by jphilo | Apr 9, 2014 | Recipes
After a week on the road, I was happy to get home Monday afternoon. Not only to sleep in my own bed and see the Man of Steel, but also to enjoy the container of dairy-free peanut butter cookies I’d tucked away in the freezer before leaving. Knowing the cookies were waiting made it much easier to turn down the dairy-laced treats offered throughout the days away from home. (So did sipping on a Strawberry Fruit Smoothie at the Cheesecake Factory while friends enjoyed the restaurant’s signature desserts.)
The secret to these perfectly delicious and dairy-free peanut butter cookies–no way would you know they contain no butter unless someone spilled the beans–is to use coconut oil instead of butter or margarine. The coconut oil lends the same texture and crisp lightness butter does. So give this version of recipe, originally found at Country at Heart Recipes, a try and leave a comment about how it worked for you.
Non-Dairy Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup coconut oil, room temperature
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 350°. If using baking stones, put them in oven to heat. In mixing bowl cream shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, and eggs with an electric mixer until ingredients are fluffy. Add vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cream of tartar. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix well, scraping down sides as necessary.
Roll dough into walnut-sized balls. Roll in granulated white sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet or heated baking stones. Make crisscross indentation with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes until golden around the edges. Makes about 4–5 dozen. (I put 1 stone of unbaked cookies on bottom rack of oven for 5 minutes. Then I turn the stone around and place it on the top rack and put a new stone of unbaked cookies on the bottom rack. Bake for 5 more minutes, take the first stone out, move the second stone up, and place a new unbaked stone on the bottom rack, repeating the steps until all the cookies are baked.)
by jphilo | Apr 17, 2013 | Recipes
The calendar says mid-April, which means grilling season to me, but the weather outdoors says otherwise. Nothing can be done about the unusually cold temperatures this spring, so I’m trying to grin and bear it with a new soup recipe. Turns out, that was a good move because the recipe turned out to be a winner, winning the coveted Hiram seal of approval.
The recipe was featured by author Deborah Vogts at her website, Country At Heart Recipes. My consumption of Italian food, which I love, has been sorely curtailed by this dairy allergy thing. But the Parmesan cheese is added to this soup after it’s ladled into bowls. So it works for both the man of steel, who things Parmesan cheese should be added to everything he eats, and for me, too.
Minestrone Soup
1 pound ground sausage
1 cup onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
14 oz. diced tomatoes
14 oz. Italian style stewed tomatoes, crushed
15 oz red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup elbow macaroni
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Brown sausage in large dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add mixed vegetables, tomatoes, beans, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add macaroni and cook for another 10-12 minutes until pasta is tender. Ladle into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese. Serves 6-8.
by jphilo | Dec 19, 2012 | Recipes
Oh my, it’s good to be home after a long weekend out of town. Hiram and I came back a day early because nasty weather’s on it’s way. The good news is that we’re already unpacked, the laundry and grocery shopping are done, and our wonderful cleaning lady made the house shine while we were gone. The bad news is that all our gallivanting left no time to try new recipes.
Thankfully Deborah Vogts, who blogs at www.CountryatHeartRecipes.com, featured one of my recipes on Monday. This heirloom recipe for wild plum pudding was passed down from my pioneer great-great-grandmother. She created the recipe to take advantage of the plentiful wild plums on the Iowa prairie. Click here to learn how to make wild plum pudding and how to adapt it to 21st century ingredients. Deborah’s blog is packed with good recipes you won’t want to miss.
FYI for non-dairy readers: Substitute a cup of soured almond milk (top off a scant cup of almond milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar and let sit 15 minutes) and use coconut oil or butter substitute for the shortening. You’ll never know the difference between this variation and the original recipe.
