Posted by alisa on March 29, 2011 | 23 Comments
Don’t tell anyone, but my friend Katie confided in me that she wishes more people would offer feedback on her recipes. It was at that point that I realized I had only made one of her recipes in the past year and a half!
Unfortunately, keeping up with recipes for Alisa Cooks, Go Dairy Free, and my next book takes up a lot of my kitchen time. I often forget to make the recipes that I bookmark. I’m guessing that I’m not alone here. But also, I often forget that Katie’s blog, Making Food and Other Stuff, has recipes. (Sorry Katie, but here me out!) Beyond cooking and baking, that girl is wickedly talented … sewing, knitting, crafting … and she has a sarcastic sense of humor that I just love. Even though I definitely get food inspiration from her blog, I rely on it daily for giggles and belly laughs. Sometimes you just need a release, you know?
And what many don’t know is that Katie is also gluten-free. I’m not sure if her entire blog from way back when is gluten-free, but for as long as I have known her, not a bit of wheat flour has been sifted into her recipes.
Okay, time to get to the point … this month I have “adopted” Katie of Making Food and Other Stuff for the Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger event, so that I would finally make some of her frickin’ recipes!
I started with a recent one that sounded so mental, that I had to know what it tasted like. Katie calls it a Sweet & Savory Pumpkin Sauce. It has ingredients like sage, cinnamon, mustard powder, nutritional yeast, and maple syrup all rolled up into one. The ingredients, when read together sound, well, less than appetizing. But, the end result was delicious! …
I wanted something more on the savory side, so I just used just 1/2 Tablespoon of maple syrup and omitted the stevia. However, I added in 1/2 Tablespoon of creamy unsalted peanut butter and 1/4 cup of water to thin the sauce, which was still quite thick (I liked this, as it clung to my veggies and rice – no runny sauce at the bottom!). Without the water, the flavors were a touch strong for me, but intriguing. The water and peanut butter (Katie, I think SunButter would be awesome too!) mellowed the flavor just enough, but also helped to meld the various components into harmony. It really was amazing … savory, a little sweet, and even a little spicy from the mustard powder. Oh, and she says salt and pepper to taste … I used a generous 1/8 teaspoon of salt and a few twists of freshly ground pepper, and devoured all of the “sauce” in one serving (I dumped the rest on after taking the picture – didn’t want to cover up those pretty greens before shooting!).
See Katie’s Recipe for Sweet & Savory Pumpkin Sauce
With the next recipe, Katie taught me something about myself. I was never a fan of chocolate growing up. I mean, it was okay, but I didn’t eat chocolate bars, I could easily pass up chocolate cake, and vanilla ice cream was always the winner. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that chocolate made its way slowly into my food “likes.” But now I’m realizing that maybe it is the sugar, not the chocolate that I enjoy most. I dislike “bitter” in all forms … tahini, coffee, and low and behold cacao. Yep, those beans are a fairly close cousin taste-wise to coffee beans!
So I tried her Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge recipe, which uses unsweetened (bakers) chocolate and has the *option* of adding stevia. Holy moly, that girl loves cacao!
I made just a quarter batch, added 1/2 tablespoon of maple syrup, and 20 drops (!) of vanilla stevia and the cacao taste was still too strong for me. It wasn’t so much that I wanted something sweeter, I just wanted something to tame that flavor. I didn’t like the true chocolate taste. Now I’m wondering how much sugar is really in that 70% dark bar?
This isn’t to say that I won’t still enjoy some fudge, but now I have to evaluate if my chocolate love is really about the chocolate. You know what I’m saying? Perhaps, just perhaps, a sweets craving can be conquered with this knowledge. Perhaps. I’m not holding my breath here or anything.
Regardless, this is a great recipe, and one that you can sweeten (or not) as you please! I used creamy peanut butter in place of the peanut flour and almond milk, since I didn’t have any peanut flour, and the texture came out quite nice. Even with my little addition of maple syrup, it wasn’t too soft.
See Katie’s Recipe for Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge
I do love that most of Katie’s recipes are quite low in sugar, if not sugar-free, and that she is a veggie-aholic like me (not that you would know it from all of the dessert recipes I have been posting lately!). I will definitely make more of her recipes in the near future (that woman is a genius with cauliflower!), that is, once I stop giggling at her posts.
Visit her site, you won’t want to leave – Making Food and Other Stuff
Posted by alisa on March 22, 2011 | 33 Comments
After posting my review for Wholesome Chow’s Cake [Cupcake] Mixes, I had some requests for the whipped berry frosting that I used on the lavender ones.
Since the recipe is ridiculously easy, versatile, and scrumptious … I thought it was time to share. It comes out light and relatively firm like whipped topping, but with a richer flavor … kind of a whipped frosting / topping hybrid, if you will. Obviously, I used mine on cupcakes as a light frosting, but I think it would also make a great filling for a dairy-free / vegan cake.
Hmm, now that I think about it, this recipe is even rather seasonal. You can vary the jams you use to create colorful springtime and Easter toppings! It really isn’t like me to be in tune with the holidays and seasons with my recipes, so take advantage while you can.
Since jams vary in flavor and sweetness, and cravings for sugar can range widely, I urge you to modify the ingredients to taste, and you can even play around with the consistency if you like.
This recipe is adapted from the even more versatile Whipped Coconut Cream recipe on p253 of my book, Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook (there are two versions in there, but I based it on the first one). Like some of my more indulgent recipes, this one uses coconut cream as an alternative to dairy cream. Before you shout, “where on earth am I going to get coconut cream!” just relax. Coconut cream is merely the cream that comes to the surface on a can of regular old coconut milk … the kind you can even buy at 7-Eleven.
You can see my Mint Truffles Recipe for a visual of what the cream will look like when you open the can. I get about 1/2 cup of cream per can (my favorite brand for consistency and price is 365 Organic from Whole Foods). So 1 can was all I needed for the full batch below. And remember, light coconut milk will not work, you MUST buy a can of the full fat version. This is dessert people!
As for the leftover coconut milk or water (depending on how thin it is), simply use it as a light coconut milk in recipes or even in a smoothie!
Creamy Berry Whipped Topping
Recipe adapted from Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook by me.
This recipe is Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Tree Nut-Free (not counting coconuts here, but use your own voice of reason if coconut is a problem for you), Peanut-Free, and Soy-Free.
- 1/2 Cup Coconut Cream (see my notes above)
- 2 Tablespoons Jam (I used raspberry)
- 1 T Powdered Sugar, or more as desired (I used TJ’s organic)
- 2 Teaspoons Coconut Oil, melted (straight up, I have forgotten if I used 1 or 2 teaspoons, more will make it firmer, less for softer)
- Pinch Salt
Whip all ingredients in a mixing bowl. I used a hand mixer, and whipped for about 1 minute. Taste test. If not sweet enough for you, blend in more powdered sugar to taste. Place the whip in the fridge for 30 minutes or more, allowing it to firm up a bit more. Whip just before serving (I just used a whisk).
The end result dolloped nicely and stayed perfectly in place for pictures and as I was eating it. But, if it isn’t firm enough for your desires, additional powdered sugar and/or additional coconut oil (add when melted, but it will solidify as it chills) will firm it up more.
Note: As you can tell from my picture below, I was too lazy to sift the powdered sugar since it was such a small amount. For the absolute smoothest results, sift the powdered sugar and follow the directions in Go Dairy Free for whipping.
Makes enough to dollop on about 12 cupcakes or to fill one cake
Blog Events:
Posted by alisa on March 19, 2011 | 3 Comments
Okay, you can choose whole grain cereals instead of or with the chocolate bars, but I thought the chocolate would get your attention the fastest. Do I know you guys well, or what?
I’m going to be one of four judges for the “What Matters Most” Facebook photo contest hosted by Attune Foods, and I’m officially inviting y’all to enter. Here are the yummy details:
What matters most is… Yoga. Chocolate. Time with friends. Snuggling up to a good book. What matters most to you?
WHAT: One lucky winner in the U.S. will win a year’s supply of their favorite attune foods’ product.
WHEN: March 16th – May 16th
HOW: Upload a photo of yourself on your Facebook wall with something that matters most to you and your favorite attune foods’ product in the photo. Make sure to tag @attune foods as you’re uploading it and tell us why this matters most to you, so facebook fans can vote and “like” your photo.
The four photos with the most fan votes will be contenders for the final prize, to be decided by brand ambassadors Heather, Alisa (that’s me!), Anne P, and Meghann.
For you free-from folks like me, keep in mind that not all of the Attune Foods products are dairy-free, but many awesome ones are. You can choose from their Dark Chocolate Probiotic Bars (made on shared equipment), Erewhon Cereals (whole grain), Uncle Sam Cereals, Skinner’s Raisin Bran, New Morning Cereal, and New Morning Graham Crackers. All of the chocolate bars and several of the Erewhon cereals are also gluten-free. To learn more, visit Attune Foods on Facebook or see their website, www.attunefoods.com.
In the name of sharing … what matters most to me is long walks with my husband, snuggle time with our kitty, my puzzling detox time, baking, daily exercise, an abundance of broccoli, nuts, and bananas on hand at all times, and the wonderful friends I have made online.
Of course I want you to enter the contest above, but feel free to take a moment and share some inspiration here, what matters most to you?
Posted by alisa on March 17, 2011 | No Comments
I’m a guest blogger at Attune Foods today. I’m discussing Making Healthy Changes and would love your feedback!
You can view my whole post and comment Here on Attune Foods! Thanks!
Posted by alisa on March 15, 2011 | 45 Comments
You asked, and I am here to deliver. Truth be told, I was really hoping there would be more votes for the Tagalongs or Peanut Butter Patties. But when I posted my Dairy-Free Thin Mint recipe, and asked what other Girl Scout cookies you would like to see a recipe for, the response for Samoas (or Caramel deLites) was overwhelming.
So do they taste like authentic Samoa cookies? Um, well, I couldn’t tell you … I’ve never actually had a Girl Scout Caramel deLite cookie. But, I can tell you that they taste really darn good.
Since I’d never tried a Samoa, I needed a recipe model to work from. However, I was surprised how few recipes I found for this cookie, and how so many of them weren’t true to form. I found bar versions that didn’t even have a chocolate base (how could I deny you of an extra chocolate layer?), I found recipes that were void of the shortbread base (true, I would have been happy without the shortbread, but I know how you all love it), and in Vegan Cookies, she skips the caramel topping altogether (a bit sacrilegious don’t you think?).
I did my best to stay loyal to the original cookie, but of course had to change up the recipe a bit to make it dairy-free, egg-free, and vegan. Okay, okay, I skipped the hole in the middle too. I mean, that’s a little nit-picky don’t you think? And you get more per cookie with my simple round version. If you must, use a straw or some other small circular instrument and painstakingly remove a hole from the center of the fragile shortbread dough. But when you start cursing like a sailor, just remember my voice telling you “I told you so” in a really annoying way.
Oh, and a final quick note. Something compelled me to move these cookies from the counter to the fridge for storage and I was glad I did. They will keep fine on the counter, but are awesome chilled. The shortbread cookie gets a nice light crisp and the chocolate stays firm and cool. Don’t worry, the caramel topping is still soft and shouldn’t threaten to dislodge any teeth.
Enjoy!
Dairy-Free Samoa-ish Cookies (a.k.a. Caramel deLites)
This recipe is Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, and I suppose you could make it Gluten-Free by using your favorite GF flour blend in place of the plain flour.
Shortbread Cookies (Adapted from Baking Bites)
- 1/2 Cup Dairy-Free Margarine (I used Earth Balance Soy-Free)
- 1 Tablespoon Milk Alternative (I just used a little of the coconut milk that I had opened for the caramel topping, but use whichever plain or vanilla milk alternative that you like)
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 to 1-1/4 Cups Flour
- 1/8 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
In a mixing bowl, beat together the margarine, milk alternative, sugar, and vanilla, until creamy. Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking powder, and the salt, and mix until well combined. Add in up to 1/4 cup of additional flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.
Roll or pat the dough out on a floured surface until it is 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick. Using a 1-1/4-inch cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the cookies out and move to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. I actually (gently) cut the cookie dough right on my silicon baking mat, since the cookie dough can be hard to move.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they just begin to brown around the edges. Let cool while you prepare the caramel topping.
Caramel-Coconut Topping (Adapted from the Dulce de Coco recipe in Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook)
- 1 Cup Regular Canned Coconut Milk (I use the full-fat version, not light)
- 2/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 Cups Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (or use sweetened coconut if you prefer a more sugary treat)
Combine the coconut milk, brown sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer or low boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Keep an eye to be sure it doesn’t threaten to boil over. Uncover and continue to let it slowly boil / simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should become somewhat thick, like a caramel sauce … but keep in mind, it will thicken more as it cools and when you add all of that coconut!
Remove the caramel mixture from the heat, and stir in the vanilla, followed by the coconut. I used all of the coconut, which made it very thick, and almost dough-like to handle.
Samoa Assembly
- 1 Cup Dairy-Free, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips(I used Dream Chocolate Chips – these do contain soy lecithin, use Enjoy Life brand if lecithin is a problem for you)
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil (optional)
Top each shortbread cookie with the caramel-coconut mixture. I use it all up, making a fairly thick layer of topping. My topping was thick, so I wet my hands (to prevent sticking) and pressed it down to evenly cover the tops of the shortbread.
Melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil, if using. I place them in a bowl and put them in the microwave on high for 1 minute, then stir vigorously until smooth. You may need more or less time in the microwave … just make sure you do not overheat the chocolate … it burns easily.
Dip the shortbread bases in the chocolate. You can either coat just the bottoms, or submerge up to the caramel layer. I tried both (each pictured above). Place them chocolate side down on parchment paper or a silicone baking mat to firm up. Then, somehow drizzle the tops of the cookies (over the caramel layer) with chocolate. I’ve read that you can do this with a fork … but that didn’t work for me. For the pretties results, piping the chocolate on would work best. I just sort of drizzled it on.
Let the cookies sit in a cool area so that the chocolate can set up. Usually this will happen at room temperature, but my husband had our heat set on “melt chocolate” that day (15 degrees outside, well over 70 degrees inside), so I placed them in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
Makes 2 dozen cookies
Blog Events:
I submitted this recipe / post to Allergy Friendly Friday by Cybele Pascal
Posted by alisa on March 9, 2011 | 6 Comments
Lots going on elsewhere today:
I’m hosting a giveaway on Facebook for the Global Vegan Waffle Cookbook. Head on over and enter!
Also, the incredibly awesome Diane of The WHOLE Gang has featured little ‘ol me as a “Food Rock Star.” Head on over to this post to learn a little more about me, if you are curious.
Ooh, ooh! One more thing. The adorable Sea at Book of Yum “adopted” me for the Adopt a GF Blogger (that little GF recipe index above qualifies me). Check out her post, she made many recipes from my blog and book!
Posted by alisa on March 8, 2011 | 33 Comments
Going through our cupboards, I discovered several foods that have traveled with us through two entire moves … and I’m not about to let them make a big trek with us again! I’m cleaning out, and this means even those dried beans that have been with us so long that they could probably be considered common law family, have got to go.
I confess, I’m one of those people who will pop Trader Joe’s canned garbanzo beans (those things are just so good for some reason) in my cart knowing full well that a one-pound bag of dried ones is sitting at home. But I hate the planning and the hassle of dried beans. Soak, boil, etc.
Fortunately, there is an easy way … it still requires a little bit of planning, but only on cooking the first time … trust me, there will be loads left for convenience. Tony and I had been mentioned trying to cook the dried beans in our crockpot for some time, but the cleaning out mentality finally lit a fire under my butt. I am sure this isn’t a new concept - likely a search for crockpot beans on the internet will yield thousands of results – but it was something new to our house, and boy was it easy.
Here is my method that required less than ten minutes of hands on time and virtually no worries:
1) One night when you remember, place dried beans in a big bowl and cover with as much cold water as the bowl will hold. The beans do soak up a lot, so I try to have at least double the amount of water as beans, if not triple. Place the bowl in your refrigerator, and leave the beans to soak overnight.
2) In the morning, drain the beans. See my note below, you may want to boil the beans for ten minutes at this point. From what I read, chickpeas are okay, but some other beans may be an issue. Now, place them in your slow cooker. Cover them with water adding about an extra 3 inches or more of water above the beans (they soaked up a lot overnight and will soak up more, but not quite as much). Turn it on low, and go about your day. They can cook for anywhere from 6 to 12 hours. I took the garbanzos out after 6, but they could have gone a couple hours longer. I did the pintos and blacks for a full 12 hours, and no problems – they cooked nicely but weren’t mushy. Drain the beans again, and let them cool.
3) Odds are, you have a boatload of cooked beans now. Pack any beans you won’t be using in the next few days into ziploc bags, push the air out, zip, and lay them flat in the freezer to freeze. Now, whenever you need beans, simply pop them out of the freezer! You can even boil them a bit to heat up and further soften, pop them in recipes as is, or even top a salad that you will be taking on the road (the beans will defrost but keep your salad cold!).
To note, you can cook various types of beans together. I cooked the pinto beans and black beans altogether, the only consequence was that the black beans “stained” the pintos so that they came out a darker color than normal pintos. I’m okay with that.
Note: Some beans must be boiled for at least ten minutes to kill toxins. We were actually boiling the beans after freezing, so no problems here. But you may want to boil them for ten minutes before placing in the slow cooker as noted on Wikipedia.
Posted by alisa on March 3, 2011 | 30 Comments
At last, my first month joining in the Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger Event (started by Sea at Book of Yum, but hosted this month at Lexie’s Kitchen). For the event, I pick a fellow blogger to “adopt” who either blogs completely gluten-free or has a gluten-free category or gluten-free recipe index for quick location of the goods, and I make at least one recipe from their blog.
I’m not strictly gluten-free myself (dairy-free, yes), but do dabble in GF cooking and baking and would say that we eat a gluten-low diet. Plus, I love a challenge and the wonderful bloggers in the gluten-free community. They are awesome. Okay, but let’s get going with the recipes and such and stop rambling on, shall we?
This month I adopted Valerie of City|Life|Eats. Valerie is a pretty healthy gluten-free chick, and I always love the recipe ideas and flavor pairings she comes up with. This whole adoption gig finally gave me an excuse to trial a couple of her recipes …
I started with her Chili-Roasted Carrots. Now, I have a bit of a problem when it comes to any roasted vegetables … I can’t stop eating them. I will eat the entire batch in one day (sometimes one sitting) no matter how large. So I cut Valerie’s recipe into a fourth, which seemed like a reasonable serving for one (4 medium carrots, approximately). Other than that, and the fact that I used parsley instead of cilantro (not something I keep on hand), I followed the recipe exactly … and oh was I glad I did!
The addition of freshly squeezed lime juice just before serving was brilliant! I’d never thought to brighten roasted vegetables in this way, but what a fantastic idea. Thanks Valerie …
I ended up stirring the carrots into some leftover wild rice, and this was breakfast #2 …
Want these carrots? Go now to Valerie’s Chili-Roasted Carrot Recipe.
Okay, moving onto dessert … yes, you knew there would be at least one sweets recipe didn’t you? I am so predictable. But, to clarify, Valerie’s sweets recipes aren’t loaded with sugar. She’s a mostly sugar-free maven, and her recipes reflect it. Of the semi-sweet recipes that she offers, I picked the Cranberry Almond Bittersweet Chocolate.
Now this isn’t simply melted dark chocolate with fruit and nuts thrown in, no sir-e-bob. This is my favorite kind of chocolate, dairy-free and made from scratch! I did make a few changes. I know, you are supposed to follow the recipe as closely as possible, but hear me out …
- Valerie wanted to try this recipe with cocoa butter instead of coconut oil, so I gave it a go. I’m happy to report that cocoa butter works wonderfully, but you do have to work more quickly, as it sets up within minutes at room temperature.
- Valerie uses 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, but I stopped at 6 Tablespoons (2 Tablespoons short) as it was already getting a bit too intensely cacao for my taste. I liked the less sweet aspect, but prefer the taste of cocoa butter to cacao. To my taste buds, this was a perfectly dark bar. Her version makes a true bittersweet bar for you purists!
- I added chopped cashews instead of almonds, and tossed in some raw cacao nibs for fun … I thought Valerie would approve of that addition. Of course, the extra chunks made this more like a fruit ‘n nut bark than a chocolate bar, but yummy nonetheless.
- I used the agave / stevia combo, except that I used honey for the agave.
- I added a pinch of salt … no idea why, it just seemed right at the time.
- I used silicone muffin cups for the molds rather than making a bar shape in a pan … I’m a bit lazy that way.
Ready to make your own chocolate? Head to Valerie’s Cranberry Almond Bittersweet Chocolate Recipe.
I love the recipes at City|Life|Eats, and am looking forward to trying more! I’ve also got her Chocolate Milkshake Smoothie and Chipotle Shrimp recipes on my agenda to trial soon. Valerie’s recipes tend to be simple, whole food-oriented, and require relatively few ingredients … my favorite.
