I’ve mentioned before how Aran Goyoaga, the beautiful writer and chef behind blog Cannelle et Vanille, and I met online. We connected via our shared issues with thyroid disease. We’ve never met – she lives in Florida – but we write to each other on Twitter and emal. A modern pen pal kind of thing.
A while back Aran went gluten-free. Which made me happy, not just for her health, but for the planet. It meant some pretty special recipes were going to come our way.
And they did. Aran sent me her cookbook last week and I’ve shown it to a few people. Like me, they’ve been floored by just how creative her recipes are. And how pretty she can make the simplest of dishes look. It’s not lavish, nor holier-than-though food. It’s elegant and nutritious and you’re left wanting to have what she’s having. It was all good timing: Small Plates and Sweet Treats is out this week in Australia, with Hachette.
Many of her sweet treats contain sugar…but I reckon they’re easily able to be converted to sugar-free by substituting with stevia or rice malt syrup. Just watch me try…and I’ve almost convinced Aran to quit sugar, too! For now, I’m going to share three of her summery quinoa recipes, so you can get a feel for her style and flavour.