No Cook Tomato Free Ketchup

I've been working on a tomato free ketchup for about a year now. I tried to base this on my tomato free sauce but it was a lot more work and wasn't quite as good as this one. I loosely based this on a couple of other recipes I found that contained pears, carrots and cranberry sauce. Pears have a gritty texture that remained in the final ketchup.

No Cook Tomato Free Ketchup

Originally, I was using corn syrup as I thought the sugar wouldn't dissolve fully. It is much better with the sugar and if you mix it with the vinegar it dissolves. Finally, if you don't want to use beet juice you can use 8-10 drops of red food coloring (but you can't taste the beets).

Ingredients:

1/3 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

1 14oz can of yams (drained and reserved)
1 14oz can of cranberry sauce3 tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8-1/16 tsp ground clove (less than two heads)
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder

Juice from a 8oz can of beets (or red food coloring) as needed

How to make No Cook Tomato Free Ketchup:

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar.

Drain the yams, reserving the liquid for later.

Place all ingredients except the beets/food coloring in a blender and blend until smooth. If needed add the reserved liquid from the yams in small amounts until you have the correct consistency.

Stir in beet juice in small amounts until you get the color you would like (I use less than half the liquid in an 8oz can). (If not using beet juice, 8-10 drops of food coloring should be about right.)

Chill before using.

Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. (Each batch of mine lasts for months.)

Make 3.5-4 cups.

Other tomato free recipes you may be interested in:

Tomato Free Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

Mango, Cucumber, Jicama, and Avocado Salad Recipe

All other Tomato Free Recipes

Dairy Free Penne alla Vodka Recipe (Tomato Free/Gluten Free)

Penne alla vodka (or penne a la vodka if you prefer) is the trifecta of food intolerances for me: it's main ingredients are gluten, dairy, and tomato. I had tried making it years ago (when I was just gluten and dairy free) but I used soy milk. Soy milk has a very distinct flavor that is difficult to hide in any dish and my dairy free penne alla vodka was no exception.

Dairy free Penne alla Vodka (gluten free and tomato free)

I recently saw a coconut milk creamer in my local supermarket and decided to try again. Now plain coconut milk creamer (sold in a 16oz carton with the other coffee creamers) has a very slight coconut flavor to it, but that flavor (unlike the soy) was completely undetectable in the final dish.

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup of vodka
1 cup plain coconut milk creamer*
1 pound gluten free penne
1 cup tomato free sauce**
1 small bunch fresh chopped basil***
Vegan Parmesan topping

* can also use soy milk creamer but coconut has a less noticeable flavor (both are found with the dairy coffee creamers; be sure they are unflavored/plain)
** substitute 1 cup tomato puree if not tomato free
*** omit if using tomato free sauce that has already been seasoned.

How to make dairy free penne alla vodka:

Saute two chopped cloves of garlic in olive oil in a large saute pan until starting to brown (about 5 minutes)

Measure 1/4 cup of vodka away from the stove. [WARNING: do not pour directly from vodka bottle into the pan as the bottle could catch fire and explode.] Add to the pan bring to a low boil. Boil for about 5 minutes.

Add the cup of coconut milk creamer, bring to a boil then lower to a simmer for about 20 minutes (sauce should reduce by about half).

While the sauce is simmering prepare the penne according to directions.

After the simmer, add 1 cup of tomato free sauce and the chopped basil. [Note, you can use the un-herbed sauce prior to step 7 or the finished sauce after step 8. If using the finished sauce, there is no need to add more basil here, but you can if you like.]

Cook until heated through (about 5 minutes) being careful to not overcook (the beets in the sauce will brown if you do).

Toss the cooked and drained pasta in the sauce and serve! Garnish with Vegan Parmesan topping if desired.

Other dairy free sauces (gluten and tomato free as well) you may be interested in:

Dairy Free Swedish Meatball Recipe

Dairy Free Alfredo Sauce Recipe

Or check my full list of recipes and the allergens they are free of.

Restaurant Review: River Edge Pizza Kitchen (River Edge, NJ)

My first Meatball Parm Sub in years!

Gluten Free / Dairy Free Meatball Parm Sub

I recently had lunch (and took home dinner) from River Edge Pizza Kitchen (830 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge, NJ 07661) and enjoyed it greatly. I first heard about the restaurant from the Northern NJ Celiac Meetup. I was particularly drawn to the fact that they also offer dairy free / vegan cheese. In addition, they have gluten free pasta, gluten free pizza crust (imported from italy), gluten free fries, gluten free fried calamari (both in a dedicated frier), gluten free heros, gluten free bread crumbs, gluten free wraps, gf garlic bread, and gluten free meatballs.

The restaurant is a store front with a couple of small tables upfront to eat in. The food is some of the best Italian food I've had but a bit expensive. The pizza crust was soft and came in its own foil lined pan. The hero rolls are Schar and the vegan cheese is daiya. There is a $3 surcharge for gluten free items (and a $5 surcharge on the gluten free dinners) [not sure if there was an up-charge for the vegan cheese].

Gluten Free French Fries

The grandchildren of the owners (husband and wife) are gluten free and dairy free and even the husband himself is now finding he has issues with gluten.

If I lived or worked closer this is somewhere I would go back to – especially for gluten free / dairy free meatball parm, gf/df chicken parm or a gf/df pizza!







Here are some other gluten free Italian/Pizza options:

Pizza Fusion for GF/DF pizza

La Riviera Trattoria (no dairy free cheese but amazing food)

All NJ Restaurants with Gluten Free Menus

Restaurant Review: PositiviTea (Verona, NJ)

A quirky little vegan cafe!

Gluten Free / Dairy Free Big WAC wrap

Warning: this review is mostly for my dairy free / vegan followers. PositiviTea does offer a number of gluten free options as well but they are a small tea shop with shared prep space and a shared panini press. They do offer to clean both, but caution that there still may be cross contamination.

I've eaten at PositiviTea (550 Bloomfield Avenue, Verona, NJ 07044) twice already and since it is right around the corner from me, I hope to eat here quite a bit more as well. They offer a full menu of assorted teas (most of the herbals they mix themselves), smoothies (all gloriously dairy free), burgers, wraps, and waffles.  The wraps can be made gluten free, the waffles are gluten free, and I've had them make a burger on a wrap instead as well (sometimes they have portabello mushrooms as buns for the burgers).

Gluten Free Waffles with Dairy Free Ice Cream

The first time I went I had the Big WAC as a wrap. This is their take of a McDonalds Big Mac and the taste is pretty spot-on. Two vegan patties, special sauce (vegan of course), vegan mayo, vegan cheese, lettuce, pickles and onions. All with a side of gluten free chips. For those of you who recall how much I raved about the vegan burger I got from the Green Radish (review) this certainly gives it a run for the money!

The second time I had the Apple Pie Waffles - three apple cinnamon gluten free waffles (I suspect Van's) with raw agave nectar, vegan soft serve ice cream and a side of bananas and apples.

If you go, say hi to Abe and do be sure to take a look at the ceiling!

Other vegan / vegetarian restaurants you might be interested in:

Nectar Cafe (Glen Rock, NJ)

Loving Hut (Ledgewood, NJ)

And my full list of Restaurants with Gluten Free menus is flagged with vegan/vegetarian options as well.

Restaurant Review: From Seed to Sprout

Finally, a brunch where I can eat almost anything I want!

Gluten Free Vegan French Toast at From Seed to Sprout

Recently, I met one of my Celiac Support Groups at From Seed to Sprout (410 Main Street, Avon-By-The-Sea, NJ 07717) for brunch. They're closed Monday, open for breakfast/lunch during the week, and brunch on the weekends (although they do some dinner nights by reservation only). The brunch menu is a bit different from the weekday menu so some of the items we had may not be available during the week.

The restaurant is entirely vegan and has quite a few gluten free options as well (although not all of them are marked on the menu so you'll have to ask). [Only the pancakes couldn't be done gluten free, their only other gluten items were sandwich bread, rolls and english muffins, but they have a delicious gluten free millet and flax seed bread that can be substituted in (and our non-gf waitress stated the gf bread tasted better anyway)!] The juices / smoothies were all vegan (so no worries about cc with milk) although they did offer wheat grass (which if grown/harvested correctly is gluten free).

Grilled Avocado Sandwich on Gluten Free Bread

We ordered a variety of gluten free / vegan meals as well as some freshly prepared juices / smoothies. The gluten free / vegan french toast was amazing (since I can't handle a lot of egg, I haven't had real french toast in years)! Those who ordered it, raved about the grill avocado sandwich. And everyone was enamored with the coconut bacon!

From Seed to Sprout also has two dessert cases, one is for gluten containing baked goods and the other is for their raw vegan desserts which are all gluten free! Since our entire group was gluten free we decided to order one (or two) of every dessert and sample them all. The desserts were all great but the real standout for me was the lemon goji macaroon!

Our Line of Raw, Vegan,
Gluten Free Desserts

This is definitely somewhere I plan on returning to (especially to try that grilled avocado sandwich!)

If you're looking for some other shore area restaurants try:

Via Roma

Good Karma Cafe

Papa Ganache

Or check my full NJ GF Restaurant List!

Bakery Review: Pink Frosting Bakery (Verona, NJ)

Last year a vegan cupcake shop opened up next to the barber I go to.  They had decorated their front window long before opening and announced that not only would they be totally vegan but that they would cater to gluten free customers as well.  I have had cupcakes from Pink Frosting (534 Bloomfield Avenue, Verona, NJ 07044) a number of times since then and have been quite pleased (even though it has taken me way too long to finally review them).

Vegan / Gluten Free Cupcakes (Vanilla Spice / Banana Split)
from Pink Frosting Bakery in Verona, NJ

Their shop is a store front on Bloomfield Avenue directly across from Verona Park.  [There is no street parking directly in front of their shop but a large municipal lot down Park Place around the corner.] They have display cases of pre-made vegan cupcakes including two to four gluten free varieties (flavors vary). They are not just a cupcake shop however, they offer to make any of their cupcake flavors as cakes with advanced notice and they do special orders on flavors of cupcakes as well.  Their menu lists a dozen different cupcake flavors and states that nine of them can be gluten free!

Over the past year, I've noticed that both the number of daily gluten free offerings and the variety of flavors has increased quite a bit.  Their frosting is surprisingly light and airy / fluffy.  Truth be told, I'm not really sure how to describe it other than to say it is the best dairy free frosting I've had.

The entire shop is vegan and although they charge slightly more for vegan/gluten free cupcakes it is still a reasonable price compared to other gf bakeries.


Other bakeries you may want to try:

Papa Ganache Vegan Bakery

Or any of the others on my New Jersey Gluten Free Bakery List.

Food Truck Review: The Green Radish (vegan with gluten free options)

A vegan burger so good, I'd consider giving up meat!

The weekend before last, I attended the annual summer Montclair Jazz Festival in Nishuane Park.  I had found out about the Festival from a press release announcing a new vegan food truck: The Green Radish. Being dairy free and mostly egg free, vegan food can often be quite safe (unless there is a lot of wheat gluten used as a meat replacer).  

Vegan Black Bean Burger on Gluten Free bread
from The Green Radish

When I arrived at the truck, I was a little concerned that the menu doesn't mention gluten free at all.  A quick inquiry revealed that not only were a number of their menu items already naturally gluten free, they offered gluten free bread for all of their sandwiches as well!

[Just a quick note, since I'm not vegan and my issue with eggs is minor, I only confirmed the bread was gluten and dairy free, I did not confirm it was egg free as well.]

For lunch, I had the Black Bean Burger.  This was by far the best burger (beef or vegan) I have had in years (and possibly ever)!  The bread held together nicely and the vegan chipotle mayo was incredible (I can't handle mayo made from egg so this was a nice change).  I was actually too full afterwards to immediately go back for dessert.

Being both dairy and gluten free means I almost never get dessert.  There are two gluten free / vegan desserts at The Green Radish: Grilled Seasonal Fruit in a Vanilla Sauce and a Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunchy Quinoa Cup (which I did get to try later in the day). It is a vegan chocolate candy about the size of a large marshmallow with a hard outer chocolate shell studded with quinoa and a soft peanut butter and mint center [no not mint flavor, actual fresh mint leaves].  Their other two desserts currently contain gluten but they have trialed them using gluten free flours and hope to change over at some point in the future.

Diners lining up for some amazing
vegan fare from The Green Radish!

And now for the downside - the Green Radish is a brand new food truck and they are still working out the details of where and when you can catch up with them.  From their facebook page it appears they've been out and about for a couple of weeks now.  Hopefully their website/facebook/twitter will be filled with appearances soon!  

I'm already stalking them here: The Green Radish on Facebook and here The Green Radish on Twitter and hope to eat from them again soon!



If you're looking for some other great take-away vegan / vegetarian food in NJ try the Nectar Cafe (review) in Glen Rock. For sit down dining I've flagged the vegan friendly options on my list of NJ Restaurants with Gluten Free Menus as well.

Mango, Cucumber, Jicama, and Avocado Salad Recipe (vegan / gluten free)

I've made this salad a couple of times this summer for various cookouts and barbecues and it has been a hit at each. Jicama might be a little harder to find but a number of local supermarkets have had it for me.

Jicama, Mango, Cucumber, and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

1 mango
1 medium cucumber
1 jicama
1 avocado

Dressing:

1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2" piece of ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

How to prepare Mango, Cucumber, and Jicama Salad:

Peel, pit and dice the mango.  (Keep dice size the same for all four fruits/veggies - somewhere between 1/4" and 1/2" should be fine.)

Peel and dice the cucumber.

Peel and dice the jicama.(sometimes jicama skin is too tough for my potato peeler if so, use a knife instead)

Pit, remove from skin and dice the avocado.

Combine mango, cucumber, jicama, avocado in a large bowl.

In a smaller bowl combine grated ginger, minced garlic, chopped cilanto, olive oil, juice of one lemon, salt and pepper.  Mix until combined being careful not to over mix.  [As a time saver I like to add my dressing ingredients to my magic bullet to both chop the herbs/spices and combine.  If you do this, don't add the lemon juice until after or it will emulsify and you'll have a mayonnaise more than a dressing!]

Pour over salad and toss.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Makes 4-6 side dish servings

Enjoy!



If you're looking for another great cookout recipe, you may want to try my Black Bean Quinoa Salad!

And don't forget to check my full list of Recipes (Gluten Free / Dairy Free / Allergens listed).

Restaurant Review: Nectar Cafe (Glen Rock, NJ)

Best Cinnabun I've ever had!

Vegan Watermelon Cucumber Gazpacho from Nectar Cafe

I usually bring my own lunch to work.  It is a rare day the cafeteria hasn't added wheat or dairy to at least part of the two lunch options and the GF/DF options around the office can be a bit of a drive.  20 minutes is at the far end of what I'll drive for lunch, but it turns out that the Nectar Cafe (175 Rock Road, Glen Rock, NJ 07452 [behind the CVS in the far back of their parking lot]) is well worth it!  [My GPS took me to their address which is on Rock Road, I parked across the street and walked.  However, they are a good block off of Rock Road at the far end of the parking lot.]

I want to start by pointing out that Nectar Cafe is in the middle of an expansion so I'll have to re-review them once their addition is finished.  They are expanding into the store front next to them so the location will remain the same, only be bigger, with an expanded menu and even some seating.  Not sure if their hours will change but for now they are 8am-6pm weekdays and 7:30am-1pm on the weekends.

Vegan / Gluten Free Crabcakes at Nectar Cafe

Right now, it is a small juice / smoothie bar with some pre-prepared items and made to order wraps.  Sadly, the wraps are all wheat based but they are hoping to add a gluten free wrap once the expansion is complete.  Other than the wraps, the only other wheat I saw was wheat grass for the juices (which if grown and harvested correctly can be gluten free although I didn't confirm).  All of the desserts were both gluten and dairy free including surprisingly enough the one that contained oats (I asked and it turns out they used gluten free oats)!  They listed rice, cashew and almond milk for the smoothies but some also contained yogurt.

The only other dairy item I saw was goat cheese on their pizza but they are looking to offer a vegan pizza as well.  However, what they offer in their display case changes from day-to-day so double check.

Vegan Raw Gluten Free YUMM CinnaBUN! from Nectar Cafe

I ended up having the watermelon and cucumber gazpacho and vegan crabcakes (gluten free as well).  The soup was outstanding and the 'crab' cakes were quite good as well.  The tartar sauce for the crab cakes was the highlight of the dish.

Finally, I was going to have the vegan 'snickers' cup but then I asked about the oats and found out they were gluten free.  So I switched to the YUMM CinnaBUN! and am glad I did.  It was delicious and easily better (both tastier and obviously healthier) than the fat, gluten, and calorie laden mess one can get in the mall!  [The label doesn't specify gf oats so double check when you go.]

I'm already looking forward to going back and trying their other offerings (ok, ok, mostly their other desserts)!

If you're looking for other gluten free / vegan restaurants try:

Good Karma Café (Red Bank, NJ)

Papa Ganache (Matawan, NJ)

Loving Hut (Ledgewood, NJ)

Gluten Free Bakery List Updates

I've been quite behind on updating the gluten free bakery list but here are the latest 11 additions.  Click here for the full list of Gluten Free Bakeries, the updates are listed below:


Bashful Banana Bakery and Cafe (946 Boardwalk on Ocean Colony Walk (between 9th & 10th), Ocean City, NJ 08226) They’ve got quite a few vegan options and will substitute gluten free bread (other allergens unknown) for $.75 more. They also have gluten free/vegan muffins. I’ve never been.

CakeOver (79 N Beverwyck Road, Lake Hiawatha, NJ 07034)(Lake Hiawatha may appear as Parsippany on your GPS) – dedicated gluten free bakery. A number of GF items are / can be made dairy free as well. Entire facility is peanut free. I’ve gotten some desserts from here and they are quite good.

Just D’sserts in Elmwood Park has closed.

My Little Kupcake (685 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood, NJ 08108) – this regular bakery offers GF and Vegan cupcakes as well as GF and Vegan special orders.

Vegan / Gluten Free Cupcakes
from Pink Frosting in Verona, NJ

Pink Cake Box [Specialty Bake Shop] – this specialty bake shop will do unique gluten free specialty cakes / cupcakes as well for events/weddings. (The owner is gluten free.) This is not a retail location; items are available by special order only. (18 East Main Street #101, Denville, NJ 07834)

Pink Frosting Bakery (534 Bloomfield Avenue, Verona, NJ 07044) – a dedicated vegan cupcakery with 2-4 gluten free options as well. I’ve gotten cupcakes from here a number of times and highly recommend them. (Review coming soon.)

Posh Pop Bakery (86 Broad Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701) – I just ate here recently. This dedicated gluten free cake pop shop has a limited number of dairy free items. They will make dairy free / gluten free soft pretzels on special order in a choice of salted or with cinnamon and sugar.

SugarFlake Bakery has added a third location in Wyckoff, NJ. (397 Franklin Avenue, Wyckoff, NJ 07481)

Sweet Note Bagels – is a food service provider of gluten free bagels (also dairy free). You can't buy directly from them, but they are available at eight NJ locations so far: http://www.sweetnotebakery.com/locations.html and many other locations in and around Philadelphia, PA. I got to try them at the Appetite for Awareness last year in Philly and they are the closest to a real NY style bagel I’ve ever had gluten free!

Wildflour Bakery / Cafe (2691 Main Street, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648) – new dedicated gluten free bakery and cafe. They have limited dairy free options but these include vegan crepes, coconut macarons and some other cafe items (soup, salad, smoothie). Only open for breakfast and lunch (brunch on weekends). Closed Mondays. I haven't been yet.


NY:

Flourbuds (116A Main Street, Nyack, NY 10960) – dedicated gluten free bakery with dairy free / vegan options.

Wild Flours Bake Shop (11 New Street, Huntington, NY 11743) – I just ate here a couple of weeks ago and greatly enjoyed it. They are a dedicated gluten free bake shop with a very limited number of items that are not also dairy free (95% are both GF/DF).


If I'm missing any bakeries please use the contact me form at the left and send them my way!

Gluten Free Baking Tips / Dairy Free Baking Tips

Baking is not an art; it’s a science.

I recently put together a list of baking tips for someone on a forum who was having some trouble getting started in GF/DF/egg free baking. Since I do all three (although not 100% on the eggs) I was able to provide some good insights and past lessons, so figured I’d share here as well.

Gluten Free / Dairy Free Biscuts

Baking isn't an art; it's a science. The more you deviate from a recipe (subbing out butter, milk, egg, etc) the less likely it will work out without major modifications. Therefore, my primary tip is to seek out recipes that were written to be free of a particular item. These recipes will most likely contain tips and strategies for getting a good result. If you make the substitutions below to other recipes you may not have the best of results and/or you may need to further modify to get things to come out right.

My main bit of advice is this: Keep a sense of humor! I can’t tell you how many cakes I’ve eaten as ‘brownies’ because they flopped, or desserts I’ve had to eat with a spoon when they fell apart. Usually the flavor is still there. Enjoy it, take notes on what went wrong and try again!

I’ve started with some general baking tips in case you are already following an allergen specific recipe and having issues, then moved on to specific Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Egg Free tips.


General Baking Tips:

• Check the date on your yeast or proof it before adding to confirm it is still good.

• Check your pans, dark pans require a different temperature than light pans. (You'll have to look this difference up if needed, most recipes are written for light colored pans.)

• If your recipes aren’t working out, get an oven thermometer to confirm the temperature of your oven.

• Add ingredients at room temperature unless the recipes notes otherwise (yes this means allowing any refrigerated items (flours, non-dairy milk, etc) to sit out a bit before baking).

Gluten Free Baking Tips:

• Measure your ingredients carefully and investigate if the recipe’s author has a particular technique (spooning vs. scooping, etc.). This can make a difference in the final product and throw off proportions of flours in a blend. The absolute most accurate method is to weigh your flours but very few recipes are written this way.

• If you are using rice flour, make sure it is finely ground. I can taste the difference between Bob’s Red Mill and Authentic Foods. Authentic Foods is much less ‘gritty’.

• Baked goods made primarily of rice flour tend to shrink and harden rapidly. The less rice flour in the recipe the less noticeable this is.

• Bean flours, soy flour, teff flour, quinoa flour and amaranth flour all have strong flavors and can easily over power a baked good. I use them sparingly or not at all. (Yes, I realize for the most part they are more nutritious.)

• Garbanzo bean flour (chick pea flour) quickly develops an aftertaste. I find baked goods are ok the first day but each progressive day the leftovers take on a more and more bitter taste. (I live alone and it takes me quite some time to finish a tray of brownies, etc.)

Dairy Free Baking Tips:

• Use almond, coconut, or help milk rather than rice milk. Dairy milk in a recipe provides both liquid and fat, rice milk doesn't have much fat. You may still need to add extra fat to the recipe depending on what it is.

• Don’t use soy milk. Unflavored soy milk has a distinctive taste that is very difficult to conceal when baking.

• Only use butter replacements that are formulated for baking. Butter replacements that aren't specifically for baking generally have too high a water content to work correctly.

Egg free Baking Tips:


There are a number of egg free methods and I’ve listed them below:

• I only ever tried the flax seed method once and it didn't work for me. If you’d like to try it is recommended to use golden flax as the color will be lighter. Basically, grind up flax seeds (pre-ground will go rancid faster so it is best to grind your own) in a coffee or spice grinder. Combine 3 tbsp of water per tbsp of ground flax seed (hot water will work faster) and set aside. The mixture will eventually (10 minutes or so) take on the texture of a raw egg which you can then use. Note: you will get some flax taste and grittiness from the ground up seeds in your final product. 3 tbsp of this mixture = 1 egg.

• Ener-G makes an egg replacer powder which I've had very good success with.

• I’ve used both whipped tofu (tofu run through a blender until smooth) and plain soy yoghurt successfully. 3tbsp = 1 egg. [Obviously these are out for those following a soy free diet.]

• I’ve heard of people using apple sauce as an egg replacer but I’ve never tried it. I would think this adds more liquid than the recipe calls for and one may need to adjust accordingly.

If you don't want to do your own baking, check out this review of Luce's Gluten Free Bread Mix.  They're gluten free, dairy free, soy free, nut free and egg free.  Best of all, you just add water and bake!  

Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes (Gluten Free / Vegan)

The secret to really good mashed potatoes is to fully cook the potatoes and whip them until past the point you think you should stop!

Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound potato peeled and quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
Almond milk as needed (about 1/4 cup)


How to prepare dairy free mashed potatoes:

Boil the potatoes until fork tender (about 25 minutes).  Drain the pan and begin to mash the potatoes either with a hand masher or with a mixer (turned off for now).  Moisten the potatoes with the olive oil and a small amount of the almond milk.  Begin to mash more vigoursly (or turn the electric mixer on) adding almond milk as you go until the potatoes reach the desired consistancy.  Remember you can always add more liquid, but you can't remove any! [Note: if you can't have almonds then try hemp milk. Rice milk will also work but it is thinner so you'll use less.]

I find that a pound of potatoes to start yields about 3 servings so adjust as needed.


Other gluten free / dairy free recipes:

Gluten Free Stuffing

Gluten Free Gravy

Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Product Review: Luce's Gluten Free Bread Mixes

I first met Charles Luce a couple of years ago at a Celiac Disease support group meeting.  That evening he was giving a talk on the techniques he had perfected for making a sour dough starter for gluten free sour dough bread (traditionally, sour dough starter is grown in a mixture of wheat flour).  He had brought along numerous loaves of fresh baked gluten free sour dough breads in various flavors.  These breads were good, hearty, crusty breads that didn't fall apart and are sorely lacking on the gluten free market.  He couldn't cut the sample loaves fast enough when it came time to try them!

Luce's Gluten Free Sour Dough
and Gluten Free Italian Breads

I next saw Charles at a gluten free dinner in Jersey City at Uno's Chicago Grill. At this point he was starting to work on pre-made mixes of his breads that you would bake at home.  He had brought along some test samples that we enjoyed with dinner and chatted about the hurdles of getting a gluten free business off the ground.

Well, I'm thrilled to announce that that business has now taken off.  Charles was at last night's Northern NJ Celiac Disease Meetup sampling his breads and selling mixes.  So far he's perfected two varieties: Classic Sour Dough and New Italian - both are amazing.  The breads have a perfect crust and aren't dry or crumbly like so many other GF breads.  The best part?  They couldn't be easier to make.

Each package comes with a pre-mixed gluten free flour blend.  Both are made in a gluten free facility, are dairy free, egg free, nut free, soy free and vegan with no added oil or sugar (the italian bread contains gf oats).  You simply add warm water and mix in a bowl, form the loaf on the included parchment paper, seal in the included oven bag, heat the oven and cookie sheet while the loaf rests, then bake for 85 minutes at 400 degrees!

For now the mixes are only available online at Luce's Gluten Free Artisan Bread.  Considering how good the bread is, it shouldn't be long before they start appearing on store shelves everywhere.

So just how good is the bread?  When the meeting was over and everyone filed out of the room last night, it appeared as if most were carrying a bag (or two) of Luce's Gluten Free Bread Mix home with them!

Restaurant Review: Via Roma (Toms River, NJ)

People have been mentioning Via Roma (2360 Route 9, Toms River, NJ 08755) to me for a while now. Since it is over an hour away, I put it on the list of restaurants I'd like to try at some point. The reality was I should have rushed there right away!

Gluten Free / Dairy Free Philly Cheese Steak
at Via Roma in Toms River, NJ

Via Roma has a full published gluten free menu (it is a tri-fold menu with small print, just like their regular menu). After pondering over the menu for 10 minutes, I started to ask about specific items to see if they were/could be made dairy free too. The owner shook his head and said, “oh, you’ve got the wrong menu.” “You want our Gluten Free / Dairy Free menu.” Um, there’s a gluten free / dairy free menu? Well, at Via Roma, there is! Any items that are gluten free/vegan are also clearly labeled on this menu. Oh, but wait, they're not done – there are also a number of gluten free / vegan cakes from Papa Ganache Vegan Bakery (review: Papa Ganache Vegan Bakery) for dessert!

Overall the GF/DF options are amazing. There are plenty of appetizers, a whole list of GF/DF sub sandwiches (courtesy of Three Bakers’ rolls), entrees, pizza and more. I really couldn’t decide what to have but finally settled on a GF/DF Cheese steak with peppers and onions. The roll was light and fluffy and held together as well as a gluten containing roll would have being that overstuffed.

Gluten Free / Vegan Chocolate Banana Peanut Butter Cake
from Papa Ganache at Via Roma in Toms River

After dinner I was truly stuffed but remembered that they offer four different gluten free / vegan cakes from Papa Ganache. It would have been a shame to go all that way and not have dessert! I ended up with a cake that Elvis Presley used to love: peanut butter, banana and chocolate. I had a couple of bites, then packed the rest up for a day I wasn’t about to burst!

Via Roma is quite a drive for me but one that is well worth it. I can’t wait to go back!




Other recent restaurant reviews:

Gluten Free at Pizza Fusion

Gluten Free at Europa South

Click here for more NJ Gluten Free Restaurants

Black Bean Quinoa Salad Recipe (naturally gluten free/dairy free/tomato free/vegan)

This is my go to salad for taking to picnics and cookouts. It is important that you make this salad in advance to allow the flavors to meld together. The day before or first thing morning of are best.

I have some additional tips as well. Unrinsed quinoa can be bitter and this is why some brands recommend rinsing before cooking. Frankly, it is well worth any price difference to purchase pre-rinsed quinoa. Keeping the red onion in the refrigerator until you need it will make it more mellow and easier on the eyes when you dice it. Finally, you can use any color bell pepper in this salad but yellow and orange have a much milder flavor than green or red and will make for a mellower salad.

GF/DF/Vegan Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

1 medium red onion, diced

1 cup quinoa

2 cans (15oz) of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 large yellow or orange bell pepper, diced

1 bunch of scallions sliced (1/4 inch pieces)

Dressing:

½ cup of olive oil

¼ cup lime juice (~1 large lime)

1 ½ tsp cumin
1 ½ tsp coriander
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
½ - 1 cup fresh cilantro, unpacked (~1 bunch, stems removed)

How to prepare a Black Bean Quinoa Salad:

Dice the red onion, rinse thoroughly, add to a bowl, cover with water and store in refrigerator until needed.

Prepare the quinoa according to package directions. When done (including any recommended post cooking time sitting in the covered pot) transfer to a large bowl and allow to cool. Occasionally fluff again to assist the cooling.

While quinoa is cooling, drain and rinse beans, dice the bell pepper, chop the scallions.

Drain the red onion and rinse with cold water again.

Mix the diced red onion, diced bell pepper, rinsed beans, chopped scallions into the quinoa.

For the dressing, combine all ingredients in blender or magic bullet cup. Blend until cilantro is chopped and dressing is emulsified. (You could easily mix by hand but then you’ll need to chop the cilantro - this saves that step.)

Stir in the dressing, cover and refrigerate up to one day until needed.

Allow to come to room temperature and taste one last time for seasoning before serving.

Enjoy!


Other recipes you may enjoy:

Tomato Free Salsa

Click here for more Vegan Recipes

Click here for a full list of Recipes (gluten free / dairy free / allergens listed)

Gluten Free NJ Bakery List!

I've recently found a number of additional bakeries in New Jersey offering gluten free products (including two that are dedicated gluten free). Rather than continuing to add them to my New Jersey Gluten Free Restaurant List, I've given them their own page!

There are eleven bakeries so far (plus two in NY State) and if I'm missing any please use the contact me form on the left to let me know!  Where information was available, I've included the other allergens they could handle as well as whether or not they could do vegan baked goods as well.

Each bakery advertises at least some gluten free products, but as always, discuss your specific needs with the bakery itself.

Here's the list: Gluten Free NJ Bakeries

[I've been to both Tu-Lu's and Babycakes in NYC and will be writing reviews at some point . . . and then adding them to the NY section of the list!]

Restaurant Review: Loving Hut (Ledgewood, NJ) (+ other locations)

This is one of the most interesting “chain” restaurants I have ever been to. Usually when you go to a chain restaurant you expect it to have the head-office dictated color scheme, layout, and kitsch. You also expect that the menu will be uniform from one location to the next.

Fantastic Pho (Gluten Free / Vegan)
at Loving Hut in Ledgewood, NJ

Well, none of that is the case for the Loving Hut “chain” – I’d actually say it is more of a loose association of vegan themed restaurants. Each restaurant is allowed to set their own menu as long as it is 100% vegan. This explains why some locations flag their gluten free menu items while others do not.

I recently grabbed lunch at the nearest Loving Hut (538 State Route 10, Ledgewood, NJ 07852). Ledgewood is one of the locations that flags their GF menu items. (The other location in NJ, Matawan, does as well but they only have two items that are GF and both are appetizers.)

While you may not be able to tell from some of my previous articles (my Review of Vegan bakery Papa Ganache, my Review of Vegan Restaurant Good Karma Café, my Vegan Lasagna Recipe, etc) I’m not a vegan. I am however seriously intolerant of all milk products and somewhat intolerant of eggs so vegan establishments keep me safe from both of these.

Years of being stuck with plain grilled chicken and a dry baked potato when eating out has left me drawn to any gluten free item on a menu that I’ve never had before. This little quirk drew me directly to the Fantastic Pho. So, since I’m neither a vegan nor have I ever had Pho before I can’t tell you how authentic this dish was, I can however tell you it was amazing!

It was served in a giant bowl (I ended up eating the other half of it for dinner that night), had a slight kick to it (via the hoisin sauce on top), and the crispy fried bean curd was far better than I had ever imagined. (As a matter of fact, if I hadn’t known it was vegan, I may have assumed the crispy bean curd was fried chicken strips.)

Overall I found the staff very gluten aware and I was seated close enough to the kitchen that I overheard the waitress double check everything was prepared gluten free before bringing it out to me. I was in a rush to get to a Jazz concert that afternoon so I didn’t stick around long enough to find out if their vegan ice cream was also gluten free or not, but I’ll definitely check the next time I’m there!

Bakery Review: Papa Ganache (Keyport, NJ)

I’m in heaven!

Last weekend on my way to the meetup at Good Karma Café, I stopped off in Keyport to try the Papa Ganache Bakery (25 Church Street, Keyport, NJ 07735). I had had them on my list of bakeries for some time but the fact that they are ‘down the shore’ (coupled with my not having any idea where Keyport even was) kept me from trying them until now.


Gluten Free / Vegan Chipwich at Papa Ganache in Keyport, NJ

You know how when you go out to eat there are usually dozens of gluten and dairy free dessert options? No, you neither, just jello or sorbet if you’re lucky? Well, not at Papa Ganache! First, the entire bakery is vegan so no asking about what contains dairy or what contains eggs (btw – this didn’t stop me from putting my foot in my mouth and asking if what I had selected was dairy free!).

The entire top shelf of their display cabinet is gluten free (always a good strategy so gluten containing crumbs don’t fall on anything). They state their gluten free items are “wheat free” which can cause a bit of confusion. While they take every reasonable step to prevent cross contamination, they do share a kitchen and equipment with gluten containing foods and therefore they don’t want to claim anything is gluten free. Usually wheat free means an item contains barley but not in this case.

Gluten Free / Vegan Cupcakes and Some-moa Cookie
from Papa Ganache in Keyport, NJ

So what kinds of goodies do they have? Cream filled Chipwiches, various cupcakes (chocolate, vanilla, lemon, and carrot cake, actual carrot cake, crumb cake muffins, chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, brownies, and Samoa cookies (spelled Some-moa on the menu). There were a couple of other items on the menu that weren’t out that day and the menu also notes that with advanced notice most menu items can be made gluten free (again, menu says wheat free).

The bakery itself is a storefront with a good sized seating area (although there are only two tables). The baked goods themselves were amazing. The chipwich was so sweet I couldn’t finish it in one sitting. The photo I posted to facebook while I was there was so tempting one of my friends drove down with her husband the very next day!

The cupcakes were quite good and properly portioned (not the oversized monstrosities Americans appear to be consuming). And finally, I had a Samoa (Some-moa) that reminded me quite a bit of the girl scout cookies. (Keep in mind I haven’t had a girl scout cookie in over a decade due to dairy and now gluten intolerance.)

Overall, this isn’t an area a frequently find myself in but due to Papa Ganache that may just change!

Other reviews you may be interested in:



Organic4Life (Caldwell, NJ)

Pizza Fusion (Redbank, NJ and Ridgewood, NJ)

If you're looking for other bakeries in NJ that offer gluten free/dairy free/vegan options check out my List of NJ Gluten Free Bakeries.

If you're looking for a restaurant with a gluten free menu, click here for my full Gluten Free Restaurant List.

Restaurant Review: Good Karma Café (Red Bank, NJ)

I had the pleasure of joining the Celiac and Allergy Meetup Group (Hazlet, NJ) at Good Karma Café (17 East Front Street, Red Bank, NJ 07701) this past Saturday night. It is always nice to meet others who get exactly what I am going through and this time was even more so than most. Usually, at a gluten free get together I am one of the few people who also has a milk issue . . . Saturday night every single one of us did.

Raw Vegan Lasagna at Good Karma Cafe in Red Bank, NJ


The restaurant occupies a small store front on East Front Street in downtown Red Bank. The menu is about 50% gluten free (with some additional items that could be modified to be gluten free as well). There were a lower percentage of appetizer and dessert GF options but still an adequate number of each.

The menu has some familiar and unfamiliar items on it. And, some of the familiar sounding items arrived at our table in quite unfamiliar configurations (see the Live Lasagna picture at right and described below). I decided to try something new and different and went with the Indian plate which contained a sampler of Indian items I had never had before. Usually Indian food can be a bit tricky to navigate due to the ghee (butter) and yogurt, both of which are absent in a vegan restaurant. (Warning, this is not listed as gluten free on their online menu so be sure they prepare it gluten free if you decide to try it.)

Gluten Free Vegan Cheese Cake at
Good Karma Cafe in Red Bank, NJ

One of the women in our group ordered what appeared to be the star entrée that evening – the Live Lasagna. It was by far the most colorful and interesting plate at the table and she raved about it. As you can see from the photo (above right) it was three ‘lasagna’ rolls comprised of zucchini slices wrapped around creamy basil pesto nut cheese and sun dried marina sauce. (Note: anything on the menu labeled “Live” is raw.)

We finished the evening off with some tea and a couple of slices of gluten free vegan peanut butter cheese cake with a crushed nut crust.  Dessert when dining out is a rare treat for me because even if a restaurant has a gluten free option, it usually isn't dairy free as well. 

This is definitely somewhere I would consider going again (and ordering the lasagna) and I highly recommend it even if you aren’t a vegan.





Other area restaurant reviews you may be interested in:

Europa South (Point Pleasant, NJ)

Panda Asian Fusion (Freehold, NJ)

Karina's Chicken Chili with White Beans, Sweet Potato, and Lime

I had some sweet potatoes left over this weekend that I had intended to turn into Karina's African Sweet Potato Soup (with three types of beans, peppers, onions, spices) some night this week.  That is until I saw that Karina had a new sweet potato recipe on her blog:  Karina's Chicken Chili with White Beans, Sweet Potato and Lime.


Karina's Chicken Chili with Sweet Potato, White Beans and Lime

Her photo and description really made this sound wonderful.  I had to fight the urge to make this Sunday night instead of working on my upcoming Tomato Free Jambalaya recipe (due out soon).  I did however get to make it last night and it was every bit as good as I imagined it would be (even though my photo isn't nearly as vibrant as hers was!).

I had it again for lunch today at work (one of the joys of living alone, lots of left overs) and still have three more meals in the freezer.  It was just as good this afternoon as it was last night.  This recipe has definitely earned its place in my rotation of favorites!

On final thought, I tagged this article as vegan even though the recipe calls for roast chicken.  I think it would be wonderful without the chicken as well.  Just swap out the chicken stock for vegetable stock, omit the chicken, and you're all set!


Other recipes on my favorites list (in addition to the two Karina recipes above):

GF/DF/Tomato Free Chicken Cacciatore

GF/DF Chicken and Rice/Arroz con Pollo (only 1 Tbsp of tomato paste, that can easily be left out)

GF/DF Turkey Cutlets

My full list of recipes on the site is here: Allergen Free / Friendly Recipes

And a list of my tomato free recipes is here: Recipes without Tomato (includes chili, salsa, jambalaya and spaghetti sauce)