This is not Betty Crocker’s Gluten-Free Bisquick mix. Nope. Is Mercury in retrograde? And if so, Darling, do I believe it can wreak havoc with recipes? I started out with a different approach to this peach cobbler recipe, you see. I thought I’d try out the new Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Bisquick mix I bought this week. I imagined a golden topped biscuity crust you could sink your teeth into, a melt-in-your-mouth forkful of shortcake,... 

A super easy potato salad with tasty heirloom spuds. Vegan and egg-free. I snatched up a bag of those cute little potatoes at the market yesterday. You know the ones I’m talking about. Those baby sized spuds as cute as a button. In Easter egg colors like custard and purple and pink. So sweet and adorable you want to cradle the bag and speak in your talking-to-kittens…  Read More →

Pasta made from raw zucchini? Yes, Darling. I’m not usually one to focus a recipe around a cooking gadget. Though Amazon knows, I love me my kitchen power tools as much as any scratch cook out there. A gluten-free goddess has gotta have some fun, after all. And sometimes, to change things up, you need to break out of your routine and try something completely new. Which, not surprisingly, brings me to pasta. I love pasta. Especially gluten-free... 

Creamy and subtle coconut milk and nectarine ice cream: vegan yum. It’s been hot and sultry here in West Hollywood. [One could argue, when is West Hollywood not hot and sultry, Babycakes? I mean, just look around.] We’ve been settling into our new apartment, hanging curtains (adios, vertical blinds), unpacking books, and doing laundry. So before I share the new coconut milk ice cream recipe I whipped up last night (after scarfing down... 

Delicious gluten-free zucchini bread. Today’s post will be short and sweet. No waxing philosophical. No stories of loss or triumph. No giggles or clever asides. I think the move to West Hollywood has caught up with me. My energy is sparse and fleeting. So guess what? I’m not gonna fight it. I’m gonna kick off my flip-flops and sink into the sofa. I’ve got season two of Sons of Anarchy to catch up on before the September season... 

Easy and fabulous chocolate sauce with Kahlua. Now that there are some super fabulous gluten-free vegan ice creams out there (have you tried the coconut milk and almond milk based ice creams?) and we don’t have to settle for less than delicious, I thought I’d reprise this silky chocolate sauce recipe from the archives. Because, you know. You may have missed it. And life is too short to live without fudge sauce. In my book, anyway. Happy... 

Before you bake these cupcakes, get an oven thermometer. I attempted my first baking recipe yesterday. In the new apartment, that is. The kitchen is new, not the baker (far from it). I’ve been around the block a time or two when it comes to batter and dough. I’m not a virgin baker (if you are new to the blog, Darling, don’t panic- I’ve got armloads of gluten-free recipes waiting for your brilliance to coax them to life).... 

Got tomatoes? Bake them with gluten-free cornbread crumbs. One more favorite recipe from the archives as we unpack and set up a blogging friendly kitchen in our West Hollywood apartment. Deliciousness will soon ensue. I promise. xox Karina As soon as I saw the recipe for Baked Cherry Tomatoes over at The Perfect Pantry I knew I would love it. Tiny tomatoes, fresh garlic, Italian herbs, olive oil, breadcrumbs. What’s not to love? It’s... 

Potato salad with no mayo- and sweet potatoes!  Read More →

Crunchy cool slaw with a light peanut dressing. It’s almost the end of July. How has your summer been? Moonlit and sultry? All Popsicles and kiddie pool? Or just plain flat out busy as a bee? If it’s been busy, Sugar, I can relate. Here in our tiny corner of the world we’ve been too crazy to cook much. We’ve been living on…  Read More →

Not Starkist Salad. Eat groovy. Save a tuna. The older I get the more I crave simple. You know what I’m talking about. Home cooking. Childhood classics- like tuna salad. Instead of getting all worldly and sophisticated and dabbling with truffle oil, with each new gray hair my taste is hula hooping into kid-friendly food faster than Marisa Tomei can waggle. Well, maybe not that fast. She is pretty nimble. But you get my drift. I’m whipping... 

Baking gluten-free without sugar: substitutions and tips. An increasing number of comments and questions have revolved around sugar as a sweetener and how to substitute it in gluten-free baking. I thought the subject sweet enough to deserve its own post. As we know it in its common, refined form here in the United States, sugar is usually derived from the cereal grain known as sugar cane or the cultivated plant beta vulgaris also known as the sugar... 

1. Creamy dark chocolate sorbet. It’s dairy-free and vegan. Rich but not filling. Cool and dark as midnight jazz. A respite from the shimmer of summer heat. Spoon it into chilled glasses. Turn off the lights. Light a candle. Music: Melody Gardot 2. Quinoa salad with lime and fresh mint. Cook quinoa in a rice cooker and keep the kitchen cool. Toss with just squeezed lime juice, good olive oil and garden ripe tomatoes. Spike it with whatever... 

Cashew cream makes a divine dairy-free ranch dressing. I’ve been reading on Twitter it’s too hot to cook. So why not go raw? Numero uno, it’s easy. Numero dos, it’s tasty. And as an added bonus (if you need another nudge) cooking raw keeps the kitchen cool as a cucumber- which, by all accounts, is chilly by default and well. Raw. I’ve been flirting with raw cuisine lately to heal inflammation and tame my monkey gut.... 

Blueberry smoothie- dairy-free and gluten-free chill. Wilting from the heat? I’ve got a deep blue chill for you. Dairy-free. Easy as pie. Cool as a blueberry. I’m emancipating this recipe from the archive depths because it’s just too luscious to get lost in 2007, never to be slurped again. What does a brave and spunky vegan girl do when she is suddenly famished and her Crowded House whistling husband is scrambling up some free-range...