Instant Pot Shepherd’s Pie: Gluten-Free, Vegan, Tomato-Free

Have you seen how much we love our air fryer lid for our Instant Pot? We try to make meals that don’t call for a lot of pots and pans, but since we had both instant pots on the counter, we went ahead and used both for this. This can be done without the air fryer step, or assemble in a casserole dish and bake in the oven. Everything is cooked, it’s just nice to brown the top and let the flavors rest. But without an air fryer, I would’ve eaten it without browning, and it would’ve been delicious. Ingredients 2 large sweet potatoes, washed and cut into 1” cubes 1 clove garlic, minced 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (or one 6-oz can) 1 tsp ground thyme 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp marjoram 1/4 tsp ground sage One 12-oz can lentils, or 2 cups cooked green, brown, or black lentils 1 …

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Always Hungry: Gluten-Free Food Truck in Austin, Texas!

One of our favorite charming qualities of Austin is that there’s a food truck on nearly every street corner, and there are so many interesting restaurants in the region. We’ve been here since December, and to date we haven’t found a lot of dedicated gluten-free spaces, making Always Hungry a delicious date-night treat. Always Hungry is a little taco truck (technically a trailer) in the parking lot of the Spider House Cafe and Ballroom, run by two best friends with a knack for delicious corn-free Mexican-inspired food. The menu is short, and everything starts out vegan, with the option to add meat for the omnivores. We shared two little tacos to start: one with mushrooms, and one with jackfruit. Both are delicious and come with greens, guac, lemon cashew aioli, hemp hearts, pickled onions (which I generously gave to David), and cilantro (no thanks), on homemade almond flour tortillas. They …

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Zucchini Kill Bakery: Gluten-Free Vegan Treats in Austin, Texas!

We haven’t been talking too much about our travels… it’s about time we started doing that, right? Well, we’re near Austin, Texas until the end of April, and I think we’ve found our favorite bakery of all time: Zucchini Kill, a vegan womyn-owned bakery in Possum Park, a vegan paradise in Austin. There are several vegan food trucks in Possum Park, but only Zucchini Kill is a dedicated gluten-free business. They’re also soy-free, mostly corn-free (except occasional corn starch and xanthan gum, which is technically a corn product), and none of the most common allergens. They do use GF oats in a very small number of their treats, and the workers have all be fantastic about letting me read the ingredients before we buy anything. In addition to adorable and delicious donuts, cupcakes, Rebel Swrrrls, and Cream Coffins, they sell CBD-infused sodas and sweets, incense, Zucchini Kill swag (I’m totally …

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Cake Mix Quickie! Microwave Mug Cake – gluten-free, vegan

We really love microwave mug cakes around here. We often make them from scratch (but they’re experimental so we don’t have a tried-and-true recipe to share here yet!), but we really like these Enjoy Life brownie mixes, and it turns out they make amazing mug cakes! Ingredients 4 heaping teaspoons of Enjoy Life brownie mix 1 tbsp coconut oil 2 tbsp water Instructions Mix in a microwave safe mug or bowl (paper bowls work for this, but they can get soggy, and they’re not our first choice). It should be a thin pudding consistency. Microwave for 90 seconds. We have a 1000-watt microwave and 90 seconds is perfect for us. Other microwaves we’ve used have needed 60 seconds or 2 full minutes, so you’ll have to test your own microwave the first couple times you make this. When your cake looks 80-90% dry on top, it’s ready. Let cool for …

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Gluten-Free Vegan Taco Meat: grain-free, soy-free, with nut-free option

This is one of those quickie recipes we’ve used for years but never think much about it. I thought I’d share it here to go with our new cassava tortillas. Ingredients 1 cup walnuts or sunflower seeds 1 8oz can mushrooms, drained 1 tbsp chili powder 1 tbsp nutritional yeast 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp hot sauce (optional) Instructions Chop walnuts into very coarse pieces (a mini food processor makes this easy). Add remaining ingredients, and chop until combined and the mushrooms are in small pieces. Let flavors meld for a few minutes before serving. Store unused meat in the fridge, for up to 3 days. Notes Siete Foods Habanero Hot Sauce is our favorite. A walnut-sunflower seed combo is also delicious. Fresh mushrooms can be used instead of canned. Mushrooms can be omitted entirely, but a little moisture (such as water or a little coconut oil) will help bind …

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Cassava Flour Tortillas: gluten-free, grain-free, vegan

Here is a little-known fact about us: we LOVE tacos. I mean, we really love tacos. On our whirlwind month-long trip from Arizona to Florida to get to David’s RV tech program (with a short detour through Georgia to avoid Hurricane Dorian), we had tacos almost every day. Unfortunately, tacos with celiac and food allergies can get a little complicated for such a simple yet perfect little food. I am a super-sensitive celiac, which means that it’s a little more difficult than simply looking for gluten-free labels on foods. I have been glutened several times by corn tortillas, because it’s nearly impossible to find certified gluten-free corn tortillas, or non-certified tortillas from companies that test their batches for the presence of gluten. Legally in the U.S., naturally gluten-free foods processed on equipment shared with wheat may be labeled “gluten-free,” even if the final products are not tested for the presence …

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Cherry Grunt: gluten-free, vegan, low-sugar dessert

I recently discovered fruit grunts: stove top cobblers that don’t require an oven, or much effort! I had a bag of cherries hanging out in my freezer, and decided to adapt this Farmer’s Almanac orchard fruit grunt recipe to make it vegan, gluten-free, and lower in sugar.

The view from above a saucepan of cherry dessert with 8 light yellow dumplings on top.
This worked well for a Saturday night dessert emergency!

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Vegan Chocolate Bark

A DIY Valentine’s Day treat. Ingredients 1 cup chocolate chips 1/4 cup any combination of nuts, seeds, dried fruit Instructions Line a baking sheet, plate, or cutting board with parchment paper. In a double boiler (or a makeshift double boiler), melt the chocolate. Mix in the nuts/seeds/fruit, and then pour onto the parchment, spreading the mixture out to a thickness of 1/2″ or less. Allow to cool somewhere undisturbed, and break into pieces. Store leftovers in a sealed container someplace cool.

Chocolate “Magic Shell” Ice Cream Topping

A super easy chocolate sauce that hardens on cold ice cream. Ingredients 1/2 cup chocolate chips 2 tbsp coconut oil Instructions In a microwave-safe dish (like a glass measuring cup, or a half-pint or pint-sized mason jar), microwave the chocolate and coconut oil in 20-second bursts, stirring very well in between, until sauce is smooth (about 2 minutes). Notes Works well with any kind of chocolate chip– white chocolate is awesome, and if you’re looking for vegan or dairy-free white chocolate, we love No Whey White Polar Dream Bars. Enjoy Life makes allergy-friendly chocolate chips, too. Try peanut butter or sun butter instead of or in addition to the chocolate chips. Leftover sauce can be stored in the fridge for a week or two. Microwave in 20-second bursts to reheat, stirring between each burst. Be patient! Chocolate will burn or seize up very quickly, especially in the microwave where hot …

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