How to Delicious Recipes for Dairy-FREE Solutions

Are you allergic to dairy? Did you think you had to go on suffering or do without? Well, you don't. There are nice-tasting and easy substitutes for dairy, specifically, I will be dealing with cheese,and you can use this substitutes instead of what causes you allergies and they can be incorporated into dishes as varied as macaroni and cheese, cheesy potato casserole,eggplant parmesan, breaded cauliflower or just to spread on toast!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 Tbsp. tahini
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika powder
• 1/2 cup raw cashews or almonds
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1. This recipe is a dream in the sense that it is so easy to make. If you don't happen to have sweet paprika powder, you can always take 1/2 of a red Bell pepper, and process it in the blender with a tiny amount of water until smooth and add it to the recipe.

2. Basically, you will put all the ingredients into a blender or food processor except the cornstarch and process until creamy. Scrape them into a pot and add the cornstarch, mix it well into the cream so there will be no lumps.

3. Cook this mixture until it thickens. Let cool. Keep in the refrigerator in a container with a lid. When it is completely cold, it is even slizable. Use it pretty much as you would cheese.
   Suggestions:
   If you want to use for macaroni and cheese, just cook your pasta as always and drain it. While it is hot, scoop it into a bowl and add the "cheese" and mix it all real well.
   If you want to make a casserole with it, like a potato casserole, you boil your potatoes and peel them, slice them and just layer them with the "cheese" or pour the melted cheese on top, and you bake it at 350º F until it is golden and has a crust.
   You can do the same with yams, sweet potatoes, squash. Also with penne pasta. You can even alternate layers of spaghetti sauce and of this "cheese" for pasta or for pasta casseroles. You can also alternate vegetables with this cheese for pasta or potato casseroles. Or even use it on top of cooked frozen vegetables, adding an extra sprinkle of garlic or onion powder and a tiny bit of olive oil and you've got a nice tasting side dish for mashed potatoes!
   For bread you either spread it on toast or add slices to sandwiches, pitas or wraps. You can make what I call Bundlettas, which is a nifty use of tortillas, to make "bundled wraps" full of whatever you want, in this case you can use a meat substitite with a tomato sauce and top it with this cheese and fold it like a package and either toast it until the wrap is golden or just eat as is. You can make pasta with tomato spaghetti sauce and meat substitute cooked int he sauce and top it with this cheese. Rice and vegetables can be made also, use pre-cooked brown rice, thaw a package of mixed vegeteables and add to the rice with a bit of a chicken-style broth or vegetable broth (homemade is best), adjust salt and add 1 tsp. onion powder and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder and 1 Tbsp. olive oil, let the vegetables cook and the rice absorb the liquid. While it is piping hot, put a couple of large tablespoons of this cheese on top and mix it into the ric

4. If you want to make breaded cauliflower with this cheese, you proceed as follows: Thaw your cauliflower flowerettes, and make your cheese,
   add 1 Tbsp. olive oil and if you want to, a squeeze of lemon juice to the cheese for this recipe only, if you do it iwth the whole batch it will get sour in a few days and you won't like it.If you want to,
   you can add a bit of minced chives or a tiny bit of minced dill to the cheese.Toast some whole wheat bread and crumble it into bread crumbs in your blender and set aside.
   Cook your cauliflower till tender and then, use the cheese to dip and the bread crumbs to dredge the cauliflower flowerettes. Put in a baking dish and bake till golden brown and serve as is or with a gravy.
   For eggplant "parmesan", just peel, slice and seed your eggplant. And layer in a greased casserole dish with layers of this cheese and top them each time with your favorite spaghetti sauce. Bake at 350º F for 1 hour. Finally, you can make a dish with whole wheat tortillas full of meat substitute or vegetables, topped with sauce and this cheese and line a baking dish with them and bake them till golden, and just slice and serve.

Tips & Warnings

• This "cheese" will last about a week in the fridge, no more, so adjust amounts if you are the only one who's going to eat it or use it in a large dish like a casserole.
• Don't freeze it, it would turn watery when you thaw it.

[craftybegonia]

on 12/18/2008 It is very versatile, I hope you enjoy it.

[lydiabily]

on 12/17/2008 Sounds delicious. Very nice dairy-free sauce. I can't wait to try it.