Eating Indian Food + Pumpkin Masala Recipe

I distinctly remember the first time I ever ate Indian food.  I was 19 and had still not been exposed to many of the world’s cuisines; my tastes were pretty mundane and the spices and heat were just so foreign. It wasn’t until I met my future husband, Will, a few years later that I…

Easy & Elegant Orange-poached White Fish

Some days I don’t feel like cooking. At. All. You probably know the days – the ones when you’re tired, it’s hot, and you lack motivation to do anything in the kitchen that will take much effort, but you also want to eat something that is relatively healthy and light. Today was one of those…

Super Simple Stir-fry Formula

My first recipe experiments were in a shared dorm hall kitchen during my freshman year of college.  Unfortunately, those meals were mostly forgettable. What I do remember is that my neighbor, homesick for her native Korea, thought I made the perfect taste-tester.  She would cook dishes that were unfamiliar and exotic to my rural Utah…

Poached Salmon in Foil Packets – Two Days, Two Ways

I was browsing. Just trying to mind my own business. But, then I heard a deep voice – a la Michael Clarke Duncan – ask, “What’s for dinner?” Standing next to me was the butcher – as imposing as his voice, arms crossed as if proudly surveying the meat, poultry, and seafood refrigeration units that…

Carlos’ Charro No-Bean Chili for Cinco de Mayo

My grandpa Carlos was quite the hipster in his day. He owned a nightclub called El Matador, drove a corvette, and loved his bling. Of course, this came later in life – after years of working hard for others.Less flashy, more family, he was also the cook in the house. Two of the recipes my…

Batches of Green Chile Garlic Burgers + Evening Rituals

My husband and I have a Monday-evening ritual that involves cooking up the same thing each week and tuning in to the latest episode of House.  It’s not exciting.  In fact, it is completely comfortable and relaxed – a way of easing back into the week.  But, it is something we both look forward to….

The Original Paleo Chipotle Chicken Cauliflower Bake / Casserole

Many moons ago, when gluten and dairy were not an issue for me, I used to love making a chili cheddar pasta dish I’d found in Cooking Light.  It was awesome – filled with noodles, milk, butter, and cheese.  But, alas, no more. As I transitioned to a whole foods way of cooking, I realized…

Creamy spice bazaar-inspired soup

Spicy, bright, and good enough to eat every day! According to my husband, that what this soup is like. And he likes it so much he has taken it to work with him each day this week. Carrots were on sale and the snow had finally hit the mountains after several sunny weeks – soup…

Creamy Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Soup

Sometimes I buy things on a whim in amounts that don’t seem realistic for my 2-person household.  Like a 5-pound bag of limes or a 10-pound squash.  This week it was a 1-pound container of baby bello mushrooms. I love mushrooms; I just usually don’t eat enough to finish even half that amount before they…

Gluten-free Pumpkin Nut Pancakes

A few years ago, when I first stopped eating gluten and dairy and was trying to figure out what to eat, I found a soy-nut pancake recipe that sounded interesting.  I’d never cooked pancakes with nut flour or tofu before and I wasn’t quite sold on the tofu, so I came up with my own…

Fennel for the Everyday Joe (and Jane) + Soup Recipe

Fennel was on sale at the grocery store last week.  I picked up a bulb, with all of its unruly fronds intact, and headed up to the front. “What do you use that for,” asked the guy at the checkout counter.  “I see people buy it sometimes, but have no idea how I’d use it.”…

Gluten-free Friendly Thanksgiving Ideas

Well, it’s that time of year again – cooler weather, celebration, and that feeling of dread that so many of us feel when faced with big holiday gatherings full of social pressure and off-limit foods at every turn. With Thanksgiving coming up here in the U.S., I had thought to invite my immediate family over,…

Cornstarch crepes with fresh fruit

According to Lou Seibert Pappas, an authority on the subject, dessert crepes were originally made from wheat flour, and savory crepes, interestingly, were made with buckwheat – a gluten-free seed that is milled into flour.  Crepes were also cooked on good old cast iron pans, instead of the fancy, electric crepe cooking appliances available today….

Car Camping and the Next Day Frittata

My husband and I love camping, and eating well while camping.  Back in the pre-GFDF days, this meant we ate a lot of home-made garlic, cheese bread cooked in the coals at dinner, bagel sandwiches and granola bars for long hikes, and pancakes and eggs for breakfast. These days, the food may be even better….

25 Quick and Easy Gluten-free and Dairy-free Snacks

I love snacks.  I’m what you might call a forager or grazer, eating here and there throughout the day.  And, when I am not at home, I have a back-up plan. Back in the day, I had a drawer full of snacks that could rival your best grocery store selection…from soup to nuts, literally.  And,…

Fresh Roasted Corn Quinoa Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes

Quinoa on its own is kind of blah.  This dish is flavored with orange juice, garlic, and spicy, roasted salsa for kick, along with fresh summer corn and tomatoes for color and sweetness. This dish was originally eaten before I could take a proper picture of the finished product.  It was so good, I made…

Quick GF Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Last night, I totally messed up the cake I was making.  You know how pineapple upside down cake is supposed to have the pineapple at the bottom of the cake pan while baking?  Well, mine had it in the middle. And, I was planning to mix strawberry chunks (dusted in sugar and then frozen) into…

Celebrating Simple Meals That Delight: A Full Meal Recipe

I finished Nicole Mones’ The Last Chinese Chef last week – which I really enjoyed and recommend.  Two ideas, in particular, from the book struck me. The first was the idea that food is often most delicious when it is simple – when it has no more ingredients than it needs and the essence of…

Egg-, Gluten-, & Dairy-free Rich Dark Chocolate Tapioca Pudding

National Tapioca Day was yesterday.  It inspired me to make a dish that I normally wouldn’t make. You see, I am one of the few people who doesn’t seem to have great memories of eating tapioca pudding as a kid.  I just couldn’t get past the texture.  But, my husband does love tapioca pudding, so…

Key Lime Bars and Mayan Brownies with a kick

One of the reasons I, and many other people, love traveling is the opportunity to savor local foods.  To taste fruit ripened on the branch/vine the way it should be.  To experience the bustle, sounds, and sights of an open-air marketplace.  To smell a meal prepared with fresh herbs and spices.  To toast a new…

Triple Corn Corn Bread

I love corn bread.  Ever since I was a child, it (along with baking powder biscuits and my mother’s homemade bagels) has been one of my favorite breads.  Fortunately, it is a bread that lends itself to gluten-free (and yeast-free) preparation – much more so than the bagels ever will.  It is also easy and…