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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Homemade Gluten-Free Granola

Low sugar, homemade gluten-free granola.

How to Make Homemade Gluten-Free Granola 

(pssst- it's easy!)

You're going to think this is silly. What I have to confess. And it is. Quite silly. It's one of those sticky, pesky truths that clings to you and won't let go, wreaking not anything dramatic, like pure havoc (or worse). No, nothing life threatening, or socially isolating, or disturbing, or even controversial, for that matter. So I'll just say it.

I've been too scared to make my own granola. Well, maybe scared is too strong a word. Color scared with a hint of lazy and you might have a more accurate hue of where my head's at, granola-wise. And making your own granola always seemed a trifle precious. A tad earthy-crunchy (duh). Slightly over the top. And rather unnecessary. It's not like granola isn't widely available- in an array of flavors- since Jesus was in Hebrew school. It's a serious, bonafide hit. A blockbuster cereal. For, like, evah.

Why bother making it when you can buy it by the Trug load?

I've got two reasons.


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Gluten-Free Blueberry Oat Muffins

Gluten-free blueberry oat muffins.

We woke to the sound of water. It is raining in the desert this morning. The overflow is spilling over the edges of the canales, splashing onto the wedges of flagstone scattered in the sand around our casita. It feels like we are living inside a Zen fountain- waterfalls on all sides. The mesa is hidden in mist. The air is heavy with the scent of juniper and wet bark. I am deeply comforted by all of this.

Moisture is a rare commodity here.

I breathe in the friendly air and flash on a rainy autumn day in New Hampshire, the sidewalk wet with red and gold leaves. I remember a cup of coffee and an American Spirit, sipped and smoked in a clammy car parked at the edge of a Cape Cod beach in Orleans, the surf a dense gray-green from the chop of a spring storm. I think about a blue and breezy afternoon at Venice Beach, taking photographs of sand and seaweed.
All this, conjured from the smell of the desert in the rain.

I miss the ocean more than I ever thought possible. In the dreamy rainy day mood I'm in it is difficult to concentrate. I lazily edit photographs of blueberry muffins. I sip peppermint tea. I smile big and wide and send the State of California Supreme Court a big wet kiss for today's wise and compassionate decision (long time readers know my thoughts on this particular issue of love and marriage- you will always find me on the side of love).

Love is the bigger, deeper, sweetest thing, after all. So here is a muffin recipe in celebration of all things sweet and good. A muffin to love. Brown sugar oatmeal goodness that is vegan, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, and even soy-free. One thing it isn't? Free of flavor. I'm not lying. Make these and see for yourself. You'll thank me. 

With a big fat blueberry kiss.

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Gluten-Free Breakfast Cookies

Cookies? For breakfast? Here's an oatmeal recipe you'll love.

Even before I was diagnosed with multiple food allergies and had to give up my Huevos Diablo and Blue Corn Chip Frittata I used to eat blonde brownies for breakfast. And sometimes, a cookie. Or two. I admit it. And yes, I'm one of those sly individuals who adds semi-sweet chocolate chips to pancakes and says, Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants, right? (insert wide-eyed innocent look).

So those who know me well will not be surprised I've been tinkering with my tasty Breakfast Brownie recipe and transforming it into (don't ask don't tell) some fabulous c-o-o-k-i-e-s. And, Yep. With chocolate chips.

It just wouldn't be breakfast around here without chocolate.

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Gluten-Free Oatmeal-Quinoa Breakfast Bars

Gluten-free oats and quinoa flakes make a tasty breakfast brownie.

Good morning! A brownie for breakfast? This recipe says, Yeah, Baby.

It's been bright and hot and here by Black Mesa. We've been tossing cool salad greens in olive oil and vinegar and stirring simple stir-fries. Nothing blog-worthy.

The biggest news I have to share is that we got to see a rough cut of The Canyon. Very rough. No soundtrack or color correction. It was an odd experience. The fun aspects: Yvonne Strahovski kicks ass. She engenders the character of Lori with the heart of a lion. And then there is the sly and talented Will Patton in a role unlike any you've seen him portray. I loved every minute he was on screen. The not so fun? All the lines cut and altered by a certain third actor's ego.  It was a complex stew of pride and disappoint to see the rough cut.

This whole process has been surreal. I am so proud of my husband. Even if it isn't a perfect film.

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Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Crunchy golden gluten-free oatmeal cookies.

Spectacular! Spectacular! No words in the vernacular. In all my six-plus seven-plus eight-plus years of living gluten-free, this is the tastiest damn cookie yet. And- lucky for those of us living also dairy-free and egg-free- it's a vegan recipe, to boot.

After combing through all my pre-GF cookbooks this weekend to find some baking inspiration I decided to create a gluten-free egg-free version of a classic oatmeal raisin cookie. And Babycakes, am I glad I did. This bumpy crunchy golden cookie is pleasantly crisp on the outside with a hint of chewiness in the center. After two days stored in the fridge (tightly wrapped) the cookie is still quite good. Your tenacious gluten-free goddess is one happy camper.

With cookie crumbs dotting her keyboard.

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