Almost two winters ago, I exchanged comments on food photos of several dishes shared by a man named Dirk from Germany on Google+. He commented on photos of the foreign foods I shared and mentioned that many of the ingredients I posted were unavailable to him. Thinking back to my penpal days as a child, in which…
Tag: gluten-free
Ginger Carrot Soup
This 5-ingredient ginger soup with fresh orange juice and a gingery zing is a vibrant, fresh starter. 5-ingredient Ginger Carrot Soup November 10, 2012 by Stormy Category Soups Vegetarian Recipes (All) Ingredients 1 ½ pounds raw carrots, peeled 1 small onion, cut into fourths 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced Juice of 2 oranges (~1 cup) 2-3 cups vegetable…
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…
A Mexican Wedding Feast and 5 Tips for Feeding Groups
Last weekend, I hosted a wedding. The bride, of Mexican heritage, wanted food reminiscent of her childhood. The groom, a meat and potatoes kind of man, has milder tastes in food. As I was in charge of the kitchen, I opted for a happy medium that was gluten and dairy-free, without being obviously so, and…
Spiced-rubbed Sichuan Roast Pork
I have a recipe for you. It’s not my own. But it is pretty delicious and inspired by the Sichuan peppers I ran across on my recent trip to China. Sichuan peppers, if you haven’t had them, are an interesting experience. I won’t say interesting flavor, simply because flavor is too simple a word for what…
China – A Feast for the Senses, But Especially Our Taste Buds
A year ago, my husband and I were invited to join some of our favorite traveling companions on a journey to Tibet. We planned, did some research, and prepared ourselves for a trip that would include both spiritual (Buddhist monasteries and culture) and adventurous (Mount Everest basecamp) experiences. Two weeks before we were scheduled to…
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…
Yummy Honey, Seed & Nut Power Snack Recipes
Last week I talked about tasting honey. In my opinion, honey can be overpowering – rich, sweet, even palpitation-inducing – on its own and tastes best in combination with more savory ingredients…like tea, or nuts, or meat. The very different flavors balance and enhance each other. And, honey is a great binding agent for pulling together…
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…
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….
Super Simple Hummus – With or Without the Chickpeas
Every time I think about posting a recipe for hummus, I stop. It seems like it is one of those things that everyone covers just because it is so darned simple. And the core ingredients of lemon, cumin, garlic, and olive oil – and even the distinctive tahini sesame paste – can be mixed with…
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Quick Marinara
Brussels sprouts have become a favorite around our house this winter. We buy several pounds at a time. I suspect that if one wants to gorge themselves on vegetables, it is probably ok. At least, I hope it is, because that’s what inevitably happens. There’s nothing quite like the salty crunch of the outer leaves…
Colorful Mango Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps
For those of us still on the edge of winter, this recipe will add color to dreary days. Want to see how to cut a mango? Check out this post here. Lime juice vinaigrette for chicken salad -add a little garlic or chili flakes for kick Colorful Mango Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps March 8, 2012…
Smoky Bacon-wrapped Turkey Meatloaf with Water Chestnuts & Dates
As a kid, I hated meatloaf. I think it was the ketchup. I had a bad experience with it and avoided it well into my 20s. Unfortunately, it meant I never developed a taste for dishes that included it. This week, I decided to test my taste buds and pulled out an old copy of…
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…
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,…
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….
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…
Mouth-watering GF Bacon Cheddar Herb Muffins
My husband and I recently returned from a trip with friends. We got together for brunch to sort through the 5,500+ photos and video clips we’d taken between the 5 of us. Thank goodness for digital cameras. Actually, I remember when I moved to Venezuela in 1990 for a year, I took a lead bag…
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,…