But anyway, getting sick and not having the energy to cook good (or bad) food for myself did make me think about my diet and the things that I know are good for me and make me feel good. I stopped the chocolate habit cold turkey, and turned towards the good stuff. Kale is one of those things that makes me feel good. I like to buy it from Whole Foods because they have organic kale in all kinds of varieties, or even better, from the Farmer’s Market when it is in season. The other day, though, the DH took me to my follow up-checkup on my lungs (because he is a sweetie) and I was feeling so much better that we decided to get lunch out together.

Calafia Cafe
Town & Country Village Suite 130
855 El Camino Real (at Embarcadero Road)
Palo Alto California
(650) 322-9200

I had read about Calafia Palo Alto being a good restaurant with a gluten-free menu, and I’d passed it numerous times in the Palo Alto Town and Country square, but I’d never actually eaten there. Half of the restaurant is a deli, and I’m easily intimidated by delis. However, the other half of the restaurant is a nice, sit-down restaurant with menus, and we decided to get a table. I was happy to see the gluten-free labeml on many of their dishes, but weirdly enough, I was even happier to see that they split the menu in half between vegetarian and omnivore options. They even labeled their vegan dishes. Unfortunately, I wasn’t actually that hungry because I had eaten a very full and nutritious breakfast (leftover Dal made my the DH the night before, my hero!). But I decided to order their Braised Greens with Almond Butter, which they describe on their menu as: “rainbow swiss chard, sautéed with shallots, glazed with cider vinegar and finished with a vegan turmeric scented almond butter,
dried cranberries and walnuts.” The small dish that arrived wasn’t very dramatic, but when I took a bite I could literally feel my blood being supercharged with nutrition. The funny thing is, I wasn’t completely in love with the balance of flavor. I could taste cayenne more than turmeric in the almond butter, and was a trifle spicy for me after years of cooking for a DH with a sensitive tummy and now a toddler who despises spiciness. At the same time, I felt so good as I ate it and I was ultimately very happy with it. It was also novel because it was both like something I might cook for myself but at the same time not with the exact balance of flavor I would choose. How often can you go out to eat and feel like you’re getting a more nutritious meal than you would have at home? That is why I fell in love with this restaurant and would go back in a heartbeat. They had an intriguing assortment of specialty smoothie beverages, and tons of entrees and other dishes marked gluten-free and vegetarian. The DH was also happy, although he ordered a gluten menu item of what he called a “salad pizza”- a pizza with goat and blue cheese with a gorgeous pile of arugula on top. (They don’t offer gluten-free pizza, but plenty of other places do so I didn’t mind.)

I did some reading and found out that Calafia was started by a chef named Charlie Ayers that was the head chef at Google for six years after being a caterer for the Grateful Dead. Not only that, but he has his own book called Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google. According to the booklist description, “Raw, organic, and fermented is Charlie s mantra, which is reflected in more than 90 easy-to-prepare recipes, whether it s a Kick-start Breakfast, a Power Lunch, or a Light, Bright Dinner. And, following the world-famous formula Charlie used at Google headquarters, the meals and snacks are designed to feed your brain exactly what it needs at different points throughout the workday.” It has been a while since I went to a restaurant that I found as exciting as this one, and after reading more about the chef I can understand why. It isn’t a raw-foods cookbook, and not even a vegetarian cookbook, but I was intrigued enough by the description that I ordered a used copy for myself. I’ll let you know how I like it!

Anyway, their braised green recipe with almond sauce was a delightful restaurant offering and also got me thinking about how I might try my own (very different) version when I brought home some tasty organic kale from the farmer’s market this weekend. Here’s my take on it, which met with approval from my omnivorous dad and allergy-sensitive mother. Toddler Yum found it to be too much green for her, but since she scarfs down raw broccoli, cauliflower, and roasted chickpeas, I think I’ll overlook this temporary disdain for kale. It took me some years to develop a love affair with kale, after all, and now it is my favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu item! I hope you enjoy this recipe for a vegan almond sauce kale recipe as much as we did.

Looking for more kale-almond recipes?
Addictive Vegan Kale Salad
Kale Almond Pesto
Almond Crunch Kale Chips
Chopped Kale Salad with Toasted Almonds
Just Plain Scrumptious Kale Recipes:
Cashew Creamed Kale Recipe
Kale and toor Dal
Kale in Puttanesca Sauce
Gluten-free Cornmeal Dumplings with Red Beans and Kale
Gluten-free Stuffing with Kale, Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms
Kale with Pine Nuts and Raisins
Vegetarian Lasagna with Kale and Cheese
Feta Breakfast Kale

Hey, I’m in the running for the Circle of Moms Top 25 Vegan and Vegetarian Mom Blogger Award!

You can vote once per blog every 24 hours until February 14th at 8pm EST. I’d love to make it to the final count!

Almond Butter Kale Recipe Side Dish  Vegetables  American

Ingredients 2 tsp. grapeseed or olive oil 1 small to medium bunch of kale, rinsed and dried with spine cut out, chopped 3 tbsp. diced onion sauce: 1/4 cup roasted almond butter 2 tbsp. hot water or more for desired texture 1 tsp. agave nectar, maple syrup, honey (look for neutral flavored honey), or simple syrup 1 tsp. lime or lemon juice herbamare or your favorite salt blend dash cayenne pepper or paprika Directions Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet on medium high and add your chopped kale leaves. I like to pan fry them until they get browned and dry in patches, but you can cook them to your preference. When almost done, add your diced onion to the pan and saute until translucent. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Add more hot water if needed to have a sauce you can pour. When kale and onions are done, put into an attractive bowl and drizzle generously with sauce. Fold sauce into the kale until evenly distributed and serve.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by recent restaurant meal, but the contents of my brain. Please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1585 Added:  February 5, 2012 Last Modified:  February 5, 2012

Here are the ingredients for your average Butterfinger:
SUGAR, GLUCOSE, PEANUTS, HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL OIL, COCOA POWDER, MODIFIED MILK INGREDIENTS, MOLASSES, CORN FLAKES, SALT, SOYA LECITHIN, CORN STARCH, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOUR, TBHQ, CITRIC ACID, COLOUR.

Actually, I’ve read worse, but it just doesn’t sound very good or good for you. And how about that TBHQ? Yum!
So I decided it was time to re-think the Butterfinger. At its most basic, this bar is all about the sweet, sweet peanut filling, crispy corn flakes and chocolate shell. One peanut treat that we love and often eat in our house is the peanut butter lara bar, which is simply peanuts, dates, and a little salt. So I thought, why not make a homemade Lara Bar, give it a corn flake center for crunch, and dip or drizzle it in chocolate?

So that is exactly what I did.

How to make Gluten-free Dairy-free and Soy-free Homemade Butterfingers:

You’ve seen the toddler-friendly version at the top of the post, pictured with Toddler Yum’s Jack O’Lantern. Here is the sexy adult version, which I took to a pumpkin carving party.

It might be me, but I think it looks (and tastes) better than the packaged version! The Erewhon Corn Flakeswere perfect for this because the only ingredients were corn and a little salt. They were a tad plain all by themselves, but in a recipe like this where they are surrounded by healthy sweet ingredients, they are perfect! I’d buy them again, just for this recipe or to use in a savory breading recipe. This recipe was awesome, though, and I love how easy it is to adapt to various food sensitivities. If you need dairy-free but Soy Lecithin is ok and trace amounts of milk are ok, try the Trader Joe chocolate chips, which I used this time. If you need completely dairy-free and soy-free, use the Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips for your coating. If you prefer a really dark (70% cacao) type chocolate, use that. Want it strictly vegan with vegan sugar? Use a vegan chocolate bar. I think it will be delicious every way! Do store it in the refrigerator before eating, though, as the chocolates without soy lecithin are delicate and the bar will stay solid and easy to eat that way.

Here’s some fun pics from the Halloween party…

It was Toddler yum’s first experience carving a pumpkin, or rather, scooping out the pumpkin. Daddy helped, and gave the pumpkin little vampire teeth. Toddler Yum loved it, and even said “Vampire! vampire!” Oh dear, the things they pick up. And yes, there were other people at this party, including a wonderful gluten-free hostess that you might know from her blog that made wonderful sweet potato corn chowder and homemade mounds bars (yum!) I’m so lucky to know many of the gluten-free chefs around, and to be able to welcome this new gluten-free friend to our neighborhood.

Happy Halloween! I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family, with plenty of treats that work for everybody’s tummy.

Looking for more gluten-free homemade treats?
Sunflower-seed Un-peanut Butter Cups
Elana’s Pantry Healthy Halloween Candy Recipes
Homemade Gluten-free Twix Bar Recipe
Nutty Vegan Butter Easter Candy
Ali’s homemade maple-sunbutter candor (like tootsie rolls)
Ali’s Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clusters
Nourishing Gourmet’s Healthier Candy Recipes
Kelly’s Raw Chocolate Raspberry Candy- refined sugar and other allergens free
Elana’s Peppermint Patties sweetened with Agave

Share your favorite gluten-free candy recipes in the links and I’ll add them to the list!

PS I was so excited about this candy recipe I decided to postpone the conclusion to pumpkin week until at least Monday… Sorry guys, but I wanted to make sure people had this recipe in time for the holidays!

Shared with Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Made from Scratch Tuesday

Healthy Dairy-free Soy-free Butterfinger Recipe Dessert  American

Ingredients Layer 1: 1 scant cup pitted Medjool dates (or regular) 1 cup roasted unsalted peanuts 2 tbsp. smooth natural peanut butter 1/4 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. nutmeg (optional) Layer 2: 1 scant cup pitted Medjool dates (or regular) 1 cup roasted unsalted peanuts (can substitute almonds) 2 tbsp. smooth natural peanut butter 1/4 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. nutmeg (optional) enough Erewhon plain corn flakes to cover surface area of a quart bag Additional smooth natural peanut butter (optional) 1/2 to 3/4 lb of soy-free semi-sweet or dark chocolate for melting 1-2 tsp. coconut oil as needed Directions Get out two freezer-safe quart bags and reserve. Layer One: Put your scant cup of PITTED dates in your food processor and process until you have a smooth paste. Add your peanuts and process until mixture comes together when you press it but there are still chunks of peanut left. Add peanut butter, salt and optional nutmeg and pulse them in until mixed throughout. Remove from food processor with a spatula and put in one quart bag, pressing the air out and sealing it. Then flatten the mixture in your bag until you have a flat sheet of peanut dough. Place in refrigerator on an even, flat surface and chill. Layer Two: Repeat with the second batch of PITTED dates and peanuts. You will fill your second quart sized freezer bag. Chill along with the other layer for 30 minutes or so. Just before you are ready to take the peanut dough out of the refrigerator, put your semi-sweet chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat on half power in 30 second intervals, checking after each interval and stirring as needed. When chocolate is almost completely melted, stir until chocolate is smooth and reserve. I found I needed to add coconut oil to have a thin enough chocolate for dipping. Just add your oil and stir in gently. To prepare peanut bar for dipping, cut sides of freezer bags and peel off the top of the bag on layer one. sprinkle layer one with plain corn flakes. Peel the top of the bag from layer two and careful invert it on top of the corn flakes so you have a peanut bar “sandwich” with corn flakes as the filling. Gently press the layers together, remove the final layer of plastic on top and then cut the peanut bar “sandwich” in 7 logs horizontally and then cut half down the center vertically. If you are preparing this for a toddler, you can make two more vertical cuts for mini butterfinger bites. Prepare a large cookie baking sheet with a layer of wax paper and place a cooling rack on top. Place each bar on the cooling rack with space around each bar so that you can drizzle chocolate down the sides. Prepare each bar by putting a generous dab of peanut butter between the layers to stick them together OR a dab of melted chocolate and pressing then firmly together on the top. Don’t worry if they don’t seem very firmly attached. Once they cool they will firm up and stick together. For adults who like a fair amount of chocolate, you can drizzle chocolate over the top and sides of the bar, using a knife to evenly distribute it. For toddlers, kids, or healthy-minded adults you can drizzle strands of chocolate on the top for a little taste of chocolate. Place the tray in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes to an hour, or until chocolate has set. Remove bars from tray with a metal spatula and put in a tupperware. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Notes Got rave reviews from adults who couldn’t believe how such natural ingredients could taste like the real thing and have the real mouth feel. :D I raved, too.

Additional Pictures

Rating:  9 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, please do not replicate without permission. Recipe ID:  1574 Added:  October 28, 2011 Last Modified:  October 29, 2011

The Lindsay people kindly sent me two jars of their kalamata olives for my recipe development and a jar of their mellow onion-stuffed Green Queen Olives and pimiento-stuffed Green Queen olives just for fun. I haven’t tried the pimiento ones yet, but the onion-stuffed ones are buttery and tasty.

Then it was time to work on my recipe! The first thing I changed was swapping quinoa for couscous. I cooked the quinoa in a rice cooker rather than on the stove to approximate the speed and ease of cooking couscous. Quinoa takes a little longer to cook than couscous, but it is gluten-free and so easy to make in the rice cooker (or even on the stove) it ends up being very little effort to make up a batch. In this case, I added green onions and used no-chicken vegetarian broth and water as the liquid in the rice cooker and let it cook. While the rice cooker was steaming, I put my sweet potato cubes and onions in a roasting dish, drizzled them with olive oil and seasoned them with smoked paprika, cumin, marjoram and rosemary in addition to salt and pepper. I used the same seasoning on my pattypan squash, which I used instead of the zucchini in the original recipe, but I grilled them instead of roasting because I like the flavor and attractive grill marks that this adds. Also, since squash cooks a lot faster than sweet potatoes, this allows you to keep the sweet potatoes in the oven for longer so that it achieves a nice, browned, slightly caramelized texture.

Chopping up the olives and parsley was a simple job. The only complication was Baby Yum, who kept stealing (and eating) my olives. That’s my girl! Her Daddy doesn’t like olives as much as I do, but I’ve been giving Baby Yum olive nibbles (especially of Kalamata olives, my favorite) since she was a wee one. I only had raw cashews, so I dry-toasted them on medium heat on the stove and lightly salted them for additional flavor. Then it was time to mix up the salad, drizzle with orange juice, and sprinkle with the toasted cashews. Baby Yum was a complication again, because she kept trying to steal the quinoa, or “rice” as she calls it. My girl does love quinoa.

We enjoyed this quinoa salad recipe with grilled asparagus and (non-veggie) kabobs out on our patio at twilight with the light of a little fire. My husband’s parents are visiting from Colorado and we had a great little meal. Afterwards we walked to a neighborhood park to watch fireworks.

This was a fun experiment and just goes to show how easy it is to adapt any recipe to be gluten-free and even vegetarian. This recipe is naturally vegan and a fresh and healthy addition to any picnic. Even Toddler Yum enjoyed this recipe, although she picked out her favorite parts… “More nuts, Mommy!” “More rice (quinoa), Mommy!” she begged. Due to her deep rooted suspicion of orange foods she wouldn’t eat the roasted sweet potato, but that just meant more for me. The DH enjoyed the recipe as well, and commented that while sometimes he doesn’t like kalamata olives because they are bitter, these particular olives were mild and not overpowering. And for me, well, I never met a kalamata I didn’t like. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go nibble on some onion-stuffed Queen olives.

Follow Lindsay Olives on Twitter, or on Facebook

Here are the recipes my gluten-free friends have developed using Lindsay Olives:
Grilled olive Relish Recipe
Champagne Nectarine Tapenade Recipe
More coming soon!

Shared with Gluten-free Wednesday and Real Food Weekly.

*Lindsay Olives compensated me for creating this recipe, so consider this the first step on my career as a gluten-free recipe developer. Woo hoo! I promise to only do yummy recipes, whether it is just for my family or for companies with tasty products.

Gluten-free Lindsay Olive Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Recipe Main Course  Alternative Grains  Vegetables  Italian

Ingredients 1 large yam or sweet potato (8 oz.) peeled and diced (1/2-inch) 1 medium red onion, peeled and diced (1/2-inch) 2 pattypan squash sliced 1/2-inch thick 2 tablespoons olive oil smoked paprika or chipotle pepper toasted cumin powder dried marjoram dried rosemary leaves 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 cup no-chicken or other vegetarian broth 1 1/2 cup water 1 1/2 cup or 12 oz. quinoa 1/2 cup chopped green onions 1 cup halved Lindsay� Greek Kalamata Pitted Olives 3/4 cup cooked or canned garbanzo beans 1/3 cup coarsely chopped cashews, pan toasted and salted 1/4 cup chopped parsley or other herb (fresh dill, basil, arugula etc) 1/4 cup orange juice Smoked paprika or Chipotle pepper to taste Directions Heat oven to 450�F. Place your yam, and onion on a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan or baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tblsp. of olive oil and season with your spices, herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Bake at least 30 minutes until vegetables are lightly browned and tender, stirring once. I chose to grill my pattypan squash, drizzling the slices with 1 tbsp. of olive oil and the paprika, cumin, marjoram, rosemary, salt and pepper. You could also roast it in the oven until browned on both sides, turning once. Meanwhile, rinse your quinoa and put it in your rice cooker. Add your broth, water, and green onions to the rice cooker and start it.* When quinoa is done, fluff it with a fork. Add olives, garbanzo beans, parsley or other herbs, and orange juice. Add additional paprika or chipotle pepper if desired. Top quinoa with roasted vegetables or stir them into the quinoa. Sprinkle your cashews on top. Enjoy! Notes *Otherwise, combine ingredients in a pot with a lid, bring it to a boil on medium-high, lowering the heat to low and then add the lid. Let simmer for 15 minutes and turn off heat, Fluff and reserve.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Adapted from a gluten and non-vegetarian recipe from the Lindsay recipe site for roasted vegetable couscous. My original creation for Lindsay’s, please do not replicate without my permission Recipe ID:  1560 Added:  July 4, 2011 Last Modified:  July 4, 2011

You can find more great menus this week hosted by 5 Dollar Dinners on Org Junkie’s behalf. As always, many thanks to Cheryl for temporarily housing the Gluten Free Menu Swap at her blog. This week I am hosting the swap with “nuts” as the theme.

I chose nuts because they are a source of protein that is often overlooked on the gluten-free, vegetarian diet. They are an easy way to add extra protein to your meal. The possibilities are endless. Here are some ideas:
Add a few walnuts to your morning cereal
Top pasta with pine nuts, margarine and nutritional yeast for an easy dairy-free meal
Serve pasta with a dairy-free almond Parmesan
Enjoy Japanese ground sesame seeds on spinach
Use peanuts (or any other nut!) in a nut sauce for spring rolls or pasta
Add ground pecans or almonds to a fruit crumble topping
Use pecans, almonds, or walnuts as a base for flourless baked goods (chocolate or otherwise)
(I’m intrigued by Elana’s Almond Chocolate Chip Brownies)
Enjoy nuts in a raw foods dried fruit and nut dessert!

Speaking of nuts, walnuts are a special favorite of mine for their omega-3 fatty acids, but they also contain some zinc, magnesium, and b vitamins, making them an excellent dietary choice. Pine nuts are one of my absolute favorite meal add ons, though. They taste delicious whole on pasta, on veggies, on rice and even on a potato. They also add interest to prepared soups like Imagine’s Cream of Broccoli soup, paired with a dash of wheat-free tamari. Nuts enrich any gluten-free vegetarian diet. What’s your favorite way to enjoy nuts? Tell me in the comments!

Here’s some cute pictures I took this week of the DH cuddling with Neko:

Sunday: Continental
Vegetarian Quiche

Monday: Indian
Masala Dosa and Cheese Dosa with cashew chutney recipe below

Wednesday: Italian
Vegetarian Pasta

Friday: Thai
Vegetarian Spring Rolls with almond butter sauce

Roundup of other Gluten-Free Menus featuring Nuts this Week:
Fresh Ginger had a lovely and international menu this week with lots of Saint Patrick’s cheer.

Wendy at Celiacs in the House has a full menu planned with a delicious Thai salad recipe featuring peanuts.

Cheryl at GF Goodness commented that most of her baked goods contain nuts (from Brazil nut butter brownies to Macadamia nut cookies) and she snacks on nuts daily. She has a luscious soup planned, topped with cashew creme, as well as a lovely hazelnut based chocolate sweet potato cake.

Manda at Asparagus Thin always plans menus that make my mouth water. This week she’ll be having a Fruit-Nut Breakfast Rice that sounds intriguing and I’d love to try her Hyderabadi Matar Mushroom Soup, Chili Blanc with herbed Pesto, or Cuban Hash.

Elizabeth of Weird and Surprisingly Good got into the “nutty” spirit of things by planning to make Sweet Potatoes in Coconut rice and pecans as well as an Asian-inspired Cashew protein dish. Sounds great!

Scrumptious at In my Box planned a full and delicious vegetarian menu, including a raw foods kelp noodle salad with bok choy, carrots, daikon and kelp noodles with an almond butter-coconut water-cider vinegar dressing. Sounds good to me!

Kim of Gluten Free is Life has a homey menu planned for the week and is looking forward to a Spring Break trip to Atlanta next weekend!

Angela’s Kitchen has a full week planned including some intriguing cashew un-cheese pizza. At their house, there are lots of allergies, but happily nuts are not one of them, and nuts as a “milk” finds its way into her morning chai, cashews are used in her “cheese” sauce, and she makes presoaked/sprouted crispy nuts for snacking.

More entries to follow…

A Sauce of the week, with nuts:
Ever since I first tried the below recipe, I’ve made it regularly every time I make dosa, South Indian dal and rice crepes. You can substitute any nut for the cashews, including peanuts, almonds, or even pine nuts. You can modify spiciness by the type of chili you use, and adjust seasonings to taste. It would be wonderful as a dip for fresh veggies or as a sauce for a summer roll, but of course it is especially tasty served with dosa.

Cashew Nut Chutney (fresh) Side Dish  Sauces & Condiments  Vegetables  Indian

Ingredients 1 cup raw cashews bits or halves 1/4 tsp. lemon juice 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger root,sliced 1-2 hot green chilies, seeded and chopped up to 1/3 cups water 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander (a.k.a. cilantro) Directions Method: Combine the cashews,lemon juice,salt ginger and chilies 1/4 of cup water in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, or a blender, and process until smooth, adding more water as necessary to produce a loose puree. Transfer to a bowl, add the fresh coriander, and serve or cover well and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days. Note: This chutney thickens as it sits. Thin it with water to the desired consistency. Notes I just tried the best cashew chutney with our masala dosas! I didn’t have any fresh coriander. A real keeper! I’ll be making this again many times. i like that it doesn’t call for coconut, which is an ingredient I don’t use very often. I found it at this site: http://www.indianfoodsco.com/Recipes/chutney_images/chutneys.htm They have quite a few interesting chutney recipes.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  webpg Recipe ID:  1005 Added:  January 14, 2007 Last Modified:  March 15, 2009

One big challenge to the dairy-free, soy-free lifestyle is that of a cheesy pizza. Sure, you can make a tomato sauce and just skip the cheese, but it doesn’t have that rich mouth feel or decadence. I’ve played with a variety of solutions to this problem. There are a number of lactose free or dairy free cheeses on the market, including almond, rice, and soy cheeses that are also gluten-free. However, finding a commercial w”cheese” that is truly 100% dairy-free as well as soy-free can be another story. Besides, if you’ve ever tried these cheese “substitutes” you know that they taste almost nothing like real cheese, and often don’t seem to add anything good to a recipe besides the idea of cheese. Luckily vegan cookbooks such as The Uncheese Cookbook have more creative alternatives using a variety of “real” foods as the base for their un-cheese recipes. Some of these recipes use soy (frequently) or gluten (less frequently), but there are many options that do work for a gluten,dairy, and soy-free diet.

However, interestingly one of the most successful soy and dairy-free cheese substitutes I found was not in a vegan cookbook, exactly, but on a related raw foods cookbook. Raw foodists might find it sacrilege, but I used it in a baked lasagna to wonderful effect. This recipe for soy and dairy-free lasagna has been one of the most popular recipes at the Book of Yum because it answers a real need in the food-sensitive community for TASTY cheese substitutes. This recipe came to mind when Mother was visiting us this week. She can eat gluten, but is allergic to soy and dairy, so she doesn’t often have the chance to have “cheesy” dishes. She is also allergic to garlic and avoids tomatoes due to RA. When I decided to make a dairy-free pizza, I thought immediately that I should try using the yummy pine nut sauce on it as the “cheese” base. I was also inspired by the season to roast sweet potato cubes and mushrooms for toppings. I decided to simplify the pine nut recipe a bit and found it was just as good, if not better than the original. It was a big hit with my allergy-sensitive Mom, and the DH and I enjoyed it as well. The combination of pine nut sauce, fresh basil, and roasted vegetables was absolutely addicting. Because I had extra pizza crusts I decided to also make a dairy-free walnut pesto and top it with roasted vegetables as well. Yum! And nobody missed the cheese (or soy) at all.

Looking for a gluten-free pizza crust recipe?
Here’s a fun thin-crust recipe- it doesn’t rise much but makes enough for 6 pizzas that you can enjoy over a week’s time.
And, here’s my personal favorite crust- Carol Fenster’s classic gluten-free Pizza recipe with allergen-free pizza topping recipes

Dairy-Free Soy-Free Pine Nut Cheesy Pizza Main Course  Vegetables  Italian

Ingredients 1 gluten-free pizza crust Pine Nut “Cheese” (new version) 1/2 cup pine nuts 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. brown rice vinegar 1/4 tsp or less salt 1/8 cup water or more 1 sweet potato, peeled, cubed handful fresh basil leaves, julienned 4 baby portabella mushrooms (between crimini and portabella) 1 red pepper for roasting olive oil salt, pepper Directions Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Soak 1/2 cup pine nuts in enough water to cover for an hour. Then drain, rinse, and blend in food processor with dash of salt, vinegar and water until you have a creamy consistency. Put in small container and reserve, refrigerating. Prepare toppings: Toss sweet potato cubes with dash of olive oil, salt and pepper if you like. Place on baking sheet. Remove stems from mushrooms and rub with a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Place whole red pepper on baking sheet or on oven rack along with rest of your veggies. Roast for 15 minutes and check your mushrooms. If they seem done, remove mushrooms from oven, dribbling juices over them and letting rest. If not, check mushrooms again in another 5 minutes. After they have rested, you can slice them. Roast sweet potatoes until they are fork tender but not mushy. Roast red pepper (turning occasionally) until sides are all slightly charred. When you take red pepper out of oven, place in freezer safe ziploc bag, seal, and let steam for 10 minutes on counter before removing. Rub off skin with paper or cloth towel, cut in half and de-seed. Slice and/or cut into bite sized pieces and reserve. To assemble your pizza, top with even coating of your pine nut “cheese”. If you have some, you could rub the crust first with a bit of blended sundried tomato and olive oil to give the crust a more attractive golden color that will stand out from the pine nut “cheese”. (I didn’t do that this time, Mom is also sensitive to tomatoes). Sprinkle with julienned basil, roasted sweet potato, mushroom slices and red pepper pieces. Bake following pizza crust instructions. The thin-crust pizza recipe I used requires a short bake time (12 min or less) and so is ideal. For a long baking recipe, you might bake the crust halfway before topping the pizza. Notes My dairy-free, soy-free Mom loved this pizza, and loved the pine nut sauce.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Contents of my brain. Pine nut recipe inspired by (but different from) raw foods recipe. Do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1335 Added:  December 18, 2008 Last Modified:  December 21, 2008

Walnut Dairy Free Pesto Recipe Sauces & Condiments  Vegetables  Italian

Ingredients 1/2 cup walnuts 2 cups fresh basil leaves sprinkle salt 1/8 cup roasted fresh onions 1/4 cup olive oil Directions Combine ingredients in blender or food processor, drizzling in olive oil as you blend it. Taste and season with more salt or other spices if desired. Enjoy! Notes I used this pesto on a gluten-free pizza crust topped with roasted sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, roasted red pepper, roasted onion, and even half roasted chard. Yum yum yum!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1334 Added:  December 15, 2008 Last Modified:  December 18, 2008

Monday Lunch: Indian
Aloo Jeera and Basmati Rice

Tuesday: Vegan
Vegan Pot Pie

Wednesday: Italian
Chebe Thin Crust Pizza

Thursday-Sunday
Mother visiting, TBD

This week we have a hearty, one-dish noodle salad packed with protein and nutrition. I made a Sesame Peanut Almond Vegetarian Brown Rice Noodle Salad for dinner that the DH and I just loved based on a gluten recipe from the Vegetarian Mother’s Cookbook. Delish!

3 Nut Butter Brown Rice Mild Thai Noodle Salad Recipe Main Course  Alternative Grains  Rice  Thai

Ingredients 3/4 package of Brown rice gluten-free pasta (trader joe’s or tinkyada) 1 pound firm tofu, pressed and cut into strips 1/2 tbsp peanut oil or more salt, thai type seasonings of choice (optional) 3/4 cup thinly sliced tops of green onions (add white bulb for bite) 1 cup frozen peas beet green tops OR spinach, to taste several carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks 1/4 to 1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil 3 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds Sesame Three Nut Dressing 2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil 2 tbsp. wheat free low sodium tamari like san-j 3 tbsp. brown rice vinegar 1/8 cup all-natural almond butter 1/8 cup all-natural peanut butter 2 tbsp. tahini sesame butter 1 tbsp. honey or agave nectar 1/3 cup boiling water pinch of smoked paprika *for spicier, you can add cloves of fresh garlic and/or chili garlic sauce to taste) Directions Start pasta boiling and prep tofu and vegetables. Add beet green tops as well as your frozen peas to boiling pasta when there is just two minutes or so left until pasta is al dente. (Follow directions on pasta package). When pasta is done to your liking, strain and rinse pasta and peas and beet tops in cold water. Meanwhile, saute tofu in oil in nonstick pan, browning on both sides. you can preseason tofu and/or just add salt to each side before browning. If you prefer more heat you can dip them in chili garlic sauce before adding to pan. When brown remove from pan and reserve. Combine all ingredients for sesame three-nut dressing in a blender. Throw your pasta in a large bowl with minced fresh cilantro, green onion tops, and 1 tbsp. sesame oil. Fold ingredients together and sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like. Add any extra veggies (carrots) and tofu strips. Pour blended dressing over pasta and mix thoroughly. You can add additional smoked paprika, pepper, or srirachi hot sauce to individual portions to taste. Enjoy!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Adapted from The Vegetarian Mothers Cookbook. Please do not replicate. Recipe ID:  1330 Added:  December 8, 2008 Last Modified:  December 8, 2008

As you may have noticed, recently I’ve been experimenting with dairy-free and even vegan recipes. I have a sneaking fondness for vegan recipes in any case, as I have serious concerns about the quality of life for animals involved in the dairy and egg industry. And besides, many of my fellow gluten-free foodies have multiple intolerances to dairy and eggs, making vegan recipes a great resource. I hadn’t been thinking much about cheesecake, because when I think dairy-free or egg-free, cheesecake is the last recipe to come to mind. In fact, it’s pretty well defined by these two ingredients! But, I was forced to address the whole cheesecake issue when a recent Daring Baker event focused on cheesecake pops. What to do? I could have made regular cheesecake and just had the DH eat it… but, instead I decided to try making cheesecake pops with tofutti “Better than Cream Cheese.” I didn’t go vegan with the recipe, but I was able to make a totally dairy-free cheesecake pop with strawberry jam layers. Yum. How cool is that?

But then I started thinking that what would be really cool would be a vegan cheesecake recipe… So I started flipping through my (many) vegan cookbooks… La Dolce Vegan, Vegan with a Vengeance, etc. I found one crust recipe that sounded promising for gluten-free adaption, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with the fillings that I’d found. I didn’t want to make something too healthy-tasting, and I thought it was possible that a completely tofu filled recipe might let me down with texture and flavor. So, I went searching on the internet for clever vegan solutions. I found two vegan cheesecake goddesses that had especially tempting recipes- Samantha at Novel Eats and Susan at the Fat Free Vegan. Both had come up with lots of absolutely gorgeous vegan cheesecakes, but I was won over by Susan’s double-layer pumpkin cheesecake. (Although Susan’s Vegan Eggnog Cheesecake Recipe was equally tempting, if not quite in season.) It took a little bit of work to make the recipe gluten-free, but the recipe from La Dolce Vegan inspired me to take one of Nana’s No Gluten Ginger Cookie with some pecans for the crust with very happy results. These cookies are great anyway, especially for baking, because not only are they Gluten-free, but they are vegan, and kosher, with No refined sugar, eggs, dairy, gluten, wheat, soy, or corn. I also wanted to make little baby cheesecakes, as I love the whole “individual servings for you, and me, and me” thing, so I used my favorite ramekins.

Another nice thing about this recipe is that it was perfect for my cheesecake-loving but lactose-intolerant best friend’s birthday. We had her and her husband over for herbal tea and their very own vegan pumpkin cheesecake. The verdict? The baby cheesecakes were a huge hit, and she couldn’t believe that their main ingredient was tofu! In fact, she urged me to start my own business and start selling these cheesecakes, because they were that good. Sweet, right? So, the next time you’re moping over the totally inaccessible cheesecake lineup at the Cheesecake Factory, why not make your own gluten-free, dairy-free, egg free baby cheesecakes, perfect for impressing family, friends, and your taste buds?

*By the way, I asked Susan for her permission to reprint my new gluten-free version of a Vegan double layer pumpkin cheesecake filling that she had posted, which she very kindly granted. I did fiddle with the spices to my taste, but I’m sure her spice blend was also good. If you haven’t seen Susan’s blog, definitely go over and take a look. She’s got lovely photos, incredibly creative recipes, and is sensitive to gluten issues, although her blog is not gluten-free. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, this is not a fat-free recipe. As Susan of the Fat Free Vegan put it: “Insert standard “this is not a fat-free recipe” disclaimer here. Geez, what was I thinking when I named this blog!” heh heh.

Gluten Free Vegan Double-layer Pumpkin Cheesecake Dessert  Tofu  American

Ingredients Crust: 1 Nana’s No Gluten Ginger Cookie OR 3/4 cup gluten-free gingersnap cookie like Trader Joes or Midel(not vegan) 3/8 cup finely ground pecans 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/6 cup olive oil or other oil of your choice Filling Base: 8 oz. Tofutti Better than cream cheese 1 pkg firm silken tofu (just over 14 oz.) 1/2 cup agave nectar (or try maple syrup) 2 tbsp corn starch 1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tsp vanilla pinch salt Part Two Filling: 1/2 cup pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie mix filling 2 tsp rum (if desired) 3 tbsp. brown sugar 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie seasoning 1/8 tsp ginger 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg pinch salt (if needed, taste) 6 ceramic ramekins Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine crust ingredients in a food processor and blend together. Press into the bottoms of your ramikins, forming a thin crust. Clean food processor. Combine all the ingredients of your filling base in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Remove 1 cup of the combined filling base and reserve. Now add the part two of the filling to the remaining filling base left in your food processor. (Pumpkin puree through the nutmeg and salt.) Process everything together. Taste and add a little more vanilla and/or salt if you think it needs it. Now, take a clean spatula and carefully smooth the white, reserved filling base as the first cheesecake layer in all of your ramikins. Cover with pumpkin filling as the second cheesecake layer. You can leave a little mound in the center that is higher, but I’m not sure if it is necessary. Place your ramikins in a baking dish with medium-steep sides. Fill the baking dish with hot water halfway up the sides of your ramikins, making sure not to get any water IN the ramikins. Bake for 45- 50 minutes, cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for as long as possible- at least three hours. *sigh* Carefully remove from container or serve in ramikin. Enjoy!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Filling heavily based on Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, Crust adapted from La Dolce Vegan Recipe ID:  1226 Added:  May 3, 2008 Last Modified:  May 29, 2008

PS We’re still fighting the formatting issue with the new blog design. We Will fix it and the blog Will become easier to read, so hang in there with me, ok? *hugs*-Sea