When I asked my husband how the pancakes were, he said “Great! Can’t you tell?” As he handed me an empty plate just 5 minutes after I handed him a full one. Could he tell that they were made with whole spelt flour? Nope. Did he detect anything missing from the lack of refined sugars? Not a chance. Did he notice the added dose of protein? He's a man, it was surely welcomed if anything. But the texture, surely it wasn't quite right without eggs? Slightly different perhaps, but fluffy and uber cake-like ... just the way he likes them.

My guide was the Fluffy Fruited Pancakes from Ricki Heller's new cookbook, Sweet Freedom, and I cannot tell you how much I love her pancake recipes! They are actually made with whole spelt flour and use everyday pantry ingredients. In fact, all of the recipes in Sweet Freedom are wheat-free (many are also gluten-free), vegan (dairy-free and egg-free), and free from refined sugars.

One of my biggest frustrations with dairy-free living used to be veggie burgers. Either they had some sneaky cheese hidden within or were soy burgers attempting to mimic the beefy versions. I don't know about you, but I eat veggie burgers for the veggie burger experience. If I wanted a hamburger or turkey burger, then that is what I would order.

Thankfully, companies like Amy's began inching into the very veggie market with vegan options that were (and are) mighty tasty. But purchasing pre-packaged foods isn't always the most economical solution. Plus, experimenting with your own veggie burgers at home can yield so many different varieties, textures, and flavor sensations. Personally, I have just touched upon the veggie burger potential, but here are a couple recipes, one that I have personally enjoyed, plus a new vegan burger from Chef Levana ...

Though we aren't in peak carrot season, carrots are readily available year round and can be made into a delicious and refreshing summer soup such as the one below. This recipe is featured from the July 2009 issue of Foods Matter, a magazine (available online and in print) dedicated to food allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities. It uses simple, everyday ingredients, but is spiked with a healthy dose of seaweed for both flavor and nutrition. Overall, the soup is a good source of vitamins A and B6, and is suitable for most diets ... include vegan / vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, low fat, and paleo diets. Plus, all you need is four basic ingredients (plus a little sea salt and pepper) to enjoy!

À La Mode, the new vegan ecookbook from Hannah Kaminsky, may contain some of the most creative and enticing vegan ice cream recipes to date .... but Miss Kaminsky just can't stop dreaming up new flavor and dessert combinations. This Root Beer Ice Cream swimming in vanilla creme soda, is a bonus recipe (not found in her ecookbook) that she has offered to share for our Sweet Sundays ...

"Exhausted, overheated, and above all else, thirsty enough to down the contents of an entire water cooler in one big gulp, it’s the oppressive humidity that makes it near impossible to think of cooking or eating real food. Instead, my thoughts instantly drift over towards frozen treats, iced teas, sodas, and many combinations of the three. Right behind the classic soft serve cone, brown cows (otherwise known as root beer floats) are my absolutely favorite way to take the edge off of an unbearably hot summer day ...

This month on Taste & Create, a blog event where you choose a recipe to make from your given partner's website, I was paired up with Divya Vikram of the blog Dil Se. Though her baked bread recipes seriously tempted me, I thought I might be missing the whole experience if I didn’t trial an Indian recipe from her blog. I decided on the Aloo Paratha, or personal-sized, Indian Potato-Stuffed Flatbreads, alongside the quick and creamy Lightly Curried Cruciferous Soup from Go Dairy Free. Yes, it was still technically bread, but no oven required, bonus!

Though my ratios need to be perfected, this multi-step recipe was surprisingly simple, and it really flowed.  I kneaded the no-yeast bread within a few minutes, set it aside to rest, made the potatoes (while the potatoes were boiling I put the soup on), rolled the dough out, plopped in the potato, bundled them up, flattened, pan-fried, and viola! A nice, flavorful, inexpensive, whole-grain, and dare I say, adventurous vegetarian meal. Okay, so mine aren’t quite perfection … yet. But that doesn’t take away from the taste. Though this flatbread making does take practice, you should have some tasty and doable results on the first try.

Kelly Rudnicki has been dazzling me for months with her food allergy-friendly homestyle recipes on her blog Food Allergy Mama. She has a cookbok due out in the fall, Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book, but until it arrives, she has plenty of recipes to entice. Like this seasonally delicious dairy-, egg-, and nut-free Cherry Pie ...

"My mother-in-law, Jeanne, makes this pie all year long using the fantastic tart cherries of Door County, Wisconsin. She gets them fresh during cherry season and freezes them in quart-sized freezer bags. Get in the habit of picking in-season fruit and freezing for later; your pies will thank you ...