Idiazabal

Posted on May 19, 2018 by melsmosaic

In a previous post I mentioned The Fox & The Crow in Fort Collins. They not only have great food, but also quite the extensive cheese selection. That means they also have non-cow cheese!

Went in these to see what I could find to have as just a fun appetizer for a dinner. After some discussion, I was offered a sample of the Idiazabal, a sheep’s milk cheese from Spain. It was amazing! Just semi-hard and had a unique smokiness to it. Far too good. Had to be careful not to buy too much of it. Would also be perfect paired with some Pinotage!

Had to do some quick research on it, as well. Did not know there is a cheese.com site… it confirmed my taste of smoke and gave me more info. Great stuff. Can’t wait to grab more.

Dairy-Free Cheesecake

Posted on January 21, 2017 by melsmosaic

I haven’t eaten cheesecake for ages because of my lactose intolerance. I have just found other things to gorge on post-dinner. I have a few lactard friends who are in the same boat but are on the lookout for options.

When a friend came over for dinner she picked up something that caught her attention at Wegmans (sigh, why can’t one be closer to me, it’s down the street from her). She found a Strawberry Cheezecake (no that’s not a typo) from Daiya, who’s tagline is ‘deliciously dairy-free.’

The ingredients in this, that make it diary free are:

Cheezecake filling (Filtered water, creamed coconut, cane sugar, coconut oil, tapioca starch, non-GMO expeller pressed: canola and/or safflower oil, strawberries, potato starch, vegan natural flavors, pea protein, sea salt, vegetable glycerin, sodium alginate, xanthan gum, lactic acid (vegan), tricalcium phosphate, cultured sugar, agave syrup, fruit and/or vegetable juice (color), vegan enzyme)

Gluten-free crust (tapioca starch, cane sugar, coconut oil, brown rice flour, white whole grain sorghum flour, filtered water, potato starch, non-GMO expeller pressed: canola and/or safflower oil, blackstrap molasses, vanilla extract, milled flax seed, psyllium, baking powder, sea salt, sunflower lecithin, xanthan gum.)

There are a lot of ingredients but all things considered, not too bad. And, considering there was no diary, that was a pretty darn good cake. They have some other flavors, too — New York, Key Lime and Chocolate.

I happened to be at the Washington Health & Fitness Expo a couple weeks ago and Daiya had a booth. They were making some quesadillas so I grabbed a bite. Hadn’t tried their cheese yet. It was a bit chewy. But, if you are craving and wanting some cheese and can’t eat ‘normal cheese,’ you could go this route. Or if you need it for a recipe that you can’t really make alterations in, it should work. Overall, I think I’d rather stick with goat or sheep. I might, however, have to check out their mac & cheese at some point because I don’t know the last time I had that. It might not be perfect, but hey, it I had it with some wine or beer, it could make a very classy meal.

Oh Ewe Cheese

Posted on October 13, 2016 by melsmosaic

Was on just a normal shopping trip the other day so had to stop at Trader Joe’s. That also meant I was required to stop by the sample and coffee counter. They had a cheese sample out, so at first I didn’t think I could have some as the lactard. Then I saw that it was goat cheese, cool. It was a new one — Chevre with Honey. Just a little bit of sweet taste. I used to not like goat cheese but it has gotten so much better. Ok, bad idea to try it… Effective work TJ’s… I left with one of the 8 oz. packages. We’ll see how long it takes me to get more.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Posted on August 18, 2016 by melsmosaic

Over a month ago I was strolling through Trader Joe’s and saw this frozen riced cauliflower and just had to grab it, why not? Then last week I was going to a friend’s place for a potluck dinner and (1) wanted to try something new and (2) she is gluten intolerant. I remembered I had the riced cauliflower so had to see what I could use it for. Started looking stuff up and came across some recipes for Cauliflower Crust Pizza. That sounded great! Especially since my cauliflower was already riced. The recipe I ended up using was from the Lucky Penny Blog. It’s both gluten and dairy free.

Ingredients

1 medium sized head of cauliflower – should yield close to 3 cups once processed (this is where I used the riced cauliflower from Trader Joe’s)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (crush it even more between your fingers)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (crust it even more between you fingers)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
optional a few shakes of crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons almond meal (my friend has a Vitamix — this took 2 seconds to make)
1 tablespoon (or more if desired) nutritional yeast (you could also omit this entirely if you like) — didn’t use it
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg

Directions

-Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking oil or brush the parchment with olive oil.

*I skipped these next 2 steps with the riced cauliflower.

[Wash and throughly dry a small head of cauliflower. Don’t get one the size of your head unless you are planning on making 2 pizzas. Cut off the florets, you don’t need much stem. Just stick with the florets. Pulse in your food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get powdery snow like cauliflower. See above photo. You should end up with about 3 cups cauliflower “snow”. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover. Microwave for 4 minutes. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool for a bit before attempting the next step.

Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel and wring the water out of it. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess.]

-Dump cauliflower into a bowl. Now add all your spices, your almond meal, your nutritional yeast (if using), and your olive oil. Mix the mixture to incorporate all the ingredients. Now add your egg and mix away again. Hands tend to work best.

-Once mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper. Pat it down thoroughly, you want it nice and tightly formed together. Don’t make it too thick or thin either.

-Using a cutting board slide the parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until it starts to turn golden brown and the edges crisp up. Remove from oven. *It took a bit more time to cook that it called for. This is likely because I forgot to heat the baking sheet before I put the pizza in the oven. So I cooked it a bit longer, probably about 10 more minutes.

-Add your toppings and slide parchment with topped pizza back in the hot oven and cook for another 5 minutes until the toppings are warm. If using cheese for a topping, you can pop the pizza under the broiler to get the cheese melted fast without burning the crust.

I put manchego, olives and tomatoes on the pizza, then topped it with arugula when it came out of the oven. It was a bit moist, but nice and crisp on the edges. Very tasty and I’ll have to try it again.

New find

Posted on August 4, 2016 by melsmosaic

Was at Trader Joe’s the other day (not like that was something new) and they have done their typical thing of moving products around. So now the hummus is pretty much right in front of you as you walk in the door at one of the locations I go to. Had to check it out just in case I needed to pick some up.

I saw a new one…it’s not actually hummus but Green Tahini Dip and Sauce. The ingredients: Tahini (Ground Sesame Seed), Water, Lemon Juice, Parsley, Green Onion, Dill, Mint, Dehydrated Garlic, Cilantro, Sea Salt, Cumin, Citric Acid.

It has some nice tang to it, great with veggies and the normal pita chips, etc. Totally worth testing. And, it’s lactose free and gluten free!

Brussels Sprout Salad with Toasted Sesame Vinaigrette

Posted on July 22, 2016 by melsmosaic

Need a nice refreshing salad with these crazy hot summer temps? There is a great one from the March issue of Food & Wine. It’s Brussels Sprout Salad with Toasted Sesame Vinaigrette. The brussels sprouts aren’t cooked so it’s a nice cold salad. And it’s lactose free and gluten free.

Ingredients

1/4 cup white sesame seeds
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 pound brussels sprouts, very thinly sliced
1 Pink Lady apple—halved, cored and thinly sliced
1 medium shallot, halved lengthwise and very thinly sliced
1 serrano chile—stemmed, seeded and very thinly sliced (I didn’t use this)
1/2 cup chopped mint
Black sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Directions

In a small skillet, toast the white sesame seeds over moderately low heat, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a blender and let cool. Add the lemon zest and juice, then add the vinegar, garlic and honey and puree until a chunky paste forms, about 1 minute. With the machine on, gradually add the olive oil and puree until nearly smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape the vinaigrette into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Add the brussels sprouts, apple, shallot, chile and mint to the dressing and toss well. Season with salt and pepper and toss again. Garnish with black sesame seeds, if using, and serve right away.

It was so nice and crunchy with the sprouts and the apples, and so nice and cold. Perfect with the crazy hot temps!

First taste of Ethiopian

Posted on July 22, 2016 by melsmosaic

My friend finally talked me into trying Ethiopian food recently. I was told I would not have to worry because there is no dairy in this stuff. So I checked it out. We went to Addis Adaba in Silver Spring, MD, just outside of Washington, DC (sorry they don’t have a website).

I had heard that with this cuisine you get to use the hands (only) so this was going to be pretty interesting. I let my friend order because he’d been many times. So the decision was Beyaynetu, a vegetarian platter combo of Meiser Wat, Yatekilt Wat, Kik Alicha, Tikil Gomen and Gomen.

The definition of these:

Meiser Wat: Spicy lentil stew with berbere and garlic
Yatekilt Wat: Green beans, carrots, potatoes, jalapenos with Ethiopian spices and herbs
Kik Alicha: Yellow split peas with garlic, peppers and onions
Tikil Gomen: Fresh cabbage with onions and carrots
Gomen: Collard greens cooked with onions and jalapenos

And this is all served with injera, the traditional Ethiopian bread, aka your fork. After a quick google search, I have found that this is:

Injera (Amharic: ənǧära እንጀራ [ɨndʒəra]; sometimes transliterated as enjera; or “taita” Tigrinya: ጣይታ) is an East African sourdough-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

It was a super cool sponge texture, indeed, as darn tasty.

So dinner came out and pretty interesting. Very colorful and quite good! I am very glad my friend got me to go. Will definitely have to enjoy this food again and explore other Ethiopian restaurants, as well.

New veggie salad

Posted on July 12, 2016 by melsmosaic

Found a new recipe to try from a recent issue of Health magazine, Tomato, Cucumber and Green Bean Salad with Walnut Dressing. Sounded perfect for these hot days.

Ingredients

1/3 cup broken walnut pieces
1 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed, cut into 1-in. lengths (grabbed the frozen ones from Trader Joe’s)
Salt
6 ounces grape tomatoes, halved (that quantity seemed low, almost doubled it)
1/2 cup thinly sliced (lengthwise) red onion
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, halved lengthwise and cut into 1⁄4-in. slices (added more)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (I accidentally grabbed flat leaf parsley)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

Preparation

1. Combine walnuts, garlic and salt in a food processor and blend until finely ground. (If preferred, walnuts, garlic and salt can be pounded into a paste with a mortar and pestle.) Combine walnut mixture, oil and vinegar in a salad bowl and whisk until blended. — I ended up with a nice paste.

2. Cook green beans in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain well, rinse with cold water, spread on a dish towel and pat dry.

3. Add green beans, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, cilantro, dill and mint to walnut dressing and toss to blend.

Very refreshing. As mentioned, I grabbed parsley instead of cilantro, so it can likely taste even better than it did. Nice for hot summer days.

Vermont, we have a problem

Posted on March 7, 2016 by melsmosaic

Innovation is key, yes indeed. But sometimes staying a step behind helps people stay away from ‘harmful’ things. What am I referencing? Ben & Jerry’s, that just slightly known ice cream name based in Vermont, has just come out with a non-dairy ice cream. Lactose-intolerant ones, oh lactards, let’s rejoice! Also, if wondering, it’s certified vegan. I see trouble on the horizon…

I happened to read a press release about this about a month or so ago and have been waiting for this stuff to come out. Finally found it after going to…I’m not going to say how many stores.

I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I have eaten Chunky Monkey. I just sort of let that spoon hang out of my mouth. Are there really four servings in a container?

Vermont, you have really caused a problem here. I’m going to start spending way too much money and will need to go to the gym a bit more frequently. Besides Chunky Monkey, they also have a few other flavors of the non-dairy addiction. Totally check this stuff out.

Ginger Cubed/Power of 3 Biscotti

Posted on January 23, 2016 by melsmosaic

Technology is great…but sometimes you can’t type the proper stuff. The title of the blog should read Ginger $3 Biscotti. Ok, I feel so relieved now this is coming across better! This biscotti has three types of ginger is why that 3 is so important. Anyway\dotsbiscotti is one of my favorite things to bake because it can be made with no dairy, so those of us who are lactose intolerant/lactards can enjoy it! I hadn’t made this ‘flavor’ recently so had to break it out.$

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (I have found some great stuff jarred stuff at the Asian market that is handy to just have on hand)
1/3 cup crystallized ginger, chopped (Trader’s Joes or Whole Foods bulk)
1 cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

-Preheat the oven to 375. Blend the flour, sugar, ground ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt briefly with an electric mixer (I love my KitchenAid).

-Blend in the egg, vanilla, fresh and crystallized ginger. Finally add the nuts, and might need some water, too. Blend until dough is good texture to put into logs.

-Grease a large baking sheet (oh silpat, I love you). Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a log. Transfer the logs to the baking sheet, leaving space between the logs.

-Bake until the logs are firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and reduce the temperature to 325. Wearing an oven mitt to hold the logs in place, use a serrated knife (pizza cutters actually work a heck of a lot better) to cut them crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2-3/4″ thick cookies.

-Lay the cookies on one side and return the baking sheet to the oven. Bake until the biscotti are crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Cool the biscotti on racks and store in an airtight container.

**at this point I actually just turn the oven off and let them stay in the oven until I’m ready to eat them. I also put them on a rack on the cookie sheet so they get the heat on both sides during the second bake.

I have been making these for years and love them. Can never go wrong with biscotti, from dunking them in coffee to wine to just munching on them for snacks.