Monday, November 24, 2008

Dairy Free Egg Free Fruit Dip

We are so fortunate to have Tofutti sour cream and cream cheese substitutes in our local grocery stores! The original recipe came from here and I made it dairy free with the Tofutti substitutes.

It's not as sweet as the fruit dip that has the marshmallow fluff (which contains egg whites), but it is still REALLY GOOD. I will definitely make this again.

8 oz Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese, softened
3 Tbsp white sugar
1 cup Tofutti Sour Supreme
1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients together. Chill for 30 minutes to allow flavors to mesh. Serve with fresh fruit.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Dairy Free Pizza - and it's good too!



I never thought I'd be posting a dairy free pizza, but here it is. I'm still working out the kinks of the sauce and dough for my own personal tastes, but I've found the dairy free "cheese" that works and tastes better than just edible:

Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella cheese substitute and I buy it online at the Vegan Store. I shredded and used the whole block on the pizza.

Now, first let me say there is a trick to melting this. It has to be on a very high temperature. The dough I used (recipe below) says to top the pizza before cooking the dough, so basically you put the completed pizza in the oven at 375 and cook until the dough is finished. THEN you'll need to crank up the broiler on HIGH for a few minutes to melt the cheese.

Now that I've given you my secret to the cheese, here's the pizza:


The Sauce

15 oz. tomato sauce
6 oz. tomato paste
1 Tablespoon oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp basil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried onion, minced
2 Tablespoons sugar

Mix all ingredients together and allow flavors to mesh while you make the dough. *Note: something is "missing". Any suggestions? It's good, but not EXCELLENT.

The Dough

This dough is too bready for my tastes, but the flavor is good. I think next time I will use the same recipe but only use 3/4 of the dough and roll it out thinner. I'll try my hand at cinnamon sticks with the remaining 1/4. [Update: After trying it out, 3/4 of the dough does make a much better thickness (imo).]
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

  1. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out on a large pizza pan. Top as desired.
  2. Bake at 375 degrees C (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.
Our new favorite pizza dough can be found here.

The pizza I have shown above is mushroom, smoked chicken, and cooked bacon in case anyone is curious. :)

Dairy Free, Egg Free, Knead Free Bread

Another fantastic recipe from Gayle and recipezaar.com!

This breads texture is a cross between focaccia and English muffin bread. It's wonderful toasted and is so easy to make because it requires no kneading.

2 loaves

Ingredients

1 (2 1/4 teaspoon) package active dry yeast
2 cups warm water, divided
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dairy free margarine, melted (or brushed on Parkay Squeeze)

Your choice of topping

poppy seed
garlic bread seasoning
Parmesan cheese (if you're not DF)
cinnamon sugar, mixture(we didn't care for this one with this type of bread, though)
your favorite herbs and spices

I did a combination of celery salt, onion powder, nutritional yeast, and garlic salt that was good, too. I also experimented with some dip mixes from Tastefully Simple that worked out well, too. So many choices!

Directions

  1. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar.
  3. Add the yeast mixture and remaining 1 cup of warm water; stir until combined.
  4. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. (About 1 hour).
  5. Stir dough down.
  6. Divide in half.
  7. Place each half in a greased 1 quart round casserole or ovenproof bowl.
  8. Brush tops with melted margarine and sprinkle with topping.
  9. Let rise in a warm place until doubled; about 45 minutes.
  10. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
  11. Remove from pans to cool.

The first time I made this I used a corning ware dish and just a stainless steel bowl. After that I just used the bowls because I liked the looks of it being round. :)

(That's cinnamon on the left loaf.)

Breakfast Cookies: Dairy-free, Egg-free

Gayle calls these Babysitter Cookies and she's posted them on recipezaar.com. They are fantastic and "healthier" than your basic cookie because you can sneak a few extra things in! :)

Here's the recipe I use:

1/2 cup dairy free margarine or coconut oil
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup white sugar or sucanat
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup cereal (we use Lucky charms for the extra colors)
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips (Kroger brand semisweet are DF)
1/2 cup peanut butter substitute - (both almond butter and sunbutter gave good results, but I prefer Sunbutter)
2 Tablespoons wheat germ (optional)
2 Tablespoons hemp seed (optional)
2 Tablespoons milled flax (optional)

Other optional suggestions she gives, but I have not tried:
1/2 cup coconut (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup nuts (optional)


Directions

Melt together the margarine (or coconut oil) and shortening. Add sugars and cream thoroughly.

Add applesauce, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, flour, oatmeal, cereal and mix well. Mix in peanut butter substitute and chocolate chips.

Stir in any or all of the optional ingredients.

Drop by rounded Tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.


***Just a note: these cookies do NOT turn a golden brown and continue to crisp up after cooking. I have found that I get best results when they are still just a little gooey coming out of the oven and leave them on the cookie sheet to cool for at least 5 minutes. Then I transfer them to a cooling rack.

However, if I do over cook and they are just too crispy to enjoyably eat, they are WONDERFUL broken up into a bowl of milk and eaten like cereal in the morning for breakfast! They are practically oatmeal and cereal after all! :)

We really enjoy these cookies!

Dairy Free Meaty Gumbo

I found this on recipezaar.com here. This is a fantastic gumbo! I think the original serving sizes shown are wrong, though, because I halved the recipe and it still served 6 - 8 easily. This is the halved recipe shown below. I don't have a pot big enough to hold the full recipe! :)

Also the original recipe calls for a hot smoked sausage or kielbasa, but I know that Carolina Pride Beef Smoked Sausage is dairy free so I used it instead.

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil
5/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups chopped yellow onions
3/4 cups chopped celery
3/4 cups chopped green bell peppers
1/2 lb okra, either fresh or frozen and cut into pieces
3/4 lb Carolina Pride Beef Smoked Sausage (it's Dairy Free)
3/8 lb smoked ham, cut into small cubes or ham, nugget cut into small cubes
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 bay leaves
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken meat
1/2 tablespoon Pickapeppa Sauce (found it at Walmart near the other sauces)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 bunch chopped green onions
hot sauce, to taste (optional)

2 cups cooked long-grain rice, accompaniment


Directions

You'll want to have everything chopped, diced, measured and ready to go. This recipe takes a little bit of time and some concentration, so have everything ready and nearby before you start cooking.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat and stir in the flour, sprinkling a little at a time and whisking inches. Whisk slowly and constantly for 10 to 15 minutes to make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate. You'll be able to smell it when it's just before burning, so you have to pay close attention.

If you get black specks in your roux it is burned and you will have to start over.

Add the onions, celery, okra and bell peppers and continue to stir for 4 to 5 minutes, or until wilted. The mixture will be pasty and fairly dry.

Add the sausage, ham, salt, cayenne, pepper, and bay leaves and stir well. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the stock or broth and stir well to combine with the roux mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.

Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Add the chicken and cook just until the chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley, Pickapeppa Sauce and green onions.

Ladle into deep soup bowls over rice.

Serve with hot sauce, if desired.

Enjoy!