By: Kimberly

by Kimberly

Football Food

Okay, here’s a confession. I love the Super Bowl. Not just for the commercials. The food, the friends, and, actually the football. But maybe mostly the food. We’re having a small game-day gathering here, with plenty of noshing for all. We relax, put out some coloring pages and race cars for the little ones, and munch munch much through the entire game. Our game day  menu has to meet some special requirements, like being gluten-free and totally delicious. Also? Easy to fix, serve and eat. Bonus points for being extra good for you.

My go-to is guacamole with a pile of blue-corn tortilla chips. I have just a few ground rules for this. It should be fresh, chunky, and should not ever ever contain mayo or sour cream or anything like unto such. Never. Got it? Now we can begin.

Start with 2-4 Avocados. Rather firm but yielding to gentle pressure . If the skin feels loose or squishy, toss ‘em. Then get on with the rest of the flavor party like so:

Juice of 1-2 fresh limes or 1 lemon. I prefer lime, but lemon is what I had today.

2-3 green onions

Fresh Cilantro

Kosher Salt to taste… >> find out more…

Kimberly

...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.

by Kimberly

Trader Joe's, I love you.

Friends, the first ever Trader Joe’s in my state opened shop a few weeks ago. Never mind that it’s still a good hour’s drive away from me. I’m still ga-ga for it. To say that I went a little crazy on my first visit would be quite accurate. I was even snapping pics with my phone, so giddy was I. It’s a mecca for the food-sensitive patron or all-around snack hound or conscientious consumer. So many gluten-free goodies to tempt, where shall I start?

Tossed with favorite veggies or sauce and dinner is D-O-N-E. No worries.

Always a good idea to keep mixes like this on hand, for cub scout meetings, sleepovers, breakfast…dont’ you eat brownies for breakfast?

Last box anywhere in the store. Mine. All mine.

I’m a leader in the Udi’s Gluten Free community, a great place to learn more about life without gluten. Live chats, recipes, wise words of wisdom and so on. Join us for a Live Chat Thursday, January 9th! 

 … >> find out more…

Kimberly

...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.

by Kimberly

Make-Ahead-Smoothies

During a recent on-line chat, I mentioned one of my quick breakfast solutions, gluten-free, for busy mornings: Make ahead smoothies. The greatness here isn’t so much in the ingredients, but rather in freezing individual portions en masse, and using as needed. Busy morning ahead? Place the frozen smoothies in the fridge the night before and come morning, it’s ready to enjoy. Wholesome breakfast, minimal cleanup! We enjoy them year-round, whenever we’ve got to rush out the door for school, work, skiing, swimming, travel–with all the healthy things in one tasty shot.

We’ve shared other great smoothies here and here, but they haven’t been tested with this make-ahead method. To make-ahead, I usually fill my blender with greek yogurt, a splash of almond milk , organic nut butter, ground flax or oats, cocoa powder and  mostly-frozen bananas (using frozen seems to improve the texture of the smoothie). Then whirr, whirr, whirr until it looks just right.  After that it’s simply a matter of pouring into freezer containers (these are just right for individual portions) which can then be frozen for later, or enjoyed immediately.

My kids’ all-time favorite is the pb-banana-chocolate, though banana-orange-berry and banana-mango-pineapple are tied for … >> find out more…

Kimberly

...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.

by Kimberly

Christmas Treats, Gluten-Free

For some reason I feel like these festive little treats are rather retro. Maybe because my mother made them for our family and friends every December for years and years, from the time I was very small. And we loved her for it. A little crunchy, a little gooey, sweet, and of course bright green. As were our tongues after chowing down on a couple of these little cuties. At one time, I probably thought that was hilarious.  For years I’ve tried tracking down a recipe that was as good as hers (there are several that are very similar) and with a few modifications this one below came closest. And guess what? They’re gluten-free all on their own.

Christmas Wreath Treats (aka Holly Crackles)

What You’ll Need:
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 30-36 large marshmallows (a 10-ounce bag contains 38 to 40)
  • 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons green food color (be generous for best color)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 cups cornflakes cereal (I suggest a scant 4 cups for a well-coated finished product. Today I used 4 cups exactly and the gooey-ness didn’t go as far as I’d like)
  • Red-hot cinnamon candies, for decorating
What To Do:
  1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and marshmallows

… >> find out more…

Kimberly

...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.

by Kimberly

Thanksgiving Desserts, GF Edition

And now for my other favorite Thanksgiving category: dessert. Dessert, dear dear wonderful desserts. No less wonderful because they are gluten-free. I’m pretty darn thankful the gluten-free wiz kids of the internet have shared some amazing recipes with the world. These look like all around show-stoppers. Maybe you should just serve all three. Save yourself the problem of having to choose, what with all the coconut and apple and almond…

>> Read More

Kimberly

...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.

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by Kimberly

Thanksgiving Menu, GF Edition

Planning a holiday menu while taking into consideration the special diet concerns of each guest along with remembering everyone’s favorites can make a girl dizzy! Dizzy dizzy. Maybe even cranky. We simply can’t have it.

Maybe you are hosting the big day this year? Maybe you’re a guest and want to contribute. You’re gluten free but your host isn’t? Your guests are gluten free but you aren’t?  Fear not. I’ve been pinning Thanksgiving options like mad. Here are a few that look especially marvelous, for those eating gluten-free or not. We’ll start with my 1 of my 2 favorite Thanksgiving categories: Side dishes. I could skip the turkey altogether and just feast on side dishes. Happily. And every one of these possibilities has plenty of wow factor.

 Udi’s Stuffing

 Baked Butternut Squash with Parmesan & Sage

   Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

 

Here’s a tip: just don’t tell any skeptical kinfolk it’s “special” or “vegan” or “gluten-free” and they won’t notice anything but the delicious.

I’m a leader in the Udi’s Gluten Free community, a great place to learn more about life without gluten. Live chats, recipes,

… >> find out more…

Kimberly

...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.

by Kimberly

Doing gluten-free for a friend

So, around these parts, there is a distinct sense of community. If  a neighbor has a baby, illness, endures a life changing crisis or just has a crappy week,  someone else magically, and mercifully, shows up on the doorstep with dinner or treats. A generous token of friendship and charity. I know, because I’ve been the recipient of such kindness a time or two or 16.  A little network of angels banding together to take care of one another. It takes a village, you know. Maybe your neighborhood is the same?

I like to return the favor whenever I can, but, what to do for someone with special diet concerns? Such a dilemma! Changing my own diet drastically has made me more sensitive to others’ eating habits, like being gluten-free.

tomato salad

If you aren’t sure, just ask. Most people, me included, are happy to explain what is and isn’t safe for their family to eat and will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Allergies? Special diets? I want to take something they will be able to enjoy, after all. Many moons ago I once was asked, with 2 hours notice, to prepare a dinner for a family of 6 that did not eat meat, … >> find out more…

Kimberly

...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.

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by Kimberly

Winner! Pick Your Plum Giveaway

***UPDATE: Our winner is #27 Steph! Send us an email ASAP so your prize can get sent off to you! 

Thanks everyone who entered!

 

Mmmm. It’s nice and crisp outside, a teensy bit of chill to the air, coziness now mandatory. And with all that coziness I’m rather jonesing for some craftiness. I’d love a suprpise bundle of inspiration from Pick Your Plum to get me started. A mystery package of supplies and doo-dads for some swanky projects sent right to my door. But guess what? Pick Your Plum wants to give away some crafty love to one of our readers! A “Plum” (package) of creative inspiration and goodies worth $100. Every “Plum” is a surprise, each one is a little different from the next, but each promises to include all the fixins for a handful of great seasonal projects.

For example (not promising this is what’s coming to you, but you get the idea):

 And my favorite of the bunch is….well, who could choose? Go ahead and enter the giveaway and see what comes your way! Entries accepted until Midnight, Friday, October 19th. Mountain Time.  Please, please  remember to include a link to your contact info so we can contact … >> find out more…

Kimberly

...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.

by Kimberly

Halloween Treats, Gluten-Free Edition

Oh, there are so many completely awesome halloween goodies to be making right now.  I’m pretty jazzed about the super cool gluten-free options out there, perfect for making things festive and yummy for my kiddos this month. This is one of my favorites. Practically idiot proof. Adorable. Wouldn’t your munchkins be thrilled to find one of these in their lunchbox?

So tell me, what are your favorite gluten-free Halloween goodies? I’m a leader in the Udi’s Gluten Free community and I’d love to know! Join us for a live chat on October 9th right over here.
.… >> find out more…

Kimberly

...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.