Alisa Fleming ~ Tony and I were traveling for over a week, and I’ve returned to be buried in emails and laundry. Honestly, as much as I love cooking, the last thing I feel like doing right now is planning meals. Fortunately, I received a convenience food delight while away, frozen eggplant cutlets that are dairy-free!

It is important to note that I absolutely love eggplant, but typically, Tony does not. Regardless, lunch was on deck, and he was going to eat whatever I made … which turned out to be a trio of tasty conveniences: Baked Eggplant Cutlets with Barilla Basilico Marinara (and some simmered mushrooms), and topped with Lindsay Naturals Sliced Green Olives. Yes, someone has received some wonderfully tasty food as of lately (that would be me), and it culminated into this near-gourmet, 15-minute lunch for two.

I opted for the baking directions for the eggplant, laying them on a cookie sheet and allowing them to roast for the full 15 minutes. I even broiled them for 2 additional minutes to crisp up the breading a bit. The kitchen smelled amazing while these cooked!

Jennifer ~ In my previous article on Go Dairy Free, I talked about some of the healthier allergy-free foods that had recently hit our store shelves. Fortunately, this product segment is still maturing, and the past year has shown that companies are really paying attention to continuing consumer demands. The majority of allergy-friendly products launched previously were baking mixes or snacks, like cookies and bars. But manufacturers are now moving beyond these “starter” categories, creating some very unique convenience-type foods for food allergy families. Here is a selection of new gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan products that I am excited to see hitting the market:

Healthy Top Whipping Crème by MimicCreme: Up until this product became available, you were only able to have a non-dairy whipping crème if you were lucky enough to have a store that carried one in the refrigerated section. This product is shelf stable so not only is it a more attractive item for retailers to carry since it doesn’t take up valuable real estate in the refrigerated section, it can also be ordered online if it’s not available locally. This whipping creme is dairy-free, vegan, and made without gluten and soy.

Alisa Fleming ~ I’m about to make a rather bold statement here, but I think The Pure Kitchen by Hallie Klecker is my favorite new cookbook of the year. True, we aren’t a gluten-free household, but I love dabbling in the art of gluten-free, particularly when the ingredients are wholesome and easy to find. And the Pure Kitchen is a truly wonderful whole food cookbook that is 100% dairy-free! I definitely love being able to say that last part.

To give you a little background, I met Hallie earlier this year at the Gluten-Free Allergen-Free Expo. She is incredibly adorable and the sweetest Midwestern girl, but I didn’t expect such an adventurous cook and baker behind that shy exterior! Hallie is one of those amazing people who can turn short ingredient lists into delicious meals, snacks, and treats. As I flipped through The Pure Kitchen, I found myself drawn into every single recipe. No exaggeration. Not only do they all sound great, but they also have these wonderfully simple, “everyday food” ingredient lists. In fact, I could make more than 50% of the recipes right now, without even having to go to the store. For the other 50%, just two more flours and some fresh ingredients, and I would be covered.

Of course, I couldn’t literally make all of the recipes (not yet, anyways), so I started with a selection of recipes that caught my eye …

Sweet Sundays: Ricki Heller ~ Growing up in Quebec, I assumed maple syrup was as common as my father’s ex-girlfriend (well, that’s what my mom used to say about her, anyway). So I never really thought much about maple syrup as anything but a substitute for sugar, used whenever a certain type of sweetness was required; it never occurred to me to showcase the auburn ambrosia as the primary flavor in its own right.

Not until, that is, I received an amazing sample of Coombs Family Farms Pure Organic Maple Syrup in the mail. I was agog as soon as I inhaled the stuff and immediately set about creating. I thought it only fitting to highlight this rich flavor in cupcakes that were entirely infused with maple flavor. And where does one go to find a foolproof cupcake–of any flavor or variety your fancy might touch upon?  Why, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, of course!

I started with Isa and Terry’s recipe for Maple Cupcakes and made some of my usual modifications. The result was a single serving treat with an incredibly light crumb and gorgeous, heady maple aroma.  I didn’t bother to include the original’s 1-1/4 teaspoons maple extract (the syrup I had was that good)–and these were still intensely maple.