Red Lentil Soup with Kale and Lime

What am I doing posting a lentil soup recipe on Thanksgiving Eve? Well, you can blame it on the kale.I'm a newcomer to kale. I've had an irrational hatred of it since college, where Physical Plant dug up all the pretty flowers on campus and replaced them with ornamental kale. I thought they were ugly. And a vegetable, not a fair flower. Nothing about them looked fair or lovely to me at all.

GFCF Cranberry Apricot Oat-free Cookies

This is originally a Penzey's recipe. I've replaced the coriander with cardamom and adapted it to be oat free as well as gluten and casein free because Megan is sensitive to oats. I just love using buckwheat in place of oats in my baking but if you don't, substitute 1 1/2 cups gluten free oats for the buckwheat. I also just love soft, chewy cookies and at first was afraid that these would be

GFCF Brown Sugar Butternut Pie

I have been a fan of this Cooking Light recipe for 10 years. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long! I fell in love with this silky squash pie before Anna was born...while DH was in grad school and I was working, and we had time and money to spend on dinner parties and hosting family for holiday meals. Having kids sure does change a lot, as does the discovery of food allergies and sensitivities

GFCF Pumpkin Spice Cake

I made this cake for DH's birthday. It drove the girls mad all day to look at the cake but have to wait until Daddy got home to eat it. This is the same basic recipe as Applesauce Spice Cake (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens), with just a few variations. I tried making homemade powdered sugar to frost the cake with - it went well until my blender broke! So it can be done and it will be

Grain-Free Meatballs with Red Wine Gravy

As I was looking for a meatball and gravy recipe the other day, I ran across a recipe for Braised Meatballs in Red-Wine Gravy at Epicurious. Originally I envisioned making something like Swedish Meatballs but decided this recipe looked better. I ended up trying it three ways - one with a white wine/mustard gravy served over turkey meatballs, one with the original red wine/tomato paste gravy and

Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Puree

I've been on a roasted vegetable kick lately (see guide to roasting vegetables, yum!). I've made so much roasted broccoli in the past few weeks, it's a wonder DH has not said "enough already!". So in order to hide the fact we'd be having more roasted veggies the other night for dinner, I decided to serve up a puree instead. Actually I was intending to make a roasted cauliflower soup, but I

Guide to Roasting Vegetables

Lately I have been all about roasted vegetables...carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, onions, squash, etc. Roasting makes vegetables mellow and brings out their natural sweetness. Megan will actually eat roasted broccoli without hardly blinking, where she'll protest with steamed broccoli. I don't usually get too fancy...sometimes I'll add minced garlic during the last 10 minutes of

GFCF Applesauce Spice Cake

This is another adaptation from Better Homes and Gardens. I find myself going back to their cookbooks again and again. Of all cake recipes, this one is my favorite. I recently made this for (non-GFCF) friends and they loved it too.2 cups All Purpose GF flour blend 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder1 tsp. xanthan gum1 tsp. cinnamon1/2 tsp. baking soda1/4 tsp. nutmeg1/4 tsp. cloves1/4 tsp. ginger1/2 cup

GFCF Pear Custard Pie

I've wanted to convert this recipe for over a year. Finally, it's done! This is another tattered recipe I got from a friend of a friend many years ago. As far as favorite pear pies go, this is neck and neck with spiced pear pie. I especially love this no-roll pie crust - it's not crumbly in the least and holds up well in the transfer from pie plate to serving plate. And it behaves nicely too

GFCF Pear Bread

This was originally a Penzey's recipe for Apple Bread. I tried it two different ways - one with pears and one with apples and some applesauce to replace half the oil. Our favorite was the one with the pears. If you'd like to use apples instead, grate 2 apples in place of the pears and nix the cinnamon sugar. If you'd like to lower the fat content, replace half the canola oil with 1/4 cup