by jphilo | Mar 16, 2016 | Recipes
Soup season will soon be over. But while it lasts, this recipe is one to try before warm weather hits. Especially if you love Thai food. This recipe is my version of one from the Elana’s Pantry website.
This recipe is easy, dairy-free, gluten-free, and bursting with flavor. It makes a big batch. That’s good because The Man of Steel and I would have quibbled over the leftovers otherwise. Needless to say, this version of Thai soup received the Hiram Coveted Seal of Approval. Next time, I may add some red pepper flakes to add a bit more heat.
Thai Chicken Soup
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 bunch green onion, chopped
- 8 sprigs cilantro, chopped
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 28 ounces coconut
- ½ pound crimini mushrooms
- 1 head broccoli
- 1 pound chicken breasts skinless-boneless, halved lengthwise, sliced on bias, cut into ⅛ inch thick pieces
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons red curry paste
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- ½ cup cilantro, minced
Cooking Instructions
- Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium heat
- Add half of the green onions and cilantro, stirring frequently until softened, about 5 minutes
- Stir in stock and coconut milk and bring to a simmer
- Pour broth through a fine mesh strainer and discard solids (green onions and cilantro)
- Return broth to saucepan
- Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms and broccoli and cook until tender, about 5 minutes
- Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until no longer pink
- Combine lime juice, curry paste and fish sauce in a small bowl then stir into soup
- Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro, chilies and scallions
by jphilo | Mar 9, 2016 | Recipes
All the kids, their spouses and the grandkids, along with my sister and her husband, are gathering this weekend to celebrate the Man of Steel’s 60th birthday. That means he gets to choose his own birthday meal (chicken tetrazzini) and birthday dessert. He chose one of his favorites: carrot cake.
The only problem with that choice was that at least 3 people attending the celebration can’t have dairy. But, as a quick internet search revealed, someone invented dairy-free carrot cake. And as a trial baking adventure proved, dairy-free carrot cake is really good. So is the dairy-free cream “cheese” frosting.
I found the recipe for the cake and the frosting at the Go Dairy Free Website. The only alterations I made in the cake batter were to leave out the raisins…not my favorite and reduce the sugar. For the trial run, I made 1 small rectangular cake for a taste test and 2 round cakes, which went to a dessert auction at church. The birthday cake will be 3 layers of round pans. Warning: this recipe makes a very big cake.
Dairy-Free Carrot Cake
Ingredients
6 cups grated carrots
2/3 cup light brown sugar
4 eggs
3/4 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
3 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- Combine the grated carrots and brown sugar in a medium bowl and set aside for an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF, and grease and flour two 10-inch cake pans, three 8-inch cake pans, or two 8-inch cake pans +8 cupcake tins.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and briefly set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, and gradually beat in the white sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the pineapple. Stir the flour mix into the wet mixture, being careful not to over mix. Gently fold in the carrot mixture and nuts.
- Pour the batter evenly into your prepared pans. Bake as follows: 10-inch pans – 40-50 minutes, 8-inch pans – 30-35 minutes, Cupcakes – 20-22 minutes, or for all, until the cakes are springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Place the pans on a wire rack to cool for 10-20 minutes before removing them from the pan.
- Once the cake is completely cool, then you can frost it or drizzle with icing.
Dairy-Free Cream “Cheese” Frosting
Ingredients
8 ounces vegan “cream cheese”
1/3 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
- Using an electric mixer or in a large bowl with a hand held mixer, place the “cream cheese” and margarine, and cream them together.
- Add the sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, and continue to beat the mixture until light and fluffy.
by jphilo | Mar 2, 2016 | Recipes
For supper last week, I made chicken tetrazinni, a family favorite that can also be made with turkey, for the first time in a long time. After his first bite, the Man of Steel decided he wanted it made again for his birthday meal extravaganza to be held in a few weeks. Because the dish can 1) be prepared ahead of time, and 2) be made in dairy and non-dairy versions (at least 3 of those attending steer clear of dairy), I was thrilled. In honor of the upcoming celebratory event, here’s the recipe for chicken tetrazinni, with notes about how to make the non-dairy version, too.
Chicken Tetrazzini
2 – 3 cups cooked, deboned, cubed chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (omit this ingredient in the dairy-free version)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons butter (dairy-free version uses Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup green or sweet red pepper, chopped
12 ounces spaghetti
6 slices of bread, toasted and cubed
1/4 cup melted butter (dairy-free version uses Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put cubed chicken and cheese (omit for dairy-free version) in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain. Rinse with cold water and place in pan with turkey and cheese. Stir well.
While spaghetti is cooking, melt 3 tablespoons of butter or Earth Balance in a sauce pan. Add onions and pepper. Saute until onions are transparent. Add flour and mix well. Slowly add broth, whisking and stirring constantly until it boils. Let it boil gently for one minute. Pour sauce over noodle/meat/cheese mixture and stir well.
Toast the bread and cut into cubes. Drizzle with 1/4 cup melted butter or Earth Balance and stir well. Sprinkle croutons over the noodle mixture. Bake for 1/2 hour.
by jphilo | Feb 24, 2016 | Recipes
Satisfying chocolate cravings is often a challenge for people with dairy allergies. So I was really excited to find a recipe for low-carb coconut chocolate bars that are dairy-free at The Nourished Caveman website. I didn’t alter the recipe at all for my first try, though I did discover some tricks to make the process easier which are included in the instructions below.
My daughter, son-in-law, and I were the taste testers as the Man of Steel does not like coconut. The three of us devoured them while the Man of Steel wrinkled his nose. We coconut lovers decided that when I make them again, I should substitute cocoa butter for coconut oil so the coating holds up better. I’m also going to add some chopped almonds to the mix and use a little sugar instead of only stevia.
Dairy-Free Coconut Chocolate Bars
ingredients
1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1 packet or 1 teaspoon stevia
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut cream
4 tablespoons coconut oil or 2 ounces cocoa butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
Mix shredded coconut with coconut cream,1/2 of the vanilla extract and 1/2 packet or 1/2 teaspoon of stevia. Blend well with a spatula or a spoon.
Place the shredded coconut mixture on a small cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (I used a bread loaf pan.) Shape it into a flat rectangle about 4 inches by 6 inches and 1 inch thick.
Place in the freezer for 2 hours, until frozen solid. Remove from the freezer and cut into 5-6 bars.
While coconut is in the freezer, prepare the chocolate coating:
Melt coconut oil or cocoa butter in a small sauce pan. Add cocoa powder remaining stevia and vanilla extract to the coconut oil or cocoa butter. Mix well on low heat for about 2 minutes, until all ingredients are well blended.
Let cool to room temperature, but still liquid. (I put the pan in the fridge for about 10 minutes to speed the process.)
Now dip the bars in the cocoa mixture, and turn to all sides to coat evenly. It helps if the bars are frozen solid so they won’t break. (The frozen bars may cause the chocolate coating in the pan to solidify. If that happens, put the pan on a low burner for about a minute until the coating melts again.) Place bars back on the parchment paper.
When all bars are all coated put in the refrigerator to harden. The bars can be kept in the fridge for harder consistency or at room temperature for softer bars.
by jphilo | Feb 17, 2016 | Recipes
A good while back, maybe even a year ago, a recipe for vegan lemon poppy seed cookies caught my eye. Not because of the vegan part. Because lemon and poppy seed are two ingredients I love. I got to thinking about that recipe on a recent, cold winter day that practically screamed for my kitchen to produce something warm, yummy, and fragrant in defiance of the weather.
The original recipe can be found at the Craftsy website. If you want the vegan version, you’ll want to check it out. While this version is dairy-free, it includes animal and gluten products. The cookies were quite tasty, but a little tough. Next time I make them (maybe later today), I’ll increase the amount of baking powder and use a lighter touch while mixing them. This is a recipe worth perfecting.
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup natural plain almond butter (stir well if oily and separated)
- 3 tablespoons softened unrefined coconut oil
- 3 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon lemon zest, loosely packed
- 1 1/3 cups unbleached flour
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- sugar for dusting
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Crack egg into medium mixing bowl and lightly beat the egg.
- Whisk in the almond butter, coconut oil, agave, vanilla, and lemon zest until fully combined and smooth. Use a spoon if it gets too thick.
- Add the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder and salt on top of the wet ingredients.
- Stir well until a large ball of dough starts to form.
- Knead a few time until it holds together
- Roll the dough into about 1-inch balls and place with 2 inches of space in between each on a large baking sheet.
- Tear a small square of parchment or wax paper and place on top of one dough ball. Gently flatten to 1/4-inch thickness with a flat-bottomed glass or bowl.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes. The bottom edges should be golden brown. Remove and allow to cool.
- Once fully cooled, store in a sealed container for 4-5 days.
by jphilo | Feb 10, 2016 | Recipes
During our last visit to see the grandkids, the cook served the most delicious pulled pork. The Man of Steel raved over it so much I had to asked for the recipe and was directed to the 100 Days of Real Food website. That’s where I learned that the recipe for crock pot pulled pork was low in sugar and had no preservatives. Plus it was easy, and has been mentioned before, had already received the coveted Hiram Seal of Approval.
This makes a large batch. We ate some, saved some for left overs, and froze the rest for another meal in a couple weeks.
Crock Pot Pulled Pork
- 3 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoons salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and cut in half
- 3 to 3 ½ pounds pork shoulder, cut in half
- In a bowl, mix the dry spices together with a fork.
- Add the honey, vinegar, and olive oil and stir until smooth.
- Place the onion in the bottom of the crock pot Top it with the 2 pieces of pork and then pour the spice mixture over every side of the meat.
- Turn the slow cooker on to low and cook for 6 hours or until the meat is tender enough to be easily shredded with a fork.
- Remove the meat from the crock pot and place in a pan to cool. Once it has cooled, shred the meat and return it to the liquid in the crock pot.
- Serve warm on buns. For a side dish try fresh spinach salad.
