GLUTEN FREE VEGAN MAPLE ORANGE BAKED APPLES

The minute the temperature drops, I'm at the greenmarket buying items to bake: squash, potatoes, carrots, onions, but easiest and most delightful is this healthy dessert, the baked apple. I use Rome or Cortland apples, and buy the largest ones I can find. But if your local farmer recommends another type of apple, give it a try, because many might work just as well. What I like about these is that they hold their shape, even when soft enough to eat with a spoon. Here's the recipe:

PUMPKIN TIME: GLUTEN FREE VEGAN PUMPKIN TOMATO SOUP

This is an old favorite of mine, perfect for the season. Hope you enjoy this easy recipe!

A bit spicy, a bit creamy and full of flavor.

GLUTEN-FREE VEGETARIAN BURMESE LUNCH

I was headed to the Upper East Side and I'd never had Burmese food before, so I figured, why not?

OLD FAVE: GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN YAM, COCONUT, PEANUT SOUP

This creamy soup suits get-togethers of people who like full-flavored dishes and aren't afraid of spice.

WESTVILLE CHELSEA NYC FOR GLUTEN FREE VEGETARIANS

I owe my new love affair with Westville Chelsea to Menupages! 

Plans for a movie led to search for Chelsea Vegetarian, and when I saw their Market Specials, I thought: this is how I eat!! Finally, a place where I can have dinner and have it be totally vegetable-centered, but not ascetic or mundane. 

GLUTEN FREE NAKED PIZZA NYC

Naked Pizza has become my almost-neighborhood pizza joint. The gluten-free crust is always reliably crunchy, never soggy or greasy, and I feel like it will be many, many visits before I make a dent in the possible topping combinations, even for a vegetarian!

Above, you see my most recent choice: Black beans, cilantro, sun-dried tomatoes with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. I love adding vegetarian protein to pizzas. Definitely cuts the guilt factor, especially when you're eating half of a 10" pizza in one sitting!

GLUTEN FREE ITALIAN AT BISTANGO NYC

Let's start with dessert. At Bistango, my neighborhood Italian restaurant that just happens to cater to the gluten-free as well as conventional diner, dessert, especially the carrot cake pictured above, is always reliably delicious. So very good that the whipped cream served with it, though delicious, seems excessive.

That night for dinner we two celiacs ordered the following:

PALA NYC FOR GLUTEN-FREE ITALIAN

Even though it was dark at NYC's Pala Pizza on Allen Street, and I only had my phone with me, you can see how wonderful a gluten-free pizza can look when it's baked in a brick oven imported from Italy and delivered to you on a parchment paper covered wood peel and is, finally, in my opinion, baked LONG ENOUGH! So often I find the crust is really underdone and the cheese hasn't browned before the pizza reaches the table. This 

GLUTEN-FREE VEGETARIAN CUMIN LIME CARROT SALAD

This is one of the easiest recipes, and probably shouldn't even be glorified with that title. Here's what I did to make this interesting carrot salad for two:

LILLI AND LOO TRIP #3 FOR GLUTEN FREE ASIAN FOOD

GLUTEN FREE VEGETARIAN YUBA ROLL WITH BOK CHOY

For an introduction to Lilli and Loo, see the first and second posts I've made about this upper East Side gluten-free treasure. The dish pictured above contains an item many westerners might not be familiar with, yuba. 

RUDI'S GLUTEN FREE HAMBURGER BUNS

This Rudi's Gluten-free Hamburger Bun was found in a supermarket freezer, so it's hard to know if it was dry because it was frozen just as it was drying out or if it was dry when it arrived at the supermarket, my local NYC chain, Gristedes. I toast my hamburger buns, so it didn't make that much of a difference when I was using it for burgers. But I have been known to munch on a soft and chewy untoasted burger roll just as a snack, which I wouldn't have done with this one. 

LULA'S VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE ICE CREAM

Lula's Sweet Apothecary in NYC's East Village (6th Street between Avenues A and B) is a place I've been meaning for visit for a while. It's top-rated "A" by the Health Dept. which I always like to see, and it was packed the night I was there, so it's clear that word has gotten around about this friendly spot with its down-home decor and allergen-sensitive list of goodies.