Karina's Gluten-Free Apple Crisp

The best gluten-free apple crisp I've made. In this lifetime anyway.

I've been pondering identity lately. As in, am I the I writing this as Gluten-Free Goddess--- or am I a word-free, less defined kind of I that isn't actually I at all, but merely a spark in the collective energy source that is the great Mystery? Or Universe. Or Divine. Or whatever conceptual nomenclature you prefer.

Am I my thinking mind- or am I more of an essence, what we call soul, a truth beyond the assumed collection of thought patterns, personality traits, and personal history framed by a set of beliefs and separation known as the ego?

I do know I am not my disease.

One of the reasons I chose not to use the word celiac in my blog title was for just this very reason. I do not define myself as a celiac. In an identity sense. Yes, it says so on my medical records somewhere (in full disclosure, I think it actually says "possible sprue, resolved by the patient going gluten-free" because I couldn't afford an endoscopy). But I do not identify with my disease. That would be identifying with my gastro-functional limitations.

Hello, my name is Karina. And I have screwed up villi.

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Gluten-Free Cherry Almond Crisp

Fresh organic cherries. Mother Nature's ruby gems.

Summer is heating up. It's hot out there on the dusty plains. So I'm not even going to pretend on this one. Not that I pretend when I post. More like, slink and dart a little. Tucking little spitballs of truth between the ebb and tide of words, a sense of rhythm and momentum. Moving. Always upward and outward. Or seaward.

A message in a bottle thrown high and wide.

Tossing truth out there in the hopes of hearing, Oh yeah. That. Me too.

So here's the thing. And it's not easy to say.

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Gluten-Free Blueberry Crumble-Crisp Recipe

Kick-off your gluten-free summer with a blueberry crumble-crisp.

Summer is not officially here until the eve of June 20th- the longest day of the calendar year. But why wait to share one of my quintessential Midsummer recipes? The kindest season is far too brief. As the Bard of Avon once penned, summer's lease hath all too short a date. So who am I to hold back and play hard-to-get, to deny you even one day of partaking in this (rather modest) indulgence?

I believe in the here and now more than the promise of ever-after.

Not that ever-after does not hold its enduring charms. The swath we name eternity is threaded through and through with everyday blinks as brief as a silk worm's life. Which, as it turns out, is perilously close to a single, fleeting summer.

In my view, if I am honest with myself and paying attention, eternity can be found inside a June. Within a child's hand clasp. Echoed in a tea cup. All that I long for, wish for, dream of, has already happened, this I know. In some far off starlit part of me that remains forever untouchable and true, eternity is happening now, and breathes within the tiny beating bud of even my fears, and pain. It knows no boundaries, or Gregorian demarcation. It is patient. And full of music.

I see it flicker in my sons' eyes.

This gift of time.

And the moment I spot it, it is already gone, light years away, clean and immaculate.


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Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp-Crumble

Warm from the oven gluten-free crumble with quinoa flakes.

I've been a tad under the weather this week with a mysterious IBS attack (though I think I've uncovered the culprit- chicory also known as inulin, my nemesis) so I am mustering just enough energy to reprise one of my favorite springtime recipes. A fabulous strawberry rhubarb crisp-crumble with a secret ingredient. For you. With love.

We've been blessed with fecund weather here in Southern California. Love is in the air. House finches are singing. Mourning doves coo. Roses are unfolding their velvet petals. Jacaranda trees are budding violet-blue. In other words, picnic perfect.

I've been messing around with crisp and crumble dessert recipes this week, intent on creating an easy summertime dessert for backyard get-togethers and grill side dining. So although I have featured a strawberry rhubarb crisp in the past (kissed with a hint of balsamic vinegar) I decided to play around with an alternative topping to the classic pairing of tart rhubarb and sweet ripe strawberries. And I grabbed a secret ingredient from my pantry.

Can you guess what it is?


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Gluten-Free Cranberry Crumble

Gluten-free cranberry peach crumble. Easy as pie. Wait. Easier.

So I have a question for you. Albeit, rhetorical. Who doesn't love a warm-from-the-oven fruit crisp or crumble? Personally, I'm a big fan. Obviously. Here's why. Imagine tender, juicy melt-in-your mouth bites of sweet fruit. A kiss of brown sugar. A hint of cinnamon.

And Darling- best of all? Embarrassingly easy.

Think about it. No wrestling with stick-to-itself plastic wrap. No rolling out finicky fall-apart gluten-free pie dough that- I am sorry to tell you- never has the authentic tender flakiness of the real thing. My nose would be growing like a woody on a sixteen year old watching Angelina Jolie in Beowulf if I told you any gluten-free pie crust I ever ate was worthy of the filling.
And besides. Who needs the hassle? Honestly. And why pies? Whose bright idea was it to make pies the epitome of holiday baking perfection. The holidays are stressful enough. All the family mishigas. The drama.

I'm over it.

Easy and tasty is my kind of dessert. Hence my love for fruit crisps and crumbles. Sometimes I bake crisps in individual baking dishes. Sometimes I make fruit crumbles in a glass pie plate. This way, it even (sort of) resembles a pie. If you squint.

Or knocked back a vodka martini or two.

Easy, delish gluten-free crumble with cranberries

Cranberry Peach Crumble Recipe

Cranberries alone can be one big tart fest. So I pair them with whatever sweeter fruit I have on hand- apples, pears, peaches. Pictured is the pairing of sliced organic peaches with organic whole cranberries. The whole sweet and sour thing was scrumptious. No eggs. No dairy. Which crowns this recipe with precious vegan  status.

Ingredients:

2 cups sliced fruit- apples, peaches, pears- or a combo
1/2 heaping cup of whole cranberries- I used organic frozen cranberries, slightly thawed
A good drizzle of organic raw agave syrup, to taste
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of arrowroot starch

For the crumble topping:

1 cup gluten-free flour mix or pancake mix
3/4 cup organic light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
4-6 tablespoons vegan shortening or coconut oil- as needed

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Schmear a deep 9-inch pie plate (or four individual baking/serving dishes) with vegan shortening.

Toss the sliced peaches and cranberries into a bowl. Drizzle with agave, cinnamon and arrowroot starch. Stir to coat.

In a separate bowl, mix together the crumble topping, and rub between your palms to create a soft, coarse crumble.

Sprinkle a scant handful of the crumble mixture into the bottom of the prepared pie plate. Spoon in the fruit mixture; add all the liquid. Top with the remaining crumble mixture.

Bake at 350ºF. in the center of the oven, for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the fruit is fork tender and the filling is bubbling and thickened. The top should be golden brown.

Cool a bit on a wire rack before serving warm or at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

The crisp may be reheated in the oven or a microwave, but it truly is best eaten the day you make it.

Serves 4.

Karina's Note:

For a simply gorgeous cane sugar-free version of this crumble by the lovely and talented Kleja, please wander over to klaydoughdreams.

Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler

This is not Betty Crocker's Gluten-Free Bisquick mix. Nope.

Is Mercury in retrograde?

And if so, Darling, do I believe it can wreak havoc with recipes? I started out with a different approach to this peach cobbler recipe, you see. I thought I'd try out the new Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Bisquick mix I bought this week. I imagined a golden topped biscuity crust you could sink your teeth into, a melt-in-your-mouth forkful of shortcake, dripping with warm and sticky-sweet juice.

But what I got was a bone white mound of anemic dough (scarily reminiscent of Play Dough) baked into what can only be described as yesterday's mashed potatoes. It didn't even try to turn golden. And it didn't melt in your mouth like a biscuit. It just sat there on your tongue. Flavorless. Bored. Expecting to be admired without effort. Like those fame junkies who are famous for simply being famous. They haven't actually accomplished anything to garner their celebrity status. They just nurture a deeper narcissistic ambition than your average high school beauty queen. They expect adulation because they exist.

Like an awful lot of the gluten-free foods churned out by corporate entities.


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Gluten-Free Apple & Pear Crisp

Easier than pie, a crisp makes a lovely gluten-free dessert.

Sweet, crisp apples and tender pears are sprinkled with a cinnamon and brown sugar crumble and baked to melt-in-your mouth perfection. This simple gluten-free dessert- worthy of excavation from the Gluten-Free Goddess® archives- evokes old fashioned autumnal comfort at its coziest.

Using a gluten-free pancake and baking mix- such as Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix- makes this treat easy as pie easier than pie to toss together. Celebrate fall and winter with this classic homey dessert.

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Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Gluten-free strawberry rhubarb crisp with a tangy twist.

When I was a little girl my favorite way to eat rhubarb was to snap off a stick in the back yard, run into the kitchen and dip the end into the sugar bowl, repeating the dipping process as needed to coat each tart and chewy bite with granular sweetness. In a post-Seinfeld world I risk being labeled a dreaded double dipper. And I admit up front, it's true.

I double dipped and triple dipped and lived to tell the tale.

Beyond childhood I never bothered much with rhubarb, except for tasting the occasional strawberry rhubarb crisp at someone else's family picnic. I was never much a fan of it cooked. Stewing and baking seemed to rob it of its charms, mocking my memory of those sugar coated crisp and sour stalks. The mush in the bottom of all those Pyrex baking pans was a sorry excuse for rhubarb, I thought. So recreating a rhubarb crisp recipe for living gluten-free was never glowing brightly on my cooking radar screen. It was never even the faintest of blips. I've been blogging for four rhubarb seasons now and haven't felt inspired to develop a recipe. Until now.

Why now, I've no idea. Perhaps it's because we're stuck out here in the desert, with nary a garden or bursting rhubarb patch in sight. Just rolling hills of crusty earth studded with brittle pinon and juniper trees, the oddball cholla, or tuft of tenacious sage. The words green and leafy don't exactly come to mind when you walk the dirt road to the arroyo.

So when I spotted a few lonely stalks of rhubarb in a basket at Whole Foods in Santa Fe- ruby red and sexy in their glistening rhubarb goodness- I thought, Why not attempt a strawberry rhubarb crisp recipe?

And because I'd asked myself out loud my husband said, You do realize you just asked three stalks of rhubarb if you should make them into a crisp?

Well, yeah, I shrugged back. I talk to my fruit.

Don't you?

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Easy Gluten-Free Blueberry Crisp

Gluten-free blueberry crisp, Baby.

I've had more than a few requests this week for berry crisp and cobbler recipes, so I thought I'd reprise one of my favorite simple desserts- a berry crisp. I used blueberries in this recipe, but any combination of berries will work- try blackberries and raspberries. Toss in some strawberries. Make a mix of all four. It's all good.

Although fresh berries are lip-smacking wonderful in this crisp (and now is the time of year, after all, for fresh berry picking), frozen wild blueberries aren't terrible. They'll work. Do what you gotta do I always say.

Whatever gets you through.

As for me, it's been a busy week. And I have good news. My latest hip x-ray shows stability and healing. Those titanium spare parts of mine have been behaving. They're staying put. I'm now allowed to be a tad more adventurous! Translation? More walking. No bungee jumping, though. Those carefree bungee jumping days are over, My Darlings.

Oh wait. I never did any bungee jumping.

I'm not the bungee jumping type. I'm more like a wander on the beach picking up stones type. A bookstore browsing type. A lost in my thoughts thinking about colors and words type. I've never had an urge to strap on a helmet and hurl myself off a bridge, come to think of it. Well. Maybe that one time. On my first honeymoon when I woke up and thought, Uh oh.

But I digress.

Let's get back to blueberries, shall we?

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Gluten-Free Peach Crisp Recipe

Fabulous and peachy. Gluten-free peach crisp.

 

Recently egg-free, your plucky gluten-free goddess at large has been conjuring egg-free disasters- one after another- in her tiny blue-tiled cocina. And tossing said disasters (affectionately known as drek) into the trash left and right, developing quite an aim despite her gloomy disposition.

She shoots- she scores!

In fact, the greenbacks spent on the alternative flours, gluten-free casein-free mixes, tiny allergen-free chocolate chips and organic bananas could have bought a lovely bottle of Calvin Klein's Eternity. The big bottle. And don't believe what they tell you about subbing eggs with bananas in a chocolate recipe, Babycakes, unless you have a taste for gummy brownies that have a faint but distinct Eau de Baby Food top note.

But in every third act there's a moment. 

You know, that pregnant pause, where our bruised but glistening heroine turns- damp and tendrilled, emotionally raw, soy-free chocolate smears artfully adorning her noble apron- and tucks an errant wisp of hair behind her left ear as she squints into the radiating oven, inhales a whiff of cinnamon-laced peachy heaven and senses deep in her fragile loyal heart she's got a winner. Cue music.

Darling, this summery vegan treat is so luscious your gluten-eating wiener-chomping friends will scrape their plates shiny clean and beg for more. They will. Promise. 

So you may as well make two. One for them. 

And one for you.

All gone.

Gluten-Free Peach Crisp

If oats don't agree with you (some folks have trouble digesting oats), see my other crisp recipes featuring quinoa flakes or simple flour-and-sugar crumble toppings. They're equally tasty!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup certified gluten-free rolled oats

3 tablespoons organic gluten-free vanilla rice or non-dairy milk
3 cups organic sliced peaches
A quick drizzle of organic raw agave syrup
1/2 cup gluten-free baking mix and pancake mix 
1/2 cup organic light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3-4 tablespoons organic coconut oil

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF.  Grease a 9-inch glass pie plate and set aside.

Place the gluten-free oats in a bowl and soak them in the rice milk for ten minutes.


Toss the peaches with a drizzle of agave and arrange them in the bottom of the pie plate.


Add the gluten-free baking mix, brown sugar, and cinnamon to the oats. Mix well.

Add the coconut oil in pieces. Rub the oat/flour mix into the shortening between your palms until the mixture gets crumbly and moist. If you by chance need another tablespoon of rice milk to moisten the mixture, go ahead and add it. 

Top the peaches with the crisp and crumble topping. 

Bake on a center rack for 30 to 40 minutes, until the crisp is bubbling and golden brown, and the peaches are tender and not too soft. Serve warm or cooled. 

Try not to lick the empty pie plate. 

Okay. If no one's looking darling, go ahead. 

Lick.

Serves 4-6. 

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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Karina's note:

Concerned about the safety of oats? Read what gluten-free expert Shelly Case has to say about oats.