Quinoa Salad with Pineapple, Broccoli, and Mint

Pineapple quinoa salad with broccoli. Fresh and healthy.

Spring is beckoning. I can feel it. And my winter-stiff body is aching to stretch and move and shed the yearly inertia that descends like a bear with the shrinking daylight. My brain is flickering awake. My taste buds are tiring of the heavy, creamy comfort foods that sustained me (thank you, lovely spuds, lasagna, and mac and cheese, I love you with all my heart).

I'm craving lighter, cleaner tastes.

Not to mention, missing my warm weather jeans. You know the ones. That stack in the back of the closet you haven't fit into since December, when you began wondering if the laundromat medium heat setting was shrinking your favorite Levi's. The jeans you have to lay down to zip, doing your best imitation of Jane Fonda's pelvic tilt, sucking in your breath and praying to the zipper gods. Your skinny jeans. You know what I'm talking about. You have two sets of jeans, right? Winter. And summer.

So here's what I'm thinking. Quinoa to the rescue.

Vegan. Versatile. Easy. Fresh. Light. This new quinoa salad with pineapple and broccoli and fresh mint is all of the above. And maybe, just maybe, it'll be the first step to fitting into those skinny jeans.

Gluten-Free Pizza Crust - My New Recipe

The best gluten-free pizza crust to date.

For years I've missed pizza. Not because there isn't gluten-free pizza available. It's out there. You can find it if you look hard enough. Take a gander in the frozen food aisle of your favorite natural market. Snoop around in the dairy case, next to the gluten-free bagels. You might even hit pay dirt at your local pizzeria. Especially if you happen to live in Arizona (Picazzo's gluten-free pizza is by far the best pizza joint fare I've tried). So yeah. There are choices.

Problem is, most gluten-free pizza sucks.

It's usually big on the chewy aspect. Or cracker crisp dry. With not much flavor. Yawningly bland. Certainly nothing to brag about. I mean, you wouldn't eat it if you didn't have to. You know what I'm sayin'? It's just that after years of pizza deprivation some of us are desperate for a decent slice. I'll try anything.

Twice.

Gluten-Free Shepherd's Pie Two Ways

Cooking light- gluten-free shepherd's pie with lovely gravy, two ways.

A spring rain is rolling through Los Angeles, interrupting a fine, damp mist with sudden bursts of stinging wet drops. The skies are steel 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 hot and old fashioned. Something with mashed potatoes. Creamy buttercream gold mashed potatoes.

A savory pie, I said out loud, standing at the kitchen sink, listening to the staccato of rain drumming the mail truck parked just outside the window.

Don't tease me, said my husband, looking up from his latest screenplay.

I wouldn't joke about a thing like pie, I assured him. Seriously. No chance. I'm thinking a shepherd's pie. But not the usual shepherd's pie. No beef. No onion. No peas.

Please, he said. No peas.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Muffins Recipe

Sexy delicious gluten-free vegan chocolate muffins.

Today is all about muffins. Yes, muffins. And not just any muffins. Chocolate muffins worthy of a story.

Chapter 1.

The morning was cool and bright. It was going to be one of those quintessential Cape Cod autumn days. A day tourists swoon over. Worthy of a post card with The weather is sublime- wish you were here scrawled in black gel cursive between sips of a Hot Chocolate Sparrow latte. The sky was a cake bowl of cobalt blue with that particular pink edge to it that only painters notice, the blush that softened the tree line at the north end of the West Barnstable marsh gentling the heavy greens of the pines and oaks into a bluish, almost violet gray. 

She brushed her teeth with fennel toothpaste and spit into the low slung sink, pausing to breathe. A long inhale to slow her heart. The cottage was pin drop quiet. The boys had climbed the rubber lined steps into the school bus hours ago, peanut butter and honey sandwiches bagged, milk money in their pockets. She had waved from the street and watched them navigate the bus aisle in shadow, avoiding her maternal gaze, not turning to wave back. Too risky, she understood.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Recipes for Love

Romantic chocolate recipes- gluten-free.

How do I love thee, Dear Reader? Let me count the ways. And if you wouldn't mind indulging me (just a little) let me count them in chocolate- that buttery dark bitter sweetness that coaxes even the no good very bad surliest day to soften its grip. Consider this my chocolate valentine to you.

For starters, let me thank you with a wake-up call. How about velvety Chocolate Muffins in bed? Served with your favorite morning beverage, of course. And for your mid-morning pick-me-up, let me tickle your fancy with a plate of crunchy pecan studded biscotti (you can dunk or not, Darling, it's up to you). Or perhaps you would prefer a chocolate laced Quinoa Breakfast Brownie that's high in protein for breakfast, but rich enough for dessert? It's my current favorite gluten-free treat-- but honestly, who can choose? My recipes are like my children. Each one is unique with individual attributes that make a mother dissolve into Warm and Fuzzy Land, so.

Who am I to judge?

Joey's Kicked Up Rockin' Guac with Lime + Tomatillos

Party worthy guacamole with lime and tomatillos

Treat yourself. Make this guacamole tonight. I beg you. You'll go loco over it. Trust me. It's the tomatillos and fresh lime juice that nudge this gluten-free vegan guac recipe into super favorite status-- which, by the way, is why I am excavating it from the dusty archives. In case you missed it.

Because there seems to be some partying goin' on this weekend. You already know how I feel about football. But who am I to deny that my Nachos Fabuloso, Quinoa Taco Salad, and Lime Chicken Tacos wouldn't be some seriously tasty game peeping food? Not to mention my vegan Hot Artichoke Dip,  Jalapeño Lime Hummus and Baked Grape Tomatoes with Basil Cornbread Crumbs. 

Need even more Super Bowl recipe inspiration? If you're weary of ho-hum chili, and Mexican bean dip, try these Turkey Sweet Potato Enchiladas, my Cranberry Buffalo Roast Stew, Roasted Hatch Chile Stew or this family favorite Roasted Corn Chowder with Chicken and Cilantro. Break out this make-ahead Red Potato Salad Spiked with Horseradish, or my Green Chile Tortilla Bake with layered corn tortillas and cream cheese.

Party on, gluten-free guys and gals.

Cream of Broccoli Soup Recipe with Coconut Milk

An easy, creamy broccoli and potato soup that is vegan and gluten-free.

It's hard to not worry these days, I know. Epic snow storms dumping the white stuff without mercy- again. Students and protesters in Cairo risking life and limb for political change. Anderson Cooper- our lovely Silver Fox-  getting punched in the face by pro-Mubarak thugs. Where will it all lead, I ask you?

It's mighty tough for a sensitive soul prone to worry to cope with all this mishegas. To find a little comfort in this volatile atmosphere. That is why I am sharing another soup recipe. Just in case there is a kindred spirit out there in need of a bowl of creamy veggie comfort. A gluten-free vegan soup worthy of the Chinese New Year. It's the Year of the Rabbit, by the way (or as we like to say in my house, BUNNY!). And bunny's aren't known for punching or, in general, wreaking havoc. Unless you count Peter Rabbit's sneaky excursions into Mr. McGregor's garden or Max's devouring love of chocolate chickens.

The year of the bunny is ostensibly devoted to a milder temperment. To kindness and beauty and yes, comfort.

So it seemed only fitting I cook up a batch of vegan soup today as fresh and non-toxic as could be. Creamy, good-for-you soul food.

And by the way. Punxatawny Phil predicted an early spring today. True or not, it's got to be a welcome glimmer of hope for those shoveling out from under heaps of snow. Right?

Stay warm and safe, everyone. May peace prevail.