Posted by alisa on November 28, 2008 | 5 Comments
I prepared the Traditional Green Bean Casserole made with my home-made “Cream” of Mushroom Soup (both recipes are in Go Dairy Free). This was an old-reliable type recipe, so I knew it would be yummy, and it was!
I was going to make my Tender Squash Dinner Rolls (also in Go Dairy Free), which are always a big hit. They are those tender soft, pull-apart dinner rolls that taste bakery fresh. However, when I discovered a package of Bob’s Red Mill Cornbread Mix lingering in the cupboard, I thought to myself, “two from-scratch dishes is enough I will just make this for bread.” I really should have gone the extra mile. I usually like gluten-free breads, and cornbread isn’t a big stretch for gluten-free, so I thought these would pass with the rest of my family. I am not sure if I did something wrong, but I really didn’t like it. The bread had a slight bitter taste that I just couldn’t get away from (I used unsweetened almond milk, I would definitely use a sweetened version like Amy did), and they were a bit dry and crumbly. The texture could have been my execution. I had to bake them for 10 minutes longer than called for, as they just weren’t cooked through. Regardless, for Christmas I will definitely take the time to make my squishy squash dinner rolls!
As for the third dish, I made some truly scrumptious roasted sweet potatoes. Until I was well into my 20′s, I thought I hated sweet potatoes. My only experience with this orange-fleshed starch was via canned candied yams topped with marshmallows. But when I discovered the natural sweetness of unadulterated sweet potatoes, I was hooked! I made them savory style with thyme and garlic, which only proved to bring out even more of the yams’ natural sweetness.
Fast forward for a moment.
My husband and I ventured out for Black Friday today, but we traveled the less crowded path. We hit up Whole Foods for some $.99 organic apples and their awesome 365 semi-sweet chocolate chips for just $1.50 per bag. Last week we decided (when the weather turned south) that is was time to purchase a slow cooker. Yes, we both work from home, love soups, and yet we have never owned a slow cooker. My husband found a great deal that allowed us to get a 6 quart, Hamilton Beach, coincidentally matches our kitchen, slow cooker for just $5 ($19.99 at Kohl’s – $10 rebate (that my husband already sent in) – $5 coupon for signing up for their free e-newsletter)! Those two stops and some laundry detergent were the extent of our big shop today, which I was thankful for, since I was starving.
Back to those sweet potatoes.
I returned home and dished up a big bowl of the leftover sweet potatoes. I was lucky, there were three other crowd-sized potato dishes for our petite Thanksgiving party of 7 … this meant leftovers of everything! And as it turned out, these sweet potatoes are incredibly awesome cold too. I think these will be on repeat throughout the winter in my house:
Thyme Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Recipe: Sweet Potatoes with Thyme and Garlic
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs (approximately) Sweet Potatoes or Yams
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme or 1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (I quickly powder them in the spice grinder to keep from having pockets of spice; feel free to double the amount if you want them a bit on the spicy side)
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375ºF.
- Cut the potatoes into 3/4-inch chunks. I chop off and discard the ends, but do not peel them (after giving them a good rinse of course!).
- Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish, or similar size baking pan.
- Toss in the sweet potatoes, and sprinkle them with the thyme, salt, red pepper, and garlic.
- Drizzle the remaining oil over top, and stir the potatoes until they are well coated with the oil and spices.
- Bake the potatoes for 35 to 45 minutes, depending on your desired tenderness.
- Be sure to check in every 15 minutes and give them a good stir to ensure they cook evenly.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 40 minute(s)
Diet tags: Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten free, Milk free, Nut free, Peanut free, Soy free, Sugar free, Wheat free
Number of servings (yield): 6
Copyright © Alisa Fleming.
Frugal Recipe Tips:
Sweet Potatoes – Unlike regular potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams do not require as many pesticides to produce, so purchasing conventional is usually a-okay, and will save your wallet some coin.
Oil - Keep an eye out on oil sales. Don’t use expensive extra-virgin olive oil for roasting, especially since it tends to have a lower smoke point. I seem to find grapeseed oil or extra-light (not extra-virgin) olive oil on clearance or sale with great regularity, though peanut oil or vegetable should also work fine.
Spices - I used to shy away from natural food stores as they seemed far too expensive, but I recently discovered that some carry bulk spices. This saves me a small fortune!
Posted by alisa on November 27, 2008 | 2 Comments
Earlier this week I posted up “The Big List of Dairy-Free Thanksgiving Recipes.” If you have any comments, or some recipes to add (of course, this list will be good for Thanksgivings to come!), feel free to leave a comment here, since comments aren’t active on the Milk-Free Blog.
Since I want to do my part to prevent any food from going to waste, I hussled and put up a list of recipes for using up Thanksgiving Leftovers! Once again, if you have any ideas, recipes, etc., please do leave a comment. The more suggestions, the merrier. I am off to make my contributions to this year’s feast. Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by alisa on November 20, 2008 | 3 Comments
One of my recipes from One Frugal Foodie was selected for a recipe contest. They wanted a favorite comfort food, so I submitted the Won Ton Soup that my husband craves frequently. If you get a moment to pop over and give a quick click to vote for my recipe, I would be most appreciative! It is Alisa Fleming, Won Ton Soup. Thank you all! Here is the link to vote – http://marxfood.com/vote-for-your-favorite-comfort-food-recipe/.
And of course, a recipe coming tomorrow, and many more to come!
Posted by alisa on November 18, 2008 | 1 Comment
I am not sure how many of you have ever bought grocery items on Amazon, but I highly recommend it. Not all the time of course, but I get my favorite teas and oils for half the price they would cost in stores, and all with free shipping and no sales tax. Each month I check their sales, offers, dealios, etc. to see if anything hits the mark, and this month, we definitely had some winners! I was amazed at how many dairy-free items and brands were on discount or had a special offer, which is rare.
I am a huge fan of Good Earth Teas (the white tea is to die for, but I selected a few other types to sample too), so I picked up a few orders to last me through the winter. I never buy them in stores, as they are usually close to $4, but with the discount and the subscribe and save, I got them for just $1.50 per box!
Some other great deals I am still mulling over are:
Bob’s Red Mill – They have tons of flours, grains, nutritional yeast, mixes, etc. on sale, I just have to sift through them to see what I need in my pantry. Lots of gluten-free items for you GFCF dieters out there.
Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips! – These are on for just $2 a bag! The semi-sweet chips are made withou milk ingredients (may contain traces) so they are okay for our household. The new Ghirardelli semi-sweet cacao chunks for baking are also on, but not as good of a price per ounce.
Naturally Nora Cake Mixes – I always make cake from scratch. I don’t buy Duncan Hines, as it contains so many chemicals and additives, and the natural brands are so expensive. I have heard good things about Naturally Nora, and would like to review it, so I may just pick up some up. Hmm, they are still a bit out of budget, but their are several bdays coming up …
Some other dairy-free deals in the Amazon Sales & Specials (not ones I will be looking at this month, but you might like some):
Peeled Snacks (these are good!)
Gluten-Free Pantry Mixes
Garvey’s Mixes
Fiona’s Granola
McCann’s Oat Products
Numi Flowering Tea Gift
Bunches of different coffees and teas
O.N.E Coconut Water and new Amazon Acai bevies
Pure Bars
NOW Foods Stevia
Nutiva Hemp Oil (I prefer their coconut oil, but no coupon this month!)
Sahale Snacks
Madhouse Munchies Chips
There are more, but these are the ones that caught my eye first!
Posted by alisa on November 16, 2008 | 5 Comments
I have been working on it for over a year now, but Dairy Free Made Easy has at last been expanded and morphed into my new guide and cookbook, Go Dairy Free. Trust me, this is one packed full guide!
We are currently shipping Go Dairy Free out direct to dairy-free dieters worldwide, and I have an eBook available for those who prefer a paperless guide (Amazon Kindle is also available for you kindle subscribers). The book is also available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and you can make a purchase, it will just take a week longer to arrive to you. The initial copies have not yet arrived in their inventories, but they should be there soon, and I will update when both retailers have sufficient stock.
To give you a brief synopsis, the first half of this 288 page book is what I call a “living guide.” It includes the most ginormous dairy substitutes section ever published (5 chapters!); a complete explanation of dairy vs dairy-free, including any health factors that should be considered and a full definition of what dairy is that delves into the different types of milk; information for milk allergies (plus an entire chapter that addresses infant/child milk allergies in particular), lactose intolerance, the vegan diet, and various other health concerns; a complete calcium guide and more!
The second half is all cookbook and resources. The “living guide” includes roughly 50 dairy substitutes recipes, while the cookbook half houses another 175 recipes, food products I personally recommend, and a thorough resources section to expand your dairy-free enjoyment.
You can view the table of contents and recipe index from the Go Dairy Free Guide Information Page.
Okay, more recipes coming up soon!
Posted by admin on November 13, 2008 | 1 Comment
Realistically, no one could be more excited about my dairy-free book arriving than myself, but it isn’t why you might think. Sure, it is wonderful to see my work in print, but unlike many cookbook authors, I am excited to USE my own book. And you might be amazed at how quickly I did. The very day that the books arrived was rather hectic as you might imagine, and as luck would have it, the only vegetable left in the fridge was onions. What to make? Ah, that Lentil Curry in a Hurry recipe would suit perfectly! I knew I could have it on the table within 20 minutes with just pantry items and one of those onions. I grabbed my personal copy within minutes of cracking open the first box and headed to the kitchen!
Since it was the only vegetable, I doubled the amount of onions, but otherwise I had planned to follow my original recipe … I sauteed, added the lentils, water, spii..iicees … oh shoot, I was out of curry powder!
With the dish well underway, I went online to see if I could whip up a homemade curry powder. Low and behold, I had every necessary spice on hand! Back on schedule.
We had some leftover diced chicken that I added to my husband’s dish, but for myself, I simply had to have more vegetables. I added a generous dose of frozen peas for a complete (and filling) vegetarian meal. I typically serve it over long grain brown rice, but this time, I used a bed of quinoa (it cooks up quicker!). Though my husband usually dislikes Indian-type curries, this Lentil Curry has earned his approval, and thus a place in my book, Go Dairy Free.
Should you find yourself in a curry bind, or simply prefer homemade, then I do recommend this quick and easy blend …
Curry Powder
Recipe from Dancer on Recipezaar
4 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cardamom, whole,without pods (I used ground)
1/2 inch cinnamon stick (I used a few shakes of ground cinnamon)
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Toss all of the spices into your spice grinder and whiz until a fine powder forms, about 1 minutes, give or take.
Yields about 1/4 cup
Both the Curry Powder and Lentil Curry in a Hurry recipes are vegan, gluten-free (wheat-free), soy-free, egg-free, nut-free, and of course, milk-free and dairy-free.
As for the finished product, keep in mind, lentil curry isn’t a real looker (okay, far from it), but it tastes good! …
Frugal Recipe Tips:
Spices - I purchase spices in bulk at my local natural food store. I purchase whole spices whenever possible (whole coriander seeds vs ground coriander for example), as the spices will stay fresh much longer, and I can quickly grind however much I need in my spice grinder.
Posted by alisa on November 9, 2008 | 6 Comments
After a 6-month sabbatical to work on the second edition of my dairy-free book, I am happy to return to blogging. And yes, the book is completed and arriving very soon, tomorrow in fact. Go Dairy Free: The Guide & Cookbook will make its official debut this week (it is available to order on Amazon too), but for now, a recipe! My grandmother returned last week from a two-week bus trip that took her, my aunt, and my uncle through New York, New England, Ontario, Quebec, and Pennsylvania (many Paul Revere-inspired photos to view). Thoughtful as she is, she returned with a bag full of goodies just for me, including a cookbook she thought I would enjoy, Taste of Autumn from Gooseberry Patch. To thank her for this gift, I baked up a loaf of the Honey Quick Bread, with a few simple changes of course …
Taste of Autumn is far from dairy-free, but the simple and comfort food recipes are quite easy to convert. In addition to swapping out the buttermilk for my homemade dairy-free version, I also reduced the oil, upped the cinnamon, and used some whole wheat pastry flour. The recipe also said to grease and flour the loaf pan, but I opted to grease and “sugar” it. The resultant loaf seemed absolutely perfect in texture and moisture.
I changed the name to “Honey-Kissed” rather than Honey … though it contains a good dose of the sweet stuff this bread is just lightly sweet in nature. It actually makes excellent toast, slathered with almond or peanut butter or drizzled with just a bit more honey, or a slightly indulgent PB & J (my husband’s favorite format). For a vegan or low glycemic alternative, light agave nectar should work equally well substituted 1:1 for the honey.
Honey-Kissed Quick Bread
Recipe adapted from Taste of Autumn
2½ Cups Flour (I used 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour + 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon Salt
½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/3 Cup Oil
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice or Vinegar + Enough Plain or Unsweetened Milk Alternative (I used almond) to make 1½ Cups
½ Cup Honey (or Agave Nectar)
Grease and flour or sugar a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine the wet ingredients and add them to the dry. Stir together until fairly well combined, but do not overmix, some small lumps are okay. Let it sit and rest for 20 minutes, and preheat your oven to 375ºF. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Yields 1 9×5-inch loaf of bread
Frugal Recipe Tips:
Oil – Since you are baking the oil, there is no need to splurge on expensive versions that may actually burn at higher temperatures. I use grapeseed oil, which is a good neutral tasting oil, but feel free to use your favorite baking oil.
Honey – This is one item that I truly have to shop around for. I do recommend purchasing local honey whenever possible as it tends to have health benefits that are specific to your area (due to the fact that it is produced from the pollen of local plants). Wild is also best whenever possible. I watch the sales, and purchase in larger quantities whenever it looks like a good price, as honey works very well in baking and other recipes, and is a less expensive liquid sweetener than agave or maple syrup. In my local area, I found the best prices/quality at Fresh & Easy, but I also recently picked up a sizable jug (48 oz) at Whole Foods for just $8.99 (plus I had a $10 off $50 coupon I used in that shopping trip – Whole Foods with coupons – who would have ever thought!).
