Roasted on the Grill

Finally, a beet harvest from the garden!  Serving up the golden beets with golden potatoes, with garden fresh garlic.  Slice and dice, place in a tin foil pan with some water, olive oil and sea salt.

 

Here it is:

5-6 potatoes ranging from big to small, quartered, then cut into bite size pieces
6-8 beets and repeat method used with the potatoes
1 TBSP water
2-3 TBSP of olive oil
1 teas of sea salt

Mix together and add to the pan.  Place on grill for about 30-40 minutes on medium heat (350 deg)

Serve with anything else that you grill!

Indian Chicken Curry to spice things up on a cool spring day

Indian spice dish with red pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, curry, mustard seed

This dish is a favorite for everyone in the family, even my picky eater! 

The heat can be adjusted by the amount of red chili powder and red pepper flakes added. 

Indian Chicken Curry

This recipe is dairy free, gluten free and can be made vegetarian but substituting chickpeas, carrots, and other vegetables of choice for the chicken. This is a modified version of a Cooking Light recipe that originally used dairy products.

2 tsp curry powder
1-2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
3 TBSP canola oil
1 cup of chopped yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3-4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 can of light coconut milk
1 small can of tomato paste
5 cups of peeled baking potato (about 7 medium sized potatoes)
4 cups of water

1. Combine the first 8 ingredients.
2. Heat oil in a 5 quart Dutch oven, saute onion and garlic for 5 minutes, stir in spice mixture and saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken and saute for 10 minutes, stirring frequently and adding 2 TBSP of water after a few minutes.
3. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, potato and remaining water.
4. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour or until potatoes are cooked. Stir occasionally.
5. Serve over hot basmati rice
6. Top with fresh cut tomato or "Quick Tomato Chutney" that follows.

Quick Tomato Chutney
A good friend of mine introduced me to this easy sauce to serve with Indian food.

2 TBSP of finely chopped yellow onion (reserve some from when you cut the onion for the curry)
3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP water
2 TBSP olive oil
1/4 cup fresh chopped tomato
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp to 1 TBSP of red pepper flakes (choose amount for level of heat)
1/2 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients and serve with curry. Serving size is about 1 TBSP.

Carrot Cake for Easter

I made two different versions of the carrot cake this weekend for Easter. I made gluten-free cupcakes for my son and the egg free version with wheat flour for the main dessert for Easter dinner. It is frosted with a lemon zest cream cheese frosting. Using a dairy free white frosting with added lemon zest would make this dessert completely vegan and dairy free.








Vegan Carrot Cake
1 1/2 cups of flour (wheat or gluten free flour mixture)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup finely grated carrot
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP vinegar
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Mix dry ingredients until well blended.
3. Add grated carrots and stir until well
   blended.
4. Add wet ingredients and mix well.
5. Pour into a 9 inch square or round pan (spring
   form works well) and bake for 40-45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
   Muffin baking time is 20-25 minutes.
   

Frost with a dairy free frosting (*see notes) with the zest of one lemon added to frosting. For added details, color small amounts of frosting orange and green and decorate cake with shaped carrots and greenery.

NOTES: I have been happy with this store bought frosting.
It's dairy free. http://www.pillsburybaking.com/products/details/737

Vegan Gluten Free Brownies? Is that Impossible? Find out!

Vegan, gluten free brownies are possible and easy!

This recipe was modified from the "Babycakes" recipe that I first heard about from watching Martha Stewart about 4 years ago. I modified it to make it simplified and faster to make by consolidating all of the different flours, powders and gums. Use the gluten free flour mix that I describe under "Breads and Baking" as it will contain the starches and xanthum gum that is needed when baking GF. Time is always at a premium!

Homemade Vegan Brownies

(can be gluten free)

Use mini muffin pan molds for this recipe. Investing in at least 2-3 mini muffin tins will help make baking the brownies go faster. This recipe makes about 3 dozen mini brownies.

1 1/4 cup flour mixture

1 cup sugar

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup applesauce

2 TBSP vanilla

1/2 cup brewed coffee or hot water

1 cup of vegan mini chocolate chips (see notes)

1. Preheat oven to 325 deg and prepare mini muffin tins with either oil or
   liners.
2. Whisk together flour through cocoa powder and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix oil, applesauce, and vanilla.
4. Slowly add flour mixture, stirring to combine.
5. Stir in coffee or hot water until it forms a batter, then fold in chocolate
   chips.
6. Place 1 TBSP of batter into each muffin tin and bake until toothpick comes
   out clean, 12-15 minutes.
7. Let brownies cool before removing from mold.
   

No egg, No problem!

Scones

This recipe has been modified to exclude the one egg from the original recipe and how to make buttermilk on a whim. Add fresh berries like cranberry, blueberry, raspberry or blackberry. Do not use frozen berries.

2 cups flour (or split 1/2 cake flour and 1/2 regular for a lighter texture)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 TBSP chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped berries (optional!)
1/2 cup buttermilk (see notes)
1/3 cup half and half
1/2 tsp grated orange or lemon rind

1. Preheat oven to 375 deg F
2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife. Combine flour through salt in a bowl and cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture is a course meal. Add the berries to coat.
3. Combine buttermilk and rind to mixture stirring until moist. Dough will be sticky.
4. Knead the dough gently on a lightly floured surface with floured hands. Pat the dough into a 10 inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and bake for 30 minutes until golden.

*Notes: Buttermilk substitution: Add 1 TBSP of vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let mixture rest for 5 minutes. For this recipe, add 1 1/2 tsp of vinegar to milk. This also works for milk substitutes like rice and soy.

Ode to Daylight

With added daylight as my guide, I prepared "Great Grilled Chicken" tonight for dinner. Catch the recipe under "Main Dishes". This is very easy and good, so easy that my husband remarked about how carefree it was to watch me make dinner. I added a side dish of fresh lettuce, couscous, and a mixture of tomato, cucumber, kalamata olives, garbanzo beans, plain yogurt and fresh feta marinated with this dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp agave nectar

*For gluten-free option, make quinoa instead of couscous

Great, Triple Layer Chocolate Cake

We celebrated my daughter's 9th birthday with an owl themed party, complete with this cake decorated with an owl. The cake is egg free and dairy free. We used Newman O's for the wings and eyes, Lifesaver jellied candies for the eyes, and baking chips for the feathers. The beak and claws are almonds and this cute owl is sitting on a branch of pretzels. I doubled the cake recipe and used the chocolate glaze between each layer of cake. This cake recipe will also work great with the wheat/gluten free option. Go to the Breads and Baking option on this site for details.

Chocolate Cake

In a bowl mix:

1 1/4 cups of flour mixture

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 TBSP cocoa

In another bowl mix:

1/3 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 TBSP vinegar

3/4 cups of cold water

1/4 cup of any type of milk (cow, soy, rice, etc)

Sift dry ingredients together and blend wet ingredients.

Mix the wet and dry together until well blended.

Pour into lightly greased baking pan (8-9 inches round or square) or into 12 muffin tins

Bake at 400 deg F until toothpick comes out clean. Bake for 20 minutes for cake and 18 minutes for muffins. Recipe can be doubled and used with layered cake pans for a double or triple layered chocolate cake.

Chocolate Glaze

2 Tbsp Cocoa

1 TBSP vegetable oil

1 TBSP corn syrup

2 TBSP + 1 tsp of water

1 cup powdered sugar

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small sauce pan and stir over medium heat until smooth and shiny, then blend in powdered sugar. Glaze the cake and enjoy.

Cookies

Today, I made a new version of a cookie recipe that I have been using for a few years. Today, I changed the ingredients to add more protein and fat for my son who needs the extra calories anyway he can get them. I added Sunbutter to the recipe. I have included both the original recipe and the new version for adding Sunbutter on the blog list under "Breads and Baking". Both of these cookies are great and my son loved them.

Introduction

I am a mother of three children with food allergies and restricted diets. I have been learning about how to manage life with food allergies for the last 8 years and I am ready to share my insight. My children are allergic to dairy (cow and goat), wheat, eggs, soy, and nuts. This site will provide a guide for how to plan, prepare, and cook 5 STAR meals within the restriction of multiple food allergies and gluten free needs. Adaptation is crucial in living with food allergies. The recipes featured here are an assortment of original recipes, old favorites and a guide for adapting most any recipe to most any food allergy or diet restriction.