The name of this cucumber salad really could be Bubby's Cucumber Salad.  I learned to make it from my father's mother, an immigrant to this country, and an amazing woman.  She helped my Dad's father run their butcher shop and was quite the business woman from what I can gather.

She also was an amazing cook.  Her Matzo Ball Soup was incredible, as were so many of her other dishes.

We make Bubby's Cucumber Salad in my home all the time, and when I say we, I am being literal, the boys can whip this salad up in a jiffy, it's so easy.  We like it best in the summertime, when its impact is extra refreshing.  Go ahead, try some for yourself!

Cucumber SaladNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 cucumbers, peeled
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Cut the cucumber into ¼ inch slices
2. Place in a medium bowl
3. Cover with vinegar and sprinkle with salt
4. Serve

I'm really looking forward to my upcoming webinar with the editor of Allergic Living Magazine, Shelley Case, which will be on July 8th at 11am.  More details to come. Hope you can tune in.

Finally, I've been thinking lately about discussing the reasons I went gluten free and why that eating plan has helped me in my healing process.  I also may share some other strategies that I have used to rebuild my health.  Is there anything that would be of particular interest to you?  If so, leave a comment and I just might do a health related post in response to your question.

The other night I had the privilege of eating this amazing gluten free salad at Frasca, a fabulous restaurant in downtown Boulder. Their salad however, had salami, while mine, for a little hit of protein, contains walnuts.

I served this salad with dinner Sunday night while my 3 boys (2 children and husband) watched the NFL playoffs.  Dinner (and this salad) were a hit (even though the Jets lost).

Radicchio Salad with Frisée and ApplesNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 head radicchio, thinly sliced
½ head frisee, sliced
1 apple, cut into matchsticks (I used Braeburn)
olive oil , to taste
balsamic vinegar, to taste
½ cup walnuts, toasted

1. In a large salad bowl, combine radicchio frisee and apple
2. Drizzle salad with olive oil and vinegar and toss
3. Toss walnuts over salad
4. Serve

Valentine's Day is coming up and I will be teaching a Valentine's Day gluten free, dairy free cooking class at Bauman College on Wednesday, February 10th in Boulder --hope to see you there!

I want to give a special thanks to those participating in the forums and a special shout out to forums member Lisa Stafford, who actively answers the questions of so many other community members.  She is the winner of the Forums Activist of the Month Giveaway --and will receive a signed copy of my gluten free cookbook, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  Congrats and thank you Lisa!

This Creamy Onion Salad Dressing does have a bit of a zing to it, I admit.  I like it though, as it's somewhat warming during the cold winter spell we're having.  My younger son liked this gluten free dressing so much that he not only ate it on his salad last night, he drizzled it over his chicken, declaring it a winner.

The inspiration for this recipe came from Diana Rattray's Sweet Onion Salad Dressing over at About.com's Southern Food section.

It's snowing here today and the high is 23 degrees (right now it's a toasty 18 degrees).  I will go out later this afternoon and pick more of the lovely, luscious salad (photographed above) from my cold frame.  The cold frame keeps me in greens all year round.  Forget expensive bags of organic lettuce from the health food store --shipped all the way from California to Colorado leaving a gigantic carbon footprint right on my dinner table.  I am happy to say we have delicious, fresh picked, amazing greens right in my front yard (they cost pennies to plant).

We're living high on the hog this winter, high on the salad green hog that is.  And since I like variety I am now endlessly inspired to come up with new dressings to eat on our home grown greens.  Hooray!

Creamy Onion Salad DressingNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 tablespoons red onion
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ cup olive oil

1. Place onion, vinegar, agave, mustard and salt in a vita mix and puree on high speed for 20 seconds, until smooth
2. Turn on Vitamix and drizzle in olive oil
3. Serve over your favorite greens --cooked or raw

In other news (book related, that is) Yellowscene, a Colorado magazine, recently came out with their "gift guide" edition for the holidays and featured The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook in their locavore section for Boulder, Colorado.

On the web, one of my favorite sites, wellwire.com (check it out for sure, it's full of great information!), just posted their "Superfood of the Week," feature and this week it is almonds.  The amazing Dr. Nishant Rao, wrote this post and highlighted what he called the "realistic and elegant recipes" in my gluten free cookbook, also saying that, "using almond flour as a base for your baked goods is really your best option. Your pancreas will thank you."  I really like that last sentence, "Your pancreas will thank you."  Those are the kind of accessible health and nutrition tips that you will find on the wonderful wellwire.

I was lucky enough to speak with the fabulous Paige from thesisterproject.com today.  Paige has a friend Dori, who is friends with Helen, my best friend from childhood; so oddly, I feel as though I know Paige very well even though we've not actually met in person.  Paige wrote a lovely post called "C'mon Get Healthy," including The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and how it will be a part of her plan for keeping fit over the holidays. The Sister Project will be giving away several copies of my book, so head on over there to win yourself one!

My garden is overflowing with kale so I am looking for creative ways to serve it to the boys.  Of course, their favorite kale dish is the Kale Salad with Cranberries, however, we can't have that every night so I came up with this delicious gluten free Kaleslaw.  The boys liked it and ate some, I myself had about 4 bowls of it --addictive I'd say.

You can use regular mayonnaise for this dish or stay tuned for my gluten free Marcona Almond Mayonnaise later this week month.

Stephanie O'Dea from A Year of Slow Cooking was on Good Morning America today to discuss her book Make It Fast, Cook It Slow and she was absolutely fabulous on the show.  All of the recipes in the book are made using a crock-pot and the food looks comforting, nourishing and delicious.  Check out her gluten free cookbook on amazon.com, it drops today and is going to be a winner!

My husband and I guzzled this summer squash salad last night at dinner.  We had a massive feast of vegetables and salmon (the boys picked at dinner, though did just fine all in all).  Along with the salad, we grilled the salmon, eggplant, red peppers and broccoli.  Fresh fruit for dessert --cherries, apricots and strawberries.

It was a lot of fun.  Making it even better was the fact that my husband and I went grocery shopping together in the afternoon (love doing that with him) while the boys were over at Josh's house running through the sprinkler.

Summer Squash SaladNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
2 small yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons basil, sliced into strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ cup Marcona almonds, chopped

1. In medium bowl, combine squash, zucchini, basil, olive oil, lemon juice and salt
2. Toss ingredients together
3. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes to 1 hour (time permitting, I have also served mine immediately and it was fine)
4. Sprinkle with almonds
5. Serve

I had a great live interview today with Dr. Alvin Jones on WCBQ-AM 1340/WHNC-AM 890.  He was just a total sweetheart.  Said he was going to come over to my house and knock on the door for some cookies.  A really great guy!

Listen to my interview with Dr. Alvin Jones.

I've had several people request Fourth of July picnic and barbecue menus from me in the last week.  Here's a simple assortment of easy dishes that you can make for a fun fourth.

I still haven't quite decided what we'll be doing for our Fourth of July festivities, though with the boys at prime fireworks viewing age, I know it will involve hiking up a mountain and settling in to watch the light shows around the Boulder Valley.

Happy July 4th everyone!

The other night I went to a fabulous event in Boulder hosted by Bauman College. During this evening one of the graduates from Bauman's chef program did a great cooking demo for a raw kale salad with shiitake mushrooms (it had a number of other ingredients as well).

The next day, I was determined to make my a version of my own. Before that evening, I had not thought of eating raw mushrooms, however, after tasting the Bauman salad, I was sold. So, I picked kale from our garden in the blistering heat --it's growing so wildly I am having a challenging time keeping up with it-- and began to concoct the dish above.

Raw Shiitake Kale SaladNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
4-6 cups kale, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons ume plum vinegar
dash toasted sesame oil
dash celtic sea salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

1. In a large bowl, combine kale and olive oil
2. Massage the kale for a couple of minutes until it looks slightly wilted
3. Add mushrooms, vinegar and sesame oil
4. Sprinkle with salt and sesame seeds
5. Serve

Serves 4

The evening with Bauman was filled with good food and information and I was very impressed with both the College and Dr. Bauman. He discussed food politics in America and so much more. His philosophy that "one size does not fit all" when it comes to eating is something with which I heartily agree.

Bauman College has an army of nutritionists, teachers and advisers and teaches classes in California (3 schools there), Boulder and also remotely. They also provide consultations with nutritionists and nutrition educators to people all over the world.

Recently, I've had quite a few people asking me for personalized dietary advice and consultations. This isn't something I would feel comfortable doing over the internet. I can however, recommend the services of the people over at Bauman College. They are a highly qualified and sensitive group of people and I hope to be teaching community classes there in the near future.

We've been eating quite a lot of salad lately, and being the protein addict that I am, I'm constantly looking for new ways to make it into a full dinner.

I was first introduced to Chinese Chicken Salad years ago, by my dear friend Helen.  We've been friends now for close to 30 years and good salad is only one of the many things she has taught me about.  My version is a little different from hers, since she's not gluten free, and I can only hope that it's nearly as good, since Helen is quite amazing in the kitchen.

This salad will serve approximately 4 people, depending on how much chicken you decide to add to it.  I make that decision based on how much meat is left over from the roasted chicken of the night before.  Feel free to add extra chicken or go with no chicken at all.

Because this blog is growing so quickly, and we have so many new friends over here, I want to add a few pointers in regard to using this site.  I hope they are helpful.

SUBSTITUTIONS -yes, feel free to substitute an ingredient with any other. Have fun, experiment. Of course, since I am writing dozens of recipes a week, I can't possibly test every substitution idea you may have, nor can I tell over the internet how these ideas will play out, however that's where the fun comes in, in terms of playing with these recipes and taking risks.

DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE FOR...? If you are looking for a specific type of recipe (such as crackers), just head on up to the search bar and type in the word "crackers," every cracker recipe I have will be at your fingertips in mere moments.

WHERE CAN I BUY...? coconut flour, blanched almond flour, etc. All of the unique ingredients on my site are linked to a place of purchase to make things easier for you. In addition, all of these products are also linked on the right hand side of my site under the section entitled "purchase." under the Ingredients page.

I love hearing all of the recipe adaptations that so many of you share in the comments section of each post, your ideas are creative and delectable.

For instant gratification on your questions, make sure to stop by my FAQ's, as they are most likely already addressed over there.  If you're still stumped, you can also check out my forums for community, great discussions and answers to many of your questions.

I hope all of this information is helpful and I also want to add a special thanks to those of you that step in and help out in answering questions --hooray and thanks for that :-)

This Asian Dressing is a family favorite.  Now that our garden is in full gear we are having home grown salads at least once a day.  In order to keep things interesting, I've come up with a variety of salad dressings and this one has stuck.  I kid you not when I say that the boys fight over the last drops.

So, here you have it!

Asian Salad DressingNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon ume plum vinegar
1 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon orange juice, freshly squeezed

1. In a medium mason jar, combine all ingredients
2. Shake well until combined
3. Serve over favorite greens from your garden
4. Store in mason jar for up to 4 days

Today's Friday Freebie is the book Food Not Lawns.  All you need to do to be eligible to win it is leave a comment.  This book will be a great help in getting your edible garden going. 

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

I have a huge parsley plant in our backyard that came back from last year and so have been looking for ways to utilize this super nutritious green herb in different dishes.  I came up with this Pear Parsley Dressing which my family enjoyed quite a bit.  The inspiration for this delicious gluten-free dressing came from the lovely Daniela of Daniela's Kitchen.

While she served her Pear Dressing over arugula and fennel, I chose to serve mine over a bed of mixed greens.  Either way, healthy, delicious and delightful.  I think this dressing is especially good for entertaining as it's so tasty and has somewhat unexpected, yet elegant flavors.

Pear Parsley DressingNote: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.
1 pear, cored and chopped (not peeled)
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup water
1 cup parsley, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. In a Vitamix, process pear, olive oil and water on high until smooth
2. Blend in parsley, garlic and salt
3. Serve over tossed greens

I want to take a moment to thank everyone for the outpouring of support I received in response to this post.  I really appreciate your thoughtful responses and care!