Dairy-Free/Gluten-Free Mac & Cheese - Whaaat?!

This here? This is a pretty big deal. In my constant quest to present suitably edible baked goods to one desperately-allergic daughter of mine, I have engineered what might be the most delicious concoction since Nutella.

(Just kidding. Nothing is better than Nutella.)

Ingredients:

8 oz daiya
     (I combined 4 oz cheddar style and 4 oz mozzarella style. You can do what you want.)

8 oz truRoots ancient grain pasta elbows
     (I imagine that any gluten free pasta will do. Plain rice pasta seems gluey and flavorless. This cooked up al dente.)

1 Cup Rice Milk (or your favorite milk substitute.)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp onion salt

1) Preheat oven to 400

2) Prepare the ancient grain pasta according to the directions and drain.

3) As any macaroni and cheese connoisseur knows, the cheese must be made into a sauce in order to achieve the proper silky texture. Therefore, put your daiya into a medium saucepan with the Rice Milk and heat over a medium/low heat stirring constantly. Slowly. Don't burn it.

4) Add onion salt and pepper to taste. Make sure to taste it. I like more pepper to give it that rustic taste, but you might not. 1/2 teaspoon is safe.

5) Once the cheese sauce is appropriately saucy, pour it onto the prepared noodles. Combine well.

6) Pour entire mixture into a small casserole and bake on 400 for 15 minutes or until it gets that brown crust that makes you go, "Mmmmmmm!"

7) cool and enjoy.

Even my non-allergy kids loved this dish. 3 cheers for daiya. Here is a shot of the ingredients for those inclined to look at such:

daiya - it's not plastic!

Announcement + Lunch

Are you in a cooking rut? Are you sick and tired of all of the same old meals that are coming out of your same old kitchen to feed to your same old kids? Yes, you said? Well you're in luck! (Not with the kids - you'll have to keep them.  It looks like an orphanage around here already.)

Me and my blog, As I See It, have partnered with the BlogHer network to bring you a series of food-related videos so that you have some fresh, new ideas of how to get those Ooooooh's! and Ahhhhhh's! that you deserve when you bring food to the table.

That's right, sister. You deserve it.

Just check out the ideas in the top left corner of your screen. Watch them and enjoy. Tell me if you find something great.  Tomorrow I will be previewing the Spinach and Mandarin Salad with Caramelized Almonds from Show Me the Curry.  This is going to be fun.

Now for the "Lunch" part of this post because all that jazz above made me hungry.

This is where the peanut butter sandwich sort of goes to LA and gets all glam and fabulous. I give you, my own creation, the Peanut Butter Veggie Wrap.  Here is the cast of characters:

Egg Roll Wraps
Peanut Butter
Matchstick Carrots
Cilantro
Bibb Lettuce
Alfalfa Sprouts
Lime
Sriracha
Vinegar of your choice (Rice wine would probably be better, I'm out)
Salt

This one is pretty self explanatory.  You take the egg roll wrap and put a knife full of peanut butter down the middle. This works twofold: first, well, it's delicious; and second, all the veggies stick to it and don't slide around.
Because I don't like my veggies to slide out the back of my wrap!
Then start layering your veggies. I did it in this order:
cilantro
lettuce
sprouts
carrots
Then you pick your flavors. I chose salt, vinegar, and sriracha. You could do lime, soy sauce, honey, teriyaki, basil.... endless choices.
Then I rolled it up and ate it standing up while helping Josh with his book report. It was so good that I made another, took it outside and ate it sitting alone on the back deck. That second one was better. 

Enjoy, alright?

If...... Then

If you eat a bagillion of these:

(which I have)

Then at some point you must recognize that your body is going to go into a diabetic coma if you don't make some changes - and you decide to make this:

I am actually looking forward to it.

Nowthen, I am very protective when it comes to recipes that involve my children. This does not, so I gratefully share it with you. You will be the hit of the next dinner party, New Years Eve party, or party of 1 in your basement with your pajamas. Don't worry. I don't judge. I don't like phony baloney conversation anyway.

Without further ado, the best "balls" ever.

Crown Royal Maple Balls

2 Cups Vanilla Wafers - crushed
1 Cup Pecans - finely chopped
1 Cup Powdered Sugar - plus more for rolling
1/4 Cup Crown Royal Maple Finish Whiskey
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon plus 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Corn Syrup

Dissolve Corn Syrup in Whiskey and set aside. In a separate bowl combine Wafers, Pecans, Powdered Sugar and Salt. Drizzle Whiskey mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until uniform. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. When fully chilled spoon out teaspoon sized balls and roll until round. Toss formed balls in powdered sugar until covered. Refrigerate until cold.

These are really, really good. The salt makes them addictive. The alcohol makes them addictive too, but that is another post for another day.

Enjoy.

When You're Standing Over My Coffin

When it comes to baking, I have a very tenuous reputation. I have earned my baking cred recently, but I came into this marriage with lofty ambitions and terrible output. This might or might not have something to do with the fact that my amazing mother taught me to bake with the anti-wisdom, "If you need to measure a cup, just use a mug.  Most mugs are about 1 cup." (Happy Birthday, Mom.)

As the years have passed I have buckled down, purchased official measuring cups, and followed very basic recipes to a tee. The result has been very pleasing - to my husband, to my children, and to yours truly. So much so, that I have developed an increasing infatuation with the idea of developing my own delicious recipes and having my children love them so much that they will brag and swoon after them to their own grandchildren - long after I'm gone.

When they're standing over my coffin they'll be thinking, "We'll miss her smile, her warmth, but most of all we'll miss her killer pumpkin bread."

And I think I've done it, folks. Cue evil laughter.

I started with this recipe:
Allrecipes - Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread
and it is really, really good.

And then I started tweaking it and after a couple of major modifications - I have refined this humble loaf into something that the kids (and husband!) lust after.

And if you think I will tell my modifications, you, my friend, are insane.

This morning, I lacked the necessary ingredients to make my version - so I had to revert to the original. Josh took one bite and said, "Mmmmmmm. This is good, but it is not yours."

I said (glowing with pride), "That's right! But it's ok?"

And he said, "It's great. But what is in yours that makes it so good?"

My answer, "Secrets."

Not quite done!

Bomb Vegan Apple Cider Donuts

I don't bake vegan because I am a vegan. I mean, I respect you vegans out there, but I don't share your passion. No, I bake vegan because my daughter is allergic to milk and eggs - pretty much everything that makes a baked-good delicious. I am on a mission, so to speak. A mission to reinvent buttery, eggy, milky fabulous baked goods into ones which won't make my child die. A noble mission, indeed.

Today's Entry:
Bomb Vegan Apple Cider Donuts
Inspired by Joanna Goddard's Lemon Ricotta Donuts

2 cups White All Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
1 Cup Apple Cider
Vegetable Oil for Frying
Powdered Sugar mixed with Cinnamon for Sprinkling

1. Heat Oil in fryer to 350*
2. Sift together Dry Ingredients
3. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in cider.
4. Whisk together until batter resembles pancake batter. (You may need to add 1/4 more flour if it appears too wet.)
5. When oil registers 350* on a candy thermometer, drop batter by offset tablespoons into oil.
6. Do not crowd fryer.
7. Donuts will flip over by themselves (watch! It is actually kinda cute!) but double check to make sure they are brown on both sides.
8. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and allow to cool on a wire rack.
9. Once they are drained and slightly cooled, move to a plate and sprinkle with Cinnamon Powdered Sugar.

As far as allergen free/vegan baked goods go, these are pretty darn good. They taste like a appley-cinnamony version of funnel cake. Except you are not at the State Fair - you are in you cozy little home in the chilly fall.  And they aren't being served to you by a carney. And for those things? You're welcome.

Fall is Soup Season

Romance. In a Pot.

All I am saying, is if you want to woo your lover, make him this soup. Throw in some Apothic Red, breadsticks and a Caesar salad? That is a baby-making meal, right there.

Minestrone for Your Lover

2 Good Sized Tablespoons of Bacon Fat (See? I am not fooling around.)

1 Medium Yellow Onion, Chopped

2-3 Cloves Minced Garlic

Tons of Freshly Ground Black Pepper

A Meager Sprinkling of Salt (Tiny, I say! You want to taste the sweetness of those veggies.) 

5 Carrots, Peeled and Chopped

5 Stalks of Celery, Chopped

1 Large Zucchini, Chopped

2 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Basil

1 Tablespoon Fresh, Minced Rosemary

1 Can Great Northern Beans, Drained and Rinsed

1 Can Kidney Beans, Drained and Rinsed

1 Regular Sized Can (Not the miniature one) Plain Tomato Sauce

1 Cup of Dry Red Wine (The kind you'll drink with the meal. The kind that makes you feel all funny inside. I use Apothic Red.)

4 Cups Beef Broth

3 Water

1/2 Pound Medium Shell Pasta

Grated Parmesan, for sprinkling

1. Cook chopped onion and garlic in bacon fat. Cook until translucent.

2. Grind the pepper into the pot until it looks good and peppery. (Approx. 1 1/2 Tablespoon? Pepper tastes rustic to me. And rustic is hot.)

2. Once the onions and garlic are cooked, add carrots and celery. Cook them in the fat until they are brilliant in color.

3. Add the zucchini last. It takes the least amount of cooking.

4. Add tomato sauce.

5. Add wine.

6. Add rinsed Kidney and Northern Beans.

7. Add Basil and Rosemary and give the whole pot a nice big stir.

8. Add beef broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain simmer for an hour.

9. When it looks kinda like the picture above (all incorporated and reduced and rich) add 3 cups of water* and bring back to a boil.

*If you're anything like me and you like a hearty, stewy soup this step will hurt your heart. Don't worry. It will return to it's previous stewyness soon. 

10. Add Pasta and simmer for about 10 minutes or according to your taste. (I like well done noodles in this jam. Al Dente be damned!)

Nowthen. Ladle this soup into a bowl and sprinkle generously with parmesan. And let it melt for goodness sake! This soup should be accompanied by garlicky breadsticks and Caesar salad with croutons. The lights should be low and you should definitely have a glass of Apothic. The rest? Well, that is up to you.