Thursday, December 16, 2010

Rice Nog- a healthier Allergy-Free Alternative to Egg Nog

Who doesn't like Egg Nog during the Holidays? If you don't at least appreciate this tasty drink then you're nuts! That's right I said it. :-)

Anyway back to the reason I'm actually writing this. During one of my many ventures into Whole Foods in Tribeca I ran across a product called 'Rice Dream-Rice Nog"...now I've tried Soy Nog-but since I don't eat/drink soy anymore I don't purchase it. I figured maybe I'd make my own Almond Nog but haven't had a chance really to do that.
I looked at the ingredients of this "Rice Nog" and was surprised to see it was only 80 calories a glass and had some quality ingredients in it like;
Partially milled rice, filtered water, evaporated cane juice, expeller pressed high oleic safflower oil and/or sunflower oil and/or canola oil, microcrytalline cellulose and sodium alginate, natural vegan flavors, gellan gum, sea sat, spices, carrageenan, annatto (for color).

not only that it's also Organic & Gluten free.

I've never been a fan of Rice milk/drink, it's always reminded me of when you soak rice and get that cloudy water that you pour down the drain.

This Rice Nog from Rice Dream is delicious and so mmmm mmmm good.

Take it from me, you don't have to like Rice Milk in order to appreciate the subtle holiday flavors of Rice Nog.



Enjoy!
You can find Rice Nog in your local supermarket like Whole Foods or on-line at Veganessentials.com or Amazon.com
Rice Dream Rice Nog, 32 oz. Aseptic Package

Saturday, December 11, 2010

German Apple Pancakes(Great allergy free breakfast!)

I saw this recipe while looking up mini spelt donuts and spelt cranberry/apple muffins to make for Christmas breakfast.
This recipe for German Apple Pancakes originates from a website called "Foodvergnügen". I tweaked a few things to make it a nice allergy free breakfast this morning. My husband went wild for these pancakes, so I'm going to make them for New Years Brunch.

This recipe uses spelt flour but you can substitute for gluten free flour such as sorghum or brown rice.
Ingredients
1/3 cup whole spelt flour
1/3 cup white spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large crisp apples
3 eggs (or use an egg substitute)
3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons brown sugar, divided
1 tablespoon earth balance buttery spread
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup plain coconut yogurt and a dash of vanilla almond milk
confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Method
This recipe makes 6 pancakes.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees (225 C). Brush each muffin cup with canola oil; coat with extra brown sugar. Peel, core and slice each apple into twelve wedges, then cut each wedge into three pieces. Toss with 2 teaspoons brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Melt 1 tablespoon earth balance in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and saute, turning occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes, until caramelized. Remove pan from stove; let cool 5 minutes. Divide the caramelized apples among the muffin cups.
Put flour, baking soda, salt, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, canola oil(3 tsp), eggs, and coconut yogurt/almond milk in the bowl. Whisk until batter becomes smooth and runny(if it's not smooth/runny enough then add more almond milk). Pour batter over apples. Place tin in oven and lower heat to 400 degrees (200 C). Bake 15-17 minutes. Pancakes will puff up during last 5 minutes of baking.
Take tin from oven and remove pancakes with a fork. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately.

I added berries and maple syrup to this instead of confectioner's sugar. Also to make this healthier add some ground flax seeds to the mixture about 1/4 cup.

These Pancakes are truly light and fluffy. Here are some pictures.


Camping/Hiking Allergy Free & Meat Free!

This is a post I started back in September after a Camping trip.....here it is in all it's splendor!

Hi all, I know it's been a while since my last Blog Banter but I've been a bit busy with work. Had a new project and all has been going well. I'm glad I was able to go on this camping trip with my husband and a friend before getting back into the crazy world of film making. :-)

I thought this particular Blog Banter would be Beneficial (say that 3 times fast!) due to us Allergy/Sensitive people occasionally feeling left out on Camping Trips, Barbecue's, Birthday Parties, Office Parties and even the simple lunch ordering at work.

Here is my guide for "fitting in" in the world of Foodies and regular 'ol people when it comes to Camping/Hiking.

The Burger: Great soy free/gluten free choices here for a camping trip or barbecue:
The versatile "Sunshine Burger" http://www.sunshineburger.com/
OR the extremely tasty perfect if you want that large burger feel with loads of flavor "Bahama Burger"
http://www.bahamariceburger.com/

The Bun:
If you have a wheat intolerance but can still stand some gluten I always recommend Berlin Natural Bakery's hamburger buns: http://store.berlinnaturalbakery.com/acatalog/buns.html
They also have great hot dog buns if you are going for some meatless dogs.
If you have a gluten allergy let me suggest the following:
http://www.glutenfreemall.com/catalog/gillians-foods-plain-glutenfree-hamburger-buns-sandwich-buns-french-rolls-frozen-units-p-287.html


The Cheese:
Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheese sliced up but if you're allergic to nuts then Daiya cheese shreds are amazing. But really they are amazing anyway.
Daiya Cheese Shreds 8 oz. Cheddar
Dr. Cow Aged Cashew Cheese, 2.6 oz.

Roasted Marshmallows: "Dandies" air puffed Vegan Marshmallows are great for the campfire but tend to be a bit small.
Dandies Air-Puffed Vegan Marshmallows, Original Vanilla, 10 oz. Bag
If you want a heftier marshmallow try "Sweet and Sara" vegan marshmallows
Sweet and Sara Vegan Marshmallows
OR just make your own! Also the above mentioned isn't good if you have a soy allergy, but this homemade version is just perfect.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting
  • Directions

    1. Generously coat a 9x13 dish with cooking spray.
    2. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and water. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Remove from heat and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.
    3. Chill in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. To cut, loosen edges with a knife. Dust surface with confectioners' sugar, and turn out onto a waxed paper lined surface. Dust with confectioners' sugar again and cut with a knife.  *** This recipe is from AllRecipes.com** it originally calls for corn syrup but you can substitute with brown rice syrup. Here is the original recipe link: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/homemade-marshmallows-ii/Detail.aspx
     



Breakfast the next day:
If you are an Ova Vegetarian like myself than you eat eggs. Hard boiled eggs made the day before make a tasty little breakfast in the morning before a hike. That along with some organic dried cranberries and sunflower seeds or cashews (if tolerated).
If you are a Vegan with allergies than making a brown rice hot cereal the day before and throwing in some fresh or frozen berries makes a nice cold breakfast in the morning or you can heat it up on the fire. Or go real easy, get a small carton of Almond milk and some brown rice crisps cereal.
Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal, Gluten Free, Organic, 10-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6)

Snacks on your Hike:
Snacks I always find super easy. There are these tummy vegan brown rice crispy style treats (or make your own the day before) Glenny's Brown Rice Marshmallow Treats, Vanilla, 0.85-Ounce Bars (Pack of 24)
Any sort of dried fruit and nuts/seeds are great and power packed or you can go prepackaged and get a few Lara Bars: Larabar Fruit & Nut Food Bar, Cherry Pie, 1.7-Ounce Bars (Pack of 16)

Enjoy!

Fusilli Rice Pasta with Lemon Parsley Sauce

I decided to try a new recipe for dinner last night because my Husband purchased a bunch of parsley for a turkey soup he never made. :-) Soooooo as to not let the parsley go bad I whipped up this quick and satisfying dish.

Ingredients
  • 2 lemons
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 lb fusilli rice pasta Tinkyada Brown Rice Fusilli, 16-Ounce Packages (Pack of 12)
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
    1. Grate yellow zest from lemons.
    2. In a small bowl, combine lemon zest, garlic and parsley and set aside.
    3.  Cook Fusilli Rice Pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm(check package instructions)
    4. In a large frying pan or wok, warm olive oil over medium-low heat.
    5. Add zest concoction and salt and pepper. Cook 1 minute, make sure not to burn the garlic.
    6. Drain pasta and pour into frying pan or wok.
    7. Toss to coat. Sprinkle parmesan cheese to top( if tolerated) or a vegan parmesan cheese. I didn't use any sort of cheese and it was delicious. 

Monday, October 18, 2010

You are my Sunshine my Only Sunshine "Burger"

One of the things that was saddest for me next to giving up cheese 100% was eliminating those delicious Morning Star Farms Veggie Burgers (Primarily made from Soy). I tried the Bahama Burger -The first Rice Based Meat Alternative, it was juicy and delicious, perfect for barbecuing but boy was that sucker large! I needed a nice conventional Allergy Free veggie burger that was reasonable in size for my small frame!(No offense Bahama Burger your products are truly delicious) Besides who doesn't want many choices? I had my lovely Quorn choices (http://www.quorn.com/) which have 3 alternatives for me. The lovely bahama burger which also have 7 alternatives. (http://www.bahamariceburger.com/) But seeing as I'm American I want choices up the waazoo!
One day while on the phone with my dad he asked me why I didn't eat Sunshine Burgers? And I go...ummm probably because they aren't allergy free? And he was like what are you talking about? You can eat them, they are delicious and affordable.
I then immediately went to my closest Whole Foods Market to see if it was true.
I walked down the aisle and the golden lights shined on this masterpiece....oh and the choices in flavors!!!!
Breakfast, Falafel (really who doesn't LOVE falafel????), Southwest, Garden Herb, Barbecue and Original. After seeing these myriad of flavors I noticed they were on sale and USDA Organic, gluten free/wheat free, soy free. Oh my Goodness, oh my goodness. :-)
You may ask yourself :"Canella is there anything you DON'T like?" to which I say "Oh you have no idea, there are plenty of foods I don't like but I choose to focus on the positive and delicious foods and for you to realize there ARE an array of foods for you to eat and life as a foodie isn't over. If you weren't a foodie before I hope to turn you into one with the recipes I post and the product reviews of items that are available in large chain supermarkets".
Barbecue season is over but it doesn't mean you can't plug in your george foreman grill or cast iron stove top grill and enjoy one of these tasty burgers.
http://www.sunshineburger.com/our-products/

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Pumpkin Pie (w/Spelt or Gluten Free Crust)

I picked up a magazine at my local Stop n Shop entitled "Living Without"- The magazine for people with allergies and food sensitivities.
There are some good recipes, it's a good magazine if you are a meat eater but are gluten free. I am not gluten free as many of you know and I'm a vegetarian but I can substitute spelt in these recipes since most gluten free flour mixes contain potato starch to which I have a sensitivity to.....(white potatoes).
Soon I'll start experimenting with my own flour mixes like garbanzo bean, guar gum, quinoa...etc

Now back to the recipe....I made this Pumpkin Pie that makes it's own crust when it bakes....I tried it with spelt flour instead of gluten free flour Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Flour, 22-Ounce Packages (Pack of 4).
The self forming crust came out OK....next time I will try it with the gluten free flour to see if it comes out better. The pie tastes fantastic and is great to make for Halloween or Thanksgiving.

Here is the recipe that I used:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (next time I will use fresh pumpkin)
1 Cup of Vanilla Almond Milk(You can use any sort of milk really) Almond Breeze, Vanilla, 32 oz.
2 tablespoons of melted earth balance buttery spread
3 tablespoons of spiced apple cider(Or bourbon)
1 tablespoon of lemon juice (I used fresh squeezed lemon)
2 tablespoons of Spelt flour (The original recipe calls for gluten free all-purpose flour blend)
Or make your own flour blend ( 1/2 cup of rice flour, 1/4 cup of tapioca starch/flour, 1/4 cup of cornstarch or potato starch)
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Dark Brown Sugar, 
1/4 cup of sugar
2 large eggs or flax gel
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves

Preheat oven to 450
Grease a 10 inch or 9 inch pie pan
- Mix together liquid ingredients in one bowl and in a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients.
-Slowly pour dry ingredients into liquid and beat until completely combined.
-pour batter into prepared pie pan, leaving about a 1/2 inch between batter and rim of pan.
-Place pie in preheated oven for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 375 and bake for 30 minutes more.

Each slice contains 169 calories for you counters out there.

Here are my pics....I added aluminum foil to the pie pan as my pans are used to actually bake crust and I didn't want the batter to fall through the perforations in the pan. Cut a slice and add a scoop of Coconut ice cream and some rice whip.


The taste is out of this world....I will try the same recipe with sweet potatoes and see how that comes out.

Mmmmm Mmmmmm Good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMJtLP8jMWQ
Sing it Campbell's!!!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Spelt Banana Bread

Went to Trader Joe's recently for well...none other than Food Shopping. :-)
Decided to pick up some bananas so that I can put that 2lb bag of spelt flour to use.

My mom and little bro decided to come over for the weekend for R&R consisting of Dexter re-runs and apple picking so I wanted to make them this special treat.

Ingredients
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup of Earth Balance Soy Free melted butter spread
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 Egg (Beaten or Flaxseed gel if you are vegan and/or allergic to eggs)
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of aluminum free backing soda Bob's Red Mill Aluminum Free Baking Soda 16 oz Pkg
Pinch of salt
 1 1/2 cups of white spelt flour (whole spelt is fine as well or do a mixture of quinoa flour and gluten free flour if you are gluten sensitive) Bob's Red Mill Organic Quinoa Flour, 22-Ounce Packages (Pack of 4)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix earth balance into the mashed bananas with a wooden spoon. Mix the sugar, egg (or flax gel) and vanilla extract. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and fold in. Add the flour and mix. Pour the mixture into a "buttered" 4x8 inch loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack and serve plain or with a smat of earth balance for more buttery flavor.

This was an absolute hit with my family. It's a versatile loaf of bread you can have for Breakfast, Snack or a Dessert with some coconut non-dairy ice cream or rice whip! Go wild and have both!


Thursday, October 7, 2010

Curried Sweet Potato Mash with Peas

So I've finally done it. I changed my dad's Curried Potatoes and Peas recipe by adding mashed sweet potatoes in place of Red Potatoes and/or Purple Potatoes.

The contrast with the sweet and spicy is fantastic and puts your taste buds into overload.

Here is the recipe:

5 small sweet potatoes, peel and cut into cubes
1 package of frozen peas
4 tablespoons of curry powder
2 tablespoons of Earth Balance soy free non-dairy spread
1/4 cup of Unsweetened Mimic Creme
Salt & Pepper to taste

Boil the sweet potatoes for 30 minutes so they become nice and soft, but do not over cook!
In a frying pan or wok, heat earth balance spread until it starts to bubble
Add curry powder and saute for 1 minute
add mimic Creme and stir to combine
add sweet potatoes and mix and cook....watch the sweet potatoes practically mash themselves as you stir.
Cook until sauce is hot and starts to thicken slightly and make sure to coat the potatoes fully with the sauce.
Add peas and cook until everything is heated.
Add salt and pepper and serve with your protein of choice. In my case it was the Quorn Chik'n tenders sauteed in extra virgin olive oil, rosemary, thyme and basil.

MMmmmmmmmmmmm
Here are some pics!

Spelt Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast Buns

I decided to try a new but simple recipe for breakfast this morning, Cinnamon/Vanilla French Toast.
I pulled out my berlin natural bakery spelt burger buns because I'm not a big veggie burger eater and want to use these up since barbecue season is over.

I then concoct the following mixture:
2 large eggs (Egg substitute is fine like flaxseed gel for those allergic to eggs)
1/2 cup of vanilla almond milk
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (no alcohol content)
pinch of salt
Spelt Burger Buns
Maple Syrup and/or Cinnamon Sugar as a topping (I used Agave Maple Syrup and a sprinkle of Cinnamon Sugar)
Throw in some fresh fruit too for an added healthy treat!
This french toast was to die for....really........ granted I'm the only taste tester, but try them for yourself and let me know what you think!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Soyatoo but NO SOY?

Upon doing my monthly Whole Foods supermarket run and searching for Daiya Non-Dairy Cheese I came across this great allergy free product called "Rice Whip" made by the company "SoyaToo" that seems to specialize in soy based products.

It seems to me that a growing number of people are sensitive or allergic to soy that even the soy companies are coming up with soy alternatives! :-)

This of course makes me happy since soy gives me a hellish tummy ache.

I tried this Rice Whip on top of some Rice based ice cream and spelt angel food cake, ready for a treat after dinner.
What can I say? It tastes just like how I thought Rice Whip would taste. It's OK....it'll do........I'm sure the soy whip is better but I won't dare find out..........   :-)
Perhaps if they made the whip out of Tapioca? Maybe I should try to make it myself and post it here.

Anyway I will give the company credit as it isn't half bad and as a substitute certainly doable/acceptable and nice in a cup of coffee with amaretto flavor. This Halloween I'm sure it will go great on top of a slice of homemade spelt pumpkin pie.

Here is the website to check out their products:
Vegan Essentials
http://www.soyatoo.de/en/?home

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Allergy Free Spelt Pizza

About a week ago I made a delicious Spelt Veggie Pizza with Daiya Cheese.
I received my crust from Berlin Bakery
http://www.berlinnaturalbakery.com/
& the Daiya Mozarella from Whole Foods
http://www.daiyafoods.com/products/madewith.html

Since my husband Adam has been such a good sport eating non-dairy cheese and spelt pizza's with me, I decided to make him his own wheat pizza with real Mozarella. :-)
Here is the result:
I added my own homemade sauce (I'll include that recipe in another blog post), I rubbed olive oil on the wheat dough and chopped up broccoli, orange peppers, yellow peppers, fresh basil(from our basil plant) and spinach topped off with chopped garlic for that extra yummy kick!

Now back to my nice allergy free pizza: You know the reason you are actually reading this blog? :-)
I rubbed extra virgin olive oil and garlic on my delicious spelt crust from berlin.
I then sprinkled the chopped broccoli, yellow and orange peppers, fresh basil and fresh baby spinach.
This was followed by a half a bag of Daiya Mozarella and my special pasta/pizza sauce. Honestly I feel that the sauce makes the pizza but the way this spelt crust comes out will put any wheat pizza to shame.
Now my husband never eats the actual wheat crust from his pizza but anytime I have made him one of my special spelt pizza's he always eats the crust.
Food for thought huh?
Here are the rest of the pictures from my pizza feast!
There is just something about putting the sauce on top of the "cheese" that makes eating this pizza and any pizza really fun and exciting!
Back in my "Wheat" eating days, I would never actually order veggie pizza's because of the overwhelming taste of the green and red peppers amongst other things, it just didn't taste like the pizza from my childhood.
Using yellow and orange peppers which have a nice sweet taste to them (they don't over power the pizza goodness) make this particular pizza yummy. None of the ingredients are overpowering  and you can really identify each ingredient used (except perhaps some items from my pizza sauce).
I feel that rubbing the dough (fresh or store bought) with extra virgin olive oil and fresh crushed garlic put that extra "love" that goes into the dishes of famous cooks/chefs or just reminiscing about Grandma's food or Mom's food.
With my husband being part Italian, it's really important for me to make a good pizza and he is perfectly happy with eating all my allergy free meals. If anything it has made me a better cook.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Spinach Risotto

It's been a few days since I've written on here because I've been busy enjoying life. :-) Going out to restaurants, hiking, holding a casting session the works. Now it's time to play, catch-up on these recipes and share some pics with you.

I ended up making this delicious allergy free Spinach Risotto (using frozen spinach, fresh is even better).

Ingredients
3 cups of  "Imagine Organic-No Chicken Broth"
1 Cup of Water
1 Cup of finely chopped white onion
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Cup of Arborio Rice
1/3 Cup of dry white wine
1/2 Cup of Vegan Parmesan Cheese (Here is the recipe):
Vegan “Parmesan” Cheese Substitute
3/4 c. blanched almonds
1/4 c. sesame seeds
1/3 c. nutritional yeast
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. onion powder
1/4 t. garlic powder
Blend all ingredients in a blender until there are no more noticeable nut pieces.

Or Daiya Mozarella Cheese (You can find this at WholeFoods or VeganStore.com

Preparation:
In a saucepan bring broth and water to a simmer and keep at a simmer through preparation and cooking.
- In a larger saucepan cook onion in oil over low heat, stirring until softened.
-Stir in rice, stirring until it's all coated with oil
-Add a 3/4 cup of simmering broth and the dry white wine and cook on high heat consistently stirring until all broth is absorbed then keep adding the broth 3/4 cup at a time, following the above instructions. Do this for about 18 minutes or so until rice is tender and creamy looking but still Al dente (no one likes mushy risotto anyhow). Stir in Spinach and vegan parmesan cheese (if you can deal with nuts) or the Daiya Mozarella.
Add freshly grounded salt and pepper to taste.

Adam's Risotto meal with Beans and cherry tomato tops.
My Risotto meal with a side of beans, quorn chik'n strips and cherry tomato bottoms.