Sweet Sundays: Amy ~ When I first learned to bake gluten-free, my choices felt limited. I didn’t know it at the time, but a world of possibilities was opening up before me. Instead of just white or wheat flour, I had buckwheat, teff, quinoa, brown rice, garbanzo bean, and sorghum flours to choose from. 

Then there’s this stuff called ‘coconut flour’ that’s got a mind of its own - Delicious, tender, slightly sweet, and tons of fun. Did I mention frugal?  You can really make an entire 8 inch cake with less than 1/2 cup of finely shredded coconut meat. 

The options were endless, too, when I started baking without dairy.  I tried hemp, almond, oat, and rice milks, each with its own taste and consistency.  Cashew and coconut creams, palm shortening, fruit purees, and nutritional yeast have all been able to fool even the pickiest of eaters.

Here I use unsweetened almond milk because I like the natural sweetness it imparts.  Feel free to substitute any dairy-free milk you have on hand.  Double the recipe and make a frosted layer cake. Or, toss the cake concept out the window and make a batch of muffins.

Frugal Foodie Friday: My pantry overfloweth with heavy, space-hogging foods, not something I want when preparing to pack for a move. Gradually, I have been chipping away at the provisions, making loads of hearty favorites like Split Pea Soup and Mushroom Barley Soup. But what to do with those lentils? Truth be told, I needed a soup break. So I turned to one of my favorite vegan authors, Robin Robertson for some suggestions.

As expected, Robin had a whole arsenal of lentil recipes that went far beyond your traditional lentil soup or lentil curry. I have tagged her recipes for Linguine with Lentils and Roasted Butternut Squash (uses pasta, canned tomatoes, and broth up too!) and Smokey Joe’s, but my first lentil go was her Better Than Bean Burgers from Vegan on the Cheap.

I had to make a few adjustments based on what I had on hand and because my wheat gluten seems to have super-binding power (see below for gluten-free option also), but overall, I stayed true to the recipe. And I must say, I absolutely loved the texture! ...

Never in a million years could I have expected that my husband (a former cream and cheese lover) would not only enjoy, but request Tofutti ice cream and frozen desserts …

When I was contacted by Tofutti to trial some of their frozen desserts, I wanted to say “no thank you,” really I did. These days taking on new product reviews is more time consuming than I can usually manage, and the last thing I needed was more sugary desserts in our home. I tried, I really tried to turn down the offer. My hands hovered over the keys, immobile. I sat, I kid you not, for (what seemed like an eternity) a solid two minutes just staring at that email. And suddenly, without control, I quickly typed “I’d be happy to” and hit send before logic could take control.

You see, her timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We had literally just come off of our first Tofutti experience. As you may have read, we wanted to (and quite frankly expected to) dislike their ice cream, but my husband and I loved it. We have sampled most brands of vegan ice cream on the market, and this, the humble and nearly original frozen vegan dessert, is the only one that he has actually suggested we purchase again.

It is time to show the foodie community just how delicious dairy-free is! Two of our Go Dairy Free recipes have made it into the finals for the Everyday Chef Challenge by Pacific Foods. The recipes are going head to head against dozens of cheesy recipes, and we could use your vote to help conquer them all. Both recipes are dairy-free, egg-free, and tested vegan. Just a quick click to cast your vote (no registrations required) ...

Vote Here for Alisa's Bakery-Soft Butternut Spinach Rolls

Vote Here for Alisa's Rich & Hearty Mushroom Barley Soup

Please note, this is the finalist round, so even if you voted in a previous round, you can vote again ... and you can vote every day!! Thank you for your support of Go Dairy Free!