Monday, April 30, 2012

Gluten-Free Sun-Dried Tomato Focaccia Bread

Gluten-Free Sun-Dried Tomato Focaccia Bread
Today's new recipe? Gluten-free sun-dried tomato bread.
 

A Focaccia To Love


Moving season is upon us. Yes, Los Angeles has a moving season. Southern Californians do not like to move in cold weather- in other words, when the mercury dips below the 60ยบ mark. 58 degrees? It's time for UGGs and cocoa and ordering in. Not for hoisting sofas up or down a flight of stairs. Are you crazy?

And yes. We are moving. Come June 1st or thereabouts we are joining the migrating, apartment swapping masses. We are weeding through the promises that bloom on Craigslist (a veritable bouquet of alluring superlatives). Amazing! Gorgeous! Light and bright! And the ever popular- HUGE! This whole searching (and so far, not finding) process inevitably makes me insanely hungry for bread. Not store bought bread. Freshly baked warm from the oven bread. The kind of rustic, crusty loaf that conjures the word hearth. And home.

Because when you're searching for a place to live, nothing whispers home to your soul like the yeasty sweet aroma of baking bread.


READ MORE and get the recipe ...

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Spring Veggie Dip - Gluten-Free and Vegan

Karina's gluten-free vegan veggie dip with carrot sticks.
Karina's gluten-free vegan veggie dip with carrot sticks.


Ramblings and Veggie Dip

Living rootless is a mixed gift bag. There are no neighbors who know my history, or my family. Or even my name (unless they happened to glance by accident at the removable punch-label on our mailbox that sports our shared surname, one half of the story). I have no garden to weed. No leaves to rake. No fence to paint. I walk the city block unnoticed (flirting with invisible) in frayed men's Levi's and a four-year old sweatshirt. I do not mind the anonymity. I find it kind. It suits me. Like my faded Converse One Stars.

Craving attention- for me- is like craving bacon ice cream or hot dog stuffed pizza crust or fried chicken in buckets. I simply do not. It's innate. I just don't have an appetite for it. I practiced it endured it in childhood when necessary (for survival). Growing up can be excruciating if dropped into the nest of an extroverted party giver. Performance anxiety will indeed tongue-tie an observant three year old who already understands on some unspoken secret level that the push toward the spotlight is not about her, it's all about the pusher.

So I've never been prone to elevate the art of competition or believe in the religion of winners and losers. Keeping score or handing out awards is as unpleasant to me as sniffing haggis. Competition (when viewed up close and personal) is mental illness. The vigilant urge to be Number 1 or the beeline drive toward fame is a symptom. You can cloak it in a "pursuit of excellence" all you want. It's all an illusion with no more meaning than a pink slime infused wiener-stuffed gob of dough baked with cheese. Time will prove that to you.

In more ways than one.


Sprouted tofu veggie dip with fresh herbs is gluten-free and vegan.
Sprouted tofu veggie dip with fresh herbs.


Who needs ammonia doused pink slime or buckets of greasy fried gluten when you can whip together this light and creamy vegan dip? Serve it with crisp carrot sticks or an array of fresh spring veggies.

Feel good.

Inside and out.


Creamy tofu vegan dip for spring veggies is non-dairy.
Creamy tofu vegan dip for spring veggies.


Spring Veggie Dip Recipe - Gluten-Free and Vegan

By Karina Allrich April 2012.

I used sprouted tofu in this vegan-lovin' dairy-free gluten-free veggie dip. Sprouting the soybeans makes them more digestible, apparently.

Ingredients:

1 lb. soft or medium-soft organic tofu
1/2 cup Vegenaise
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
1 clove fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Drain the tofu (if water-packed) and press the excess water out with a paper towel.

Place the tofu in a food processor bowl and turn it off and on briefly to break it apart.

Add the Vegenaise, lemon juice and garlic, and process till smooth.

Scoop the mixture into a bowl and add the fresh chopped herbs. Season with sea salt and black pepper, to taste. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or more to blend flavors.

Serve with fresh carrot sticks and raw spring veggies.


Serves six.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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More gluten-free veggie dips from food blogs:

Creamy Tofu and Green Pea Dip at The Kitchn

Hummus Dip with Kalamata Olives and Capers from Jeanette's Healthy Living