Shrimp Sauté with Thyme Grits

Makes : 4 servings | Breakfast/Brunch , Main Dishes Dairy Free

I’ll never forget my first experience with grits. I suspect Southerners taste grits right around their first birthday, but I was a full-fledged adult, enjoying brunch with friends in New York City, when the urge struck. Never one to enjoy true breakfast food after about 8 a.m., I opted for the shrimp and grits, the most savory sounding dish on the menu. The first bite was a revelation: creamy yet textured grits, rich from copious amounts of butter and cheese, punctuated with bits of chopped garlicky shrimp. But it was the poached egg with its […]

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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 […]

Soba Noodles with Asparagus and Salsa Verde

Makes : 2 main dish or 4 side dish servings | Main Dishes , Salads/Sides Dairy Free

I have to admit, buckwheat soba was rarely a go-to ingredient for me before I started eating gluten free, but I’ve since changed my tune. Soba’s toothsome bite and bold flavor may be a tad overwhelming for some, but it’s exactly those traits that lured me to the buckwheat camp. Made from buckwheat flour (a gluten-free food, despite the “wheat” in its name), the brown noodles have a hearty chew and a hint of nuttiness. Soba tastes great hot, room temperature, or chilled, but because the noodles have a distinctive flavor, I either keep the […]

Moroccan Lentil and Garbanzo Bean Soup

Makes : 6 servings | Soups/Stews Dairy Free , Soups/Stews , Vegan , Vegetarian

I always keep a number of beans and lentils around the house as an inexpensive source of protein and an invaluable addition to my gluten-free larder. Dried beans can take several hours to cook, making them unlikely candidates for a last-minute dinner, but lentils are another story. Most lentils cook quickly, usually in about 30 minutes. Brown or green lentils seem to be most commonly available, and they are perfect for soups. I adore black “beluga” lentils and French green lentils (Vertes du Puy), which are more likely found in specialty markets. These varieties hold […]