Eternally Gluten Free by Dominick Cura
Interview by Lauren
Visit Dominick’s Blog
Summary of book:
Eternally Gluten-free is a cookbook full of sweets, from breakfast, to drinks and desserts. The book also includes a short about living with Celiac disease. “If you or a family member has to eat gluten-free, ‘Eternally Gluten-Free’ will show you what you’re not missing. Cura’s inspiring story and tasty dessert, drink and breakfast recipes will show you that gluten-free isn’t a restriction; it’s an opportunity,” says Matthew Amster-Burton, a food writer and the author of “Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father’s Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater.”
About the Awesome Author: Dominick Cura, 13, was diagnosed with Celiac disease in 2009 at the age of 9. At first it seemed extremely difficult and frustrating to live gluten-free. As time went on he discovered that it wasn’t that bad. He started baking gluten-free sweets, developed his own gluten-free recipes, and started a blog about living with Celiac. Together with some friends he also started filming cooking videos. The book includes a short autobiographical inspiring story about living with Celiac Disease and includes his own recipes. He shows how with some work he turned a negative diagnosis into a positive experience.
Interview
1. Your cookbook is full of gluten-free recipes because you have Celiac disease and wanted to create items that you could eat. Could you briefly explain the disease for those that aren’t aware and what does it mean to be gluten-free?
Celiac disease is an auto-immune disease. An auto-immune disease is when the body attacks itself. In the intestine there are little things called villi that collect the nutrients from digested food that goes through the intestine. When someone who has Celiac disease eats gluten (found in wheat, rye and barley) the gluten goes through the intestine but instead of the villi getting the nutrients from the food, the gluten damages the villi and then the person can’t get nutrients because they’re missing most of their villi. The only way to stop this is to go completely gluten-free forever. There are a lot of symptoms, but here are a few of them:
•Joint pains
•Diarrhea
•Abdominal pains
•Depression
•Muscle cramps
•Weight loss
•Fatigue
•Diarrhea
•Abdominal pains
•Depression
•Muscle cramps
•Weight loss
•Fatigue
2. Do you have a favorite recipe in the cookbook (maybe something you make often)?
I have a few favorites, Red velvet cupcakes, Carrot Cupcakes which my family and friends love and then an Italian dessert called Struffoli. Struffoli are an Italian Christmas dessert. They are balls of dough the size of marbles that are fried then dipped in honey. The balls are formed into a dome and topped with colorful sprinkles.
3. Did anyone help you create the food for your cookbook and what role did they play?
I developed all the recipes by myself but I had some help from my family and friends who would taste all my food and give me honest opinions about it.
4. When you started making gluten-free food, did you always have it in mind to make a cookbook? If so, did you hope to have it published for others to see in the long run?
I started baking from a gluten-free cookbook for a month last summer and then I got the idea of writing a book on living with Celiac disease. It occurred to me that it would be too hard to write an auto-biographical book about living with Celiac, so I decided that I could write a small story of living with Celiac disease and the rest a cookbook of gluten-free sweets. I pretty much have only been baking for a year, but I’ve been baking almost every other day since then. Yes, I hoped to have the book published for every one to see and raise awareness of Celiac and I even chose to have my book shared on the Kindle for free on the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library.
5. You’re so young…so what else do you hope to achieve in the future?
I’m working on making a documentary on Celiac disease. I want to make it partly because since I finished my book everyone’s been saying I’d be a great author or baker when I’m older, but I don’t want to be either. I want to be a movie director, so I’m making the documentary for that reason. I also believe that by writing the documentary I can raise awareness of Celiac disease.
Oh how perfect! I've been thinking about going gluten free but I don't think I can probably do it. It's amazing that he wrote this cookbook when he's only 13!
Pretty awesome story. My mom's having to reduce her gluten/carb intake due to her blood pressure – cookbooks like this are really helpful.
WOW! I never imagined there were so many foods you could cook gluten-free! 🙂
I have been thinking about going gluten free but I'm already a vegan. If I go gluten free meal planning would be even harder.
But wow on already writing a book about it! I think its a good idea, I mean I would try out the recipes! I hate baking but my daughter loves it so I guess I would do it for her…
Wow! He is truly an inspiration. I need to look into Gluten-Free diets a bit more. 🙂
Wow how inspirational!
It amazes me when people need to have a gluten free diet and they don't know what they can and can't have. I have people come into my restaurant often and they end up asking me.
I think it's amazing that he's published a cookbook at 13, I'm sure he'll go on to do more awesome things!
I'm gluten free so I will keep an eye out for this book!
Wow, Dominik is such an inspiration! Publishing a cookbook at 13! xD it's so awesome that he found a way to make these really tasty things in a gluten-free way. Awesome post 🙂
I love his ambitions and goals. I'm sure he can achieve anything after having a book released at 13.
I like the sounds of those cupcakes. I've eaten gluten-free food and I'll look more into it.
What an amazing young man! I'm going to recommend this book to one of my friends with a gluten allergy, and to my brother who thinks he may have one as well…
I have a friend who has this disease along with her daughter, so this cookbook would be a great gift for them. I can't imagine trying to eat with this disease because there are so many foods that have gluten! What a daunting challenge. Thanks for the wonderful explanation and interview. 🙂
Such an inspiring post.
I'll be sure to pass on these details to a friend of mine who has Celiac disease.