Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins with Almond Flour

Tender almond flour muffins bursting with fresh blueberries.

Today I am sharing a new gluten-free muffin recipe, and a health update on my Gut Instinct post. I know, I know. Another muffin recipe? Most food bloggers are waxing poetic about grilling burgers and dyeing frosting for their red, white, and blue recipes this upcoming July Fourth weekend, but the truth is, Babycakes, I'm just not into it. I'm in such a different head space that it almost seems comical to me, reading headlines in my Inbox about the "Ultimate Burger", or how July Fourth wouldn't be a real celebration without a hunk of charred American meat or a Philly cheese dog. 

Um. What? 

Wasn't Benjamin Franklin a vegetarian?

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Gluten-Free Blueberry Crumb Cake Recipe

Blueberry crumb cake- gluten-free summer goodness.

Blueberries are in season so I thought I'd reprise a favorite recipe of mine. A tender blueberry crumb cake. Perfect for sharing with a friend.

And a glimpse back. Blogging is like a time machine. You get to thumb through not only recipes but bits of life and places you no longer inhabit. A year ago we were stuck in New Mexico, chained to Ojo Caliente by the unraveling real estate market, watching our nest egg crack and wither and blow in the dust to oblivion.  A year ago I wrote this post about coming to Santa Monica. ~Karina

Sometimes in life- when you least expect it- the stars are kind. Synchronicity smiles. And disparate pieces of your dreams bump up against one another and nestle snug into place. I'm referring, of course, to my dream of California. Summer by the Pacific, walking the beach, shopping the Farmers' Market, reuniting with my sons. Cooking. Writing. Haunting book stores and coffee shops.

I've been trying to get there for two years.

No, the house hasn't sold yet. But Plan B is under way. We found the elusive summer rental. Just when I thought it wasn't going to happen. A sublet in Santa Monica. In the nick of time. A lovely, light filled creative space. With a sweet kitchen. So I am back to making lists, mapping our drive south to Flagstaff, AZ, turning west to aim for the coast. I am lying in the dark alert, at 3 AM, pondering not the mysteries of the collective unconscious, not the properties of desire and effect, quantum attraction and Zen detachment, but favorite flavors of chocolate chip cookies. I am imagining herbed sandwich wraps (recipe soon!). Bags of salted popcorn. iTunes playlists. And this, a new blueberry cake recipe I felt inspired to bake. With a cinnamon crumb topping.

I think it's perfect to pack for a two-day road trip, don't you? Or even a two minute trip, scooting across the back yard barefoot to visit your best friend and neighbor. She'll make the coffee. Or iced chai. While you unrap the cake you get to eat, too.

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Quinoa Breakfast Bars with Blueberries

Quinoa flakes make a delicious gluten-free breakfast bar.

For those who live gluten-free and also oatmeal-free (yes, Darling, there's more than a few of us who don't respond well to either the fiber or the protein in certified gluten-free oats) I have good news. Quinoa cereal flakes are enough like oatmeal that I use them in baking recipes as a tasty, nutritious alternative to gluten-free oats. 

I love the nutty, complex taste quinoa flakes bring to a sweet recipe. 

I hope you do, too.

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Blueberry-Strawberry Cobbler

A vegan berry cobbler. Two berries are better than one.

Baking at sea level- in an unfamiliar oven- has been a challenge that has humbled your intrepid gluten-shunning goddess at large. My mojo is askew. All my old tricks and tweaks for high altitude baking are no longer required. It's like losing a third of your favorite play list. Or half your shoes. All the left ones. I have to realign my route. I must toss out all my assumptions (a favorite mid-life goal, anyway, so I may as well practice it).

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Gluten-Free Banana-Blueberry Muffin Cake

Kick up your gluten-free banana cake with blueberries.

My partner in culinary crime- the infamous and ever-up-for-baking husband Steve- informed me our bananas were mucho ripe. In fact, to be completely accurate, he poked his head into my cozy little studio the other day and declared, Our bananas are ripe. I should bake something.

I looked up from my iMac and murmured Hmmm, in assent. 

But what, exactly?

Ripe bananas were calling. Begging to be a part of some grander life affirming tastebud tingling scheme. But do readers really need another banana cake recipe? I pondered, slurping cold coffee with vanilla hemp milk. Which reminds me. I should share this.

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Gluten-Free Blueberry Cake Cupcakes

Love blueberry cake? Here's my cupcake version.

Just in time for July Fourth, here's a sweet little recipe for blueberry cake cupcakes. I know that's redundant- calling it a blueberry cake cupcake. I mean, how can a blueberry cake be a cupcake too? It's either cake or cupcake. It can't be both.

Or can it?

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Gluten-Free Blueberry Crisp

Gluten-free blueberry crisp, Baby.

I've had more than a few requests this week for berry crisp and cobbler recipes, so I thought I'd reprise one of my favorite simple desserts- a berry crisp. I used blueberries in this recipe, but any combination of berries will work- try blackberries and raspberries. Toss in some strawberries. Make a mix of all four. It's all good.

Although fresh berries are lip-smacking wonderful in this crisp (and now is the time of year, after all, for fresh berry picking), frozen wild blueberries aren't terrible. They'll work. Do what you gotta do I always say.

Whatever gets you through.

As for me, it's been a busy week. And I have good news. My latest hip x-ray shows stability and healing. Those titanium spare parts of mine have been behaving. They're staying put. I'm now allowed to be a tad more adventurous! Translation? More walking. No bungee jumping, though. Those carefree bungee jumping days are over, My Darlings.

Oh wait. I never did any bungee jumping.

I'm not the bungee jumping type. I'm more like a wander on the beach picking up stones type. A bookstore browsing type. A lost in my thoughts thinking about colors and words type. I've never had an urge to strap on a helmet and hurl myself off a bridge, come to think of it. Well. Maybe that one time. On my first honeymoon when I woke up and thought, Uh oh. But I digress.

Let's get back to blueberries.

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Blueberry Oat Muffins

Gluten-free blueberry oat muffins.

We woke to the sound of water. It is raining in the desert this morning. The overflow is spilling over the edges of the canales, splashing onto the wedges of flagstone scattered in the sand around our casita. It feels like we are living inside a Zen fountain- waterfalls on all sides. The mesa is hidden in mist. The air is heavy with the scent of juniper and wet bark. I am deeply comforted by all of this.

Moisture is a rare commodity here.

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Blueberry Cobbler Recipe

Blueberry cobbler- a taste of summer.

Fresh blueberries = summer. And lucky for me these indigo-hued gems are not only gluten-free and chock full of antioxidants (every celiac goddess needs fistfuls of antioxidants, you know) but they're pretty much everything-free. So that shoots them right to the top of a certain allergy-prone goddess' Yum List. I've been plopping them into smoothies, scattering them in bowls of buckwheat flakes and simply munching on them straight from the colander. Ah. Blueberry heaven.

Insert hazy slo-mo flashback

Once upon a time- in the innocent and carefree days of living merely gluten-free- I used to make a delectable (and ultra-easy!) Summer Blueberry Crisp. And Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins to die for. Click on those recipes for some serious berry indulgence. Go ahead. I won't mind. I'll wait. I won't be jealous. Well. Maybe just a wee bit jealous, now that I am gluten and casein-free. Not to mention, egg, soy, lemon, nut, legume, and a few more foods thrown in for good measure free.

Smash cut to: my tiny blue-tiled cocina

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Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins

Gluten-free blueberry muffins with sour cream.

As promised, here's my latest muffin recipe, using Pamela's Gluten-Free Baking and Pancake Mix. Oy vey, these are good. And so easy. I didn't even get out the mixer; I stirred the batter by hand with my favorite wooden spoon. If you're in the mood for a different berry or fruit, by all means, substitute the blueberries. Whatever makes you happy, Babycakes. Go for it. This batter would cozy up to cranberries, spiced apples, you name it.

And by the way, if you're looking for a dairy-free egg-free blueberry muffin, I've come up with a vegan Brown Sugar Blueberry Muffin recipe you might like.

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