Diablo Eggs

If your mom is a southern woman, then pretty much you were immediately taught in the kitchen how to make good sweet tea, a good casserole out of leftovers, and deviled eggs. But just in case you weren't raised by a southern woman, here's my take on the last one, without cow's dairy. It's so easy I am almost embarrassed for blogging it. This recipe also includes cayenne, which is one of the most beneficial spices you can add to your food. Cayenne can fight inflammation, boost immune system, is a pain reliever, a decongestant, and is full of vitamin A, and so much more! Look it up.

Collect:

3 large farm eggs (or more. Your call)
Giant spoonful of Veganaise
Mustard
Dijon
Ground cayenne pepper
Dill
Salt & Pepper
Paprika

I have a hard time using measurements on spices. Takes the fun out of it, and it makes it seem more like a science project than art! Keep in mind, if you mess up by adding too much, you just learn for next time.

Boil your eggs. (unsure how? ... google it)
Once the eggs are completely cooked and peeled, slice them in half lengthwise. Pop the yolks out into a bowl.

Use a fork to break up the yolks and then add-

the giant spoonful of Veganaise
some mustard - about 2 Tablespoons ish
dijon - about 1 Tablespoon
a dash of cayenne or more. How brave are you? These are DIABLO eggs after all!
about 1 Tablespoon of dill
a dash of salt and pepper, to taste

Mash it all up properly and then spoon back into the egg halves. Dash the tops with paprika OR more cayenne!

Serve to your hungry friends. These are perfect for picnics or bar-b-q's or any southern type gathering!

Smile, Sweet Teeth!

Today we're making wheat-free...


Josh's face wrinkled and writhed and snarled in all sorts of ways when I told him I wanted to make a sweet potato pie. Maybe yours did too. It's cool, not taking this personally. I will tell you that this pie is DELICIOUS even though the notion of a squash pie logically is ridiculous! So let's make a little squash pie shall we.

First, a little prep. Get a large yam / sweet potato. Make it organic. No GMO's in our pie! Boil that sucker for about 40 minutes- no need to peel it, because when it's done boiling, the skin will practically fall off.

While it's boiling let's go ahead and make the crust. I chose to make mine out of almond meal, since I adore a good graham cracker crust, and almond meal seems to be the closest texture-wise to that.

Crust Ingredients:
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
4 tablespoons MELTED coconut oil (or butter)
3 tablespoons succanat (or sugar, or honey, or what have you)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine in a bowl until it seems consistent. I used a springform pan, and molded the crust against the bottom and sides, like you would for a cheesecake. (OOH! Cheeeesecake...) Stick it in the fridge for now.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Now, here's your pie filling ingredients.

1 boiled large sweet potato / yam
5 tablespoons butter or coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup succanat (my "sugar" of choice, but you can use sugar or anything else)
1/2 cup almond milk (or regular milk, or soy if you must)
2 eggs (I eat eggs, but dear Vegan friends, use some egg replacer)
1/3 cup Vegan cream cheese- Tofutti brand, softened
1 tsp each nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, and a pinch of ginger
1 tablespoon Vanilla extract

Mash up your potato with the butter or coconut oil.
Add everything else!
Pour batter into your lovely crust

Bake for 55 minutes, or until your can stick a knife in the middle and it comes out clean.

Top with what ever you feel like! We felt like Ice cream and chocolate chips!

FRENCH TOAST!

French toast was my favorite breakfast growing up. This morning I did a crazydiet version of it for the first time.

Ingredients:

Sprouted sourdough bread (or Ezekiel Bread)
a couple of eggs
non dairy milk- maybe 3/4 cup? (I used rice milk but soy or almond would work fine.)
a lot of cinnamon!

Soak the bread in your whisked frenchy mixture, and then fry those suckers on a griddle using coconut oil! Yeah, yeah, it's better with butter. I know.
Drizzle some agave nectar on top. Soo good and so easy.

A note on non-dairy milks. If you are truly doing a no-sugar diet, I've only found the WestSoy brand of soy milk to contain 0 grams of sugar. The original unsweetened Almond Breeze milk also has 0 grams! Rice milk does have sugar in it.

Yay it's an easy recipe, one you don't have to own a bag of arrowroot or xanthum gum for! Easy breakfast fix.

Mourning and Dancing

So, I'm not a chef or baker by any stretch of the imagination. I enjoy both cooking and baking though! Ok, maybe I just love food. I love hamburgers and take out chinese food. I love ice cream and cupcakes. And chocolate. Oh... chocolate. So you can imagine the intense mourning I went through upon learning I am allergic to wheat, sugar, and maybe even dairy. I cried a few times. I pouted watching friends eat beautiful, powdered-sugar-covered beignets in New Orleans. It is certainly not easy keeping a diet like this, and I don't admit to being rigidly saintlike- I cheat sometimes. Gasp. But over the past few weeks I have really come to love the challenges this diet brings, and finding new foods I can eat, and experimenting with different versions of the beloved classics like cupcakes and cookies. My amazing better half of a husband got me the Babycakes cookbook for Christmas and ever since then I've been on a roll, and consequently, leaving piles of dirty dishes in my harried wake. I decided to start a blog to document different recipes I try.. failures and successes, as well as resources for others of you still in mourning over new diets (you'll dance soon). Luckily there are SO many different options for meals other than just munching on spinach leaves like a rabbit. And, to make the situation even less dismal, we have AGAVE NECTAR! Agave nectar has literally preserved my sanity. Well, more recipes and things to come. And so begins this madness. xo Sarah