Book of Yum

Being gluten, dairy, nut, and soy free makes coming up with a good cheese substitute difficult. When I was simply dairy free, nut or soy recipes allowed me to enjoy “cheesy” dishes like lasagna or pizza. Once I had to cut out nuts and soy, I was a bit stumped. I still had great pizza- olives were tasty and generally safe, and sunflower seed pesto was my friend. But the cheesy element was just not quite there. Luckily I can still have nutritional yeast, and recently I was inspiredby several recipes online to come up with this everything free, yet still tasty smoky cheesy sauce. Since the only non-dairy milks i can have right now are hemp and coconut and hemp milk makes a weirdly rubbery-tasting sauce, this recipe is alternative milk free, with a base in nutritional yeast and quinoa flour. It’s half gravy-inspired, half uncheese-recipe-inspired… and is so good that I couldn’t stop myself from dipping into it all by itself. It really sings as a “cheesy” topping for veggies. And just last night I used it to make something I hadn’t had in a very, very long time- a luscious and super addicting spinach pie, perfect for a green Saint Patty’s day. This recipe is best suited to a vegan palate- or at least, someone willing to accept a less than traditional “cheese.” DH and my dairy-free mother both enjoyed it, and DH commented that in pie, the cheese smelled like nachos. Mmmm, nachos. Let’s see, if i deep fry some homemade millet or sorghum tortillas in chips… top with sunflower seed refried ‘beans’… add some Smoky un-cheddar… we just might have another use for this recipe! Got any more ideas? Share in the comments!

Gluten-free dairy-free soy-free Smoked un-cheddar sauce Sauces & Condiments  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 1/2 of a large onion, minced 3/4 cup nutritional yeast 1/4 cup quinoa flour 1 1/2 cup water 2 tbsp Earth Balance soy-free margarine 3 tbsp. tomato paste 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp smoked paprika Directions Heat olive oil on medium in nonstick pan and saute your onion until it turns translucent. Then add your nutritional yeast and quinoa flour, toasting lightly. Lower the heat to medium-low, and whisk in one cup of water that you slowly add to the pan. When you have a nice smooth sauce, add your soy free margarine and tomato paste, mixing thoroughly. Season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Let sauce thicken until it gets to your preferred “cheesy sauce” texture. Add water as needed if the sauce gets too thick. Take off burner and enjoy!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Inspired by various recipes online but my original creation. Please do not replicate without my written permission. Recipe ID:  1494 Added:  March 13, 2010 Last Modified:  March 14, 2010

Gluten-free Vegan Smoky Uncheesy Spinach Pie Recipe Main Course  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients Dough: 3/4 cup quinoa flour 1/4 cup arrowroot starch or tapioca starch 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup Organic Palm Oil shortening such as spectrum 2 tbsp dairy free milk of choice (plain hemp, rice, or almond) Filling: 2 or 3 bunches spinach (3 bunches for just spinach, 2 bunches if you add 1 bunch of beet greens), blanched, drained and diced 3/4 recipe of my smoked un-cheddar sauce Directions Combine flours, salt, and shortening in a food processor fitted with the S-blade. Process until all ingredients are combined and it starts looking mealy. Add your dairy-free milk and process again. It should start to form a ball. Using a spatula, scoop out your dough ball and shape into a nice ball in your hands. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. (You can rush this step but dough will be more persnickety.) Meanwhile, prepare your spinach and make the smoked un-cheddar sauce. Mix the two together in a bowl and reserve. Preheat oven to 375. Place your chilled ball of dough in a gallon sized, freezer-safe ziploc bag. Roll thinly to cover the whole interior of the bag. Cut out the sides of the bag and peel back the top. Place with remaining bag side DOWN over an inverted pie pan (a). Place another inverted pie pan (b) on top of the naked dough and flip your tins so that they are right side up. Remove pie pan (a). Carefully peel back the remaining ziploc bag sheet to reveal a pretty pie crust. Pre-bake pie crust for 5-10 minutes. Don’t worry if it cracks on the bottom- it will taste just as good as a gorgeous, uncracked crust and no one sees anything but the top part of the crust. Fill with your blanched and drained spinach in your smoky un-cheddar sauce. Bake for 20 minutes or until top looks set and lightly browned. Serve and enjoy! Tastes great cold the next day!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, please do not replicate anywhere without my permission. thanks! Recipe ID:  1495 Added:  March 13, 2010 Last Modified:  March 14, 2010

The other morning I woke up with a craving for a hearty vegetarian breakfast. Red potato home fries sounded like just the thing- and so did a tasty tofu breakfast saute. I poked around in the refrigerator and found some mustard, which made me think of how lovely tofu would be with a sweet mustard sauce, nutritional yeast, and veggies. I fried up a yummy dish for breakfast, and I enjoyed it, but the mustard sauce hadn’t had a chance to permeate the tofu yet. Hmm. Not blog worthy, I thought. Then later that day I decided to have some of the leftovers as a snack. I was going to reheat it- but thought I’d steal a bite cold. It was really delicious! The flavors had spread throughout the dish and the tofu was now perfect. It would be great on a fresh, crispy salad, or even in a gluten-free sandwich. So- I changed my mind and decided to blog this recipe after all- as a yummy cold tofu salad instead of hot- because sometimes temperature makes all the difference in flavor!

*sorry to any who might have read this post on Tuesday- the date of the scheduled post got messed up so it was briefly up and got emailed early. Don’t worry, you shouldn’t receive any other posts emailed twice.*

Honey Mustard Peach Tofu Salad Recipe with Vegan Variation Side Dish  Tofu  American

Ingredients 1 tbsp. GF mustard (your favorite variety) 1 tsp tahini 1 tsp brown rice vinegar 1 tsp honey or agave syrup (for vegan variation) 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 package firm tofu, pressed for at least 30 min in a towel and cut into cubes dried dill smoked paprika or chipotle pepper salt to taste 1/4 small onion, diced 1 carrot, peeled and grated 1 small peach or nectarine, pitted and sliced 1 small zucchini cubed Very large handful fresh spinach Generous handfuls of nutritional yeast Braggs liquid amino acids (soy sauce) or your favorite GF Tamari like San-J low sodium Directions Combine mustard, tahini, vinegar, and honey (or agave) in a small container. Heat olive oil in a nonstick pan and add firm, pressed tofu cubes. Season with dill, smoked paprika and salt to taste. When tofu has browned on one side, turn, season other side and begin to brown. Add your mustard sauce and evenly distribute through the tofu mixture. Add your onion and let it begin to cook. Add grated carrot, peach slices and zucchini, cook for a minute or two, and add spinach. As spinach wilts, fold into dish and sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Fold yeast into dish. Taste and then sprinkle with Braggs soy sauce to taste. Check that tofu is browned and zucchini is done to your taste. You can eat hot, but I prefer to let it cool and sit for half of a day or so and then serve it cold. It would be great as a substitute for “chicken” salad- on lettuce and/or in a gluten-free sandwich.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Contents of my brain, please do not replicate without my permission. Thanks! Recipe ID:  1425 Added:  June 8, 2009 Last Modified:  June 8, 2009