Goodbye Gluten

Chocolate and peanut butter… what a magnificent combination. I don’t have the words to express how much I adore chocolate and peanut butter. Not wanting to wait for Halloween to satisfy my Reese’s craving, I decided to make a decadent chocolate cake with a peanut butter crumble. Now, this cake is made from a brownie recipe, but there is relatively less amount of flour compared to other bro...

Berry picking was a regular event I looked forward to every year when I lived in New Hampshire. I still remember the cold mornings where my friends and I would get up early and rush out of the house to get to the fields. It's a different kind of joy I get when I make dishes with hand-picked produce, and making something as simple as a smoothie feels like a big deal because I know exactly where my berries...

Gluten-free bread is the hardest type of bread to make. Making bread in general is a lengthy process, and making it gluten-free takes even more effort. Making sure you have the right proportions of flour to the liquid and ensuring that the resting and baking times are enough leaves a lot of room for error. With that being said, when it comes to cheese bread you have more flexibility because for an...

During our most recent restocking visit to the grocery store, we found a rather peculiar looking bread loaf. I went to have a closer look and found out that it was gluten free. Now whenever I see something gluten free I go on a crazy buying spree, and because of the current circumstances, the unnecessary buying has only gotten worse. The loaf was primarily made of finger millet, ragi in Kannada, w...

Do you want your coffee to be more than just a morning coffee? If so, look no further, for I have a guilt-free way to enrich the first drink of the day. Oat milk is the best alternative to regular milk, and it takes less than 15 minutes to make. Because oats absorb water more easily than nuts, when blended together, they produce rich and creamy milk that can be used as a substitute in almost any...

These stir-fried green beans are simple to make and they are packed with nutrition. Mixed with three different sauces, these beans make a delicious side to any Thai dish. Ever since school started, the routine has kicked in and we were having the same kind of meals every day. Wanting something a little more exciting than rice and dal, I scurried through the kitchen and found all the ingredients ...

The word Chat, in Hindi,  translates to “licking one’s fingers while eating”. Playing a big role in Indian cuisine, when going to an authentic Indian restaurant starting your meal without chat is a crime. Although chat is considered fast food it has numerous ingredients that make it moreish and keeps people coming back for more.  Chat makes me nostalgic because it brings back the times ...

We recently bought the Whynter stainless steel ice cream maker and it was probably the best investment we have ever made. I have already made a mango banana ice cream and a chocolate one.  Now that we have a machine that can pretty much turn any liquid into a creamy tub of goodness the possibilities are pretty much endless. I could literally pour chocolate milk into the thing and an hour later, boom w...

I have been baking for friends and family for a long time and recently my treats have been the talk of the neighborhood. I had been deliberating the start of a business for quite some time but it was merely an idea. A couple of days ago this idea was fueled by a request from my neighbor asking for a birthday cake for her son. I figured this was my calling and plunged right into the action.  Gro...

Gluten-free oatmeal cookies are hard to make and don’t always turn out the way I expect them to. I have made batches that are either way too hard or cooked to a crisp on the outside but still raw on the inside. After some digging and a sudden craving for these classic cookies, Carol Fenster’s oatmeal cookies are now my go-to recipe. This recipe has the perfect blend of flour and has the right p...

I experiment with dishes a lot and, while some of my attempts have been inedible, this one turned out to be a success. I started out thinking I was going to make spaghetti, but we didn’t have any marinara sauce so I had to improvise. Dry spaghetti seems easy enough but without the proper spices and measurements, it can taste like a spoon full of garlic. Dry Italian seasonings are the best for rec...

Bruschetta has always been a famous dish in my family. My mom watched the relentless efforts of Julie, from the movie Julie & Julia, a million times. Julie makes an original tomato bruschetta and inspired by that one scene, and fascinated by the “red plumpness” of the tomatoes, my mom started making bruschettas for us. Ever since, we have improvised and tweaked the dish to align with our t...

Despite the fact that I wake up noon, breakfast is still the most important meal of the day and  Elana Amsterdam’s chocolate chip scones are the perfect quick breakfast needed to jump-start the remainder of your day. This recipe is also a really good base for different types of scones. You can add fruit and different nuts to personalize them, but the simple chocolate chip is the best. Ingr...

Baked pasta is one of those dishes that is very customizable. There are endless varieties of sauces, cheeses, and veggies that you could use, but when I need a quick meal, I like to stick to the basics. Making regular pasta is very easy, but when baked, it adds a special flavor and melts the cheese in just the right way to form a soft crust over the pasta. Ingredients Penne pasta Marinara sauce Cheddar cheese Mushroo...

These brownie bites are one of my favorite treats to make because you can tweak and improvise on the filling and they will still come out just right. The possibilities wth this recipe are endless. For example, instead of a plain vanilla meringue, you could fold a couple of spoonfuls of your favorite fruit preserve into the meringue and add a little bit of extra tang to your filling. You can pretty...

Meringues are one of those simple treats that brings me so much joy. I remember when I was little, I spent hours watching Youtube videos of people making these delicate cookies. When I finally decided to give them a go, I was left with a puddle of egg and sugar. I messed up so bad and I was so disappointed that I didn’t try to make them for a very long time. After some time to heal, I gave it another chance and was ...

Lately, I’ve been making a lot of savory dishes. Even though sugar is the best thing in the entire world, this veggie tart is very, very good. Making gluten-free tarts scared me because, without the gluten, it’s hard to make a crust that holds its shape. After some research and digging, Elana Amsterdam’s almond flour savory tart recipe is the only recipe I will ever use for tart crusts. The outc...

Soups are one of those dishes that take no time at all. You can just throw some cooked veggies in a blender. I used to have this really amazing soup maker where you could put the vegetable you wanted and turn it on. It would saute, steam, and blend the ingredients and it would be ready in no time. Because it doesn't work anymore, I rarely make soups. Only because we had an abundance of carrots at ...

After going through multiple packs of the potato wraps I bought from Kroger, I thought I’d give them a go. To my surprise they turned out really well. The first couple of wraps were squishy on the inside but there were getting burnt on the outside. But I just added a little more flour and the key is to cook them for a longer time in a smaller flame. For the filling I just sautéed some vegetables...

These raspberry lemon bars are so simple to make because you just make the base and you can add basically any type of preserve. This recipe has an oat base which adds a crunch factor to the bars. If you want them super crunchy, bake them for a long time on a low heat. And using brown granulated sugar adds an extra crunch to the base. I usually find most raspberry jams a little too sweet, so in order...

I would like to think of this as my signature dish. Even though it is a simple vegetarian lasagna, I feel like I have perfected it. It is my go-to meal, whether I just want a nice dinner with family or if I have friends over. The key to the perfect lasagna is knowing your proportions, making sure you have enough sauce to cook the pasta and veggies and the right amount of cheese to form the perfect c...

My family has never been one for big parties or extravagant gatherings, but when we finally decide to have people over we make sure it is a night they won’t forget. My mom has found a sudden interest in hosting a Valentine's Day party for our close friends and she is insanely excited about it. From the decorations that are going to be hung from the ceiling to the tiny pink flags that will be placed ...

Next time you have overly ripe bananas you’ll definitely want to try this banana cake recipe. The banana cake comes out super moist, fluffy and is topped off with a generous dollop of thick maple cream cheese frosting. I love using bananas in my cakes because, in addition to adding sweetness, which can cut down the amount of sugar used, it also ensures that the cake is super moist and fluffy. ...

I went grocery shopping with my mom and I saw these gluten-free potato wraps. Gluten-free wraps are usually hard to find because they easily break and don’t hold the filling.  But these potato ones looked promising. I tested the wraps using anything I could find in the fridge and I was very pleased with the results. Even though they might be a little messy to eat, it is definitely worth the mess. ...

I never actually make any type of bread because I usually find the process too long. One small mistake and the bread won’t rise properly or the loaf comes out of the oven looking like a brick. As I am still in the process of mastering the gluten-free bread, these gluten-free cheese rolls are definitely something I will be making often. Instead of using a recipe dedicated to making breads and rolls, ...

Pongal is a multi-day Hindu Harvest Festival of South India, particularly in the Tamil community. The festival lasts from Jan. 15-18 and dedicated to the sun god. According to tradition it marks the end of the winter months and welcomes the warm summer months to come.The festival is named after the traditional dish pongal which means to boil and overflow. Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrate...

Stir fry is one of the great healthy, fresh, and tasty dishes you can whip up in no time. The simplicity of this dish is what makes it so great. Just by throwing some veggies in a skillet and adding spices you get a satisfying meal that is not only good for you but also gives you an opportunity to clean out your fridge. You can stir fry any vegetables and you won’t be compromising taste. I prefe...

From the second the 4:15 p.m. bell rings, the only thing I think about is what I can eat the second I go home. But for the past few days, I have come home to a disappointing pantry. I rush into the house to get out of the cold, kicking my shoes off, I go straight to the fridge or the pantry. Because of my very lazy family, we almost have nothing appetizing in there. The same thing happened today. ...

I have always loved Thai food. Over the years my mom has made a variety of Thai dishes and my favorite is her massaman curry. A typical Thai dish is considered to have four main seasonings: salty, sweet, sour, and spicy. Without these elements, the dish is considered unsatisfactory or incomplete. Luckily this curry contains the saltiness from the soy sauce, sweetness from the jaggery, sourness from...

Paaka, also known as the extreme sweetness of the sticky sugar syrup, is used to prepare numerous Indian sweets. Add some ghee (clarified butter) and gram flour and these three ingredients create one of the most popular treats in South India. Inspired by my aunts’ recipe, the added cocoa powder gives this traditional treat a modern twist. Indian sweets are made of simple ingredients, but the procedu...

When you’re down with a cold or a fever, you tend to crave hearty warm food, you crave something that will arouse your numb tastebuds, something that will soothe your body and soul. My moms’ butternut squash and orange soup is the perfect potion to restore your body from any common illnesses. The zing of the orange zest awakens your senses and you will find yourself engulfed in the creaminess of t...

In our family, we usually don't make anything extravagant if we don't have to. On a regular weekday we just eat leftovers or whip up something easy. You can imagine how boring that can get. Recently, I was busy studying and keeping up with my classes, my parents we preoccupied with their work, and nobody had the time to prepare an actual dinner. I was getting sick of it. The same rice and beans...

My grandmother is strictly vegetarian. She is so serious about her vegetarianism that she refuses to be within two feet of anything nonvegetarian. This being said, my family and I went to a dinner party where that had many varieties of pizza. My grandmother not knowing all the different varieties of pizza toppings, went straight for the pepperoni pizza, thinking it was tomatoes. This event encouraged...

In my family the phrase dinner party has an alternate meaning. Usually it brings joy and happiness because we get to entertain our guests, instead we panic. While my mom is desperately trying to get the food ready, my dad is frantically trying to to stay out of it. Thankfully I am in charge of desert and my go to recipe is Elena Amsterdams chocolate raspberry chiffon tart. It is a short recipe that's not very t...

The walk home from the bus stop is a time where my mind wanders and recently all I could think about was a blueberry muffin with a soft chewy muffin tops and crumbly cake inside. This sudden craving motivated me to find a gluten free recipe for blueberry muffins.  To add a little zing to the muffins I decided to make lemon blueberry muffins. The blueberries and lemon team up to give you a delightful...

It’s hard to find somebody that does like chocolate cake, but tell people it’s a gluten free cake and you’re likely to scare them off.  But this recipe has made a nonstop appearance in family birthdays and other parties. This beautiful cake has a perfect balance between its moistness and its fluffy marshmallow frosting (highly approved by my 8-year-old brother). After wiping up the frosting,...

My all-time favorite treat is our gluten-free peppermint brownies. This family recipe has a soft chocolate center and a crispy crust on the top (my favorite part) and the peppermint flavor takes these addictive treats to a whole new level.  They can be baked in any shape imaginable and still come out perfect with the mini muffin shape a personal favorite as it provides more of the crumbly crust. ...