Gluten-Free Goddess : Recipes by Karina

Divine Gluten-Free Layer Bars. From my kitchen to yours. This classic style dessert is a family favorite- my chocolate-coconut layer bar recipe. Simple to make. Sweet and gooey and bliss inducing. And most important? You can offer them at any gathering without a gluten-free apology. (Would that be, Don't ask, don't tell?) Chill before serving, if you like, for a snappy, cold burst of sweetness. Cheers- Karina xo Karina's Nirvana Layer Bars Recipe By Karina Allrich Last night I made a batch of these wonderfully rich and decadent bars. Truthfully, they're more like candy than cookie. Gooey and divine, they made the men in the house simply go, "Ahhhhhhhh." "Nirvana?" I asked. "You betcha," was the lip-smacking reply. Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter (or vegan buttery stick, such as Earth Balance) 1 1/2 cups gluten-free chocolate cookies, processed into crumbs 1 cup (heaping) semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips 1 cup sweetene...

Cape Cod and cranberries... The two go together like Beatles and Sunday. And I was imagining a tea bread that might work for gluten-free French toast. The sort of breakfast you'd like to wake up to on Christmas morning. Something warm with melting butter and cozy cinnamon. Something festive. You know, special. Not your average grab-on-the-go with coffee nosh. A gluten-free bread worthy of a holiday. Like Autumnal Equinox... or Thanksgiving. Or any given Sunday, actually.  That's how it all started, my craving, my imagining.  That's when it dawned me.  Cranberry bread.  Why not? It's simple. And not too sweet. It flirts magically with maple syrup. So I started daydreaming about the tart little berry that is a bog's ruby jewel. And a gluten-free cranberry bread recipe was born. Happy Cranberry Harvest, dear ones. Karina xox

A Tea Bread Slice That Tastes Like Pie? Yes please. For the holidays! I am forever looking for ways to bake with pumpkin (aren't you, Babycakes?). So I absolutely had to share our latest recipe, baked fresh and warm and tender and spicy, just this morning, filling our chilly kitchen with the cozy autumnal aroma of pumpkin pie. It was simply too darn tasty to keep to ourselves. We are, after all, in the thick of the season of gratitude and giving. And the best part is- for many of us- this gluten-free recipe has nary a single gum. No xanthan gum. No guar gum. No locust bean gum. No weirdo ingredients. Just a whole lotta YUM. Have a safe and delicious holiday weekend! Karina xo

This time of year simply begs for gingersnaps- the classic and humble cookie that tastes old fashioned and elegant and post new wave all at once. A subtle, spicy, gingery bite that snaps with a crunch to awaken satiated taste buds soaked in a holiday sea of egg nog, cheese logs and peanut butter balls. Fancy cookies, these are not. Slathered with green icing and star sprinkles? Not exactly. Though, you could, I suppose. Slather these. And sprinkle with abandon. If you're of a mindset that more is more, and nurture not the minimalist mantra of Less. The choice is yours. Go old fashioned and let the gingersnap goodness tingle on its own. Or go wild. And get your frosting on. It's your party. Karina xox

Chocolate Gingerbread, Gluten-Free Goddess Style The wind is roaring through the forest next door today. The wood stove is lit, warming our bodies and our spirits. I put on my holiday playlist and stir cocoa-laced batter with a wooden spoon, imagining my fellow gluten-free bakers- all of you- out there- standing in your own humble kitchens, beating strange flours and non-traditional ingredients with a hefty dash of hope.  By Winter Solstice I will celebrate another gluten-free anniversary. NUMBER 21! December 19, 2001 was the day I decided to shun gluten forever. What timing. Right before Christmas. I could have waited until December 26th (Christmas cookies!). Or even the New Year (Trifle!). But I didn't. I couldn't. As soon as I connected the dots- from my plague of symptoms to their instigator gluten- I couldn't wait to begin my new life. If I had eaten my very last buttery croissant, so be it. If I had unknowingly crunched my last Milano cookie, so what. I was do...

Sweet and Tart.   No philosophy today. Dust off your cake pan, Babycakes. This is a moist and tender apple cake laced with a hint of cinnamon and studded with fresh tart berries. After seven   twelve   - er, 22!- years of baking various gluten-free incarnations of my tried and true family apple cake recipe, this could be our favorite. Maybe it's the sweet-tart combo. The subtlety of flavors. In a food culture obsessed with kicking up recipes with more for the sake of more (white chocolate peanut butter bacon swirled maple donut ice cream drizzled in dulche de leche coconut marshmallow syrup and dusted with sugared Meyer lemon zest and shaved cacao, anyone?) the clean and classic flavor contrast of apples and cranberries is somehow new again. Even, refreshing.  I don't need dessert to taste like candy. I like my cake to taste like cake.  You can bake this recipe with eggs and dairy, or vegan alternatives. See options below. xo Ka...

A fall-inspired donut worthy of a dunk.  Gluten-free donuts can often be, shall we say... a wee bit on the heavy side. Without the stretch and lift of gluten, g-free donut dough can be stubborn, baking itself into a tough, dense, disappointing mouthful of dust.  But not these donuts, Sugar. These donuts are light. Tender. Delightful. I promise.  And PS: they're rice-free.  Karina xo

Vegan Gluten-Free Bliss, Ya'll. And it makes a fabulous (beautiful!) Labor Day picnic offering for all your guests that shun gluten, dairy, eggs, and critters. From the archives, in the nick of time... If you're looking for a fresh idea to liven up your ho-hum salad plate, Sweetcakes, have I got a recipe for you. Light, vegan, and packed with protein, this is no ordinary bunny food. It's got quinoa. Studded with nutty, buttery chick peas and crunchy toasted pecans and succulent jewels of ripe, juicy pears. And did I mention, in a bowl licking maple vinaigrette? In fact, this is a salad even salad haters would eat. You know, those stalwart gotta have my meat and potatoes aficionados who eschew anything leafy. Who snicker at fiber. And mock carrot sticks. The sort of individual who gets misty eyed for melted butter and bacon martinis. To said individuals, salad could never be anything but rabbit chow. But this lovely mélange of flavors just might piqu...

Got Zukes Galore? Sharing a favorite summer recipe here on Gluten-Free Goddess-- a cinnamon laced tea bread made with garden fresh zucchini. You'll love it. And so will everyone else. I also jotted down some batter and baking tips for ya. See below. GFG Tips on gluten-free bread baking: Here's my all-time favorite baking pan for gluten-free breads. It's a lovely glazed ceramic pan that creates steady, even heating for gluten-free batters. In other words, it's as foolproof as you can get. Find it here at Amazon:  Good Cook 9-Inch Ceramic Loaf Pan . Make sure your batter isn't cold when you put it into the oven. If you keep your flours in the fridge, for instance, this will cool down your batter quite a bit. If you find your batter is cooler than room temperature, allow the batter to rest in the pan near the pre-heating stove and let it come to room temperature before you place the bread pan in the oven to bake (I also do this with cakes sometimes). The first time...

This homespun summery side dish recipe has been a favorite of ours for a long, long time. Not months. Or years. But decades. And I'll tell you why. It's easy- for starters. And reason number two- it's super delicious. And reason number three? It's gluten-free. And reason four (there's a four?)... Dairy-free and vegan for all your meat-shunning soy latte sipping groovy guests.  So get your calabasitas on, dude.  And party.

A Summer Classic: Blueberry Crisp We had a sudden hankering. You know how it is. A craving hits that will not be denied. Insistent. Growling. Desire with an uppercase D. So I'm digging into the archives. June is here. And you start imagining fresh, juicy blueberries, nestled beneath a perfectly golden crumble of a crust, warm, the deepest purple, bubbling as you slide it- ever so gently- out of the oven and onto a cooling rack to rest and settle until you can't stand it a minute longer, breathing in the cinnamon laced aroma of a summer dessert classic. The forever glorious blueberry crisp. And this one's gluten-free. And dairy-free. No xanthan gum either- a bonus. So darling. Don't wait. Blueberry season is short and sweet. Peace + Love, Karina xox

Parfait this! Easy fancy for a long hot summer- so bookmark this one... a simple, creamy coconut ice cream recipe served parfait style with blueberries and strawberries. And it's naturally gluten-free and dairy-free. And because you make it yourself, gum-free and carrageenan-free. So many yays. It was sunny and hot yesterday, and today is a repeat. So during a heat wave, even a modest two-day hot fest, yours truly is unable to muster any enthusiasm for cooking. Typically, I live on gluten-free granola. And ice cream. Yes, I know. I am a poor, sad, sad role model. What kind of food blogger doesn't rise to the challenge and cheer-lead you to whip up baby kale and avocado salads and raw maca peach turmeric and oat milk smoothies? What kind of food blogger would simply give in to her sticky, prickly fatigue and general overall crankiness and not create some virtuous, nutrition packed bunny food miracle slurry for you? This one. She who is about to share a no-cook reci...

A coffee cake with blueberries- for the road. From the archives. A favorite. Sometimes in life- when you least expect it- the stars are kind. Synchronicity smiles. And disparate pieces of your dreams bump up against one another and nestle snug into place. I'm referring, of course, to my dream of California. Summer by the Pacific, walking the beach, shopping the Farmers' Market, reuniting with my sons. Cooking. Writing. Haunting book stores and coffee shops. I've been trying to get there for two years. No, the house hasn't sold yet. But Plan B is under way. We found the elusive summer rental. Just when I thought it wasn't going to happen. A sublet in Santa Monica. In the nick of time. A lovely, light filled creative space. With a sweet kitchen. So I am back to making lists, mapping our drive south to Flagstaff, AZ, turning west to aim for the coast. I am lying in the dark alert, at 3 AM, pondering not the mysteries of the collective unconscious, no...

Sunshine + Lemon Caught in the grey flannel mood and wet patter of a rainy spring day, what's a Gluten-Free Goddess to do? Why, bake, of course. (The calorie-stingy- but oh-so-delicious!- detox soup recipe will still be there tomorrow, in all it's green and virtuous glory, don't you worry.) When the wacky winds howl like Banshees on the headlands and rain (or snow!) flies sideways as sharp as an art/music/film/literary critic's those-who-can't-do-criticize sarcasm, I wrote this recipe hunkered down in our humble abode, praying to the Power Gods that the electricity will hold. I pulled on flannel layers worthy of an L. L. Bean catalog and cranked up the oven. Baking lemon-blueberry muffins, then, accomplishes two things. It warms us twice. Body and soul. Karina xo

    The Queen of Spring. Asparagus. It's a welcome signal of warmer days (and nights!) when those bundles of slender green stalks are back, standing tall in elegant rows at the local market. Erect, perky little beauties. My deep and abiding craving for asparagus is surprising for someone who never tendered a single bite of fresh asparagus until my third decade here on planet Earth. Yes, you read that right. Three decades. I admit it. I was anti-asparagus. In my own defense, I must mention, in full transparency, that the only asparagus I was served in childhood came from a can. A CAN. And Darling! If you've never had the non-pleasure of noshing said limp and stringy excuse for a such a brilliant vegetable, I am here to assure you, it was tinny, flaccid, and disgusting with a capital D (and in full disclosure, it ended up buried deep inside my paper napkin, doomed for the garbage pail as soon as the parental and familial accomplices to this vegetable horror were occupi...

Grilling, Vegetarian Goddess Style. Beneath the hot sapphire skies of an all too brief July, backyard grills will be smokin' as savvy cooks keep the kitchen cool by stoking briquettes al fresco. Cooking and dining in the open air- even if your outdoorsy territory is merely a closet-sized urban balcony hanging off a sun-kissed wall of brick and mortar- is an enduring, classic, summer pleasure.  The smoky sweet heat of barbeque spices, chipotle, and hickory laced sauces slathered on everything from burgers to shrimp and meaty portobellos is intoxicating- and hunger pang inducing. So to further feed the flames of desire, I'm sharing one of my all time favorite grilling recipes. And this one's for the gluten-free vegan crowd. Over the weekend we grilled some of our favorite farm fresh veggies and made these rustic grilled vegetable stacks layered with a light and creamy homemade lemon hummus. Deliciousness was the word. Karina xo

Gluten-Free Goddess Blueberry Recipes for Summer Tis the season for blueberry recipes- fresh from the farmer's market and roadside stand. Browse our favorite gluten-free blueberry recipes for the summer of 2016.  Read on to see my seven recipe faves... Blueberry Scones Blueberry Crisp Blueberry Crumble (with quinoa flakes!) Blueberry Flax Muffins Blueberry Muffins (no xanthan gum) Summer Quinoa Salad with Blueberries and Strawberries Coconut Ice Cream Berry Parfait Happy Blueberry picking! Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com All images & content are copyright protected, all rights reserved. Please do not use our images or content without prior permission from Gluten-Free Goddess®. Thank you. 

Blueberry Flax Seed Muffins - My New Fave. Several years ago we left Cape Cod (our home for years) for our empty nest gypsy adventure. We sold the sofa, kitchen table, and boxes of cookbooks. We recycled toys and jeans and an old PC. The open road was calling. And we listened. The western sky hung big and blue above the high desert arroyos of New Mexico. It felt as deep and wide as an ocean. We thought this signaled home. But I missed the sea more than I ever could have guessed. So we moved to Los Angeles and tried on four different neighborhoods in as many years. I grew adept at packing and shedding and shelved my books by color . I luxuriated in each and every hour spent with my two grown sons. A gift, each shared coffee date. Movie night. Christmas dinner. But the city of Los Angeles was never my home. Its entertainment culture felt as walled off to me as the adobe and iron gates in Santa Fe. I felt invisible. And irrelevant. And undernourished. My restless feminine soul ...

I Got the Blueberry Blues It's no news to you, Darling, that summer is officially here, and the longest day of the calendar year is nigh. June is soon a memory.  And blueberries will be making their post solstice appearance in the northern states.  As the Bard of Avon once penned, S ummer's lease hath all too short a date . So if you must skip to the recipe- do so now--  who am I to hold you back, to deny you even one more minute of partaking in this modest indulgence?  But I confess, I am in a waxing mood today.  Listening to bird calls in the yard.  Learning how to age gracefully. Measuring time not in coffee spoons, but tea spoons. I believe in the here and now (more than the promise of ever-after).  Not that ever-after doesn't hold enduring, magnetic charms. The swath we name Eternity is threaded through and through with everyday blinks as brief as a silk worm's life.  Which, as it turns out, is perilously close to a single, fleeting sum...