this one is a bit of a challenge

It took me by surprise, but 2 weeks ago I was given the formal diagnosis of coeliac disease. My hope over the previous four weeks was that the blood tests were all a false positive. This means I must now stick to a strict diet of gluten free. Gluten is a component of wheat, barley, rye and oats - it is what helps stick things together. Hence wheat is used in many unexpected things to thicken or "stick" flavourings.

The obvious no goes for me are most bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, cake, biscuits etc.
The less obvious are potato chips (wheat is used in the flavourings), soy sauce (as a thickener), ice cream (as a thickener) etc. So now I need to read labels carefully.

I also need to modify my famous tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauces as they both contain malt vinegar (another gluten derivative). All a challenge for Rie's kitchen to overcome. But first on a personal quest, I need to perfect gluten free fresh ravioli :) When I get this right, I promise to post the recipe to this blog. So far we have had 2 goes. The first created ricotta clag soup, and the second although edible had the wrong texture - very stodgy. I will get it eventually!!

For anyone wanting more info on coeliac disease, or gluten free diets, check out the following website http://www.coeliacsociety.com.au/