Dairy Free and/or Vegan Alfredo Sauce

Tonight I made this amazing dairy free Alfredo sauce. It was so rich and creamy! It tasted like real, actual dairy Alfredo. And this culinary magic was the result of cauliflower and cashews! I made mine with chicken broth because I have yet to find a vegetable broth without nightshades or other allergens. But you could easily make this vegan by substituting vegetable broth or even water. I served mine with rice spaghetti, roasted balsamic carrots, and sauteed red chard. The balsamic carrots were probably a little overpowering for this creamy pasta. Steamed broccoli would be a better choice for a side dish. 

Dairy Free/Vegan Alfredo Sauce

serves 4-6

1 head of cauliflower, chopped/broken into florets 

2 cups broth (veggie or chicken)

1 small onion

5-6 cloves of garlic (about 2 Tbsp)

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight

Salt to taste

(You'll have to plan ahead for this one and soak your cashews overnight.)

In a medium sauce pan, combine broth and cauliflower florets. Cook until very tender. Meanwhile, Saute onion until golden. You really want a good onion base for that umami flavor that you would normally get from the Parmesan cheese. Add in garlic and continue to cook for another minute. Drain your cashews and rinse well. Combine onion, garlic, cashews, cauliflower, and broth in a blender (preferably a high powered type, like Vitamix, to get it really smooth). Blend on high until very smooth and creamy. You can thin with more broth if you'd like. I had enough to do a pound of spaghetti with enough left to coat maybe a half pound of penne (which has less surface area). The flavor is pretty intense on its own, but just perfect on the pasta! Serve with fresh cracked pepper.

The leftovers (lunch this week! yay!): 

More Gluten Free Vegan Muffins!

I made another version of my Gluten Free Vegan Muffins. I have a few different muffin recipes on here now. I really love the texture of the last one I posted. However, the little one is sensitive to nightshade vegetables, including potatoes, so I've been trying to come up with a version that works without the potato starch. My middle son is sensitive to corn, so no corn starch. I tried tapioca starch and they were HORRIBLE. Ew. But then I tried some of the coconut flour that has been chilling in the fridge awaiting my inspiration. I haven't used much of it because it seems like every coconut flour recipe also calls for a half dozen (or more) eggs. I mean really, I don't mind the occasional egg in my baked goods, but do we actually need half an egg per muffin? But I was feeling brave, so I tried subbing the coconut flour for the starch, as I'd read it has good binding properties. You just have to add extra liquid. It really gave them a great moistness and totally erased any grittiness from the rice flour. It's a winner!

Orange Cranberry Muffins - Gluten Free and Vegan

makes 12

Dry:
1 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup almond meal
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Wet:
1/4 cup coconut flour + 3/4 cup coconut milk beverage or water
1/4 cup flax meal + 1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (one medium orange)
zest from one orange

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 to 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F or 350F if you have convection bake. (I dropped the temp on these because I increased the almond meal, which burns more easily.) Line 12 cup muffin tin with paper cupcake liners or parchment. Alternately, you can grease the pan. I've stopped doing that because at altitude everything seems to stick. I've had the best luck greasing with coconut oil (or butter, if you aren't vegan), but the fruit in the muffins always seems to stick to the pan.

In a large measuring cup or small bowl, add 1/2 cup hot (near boiling) water to 1/4 cup flax meal (ground flaxseed). Set aside. In a small bowl, combine coconut flour and coconut milk and mix really well, smashing any lumps. Set aside. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Combine all remaining wet ingredients in a medium bowl, then add flax slurry and coconut mixture. Stir well, making sure you don't have any lumps of coconut flour.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold to combine. When nearly combined, fold in cranberries and walnuts.

Spoon into muffin tin, evenly distributing among the 12 cups. Optionally, you can sprinkle the tops with sugar and/or cinnamon.

Bake for about 20 minutes. Start checking at around 15 minutes. They should be lightly browned on top, and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Another way to test is to push the tops gently with your finger. When they are done they will spring back, not sink in. You want to err on the side of under-baking these as that almond meal will burn if you aren't careful.

Well, Hello

I have a bunch of new recipes coming up for y'all! I'm finally feeling excited about food again. I had a sad few months. My breast-fed baby has been suffering from allergies related to the food I eat. So, I've been on this very restrictive diet. It's pretty much come down to what CAN I eat, rather than what CAN'T I eat. Basically, I'm on a vegan paleo diet. Strange, but true.

Some of the things I've had to cut are foods that were bothering me as well, but that I'd never had the motivation to eliminate. (The things we do for our children!!!) The big two are dairy and wheat. Every since I was a kid, milk hasn't really agreed with me and outside of our weekly pizza night, I wasn't that big on cheese. Then we moved to Italy and I went on a dairy bender for about three years. When in Rome! Ha! I also ate a lot more wheat over there. Lots of delicious rustic Italian breads, delicate pastries, perfect pizzas. Yum. But consider that Italy also has the highest per capita rates of Celiac disease in the world. I started to suspect that wheat was not my friend. Like dairy, if I ate too much, I wouldn't feel so hot. Well, after cutting out both, I feel SO MUCH BETTER. It's really amazing. My stomach lost an inch or two as soon as I cut wheat, not from fat loss, just less bloating. I've also stopped having heartburn (which was partly from pregnancy, but I was still having it after the baby was born). I've also dropped a ton of weight. It's interesting how your body finds a new comfort zone when you eliminate the things it doesn't like or thrive on. So, as much as I'd love a cappuccino and some of the chocolate birthday cake I have stashed in the freezer, I honestly feel way better without it.

And then came the hard part. Beef. Pork. Turkey. Nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and POTATOES, y'all!). Citrus. Oats. CHOCOLATE. Seriously?! Seriously. It's awful. Cooking without tomatoes and lemon juice is difficult, frustrating, uninspiring. I'm hoping some of these "third tier" triggers can be reincorporated in small amounts. Especially chocolate. What did I do to deserve that?! But anyway, I've spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself and not wanting to cook because it's not fun with so many restrictions. Lately, though, I've made some really nice meals, gotten some good food "flow" going. And I've been instagraming it. Having other people share in the excitement of a gluten free vegan meal success really does help. I don't feel so alone and deprived. I'm feeling more optimistic about my ability to enjoy cooking with such limited ingredients. Tonight I made the most amazing kick-ass dairy free alfredo sauce. It was like a culinary pat on the back...everything is going to be okay. I'm up for the challenge!