Creamy (vegan!) Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Sauce

Tonight, exhausted from a full day of babysitting and with the prospect of another several hours of babysitting after dinner, I was looking for a new recipe to try that would be simple. Simple, but delicious.  

There is a place in Boston called Veggie Planet, which has a dish with some sort of amazing roasted red pepper and nut sauce.  I had a bag of cashews, and a jar of roasted red peppers I've had forever.  And I have a food processor.  What resulted was a rich, creamy, and thick sauce - I had to refrain from eating up every last bite of it.  When I started making it, I wasn't sure yet how I wanted to use this sauce, but as I stood over the stove, stirring and thinking, I decided that it would be an excellent base for a pizza.  And oh, was it ever.  But this sauce is so versatile that you could use it for all kinds of other things.  With pasta, on a sandwich - so many ways!  (See below for suggestions.)  So give it a try - it's vegan and gluten-free and full of flavor.  You'll love it.

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Sauce

3 roasted red peppers

1/3 cup unsalted or lightly salted cashew nuts (I used the "50% less salt" kind from Trader Joe's)

1/4 - 1/2 cup almond milk (depending on how thick you want your sauce)

1 tsp. minced/crushed garlic

1/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground cumin (or to taste)

dash of cayenne pepper (optional; to taste)

dash of black pepper 

1 tsp. agave nectar OR 1 tsp. sugar 

1/4 tsp. lemon juice

In a food processor, combine the roasted red peppers and cashews and process on highest setting.  After about 1 minute, add 1/4 cup of almond milk and continue to process until it is very smooth.  

Put the processed mixture into a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat.  Add more almond milk if desired, the salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, agave nectar, and lemon juice and heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning, until the mixture becomes as thick as you want it to be. Tweak the spices as you stir to your own taste - the recipe above is just an approximation!  When you are happy with the taste and consistency, remove from heat.  Use immediately (see below) or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

Ways to use this sauce:

-as a pasta sauce or (if you let it get thick enough) as a pesto to toss with angel hair pasta

-spoon hot over sauteed mushrooms, spinach, and brown rice

-spread over chicken and bake in the oven, covered OR spread over grilled chicken

-as a sandwich spread (would complement pesto extremely well)

-as a dip for crackers or pretzels (gluten-free, of course)

-as a delicious replacement for regular pizza sauce (see picture below!) with your favorite toppings (I sauteed a Spicy Jalapeno chicken sausage from Trader Joe's and topped two corn tortillas with a layer of the roasted red pepper sauce, the sausage, and then Daiya vegan cheese, and it was phenomenally good, and extremely fast)

Roasted Red Pepper and Sausage Pizza

Crunchy Nutty Honey-kissed Granola

Being gluten-free means being a cook and a baker by default.  I rarely eat any processed foods that come out of a package ready-to-eat anymore.  For me, spending time in the kitchen preparing my meals in advance has become second nature, and I've since forgotten the convenience of being able to pick something off of a store shelf and eat it.

I have my standard recipes that I make over and over again, partly out of convenience and habit.  And I love them.  But it's not that I eat these things out of sheer convenience; I happen to enjoy the tastes I've perfected in these dishes to the point where they have become default comfort meals.  Being a person of routine only supports this; if I find something I love to eat for breakfast, which is also healthy, chances are I will eat it every single day without ever getting bored with it.  I appreciate the consistency - and the flavor - in that.

But sometimes, it can be a very good thing to leave the comfortable food arena and to experiment a little bit, even if it means just a tweak to what you've been doing.  That's how this granola came about: it was a departure.  As I was preparing to make my weekly batch of granola, I found that I was almost out of buckwheat flakes, and after surveying my cabinets, decided to experiment a bit with a mixture of grains and nuts that I had on hand.  What resulted was a deliciously flaky and crumbly granola that packs a protein punch and is the perfect way to start the morning.

Crunchy Nutty Honey-Kissed Granola

1/3 cup buckwheat flakes

1/3 cup rice flakes

1/3 cup gluten-free oats

1/2 cup coconut flakes

3 tbsp. sunflower seeds

2 tbsp. linseeds

3 tbsp. buckwheat flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 - 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/3 cup chopped mixed nuts (I used crushed hazelnuts, almond slivers, and chopped cashew pieces)

1/3 cup dried cranberries (or favorite dried fruit of your choice)

3/4 cup honey

3 tbsp. macadamia nut butter (optional)

2 - 3 tsp. gluten-free vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Spray a glass 8 x 8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (everything but the honey, macadamia nut butter, and vanilla).  Combine well.

In a small saucepan, mix the honey, macadamia nut butter, and vanilla and heat over a medium flame, stirring frequently, until the mixture turns thin and starts to bubble. Pour the honey mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix in very thoroughly.  Spread the mixture into the baking dish evenly, and place in the preheated oven for 20 - 35 minutes, depending on how soft or crunchy you prefer your granola to be.

Serve with soy milk, over fruit, with non-dairy yogurt, or plain!

Crunchy Buckwheat Granola

I can’t find everything here in Swaziland that I used to eat in the U.S. I miss Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, but not as terribly since I discovered a tiny little health food store in the main plaza of Mbabane. When I first walked in, I had to do a double take. There were shelves with gluten-free pasta, a bag of gluten-free muesli, potato and rice flour, corn cakes, dried fruits, seeds, and nuts, and even a few different gluten-free protein bars. The one thing I have really been craving here is a good granola, but I have not managed to find any gluten-free oats anywhere (which was not surprising to me). But the last time I was there, I noticed a small package tucked onto one of the shelves. I thought I had seen everything the store had, but here was a little bag of buckwheat flakes that had been hiding behind the rye flakes and rolled oats. I took them home and tried first to create an oatmeal-like porridge, but I wasn’t terribly impressed with the lumpy mush that I came up with. My second attempt to use them was in place of regular oats in baked granola, and here, I hit the jackpot. When the granola is baked, the buckwheat flakes are a perfect substitute for rolled oats. They clump together beautifully, and together with flaked coconut, dried cranberries, and an assortment of seeds, make a hearty, chunky granola that is just as good as any I’ve made with oats. For those who are sensitive to oats, this would make a great alternative. And although I've approximated the amount of each ingredient I added, this recipe is very loose and you can add more or less of each ingredient according to your own taste.


Crunchy Buckwheat Granola

1 ½ cups buckwheat flakes (*these are difficult to find in the US; you can substitute quinoa flakes or gf rolled oats)
½ cup flaked coconut
½ cup dried cranberries (or dried fruit of your choice)
½ cup seeds and nuts of your choice (I used sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, linseeds, and sesame seeds) dash of salt
½ cup creamy peanut butter or sunflower butter
½ cup honey
1 – 2 tsp vanilla to taste
¼ - ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to mix. Place a saucepan over low-medium heat and add the peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. Cook until the mixture is completely melted, and then pour immediately over the dry mixture. Stir to ensure that it is spread evenly throughout the mix, then pour into a baking dish that has been sprayed with baking spray or rubbed with oil. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like your granola. Stir once or twice during the baking time. When the granola has finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and place the granola onto a plate to cool. When cooled, break apart the clumps and enjoy! Store in an airtight container (I store mine in the fridge).

Crunchy Maple Sunbutter Granola

I have been making food for myself to bring along as snacks on my upcoming trip to Israel, and I've been trying to create a variety for myself so I don't get totally sick of one thing. I used to love crunchy granola in my pre-celiac days, and now that I've started eating oats again, I wanted to try to create my own granola. My first attempt at granola was good, but it was more like muesli; it wasn't crunchy and didn't clump together at all. So this time, I used sunbutter and maple butter to add thickness and stickiness, and it turned out beautifully. It made the whole apartment smell wonderful, and it tasted absolutely delicious. The maple butter and honey added a touch of sweetness, but the sunbutter filled out the taste and texture and balanced that sweetness. I will be making this often!  

Crunchy Maple Sunbutter Granola

1 1/2 cups oats (certified gluten-free)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup roasted cashews
1/4 cup toasted pecans
1/4 cup raisins (or more to taste)
1/4 cup cranberries (or more to taste)
**You can substitute any other dried fruit, nuts, or seeds of your choice - this would be great with: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, slivered almonds, dried cherries, etc.
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup sunbutter (or peanut butter)
1/2 cup maple butter or creamed honey
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 F. In a large bowl, combine the oats, coconut flakes, cashews, pecans, raisins, cranberries, and cinnamon. Add any other nuts, seeds, etc. that you would like and mix well. In a small saucepan, combine the sunbutter, maple butter, honey, and vanilla and heat until melted. It will still be pretty thick. Pour it into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix very well until the heated mixture has been spread throughout the mixture. I used two spoons and sort of chopped the chunks of sunbutter into the oats. Line a baking dish with wax or parchment paper. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake at 300 F for 30 - 40 minutes. The granola will still feel soft when you take it out of the oven, but it will harden as it cools.

Maple Cranberry Granola

I love granola, and I love maple anything. Tonight, I was trying to rest and recover from the bad sore throat/cold that has me down this week, but after a whole day of being in bed and another night today of just sitting around, I was itching to do something. I've missed granola since going gluten-free, and so tonight I just threw this together as an experiment. It turned out to be very tasty, although next time I would probably bake mine for a little less time. (Mine was in the oven for about 37 minutes and turned out to be rather crispy, and I probably could have taken it out after 30.) Feel free to throw any other types of dried fruit, seeds, or nuts, as this is completely versatile and can be adapted to your own taste. You could also substitute honey for the maple syrup if you prefer.

Maple Cranberry Granola

1 cup gluten-free oats or soy flakes
1/2 cup organic unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup cranberries, raisins, or a combination of both
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. canola oil
1/4 cup very hot water
1 tsp. gluten-free vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 F. Place a sheet of wax paper on a baking pan (preferably one with sides). Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup, oil, water, and vanilla, and stir to mix. Pour over the dry mixture and toss to coat thoroughly. Spread evenly into the pan. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir the granola around, and bake in 5 minute increments until the desired crispness is reached. Cool, and then store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.  Keep it in the fridge and it will last even longer.

Thanksgiving Feast

This was my first Thanksgiving/major holiday as a gluten-free girl, and I am not going to lie - I was pretty nervous about it. I wasn't sure how I'd be able to eat anything at our traditional dinner besides turkey, and even there was room for doubt with cross-contamination issues. I think people with food allergies don't understand the anxiety that comes with large gatherings of people consuming food together, and especially on holidays that focus almost exclusively on that particular activity. There is food everywhere that smells delicious and which is off-limits for us, and people are touching all the food, eating, grabbing, and then touching everything else. Which is why, if someone reaches into my stash of food and grabs something with their bare hands, I get super nervous about gluten-contamination. For the most part, my family is understanding of the gluten-intolerance, but I usually feel like it is something that some people are a bit bemused by, and sometimes I end up feeling like they think it is just me being high-maintenance. My mom (who also went gluten-free) and I both tried to have a nice variety for ourselves, and I kept it all stashed away until it was time to eat. The menu, aside from turkey and another batch of the delicious sweet potato cornbread I made from the Gluten-free Goddess' website last week, included the following side dishes, which I found to be absolutely heavenly. I truly feel sometimes like I'm getting to eat the better food when I'm at gatherings of people, and while I missed getting to eat the 8 different kinds of pies that were at my grandma's house, I did make this pie from (guess who??) Karina's website: Vegan Pumpkin Pie, which was creamy, smooth, and very light in texture. It didn't go over too well with my family, but that's because almost no one would even give it a chance. But my other friends LOVED it (as they did the sweet potato cornbread), as did I! My mom made the recipe for sweet potato casserole pictured below, and it was delicious - sweet, with beautiful caramelized pecans on top, and slightly crunchy. The mashed sweet potatoes were silky smooth, thanks to the hemp milk I added. (I think I've been won over to hemp milk, by the way - at least for baking and cooking, it is fabulous!) And the stuffing, I have to say, rivaled my mom's normal stuffing, and in her words, it was "excellent." Altogether, Thanksgiving was great, and even with the food anxiety that always comes at big family gatherings, I had a great time, and best of all, didn't get sick!

Sweet Potato Casserole

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
4 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Earth Balance Buttery Spread (or butter, if you can tolerate it)
1/2 cup coconut milk if desired
1 1/2 cups sugar - but sugar is added to taste
2 tsp. vanilla
optional: 2 mashed bananas (usually made without it)
Dashes of nutmeg, salt, cinnamon, and ginger

Sprinkle half of the nuts into the bottom of a 2 1/2 quart greased baking dish. Mix everything else together except the sugar. Add the sugar to taste. Pour mixture on top of nuts and sprinkle the top with the rest of the nuts. Bake uncovered for about 1/2 hour or until a knife comes out clean.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped coarsely
2 small white potatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely
salt to taste
thyme to taste
2 tsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
2 - 5 tbsp. hemp milk, to desired consistency

Place potatoes in a pot of cold water with a dash of salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft and break apart when pierced. Drain and mash potatoes together. Beat with a fork until creamy, then add Earth Balance Buttery Spread, salt to taste, and hemp milk, and beat it all together until the desired consistency is reached. Add a generous sprinkling of thyme, to taste.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

1 loaf gluten-free bread (I used Food For Life White Rice bread, and it turned out to be slightly gummy)
1/2 - 1 liter gluten-free chicken broth (I used Swanson)
3/4 cup raisins/cranberries, or a combination of both
4 -5 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 giant onion, finely chopped
2 granny smith apples, peeled and finely chopped
2-4 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
A generous amount of black pepper and basil
Smaller amounts of thyme and parsley

Place the bread slices on foil-covered oven racks and bake at 250 - 300 F until the bread slices have been dried out. Remove from oven, cool, and break into small pieces in a large bowl.

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a small saucepan, place 1 cup broth with the cranberries/raisins and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes to soften the dried fruit. In a separate saute pan, place the Earth Balance Buttery Spread, celery, onion, and apple, then add the spices (very heavy on the black pepper and basil), and saute until the onion is translucent (but not mushy). Add the onion mixture to the broth mixture, and then add that whole mixture to the dried bread pieces. Toss to mix it all together, adding more broth as needed to moisten the bread slices.

If using as turkey stuffing, add a lot more broth and stuff it into the turkey. If you are just making it on its own (which is what I did), place the whole thing in a baking dish and pour more broth over the whole thing, then cover tightly with foil and place in the oven for at least 30 - 50 minutes. Check on it after about 25 minutes and, if necessary, pour some more broth over it to make sure there is enough moisture (otherwise, the bread will be pretty gummy and chewy). I added roughly 3/4 liter of broth in total, and mine came out to be pretty soft and easily chewed.