Gluten-Free Sun-Dried Tomato Focaccia Bread

Today's new recipe? Gluten-free sun-dried tomato bread.

 

A Focaccia To Love

Moving season is upon us. Yes, Los Angeles has a moving season. Southern Californians do not like to move in cold weather- in other words, when the mercury dips below the 60º mark. 58 degrees? It's time for UGGs and cocoa and ordering in. Not for hoisting sofas up or down a flight of stairs. Are you crazy?

And yes. We are moving. Come June 1st or thereabouts we are joining the migrating, apartment swapping masses. We are weeding through the promises that bloom on Craigslist (a veritable bouquet of alluring superlatives). Amazing! Gorgeous! Light and bright! And the ever popular- HUGE! This whole searching (and so far, not finding) process inevitably makes me insanely hungry for bread. Not store bought bread. Freshly baked warm from the oven bread. The kind of rustic, crusty loaf that conjures the word hearth. And home.

Because when you're searching for a place to live, nothing whispers home to your soul like the yeasty sweet aroma of baking bread.


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Spring Veggie Dip - Gluten-Free and Vegan

Karina's gluten-free vegan veggie dip with carrot sticks.

Ramblings and Veggie Dip

Living rootless is a mixed gift bag. There are no neighbors who know my history, or my family. Or even my name (unless they happened to glance by accident at the removable punch-label on our mailbox that sports our shared surname, one half of the story). I have no garden to weed. No leaves to rake. No fence to paint. I walk the city block unnoticed (flirting with invisible) in frayed men's Levi's and a four-year old sweatshirt. I do not mind the anonymity. I find it kind. It suits me. Like my faded Converse One Stars.

Craving attention- for me- is like craving bacon ice cream or hot dog stuffed pizza crust or fried chicken in buckets. I simply do not. It's innate. I just don't have an appetite for it. I practiced it endured it in childhood when necessary (for survival). Growing up can be excruciating if dropped into the nest of an extroverted party giver. Performance anxiety will indeed tongue-tie an observant three year old who already understands on some unspoken secret level that the push toward the spotlight is not about her, it's all about the pusher.

So I've never been prone to elevate the art of competition or believe in the religion of winners and losers. Keeping score or handing out awards is as unpleasant to me as sniffing haggis. Competition (when viewed up close and personal) is mental illness. The vigilant urge to be Number 1 or the beeline drive toward fame is a symptom. You can cloak it in a "pursuit of excellence" all you want. It's all an illusion with no more meaning than a pink slime infused wiener-stuffed gob of dough baked with cheese. Time will prove that to you.

In more ways than one.

Sprouted tofu veggie dip with fresh herbs.

Who needs ammonia doused pink slime or buckets of greasy fried gluten when you can whip together this light and creamy vegan dip? Serve it with crisp carrot sticks or an array of fresh spring veggies.

Feel good.

Inside and out.

Creamy tofu vegan dip for spring veggies.

Spring Veggie Dip Recipe - Gluten-Free and Vegan

By Karina Allrich April 2012.

I used sprouted tofu in this vegan-lovin' dairy-free gluten-free veggie dip. Sprouting the soybeans makes them more digestible, apparently.

Ingredients:

1 lb. soft or medium-soft organic tofu
1/2 cup Vegenaise
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
1 clove fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Drain the tofu (if water-packed) and press the excess water out with a paper towel.

Place the tofu in a food processor bowl and turn it off and on briefly to break it apart.

Add the Vegenaise, lemon juice and garlic, and process till smooth.

Scoop the mixture into a bowl and add the fresh chopped herbs. Season with sea salt and black pepper, to taste. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for an hour or more to blend flavors.

Serve with fresh carrot sticks and raw spring veggies.

Serves six.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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More gluten-free veggie dips from food blogs:

Creamy Tofu and Green Pea Dip at The Kitchn

Hummus Dip with Kalamata Olives and Capers from Jeanette's Healthy Living

Gluten-Free Pineapple Coconut Muffins

Tender pineapple muffins with toasted coconut.

A famous food blogger-turned-author whose foodie envied blog-to-movie deal has apparently not cultivated much compassion for those of us stricken with gluten sensitivity recently barked on Facebook, "If I have to read one more thing about going gluten free I'm going to stomp on someone's face." And more than one person agreed with her. One of her fans (also a food blogger) added, it's "too precious".

Strap on your helmets, Campers. There's not a lot of love out there.

I know this. You know this. Some of you have even shared stories with me- about not only eye-rolling waiters and could-care-less food preparers, but family members sneaking gluten into what they feed you, just to "see what happens". Just to test you.

Let me repeat that.

Family. Feeding you gluten. On purpose.

No wonder strangers feel they can openly spout contempt. If we are not respected within the bosom of our own clan, our flesh and blood, how can we expect random strangers to care?

The truth is, they don't.


Until their child gets anemic for no apparent reason. Or their young wife breaks a hip. Or their mother shrinks to skin and bones before their very eyes. Then it becomes interesting. Then the mystery becomes worthy of their attention. And they start asking questions. What is that disease called, you know the one where you can't eat bread?

Celiac disease is sadly under diagnosed. Millions have it and don't know it. And that translates to an epidemic of silent suffering- a lot of mysterious malnourishment, anemia, and osteoporosis. A lot of migraines, depression, infertility, and blistery skin rashes in unmentionable locations. A lot of bloating and Pepto Bismol chugging. But hey.

We know you don't want to hear about it.

So forgive us, please.

Forgive us for living with a autoimmune disease whose only cure is a gluten-free diet. Forgive us for focusing so much on food- our only medicine. Our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Our daily bread. Forgive us for asking questions in restaurants. Forgive us for feeling awkward at social events where food is ubiquitous, and family parties, where your disbelief and denial can make us sick for three days.

Forgive us for getting excited when a new recipe works, and our daughter can eat a chocolate chip cookie that isn't going to make her ill. Forgive us for sending our son to school with gluten-free vegan cupcakes for the class. Forgive us for wanting our children to feel like they belong and contribute.

Forgive us our passion for gluten-free food that fills our bellies and lightens our souls. Just a little.

Because to those of us who must live gluten-free- every day of our life- food is no small thing.

Food is precious.



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Gluten-Free Vanilla Cornbread Recipe

A wedge of vanilla cornbread. Gluten-free yum.

Playing Dress Up.

This is not your average weeknight cornbread. You know, the one you toss together from a gluten-free mix to serve with a bowl of white chicken chili as you catch up with Mad Men season four. Nope. This tender cake-like cornbread is a pinch more elegant. A gently sweet treat you might serve at high tea with a gaggle of girlfriends (or low tea, depending upon the company you keep). Picture fresh cut flowers on the table, stemmed glasses filled with dewy fresh berries, a pot of Earl Grey tea or organic chamomile buds steeping beneath a cozy.

This is the sort of cornbread that begs to be served with style. That longs to be gussied up. The kind of cornbread you eat with a fork.

A cornbread that secretly dreams of being cake.

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Quinoa + Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Leeks, Almonds

Gluten-free quinoa with Brussels sprouts, leeks and almonds.

It might be love.

If you've been hanging with me for awhile here on Gluten-Free Goddess, you already know how much we dig quinoa. It's one of our favorite gluten-free grains. I've grown to love- even crave- quinoa's distinct smoky-nutty flavor. More assertive than rice or oatmeal, the taste of quinoa gives gluten-free baked goods and grainy side dishes a certain je ne sais quoi that feels nourishing, healthy, and satisfying all at once.

In a very understated, happy blue skies kind of way, I mean.

Not in a pious eat-this-it's-good-for-you kind of way.

Though I'm sure there are plenty of quinoa converts that proselytize its admirable qualities in the nutrition arena (and why not? Its protein profile is a vegan's wet dream) I prefer to love my quinoa on its own unassuming terms. Even though folks have dubbed her Queen of Grains and Mother of all Vegan Goodness in the Bunny Scampering Universe, I love her just because. Without projection. Without expectation. Or assumption.

I meet quinoa where she stands. I accept her for who she is. In all her cute as a button faux grain glory. After all, her botanical name is Goosefoot. Not a very glamorous moniker. Imagine being saddled with that one.

Hey, you! Goosefoot.

That's right. I'm talking to you.

Sweet Mother Mary. Can you imagine? No wonder she chose to change her name. "Keen-wa" is so much sexier.

So Quinoa, honey. What are you doing tonight? Wanna come over? I've got some Adele.

You can even stay for breakfast.

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Favorite Spring Recipes for a Gluten-Free Diet

Lighten up. Celebrate Spring wheat-free + gluten-free!

Celebrate a Gluten-Free Spring

Spring is here! Shake off the winter blahs. It's time to lighten up and get your fresh on. Browse this collection of my favorite gluten-free diet recipes for Spring and get inspired. Soups are vibrant, clean and simple, brunch is all about eggs (and blueberry flax muffins!), and quinoa is queen. Try a new recipe today and wake up your taste buds.

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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.

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