In brief: The good news is, we’re turning into fairly decent gluten-free bakers. The bad news is, even though we’re making more stuff, better, faster, our prices are going up. And no matter how much we bake, we still seem to sell out every Sunday afternoon!

Full Story: Elaine Monarch of the CDF once called to tell us she’d been traveling and speaking to other GF-bakers on the east coast, and she wanted us to know that gluten free baking is hard. It was an surprisingly thoughtful thing to say, and such a relief to hear that it wasn’t just us, but that even Mr. Ritts might have found this job a challenge at first.

Elaine’s encouragement kept us going through many a tray of gummy focaccia!

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We are so pleased to announce that we (finally) got a real
“seal of approval” from the Rabbinical Council of California.

Of course we’ve been kosher all along, but until now you only had MY word on that. This way The Sensitive Baker can market our products to more than just the five kosher celiacs who actually know me!

Shauna James Ahern, gf- blogger and author, honored us today with a visit to celebrate her new book, Gluten-Free Girl.

We worried the turn-out would be as dismal as the weather on this rainy Super-Bowl Sunday, but to our delight, Angelinos packed into our little retail area to meet Shauna and take home autographed copies of her book.

[One woman told me she had called bookstores all over the city but they were all sold out, she finally found a copy in Borders El Segundo yesterday, where she purchased it and brought it with her because she was worried Shauna would run out. Luckily, supplies sufficed, and I was able to score a copy for myself at the end. Yes!]

See more photos of the event ….. Read the rest of this entry »

Celiac filmmakers take note: This is how it is done. 14 minutes long.
I sound very cynical because I’m bringing this up in the context of “Why aren’t there any great celiac movies?” but this video really touched me.  Touched, moved, inspired. Everyone should watch it. Keep your tissues handy. (And your credit card!)
Autism - Hope After Diagosis 

If you have a child with autism in Southern California, you are probably already familiar with this organization, but just in case: TACA [Talk About Curing Autism] is a tremendous resource - go there now.

Suzanne Frieder posted this link more than a week ago on the Los_Angeles_Celiac Yahoo! group - What You Need to Know About Celiac Disease and the Gluten-Free Diet. Thank you Suzanne! I watched it in pieces over time. (It’s 90 minutes - Yikes!) Apart from the length, this video has much to recommend it.

1. University of California at San Diego has assembled an world-class team in the new Wm. K Warren Medical Research Center for Celiac Disease. This video is a presentation by three members of this group, so it’s neat to see who’s working in the neighborhood.
2. There’s a fantastic picture of healthy villi in someone’s intestine, not a stained slide like you always see but practically 3-D. It looks like sea anemones! Dr. Kagnoff likens villi to shag carpeting, and it’s a good analogy.
3. Another very good chart diagramming the wheat family tree. Actually; really good visual aids, throughout.
4. About 68 minutes in, the question is asked of Dr. Harmon, “Greg, what’s the difference between gluten intolerance and celiac disease?” and he responds “That’s the million-dollar question!” I love this guy. He’s one of the few doctors you’ll ever hear say “we don’t know.” Give this man a cigar!
5. Susan J. Algert, Ph.D., R.D. / Nutritionist puts the number 20ppm in perspective when she likens it to “one penny in ten thousand dollars.”* These people have a knack for making things understandable.

*Wait - I just re-read that. Shouldn’t it be two pennies? Maybe she was talking about 10ppm.

Anyway, it may not be the most exciting video you have ever seen. (It is, after all, a very “plain-text” recording of a speech. Three speeches, actually, with a question & answer period after. No music, no dynamic editing or artistic lighting. We get spoiled here in Hollywood.) But it is informative and worth watching. Or listen in the background while you do other work!