking our own was both tastier and better for us.

Then there was two. I opted to eat gluten free with the boy. Every meal. It made us both feel more comfortable that I wasn't using gluten in the same kitchen, and that we were eating together. Surprisingly, I felt better too, and chalked it up to eating healthier.

A few weeks before I was diagnosed.

I would eat other foods, either at work, at lunch with friends, or while traveling for business or with my family. I remember going to Disneyland in January 2009 with my family and feeling not well the whole time we were there. I thought I was getting over being nauseous on the plane. It was November 2009 when I sat in a diner with some friends, and began eating a big, beautiful German pancake with fruit on it. After about 5 minutes of eating, my nose started to run, the muscles in my neck cramped up enough that it hurt to look down at my food, and I felt really horrible in my belly. That was the last gluten I ate on purpose. Later, I took a test through Entero Labs to discover severe intestinal damage from gluten intolerance and a casein intolerance.

We hope you enjoy our recipes, information about restaurants in Salt Lake, and tips for living gluten free.
If you have questions, comments, suggestions, or requests, email me at trishtator at yahoo dot com.

Email: trishtator at yahoo dot com
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