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| This hot artichoke dip is worthy of a party. Gluten-free and vegan yum. |
I wasn't sure I had another recipe post in me -- before the year of 2010 turns into a pumpkin and rolls backward into the past. I thought I was going out with a year-end Top Ten Gluten-Free Recipes post, catching up with all you gluten-free lovelies again in 2011. I thought I was done. Spent. Empty as a pocket, to quote a certain singer-songwriter
. So much for assumptions.Turns out my fevered brain wasn't done with 2010. It spun off in party mode as soon as I heard that my oldest son was officially engaged. He popped the question with true romantic flare. On a wine train. In the rain. In Napa Valley. And she said yes. The ring fit. People on the train applauded. It doesn't get much better than this. To witness your son's heart. Blooming.
Your misty-eyed gluten-free goddess is going to be a mother-in-law.
And so. The year closes. I make a mug of chamomile tea and reflect upon the deepest joys of motherhood, turning their myriad facets toward the window light above the kitchen sink stacked with breakfast plates, cups, and spoons. Learning to love with open arms and a tender opinion, unconditional. This floats to the top of all other joys. The thick cream of it. A layered, rich reward. To love a son expands your heart beyond measure. To see him love, and inspire love, is the most beautiful working of magic.
Don't you think?
GET THE RECIPE ...
. Do I dare leap into the scuffle and pluck ten gluten-free recipes as the year's best? And if so -- just how, exactly -- does one choose the golden top ten? The best of the best. Do I do 
and take deadly aim at the trash bin.]
and Sunday. Brad and Angie. Milk and cookies. I was imagining a tea bread that might work for gluten-free French toast, you see. The sort of breakfast you'd like to wake up to on Christmas morning. Something warm with melting butter and cozy cinnamon. Something festive. Special. Not your average grab-on-the-go with coffee nosh. A gluten-free bread worthy of a holiday. That's how it all started. When it dawned me. Cranberry bread. Why not? It's simple. And not too sweet. It flirts magically with maple syrup. So I started daydreaming about the tart little berry that is a bog's ruby jewel. 
hung, right?
- er, I mean, quinoa. Studded with nutty, buttery chick peas and crunchy toasted pecans and succulent jewels of ripe, juicy pears. And did I mention, in a bowl licking maple vinaigrette?
if I told you any gluten-free pie crust
I ever ate was worthy of the filling.
. Sometimes I make fruit crumbles in a glass pie plate
. This way, it even (sort of) resembles a pie. If you squint.
and invoke your inner Domestic Goddess. Because the groovy-spooky Fall Equinox is right around the corner, I am sorry to tell you. Summer fun is fading fast, Sweetpea. Your tan lines are disappearing.
are calling.
and pool party napkins. Get ready to retire the flamingo adorned lemonade pitcher (unless you happen to live in Boca Raton). Snake your way into the back dark corner of your kitchen closet. Liberate the Bundt® pan
you haven't used since Ground Hog Day.
Bisquick mix I bought this week. I imagined a golden topped biscuity crust you could sink your teeth into, a melt-in-your-mouth forkful of shortcake, dripping with warm and sticky-sweet juice. 
) baked into what can only be described as yesterday's mashed potatoes. It didn't even try to turn golden. And it didn't melt in your mouth like a biscuit. It just sat there on your tongue. Flavorless. Bored. Expecting to be admired without effort. Like those fame junkies
who are famous for simply being famous. They haven't actually accomplished anything to garner their celebrity status. They just nurture a deeper narcissistic ambition than your average high school beauty queen. They expect adulation because they exist.
entities.
. And sure, I know. The argument is, It's all good. Any awareness is positive (even though the gluten-free diet may be in danger of losing street cred because of its faddish status with actresses who subscribe to its hyped promise of weight loss).
white rice flour and starch blend, perhaps?). G-free mixes and packaged foods use predominately refined white rice flour and inexpensive starches. A glut of empty calories.
and almond flour
. Gluten-free cornmeal
and buckwheat
. Our baking isn't dull or crumbly, dry, or without pizazz. Our flour choices reflect a preference for taste, texture and higher nutrition. And I think we're smarter than the average consumer.
advises). I'll focus on my own gluten-free flour blends and eating whole foods daily.
. Strictly amateur. A bagel this isn't. The culprit? The white bread flour mix. It's weak. A bagel isn't supposed to be fluffy. It's not a cloud. 
