Nectarine and Blackberry Crisp

Makes : 6 servings | Desserts Vegetarian

When we first moved to Oregon, I found myself caught off guard by the sheer bounty and variety of summer fruits. I felt like such an amateur at the farmers’ market, inquiring about the blackberries, when everyone around me referred to “marionberries”, “black caps”, and “evergreens”. These folks know their berries! We returned home with flats of berries, determined to familiarize ourselves with the intricacies of each one, and sat in the lawn lazily making our way to the bottom of the box.  Our daughter, seen here seven years ago, remains a dedicated berry enthusiast […]

Spicy Mango Sauce

Makes : about 1 1/2 cups | Basics Dairy Free , Vegan , Vegetarian

One of my tricks for coming up with quick weeknight recipes involves whipping up a few sauces over the weekend and then keeping them in the fridge for later. This particular sauce, from my book “The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen”, can be made about three days ahead of time. In the book it’s used to accompany Salad Rolls with Crab and also Roasted Pork Meatballs, but you could use it to gussy up a simple grilled chicken, pork tenderloin, or shrimp. Since finding a perfectly ripe mango is notoriously difficult, I usually pick up a bag […]

Romesco Sauce

Makes : about 1 1/3 cups romesco sauce | Basics Dairy Free , Vegan , Vegetarian

Romesco sauce makes me think of Spain. I’ve never actually been there, but I can imagine a platter of simply grilled shellfish dotted with boldly flavored romesco and it makes me hungry. The sauce, a classic combination of dried sweet chiles (ñora), tomato, garlic, ground nuts (usually almonds or hazelnuts), olive oil, and a touch of vinegar, originates from the city of Tarragona in the Catalan region of Spain. A piece of fried bread acts as thickener for the romesco, something to keep in mind if you’re dining out. Romesco sauce is rarely gluten free. I […]

Moroccan Sweet Potato Salad

Makes : 4 servings | Salads/Sides Dairy Free , Vegan , Vegetarian

Now that Memorial Day has passed (which in the Pacific Northwest means we’re down to only one more month of cold and rain), I start considering possibilities for great summer outdoor fare. I love the ease of throwing a simply marinated steak on the grill and bringing out platters of corn-on-the-cob and sliced tomatoes, but ideally I sneak in a more interesting side dish as well. One of my favorites, a roasted Moroccan Sweet Potato Salad, came about during a marathon potato-salad recipe development phase I had a few years back. Tired of mayonnaise-swathed boiled […]

Almond Cake

Makes : 6 servings | Desserts Dairy Free , Vegetarian

In the 16 years since I went to culinary school, I’ve cooked, either personally or professionally, nearly every single day. And of those 5800 odd days, maybe a couple dozen of them were spent baking. (OK, I may be exaggerating a little, but not much.) It’s not that I can’t bake; I just enjoy cooking much, much more. Plus you don’t really need to bake when you live in New York City, which is where much of my (gluten eating) adult life was spent. Once I started eating gluten free, I found it wasn’t so […]

Brazilian Cheese Puffs

Makes : 24 puffs | Appetizers/Snacks Vegetarian

I fondly remember a time when I served warm gougères (savory French cheese puffs), along with a glass of bubbly, to everyone who entered our house. This pre-dinner routine lasted a good long time, in part because the cheese puffs looked and tasted sophisticated, but were deceptively simple to make. My love affair with gourgères ended abruptly when my gluten intolerance began. Fortunately not much time passed before I started reading about a popular Brazilian snack called Pão de Queijo, or cheese bread. The bread, which usually comes in the form of mini rolls, gets […]