Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!  I have to admit that I love Christmas time, I love the twinkling lights, the hustle and bustle, the first snow fall, and even Christmas music!  But with my nose stuck in the books all month working on my grad school finals, I almost forgot that Christmas was coming.  Living in San Francisco where the weather is 60 degrees all year round, it is hard to feel any sense of seasons, especially the Christmas Season.  I had barely noticed any Christmas tree lights up and I hadn't heard a single Christmas song, since I don't listen to the radio and Rainbow Grocery, a hippie coop, is the only place I have been shopping and they don't play Christmas music!  Luckily I finally heard my favorite Christmas song of all, because my roommate was playing it at our house: Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas!

All I really want this year, is to fly to Boston for a real east coast Christmas and meet my new baby niece!  It is what I have been looking forward to all semester!

But if you're looking for something else sweet for Christmas, here are some of my recipes for yummy (wheat/sugar/dairy-free) desserts you can make for your Christmas party:

Christmas Ginger Spice Cookies

Chocolate Cream Pie (vegan too!)

Fig Almond Cookies 

Chocolate Rosemary Bread

Salmon and Soba

The other night I splurged on a beautiful piece of wild Alaskan salmon, and paired it with 100% buckwheat soba noodles, shitakes, spinach, carrots, and peas.  It was a refined dish, with delicate and earthy flavors, yet pretty simple to make.  Soba noodles are usually made from a combination of buckwheat flour (which is totally gluten free) and regular wheat flour (totally not gluten free), but you can find 100% buckwheat soba noodles at Whole Foods.  If you still can't find it, you can also use rice noodles instead for this dish.  Enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 fresh piece of salmon that serves 2 people
• 1 package of 100% buckwheat soba noodles (check ingredients!)
• 1 cup of shitake mushrooms
• 1 carrot 
• 1 bag of baby spinach
• 1 cup of peas or edamame beans
• 4 gloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tsps of freshly grated ginger
• 2 tbs of wheat free soy sauce/tamari
• 1 tbs of umeboeshi vinegar
• 2 tsps of miso paste
• 1tsp of sesame oil
• 1/2 tb of sesame seeds

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together the ginger, one clove of the garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, miso, and sesame oil.  Let sit and marinate.  
2. Boil soba noodles in a pot of water according to directions on package, only takes about 8 minutes!  Rinse well in colander.
3. While noodles cook, slice up the shitake mushrooms and carrots.  Saute with the rest of the garlic in olive oil on medium heat until soften.  Add the peas and spinach at the last minute.  
4. Saute the salmon in a pan (cast iron is nice), with olive oil for about 5 minutes on each side, depending on how thick it is.  It will be done when flesh turns a light shade of pink.  
5. In a serving bowl mix together the sauce and noodles, add the vegetables and top with salmon.  
6. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and enjoy!

Gluten free sandwiches!

I recently stumbled upon a cafe in the Richmond neighborhood that serves gluten free sandwiches!  I've walked by this little cafe on Clement street a million times, always heading to Burma Super Star or one of the other Asian restaurants, never giving this place a second look.  But last week I had some time to kill and walked into Blue Danube Coffee House to get some tea.  As I walked in the door I noticed a sign that said, "gluten free sandwiches."  In disbelief I asked the waitress, "Do you really have gluten free bread?"  With a smile she said, "yes," so I ordered a bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich.  The bread was nicely grilled, and filled with fresh avocado and loads of bacon!  It also came with a fabulous mixed greens salad with a zesty Italian dressing.  I ate every last bite on my plate!  This place also has great teas, beer, and is open till 10pm.  If you're in the Richmond neighborhood in SF, check it out!