I’ve had cranberry sauce on my mind. So I researched cranberry sauce recipes, and found that most have anywhere from ¼ to 1 ¾ cups of sugar. I like a tart cranberry sauce, one that almost makes my mouth pucker, so I developed this stevia and fruit-sweetened cranberry sauce. While it’s nicely tart, the cherries and orange juice make it quite sweet too.

This is a naturally sweetened lower-glycemic cranberry relish recipe, however I did not come up with the idea of combining cranberries and cherries myself.

I found this delightfully unique flavor combination on marthastewart.com. The cranberry sauce feature on this site has 17 fantastic cranberry sauce recipes with gorgeous photos that you may find inspiring. I did!

When I conducted a survey on twitter the other night and asked what people use to sweeten their cranberry sauce, the responses ranged from sugar to orange juice, to honey, maple syrup, apple juice and xylitol. Thanks to all of you who responded to my informal poll!

What kind of cranberry sauce do you usually make at Thanksgiving? Will you use a standard recipe this year or try something new?

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Making maror for your Passover Seder is a cinch (even though it can be just a tad dangerous).

Let me explain… While DIY maror is a lot of fun, be sure to proceed with caution.  I make my maror in the food processor; danger can arise when you open the lid and the trapped horseradish fumes escape up your nostrils –and severe sinus relief (or burning) can occur.  So be careful!

Beet MarorNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 horseradish root (about 4 inches), peeled and chopped
1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 raw beet, peeled and diced into ½ inch cubes

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor
2. Pulse until horseradish and beets are well ground
3. Carefully remove lid; do not inhale or smell mixture, as it may burn eyes and nasal passages
4. Store in a glass container
5. Serve on Gluten Free Oat Matzo (as pictured above)

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in book tour land. I recently did an interview with Erika on one of my favorite recipe sharing sites, Tasty Kitchen. You can view the full interview in their Meet the Member! section on The Tasty Kitchen Blog, their editorializations are very cute.

I was also interviewed by Julie Steinberg from The Jew and the Carrot and she featured some of my gluten-free recipes for Passover from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and elanaspantry.com; jcarrot.org is currently giving away a copy of my cookbook, but hurry as the giveaway ends April 4th.

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This beet hummus recipe comes from Elise over at simplyrecipes.com.  She is one of my favorite bloggers and I was lucky enough to hear her speak at the last Blogher Food conference.  I myself, would not have ever thought of combining beets into a hummus type dip, so, leave it to Elise.  She is the inspiration for me on many fronts.

When it comes to beets though, I find that there is a bit of a love-hate relationship with them –as in, people either love them, or hate them.  I am a beet lover.  I think they are beautiful, I worship their color and truly enjoy their sweet, earthy taste.  My husband on the other hand, holds great disdain for this little root vegetable.  I think this comment from Jerry on my previous beet post, pretty well sums up my husband’s perspective:

“From a man’s point of view – beets taste like dirt and there’s no disguising this fact!”

Thank you Jerry, my husband could not have said it better himself :-)

So, all you beet haters, turn away from this beet recipe and head on over to my delicious gluten free beet cake –I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with it.  My husband certainly was.

Beet Hummus from simplyrecipes.com (slightly adapted)Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
4 medium sized beets, scrubbed, cooked and cubed (learn how to roast beets)
¼ cup raw tahini paste
¼ cup lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, pressed
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth
2. Serve with crackers (Elise suggests topping with goat cheese)

The amazing Jen Cafferty of gfreelife.com is once again throwing The Gluten Free Cooking Expo in Chicago (at The Wyndham Hotel).  I spoke with her the other day and she told me that registration is filling up fast.  If you are interested in attending this conference on April 17th & 18th, head on over to gfreelife.com to sign up.

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The creation of this delicious, homemade vanilla almond butter is hardly my own.  One of my favorite readers, Courtney, over at benefityourlife.com, gave me several amazing presents during the holidays and one was a bottle of super tasty vanilla almond butter from the lovely Katie Kearney over at naturallynutty.com. Yum!

This is a great product, and when I finished Courtney’s gift and was too impatient to wait for my own order to arrive, I came up with the little treat below.  Katie’s is way better though and I suggest you get the real thing!

If you are in Boulder this weekend I’ll be over at the Whole Foods on Pearl st. this Saturday from 12-3pm doing a book signing and participating in their gluten free taste fair. Visit their store calendar page for more information.

Audio is now available from my recent radio interviews with Gina Snow over at Epicurean Corner and Zorba Paster and Tom Clark on the Zorba Paster on your Health program. To listen to the audio just click on the play button next to the link. In addition you can find my Southwestern Salmon Burgers recipe from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook on their recipes page.

The winner of last weeks Friday Freebie, a box of Cashew Cookie Larabars from iHerb, is Diane. Congratulations!

For this weeks Friday Freebie I’m giving away a jar of Naturally Nutty Sunflower Butter (with flax seed and hemp). To be entered all you need to do is retweet this post using the green button below.

UPDATE: this giveaway has ended, the winner was RickiHeller

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This vegan mayonnaise has quickly become a family favorite.  I based the idea on a recipe I found in an old issue of Martha Stewart Living.  I happened upon an interesting recipe for a peanut salad dressing, made several adaptations until I ended up (somewhat accidentally) with this scrumptious gluten free, egg-free vegan mayo which is delicious on my Kaleslaw.

Marcona Almond MayonnaiseNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
½ cup olive oil
2-4 tablespoons marcona almonds

1. Pour vinegar and agave into vitamix and puree on high speed for 20 seconds until combined
2. With motor running on medium or high, drizzle in olive oil to create an emulsion
3. Don’t worry, if you don’t get the emulsification, the almonds will thicken up your mixture
4. Blend in 2 tablespoons of almonds, then check for thickness and texture
5. If necessary, blend in another tablespoon of almonds, until thick and creamy
6. Serve with sandwiches, burgers and salads

I have a couple of radio interviews coming up in support of my gluten free cookbook, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. The first is tomorrow (January 9th) at 8:30am (MT) with John Walters on The Food Dude Show (1450 WHLL in Massachusetts). The next one is on January 12th and it’s with Zorba Paster and Tom Clarke on the Zorba Paster on Your Health program, Wisconsin Public Radio at 9:15am (MT).

Last but definitely not least, there’s only a few more days to enter my big holiday giveaway. This includes a copy of The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and a 5lb bag of blanched almond flour from Honeyville.

To be entered into this Holiday Giveaway follow these 3 steps:

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Last night I made this delicious vegan “ricotta” dip for my parents who are in town visiting us.  The boys and I are having a blast with them, though I am having an especially great time, since I have extra mouths to feed, which means more guinea pigs to test my creations!

Luckily, the parents (and husband) approved of, and devoured, this tangy vegan cheese dip, based on a recipe from the phenomenal book Entertaining in the Raw by Matthew Kenney.

Creamy Ricotta DipNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 cup pine nuts, soaked overnight
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1 scallion (green and white parts, remove and discard tip), minced
1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Rinse pine nuts in cold water; then discard both soaking and rinsing water
2. Place pine nuts in a food processor, along with lemon juice and water
3. Process for 1-2 minutes, scraping down side of processor frequently, until smooth
4. Process in scallions, thyme and salt, until texture of ricotta
5. Remove from food processor to a serving dish
6. Serve with your favorite dipping veggies

I had a bit of a challenge getting this mixture to process; if that happens to you, just add a bit more liquid (lemon juice or water) very sparingly until mixture blends more easily and keep scraping down the mixture into the center of the food processor.

In addition to an abundance of cooking and baking, a lot is going on over here and I’m trying to keep up!  Below is a list of interviews and appearances that I have coming up in the next few weeks to promote the release of my book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.

• Interview with Martha Stewart Living Radio’s Whole Living program, August 26th
• Book signing at the Culinary Institute of America’s 4th Annual Gluten-Free Summit, Hyde Park, New York, September 12th
• Speaker at the 2009 BlogHer Food Agenda Conference in San Francisco, September 26th

If you’re in the area of any of these events and would like to say “hello,” tune in or drop by!

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This is a super easy avocado dip that you can whip up in mere minutes.  There is no chopping (of herbs) required, because it is made with spice.

When I don’t have a lot of time to make dinner, this is a go to dish.  I get one of the boys to do the avocado cutting and scooping while I chop up carrots and celery to accompany this dip.  It’s a nice filling side along with a main dish and salad.

You could call it a guacamole, however, when I think of guacamole, I think of chopped up cilantro and onions (and sometimes tomatoes) along with the avocado and spices.  This is my shortcut for “guac.”

Easy Avocado DipNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
3 medium avocados
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cumin

1. Cut the avocados in half, then remove the pits, reserving 1 to a medium bowl
2. Scoop avocado meat into bowl with pit
3. Gently mash avocados with a spoon
4. Add lemon juice, salt, chili and cumin
5. Stir lightly to combine
6. Serve with carrot and celery sticks

I like to save a pit to keep with the dip as it seems to keep the dip from turning brown.  The boys are now versed in this practice and when they chop, scoop and gently mash the avocados (we call them “avos”) they know to put at least one pit back in the bowl –though they usually like to put all of the pits in the bowl.

This week has been busy and I’m quite happy and grateful for that.  The Sister Project was so kind in posting a feature on my experience of sisterhood on their front page.  I had a live radio interview with Chef Judy of Judy a la Carte and there was also a wonderful feature on my book in the food section of the Daily Camera, our local paper.

One small project I have been working on is the distribution of my book.  The Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook does not seem to be making it onto bookstore shelves.  I am resolving this with my publisher and they have been fantastic in working with me on this matter.  If you have tried to purchase the book in a bookstore and been told it is not available, please leave a comment below and let me know your store and location so that I can get this resolved for you.

According to my publisher, the book is selling like hot cakes on amazon.com; today when I went on their site, I saw that my book is now #2 in the Gluten Free category, behind Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s G-Free Diet.

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Garnish this Sesame Dip starter with pieces of carrot and celery for dipping and you have an instantly satisfying salty and crunchy snack.  This dip is a hit at parties and was enjoyed at our Passover Seder (thinned out with a bit of water and) served over roasted asparagus.  It’s quite versatile and makes a great salad dressing as well.

Unfortunately, we devoured all of the Sesame Dip at our Seder.  I was determined to make another batch the next day.  Low and behold, as I was buzzing around the kitchen getting things organized for that night’s dinner, my husband came in with a special request.

“Please don’t make that Sesame Dip again,” he said, “It’s too good.”

Of course, I made it anyway.

Gluten Free Sesame DipNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 cup raw tahini (if you don’t have raw, roasted will probably work just as well)
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup water
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 large clove garlic, pressed
½ cup sesame seeds

1. In a 1 quart jar, combine tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and water, then thoroughly stir ingredients together
2. Stir in salt and garlic
3. In a large skillet, over medium heat, toast sesame seeds 5-10 minutes until golden brown, stirring and checking frequently
4. Allow sesame seeds to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a food processor or the dry container of a vitamix and blend until coarsely ground
5. Stir ground sesame seeds into tahini mixture
6. Serve as a dip for veggies, or to use a salad dressing, thin a bit with additional water

I hope you all had a wonderful Passover and or Easter.  We had a beautiful Seder enjoying family and the fresh grown parsley from our garden that is now coming up like a weed!  That’s satisfaction, having something from the garden on the Seder plate.

I recently stumbled upon this excellent and informative site and became e-acquainted with the author, Dr. Lemberg.  The timing is quite intriguing to me as I’ve been doing quite a bit of research recently as to how gluten-intolerance affects the brain.  Dr. Lemberg has an article on this exact topic that I found very interesting and helpful.

Some of you have contacted me to let me know that your children are dealing with psychiatric issues that seem to subside once gluten is removed from the diet.  This article is one more piece of “evidence” of the growing possibility that the inability to digest and process gluten can lead to far, far more than gut disorders and celiac disease.

I believe that the topic of gluten intolerance and cognitive function deserves a great deal more attention than it is given by the medical community.  One book that does give this topic its due is called Dangerous Grains.  A very worthy read indeed.

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Garlic oil?  Made in mere minutes?  Why yes.  This quick and easy gluten free oil recipe can add sophisticated flavor to vegetables, fish or chicken.

I’m especially enjoying feeding it to my family during cold season since garlic is a great natural anti-biotic and immune booster.  Don’t let the health benefits fool you though, this is one tasty treat.

Roasted Garlic OilNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 head garlic, peeled
½ cup olive oil

1. Place garlic and olive oil in small pot on the stove and bring to a simmer
2. Reduce heat to low and allow oil to cook until garlic begins to turn golden brown, about 10-20 minutes
3. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn
4. Serve both oil and cloves over your favorite foods

The photo above was taken midway through the process of cooking the garlic in the oil.  By the time it’s done mine is a bit more browned than this.

This garlic oil is especially delicious over green veggies.  My favorite way to serve it is over grilled broccoli or steamed kale.  My younger son inhales it!

How will you serve this garlic oil?  Let us count the ways.

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Just the week before last, my favorite food writer from the LA Times came up with a brilliant recipe for homemade Nutella.

I haven’t had Nutella since I was a student traveling in Europe decades ago with a EuroRail pass, sleeping in youth hostels. Back then we used to eat the chocolate stuff for breakfast. These days, I find the real thing a little too sweet for my taste. So I was happy to see Amy’s Scattergood’s Homemade Nutella recipe in the Los Angeles Times –what a great idea! And the perfect starting point for a version of my own.

Chocolate Hazelnut SpreadNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 cup hazelnuts
¼ cup cacao powder
5 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon hazelnut oil
pinch celtic sea salt

1. Roast the hazelnuts at 350° for 8-10 minutes until they darken a bit and smell fragrant
2. Transfer the hazelnuts to a towel and rub off the skins if you can (I didn’t have a lot of luck with this)
3. In a food processor, grind the hazelnuts to a smooth butter, about 5 minutes, scraping the sides as needed
4. Add the cacao, agave, vanilla, oil and salt and process until well blended, about a minute
5. Store in a glass mason jar in the refrigerator
6. Bring to room temperature prior to serving

Makes 1 ½ cups

My chocolate hazelnut spread had a consistency that was a bit stickier or gummier than peanut butter. If you want to thin out your spread, add more hazelnut oil. I think this treat has a very similar taste to Nutella, though find the consistency not as creamy. Everyone in my house still seemed to enjoy it as this hazelnut chocolate spread vanished pretty quickly. Even though it’s not exactly the same thing, I like having a decadent treat and at the same time knowing exactly what’s in it!

We’re off to baseball practice. It’s a gorgeous 70 degree day perfect for our first day of spring training in Boulder!

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