Guest Corner!

Last week I had the most amazing discovery. I was reading an interview with Jason Ferrugia that Craig Ballantyne had put up (I'm a fan of Turbulence Training, yeah), and Jason was mentioning some vegan things he recommended. What caught my eye wasn't that he was talking about vegan food (since it seems like just about every fitness expert guy I've heard of has gone through a vegan/vegetarian phase), but rather that all his vegan recommendations were soy-free as well. Soy is usually the main protein replacement for people who don't eat dairy or eggs, so it was unusual to see someone who wasn't allergic actually go vegan and soy free.

SO! The amazing discovery? Jason mentioned a cheese substitute called Daiya. Now, usually cheese substitutes have casein in them (despite their claims of being dairy-free, the liars), and those that don't almost always have soy.

But not Daiya. It has no corn, no soy, no casein, no milk, no egg.

I know! I was shocked too! And then once I recovered I made a gluten/wheat-free egg-free milk/dairy-free soy-free corn-free pizza. And it was GOOD. (But more on that later.)

So today's guest post is from my sister-in-law, Liz Dubon Orwig. She's vegetarian. She's done vegan for a while, and she's totally down with the whole allergy thing, since she also is struggling with avoiding food allergens. She has a huge head start on the wonder that is Daiya, since she found it a while ago, and she doesn't mind rubbing it in just a teeny bit. :)

She's been experimenting with Daiya for a while, and has some good recipes to share. Like these vegan nachos. Mmmmm.

So read all about it on her blog! It'll make you hungry! It'll make you cheesy!

And most of her recipes can be adapted for non-vegan-friendly allergies (like wheat allergy or gluten intolerance), as well. For example, there are a lot of rice breads in grocery stores that can be used to make grilled Daiya sandwiches. And I actually found brown rice tortillas today in a local grocery store (yes, they actually exist), so quesadillas are totally do-able.

So enjoy our ode to the happiness that is Daiya. Just remember, though, that Daiya is definitely NOT nutritionally equivalent to real cheese, and is more of a fat source than anything else. So if you're on a weight loss diet, make sure to take the calories, fat, and carb content into consideration, and enjoy responsibly!

Memorial Day Stuffs

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, and to celebrate, my parents are having a barbeque.

I love barbeque sauce, but I challenge you to find a good one that doesn't have artificial ingredients (like propylene glycol--a common ingredient in hand lotion), or corn syrup, or soy/tamari sauce, or Worchesterchire sauce in it.

Ha! Didn't think you could.

So I'm going for the next best thing: raspberry chipotle.

Bronco Bob's makes some expensive, but tasty sauces. I could probably do just as well by buying raspberry jelly, but that usually has more sugar in it than I really want. So I just buy the sauce.

And then add stuff to it to make it even better.

In my fridge, right now, is some pretty happy chicken. I used the Bob's Raspberry Chipotle Sauce as a marinade, but added some more ground chipotle (found at the local Whole Foods), and a little bit of garlic.

I use chicken thighs because I hate the taste and texture of breasts. Yeah, whatever. A little bit of extra fat in the dark meat isn't enough to make that big of a difference, I promise.

So the chicken thighs are going to marinate overnight, and tomorrow they'll be tossed on the grill for about 10 minutes.

Oooh yeah. Allergy-free protein bliss.

And if raspberry isn't your thing, check out the local sauce section of your higher-end grocery store. Make sure the read the ingredients, pick one that has natural ingredients and you're not allergic to, and use it to marinate your favorite meat (or tofu, if you're vegan or don't eat meat and aren't allergic to soy) overnight before grilling. Good stuff, I'm telling you.

Super quick gluten-free, milk-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, corn-free Cookies!

Tonight was Pinewood Derby, and the two youngest both did very well. But poor Oldest--not only is he too old to participate in the Pinewood Derby, but he couldn't have the cookies that they had as treats. So I decided that it'd been too long since I'd had chocolate chip cookies and should make some.

Here's the recipe:

1 box Betty Crocker Gluten-free yellow cake mix (or another gluten-free cake mix)
3 tbs Ener-G egg replacer
2/3 c rice milk (or almond milk or whatever turns you on--the box actually calls for water)
A little less than 1/3c canola oil
2 tsp McCormick French Vanilla
2-3 tbs Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease the cookie sheet with some canola oil.
Mix the egg replacer and the cake mix dry.
In another bowl/cup, mix the rice milk, oil, and the vanilla.
Pour the liquids into the dry mix and mix until well combined. Don't over-mix it--do it by hand. It's the consistency of a pie crust, so it's ok if it's a little dry.
Once the dough is mixed well, add in the chocolate chips and stir until they're throughout the mixture.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the greased cookie sheet and pat into round cookie-shapes. Bake for 12 minutes. The cookies should be just slightly brown.





Mmmmm. I ate three right out of the oven. And so did my Oldest.

Lasagna

Ever walk into a house and it smells like the best pasta in the world?

Yeah. My mother was baking lasagna when I walked in tonight, and I swear my stomach wanted to crawl out my throat, drag itself over to the oven and start some heavy snogging.

Sometimes being allergic sucks.

My Ongoing Brownie Battle

Since I was diagnosed with an egg allergy about 8 years ago, I've been trying various egg substitutes in recipes. I have something that works for most cakes and other odds and ends, but I've never been able to successfully make brownies without eggs.

Maybe I'm too picky when it comes to foods. But darn it, I have culinary standards!

Things have, of course, gotten even more difficult since the wheat allergy. But I'm still trying. Perhaps in vain.

So I lamented my latest attempt of trying to make the Namaste brownie mix. This time I used ground flax seeds instead of the egg replacer. It turned out as a gooey mess--not really changing from a batter into a baked good. I was complaining about it on Twitter, and had a Holistic Health nutritionist post a recipe for me to try. The original recipe is here.

Well, water is boring. And I don't have walnut or grape seed oil. And I don't have xylitol (although I wish I did. Good stuff.) So here's how I modified it.

4 T canola oil
2/3 c Splenda
1/2 c almond milk
1 t vanilla
1 c rice flour
4 T unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Green & Blacks)
1 t baking powder (the special, corn-free stuff)

Mix the oil, Splenda, almond milk, and vanilla. Add the flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Mix thoroughly. Spread into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake 20 minutes at 350.

Result?



Crumby. Dry. The taste isn't bad, but it's not quite sweet enough.


(Sorry about the blurriness.)

I need something that's going to give it moisture. (Oh, sure, and egg would work wonders. But, you know.) It also needs more sugar, which means it needs more liquid. I'm not sure how to fix this one. Ideas? Or should I just give the victory to the brownies and hang up my gloves?

Oh, the baking disasters! Part II: Cranberry Bread

I'd been craving cranberry bread or pumpkin bread or stuff like that for the past few days. So yesterday I decided "what the heck." Since I was baking shortbread anyway, I found a recipe to try.

Original recipe here.

2 cups gluten free flour (I used the Namaste All-Purpose list.)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 Tablespoon orange zest (I used two, actually)
3/4 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup butter or butter substitute, melted (I used canola oil--I was so over the coconut oil by this time)
2 eggs (I used 2 tbs ground flax seed mixed with 4 tbs hot water)
1 cup whole cranberries )
3/4 cup-1 cup walnuts chopped- (I used about 1 cup of chopped cashews)

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the orange zest to the flour mixture.

Mix the canola oil and orange juice. In a separate bowl, mix the flax seed and hot water.

Combine the orange juice mixture with the flour just until it's wet. Fold in the flax seed mixture. Then fold in the cranberries and cashews.

Put into a bread pan, bake at 350F for 40-50 minutes.

Results:




The texture turned out perfect, but the cranberries were a little too tart. If you store it, though, make sure to put it into something that won't retain moisture, which will turn it into a gooey mess. This bread is much better the second day. The cranberries weren't quite so tart.

The next time, I plan to add more sugar and fewer cranberries. And not put it in a baggie.

Oh, the baking disasters! Part I: Shortbread

Scottish shortbread is kind of a holiday tradition for my family. It's a relatively simple food to make, and only has four ingredients. Unfortunately, I'm allergic to two of the four.

A normal shortbread is a mixture of flour, salt, sugar, and butter. Nothing else. So what do you use as a butter substitute when you're allergic to both milk and soy? And will the finicky gluten-free flour really stand up without the butter?

Actually, no. Not really.

I poked around for a recipe that only required the ingredients I had on hand. Several of the recipes used coconut flour, so those were out. Then I found a recipe for a vanilla and chocolate swirl shortbread and decided to try it.

Here's the recipe:

50g (2oz) rice flour
50g (2oz) potato flour
25g (1oz) tapioca (I wasn't sure whether this should be tapioca flour, starch, pearl, or whatever so I used tapioca flour)
.25 tsp xanthan gum
.50 tsp salt
50g (2oz) caster sugar (I assumed this was confectioner's sugar)
1 tsp vanilla essence (I used almond extract)
125g (4.5oz) dairy free margarine (I used coconut oil)

Combine dry ingredients. I stirred the almond extract into the coconut oil. Then I "rub[bed] in the margarine until the mixture combines, using [my] fingertips."

It was a creamy, gooey mess that stuck to my fingers because my hands were warm enough to melt the coconut oil.

Place dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough out on wax paper (to about 1cm) and cut into rectangles. At this point, I had to put it back into the fridge because the "dough" was melting apart as I tried to put it on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Within 2 minutes, I knew it was a disaster. The rectangles spread and broke. In the "separating in weird ways" kind of broke.




Despite it not keeping its shape, the texture is actually about right. However, the coconut oil is a bust. The coconut flavor is overpowering, so they're more like coconut oil cookies. Meh. I'm not as much of a fan of coconut oil after these.