The Allergic Gourmet

Ardelle's Sweet and Sour Cucumbers

2012-01-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

3/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small onion, finely diced

Directions:

Combine vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan. Heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Combine with cucumbers and onions. Refrigerate, serve chilled. This keeps well in the fridge and is better if made a day or two ahead of serving. Enjoy!

Photo credit: CDC

Brazilian Cheese Bread (Gluten Free, Cow-Dairy Free)

2012-01-16T18:46:00.000-08:00

Modified to be allergy-safe from Tasty Kitchen.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups tapioca flour
1.5 eggs (I used equivalent Ener-G egg replacer)
4 ounces goat cheese or other cheese substitute (I used goat's milk cheddar)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease baking sheets. In saucepan, bring milk, water, oil and salt to a boil. Remove pan from heat and set aside. Add flour in increments, stirring constantly until the dough becomes pliable and can be kneaded with hands. Only add enough flour until the dough reaches desired consistency. Stir in the egg (or egg replacer) and the cheese. Stir until dough becomes thick and can be molded, adding additional tapioca flour if needed. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and dip the tops into any extra cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese becomes golden brown. Enjoy!

Crockpot Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

2012-01-16T09:06:00.000-08:00

Modified from Bev Cooks to be allergy-safe.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breast halves
5 gloves garlic, minced
2 tbs fresh ginger, minced (I keep this on hand in the freezer)
2 (13.5 oz) cans coconut milk (I used approx. this much from a carton of unsweetened coconut milk since we use a lot of this)
4 cups chicken stock
4 oz. thin rice noodles
2 jalapenos, finely sliced
2 limes
cilantro
salt and pepper
(optional--soy sauce--for garnish for those that can safely consume soy).

Directions:

Add the coconut milk, broth, garlic, ginger, chicken, salt and pepper to the crock pot. Cook on high for 3 hours. Using tongs, remove chicken from the pot and shred with two forks. Return to pot. Add the rice noodles. Cook 30 more minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Serve with cilantro, jalepenos and limes. Enjoy!

Easy Tortilla Soup Recipe

2011-02-20T23:05:00.000-08:00

Although I like this Tortilla Soup Recipe I posted awhile back, it required fairly specific ingredients and took a fair amount of time to put together. This week I made a stripped-down version that also turned out well.

Ingredients:

-Whatever you have on hand that seems appropriate: I used leftover organic green and yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions from our Valentine's Dinner.

-2-3 jalepeno peppers

-1 can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes and green chiles (from Trader Joe's, you could use something similar from another store)

-1 can of water

-stale tortilla chips

-avocado, rice, lime, other garnish as desired (optional)

Directions:

Chop vegetables and saute in oil until soft. Add canned tomatoes and can of water. Crumble several handfuls of stale or fresh tortilla chips into the soup. Blend with a hand mixer. Simmer until warmed through. Serve over rice if desired or with avocado or lime. This tastes better the next day after the flavors have had a chance to meld.

Valentine's Day Dinner

2011-02-19T22:35:00.001-08:00

For Valentine's Day this year, my husband Tom made a lovely dinner on the grill. He used organic produce and grass-fed beef from Figueroa Produce. It was delicious! We boiled the potatoes before grilling them. For the steaks he used a simple rub of salt, freshly ground pepper and brown sugar. We didn't really do much to the veggies beyond chop and skewer them. We really enjoyed spending a quiet evening home together with excellent food. How did you spend your holiday?

Golabki Polish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe

2011-01-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

-1 head of cabbage

-1/2 pound ground beef

-1/4 pound ground pork or other meat (can also use all beef)

-1 onion

-6 cloves garlic

-1 cup cooked rice

-1 small can tomato paste

-4 large tomatoes, diced

-salt and pepper

-bay leaves and peppercorns (optional)

-olive oil or other cooking oil

-dill (optional garnish)

Directions:

Prepare the cabbage: Rinse the cabbage and remove the core. Place cabbage in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until outer leaves begin to loosen. Carefully lift out the cabbage, remove the softened leaves and return the cabbage to the pot of boiling water until more leaves are softened. Repeat until all leaves have been removed. Remove the center stalks from inside each softened leaf (this will make the leaves easier to roll). The removed stalks can be chopped and set aside along with any leaves that are too small to stuff.

Saute onion and garlic until soft. Add meat and spices, cook until done. Add the meat and onions to the cooked rice.

Place half the chopped cabbage pieces on the bottom of a large cast iron pot or pyrex baking dish. Place about a handful of meat and rice mixture into each cabbage leaf and roll up. Place cabbage rolls seam-side down on top of the cabbage in the pan. Cover with remaining cabbage. Mix diced tomatoes and tomato paste with a hand blender and some water until you achieve desired sauce consistency. Pour tomato sauce over the cabbage. Sprinkle with peppercorns and bay leaves if desired. Simmer on low heat for approximately 3 hours or as desired. A slow cooker can be used instead of the oven or stove-top.

I liked topping my rolls with a sprinkling of dill. Enjoy!

Pomegranate Quinoa Salad Recipe

2010-12-01T22:07:00.000-08:00

This pomegranate/quinoa salad is refreshing and simple. It would make a nice holiday side dish because it has both red and green in it. Other recipes on the internet call for adding nuts and/or cheese, which would probably be good if those are safe for your diet. This recipe is delicious as-is. Because quinoa has lots of protein its a good dish to share with vegetarians as well.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

- 2 cups water (to cook the quinoa)

- 1 cucumber, thinly diced

- arils/seeds from 1/2 a pomegranite

- 1/4 white or yellow onion, finely chopped

- salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, to taste

Directions:

Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Chop and combine remaining ingredients. When quinoa cools, add to the other ingredients. Serve cold.

Photo credit: Wiki Commons user Bob_pcc

Crock Pot Cranberry Sauce

2010-11-26T22:35:00.000-08:00

Modified from this recipe at A Year of Slow Cooking.

Ingredients:

12 oz. cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar*
1/2 cup sugar*
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
dash grated ginger (optional)
splash of vanilla extract
Note: I've had success with substituting a sweeter berry, like raspberries, for part of the sugar.

Directions:

Rinse cranberries. Place all ingredients in crockpot and mix. Cover, cook on high for about 2 hours, or until cranberries are soft enough to "pop" when smooshed with a spoon against the wall of the crockpot. Smoosh all the berries and let simmer for another half hour on low. Let cool. Can be made ahead of time. Makes a nice topping for salads and ice cream or pie.

Key Ingredient: Mirepoix; Also, When to Buy Organic

2010-11-15T17:02:00.001-08:00

Mirepoix is a French name for a mix of onions, carrots and celery. It is used as a base for stocks, soups, stews and sauces. Some chefs prefer a 2:1 ratio of onions to carrots and celery. Mirepoix can be used raw, roasted, or sauteed. When preparing mirepoix, I like to use "regular" or "conventional" onions but organic carrots and celery. I do this because onions have a fairly low concentration of pesticide residue, while carrots and celery are higher in pesticide residue. Carrots are sometimes on the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen" list of fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residue. This year, celery was ranked the item likely to have the highest amount of pesticide residue. The idea behind the "Dirty Dozen" list and ranking fruits and vegetables is that people can maximize their grocery dollars and minimize pesticide exposure by focusing on buying organic where it can benefit them the most.

Easy Crock Pot Braised Chicken

2010-10-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

-chicken (I used 1 package of frozen chicken breasts, about 1 lb)

-dash of olive oil

-salt

-pepper

-garlic

-onion

-1 jar salsa verde or tomatillo salsa

-1/2 cup water or chicken broth (you want enough liquid to coat the bottom of the crock pot, but the chicken doesn't need to be submerged)

Directions:

Place ingredients in crock pot. Cover and set to high for approximately 4 hours or until chicken is done. If you use fresh or thawed chicken, set to low. Chicken will shred a bit on its own, if desired, shred more with a fork before serving. Excellent for tacos or nachos but also delicious on its own. Enjoy!

Dairy-Free Indian "Butter" Chicken Recipe

2010-09-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

My allergies, including allergies to beans, legumes, dairy, nuts and turmeric, make it difficult to find allergy-safe Indian recipes. When I saw this recipe for Butter Chicken on the Tasty Kitchen website, I knew I had to try modifying it to be allergy-safe. The results were fantastic. I think this is a great dish even for people without food allergies or sensitivities. It is even better as leftovers the next day.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite sized pieces if desired)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper (I used white pepper because I didn't feel like grinding that much black pepper)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cardamom (if you don't have cardamom, you could try subbing a pinch of cinnamon or allspice)
1 whole lime, juiced
1 whole onion, diced
1 cup frozen spinach (Optional--the original recipe does not call for this but I thought it was a nice addition.)
1/4 cup coconut oil (Melt before measuring--I used slightly more than this because I wanted to finish off a jar. Note that the coconut oil is in place of the original recipe's butter, you could switch to butter if you prefer and its safe for you.)
1 6 oz. jar of tomato paste
6 oz. water (I use the empty tomato paste can to measure)
2-3 diced fresh tomatoes (could use canned diced tomatoes in a pinch)
1/2 can light coconut milk (This is a substitute for the original recipe's whipping cream.)
1 bunch chopped cilantro
2 cups basmati rice

Directions:

Combine the first nine ingredients and marinate the chicken (overnight if desired, I did not do this because I wanted to eat it the same evening). Sauté the onion in the coconut oil until soft. Add the chicken and cook about 10 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, prep the tomatoes and wash the cilantro. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes and frozen spinach. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add the coconut milk and cilantro. Serve over rice. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Cucumbers

2010-08-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

These sweet and sour cucumbers are a snap to prepare and last in the refrigerator for days. They are delicious on their own, but also great on top of a salad (in lieu of dressing), or used in place of another moist vegetable like pickles or sauerkraut (I love them on a turkey sandwich).

Ingredients:
-3/4 cup of white vinegar
-3/4 cup of water
-3/4 cup of sugar
-2 fresh cucumbers, peeled and sliced
-chopped onions, if desired (I like to use about 1/2 a white onion)

Directions:
Combine vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan. Heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Combine with cucumbers and onions. Refrigerate, serve chilled. This lasts a long time in the refrigerator and is better if made a day or two ahead of serving.

Rhubarb Pork Recipe

2010-08-13T13:48:00.000-07:00

Photo credit: Flickr user foodistablog

(Modified to be allergy-friendly from this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rhubarb-Pork-Chop-Bake/Detail.aspx)

Ingredients:

2.5 cups rhubarb, chopped

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbs flour (gluten free flour OK, I used rice flour)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice

1.5 tsp. minced fresh rosemary (if you only have dried rosemary, try .5 tsp)

olive oil for cooking

salt and pepper

Directions:

Brown the pork in the oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Lightly oil a baking dish. Layer half the pork, half the rhubarb mixture, and then the remaining pork and rhubarb. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Uncover and bake an extra 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Summer Tip:

So I wouldn't have to heat up the oven, I baked this in a square Pyrex dish in the toaster oven.

Worked like a charm!

Allergy Friendly Tortilla Soup Recipe

2010-01-20T16:24:00.000-08:00

Tortilla soup is a great way to use up leftover corn tortillas. Although it is dairy, soy and casein free, the pureed tortillas give the soup a rich creamy texture. The amount of spice and heat can be adjusted to your taste. Especially delicious on cold winter nights!

Ingredients

cooking oil
8-12 corn tortillas
1 yellow onion, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
3 serrano peppers, seeds removed, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
1-2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
6 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
bunch of fresh cilantro
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tbs paprika
optional garnish: lime wedges, extra cilantro, cheese, sour cream, avocado, tortilla strips

Directions

Start the chicken.

Place chicken, salt, pepper, half the onion, half the bell pepper, half the garlic, and all the water into a pot. Bring slowly to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours. When finished, the meat will be tender to the point of shredding. Save the broth to incorporate into the soup.

Toast or fry the tortillas.

I like to toast the tortillas in the toaster oven (no extra fat from frying), but if you prefer you can cut them into strips and fry them before adding to the soup. If you toast them, you can just crumble them into pieces over the pot when it is time to add them.

Start the soup.

In large pot, heat several tbs. of cooking oil. Add onions, garlic and peppers, saute for 5 minutes. Add tomato, broth from the chicken, fried tortilla strips or crumbled toasted tortillas, and spices. Simmer, cooking uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and puree the soup (I use a stick blender but you can use a regular blender if needed). Add the chicken and cilantro. Heat until evenly warm.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free, Legume Free Minestrone Soup Recipe

2010-01-02T20:31:00.000-08:00

I've always loved minestrone soup, but I've been avoiding it lately do to my allergies to legumes and gluten since most minestrones have beans and/or pasta. Finally I decided to give it a whirl, and I was very satisfied with the results.

Ingredients

olive oil (2 Tbs)
1.5 white onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup diced or shredded carrots (I used bagged pre-shredded carrots)
.5 bell peppers, diced
1 zucchini, diced
3 ribs of celery, diced
1 14 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes (can sub fresh, I used a 16oz package of fresh that I diced myself)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 cup frozen spinach
spices as desired (I used a handful of fresh basil, along with liberal dashes of dried oregano, basil, dill, salt and pepper.)
4 cups water (this will give you a thick, stew-like consistency, add more water if you desire a more soupy consistency)
1 cup dry pasta (I used Ancient Harvest quinoa/corn pasta in rotelle)

You can add or subtract to the ingredients above based on your preferences or what you have available. Let me know if you have any favorites I missed!

Directions

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add carrots, zucchini and bell peppers and saute for another 5 mins. on low/medium. Add remaining ingredients except for pasta, simmer on low for 15 mins. or so. Bring to a gentle boil, and add in pasta. Simmer until pasta is cooked to desired consistency. Enjoy!

Easy Chile Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe

2009-12-21T14:34:00.001-08:00

Ingredients

2 acorn squash
7 tbs canola oil
6 tbs brown sugar
1.5 tbs ancho chile powder
1 tbs water
2 dashes of salt
dashes of paprika as desired for taste and color

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash acorn squash and cut each squash in half. Remove seeds and cut squash into wedges. Stir remaining ingredients together in separate bowl. Set wedges in greased baking pan and pour sauce over wedges. Cover pan loosely with foil. Bake for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake another 25 minutes or until soft.

Recipe adapted from Sunset Magazine's November 2009 issue.

Spicy Chicken Chili (Gluten Free, Bean Free, Dairy Free)

2009-11-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

-2 serrano chiles

-2 jalepeno chiles

-2 Anaheim chiles

-10 or so tomatillos

-canola or olive oil for cooking

-salt and pepper

-1 chopped onion

-2 garlic cloves, minced

-1 green bell pepper

-1.5 pounds skinless, boneless chicken (I used about 6 thighs and 2 breasts), cut into 1-inch pieces

-1 can diced tomatoes

-1 can tomato paste

-oregano

-chile powder

-cumin

Optional garnishes: lime wedges, cilantro, chopped onion and jalapeños

Directions:

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees. Roast tomatillos, jalepenos, serranos and anaheim chiles whole for about 20 minutes or until they begin to turn brown.

Heat a small amount of cooking oil in a Dutch oven. Add onion, green pepper and garlic and saute for about 4 minutes or until they become tender and start to brown.

In a separate pan, warm a small amount of cooking oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook until browned. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.

Once vegetables are roasted, dice and add to Dutch oven with the onions, etc. If you would like a bit less heat, remove the seeds from the Anaheims and jalepenos. Add a splash of water to the mixture and puree with a stick blender until the sauce reaches desired consistency (adding additional water as needed). Stir in diced tomatoes, cooked chicken and tomato paste and season with oregano, cumin and chile powder.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and then simmer for 30 minutes. Goes well over rice. Garnish with cilantro, peppers, onion or lime wedges if desired.

This recipe was inspired by the White Bean Chicken Chili recipe in the November 2009 issue of Sunset Magazine and adapted to be allergy free.