Gluten-Free

Succotash Chili with Coconut Milk

Winter is on its way out where I live in Florida, and I’m already regretting it. Before you question my sanity, let me clarify that winter here is typically a three-month cool break from the steamy conditions that prevail during the rest of the year. It’s the season when I [...]

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Mini Breakfast Stratas

If I had to choose between lounging around in bed on a weekend morning or getting up early to make a hearty breakfast, it would be no contest. I’d pick the lazy option every time. But why choose when you can have both by spending ten minutes assembling a breakfast [...]

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Cajun-Style Shrimp

Think Louisiana cuisine and what terms immediately come to mind? Cajun. Creole. Jambalaya. Gumbo. Etouffee. Shrimp remoulade. Chicory coffee. Oyster po’ boys. Andouille sausage. Barbeque shrimp. If you say “say what?” to that last item you’re not alone. Although I’ve eaten New Orleans-style barbeque shrimp many times over the years, [...]

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Pear, Blue Cheese, Walnut and Bacon Salad

Fall and winter always seem to bring on a craving for slow cooked comfort foods, including soups, stews, casseroles, and other similar hearty fare. But even in the chilly months, the fresh taste and crunch of a simple, seasonal salad is a welcome change of pace. This recipe, which provides [...]

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Broccoli with Shiitake Mushrooms and Shallots

My decision about which green vegetables to serve with holiday dinners revolves around what, if anything, is ready for harvest in my home garden. Normally, my fall garden is not quite up to full speed by Thanksgiving day, so I serve my own lightened up, from-scratch version of traditional green [...]

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Cranberry Apple Chutney

The arrival of fresh cranberries at my local market always puts me in a festive mood and signals that the holiday season is just around the corner. Every year I begin stalking these deliciously tart berries in mid-October and have even been known to make unnecessary trips to the market [...]

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White Bean Soup with Collards and Chorizo

Fall, my favorite time of year, has finally arrived at my mid-Florida home. Here the season involves none of the drama of more northern climes — leaves turning to brilliant red and gold, the arrival of freezing weather, and mountains of leaves to rake. Instead, our fall is a more [...]

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Chicken Breasts Caprese with Ham

Autumn is rumored to have arrived in the northern hemisphere, but I’ve seen no sign of it yet at my Florida home. Here the temperature still hovers in the upper 80s F., as it has done for months. Shorts and tank tops are still de rigueur. And quickly cooked dishes [...]

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Cream of Pea Soup with Ginger and Cilantro

I feel that I can almost chart my culinary life with pea soup. It was the first dish I learned to “cook” at age six, and, as with other North Americans of my vintage, it involved a can of Campbell’s Split Pea. Mastering that canned soup gave me confidence to [...]

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Green Tomato Salsa Verde

September is a month when many home gardeners in the northern hemisphere start monitoring weather forecasts in earnest. Nighttime temperatures are dropping, but plenty of green tomatoes remain on the vine that will likely get zapped by cold weather in coming days or weeks. Pick them now, or hold off [...]

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