Last week, some of my dearest friends and family members came to my house for a bridal shower... for me! The weekend will remain a favorite memory forever. And I used the event to try out some new cupcake ideas: Oatmeal cinnamon (using Deb Wheaton's oats from Gluten-Free Prairie) and Ginger Chocolate. They were yummy!
The first of many upcoming blog posts featuring exciting things for the gluten-free folk like me, this post features homemade soda, coconut ice cream, farm fresh veggies, home grown sweet potatoes and homemade pumpkin doughnut drops!
Jon and I have a Sunday morning tradition: pancakes. This Sunday, however, I'll be on a plane to DrupalCon Chicago, so we decided to do our pancake "date" this fine Saturday morning instead. We usually make our favorite gluten-free/dairy-free buckwheat pancakes, but this morning we decided to be more inventive and attempt for something more classic. The result? Classic style pancakes made with a blend of coconut and potato flours!
Ever since my scrumptious discovery of BabyCakes, I've been experimenting with making my own interesting cupcakes. Making a moist, fluffy, gluten-free vegan cake definitely takes practice (and a fair amount of failure), but I think I'm finally figuring it out!
Jon and I just had a fantastic adventure at BabyCakes NYC in downtown Los Angeles.
Their cupcakes and vanilla-frosting-filled cookie sandwiches were delicious, and they were gluten, soy, dairy and egg free (therefore, entirely "Rain-friendly").
I was a kid in a candy store when I walked in there, giddy and goofy while telling the unfortunate gentleman behind the counter "I want one of those, and one of those, and two of those, ooh, and one of those, and..." :)
My cooking this holiday season has been dedicated to making the perfect gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, egg-free pumpkin pie. I think the last pie I made might have been a success, and so it is now time to take it out into the world and see if others agree. (My hope is to start selling it!)
In the process, I've made a few crusts both from dough and also from cookies. Specifically, Ninjabread cookies :)
Jon and I have recently discovered that coconut milk can be the perfect substitute for almost anything requiring "milk" or "heavy cream."
To replace milk, use light coconut milk.
To replace heavy cream, use full-fat coconut milk.
The coconut flavor is not evident when used in cooking, and it gives you a great creamy texture. We've been using coconut milk successfully for everything from ice cream to the gluten-free pot pie we made last night.
The funny thing about facing food allergies with gusto: people come out of the woodwork to talk with me about my solutions and to share theirs. There are so many of us, truly, that I'm surprised awareness is still as limited as it is.
Last night I wrote an email to a friend of a friend who recently learned about gluten/dairy/egg/sugar sensitivities. Since my last useful post was so long ago, I thought I'd share some excerpts from that email here. Hopefully I'll keep up with this blog more frequently, as we have been eating like royalty!
I've been remiss in my commitment to use this blog to help others with insane food allergies like me.
More than two months later, I'm still finding my health and happiness levels increasing progressively with my new dietary "restrictions." I'm still enjoying great food. In fact, my meals have improved so dramatically that I'm not sure I would want to go back to what I ate before!
My favorite meal thus far, and perhaps my favorite meal ever: Quinoa Shrimp Scampi. Jon's mom, Chris, found this recipe for us on the Boston Globe website:
For the past three years I have been getting progressively more tired, my eczema more frustrating and inconvenient and, well, ugly, and my mood more generally irritable.
Last week, some of my dearest friends and family members came to my house for a bridal shower... for me! The weekend will remain a favorite memory forever. And I used the event to try out some new cupcake ideas: Oatmeal cinnamon (using Deb Wheaton's oats from 
The first of many upcoming blog posts featuring exciting things for the gluten-free folk like me, this post features homemade soda, coconut ice cream, farm fresh veggies, home grown sweet potatoes and homemade pumpkin doughnut drops!
Jon and I have a Sunday morning tradition: pancakes. This Sunday, however, I'll be on a plane to DrupalCon Chicago, so we decided to do our pancake "date" this fine Saturday morning instead. We usually make our favorite gluten-free/dairy-free buckwheat pancakes, but this morning we decided to be more inventive and attempt for something more classic. The result? Classic style pancakes made with a blend of coconut and potato flours!
Ever since my scrumptious discovery of 