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!
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