Food can be a small, or a big, comfort. There’s something about warm bread or flavors of childhood favorites or family recipes that envelope us in something akin to a culinary hug – holding us in the realm of blurry nostalgia or in a space where no harm can befall us. There are so many families hurting right now – from the effects of police brutality or the unrelenting COVID or other loss, or just day to day struggles. To any and all of you who are hurting now, we send our support and love, and hope that tomorrow feels a little lighter, or holds you a bit tighter than…
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Gluten Free S’mores Cupcakes
If you also have childhood memories of summer camping trips complete with seemingly endless (one hour) drives into the mountains, squished into the backseat with your sibling(s) and one of the handful of dry goods boxes or coolers meant to sustain you and your family for a weekend inn the woods, then this post is for you. S’mores were a particular favorite for us and our many cousins on family reunion campouts where we all hovered around ember-stage fire pits with roasting sticks in hopes of getting just the right golden tinge around our fluffy white glob of sugar. There were those, of course, who insisted that they loved their…
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Gluten Free Strawberry Hibiscus Cupcakes
Doing what you love and contributing to something bigger than yourself is always a good mix. This post, and these cupcakes, are part of a bigger thank you to chef and pastry chef, Rob Rubba, and Paola Velez, for organizing what has become a worldwide coalition of #BakersAgainstRacism. If you haven’t heard of this yet, check it out here! It was started in early June by the two aforementioned professionals in the baking space, in hopes of gathering other bakers across the country to participate in a virtual bake sale, from which fundraised dollars would go to any number of foundations and organizations in need of support to continue the…
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Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcakes
Food means so much to my family, and to most families around the world. We store traditions in the food that we have, whether it’s $1 strawberry milkshakes at the diner in downtown Eagle Point, Oregon that I thought were huge as a kid, or pimento cheese that mom would make in big batches to bring to potlucks and Fourth of July family gatherings, or the nostalgic combo of a can of V8 and a Nature Valley granola bar that my dad stashed in his classroom and that I would munch on in kindergarten after school while I waited for him to finish grading before we walked home together. Food…
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Gluten Free Mexican Chocolate Cake
Chocolate may be able to stand on its own two legs just fine without any flavorings, but you’ve got to hand it to the Olmec, Aztecs, and Mayans for unlocking not only the fact that chocolate is, well, great, but producing the first fermented chocolate drinks and adding in complimentary notes like cinnamon, nutmeg, and chili. According to the good ol’ wikipedia, the Olmec were the first to turn the strangely-fruity cocoa beans (surrounded by a white fleshy pulp – which actually tastes great) into alcoholic drinks (good idea, Olmec) as early as 1750 BCE (a hell of a long time ago) around present-day Veracruz, Mexico. From that pivotal moment…
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Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
We may be late to the banana bread train (so many amazing loaves out there that we’ve seen during shelter in place), but it’s never too late for a good ol’ fashioned slice of this stuff. While I do adore traditional banana bread (who first thought “hey, I have a bunch of near-mush brown bananas, let’s put them in a quick bread!) and its roots in deeply homey, practical, and penny-wise baking, but there are a few twists that, for me, make some very excellent banana bread/cake. This particular recipe leans more towards cake than quick-bread (hence the nifty bundt pan instead of the loaf pan), and it’s hands down…
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Gluten Free Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes
There is nothing quite like chocolate. The sensory flourish that envelopes you when taking a bite of chocolate ice cream, or the incredible nuance of the unfolding flavor in a snap of a thin dark chocolate bar. Or the other-worldly dreaminess of a truffle. If you’re already nodding in agreement, check out these other recipes too in addition to making these gluten free chocolate truffle cupcakes! Our German Chocolate cupcakes, or jammy strawberry brownies, or coffee chocolate cupcakes, or this criminally-easy magic chocolate pudding cake. Chocolate is a favorite of nearly everyone in my family – but perhaps most-notable is my Grandma Avis’s penchant for keeping cupboards and freezers well-stocked…
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Gluten Free Strawberry Lemonade Tiered Cake
Summers are for lemonade and sunblock and big, cloudless skies that seem to expose more of the world than in any other season. If you’re still stuck inside (or if you also live in San Francisco or various areas up in the PNW) then those big skies might still be a little out of reach, depending on your windows. But lemonade and sunblock are totally in-season, and anything that involves the two sounds like a plan for a great sun-soaked day. One positive adjustment that many folks seem to be making during shelter in place is a newfound love of parks. Now, it’s arguable whether your neighborhood 2×2 block green…
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Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
A cinnamon roll is like a warm, buttery, sugary, comforting hug. For your mouth. Honestly, what a flavor combo: brown sugar, butter, cinnamon – just a bowl of that alone can instantaneously turn off all of the stress of another work-from-home-during-a-pandemic morning and transport you to a cozy, blanketed couch next to a roaring fire with a few dozen kittens napping peacefully at your side. The down side is the prep time and baking time for cinnamon rolls – when you’re already late to the 5th zoom call in a row, baking a cozy breakfast is the last thing on your to-do list. So, these gluten free cinnamon roll cupcakes…
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Gluten Free Pistachio Raspberry Rose Cupcakes
As we continue shelter in place ordinances, I’ve been reminiscing about travel from last year, or even from the first two months of 2020. While it’s actually been quite fun to re-discover our own neighborhood and take time to just enjoy San Francisco and its many (way more than I thought) local parks, there’s something nebulous and intangibly lovely about international travel that, once you’ve tasted it, remains as an ache or a longing at the back of your head and your heart. If you’re fortunate enough to have had the chance to travel, even just a bit, beyond your national borders, may you treasure those memories and experiences forever.…
