Nutty Date Bars

We were on the lookout for a good on-the-go breakfast item when Mr. He Cleans ran across an Alton Brown recipe for Seedy Date Bars. The name of the recipe, I have to admit, is awesome just by itself – but not as awesome as the tasty and healthy ingredient list. Well, of course I… Continue reading Nutty Date Bars

My Gluten-free All-purpose Flour Blend and Lemony Pound Cake

Gluten-free baking is a real challenge, so much that there are shelves full of cookbooks devoted to turning out baked goods that, hopefully, aren’t dry, crumbly, dense, starchy, greasy, gummy or tasting of cardboard.  The truth is, gluten-free flours just don’t act like wheat flour – it’s not in their chemistry.  In most circumstances, you… Continue reading My Gluten-free All-purpose Flour Blend and Lemony Pound Cake

Peach Upside-Down Cake (Gluten Free)

What can I say? We inadvertently took a six month sabbatical from blogging, but we never took a break from cooking, eating well, and listening to great music.  Thanks to you all that have continued to follow us anyway – – we hope to get back into the swing of this. There will be some… Continue reading Peach Upside-Down Cake (Gluten Free)

Banana Date Walnut Bread (grain-free)

Faced with rapidly blackening bananas in the fruit bowl, I turned to the ever-popular means of using them up…banana bread.  My old recipe for banana bread used wheat flour, but thankfully these non-yeast breads adapt well to using almond flour. The other big change in this recipe is the lack of processed sugar.  After 3… Continue reading Banana Date Walnut Bread (grain-free)

Lemon Bars (gluten and grain-free, dairy-free)

Lemon bars seem to be a nice, light dessert, with their innocent-looking sweet tartness and summery color.  However if you spend anytime browsing recipes, you know that they are evil – usually full of sugar and flour (up to 3 cups of sugar in a small pan)!  I had written them off, until I came… Continue reading Lemon Bars (gluten and grain-free, dairy-free)

Strawberry “Pink and White” Cream Cheese Pie

Our CSA box from Rise ‘N Shine Organic Farms has been bountiful in the strawberry department.  So far we’ve netted around 9 pints of perfectly ripe, beautiful berries.  After eating lots of strawberries in salads, and just by themselves, I decided to make one of those old-fashioned cream cheese, whipped cream, and strawberry pies.  Browsing… Continue reading Strawberry “Pink and White” Cream Cheese Pie

Cashew “Cheesecake” (gluten-free, dairy-free)

This isn’t the sort of thing I usually do.  With my fondness for all dairy products, I’ve never seen the need to try to make substitutions, but the idea of this raw cheesecake made from cashews piqued my curiosity.  It was hard to imagine that soaked raw nuts could be turned into anything comparable to… Continue reading Cashew “Cheesecake” (gluten-free, dairy-free)

Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding (gluten-free)

On special days at my grandmother’s house, there was a giant glass bowl, much bigger than my head, filled nearly to the brim with layer upon layer of vanilla wafers, bananas, and creamy pudding.  The crowning glory to this masterpiece was the ocean of meringue topping, with swooping waves and curls that were just barely… Continue reading Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding (gluten-free)

Crème Brûlée

Modified from Bon Appétit After my last episode of playing with fire in the kitchen, you might be surprised to see me back in there with a blowtorch.  Rest assured, nothing was engulfed in flames! This is my go-to recipe for crème brûlée that I found on Epicurious years ago.  I’ve since modified it to… Continue reading Crème Brûlée

Fluffy Coconut Flour Pancakes (gluten-free and grain-free)

Recipe from Nourishing Days Mr. “He Cleans” requested pancakes for breakfast this weekend, and I was happy to give them a try. I haven’t made pancakes since we went gluten-free and I wasn’t too sure how they would turn out.  My experience with almond flour is that it holds up pretty good unless you get… Continue reading Fluffy Coconut Flour Pancakes (gluten-free and grain-free)

Gluten-free Carrot Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

We had a JAWS (Blu-Ray) viewing party over the weekend, so I made these tiny carrot cakes.  I can’t think of a thing to tie these events together, so I guess I fail at theme parties. Incredible taste aside, my favorite thing about carrot cake is the interesting texture.  The recipe is so forgiving, you… Continue reading Gluten-free Carrot Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Fudgy Chipotle Brownies (Grain-free, Gluten-free)

Most nights, we treat ourselves to a small square of dark chocolate for dessert.  It is not too guilty of  a pleasure, since dark chocolate is packed with cell-protecting antioxidants, known to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.  Of course, that is  exactly what I’m thinking about as I savor my portion and… Continue reading Fudgy Chipotle Brownies (Grain-free, Gluten-free)

Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee

Modified from Bon Appetit (March 1996), via epicurious.com Isn’t it some sort of rule that you must indulge in chocolate on Saint Valentine’s Day?  If not, there should be!  Indulge we did, in this rich, dark chocolate crème brûlée.  Under the thin, crackly layer of caramelized sugar lies a dense but creamy chocolate-truffle-like pudding.  Not… Continue reading Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee