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Tree Nut-free – Page 30 – surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

Tag: Tree Nut-free

Does not contain any tree nuts or coconut.

  • Awesome Cake Doughnuts — yes, gluten-free

    Mini Powdered Sugars
    Mini Powdered Sugars

    Now so far, gluten-free baking is still new to me.  I’ve had some utter disasters, so I’m still sticking pretty close to the recipes of other people.  So far, the majority of the recipes in this cookbook have been overwhelmingly winners.  I can highly recommend it as a good starting cookbook for gluten-free baking — it doesn’t teach you all the science, but the recipes are straightforward and (best of all) WORK.

    Doughnuts were one of the family food traditions that center on my dad, not my mom.  No matter where we were for vacation, my father somehow managed to drive past a doughnut place on the way into town.  Now, if you live in the Northeast where there’s a Dunkin’ Doughnuts at least every mile, that’s not all that impressive.  We didn’t, and it was a skill.  Incapable of moderation, he always bought at least a dozen doughnuts our first morning of vacation, for three people — because, again, my mother didn’t like them.  We spent a lot of family vacations on a total sugar high.

    Now, even if you aren’t gluten-free, if you have food allergies, most doughnuts are off the table.  Most bakeries use nuts, eggs, and dairy, and don’t use allergen-safe food practices, so they’re danger zones.  If you’re lucky, and live in NYC, LA, or Orlando, you have access to a Babycakes bakery.  If you live elsewhere, you have their cookbooks, including Babycakes Covers the Classics, which includes doughnuts.

    Plain Cake Donut, from Babycakes Covers the Classics

    First: You MUST have doughnut pans for this!  I have one large doughnut pan that makes 6, and a small one that makes 12.  This is perfect for one recipe of doughnuts.  The cookbook will tell you to grease your pans with melted coconut oil.  I use Pam for Grilling (does not contain soy) for all my pan greasing needs, for lo, I am lazy.  Also, I always miss spots otherwise.

    Mise en place
    Mise en place

    Whisk dry ingredients together.

    • 1 cup sugar
    • 3/4 cup white rice flour
    • 1/2 cup gar-fava flour (blend of garbanzo bean and fava bean flours — Bob’s makes this, and it is absolutely worth finding)
    • 1/2 cup potato starch
    • 1/4 cup arrowroot
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

    Add wet ingredients and mix until just combined thoroughly.  A note about measuring — Erin McKenna uses ONLY dry measuring cups for all recipes, so you might want to do the same.

    • 1/2 cup melted coconut oil or canola oil (they both work, but if you can do coconut, do — it adds flavor)
    • 1/4 cup vanilla (yes, 1/4 CUP)
    • 1/2 cup hot water

    Spoon batter into doughnut pans.  This recipe makes 12 doughnuts, or 6 large and

    Raw Doughnut Power
    Raw Doughnut Power

    12 small.  Which is perfect.  Smooth out your batter, and bake for about 15 minutes, until doughnuts are golden.  In my (not extensive) experience, browning is not a good sign of “done” for gluten-free baking, so use a toothpick to test.

    Let them rest in the pan for 5-10 minutes and then cool.  If you’re going to use a granulated sugar topping (like cinnamon sugar), do it when the doughnuts are still mostly hot.

    Naked Doughnuts
    Naked Doughnuts

    I prefer powdered sugar, and it seems to stick best when the doughnuts are just barely warm.  Chocolate ganache and sprinkles are also a big winner.

    These are fine hot, but what makes this my favorite recipe is that I think they actually taste best if you make them the night before you want to eat them.

    Chocolate with sprinkles
    Chocolate with sprinkles

  • Denise’s Really, Really Spicy Pea Soup

    Pea Soup
    Denise’s Really, Really Spicy Pea Soup

    This is a recipe that I began developing when I was younger and finally got it exactly where I wanted it somewhere between the ages of 16 or 17 years old. My parents do not like spicy food at all, and in typical teenage rebellion, I became a fire breather. Of course, back then, I could eat dairy, and all of the other myriad things that I can’t now. (If you can eat dairy, this soup is absolutely fabulous with a slice of smoked gouda on top melting into it, but I digress.) So when I was diagnosed I needed to make it dairy free, which is relatively simple in this case – use vegan margarine and don’t put cheese on it. When Mary Kate and I began discussing the idea of developing allergy free recipes, I decided to see if I could make it gluten free as well. Turns out I could, and it’s nearly indistinguishable from the original. (Except for the smoked gouda, did I mention that?  Sigh).

    Remember, this is a really spicy soup, and I toned it down a bit for you guys, just in case you all don’t have stomachs lined with asbestos. (I’ll also be making notes in the ingredients on how to turn it down further in the ingredients, just in case some of you aren’t into really spicy). Also be aware that this recipe makes a VAT of soup. Luckily, it freezes incredibly well, and seems to have no effect on the soup at all. We freeze it in single serve containers and then just take one out and bring it to work to nuke for lunch. The last batch I made fit in about 5 or 6 pieces of Gladware that held between 3-4 cups each.

    Denise’s Really, Really Spicy Pea Soup

    • 2 – 1 lb bags of split green peas
    • 4 quarts of water
    • 3-4 onions, chopped (4 if they are kind of small to medium, 3 if large).
    • 1 entire bulb or 12-15 cloves of garlic, minced (to tone down spice, cut this down to 6-8 cloves)
    • 1 – 1 lb package of hot Italian sausage (use regular Italian sausage if you want to tone down the spice)
    • 6-7 stalks of celery, chopped
    • 1 – 1 lb bag of carrots, chopped
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning spice mix
    • 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
    • 1 teaspoon of Better than Bouillion Chicken Low Sodium (low sodium version doesn’t have milk in it, the regular does)
    • 1 Tablespoon of Sriracha (cut this to 1 1/2 teaspoons to tone down the spice)
    • 2-3 Tablespoons of rice flour (I’ve used brown rice flour and white rice flour and it’s made no appreciable difference – something about cooking the flour in oil when doing the roux gets rid of the gritty-ness of brown rice flour)
    • 2-3 Tablespoons of Earth Balance Soy Free vegan margarine
    • 1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt (such as the Lawry’s or Penzey’s versions)
    • 1/2 teaspoon of Tabasco hot sauce (You add the Tabasco at the end because it has a vinegar-y note and brightens up the soup at the end, plus, hey more spice.  But if you wanted to avoid more spice, try 1/2 teaspoon of cider vinegar)

    Sort through the split green peas, looking for rocks (yes, it’s happened), other things that are not peas, and any discolored peas and hulls, and remove them.  Wash the peas in a colander, and put them in a stock pot (the one I use is an 8 quart size), with about 4 quarts of water.

    Peas
    Peas cooked until soft

    Bring peas to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer for about an hour, until the peas are soft and beginning to fall apart.

    Pureed Peas
    Pureed Peas

    Once peas are soft, use a hand or stick blender or a real blender in batches to puree the peas and cooking water together.  Once all the peas have been pureed, leave the mixture in the stock pot on very low heat.

    Sausage Mixture
    Sausage, Onions, Garlic and Spices

    If your sausage has casings, take the sausage out of the casings and break it up into pieces, placing them in a skillet.  Bring the skillet to medium heat and brown the sausage, along with the onions, garlic, spices (except for bouillon), and Sriracha. Once the sausage is cooked and the onions are translucent, add the mixture to the stock pot, scraping down the skillet to get all the contents and spices into the stock pot with the pureed peas.

    Almost there
    Almost done, but not quite!

    Add celery, carrots and bouillion to the pureed peas in the stock pot. Mix well and simmer for about an hour on low medium heat, or until carrots and celery are cooked.  Stir mixture often as it will want to stick to the bottom and burn, which is not good.

    Rice Flour and Earth Balance Roux
    Rice Flour and Earth Balance Roux

    Once the carrots and the celery are cooked, we’re going to do a “roux” to thicken the soup.  Obviously, this isn’t a traditional roux because we won’t be using real butter or wheat flour, but it works the same way.  In a medium sauce pan, melt the Earth Balance Soy Free vegan margarine, and then add the rice flour, mixing it into a paste, and cooking it for a minute or two.

    After adding first cup of broth

    Slowly ladle in a cup or so of the pea soup broth to the small saucepan, mixing it in. It will form a nearly solid paste as it thickens.

    Completed Roux and Pea Soup Broth Mix
    Completed Roux and Pea Soup Broth Mix

    Keep adding broth until the mixture in the sauce pan is the consistency of a very thick gravy and the mixture is easy to stir.

    Once you reach this point, add contents of the saucepan to the stock pot with the rest of the soup and stir well.  This should thicken the rest of the soup.  Adjust your spices by adding the seasoned salt and the Tabasco at this point if you think it necessary.

    Finished Pea Soup
    Finished Pea Soup

    If you wish, you may simmer it a little longer to let it thicken further, but be careful to stir it often so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn.

    Serve in bowls.  You might want to sprinkle a dairy free cheese replacement product on the top, but I haven’t found one that I like that works with my particular hit list of allergens (Sigh.)  This is a great soup to enjoy on a chilly damp fall day, or a snowy winter day, the spices will keep you warm! (P.S. Feel free to adjust the amount of Sriracha and Tabasco if this isn’t hot enough for you.  I’ve also been known to add a pinch of cayenne and some crushed red pepper flakes as well.)

  • Bat Signal Halloween Cupcakes

    Bat Signal Cupcakes
    Bat Signal Cupcakes

    Good Morning Gotham City!

    Do you feel you’re missing out on the sugar that makes Halloween special, given that everything is chock full of allergens?  You won’t after these cupcakes.

    This entire recipe is an excuse to play with marshmallow fondant, honestly, in my favorite baked goods format: the cupcake.  Since gluten-free baking is still pretty new to me, I rely on other people’s recipes, and this is from one of my favorite cookbooks ever: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (and well they could), by Isa Chandra Moscowitz and Terry Romero.  The fondant is from sparecake — this version isn’t necessarily vegan, but can be — find vegan marshmallows, and check the sourcing of your powdered sugar.

    Chocolate Gluten Freedom Cupcakes (from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World)

    Preheat oven to 350F and line a tin for 12 cupcakes.

    In LARGE mixing bowl (trust me here), combine the following and mix on medium speed to combine

    • 1 cup rice milk
    • 1/3 cup canola oil
    • 3/4 cup sugar
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or more vanilla)

    Add the following and mix until flour is dissolved and mixture is well emulsified:

    • 1/4 cup tapioca flour
    • 2 tablespoons ground flax seed

    Add and mix on high for about 2 minutes — don’t worry about over-mixing gluten-free baked goods — there is no gluten!

    • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1/2 cup white rice flour
    • 1/2 cup quinoa flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt

    Fill tins about 3/4 full.  Bake 20-25 minutes — test with a toothpick.  Cool thoroughly on a rack.

    Marshmallow Fondant

    You need:

    • 1/4 cup water
    • 1 bag of marshmallows
    • 2+ lbs. of powdered sugar
    • frosting dye (I used AmeriColor gels)

    First, totally fail to read all these directions and go forth blindly.  Or, if you want to be smarter than me… you can follow the link above for the easy way.  I ended up buying regular marshmallows.  I also don’t have a microwave.  So the recipe as linked above isn’t quite how I ended up doing things.  I did two batches, and I’m only telling you what worked below.

    To a large sauce pan, add 1/4 cup water. Set heat at the high end of low.When the water is hot, add 1 bag of marshmallows (10 oz).  Melt over low heat.  A silicone spatula seems to work best for this.

    whole marshmallows"melting, I'm melting!"bat signal yellow

    When the marshmallow is fully melted, add your coloring.  Go for darker than you intend, as you are about to add an unbelievable amount of powdered sugar to this.  Mix the color in thoroughly.

    Now add powdered sugar.  Add a cup or so at a time (no real need to measure here, just dump it in — you’re likely to use the whole bag).  Mix the powdered sugar in until you start to get a dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan.

    Fondant dough in pangrease your pan! GENEROUSLY.resting balls of fondant

    Figure out what you’re going to knead on — I used a large pizza pan — and grease it GENEROUSLY (I’m serious, don’t skimp) and grease your hands.  Dust your work surface with a good swath of powdered sugar, and dump your fondant dough in the middle of it.  Now get in and knead.  You will get a dough that isn’t (too) sticky, and that’s when you’re done.  There are no pictures of this step.  My camera is covered in enough powdered sugar.

    Wrap your dough ball in plastic wrap and set it aside for half an hour.  Now clean up your mess and, if you need another color, do it all over again!

    When your dough is rested and your cake is at room temperature, roll out your dough, just like any other dough.  My technique needs work, but it worked out.  Dust your counter and rolling pin with powdered sugar, and pick up and unstick the dough several times.  Then cut out fun things and “glue” them to your cake!  Standard practice is to use a buttercream as glue, but there was no way I was making frosting just for glue, and a little bit of water seems to have done a great job.

    And you have: Bat Signal cupcakes!  Not perfect, not even close, but pretty good for a first try, I think.  I would love to figure out how to get the powdered sugar “‘dust” off better —  I brushed it off with a marinade brush, but it still looks a little dusty.

    Bat Cakes!
    Bat Cakes!

  • Denise’s Crock-Pot Pulled Pork

    Denise’s Crock-Pot Pulled Pork

    I love pulled pork. Although generally pulled pork is not rife with potential allergens when I eat out, you never know. By making it at home, I control the ingredients and I know what’s in it, and I have leftovers. Woo hoo! This is an incredibly easy version. Basically you dump the stuff in the Crock-Pot and walk away for six to ten hours depending on whether you put the temperature on low or high. When it’s done, you shred the pork, mix in your sauce, and serve. I’ve also frozen this in containers with no ill effects. When you’re a household of two, you either make small batches and eat it immediately, or you make a vat and freeze it in small batches. I find the first approach to be way too much work. If you don’t have a Crock-Pot, you can have one specially made with your own pictures on it here. How cool is that? I prefer the classic Classic Crock-Pots. I have two Classics, and one with Digital controls. The Digital runs too hot for me and everything I make in it is overcooked. So I only use the Digital to warm stuff up when I make things in advance at Thanksgiving. The Classics are also much cheaper and you can pick them up on sale if you don’t need one with your own pictures. (I’m trying to figure out how to justify the purple polka dot one, but I’m not sure I can with three already. I’ll take suggestions for justifications if you can work that out for me.)

    Denise’s Crock-Pot Pulled Pork

    • 2-3 onions, peeled and quartered
    • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
    • 1 Tablespoon paprika
    • 2 teaspoons of seasoning salt (Lawry’s or Penzey’s)
    • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1 4-6 lb boneless pork butt or shoulder roast
    • 3/4 cup of cider vinegar
    • 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (if you can have wheatand soy, you can use Worcestershire sauce instead if you prefer)
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar
    • 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard
    • 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
    • 1/4 cup of Frank’s Red Hot (or Barbecue sauce of your choice)
    Quartered Onions in Crock-Pot

    Place peeled and quartered onions in the bottom of the Crock-Pot.

    Spice Rub in Bowl

    Put brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper in bowl and mix thoroughly.

    Spice Rub on Pork

    Place pork on a cutting board and rub with mixture, covering completely.  Place pork in Crock-Pot on top of the onions.

    Vinegar Mixture in Bowl

    Place cider vinegar, Balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper in a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Pour mixture over the pork in the Crock-pot.  Cover Crock-Pot with lid and cook on Low for 10 hours or on High for 6 hours.

    Shredded Pork
    Shredded Pork

    At the end of the cooking time, check to see if pork is fork tender.  If so, remove meat and onions, and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.  Chop/shred meat and chop onions, placing in a large mixing bowl.

    Add Frank’s Red Hot and mix.  If the pork needs a bit more liquid, mix in as much of the reserved cooking liquid as needed.

    Serve pulled pork on hamburger style buns fitting your dietary restrictions; serve over rice; serve over mashed potatoes; in lettuce leaf wraps; or on nachos.  Have fun with it.

  • Amanda and Ken’s Smoky Sweet Potato Soup

    Amanda & Ken's Smoky Sweet Potato Soup
    Amanda & Ken’s Smoky Sweet Potato Soup

    Note (note 1): This post seems to have a lot of notes.

    My last year of grad school, my two roommates and I hosted somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 people for Thanksgiving.  We added all the leaves of my drop-leaf table (I’m the last of the grandkids to get it, and it seats 12), plus several desks and side tables and created this huge banquet table that took up our whole living room.  It was honestly possibly the best Thanksgiving dinner ever.  There was SO MUCH food, and it was all amazing — and all done on grad school food budgets.

    [Vaguely related side-note (note 2): It did not hurt the situation that apparently, people don’t love pumpkin pie as much as I do, and leftovers consisted of an entire pie that no one else in my house wanted.  I ate it.  All of it.  To our lovely readers: if anyone knows of a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, SOY-free pumpkin pie recipe that works, please please please please share.  I will be forever in your debt.]

    This amazing recipe was made by my friends Amanda and Ken (who also brought something else reasonably gourmet for grad school.  It involved fancy cheese and mushrooms, I think.)  Neither of them remembers where the recipe came from, and apparently neither one has a copy anymore.  This isn’t the original anyway, but it’s still perfect — thick and creamy, smoky and sweet, and possibly the most perfect welcome to fall soup ever.

    Note about measurements (note 3): This is not a recipe in which all ingredients must be precisely measured.  It’s more about proportions.  If you get stuck buying a threesome of leeks (like I did) and can’t see where the left-out leek will get used in your weekly meals, add it and cut back the onion a bit.  Adjust the seasonings to your preferences (For example, I often double the amount of nutmeg in this soup, but when making it for other people, who find that overpowering, this is the recipe I use).

    Amanda & Ken’s Smoky Sweet Potato Soup

    In large sauce pan over medium heat, melt:

    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon soy-free Earth Balance

    Add:

    • 1 ⅓ cup chopped sweet onion (about 1 medium onion)
    • 2 ¼ cup chopped leek, white and light green only (about 2)*
    • 1 teaspoon chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)
    • ¼ teaspoon thyme, crushed
    • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

      Nutmegs
      Nutmegs

    Cover and cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

    Translucent veg
    Translucent veg

    Add:

    • 2 ⅔ cups cubed sweet potatoes (about 2 smaller tubers)
    • 2 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth

    Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and cook until potatoes are tender (about 35 minutes)

    Add:

    • Adobo sauce OR chipotle chili**

    Puree the soup.  Best way to do this is with an immersion blender, but a blender or food processor, or even food mill, would work.

    Serve hot, with chopped cilantro for topping (unless you hate cilantro.  You know who you are.  Just leave it off.)

    Standard Recipe Format Ingredients List:

    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon soy-free Earth Balance
    • 1 ⅓ cup chopped sweet onion (about 1 medium onion)
    • 2 ¼ cup chopped leek, white and light green only (about 2)*
    • 1 teaspoon chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)
    • ¼ teaspoon thyme, crushed
    • ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    • 2 ⅔ cups cubed sweet potatoes (about 2 smaller tubers)
    • 2 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
    • Adobo sauce OR chipotle chili**

    **(note 5): Leeks.  If you’ve used them before, skip this mini-tutorial.  If you’ve never used them before, I think you may love them.  But know before hand that they are dirty dirty vegetables, full of grittiness.  Here’s how I prep them.

    Leeks 1
    Leeks cut up.

    Cut off the tops and bottoms.  Anything above the light green is really tough.

    Leeks 2
    Sliced lengthwise.

    Slice them lengthwise.

    Leeks 3
    Washing leeks.

    Soak them in the sink.  If you have any doubt if this is necessary, look at the grit left in the sink when you drain it.

    Proceed by draining the leeks (or just shaking them over the sink if you have little patience) and slice thinly.

    **Spice (note 4): chipotle peppers in adobo sauce come in a can, usually from the Mexican foods section of the grocery store.  Chipotle are smoked jalapeño peppers and adobo sauce is a smoky, spicy tomato and vinegar sauce.  This stuff has a good kick to it, so if you haven’t used it before, start conservatively and add more as needed.

    What you add from this can will depend on your taste and dining companions, but if you like things a bit spicy (or more than a bit), add one chipotle chili from the can — the chilis vary in size, so root around in there and find one   that’s about your current level of courage.  If you like things a little less hot, add 1-2 tablespoons of just the adobo sauce.  If you have a mix of spice needs in your audience, serve the adobo sauce on the side.

    Even if you like things crazy hot, you will have leftovers!  I often store the sauce and peppers separately — the sauce can go in the fridge for about 4 or 5 days (it’s got vinegar in it, but usually no other preservatives).  It also freezes well.  I lay the chilis themselves out on wax paper or parchment over a plate, and throw it in the freezer.  When the peppers are frozen, throw them in a plastic bag.

  • Easy Buffalo Wings (Two Versions, One Gluten Free)

    Why buffalo wings?  Because I love them, and I can’t eat them out anymore. Buffalo wing sauce is generally made with butter or margarine, and therefore contains milk. And depending on the particular restaurant, the breading may contain milk and they might use an egg to coat the chicken before breading it. And many restaurants use wings that are delivered to them already breaded/coated so they have no clue what’s in them unless they still have a box kicking around with the label on it. You can imagine just how much fun this conversation with restaurant servers would be and why it’s not even worth the bother to try – Oh, can you make me a special sauce that doesn’t contain any milk or milk products, and by the way, margarine contains dairy.  And even though you get the wings pre-breaded, can you find some wings that aren’t coated and cook them for me? Yeah, right. Not happening in this universe. Secondly, although I learned how to deep fry with a stockpot and a candy/frying thermometer while we were working on one of our recipes, I’m not frying on a work night and cleaning that up. So the recipe had to be baked. I started with this recipe and modified it to be dairy free, and then did a gluten-free version too, even though Mary Kate doesn’t really care for buffalo wings. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can take the cooked chicken wings and make any sauce you want and then coat them with it. So if you don’t like buffalo wings, experiment. Tell us what you used for alternate sauces.

    Easy Buffalo Wings (Dairy-free, BUT NOT gluten-free version)

    Easy Buffalo Wings (Dairy-free, BUT NOT gluten-free version)

    Wings and Coating:

    • 36 chicken wing pieces
    • 2 Tablespoons canola oil
    • 1 teaspoon salt or spicy seasoned salt, such as Penzey’s Spicy 4/S Salt or Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon of Penzey’s Forward Seasoning (If you don’t have this, mix some black pepper, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder, and turmeric together to equal 1 teaspoon)

    Buffalo Wing Sauce:

    • 1 1/2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
    • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • 1/4 teaspoon crushed garlic
    • 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
    • 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 6 Tablespoons Frank’s Red Hot
    • 6 Tablespoons Earth Balance Soy Free Vegan margarine
    Wings Coated on Baking Sheet
    Cooked Wings on Baking Sheet

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  In a bowl toss the wings with the oil, and salt. Place flour and Forward seasoning into a gallon zip lock bag and seal closed.  Shake to evenly distribute flour and Forward seasoning.  Add a few wing pieces and shake to coat evenly. Remove wings from the bag, shaking off excess flour, and spread out evenly on oiled baking pan(s). Do not crowd. Repeat until all wings are coated. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, turn the wings over, and cook another 20-25 minutes, or until the wings are cooked through and browned.

    Sauce Ingredients in Saucepan
    Completed Buffalo Sauce

    While the wings are baking, mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a pan, and over low heat bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and then turn off.

    (more…)

  • Happy Layers Nacho Dip

    Happy Layers Nacho Dip
    Happy Layers Nacho Dip

    This is that layered Mexican dip that someone always brings to a potluck.  I don’t recall being a huge fan of it in the pre-diagnosis days, but it was one of the random things I really missed when I suddenly couldn’t have it.  This version is only 4 layers (no sour cream and no olives), but feel free to add the olives if that’s your scene.  Neither Denise nor I have found a good substitute for sour cream if you’re dairy and soy free (I liked the Tofutti when I still was eating soy).

    Two of the layers are adapted recipes — the nacho cheez is my final version of Joanne Stepaniak’s nacho cheese from  The Uncheese Cookbook.   Go check out the original and play around with it — it offers a lot of latitude in choice of flours and non-dairy milk.  This is one of my go-to comfort food recipes on work days now (the cheez alone, with chips, not this dip).  The red lentil “refried beans” are slightly adapted from Heather Van Vorous’ Eating for IBS.

    This was one of my first experiments for allergen-free cooking for parties, and I’m pretty happy with it.  Make sure to plan ahead — you need perfectly ripe avocados for this recipe, a bit soft, but not yet squishy.  Leftovers will keep for 4-5 days, but they do get a little squishy and the avocado will brown a little.  Just a little though, because of the layering.

    A note on formatting — this is how I write out recipes for myself, with ingredients grouped by step, not all at the beginning.  I find I’m less likely to get lost in the recipe this way.  I would love to know what you think of it.  I’ve put a full ingredient list at the bottom, for those of you who are traditionalists.

    Happy Layers Nacho Dip

    This is a four layer dip.  The recommended layer order is important to the structural integrity of the dish, as well as its freshness.

    Grease a 11×8 glass pan.

    Layer One: “Refried” Beans

    In saucepan, mix:

    red lentils
    red lentils
    • 1 cup red lentils, rinsed and sorted
    • 2 ¾ cups water
    • ½ teaspoon onion powder
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon chili powder
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

    Bring to boil.  Reduce heat to simmer.  Whisk occasionally, cooking until smooth consistency, about 40 minutes.

    "Refried" lentils
    “refried” lentils

    Let briefly cool, and then smooth into pan.  Let cool completely.  If you want to do this step the night before, go ahead.

    Layer Two: Guacamole

    Homemade Guacamole
    homemade guacamole

    Best to keep this one simple.  Smash together:

    • 2-3 ripe Haas avocados
    • large pinch of kosher salt
    • juice of ½ to 1 fresh lime (use your judgement — you want smooth, but not liquidy)

    You can use a potato masher, a pastry cutter, or a fork to smash avocados.  I prefer a fork.  You could use the large Florida avocados, if you get them, but I find them too often bad up here.  Could just be the distance.  They are enough bigger that you’d likely only need one.  Smooth guac over top of the beans in the pan.

    Layer Three: Nacho Cheeze

    In medium saucepan, over medium heat, whisk together:

    • ½ cup garbanzo bean flour
    • ½ cup nutritional yeast flakes
    • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
    • ½ teaspoon onion powder
    • ½ teaspoon smoky Spanish paprika (pimentón), or, if you do not have this, use regular paprika
    • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ¼ teaspoon dried mustard
    • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
    • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you are Denise or just like it really hot)

    Whisk together all dry ingredients first.  Then add

    • ¼ cup olive oil

      Nacho Cheez dip in its primordial state
      Nacho Cheez dip in its primordial state

    Whisk together

    • Add 2 cups unsweetened rice milk

    Cook over medium heat until mixture reaches a boil and starts to thicken.

    • Add either fresh chopped cilantro or about 2 teaspoons (two cubes) of frozen herbs.

    Pour over the first two layers and smooth on carefully — getting sort of a seal of the cheez layer is what keeps the guacamole layer green.  Cover and chill.

    Top with a final layer of salsa just before serving — tomatillo salsa (the green one) highly recommended for flavor, but traditional red salsa provides more color contrast. Or hey, get festive like I did in the top photo, and attempt stripes! Note: Salsa is not easily constrained to your decorative purposes.

    Serve cold, with tortilla chips.

    Dip on Chips
    Happy Layer Nacho Dip on chips (with ominous camera shadow)

    Full Ingredients List in Traditional Cookbook Order:

    Refried Lentils
    1 cup red lentils, rinsed and sorted
    2 ¾ cups water
    ½ teaspoon onion powder
    ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    ½ teaspoon cumin
    1 teaspoon chili powder
    ½ teaspoon kosher salt

    Guacamole
    2-3 ripe Haas avocados
    large pinch of kosher salt
    juice of ½ to 1 fresh lime (use your judgement — you want smooth, but not liquidy)

    Nacho Cheez
    ½ cup garbanzo bean flour
    ½ cup nutritional yeast flakes
    ½ teaspoon kosher salt
    1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
    ½ teaspoon onion powder
    ½ teaspoon smoky Spanish paprika (pimentón), or, if you do not have this, use regular paprika
    ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
    ¼ teaspoon dried mustard
    2 teaspoons dried oregano
    ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you are Denise or just like it really hot)
    ¼ cup olive oil
    2 cups unsweetened rice milk
    2 teaspoons chopped cilantro (I use the convenient frozen cubes). Add more if you like.

    Jar of salsa for topping. Takes about 1/3 to 1/2 of a regular-sized jar.

  • Wine Smoothies

    So, it’s Labor Day. If you have the day off, and if you imbibe alcohol, you might want to try some wine smoothies.  You might note that neither of these recipes contain bananas which many smoothies do.  That’s because I really, really HATE bananas.  I know, it’s a weird thing, but I don’t even want them in our apartment because I can still smell them, even though I’m not going to touch them with a ten foot pole and my husband likes them.  Also, Mary Kate is allergic to bananas, so really it’s all about her, and not my irrational hatred of them.  So feel free to use these recipes as a starting point and then experiment on your own, adding other fruits or ingredients that you might enjoy. I also use frozen fruit, because (a) if it’s frozen, it’s always on hand; (b) I don’t have to plan ahead; and (c) you don’t have to use it up before it goes bad or do any prep work.  Using the frozen fruit creates more of a daiquiri effect, but I’m cool with that.  But if you want to use fresh fruit that works great too.

    Sangria Red Wine Smoothie
    Sangria Red Wine Smoothie

    Sangria Red Wine Smoothie

    • 2/3 cup of red wine (A Merlot or a Shiraz would be nice, but don’t get anything expensive, it’s going to be blended with fruit. It’s time for that $6.00 bottle from the grocery store to shine.)
    • 1/2 cup of fruit juice of your choice (I used Chiquita strawberry-kiwi because that’s what I had in the refrigerator on hand, but any fruit juice would work.  Orange juice would be really nice to continue the sangria theme.)
    • 1 Tablespoon of lime juice
    • 2 Tablespoons of sugar, agave syrup, or honey, whatever sweetener you’d prefer.
    • 1 cup of frozen peaches
    • 1 cup of frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries)

    Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Makes 2 servings.  Or one really big serving as shown above, if you don’t want to share, and you don’t need to go anywhere for a bit.  You may also want to strain out the seeds from the raspberries and blackberries, but I don’t bother.

    Peachy Keen White Wine Smoothie
    Peachy Keen White Wine Smoothie

    Peachy Keen White Wine Smoothie

    • 2/3 cup of white wine (A Riesling or a Pinot Grigio would be nice. You could use Chardonnay, but I find it too oak-y for my taste. Again, don’t get anything expensive.)
    • 1/2 cup of fruit juice of your choice (I used Chiquita strawberry-kiwi because that’s what I had in the refrigerator on hand, but any fruit juice would work. Apple, Orange or White Cranberry would be lovely too.)
    • 2 Tablespoons of sugar, agave syrup, or honey, whatever sweetener you’d prefer.
    • 2 cups of frozen peaches

    Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Makes 2 servings.