Happy Cupcakes~

Ever just have a day when you feel like baking cupcakes? I do. You see, I've been recovering from yet another bout with gluten poisoning that took place last week at a restaurant in Seattle. Such a bummer, because Seattle has always been bit like my "gluten-free Mecca," offering such a vast variety of safe foods cooked by chefs who know what hell they are doing. Ignorance happens. The life of a Celiac...but I digress. The point of this blog post is to reflect upon tasty little cupcakes I baked the other night, inspired by the longing for batter I couldn't quite eat yet, and a need to be creative, using my beautiful oven and new Breville hand mixer!

The more time I spend in my kitchen, pouring through foodie magazines, or blogs the happier I become. It's a really good time to love food in this country. The sheer abundance of informative, creative and exciting cooking ideas flooding the Internet and pleasing the eye on glossy pages splattered with divine looking dishes, just waiting to be introduced to each of us, is stupendous and overwhelming...in a good way, of course. It's also a lot of fun to try new recipes and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Baking little cupcakes to ease a week of being "glutened" doesn't really make sense, does it. I mean, when you can't really eat and your head is foggy how does one find inspiration blending flours and standing in a kitchen waiting for a tasty treat that cannot yet be enjoyed, due to the violent bulldozing of little villi? Well, call me strange or just understand that there's a peace for me that comes from creating anything in my kitchen to share with others or for myself...but sharing is way more fun.

My little montage of photos in honor of delish vanilla cupcakes with lemon curd is intended to be shared and passed along. It's a super easy recipe that you'll find on Bob's Red Mill vanilla cake mix. The lemon curd is a favorite of mine found at Trader Joe's.

What's better than handing someone a sweet little treat baked with love and good ingredients?

Vanilla Lemon Curd Cupcakes ~

Loving my new Breville hand mixer

Yes, I cheated and used good old Bob's GF mix

I love this lemon curd from Trader Joe's ~ a dollop will do ya'

Pop them in the oven...

Voila! Happy cupcakes for all

GF Pizza Night~ A Photo Tutorial

The food that I've missed the most since going gluten-free in 2000 is....PIZZA!! Not the typical gluten-free pizza in a box, found in the Whole Foods freezer...no no...a real, cheesy, thick or thin crust, hot out of the oven, make-you-salivate kind of pizza that you find in Rome or New York or...good old Pinky's Pizza in Walnut Creek,CA (which sadly,has now closed) where I grew up. That's the kind of wheat-filled pizza I'm talking about, my friends!

Okay, somebody slap me - I've regressed to my previous life. Excuse me.

I still have years of wonderful memories stored in my heart and mind focused around eating at various pizza parlors all over the Bay Area. While growing up, they served as staple meal locations - after soccer games, little league victories, golf tourneys, horse shows and birthday parties. Pizza equaled friends, fun and a night out! So, I hang onto those lovely days past and the aroma of goodness that still fills my senses.

Now, this is not intended to be a sad, walk-down-memory-lane kind of a post - because the good news is, a very delicious and successfully baked gluten-free pizza was created in my very own kitchen last week...almost as good as Pinky's.

I've tried many of the GF frozen crusts that you can buy at certain grocery stores or on line, and as I've blogged before, I've also found two pizza restaurants in San Diego that bake up a mean GF pizza. But baking one from scratch, in your own kitchen, in your own oven, with love and careful preparation, is really quite fun and rewarding...if it works!

I've baked pizzas from scratch with the numerous flours (usually required) during various GF baking classes that I've taken over the years, but putting all the ingredients together and praying it works out in your own oven is a different story -Well, fear be gone! After the first try that turned out quite well, I'm ready to go back in the kitchen this weekend for more.

Follow along with this photo essay/tutorial and then bake your own!


After the dough is mixed, it's important to spread it evenly and as we discovered, not too thick in the middle, in a 13" diameter


Next...use your favorite GF pasta/pizza sauce and spread around on to the dough, adding a bit more sauce in the middle.


Now the fun begins...load up your toppings, layer by layer (this pizza included GF ham slices, artichoke hearts, sliced zucchini, fresh-chopped green onions, spinach and fresh-grated mozzarella)


After baking in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes, Voila! The finished product ~

This delicious and healthy pizza was so easy and contains half the fat grams of the prepared, frozen variety. It's a fun project you could do with children, for a fun night of cooking with friends (don't forget the wine) or anytime you are longing for the food that satisfies and conjures up delicious memories, while making new ones.

The recipe that was chosen for last week's inaugural effort came from Bette Hagman's GF Cookbook, The Gluten-Free Gourmet.

Quick and easy pizza crust -

Serves 6

- 1/2 Cup milk

- 2 Large eggs

- 1/3 Cup of cornstarch

- 2/3 Cup rice flour

- 1/4 Teaspoon of guar gum

- 1 Teaspoon salt

- 1/4 Cup of olive oil

Beat the milk and eggs together. Add the flours, guar gum and salt. Mix in the olive oil.

Spread onto a greased 9" x 13 " pan or pizza stone or (as I did) spread with a spatula in a 12-inch circle about 1/4 inch thick - leave a thicker crust around the edges/outside of the circle to keep the sauce and cheese from running over onto the pan.

Spread sauce evenly over the unbaked crust and top with your favorite toppings.

Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with a simple salad, tossed in olive oil and vinegar and you have the perfect meal.

Mangia Mangia!!

First Day of Spring -

It's Friday and it is also the first day of spring!! So I thought it was a perfect day to share these beautiful photos of the ocean that I took last weekend from a beach and a certain bench in Del Mar, CA -

The ocean is so amazing to me and delivers such a sense of peace and a big dose of humility, all rolled up in one perfect, crashing wave. The sound of the surf is truly what brings me the most peace and sense of gratitude.

Enjoy the peace that comes from these photos and enjoy the first weekend of spring 2009!






Also, if you happen to be in Carlsbad, CA anytime soon...you MUST stop by Jimbo's Market on Calle Barcelona and treat yourself to some truly delicious and wonderful gluten-free baked goods...like raspberry and blueberry scones, chocolate/vanilla cupcakes and a divine piece of strawberry cheesecake that I'm still savoring bite by bite...the baker at that Jimbo's location, Sarah, is classically trained and very knowledgeable on gluten-free baking and the process of non-gluten contamination in the kitchen .

Gluten Free Goodies - A Baking Class

Well, it's almost holiday time and that means the ever-impending onslaught and mass abundance of goodies and sweets that begin to appear in all corners of the office, at social gatherings and everywhere in between. For Celiacs, the holidays do seem to pose their share of hidden dangers and holiday blues, especially because eating anything "mainstream" is on the no-no list...but have no fear, the answer is here...well, that is if you live in the Reno, Nevada area.

Whole Foods Market in Reno (and I'm sure all over the nation - check with YOUR local market) is offering a "Gluten Free: Savory and Sweet"(Hands-on)baking class this Friday, November 14th from 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m., in their Culinary Center located at 6139 So. Virginia St. They are charging $25 per person which includes all instruction and baking materials/ingredients.

The evening class promises to make "sweet" dreams come true, as the culinary staff will be guiding us through the steps of how to bake a Black Bottom Cake with Cherry Compote, Cheddar Cheese Scones and delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies - now what Celiac could pass that up - not I!

For more information or to sign up call (775) 852-8023 or email: stacey.wittek@wholefoods.com

See you there - and 'tis the Season!