Sweet Sundays: Linda Coss was my role model when I began to share my dairy-free journey. Even though she cuts out eggs, nuts, and dairy due to her son’s multiple food allergies, her recipes are simple, tasty, and use everyday ingredients (rather than hard to find substitutes). The following recipe from her second cookbook is also vegan, but be sure to select your sugar wisely (using beet and/or organic sugars) as the refining process of cane sugar can involve non-vegan practices …

Linda ~ My son loves oatmeal cookies, and the Oatmeal Cookie recipe in my first cookbook (“What’s to Eat? The Milk-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free Food Allergy Cookbook”) has been a favorite for years. So when I was working on my second cookbook (appropriately named “What Else is to Eat?”), I gave a lot of thought as to how I could possibly improve upon that recipe.

The result of my experimentation is this recipe for amazingly delicious Apricot Oatmeal Chews. Put out a platter full at your holiday get-together, and watch them disappear!

I’m working on creating photos for the recipes in my book, Go Dairy Free, and this week decided to make the Condensed Creme of Mushroom Soup in honor of the holidays. This recipe is amazingly dairy-free, vegan, soy-free, nut-free, optionally gluten-free, AND low fat! Heck, you can even make it organic if you wish. Most recipes for condensed creme (or cream) of mushroom soup use loads of butter or margarine – totally unnecessary, and quite frankly, not as “authentically” Campbell’s. The time-tested that recipe that I have created for Go Dairy Free will amaze you and slide right in as a perfect substitute for the overly-processed canned version.

This was my first full-fledged attempt at doing step-by-step photos. The interesting thing is, there really weren’t that many steps to capture. This is a surprisingly simple recipe. It is one that you can whip up within 15 minutes, and all while you are preparing other Thanksgiving goodies. Yes, if I didn’t get you at dairy-free or low fat, perhaps “fast & easy” will win you over.

The recipe for this “Almost Campbell’s” Condensed Creme of Mushroom Soup is on p182 of Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook. If you don’t have the book and need this recipe in a jiffy, you can also get an ebook version instantly. Just see the Where to Purchase page for links to the iPad, Kindle, PDF, and Kobo versions, in addition to where you can buy physical copies.

Now, onto those photos …

Michelle ~ A few years ago I had to come up with a replacement for my Mom's standard Pepperridge Farm Italian Breadcrumb stuffing for Thanksgiving. I grew up on the stuffing from the recipe on the back of that bag, but that year one of my sons had been diagnosed with Autism. We had gone gluten-free / casein-free (gfcf) and I couldn't imagine a Thanksgiving without her stuffing, or no stuffing. My world had been turned upside down and I really wanted something familiar that everyone could eat.

How to make stuffing without tons of butter? I needed Italian sausage that was gfcf. And of course, no breadcrumbs. After a few mishaps, I finally pulled one together that my entire family can eat and they actually love it. I ditched the breadcrumbs for gfcf egg-free cornbread, replaced butter with olive oil and made my own sausage. In fact (dare I say it) my version is better than the one I grew up on. Shhhh don't tell Mom.

I absolutely love gifting food. But several years ago, I came upon a personal dilemma. I can’t have dairy myself, and no longer felt right making or purchasing dairy-laden foods for others. I have always felt like a gift should be something I would want myself, and quite frankly, milk chocolate and butter cookies aren’t on my Christmas list. Not to mention, I feel like dairy-free is misunderstood. People automatically assume a lesser product. So over the years I have set out to disprove them … baking delicious gifts in my own kitchen and seeking out manufacturers of tasty dairy-free goodies.

I am just amazed it took me so long to try Allison’s Gourmet. This is an all-vegan bakery, so no eggs or dairy (milk products) on the premises. I asked Allison if I could sample an assortment, just a bit of each type of product they sell. What I received was a beautiful box (loved the iridescent purple tissue … gorgeous!) that was carefully packed with each of the following …