Cybele Pascal's Blog, page 9

Allergy Free Eggnog

Every year I get asked to come up with a recipe for eggnog without eggs, dairy, refined sugar, you name it. And every year I get too wrapped up in holiday cookie baking. But luckily this year, I’m strarting early with beverages.

The tricky part about concocting an allergy-friendly vegan eggnog is that you must avoid the eggs. Most recipes rely on tofu instead, but that wasn’t an option because I wanted to be sure this recipe was safe for those with soy allergies, too. The other substitute for eggs? Nuts. But given my allergy-friendly cooking mandate, those are out, too.

I did see a pretty nifty recipe from Living Without, but it called for young fresh coconut, which is hard to find and potentially allergenic—and it also called for almonds. I decided the time had come to whip up a nog that avoided the top eight allergens and could be toasted by all this holiday season, food-allergic or not.

I soon discovered the key to creating a thick, creamy custard base (without eggs or heavy cream) is tapioca starch. (If you don’t eat tapioca, you can easily substitute cornstarch, potato starch, or arrowroot starch.)

The other trick is simplicity. There is no need to over-spice to compensate for the missing richness of eggs and cream. Less is more with eggnog. My kids and I had a grand old time standing around the kitchen drinking the entire jar of this recipe (I put rum in mine, and left theirs without!).

For cookies that go well with this eggnog recipe, check out my Gluten-Free Hemp Seed Wedding Cookies, Gluten-Free Allergy-Friendly Old-Fashioned Gingersnaps, or Gluten-Free Allergy-Friendly Double Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies.

 

Allergy-Friendly, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free “Eggnog”

Serves 4

A delicious “creamy,” rich eggnog that’s much lower in fat and cholesterol than the traditional beverage—and allergy-friendly to boot! It’s also free of refined sugar. This recipe may be made with or without rum.

3 cups rice milk (or other vegan milk of choice)

2 Tbsp. tapioca starch

1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

¼ cup maple syrup

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (preferably freshly grated), plus more for garnish

¼ cup dark rum (optional)

Rice Whip topping (optional)

1.   Combine ½ cup of the rice milk with the tapioca starch. Whisk well until frothy. Add vanilla extract. Whisk well to combine.

2.   Combine 1 ½ cups of the rice milk with the maple syrup in a heavy pot. Whisk. Add nutmeg and whisk well to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Add tapioca starch mixture to pot. Heat, whisking continuously, until it reaches a simmer. Once it’s slightly thickened, add the remaining cup of rice milk. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring continuously, until rich and creamy, about 4 minutes.

3.   Pour into a pitcher or large mason jar. Chill for at least four hours and up to 2 days. When ready to serve, stir or shake eggnog, mix in rum, pour into glasses, top with Rice Whip, and garnish with ground nutmeg.

Allergy-Friendly, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free “Eggnog”

© 2010 by Cybele Pascal

(Please note that all my recipes are completely free of all top allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, and gluten), so as many people as possible can enjoy them. Additionally, all the ingredients are available at Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.com. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I’ll help you find it.)

SAFETY NOTE: Because each person’s food sensitivity and reaction is unique, ranging from mild intolerance to life-threatening and severe food allergies, it is up to the consumer to monitor ingredients and manufacturing conditions. If manufacturing conditions, potential cross contact between foods, and ingredient derivatives pose a risk for you, please re-read all food labels and call the manufacturer to confirm potential allergen concerns beforeconsumption. Ingredients and manufacturing practices can change overnight and without warning.

Gluten Free Recipe Box Review and Cookbook Giveaway

Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking hit the shelves today!  I’m thrilled to finally have this book out there after so much anticipation. I want to let you know about a lovely review and giveaway going on over at Gluten-Free Recipe Box.  Enter to win a free copy of Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking, and check out what they have to say about my new book. Thanks, Carla! What a great way to debut!

 

“No other gluten-free cookbooks have impressed me this much. This cookbook contains a variety of recipes, well balanced in flavor and nutrition. There is something for everyone from traditional dishes to food-to-go recipes.”

read more…

Allergy Free and Easy Cooking Sneak Peak and Book Release

Dear Readers:

I’m so excited to announce that my new cookbook, Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking: 30-Minute Meals without Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Eggs, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Shellfish, and Sesame will be released tomorrow, December 4th!  As a bit of a preview, you can see this sneak peak from Scribd.com below.  I hope you enjoy using this book as much as I enjoyed writing it for you.  Happy Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking to you all!

Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking by Cybele Pascal – Recipes

Allergy Friendly Friday 11/30/12

I am having one slow day over here at Chez Pascal.  So slow, I forgot it was Friday, until halfway through the day.

I am sensing people are a little over cooking right now, and I don’t blame  you! Thanks to those who still turned it out.  You are an inspiration.  Thank you for contributing to last week’s Allergy-Friendly Friday! Here are the recipe highlights from last week’s roundup. Remember, the featured  recipes  are also being featured on my Allergy-Friendly Friday Highlights Pinterest board, so check them out there, along with other featured allergy-friendly recipes from weeks past. If you have been featured, I encourage you to grab the Allergy Friendly Friday badge from my right sidebar and share it on your blog, so others know you’ve got a featured recipe on Allergy-Friendly Friday.

French Beef Stew from Allergy-Free Vintage Cookery
GF Pumpkin Bread from The Fussiest Eater
Corn-Free Cornbread from Live Free Gluten Free

Please add your allergy-free and/or gluten-free recipe links to Allergy-Friendly Friday. PLEASE remember you have to link back from your post, for me to feature your recipe. That means link WITH A HYPERLINK THAT LINKS BACK HERE. When you link back to this post, you can share both your own and everybody else’s.And remember, I specialize in creating gluten-free recipes that are free of the top 8 food allergens, but yours do not have to be. They just have to be allergy-friendly in SOME way.

Just remember:

Please link back to this post so your readers can find all the recipes. This is a sharing page.
Link to your recipe, not to your homepage.
Recipes do not have to be completely allergen-free, just allergy-friendly in some way.
When you link, let us know who you are. For example, I might add Allergy-Friendly Halloween Cupcakes (cybele@cybelepascal.com)

Allergy Free Chicken Parmesan Casserole with Gluten Free Garlic Croutons

Versions of this quick n’ easy “Chicken Parm” have been kicking around the internet for years. And trust me, they caught my attention, first for their lower fat content, but second, for their ease. The healthy brilliance of this dish lies in replacing the fatty breading usually associated with Chicken “Parm” with a crouton topping instead.  Voila, no flour, egg, and breadcrumb coating, and no butter and oil to fry the whole shebang.  Just put together white meat chicken, red sauce, basil, croutons, and some cheese, bake it, and you’ve got dinner in an hour.

But we are a gluten and dairy-free household, so existing incarnations of the recipe were still no good for us. I decided to deconstruct this dish for those of us with food allergies and intolerances. The gluten part wasn’t so hard.  I made my own gluten-free croutons, which my kids liked so much, they requested a steady supply for snacking.  Here’s a little secret:  gluten-free bread was born to be made into croutons.

The cheese part? Not so simple. Vegan cheese doesn’t behave like good ol’ dairy. For this casserole to work, I decided I needed thinly sliced Daiya, not shreds, for good coverage and meltability. And Daiya is temperamental. Baked too long, it turns hard and brittle, too short, and it’s goopy. I experimented with varying amounts, and times, and settled on using less cheese than traditional recipes (read: less fat), and to add the cheese and croutons in the second half of cook time, for a melted but still soft cheesy topping, with crunchy croutons in tact. Please note that thinly sliced Daiya mozzarella is available at the deli counter at Whole Foods. Ask them to slice block Daiya thin for you. Or buy the wedges and slice it super thin yourself.

If you like, you could go one step simpler for weeknight prep on this recipe, by using store-bought marinara, but making your own takes all of 17 minutes, and again, let’s you streamline the fat and sodium content for one of the world’s healthiest sauces. The sauce can be made in advance and will keep at least 1 week tightly covered in the refrigerator. The croutons can also be made in advance. Just be sure they’re completely cool before storing at room temperature in an airtight container.

 

Chicken “Parm” Casserole with Gluten-Free Garlic Croutons

Serves 8

 

Gluten-Free Garlic Croutons:

(Makes 3 cups)

6 Tablespoons EVOO

4 medium cloves garlic, pressed, or minced fine (1 Tablespoon)

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed between your fingers

5 heaping cups gluten-free* white bread, cut into ½-inch cubes (about 8 slices, preferably stale)

 

4 cups Easy Chunky Marinara

2 pounds chicken tenders

Salt and freshly ground pepper

8 ounces thinly sliced Daiya “Mozzarella”

6-8 leaves basil, for garnish

 

1. To make croutons preheat oven to 350°F. Combine EVOO, garlic, salt, and oregano in a small bowl, whisking well to combine.

2. Put bread cubes in a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil mixture, tossing gently with a rubber spatula. Use the rubber spatula to scrape out all the oil mixture onto the bread cubes. Once tossed to coat evenly, transfer bread cubes to a baking tray, evenly spaced into a single layer. Bake 20-25 minutes, using a spatula to turn the croutons once halfway through baking, until lightly golden and dry. Note that staler bread will bake more quickly, since it has less moisture to bake out. Transfer croutons from oven to a wire cooling rack, and let cool to room temperature.

3. Meanwhile, make the Easy Chunky Marinara sauce. Set aside.

4. To assemble the casserole, wash and pat the chicken tenders dry.   Sprinkle both sides liberally with salt and pepper.  Spread 1 cup of marinara in the bottom of a 9 x 12-inch baking dish. Transfer the tenders to the baking dish in a single layer.

5. Spoon 2 cups of marinara evenly over chicken, making sure all the tenders are covered with sauce. Bake in center of oven 20 minutes.

6. Remove from the oven, and layer on half the thinly sliced cheese in a single layer.  Top evenly with the croutons. Top croutons with the remaining half of the cheese. Bake 20 minutes more, until the sauce is bubbling up around the edges and the cheese has melted, and the chicken registers 155°F-160°F on a meat thermometer. (Please note that really small tenders might take 5 minutes less, so check them early.)

7. Transfer casserole from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.  Serve garnished with coarsely torn basil, or cut into a chiffonade. Cut casserole into servings, and transfer to a plate with a spatula. Serve with a little of the remaining marinara sauce on the side.

* For allergy-friendly bread that’s gluten-free and free of the top-8 allergens, see Ener-G.

 

Allergy-Free Chicken “Parm” with Gluten-Free Garlic Croutons © 2012 by Cybele Pascal (This recipe first appeared in the September issue of Easy Eats)

Please note that all my recipes are completely free of all top allergens (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish, and gluten), so as many people as possible can enjoy them. Additionally, all the ingredients are available at Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.com. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I’ll help you find it.

SAFETY NOTE: Because each person’s food sensitivity and reaction is unique, ranging from mild intolerance to life-threatening and severe food allergies, it is up to the consumer to monitor ingredients and manufacturing conditions. If manufacturing conditions, potential cross contact between foods, and ingredient derivatives pose a risk for you, please re-read all food labels and call the manufacturer to confirm potential allergen concerns before consumption. Ingredients and manufacturing practices can change overnight and without warning.