Gluten-Free Goddess : Recipes by Karina

Irish Soda Bread Inspired Rolls- er Buns. Or whatever.   Spring is poised to sprout. I just know it. Despite the frigid fingers of wind that unwrap your scarf and creep-sneak down your spine. Despite the tawny, snow nourished grass that twists between wind blown twigs and scattered crows pecking at patches of silvered oak leaves at the edge of the winter swept woods. Despite the wild and wooly roar of the coming March lion--- you can feel it. Right? Green is coming. Snow drops are sprouting! I spied some yesterday- swaying all jaunty and hopeful in the spring smelling air. So Happy (almost- it's coming- hold on) Spring! And to tempt you into celebrating this weekend, here is an Irish soda bread inspired bun-roll recipe to try. Bun, roll, mini-bread- whatever you call these tender tea worthy babies, one thing is for sure. They're delicious. Karina xox

The mother of invention? If I call this new gluten-free bread an Irish soda bread, traditionalists will snicker. Raisins are not traditional in a "true" Irish soda bread, you see (if a soda bread has raisins in it, it's called Spotted Dog in the Emerald Isle, or so I'm told).  I never knew this, growing up on the salt-kissed clapboard villages of the Connecticut shore. I was blithely ignorant of this quaint canine moniker, despite a streak of Irish blood. We ate more pierogi and kielbasa in our culturally eclectic house than Irish soda bread and tea. So my own first home baked Irish soda bread had raisins in it.  And, actually, come to think of it, why the heck not?  When it comes to traditions, I wiggle and chafe beneath constraint and "should" like an itchy Catholic school girl with pinching new Easter shoes gazing out the window at the unsettled spring sky. I admire traditions. At least in theory. In an abstract way. Experimenting, though, is more int...

Beef Stew. Who knew? This recipe is a surprise- even to me. You wouldn't expect a life-long Vegetarian Goddess to create and fall in love with an Irish beef stew recipe, but that is precisely what happened this weekend.  Shocking?  Tell me about it. Just when you think you've got your life all figured out, and your tastes and preferences arranged in a tidy packet of self-identification and veggie piety- all Hades breaks loose. Celiac. Food allergies. Broken hip. Suddenly, your food-world view is quite literally flipped on its leafy little head. So, after my orthopedic surgeon's instructions to "eat lots of animal protein" to support the healing of my hip fracture, my husband and I decided to try our collective hands at making our very first Irish beef stew together. The first beef stew of our marriage. And what did I do as I spooned the first taste into my hesitant, quivering lips? Gentle Reader, I swooned like ...

Our go-to brownie recipe- for years- was this fabulous Dark Chocolate Brownie Recipe , created back in the early, innocent gluten-free days of 2006. And it has never failed us. We must have baked hundreds of these brownies. I'm so not kidding. So why mess around and experiment with success, you might, quite logically, ask? Well. I cannot come up with a definitive philosophy behind my impulse to try something new. All I can say is, It's my nature. And that's good news for brownie lovers everywhere. Because these fudgy-good gems are easy to make. No xanthan gum or weird ingredients. Just rich chocolate goodness. What better way to ring in the Season? Not to mention, a brand new year? So go. Get fudgy. Peace - Love - Chocolate, Karina xo

Giving our body a break. It's hard not to feel anxious these days. So much barking and finger pointing and chest thumping. So much posing and strutting. Not to mention mean spiritedness, and grinding, voracious greed. It's mighty tough for a sensitive soul (prone to itchy bouts of worry) to cope with all the mishegas and mayhem of our overheated plugged-in 24/7 culture.  Finding a little grace and respite amidst the noise can be hard. That is why I am sharing another favo rite  soup recipe. Just in case there is a kindred spirit out there in need of a bowl of creamy veggie comfort. A gluten-free dairy-free vegan detox soup worthy of Peter Rabbit's  sneaky excursions into Mr. McGregor's garden (that mischievous little rabbit- or as we like to say in my house...  BUNNY!-  close to my own greens adoring heart). Bunnies aren't known for twerking on YouTube, or tweeting out criticism with all caps, or bullying, or, in general, wreaking any ki...

A bowl of comfort with a kick. Created during one gnarly week in the Northeast, on the cusp of a March snowstorm. A soup recipe too good to ignore. Too tasty to keep to myself. So here it is- from The Gluten-Free Goddess Recipe Archives... The word wicked does not even begin to cover it. Epic... might be a start. Massive... might be an understatement. The snow, you see, is record breaking. One might even say, crazzzzzy. It's enough to make a big dog weep. In (previously) typical fashion, one might be tempted to throw up one's hands in defeat and shout, Let the carb cravings begin! But I might actually be in the mood to defy such cravings, yipping and gnawing inside my belly like so many tiny, quivering chihuahuas. Tugging my attention to mocha frosted vanilla cupcakes . I might actually choose, instead, to grab a big pot. And start a batch of hearty, soul mending soup. And living- as we did for three decades- on Cape Cod, you might guess I rustled up some classi...

Go Raw for a Super Creamy Cashew Dip. In these last lingering days of warm sun and green leaves, I find myself craving something light and fresh, savory and creamy... Perhaps this tasty, velvety  roasted red pepper hummus , perfect for 'Party On' mode. Hmmm. My mind is swirling with possibilities... spinning a tempting, hummus shuffle play. Today's winner?  This raw cashew dip (inspired by my  raw cashew cream recipe ). Your body- and taste buds- will thank you. Karina xo

We still have some nippy days ahead I'm told. And here in the Northeast... snow is coming. That means only one thing. Time to make a simmering pot of homemade soup. And this one is vibrant, unexpected, deeee-licious. You won't find this in a can, darling. The windswept sky is thick as felt this morning. The windows are rattling. Chickadees are hiding out in the side yard thicket. And I am still in my favorite Hannah Anderson jammies.  I was craving mulligatawny that classic, well loved ever-evolving soup that sprang from Indian-Anglo tastes combining chicken, curry and apples. And as luck or fate or Plan B foresight would have it, I had enough ingredients on hand to make my own vegetarian version.   Inspired by my go-to mulligatawny style soup recipes, I thought I'd skip the cabbage and cauliflower I sometimes use, and upped the carrots to make a bright, fresh tasting- dare I say- healthy happy potage -- that's a fancy word for soup, as you, Well Informed Reader...

Italian Dreams.  There isn't a speck of Italian blood in me. Allegedly. No blood lines (even faint ones) to trace back to Italy's flavor and culture rich boot. I claim no Italian grandmother with deft, gnarled hands who could roll out ravioli dough in her sleep. No puttering, gardening grandfather who offered me my first taste of a sun warmed tomato straight off the string-tied vine. We didn't have lasagna on our Thanksgiving table. Or baked ziti. My mother never mixed me an almond infused Italian soda after a rough day at school. So why is Italian food forever, for me, the ultimate comfort food? Hungry, angry, lonely, tired- what do I crave? Spaghetti slick with garlicky olive oil and red pepper flakes. Bubbling hot lasagna. Fresh baked focaccia. Bruschetta. Risotto with butternut squash. Baked stuffed pasta shells. All heaven. The tough part is- living gluten-free AND dairy-free can seriously crush your Italian gilded comfort food dreams. Back in the ...

Chocolate Mint Cookie Love.  Okay.  I'll say it up front. For all those perceptive Readers out there. This post? It's a redux slash revamp of a previous chocolate cookie recipe. Why? Because Darling, we are always tweaking and gently nudging recipes toward perfection around here. Though as you and I well know, perfection is unattainable (in the gluten-free vegan baking world, that is). But we can come close. Very close. And with this latest peppermint chocolate chip incarnation we are a good nibble closer to the best chocolate cookie yet. So of course, I had to tweak and share. These remind me of those Girl Scout cookies called Thin Mints. Except they're chubby (though I suppose one could flatten them a bit if one was so inclined). These peppermint laced fudgy sweethearts are crisp chocolate goodness. We freeze ours and serve them slightly chilled. Those of you more adept at fancy baking could try creating heart shapes.  These are lovely warm from the oven with an ic...