Gluten-Free Goddess Recipes

YES PLEASE.  This award winning budget-friendly Santa Fe inspired vegetarian enchilada recipe is one of those happy accidents that springs from a burst of creative imagination. Or rumbling hunger. In that what-have-we-got-in-the-pantry sort of panic. I was craving the soft and spicy comfort of enchiladas one windy spring night back in 2003, and I had none of the usual suspects on hand (no chicken, or beef, no pinto beans).  But! I had one lovely mother of a sweet potato.  A can of organic black beans.  Some roasted green chiles.  One lonely lime.  And your intrepid Mamacita-Goddess at large thought, Hmmm. Why not? Deliciousness ensued. These wrapped little gems are soft and creamy and a little bit spicy- Just like a certain cook , my point-scoring husband wisecracks. It's the yams, I tell him. Er, sweet potato. I can never tell the difference. Can you? In the end, it doesn't matter.  What matters is how it tastes. And darling, these are so mucho scrumptiou

Blueberry Flax Seed Muffins - My New Fave. Several years ago we left Cape Cod (our home for years) for our empty nest gypsy adventure. We sold the sofa, kitchen table, and boxes of cookbooks. We recycled toys and jeans and an old PC. The open road was calling. And we listened. The western sky hung big and blue above the high desert arroyos of New Mexico. It felt as deep and wide as an ocean. We thought this signaled home. But I missed the sea more than I ever could have guessed. So we moved to Los Angeles and tried on four different neighborhoods in as many years. I grew adept at packing and shedding and shelved my books by color . I luxuriated in each and every hour spent with my two grown sons. A gift, each shared coffee date. Movie night. Christmas dinner. But the city of Los Angeles was never my home. Its entertainment culture felt as walled off to me as the adobe and iron gates in Santa Fe. I felt invisible. And irrelevant. And undernourished. My restless feminine soul

Sweet and simple raspberry jam bars. Let's be honest. I am here today to tempt you. To coax you. To seduce you with a gluten-free dessert worthy of every single luscious calorie. In full transparency, I am admitting up front these are not fat-free. Or sugar-free. These aren't diet food. They're not proper for breakfast (unless you serve them with Champagne). And you won't be able to sigh ever-so-wistfully at parties and mention, off hand, how hard it is to eat gluten-free at family gatherings and parties. Because, Darling Reader, you'll score zero sympathy points once people sink their teeth into the luscious raspberry jam filling nestled between buttery toasted coconut-almond crunch topping and tender hazelnut cookie crust. Nope. In fact, these decadent raspberry coconut-almond bars should come with a warning:   Be careful who you share these with. Because they are sure to fall madly in love with you. Seriously. Karina xox

An Italian Classic - Updated. Today I offer you a simple recipe spun from the magic of leftover gluten-free spaghetti and eggs- a creamy, light frittata. Perfect for the weekend. Or when you're simply too tired to cook. Or you have nothing in the fridge but a carton of eggs, half a bag of kale salad and last night's leftover cooked spaghetti. It's one of those intuitive, spontaneous recipes I've pulled out of thin air, so many times. For dairy-free folks, the "cheese" pictured in this version was a vegan "mozzarella" (my current favorite is Vegan Gourmet). But if you prefer using dairy- select one or two of your favorite Italian organic cheeses. I've also made this yummy dish using goat cheese (and roasted red peppers!), and another time I tried a blend of fresh mozzarella and shaved Parmesan. It's a very versatile recipe. Celebrate Spring. Have fun with it! XOX Karina

Blueberry Muffin Mornings Blanched almond flour and blueberries make the perfect little gluten-free bite for a spring breakfast. Or, for that matter, brunch. Or afternoon tea. Or- you name it. For right now, though, I'm thinking a blueberry muffin morning might be the perfect start to my day. The recipe here is vegan- but if you prefer using eggs, darling, beaten eggs will work perfectly well in this favorite recipe (just use fresh free-range eggs in place of the egg replacer). Stay true blue this week, everyone- be safe out there. Karina xox

Ah, flourless chocolate cake. The perfect rich dessert. Forgive the hyperbole. But I just can't help it. This is rich, sexy chocolate deliciousness on a plate. And such an easy recipe, especially if you use a food processor to do the work. Serve this to non-gluten-free folks with no apologies. None. Zip. Nada. And for gluten-free folks? Hand out seconds (we deserve it, don't we?). And the best part is- the recipe is inherently gluten-free and wheat-free. Always has been. No substitutions. No funny stuff. This is the same flourless chocolate cake I've been making for decades. It never contained flour. The only thing I've tweaked post-celiac diagnosis is adding more coffee and vanilla. Just because. And PS: See below why I make this recipe in a food processor- thanks to Bobby Flay. Karina xo

Easy Chicken Chili Time Or in other words- this is the Football Season May Officially Be Over (I'm from Massachusetts, so. TOM BRADY #12 #GOAT 4Evah) but Chili Season is Definitely Not Over post. And I confess that even after watching every episode of Friday Night Lights , football retains a certain mystery to yours truly. A few things I know. Tight ends tighten. Running backs are amazing athletes. Quarterbacks have eagle eyes, poise under pressure, great arms (and other fine qualities). And special teams kickers pray to the football gods when called in for a tie breaker with 6 seconds to spare in the final quarter.  Do I sound like I know what I am talking about? I don't. At least, not in depth. I just overheard some manly sporty banter over gluten-free tuna melts. To which I smiled politely.  Listened intently. And reached for a pickle. Back fields in motion. Quarterback sneak. The Snap. The Blitz. I love the lingo. It's a language alluringly foreign to m

Gluten-Free Shepherd's Pie Two Ways (one vegan) A chilly rain is rolling through, interrupting a whisper of mist with sudden bursts of stinging wet drops. The skies are wooly gray, gloomy and low. It's the kind of day that calls for comfort in the form of food. Something baked in a crock. Something piping hot and old fashioned. Something with mashed potatoes. A savory pie, I said out loud, standing at the window watching blackbirds argue under the ornamental olive trees, listening to the staccato of rain drumming the rooftop. Don't tease me, said my husband from his corner study, looking up, I imagine, from his latest screenplay effort. I wouldn't joke about a thing like pie, I assured him. Seriously. I'm thinking a shepherd's pie, I said. More to myself than him. But not the usual shepherd's pie. No lamb. No beef. No onion. No peas, I murmured. Please, he said. No peas. (His hearing is excellent.) You know, that could get you into trouble, I y

Luscious Lemon Cake So  I've been jonesing for a cake laced with citrus- not too sweet and not too light. A cake with character and heft.  Something akin to a lovely simple cake I remember liking as a child, a store bought bakery cake called Louisiana Ring made by Freihofer's. The cake featured a hint of orange. The day I decided to bake, I did not have oranges in the pantry- but I did have some lemons, organic Greek yogurt, and plenty of blanched almond flour.  And this simple home baked lemon cake was born.  In time for Spring. Love, Karina xo

Gluten-Free Goddess readers have lately been asking, Hey, GFG! Can we substitute a pre-mixed gluten-free flour blend in your recipes? My response has always been, Why not try it? Experimentation, after all, is a path to knowledge, and required initiation into Gluten-Free Land. My own journey into gluten-free baking was a long and winding road of experimenting with various flours and starches, sugar levels, eggs and egg-free, dairy and non-dairy... I tried everything. After almost twenty years, I have pared down my choices and found my own preferences. I imagine it reflects the path most of us take. Today, though, prompted by a new reader's request, I decided to experiment with a pre-mixed gluten-free flour blend. I chose King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour because it is enriched (as standard wheat flours and mixes are). I picked my tried and true Gluten-Free Goddess Banana Muffin Recipe , substituting the alternative flours and starches with King Arthur's, cup fo