A Quick Chat With Aran Goyoaga

Lovers of Aran Goyoaga’s blog Cannelle et Vanille could be forgiven for not realizing that her site is dedicated to gluten free cooking. What people fall for instead are the fresh and ethereal images, her delectable recipes and the infectious joy with which she describes food. After spending time on Cannelle et Vanille you realize that Aran is creating gluten-free dishes but your first impression is simply that you’re spending time with someone who really loves food. In the fall of 2012 Little, Brown & Co. is publishing her first cookbook. Aran does it all while raising two small kids. Luckily, they like to spend time with her in the kitchen. Well, who wouldn’t?  – C.M.

Q: What is your earliest food memory?
A: I grew up in a pastry shop so food has been around me all my life. I remember eating pastry cream right out of the bowl when I was about 2 years old. Licking the spoon like it was the best thing ever.

Q: What was your favourite food as a child?
A: I was a picky eater according to my mom, but I loved clam risotto with lots of garlic and parsley. Also my grandmother’s arroz con leche ( rice pudding) was one of my favorites.

Q: How did you learn to cook?
A: I think I learned by watching my mom and my grandma. There was always food being cooked, all times of day. I must have been 11 or 12 the first time I cooked for my family.

Q: Do you still make any family recipes?
A: All the time. I make paella, pisto, arroz con leche, spanish tortilla… all the time.

Q: Do you cook with your children?
A: Yes. My oldest, Jon who is 4 1/2, loves to help me in the kitchen and I think Miren, my 16 month old, will be into it as well when she is a bit older.

Q: Are your kids old enough to be aware of your blog or your work in general?
A: Jon always asks me if I need to photograph the food we are about to eat or if I have to travel anywhere to cook something or take photos of food. He knows about the book as well and thinks it’s pretty fun.

Q: When did you start cooking gluten free?
A: I dabbled in it right after my son was born, in 2006, but I didn’t commit to it fully until I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance early 2010. I gave up gluten completely then.

Q: Do your kids have issues with gluten?
A: Jon was tested right after I was diagnosed and he also tested positive for gluten intolerance. He never presented issues and he does not have the celiac gene, but he lives gluten free. My little one is also gluten free although we have not tested her yet.

Q: How do you handle pickiness with your kids?
A: That is so difficult. When I was pregnant, I remember saying how my kids were going to eat everything and anything I put in front of them. Little did I know. It’s not as simple as that. Jon was a great eater until he turned 3, then he became really picky. Perhaps as a way to show individualism and character as strange as that might sound. He is actually starting to get better now. I don’t force to eat everything but if he doesn’t eat his vegetables and try a bit of everything at the table, then he doesn’t get dessert. Dessert always wins and he ends up eating.

Q: Is there a food you wish your kids would eat but won’t?
A: Miren will eat anything. I wish Jon was more adventurous with vegetables, but he has a thing with texture so I always have to puree the soups.

Q: What’s your go-to-busy-weekday evening meal?
A: Spanish tortilla with a green salad or quinoa with shrimp and veggies. Quick but nutritious.

Q: Will the Cannelle et Vanille cook book be about gluten free cooking?
A: It will be about the foods we eat and love, which happen to be gluten free.