Grass Fed Beef in Pomegranate Sauce

Snow on the ground means time for delicious beef in pomegranate sauce.

Have I got a slow cooker recipe to soothe winter weary spirits. Why? The mesa is clouded in white this morning- again. We woke to a fresh dusting of snow. I'm posting on a laptop in bed, snug beneath a Pendleton blanket, hoping Steve lights a fire in the kiva soon.

Although consensus is that New Mexico is drop dead gorgeous in the snow, I am so not a winter person. By mid January I am bored with fussing with boots and itchy sweaters and jackets. The tedious layering. (I never choose the right winter coat, so I gave up- I haven't owned one in two years- and besides, who knew you needed a winter coat in New Mexico?)

And then there is the loopy ritual of locating gloves that migrate to the oddest hiding places- inside boots or under folded pillow cases. If it isn't obvious to you, Perceptive Reader, I am more than ready for spring. Until she arrives, I remain a big fan of winter comfort food.

Last night I tossed together an intuitive combination of pomegranate juice and balsamic vinegar sweetened with pure maple syrup. Odd, you think? Just taste this.

And by the way, my recipe is featured in the fab new cookbook:  Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking.

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Gluten-Free Banana Cookies

Gluten-free and vegan banana cookie recipe.

Two firsts today. I made my first batch (ever!) of banana cookies (and the recipe just so happens to be gluten-free and dairy-free). And I took my first post-fracture outside walk today, bundled up against a chilly wind, walking stick in hand, patient husband at my side.

I use the word patient for a reason. Because Babycakes, walking with me is painted turtle in the shade slow. Careful. Deliberate. No funny business. No waggling or showing off. It ain't necessarily pretty.

But it's vertical.

It's biped (if you don't count the requisite walking stick as an appendage). And these days- in this house- vertical rocks our world. When we circled back to the casita the kitchen smelled like bananas and vanilla. I unwrapped my purple scarf, peeled off my mittens and turned the kettle on. It was time for tea and cookies.

And I had worked up an appetite.

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Vegetarian Polenta Pie

Layered polenta, veggies and vegan cheese.

An easier savory vegetarian pie than this you won't find. It's a simple fresh recipe that rocks. I made it to celebrate.

We just got back from my three-month post-op check-up. The hip looks good. "I gained ten pounds," I said to my hunky surgeon, Brant, as he was lifting my left leg in the air and poking me in the pelvis.

"So what?" he snorted and turned to Steve. "These tall skinny chicks. Ten pounds."

"I thought you'd be proud of me," I countered. "You know- that whole, You fit the broken hip profile thing you said to me? Female. White. Skinny. Vegetarian. (Celiac!)"

"Yeah, well. I gotta give you shit about something," he said.

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Potato Soup for the Sensitive Soul

Potato Soup to the Rescue

When I want a recipe for comfort food I reach for potatoes first. And when I need a soup recipe in a hurry, this creamy potato comfort always hits the spot.

Decades ago (yes, decades- how scary is that?) while I was still in art school, living in my boxy white washed one-bedroom off Dupont Circle, I would make potato soup in a blender (no crankin' Cuisinart or snappy immersion wands back then) and serve it chilled in Asian blue and white bowls (Pier One Imports, 99 cents apiece) with a sprinkle of bright green chives. Art student friends would scrape their bowls clean and ask for more. And I would gladly oblige. (They were easily impressed, because they were, well, not exactly starving, but used to living on instant ramen noodles, pizza and beer.)

The thing is- what's not to love about potatoes and butter and cream? How can you go wrong? In fact, when you can cook with butter and cream, you're bound to stumble upon something that tastes pretty darn good. Notice I'm not mentioning gluten. That's only because there's no gluten in this potato soup (I never thickened mine with flour). And then, Dear Reader, there's cheese. If you can cook with cheese, you can kick up any recipe's taste without breaking a sweat.

But what if you can't? Cook with butter, cream and cheese, that is.

Welcome to the world of those of us living not only gluten-free, but dairy-free. Call us GF/CF if you like (for gluten-free/casein-free). The truth is- 50% of celiacs are allergic to milk proteins. Did you know that? Half of celiacs need to be not only gluten-free, but casein-free as well. [This is not a lactose issue; this an immune response issue; if you react to dairy, don't assume it's a lactose problem, get a food allergy blood test.]

Many additional sensitive souls (celiac or not) react neurologically to the proteins in gluten and dairy- proteins that have an addictive, opioid effect on the brain chemistry of those of us who may not be exactly neurotypical. (I, for one, have noticed a positive change in my overall sense of well being since going dairy-free last June; after living gluten-free for over five years, going GF/CF nudged me to a deeper level of healing and managing my usual ups and downs in mood, energy and focus.)

Which brings me back to soup.

How can I recreate my favorite potato soup without butter and cream?

With some New Mexican inspired flavors, of course.

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Weekend Picks

January weekends put me in the mood for two things. Cocoa with marshmallows and browsing cookbooks. Ideally, at the same time. In bed.

And since you can't join me, Dear Reader- as I spoon rapidly melting marshmallows from my hefty green-glazed cup, trying ever so carefully not to drip chocolate on an open cookbook as I slurp- I thought I might quickly browse some of my favorite on-line recipes and snag a list of seasonal inspiration for your weekend.

Pure comfort food.

The cocoa part is up to you.



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Gluten-Free Soup, Stew and Chili Recipes

Our Favorite

Gluten-Free Soup, Stew and Chili Recipes

Here is a collection of my favorite gluten-free soups, stews and chili recipes here on Gluten-Free Goddess®. Warm up body and soul with one of these hearty slurp-worthy bowls of comfort. There's nothing like soup. And from a can doesn't count.

Many of these favorites are made in a slow cooker for easy, year round cooking.

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Baked Cod with Roasted Sweet & Sour Vegetables

Yesterday, it snowed. Today the winter sky is clear and bright. The snow shadows are blue- almost purple. I was sorry to see the last of our Beef and Potatoes au Chocolat go. A chilly day like today is the perfect day for a slow cooked soup or stew. But alas. There's not a cup of soup in the house. Or any leftovers, for that matter. Last night we tossed together a simple dinner for two- cod fillets baked in olive oil and garlic, and topped with tangy roasted vegetables. Mermaid comfort food. 

It was gone faster than you could say Daryl Hannah.

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Grass Fed Beef and Potatoes au Chocolat

Spices make this chocolate sauce muy fabulouso.

One of my favorite food-themed movies is Chocolat. All those sexy close-ups of thick and glossy ribbons of deep dark chocolate. The dustings of cinnamon you could almost taste. And the revelation of chile-spiked cocoa! It's enough to make any chocolate and spice lover swoon.

Flash forward. Winter day. Steve is turning, smiling- devilish- in the late afternoon sun that slants through the square kitchen window, unwrapping (vegans please skip ahead now to when I acknowledge your goddess-given right for a substitute) a gorgeous grass fed ribeye steak from Whole Foods and ponders, aloud, Should we make some kind of stew tonight- something Sicilian, maybe? And suddenly- feverishly- I am possessed with the idea of mole- a lip smacking, foodgasm-inducing Mexican sauce, decadently rich and redolent with unsweetened chocolate and spices.

You know what happened next.

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Spicy Eggs Diablo on Polenta

Spicy eggs on polenta aka Huevos Diablo (or Diavolo)

I've been a tad busy behind the scenes here at Gluten-Free Goddess®. A little cooking, yes. Now that I can stand for longer and longer periods of time and not topple over. And no, I haven't been drinking. Well, just a little red wine with dinner, of course.

No, I'm afraid it's not an intoxication issue at all, it's the whole getting-used-to being vertical thing. It's a wee bit strange and vertigo inducing. It seems I have to re-orient my depth perception and excavate my bi-ped spatial navigation skills (which were never as we now know particularly well honed). I must relearn how to aim and propel this stiff and complaining body (spare parts included) semi-crutchless around my casita-bound world. For the first time in ages.

You think that's easy?

Actually, it's all good. Even the failed baking attempts are good. Like the vegan pear cobbler that wouldn't bake in the middle and got only gummier the longer I baked the damn thing (what is it with high altitude and egg-less baking?). Actually, I blame gluten-free and egg-less baking. It's no walk in the park. It looked pretty, but tasted god-awful. So I'm sparing you.

Instead I'm reprising an older recipe I once ate with gusto (and can no longer consume due to an egg allergy; but you can, I hope!).

I love you that much.

Make this tasty egg dish for brunch or breakfast for dinner on some rainy spring night.

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