Not only do they only use hickory smoke and salt to cure their salmon, no other ingredients, but they also sell the “trimmings” for just $8 a lb (basically the leftovers when they cut pretty squares of the salmon). And let me tell you, a half a pound of salty smoked salmon goes a long ways. In fact, we find their salmon to be a bit too strong, so I’ve had to tone down the amount I use per serving.

My husband really liked the following pasta salad recipe, stating that the salmon added a nice flavor, but didn’t overpower the dish at all. One thing I did discover though, vegan mayo doesn’t work quite as well in pasta salads from an overnight standpoint. It was beautiful on the first day, but unlike “regular” mayo-based pasta salads, it didn’t improve with age. The dressing got a bit thick. This was easy to remedy with a touch of added oil, and the dish did heighten in flavor by the next day.

If you want to keep the dish vegetarian / vegan, try using chickpeas in the mix instead of salmon. While it won’t have that fishy flavor, the mixture of vegetables, pasta, mayo, and old bay is quite nice on its own!

Just in case you missed it – Enjoy my recipe for Coconut Crispy Treat “Nests” with Jelly Bean “Eggs!” A fun one to do with kids on Easter day or any day! No marshmallows! Just a few wholesome ingredients + jelly beans of course.

I’m sharing my recipe for what we call “Chocolate Crack Bars.”

See, look what they do to the gnome! Everyone gets excited when I pop these out of the freezer, which is far too often since they literally take minutes to make.

The recipe is being featured on Attune Foods today, so “crack bars” seemed slightly inappropriate for the title. You will find them labeled as Addictive Double Chocolate Granola Bars.

Go, check out the recipe here!

If there is one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that there are a lot of things that can affect a recipe, and this goes well beyond the ingredients and the oven temperature. Yes, there are methods … soaking, rinsing, coating, or none of the above … but the single most important factor, in my opinion, is climate. I’ve lived and recipe tested in them all. Dry as a bone deserts, high altitude, rusty towns by the sea, fertile valleys … and while some recipes will work pretty well everywhere, there is always at least a slight variance in the results.

Right now, we are in that rusty seaside town, and my nemesis is those darn crispy root vegetables. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that roasting could only be done at very high temperatures, and even then, they just get a nice firm exterior with browning. There is just too much darned humidity!

So this simple little recipe may yield “chips” for you, but for me, they were soft and just roasted. I can’t remember in what magazine I saw this “perfect chip” idea. They used some other root vegetable, but a similar one, and I wrote down the temp and cooking time, eager to give it a go. But alas, there was no crisping for me, not even a little bit.

Fortunately, whether or not these roots crisp up for you, they are darn tasty. I was lazy, I use a pre-mix of Cajun spices to make it even easier. So this is more like a recipe idea than a real recipe. But I’m all about sharing ideas, particularly when they use vegetables …

Vegan White Chocolate Crispy Bars

Two-Tone Chocolate Crispy Bars

Go, see them now!

Today we are honoring our good friend Amy of Simply Sugar & Gluten Free with a Virtual Baby Shower …

For my contribution to the shower, I went out on a limb, choosing something savory that doesn’t involve any butter, cream, or cheese (hang with Amy, you are still going to love it, I promise!). Nonetheless, these little frittatas are rich and packed with flavor.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any baby shower inspired props for decorating. But, I did my best to honor Baby Boy Green with some little blue plates that I actually won at a baby shower! That’s themed enough, right?

I know, mine isn’t nearly as pretty as the original, but I still love it!

I’m a contributor at the new website The Balanced Platter and talking about menu planning this month. Hop on over and checkout that post, and leave your own menu ideas! Links are welcome!

I’ve also got a post on Go Dairy Free on a similar topic, but covering a different perspective. It’s my Six Simple Steps to Dairy-Free (or anything “free” for that matter!).

While you’re there, please share your own tips for healthy breakfasts and cutting back on sugars (You can comment on that post – I will be checking!). I’d LOVE to read them and am always looking for new ideas!

My husband and I don’t usually exchange gifts during the holidays, so this year, I felt like a little kid again with all of the wonderful surprises! Tony outdid himself in deal-finding (hello, awesome new, more powerful netbook for just $200!!), my in-laws as usual were so generous (love the new powder blue ski coat!), and I even received a cool, and completely unexpected gift basket of treats in the mail ….

Is it just me, or does Starbuck’s always make the coolest coffee accessories? (I’m sitting here right now sipping tea from my favorite Starbucks jumbo “world” mug that I bought years ago). That, above, is a ceramic travel mug – so, so awesome! Oh, and that StellaMare soy candle is heaven on earth. Seriously, I’m not a fan of most scented candles and nearly keel over whenever walking by those candle and bath shops, but StellaMare is now on my Pinterest loves (yes, I even created a new board just to have a place to pin those candles!).

So as some of you know, I adore tea (understatement of the year), but coffee and I are practically strangers. That said, I’ve been wanting to trial coffee in recipes, and the VIA instant coffee that they sent seemed like the perfect excuse. I love the individual packets, as I can use a small amount in recipes and the rest stays fresh! Anyway, I whipped up these amazing, caffeine-infused nibbles …

Mocha Fudge Energy Bites

See the recipe here.

Take a look, do you see what I did? I actually “themed” them with coconut and pistachios for a wintery, holiday vibe. Yes, the girl who typically can’t take 2 seconds to style the food or even think about making it look seasonal. I know, this isn’t huge … but baby steps. Are you proud of me?

But back to those fudge bites, which are delicious! A touch strong in coffee for me … just a touch, so I left the amount in the recipe as is, but I might use a little less next time for my own tastes since the flavor of coffee is still a bit potent for my timid taste buds. But I need more ideas!

Do you have any recipe ideas or loves that use [a small amount of] coffee? (again, baby steps)

Also, the Home for the Holidays – Gluten-Free Event has come to a close. See the ginormous list of winners here.

Now, the idea of Home for the Holidays is to share a gluten-free recipe that says both “home” and “holidays” to me. I liked this concept, but honestly, I was a bit uncertain about what to post. With a small family scattered around five states / provinces, holidays have become less about tradition for my husband and I, and more about relaxing. While I definitely do not want to get rid of the relaxation part, I’m eager to “settle down” and inject a little more love into the season.  So I’m digging deep into my childhood memories, past the toys and gifts, to the things that truly meant the most to me at Christmas.

One wonderful memory that I have is my mother baking dozens of mini-loaves of pumpkin bread to give as gifts. It was a traditional present that she baked up every single year for friends and neighbors, and it filled the house with such warmth and an unforgettable sweet and spicy aroma. She was a bit of a perfectionist, so I wasn’t allowed to help with the baking process, and thus had no “tried and true” family recipe to start with. Not to mention, with Tony on a gluten-free and egg-free diet, conventional recipes just wouldn’t do.

I searched all around for egg-free, gluten-free pumpkin bread recipes, and found a few, but all of them were so different! Which one would work best, and what could I safely modify? It was all so overwhelming that I scrapped the lot and I winged it. That’s right, sans recipe, I threw together a quick bread that is free of the top eight allergens and gluten-free to boot!

And you know what? It turned out fantastic on the first batch! Now that is something that doesn’t happen very often. It must be the magic of the holidays.

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Note: This Giveaway is now closed, but you can still enjoy the recipe above!

I’ve got FIVE PRIZES to share, which means FIVE WINNERS (see below for the big bonus prizes for the event)!

The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen

The Gluten-Free Diner eCookbook + Whole Gang Jumbo Tote

7 Quick Start Tips for Living a Healthy Gluten-Free Fit Life eCookbook (2 winners)

Delight Magazine Subscription

BONUS: By commenting to win on this giveaway, you will automatically be entered to win one of the GRAND PRIZES in the Home for the Holidays event:

1. The first prize is a top-of-the-line Vita-Mix professional blender 5200 Super Healthy Lifestyle package and a free copy of the super cool e-book Eat Fresh and Detox your Life (a $560 value!)
2. The second prize is a shopping spree from Free From Gluten (a $150 value!)
3. The third prize is a Caveman Cookies giveaway package (an $89 value!)

To Enter to Win:

• Leave a Comment telling me which book(s) and/or subscription you would like to win AND one of your favorite holiday traditions.
•  For a second entry, share this giveaway on facebook, twitter, your blog, or via email to friends, and leave a second comment telling me that you’ve shared it. Don’t forget to leave this second comment for your second entry!

This giveaway is open to entries worldwide! The entries will close Tuesday, December 20th at midnight (PST), so enter now!

Note: If you want to join in on the Home for the Holidays event, feel free to grab the badge above and use it in your own gluten-free recipe post. Be sure to link back to the Home for the Holidays event page so that Shirley sees your post!