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 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 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"). But I do not identify with my disease. That would be identifying with my limitations.

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

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Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

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

We've been blessed with fecund weather here in West Hollywood. Love is in the air. House finches are singing. Mourning doves coo. Roses are unfolding their velvet petals. Jacaranda trees are bursting with violet-blue corollas. 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 Crisp Recipe: Cranberry Peach 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.

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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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