Tuesday, February 4, 2025

gluten-free dairy-free sausage sweet potato apple onion casserole



For a wedding present two of my favorite professors from college gave us a copy of the More-with-Less Cookbook, a Mennonite cookbook that is much beloved and much used for the past 23 years in our household. 

I even got my in-laws this book years ago after using it first for a few years myself and knowing that it was worth it.

I've slightly adapted this casserole recipe from the book.

You'll need:
  • about 400 g sausage, bulk or links (if links, then chop into small pieces), then browned in a pan
  • about 7 or 8 small Japanese sweet potatoes, washed, leaving peel on, slice, and steam
  • 2 Japanese apples, peeled and sliced
  • 1 red onion, sliced thinly
  • 3/4 cup warm water 
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons rice flour, or other gluten-free flour
  • shakes of cinnamon
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • few shakes of sage
Do this:

In the pan that you browned the sausage in, remove the sausage, then layer in steamed sweet potatoes, apples, onions, and sausage. I can get two layers in mine.

Mix the warm water, sugar, flour, cinnamon, sage, salt, and pepper, then pour over. 

Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes at 170 C/350 F.

Uncover and bake 10 minutes more. 

Itadakimasu! 



Saturday, February 1, 2025

gluten-free dairy-free apple-rhubarb crumble cheesecake

 


The base cheesecake underneath all this luscious topping is from a Mamatouille recipe here, which is a vegan and dairy-free, gluten-free amazing cheesecake. 

After you've made your cheesecake and chilled it, here's the apple-rhubarb topping that you make and then chill before spreading over the cheesecake. 

For the apple-rhubarb topping, you'll need:

  • 3 or 4 apples, peeled and chopped
  • a few sticks of rhubarb, chopped
  • sugar to taste
  • cinnamon
  • ginger powder
Do this: 

Simmer the apples and rhubarb with a little bit of water, then add sugar, cinnamon, and ginger powder to taste. Cook till thick, then chill in a jar in the fridge.

For the crumble topping, you'll need:
  • rice flour
  • almond flour
  • chopped walnuts
  • brown sugar
  • cinnamon
  • ginger powder
  • dairy-free margarine
Do this:

Stir the rice flour, almond flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger powder together. With your hands, work in the margarine till it's a nice consistency, then stir in the chopped walnuts. 

Bake at 170 C/350 F till browned, about 10-12 minutes. Cool. 

For the whipped cream topping, you'll need:
  • heavy soy cream
  • powdered sugar
  • vanilla
Do this: 

Beat till fluffy. 

Assemble it all:

1. Your baked cheesecake
2. Spread on the apple-rhubarb topping, leaving some space on the edges
3. Sprinkle with the crumble topping
4. Pipe the whipped cream around the edges

And then enjoy that sucker! It's extremely filling and magically delicious.

easy potato salad with garlic chives

 


I had leftover "baked" potatoes in their jackets from the microwave, cold in the fridge and uneaten, so I just riffed from there...

You'll need:
  • cooked potatoes in their jackets (with peels on), cooled, chopped
  • nira (garlic chives), chopped
  • mayo
  • regular yellow mustard
  • Dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper
  • paprika
  • dried or fresh parsley
Do this:

Mix it all together and have with a sausage smothered in sauerkraut. 

Thursday, January 23, 2025

gluten-free dairy-free pasta e ceci (pasta with chickpeas)



I heavily adapted this recipe from The Mediterranean Dish, but of course there were items I can't get here in Japan and that I can't eat anyway. So here's my version of pasta e ceci (pasta with chickpeas).

Chickpeas, please! Love 'em.

You'll need:
  • about 300 g gluten-free pasta
  • 2 tablespoons bacon fat
  • olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • tomato paste
  • bay leaf
  • salt and pepper
  • cayenne pepper
  • paprika
  • oregano
  • mixed Italian herbs
  • dried parsley
  • 2 cans chickpeas (do not drain)
  • 2 carrots, finely diced or grated
  • 1 stick celery, finely diced
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • as many garlic cloves as you like, minced
  • 2 cups veggie broth
Do this:

Saute the veg in the olive oil and bacon fat.

Stir in the chickpeas with their liquid, the tomatoes, and the spices. 

Add in the veggie broth, and simmer. 

Cook the pasta separately, then add it all together and drizzle with some more olive oil if you like. 

Buon Appetito! 



Thursday, January 9, 2025

gluten-free dairy-free blueberry cranberry oatmeal muffins with cinnamon streussel topping


These come by way of my More with Less cookbook, but I had to change it a lot for my dietary needs. They came out great though. 

Here's what I did.

You'll need:
  • 1 cup rice flour
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1 tablespoon katakuriko potato starch (or cornstarch)
  • 2 cups oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons oil
  • 2 cups milk (I use soy)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup dried blueberries
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
  • for the topping: 4 tablespoons brown sugar, 4 teaspoons rice flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons melted dairy-free margarine
Do this:

In a big bowl, mix the rice flour, almond flour, starch, xanthan gum, oats, salt, and baking powder. 

Add in the oil, dried fruit, eggs, and milk.

Spoon into muffin cups for baking.

In a small separate bowl, smush the topping ingredients together and then sprinkle on top of the muffins. 

Bake at 180 C/360 F for about 15-20 minutes. 

Eat for breakfast on a snowy morning with a hot hot hot cuppa.