For this culinary tryst, I was feeling deep, deep notions, so I held back on nothing. Our greatest loves in life are like that, after all. One must leap empty handed into the void to know weather or not if it’s true.

Knowing a few choice French phrases never hurt either. Like the one made famous by Serge Gainsbourg, “Je t’aime / Moi non plus”
(I love you / Me either).

Go on, make all the gluten free angels sing your praises by dashing in head long and indulging in this rich gâteau. I hear cupid numbers among them.

Coconut Pistachio Gâteau

60 g. or ½ cup glutinous rice flour
60 g. or ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sorghum flour
60 g. or ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon potato starch
60 g. or 3 tablespoons potato flour
50 g. or ¼ cup 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
50 g. or ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon cornstarch
130 g. or scant cup finely ground roasted and salted pistachios + more fore garnish

2 teaspoons guar gum
2 ½ teaspoons baking
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar

½ cup luke warm water
½ cup pure olive oil
7 egg, separated
¼ cup sour cream
½ cup shredded coconut like Baker’s Angel + more for garnish

1 ½ teaspoons pure almond extract
1 ¼ teaspoon coconut extract

16oz. almond paste, like Solo Pure, which is GF
green food coloring
1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 recipe seven minute icing

Preheat oven to 350°F. Using non- stick spray, lightly grease and line a 10” spring form pan with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine all the dry ingredients, including the finely ground pistachios, until well combined.

Whisk together the water, oil, egg yolks, sour cream and extracts until very smooth. In a slow steady stream, with the mixer on medium low speed, add the wet ingredients into the dry ones in a slow steady stream. When all the wet ingredients are added, switch the mixer to high and whip for 1 minute and the batter is thick and smooth. Add the shredded coconut and mix just until incorporated.

Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the batter until you can no longer see clumps of the whites.

Pour into your prepared pan and bake at 350°F for 35-45 min.
The cake is done when the top of the cake cracks slightly and the cake has pulled from the sides of the pan.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 1 hour.

In the meantime, make your seven minute icing and the marzipan filling.

For the marzipan filling:

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the almond paste with the light corn syrup and a few drops of the green food coloring. Mix on high to combine and the paste is very smooth. If the almond paste is crumbly, add another tablespoon of the corn syrup until it folds in on itself and evens out.

Dust a counter with confectioner’s sugar. Using a rolling pin, level the marzipan until it is ½ cm thick and 11 inches in diameter.

Remove the cake from the pan. Level the cake if necessary. Divide the cake in half horizontally.

Place the marzipan disk on the bottom layer. Put 2/3 cup of the icing on top of the marzipan and the top with the second cake layer.

Ice the cake with the remaining icing.

Press additional shredded coconut onto the sides of the cake. Sprinkle with additional pistachios.

Serves 8

All photos by Knoxy

Speaking of badass tennis players, did you all know that Andy Murray (no. 4 in the world) and Venus Williams, who was just diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, are now gluten free as well? And don’t forget to check out this awesome Sports Illustrated article where Drew Brees dishes on what he eats and gluten isn’t one of them. Now that’s what I’m talking about!

“Well, it’s funny you should ask. I was fortunate enough to find some rhubarb and a whole mess of strawberries at the store this morning, so I’m gonna make a strawberry rhubarb pie. Or a tart, I can’t decide.”

“No kidding? How did you know that is my favorite pie?”
“Is it really? Oh my god, mine too! My mother grew up in Iron Mountain, Michigan and my grandmother always had rhubarb and the most succulent strawberries–the wild tiny ones– in the garden and her strawberry rhubarb pies were the best I’ve ever had.”

“Well, well, so we are both from strong mountain stock. (Dub grew up in the heart of Appalacia otherwise known as Virginia) Karen, let me tell you about the strawberry rhubarb pies I grew up on. First off, we didn’t use butter, we used lard to make our crusts because we were all about watching what we ate, and then my ma-maw would fill this fat filled crust with the most explosive filling you’ve ever put on your tongue. She wouldn’t use a spec of sugar, only sourwood honey.”

“Did you just say sourwood honey? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Well, it’s super rare. Sourwood honey is extremely hard to find. It’s very difficult to harvest and even more difficult to get your hands on because there is this delicate window of time when you can get the bees to do the collecting. From where I grew up, whenever there was a jar of sourwood honey in the house, a shotgun was right next to it with my mother’s hand on the trigger. Nobody touched the sourwood unless they were looking to get shot in keister .”

(Laughing out loud) “Are you kidding me?”

“Hell no I’m not kidding you. Sourwood honey, at least I’d like to think so, is probably the most prized honey in the world. I’ve never had anything like it. Ever. And simple as my people are, they know a block of gold when they see it. Gold in a jar. So, as i was saying, my ma-maw would take this liquid gold, toss those wild strawberries and rhubarb in it, bake it till bubbly and all I can say is dammit if those pies didn’t make my eyes cross.

“I have to try this honey, honey.”
“Well, do you have a car?”
“Yes,” I said brightly.
“Do you have a shotgun,” he replied, deadpan as ever.
“No.”
“Well, let me know when you get a shotgun and we’ll drive up to Virginia and get you some. That is of course if you want to get it the old fashioned way.”

I’ve already made a few calls to some local gun dealers to secure a shotgun and my car is ready to go, but Dub is so busy I don’t know when we’re gonna make it the old fashioned way, but when we do, I’ll be ready.

(In the meantime, here’s a little strawberry rhubarb tart to tide you over until my epic adventure takes place. No banjo music, please!)

Sourwood honey. Never heard of it, let alone tried the stuff, so after listening to Dub’s story, I quietly accepted the fact that the only way I was ever gonna get my hands on a jar of the stuff was if I started brandishing a firearm.

Luckily, I was able to find some of this liquid gold on the internet, so I put those gun safety courses on hold and clicked the purchase button.

Everyday I checked my mailbox, and every time, it felt just like the first time I ordered a blue button down sweater from a catalog when I was 10. I was giddy over this honey and I hadn’t even tried it yet. At last, when the golden nectar arrived, the first thing I said was, “well dip me in chocolate and call me Hershey! Dub is right!” Sourwood really is the best honey the world has ever had the chance to experience and this gluten free strawberry rhubarb tart does just what Dub said it would. It explodes in your mouth.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I’d tag this recipe if I were you. It’s the color of a hot tamale that has had the hard outer coating sucked off for crying out loud! (and yes, I miss those like crazy!) And I am yet to find anyone that doesn’t like that. Serve with a healthy dollop of whipped cream for that curl your eyelashes experience.

If you can’t get your hands on the coveted sourwood honey, I also tested this recipe using wild sage honey, which is equally delicious.

Sourwood Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

For the Crust:

2 sticks cold unsalted cultured butter, diced
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1 1/2 teaspoons guar gum
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons castor sugar
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk

Combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix to evenly amalgamate.

Add the diced butter and mix on low until the mixture looks like damp sand. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until the dough folds in on itself. Dust your counter with additional glutinous rice flour and knead until smooth. Shape into a disk, wrap in cellophane and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 400F.
Remove dough 15 minutes before you begin to work. Roll out to a 1/2 inch thickness and line a 9″ tart case with the dough. Roll the rolling pin over the top of the tart case for a very clean finish. Smooth any tears with your finger dipped in water.

Dock the dough with the tines of a fork a dozen times. Spray parchment paper with non-stick and lay on top of the dough. Fill the tart case with rice and blind bake the shell for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the rice by lifting the parchment paper. Reserve the rice for your next tart. Return to the oven to brown lightly for 5 minutes.

Allow the case to cool completely.

Now make your filling:

1 cup diced rhubarb stalks (organic if possible)
2 cups quartered strawberries (organic if possible)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons sourwood (or sage infused) honey (or wild sage)
pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon sweet cream butter
2 gelatin sheets

Clean, wash and cut your rhubarb and strawberries. Toss in the lemon juice, lemon zest, sourwood honey and salt.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large sauce pan. When it foams, add the fruit mixture and cook until the fruit has broken down, about 10-12 minutes. Using a wand blender, purée the fruit.

Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water until softened. Whisk into the hot fruit until very smooth. Pour into your tart case. Refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.

Chantilly Cream

2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup castor sugar
a few drops of pure vanilla extract

Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until firm enough to pipe. Fill a pipping bag fitted with a 1″ tip. Pipe either rosettes onto the tart or large beehives onto each slice. Garnish with mint leaves.

Serves 6

All photos by Knoxy

I love a good béchamel sauce just like any other pasta junkie, especially those who are particularly keen on macaroni and cheese. Last week, I was out of Annie’s gluten free macaroni and cheese for Leo, so he asked me to make him my homemade version. With out batting an eye, I pulled out the butter and milk from my fridge, all of my flours from the pantry, measuring spoons from my utensils drawer, flicked the knob on my stove to ignite the gas flame to medium and got to work. Using tablespoon amounts, I quickly mise-d out my flour combination and whisked them to amalgamate. I cut a stick of butter in half; one half went back in the fridge while the other half got quickly diced and so I started my béchamel in the traditional fashion. I swirled the butter in the pan so it wouldn’t sit in the middle, pool and brown. The moment the butter foamed, I added my flours and whisked until the mixture was bubbling. I waited, lifted the pan and swirled and whisked again until the mixture began to thicken. Then, in a slow steady stream, I poured in half the milk, and whisked. Like magic, the mixture quickly began to thicken just like I knew it should and would. I added the second half of the milk and and whisked some more. Never mind the tendinitis in my shoulder, this was getting more gorgeous by the minute. I turned the heat down to a simmer and double backed to grab the whole nutmeg and white pepper from my pantry and got my micro plane grater on my way back to the stove. I added half the kosher salt, white pepper and nutmeg and whisked yet again to combine. The tasting spoon delivered a very mellow, incredibly smooth béchamel that tasted just as good as all those decadent pasta nights with the gluten-laden versions from a decade ago. Indeed, my olfactory memory banks are like Fort Knox. I literally forget nothing. The mouth feel, the aromas, it was all coming back to me. Almost there. Still needs that pop at the end. The base notes were perfect with that delicate nutty flavor, but the top notes still needed that final tap pop that, at the very last second, sends an unmistakable, subtle shock wave of pleasure down your tongue making you want to double dip. I quickly added the other half of the salt. It was almost like as if I had squirted a dash of lemon juice into the mix; the sauce was spot on. Since I was making macaroni and cheese, I added the cheeses, whisked until it was completely melted, had one final taste to see if I needed to adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper; I did not so I asked Leo to come over and have a taste.

“MMMM! Mommy, this is even better than my regular cheese!”

I smothered some Jovial gluten free fusilli noodles and realized, that by just being in the moment with my son, I had brought béchamel back to life, only better.

This is the sauce I am using in the lasagna, because the base notes compliment the sweetness of the shrimp and crab so beautifully. The cream will also keep the shellfish from over-cooking which is always the delicate achievement with seafood lasagna. I also added a loving handful of tarragon to dance on your tongue long after the sweetness of the carrot sauce announces itself when that first bite is taken, next comes the creamy seafood and the last wave, like a glance over the shoulder as you say good-bye is the tarragon. Anyhow, I digress. More on that carrot sauce (yes, not acidic tomato sauce here!) in a moment. For now, let’s make some béchamel.

Gluten Free Béchamel Sauce

4 tablespoons sweet cream butter

2 tablespoons potato starch
2 tablespoon tapioca flour
1 tablespoon sorghum flour
1 tablespoon glutinous rice flour
1 teaspoon guar gum (if you have a legume allergy, use potato flour here)

5 cups whole milk

3/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup monteray jack cheese, coarsely grated
1/2 cup mozzarella, grated
1/3 cup tarragon, finely chopped

additional salt and pepper to taste if needed

Whisk the flours together in a small bowl to amalgamate.

In a non-reactive sauce pan with at least 3 inch sides, melt the butter. When it foams, add the flour mixture and whisk to smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil and then, in a slow steady stream, add the whole milk, whisking constantly so no lumps form. Reduce the flame to a simmer. The sauce will thicken quickly, which is perfect. Whisk in the white pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.

Whisk in the cheese until it has completely melted followed by the tarragon. Adjust the seasoning if needed. If the tarragon is weak in flavor, you may need to do so.

The following sauce, as well as the buckwheat pasta noodle recipe, are ones that I discovered while reading the cookbook, Simple Cuisine, by one of my culinary idols, John-Georges Vongerichten. The buckwheat noodles are below (which is drastically different than his recipe) while the carrot sauce had only some minor adjustments. I didn’t juice the carrots myself, I just went down to Whole Foods and had them juice them for me since I don’t own a juicer. I also doubled the spices so the gorgeous sweetness of the sauce would shine through in this very rich lasagna.

Spicy Carrot Sauce

2 cups fresh carrot juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Bring the carrot juice and spices to a boil. Whisk in the butter. Keep warm on the stove until ready to use.

Sauteed Button Mushrooms

2 cups sliced white button mushrooms
1 cup finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon pure olive oil

Melt the butter in the oil in a large sautée pan. Add the red onions and sweat until translucent. Add the onions and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes and the mixture is caramelized.

Set aside.

Make your noodles:

Making this recipe gluten free took some tweaking to make gluten free and still have that trademark elasticity akin to all pastas. Luckily, I’ve been focusing my energies on pasta as of late, so my understanding of where I needed to go and why was swift. I had to double the guar gum to get the pasta to hold its shape (again, if you have a legume allergy, use potato flour. The potato flour will make for a denser result, but the pasta will hold its shape beautifully.) and I had to adjust the volume of liquid so the dough would come together, but after a couple trials, I nailed it. Be sure to triple the recipe for a 9 x 13 inch lasagna.

Gluten Free Buckwheat Pasta

¾ cup buckwheat flour
¼ cup potato starch
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
2 tablespoons glutinous rice flour
2 teaspoons guar gum
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon + teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons whole milk
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until the dough folds in on itself. Press the dough together as you lift it out of the mixing bowl. Knead to smooth on a very clean counter. No additional flour required.

Wrap in cellophane and refrigerate if not rolling out immediately.

To roll out: cut the dough in half and shape each piece into a rectangle.

Roll to a ¼ inch thickness with a rolling pin, reshaping as needed to maintain uniformity.

Trim the edges with a very sharp knife so your edges are perfectly straight. Measure the bottom of your lasagna pan and trim the rectangles accordingly.

Pass through your pasta machine on the lowest setting twice and then on setting one once.

I trimmed my sheets to be 3 inches wide and 13 inches long.

Now, assemble your lasagna:

1 pound wild caught shrimp, cleaned and sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 pound fresh lump crab meat

2 cups grated gruyere cheese

Spoon some carrot juice over the bottom of your lasagna pan. Lay down a layer of the raw buckwheat noodles followed by a scattering of the sautéed mushrooms and red onion. Ladle the béchamel over the noodles and mushrooms. Arrange some of the shrimp and a handful of the crab over the béchamel. (Not too much, though. Ration out the shellfish in accordance with the size of your pan and the number of layers. I did four layers for mine but didn’t really count how many shrimp I used per layer, sorry!)

Top the shellfish with another layer of the carrot sauce. Repeat until your ingredients are used up. You may have some béchamel left over, so save if for some mac n’ cheese when the moment strikes.

You should finish with a final layer of buckwheat noodles. Cover with carrot sauce. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the gruyere and bake until bubbly, about 10-15 minutes.

Please note: I baked the lasagna pictured here the day before the photo shoot. To prevent the cheese from over-browning, I just added some extra cheese for that nice melty finish. Yours will be unmistakably perfect when you pull yours out.

Achieving balance is perhaps the most challenging trophy to claim in life; sometimes we have and sometimes we don’t. At least this has been my experience. So before the Balanced Platter emerged from the ether, the one thing that has kept me and keeps me from being sliced right down the middle as I walk this razor sharp edge of life is yoga. The last ten years have been very full for me, loaded with some incredible highs and some devastating lows. If it hadn’t been for yoga, and some incredibly supportive friends, I can rightly say I don’t think I would be here, writing this little exposé. I really don’t want to flesh out the entirety of my experiences over the years, but I will definitely do a quick run through. The short story is: I got married, was diagnosed with celiac disease, had surgery for early stage cervical cancer; was given my greatest gift of a son, Leo; cooked in France for four months, launched Blackbird Bakery; filed for divorce (which took three years to end), sold my first cookbook, and then, immediately fell into a depression that nearly took my life.

I tell you this not for your sympathy; it’s in the past after all, but I do feel it necessary that I share these details about myself with you for one very simple reason: to illustrate that any life, including my own, is a roller coaster ride and staying on track, at times, can be an epic challenge.

So how does one stay balanced and strong, not matter what life throws our way? For me, the solution has always been yoga. Yoga kept me away from the abyss of depression so much so that anti-depressants didn’t even need to be considered for the first seven years, but when my business picked up a few years ago, I wasn’t able to make it to the yoga studio six days a week. Compound this with everything else I had going on and I suddenly found myself so depressed, there would be days I could hardly get out of bed.

“The first thing you need to focus on, Karen, is finding that balance,” my therapist instructed me. “Schedule every minute of your day so you have time to make it to the yoga studio otherwise the stress is going to gobble you up.”

I knew she was right, but it took time to get back on track. Distractions would lure me from my goals and my routine would evaporate, making everything stressful and rushed again. So with every little failure, I keep picking myself up and recommitting myself to my routine which, as we all know, is key to being able to raise not just a family, but ourselves. Then, slowly, as my routine became more and more set, I began carving out more and more time to get my butt back into the my yoga studio, B-Free.

Iva and Shelby, the owner of B-Free, who also happens to be gluten free. G-Free at B-Free!

It has been here, under the watchful and loving eyes of my guruji, Iva Drtina-Hall, that I have woefully expanded, contracted, and found my way back on the road to reclaiming my long lost center.

“The key to finding balance is to take responsibility for wherever it is you are in life. When we are in dark places, which I like to call the void, we have to learn how to sit in that discomfort. Be it fear, anger, uncertainty. No matter what, we have to acknowledge and name it so we can recognize the light when it appears,” Iva said, when I sat down with her last week to chat.

“Our society has taught us to ignore our intuition, which is actually our divining rod. It steers us through life. So in living, as in yoga, when our core is weak, our intuition falters and we find ourselves masking what we are doing and where we are with excuses and mindless distractions to keep us from sitting in the void. I always say sit in the void. Running from it only prolongs your suffering. Sit in the void,” she smiled and I smiled back, “so you can ask it for guidance.”

When I am on the mat, and my body feels like it has reached the limit, I always go back to my breath, my deep meditative Ujjayi breath, that is as deep and rhythmic as the ocean, so I can breath through the discomfort. Focusing on that 10-count inhale and that 15-count exhale makes the movement feel seamless. “Where the mind goes, the energy in the body goes,” Iva always says during her vinyasa class “and the breath is your salvation every time. Think of nothing but your breath!”

“The reason the breath is so important in yoga is because it keeps your mind focused. This laser like focus makes all the difference between a good practice and a less than satisfactory one. This is why you can’t blame the teacher or anyone else in the room for how you are feeling while you are there. The responsibility for all your joy, on and off the mat begins with you. Focus fosters balance.”

“The key to balance really just comes down to the quality of our breathing,” I asked?

“When we practice, if we can remain focused on our breath, it teaches you how to achieve that place on non-reaction. Even though your muscles may be on fire, if you breath through it rather than focusing on the discomfort, you are not reacting, you are being in the moment and when the posture is over, you will have experienced that place of a higher power. Yoga is literally the balance between the mind and the body and when they in unison, we are unbelievably powerful.”

“I love that! Life and yoga are 50% psychological and 50% physical,” I more or less repeated.
“Exactly.”
“So maintaining this 50/50 balance, translates into eating healthfully so our bodies are working optimally, and learning how not to react to drama, so our minds stay centered,” I asked?
“Pretty much, which takes us back to what we talked about at the beginning–that we must be responsible for everything. We can’t control what happens in life, but we can control how we react to it. Say someone throws you a curve ball, if you are calm in your reaction, it diffuses the drama instantaneously.”
“Being diagnosed with celiac disease is a pretty big curve ball,” I smiled, “but like you said, I didn’t let it knock me down. I took my diagnosis as a gift so I could feel empowered rather than helpless. But you’re saying to be this way in all things?”

“Oh for sure. Educate yourself rather than demanding it of others. Learn how to take care of your body; cleanse regularly so toxins don’t build up in your body. Tell your yoga teacher what your physical issues are, (like celiac disease), so they can be sure to include plenty of twisting postures to help you nourish and detox your midsection; twisting postures are like wringing out a dirty towel and we all could use a good wringing out. Also, be proactive into learning about the people who are the most educated about living the lifestyle you are (gluten free) so they can be your guides. The universe is amazing in providing us with the guides and allies we need when we need them the most.”

Enter the Balanced Platter. If you scroll down to the bottom of the first page on the BP website, you will find a roster of gluten free resources that are sure to make your transition easier and I’m honored to be on it.

“You have been a yogi since 1995 and have lived in Tokyo, Japan, Melbourne, Australia and San Francisco. What are your some of your favorite foods that help you feel your best,” I asked?
“Oh man, I love Japanese food! But I also just love fresh organic foods.”

Which is where I come in. I will readily admit that I know little about Japanese cuisine, but I do know a thing or two about organic foods, so in honor of my incredible yoga teacher, Iva, here is a balanced salad that will nourish your body after one of your juicy vinyasa classes:

Honey Roasted Ginger and Lime Salad with Mango Dressing

2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon pure olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon very thinly sliced ginger
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lime juice
zest of 1 lime

2 cups farm fresh salad greens
1 cup shredded nappa cabbage
1/2 cup whole cilantro leaves
1/2 cup very thinly sliced cucumber, de-seeded
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1/2 cup julianned jicama
1/3 cup sliced mango
1 or 1/4 cup shallot, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons very thinly sliced radishes
8 basil leaves, chiffonnade
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts

Mango Dressing
1/3 cup pure olive oil
1/4 cup mango tango juice
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon micro grated ginger
salt and pepper to taste

heat the butter and oil in a skillet until it browns and add the chicken breasts, thick side down and cook for 4 minutes on medium high heat. Flip the breats and cook fro 10 minutes longer. It the chicken breasts are very thick, cook for 12-13 minutes. Remove the breasts, salt and pepper them and then wrap in aluminum foil to rest.

To the hot pan, add the water, honey, lime juice and ginger. Reduce over medium heat until syrupy, about 5 minutes. Slice the chicken into medallions and toss in it sauce. Remove from the hot pan so you don’t continue to cook the chicken. Transfer to a cold plate.

Now prepare the ingredients for your salad as instructed. In a blender, blend all the ingredients for the dressing.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour 4 tablespoons of the dressing into a large mixing bowl followed by all the ingredients for the salad, including the chicken. Toss to evenly coat.

Serves 2

In truth, I get teary eyed and feel the hot tears roll down my cheeks every time I make soup au pistou. Something ineffable happens when I pull the smell of the vegetables sweating into my lungs and suddenly am filled with a movie reel of memories of all the incredible dishes we made together over the years. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it. Cooking with your partner is a very magical, alchemical moment, so it goes without saying that food is what brought us together and I cherish my memories of cooking with him. Tim was my greatest teacher and he will forever remain my greatest confidant when it comes to unveiling a new gluten free recipe, so Tim, may this gluten free version of Jacques Pepin’s soup au pistou be for you, so neither one of us will ever forget all those beautiful Januarys.

I have, over the years, adapted Pepin’s corn dumplings to be gluten free through a series of versions and this is my latest incantation. I recently shared a bowl of it with Tim a couple of weeks ago and he didn’t bat an eye when he said it was just as good as the “gluten-version.”

Isn’t is a wonder that foodie memories are so laced with emotion? It’s so many sensations rolled into one, the memory on top of the memory on top of the moment. I firmly believe that yes, the dishes, the smells, the lighting, the linens and the wines, set the scene, but it’s the people we share these moments with that define our culinary lineage.

For me, my foodie memories harbor some of my most comforting, loving moments in life, which is why I always say I live from dish to dish.

Anyhow, I digress.

On the baking front, the thing that makes this recipe special in the present moment is that the dumplings don’t contain any gums, so for those of you that have either a mold allergy, making xanthan gum off limits, or a legume allergy, making guar gum a no-no, then these are the dumplings for you.

Happy Gluten Free January, Everyone!!! ENJOY.

Soupe au Pistou with Corn Dumplings
Adapted from a recipe by Jacques Pepin

For the Dumplings:

80 g. or 1/2 cup cornmeal
40 g. or 1/3 cup tapioca flour
40 g. or 1/4 cup cornstarch
30 g. or 2 tablespoons potato flour
30 g. or 2 tablespoons potato starch
25 g. or 1/4 cup sorghum flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

2 whole eggs
½ cup 2%milk
4 tablespoons pure olive oil

Preheat oven to 400°F and liberally grease a jellyroll pan with pure olive oil.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the eggs, whole milk and pure olive oil. Mix until you can no linger see any dry ingredients.

Using a 1 ½ inch retractable ice cream scoop, spoon out the dough into even mounds in staggered rows onto your prepared jellyroll pan. Brush the top of each dumpling with additional pure olive oil and bake until golden, 15-20 minutes. Rotate the pan half way through baking.

Allow the dumplings to cool until you can handle them and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the soup:

½ lb. diced pork salt
2 cups yellow onion, diced
1 leek, finely sliced (white part only)
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, cut in half and sliced
2 medium zucchini, diced
2 cups butternut squash, diced
½ cup turnips, peeled and cubed
1 ½ cups quartered green beans
3 medium yukon gold potatoes, peed and cubed
4 oz. white beech mushrooms
8 cups homemade chicken stock

In a 9-quart dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of pure olive oil over medium high heat and then add the diced salt pork and fry until crispy, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking and burning.

Add the diced onions, celerey, carrots, leeks, zucchini, butternut squash and turnips. Stir to evenly coat with the fats in the pan and dust with a generous pinch of salt. Reduce the temperature to medium and sweat the vegetables for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then so the vegetables cook evenly. Add the green beans, and potatoes. Stir to evenly coat and the add the chicken stock and then the mushrooms.

Bring the soup to a boil for two minutes, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 ½ – 2 hours and the vegetables are fork tender.

Now make the pesto.

Since my son is deathly allergic to nuts, I made my pesto without the pine nuts, but this recipe is delicious both ways. In fact, in the south of France, the traditional recipe for pesto or pistou is made of basil, parsley, garlic, grated cheese and olive oil, so technically, both jive in both Italy and France.

For the pesto or pistou:

2 cups packed basil leaves
2 fresh cloves garlic, minced
½ cup grated Parmesean
½ cup picorino romano
½ cup pure olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor, blend the basil, garlic, cheeses together, and pine nuts if using. In a slow steady stream with the processor still running, add the pure olive oil. Blend and pulse until smooth.

(I like my pesto to be on the ticker side so that it can sit on top of the corn dumpling, but if you prefer a thinner version, then simply add more olive oil, in small increments, until you have achieved the consistency you desire.)

Salt and pepper to taste if needed.

To serve:

Ladle the soup into a bowl. Invert the dumpling so the flat side is facing up. Mound a generous amount of pesto on top. Serve immediately.

Serves 8

All photos by Knoxy

The theme for me this week has definitely been about Balance. Balance in my body, in my work and private life, and in my gluten free diet. Seems like a lot to take on, right? If you ask me, I think it can be be nothing short of a pain in the butt. But in actuality, it’s just a process, like anything else I endeavor to do. For me, when I am exercising on a regular basis, everything else falls into place. My eating habits improve, and in order to carve out the time to work out, I have to plan my days down to the minute. So this week’s wellness post is inspired by maintaining balance while we are on our path to achieving balance in other areas of our lives.

Exercising increases my energy levels, stimulates alkalinity in my body, and decrease my stress levels and I find all of these benefits lifesavers. I practice power yoga four days a week and do cardio the other three and my muscles have been getting pretty sore. As we all full well know by now, exercise is a fantastic way to detoxify the body, but as we do so, lactic acid can build up in the muscles, causing soreness and adding strain to the joints, making me walk like I have a hitch in my giddy-up. I mean when one side of my body is sore and the other isn’t, I’m out of balance. So rather than throw in the towel and give up what is making me feel better in the long run, I just make sure I stock my medicine cabinet with a few all natural liniments so the short term is more bearable.

Blackbird’s weekly wellness expert, Laura Farb of Jade Lotus Wellness recommends having these sore muscle savers on hand at all times, so you can recover faster hop back onto your mat without toppling over.

1. Epsom Salt: Epsom salt isn’t actually salt at all! It’s a naturally occurring pure mineral compound of magnesium and sulfate and it’s name comes from a saline spring just outside of Surrey, England. Add 2-3 cups of epsom salt to a nice hot bath for instant relief without the bone chilling commonly associated with analgesic creams. According to Salt Works,

“Studies have shown that magnesium and sulfate are both readily absorbed through the skin, making Epsom salt baths an easy and ideal way to enjoy the amazing health benefits. Magnesium plays a number of roles in the body including regulating the activity of over 325 enzymes, reducing inflammation, helping muscle and nerve function and helping to prevent artery hardening. Sulfates help improve the absorption of nutrients, flush toxins and help ease migraine headaches…Some of the countless health benefits include relaxing the nervous system, curing skin problems, soothing back pain and aching limbs, easing muscle strain, healing cuts, treating cold and congestion, and drawing toxins from the body.”

My first yoga instructor told me to try an Epsom salt bath after a particularly difficult yoga class over 8 years ago and I now take an Epsom infused bath twice a week just because it makes me feel so darn good. Try it, you just might like it! And you don’t even need to know a guy named Mikey to do it. Plus, it is 100% gluten free, so you got the green light.

Shiva Rae

2. Tiger Balm Tiger Balm has been curing sore muscles and other things that ail you since the 1870′s. “With over 100 years of proven success in over 100 countries, Tiger Balm’s world renowned ointment, is being customized into a range of formulations that suit your specific needs, be it headaches and cold, rheumatic or arthritic pains, or muscle strains and pains.” Clearly, Tiger Balm’s effectiveness has stood the test of time, so I’d grab a jar of this over Tussy cream any day of the weak. Plus, wouldn’t you want a tiger staring back at you or greeting that new house guest that is looking through your bathroom cabinet, rather than a jar that says TUSSY? Man or woman, that is just embarrassing. 100% gluten free.

3. Zheng Gu Shui Analgesic Liniment or “the bone setting solution” is used primarily to treat fractures, dislocation, sprains, strains, arthritis
Zheng Gu Shui Analgesic Liniment assists healing by promoting blood circulation and regenerating the bone tissue. Laura recommends using this before or after exercise to treat soreness and strengthen tendons. It’s an amazing balm but not recommended before intercourse. 100% gluten free.

4. White Flower Analgesic Balm Natural herbal remedy is another handy pal to have around. Also great for temporary relief of minor aches and pains of muscles and joints associated with simple backache, arthritis, sprains, bruises, strains. White Flower goes on a lot ‘hotter’ than the other recommendations, but also can make you feel a little chilly after, so keep this in mind. 100% gluten free.

Sri Dharma Mittra

Willem Claesz Heda 1594-1680
Still Life with Glasses and Tobacco, 1633.
Oil on panel, the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection.
Image courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum
Dutch Golden Age Painter

Since the New York Times is calling it the golden age of gluten free, then what could be more appropriate than for a gluten free person to attend the visually lavish Golden Age Dutch and Flemish Masterworks exhibit from the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston? The Dutch Golden Age 1568–1648, highlights that moment in history when Dutch trade, art and science were considered the best in the world. Standing before a single work and you can immediately see why. Oil paintings look like photographs, long before photographs even existed. The still life’s are so realistic, you can almost smell the tobacco, the freshly peeled rind of a lemon or the fragrant unfolding of a bouquet of flowers. The Netherlands is considered the western birthplace of oil painting and they are the ones that mastered the art of layering the paints in such a manner that not a single brush stroke can be detected.

What I love best about this exhibit is the simple fact that is forces you stop and consider life in a completely different mode. It is slow and it is patient, making you realize that the quick fix of modernity has it’s set backs. Pencil scratches that are hailed as works of genius or a circle in the middle of a blank canvas immediately look like lazy demands for prodigious thought, no matter how philosophically driven their meaning. Seeing such fine craftsmanship is awe-inspiring and can shrink your ego to the size of chestnut, giving you a chance to crack the shell of insecurity and taste the meat of your spirit rather than wandering around imagining what you think it might taste like. At least this was my experience.

In fact, as I have mentioned before, still life paintings heavily influence my gluten free food styling, so I go to these art exhibits for ideas as much as for a timely universal smackdown; for me, it’s crucial that I continually realize that I am not important and surrounding myself with creativity that far surpasses my own helps keep me in check.

High caliber art inspires me to be a better person, both creatively and otherwise–and this is one of the many reasons why I love art so much. It humbles me, it drives me, and most of all, it makes me wish I’d taken more art classes.

Jan Davidsz de Heem, 1606-1684
Glass Vase with Flowers on a Stone Ledge, 1655–60
Oil on panel, the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Dutch Still Life Painter

I also highly recommend the catalogue from the show for your book collection or as a gift for that art lover in your life.

Hendrick de Fromantiou, 1633-1634
Dead Partridge, 1666
Oil on Canvas, 19 1/4 x 14 3/4 inches
The Hague
Still Life Painter

Split pea soup has always been one of my favorite soups ever since I was little. The thick creaminess of the pureed peas in homemade chicken stock, made alive by the salty tender explosions of the ham hock always just said “New Year!” to me. Probably because my mother always had it on the stove ever new year’s eve and we would enjoy it the entire first week of January, a tradition, as you can see, that has never faltered for me. It’s cooked low and slow so the peas disintegrate and the full flavors of the broth and the vegetables become a harmonious, simple pleasure. The ham hock releases it’s depths for a foundational note that screams pier and beam; a taste that goes directly into the bedrock of your belly, and when I’m really hungry, I swear I can taste this soup long after it has passed my lips.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

1/4 cup pure olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced (3/4 cup)
1 small white onion, diced (3/4 cup)
2 celery stalks diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon fresh oregano

1 pound split peas, rinsed and picked through
8 cups homemade chicken stock + more if needed
1 1/2 pound bone in ham hock
kosher salt and fresh black pepper

In a very large dutch oven, heat the olive oil and then cook the onions, celery, carrots, kosher salt and oregano over medium heat until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender, about 25 minutes.

Bring the stock to a boil.

Add the rinsed split peas and toss to even coat and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Being very careful, add the stock and boil for 15 minutes, skimming any foam as it appears. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the ham hock and simmer for 1 hour. (The stock should totally cover the ham hock by a couple of inches. Add more stock if needed.) The peas should be mostly disintegrated. Remove the ham hock and puree the soup with a wand blender. If you prefer a thinner soup, add additonal stock and blend until the consistency you love the most. return the ham hock to the soup and cook for 15-20 minutes over the lowest heat.

De-bone the ham hock and return the meat to the soup and stir. Serve with cream fraiche and a dash of minced parsley.

All photos by Knoxy

What’s your traditional dish to ring in the new year? Share yourself, just hold the gluten.

This is the week of millions of invigorated resolutions where knee jerk reactions are the norm and exclamation points abound. This is all very exciting, and very inspiring, as the new year unfolds and everyone begins to turn over their proverbial new leaves for change.

“The only problem with this,” warned wellness expert and certified acupuncturist Laura Farb, “is that people create these unsustainable expectations for themselves and after the second week of really going after a new regimen that often includes a new, challenging exercise routine and a new crash diet, they suddenly stop, exhausted, and fall back into their old habits.” Guilty as charged.

So what is the best way to turn over a new leaf? “Through simple, sustainable changes that make lasting impacts on both the body and the mind.”

Laura recommends inserting simple action steps into your already existing routine, like “I’m going to walk three miles every morning,” rather than the typical leap into that cross fit class five times a week after having not exercised for six months. “The most important thing is to tailor the steps so they reasonably fit into your already busy life. When we add a step that is totally out of bounds with our reality, it might last for a few weeks, but then, time, circumstances and exhaustion overtake us and we are pulled back into our usual orbit, making us feel like a failure.” And ladies and gentlemen, haven’t we all been there before? I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the times; I’d have more than twenty toes at that rate.

A nice example is if you already run three miles a day, run four. If you already practice yoga three days a week, practice four days. Simple, steady steps result in long lasting results. The same goes for our eating habits. Eliminate one “negative” part of your diet, like sugary drinks and you are improving yourself. Replace one serving of gluten free grains with a leafy green vegetable a day and you will notice your skin clear up or your tummy might feel less puffy. (Remember my post on acidosis? ALL grains cause the body to inflame ever so slightly, but gluten free grains like sorghum cause the least inflammatory response.)

No matter what changes you choose to make for yourself, just take it a step at a time. Writing it all down on your daily schedule helps catalyze the change as well, so you are the taking those simple steps, both literally and figurtively.

I love the Kristen Armstrong quote that heads this article, but there are many bits of advice that she is giving. All of them are simple but not as easily attained as one might think. Choose one for yourself for this year and own it. Steady as she goes, my friends, and most of all HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!