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…
Tag: dairy-free
Broadening the Idea of Breakfast: Not just your typical morning meals
I’ve been out of it – focus, sleep, the internet, even the country. Hopefully, it didn’t really seem like I was gone. But, I was….to the farthest reaches of China near the Mongolian, Russian, and Kazakh borders. It was an amazing trip, that I will be sharing over the next couple of weeks. The only…
How to Make Your Own Ghee / Clarified Butter
I’ve been on a food book binge lately: biographies, non-fiction overviews of specific foods, recipe books, etc. One that I picked up is called Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages by Anne Mendelson. It’s a strange selection for me – I don’t drink milk. In fact, I have avoided milk for several years…
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…
Reeled in by a Fish – Poached Salmon and Egg
On my way home from the gym the other night, I had to pick something up at the Whole Foods grocery next-door. I replayed my list in my head. I was on a mission. But, when I walked through the front door of the store, I quickly realized my mistake. I had broken cardinal rule…
Powerful Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Hey, it’s national pumpkin month! I had planned to offer up my pumpkin pancake recipe, but a recent technical failure caused me to lose all recent photos… (UPDATE: Here’s the pancake recipe now.) So, I made a pumpkin pie smoothie instead. It is so good, I’ve been drinking one nearly every day, and almost prefer it…
A Bowl in One – Quick and Easy (and healthy too!) Asian Rice Bowls
When I’m in the mood for something filling but not heavy, tasty but healthy, I turn to rice bowls. They are the perfect gluten-free & easy meal. What is an Asian Rice Bowl? Rice bowls are basically meals in a bowl that are popular all over Asia. Ingredients may vary from country to country,…
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….
Light and Easy Nectarine, Fresh Green, and Pistachio Salad
I am excited about all of the summer fruit and vegetables that have been making an appearance lately. I’m not so excited by the heat. So, I’ve been making a lot of refreshing salads. They are perfect for a light supper out on the porch. My recent favorite is filled with fruit, nuts, and fresh…
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…
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…
Highlighting Native Foods: Savory Acorn Quinoa Muffins
There is always something new for me to discover at the market that caters to our city’s north Asian transplants and culinary fans. This time, it was acorn starch. Gluten-free and intriguing, I couldn’t resist grabbing a bag to experiment with. Koreans use acorn starch to make a jelly called dotormiuk. I had other plans…
Vibrant Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats
Pumpkin, when tart cherry is not in season, is probably my all time favorite pie filling. Both bring back childhood memories of family and happiness, the kind of memories that make any food taste just that much better than it would otherwise. As I grew up, I found other ways to use pumpkin, and learned…
Viva [Venezuelan] Vegan! Terry Hope Romero’s New Cookbook
Terry Hope Romero recently released her latest cookbook: Viva Vegan!: 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers. Thumbing through the index, I realized she must be Venezuelan. Sure, she includes recipes from all across Latin America, but I was immediately biased when I saw the words arepas, mechada, caraotas, and cachapas. Mmmm, cachapas…
Spaghetti Squash Gratin with Crimini Mushrooms
Like everyone else lately, I was looking for a recipe that that would turn spaghetti squash into something amazing. Not that it doesn’t have merit on it’s own – really, what other vegetable looks so cool when cooked? But, it is a pretty mild vegetable and I was looking for some kick. In the end,…
Coconut Brown Rice Pudding for Breakfast
When I was a kid, my favorite breakfast was a hot bowl of cream-of-wheat with milk and sugar and piles of Cheerios on top. What I liked the most were the texture combinations – hot and cold, chewy and crunchy, as well as the sweet earthy flavor of wheat and oats. It’s been many years…
Gorgeous Key Lime Curd Tart with Berries
This week, in answer to my prayers about finding ways to use up fruit, Bon Appetit came in the mail, spreading good eats and cheer in the form of a Lime Tart with Blackberries and Blueberries. I modified the recipe to include raspberries instead of blueberries (since I don’t eat one type, but had cartons…
Artichoke and Caramelized Onion Quiche
There are many ways to skin a cat, but only one way to get at the heart of an artichoke OK, no cat-skinning, just the need find an alternative way to deal with a tricky bulb. It’s Iron Chef night. This evening’s ingredient is the now in-season artichoke, a vegetable with which I have very…
Risotto with Mushrooms – Drinky and Stinky Garlicky Goodness continued…
Today is the day – garlic fest! I’m excited to see what other garlic dishes make an appearance at dinner tonight, particularly for dessert. I’m sure it will be delicious, or, at the very least, an interesting experience. The second entrée we are making is a vegetarian, dairy-free, naturally gluten-free risotto. Sounds delicious when I…
“Quick” Chile Walnut Hash (a la chiles en nogada)
The title may not inspire confidence, but the dish is delish, so bear with me. This recipe is inspired by traditional Mexican stuffed chiles with walnut sauce. I say inspired, because I offer up a version that is easier to prepare, but maintains the essence of the dish. In a nutshell, the difference between typical…
Hearty Russian Cabbage Soup with Buckwheat Pilaf
Last week, I made Heidi Swanson’s Lime & Peanut Coleslaw. The other half of the cabbage I bought has been waiting in the refrigerator ever since, along with some carrots and a couple of potatoes…together forming the inspiration for this evening’s meal: cabbage soup and buckwheat kasha. I know, I know – it sounds a…
Easy Paleo Tomatillo Enchiladas
I found a bottle of home-canned garlic tomatillo salsa at the market a couple of weeks ago. It was in a quart-sized Mason jar with a raffia bow and a simple hang-tag for a label. I knew what I’d use it for when I bought it; I’ve just been waiting for the craving. And tonight,…
Spicy Pumpkin Tomato Soup
Finding fresh produce in the dead of a rural, Moldovan winter is almost impossible. Almost. When I served in the Peace Corps many moons ago, the one winter vegetable – aside from onions and garlic – I came to rely most upon was pumpkin. It was readily available, sweet, and delicious. And I bought one…