gluten free dairy free soy free recipes
Happy 2014 everyone!!! Make it an amazing one, with lots of good health, good food, and good times.
Here is the ginger cookie recipe, the last of three from my trio of holiday gift cookies that I had given for Christmas… Here are the Oatmeal Cranberry Orange Glaze and Red Velvet Crinkle cookies.
(Updated 12/29/2015: After baking these red velvet crinkle cookies this week I made a few changes to the recipe to make things quicker (no more rolling balls) and better like adjusting food coloring for less of a muted color, along with recipe changes (see recipe and notes below) such as flour blend and omitting coconut yogurt. I love the “new and improved” results and not having to roll 4 dozen balls is very improved and very much loved!)
Even though we celebrate Chanukah, which was weeks ago, I am always baking cookies during this time of year. Dozens and dozens of cookies that I give as gifts. It definitely makes baking easier when I make the cookie dough for each recipe a week ahead of time and freeze.
I wrap each dough separately in wax paper and drop it into a freezer bag for freezing. I label each bag and put the date on it (who can remember?) then continue a week later with the easy part-scooping and baking.
Wow, Chanukah and Thanksgiving together for the first, and possibly, last time ever! We love to celebrate both with as much food as possible. I’m thinking, turkey, stuffing, latkes, cranberry sauce, jelly doughnuts, butternut squash puree, celery root gravy, and carrot salad (tzimmes) to tie in both holidays. Yes, that’s a lot to cook. That’s why I make things ahead, so that cooking is still an enjoyable task. If I cram it all in one day I would go nuts!
While flipping through that vast picture catalog, Pinterest, I stumbled upon a Williams Sonoma recipe that caught my eye. No, it wasn’t gluten free, nor dairy free, and certainly not vegan, but it looked so tempting. Of course, I had to give it a try, for my family’s sake. No, not for me (wink, wink).
It’s not often that I make dumplings. I usually like to make things quick on the spot or multiple step recipes ahead of time that just look like I spent the day in the kitchen. All homemade, of course, but without all those hours by the stove. Dumplings are a bit time consuming I will admit, you can’t start it on the stove and go do something else while it’s doing it’s thing. But I will tell you for the few times I do, I wish I did more often. The dumplings take comfort food to a whole new level. Beyond spaghetti and meatballs, beyond meatloaf and mashed potatoes. These little dumplings are pillowy, creamy, earthy, nutty, fragrant, and rich all in one bite with the sage bringing it all together. And it’s PUMPKIN! Who doesn’t love pumpkin?
I will confess, Halloween is not a “holiday” I care to celebrate. I bake some cupcakes or cookies with my younger boys every year and decorate them with whatever I can find that is dye free, high fructose corn syrup free, in addition to being gf,df,sf. It’s not easy, gosh the amount of junk out there, wow. The reason I don’t care for the holiday is not because of the lack of allergen free candy, no, it’s about the idea that there is a holiday celebrating evil spirits, and then we give away candy for it. As if we need more crap to add to life. But that’s just me. Pardon my venting moment, and please don’t tell my children I told you that.
What brings the feeling of autumn into your home more than the smell of pumpkin pancakes?
Despite how chilly it may be outside, all is warm and toasty when digging into a stack of warm, fluffy pancakes slathered with some maple syrup. Oh boy, I just made myself really hungry for pancakes right now. I tend to do that to myself quite often, which is why you will find me running most mornings…unfortunately, I was not blessed with one of those bodies where one can eat anything. It’s a good thing I love to run.
With the fall season here you know what that means … anything, and everything, pumpkin. I saw a whoopie pie recipe by Martha Stewart on Pinterest that looked so good that I had to give it a try. Hers were not gluten free, nor dairy free so I came up with my version of pumpkin whoopie pies, with nutella style spread.
As busy as life is, I still make time to cook – well I have to with the twins allergies. Sometimes I wish I could just get takeout but then I think what a blessing it is that my whole family eats wholesome foods and we are so much healthier because of it. It just takes a little more organization on my part, it’s a good thing I am a planner. Because I don’t really have that simple luxury of picking up something for dinner I make extra of a dish then freeze half of it. This is one of my “freezes well” recipes, which also can be made a few days in advance and still taste like you just prepared it. It’s a simple yet delicious recipe featuring the sweet flavor of butternut squash. I LOVE squash, all squashes.
