Oh man. Easter kind of snuck up on us this year. Did you have a nice one? I sure hope so.

Now, I saw a lot of buzz on the gluten-free blogosphere from parents who were considering candy-free Easter baskets — which is pretty neat. Still, I’m willing to bet that at least two or three of you went the traditional route and are now faced with a dilemma: what to do with all the leftover Easter candy?

Of course, the short answer is: eat it, you silly goose! Chocolate is delicious. But everyone knows that there can be too much of a good thing — and that’s where these neat ideas come in handy. There are plenty of ways to take your gluten-free Easter candy and reimagine it in new and delicious (and still gluten-free!) ways:
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How much of this can we eat?

A little tidbit found its way to my inbox the other day. It’s fairly poorly documented, so it could be a fluke: but in case it isn’t, I wanted to share.

According to the website of the Packaging Business Review, legislators in Ukraine have introduced a draft that proposes labeling of gluten-free food. The revision was suggested by Ukrainian Parliament member Viacheslav Perederiy (who is of the BYT-Batkivschyna faction). According to the article, “food products free from gluten can be marked as ‘gluten-free’ on labels, if it does not exceed 20mg per 100gm of the product weight.”

So, first of all: awareness! Labeling! Yay!

Second of all: what does 20mg per 100gm mean? Is this actually a good bill?

Turns out, 20 milligrams per 100 grams is actually 200 ppm. So, if and when the bill passes — buyer beware of Ukranian gluten-free items.
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Perhaps I should not relate to this image as much as I do...but hey: a fuzzy creature is clearly gluten-free.

If you’ve been reading this blog for at least the past year, you a) deserve a gold star and b) know that I am not a big fan of the ol’ Valentine’s Day.

In fact, the thing I like best about the day is that it’s helpful for remembering some fairly unimportant math factoids: The square root of two is 1.4, so if you squint you’ll see 2/14 there. Fun extra-math fact: the square root of 3 is 1.7 — hello, St. Pat’s Day!

Um, did I mention that I used to tutor SATs? Yup. Cool-kid blogger, right here.

If you’re more Valentine’s-inclined than I am, you might be in the throes of menu-planning or candy-shopping right now. For you, then, I offer the following resources, helpfully poached from more loving bloggers than I.
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A while back we wrote about microwave-baking as a convenient way to make cake for one (gluten-free or otherwise). Today, I wanted to talk about a different way to make cake for one: with a recipe designed for a small batch.

A new book published by Ontario home economists, titled The Gluten-free Baking Book: 250 Small-batch Recipes for Everything from Brownies to Cheesecake, promises just that. Although I haven’t reviewed the book to be able to speak to the quality of the recipes, I thought the premise alone was worth a write-up.

Some people don’t have a microwave or prefer to minimize their use of one. And even the most microwave-loving person out there occasionally craves a baked good that needs more traditional treatment.
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Well, the holidays are incontestably over for this year. Some of you are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief: an empty (emptier) social calendar, fewer guests and less traveling, no more Christmas music at-all-times-everywhere….

But some of you, equally doubtlessly, have a case of the post-holiday blues — to which I’d like to suggest a cure of a different color: orange.

While the holiday season is over, clementine season is in full swing. These tiny little oranges, originally a Spanish cross between the mandarin and Seville breeds, are one of my favorite bright lights when I have a case of winter doldrums. Not only are they extremely high in vitamin C (just one can contain up to half a day’s RDA, according to Cooking Light), but they lend themselves to a variety of tasty, gluten-free recipes — if you can just resist eating them straight from the crate.
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Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, a holiday that always stresses me out. It seems like lots of people try to have big, blow-out, memorable evenings — and the effort that goes into planning far outweighs the fun they wind up having.

Accordingly, I thought we’d go for the opposite type of recipe today: recipes whose deliciousness far outweighs the planning required for them. Pumpkin Spice Waffle Cookies from The Daily Dietribe and Chocolate Espresso Angel Food Cake from Real Sustenance. Added bonus, they both look quite fancy: perfect for impressing someone as we start 2012.

Aside from their prettiness, these two recipes have very little in common. Well, except that they’re gluten-free. And isn’t that all that really matters?

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It’s the day of Christmas Eve Eve. Hooray!

If you don’t have your recipes set, may I suggest you have a look at these?

This week’s recipes from Iris and Brittany may seem incongruous to the season, but I thought amidst all the gingerbread and eggnog you might be looking for a splash of something bright and summery: cherries.

‘Tis the season for frozen or dried cherries rather than fresh — but with these recipes for Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cherry Pie, you’ll be transported back to warmer weather. Plus, added bonus! an extra pie crust recipe, for filling with whatever your hungry heart desires.

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We threw a little party this weekend, just a casual excuse to get together with all those people you love but somehow never get a chance to see enough of. And an excuse to make latkes.

Sorry, didn't get a picture of the latkes. Did get a snap of the laser dreidel.

Ah, the humble latke. Harbinger of the Hanukkah holiday, holder of my heart, heavy with … apple sauce and sour cream. Some things just can’t be alliterated.

You certainly don’t have to celebrate Hanukkah to enjoy the traditional foods: those of the fried variety. The central message of the Festival of Lights, too, is apt regardless of your beliefs: it’s a time to celebrate the way that sometimes, despite all indications that you have less-than-enough, it turns out that you’re able to make it last until better times.

Tomorrow night is the first night of Hanukkah this year; if you aren’t sure what to make for dinner, may I suggest the latke?
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It’s Recipe Friday again!

I really need to come up with a better name. Hopefully those scrumptious photos make up for it.

Today’s duo of gluten-free recipes comes courtesy of the letter C, for cinnamon. Cinnamon Rolls and Cinnamon Chocolate Cookies. Oh yes.

According to the ever-knowledgable Wikipedia, cinnamon is native to Southeast Asia and was unknown to Europeans until the 16th century. Poor Chaucer, poor Dante, they never knew what they were missing.

Not only is cinnamon tasty, tradition hold it has numerous health benefits. It may lower blood sugar in people with diabetes, reduce inflammation, and/or serve as an antioxidant and bacteria-fighter.

All of which is to say, you should make these gluten-free recipes involving cinnamon. Now.
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I am very excited to be launching a little something that — for lack of a better phrase — we are referring to as Recipe Friday.

(Sorry folks, but December is a hectic month! Maybe in January I’ll find a good pun to use instead.)

This would be exciting in any case, but it’s double-exciting because the recipes are coming from two charming and talented gluten-free ladies: Iris at The Daily Dietribe and Brittany at Real Sustenance.

Wait, let’s go one more: it’s triple exciting, because today we’re sharing snickerdoodle recipes. No one can say for sure where the term snickerdoodle originated, but it’s come to mean a cookie with a cinnamon-sugar topping. There are endless varieties, but we think these three are sure-fire winners:
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