Cool As A Cucumber Salad

Cucumber talk. And a salad recipe.

It started with a visit from a fellow food blogger. And ended up as a side dish. No wait. That doesn't sound right. Because it's more than just a side dish. And the food blogger? Well. She's more than just a food blogger. She's Alanna!

And a certain individual got to make her dinner. Talk about nerve wracking. Cooking for a second-generation food columnist? It's enough to give anyone schpilkis! And I'm no exception. I was afraid I'd burn the quinoa. Or ruin the ribeye. But dinner went off without a hitch. Even with two glasses of wine and a pre-repast stroll to watch the sun set over Abiquiu. I think we talked for five hours.

And the cucumber salad? I made it based on Alanna's simple instructions via cell phone (and via the no-fuss wit and wisdom of Old Liz) and it was such a lip-smacking tasty little number, I ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day.

Now that's a good recipe.

Thanks Alanna! And muchas gracias to dear Old Liz, who apparently (as we say back east) knows from cucumbers.

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Peanut Chicken Stir-Fry

Gluten-free peanut stir-fry sauce- easy to make.

Peanut sauce stir-fry? Yes, please. Spicy peanut sauce is one of my favorite comfort foods. Maybe even in my all-time top ten. The last time I stirred up this peanut sauce we were watching episode 5 of Brideshead Revisited- the most dread inducing episode when it's clear that poor, sweet Sebastian is clinically depressed and Mummy Marchmain (aka the Velvet Hammer) is determined to crush his spirit for propriety's sake. Steve and I were sighing audibly, rooting for dear Sebastian, hoping against hope he would somehow summon the courage to break free from Mummy and stop self medicating as we chop-sticked our way through this lip-smacking bowl of peanutty goodness.

And as we each consumed the last delectable morsels on our licked clean plates we agreed. We just knew this dish would have perked up Sebastian. And Charles, too, for that matter. Nothing like a spicy peanut sauce to fortify you and return some bloom to wan, stoic cheeks.

In need of said fortification but allergic to peanuts, Darling? Don't fret. Substitute Sunbutter in this recipe. Sunflower seed butter has a roasted nut flavor that is delicious in Asian style sauces. [I find it at Whole Foods and Wild Oats.]

So if you're suddenly struck (as I, too often, am) by a craving for peanut stir-fry, imagining tender sweet mouthfuls of crisp broccoli, elegant red pepper strips and slender chicken pieces all commingling happily in an earthy, garlicky peanut sauce, don't worry. I've got you covered. It doesn't get much better than this easy recipe.

Even Sebastian's teddy, Aloysius, could whip this up.

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Pear Polenta Muffins

Tender and sweet pear polenta muffins.

Ripe juicy pears and a polenta flour base make this new muffin recipe an instant favorite. I'll mention right off the bat- it's not low carb. It uses a moderate amount of sugar and some rice flour with organic corn meal. But if you're pining for a gluten-free vegan muffin recipe that you will absolutely love and devour with relish and lick your fingers and say softly (in your best Lauren Bacall voice), You know those pear muffins you got over there, Steve? You wanna toss me another?

These are it.

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Italian Eggplant Recipe with Crumbled Beef, Tomatoes and Mint

Gluten-free eggplant recipe with crumbled beef, tomatoes and mint.

The classic Italian flavors are all here- eggplant, tomato, garlic, onion and oregano with a twist of fresh chopped mint nudging it over into Greek territory- but there's not a speck of gluten or dairy.

Mediterranean goodness on a plate.

This recipe is for those of us who miss eggplant Parmesan- a little something I threw together this week when my craving for a slab of eggplant Parm (as we called it back in Massachusetts) heated up to such a fever pitch that all I could think about was, How? How to translate a dish so fiercely reliant on a fried breadcrumb coating and slabs of melty Parmesan cheese? A dish so not gluten-free. Or dairy-free. Or lower glycemic friendly to this waist-whittling goddess.

Thin, weeped eggplant slices are brushed lightly with a little extra virgin olive oil and roasted in a hot oven- all by their lonesome. This makes for a delicate, slightly crispy eggplant slice, let me tell you. Topped with a homemade ragu of Italian tomatoes, browned ground organic beef with onions and garlic and herbs and a splash of balsamic vinegar- it's love, Mediterranean style. It is sustenance. It is flavor. And it's dairy-free.

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South Beach Diet Notes- Phase 1

Summer fresh organic yellow tomatoes topped with mint, thyme and scallions, then drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. What more could you ask for? A low glycemic snack with my favorite Mediterranean flavors. And no b-word.

I'm deep into my first week on the South Beach Diet, whittling down my waist a half pound at a time. I am seeing a difference already. And what's really interesting- for this gluten-free pasta and muffin loving girl? After eating a lower glycemic index recipe I don't feel stuffed. Or heavy. Or that other word. The b-word. The word every celiac hates more than anything. Yup. You women out there know what I'm talking about it.

Bloated.

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Quinoa Salad with Lime + Fresh Mint

Cool and refreshing quinoa salad with lime and mint.

This is the post where I confess, Dear Reader, that I am now pear-shaped and lumpy and thick in the middle- obviously adept at gaining weight. I may even be considered gifted. This is not fun for me. But then, who promised fun during hip surgery recovery? Who said it would be easy? (Um, no one.) Throw menopausal hormone pandemonium into the sticky mix and you have a double roll nightmare.

I gained twenty damn pounds.

And who claimed that wedges of Green Chile Cornbread and Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones and Peach Crisp were calorie-free, anyway? Certainly not moi. But geesh. How much can a girl give up in one lifetime?

Okay. So the rumors are true.

Your intrepid plucky gluten-free goddess is trying the South Beach Diet. Or as well as one can follow the famous low glycemic diet without the comfort of eggs and dairy foods (on my allergen verboten list). This should be interesting.

Lucky for me I have a Guru.

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Gluten-Free Maple Apple Breakfast Sausage

Gluten-free apple sausage patties for breakfast. Easy.

Got a hankerin' for breakfast sausage but your food allergies hold you back? Me too, Babycakes. Looking at those labels can be downright scary. Spices? Well, um, which spices, exactly, are we talking about? Fennel is doable. But mustard or ginger? The price I pay is too high. Natural flavors? Don't get me started. 1-800 inquiries usually lead to an indifferent audible sniff followed closely by: "It's proprietary." [Translation? Take a hike, we don't have to tell you bubkis.]

But I have good news.

Making your own sausage isn't hard. If I can do it so can you. You don't even have to run out and get some crazy-fangled sausage stuffer. Unless you really, really want to Sweetcakes. Do like I do.

Make patties instead.

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Vegan Peach Ice Scream

Refreshing peachy ice cream- and it's dairy-free.

Cool non-dairy peachy goodness. A vegan ice cream recipe for the dog days of summer. Wait. Is it August already? Good goddess, the summer is careening by. It's true what they say about the concept of time. It changes as you get, um, older. During your ritual morning walk your husband turns to you and mentions a moment from yesterday and the dirt road beneath you starts to swim (not that swimming surfaces are all that unusual out here in the shimmering desert heat).

You ask, Was that yesterday? 

And he thinks a minute. Wait, he says. Friday? 

You hear the brittle dryness of the desert wind. The roar of the loud cobalt sky. There are stones beneath your feet. The same stones as yesterday, last week, last year.

That was last week, you offer, shaking your head in a spin cycle of empathy and disbelief and astonishment. 

Dude, he says. 

Tell me about it, you sigh.

How about some peach ice cream for breakfast?

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