Gluten-Free Zucchini Breakfast Cake

Karina's Gluten-Free Zucchini Quinoa Breakfast Cake

Breakfast! Let's Eat Cake.

Remember those maple sweetened almond zucchini mini-muffins? I do. They've become one of our favorite grab-and-go gluten-free treats. I tuck a bag of them- fresh out of the freezer- into my bulging purse knapsack beach bag tote whenever we venture far afield. Like. The Valley. Because, well. You never know. It can get crazy. In L.A. you might end up jammed on the 405. Stuck as in four lanes = a parking lot stuck. Stuck as in, Dude that's my hunger growling louder than Kurt Cobain's rasp on the rattling radio speaker pleading, What else could I be? All apologies.

I know this from experience. I learned the hard way (the way I learn most things in life). Driving in L.A. can lead to stop-n-go squatting in the baking sun. And a where is my nail file and why did I leave the apartment without food and water and ice in a cooler panic. Because the thirty-three minutes it took yesterday to get to Studio City is seventy-five minutes today.

That's when I started imagining a zucchini cake.

For breakfast.

On the 405.


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Gluten-Free Peach Muffins with Almond Flour

Gluten-free peach muffins baked with almond flour.

Juicy Peach Muffins

Today is a total beach day. And here I am working. Editing photographs of peach muffins and writing up a gluten-free recipe. No rest for the wicked. Or the self-employed. We bloggers toil at our living daily, working through holidays, Sundays, football games, and oftentimes, dinner. We tend and tweak and pretty much live a tethered geek life. The opposite of glamorous.

Or maybe it's just me.

Because there are plenty of extroverted bloggers who travel and attend blogging conferences and hob nob. They dine together and smile brilliantly in group pictures, tweeting breathlessly their mutual squee and Instagram cocktails. 

And I envy them. Sometimes. Just a little.

But alas, it is not meant to be. I am destined, you see, to the role of wallflower. 

Because the mere, fleeting snippet of a thought about flying somewhere- alone- which, you know, entails the whole going through various humming x-ray machines and raising your arms for total strangers wielding wands up your inner thigh, not to mention, the whole taking one's shoes off and fumbling to put them back on (the right feet) so that the person (make that seventeen persons) behind you doesn't get impatient while you wrestle with your buckles and your unzipped purse and boarding pass and reading glasses and explain to the squinting security guy that the mystery wad of metal in your bag's side pocket is only dimes and quarters you collect for Santa Monica parking meters as he picks out all thirty-seven coins just to make sure and for good measure keeps your nail clippers (in all the excitement, you didn't confess you were also carrying nail clippers). 

And then there's the whole belting yourself into a hulking metal beast with wings that weighs goddess knows how many megatons, and snugging your post-baby pelvis to a polyester burnt orange float-able seat cushion between a shiny headed businessman who obviously ate raw onions for lunch and college professor reading the New York Times who you just know secretly wants to discuss Obama's clean energy policy. 

Where is Matthew McConaughey when you need him?

Such visions send spikes of fear and loathing down my duodenal canal.

So I imagine muffins.

I fondle peaches at the market admiring their curve and fuzz. I peel them gently and coax out the stone pit. I slice them into jewels that will fit on the tongue and give up a burst of sweet tart juice. I stir almond meal into powder soft flours and squeeze lime juice and sprinkle cinnamon.

I bake.

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Gluten-Free Peach Cake with Cinnamon Streusel

It was so hard to let this cake cool before cutting into it.

Dreams of Peach Cake 

Why is it when I bake a coffee cake I get all dreamy and gooey inside, like a knee-socked school girl in Latin class, riveted to the patch of peachy, fuzzy cloud against the swaying swatch of blue between the maple tree branches outside the classroom window, imagining love itself is out there, waiting, breathing, just beyond reach, ready to pounce. Like grace. When you least expect it, a gift arrives.

Often in a form you don't recognize at first.

Like a plaid shirt.

And hands that juggle.

The truth is, I didn't even know juggling was on my list.

My top criteria (scrawled in gel black ink one rainy night post divorce) listed kindness, a sense of humor, artistic.

It conjured images of tempered masculinity. Intelligence. Adept at conversation. Curiosity.

Likes women (a big one).

It mentioned nothing about juggling. Or fierce devotion to coffee. Or a willingness to wash dishes. It neglected to include the seductive power of coffee cake. The sexy allure of a cinnamon dusted chin.

So imagine my surprise when on our second date (post French roast coffee and dirt bomb muffins) he grabs three apples. And juggles. While whistling. I can't remember the tune.

Because my knees turned to pudding.

And now, almost twenty years later, I hear a key in the door. And my heart is grateful. It's him. The guy in a plaid shirt.

Bearing peaches.

More gifts.

And once more, I accept.


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Gluten-Free Almond Zucchini Mini-Muffins

Just sweet enough, gluten-free zucchini mini-muffins.

Temptation. A to Z. Almond flour and zucchini mini-muffins sweetened only with pure maple syrup. That's right. No cane sugar. Almond flour and bourbon vanilla bring their subtle, natural sweetness to gluten-free muffin recipes, so why cloak it with a heavy dose of sugar? And adding a lip-smacking kiss of ginger wakes up the zucchini (which tends to fall asleep in baking recipes, due to utter lack of commitment and verve).

I've added quinoa flakes for extra protein, and brown rice flour to round out the whole grains. And a small bit of tapioca starch- to give these whole grain based muffins some lift. Now the only hitch is, don't eat all twenty-four at once, Darling.

Tell yourself you're only going to eat one.

Well, maybe two.

Don't think about three.

Or imagine four.

Because that fourth delectable bite of nary a muffin- really, it's only a tease of a muffin- might stir your desire for a fifth. And the next thing you know, half the mini-muffin pan is empty. And you are standing, wide-eyed and innocent, brushing baby sized crumbs off your chin, when your husband swings around the corner into the sunlit kitchen and inhales, declaring, Sweet Tapdancing Buddha, it smells good in here! What did you bake?

And thinking lickity-split fast you tell him, I made a dozen almond flour zucchini mini-muffins.

Want to try one?


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Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Coconut Milk

The richest, creamiest vegan ice cream I've ever made.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Baby.

It is sultry and steamy here. And, Babycakes, I am not cooking. I am not even boiling water for my habitual ritual of afternoon tea. I am sitting in front of a petite blue desk-top fan. Eating ice cream. Homemade ice cream, to be exact. With nary a trace of dairy or gluten. And apparently, it is the best homemade ice cream I have ever made (so says my ever willing, taste-testing husband).

The inspiration came via one of our favorite Los Angeles restaurants- Akasha, in Culver City. At Akasha you can always find a lovely gluten-free choice on the menu- as well as something vegan, which by default, is dairy-free. A sigh-of-relief option for those of us saddled not only with celiac disease, but a dairy intolerance as well. (As a side note, I have found it harder to dine out dairy-free than gluten-free-- chefs love their butter, cream, and cheese. And because they pre-prepare so many items on the menu, it is often impossible to find a dairy-free choice.) One of the gluten-free dessert choices at Akasha is vegan peanut butter ice cream. It. Is. Simply. Divine.

So I decided to try my hand at re-creating it.

Here's what I came up with.

You're welcome.

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Gluten-Free Goddess Zucchini Bread

Delicious gluten-free zucchini bread.

A Bread Even Gluten-Eaters Will Love

Sharing a favorite summer recipe here on Gluten-Free Goddess-- a cinnamon laced tea bread made with garden fresh zucchini. You'll love it. And so will everyone else.

GFG Tips on gluten-free bread baking:

Make sure your batter isn't cold when you put it into the oven. If you keep your flours in the fridge, for instance, this will cool down your batter quite a bit.

If you find your batter is cooler than room temperature, allow the batter to rest in the pan near the pre-heating stove and let it come to room temperature before you place the bread pan in the oven to bake (I also do this with cakes sometimes).

The first time I tried making gluten-free zucchini bread I did not press the moisture out of the shredded zucchini and my loaf was a tad gummy in the middle from too much moisture. So pat those zucchini strands dry, Campers.

If you find your tea breads and cakes turning out gummy, or falling after baking, you may want to take your oven's temperature- some ovens never quite reach the proper temperature. You can combat this by baking longer, or upping the temp a bit. If the oven temp is not the issue, then start adding a tablespoon or two less liquid to your batters (you may live in a humid climate and your flours may be absorbing moisture; too much moisture can make for a gummy product). 

Browse oven thermometers here at Amazon. 

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Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins (Coconut Flour)

Bake these tender gluten-free blueberry muffins early.

Baking a batch of fresh blueberry muffins is one of my favorite simple pleasures. I do it early, before the summer day turns sultry and my body slows to a liquid ballet of movement designed to conserve every last salty drop of intention and energy my creaky, vanilla lotioned body can muster. I rise and bake to the rosy morning sun, stirring my batter half asleep, sipping hot coffee. A northern mockingbird sings his deceit outside the kitchen window. He is remarkable in his uncanny repertoire, a gifted mimic, silhouetted high against a summer-blue sky, perched on the tallest utility pole.

Fresh organic blueberries- one of the best tastes of summer.

I've been reading this week. Finding books a provocative companion. Words that illuminate and poke. Shared stories that send shivers of recognition, trigger anger, or tug one's soul (kicking and whining) into that impossible place- that place where you don't want to go. The stuff that scares you. Because it might be true.

Reading a book about mothers and daughters at twenty is one thing. You bring to its wisdom your newly hatched self-hood, your fresh experience, your familial-infused expectations (and prejudices). The expectations, assumptions and dreams of a young woman. You are the heroine, the daughter starting out on your journey, looking at a long and winding road ahead. So you read. And listen. And play with ideas. You see what fits. And what doesn't.

And then you stand, decades later, stirring blueberry muffin batter on a cloudless morning. And here, now, the words ring deeper. And the truth stings darker. There is a lifetime of days spiraling out beneath you and above you (because by now you know that time is not linear, or finite, like a string of numbers across a calendar). And the same words vibrate with a different meaning, engraved with experience and regret. The same words illuminate as if from a different light source.

Not from the world.

From within you.

And so here I am. A daughter, still. Learning something old as if it is new. And discovering truths as if for the first time, arriving, as T. S. Elliot wrote, where we started. 

Here's the book at Amazon- You're Wearing That?

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Quinoa Salad with Berries and Watermelon

A summer quinoa salad studded with fresh, ripe fruit.

Summer Simplicity

I cook sparingly in the heat of summer. And only if I absolutely have to. It's one of the perks of being a grown up- and post empty nest. We cook if we feel like it. And if we don't? We grab some baby spinach and chard, frisee and herbs and make a salad. We like to keep things simple.

That's no surprise to you, I'm sure.

I don't exactly do elaborate. We don't go for complicated around here. And goddess knows, we don't do formal. If we can toss together a bowl of fresh salad greens and herbs, and add some quickly cooked protein to make a meal of it, we're content. We might add strips of organic free-range chicken grilled with lemon and black pepper. Or a piece of wild salmon broiled with a touch of agave and lime. Perhaps an organic boiled egg. Or two. If we're lucky, some leftover cooked quinoa.

Dinner in a flash.

Quintessential summer.

So today's post (and recipe) is a nod to the natural marriage of summer and simplicity. Get out of the house. Step away from the screen.

Disconnect.

Reconnect.

This coming Independence Day, celebrate your independence from gluten!

Happy July Fourth!



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Coconut Milk Ice Cream Berry Parfaits

Easy elegance.Coconut ice cream. Berries. Boom. Parfait!

The Gluten-Free Goddess Time Machine dips back into the archives for a fabulous coconut ice cream recipe served parfait style with blueberries and strawberries.

We are slowly melting here in the usually friendlier, temperate wedge of Northwest Connecticut. This heat wave has not been fun. Yesterday we hit 87º degrees. Inside the barn. In the kitchen (if you can call it that), where I am not cooking. I am painting. Very slowly. And sweating. Profusely. The studio air smelled like a West Hollywood muffler shop (if I was a betting soul I'd wager greenbacks on the landlord lying when he assured us the barn was insulated). Yours truly may be suffering quasi-serious brain damage due to these cranium-baking temperatures. I cannot form a cohesive thought. Neither can my iMac which gets dangerously hot (I am writing this post early, while the room temperature is a balmy 78º).

Obviously I am unable to muster any enthusiasm for cooking.

I've been living on gluten-free peanut butter toast. And ice cream. Yes, I know. I am a poor, sad, sad role model. What kind of food blogger doesn't rise to the challenge and cheer-lead you to whip up kale salads and raw peach smoothies? What kind of food blogger would simply give in to her sticky, damp fatigue and general overall crankiness and not create some inspiring, nutritious, bunny food slaw for you?

This one.

She who is about to share a no-cook recipe she actually DID make last night, standing directly in front of her three-speed fan, silver streaked hair pinned wantonly (fashionably!) askew atop her itchy, sweaty head.

Sweet and cold and creamy. Coconut milk ice cream.

It's what's for dinner.


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Gluten-Free Blueberry Crisp

A new dairy-free blueberry crisp recipe for Summer 2014.

A Summer Classic: Blueberry Crisp

We had a sudden hankering. You know how it is. A craving hits that will not be denied. Insistent. Growling. Desire with an uppercase D. You start imagining fresh, juicy blueberries, nestled beneath a perfectly golden crumble of a crust, warm, the deepest purple, bubbling as you slide it- ever so gently- out of the oven and onto a cooling rack to rest and settle until you can't stand it a minute longer, breathing in the cinnamon laced aroma of a summer dessert classic.

The forever glorious blueberry crisp.

And this one's gluten-free. And dairy-free. No xanthan gum either- a bonus.

So, Babycakes.

Don't wait.

Blueberry season is short and sweet.


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Gluten-Free Focaccia Recipe with Garlic + Tomato

Gluten-free focaccia recipe- with tomato, herbs and garlic.

Italian Flatbread for a Blue Moon

An Italian focaccia flatbread recipe from the archives- because this lovely bread is just too good not to share with all you new readers. When my husband and I were on our honeymoon we ate focaccia every morning for breakfast. After a few cappuccinos, that is. Six between us. To fortify us for the walk across the piazza to the tiny bakery. After all, we were in Italy. Doing what you do in Italy.

Wake up.

Rub the garlic infused sleep from your eyes.

Pull on your jeans.

Walk to the local espresso bar.

Zip.

Boom.

Buon giorno!

The always smiling owner of the Podere Villuzza would greet us every morning on our way out the door, wishing us, Good day, for your blue moon!

I am thinking about our honeymoon today because our anniversary just passed. March is our month. And this time around marked our eighteenth. [How is that even possible?]

In so many ways we are just getting started. It still feels new. Even through the toughest years- in New Mexico, the most difficult of our marriage. The most isolated. We wonder aloud over root beer and popcorn how we got through it, how we wandered into that commitment, buying that tiny casita in the middle of an empty, windswept desert. On impulse. Investing all we had in curved adobe walls and tile floors tough enough to break a hip on.

We look into each others eyes for answers.

There are none.

We were bewitched, I tell my husband. We were infatuated. With the light. The summer monsoon skies. The smell of roasting chile. It was a seduction. The desert pulled us in and whispered stories in our ear, weaving her magic like a smoke screen, letting us feel as if we belonged there. Soothing our east coast gringo fears that it might be rough giving up our roots, our community, the quick jaunt to fetch the morning newspaper, grab an espresso, or browse in a book store.

We believed in the power of space and sky. We imagined inspiration dripping from our pores in the sandpaper heat. We embraced the notion of alchemy and willingly submitted ourselves to burn, trusting the process.

It worked for Georgia O'Keeffe.

Be careful of your heroes, I've learned. Choose carefully. I identified so strongly with Georgia- her strength, her depression, her stubbornness. Her colors. The way she painted the world. It all felt so intimate and true, so deep down familiar. And so for years I spun a narrative in my associative brain. A dream of the painted desert and her earthy pigments. Images of mud huts and fierce blue sky. A belief these imaginings were destiny, a trust that I was meant to live in New Mexico, that it was here I would find my home.

Because I have never felt at home.

Except in my husband's grasp. The first time I shook his hand I knew. He was my country. And so we sit together and sift through possibilities once more, this time more sober. This time without the flush and dazzle of infatuation. We speak of dreams gingerly now. Step by step. We examine and turn over each impulse looking for the hidden. The unconsidered.

It took almost three years to sell the casita. We lowered our price. And lowered it again. To less than what we paid for it. We swept it clean every time the realtor called for a showing. We baked cookies to fill the kitchen with vanilla and spice. We crossed our fingers.

The truth is we fell out of love- not with each other- but with the desert. Why she clung to us we do not know. They like to say in Santa Fe that the desert pulls you in like a magnet, and if you don't belong she spits you out. The night I fell and broke my hip- the night that changed how I navigate the world- forever- I said to Steve-- She has spit me out.

Today in our Connecticut (rented) barn studio I stack unopened jars of paint next to a bundle of clean brushes and palette knives. I pick through memories. I think about beginnings. Our blue moon in Italy. Biting into tender, fresh baked breads scented with garlic and adorned with fresh tomatoes. I decide it's time to bake a focaccia. Like the ones we ate in San Gimignano. Before we set down roots. Before we ever bought a house.

I turn to my husband and tell him, I'm going to bake a focaccia today.

And from now on?

Let's rent first.


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Gluten-Free Vanilla Cornbread Recipe

A wedge of vanilla cornbread. Gluten-free yum.

Playing Dress Up.

This is not your average weeknight cornbread. You know, the one you toss together from a gluten-free mix to serve with a bowl of white chicken chili as you catch up with Mad Men. Nope. This tender cake-like cornbread is a pinch more elegant. A gently sweet treat you might serve at high tea with a gaggle of girlfriends (or low tea, depending upon the company you keep). Picture fresh cut flowers on the table, stemmed glasses filled with dewy fresh berries, a pot of Earl Grey tea or organic chamomile buds steeping beneath a cozy.

This is the sort of cornbread that begs to be served with style. That longs to be gussied up. The kind of cornbread you eat with a fork.

A cornbread that secretly dreams of being cake.

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Pesto Zucchini Tomato Gratin

A Garden Fresh Gratin

Midsummer plans are heating up. Have you noticed? June (in all its promise and glory) is one busy month. So today's post is short and sweet. Or should I say, blessedly brief and deliciously savory.

Do you love the classic combo of zucchini and tomatoes? Penne and basil?

You're in for a treat.

Here is a favorite summer-inspired recipe updated from the archives- a basil and garlic laced gratin featuring sliced zucchini, artichoke hearts and fresh tomatoes. Use your favorite gluten-free crumbs on top (my current favorite crumbs for a crunchy golden topping are these cornbread crumbs). 

Serve it as a delicious side dish with grilled chicken, fish or grass fed beef.

Vegetarian? Spoon it on top of pesto penne pasta.

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Gluten-Free Cherry Clafoutis

Gluten-free dessert is solved. A luscious cherry clafoutis, no sugar.

Clafoutis a la Gluten-Free

My cherry clafoutis has a little secret. Well. Two secrets. Wait. Actually, three. At least. It's a clafoutis bursting with secrets. But first, I must mention something.

Are you listening, darling?

Put down your iPhone for a moment, will you? You can text later. When you're not driving. Or brushing your teeth- hazardous especially if one attempts texting while scrubbing one's used-to-be-pearly-enough whites (before the advent of dental bleaching) with a vibrating rechargeable toothbrush. Vanilla mint toothpaste can spatter in shockingly wide and impressive arcs, inflicting remarkable damage upon various household goods and personal items including tidy, stacked baskets of freshly folded jeans and t-shirts still cozy-warm from the dryer in the basement, I am sorry to tell you.

But I digress. Back to dessert.


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Gluten-Free Wraps

Make a Gluten-Free Wrap

What's keeping us fortified these days? In a word, wraps. We're munching Lime Quinoa Salads, leftover Veggie Garden Loaf, stir-fry veggies and quinoa, and sandwich fillings in these handy, tasty beauties. They sustained us as we packed, and whittled down our food supply, making both lunch and dinner easy as pie.

I froze a dozen for the road, thinking that in a pinch, I could always buy a salad to stuff inside.

They're completely fabulous hot off the tortilla griddle. The best. I could scarf them down bare, without adornment. In fact, I started with a basic crepe recipe when I was developing this wrap recipe. Which is why they're pliable, tender and delicious. Unfortunately, they're also fragile after day one. But if you freeze them right away, snugging rounds of wax paper in between each wrap, they thaw easily and remain fresh enough- though slightly less flexible.

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Gluten-Free Strawberry Recipes

Strawberry Season!

The luscious time of year is fast upon us. And short-lived. Carpe diem we must. So I'll get right to it, Babycakes. Here are my favorite gluten-free strawberry recipes to celebrate the beginning of Summer. Can you dig it?

Start your day sweet. Say Good Morning with these streusel topped Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins.

My Whole Grain Strawberry Muffins are xanthan gum free (a bonus!).

These Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins are tasty- for those who love a bite of chocolate with their berries.

And this rustic Strawberry Cobbler Cake is perfect for snack time, tea time, Pinterest time.

Feel like scones? These Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones are an early blog favorite.

For dessert- look no further than this updated classic fruit crisp- my Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp-Crumble is oat-free. And super delicious.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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Quinoa Taco Salad

Taco Salad Days

Looking for a fresh idea for a summer picnic or backyard get-together? This cool and breezy quinoa taco salad might be just what you're craving. Laced with lime juice and sea salt, the combo of fluffy quinoa and ripe avocado, spiked with red onion and sunny sweet pepper, served on a crisp bed of romaine lettuce, is a light and healthy twist on the salsa drenched bean and cheese heavy taco salads so ubiquitous years ago.

It's a total win for gluten-free vegans and vegetarians.

And let's face it.

Quinoa is much more hip than canned re-fried beans.

The inspiration for a quinoa taco salad was sparked over on the Gluten-Free Goddess Facebook page. Reader (and long distance friend) Patsy commented on a thread about Memorial Day picnic salads, mentioning her current fave, quinoa taco salad.

We all perked up. 

Quinoa? As a taco salad? Brilliant. 

Patsy generously shared her recipe with me. It called for diced tomatoes, black beans and cheese, so I revamped the flavors to create a FODMAPs-friendly dairy-free vegan version. Quinoa is a complete vegetarian protein, so you really don't need the black beans (as a complementary protein), unless, of course, you're fond of those fiber rich little beauties in your quinoa salad.

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Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. For your gluten-free munching pleasure.

I suppose you could argue that one oatmeal cookie recipe is enough. I mean, how many oatmeal cookie recipes does a person need? To this I answer, at least two. Why? Well, first you have one with raisins. Raisins give oatmeal cookies that old school chewy sneaky nutrition boost. They're old fashioned and comfy cozy.

Kinda like spending one of those Saturday afternoons at your Aunt Martha's house, chillin'. Watching Mr. Rogers and laying on the floor with a pile of coloring books. Coloring outside the lines with a beat up box of Crayolas.

Wishing the silver crayon was more than a lonely nub.

And right at that nub lamenting moment she'd bring you a plate of cookies.

I never had an Aunt Martha.

But I did have a chain smoking platinum blond Aunt Patty who liked martinis a little too much. Or maybe it was gin and tonics. There was ice in the glass.

If I was lucky enough to scrounge up a coloring book and some crayons, I would hide behind the sofa. I didn't want to hear her opinion on pantyhose or how you could tell a woman's age by looking at her knees.

I'd wait out the tedious afternoon without cookies. If I was lucky, I might get some tap water Kool-Aid. Or a plastic bowl of Cheetos.

Perhaps that's why I'm not a fan of raisins in oatmeal cookies.

I don't have comforting memories of their dried grape taste, though I appreciate their fine qualities- in an abstract, theoretical sense.

No, I'm more of a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie kind of girl. Especially when the cookies are warm and the chips are melty. Chocolate makes everything right with the world.

So here's oatmeal cookie recipe number two. Bake some up this week.

I say, be your own Aunt Martha.

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Lemony Gluten-Free Pasta with Grilled Asparagus

A light, lemony vegan pasta salad. Gluten-free.

Light + Lemony Gluten-Free Pasta Salad

To speak about something as prosaic as pasta salad seems downright ho-hum. I mean. It's just a pasta salad. It's something I tossed together with stuff I had on hand. I hadn't planned on it. I didn't spend days contemplating the ins and outs and quirks of gluten-free penne. In fact, if I'm being unabashedly honest here I rarely think about food at all.

Until I'm hungry.

Until those familiar, nagging pangs begin gnawing their pesky little way into my consciousness, distracting me from my preferred, visual nomenclature- which rarely includes anything edible.

I daydream about paint, the plight of bees, and Clint Mansell's score for Moon. I notice the temperature of light and the curve of negative space against a jar of old spoons. I think about expectations and illusions and perceptions. I ponder where my soul is taking me, tugging at me to pay attention to my life, inviting me through dreams and the random snippets of music or ideas or theories that skitter and skate and ripple the mental stream I wade in day after day, to consider time itself- if I believe in it- sliding by in a cool constant flow of now.

I rarely eat breakfast. I often forget lunch. And dinner time always surprises me. As if each day takes figuring out all over again how to (****ing) live (to paraphrase the Deadwood Zen master David Milch).

This doesn't mean I don't appreciate good food.

Or that I hate to cook (well, some days I am less than enthusiastic).

I loathe junk food and processed food. I can't take credit for this- it's simply the way I'm built, the way my body so pointedly rejects any easy, packaged fix.

Even before I discovered gluten intolerance and FODMAPs I knew on some instinctual level that in order to keep this body of mine healthy and strong for the here and now I have to pay it some attention.

I know I have to eat.

And eat consciously.

And so I find myself rummaging in the little white painted cupboard that is my pantry.

And I find a box of gluten-free penne.

In the fridge I locate a fistful of spring asparagus.

One lemon.

A few sprigs of dill, marjoram, parsley and mint.

The rest is history.

Now in my belly.

Fuel for instigating thoughts of rebirth, fragility, and the particular pink that is ranunculus.


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Gluten-Free Cinnamon Raisin Scones

To Do List: Bake These Lovely Weekend Scones

The almighty weekend is here at last. It's Friday, Babycakes.

My advice? Bake up some scones.

Scones are (totally!) easy to throw together. In less than half an hour (in between Saturday morning bouts of dusting and laundry and vacuuming to Mumford & Sons) you'll have a tender gluten-free morsel to share and savor. Gently spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and studded with sweet bursts of raisins, I predict these cinnamon raisin scones will make you smile.

Why they're perfect for the weekend:

These scones make a light and simple continental breakfast or a perfect mid-morning (or afternoon) pick-me-up. Make a pot of tea and invite a friend. Serve with some yogurt and tasty girl talk. Discuss the lovely Vanity Fair article on Johnny Depp by Patti Smith that you finally (finally!) got to read.

Bookworms never seemed so deeply beautiful.

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Whole Grain Gluten-Free Bread

Whole grain gluten-free deliciousness.

Whole Grain Bread- No Xanthan Gum

Just when you think you have it all figured out, life snakes you a curve ball and rattles your position. Just a little a bit. Just enough to make sure you're still awake, still paying attention. Because what is life about if not change? Change is the only constant. Change is our true companion.

Nothing stays the same.

Especially persnickety celiac tummies. I know this from readers. I know this from gluten-free bloggers. I know this from personal experience. We start at A, oblivious. We skip and stumble to D. We settle in. We think G or J is pretty cool. Then Q throws us into a tizzy.

We discover gluten is an enemy. Then maybe milk. Or mustard. Or kidney beans. FODMAPs. You name it. Fill in the blank.

Most of us with celiac disease end up with a few additional culprits on our Need to Avoid List. Maybe not right away. But over time, many of us will have to fine tune our repertoire of ingredients.

If we want to stay healthy.

If we want to grow stronger, not fatter.

If we want to feel trim, not bloated.

Which brings me to bread. (What celiac conversation doesn't lead to bread, I ask you?)


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Flourless Chocolate Cake - Easy Gluten-Free Recipe

Flourless Chocolate Heaven-

Perfection for a Gluten-Free Diet

Dense, sexy chocolate deliciousness on a plate. This is such an easy recipe, especially if you use a food processor to do the work. Serve this to non-gluten-free folks with no apologies. None. Zip. Nada.

And for gluten-free folks? Hand out seconds (we deserve it, don't we?).

And the best part is- the recipe is inherently gluten-free and wheat-free. No substitutions. In fact, this is the same flourless cake I've been making for years. It never contained flour. The only thing I've tweaked post-celiac diagnosis is adding more coffee and vanilla.

Just because.

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Why Gluten Hurts: The Truth About Celiac Disease

Living Without Our Daily Bread

by Karina Allrich

Since the birth of agriculture- when our ancestors began to cultivate and harvest grains- human beings have cherished bread. It was a minor miracle, this almost magical transformation of grain into dough. Bread became the staff of life, a daily source of nourishment, symbolic of spiritual renewal.

But what if bread was suddenly poison? What if wheat was toxic, and every bite of a toasted bagel, slice of pizza or forkful of penne inflicted damage to your body?

This scenario is a daily reality for those carrying the gene of an autoimmune disorder known as celiac disease.

Little did I know as I wrote my second cookbook, happily creating recipes for lemon infused pasta primavera and olive-rosemary focaccia, that a hidden twist in my own eclectic heritage would soon disrupt my life. After years of subtle symptoms, an acute phase produced a twenty pound weight loss, joint pain, skin rash, and malabsorption. By December, 2001, I knew I had celiac disease.

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Gluten-Free Mother's Day Recipes

Karina's Green Chile Egg Bake

Recipes for a Gluten-Free Mom...

We wouldn't be here without her. Or the other nurturing, supportive, maternal figures in our lives- be they sisters (by blood or in spirit), aunties, teachers, mentors, grandmothers, or mothers-in-law. All those who nudge us and inspire us and believe in us. But especially She Who Knows Us- with all our quirks and wrinkles, all our stumbles and scrapes and broken hearted misery- and loves us anyway.

You know who they are.

So if you happen to love such a Person, and they're gluten-free?

Have I got some recipes for you.

Note: Above: A favorite recipe for guests (and popular with B and B hosts)... Whip up these easy baked eggs with roasted green chiles topped with a golden, toasty circle of gluten-free bread, and fresh herbs. Totally Mother's Day worthy, baked in individual ramekins (fancy!).

Gluten-Free Goddess Whole Grain Strawberry Muffins

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Orange Creme Cupcakes

Sunny Sweetness with a Twist

On my To-Do List for nearly forever has been creating a gluten-free vegan recipe for my favorite birthday treat- a fresh and fragrant orange cake with orange creme frosting. Since it isn't my birthday until June, I decided to experiment with making cupcakes instead of a layer cake. You know. Strictly for taste testing. Research. And well.

Orange cupcakes just sounded refreshing.

Sunny and sweet.

I had such a good time in the kitchen this week making these sweet little gems. In fact, I'll be working on more recipes for vegan cupcakes in the near future, including basic vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, carrot, perhaps, and a few other tasty flavor combos.

Now that I know how easy it is to bake delicious gluten-free vegan cupcakes, the sky's the limit.

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Three Fabulous Soup Recipes

Start the New Year Light and Fresh

with these hearty and fabulous soup recipes

Happy New Year, Dear Reader! Welcome to a brand new day. The unwritten slate of 2015 awaits our choices, as clean and cold as a January dawn. What will you do with this gift of time? This fresh start? Where to begin?

I suggest soup.

And stew.

Slow cooker comfort in a bowl.

Kind to your body. Nourishing to your spirit. A soother of cravings.

For omnivores, this Cranberry Pot Roast Stew is sure to stick to your ribs. Not to mention, tantalize your taste buds. This is a stew destined for football games and Sunday marathons of Downton Abbey (or True Detective, if that's your particular philosophical persuasion).

For those among us looking to the New Year as a fresh start (notice I do not say the dreaded word diet), my favorite, gorgeous, green detox soup might just be the ticket. Light and fresh tasting, but so incredibly flavorful you won't miss the meat or the butter or the cream. Seriously. Try it. Karina's Green Detox Soup Recipe with Coconut Milk.

The third soup choice (they like to say third time's the charm) is a postmodern twist on a classic. Mulligatawny, gluten-free style. So good. Dare I say, slurp worthy. A popular choice here on Gluten-Free Goddess. Find my Mulligatawny Soup Recipe with Jasmine Rice here.

So that's it for now. Dust off the Crock Pot and grab your spoons. Start the New Year off with a gift to your body. And your soul.

Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls

Fresh baked gluten-free dinner rolls- warm and tender.

Let it roll, Baby, roll.

We've been slurping lots of soup this week while the temperatures hover well below my chilly bones' preference of 72 degrees. I hate to complain about 52 degrees, but, honestly. I'm shivering like a kitten in a Steve Martin movie. This is SoCal, not New Hampshire. Where is my sunshine and technicolor blue sky? Hiding its good humor behind wrinkled duvets of fuzzy gray clouds, that's where.

So we make gluten-free soup.

But the soup needs a companion. Our potage is lonely. And so I play matchmaker. I've been inviting gluten-free roll recipes to come and play. I've been flirting with their quirks and grainy idiosyncrasies, trying to be a good host. Coaxing their prickly little batters into behaving. As in, taste GOOD. And I've had some almost there success. But nothing to brag about. Nothing blog worthy.

Until today. These rolls are a balance of whole grain flavor and softness. Just crusty enough. These were tender and lovely warm from the oven. Not gummy. Not heavy. Not too grainy.

Just right.


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Lemon Yogurt Cake

Luscious Lemon Cake...

From deep in the Gluten-Free Goddess archives, a lemon cake you may have missed... Ever since I saw Ilva's sumptuous Almond and Ricotta Cake I've been jonesing for something with lemon. The odd thing is- her cake doesn't even have lemon (strange the way our mind works and sweeps us away along memory traceries of scent and flavor) but I started craving a cake laced with citrus- not too sweet and not too light. A cake with character and heft.

The day I decided to bake, of course, I had no ricotta, but I did have organic plain yogurt and plenty of blanched almond flour. Inspired by Ilva's recipe, I tweaked her ingredients with those I had on hand and baked up a lovely simple cake that reminds me of a coffee cake I remember liking as a child, a bakery cake called Louisiana Ring made by Freihofer's- yet in truth, that cake featured a hint of orange rather than lemon.

There's that memory glitch again.

Some intuitive leap from taste to taste. An image, a smell can trigger a remembrance as vivid as the day you experienced it, enhanced, I imagine, by hindsight. This ability sharpens as you get older.

Time seems to condense into the senses (invoking forgotten details). You start believing the Buddha's theory about ten dimensions. You start savoring the smallest moments. Your husband hands you a mug of green tea, the steam rising in the late afternoon sun slatted through the bamboo window shade, and a loss from the past heals for a moment.

Next time I make this recipe I think I'll use oranges.

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