Easy Crispy Baked Kale Chips

Crispy kale chips with sea salt- perfect for a gluten-free diet.

Ugly but tasty, darling.

You've heard the news, right? It's all over the blogsphere. And foodie sites galore. Bunny food rocks. Dark leafy greens just might save our lives, so packed are they with deeply needed nourishment and nutrition. And kale! Tuscan kale is the queenly green It Girl.

I resisted her charms at first, I admit. I tip-toed into kale territory last year, with a hefty head of curly kale. And found it, shall we say, a tad, um, swampy. For my taste, anyway. I'm a woman who loves wedge salad, after all, believing (without irony) that a thick slice of crisp, cold iceberg lettuce is the perfect summer vegetable. And highly underrated.

But Tuscan kale- with its long slim elegance (sometimes known as Lacinato or dinosaur kale) has decidedly won my undying loyalty- especially when roasted in olive oil.

And toasted to a crispy crunchy whisper of a chip.

It's like an ugly potato chip. Sans the guilt of a potato chip. You get the pleasing, delicate crunch. Then a burst of briny green flavor. An aftershock of bitterness. Which perks up your taste buds. And if you haven't Botoxed your forehead, may even raise an eyebrow. Or two.

The odd sensation you will feel next is your body murmuring, Thank you.

Followed quickly by, More please.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Read More

Gluten-Free Pan Fried Catfish

Golden pan fried catfish fillet with crisp baby greens and brown rice.

Life's a Beach

One of the juicy, inspiring gifts of an empty nest is the big sky freedom to pull up roots and wander. And Darling, have we been wandering. We are gypsies. Moving six times since selling our family home back on Cape Cod five years ago, each time moving south, migrating west. Each time selling off more books, discarding the outworn. Until we reached the sea again.

After years of oceanic dreaming I finally call the beach my home.

I wake to the rhythmic crash of the waves. I open windows and fill the rooms with sea glass sunlight and salt air. My pillows and bedding smell like surf.

I can breathe here. I can paint here. I can cup my hands and carve the space to imagine new things.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Read More

Frosted Carrot Cake Quinoa Bars

Frosted carrot quinoa bars. Gluten-free. Dairy-free.

Gettin' Fancy

My intrepid husband slash sous chef was craving a carrot cake style quinoa bar for a mid-morning snack. To be exact, he said, Hey. I'm craving a carrot cake style quinoa breakfast bar. You know. For breakfast. To which yours truly replied, Look who wants to get fancy. My chocolate chip quinoa breakfast bars aren't good enough for you? Now you need frosting? To which said long suffering husband replied, Frosting makes everything better.

Who am I to argue with that?

Read more + get the recipe >>

Read More

Turkey Meatballs with Asian Style Noodles

Light and tempting turkey meatballs with fresh herbs, ginger and lime.

Let it Roll, Baby, Roll

Okay, I confess. I admit it. When it comes to this recipe? I was totally inspired by Jamie Oliver and his Jamie's Food Revolution. I loved the flash mob stir-fry dance at Marshall University in episode four (view here at WabiSabi, one of the participants). The energy, spirit and creativity of the students, the killer combo of cooking and dance, with a generous dash of self expression and celebration got this creaky gluten-free goddess off the couch and movin', Baby.

Not to mention, craving a pan-tossed noodle stir-fry.

No doubt about it, I've been more attuned to Asian inspired flavors since moving to Santa Monica. Understandable. It's hard not to respond to the fresh, Pacific-infused tastes and heady scents of Asian fusion out here. So when we decided to play around with meatball recipes this weekend, yours truly started conjuring fusion-style tweaks for the humble Mediterranean meatball recipe I know and love.

First- I wanted to use organic free-range turkey (come Spring, I favor lighter meatballs and meatloaf, don't you?). And I knew I wanted to use fresh chopped herbs- mint, cilantro and parsley. Perfect with a splash of lime. Some spring onion. A little ginger and chile. Boom.

This Asian fusion meatball was born.

A quick note on my noodle choice- I've discovered Ancient Harvest Gluten-Free Quinoa Pasta-- and I love the texture and flavor. This is the least starchy gluten-free noodle I've found. And the best part is (perhaps due to the higher protein content of quinoa flour?) it stands up to pan tossing for brilliant stir-fries.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Read More

Gluten-Free Chocolate Recipes for Love

Romantic chocolate recipes- gluten-free.

How do I love thee, Dear Reader? Let me count the ways. And if you wouldn't mind indulging me (just a little) let me count them in chocolate- that buttery dark bitter sweetness that coaxes even the no good very bad surliest day to soften its grip.

Consider this my gluten-free chocolate valentine to you.

For starters, let me thank you with a wake-up call. How about velvety Chocolate Muffins in bed? Served with your favorite morning beverage, of course. And for your mid-morning pick-me-up, let me tickle your fancy with a plate of crunchy pecan studded chocolate biscotti (you can dunk or not, Darling, it's up to you).

Read more + get the recipe >>

Read More

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets, Chick Peas and Orange

Fresh, bright quinoa salad with oranges and roasted beets.

February second. We survived January, Darling. Happy Groundhog Day to you. Happy Imbolc. The dwindling of winter is at last within reach- no matter what Punxatawny Phil predicts. Six weeks is doable. After all, there is chocolate. Downton Abbey 2. And soup. And our hope-fueled New Year betterments are still on track (right?). If not, the year is young. Tomorrow is a fresh start. To celebrate, let's throw a party. My contribution? A gluten-free vegan salad that is perfect for parties.

Because throwing a party is a tad more complicated than it used to be.

There are vegans to accommodate. And newly gluten-free friends and neighbors to feed. And let's face it. Everyone is a wee bit bored by those layered taco bean dips and pork sliders. Gooey meat and cheese is so predictable. Pizza dips are so frat house.

Why not go fresh and breezy instead?

Be good to your body.


Read more + get the recipe >>

Read More

Gluten-Free Chicken Chili with White Beans, Sweet Potato and Lime

Gluten-Free Goddess chicken chili with white beans.

Game day looms. Tight ends are tightening. Quarterbacks are quarterbacking. And after that field goal miss by the Ravens at the last Patriot's game, kickers are praying to the football gods they won't be called in for a chip-shot, with 11 seconds to spare, in the season finale known as The Super Bowl. Do I sound like I know what I am talking about? I don't. I just overheard some manly sporty banter over lunch. To which I smiled politely.

And reached for a pickle.

Even after watching every episode of Friday Night Lights, I still don't understand a down. Football is a mystery. Back fields in motion. Penalties! Off sides. Snap. Blitz. Gotta love the lingo.

It's a language alluringly foreign to me.

Like math.

Or for some, perhaps it's akin to say, abstract expressionism.


Thing is, I get negative space. In my bones. This is my territory. Now you're talkin' my language. I appreciate analogous color. Gesture. Tooth. Value verses tone. The sensual beauty of surface. The seduction of action. The painter's hand. Unprimed and primed. Gels, and viscosity. Transparency and opacity. Cool against warm. Lost and found edges.


Though it's not all yin yang, a wrestle of opposites.

As in football- and life- painting is a focus of expression, sometimes true and authentic, and sometimes disappointingly off the mark.

Like that Ravens field goal.

We try. We sometimes miss. But what matters is- we make the effort. And that is all we can do. We kick the ball. We brush wet paint. We string words into a lyric. We make chili.

And sometimes?

We get a winner.

And if not?

Tomorrow is another day.


Read more + get the recipe >>

Read More