It seems like just yesterday that I sat in my makeshift office in our first home, typing up the first pages for GoDairyFree.org. Over five years have passed and in that time I have continued on to produce Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook, publish My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky, and add well over 4000 pages of content to GoDairyFree.org in the form of news, health information, dining suggestions, product reviews, and of course, recipes. In May 2010 we hit the 1000 recipe mark on GoDairyFree.org, and the numbers just keep on climbing.

GoDairyFree.org is of course dedicated to milk-free recipes, but we recognize that many viewers follow additional free-from guidelines. To help with this, we include free-from notes right in the header of each recipe. As you scan the recipes lists, you can see at a glance if the recipe is Vegan (egg-free and free of animal products), just Egg-Free (if it isn’t noted as vegan), Gluten-Free or just Wheat-Free, Nut-Free, and/or Soy-Free.

Technically, smoothie season never comes to an end in my kitchen. Blending up fruits and veggies is pretty much a daily occurrence in the Fleming household ... I just make sure to keep some tea on call for warming me back up on chillier mornings.

Yet, as the days grow longer and warmer, my cravings for smoothies and shakes are amplified. I do have an arsenal of flavors and blends to suit my different moods, as I am sure you have seen from some of my past recipes, and will surely see in recipes to come ... but today I thought I would feature a collection of smoothie recipes from one of my favorite cookbook authors, Levana Kirschenbaum. Levana offered up four very different smoothie recipes ... chocolate, berry, "green," tropical ... seriously, I will be surprised if at least one (if not all) of these recipes doesn't send you straight to the kitchen.

Fire up those blenders and prepare for a summer of sweet smoothies ...

Oh my goodness, does this lady know her way around diner food! I loved how the author of American Vegan Kitchen, Tamasin Noyes, offers tidbits on “diner speak” throughout this cookbook that ventures well beyond your traditional greasy spoon. She seamlessly ties each recipe into familiar American restaurant cuisine in one way or another, but really, this is a very unique collection of vegan cuisine.

Those who have turned to a vegan diet but are missing the indulgence factor will be jumping for joy over pseudo-familiar American-style recipes like the Beer-Battered Onion Rings, Tofu Rancheros, Vegan Sausage Links, Fork and Knife Reubens, Salisbury-Style Seitan with Mushrooms, Yankee Cornbread, New York-Style Cheesecake, Double Dark Mississippi Mud Pie, and Darngood Donut Bites. But be prepared for some new and exciting adventures that shout “nouveau bistro” more than “classic diner” … Fried Avocado Wedges, Savory Stuffed French Toast with Mustard Shallot Sauce, Poblano Macaroni Salad, Chickanini Sandwiches, Pesto Lasagna with Slow Roasted Tomatoes and Mushrooms, and Vanilla Espresso Shake … just to name a few.

I went the semi-traditional route and chose the …

Q: Donna - I have a coconut milk powder and noticed it contains milk proteins. Does this mean it is a milk product? I also have a non-dairy creamer that has sodium caseinate (a milk derivative) and have noticed many other commercial brand non-dairy creamers with this ingredient. Does this make it still a dairy product?

A: Alisa – In short, yes, these products do in fact contain dairy and could be considered a milk / dairy product. This is an easily confused issue due to the labeling that the FDA permits. The following is an excerpt from my book, Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook, which should answer your question:

“The FDA has created a regulatory definition for the term non-dairy, but amazingly, it does not equate to milk-free. A product labeled as non-dairy can contain 0.5% or less milk by weight, in the form of casein / caseinates (milk protein). This is why you may spot non-dairy creamers, non-dairy whipped toppings, and other non-dairy products that note milk on the ingredient statement. This does not mean that all products labeled as non-dairy contain milk, but it is a word of warning to always read the ingredient statement.”