Vegan Coconut Bars

Chocolate and coconut vegan heaven.

Make it a Coconut Chocolate Treat

Sometimes you just need a treat. A recipe with coconut and chocolate. After all, you've been so good. You've been munching fresh veggies and brown rice. You've been slurping healing soup with cabbage and drinking green tea. You've been diligent checking labels for gluten, casein, and soy. So it's time for something sweet. Something moist and chewy and perfect with a cup of tea.

Egg-free baking is tricky. And at high altitude, even trickier. Truth be told, I've tossed a dozen egg-free experiments into the trash this summer. But these little vegan gems?

These were keepers.

READ MORE and get the recipe ...

Crock Pot Curry with Coconut Milk

A delicious slow cooked curry simmered in the Crock Pot

Easy Does It - Curry Style

Certain individuals at Casa Allrich use their Crock Pot year round. Yes, even in the summer. It keeps the kitchen cool and uses no more energy than a humble light bulb. So when you crave a creamy spicy curry stirred with coconut milk and don't feel like sweating over a hot stove when the Kokopelli thermometer hanging under the portal reads 98 degrees F in the shade, consider the old school slow cooker. 

READ MORE and get the recipe ...

Roasted Vegetable Salsa

Super easy salsa kicks off any party.

Why buy jarred salsa when making your own is so easy? This is a mild and flavorful salsa recipe perfect for those who find fiery fare a tad too harsh.

Easy Roasted Vegetable Salsa Recipe

This chunky salsa is delicious on grilled fish- or grilled anything, for that matter. And did I mention it's gluten/soy/citrus/milk/egg/nut/sugar free? And if you love more heat, Dear Reader, simply add it in. Or try my spicier Roasted Tomato Salsa. Keep your taste buds happy.

Ingredients:

1 pint (2 cups) of baby plum/grape tomatoes, quartered
3/4 cup corn kernels

1 red pepper, cored, seeded, chopped

1 red or sweet onion, peeled, diced

5-6 garlic cloves, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Sea salt, to taste

1 14-oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chiles

1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

A squeeze of organic raw agave syrup, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

Combine the tomatoes, corn, pepper, onion, garlic, olive oil, and sea salt in a roasting pan and toss to coat. Spread in a single layer.

Roast the veggies in the top third of the oven until the veggies get tender- about 12 minutes.

Spoon into a bowl and set aside to cool.

Add the canned tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, cumin, agave and cilantro. Stir to combine. Taste test and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Cover and chill for at least an hour to allow the flavors to co-mingle. Co-mingling is good.

Serving Ideas:

Serve as a dip with tortilla chips.

Serve as a condiment with grilled fish, chicken, rice and veggies, enchiladas, tacos, you name it.

Serve as a fresh uncooked sauce for pasta or polenta.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

All images & content are copyright protected, all rights reserved. Please do not use our images or content without prior permission. Thank you. 

Vegan Blueberry Cobbler Recipe

Blueberry cobbler- a taste of summer.

Fresh blueberries = summer. And lucky for me these indigo-hued gems are not only gluten-free and chock full of antioxidants (every celiac goddess needs fistfuls of antioxidants, you know) but they're pretty much everything-free. So that shoots them right to the top of a certain allergy-prone goddess' Yum List. I've been plopping them into smoothies, scattering them in bowls of buckwheat flakes and simply munching on them straight from the colander. Ah. Blueberry heaven.

Insert hazy slo-mo flashback

Once upon a time- in the innocent and carefree days of living merely gluten-free- I used to make a delectable (and ultra-easy!) Summer Blueberry Crisp. And Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins to die for. Click on those recipes for some serious berry indulgence. Go ahead. I won't mind. I'll wait. I won't be jealous. Well. Maybe just a wee bit jealous, now that I am gluten and casein-free. Not to mention temporarily egg, soy, lemon, nut, legume, blah blah blah free.

Smash cut to: my tiny blue-tiled cocina

READ MORE and get the recipe ...

Blueberry July

The view from our casita last night was a painting in progress- rapidly changing washes of color from east to west. The softest pink pushing into indigo. Cerulean dropping into sea green when you least expected it.

The day had been hot and dry and discouraging- I had realized abruptly, driving home in late afternoon glare to the beat of an REM song (I've got my spine, I've got my Orange Crush) that I had used a chicken bouillon paste in the previous night's green chile. I reached for it automatically. Without thinking. Just as I had the cup of herbal tea with lemon the night before that.

I felt like an idiot. 

Armed with new information that will ease my ills I poison myself, in spite of my best efforts, in spite of my notes and lists and label reading, and spending twenty minutes stalking the cereal aisle at Whole Foods to search every package of oatmeal for evidence of gluten-free certification (the odd and unexpected good news is I tested totally negative for an oat allergy). I screwed up. Again.

And it frustrates the hell out of me.

Gluten and soy free for years, you'd think I'd know the drill. But as it turns out, I don't. I woke up last Tuesday and discovered the rules had changed. My list of verboten ingredients is too long to memorize. Lemon and mustard wreak serious havoc, we know. But now orange and grapefruit are starting to misbehave. I wasn't tested for lime, but now I'm leery. The whole sweet 'n sour citrus family doesn't seem very hospitable these days.

I am becoming kumquat-phobic.

Pecans are tempting. But with reactions to peanuts, almonds and walnuts, how smart would it be to start noshing on a walnut cousin? And then there’s eggs. They are in everything. Did you know egg whites are used to clarify many domestic and Australian and South American wines? I didn't. I blamed my sinus congestion and headache on the weather, not the wine I drank three times last week. In order to find wine that is absolutely egg-free you must find a vegan winery. Who knew?

Oh, and then there was the toasty-sweet goodness of that jar of sunflower butter I bought last week to replace my childhood comfort food, now off limits. Scanning the Food Allergy Testing results, there it was. I am mildly allergic to sunflower seeds. And almost every gluten-free corn chip is cooked in sunflower oil these days. 

Okay. Just breathe. I knew this wouldn't be easy. Or fair. I never believed life was fair but. Geesh. Give a gluten-free goddess a break. A girl does not live by bunny food alone. There are needs. There are food dreams. There are favorite recipes - the whole shebang now in exile.

I'm trying to be upbeat. Really I am.

But in all honesty? This is tough, Babycakes. Even tougher than going gluten-free. I said to Steve last night, I'm losing the will to live. Cue violins. 

Don't worry. He made me laugh with a Big Lebowski quote. I'll be fine. Really. I just need to channel The Dude. Go with the flow. Chill. And to paraphrase Walter...

F*ck it, Dude. Let's eat blueberries.

Calabacitas Recipe with Summer Corn, Zucchini, Green Chiles and Lime

Karina's Calabacitas Recipe with Summer Corn, Zucchini, Green Chiles and Lime

Recipe posted June 2007.

This vegan recipe makes enough for a generous side dish, perfect for picnics and backyard grilled suppers; but if you'd prefer to make this a one-dish meal, add in two generous cups of cooked chicken or drained canned black beans, pour into a casserole, cover and bake in a moderate 350ºF oven for 20 to 25 minutes or so, until heated through.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 smallish zucchini squash, sliced into half moons
3 ears of fresh corn, kernels sliced off
3 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded, diced
1/2 cup roasted mild green chile, chopped
4 oz. chopped jalapenos
4-5 cloves fresh peeled garlic, chopped
Sea salt, to taste
Lemon pepper, to taste
2-3 good pinches of ground cumin
A drizzle of raw agave sweetener
Juice from 1 fresh large lime [more juice, or water if needed]
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges for serving

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the squash for three to four minutes, until it starts to turn a bit golden.

Add the corn, tomatoes, green chile, jalapenos, garlic, sea salt, lemon pepper, cumin, a drizzle of raw agave, and lime juice; stir to combine.

Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until the veggies are tender-crisp. Add more liquid if needed.

To serve, stir in the fresh cilantro. Top with lime wedges.

Serves 4 to 6.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

All images & content are copyright protected, all rights reserved. Please do not use our images or content without prior permission. Thank you.

Savory Grain-Free Crackers

Gluten-free grain-free crackers.

 

As promised, here is how I made the grain-free gluten-free crackers I took with me to the set of The Canyon. This is a fairly simple recipe with delicious results. A savory garlicky grain-free cracker made with almond meal. Enjoy!

Karina's Savory Grain-Free Cracker Recipe

Originally published May 2007.

These crackers are mighty tasty- especially if you're generous with the seasonings. I used Trader Joe's Roasted Garlic and Organic Italian Herbs to create kick-ass flavor.

Ingredients:

2 cups almond meal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon minced roasted garlic, to taste

Pinch of dried minced onion

2 teaspoons dried Italian Herbs, to taste

Pinch or two of turmeric or paprika for color

1 teaspoon of fine sea salt

1 teaspoon sugar or raw organic agave

1 cup very finely grated aged Parmesan (I used a microplane grater)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons spring or filtered water, as needed

1 beaten egg white- or omit for vegan

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a standard baking sheet with parchment paper or a reusable Silpat.

Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until a moist, moderately sticky dough forms. Add more water or oil if you need it.

Taste test. Adjust seasonings to your taste buds. If it needs it, add a tiny pinch of sugar to offset the salty flavor.

Using oiled hands place the mound of dough on the parchment and flatten with the palm of your hand. Use oiled palms and fingers to press the dough out evenly and quite thin. If it cracks, simply press back together with moist fingers.

Bake in the center of a hot oven for 15 minutes or until the dough is set and golden.

Remove and cool on a wire rack. When the dough has cooled, cut the dough into pieces using a pizza cutter. Or break apart for random jagged pieces.

The crackers will be extremely tender and breakable while they are warm. Allow them to cool completely before handling.

Store in an air tight container. They are not super crisp, and are quite tender. And best of all- very flavorful.

If you prefer a crisper cracker, bake briefly before serving. Keep an eye on them so that they don't get too browned.

This made roughly 18 crackers.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

All images & content are copyright protected, all rights reserved. Please do not use our images or content without prior permission. Thank you.