Tag Archives: dairy free

Mushroom Summer Squash Soup

30 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soups, Soy Free

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IMG_0297-psAfter five months, I’m back!  I had some really rough health months in the time I haven’t been posting, so my blog fell by the wayside.  I did take pictures of some of the recipes I created during that time, though, so I have recipes to share.  I just need to get them up on the web.  Easier said than done!

One of the changes that happened during that five month absence is that I removed black pepper from my diet.  I started getting migraines again, and I wasn’t sure why.  Through the process of elimination, I figured out black pepper was one of the main culprits.  I stopped eating black pepper right before Christmas, and within three weeks I had lost an entire dress size with no other changes.  Weight issues involve far more than just calories, sugar and exercise, but our society often fails to recognize that.

So for the past five months, I’ve been eating simply and eating without pepper.  It eliminated a few more of the very few processed shortcut foods I had (like a few of the Amy’s frozen dinners I could eat), but I’m probably better off without them.  It’s made me become more creative with seasonings rather than just relying on black pepper like so many of us are trained to do.

The soup below was a “use up what’s in the fridge” creation.  Summer squash are about to be overrunning CSA boxes locally, and squash recipes are always appreciated at this time of year.  This recipe could easily use zucchini, yellow, or zephyr squash or any other similar soft squash that you end up with.  Likewise, any type of mushroom that you prefer would work well.

This soup freezes well.

***

Mushroom Summer Squash Soup

Splash of canola oil
1 large organic white or yellow onion, diced
1 organic green chile including seeds, sliced
4-5 cloves of organic garlic, chopped roughly
3 cups sliced organic mushrooms (I used cremini)
7 cups organic summer squash, cubed in 1 inch-ish chunks  (I used zucchini  and zephyr)
½ cup fresh organic parsley, chopped roughly
1 tablespoon fresh organic rosemary, chopped roughly
6 cups organic chicken broth

Saute the onions, chile and garlic in the canola oil until the onions are almost translucent.  Add in the mushrooms, squash, parsley, rosemary, and chicken broth.  Cook over medium heat until the squash are tender.  Once softened, use an immersion blender to blenderize the soup.   If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer in small batches to a regular blender, being careful not to overfill.

Makes about 3 quarts.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

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GFDF Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

12 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free, Sweet Breads, Vegetarian

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Not long ago, Jenny of Websy Daisy posted to her Facebook friends that she had had a bumper crop of 192 lemons on her tree in her yard.  She was offering to share, and I happily took her up on the offer of fresh local lemons.  Their smell was amazing (to the point of being overpowering) when they first arrived at our house.  Grocery store lemons don’t smell that fabulous!

These muffins are mildly lemon flavored.  I found they become more lemony after sitting for 24 hours.  However, if you would like a stronger lemon flavor to your muffins, add another 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract or another teaspoon of lemon zest.

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GFDF Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Greatly adapted from Bon Appétit, May 2009

1/2 cup almond meal*
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup organic brown rice flour
1/2 cup organic tapioca starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons organic poppy seeds
2/3 cup organic rice milk
6 tablespoons fresh organic lemon juice
1 cup organic sugar
1/3 cup organic palm shortening
1 tablespoon organic lemon zest (about 2 large lemons)
2 large organic eggs
1 teaspoon organic lemon extract
1 teaspoon organic GF vanilla extract

Organic powdered sugar
Organic canola oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil muffin tins with canola oil. Using electric mixer, beat eggs, lemon juice, sugar, palm shortening, lemon zest, lemon flavor and vanilla extract in a large bowl.  Using a spoon, mix almond meal, sorghum flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, baking soda and poppy seeds in a medium bowl.  Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Stir in rice milk.

Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full.  Bake muffins about 20 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pans and cool.  Generously sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Makes 14-16 muffins.

*Almonds are not true nuts but carry a cross-contamination risk. To make this recipe nut free, substitute organic millet flour.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Pumpkin Pie

29 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Pies, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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There’s a red feather coming out of the pumpkin on the left. I was afraid to look inside and find out what it is.

When my kids were young, they had both soy and dairy sensitivities.  When I tried to find a replacement recipe for a traditional pumpkin pie, all of the non-dairy recipes substituted tofu which didn’t work for us.  I spent many years honing this recipe.  It doesn’t taste like a pumpkin pie made with condensed sweetened milk, but it is really good.  My kids adore it.  We make it all year, not just in the fall.  Amazon carries the organic canned pumpkin year ’round.

At one point I baked my own fresh pumpkin and made a pie out of that.  I couldn’t tell the difference and neither could my kids.  For the amount of work it took to bake and puree the pumpkin, I decided to stick with canned pumpkin.

Please note this recipe requires overnight refrigeration before serving.

Confession time:  The pie pictured above is in a gluten containing crust.  The gluten free crust comes out looking very similar, I promise!

GFDF Pumpkin Pie

9 Inch Crust:
1/4 cup organic tapioca starch
1/4 cup organic brown rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup almond meal*
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 c organic palm shortening
1 organic egg
Water as needed

Filling:
1-15 ounce can organic pumpkin
2/3 cup organic sucanat
2 organic eggs
3/4 cup organic rice milk
1 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon organic ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon organic salt
1/4 teaspoon organic ground cloves

Preheat oven to 425F.

For the crust:  Mix together the tapioca starch, brown rice flour, sorghum flour, almond meal, xanthan gum, ½ t cinnamon, and ¼ t salt.  Cut in the shortening.  Lightly beat the egg and then add to the flour mixture.  If needed, add additional water until the crust is moist and forming a dry ball.  Press the pie crust into a 9” pie pan.  Set aside.

For the filling:  Mix all the ingredients together in a medium bowl with a whisk.  Pour into the pie crust.  Bake for 15 min at 425; reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 40 min.  Bake on a cookie sheet to avoid spills.

Allow to cool and then refrigerate overnight before serving.

*Almonds are technically not nuts but contain a cross-contamination risk.  To make this nut free, substitute millet flour.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Pumpkin Cranberry Nut Muffins

28 Sunday Oct 2012

Posted by in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Sweet Breads, Vegetarian

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Hi.  Long time no blog.  The thing about chronic health problems is that they are chronic.  Every once in a while, they tend to get really bad, and then things like blogging have to fall by the wayside.  But I’m back, and I hope it’s not temporary.

These were inspired by one of my wacky cravings.  The recipe originally came from the Betty Crocker’s 40th anniversary edition pumpkin bread recipe, but you’d be hard pressed to tell that now.

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GFDF Pumpkin Cranberry Nut Muffins

Wet Ingredients:
1-15 ounce can organic pumpkin
1 cup organic sucanat
2/3 cup organic cane sugar
2/3 cup organic canola oil
4 organic eggs
1 tablespoons organic GF vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:
3/4 cup organic tapioca starch
3/4 cup organic brown rice flour
3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup organic millet flour or almond meal
1.5 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons organic ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon organic ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon organic ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1.5 teaspoon baking soda

Stir Ins:
1/2 cup organic dried sweetened cranberries, coarsely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup organic pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly oil 24 muffin tins.  I use organic canola oil.

In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.  In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Stir in optional nuts and cranberries.  Fill 24 muffin cups about 2/3 full.  Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for a few minutes before removing from the muffin pans.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

05 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Soups, Soy Free, Vegan

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[Update 7/7/12]

I realize that the soup picture above isn’t the most attractive looking; I used brown lentils in it which isn’t quite as pretty as when I make it with red lentils. It’s hard to make many blended soups look pretty, but this one tastes really good.  One of my sons doesn’t like beans in any other form, but he will willingly eat this soup.  He really likes to add in chunks of leftover baked potatoes to add a bit more texture and substance to it.  We all like to add in smoked sausage.

I often double this recipe so we have lots of leftovers.  It freezes and reheats well.

GFDF Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

a few tablespoons of organic olive oil
1 large organic white or yellow onion, diced (about 1.5 cups)
4 teaspoons fresh organic ginger, minced
4 large cloves organic garlic, minced
1 serrano or jalapeño or other hot pepper of your choice, sliced thin
1 tablespoon organic curry powder
1.5 teaspoons sea salt
½ teaspoon organic black pepper
1 large or 2 medium organic sweet potato, peeled and diced
1.5 cups organic dried lentils (I use brown or red)
4 cups organic GF chicken broth (I use Imagine or Pacific)*
2 cups water
1 can light coconut milk
½ cup loosely packed fresh organic cilantro leaves

Optional add-ins:
1 pound natural smoked sausage, cut in pieces and cooked
2 cups baked organic white/red/yellow potato, diced

Sauté the diced onion in olive oil in the bottom of a soup pan over medium heat. When the onion is partially cooked, add in the ginger, garlic, and pepper and continue cooking for a few minutes more.  Add in the curry powder, salt, black pepper, sweet potatoes, lentils, broth, and water.  Allow to continue cooking until the sweet potatoes and lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.  Add in the coconut milk and cilantro leaves and cook for a few minutes more.

Remove from heat.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup.  If you don’t have an immersion blender, allow the soup to cool and blend in small batches in a regular blender, taking care not to burn yourself.

If adding in the optional sausage or potato, do so right before serving.

*Use vegetable broth and don’t add in the smoked sausage to veganize this recipe.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Blueberry Cobbler

01 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in Cakes, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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My apologies for the long delay in between posts.  June was a crazy month around here.  I’ve been cooking and photographing when my health allows, so I will work toward getting up some new posts in the coming weeks.

This blueberry cobbler is scrumptious, especially fresh out of the oven.  The cobbler starts to get a bit gooey after refrigeration overnight and keeps getting gooier as the days progress, so I wouldn’t recommend making a bigger batch than you will eat in a day or two.  This is for a 9×13 pan, but the recipe easily cuts in half for an 8×8 pan.

GFDF Blueberry Cobbler

8 cups fresh organic blueberries
1/2 cup organic evaporated cane juice
1/2 cup organic sucanat
1/2 cup organic cornstarch
1 t organic vanilla extract
3/4 c organic tapioca starch
3/4 c sorghum flour
3/4 c almond meal*
3/4 c organic white rice flour
1.5 t xanthan gum
2 tablespoons organic evaporated cane juice (sugar)
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup organic palm shortening
1 cup organic rice milk
1 t organic vanilla extract
2 organic eggs, beaten
2 to 4 tablespoons organic evaporated cane juice (sugar) **
1 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9×13 inch glass baking dish with organic canola oil.

Mix together blueberries, 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice, 1/2 cup sucanat, 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1 t vanilla extract.  Put mixture into the baking dish.  Place in the preheating oven while preparing cobbler topping.

In a large bowl, combine flours, starch, xanthan gum, 2 tablespoons evaporated cane juice, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add milk, vanilla and eggs; stir just until flour is moistened.

Remove the hot blueberries from the oven.  Carefully spread the cobbler topping over the hot blueberries. The pan will be hot by this point!  Sprinkle top with remaining 2T-4T sugar mixed with cinnamon.

Bake in preheated oven for 19-23 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

The recipe can easily be cut in half to make an 8×8″ pan.

*Almonds are not true nuts, but they carry a cross-contamination risk.  To make this item nut free, substitute millet flour.

** I prefer less sugar topping; my kids prefer more.  If you like your desserts on the extra sweet side, go for the 4 tablespoons of sugar.  If not, add 2 tablespoons.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Cinnamon Cake

06 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Cakes, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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For my birthday, I started out wanting a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake with chocolate cake.  Since I get migraines from chocolate, that wasn’t the best craving.  So I moved on to wanting some other kind of ice cream cake.  However, my friends convinced me through a Facebook discussion thread that I wanted cinnamon cake with homemade peach ice cream instead.  Thank heavens for friends who can get your creative juices flowing when you’re lacking for ideas!

The peach ice cream is ok, but not as great as we were hoping.  My older son and I both agree that next time we want peach sorbet instead.  The cinnamon cake, though, was really good.  All my gluten eating children felt this recipe was a “keeper.”

GFDF Cinnamon Cake

Cake:
2/3 cup organic sugar
¼ cup organic palm shortening
1 teaspoon organic GF vanilla extract
2 large organic eggs
½ cup organic rice milk
3/8 cup organic brown rice flour
3/8 cup organic tapioca starch
3/8 cup almond meal
3/8 cup sorghum flour
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon

Topping:
1 tablespoon organic powdered sugar
½ teaspoon organic ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.  Oil an 8×8” pan and set aside.  (I used organic canola oil.)

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, palm shortening, and eggs.  Add in all of the remaining cake ingredients and stir thoroughly.  Pour into the pan, and bake for about 25 minutes at 350F.

Mix together the powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon.  Before serving, sift the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the cake.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Fresh Blueberry Pie

31 Thursday May 2012

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Costco had organic blueberries available over the weekend, so blueberry pie made it onto the menu for the week.  Both the 9 inch and 10 inch versions of the recipe are below.

GFDF Fresh Blueberry Pie, 9 inch version
Makes one 9” blueberry pie.

Crust
½ cup organic tapioca starch
½ cup organic brown rice flour
½ cup almond meal
½ cup sorghum flour
½ teaspoon organic cinnamon
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup organic palm shortening
1 organic egg

Filling
4 cups fresh organic blueberries
1 cup organic evaporated cane juice (sugar)
7 tablespoons organic cornstarch
1 tablespoons organic evaporated cane juice (sugar)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Mix the starch, flours, cinnamon, xanthan gum and salt.  Cut the palm shortening into the flour mixture.  In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the egg.  Slowly add the egg until the mixture forms a solid dough.  You may not need the entire egg, or you may need to add a small amount of water to make the dough the right consistency.  Divide the dough into two pieces, roughly a 60-40 split.  Pat the 60% dough into a 9” pie pan.  Set aside the 40% dough.

In a covered medium saucepan, cook the blueberries and 1 cup sugar over medium heat until they lose a large amount of juice (5-10 minutes).  Pull out about a cup of the filling, allow to cool slightly, and quickly stir in the cornstarch.  Add back in the cornstarch mixture, stirring well.  Allow to continue cooking uncovered until the filling is thickened.  Add additional water or cornstarch as necessary to get the consistency correct.

Pour the filling into the bottom pie crust.  Using your hands, flatten out the reserved dough and make a mosaic of pie crust on top of the filling, covering as completely as possible.  Sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
Cover the pie with foil and bake for 15 minutes on top of a cookie sheet to catch any overflow.  Remove the foil and bake for approximately an additional 30 minutes (45 minutes total) or until golden brown.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Fresh Blueberry Pie, 10 inch version
Makes one 10” blueberry pie.

Crust
2/3 cup organic tapioca starch
2/3 cup organic brown rice flour
2/3 cup almond meal
2/3 cup sorghum flour
3/4 teaspoons organic cinnamon
1.5 teaspoons xanthan gum
1.5 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup organic palm shortening
1 organic egg
A few tablespoons of water

Filling
5 1/2 cups fresh organic blueberries
1 1/3 cups organic evaporated cane juice (sugar)
½ cup + 1 tablespoon organic cornstarch
1.5 tablespoon organic evaporated cane juice (sugar)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Mix the starch, flours, cinnamon, xanthan gum and salt.  Cut the palm shortening into the flour mixture.  In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the egg.  Add the egg into the flour mixture.  Slowly add enough water to make the pie dough stick together but not become gooey.  Divide the dough into two pieces, roughly a 60-40 split.  Pat the 60% dough into a 10” pie pan.  Set aside the 40% dough.

In a covered medium saucepan, cook the blueberries and 1.3 cups sugar over medium heat until they lose a large amount of juice (5-10 minutes).  Pull out about a cup of the filling, allow to cool slightly, and quickly stir in the cornstarch.  Add back in the cornstarch mixture, stirring well.  Allow to continue cooking uncovered until the filling is thickened.  Add additional water or cornstarch as necessary to get the consistency correct.

Pour the filling into the bottom pie crust.  Using your hands, flatten out the reserved dough and make a mosaic of pie crust on top of the filling, covering as completely as possible.  Sprinkle with the remaining additional sugar.

Cover the pie with foil and bake for 15 minutes on top of a cookie sheet to catch any overflow.  Remove the foil and bake for approximately an additional 30 minutes (45 minutes total) or until golden brown.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Peanut Butter Spice Cake

27 Sunday May 2012

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This is yet another one of my wacky cravings from the recesses of my brain.  I’m always amazed when these recipes come out so well.  It was best fresh from the oven yesterday, but it’s not bad as leftovers for breakfast today.

This recipe could easily be doubled and baked in a 9×13″ pan.

GFDF Peanut Butter Spice Cake

1/4 cup organic palm shortening
3/4 cup organic light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup Maranatha organic no-stir creamy peanut butter (includes palm shortening, sugar, and salt)
1 organic egg
1/2 teaspoon organic GF vanilla extract
3/8 cup organic brown rice flour
3/8 cup sorghum flour
3/8 cup organic millet flour
3/8 cup organic tapioca starch
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon organic ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon organic ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup organic rice milk
2 teaspoons organic powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the shortening, brown sugar, peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract.  In a small bowl, mix together flours, starch, xanthan gum, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.  Add the dry ingredients from the small bowl to the large bowl, and gently stir.  Mix in the rice milk to create a thick cake batter.  Scoop into an oiled 8×8” pan and spread to even out the batter.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350F.

Cool.  Sift powdered sugar over the top before serving.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com

Pakistani Inspired Curry (GFDF)

26 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Nut Free, Soy Free

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This portion doesn’t actually have the peas stirred in so that my pea-hating family will eat it. I stir the peas in later for my serving.

When I was in grad school, I lived in a large beautiful Victorian house in the Boston area with nine other graduate students.  One of the other women was a nun from Pakistan named Josepha.  She quickly saw how much I loved to cook (though my cooking then was nothing like it is now) and offered to teach me how to make Pakistani dishes.  It was the first time I learned how to cook from sight and taste rather than from a recipe.  She was also the first person to introduce me to the idea of seasonal cooking, though she didn’t call it that.  Whatever was at the grocery store you used.  Substitutions are part of the fun.  So while the recipe below calls for beef, this could be made with chicken or pork though Josepha said they rarely ate chicken because it was so expensive.  I have put carrots, squashes and eggplants in it before.  Whatever is available, I throw it in with the basic ingredients.

This recipe probably isn’t incredibly authentic any more since I’ve changed it through the 18 years since I lived with Josepha.  It’s still a comfort food to me, though, and it always makes me think of her.

Pakistani Inspired Curry
a few tablespoons of organic oil
1.5 pounds grass fed ground beef
1 large yellow or white organic onion, diced
2 cups organic sweet potato or yam, diced
2 cups organic white/red/yellow potato, diced
1 large organic green pepper, diced
1 organic jalapeño (with seeds if you like it spicy), minced
2-3 tablespoons organic garlic, minced
2-3 tablespoons organic ginger, minced
1.5 teaspoons organic turmeric powder
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
½ teaspoon organic black pepper
2.5-3 cups water
1 cup packed organic cilantro leaves, chopped
2 cups organic frozen peas, set out to defrost while the rest of the dish cooks

In a 3 or 4 quart pot, brown the beef with oil and the onion over medium heat.  When the beef is lightly browned, add in all of the remaining ingredients except the water, cilantro and peas.  Stir to mix ingredients. Add enough water to cover the contents of the pot.  Cover and continue cooking until the potatoes and sweet potatoes are soft (which takes about 30 minutes on my slow cooking electric stovetop).  Add in the peas and cilantro, and cook for a few more minutes.

Serve with rice if desired.

©NaturallyElizabeth.com