Zucchini Lasagne | Gluten Free

I love lasagne.  It’s bubbly cheesy goodness, it’s wonderfully savory sauce and all of its hearty comfort. Italian food feels very comforting to me.  When I was sick, my Dad would always make me pastina with butter and cheese or lentil soup with pasta shells.  My Italian grandmother is also a mean cook!  Her lasagne actually has meatballs inside of it.  Does that sound amazing?  Yup.  Yup, it is.

Ever since becoming gluten free, I have not had this wonderful dish.  I couldn’t find the motivation to create it with rice or corn or quinoa noodles.  I felt like it would be a disappointment, and might turn out to be the mushy counterpart to my Grandmother’s lasagne.  Don’t get me wrong, I do indulge in gluten free pasta now and then, and it can be quite tasty, but it can also be finicky and unfriendly. […]

Cheesy Cauliflower Bake

 When the seasons start to change, and the weather starts to shift, I find myself going into hibernation mode. I nest. I start to do things like organize weird, neglected cabinets in the house and bake pumpkin scones. I want to be comfortable and warm and cozy.  I want to stuff my face with cheese and starch.  I want to break out my husbands over-sized, fleece sweatpants and make them acceptable to wear in public.  Let’s redefine sexy.  Right? This probably won’t happen, but I am still hoping.  Hey, Pajama Jeans happened, and no one saw that coming.  There’s  a chance.

I am off topic. […]

Baked Risotto With Mushrooms, Sausage and Kale

Risotto has always been a finicky and time consuming dish for me.  No matter how much I dote over it, how much liquid I add, how much love I put into it, it never really tastes like that creamy bowl of wonderful that you order off of a restaurant menu.  It’s fussy.  I’m not so much into fussy, especially if the outcome can be kind of lackluster.   I had written myself off as the kind of gal that would not make a risotto.  It’s fine.  I’ll make pasta.
This all changed when I found this recipe from Joy the Baker.  Did you know that you can make risotto in the oven?  I didn’t.  It’s so low fuss, you will not even know what to do with your extra time.  Relax your stirring arm.  Have a glass of wine.  Kick up your heels and watch that last 30 minutes of Dawson’s Creek.  ( Don’t pretend you aren’t watching it.  It is currently on Netflix.  Do it. You will be dazzled by all of the Union Bay duds.  The dream of the 90’s is strong with The Creek.) […]

Grammie’s Beef Stew | Gluten Free

If someone mentions making beef stew in my family, you are often met with song.
I was raised around my mother’s side of the family–a fantastically tight knit bunch of Hawaiians that love to get together hang out, talk story and feed each other.  Leave it to the Hawaiians to have a song about stew and kimchee and shoyu… but, we do.  It is a very catchy song too!
Don’t believe me, here you go… Hang in there, I know that it sounds like two Hawaiian guys just jamming out and singing something lovely, but wait until the English verse kicks in.  You’ve been duped.  It’s about food. […]