National Almond Day - Feb. 16th; Chef Jeff Henderson

Chef Jeff Henderson
Henderson has not had an easy life. A former drug dealer, 10 years in prison turned his life around. He learned to cook in the prison kitchen and went on to be the first African-American executive chef at the Bellagio in Las Vegas with no formal training. His Chef Jeff Project mentors at-risk individuals. He's written several books, including his memoir, Cooked, and the inspirational If You Can See It, You Can Be It.

* * *

February 16th is Almond Day! Because tree nut allergies are fairly common, you may have someone in your family who is allergic to nuts. There are a few ways you can customize your family cookbook to be safe for those folks.

1. Only include recipes that are safe for those family members.
2. Make nuts an optional ingredients, listed in the recipe notes.
3. Separate any recipes containing nuts in a chapter by themselves.
4. Include a special notation in the recipe heading ("Contains Nuts").

This could be done for any other allergy/sensitivity as well. When you know you have people in your family with celiac disease, for instance, include a chapter on gluten-free recipes. Suggest alternatives. Everyone should be able to enjoy the family cookbook, no matter what their dietary restrictions might be!

Available at Amazon.