Yee-haw!

It's about Rodeo time around here....

These cookies are pretty simple, only using one food coloring (Spectrum Chocolate Brown) mixed up in light and dark. The silver accents, stars and spurs, are made with silver lustre dust mixed with vodka and brushed on dried, piped white icing. Click here for more details on lustre dust.

These look really cute bagged and tied with a red & white checked ribbon. Giddy Up!

Stuffed Peppers with Ground Turkey

Ground turkey stuffed peppers with roasted corn and goat cheese.

How to stuff a pepper? Let me count the ways. Tonight's recipe is easy on the gluten-free budget- with a ground turkey filling. Spice it up with chipotle or make it Italian style with basil and oregano. It's all good.

This week has been sunny, cloudy, wet and windy here in the desert. All mixed up. Spring is definitely in the air. Flocks of cranes and geese echo their cocktail party conversation off the walls of Black Mesa, flying north. I hear them as I type. They are a noisy gaggle.

We're still lighting fires in the kiva at night. And still craving comfort food. I had three gorgeous bell peppers on hand- yellow, orange and green. I knew what had to be done. I poured myself a glass of red.

It was time to stuff a vegetable.

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Gluten-Free Spanish Rice Bake

Gluten free Spanish rice recipe is easy and delicious
Like Spanish rice? Try using brown rice and kick up the nutrition.

One of the more popular recipe searches here at Gluten-Free Goddess is brown rice. And why not? It's naturally gluten-free. It's an excellent grain choice for the Mediterranean Diet and the South Beach Diet. It's good source of fiber for both sensitive tummies and hearty omnivore appetites. And it's a complementary protein for earthy vegan tastes.


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Colors

Doing a little reshuffling of cookie supplies and I just liked seeing all of the food coloring bottles snuggled together. (These are all AmeriColor & Spectrum colors.)

Ratatouille On Broiled Polenta with Baby Greens

Ratatouille. Yum.

My ratatouille recipe is more postmodern than traditional. But that's why you come here, right? Back in the day when your intrepid GFG was way more geek than goddess (read more high school nostalgia here) ratatouille was one of those popular vegetarian recipes every fledgling Molly Katzen inspired veg-head was stirring up. It was ubiquitous. So when the craze for it hit blogs last year (due to a certain animated movie) I was unmoved to jump on the ratty bandwagon. To me it was so, I don't know. Retro? Old school? Ho-hum?

But wait.

Retro can be fun. And what do I have against eggplant? Um. Nothing. Flash forward to New Mexico, February 2008. Ratatouille simmers in a thick iron skillet. Tasty goodness ensues.

And by the way- the aforementioned film? It's nominated for five Oscars. Stay tuned tonight.

Ratatouille Recipe On Broiled Polenta with Baby Greens

I'll be honest here. My ratatouille changes. (Shocking, I know!) It's never the same recipe twice. This latest incarnation features sliced Baby Bellas instead of zucchini. And olives instead of additional peppers. I served it on a bed of broiled polenta and baby greens drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. If you'd like to make more of a traditional ratatouille with squash, see my links below.

Leftover ratatouille can be chilled, then served at room temperature the next day, or reheated. It also makes a snappy appetizer. Process it a bit to make it into a spread. Serve it on triangles of grilled bread (gluten-free, of course).

For my version you'll need:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large sweet onion, chopped (or two mediums)
4 Japanese eggplants, cut into cubes (or 2 globe eggplants)
2 heaping cups Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
1 large bell pepper, any color, cored, seeded, chopped
1 14-oz can fire roasted tomatoes (I chose Muir Glen with green chiles for extra heat)
1/2 cup light broth
1/2 cup green or black olives, sliced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2-3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1-2 teaspoons dried basil
1-2 teaspoons dried Italian Herbs (marjoram, thyme, oregano, rosemary)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

For serving:

Cooked polenta (make your own polenta- see below; or use a pre-made roll of your favorite organic polenta)
A bag of crisp baby greens
Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Optional garnish: crumbles of goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large oven-proof skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the garlic and onion; stir and cook for five minutes. Add the eggplant, mushrooms and pepper; stir and cook for five minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, olives, balsamic vinegar, parsley, herbs, sea salt and ground pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a high simmer.

Set the skillet in the oven and roast the veggies for about 30 minutes, until the veggies are very tender. Stir half way through.

In the meantime, prepare your polenta.

Note: If using a roll of polenta, slice the roll into 1/2 inch slices and place in a broiler pan. Brush with olive oil and season with sea salt and ground pepper. Place the pan into the oven and set the temperature to broil; broil until sizzling and slightly browned.

To make the polenta:

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Polenta
4 1/2 cups light broth
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

You can also add chopped fresh herbs or grated cheese or non-dairy cheese, such as Daiya Italian style, f desired.

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, bring the broth to a high simmer and pour the cornmeal into the simmering broth in an even, steady stream, whisking as you go. Keep stirring. When the polenta has thickened and is pulling away from the sides of the pot a bit, add in herbs or shredded cheese and season with sea salt and pepper, to taste. This takes about 20 minutes, or so. Remove the pot from the heat.

If you make your polenta ahead of time, you have the option of spooning it evenly into a pie plate or cake pan and letting it cool. This makes a firm polenta you can later slice into wedges and broil (see instructions above for preparing the rolled polenta).

To serve:

Arrange baby greens on four plates. Drizzle with good olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Add polenta in the center. Top with the ratatouille.

For those doing cheese, scatter crumbles of goat cheese on top. I didn't add cheese, of course, and to be (again) honest, I didn't miss it one bit.

Serves 4.


Susan's Roasted Ratatouille at Fatfree Vegan Kitchen




Cappuccino Brownies

Vegan
Cinnamon, coffee and chocolate make these brownies taste like a cappuccino.

Making a gluten-free brownie without eggs at high altitude is a nightmare. I kid you not. You try it. The damn batter never cooks- it sizzles and oozes and just when you can take it no longer, Dear Reader, you yank the unctuous mud out of the oven out of sheer boredom and disgust (they've been baking for what, three days now?) and you set them on the cooling rack only to watch them harden into what can only be described, I am sorry to tell you, as a slab of cement.

Brown cement.

Not even the coyotes would touch them.

And yes, I've tried the high altitude tricks. And no, I can't use silken tofu or flaxseed gel or mayonnaise (due to suspected food allergies). What I can do is persevere (here is where neurodiverse perseveration comes in handy). This time, it worked. Maybe it was the vegan Spectrum Organic Shortening. Or maybe it was the gluten-free vanilla powder. Who knows? All I know is this attempt (number, what? Fifteen, maybe?) is finally edible.

Not to mention, not half bad delicious.

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Deep in the HEART of Texas

There is just something fun about living in Texas. I didn't fully appreciate it until we moved out-of-state for a few years. While Alabama was beautiful and I'd move back in a heartbeat, I missed Texas. That's silly to miss a state, right? Texas isn't the most beautiful and I certainly could do without the humidity in the area where we live now, but I still somehow feel that Texas pride.


I think Lyle Lovett captures Texas in music so well....my absolute favorite is That's Right (You're Not From Texas) , but Texas wants you anyway...take a listen if you have time. What I love about Texas:

  • bluebonnets,
  • boots & jeans are acceptable attire just about anywhere,
  • the Astros,
  • my grocery store sells Texas-shaped tortilla chips and crackers,
  • driving down any country road, you are liable to get a "steering wheel wave" from every passing pick-up truck....you know what I'm talking about...the hand doesn't leave the top of the steering wheel, but the fingers go up, or you might just get a one-finger acknowledgement. No, not that finger...Texas is friendly! :)
  • Tex-Mex...in particular, Chuy's
  • beef , not pork, BBQ and the Lone Star Beer to go with it.

So, my husband left for work today with these Texas cookies for a few customers.



  1. Using a #2 or #3 tip, pipe the outline of Texas in white royal icing.

  2. Pipe a vertical line a little less than halfway across and then a horizontal line across the rest of the cookie to section off the areas of the flag.

  3. Thin blue, red and white icing to a syrup-like consistency and cover with a damp dishtowel. Let sit for several minutes. When ready to begin, stir gently with a rubber spatula and pour into a squeeze bottle. (Blue: AmeriColor Royal Blue with a drop of AmeriColor Navy, Red: Spectrum Super Red)

  4. Fill in the left half of the cookie in blue. Use a toothpick to guide into corners.

  5. Fill in top of cookie in white.

  6. Fill in bottom of cookie in red.

  7. Let dry for at least one hour.

  8. Change the tip on the un-thinned white icing to a #4. Pipe a star near the center of the blue section. If desired, lightly dampen finger and tap out any ridges in the star.

Here are a few more Texas cookies I've made over the years:

I love these yellow rose cookies. Someday, I need to learn the words to the "Yellow Rose of Texas".
These cookies were for one of my sister's best friend's weddings. The bluebonnets were drawn on with food coloring markers.

Easy Sesame Noodles, Solo

Quick and easy noodle soup

Find yourself bored with the usual PB and J on gluten-free bread? Tired of the same ole yogurt? Out of buckwheat waffles? Here is a lickity-split (not to mention, delicious!) hot lunch recipe. It's not even a recipe. More like an idea. Use leftover rice spaghetti and bagged washed baby greens, and you have an almost instant killer soup to slurp.

Budget friendly, simple, delicious.

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L-O-V-E: Cookie Exchange!

OK...look at this amazing cookie by Zoe's Sweets! I just LOVE it! Be sure to check out her other amazing heart and valentine cookies. They are too cute!

Forty-LOVE


We're heading off to my son's tennis class with these belated Valentine tennis cookies. I was picturing them cuter in my head :), but I think the kids will like them. I toyed with the idea of making pink racquets with red hearts and red racquets with pink hearts...you know, really valentine them up...but got vetoed by the boys around here. Next time, I'll bake first, ask questions later!

Those hearts are big heart sprinkles from Sur La Table. I just attached them with a little blob of royal icing (piping consistency) on the dried cookies.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! Here is a peek of one of the cookie designs I made for this year. I'm not sure why I've never made these hearts with dots before; they are really easy (will post instructions later.) Currently sharing a Peroni with my valentine and listening to our 9-year-old valentine play some keyboards. :)

Happy *heart* Day!

The Best Vegan Baked Mac & Cheese Recipe

The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese Recipe- Delicious Cheesy Uncheese Sauce by Karina

My favorite gluten-free mac and cheese is 
also vegan and dairy-free. Seriously.

Some folks do it up fancy for V-day. Lobster. Steak. Chocolate-dipped strawberries. Not us. This morning when I asked my husband what he wanted me to make for our Valentine's Day meal, he didn't hesitate.

Mac and cheese. You? he asked.

Mac and cheese, I answered.

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Meme!

Oh, Yay!!! I've been tagged by adorable Ema from Ema's Edible Experiments who has a yummy blog and her own personal lab rat! :)

So, here are the meme rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.


Five facts about me:


  1. I've been married for 11 years to this great guy who is a great taste-tester, cookie cutter maker (when I'm desperate) and wonderful dad. Did I mention he does the dishes? No, you can't have him! We have a 9-year-old son who is into Legos, computers, Animusic (don't get me started) and likes to run around in his underwear. :) He's pretty funny! Here we are just a few weeks ago at Epcot.

  2. I love cookbooks and cooking magazines! I can't get out of the library without scanning the cookbook aisle. Current library fines: $23.50...yep, $23!

  3. Celebrity crush....Bill Murray. How can you not love that face?!?!?

  4. Favorite movies...Grease, Love Actually, Spanglish, When Harry Met Sally and, most recently, Waitress.

  5. Favorite dessert...chocolate chip cookies! We used to go to a restaurant in Dallas, Kathleen's Art Cafe, that served a Hot Chocolate Chip Cookie in an individual baking dish, hot from the oven with a scoop of ice cream on top, heaven!

Now I tag:

Olive You!

I made these cookies last year inspired by a Valentine card I bought for my husband. This same sweet husband actually made the cutter as well because I couldn't find one that was "just right."


To make these Olive You Martinis....

  1. Outline martini glass design in white roayl icing using a #2 tip.
  2. Pipe a line across the top where the pink "drink" will end. (see picture)
  3. Thin white and pink icing to syrup-like consistency and cover with a damp dishtowel. Let sit, stir gently with a rubber spatula to pop air bubbles. (AmeriColor Deep Pink)
  4. Pour pink icing into a squeeze bottle and fill martini. Use a toothpick to spread into corners.
  5. Pour white icing into a squeeze bottle and fill in top of martini glass and bottom of stem. Use a toothpick to spread into corners.
  6. Let cookie set at least one hour.
  7. Using a #12 tip, pipe an olive/circle where the pink meets the white icing. (AmeriColor Avocado) If the olive ends up with a point on top, slightly dampen a finger and lighly tap to make more flat. (Too much water will change the color of the icing.)
  8. With a #1 tip, pipe a red heart in the center of each olive and make an arrow-shaped stir stick. (AmeriColor Super Red)

How To Make A Vegan Pesto

Vegan pesto is all about the herbs and nuts. You won't miss the cheese.

Making pesto is not an exact science. It's intuitive. And lucky for us- easy as pie. You can whip up a vegan pesto from any combination of herbs, nuts and oil that your little heart desires. You can use cilantro or basil. Or both. Or try a light and fresh combo of mint , basil and parsley. Choose pecans or walnuts. Or traditional pine nuts. Even hazelnuts.

Dairy-free sauce never packed so much flavor.

Pesto adds a big flavor boost to all kinds of recipes. Stir it into tomato sauce  just before serving. Or plop a dollop into a bowl of Italian soup. Add a spoonful to stew. Schmear some on croutons,  gluten-free toast and grilled cornbread. It's a fabulous base for pizza toppings.

You can also add pesto to roasted potato wedges and grilled vegetables. Stir it into polenta- or spread it on wedges of broiled polenta. It dresses up rice and risotto, pasta, noodles, and even grilled tortillas. It kicks up salad dressings and hummus.

For flexitarians, pesto is a bright, herby accent for grilled salmon, shrimp, and fish.  Not to mention, egg dishes. Pesto and huevos is a match made in ovo-lacto vegetarian heaven.

So even if pesto is considered passé by some, an eighties foodie fad gone by...do we care?

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Have a Heart

I love this scalloped heart cookie cutter! It's so versatile and perfect for Valentine's Day.





Yes, We Can



H O P E

V O T E

Gluten-Free Breakfast Cookies

Cookies? For breakfast? Here's an oatmeal recipe you'll love.

Even before I was diagnosed with multiple food allergies and had to give up my Huevos Diablo and Blue Corn Chip Frittata I used to eat blonde brownies for breakfast. And sometimes, a cookie. Or two. I admit it. And yes, I'm one of those sly individuals who adds semi-sweet chocolate chips to pancakes and says, Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants, right? (insert wide-eyed innocent look).

So those who know me well will not be surprised I've been tinkering with my tasty Breakfast Brownie recipe and transforming it into (don't ask don't tell) some fabulous c-o-o-k-i-e-s. And, Yep. With chocolate chips.

It just wouldn't be breakfast around here without chocolate.


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