Spotlight on LOCAL Quelcy Kogel: Author & Food Stylist
The Gluten-Free Grains Cookbook Local author, Quelcy Kogel, shares why she, a bread-loving, pastry addict, wrote The Gluten-Free Grains Cookbook, and why she hopes her book will lead you to the bulk aisle over and over again. I love to cook and bake for others and to invite friends and their friends to join me in my dining room, and I always volunteer to bring a dessert to family functions. What I don’t love is watching someone feel excluded because they can’t eat the dessert everyone else is enjoying. Gluten allergies and sensitivities are on the rise, so whether you have to avoid gluten, love someone who does, or just want to host a more inclusive gathering this holiday season, I created The Gluten-Free Grains Cookbook with sharing in mind. There is so much to be gained through gathering around a table, conversing and sharing. The other motivating factor for the book was health. There are now many gluten-free products on the market daily (even my shampoo is gluten-free), and the marketing buzz wants us to believe these items are healthier. However, when you take the time to read these labels, the product is often filled with preservatives, starches and binders that can be just as difficult to digest as gluten, or the nutritional equivalent of white bread. In no way do I want to mislead you: I eat gluten. My grandmother and mother’s balance of grace and hospitality inspired me to experiment in the kitchen and to share my table. But it is also because of these women that I love bread. Regina Kogel can bake, and Sedonia Wagner before her could also throw around some dough. (My sister Stacy and I even “choreographed” a celebratory dance for my mom’s kolache baking!) I slung dough in a European-style bread bakery, and I believe in the health benefits of fermentation and sourdough bread, but I also believe a recipe can be gluten-free, healthy and satisfying to all. The book celebrates the gluten-free, whole grains, from amaranth to wild rice. They’re flavorful and nuanced, often steeped in ancient histories, and they’re wholesome. But it’s not all granola and Birkenstock's (though I love both). Journeying through the book, we’re going to fry foods for a new twist on tacos, but we’re going to use heart-healthy oils. We’re going to indulge in dessert, but we’re going to use natural sweeteners, and we’re going to use less of them. I’m a big believer in using the most natural version of an ingredient and enjoying it fully. This is the peace I have found with food. My recipes are about more than buckwheat, more than millet. The collection is about living with nature, with the seasons, with respect for well-worn cutting boards and collecting flavors along the journey. My kitchen is an ode to the slow, intentional sort of endeavors. My site (www.WithTheGrains.com) and the book are about sharing my time, and my attention for the tiniest details, with those I love. Now I want to share with you, and by extension, equip you to share with those you love. Quelcy Kogel is a multi-passionate creative who works as a food and prop stylist, event designer, writer and dog cuddler. She founded her site, WithTheGrains.com, as a way to document her own wanderings, farm-to-table adventures and seasonal recipes. Her work has been featured on Bon Appetit, BuzzFeed, HuffPost Taste, the Instagram blog, and in Sift Magazine. She lives in a prop-filled apartment in Polish Hill with her beloved pup, Julep. For more info, please visit: www.WithTheGrains.com
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