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Condiments – Page 2 – surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

Category: Condiments

Condiment [kon-duh-muh nt] noun: early 15c., from Old French condiment (13c.), from Latin condimentum “spice, seasoning, sauce,” from condire “to preserve, pickle, season,” variant of condere “to put away, store,” from com- “together” (see com- ) + -dere comb. form meaning “to put, place,” from dare “to give”. These recipes will not contain dairy, eggs, gluten, wheat or hazelnuts. If we use a top 8 allergen, we will use a tag warning of its use.

  • Lemon Herb Sauce

    Lemon Herb Sauce

    Welcome to May! Here at Surviving the Food Allergy Apocalypse, it is condiment month. A great condiment be tailored to your food allergy needs and can make the difference between an okay meal and an awesome meal. Check out our condiment category to see what we’ve posted before (a personal favorite of mine is the Thai dipping sauce — it’s amazing), and stick around this month for some great new flavors.

    There’s a place in Massachusetts — Life Alive! — an old-school vegetarian restaurant that Jack and I discovered back a few years ago. It was a great place to go with food allergies, as everything was made in house, everyone who worked there knew what was in each sauce, everything was made to order and modifiable. What I loved about it, though, was that it was a ton of veggies over grains with a sauce and the bowls were terrific.

    Grain bowls are the ultimate easy meal. They can be modified no matter what you have in the house — so long as you have vegetables. When I lived alone, I used the grain bowl meal at the end of the week to use up leftovers, bits of veg, everything left in the fridge. Jack and I make them on purpose now, though, and make extras for leftovers.

    There are two keys to a great grain bowl — a combination of warm and cool/raw ingredients (e.g. cook the sweet potatoes, lightly steam the kale, leave the celery raw) and a great sauce. You can use commercial dressings, if you have safe-for-you dressing. But a good sauce really takes it over the top, and it is easy. This version is based on my vague memories of the lemon sauce at Life Alive, as well as being a finally-measured version of the sauce I’ve been making for a few months. You can definitely mess with this — mix up the nut or seed butters, play around with the herbs, even change up the citrus if you’re feeling bold! But mostly, enjoy.

    lemon herb sauce drizzled over a kale leaf propped up on lemon slices and basil
    lemon herb sauce

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    Lemon Herb Sauce
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    This sauce gets a richness and depth of flavor from a seed (or nut) butter and nutritional yeast, an odd but tasty ingredient that’s worth seeking out — most grocery stores have it, but you often have to ask. Red Star is the most common brand, but is not safe for the corn allergic. Do NOT get brewer’s yeast. It’s not the same thing.
    Servings Prep Time
    6 servings 10 min
    Servings Prep Time
    6 servings 10 min
    Lemon Herb Sauce
    Print Recipe
    This sauce gets a richness and depth of flavor from a seed (or nut) butter and nutritional yeast, an odd but tasty ingredient that’s worth seeking out — most grocery stores have it, but you often have to ask. Red Star is the most common brand, but is not safe for the corn allergic. Do NOT get brewer’s yeast. It’s not the same thing.
    Servings Prep Time
    6 servings 10 min
    Servings Prep Time
    6 servings 10 min
    Ingredients
    • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
    • 1 Tablespoon seed or nut butter I used sunflower seed butter
    • 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
    • 6 Tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 Tablespoon dried chives
    • 1/4 teaspoons celery salt
    • 1 Tablespoon dried basil
    Servings: servings
    Instructions
    1. Mix all ingredients well — a whisk or fork works best.
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    One note — if you want this to be a salad dressing instead of a sauce for a grain bowl, consider adding a bit more lemon juice and olive oil to thin it out some. Also keep in mind that if you make this ahead of time, it’ll need to come to room temperature so the olive oil isn’t solid. (Okay, so maybe that was two notes.)

     

  • Garlic Double Header: Toum Sauce and Garlic Sorghum Flatbread

    Garlic Double Header: Toum Sauce and Garlic Sorghum Flatbread

    Toum Sauce & Garlic Sorghum Flatbread
    Toum Sauce & Garlic Sorghum Flatbread

    It’s our last garlic post of Keeping the Vampires Away month, so I decided to do a double header. And they actually go great together, although you’re going to have to make heroic efforts to get rid of the aroma once you’re finished eating. The great thing about these two recipes is that they use very few ingredients, which is fairly infrequent in allergy cooking.

    Toum Sauce (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)

    The toum sauce is pretty easy and the only ingredient that’s a bit out of the mainstream is the aquafaba which helps it emulsify easily. In researching recipes for toum sauce, some state that using extra virgin olive oil can result in the sauce having a bit of a bite and that grape seed oil doesn’t emulsify well. Since those are my only two safe oils, I chose extra virgin olive oil, and I didn’t mind a bit of a bite.  However, if you have a lighter safe oil, you might want to try it. It’s great to use on sandwiches, falafel, grilled foods, and flatbread. I even put it on salad.

    I didn’t want to make huge amounts so I used an immersion blender, but I think there is enough volume that you can try it in a regular blender as well. I also used the elephant garlic that MaryKate sent me from Seattle, but regular garlic will work.

    Toum Sauce (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
    Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
    Print Recipe
    An allergy friendly version to use on shawarma, falafel, grilled foods, and flatbread. I even put it on salad.
    Servings Prep Time
    1 1/2 cups 15 minutes
    Servings Prep Time
    1 1/2 cups 15 minutes
    Toum Sauce (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
    Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
    Print Recipe
    An allergy friendly version to use on shawarma, falafel, grilled foods, and flatbread. I even put it on salad.
    Servings Prep Time
    1 1/2 cups 15 minutes
    Servings Prep Time
    1 1/2 cups 15 minutes
    Ingredients
    • 6-8 cloves garlic (or 1 clove of elephant garlic)
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 Tablespoons aquafaba (see http://aquafaba.com/)
    • 1 Tablespoon water
    • 1 teaspoon lemon juice (I used freshly squeezed)
    • 1 cup olive oil
    Servings: cups
    Instructions
    1. Peel and trim ends of garlic cloves and roughly chop. Place in small container if using a stick blender or in the blender if using a regular blender. Add salt, aquafaba, water, and lemon juice.
    2. Blend until the garlic, salt, aquafaba, water, and lemon juice is a thick paste. You want the garlic to be completely pureed.
    3. Once the garlic is completely pureed, continue to blend, and very slowly pour olive oil into the mixture as it blends, and the mixture will thicken. Store in the refrigerator.
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    One clove of the elephant garlic MaryKate sent me with a steak knife for size reference
    One clove of the elephant garlic MaryKate sent me with a steak knife for size reference
    Garlic, salt, aquafaba, water, and lemon juice before blending
    Garlic, salt, aquafaba, water, and lemon juice before blending
    Garlic, salt, aquafaba, water, and lemon juice after blending
    Garlic, salt, aquafaba, water, and lemon juice after blending
    Blending garlic mixture with olive oil
    Blending garlic mixture with olive oil
    Finished toum sauce after blending
    Finished toum sauce after blending
    Toum Sauce (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)
    Toum Sauce (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)

    Garlic Sorghum Flatbread

    Although I’ve modified this recipe from Book of Yum a bit by adding garlic and scallions, I’ve got to give credit where credit is due. I’ve made flatbreads (or roti in Indian cuisine) from other recipes and have not been as successful. Although the recipe is very simple, the technique of cooking half the flour with water is what makes the resulting flatbread nicely pliable. I was able to make them very thin and wrap them around some veggies without them breaking. Plus they were really awesome just dipped in the toum sauce by themselves.

    Garlic Sorghum Flatbreads except the two I ate while cooking :)
    Garlic Sorghum Flatbread
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    A simple flatbread you can use as a wrap, tortilla, or just to munch on.
    Servings Prep Time
    6-8 flatbreads 20 minutes
    Cook Time Passive Time
    3-5 minutes 10-15 minutes
    Servings Prep Time
    6-8 flatbreads 20 minutes
    Cook Time Passive Time
    3-5 minutes 10-15 minutes
    Garlic Sorghum Flatbreads except the two I ate while cooking :)
    Garlic Sorghum Flatbread
    Print Recipe
    A simple flatbread you can use as a wrap, tortilla, or just to munch on.
    Servings Prep Time
    6-8 flatbreads 20 minutes
    Cook Time Passive Time
    3-5 minutes 10-15 minutes
    Servings Prep Time
    6-8 flatbreads 20 minutes
    Cook Time Passive Time
    3-5 minutes 10-15 minutes
    Ingredients
    • 2 cups sorghum flour
    • 2 cups water
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 6-8 cloves garlic or 1 clove of elephant garlic
    • 2 scallions
    • roux whisk (helpful to have)
    Servings: flatbreads
    Instructions
    1. Peel and trim your garlic. Trim the ends of the scallions and any wilted bits of green. Chop garlic and scallions very finely, you want very small pieces but not a paste. I used a manual food processor but you can do it with a knife.
    2. Measure place one cup of the sorghum flour in two bowls, so that the flour is divided to add as needed. In a sauce pan or deep skillet, add the garlic and scallions, salt, and two cups of water. Bring the water to just below a boil in the pan, and add one cup of the flour to the water in a slow stream, using the roux whisk to blend in the flour.
    3. Reduce the heat to low. Using a wooden spoon, stir the other cup of flour into the pan, until it forms a dough ball. Keep stirring and mixing until the dough forms a rubbery texture. Remove the dough and place in a heat safe bowl. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes or until it is cool enough to touch.
    4. Form into small balls, a little bigger than the size of a ping pong ball, and place back into the bowl. I used a gallon size freezer safe ziptop bag, with the sides cut out to roll the dough out between with a rolling pin. You could also use a tortilla press, but I don’t have one. Roll the dough out to about an 1/8th of an inch.
    5. Place a cast iron skillet over medium-low to medium heat (depends on your stove and your skillet, you may need to adjust. Cook until the texture changes on the top of the flatbread (it will look a bit dry and cracked) and until you have light brown spots on the side being cooked. Turn the flat bread and cook the other side. Repeat until all your flatbreads are cooked.
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    Mince garlic and scallions very finely
    Mince garlic and scallions very finely
    Measure out sorghum, one cup in each bowl and get roux whisk ready
    Measure out sorghum, one cup in each bowl and get roux whisk ready
    Add water to saucepan and add garlic and water, bringing just below boiling.
    Add water to saucepan and add garlic and water, bringing just below boiling.
    Slowly add one cup of sorghum flour and mix in with whisk
    Slowly add one cup of sorghum flour and mix in with whisk
    Turn heat to low and mix in second cup with wooden spoon until it forms a rubbery dough
    Turn heat to low and mix in second cup with wooden spoon until it forms a rubbery dough
    Let dough rest in heat safe container
    Let dough rest in heat safe container
    Roll out dough between a ziptop bag with the sizes cut out once cool enough to handle
    Roll out dough between a ziptop bag with the sizes cut out once cool enough to handle
    Cook on cast iron skillet over medium heat
    Cook on cast iron skillet over medium heat
    Flatbread ready to flip (note dry texture around edges)
    Flatbread ready to flip (note dry texture around edges)
    Flatbread after flipping
    Flatbread after flipping
    Garlic Sorghum Flatbreads except the two I ate while cooking :)
    Garlic Sorghum Flatbreads except the two I ate while cooking 🙂

    Enjoy!

  • Turnip Kimchee

    Turnip Kimchee

    Turnip Kimchi

    Turnip Kimchi

    As some of you, who know me in real life and who read the blog regularly, know, I *may* have planted a little bit too much turnip in the garden this year. I planted Purple Top White Globe variety because hello, purple. They are more radishy than the turnip I normally eat from the grocery store. I tried to make a couple of different things in hopes that (a) it would work for the blog and (b) use up some turnip. The attempt at Cajun seasoned baked turnip curly fries were just so-so, not blog-worthy. The scalloped turnip recipe I tried was okay, but I think it will be a whole lot better if I throw it in the Vitamix and call it a turnip bisque once it’s pureed to oblivion, and if I add some Sriracha (my homemade version of course). So since the turnip is radishy, I decided to make a version of cubed radish kimchee, which usually uses daikon radish. So if you can’t find fresh daikon in your area, get yourself some Purple Top White Globe turnips and go to town. I used this recipe as a starting point. If you do not like spicy/hot food, maybe pass on this recipe. If you need it to be vegan or you’re allergic to fish, you can sub out the fish sauce with soy sauce or a soy sauce substitute if you have issues with soy, or or you can just use some extra juice from the turnip mixture, as explained below.

    Turnip Kimchee

    Normally, I do the step by step instructions with photos, but I have to go can a bunch of turnip in the pressure canner.  So here’s some of the in-process photos, and the recipe card.

    Peeled turnip being cut into cubes
    Peeled turnip being cut into cubes
    Turnip with salt and sugar resting bring the water out
    Turnip with salt and sugar resting to bring the water out
    Korean red pepper flake mixture
    Korean red pepper flake mixture
    Turnip combined with Korean red pepper flake mixture
    Turnip combined with Korean red pepper flake mixture
    Turnip combined with Korean red pepper flake mixture in jar, pressed down so there are no air pockets
    Turnip combined with Korean red pepper flake mixture in jar, pressed down so there are no air pockets
    Turnip Kimchi
    Turnip Kimchi
    Turnip Kimchi
    Turnip Kimchee
    Print Recipe
    A cubed kimchee using purple top white globe turnips instead of daikon
    Servings Prep Time
    1 half gallon jar 20 minutes
    Passive Time
    30 minutes
    Servings Prep Time
    1 half gallon jar 20 minutes
    Passive Time
    30 minutes
    Turnip Kimchi
    Turnip Kimchee
    Print Recipe
    A cubed kimchee using purple top white globe turnips instead of daikon
    Servings Prep Time
    1 half gallon jar 20 minutes
    Passive Time
    30 minutes
    Servings Prep Time
    1 half gallon jar 20 minutes
    Passive Time
    30 minutes
    Ingredients
    • 4 pounds purple top white globe turnips peeled, washed and diced in 3/4 inch pieces
    • 2 Tablespoons sea salt
    • 3 Tablespoons sugar
    • 6 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated (use a ginger grater or a microplane zester)
    • 4-5 stalks spring onion or garlic scapes chopped (I had garlic scapes on hand, so that’s what I used)
    • 1/4 cup fish sauce (use a version safe for you, or substitute with soy sauce, soy sauce substitute, or more of the radish liquid)
    • 1/3 cup Korean red pepper flakes
    • 1/3 cup juice from turnip mixture (explained below)
    Servings: half gallon jar
    Instructions
    1. Peel turnips and rinse in cold water and pat dry. Cut the turnip into cubes about 3/4 of an inch. Place them in a large bowl.
    2. Sprinkle salt and sugar over the turnip and mix well. Place a cover or plastic wrap over the bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes. The salt and sugar will pull water out of the turnip. Once the 30 minutes is up, drain the juice from the turnip into a small bowl and set it aside. Leave the turnip cubes in the large bowl.
    3. In another small bowl, add the minced garlic, the grated ginger, the chopped green onions, the fish sauce, the Korean red pepper flakes, and 1/3 of a cup of the drained turnip juice. Whisk these ingredients together until well combined.
    4. Pour Korean red pepper flake mixture over the turnip cubes in the large bowl, scraping the small bowl clean so that all the Korean red pepper flake mixture gets added to the turnips. Mix the turnips and the Korean red pepper flake mixture well until the turnips are completely coated.
    5. Put the turnip mixture into a glass jar (I used a half gallon Ball mason jar), making sure that you scrape the bowl clean and all the Korean red pepper flake mixture goes into the jar with the turnips. Use a spoon or a spatula to press down the cubes to remove any air between them.
    6. You can either place it in the refrigerator and eat it right away or you can let it ferment by leaving it outside of the refrigerator for a few days. I use an airlock with a plastic cap and silicone gasket, but you can use a lid if you just remember to open it (burp it) twice a day, so that the pressure doesn’t build and the glass jar does not crack. When it starts fermenting, you may see little bubbles. After three to five days, store it in the refrigerator and enjoy.
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  • Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

    Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

    Honey Mustard Vinaigrette (with tater tots)
    Honey Mustard Vinaigrette (with tater tots)

    Honey mustard reminds me of childhood, specifically this restaurant, Ray’s on the River, outside of Atlanta. Apparently, it opened in 1984. We moved there in 1985, and my dad bought a piano “for the family.” What that meant was that my brother and I were signed up for piano lessons, with mandatory yearly recitals that involved being dressed up, playing horrible dreck in front of a crowd of the parents and other kids, and then going out to dinner as a family. While piano recitals were decidedly not my thing (I was a competent student, but I’m not a performer), this was the kind of dinner out that I actually really liked. We always went to Ray’s for “nice” dinners out — celebrations of some sort. Ray’s had a jazz band in the bar (and this was well before children were banished from bars — we got Shirley Temples and got to listen), a view of the muddy Chattahoochee River, and the best chicken fingers I’ve ever eaten. They had a crispy, light, almost tempura-esque coating which I never could replicated, not even with all the allergens in the world. They were served with a “fancy” honey mustard sauce, which was not like the gluey opaque salad bar version of honey mustard (which is mayonnaise-based). I’m sure this sauce had real honey and real mustard in it, and not a lot more — and this recipe is my attempt to recreate this flavor of my childhood.

    This honey mustard is intended primarily as a salad dressing, but I’ve also cooked salmon, chicken, and potatoes in it with great results. Pick your herbs based on your destination, and you’ll do fine — I prefer the herbes de provence on chicken and salad, and the dill for fish, but the extra dressing never goes to waste no matter which version I make.

    honey mustard vinaigrette 2Honey Mustard. It’s better than piano recitals.


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    Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
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    This sweet and savory classic gets an adult update with great herbs.
    Prep Time
    10 minutes
    Prep Time
    10 minutes
    Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
    Print Recipe
    This sweet and savory classic gets an adult update with great herbs.
    Prep Time
    10 minutes
    Prep Time
    10 minutes
    Ingredients
    • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
    • 3 Tablespoons honey
    • 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
    • 2 Tablespoons vinegar (I’ve used red wine and cider vinegar. Both are good. Use your favorite.)
    • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 teaspoon herbes de provence OR
    • 1 teaspoon dill
    Servings:
    Instructions
    1. Measure ingredients into a bowl (I use a glass measuring cup, as the spout is good for pouring the dressing/sauce on a salad or dish). Mix well with a whisk.
    Recipe Notes

    The order of the ingredients is purposeful — if you measure the olive oil first, the honey and mustard will slide right out and you can use the same measuring spoon for the whole thing.

    If you want to use this as a dipping sauce, I’d suggest making it the day before. A night in the fridge thickens it up quite nicely.

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  • Cilantro Avocado Salad Dressing or Sauce

    Cilantro Avocado Salad Dressing or Sauce

    Cilantro Avocado Salad Dressing or Sauce

    Cilantro Avocado Salad Dressing or Sauce

    I love cilantro and avocado, and I was looking for a new salad dressing because I have a tendency to fall into a rut.  I either make my standard vinaigrette out of habit or use my Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce because I’ve got a bunch of it canned up and it’s easy, and really good on salad.  So I decided I’d try something different. If you like cilantro and avocado, it’s yummy and will be pretty much great on everything you can think of.

    Cilantro Avocado Salad Dressing or Sauce

    Makes 3 cups

    • 2 cups of tightly packed chopped cilantro
    • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed
    • 1/4 cup of olive oil
    • 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
    • 1/4 cup of water
    • 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (I used two limes)
    • 2 Tablespoons of Adobo seasoning – optional (If you don’t have Adobo seasoning or you don’t have a safe version, mix 1/8 cup of paprika, 1 1/2 Tablespoons of ground black pepper, 1 Tablespoon of onion powder, 1 Tablespoon of dried oregano, 1 Tablespoon of ground cumin, 1/2 Tablespoon of ground chipotle, and 1/2 Tablespoon of garlic powder, this makes half a cup of seasoning)
    • salt to taste
    • 2 avocados

    Put all the ingredients in the blender and puree it. I went overboard with my Vitamix so you can’t see the cilantro.  If you want larger pieces of cilantro, put all the ingredients except for 1 cup of cilantro in the blender first, blend, and then add the reserved cilantro and blend judiciously to leave more visible bits.

    Use it on tossed salads, as a dipping sauce for fries or chips, or a garnishing sauce for fajitas, tacos, or burritos if you have safe tortillas, or on baked potatoes or sweet potatoes. Use it as condiment sauce for steak, pork, or chicken.  If you are worried you can’t use it all up, it freezes well.

    Cilantro Avocado Salad Dressing or Sauce
    Cilantro Avocado Salad Dressing or Sauce

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    Cilantro Avocado Salad Dressing or Sauce
    Print Recipe
    Servings Prep Time
    3 cups 15 minutes
    Servings Prep Time
    3 cups 15 minutes
    Cilantro Avocado Salad Dressing or Sauce
    Print Recipe
    Servings Prep Time
    3 cups 15 minutes
    Servings Prep Time
    3 cups 15 minutes
    Ingredients
    • 2 cups fresh cilantro chopped and tightly packed
    • 2 avocados peeled and pitted
    • 2 cloves garlic peeled and trimmed
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/2 cup white wine vinegar or use other safe for you vinegar
    • 1/4 cup water
    • 1/2 cup lime juice fresh squeezed
    • 2 tbsp Adobo seasoning If you don’t have Adobo seasoning or you don’t have a safe version, mix 1/8 cup of paprika, 1 1/2 Tablespoons of ground black pepper, 1 Tablespoon of onion powder, 1 Tablespoon of dried oregano, 1 Tablespoon of ground cumin, 1/2 Tablespoon of ground chipotle, and 1/2 Tablespoon of garlic powder, this makes half a cup of seasoning
    • 1 pinch salt to taste
    Servings: cups
    Instructions
    1. Put all the ingredients in the blender and puree it. If you want larger pieces of cilantro, put all the ingredients except for 1 cup of cilantro in the blender first, blend, and then add the reserved cilantro and blend judiciously to leave more visible bits.
    2. Use it on tossed salads, as a dipping sauce for fries or chips, or a garnishing sauce for fajitas, tacos, or burritos if you have safe tortillas, or on baked potatoes or sweet potatoes. Use it as condiment sauce for steak, pork, or chicken. If you are worried you can’t use it all up, it freezes well.
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  • Apple Cranberry Habanero Hot Sauce

    Apple Cranberry Habanero Hot Sauce
    Apple Cranberry Habanero Hot Sauce

    In attempting to use up my glut of apples (they are finally all gone!!!), I wanted to do a chutney of some sort. But most of the recipes call for raisins, and at the moment, I don’t have safe raisins I can buy at the store because most of them have sunflower oil all over them. I thought about it, but I drew the line at dehydrating some grapes so I could have chutney.  So I considered other options. I found an apple habanero hot sauce recipe, but I also wanted another flavor in it. I had some cranberries in the freezer, so I decided they’d be good. This hot sauce is lovely, but really vicious. I used six fairly large habanero peppers, but you can switch them out for milder peppers or cut the number back a bit.  This recipe makes about 3 cups, so depending on your hot sauce usage, you may want to cut the recipe in half.

    Apple Cranberry Habanero Hot Sauce

    • 2 large cloves of garlic, diced
    • 1 shallot or small onion, diced
    • 1 Tablespoon of fresh ginger, diced
    • 3 cups of peeled, cored and chopped apples (I used a mix from my apple trees out back, mostly McIntosh and Galas.)
    • 1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries
    • 1 cup of apple cider vinegar (I used Bragg’s as it is generally safest for people with corn allergies)
    • 2/3 cup of white sugar
    • 2/3 cup of brown sugar
    • 6 large habanero peppers, destemmed, deseeded and chopped
    • 2 teaspoons of salt
    • a small amount of safe for you oil to cook with (I used grape seed oil)

    In a large saucepan, over medium high heat, sauté the garlic, shallot/onion, and in ginger in your safe oil until soft.

    Garlic, ginger, and onion cooked until soft
    Garlic, ginger, and onion cooked until soft

    Add the apples and cranberries and cook for another 5 minutes.

    Add the vinegar and bring the mixture to a boil. Then add the white and brown sugar and stir until it dissolves.

    Add the habanero peppers and simmer over medium low heat for 30 minutes.

    Cooking complete
    Cooking complete

    Put the mixture in a blender and puree it until smooth.

    Apple Cranberry Habanero Hot Sauce pureed until smooth
    Apple Cranberry Habanero Hot Sauce pureed until smooth

    At this point, you can use the sauce as it is, or you can strain it to remove any seeds, pepper and cranberry skins that haven’t been broken down. You may need to use a spatula to press the sauce through the strainer.

    Straining Apple Cranberry Habanero Hot Sauce
    Straining Apple Cranberry Habanero Hot Sauce
    Straining Apple Cranberry Habanero Hot Sauce
    Straining Apple Cranberry Habanero Hot Sauce

    Refrigerate the sauce and use often. You can also freeze it if you think you won’t use it soon enough.

    Enjoy!

  • Aquafaba Vegan Salad Dressing

    Aquafaba Vegan Salad Dressing
    Aquafaba Vegan Salad Dressing

    So with the corn allergy all of the vegan mayonnaise products are a big no-no for me, as canola is notoriously cross-contaminated with corn, and I started to react to my favorite product. I haven’t had a safe mayonnaise in over a year. When I saw the aquafaba experiments with mayo, it rang a bell as a lot of the vegan products have pea protein, so I thought I’d give it a go. Only problem was, in order to get some aquafaba, I had to find time to pressure can some garbanzo beans at home, as I don’t really have a safe commercial garbanzo bean product I can buy. A few weeks ago I canned some garbanzo beans, but I just managed to find time to do the experiment recently. I used this recipe to start, but I modified it a bit because I was looking for a flavor that was more like Miracle Whip, as that was my mayo/salad dressing product of choice when I could still eat eggs, milk, and corn (I have more allergies, but those are the problem children for commercial mayo products). When I think of all the things I can make again, I seriously want to cry. Many thanks to Peanut Butter & Vegan for the post on using aquafaba for mayo to get me started. As suggested by the original post, I used an immersion (stick) blender, but if you try it in a regular blender, let me know how that goes.

    Aquafaba Vegan Salad Dressing 

    Makes about 1 cup.

    • about 1/4 cup of aquafaba (the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans)
    • 1/2 Tablespoon of lime or lemon juice (I used lime because I had limes in the house, but no lemons)
    • 1/2 Tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (I used Bragg’s as it is generally safest for people with corn allergies)
    • 3/4 teaspoon of salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon of ground mustard
    • 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
    • dash of paprika
    • 3/4 cup of safe for you, neutral tasting oil (I used grapeseed oil)

    In a small bowl or measuring cup that isn’t much bigger in circumference than your immersion blender, add the aquafaba, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, mustard, sugar and paprika. Mix with the immersion blender for a few seconds so that the ingredients are all combined. Slowly drizzle in the oil, while the immersion blender is running, moving the immersion blender around when the mixture becomes thick to make sure all the oil gets incorporated. Once the mixture is nice and thick, place the salad dressing in a container and place it in the fridge, where it will continue to thicken.

    Aquafaba Vegan Salad Dressing
    Aquafaba Vegan Salad Dressing

    Yay!! You have salad dressing! Go forth and make yummy dishes that require mayo/salad dressing like substances!

  • Caramelized Onion & Balsamic Dressing over White Beans, Mushrooms, and Spinach Salad

    Caramelized Onion & Balsamic Dressing over White Beans, Mushrooms, and Spinach
    Caramelized Onion & Balsamic Dressing over White Beans, Mushrooms, and Spinach

    I am not a big eater of salads. Mostly, that’s because “salad” to me equals lettuce, and I don’t eat lettuce. I don’t like it that much and my body hates digesting it. But the thing is, salad doesn’t need to be lettuce at all. I love chopped salads, and I’ve been experimenting lately with meal salads that are spinach (which I do like) with something warm and cooked over top. Putting something hot on spinach slightly wilts the spinach, which I love, and somehow makes the salad seem more like a hearty meal. This salad is one of those.

    Actually, this salad is several of those. The point of this salad is the dressing, which I originally whipped up to go over a grilled steak salad. But as I was getting ready to make it again for better photos, I really didn’t feel like steak. So I made a white bean, dill, and mushroom saute, instead, and it was really good. Again, the point is the dressing. Make that, and then put it over whatever you think will taste good with caramelized onions on it (so, basically, anything up to dessert). The salad is the vehicle for the dressing. It keeps in the fridge overnight, but I’ve never had it around longer than that.

    Overall, this recipe makes 2-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are. It’s about 2 servings for me.

    Caramelized Onion & Balsamic Dressing over White Beans, Mushrooms, and Spinach
    Caramelized Onion & Balsamic Dressing over White Beans, Mushrooms, and Spinach

    Caramelized Onion Balsamic Dressing

    • 3 Tablespoons olive oil (cooking quality, not finish quality — you’re heating this)
    • 1 cup of onions, halved, then quarter each half and slice thinly. This is about one baseball-sized onion
    • 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon salt (how salty do you like your dressing? I like the high end of this range, but to just get good flavor, 1/2 teaspoon is enough)
    • 1 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic (about one largish clove)
    • 1-2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (again, adjust for your preferred tanginess)
    • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    • 1 Tablespoon faux tamari, or 1/2 Tablespoon tamari and 1 teaspoon maple syrup or other liquid sweetener

    Place a large skillet (I always use my cast iron) over medium heat. When hot, add olive oil and let it heat until shimmering.

    Add onions, and stir well. Cook until translucent, stirring frequently.

    Add salt. Stir well, and turn heat to medium low. Cook until caramelization begins (golden browning), stirring infrequently, knowing that this will take up to 45 minutes. It’s worth it.

    When the browning has begun across the pan of onions, add the garlic, Dijon, balsamic, and tamari, stirring well after each addition. Stir this over the heat until everything has really incorporated (2-4 minutes), and then remove from heat.

    Bonus Salad Recipe: Mushrooms, White Beans, and Dill over Spinach

    • 2 -3 teaspoons of oil
    • 1 package (8 oz) mushrooms, washed and chopped roughly
    • 1 can (15 oz) small white beans, drained and rinsed
    • 1 packed Tablespoon of fresh dill, chopped
    • 5 oz of spinach, washed and torn (if big)

    Heat a large skillet over medium heat — since you’re combining everything, feel free to use the skillet you made the dressing in without washing it. When hot, add the mushrooms and oil. I always add these two together since I “measure” the oil by adding just a little to the pan, adding the mushrooms, and stirring well. I keep adding little bits of oil while stirring until the mushrooms are all lightly coated. This is probably less than you’d imagine, or less than you would start out with, so it keeps the mushrooms from sticking but also keeps them from being greasy.

    Cook over medium heat as the mushrooms release their liquid. Stir frequently. When they’ve shrunk and look cooked, add the beans. Stir well, and add the dill. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until all the beans are hot.

    Place the spinach in a large bowl. Pour beans and mushrooms over spinach, then dressing. Let sit for about 5 minutes to wilt the spinach, then toss. Let it sit again, if you like, for further wilting, and then serve.