We've all encountered, and possibly even served, a boring crudité platter. As a vegetarian and gluten-free guest and host, I've had my fair share of raw broccoli and carrot sticks while other party guests indulged in more interesting hors d'oeuvres. But these pickled baby carrots? These ones with the zingy bite that will be ready in just a couple of hours? You might want to double the recipe. 

Q: I'm baking a gluten-free wedding cake and I would love some help! The wedding is for 100 people this September. Do you have a gluten-free wedding cake recipe? Non-gluten-free-but-adaptable wedding cake recipe? 

Q: What are some gluten-free meal ideas for a couple with a new baby still in the hospital? A friend recently had a baby who is staying in the NICU. With all the time spent at the hospital, the parents have little energy to cook when they get home. 

I consider caramel popcorn to be the ultimate party treat — beloved by the attendees of children's birthday parties and grown-up cocktail hours alike. It's crunchy, it's deeply caramelized, and it's utterly addictive. If your only experience with caramel popcorn is the sticky-sweet stuff that comes Christmas tins, then I insist that you drop whatever you are currently doing and make yourself a batch this afternoon.

Looking for something a little different from the usual crostini hors d'oeuvre? How about a sweet potato — sliced into rounds, roasted, and topped with a zingy miso sauce. It's a flavorsome little bite to whet the appetite, plus it's perfect for gluten-free and vegetarian folks.

Party appetizer rut? Trying to impress the coworkers? Want to elevate date night to a whole new level? It may be time to break out the waffle iron. 

A simple puréed soup is something I turn to often, usually relying on a creamy tomato, but lately I've been relying instead on a lightly-spiced cauliflower soup. Cauliflowers are easy to come by and quite inexpensive at the markets (in Seattle anyway), so as you sit and wait for true spring produce (peas, favas, asparagus!), this is a good recipe to tide you over. 

Whether you choose the toppings or let your guests join in on the fun, pizzas and flatbreads are great crowd pleasers. I'm especially fond of socca, a chewy, crispy, gluten-free flatbread made from chickpea flour. As an appetizer or main course socca can be served plain or topped, like this one for spring. It features an herby, lemony pesto and fresh salad — plus it should even satisfy the worst dinner guest ever! 

At the start of spring, the whole world seems to be bursting with tiny, irresistible signs of new life: green leaves sprouting from branches, fuzzy kittens popping up in my Facebook feed, and tender, sweet new potatoes making their brief annual appearance at the market. They may not last long, but when preparing ingredients this fresh and fleeting, the upside is that you don't have to do much to make them stand out. Simply boiled and tossed with fresh herbs and anchovy-flecked butter, new potatoes are a savory, soul-satisfying way to celebrate spring.

Since going gluten-free, I've had lots of fun expanding my arsenal of flours. My latest discovery? DIY sunflower seed flour. I discovered "sun-flour" while developing my recipe for Fruit Crumble with Oats & Dates and have started using this wonderful ingredient in other baked goods, too.