SO DELICIOUS Coconut Milk Yogurt Review
I’ve been waiting for someone to develop a non-dairy, non-soy yogurt for a while, and my wish has been granted. SO DELICIOUS is just that…a delicious probiotic treat without the allergens:
NEWS FLASH: Queso Manchego is Free of Cow’s Milk!
Oh happy, happy day! When I was studying abroad in Madrid…
..Yes, I said STUDYING! I did work hard in Madrid contrary to popular belief. Anyway, like I was saying, while there I fell in love with a couple of things:
1. Rioja wine
2. Queso Manchego
I’m here to discuss the latter. You could not eat at any tapas bar in Madrid without running across Queso Manchego served in beautiful little triangular slices drizzled with olive oil. When I first received my food allergy diagnosis, I just thought that I was never going to eat cheese again. Now that I am aware of my cow’s milk allergy, I am slowly realizing that there are so many cheeses in this world, which do not contain cow’s milk, and Queso Manchego is one of them! Join me sipping wine and dining on Queso Manchego with the tastiest little gluten free Rice crackers.
Fish Tacos with Tomatillo Avocado Cream
I love fish tacos! With all my restrictions I thought they were a goner from my diet, but not so! This is a great summery meal. Enjoy! (By the way, I meant to say that I caught not cooked the fish..well I suppose I did both actually. 🙂
Ingredients for two:
4-5 tomatillos
1 large Haas Avocado
Spices: Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika
Juice of half a lime
4 pieces of white fish of your choice
Olive Oil
Cabbage
Rice tortillas or large butter lettuce leaves
1. Simmer tomatillos in gently boiling water, just enough to cover the tomatillos. Cook 5-10 minutes or just until gently yielding when pricked with a paring knife.
2. Puree the tomatillos along with a little bit of the cooking liquid, just enough to allow the tomatillos to loosen and puree uniformly. Set aside.
3. Add a portion of the tomatillo puree to one 1 large Hass avocado. Continue to add the tomatillo puree until the avocado mixture reaches a creamy consistency. Season with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, juice of half a lime to taste. (Feel free to add any other seasonings you would normally put in your favorite guacamole. ) Set aside.
4. Pat dry fish of your choice.
5. Sprinkle lightly with fish seasoning
5. Bring pan to medium high heat. Coat with a couple turns of oil.
6. Add fish to pan and allow to cook undisturbed a couple of minutes per side or until desired firmness is reached.
7. Serve cooked fish, topped with thinly sliced cabbage and avocado cream on a rice tortilla or leaf of Butter Lettuce. Serve with Erica’s Favorite Rice on the side. Black beans would be a great addition too!
Erica’s Favorite Rice
In the rice cooker dump:
- 1 c Jasmine rice
- 2 3/4 c water
- 1T olive oil
- Zest of one clean lime
- 1 t of salt
- 1/4 c of green (in this case, green onion)
You can also cook this in a pot, and just follow the ratios for water to rice on the package of rice.
Adapted from Lime Cilantro Rice at Allrecipes.com.
Quick Shrimp Cobb Salad
The possibilities with fresh vegetable salads are endless.
This recipe is easy peasy and healthy. It is great for a light dinner, or for a ladies luncheon kind of a thing.
Quick Shrimp Cobb Salad (for two):
Ingredients:
- 1 head of washed chopped Romaine Lettuce
- Lots o’ matchstick carrots or diced/sliced carrots
- 1 avocado diced
- 4 pieces of Bacon cooked and crumbled/chopped
- 2/3-3/4 lb. peeled deveined shrimp
- Salt, pepper, and paprika
Directions:
1. Lay a bed of greens on a plate and top with the veggies and bacon.
2. In a pan that has heated on medium high, add a couple turns of olive oil to the pan. Allow to heat for 10 seconds or so, and then add the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp is done and they form ‘C’ shapes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and paprika.
3. Scatter the salad with the shrimp.
4. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing and olive oil. No dressing is required. The lemon and olive oil mixed around with the creamy avocado makes its own ‘dressing.’
Adapted from: Shrimp Cobb Salad
Healthy and delish!
Do You Miss Chocolate Chip Cookies and Milk?
Well miss no more! I periodically make a batch of tasty little gluten, dairy, soy, corn, oat free cookies and freeze them, so I always have a little indulgence ready when I need it. Sometimes I warm them up, but sometimes I like to let the little frozen guys float around in one of my many dairy free milks and soak up all that good milkiness. You’ve got to try them out!
Watch me quickly whip together tasty cookies in my KitchenAid Mixer (You can mix by hand too).
Be sure to check out ‘My Pantry’ to see the featured products I used such as:
Spectrum All Vegetable Shortening
EnerG Egg Replacer
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
Bob’s Red Mill Xanthan Gum
EnjoyLife Mini Chocolate Chips
The recipe is posted below the videos. ENJOY!!!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 c dairy-free, soy- free vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum. See ‘My Pantry;
1/2 c turbinado
1/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
1t pure vanilla extract
3/4 t Ener-G egg replacer
1 1/4 Gluten Free Flour Mix
1/2 t xanthan gum
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t sea salt
4 T non-dairy milk
1/2 c dairy-free, soy-free chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream shortening, turbinado, brown sugar, mixing on medium for about 1 minute. Add the vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg replacer, flour mix, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the flour mixture to mixer in three batches mixing on low and alternating with the non-dairy milk.
5. Add the chocolate chips. I usually add these by hand.
5. Use a little cookie dough scoop to drop by rounded tablespoons on the baking sheets. (I use these Calphalon Insulated Cookie Sheets, which don’t require any oil or parchment.) Bake around 8-10 minutes for soft cookies. Let cool for 5 minutes on a baking sheets before transferring to a cooking rack.
This recipe was adapted from the Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe found in Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook by Cybele Pascal. I’m not big on most allergy-free cookbooks, because I find them boring and plain tasting. This book, however, is beautiful, inspiring, delicious, and covers a multitude of baked goods!
Erica’s Brown Bag Lunch
Last summer my husband purchased Rosie, a used fishing boat. Rosie is used mostly for fishing purposes, but she can get you from Point A to Point B on Lake Travis just fine. One of my favorite weekend activities is when we go and anchor Rosie in the lake and have lunch, drinks, and bob around in the water. Last summer, doing so was a bit of a daunting task. I didn’t know how to pack a simple lunch , so I was always making big complicated salads and bringing containers filled with olive oil. I was sure there was a simpler but tasty lunch option for me. Well there is, my Apple and Herb Turkey Sandwich is my ‘go to’ when I’m on the go. (See Applegate link in ‘My Pantry’) I pair it with some Good Health Olive Oil Potato Chips (Popchips are awesome too. See ‘My Pantry’), fruit, and maybe even some of my homemade allergy-free baked gods, like my Chocolate Chip Cookies I’m soon to share, and I’m good to go! I hope this short video inspires you to create your own Brown Bag Lunch!
Classic Roast Chicken with Fluffy Mashed Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts
I love a good classic, roasted chicken. It is such a warming dish, and sharing it with your family at dinner feels like the way that meals together are supposed to be. I particularly love roasting chicken, because I get multiple meals out of it: the first time we eat it, the second time when I use all the meat tidbits in pasta dishes or soups, and the third time when I use the bones to create a wholesome broth.
I have tried many roast chicken recipes. This recipe is courtesy of Cooking Light and can be found here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/classic-roast-chicken-50400000110425/. My favorite part of the recipe is the way that they turn up the heat at the end to yield a gorgeous, brown, crispy skin. I’m not going to lie, while the preparation and cooking technique were spot on, I might have seasoning combinations that I prefer, which I will share with you soon, but I’m still glad I gave this one a try for something different and encourage you to do the same.
The mashed potatoes I adapted from a recipe I saw on PBS and then printed at America’s Test Kitchen: http://www.americastestkitchen.com/ (Search ‘Fluffy Mashed Potatoes). I love the scientific approach of this show; they really look at the chemistry of the food, and their understanding enables them to create the desired tastes and textures. In this recipe I use Tempt Hempmilk (See ‘My Pantry’) in lieu of regular milk. Tempt makes the best hempmilk. It is delicious and creamy. Don’t worry, they explain in great detail on their packaging, that the hempmilk contains no THC. Using the hempmilk and ghee (Clarified dairy-free butter…See ‘My Pantry’) you are able to create wonderful mashed potatoes. The only thing I would say is that they lose their luster on leftover night, so don’t make a ton.
With the chicken and mashed pots, I serve the Brussel Sprouts and Bacon as seen in the Italian Chicken with Sweet and Sour Fennel video (Come on…I had a huge bag of sprouts from Costco I had to use up!)
Overall a great meal. Not too many heroic substitutions were necessary, and we were left with a tasty, close-to-the-Earth meal! Watch me make the meal in these two videos:
Cook Allergen Free! Tasty Allergen Free Meals Everyone Will Love! 