Chocolate Sorbet- Dairy-Free

Rich chocolate sorbet- without dairy. Pass the spoon.

Chocolate Dessert

Two trends are sneaking in to recipe searches this week. The first? Super bowl recipes. You know, guy-style chicken chili and Crock-Pot crowd pleasers. Party food for the Big Game. Guacamole and hummus. Nachos. The second trend is a search closer to my own heart and its tender sensibilities.  You may have already guessed it. Because you, Wonderful Reader, are smart, savvy and, well. Let's just gush a minute with appreciation. You are downright fabulous (with impeccable taste and discernment, I might add).

The second big trend is a search for romantic recipes and Valentine's Day inspiration. You're not surprised, are you? (See, I knew you were brilliant).

I'd much rather conjure up chocolate recipes than beans and burgers. Sexy food is more interesting than AstroTurf and lines of scrimmage and backfields in motion. And what the Hail Mary is a down, anyway? First down, fourth down. All these downs and off sides. It makes my head spin.

The simple pigskin truth is, all I know about football I learned from watching The Replacements. It's my favorite football movie. And if your intuition serves you well, you know it isn't because of the football theme. It's because of a certain favorite actor, who- if you watch with gentle attention- is one of the best listeners in the acting game. Most actors simply wait for their turn to speak. Keanu Reeves inhabits the moment. His eyes listen.

Some folks apparently don't value such a quality. They prefer those scenery chewers who vamp and beg for attention and aggressively steal every scene they're in. (How else do you explain why the remarkable Jeff Bridges has not finally won an Oscar? At 60.).

As in life, there are givers and there are takers. Quarterbacks and receivers. Oh wait. That's football again, isn't it. So be it. Here's what I know about football, thanks to Shane Falco.

Pain heals. 
Chicks dig scars. 
Glory lasts forever.

Okay. I admit it. Maybe it's kinda sexy. Especially when he says it. And maybe it's even about love, after all. So serve this sexy dessert for Valentine's day. And watch The Replacements. You get romance and he gets football.

It's win-win.

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Quinoa Mushroom Pilaf

Quinoa pilaf with mushrooms, scallions and bell peppers.

New Queen on the Block

In between bouts of rain and nostalgia (I prickle using the word nostalgia, to be honest; it smacks of sentimentality, not a trait I cultivate or suffer gladly, but I'll get to that later) I've been craving quinoa like there's no tomorrow, as if I'm living in my own post-apocalyptic genre movie, foraging for nuts and berries on a desert highway in my fashionably shredded mud spattered get-up complete with goggles and chain link bracelets, wishing I had the taut burnished thighs of Tina Turner instead of my own wobbly, pale set of limbs.

Yeah. I'm talking voracious.

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Gluten-Free Chili - Our Favorite Recipe

Our favorite gluten-free chili- hearty winter comfort.

 
FADE IN:

INT. 5TH FLOOR APARTMENT - DAY


A chilly winter light slices into a SANTA MONICA apartment and illuminates every cobweb. (Obviously, a certain individual has been neglecting house work again). Said individual sighs audibly. Glances sideways into the mirror hanging above the kitchen sink cluttered with coffee spoons, grilled cornbread crumbs and half-filled tea mugs. She could never pass for Martha Stewart. Not in a million years. 

DISHEVELED GLUTEN-FREE GODDESS

Good gravy. Look at all the dust balls. 

STEVE (HUSBAND)

So what. What's a dust bunny or two? 

(glancing up from his laptop)

I’ll vacuum later. Or next Tuesday.

DISHEVELED GLUTEN-FREE GODDESS

My hero.


(dragging out the Crock Pot from under the sink)

This calls for chili.

FADE TO BLACK

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Rain in Santa Monica

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Sweet Potato Biscuits

Tender pull-apart biscuits that are gluten-free and vegan.

Am I the only one eschewing the perennial pressure trend to buckle down and face the new year (new decade) with a tidy, self actualized list of "healthy" resolutions sprinkled with key buzz words like fat-free and detox and no sugar and low calorie? Really? Am I the only gluten-free goddess out there craving the homespun comfort of warm tender biscuits instead of a drink-it-fast-because-it-tastes-like-shag-carpet-shampoo-but-it's-good-for-you spinach-kale smoothie?

It's January, people. It's still winter. Some folks are shoveling snow. Enough already with the bunny food. Dump the word cleanse from your vocabulary.

Have a biscuit.

You can whip up all the low calorie high fiber cleansing smoothies you want if they help you feel virtuous and powerful and fresh as a daisy. I've got nothing against smoothies. I'm a fan of creamy breakfasts, actually. And I love antioxidants as much as the next gluten-free soul (bring on the blueberries, Buster). But I chafe at the word diet. And should. And so I resist the collective push to declare my commitment with a list of New Year's Resolutions for a Better Me.

If I did make a list, though?

It might look something like this...

Top Ten Gluten-Free Goals for the New Year

1. Make more biscuits. I'm serious. Warm, fall apart, tender, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits. Life is too short to live without biscuits.

2. Drink more Champagne. It's silly to wait for a special occasion. Every day deserves Champagne.

3. Walk more. And I don't mean power walk. I don't mean buying a pedometer. I mean walk as in stroll. Amble. Look at the sky. People watch. Notice the way the late afternoon sun resembles the color of honey.

4. Play around with some donut recipes. Start with those old fashioned blueberry cake donuts that have a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.

5. Listen to more music. Discover new artists.

6. Dream up a fabulous gluten-free bialy. Just chant: Yes, I can.

7. Go on more picnics. See goal #2.

8. Take more photos. For fun.

9. Stop feeling guilty for (fill in the blank). Just do it. I said so.

10. Breathe, Baby, breathe. Everyone's doing the best they can to get through the day. And those of us with celiac? We're doing double.

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