Picking Up Subsitutions

Ignore the boiling pot in the background. If you follow me on Facebook, you know I am prone to make batches of soup in the middle of the night.

I wanted to make sure I followed up on my migraine diagnosis that I received last year. I am still learning to live dairy free, but I’m happy to say that I am finding some really good alternatives to the dairy products that I love and miss so dearly.

Last month, I attended a healthy cooking class in Hixson, TN that was sponsored by the Seventh Day Adventist Church whose members are primarily vegan. Even though I don’t have plans to go fully vegan, I do think we should eat more meat-free meals than we do and because of my dairy-migraine issue, I need to learn to cook dairy free. There is no better place to learn that than in a vegan kitchen.

So, let me run through with you some of the dairy substitutes that I have either already tried or am about to try.

• Milk--I gave up regular milk years ago and started drinking Soy Milk. For the past few months, I have preferred Almond Milk. Both are great alternatives. I have had no problem substituting them in recipes other than having to account for the sweeter taste. Regardless of which I pick up, I always go for the Silk brand.
• Cheese--When I was in Virginia, I discovered a pizza place that had vegan pizzas. I fell in love with the cheese they used and by calling the restaurant and researching through Google, I found that I could buy this cheese in the store. The brand is Daiya and it melts so perfectly. I have used it for everything, including grilled cheese sandwiches.
• Vegan cream cheese--This particular brand is the best that I have tried and I am loving it on everything. Remember my sexy breakfast?
• Sour cream--I have not tried this Better Than Sour Cream yet, but I have a couple of recipes that recommend it so I will be trying this soon. I have the Tofutti brand.
• Ricotta Cheese--this is also made by Tofutti and I have yet to try it. A friend bought it for me to try after I was talking about finding substitutes to allow me to make my favorite lasagna roll recipe.--more on that in a bit.
• Tofu--During the healthy cooking class, the instructor showed us exactly how to use Tofu as a substitute for ricotta cheese. This was the first thing that I tried following the class and it worked perfectly. My favorite lasagna rolls are back on my frequent meal list.
• Yogurt--So Delicious is the best brand for dairy free ice creams and yogurts. I was thrilled when I ran across this greek style version in the store. I ate some of the plain this morning with some of my homemade granola. love, love, love!

Learning to cook with a food restriction is difficult but it is doable and the results can be oh-so delicious. And just so you know I’m not kidding--yea, you!--below is a pan of my favorite lasagna rolls, made with tofu in place of ricotta cheese and topped with Daiya mozzarella style shreds. yum!



Even if dairy is not an issue for you, try a few of these substitutions for a healthier eating option.

Drink Anyone?

I love to cook and entertain at home and while dating a vegetarian, I got away from that as I’m not so good at cooking good vegetarian dishes and he was extremely picky. So I stopped cooking. Then he started drinking more than I was comfortable with so I stopped buying wine and liquor. But he is gone and that part of my life is dead and today, I started restocking my wine cabinet. I made a visit down to the Georgia Winery and bought 2 cases that are a mix of what I consider to be their best stock and a few flavors that I have never had before. I still need about another case to be fully stocked and I need some liquor staples but I am well on my way to some wonderful twenty-ten dinners. I hope you will be my guest one day.

And More...

Still more sewing....




And a little cooking. Game hen, buttered spinach and corn on the cob. Sweet tea washed it all down quite nicely. This was my first time cooking hen and I was quite pleased with the outcome. I’m trying to figure out what to cook tomorrow. Cookies are definitely on the menu.

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I’m finding out how just how much junk can be accumulated over a number of years. I have been in my house for 6 years now and I have more junk that I would like to admit. Not all junk though as much of it will be going to charity. Just a lot of stuff that I don’t need taking up space.

My Soup Kick

When I need a little pick-me-up, I tend to cook. And for some reason, chicken soup has been the feel good meal for the past couple of weeks. I made a new batch tonight. I'll be eating this for most of the week. I've put it in containers and I'm just waiting for it to cool down a bit before putting it in the fridge.











I ended up with a lot of it because I tend not to cook with a recipe and I don't measure anything. So if you want a chicken soup that is perfect for you, this is what you do.

pot of water, salt the water
add chicken (as much as you need)--don't bother to thaw and chop at this point. you can do it later
I added a chunk of a frozen mix of onions, bell peppers and celery that I keep on hand. Perfect for all soups and cornbread dressings.
When the chicken is cooked remove pieces, chop to desired size and return to pot. Shredding the chicken also has a good effect. (to shred, pull chicken apart with a fork)
Add more salt and pepper to the water as you are about to add noodles of choice and the noodles need a little flavor. I used veggie ribbon noodles for this mix but I have use all types of pasta or rice or both. Rainbow color varieties are perfect for this. Add as much pasta as you need. This soup freezes well so don't worry about making too much.

Before the pasta is completely cooked, add all vegetables. I used a frozen mix of vegetables. It doesn't matter what vegetables you add. You cannot go wrong.

Continue to cook until vegetables are heated through. Make cornbread to accompany, pour a glass of sweet tea, ladle up a big bowl and ENJOY!!!

See! You don't need recipes. Just throw it in the pot! More easy cooking to come in the future.