If I had a dime for every time I've heard "I couldn't live without (insert food type)"...I'd be at least able to buy a nice ice cream cone right about now. Such statements, though often made with kind intents, reflect a very narrow mindset. Yes, you can, and would, live without all sorts of comfort foods if the alternative was bad enough. I have family and friends who live, and eat, quite well without such things as gluten, dairy, corn, and peanuts.
Which brings us to Thanksgiving, the time of the year when families come together to celebrate and share dishes with one another. Don't forget the person or people in your life and at your table who have food allergies or are lactose intolerant. Make some amazing dishes that everyone can enjoy, whisper to that person that the food is safe, and slip him or her the recipe. It's an amazing gift, and if nothing else, will make you appreciate some of what that person goes through to stay healthy.
Our person this year is my sister-in-law. She recently discovered that she can't have dairy, even lactose-free dairy, which puts most of her favorite Thanksgiving dishes into the no zone. So, we have plotted some great dairy-free varieties of those dishes that we can all enjoy (or suffer through) together.
So, without further ado, the recipes I'm bringing to Thanksgiving:
Vegan Fudge
14 T cocoa
11 T sugar
5 T coconut oil (this was a substitution for butter or crisco, and added a WONDERFUL flavor)
Mix all in top of double boiler until incorporated. Add 1/4 t. vanilla.
4.5 c. powdered sugar
8 oz vegan cream cheese
Mix these two in a bowl with a mixer until it forms a stiff frosting.
Add the chocolate mixture from before. Mix until smooth. Place in a pan lined with wax paper (I used an 8-inch spring form pan) and refrigerate until you serve it, at least 2 hours. Keeps up to 3 days, but won't last that long, especially in our family. I really should have made 2 recipes.
Mexican orange fudge with cranberries and almonds
3 c. sugar, div.
1/4 c. boiling water
1 c. soy or almond milk
1/4 t. salt
2 t. orange peel
1 c. almonds
1 c. dried cranberries
Melt 1 c. sugar, add water CAREFULLY (it will hiss, bubble, and act all upset), add rest of sugar, milk, and salt. Stir for a few moments, then put away the spoon. Let it boil until it reaches 242-248F, or forms solid ball when dropped in ice water. Remove from heat and beat until it loses its gloss. Add orange peel and drizzle into wax paper-lined 8X8 pan with cranberries and almonds at the bottom. Alternatively, you could sprinkle them on top as a garnish. Whatever works.
I made this one first and didn't realize a small saucepan would not hold it once it started boiling, so mine only reached about 224F. It made a soft, spoonable fudge that still tasted delicious.
Mexican dip dish
1 layer-browned ground turkey
1 layer-homemade refried beans
1 layer-homemade guacamole (avocados, salt, pepper, salsa, snipped green onion)
1 layer- picante sauce
1 layer-mixed dairy-free sour cream and dairy free cream cheese (1 tub each)
Top with dairy-free cheese, bake at 350F until hot and bubbly, serve hot and bubbly with tortilla chips.
Pizza, braided apple chai loaves (substitute soymilk for milk in a cinnamon roll recipe)
:) Happy Turkey Day!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Making Dumpster Diving Amazing
Just that title makes me feel like a redneck. I'd love to imagine that I'm one of those chic people who gets her furniture at antiques stores and reclaims thrift pieces with a keen eye for what will best furnish her home...
But alas, I must admit it to the world. I got a table out of a dumpster. I wanted a table, and I dug it out of the trash. I'll never get an upscale New York studio at this rate.
*dodges rotten vegetables*
But I did say I made it amazing, didn't I? And I did! Read on, if my ethos hasn't been entirely demolished at this point.
At first, I needed the table, but didn't have the time to fix it up properly. One glance showed exactly why it had been thrown out in the first place: whoever owned it had dogs which chewed it to smithereens. It was ugly, a cheap, tan table that belonged at a flea market--being used to sell merchandise because no one would buy it like that.
So, I threw a square of fabric over it and made sure no casual observer would see any part of the actual table. Then I covered that in plants, and made it a lovely, useful piece. And when we moved, I sat it outside until I could figure out a more permanent solution to the problem.
At that point, we began noticing another problem. We had no table in the house at all, except the craft table David had bought me, which was being used as a computer desk. There was no place for us to set our drinks or food, no place for Jeremy to set up for gaming, and no place for a dining table of any size. A card table would have been too big. But that hideous little critter outside was perfect. Except that it was hideous.
I finally dug into my craft supplies and managed to find my sandpaper. An hour of rough sanding, and half of the chewed places looked better. I went for a rough-carved idea, sanding all the distinct edges down. Then, I perused Walmart's mismatched paint section and picked up a pint of grey indoor-outdoor 2 in 1 paint/primer. Finally, today, I painted the stew out of that table. I filled the tooth marks with paint and smoothed it over with the bristles of the brush.
And it looks great! Check out the picture! So, here's to years of use for this lovely dog's chew toy. :) I am truly proud of this table, and I truly love walking in my living room and planning things to serve on it, decorate it, and do with it.
But it made me think about something....
I have another table that would be great to use, but it's in storage and has been since before we moved, because the glue that holds the legs together isn't strong enough to hold the weight of the marble top. Yeah, it's an antique marble-top table.
But it's more worthless than this dumpster table, because I can't try to fix it in a way that would hurt it's looks. It would take someone with a lot more skill to fix, and even then, it would have to be treated with kid gloves and couldn't take a beating like this one.
It reminded me of my own pride. I often try to be that pretentious marble table. I won't allow myself to be humbled to the point where I'm actually useful. I won't let God re-make me into someone He can use because I'm too busy trying to look good to everyone else.
Both tables needed work to become useful. Both had potential to fulfill. But only one is, and it's not the snazzy, chic one. Such is the way of things in the upside-down kingdom.
But alas, I must admit it to the world. I got a table out of a dumpster. I wanted a table, and I dug it out of the trash. I'll never get an upscale New York studio at this rate.
*dodges rotten vegetables*
But I did say I made it amazing, didn't I? And I did! Read on, if my ethos hasn't been entirely demolished at this point.
At first, I needed the table, but didn't have the time to fix it up properly. One glance showed exactly why it had been thrown out in the first place: whoever owned it had dogs which chewed it to smithereens. It was ugly, a cheap, tan table that belonged at a flea market--being used to sell merchandise because no one would buy it like that.
So, I threw a square of fabric over it and made sure no casual observer would see any part of the actual table. Then I covered that in plants, and made it a lovely, useful piece. And when we moved, I sat it outside until I could figure out a more permanent solution to the problem.
At that point, we began noticing another problem. We had no table in the house at all, except the craft table David had bought me, which was being used as a computer desk. There was no place for us to set our drinks or food, no place for Jeremy to set up for gaming, and no place for a dining table of any size. A card table would have been too big. But that hideous little critter outside was perfect. Except that it was hideous.
I finally dug into my craft supplies and managed to find my sandpaper. An hour of rough sanding, and half of the chewed places looked better. I went for a rough-carved idea, sanding all the distinct edges down. Then, I perused Walmart's mismatched paint section and picked up a pint of grey indoor-outdoor 2 in 1 paint/primer. Finally, today, I painted the stew out of that table. I filled the tooth marks with paint and smoothed it over with the bristles of the brush.
But it made me think about something....
I have another table that would be great to use, but it's in storage and has been since before we moved, because the glue that holds the legs together isn't strong enough to hold the weight of the marble top. Yeah, it's an antique marble-top table.
But it's more worthless than this dumpster table, because I can't try to fix it in a way that would hurt it's looks. It would take someone with a lot more skill to fix, and even then, it would have to be treated with kid gloves and couldn't take a beating like this one.
It reminded me of my own pride. I often try to be that pretentious marble table. I won't allow myself to be humbled to the point where I'm actually useful. I won't let God re-make me into someone He can use because I'm too busy trying to look good to everyone else.
Both tables needed work to become useful. Both had potential to fulfill. But only one is, and it's not the snazzy, chic one. Such is the way of things in the upside-down kingdom.
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