Vegan

Emily Stokes
I'm a lady who loves cheese, sour cream, & ice cream, but I recently became lactose intolerant. My key focus in recreating dairy recipes is taste, but I try to be as health conscious as possible. Some of my recipes are low lactose rather than dairy free. I'm also a writer, teacher, nanny, dog mom, housewife, native Yinzer, current Californian, and social organizer extraordinaire.

Vegan

Zucchini Salad

Veggies & Sides, , , , ,

Coming up with some fresh ways to use the zucchini and herbs in my garden, I put this quick salad together. It works best with very thin slices. Ā It would probably taste great with some sliced tomatoes as well! Though my zucchini plant is barely producing anymore fruit, I have an abundance of tomatoes.

This recipe requires lemon olive oil. Itā€™s amazing as a salad dressing or dip for Italian bread. I havenā€™t found it in a supermarket, but you should be able to find it at a specialty food market or Italian deli (or online). Iā€™ve found it in Pittsburghā€™s Little Italyā€“Bloomfield, and Californiaā€™s farmerā€™s markets. Sigonaā€™s has a wide selection of flavored olive oils that you can taste at their store.

This was a special treat just for me since my husband hates vinegar. I love it! Pickles, dressing, beets, Ā olives, chipsā€“Iā€™ll pretty much eat anything vinegary.

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, thinly sliced
20-30 whole parsley leaves, stems removed
4 basil leaves, sliced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions:

1. In a large shallow bowl or baking dish, mix all ingredients and spread out in an even layer.

2. Cover and marinate in theĀ refrigerator for at least three hours. Best if left overnight. Make at night and enjoy for lunch the next day šŸ™‚

Lemon Olive Oil from Il Fornaio

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Delicious Dairy Free Ice Cream

Desserts, , , ,

Smooth, sweet, and creamyā€“itā€™s as good as the real thing! I love this combination of full fat coconut milk and vanilla soy milk. It makes a rich ice cream that doesnā€™t make me miss the dairy. Iā€™ve tried a few combinations, and there are alternatives with fewer calories, but this recipe is the best tasting. Using just soy milk gives the ice cream a grainy, icy texture, but add the thick, sweet, full fat coconut milk and you have an instant substitute for heavy cream.

Any non-dairy milk will do for this recipe, but I love the thick texture and sweetness of Silk Very Vanilla soymilk. Homemade ice cream has the added benefit of being able to add your own amount of sugar. Agave syrup is a healthier option as it is metabolized slower than sugar. Besides being easy to mix in it also has a mild flavor that compliments vanilla quite well.

This recipe requires an electric ice cream maker. If you donā€™t have one, I suggest getting one. They are perfect for making ice coldĀ homemadeĀ treats in twenty minutes or less. Frozen yogurt, sorbet, frozen drinks, and slushies are other great ideas to make with this tool.

You can easily add mix ins to make other flavors. Eight ounces of melted chocolate added to this recipe will give you a delectable chocolate ice cream. Iā€™ve also added crushed chocolate and cream (dairy free) cookies in the last five minutes of mixing for cookies and cream ice cream. The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients:

1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled at least two hours in the fridge
1 1/4 cupsĀ refrigeratedĀ Silk Very Vanilla soymilk
1/2 cup agave syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (use 1 tablespoon if using non-vanilla soymilk)

My pretty red ice cream makerā€¦not much bigger than a coffee maker!

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until well combined.

2. Pour into your frozen ice cream bowl and freeze according to your ice cream makerā€™s directions. It should be ready to eat in 15-20 minutes. It will be soft, so if you want harder ice cream, put in the freezer for at least 1 hour prior to enjoying.

Full fat coconut milk and Silk Very Vanilla soymilk.

Agave Syrup.

Adding the vanilla.

Churning process.
Finished product šŸ™‚

Cinnamon Rice Pudding

Desserts, Veggies & Sides, , , , ,

This week Iā€™ve been lying low, slowly recovering from gum grafting surgery. I have very thin gum tissue around four front teeth on my lower gum line, and it has been graduallyĀ recedingĀ over the years to expose the roots of some of my teeth. So I decided to take care of it before it got worse. Last Friday I had a minor surgery done where a rectangle of skin on the roof of my mouth was taken and sewed over the exposed roots and thin area of my lower gum line. Sounds gross but itā€™s very cool!

It was a quick and easy surgery but came with a 10 day recovery time that limited my ability to eat (Iā€™m so hungry!). Ā Being restricted to a soft food diet, I needed to come up with some creative ways to eat substantial food without chewing. I had the added challenge of my lactose intolerance so ice cream, smoothies, milkshakes, etc. all had to be dairy free.

Here is a delicious rice pudding recipe I made for a breakfast option. Besides being easy to eat it has the added bonuses of being dairy free, gluten free, and low fat/low sugar! I used Very Vanilla soymilk, but any dairy free milk could be substituted. If itā€™s not vanilla then I recommend adding an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract to the recipe.

The sweetness can also be varied to taste. I used exactly 1 tablespoon of SPLENDA packet sweetener, which is sweeter than the granulated SPLENDA. The estimated equivalent in SPLENDA granulated form or white sugar is a 1/2 cup. But I havenā€™t tried this measurement yet so I canā€™t be sure of the equivalent sweetness. I would start with a 1/4 of a cup and add more if needed. You can also substitute with Agave syrup or Stevia sweetener. I would start with a 1/2 cup for these as they are not as sweet as white sugar or SPLENDA.

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup white rice
3 cups Silk Very Vanilla soymilk
1/4-1/2 cup SPLENDA granulatedĀ sweetener
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium size saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and salt, stir. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbedā€“about 10 minutes.

2. Add Very Vanilla Soymilk, SPLENDA, and cinnamon. Cook uncovered over low heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the soymilk is absorbedā€“about 15 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm. Easy for someone recovering from surgery!