Gluten-Free Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes

Cider roasted vegetables- pair with polenta, rice or quinoa.

We are almost packed. This week is moving week. This will be my last post from California.

If, like me, you happen to be celebrating without the bird this Thanksgiving, here's a quick round-up of my favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes to inspire you. Most of these recipes are actually vegan- a dairy-free plus for those of us gluten-free and casein-free. The few recipes garnished with cheese can be easily converted to dairy-free by using your favorite vegan cheese.

Here's to a gentle Thanksgiving- next time- see you in New England!

Peace.

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Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipes & Tips

Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Recipes and Tips

The Big T. Thanksgiving. Nothing sends shivers of trepidation up a gluten-free or dairy-free girl's spine like the mental image of Grandma's sage pungent white bread dressing, or shimmying slabs of Aunt Ida's pumpkin pie. It's a butter and wheat flour gorge fest with danger at every turn. The gruesome gut-twisting threat of thirty-six hours chugging Pepto Bismol is poised to strike on every holiday decorated plate- jovial forkfuls of tradition and conviviality aside.

It can be a nightmare.

If you're lucky, your family is tuned in to celiac disease and aware of the angst and anxiety that food centric holidays can trigger. If you are blessed, they are thoughtful and well schooled in where gluten lurks (turkey broth and marinades, gravy, seasoning packets, spice blends, stuffing, crackers and pie crusts). They don't ask questions like, You can eat "whole" wheat crackers, right? with the emphasis on the word whole as if somehow, the word itself makes the wheat magically safe for celiacs to consume (it doesn't).

They don't indulge in meta messages and all that spooky passive-aggressive weirdness.

They won't sigh when you politely decline a slice of Aunt Ethel's pecan pie and say, Just don't eat the crust.

They won't hold up a pitcher of gravy and whisper, A little bit won't kill you.

Or my personal favorite, Go ahead- I'm allergic. And I cheat (actually said to me by an in-law).

Right.

If these persuasions are foreign to you, then you, Dear Reader, have much to be thankful for this holiday season. You are blessed with a clan that gets you, loves you without judging you, and cares about every morsel that enters your fragile cellular universe.

So this post is for them...

The attentive Moms and Dads, compassionate Aunts and Uncles, smart-as-a-whip Grandmas and Bubbes and best buds who believe that if food is love, Thanksgiving should be fun and worry-free and delicious.

For everyone.  

No big whup.

Because after all, we know true love has great taste.

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Winter Holidays: Celebrating Gluten-Free

Celebrating gluten-free in style.

Looking for inspiration and recipes for your gluten-free Christmas breakfast? Winter solstice brunch with friends? Vegan Hanukkah guests? A romantic New Year's Eve? Here is my collection of holiday favorites. Browse recipes and create your own winter holiday menu. Celebrate gluten-freestyle. With love.

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Gingerbread Recipe

Delicious chocolate gingerbread loaf. Gluten-free yum.

As the song says, Let it snow / let it snow / let it snow. Icing sugar that is. In a soft, sifted whisper of white. A dusting of tongue-melting sweetness to accent the solstice dark moon taste of a classic ginger spiced chocolate tea bread.

In the deep midwinter, I cheer my fragile spirit by baking. I put on Yo Yo Ma and stir cocoa laced batter with a wooden spoon, imagining my fellow gluten-free bakers- all of you- out there- standing in your humble kitchens, beating strange flours and non-traditional ingredients with an odd blend of dread and hope. Crossing fingers and scooping tea bread, cake and muffin batter, rolling cookie dough between nervous palms, praying to the kitchen gods.

In a mere two days- perilously close to the Winter Solstice- I will celebrate my tenth anniversary of living gluten-free. December 19, 2001 was the day I decided to shun gluten forever. What timing. Right before Christmas. I could have waited until December 26th. Or even the New Year. But I didn't. I couldn't. As soon as I connected the dots- from my plague of symptoms to their instigator gluten- I couldn't wait to begin my new life. If I had eaten my very last buttery croissant, so be it. If I had unknowingly crunched my last iced sugar cookie, so what. I was done.

Few of us have to make such choices.

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Karina's Gluten-Free Potato Latkes

Nothing beats golden, crispy, lacy latkes.

A gluten-free favorite from the archives- these tender, lacy latkes are easy to make. Serve with homemade applesauce and sour cream spiked with a hint of horseradish or chives. And PS: I just passed my 5th year blog anniversary! Five years blogging gluten-free recipes.

Delicious thanks to all of you- much love xox Karina

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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 Dairy-Free Holiday Tips

Getting through the holidays gluten and dairy free can be tough. Let me tell ya. But then, the holidays were always a challenge for me because I was mostly vegetarian for decades (meaning ovo-lacto vegetarian and sometimes vegan). In truth, Gentle Reader, my holiday foods have often tended, shall we say, to be a tad different from mainstream holiday fare.

Being the wild and free goddess-in-training I was back in those golden zen-kissed crunchy pre-celiac days, I learned early on how to tweak traditional recipes and reinvent old favorites- like using coconut milk as a vegan (non-dairy) sub in whipped sweet potatoes (everyone loved this!) and subbing butter and cream with vegetable broth and crushed roasted garlic in fluffy smashed potatoes. No one missed the animal fat (unless they were just being polite).

My stuffing back then (baked as a casserole) was naturally gluten-free. I used cubes of toasted cornbread tossed with a skillet of softened onions, celery, chopped apple and cranberries seasoned with a touch of curry- then moistened with broth and baked till golden- sometimes with pine nuts or pecans on top.

Instead of serving green beans swimming in canned mushroom soup (because I never- and I mean, never- got the appeal of that goopy combination) I roasted fresh green beans in sea salt and balsamic vinegar- just until tender-crisp. Or did this simple but elegant recipe with pomegranate glaze.

Lucky for me, I enjoyed thinking "outside the box". And in my vegan years- not once- did I make a turkey out of tofu.

Who needs tofurky when you have Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas?

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'Tis [Almost!] the [Gluten Free] Holiday Season

Who needs tofurky when you have Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas?

Getting through the holidays gluten-free can be tough. But then, the holidays were always a challenge for me because I was mostly vegetarian for decades (and some of those years were vegan), so, in truth, Gentle Reader, my holiday foods have forever tended to be a tad different from mainstream holiday fare. I learned early on how to tweak traditional recipes and reinvent old favorites- like using coconut milk as a delicious non-dairy sub in whipped sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin pie, and creamy butternut soups. I used broth and roasted garlic in smashed potatoes instead of cream and butter. I have always enjoyed thinking outside the box. And in my vegan years- not once- did I make a turkey out of tofu.

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