I took my young friend Rebecca to Huckleberry Café in Santa Monica for brunch, and we couldn’t resist 2 items on the menu: the poached eggs smothered in a savory lentil and chard ragout, and fried eggs sitting atop quinoa tossed with market vegetables. Not wanting to waste a drop of the lentil stew, we spooned the last bits over the remaining quinoa, and the mixture was a winner. Rebecca, who is attending culinary school, was curious about what gave the lentil ragout its rich flavors, and we decided to try to recreate the recipe together.

My new book, Weeknight Gluten Free, is filled with recipes for luscious, naturally gluten-free sauces. One of my favorites is a vibrant pistachio and basil salsa verde. Salsa verde is an uncooked, fragrant mixture of olive oil and fresh herbs that takes only a few minutes to prepare. There are Italian, French, Spanish, Argentinian, and German versions. I use a full flavored extra-virgin olive oil, a little minced shallot, and lots of aromatic herbs as the base for many variations. 

I will be demonstrating a recipe and signing books on May 4 & 5 at the Celiac Disease Foundation’s National Conference and Gluten-Free Expo. The conference is taking place in Pasadena, and is a great opportunity to learn up-to-date information about gluten intolerance from doctors, researchers, and dieticians. You will also have the opportunity to sample the best and newest products from over 100 gluten-free exhibitors. I attended last year, and the experience inspired me to write my new book, Weeknight Gluten Free.

Today is the official publication date for my new book, Weeknight Gluten Free. It is now available not only at Williams-Sonoma stores, but also at many bookstores nationwide, and online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I am thrilled with the stunning photography and the entire package.

In the book, I offer 100 of my favorite gluten-free recipes developed during a year of glorious experimentation. I was the food editor at Bon Appetit magazine for over 20 years and got to taste all of the great recipes we showcased. When my childhood celiac disease recently resurfaced, I was determined to continue to eat as well as I always had. I learned to cook the simple, healthful, fresh food I love, but without wheat, rye, or barley. I focus on items that are naturally gluten-free, and my inspiration comes from the gorgeous produce I find at farmers’ markets. My friends and family never realize anything is missing when they eat my new cooking.

I was not going to give up pasta when I had to stop eating wheat, so I went on a search for a tasty, firm, nutritious, gluten-free product. Most gluten-free pastas are made from rice. The texture and flavor of rice-based noodles are great in Asian cooking, but they don’t work for me in Italian food—they don’t have enough body, easily overcook to a limp mess, and the flavor is wrong. In addition, it is now suggested we cut back on rice consumption, because of high arsenic levels in some rice products.

This Saturday, March 16, I will be cooking a couple of dishes from my new book, Weeknight Gluten Free, and then signing books at the Williams-Sonoma store in Beverly Hills. I’ll get started at 2 PM. I hope you will come; I’d be thrilled to meet you.

Pretty, indulgent, relatively healthy, and easy to craft, I made a tin full of these gluten-free confections for us to enjoy during valentines’ week. But, we realized our stash was dwindling yesterday, so we rushed to take the photo here before they were all gobbled up.

I spent last weekend learning lots about the nutritional requirements for a gluten-free diet, and eating very, very well. I was attending a retreat in Santa Barbara, led by Melinda Dennis, a celiac expert and dietician specializing in the gluten-free regime. She is one of the founders of the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boson, and taught us more about eating healthfully without wheat than I imagined there was to know.