Gluten-Free Blueberry Oat Muffins

Gluten-free blueberry oat muffins.

We woke to the sound of water. It is raining in the desert this morning. The overflow is spilling over the edges of the canales, splashing onto the wedges of flagstone scattered in the sand around our casita. It feels like we are living inside a Zen fountain- waterfalls on all sides. The mesa is hidden in mist. The air is heavy with the scent of juniper and wet bark. I am deeply comforted by all of this.

Moisture is a rare commodity here.

I breathe in the friendly air and flash on a rainy autumn day in New Hampshire, the sidewalk wet with red and gold leaves. I remember a cup of coffee and an American Spirit, sipped and smoked in a clammy car parked at the edge of a Cape Cod beach in Orleans, the surf a dense gray-green from the chop of a spring storm. I think about a blue and breezy afternoon at Venice Beach, taking photographs of sand and seaweed.
All this, conjured from the smell of the desert in the rain.

I miss the ocean more than I ever thought possible. In the dreamy rainy day mood I'm in it is difficult to concentrate. I lazily edit photographs of blueberry muffins. I sip peppermint tea. I smile big and wide and send the State of California Supreme Court a big wet kiss for today's wise and compassionate decision (long time readers know my thoughts on this particular issue of love and marriage- you will always find me on the side of love).

Love is the bigger, deeper, sweetest thing, after all. So here is a muffin recipe in celebration of all things sweet and good. A muffin to love. Brown sugar oatmeal goodness that is vegan, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, and even soy-free. One thing it isn't? Free of flavor. I'm not lying. Make these and see for yourself. You'll thank me. 

With a big fat blueberry kiss.

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Pork Roast with Mushrooms and Brown Sugar Apricot-Pomegranate Sauce

Slow cooker pork roast with apricot jam.

My first pork roast recipe- ever. And it's a home run. I apologize for the sports metaphor but I've been sitting at my desk for an hour. And not a single sentence has been birthed. Even after one hot mother of a mug of coffee (and a decaf peppermint green tea that really doesn't count because, well, it's tea), I'm still in a post Sunday fog today, basking in the afterglow of a Sunday afternoon spent with friends. We ate and drank our way through six hours of non-stop conversation. I get all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it. And I'm more than a little tempted to wax poetic about friendship and how we choose our true family and what a head banging blue-in-the-face relief it is to sit at a table with soulful people who wrestle with big questions and hunger for authenticity and integrity while also making you laugh out loud without covering your teeth and feel proud of your mayo-free potato salad.

But I won't. I'll tell you about my first pork roast instead.

I'll say it up front. It took decades to get me here- to ease into a place in my life where I might actually, finally, consider buying a hunk of pork and roasting it. I started off slowly, slyly, trying turkey bacon ten years ago. Then I graduated to the real deal roughly six years ago. Organic Sunday smoked bacon. Nitrate-free, of course. And when my body did not protest and the world as I knew it did not go up in a hellish ball of blistering flames, I decided to move on to the hard stuff. I was ready.

It was finally time to roast a pork loin. And Dear Reader- was I intimidated. You know it. In fact yours truly was almost quaking in her Rocket Dogs. Well, maybe not quaking. More like, shivery-nervous. So I decided two things.

First- that I would use my trusty slow cooker. Simple. Familiar. Not too much to screw up. Second- that I would make a sauce with pomegranate juice and a jar of apricot jam. It just seemed like a good fit.

And guess what? Tender, juicy, tangy-sweet deliciousness ensued.

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Pomegranate Smoothie - Dairy-Free + Vegan

Pom Smoothie Love

I'm delirious. I could blame it on the wind. There is a loco spring wind here in New Mexico, you know. And it can make you, well. Crazy. It rough rides up the Chama River like nobody's business and bitch slaps the mesa behind us. It buffets the casita absolutely senseless and whips tumbleweeds into missiles. I'm not kidding. There are moments when you wonder if the roof will lift off. 

You start looking out the window for flying monkeys. 

So you hunker down and pull out pots and pans to conjure mashed potatoes into colcannon just to cope. You bake comforting Roasted Vegetable Lasagna. You feel like whipping up your own brand of frenzy.

In the gentle guise of a vegan smoothie.

Because you crave pomegranate. We all know deep and vibrant hued fruits are good for us. You've read about all those studies, right? How all those yummy antioxidants and goodies like anthocyanin feed our brains and keep us sharp, on the edge, where we need to be?

Psychology Today reports that preliminary results indicate that people who eat a cup of blueberries a day perform 5 percent to 6 percent better than a control group on tests of motor skills. I'm not good at math (will blueberries help?) so I'm unsure if "5 to 6 percent better" is a huge deal, but. Hey.

For the sake of my asymmetrical motor skills (I was the geek who was never- ever- picked for any team in school) I'm willing to eat a few more blueberries, pomegranates and cranberries. Not because I harbor hopes of better motor skills.

But because they taste so good.

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Pesto Bacon Lettuce & Tomato Wraps

Brown rice tortillas wrap it all up.

Flour tortillas and sandwich wraps have always been a favorite around here. How simple can you get? Throw some deli, salad greens, tomatoes, avocado and dressing onto a soft flaky tortilla and boom. You've got a meal. A portable meal, in fact. Perfect for picnics. Customizable. Accommodating. And tasty as all get out. What could be easier? It's clear why America has gone wrap crazy.

You lovely and talented wheat-eaters out there get all kinds of choices- whole grain lavash, flax and spinach wraps, low carb, garlic herb, and classic flour tortillas. But a gluten-free wrap is tough to come by. Your intrepid goddess at large has been mourning her wraps and lime infused burritos for quite a few sad and wrapless years now. And I'm sorry- those teff wraps you can sometimes find in the health food store? Please don't e-mail me about them. They smell so funky- like a gym sock used yesterday in some unspeakable act- although they do roll around a tube of fresh ingredients with a flexibility akin to the flour tortillas I vaguely recall. I might even try them again- if I can just get past the smell. Perhaps I could pinch my nose while munching.

The best gluten-free wrap I've tried is Trader Joe's brown rice tortillas. If you nab a package when they are piping fresh and pliable, you're in for a treat. The problem is, they turn stale faster than Madonna's reinventions. And far too often you tear open (what you thought was) a fresh package from your local Whole Foods only to cry slow tears of salty frustration when your much anticipated wrap falls apart and splits into an unappetizing melange du jour you sullenly eat with a fork.

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May Brings More Than Flowers- it brings celiac awareness!

May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month. Around this little casita, that's no big deal. After all, we live with celiac disease 24/7 (and have been gluten-free- in our various kitchens- since December 19, 2001). Living gluten-free- to us- is second nature. But what about the over two million and several hundred thousand other celiac citizens- the vast sea of the Undiagnosed? You're out there. Somewhere. Swimming in gluten. And you don't even know it's wreaking havoc.

This post's for you.

Throughout the month of May, Gluten-Free Goddess will be spotlighting gluten-free recipes that pop up in sweet and unexpected places- especially food and cooking blogs, and sites that don't necessarily focus on gluten-free cooking. Spotting and tagging safe recipes for celiac disease in a blogging community with a passion for taste, fresh ingredients and style will be not only fun- but help to raise awareness for celiac disease.

Read on for the first fabulous find.

The first tempting recipe find is this sexy Warm Steak and Orange Salad posted by food writer and recipe developer Amy Sherman at Glam Dish- tasty morsels served with style. It's impossible to feel deprived when you can dig into a dish like this. Get more Amy at her Cooking With Amy blog, too. She's got some tasty gluten-free recipes to share- like these delightful crepes.

Find out more at Celiac Central: The NFCA

Roasted Vegetable Magic

Fresh veggies tossed with garlic and olive oil.

  

What do you throw together for dinner when you're just too tired to cook?

That is my question to you, Dear Readers. Chances are you've been there. I know you have. Dog weary. Emotionally spent. A tad cranky. Blood sugar perilously low. It's way past time to eat. The kids have been munching cereal straight from the box. And there you are, staring into the pantry without a trace of culinary passion and only the scantiest clad hint of inspiration.

What you really want to do is strip off the remains of the day and sink into a welcoming tub with a chilled glass of Riesling and hope that dinner will magically appear in an hour. Well, I don't own a magic wand and my Fairy Godmother abandoned me years ago. But this recipe practically cooks itself. And the best part? It gives you an hour when you need it the most. So draw yourself a bath while you cut up a few spring vegetables, pour a glass of wine, toss a pan into the oven and boom. Dinner is done.

And Darlings- please share you own Too Tired To Cook ideas below. You just might rescue a fellow Reader. You could end up being someone's Fairy Godmother.

You never know.

Here is an easy Dijon roasting sauce based upon a recipe from my first cookbook, Recipes from a Vegetarian Goddess. It's not very glamorous. But it does hit the spot if you're craving a big bowl of vegan comfort.

Roasted Vegetable Magic Recipe

Recipe posted May 2008.

Spring vegetables are so tasty seasoned with a Dijon mustard sauce- especially tender new potatoes and onions. Throw in some sausage and you have a one pan dinner.

Ingredients:

For the Dijon roasting sauce:

4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill, marjoram, parsley or mint

Cut up:

2 cups sliced young potatoes- try a mix of blue, red and gold
1 medium sweet or red onion, cut up
4 carrots, sliced into thin diagonal coins or matchsticks
1 bunch of broccoli, cut up
1 yellow squash, sliced into half moons
1 zucchini squash, sliced into half moons
1 small cabbage, sliced
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

4 Italian style sausages, sliced- optional

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Toss the cut vegetables into a large roasting pan. Season with sea salt and ground pepper.

Whisk together the Dijon sauce and pour over the veggies. Stir to coat.

Roast for an hour, until fork tender.

Add in sliced cooked sausage during the last twenty minutes of roasting time, if desired.

Serves 3-4.

Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes

Gluten-Free Goddess® 

All Desserts

Looking for fabulous gluten-free dessert recipes for your celiac sweet tooth? Here is my collection of truly tasty gluten-free treats- from buckwheat chocolate chip cookies to praline pumpkin pie, from rich dark chocolate brownies and cupcakes (with mocha frosting!) to easy fruit crisps and elegant coconut layer cake. All my dessert recipes are wheat-free and gluten-free, and many are egg-free and dairy-free, as well.

Make today delicious.  

xox Karina

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