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Carob-Almond-Banana Smoothie

Carob and banana smoothie that is vegan and dairy-free delicious
Almond milk smoothie with carob and banana.

It's the little things in life. So they say. And today I would agree- wholeheartedly, in fact, with every rebel piece of my dairy-free chocolate verboten heart. The heart that beats without the comfort of gluten, without the silky swirl of cream, without the sexy burn of Tapatio sauce and raw red onion. The heart that misses Penne Arrabiata and roasted tomato salsa. The pragmatic heart that now beats on a mission, to quell this monkey gut of mine long enough to heal a stubborn duodenal ulcer.

And that is why, Babycakes, no chocolate will grace my tongue. Or peppermint tea (which I drank by the gallon to calm said monkey gut). Apparently chocolate and mint exacerbate little things like hiatal hernias. And, oh yeah. Holes in your duodenum.

The things you learn. Better late than never.

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Gluten-Free Blueberry Crumb Cake Recipe

Gluten-Free Blueberry Crumb Cake Recipe
Blueberry crumb cake- gluten-free summer goodness.

Coffee cake for the road.


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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I Spy: At Santa Monica Farmers' Market

Fresh lavender at the Farmers' Market.

My favorite childhood book- hands down- was Harriet The Spy. Have you read it? Harriet- the anti-heroine- helped change my life back in the Dark Ages. It was 1964 and girls were expected to giggle and take ballet and dream of party dresses. We were encouraged to walk with books on our heads to cultivate a ladylike gait, and practice buttoning the baby teeth pearls on our slim white gloves with nimble, dainty fingers.

But, as you may have guessed, I was neither dainty or particularly infatuated with the girly stuff of being a girl. I was bored to tears with feminine training. I didn't long to be an object that was admired. I wanted to actually do something. To create something. I wanted to be Harriet the Spy. I bought a notebook just like Harriet, scribbled down stories and drew pictures. I created a world. It was my book of secrets.

Today I roam the streets of Santa Monica with an iPhone. I take pictures. I walk and look and catch snippets of conversation. I photograph street life and shop windows, found art and empty spaces. The iPhone is my notebook now. I am recording my observations.

And today, here is what I saw. Hope you enjoy it.


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Easy Gluten-Free Baguettes

How to use Pamela's gluten-free bread mix for easy French style baguettes.
How to make a rustic, easy gluten-free baguette.

Why do you always crave the things you can't have? Is it because desire dims upon acquisition? Is it the crusty chestnut that the chase is more interesting than the catch? Do we simply take for granted the things we hold, the things we use, the things we eat, day after day? Familiarity breeds perhaps not contempt but a subtle numbness. We slowly turn off to the everyday beauty, the generosity of the simple luxuries in our life. It seems to me a form of forgetting. A spiritual amnesia that coaxes us into believing we want what we don't have. And we neglect to appreciate what we do possess.

Which brings me, I'm sorry to say, not to any esoteric mystery, but. To bread.
here's why. While I do - truly - appreciate (and have, for years) the convenience and kind-to-my-tummy nutrition that an organic brown rice cake offers me as a humble, gluten-impaired celiac, I frankly admit that it is difficult to conjure any semblance of passion, or for that matter, what I would describe as desire, for this go-to celiac snack food. Yes, these foamy chewy discs have saved my life on more than one occasion. Yes, I keep a bag of them in the car at all times. Just in case. And yes, I am grateful for their existence on this fragile planet.

But I have never daydreamed about rice cakes.

I have never painted Still Life with Rice Cake.

Or written a poem about one.

Though come to think of it, I have photographed a rice cake. In the car. With my iPhone.

It does sport a certain beauty all it's own it. In its own quirky, ricey way.



But it's not a baguette. It's not a rustic, crusty, warm from the oven loaf of golden goodness. It doesn't go with wine. And it's not a good match with garlicky olive tapenade. So as much as my bruised and enlightened heart can embrace a rice cake and accept my gluten-free fate in a quasi-Zen go with the flow sorta way, there is a longing I have nurtured for the last eight gluten-free years. A deep, unfulfilled desire.

The truth is, Darling- I miss a long, slender, warm, fresh baguette.

Now don't get all Freudian on me. I'm still talking about bread here. And as far as bread goes, we gluten-free folks have much to appreciate. Even revel in. There's this recipe for delicious gluten-free bread. And this multigrain recipe with cornmeal kick to it. We're no longer as deprived as our earlier, last century celiac counterparts in the bread department. We can make cheese sandwiches.

But lately I've been dreaming of the continental culinary jewel known as the baguette. A mainstay in every student's romance repertoire (if you were an art student, especially; if you majored in accounting or football, the allure of a blanket, baguette, a bottle of wine and thou may not have blipped on your radar screen, and that's truly a shame and a deficit you ought to repair this very minute- go!). And not only dreaming. I've been actively craving an olive tapenade and the classic vehicle to smear it on.

So I experimented with what I had on hand- a bag of Pamela's Wheat-Free Gluten-Free Bread Mix. I could have mixed my own flours, it's true. But it was late in the day when the burning desire hit. And Yours Truly just wanted to whip up a pre-dinner rendezvous comestible.

To quench my unbridled yearning.


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56 Things To Remember


On the eve of my last birthday I wrote a post- Fifty-five Things I've Learned in 55 Years. Well, Babycakes. June is here again. There's another candle on the gluten-free cake. And fifty-six things I want to talk about. Or more accurately, remember. To remind myself. Because at my age? Remembering is an art not a science. So write this down. It's important. You know what they say.

Here today gone mañana.

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Banana Ice Cream Pops

Gluten free dairy free frozen banana pops
Frosty banana pops- a dairy-free and vegan summer treat.

Summer is here. Daylight stretches pink into the evening, warm and luxurious. Santa Monica is thick with tourists. Students heft surfboards and beach towels instead of backpacks. The Farmer's Markets are drop dead gorgeous (sneak a peek at our LA markets from Sarah here at The Delicious Life- who's been considerably more mobile than moi lately, scouting different farmer's market locations in a whirlwind tour). June is one of my favorite months of the year. 

How can it not be?

To celebrate I made some tasty frozen confections this week. I'm still on a limited diet, trying to soothe this tenacious monkey gut of mine. So the flavor choice was banana- in case you didn't know, bananas are kind and acid reducing to an ulcer prone tummy. I decided to use maple syrup as the sweetener, just because.

Creamy banana goodness ensued.

Banana Ice Cream Pops Recipe- Dairy-free and Vegan


Xanthan gum boosts viscosity and improves the texture of non-dairy ice cream. But if you prefer not using it, Darling, leave it out. It's all about personal preference.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups frozen sliced bananas
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup ice cold vanilla rice milk or coconut milk
1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

Instructions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a Vita-Mix or blender and whip until creamy smooth.

Spoon the banana mixture into six large frozen pop molds (or whatever Popsicle style molds you have on hand). Insert sticks. Freeze overnight for best results.

To remove a pop from the mold, run warm water over the mold to loosen the pop- or follow the mold manufacturer's gentle instructions.

Makes about ten pops.

Notes:

I made this recipe using vanilla rice milk, but coconut milk would be heaven. Good tasting vanilla hemp milk or nut milk would also work.

I made six pops and froze the extra banana mixture as ice cream.

You could also freeze any extra in ice cube trays for smoothies.


Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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Frozen banana pops recipe that is vegan and dairy free
Frozen banana pops!



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Gluten-Free Banana Mini-Muffins

The cutest gluten free banana mini muffins that are moist and delicious
Sweet little mini-muffins with big banana taste.

Sweet Morsels


Week four began Monday. My month of soft foods only is slowly winding down. I can feel the diet working, spinning its soothing magic and calming this burning monkey gut of mine with scoops of mashed potato and spoonfuls of slow cooked soups between doses of kitten cuteness and favorite comedies. My medicine has been a stew of Protonix, Culturelle, baby food, and laughing as much as possible.

I'm a big believer in the healing power of a hearty guffaw.

But I'd be lying if I didn't confess I crave texture and crunch like there's no tomorrow. Who wouldn't? After four plus weeks of nothing more al dente than a boiled rice noodle, I am sorry to tell you I wake up dreaming of potato chips. I miss the nutty terrain of a pecan cracker. The sexy chewy center of a chocolate chip cookie.

This yearning has not gone unnoticed.

Steve has been pondering my dearth of oral satisfaction. And always one to roll up his sleeves and pitch in, he started rummaging around the kitchen, imagining something I could eat- without repercussion. A treat soft enough to comply with my diet's rules. A go-between bite nestled somewhere in the middle of hot buttered toast (not allowed) and pureed pumpkin (allowed, but so dead boring).

And thus the mini-banana muffin was born. A petite friendly bite of moist banana goodness. Not overwhelmed by cinnamon (off limits). Not studded with nuts (emphatic no-nos!). Just simple, clean, honest banana taste.

In a darling, non-pointy vegan parcel.


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