About Free Eats
Welcome to Free Eats. I’m Terris and this is my little space to share recipes and photos from my kitchen.
Here are a few facts about me. Just in case you wanted to know. I won’t be offended if you head to the recipes NOW.
Once upon a time, I went to culinary school and got my degree in baking and pastry arts. I baked breads, made macarons, pulled sugar, tempered chocolate and made wedding cakes like my life depended on it.
Fast forward 13 years and a few things have changed! I got married to the love of my life and we have two little munchkins named Claire and Patrick. Now I mostly bake and cook for friend’s and family, but my son’s multiple food allergies (and my diagnosis of celiac disease) have challenged and inspired me to rework my original recipes and create new ones.
The recipes here are gluten-free, dairy-free (Patrick outgrew his dairy allergy, but I still avoid it), corn-free and mostly soy-free.
We are the proud owners of a chubby, fluffy flock of chickens. Speckles, Heart, Goldie, and Blackberry live the good life and are valuable contributors to the blog with their lovely golden brown eggs.
I call the gorgeous Sierra Foothills of California my home and I am grateful to have Yosemite National Park in our “backyard.”
If I’m not in the kitchen or hanging out with my kids, I can be found grooming, riding or caring for two of the nicest horses I have known. They are my yoga class.
I’m usually spotted wearing a pair of Keen shoes or cowboy boots.
When I’m in the kitchen you can almost bet that I am listening to NPR, or my eclectic music collection, covering the likes of The Stoned Roses, Cat Power, Lucinda Williams and the Pixies.
I bake bread 3 days a week and use my 15 year old Kitchen Aid Mixer almost daily. That baby has earned her keep and then some.
I read cookbooks like novels and frequently have a stack of them on my nightstand. Currently at the top of the stack: Chez Panisse Cooking. I was feeling a bit nostalgic and honestly, this book is timeless.
Etsy is one of my favorite addictions.
Each night my husband and I switch off singing lullabies to our kids at bedtime. When I’m done singing, I can depend on the fact that my husband will have a hot cup of chai tea waiting for me when I finish. Every night, forever.
I turn my cellphone on approximately 3 times a year. I love my iPad and I love libraries even more. Go figure.
Gin and tonic with lots of lime = ♥. I especially love it when someone else prepares them. Yep, they definitely taste better that way.
In culinary school I once had a wedding cake instructor who would make us clean our mixers with Q-tips. This guy made people cry, but I secretly kind of admired his passion. Plus, he bought the Q-tips with his own money.
Once I baked a three tier wedding cake and forgot to add the sugar. Luckily, cakes that don’t have any sugar look very strange when you take them out of the oven and I found out sooner rather than later.
My kids are the coolest couple of kids ever and they have full editorial rights to everything on this site. They have also created the rating system that I use to determine if a recipe is blog-worthy. Currently the highest honor is known as “rocket ships to the sky” and I live my life in fear of the dismal “rocket ships exploding on the ground” rating.
I love hearing from you and feel free to comment or create your own rating system.
You can also email me at:
free eats @ rocket mail . com (just remember to remove the spaces!)
I love you! I miss living close… oh, how I wish I could be your recipe tester!!
This is fantastic! Even though I don’t have any food allergies, I could use some healthy recipes with new flavors and textures for my family. I can’t wait to read what you post!!
Congratulations on an awesome idea!
Miss you!
Wendy
Love you too Wendy! Oh how I wish you could taste test for me!
Hello, I have recently been diagnosed with Celiacs… my daughter too… oh I wish I had your talents, but it is so refreshing to see wonderful food without gluten and dairy. What do you do for your children for calcium and fiber… my family believe it or not think I am harming my children, I get really scared too… just wanted to know your suggestions.
Thanks for stopping by. I’m happy to give you some ideas of what worked for my family, but do consult your doctor since I can’t give medical advice. With that said, I’m a mom just like you and I was worried sick in the beginning! My son recently outgrew his dairy allergy (I’m still dairy free) so he is now able to get his calcium through dairy products. From ages 1-4 he drank rice and almond milk, both of which were fortified with the same amount of calcium as a glass of milk, as well as vitamins. There are also orange and apple juices on the market with similar levels of calcium, and a dizzying array of gummy vitamins at health food stores. They see to have different formulas for every dietary need. Regarding the fiber, I incorporate a lot of ground flax into our daily bread (my honey millet rolls), pancakes, waffles, cookies, etc. We also eat quinoa, gluten-free certified oats, lentils, and beans. Each year the kids grow older they are more adventurous when it comes to eating, but I have hidden fiber before too! One of their favorites is a shake I make with Rice milk, dried prunes, agave syrup, bananas, cocoa powder, a tablespoon of ground flax and ice. It tastes like a chocolate shake and they LOVE it. I hope this helps. Cheers, Terris
Please oh pleeeaassseee adopt me…I’ll clean your house top to bottom – tho you won’t let me cook a thing in your kitchen as I might burn your house down. If I could get my husband to quite his job we’d buy a house right next door and I’d be over riding with you daily. Miss you tons!!! Why haven’t they built a BART train from Danville to Mariposa yet? ):
Love ya!
T
Hey there, I see that I am not the only one wanting you to adopt them Terris! I finally figured out how to get this set up to come in my email and am thrilled! You are truly my hero and your kitchen is a warm and happy place. Keep living the tasty wonderful life that enriches those who come in contact with you! I am passing your blog on to my gluten free sister in law!
Love, Jeannine
I’m so impressed! WOWIE! Your recipes are totally, amazingly AWESOME! I’m gonna get Amy to make some of them…
By the way, you look fantastic! 
First of all, Terris, I miss you! I think Wendy and I better have Shaun make some of these for us….I want him to make the doughnuts. I love it when he cooks for me, but I guess I could do it myself.
Can’t wait to check in and see what is new! Sending Love and Hugs to all of you!
AMY!!! What a wonderful surprise to see your comment here on the blog. Thank you for stopping by. I SO MISS you too. I always tell people that the best part of my time in Oregon was my friends! I hope you all are doing well. I still look forward to the day we can come back for a visit. xoxo, Terris
Hi Terris. Its very nice to finally read your website. I’m your husband’s lab mate at UCM. My spouse also has wheat allergies, so I’ve also developed a liking to gluten-free cooking. Also, one of my best friends at Stanford U. has Celiac’s. So from those grad school days I began concocting gluten-free treats. I look forward to reading your posts and meeting you in the future. Cheers!
What a wonderful surprise Marcos. Always great to have special visitors stop by here! How exciting that you bake gluten-free too. Hope to meet you in person one day soon. We can swap baked goods.
Hey Terris, I just sent a friend of mine,Stacey, to your site. She is deeply in love already… Hope to visit soon. Gina
Awww, thanks for sending her my way. Good to hear from you! Please do come for a visit! The apartment is ready and waiting.
Hi Terris,
I feel like I have found a kindred spirit. I live in California near Yosemite also. I have been gluten free for 8 years. I am mostly dairy free, but I do eat it occasionally. I am also soy free. Which leaves me free to make the most delicious meals with REAL ingredients, including eggs from my backyard chickens and the most wonderful produce straight from the garden. I’ll stop by your site regularly for inspiration. Your desserts look wonderful.
Thanks for stopping by! It’s always fun to hear from locals.
Heading to check out your site now.