Cookbook Giveaway

We are in the process of moving and I need to part with some of my cookbooks. The majority of them I will be posting on PaperBackSwap, but I thought I would pass this one on to one of my readers.

The No Moo Cookbook was written in 1976 by a mother of a dairy allergic son. It was originally started as a wedding present for her son's future wife. I purchased this when we first learned of our son's anaphylactic reaction to dairy. I have gleaned what I needed to from this cookbook and thought I would pass it along in the form of a giveaway.

Here are the "rules":

1) Must have a US mailing address.

2) One entry per person. Entries are made through the comments.

3) In your comment, you must include why you would like this book. (Basically, I want to make sure it goes to a person dealing with a dairy-free diet in some way and not to someone that just wants a free book.) If you don't include your "why" your comment will be deleted.

4) You do not have to be a blogger to win, but you must leave some way for me to contact you in your comments. I will not hunt you down to tell you that you won... sorry.

5) Once the winner is announced and I email you, you will have two days to claim the cookbook before I choose another winner.

6) You have until NOON CST, Wednesday, July 15, 2009 to enter.

Good luck!

Jeff's Favorite Cobbler

I think I've only actually made this a couple of times, but Jeff has made it many times over. He's used fresh peaches, fresh blueberries, and for his last creation shown here, a combination of fresh cherries and blueberries. YUMMMmmmmm.....

Cook time will vary depending on how you like your breading. I personally like my cobbler a little gooey, so I take it out a little sooner than most. These pictures show it completely cooked, almost like a cake, but it was still oh. so. good! Let me say it again: YUMMMMmmmmm...... :)



2 large peaches, peeled and sliced (or equivalent amount of other fruit)
1 1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup DF margarine, melted
1 cup AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
dash ground nutmeg
3/4 c up almond milk (or other milk substitute)

In a bowl, combine peaches and 3/4 cup sugar; set aside. Pour margarine into an 8" square baking pan. In a bowl, combine flour, baking poser, salt, nutmeg and remaining sugar. Stir in milk until just combined. Pour over the butter. Top with peaches.

Bake 375 for 45 - 50 minutes until golden brown.

Dairy Free Egg Free Waffles

Although the original recipe (Naked Vegan Waffle), was already DF and EF, I adjusted a few other ingredients to suit our dietary desires. Here's what the resulting recipe is for a great basic waffle:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups almond milk (plain or vanilla)
  
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup sucanat
• 2 tsp vanilla
  

Sift or whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix the almond milk, coconut oil, sucanat, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Cook on a waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes, generously spraying both grills with oil before each waffle. Makes 4 (7-inch) round Belgian waffles.

*Healthier* Yellow Squash Muffins

I'm still working toward converting my recipes to healthier ingredients (ie more whole wheat flour, less refined sugar, less trans-fat margarine, etc.) I'm sure this recipe would taste just fine with all whole wheat flour, but for now I'm happy with the progress to half WW and half AP. For my original version with "normal" ingredients, click here.

2 lbs. yellow squash (about 8)
1/2 c applesauce (unsweetened)
3/4 c coconut oil
1 c sucanat
1 1/2 c AP unbleached flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 Tbs + 2 tsp baking powder (non-aluminum)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Boil squash until tender. Drain well. Return to pot and mash.

Measure 2 cups mashed squash into a large bowl. Add applesauce and coconut oil. Mix. (Much of the coconut oil will melt from the heat of the squash.)

Mix remaining ingredients in another bowl. Then mix both the dry ingredients and the squash mixture together.

Fill non-greased muffin cups 3/4 c full. Bake 350 until lightly golden brown, about 18-23 minutes.


Note: The coconut flavor will increase as the muffins sit, so if they happen to last a few days, you may begin to notice more hints of coconut.

Fried Zucchini

I love this recipe because the batter doesn't require egg or milk. Allowing the dry ingredients to settle into the sliced zucchini is the key to a good "batter". The lard not only adds flavor, but some vitamin D, too!


2 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp paprika (I used smoked paprika)
2 tsp nutritional yeast
3/4 - 1 cup lard for frying (of course you could also use vegetable oil if you prefer)

Place zucchini in a medium sized bowl. Mix all dry ingredients together in another bowl and then pour over the zucchini. Toss zucchini to cover well with dry ingredients. Let sit for 30 minutes to allow the dry mixture to "cling" to the zucchini slices.

In a large skillet, heat lard over medium heat. When hot, add slices in a single layer. Cook 3 - 5 minutes on each side to brown evenly.

Sorry... no picture. They were gone too quickly. {big grin}

Vegan Rella - Natural Cheese Alternative

I cannot for the life of me find a website about Vegan Rella, but I've read about it on some of the various food allergy blogs. Some reviews were good and some not so good, but as usual, I wanted to formulate my own decision. :)

I found it at a Whole Foods Market (either in Birmingham or Nashville... can't remember which... it might have even been both). The picture below is high resolution, so you should be able to click on it to enlarge if you can't read the ingredients well enough.

Please note that Vegan Rella is made in a facility that uses milk and soy products. If you can only use products that are made in dedicated facilities, I wanted to make this statement clear. Although Witt is anaphylactic to dairy, we have fortunatly had no reactions to parts per million/billion.


Anyway, I wanted to share my review.

We tried the Mozzarella brand on pizza. No good. The taste was as good as any other cheese alternative, but the texture was not right for pizza. When this brand melts, it MELTS! It stays creamy and it slid right off the pizza dough taking the toppings with it. The kids had a really hard time eating it and my picky eater wouldn't touch it.

I still had a block of cheddar flavor left and decided to try mac-n-cheese because of the creamy texture. I made some elbow noodles according to the package directions. Drained them and added the shredded Vegan Rella, some milk alternative, and a lot of salt.



The verdict? My middle son gobbled it up and asked for more. My youngest son ate what was on his plate and was done. Me? Well, I ate some, but it certainly isn't like the "real" mac-n-cheese I grew up with. I will probably make it again on rare occasions as my middle son really did like it.

Another option would be grilled cheese sandwiches. Go Dairy Free has a review of that here:

Vegan Rella Natural Cheese Alternative - Cheddar Style (Vegan, Soy-Free)
Go Dairy Free - Saturday, 13 June 2009

© Go Dairy Free

Food Allergy Labeling

Find Safe Foods is putting together a detailed description of what people with food allergies really need to safely eat manufactured and restaurant food. Please head over and read her draft. She's looking for input from allergy folks and so far I think she's really done a spectacular job!!!