Quinoa Salad with Lime + Fresh Mint

Quinoa salad with fresh lime and mint.

This is the post where I confess, Dear Reader, that I am now pear-shaped and lumpy and thick in the middle- obviously adept at gaining weight. I may even be considered gifted. This is not fun for me. But then, who promised fun during hip surgery recovery? Who said it would be easy? (Um, no one.) Throw menopausal hormone pandemonium into the sticky mix and you have a double roll nightmare.

I gained fifteen eighteen twenty damn pounds.

And who claimed that wedges of Green Chile Cornbread and Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones and Peach Crisp were calorie-free, anyway? Certainly not moi. But geesh.

How much can a girl give up in one lifetime?

So the rumors are true. Your intrepid plucky gluten-free goddess is trying the South Beach Diet. Or as well as one can follow the famous low glycemic diet without the comfort of dairy foods (on my allergen verboten list). This should be interesting.

Lucky for me I have a Guru.

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Simple & yummy!

This recipe is really simple, in fact I found it in a food magazine and it was on the kids page. I thought I'd try it for my picky eater, he adored them and I did too. The method of making these muffins is simple yet it yielded to a great result. I've tried fairly more complicated muffin recipes and didn't get a nice result or should I say didn't get what I'd expect from a good muffin: not too sweet, moist and light. I think I can use this recipe as a base and explore with other flavors.



Recipe (10 to 11 muffins)

100 g unsalted melted butter.
1 large egg.
2 heaping Tbsp Nutella.
100 ml milk.
180 g all purpose flour.
70 g sugar.
1+1/2 tsp baking powder.
Pinch of salt.
Nutella
Chopped hazelnuts

Preparation

1- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with muffin cups.
2- Combine the melted butter, the egg and the nutella. Mix with a hand held mixer until light and fluffy. Add the milk. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until just combined (do not over mix)
4. Divide the batter between the muffin cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
5- Let the muffins cool completely. Ice each muffin with nutella and sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts.

Bon Appetit!

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Gluten-Free Maple Apple Breakfast Sausage- and things I lost in the fall

Truth is often messy. It's complicated. Hard to blog about. Because truth- the whole of it- doesn't always dovetail into a post about rhubarb or biscuit dough. It isn't shiny and pastel sprinkled or predigested for your consumption. What I'm feeling lately is raw and no doubt undercooked, and I'm not even sure I understand it. So, what, exactly, is it?

Things I lost in the fall.

Besides the ability to straddle, to jog up the patio steps, to sway to Iris Dement while stirring onions, to heft groceries from the back seat, lug heavy Mexican chairs over into the sun, to reach the top edge of a five-foot canvas and lay down a swath of color, walk back, step forward, add more paint, back up, mix color (do this for hours). Or even just sit on the floor. Cross my legs. Curl up in a chair with a book.

To stand for more than ten minutes without assistance (in other words, cane).

But it's more than these things, even. More than the physical struggle back to a modified semblance of wholeness. It's the acidic sensation of sliding backwards in time, losing ground you worked so hard to get to, to claim as your own. The foothold that didn't come easy to a questioning hyper-vigilant child. A cultivated center of pure confidence. The belief in I am here. Entitlement.

The right to take up floorspace and wall space, to carve out time, spend money on materials. Make mistakes, explore, discover. Play. To start over somewhere new and unfamiliar. The right to disappoint someone else. To confuse them. To place someone else's needs next to your own- instead of in front of your own.

More was broken than a hip.

And ten months later, I am still mending. Not just knitting marrow and stretching fifty-year old muscles that knot and resist. There are invisibles I have lost.

And I am no longer bold enough, or naive enough, to simply assume I'll get them back.


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Too Hot To Cook? Make a Lettuce Wrap

I love lettuce cups and garden wraps- so fresh and light.

Too hot to cook and you're contemplating going gluten-free to boot? Try a greenwich on for size. Garden fresh lettuce wraps make for an ultra-easy lunch that is perfect for sizzling summer days. Wrap or cradle your favorite sandwich filling with tender Boston lettuce or crisp romaine. Stuff smaller cups with your favorite salad or use larger leaves to wrap and roll a layered classic.

One of the first recipes I started with on my gluten-free journey years ago was the simple idea of wrapping various sandwich fillings in crisp washed lettuce leaves. The possibilities are endless.

Boston lettuce (aka butter lettuce) leaves make deliciously tender wraps. Romaine is sturdier; fill it lengthwise- like a boat- and simply fold it, rib on bottom. When fillings are messy, wrap the wrap with a piece of wax paper, plastic wrap or foil.

Lettuce wraps are great fun for kids. Set up a buffet style Greenwich Bar- with all the fixin's- and let them choose from an assortment of fillings to design their and wrap their own creations.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

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Pinon Rice Bake with Artichokes and Goat Cheese

Brown rice with artichokes, roasted corn, chiles, pine nuts and goat cheese.

Here's a favorite make-ahead rice dish recipe with Mediterranean flavors- artichokes, plum tomatoes, pine nuts and goat cheese. Entertaining made simple. And there are never any leftovers.

Having someone new over for dinner always sends me into a flurry of activity fueled by nervous energy and worry. I obsess over obscure details (like an iTune playlist), change my mind about the menu (wait- enchiladas or lasagna?), forget ingredients (dagnabbit! the green beans are still in the car). So I've learned (yes, the hard way) to always make a few key dishes ahead of time. Then dinner is basically done.

And I'm not stuck in the kitchen spilling olive oil on a new silk shirt.

I can relax (well, sort of). And- goddess willing- I won't set the oven on fire because I'm too busy discussing politics or the yummy Anderson Cooper.

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Our Family's Top Ten Gluten-Free Products

Gluten-free baguettes made with Pamela's mix.

Our Family's Top Ten 

Gluten-Free Picks

*

These quickie reviews of our family's favorite gluten-free products are not sponsored by the manufacturers. I accepted no free samples, coupons, or other please-blog-about-us incentives. These picks are our personal, most often used favorites.

1. Pamela's Products Amazing Wheat Free & Gluten-free Bread Mixwith sorghum and millet flour is the best tasting gluten-free bread mix by far. Seriously. We've made it with eggs and without eggs. Both ways are delicious. We've even made killer rustic baguettes with Pamela's (pictured above). My son Alex has made it into cinnamon swirl bread, and pizza crust, with great success.

2. Next up: Gluten-Free Pasta. One of our family's favorite gluten-free pastas is Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta. It's far less starchy than your average rice pasta, and higher in protein. The spaghetti style has the bite of a good Italian linguine- perfect for those of you who prefer your pasta al dente.

For those unable to do corn, Tinkyada Pasta is also excellent. The Tinkyada Large Shells are perfect for stuffed shells (see my Gluten-Free Italian Baked Stuffed Shells recipe here). And the Tinkyada Brown Rice Lasagna makes light, delicious lasagna (I use the noodles uncooked- find my lasagna recipes here).

3. Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix in bulk is the best all-around all-purpose baking and pancake mix. Why? It features buttermilk and almond meal. Beginners can use Pamela's mix as a one-to-one sub for wheat flour in gluten-free baking.

For those who need a dairy-free gluten-free baking mix try Namaste Gluten-Free Waffle and Pancake Mix. (In our house, we add chocolate chips to our pancakes- or blueberries.)

4. Highly regarded Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free milled flours and mixes has finally added a gluten-free polenta and cornmeal to their esteemed line of products. Lucky us! For those who love polenta and care about quality- we now have Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Corn Grits + Polenta. Look for the GF symbol on the package.

5. Ancient Harvest Quinoa Flakes is a hot breakfast cereal rich in vegan protein and calcium. We enjoy it as a warm bowl of comfort drizzled with maple syrup. And we absolutely love using it in baking- especially in cookie, muffin, and cake recipes (especially nice when oats are called for). Browse GFG quinoa recipes here.

We also enjoy Ancient Harvest Organic Quinoa grain as pilaf, tabbouleh, and a high protein alternative to rice (I cook it in my rice cooker- here's how).

6. Gluten-free flours blends taste different. Less sweet than wheat. One trick we like to do? Use the best vanilla extract- Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract. Rich, deep vanilla flavor. No icky, flabby fillers (like corn syrup).

7. A new gluten-free flour fave is Bob's Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour. It adds moisture, flavor, and a subtle sweetness to GF flour blends. Not to mention, protein and fiber. A little is all you need- add a tablespoon or two for added moisture and texture, or sub out a half cup flour in your usual flour blend with a half cup coconut flour.

8. Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil makes gluten-free baked goods rich and buttery. It's our new favorite vegan butter and shortening replacement in baking recipes. Great for cookies, cakes, biscuits, and scones.

9. Our favorite non-dairy milk to use in gluten-free and vegan ice cream is- hands down-- Native Forest Organic Classic Coconut Milk. Creamy good. Also lovely in spicy curry sauces, as well as a staple in baking.

10. Organic Raw Blue Agave is a low glycemic natural vegan sweetener that is wonderful for subtle sweetening in sauces, beverages and baking.

Purchasing a product via our links to Amazon.com earns us a small advertising affiliate fee. 

 We appreciate and value your support. 

Thank you!

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Mexican Black Bean Soup- In Memory of Sher

Sher's black bean soup recipe.

Sher and I never met. We were what people refer to as blogging acquaintances. We exchanged occasional comments on one another's blogs and admired each other's penchant for rustic Mexican recipes. Real food, with big flavor. Last Sunday lovely Sher passed away suddenly- from a heart attack. She was 59. Today food bloggers are joining in memory of Sher- and her enthusiastic love of good food- by posting one of her recipes. I suspect this would please her no end; as her blog title suggests, the first question asked by her family on any occasion is...

What did you eat?

Today we are collectively offering, One of your recipes, Sher!

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