By Jamie Bateman
Food photography by Jamie Bateman

Family dinner is a special moment to gather around the dining room table and enjoy the blessings that have been prepared. Growing up, our family ate every meal at the table. It was a known fact that when it was time to eat, you had a special seat that was yours. Those dedicated seats aren’t just for church pews.

This family tradition was carried over to our kids and continues to this day. We gather, give thanks for our meal, and dig into the bounty laid before us. That’s when the fun begins. The chatter commences, the stories start to come out, and before you know it, there is so much conversation happening that it’s hard to hear yourself think. The laughter, the joy, the moments that are being created are all for the simple reason that we are gathering to eat.

A dish isn’t just an item that is passed around the table for all to enjoy. Sure, it feeds the cravings, but it’s more than that. It’s a staple. A story behind each one. It’s a favorite item or one that has been passed down from generation to generation. It’s a well-known dish that when you taste it, you know you’re home.

Over the years, our dishes had to make a slight change in how they were prepared. Following the discovery of having to ward off gluten and wheat, we had to quickly shift gears on learning how to make those beloved family dishes.

Here are some of our family’s gluten free recipes.

Saturday mornings were made for pancakes. It’s a known fact. Cinnamon rolls may fall into a close second, but those fluffy buttermilk pancakes slathered in homemade butter and drizzled in cane syrup take the lead every time.

With a made-from-scratch recipe that is fine-tuned to be gluten free, you will be hard pressed to tell the difference between those that are loaded with wheat versus those that are not.