Fresh Approach Cooking

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Shauna; home cook, blogger, wife, possibly-obsessed but-who-am-I-to-judge-Beatles fan, friend, author...had her people send me a copy of her recently published book, aptly titled Gluten Free Girl. Boo-ya! I felt so special, lemme tell ya!

My very own copy was on the doorstep Friday morning and I pounced, tearing open the package and flipping immediately to the acknowledgement page, where I already knew I was mentioned. (It's just all about me, isn't it! Ha ha ha) Oh kids, I was so giddy.

And I am giddy because a woman I just simply adore wrote such a beautiful tome.

I really hope you will buy a copy. It's both informative, lovely, funny and loving. A good read all around I would say...

Now, as part of her "Virtual Book Tour." She asked me to write an essay (I guess its true! You can take the teacher out of the school, but you can't take the teacher out of the -gluten free- girl! Ha!) about my life as a Covergirl...wait, no, about my life as a Gluten Free Girl! (So much more food-centric!) I think the idea is to have different prospectives on how her book can affect different people...as shown by the bloggers she is having participate. Pretty cool, right?

Well, as you can all tell, I'm not Gluten Free...but I am a huge fan of her site, and incredibly sympathetic to restrictive diets. Oh man, am I ever. Vegan? Kosher? Peanut Allergies? Macrobiotic? Halal? Low Carb? Just plain not in to something? I get it. Why? Because that is your body. You choose what goes in it, and only you know what makes you tick, so who am I to tell you what to, or not to, eat? Nope, I'd just rather, (Much like Shauna) you get maximum pleasure out of what you DO eat, and not focus on what you don't. (Phew! Heavy!) All that and I will say this...please...less packaged food, more cooking, ya? Ya!

(Me, I can't eat bananas. Happily, they are rarely the secret ingredient in anything...except at Jamba Juice...those peeps love them some 'nanas...stick um in everything...wassup with dat?)

So in the spirit of Mrs. Ahern, I will post today an entirely gluten free recipe...because as she says, its not what isn't in it that makes it good...it's what is...and this recipe was created with love.

Try it, and enjoy!

2 pounds Brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved
pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 T. Dijon style mustard
2 t. brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
coarse black pepper

In a large pot, boil the Brussel sprouts, with a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar until just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Drain immediately.

In a blender combine the rest of the ingredients, and blend to emulsify. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Toss the b-sprouts with the dressing and serve at room temp or cold.

Makes 6-8 servings.

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Many of the recipes on this site are gluten free...just click the labels to see!

Info on Celiac.

Info on CVS. (I have that. Miserable business...)

Labels: Books, Gluten Free, Side-Dish, Vegan, Vegetarian