Pumpkin Chai Snickerdoodles

Get the feeling I’m really into pumpkin right now! I think it may be because I haven’t been feeling very well and knowing pumpkin can aid in calming an upset stomach, I’m turning to it to help me deal with stomach issues.

I’ve never had a snickerdoodle! Now that I’m allergic to chocolate (actually the caffeine in chocolate), I’m expanding my cookie horizons. Found this recipe on-line and thought it easily adjustable however, the cookies are not the easiest to make, especially if you’re new to cookie baking or don’t have a stand mixer like me. Treat them much like you would a peanut butter cookie – roll in sugar and then use a fork to flatten the balls.

Make Chai Sugar by mixing together:

1/3 cup date sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl mix:

1/3 cup aquafaba (if you don’t have a can of garbanzo beans handy or powdered aquafaba, substitute water)

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

Let sit for several minutes to form flax gel and then add:

1/2 cup vegan shortening or margarine (I use Spectrum shortening)

1 cup date sugar

With a hand or stand mixer, beat on low/medium until the mixture is combined and almost fluffy. Add:

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix to combine and then add:

1 cup all purpose gluten free flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon allspice or nutmeg

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Mix to combine before adding:

1 cup all purpose gluten free flour.

At this point, unless you have a stand mixer, it’s best to continue mixing with a large spoon or even, if you’ve washed your hands or are wearing gloves, with your hands. Mixture will be quite crumbly until all the flour is worked into the dough. The consistency reminds me of gingerbread cookies or sugar cookies. I used my hands and found the mixture combined quite easily. Scoop out by tablespoonful and roll into a ball (so you have to use your hands anyway!). The mixture shouldn’t be at all sticky but if it is, add a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the stickiness is gone.

Roll each ball as you make them into the chai sugar mixture and place 1-2″ apart on the cookie sheet. When the sheet is full, using a fork, press down each ball into a flat disk.* Bake 8 minutes then check. If the cookies have puffed up (domed), flatten more with the fork. Bake an additional 2-3 minutes until the outside of the cookies are firm while the inside is still slightly underdone. Cool on sheet for several minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

*If you prefer, bake the balls for 8 minutes and then flatten them with the fork. Their appearance differs and I found the ones I flattened before baking were chewier. The smoother ones were flattened before baking (on the right) while the ones flattened after baking were rougher looking (on the left).

Easy Lentil Pilaf

I can say that I generally don’t eat anything that I don’t make from scratch, mostly because there are very few pre-made or pre-packaged foods that don’t have something in them that I can’t eat (often it’s soy or sunflower lectin). So it’s not going to happen very often but — I have discovered a wonderful side dish (or main dish) that tastes great and has no allergens! As long as you can eat lentils, this is something you should try. High in protein and low in carbohydrates, lentils are a great addition to a meal. I’ve become addicted to Tolerant’s Organic Riced Red Lentil Pilafs. They’re ready in about 20 minutes, taste great and two of them, the Asian Ginger and the Spanish Style Paella, don’t have any soy in them. I know I was surprised too that the Asian Ginger is soy-free!

Being who I am, of course, I can’t just make it per package directions. So here’s what I do with these pouches of goodness. Serves 4-6.

In a 9″ skillet, add:

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

When hot, sauté:

6-8 ounces sliced mushrooms (I like shitake)

1/2 cup diced onions

When the mushrooms are browned and onions translucent, stir in:

2 cups mushroom stock (or any other stock you have on hand, chicken would work well)

1 cup frozen or fresh peas

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Bring to a boil. Add:

1 packet Tolerant Organic Riced Red Lentil Pilaf

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 9-12 minutes until the water is gone. Stir every few minutes, especially when the water is almost gone. Remove from heat, cover and let sit 4-5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and enjoy!

Chinese Sweet and Sour Chicken

This sweet and sour chicken is baked, not fried, so is healthier as well as delicious! The soy sauce substitute in my frig was running out of time and rather than freeze it, I decided to try a new recipe and here’s the result. Served over the vegetable fried rice (see earlier blog), this is a hearty, well balanced, fairly easy dinner. Since the chicken needs to marinate in the sauce for at least 2 hours, plan ahead. Serves 2-4 depending on how much chicken is used.

In a gallon zip-lock bag mix:

1/2 cup soy sauce substitute

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons mustard powder

1/2 cup date sugar

1/4 dry ginger or 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust vinegar and/or sugar to your taste before adding:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

Refrigerate and let marinate at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×9″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add the chicken and marinade to the dish making sure the chicken pieces don’t overlap. The marinade will cook as well so no need to worry about bacteria from sitting in the frig with chicken but if it concerns you, simply save out a 1/2 cup of marinade before adding the chicken to pour over the chicken once its in the baking dish.

Bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour. Serve with rice or the vegetable fried rice. Garnish with scallions.

Gingerbread Waffles (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free, nut-free, vegan)

I much prefer waffles to pancakes so for my birthday this week, I bought myself a new waffle maker that has removeable plates for easier cleaning. And in one of my older cookbooks [Homemade Bread, FARM JOURNAL] I found a recipe for Gingerbread Waffles! My favorite cookie is a gingersnap or gingerbread cookie so this was a real delight!

So here’s the updated recipe. Takes a little more work than mixing up a batch of pancakes but really worth the extra effort!

In a medium bowl mix:

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed with

1/4 cup warm water

After mixing, let sit for a few minutes. While that’s working in a smaller bowl, mix:

2 teaspoons aquafaba powder (if you don’t have any aquafaba powder, use 1/3 cup aquafaba liquid)

1/3 cup cold water

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

And whip until stiff peaks. Set aside. To the flaxseed mixture add:

1/4 cup vegan margarine or shortening (such as Sprectrum)

1/2 cup date sugar

Using a hand mixer, beat until combined. Add:

1 cup non-dairy milk such as hemp, soy, or oat

1/4 cup unsulfered molasses

and continue beating until everything is incorporated.

Add:

2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon dry ginger (or if you don’t have any fresh ginger on hand, increase this to 1 teaspoon)

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground clove

1/2 teaspoon salt

Using a spoon, mix until everything is incorporated. Like with pancakes, don’t overmix, its okay if you still see a little flour or a couple of lumps. Fold in the “whites” (the aquafaba mixture) until combined, again be careful not to overmix or you’ll have tough waffles. Now you’re ready for the waffle iron.

Cook per your machine’s instructions. I cooked mine on the medium setting remembering that gluten-free baked goods often take a little more time to cook. A single recipe makes 7 good size waffles. These waffles are great served with a fruit sauce topped with some non-dairy whip or vanilla frozen dessert. However, I decided to combine my waffle with one of my other favorite things and made a plate of chicken and waffles with real maple syrup drizzled over the top. Delicious!

This is a heavy dense waffle so one is enough per person.

Easy Spicy Yogurt Chicken (dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free)

I eat a lot of chicken so I’m always looking for new ways to cook it. Here’s one that’s as delicious as it is spicy. Feel free to kick up the heat with some red pepper flakes. Using curry powder in place of the spices would work as well for an easy curried chicken.

You’ll need:

2 pounds boneless chicken (either breasts or thighs)

4 green onions chopped

12 ounces of plain, non-dairy yogurt (I used Oatly but Kite makes a nut based one which would also work)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger (you can buy already grated/minced ginger)

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric

1 1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon’s worth)

Spray a 9″x9″ baking dish with cooking spray. Add chicken.

In a separate bowl, mix all the ingredients except the chicken and green onions. Pour over the chicken and turn the chicken so all sides are coated. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to marinate. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake chicken for 40-60 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces. Top with the green onions. Serves 4.

Oriental Spare Ribs

(Dairy free, soy free, gluten free, sugar free)

One of my favorite foods – spare ribs! Probably because all summer my father grew the pigs for our winter table and the treat was always the ribs. I had them so rarely growing up, just that one time every year, so now that I’m grown I cook them as often as I possibly can. I had to give up Chinese style ribs when I developed my soy allergy but with the soy sauce substitute (see sauces), I’m now experimenting with some of my favorite Chinese dishes like ribs. The recipe is very simple to make and prep time is short but cooking time is longer to get that bone tender rib that we all love.

You’ll need for 2 servings, depending on how many ribs you can eat!:

1 full rack of ribs (I prefer the St. Louis style, more meat, less bone)

6 tablespoons chicken stock

2 tablespoons soy sauce substitute (or use real soy sauce if it doesn’t bother you)

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

6 tablespoons date syrup (or agave, coconut nectar, etc.)

1 teaspoon molasses

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Cut the ribs into individual sections. If you have a cleaver, you can chop them into 3 pieces for each rib but this isn’t necessary. Mix the liquid ingredients together.

If you have a crock pot, you can cook them on high for 2-4 hours. Put the ribs in the pot then cover with the sauce. If you don’t, like me, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, spray your casserole or oven safe dish with olive oil, add the ribs and the sauce. Use a covered dish so that the sauce doesn’t all boil away during cooking. I turned them every 20 minutes since my dish didn’t allow them to all be completely covered. Cook in the oven 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Once cooked, pour the remaining liquid into a saucepan and boil down until syrupy. Pour over the ribs to serve. At this point, you can top them with sesame seeds or chopped green onions.

HINT: Ribs can be very fatty. I cooked mine, poured off the liquid and then refrigerated them separately overnight. The next day, dinner prep was simple. I heated the ribs in a low oven while I removed most of the fat from the sauce and then boiled it down. I then poured it over the ribs, and heated them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Orange Chicken (dairy free, gluten free, soy free, egg free, sugar free)

I love Chinese food but since I’m allergic to soy I don’t get it very often. There’s a small Chinese restaurant in central New Hampshire that I visited frequently when I was there last year where they were willing to cook meals for me without any soybean oil or soy sauce. My selection was, of course, limited due to my other allergies but it made me hungry for more.

I recently found a recipe for Orange Chicken and decided I could adapt it if only I could find a substitute for soy sauce, such a staple in Chinese food. So, for those of you who can’t use soy, like me, I’ve got an alternative here for that as well. The recipe is a little complex but if you follow it step by step, its easy enough to make a great dish.

The soy substitute works well in this recipe and I’ll probably try it out on different dishes in the future. Make it ahead. It will freeze which is nice since most recipes call for only a little soy sauce at a time.

In a small saucepan mix:

1 1/2 cups bone broth – I used mushroom but beef would also work

3 teaspoons vinegar

1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses

2 teaspoons date sugar (or date syrup)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Bring to a boil and simmer until reduced by half. Cool.

For the orange chicken, to serve four:

3/4 chicken broth

Zest and juice of 2 oranges

1/4 teaspoon monk fruit powder

6 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce substitute

2 teaspoons diced garlic

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle (use more if you like it hot)

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces

5 teaspoons corn starch (if like me, you have trouble with too much corn, you can use arrowroot, tapioca or cassava here as well) mixed into 2 tablespoons water to make slurry

1 cup arrowroot, tapioca, or cassava flour

1 tablespoon aguafava powder mixed into 1/2 cool water (or you can use 3 egg whites)*

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups olive oil (or any oil you can use)

First, whisk the broth, grated orange zest and juice, the monk fruit powder, vinegar, soy sauce substitute, garlic, ginger, and chipotle in a large saucepan until thoroughly mixed. Transfer 3/4 of the mixture to a large zip-lock bag, add chicken, and toss to coat. Get the air out of the bag by sealing it most of the way and then pressing the bag. Finish sealing bag and refrigerate for at least l hour.

While the chicken marinates, bring to a boil the rest of the sauce. When it comes to a boil, whisk the slurry into the sauce and continue whisking until the sauce is clear and thick. Set aside.

In a large Dutch oven heat the oil to 350 degrees.

Beat the aguafava (or egg whites) until soft peaks, add cream of tartar.

Combine the arrowroot with the baking soda, salt and pepper in a large zip-lock bag.

Set up 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or paper towels on the bottom of the tray and put a cooling rack on top of the paper in one of the baking sheets. Drain the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. In parts, don’t try to do all the chicken at once, coat it with the beaten aguafava (or egg whites), then toss into the bag of flour and shake to coat. Remove chicken from the bag shaking off any excess flour. Place the chicken on the baking sheet without the rack.

Add the floured chicken one piece at a time to the oil and fry until golden brown 3-5 minutes, turning chicken as needed. You should be able to fry 1/3 to 1/2 of the chicken at a time. Transfer to the wire rack. Be sure to bring the oil back to 350 degrees between each batch of chicken.

Reheat sauce until simmering. Add chicken and serve immediately over rice. Some cut scallions add to the dish. You can also add to the sauce some sautéed onion and celery, water chestnuts, broccoli, bok choy, etc.

*You can buy aquafaba powder online. If you don’t have any simply use 1/2 cup aquafaba liquid.

Gingerbread Cookies (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, refined sugar-free, vegan)

What’s better at the holidays than sugar cookies or gingerbread cookies? Just the smell of gingerbread baking makes most of us think of Christmas. This recipe uses a number of types of flours to get the right consistency for gingerbread but is fairly easy to put together. I added a 1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger but it could have used substantially more so if you really like ginger, add 1-2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger. And, depending on how thin you roll these, vary the baking times from 10-12 minutes for thinner cookies and 15-20 minutes for thicker cookies. And the number it makes also depends on how thin you roll them; it can make as few as 15 for thicker cookies or as many as 24 for thinner cookies.

I’m working on a sugar-free and egg-free royal icing and hope to have that recipe ready for the blog soon.

In a medium sized bowl combine:

1 cup millet flour
1 cup tapioca starch/flour
1/2 cup arrowroot
1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger (more if you like them really gingery)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon sea salt

Sift or stir to combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl mix:

1 cup shortening such as Spectrum
1/2 cup date sugar
1 teaspoon monk fruit powder

Beat on medium speed until well mixed. Add:

1/2 cup agave nectar (or coconut nectar or honey)
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 to 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

Mix on medium speed until combined. Add dry ingredients in several batches (around 3/4 cup at a time) until all the flour is incorporated. I actually put down the mixer when half the dry ingredients were added and mixed in the remainder with a large spoon. Form into a round disk (or a rectangle) and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1/2 to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (no non-stick spray needed). Unwrap the plastic wrap and add a piece of parchment paper to the top. Roll out to 1/8 to 1/4 inch depending on taste. I prefer a very thin, crispy cookie so I rolled mine out rather thin. Repeat until all the dough is used. These cookies will not rise or expand while baking so they can be placed on the cookie sheets closely packed. Decorate with unsweetened carob or chocolate chips if desired before baking.

Bake 10-20 minutes depending on thickness; when the cookies are slightly firm and browned (hard to tell with the molasses), they are cooked; if you like yours crunchier, cook them a little longer. Cool on cooling racks. These can be frosted with carob buttercream or cream cheese frosting if desired (I enjoyed mine just plain).

Spice Cake with Parsnips (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, refined sugar free, vegan)

My mother always made a spice cake for my sister’s birthday. It was her favorite and she would have loved this one. Its light and moist texture will make even the pickiest cake eater happy. Topped with a spiced cream cheese frosting, its a delight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You’ll need:

9×13 baking dish, lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray
1 cup cooked and pureed parsnips (steam the parsnips until tender; blend in food processor with a little water, up to 1/4 cup, to make puree; you’ll need approximately 1 pound of parsnips to make a cup of puree)
1 1/2 cups all purpose gluten-free flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice or nutmeg (I don’t like nutmeg so I usually use allspice but if you do like nutmeg, feel free to use it instead of the allspice)
1/2 cup date sugar
1 tablespoon lucuma
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup avocado oil
3 tablespoons ground flax combined with 1/3 cup hot water, cooled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 cup club soda
1/2 cup hemp hearts (or if you can eat them, chopped walnuts)

Before beginning anything else, combine the ground flax and hot water so that it can stand for about 5 minutes and cool for later use. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk to aerate and set aside. Combine the parsnips, oil, date sugar, lucuma, vanilla, baking powder and flax gel and beat to combine with a hand or stand mixer. Add to the dry ingredients along with the milk and club soda and beat until well combined.

Spoon into the prepared baking dish. Mixture is quite thick so needs to be spread evenly in the pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove and let cool on the counter for an hour before frosting.

To make the frosting, combine: