10 Vegetarian Christmas Recipes

Here are a hand-picked few of my favorite gluten-free vegetarian recipes.

Winter Solstice has blessed us with a turning point. Daylight now grows longer inch by inch. Or is that minute by wintry minute? In spirit, I suspect, it is both. Christmas is almost here, and the season celebrating rebirth, light, and sliding into credit card debt is in full swing. Carolers are caroling. Gift wrappers are gift wrapping. Egg noggers are nogging. The shiny New Year crouches right around the corner.

And recipes are flooding my in-box for... ham. Roast beef. Rack of lamb. Wait a duck fat glistening minute, here.

Where are the vegetarian Christmas recipes?

I can't be the only person not forking a slab of meat on Christmas day. I can't be the single solitary soul who doesn't treasure bacon fat like it's a princess tiara. I'm not alone in my imaginings of a fresh and lively meatless Christmas dinner--- am I?

Okay. Okay. I get it. I honestly do. I realize I'm in the minority here. That to most folks celebrating the winter holidays in all their myriad and nuanced diversity, meat is the centerpiece of celebration. I acknowledge that. I even accept that. Just because I've been a vegetarian 78% of my life doesn't mean I bury my head in the sand of denial. I cope. I deal.

I go with the flow.

But just so you know? The UN thinks vegetarianism is not only a cool idea, it may be necessary to save the planet. So here's ten of my favorite vegetarian and vegan recipes for Christmas. With love.


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Gluten-Free Chocolate Gingerbread Recipe

Delicious chocolate gingerbread loaf. Gluten-free yum.

Holiday Gingerbread,Thanksgiving-Free Goddess Style

As the song says, Let it snow / let it snow / let it snow. Icing sugar that is. In a soft, sifted whisper of white. A dusting of tongue-melting sweetness to accent the solstice dark moon taste of a classic ginger spiced chocolate tea bread.

In the deep midwinter, I cheer my fragile spirit by baking. I put on Yo Yo Ma and stir cocoa laced batter with a wooden spoon, imagining my fellow gluten-free bakers- all of you- out there- standing in your humble kitchens, beating strange flours and non-traditional ingredients with an odd blend of dread and hope. Crossing fingers and scooping tea bread, cake and muffin batter, rolling cookie dough between nervous palms, praying to the kitchen gods.

In a mere two days- perilously close to the Winter Solstice- I will celebrate my tenth anniversary of living gluten-free. December 19, 2001 was the day I decided to shun gluten forever. What timing. Right before Christmas. I could have waited until December 26th. Or even the New Year. But I didn't. I couldn't. As soon as I connected the dots- from my plague of symptoms to their instigator gluten- I couldn't wait to begin my new life. If I had eaten my very last buttery croissant, so be it. If I had unknowingly crunched my last iced sugar cookie, so what. I was done.

Few of us have to make such choices.

Millions of Americans can eat pizza and bagels and Fruit Loops till the cows come home. Donuts and Ding Dongs and frozen pie crusts? No problem. Gluten isn't on their radar, never mind in their daily nomenclature. It's a punch line in a TV sit com. Something chefs and foodies either kvetch about or flirt with, eyeing the growing gluten-free awareness trend as a dietary bandwagon. Or maybe an opportunity to garner a little extra revenue. They're mildly interested, but non-committal. Privately? They're amused.


The fad aspect will fade. Eventually. And those of us with certain genes and blunted villi will still be here. Living gluten-free. Baking gluten-free. Day after day. Wrestling with creative ingredients and conjuring kitchen magic for our families, or ourselves, our newly diagnosed best friend.

Keeping the faith, one recipe at a time.

On my tenth gluten-free anniversary I salute YOU- dear reader. The home cook. The intrepid baker. The mother of a celiac child. The loving parent of an ASD angel. The undiagnosed but obviously sensitive to gluten cake maker. The wheat intolerant cupcake lover. The brother, the sister, the Dad, the grandmother looking for a way to include your celiac loved one in on the festivities, welcoming everyone to your table.

This anniversary recipe is for you. 

A rich dark gingerbread infused with cocoa. 

~GFG

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Crumb Cake

A light, pumpkin coffee cake for your holiday brunch.

The Winter Solstice will be here soon. The holiday frenzy of gift buying and light stringing and cookie making is officially upon us. Everywhere I cast my gaze I am pummeled with messages. SHOP! BAKE! SPARKLE! And that's okay. Because I understand the hoopla. I know where this urge comes from. The itch to make a ruckus in the dark. To sing, brave and clear, cupping our tiny flames against Midwinter's long night.

The California sun hangs soft and low in the sky, as pale as ice cream. Hours feel clipped. Afternoons are shorter and shorter. Night creeps ever closer. Darkness will soon reign over light.

But only for a moment. One single, solitary, longest night of the year.

No wonder we gather to celebrate. The rebirth of light is no small thing. And a brand new year awaits. Front loaded with promise, and changes hoped for.

I had hoped to finally conquer gluten-free sugar cookies. But after tasting more than one middling batch (I also have to bake without butter, remember) I became more interested in reading a new book than wrestling with sugar cookie dough. Yes, I miss rolling out sugar cookies. And yes, I would be (more than!) thrilled to sign on here today and boast about the best gluten-free sugar cookie ever. But. It's not gonna happen. This week anyway.

I had two sad, cracked (and complaining) teeth yanked this week. (Celiac disease is not kind to teeth and bones. My childhood was riddled with amalgam and the torture inducing whine of belt-driven drills, cementing a lifelong terror of dentists.)

So that gave me the perfect excuse to nap. And read in bed.

I am reading Carolyn G. Heilbrun- The Last Gift of Time. I read a chapter on memory- and the seduction of nostalgia (a favorite subject of mine, you may remember). And I read this...

"Every time those of us in our last decades allow a memory to occur, we forget to look at what is in front of us, at the new ideas and pleasures we might, if firmly in the present, encounter and enjoy."

Carolyn (in her seventies when she wrote this book) urges us to stay present in the here and now as we age, and not drift into the mental trap of nostalgia and memories. I wholeheartedly agree. I love learning something new- every day- turning not to an assumption, a belief or a habit, but toward the thrill of a new skill, and new technologies (iphoneography is a new passion of mine- an art form in its infancy). Keeping myself open, engaged in the here and now means keeping things fresh. Letting go of the old, the stale past, the so-called good old days. Because as good as they were, they are not now. And as bad as some days may have been, today can be different.

Now is new.

And in this spirit, Steve and I baked a pumpkin crumb cake instead of recreating cookies. A new Christmas tradition, perhaps? Why not?

Cake for breakfast.

Sweet.


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Gluten-Free Gingersnaps Recipe

Gluten-free gingersnaps- a classic holiday cookie.

This time of year simply begs for gingersnaps- the classic and humble cookie that tastes old fashioned and elegant and post new wave all at once. A subtle, spicy, gingery bite that snaps with a crunch to awaken satiated taste buds soaked in a holiday sea of egg nog, cheese logs and peanut butter balls. Fancy cookies, these are not. Slathered with green icing and star sprinkles? Not exactly. Though, you could, I suppose. Slather these. And sprinkle with abandon. If you're of a mindset that more is more, and nurture not the minimalist mantra of Less.

The choice is yours.

Go old fashioned and let the gingersnap goodness tingle on its own.

Or go wild.

And get your frosting on.

It's your party.


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Gluten-Free Goddess eBook

My new ebook- best loved recipes

[Now available on iTunes!]

My blog anniversary is just around the corner. Yep. Number six. And I am trying to wrap my little gluten-free brain around it. Six years. Six. That is a long time in blog years. (Maybe blog years are kinda like dog years? Every twelve months of blogging seems equal to seven human years. What I think I'm trying to say is that GFG feels... more grown up somehow. She's no longer a lurching toddler- or as Johnny Depp likes to phrase it, "tiny drunk"). The bumble-puppy years are over.

We're respectable now. (But hopefully not too serious.)

I  began blogging and sharing my recipes in late fall of 2005. There are over 400 original gluten-free recipes now on Gluten-Free Goddess. This astonishes me!

Looking over my recipe index this past summer I began to imagine the beginnings of a cookbook- a collection of recipe favorites from Gluten-Free Goddess. (In full transparency there have been cookbook offers, and some tempting projects pitched to me this year. But none seemed like the perfect fit. In fact, most felt like a tight shoe that pinched and chafed and left me preferring to go barefoot, taking my own meandering solo path, focusing on blogging, my first love.)

But then you know what happened. I got an iPad. And soon discovered the convenience and pleasure of bringing my entire blog into the kitchen with me. And that led to ebooks...
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Gluten-Free Butternut Pecan Scones

Get sconed, Babycakes, with these fab gluten-free scones.

Let's get sconed. Butternut squash style. But let me warn you. I'm having an existential week. The kind of week where gushing about a gluten-free scone recipe just seems kind of silly. The kind of week where irony reigns supreme on her cold and shiny throne. Yeah, I know. I could shrug it off and stuff it out of sight and soldier on. I could kick it to the back of my closet, behind the pile of ratty sneakers. I could swallow the pill of denial like a good girl and use words like tender and buttery and melt in your mouth scone goodness.

Who would know the difference?

But this morning I'm just not interested.

Fresh from the oven: warm gluten-free scones.

Because it's not the whole of who I am. The whole truth, you see, is messy. It's complicated. And it doesn't always neatly dovetail into a post about butternut squash or gluten-free scones. What I'm feeling is raw. And no doubt undercooked.

And I'm not even sure I understand it.

If I could describe it, I would tell you it is the acrid sensation of slipping backwards in time. Losing ground you worked so hard to get to. To claim as your own. The fragile foothold that doesn't come easy to a questioning, hyper-vigilant child. That elusive, cultivated center of pure confidence.

The belief in I am here.

The right to take up floorspace and wall space.

The right to carve out time for artistic self expression.

To spend money on materials, make mistakes, explore, discover.

Play.

To start over doing something new and unfamiliar.

The right to disappoint someone else.

To confuse them.

To place someone else's needs aside- instead of in front of your own.

So I ask you other Good Girls.

Why is it so dang hard?


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New Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bars Recipe

Freshly frosted gluten-free pumpkin bars with a secret ingredient.

Turning, Turning, To Simple Gifts

Tuning in to the particular (and fleeting) pleasures of each changing season as we ride the wheel of the year may be my favorite spiritual practice. A practice that requires one simple thing. Attention. Which turns out to be not so simple, inevitably. Because life is anything but simple, with its whitewater rush of mind numbing distractions that demand less and less of our soul and more and more of our mental focus on exterior minutia. Micro decisions. Cleaning out our email in-box. Catching up with Facebook feeds and Twitter streams and Google+. Texting about grocery lists. Scanning streaming video options for one decent romantic comedy (I have- on too many occasions to count- spent a full hour gaping, borderline comatose, at an LCD screen, scrolling title after title, only to arrive at the sane conclusion that you know what? I'd rather read a book). Thousands (millions?) of choices may glitter and ooze their high definition glow but I find I am not feeling the abundance. I am less and less enamored with more.

I know. It's showing. My age.

My childhood brain was wired for mud and bird calls, blackberry thickets and butterscotch pine. Hours spent reading in a grove of birch trees dug their neural groove. The wild luxuries of inner connection, rather than social networking. And TIME. That plastic, misunderstood, precious commodity that shape-shifts experience from an endless afternoon of liquid daylight into a heart clutching warp speed tumble of confusion. Decades become tiny sandwiches of memory you can barely taste anymore.

Weeks blink by with alarming velocity.

And here we are again.

In pumpkin season.

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie Bread

Tender, delicious tea bread that tastes like pumpkin pie.

I'm feeling a tad, shall we say, under the weather, lately. Nothing serious. Just an autumnal cold that has knocked the stuffing out of me. I feel like a rag doll. An achy, cranky, ratty old rag doll with matted squirrelly hair and baggy sweatpants.

It ain't pretty is all I'm sayin'.

So forgive my delay in sharing the promised new pumpkin bars recipe. Soon, Babycakes. Soon.

In the meantime, here's an easy gluten-free pumpkin bread recipe- a lovely tea bread you can bake in a bread machine. Or in your oven, if you prefer.

As mentioned earlier the oven here in our temporary studio isn't exactly a cook's dream. So I was inspired by a reader who mentioned baking my banana muffin recipe as a banana bread in her bread machine (how brilliant is that?).

For my first excursion into bread machine tea bread baking, I converted my Big Banana Muffins recipe to a banana bread. And holy tap-dancing zombies- it worked! The trick (for a vegan egg-free bread, at least) is to use two teaspoons of baking powder. For those of you using eggs in your gluten-free baking, you may not need the extra oomph of a little more baking powder- but, please, as always, use your best judgment.

For this scrumptious pumpkin pie flavored pumpkin bread, I used a Breadman bread machine, but I don't see why any bread machine wouldn't work- as long as it has a rapid cycle and can accommodate a 2-lb loaf. Double check your manufacturer's instructions for baking an un-yeasted sweet bread.

Pumpkin pie bread.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie Bread Recipe

I kept tasting pumpkin pie with every bite of this moist and delicious tea bread, hence the name. I baked it in my Breadman bread machine but you could also bake it in a conventional oven. Just be sure it bakes long enough- I'm guessing, about 50 to 55 minutes up to an hour at 350ºF. This is a large loaf.

Ingredients:

Add to the bread machine:

1 cup packed organic light brown sugar
4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light olive oil
1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cup warm water (or two large eggs, beaten)
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin is fine)
1/4 teaspoon light tasting apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup GF buckwheat flour
1/4 cup GF millet flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch or potato starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or gluten-free Pumpkin Pie Spice blend
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

As needed for liquid as it mixes:

Pure apricot or peach juice

Instructions:

Using the 2-pound setting with light or medium crust (not the dark setting or it may create a tough crust) program the bread machine for the Super Rapid setting.

As it begins to mix the ingredients, use a soft silicone spatula to scrape down the sides. After a minute or two of mixing check the consistency. If the batter is at all like my batter, it will be a bit thick and stiff. Add a tablespoon at a time of your favorite unsweetened pure apricot or peach juice until the batter becomes slightly thinner than muffin batter but thicker than cake batter. Not too thin, but not too thick. You'll know it when you see it. When you are happy with the consistency, close the lid and let the paddle beat the batter.

When it pauses to let the batter rest and rise, reach in and remove the paddle; smooth the top. Cover and let the rapid cycle do its thing (rest and bake the loaf).

When it beeps done reset the program to Bake. Set a timer and bake for an additional 10 minutes. It's a large loaf.

*(Now, if for some unknown reason your bread looks ready at this point, test it before you add on ten more minutes baking time; I'm at sea level now, so I imagine my baking times are in the normal range, but as we all know, humidity and temperature and ambient weirdness- not to mention, the fickle baking faeries- can affect gluten-free baking times.)

When the top is domed and the loaf is firm to the touch, and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean, this is a good sign it's done. Using a pot holder, remove the bread pan from the machine and cool it on a wire rack for five minutes or so, until it's a tad cooler to handle.

Using a clean tea towel and a pot holder, grasp the pan and carefully tip it upside down to release the pumpkin bread onto the wire rack; set the loaf upright on the rack and continue to cool.

Although you'll be tempted to slice and eat it warm, wait if you can. This moist bread only gets better as it cools. In fact, I did an experiment.

Half the bread- we ate that day. It was tender and moist. The other half we wrapped in foil, bagged and froze. Although the fresh loaf was tasty, I thought the frozen and thawed half tasted even better, and had an improved (less fall-apart) texture.

Makes one generous loaf.

Karina's Gluten-Free Bread Tips:

If you'd rather bake this pumpkin bread in the oven, use a large loaf pan and  bake in a preheated 350ºF oven, for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top is firm but gives slightly to a gentle touch.

If your gluten-free baking is gummy in the middle, try cutting back on the amount of liquid- one tablespoon at a time. Your flours may be damp from humid weather (or from storing them in the refrigerator).

I also find that using too much agave or honey can create gumminess. When I develop a recipe with fruit puree (such as pumpkin or banana) I prefer to use a little less olive oil in the recipe, and no agave or honey. This improves the texture.

At sea level you need less honey or agave than you would need at dry higher altitudes; adjust the liquid-to-dry ratio to see what works best for you.

If your ingredients are cold, allow the batter to rest and come to room temperature.

Check your oven calibration; several readers have reported that their pre-heated ovens had not- in fact- reached baking temperature when they tested their ovens with an oven thermometer.

I'm now using less brown rice and brown rice flour, and eating fewer rice cakes, etc. Here's why- there is elevated arsenic in rice.

Enjoy sugary treats in moderation.Thanksgiving-Free Goddess advises consuming no more than 2 tablespoons of sugar a day. 

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Pumpkin Quinoa Cookies

Pumpkin cookies with quinoa flakes. Like oatmeal- but better.

Dear Reader (yes, Babycakes, I'm talking to you)- you know how I feel about you, right? I'm crazy about you. I read your kind and thoughtful comments. I'm thrilled you follow the blog on Facebook. I am humbled by your generous,  warm and giving e-mails (I save them). 

Your feedback and support keeps me going and inspires me.

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie with Praline and Coconut-Pecan Crust

A slice of vegan pumpkin pie heaven. Chill overnight for best texture.

Happy October! Good Goddess, I've been busy. Making a delicious mess in my tiny kitchen. Developing new gluten-free dairy-free dessert recipes for the Winter Food Issue of Allergic Living magazine. So I thought I'd dust the cocoa powder off my hands and take a quick break to share two inspirational things today. The first relates to Fall- my updated Favorite Gluten-Free Autumn Recipes index. Peruse at your leisure, ideally with a big mug of spiced hot cider close by.

The second offering had to be something pumpkin. I mean, it's October. And around here October baking means a certain voluptuous curcurbit is queen. So I did what any gluten-free goddess would do. I dug into the GFG recipe archives. And found a luxurious, creamy vegan pumpkin pie with sweet praline topping and a coconut-pecan crust. Just to keep you occupied until I return with a new gluten-free vegan muffin recipe you're going to love.

Let the pumpkin recipe frenzy begin!

I feel like I'm cheating. No, not cheating on my gluten-free diet. Cheating on my faithful Pumpkin Pie recipe. The one I've loved for years. It's so easy, after all. And reliable. And tasty. But you know how it is. You get that itch. You start to daydream. You flirt with a taste of vegan pumpkin pie at the West Hollywood Hugo's, and you start to fantasize about coconut crust. You imagine the buttery caramel taste of praline. And as always, in these matters, one thing leads to another. Next thing you know?

You've got a new love.

Now, I did a little sleuthing before I started experimenting. I discovered that Hugo's pie has a cup of orange juice. A full cup of molasses. And uses three cans of pureed pumpkin. Tablespoons of spice. Agar agar. Cornstarch. None of this appealed to me. So I started with what I what I like. Coconut milk. Cashew cream. A hint of molasses and maple syrup. And what happened next?

Heavenly vegan pumpkin pie bliss ensued.



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Dark Chocolate Brownies- The Best Thanksgiving recipes Updated!

A pan of rich, dark chocolate brownies- gluten-free and dairy-free.

Yes, I've been tinkering. But first I have a question. Why bake a gluten-free brownie from scratch and not a mix?

While baking mixes are perfectly acceptable in a pinch, and no doubt a boon to busy cooks on a gluten-free diet (well, honestly, who isn't busy these days, I ask you?), your taste buds will tell you why. In a heart beat, Darling.

A dark chocolate brownie made from scratch is deeply delicious and decadent.

Even, impressive. Company worthy. Dare I say, date night worthy. I'm not kidding. This brownie recipe is swoon inducing.

You know what they say about chocolate.

But here's the best part. Throwing this recipe together takes only a few minutes longer than opening up a box. You can whip up these luscious gooey babies in a mere ten minutes. In less time than it takes you to scan your Pinterest feed. Or catch up on Facebook.

Seriously.

So what is more rewarding? Watching kittens on YouTube or stirring together this rich, tender, dark chocolate brownie recipe, one of the most loved and printed recipes here on Gluten-Free Goddess. Using just a scant amount of brown rice flour and almond meal gives these brownies a melt-in-your-mouth texture reminiscent of flourless chocolate cake. Without all the fuss.

And now I've updated the recipe, using coconut oil and 70% cocoa dark chocolate. There is no xanthan gum, and no starch.



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Gluten-Free Rice Crispy Treats

Gluten-free brown rice crispy treats, GFG style.

Sunday seems to stir up all kinds of sneaky devils and hungry ghosts in the guise of food nostalgia. I dreamed up my last post about Zucchini Gratin on a Sunday, stirring up a bread crumbed casserole of desire fraught with secret emotions and sticky attachments. Food as familial. Food evoking a warm embrace. Food as a way to connect our twenty-one grams of soul to this earth. The ground of being.

I think I know why I'm tip toeing in the garden of nostalgia lately.

My tribe is expanding.

The family my husband and I created when we held hands and promised I do through a veil of mutual tears is now plus one. I have a new daughter-in-law I regard with deep affection. She brings a fresh focus to our four-squared history. And I see us in a slightly altered light, looking at our shared quirks and wrinkles and dreams with renewed optimism. Our clan now feels stronger. Our humble, wacky tribe feels enriched.

And more than a tad sweeter.


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Almondy Almond Butter Cookies

Gluten-free almond butter cookies await.

Rumor has it baking weather is just around the corner. Though you'd never know it by looking out the window here in Southern California. Texting skateboarders whip by in short shorts, bikini clad surfer girls are paddling out on their long boards, and jewel-studded flip-flops remain the shoe du jour. It feels more like July than September. It's hot.

And it feels good.

It was a coolish summer for those of us on the South Bay coast. June Gloom stuck around long past its expiration date. Until this week, in fact, I was walking my morning ritual loop in my thickest hooded sweatshirt, fingers tucked up inside the sleeves for warmth (what visitors to Los Angeles assume is smog is actually fog that hugs the coast, blanketing our beaches- and west side- with a fuzzy soft marine layer). It's lovely for baking. But chilly for fingers and toes.

So I bake. In UGGs.

And my latest experiment is cookies.

Just because.


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Gluten-Free Bread Machine Tips

Warm, gluten-free bread with sorghum flour, just baked.

Need to troubleshoot a gluten-free bread machine disaster? Here's a few key tips on baking gluten-free bread in a bread machine.

Match your g-free bread recipe or gluten-free bread mix to your bread machine (pan sizes vary). Are you baking a 1.5 pound loaf? Or a 2-pound loaf? Check manufacturer's instructions for loaf sizing. Often, "short" loaves are the result of not enough dough for the size of the pan.

Use a good recipe. Or a tasty gluten-free bread mix with superior ingredients (sorghum flour, brown rice flour, almond flour, millet, to name a few). Not all recipes and mixes are created equal. A bread based on white rice flour and potato starch is never going to be amazing. Honestly. Remember that starches are dirt cheap for manufacturers (hence their popularity). But they're also devoid of nutrition, texture and flavor. So choose wisely. Because the cheap stuff still sports a hefty price tag (the gluten-free market is booming, after all). So why not go for the higher protein, more flavorful gluten-free flours?

More tips:

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Gluten-Free Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe with Mocha Icing

Gluten-free vanilla cupcakes. Let's celebrate.

The world is my oyster. No. Wait. I'm allergic to oysters. At least that is what a blood test declared, four years ago. Puzzling. I never had any symptoms. That I recall. Though who knows. I haven't actually eaten an oyster in (...let me count), maybe 17 years. They were fried oysters. At a jumping local hang-out on the Cape. The Land Ho in Orleans. Famous for grilled burgers, golden dipped fish and chips, fried clams. And yeah. Oysters. And beer. Truth is, I would much prefer a cupcake. No slimy, muscular middle. No fishy liquor. Just tender, soft sweetness in exactly the right portion. Not too big. Not too heavy. Not too much.

Just right.

As you may have guessed, I have issues (who among us doesn't?). Texture is a big honking issue for me. Size is an issue (portions bigger than my head? A  serious turn off). And taste, well, that goes without saying (you know how I loathe bean flour). If I was a storybook character I would inhabit The Princess and the Pea.

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Raw Zucchini Pasta in a Vegan Curry Cream Sauce

Fresh, raw zucchini pasta- angel hair style.

I'm not usually one to focus a recipe around a cooking gadget. Though heaven knows, I love me my kitchen power tools as much as any scratch cook out there. A gluten-free goddess has gotta have some fun, after all. And sometimes, to change things up, you need to break out of your routine and try something completely new. 

Which, not surprisingly, brings me to pasta.

I love pasta. Especially gluten-free pasta. But I don't love cranking up the gas stove to boil bulky pots of salted water when the kitchen is already steamy with late summer heat and I'm faint and famished (and did I mention, hot flashing like some cussing heaving alligator from the swamps of wherever it is they film True Blood. I may idly dream of gleaming white porcelain bowls heaped with creamy mounds of angel hair spaghetti kissed by a delicate white sauce, but I'm not inclined to heat up my kitchen just to satisfy this culinary craving.

I get prickly and sticky just thinking about it.

So I started investigating raw pasta. Which led me to discover a modest little kitchen tool that makes magic happen. A spiral slicer that turns August's ubiquitous zukes into tender strands of pasta. And not like, puny three inch strands. 

I'm talking long, lovely, curvy strands of angel hair spaghetti.

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Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars

Gluten-free breakfast bars with quinoa flakes.

Tired of gnawing on gluten-free toast or slurping down a bowl of gluten-free cereal for breakfast? Me too. I'm in a rut. An almond butter on toast rut. And though I hate to complain (the simple truth is, I adore almond butter with the white hot passion of a thousand suns, so chowing down on it daily does not qualify as drudgery or sacrifice), I used to start my day a little sexier. I used to indulge in these rich and dense Quinoa Breakfast Bars or this orange infused Quinoa Breakfast Cake. Both are beyond delish.

But alas they contain sugar.


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Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

Fresh summer salad ingredients: basil, red and yellow tomatoes.

We have a wedding to go to. And not just any wedding. My first born son's wedding. I am mother of the groom. For the first time. Twenty-nine summers ago I cradled this soulful, musical being with new mother innocence and awe, lost in the ocean of this newborn's eyes, starting a journey called motherhood with few tools beyond my willing heart and a deep rooted conviction that I would create for him a childhood unlike my own.

And in many ways I did. I listened with curiosity. I valued his opinion. I gave him paper and paint and books and music. I gave him the time and space and respect to create. We hung together as true companions.

He was always good company.

And still is.

He inspires me daily. We connect through Instagram and iChat. He lives his life as an artist. Creatively. He improvises and honors his intuition. He composes music. Takes killer iphone photographs.

And he cooks.

In fact, he inspired this recipe.

Because he loves to grill vegetables.

His lovely bride is a vegetarian.

So the next time I cook for them- as husband and wife- I think I'll make this vegan pasta salad with smoky grilled vegetables.


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Gluten-Free Cherry Almond Muffins

Whole grain, gluten-free, dairy-free... and luscious.

It hit me today as I was walking my morning walk. I've been sugar-free for two months (I even looked it up, just be sure). Eight weeks without sugar. Eight! Ocho. Huit. Osiem. The first week was the toughest. Sugar detox is not for wimps, darling.

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Gluten-Free Frittata with Brown Rice Penne

Gluten-free pasta frittata made with brown rice penne.

Summer is officially upon us- allegedly. And by us I mean those of us calling the Northern hemisphere our home. See? I didn't forget you lovely readers from the topsy-turvy land Down Under, strapped to snowboards or skiing the snowy slopes of Victoria in need of steaming mugs of soup and plates of comfort food. I know it's winter for you. I get it. I do. I'm chilly, too. I've got Popsicle toes. And just so you know I'm not pulling your leg, Mate, I'll let you in on a little secret.

I'm not sporting a bikini these days, either.


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Friday Eye Candy: Farmers' Market, Strawberries, and a Peek at My Beach Path

Organic strawberries make gluten-free luscious and beautiful.

I have been sitting here in my chair, as bone quiet still as a nun in a pew at midnight, with nary a poetic turn of phrase in sight. I am trying to conjure words for strawberries. And summer. And the newly minted sensation of actually, finally, living by the sea. I keep thinking about breathing- because the ionized ocean air is so sexy gorgeous you could eat it with a spoon. And because for the first time in a long, long time I can feel myself uncoil a bit and allow a long, soft exhale to trail into the stream of salty wind that whistles through the crack of an open window above my bed as I blink awake to the whoop of a sunrise surfer ripping his way down a foamy curl. His joy is infectious. And I smile. And yawn.

The word gratitude comes to mind.

Not to mention, abundance. This week's farmers market was indeed abundant, tumbling wild with the jewels of summer. Boxes and boxes of fragrant strawberries. Buckets of cherries. Crates of plums. Potted herbs and June blooms- peonies and Japanese iris. So I offer you eye candy today. The gift of color. And ten gluten-free strawberry recipes to inspire your weekend and get you in the mood to whoop.

It's summer. Live a little. Get juicy.


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Gluten-Free Baked Donuts

Gluten-free cake donuts with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Apparently it is National Donut Day. But don't be grumpy, my celiac lovelies. I've got a gluten-free donut recipe for you, from the friendly archives of Gluten-Free Goddess.

For those of us born and raised on the East Coast- specifically, near Boston, Massachusetts- a certain coffee BF with a hole in the center is spelled donut. Not doughnut. Why so not-snobby casual, you might wonder? Why switch the ough to o when Boston's rep is more of a Paul Revere and cobblestones conservative town than say, oh I don't know-- maybe, rainbow flag flying West Hollywood? Dunkin Donuts is the culprit, I suspect- that ubiquitous New England coffee and doughnut chain from Quincy, MA, infamous for the tag line, Time to make the donuts! muttered by Fred the Baker in television ads for a good fifteen years.

I have fond memories of the Double D, as we liked to call it. For two reasons. They made the best cup of dark roast coffee east of the Mississippi. No fancy skim foam or steamed soy milk offered. Just coffee. Strong and rich. I took mine with cream and sugar. And a donut. Usually a blueberry cake donut, or an old fashioned cake donut scented with nutmeg. The second reason? My first rendezvous with a certain individual sixteen years ago was a meet at the Double D. Yep. Coffee and donuts to go. We parked at the beach and sipped our Joe and talked with our mouths full, our laps dusted with sugar and crumbs, the car radio crooning Crowded House against the salty gusts of April wind.

Romantic? Hell yeah. My heart was pounding. And it's a good thing I was snug in a bucket seat. Because my knees were quivering Jello. You see, romantic doesn't need to be fancy. Or expensive. Not if you're with the right person. The person who makes you feel golden and voluptuous and awake. Who raises your game just by sitting there. Smiling at you. Who listens with their whole body- not to mention, their killer keen eyes. The person who feels slightly dangerous because your soul is at last being seen. And there is nowhere to hide.

So, Steve Baby?

This recipe's for you.


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Quinoa Taco Salad

Quinoa taco salad with avocado and lime- perfect for a gluten-free diet.

Quinoa Taco Salad

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 lighter, legume-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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If you could eat gluten, would you? The option is one step closer.

Dining out is a minefield if you have to be gluten-free. 
Would a vaccine make life easier?

There may be a celiac vaccine in our future.

That's the word from Down Under this month. An Australian biotechnology company called ImmusanT, Inc. is developing an immunotherapeutic vaccine for celiac disease. And guess what? The Phase 1 clinical trial went swimmingly.  Read about their positive results here at the NFCA's Celiac Central.

It's a very odd feeling to imagine eating gluten again, after almost ten years of banishment. A decade of shunning gluten is no small feat. In a food culture that worships wheat, and elevates the gentle science of baking to both a high art (think crusty, fresh baked baguette) and a low art (say, pizza pockets), living gluten-free is akin to attempting to mambo in a minefield. Gluten lurks everywhere. Not only where you’d anticipate it (pizza, bagels, beer) but in sly, coy disguises, hiding in plain sight (soy sauce, broth, herbal tea). And even the most modest of amounts (a few stray crouton crumbs, perhaps) can trigger one’s hyper-vigilant immune system and ignite a fiery swath of digestive destruction, albeit mostly invisible to the naked eye (unless, like me, you are doubly blessed with symptoms and sport the eruptive skin rash known as dermatitis herpetiformis on your butt).

Feelings akin to those sticky, fluttery uncertainties (if not subtle panic) one feels dodging the unbidden proposal of matrimony (or tip-toeing backwards on a Sunday morning walk of shame) begin to trickle in.

Is this something I really want?

And would I, if I could?

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Whole Grain Gluten-Free Bread

Whole grain gluten-free deliciousness.

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. 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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Sugar Blues? Gluten-free Baking Without Sugar

Baking gluten-free without sugar: substitutions and tips.

An increasing number of comments and questions have revolved around sugar as a sweetener and how to substitute it in gluten-free baking. I thought the subject sweet enough to deserve its own post.

And since I recently started a sugar detox (I'm on day six sugar-free-, Darlings-- completely- no sweetener except a pinch of the herb stevia in my tea and smoothies), I thought it might be appropriate to refresh this post and bring it forward.

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Browse Gluten-Free Recipes Visually

Browse Gluten-Free Goddess recipes visually.

Today's post will be short and sweet. A gentle nudge to try the new Snapshot browsing view for Gluten-Free Goddess, linked in the left sidebar. Have you tried it yet? I love it. Here's the low down.

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Gluten-Free Anise Biscotti

Sugar-free vegan biscotti infused with anise. Start dunking.

Sugar is taking a beating these days. Have you noticed? Studies left and right are accusing this sweet-talking Romeo of seducing us to a life of ruin and heartache. They've applied the words toxic, and poison. Is it really as bad they say? I'm not certain (and I'm not convinced they are, either; my sugar loving grandmother lived to the ripe old age of 93). But this I do know. Super refined corn sugar (aka HFCS) scares me. Not only because it cajoles our livers to convert the fructose to belly fat, but because it doesn't agree with me. Period.

I knew this the first time I drank a margarita that made me balloon and bloat like a pregnant Demi Moore (and while I concur that Demi was superbly gorgeous in all her fecund glory, in all honesty, I do not desire to emulate such a look- or frankly, such a fertile state- at my tender age of post- let's say- fifty). So I took a gander at the label of margarita mix to be sure it was gluten-free. It was. But the second ingredient? High fructose corn syrup.


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Creamy Penne Pasta Bake with Zucchini

A light and creamy pasta bake recipe for Spring.

Mac and cheese gets a makeover. Just in time for swimsuit shopping (also affectionately known around here as the annual Parade of Shame). It's time to start cooking light again, and give your body a break from all that white rice pasta, butter, and double cheese. It's time to kiss bacon good-bye. Hot weather is coming, Babycakes. The beach and poolside beckon. And I am not prepared. Are you?

I've been lax with my downward facing dogs (actually, I'm forbidden to do downward facing dogs these days, but that's another story). My lumbo-pelvic complex is cranky. My core is catnapping. And my biceps need curling. Or something like that. What it basically means is I've got some flab I need to banish. Remember that roll around my middle I call Doris? She's still here. She has not skedaddled. My usual winter weight gain of five hibernation pounds is eight this year.

I could blame those Raspberry Coconut-Almond Bars my husband keeps making (he who can eat cookies and brownies and still sport flat abs). I could blame fructan and fructose, and various unfriendly members of FODMAPs who may be the bottom line bloat culprit in my ongoing emulation of my halcyon pregnancy days (those of you with IBS symptoms despite going gluten-free might want to look into this fructose and polyol thing- it appears to have some merit).

But mostly I blame how much time I spend on the iMac. Sitting. Typing. Sitting some more. Social networking. The Internet is an amazing gift. But it is damn hard on the body. I'm vowing to get up and move more frequently. Shake my booty. Feel the burn. Or at least feel some heat.

So just in case you're in the same mood, too. I've made a lighter version of the classic baked mac and cheese.

I used gluten-free brown rice penne with rice bran for the pasta. Organic soy milk and Smart Balance vegan "butter" for the cream sauce. Zucchini and garlic and chives for a flavor boost. And it was fab. Light. Creamy. Perfect for Spring.


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Gluten-Free Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Crunchy outside, chewy inside, gluten-free vegan chocolate cookies.

I have a new cookie recipe to share today. A cocoa infused cookie studded with semi-sweet chocolate chips. A cookie that tastes like a brownie- if a brownie was slightly crispy and crunchy on the outside, and chewy soft on the inside. You could say, it's a brownie with a cookie texture.

Texture is a big deal in gluten-free baking.

It's no secret that giving gluten the boot also means giving texture, stretch, and structure the old heave-ho, right along with it. First timers bite into gluten-free goodies and pause. They chew. Their eyes widen and dart to the side as they search for a word to describe exactly what it is they are chewing.

The word most often used to describe something gluten-free? Gummy. Or worse. Cardboard. Attributes one does not necessarily associate with pleasure. With nourishment. With flavor.

Which is why I am here.

It was nearly ten eleven twelve years ago (December 2001) when I broke up with the abusive protein known as gluten.

Our love affair had been a passionate, tumultuous ride. Thrilling and deliciously seductive. From twirling garlic laden Italian pasta to rustic bread baking, we had nurtured a decades long love affair. Four and a half decades, in fact. And I'm not embarrassed to admit, I was deep into it. Head over heels. And dizzy in denial. Until symptoms could no longer be ignored.

And it turned out I felt better without gluten. Not just better. Transformed.

So I bought a gluten-free cookbook and started baking (and no offense to the wonderful woman who was- literally- a gluten-free pioneer and wrote several best selling gluten-free cookbooks, but). I determined quite quickly that rice flour and starches do not a gourmet treat make.

Truth is, ten years ago, baking gluten-free meant using rice flour and starches. We didn't have the higher protein, whole grain choices we have today. Oh, they were there, lurking. Buckwheat flour and almond meal have long, delicious traditions in the old country (I loved the cookbook Fabulous and Flourless). But packaged blends and gluten-free mixes favored cheaper rice flour and starches (and even today, most g-free mixes rely on this old school stand-by, with predictably gummy results). So the cardboard moniker stuck. And me?

My hopes for baking without gluten deflated like a sad little souffle.

Until Bob's Red Mill brought us whole grain gluten-free grains. Grains with protein and fiber. Grains with nutrition. Grains with flavor. And yes- texture! Milled with artisan care in a gluten-free facility. And no, this is not a sponsored endorsement. This is personal. By now you should know I'm not the kind of blogger who can be seduced by a coupon offer. Or a free t-shirt. I've been doing this awhile.

I have an opinion.

An informed opinion. Based on nine-plus years of gluten-free baking.

Which ought to be worth more than a coupon or a sample.

So I tell it like it is.

Readers sometimes ask me for recipe substitutions. These can be grouped into a handful of popular themes:

1. I use too many different flours- they want to use one.
2. I use buckwheat flour- they wouldn't touch buckwheat flour like they wouldn't wear Crocs.
3. I use sorghum flour- they can't find sorghum flour (for that, I am truly, sympathetically sorry!).
4. I use almond meal or coconut flour (fabulous protein and fiber)- and they are allergic (once again, profoundly sorry!).

So they sub. They use rice flour and starches in my recipes. And return to tell me the texture is gummy. Or as dense as cardboard. Exactly. Flour choices matter. And so does execution. So I thought I'd address this today, and offer some quick, short advice on gluten-free baking- and substitutions.

Gluten-free baking is more of an art than a science.

What this means- there is no one perfect, preset formula for a recipe. Why?

There is weather, Bubela. There is humidity. Winter heat dryness. There is how you store your flours (in the humid fridge- or in the cupboard next to the stove?). Dampish flours need less liquid added. There is temperature. The temperature of the ingredients themselves. The ambient temperature of your kitchen (is it drafty and damp, or hot and humid, or do you use air conditioning?). And then, perhaps the most influential of all, there is the temperature of your oven (which, surprisingly, can vary, especially for those of us using cheap stoves in rental apartments). Which is why I recommend using an oven thermometer. Temperature influences baking time.

With gluten-free baking, the relationship of dry ingredients to wet is crucial. Even two tablespoons more/or less liquid can make the difference between a gummy center, and a fluffy crumb. Here's what I do- I add my liquid to the whisked dry ingredients slowly, a little at a time, and beat until it comes to the right consistency. Don't dump all the liquid in at once. Sometimes you need a tablespoon less liquid. Sometimes, a few tablespoons more.

How to judge the right consistency?

Intuition and experience helps. But in general, cake and cupcake batters are slightly thicker than wheat based cake batters. You're not looking for thin ribbons of batter like the old days. I find the best gluten-free cake batters tip toward a muffin batter consistency.

Bread dough and pizza dough is more like muffin batter.

Cookie dough is stiff and sturdy and a wee bit sticky (except in a cut-out recipe, which needs to be more pliable).

For baking substitution help (because of course, I know how hard it is to bake gluten-free with allergies- you know I love you, my multi-allergic sisters and brothers, I'm one of you!) please use my post on Baking Substitutions and Help as a guide to subbing problematic ingredients in my recipes.

And for vegans, and non-vegans, I have found my recipes perform well with eggs and without, using an egg substitute. For a powdered egg sub I use Ener-G Egg Replacer- if you use a different one, you may need to adjust starches/liquids. Many readers report good luck using flax seed gel- though I have no expertise with flax. And yes, for dairy and non-dairy, I find it's an easy one-to-one sub. I am dairy-free, so if you prefer using butter and milk in my vegan recipes- that will work just fine. Choose cruelty-free organic eggs and dairy whenever possible.

For detailed info on gluten-free flour choices and how to make your own g-free flour blends that don't suck, see my Gluten-Free Baking Tips post.

Finally- to repeat it--- experience counts.

Even our failures bring us one step closer to better results. They teach us. Baking gluten-free is a process. It is not a finite, closed experiment. It is more like jazz than strophic form. Learning an intuitive sense of improvisation is worth the effort.

So, go bake some cookies with whole grain flours and share them with someone you love, okay?


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