The Smiling Onion

Vegetarian and Gluten-free Cooking

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The recipes in this category are Low FODMAP at the proper serving sizes. Please note that I will occasionally link to other recipes that may not be Low FODMAP - when following linked recipes, be sure to check whether they have the Low FODMAP tag.

Double Chocolate Buckwheat Zucchini Muffins

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“Ping!” goes the toaster oven. And faster than a speeding bullet, I’m in the kitchen. The aroma of chocolaty goodness is making my mouth water, and I can hardly wait to chow down on my last double chocolate buckwheat zucchini muffin. (I’ve been keeping a bag of them in the freezer for easy access but haven’t allowed myself to finish them off before posting the recipe. Sidenote: Yes – these freeze!) As I bite into the muffin, my face lights up. It’s tender, chocolatey, cakey, deliciousness. Hard to believe this type of decadence can be achieved with gluten-free whole grains and zucchini! I pat myself on the back for having the willpower to save this one – they are pretty hard to resist  – and am then immediately annoyed that I chose to save just one, rather than two. Or three. With these muffins, it’s hard to stop.

While I’ve been sitting on this recipe for a while, the appearance of zucchini at the Greenmarket signaled that it was time to share. After all, while zucchini is one of my favorites (if you’re put off by the texture, try cooking it this way) the sheer surplus of it during the summer months means it’s a good idea to have some zucchini bread recipes on hand. I mean, it’s possible to get sick of eating zucchini, but almost unheard of to get sick of double chocolate muffins or zucchini spice cake. (Btw, while I decided to post this recipe as muffins, you can also make a sinfully delicious loaf of zucchini bread by baking the batter in a silicone loaf pan – see notes below. Plus you’ll still have enough batter left over for 3 muffins!)

Aside from giving you a reason to stay excited about zucchini in the months to come, these muffins have other benefits too. They are made with whole-grains like sorghum and buckwheat, you can freeze ’em for easy snacking, and they don’t contain too much sugar. The only real downside to making these muffins – and this is based on a sample size of 1 – is the risk of getting that Do you know the muffin man? song stuck in your head. I mitigated this unfortunate side effect by stuffing my face with muffins. It seemed to work!

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White Gazpacho

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Have you ever tried ajo blanco? Popular in Spain, it’s a white gazpacho made with blanched almonds and lots of garlic, thickened with bread. Even though I visited Spain before going gluten-free, I sadly never came across it.

If I had, I would probably be better able to describe to you whether my pecan gazpacho is indeed similar to ajo blanco. I can venture a guess that it is – it’s creamy, nutty, tart, and refreshing – and certainly resembles that classic Spanish white gazpacho visually. But there are several differences between this recipe and a traditional ajo blanco, which I’ll enumerate for my fellow cooking nerds below. For the rest of you, all you need to know is that this pecan-based version of white gazpacho is one of the best cold soups I’ve ever had.

So, how does this recipe differ from a traditional Spanish white gazpacho? Well, as I alluded to above, I’ve used pecans instead of almonds, soaked overnight for a smooth texture. Additionally, while ajo blanco does often feature green grapes, they aren’t typically blended into the soup, like I do here. Finally, there’s no bread at all in my recipe (don’t worry, the soup is still the proper texture without it!), I’ve used garlic-infused oil instead of raw garlic, and I’ve added a secret ingredient to top it all off: fennel. Blending in some fennel bulb with the pecans and grapes really creates a luscious, complex flavor that you probably won’t even be able to place right away. You’ll just know that you want to keep eating it.

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Spiced Cacao Breakfast Pudding

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There’s definitely no shortage of breakfast puddings and porridges on this site. While these types of warming breakfasts always make me feel the best, I have a compulsion for variety and I simply can’t just eat plain old oatmeal every morning. In fact, I often use the thrill of an exciting breakfast the next morning as a bargaining tool to prevent myself from late-night eating.

If I go to sleep now, I’ll feel refreshed in the morning and have time to make my golden porridge…or 5-spice+turmeric breakfast pudding…or 3-ingredient creamy coconut porridge…or (my newest addition to the breakfast porridge rotations) –  this spiced cacao breakfast pudding. 

When morning comes, the promise of an already-decided-upon breakfast also helps get me out of bed! (There is nothing worse than getting up and realizing you don’t have anything appetizing to eat for breakfast.) In addition to being a great incentive for starting the day, here’s what I like about this spiced cacao breakfast pudding, which is made by simmering teff flour on the stove:

-Easy to prepare

-Nutrient-rich (Teff is high in protein, iron, and calcium!)

-Contains raw cacao powder, for a chocolaty boost of energy

-Is delicately spiced, light, and warming – the perfect food to eat early in the morning!

Oh, and you can top it with salted-maple pecans if you like!

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Vegan Salty Oat Cookies

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If you’ve been following my blog for a while, there’s a chance that the title of this post sounds familiar to you. I do, in fact, already have a salty oat cookie recipe – created way back in May of last year – that has since become a staple of mine. It’s so quick and easy to whip up a batch, and said batch is so satisfying to munch on, that I find myself making these sweet and salty confections to bring to all manner of occasions, from game nights to family events. But it’s always been my intention to eventually post a vegan version, since I had a hunch these could taste just as good without the butter and egg. And in fact, I’ve known that hunch to be correct ever since November, when I buckled down and perfected these vegan salty oat cookies as part of our Thanksgiving menu. So it’s high time to share the love!

The secret to veganizing the recipe? Freshly ground chia seed (pre-ground didn’t gel as well and yielded crumbly cookies while flax meal made them take on a too-healthy taste that wasn’t cookie appropriate), coconut oil, and toasted hazelnuts. Other than those minor changes, this recipe is pretty similar to the original. Every time I make either version, I’m convinced I like it better than the other, so I really can’t say for sure which one I prefer. But toasted hazelnuts do have a special place in my heart – and tummy – and definitely lend these cookies a buttery quality that makes it very hard to tell that they are, in fact, vegan.

So if you’re looking for a scrumptious, coffeeshop-like cookie that’s both vegan and gluten-free, look no further! (Especially if you are also a fan of oats, peanut butter, and chocolate chips.)

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Plantain “Nachos” with Jalapeño Crema

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Do nachos have to contain chips? I’m of the opinion that they don’t. Because when oven-fried sweet plantains are covered with beans, feta, and cilantro and then drizzled with jalapeño crema, it sure feels like I’m eating a hefty plate of delectable nachos. Except that my teeth actually have something to sink into – that meaty, sweet plantain – instead of just crunching through dry chips. And also I need a fork.

But if you fall in the “Hardline Traditionalist” category of this sandwich chart, I’m guessing you are also a hardline traditionalist when it comes to nachos. In that case, just think of these as loaded plantains.

Whatever you choose to call it, this dish is really quite delicious and would make the perfect Cinco de Mayo grub. The aforementioned toppings are just suggested – you can top your oven-fried plantains with whatever fixings your heart desires – but I do advise that you drizzle the final product with some jalapeño crema (recipe included). It’s tangy and spicy, making it the perfect compliment to those sweet plantains.

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Five Spice Tofu

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Have you ever realized that you tend to gravitate towards the same spices/herbs? Some years ago, I noticed that most of the meals I cooked for myself were seasoned with either cumin and hot paprika (still a solid combo!) or some version of Italian seasoning. Sure, occasionally, I would add one or two additional spices to the cumin and hot paprika mix (oregano for Mexican-inspired dishes, coriander and garam masala for Indian-inspired ones) but those three  – cumin, hot paprika, and Italian seasoning – were definitely the ones that I used most heavily.

Yet spices/herbs have impressive health benefits in addition to opening up a world of flavor combinations, so in recent years, I’ve been making an effort to branch out a bit more. Thyme – which I almost never touched for most of my life – has become a staple, as well as dill, sage, allspice, and turmeric. I discovered five spice powder (a mix of cinnamon, fennel, cloves, star anise, and white pepper) in culinary school, when we made five-spice dates, which literally consisted of rolling dates in five spice powder. But what a flavor! This was a spice mix I had to add to my pantry.

While I don’t use it as often as some of the spices mentioned above, it’s fantastic on root veggies, in noodle soups, and in this carrot breakfast pudding. But I probably use it most often in tofu dishes, along with tamari, toasted sesame oil, and chives. Sometimes I stir-fry my tofu and veggies briefly, and then just cover and let ’em simmer with the tamari and five spice. But I also love making Chinese take-out imitations like this dish, which coats crispy, fried tofu in a delightfully sticky, sweet and salty sauce and is perfect over rice or millet. Best of all? The sauce comes together in seconds!

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Turmeric-Ginger Hot Chocolate

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As a morning person, I’m generally refreshed and energized as soon as I open my eyes – ready to tackle whatever the day has in store for me. I do my best work in the morning, and I don’t need coffee or anything else to wake me up. (Afternoons and evenings are an entirely different story, of course.) When I woke up this morning, though, something was off.

I had gotten plenty of sleep, but felt tired and grumpy. I had to leave my apartment early to make it in time for student teaching but couldn’t bring myself to rush. And it felt like a layer of fog covered everything I heard, said, or did. When I arrived at the school where I was student teaching, I was amused to see that the class’s word of the day was “lethargic.” Yup.

Things declined from there. I went to the grocery store to buy zucchini, and they were out. I bought a water bottle that turned out to be unnecessary, and it made my bag uncomfortably heavy. The app I use to display my bus pass kept bugging out, and when I tried to uninstall and reinstall, my connection died after the uninstall. (Of course the bus arrived as soon as this happened!) In short, I was beginning to think I was the new protagonist of the childhood classic Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  

Luckily, when things go wrong or I’m feeling downright irritable (which I was by this point), I know what to do: eat chocolate. Or in this case, drink chocolate. Generally, ingesting chocolate one way or another (has anyone tried a syringe?) is a pretty solid mood lifter. And I’m happy to say it did the trick today.

Of course, don’t wait until you have a bad day to make this epic hot chocolate. It’s thick, creamy, rich, and comforting, with subtle warming notes from the turmeric-ginger combo. And I do mean subtle: the main flavor here is dark chocolate, but I melt it into a mix of coconut cream, almond milk, and ginger-turmeric tonic for a truly special cup. Whether you feel like you’re on top of the world, at the bottom of a dumpster, or somewhere in between, this hot chocolate is guaranteed to lift your spirits.

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Creamy Carrot Soup

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I first made a version of this carrot soup on a cold, blustery “spring” day just like today, when all I wanted to do was curl up under a blanket and eat something comforting. It came out so flavorful that I forgot about the weather altogether. In fact, I had to abandon my original plan of a carrot-cheddar chowder because the soup tasted awesome and I hadn’t even added the cheese yet.

Despite the absence of cheese, the “finishing cream,” as I’ve termed it, gives this soup a cheesy flavor. It’s rich and luscious, with the bright savory notes of dill, chives, and thyme complimenting the sweetness of the carrots perfectly. A couple spoonfuls of this could do wonders for a mac & cheese (I’ve got comfort food on the brain) or any type of grain-based casserole. That’s if you have any left over, of course. I served it with some smoky tempeh strips and sautéed swiss chard for a very satisfying lunch, and we ate the whole pot.

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Moroccan Quinoa with Preserved Lemon

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I designed this quinoa with Passover in mind, but it may very well become a staple in our household. Here are three reasons why:

1. It’s incredibly flavorful

Simmered with Moroccan spices like cumin, turmeric, allspice, and cinnamon, a drop of olive oil, and a hefty dose of preserved lemon (if you haven’t tried this, you are in for a treat!) this quinoa tastes even better than it smells.

2. It’s pleasing on the eyes

Forget your mountain vistas and city skylines…instead,  feast your eyes on lovely mounds of beautiful golden pearls, flecked with bits of bright red pepper, dark succulent raisins, vibrant green cilantro, and whimsically geometric walnuts. (Too much? Just practicing my storytelling for the seder…but seriously, my photos really don’t do this dish justice. One of these days, I’ll get an actual camera and stop taking photos on my phone!)

3. It’s easy to make and can be served hot or cold

Aside from measuring the spices, there’s not much you have to do here. Put the quinoa in a pot with the spices and lemon, set your timer, and walk away. In 18 minutes or so, you’ll have the most luscious, flavorful side dish all ready to go. You can eat it steaming hot right from the pot (even without any of the mix-ins) or, as in this recipe, spread it out to cool slightly before tossing it with the red pepper, walnuts, raisins, and cilantro. Once it’s cooled completely, store it in an airtight container in the fridge and serve cold.

So…ready, set, QUINOA!

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St. Paddy’s Day Cabbage with Caraway and Thyme

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The first word used to describe cabbage isn’t generally “decadent,” but when it’s caramelized in butter with leeks, caraway seeds, and thyme,  I’d say decadent is a pretty apt description. It’s maybe not quite as decadent as last year’s St. Paddy’s Day recipe, which fell in the realm of sweets and desserts (Irish whiskey banana bread!), but – as a side dish, it’s pretty damn delicious. And Irish to boot!

Green cabbage is traditional for St. Paddy’s Day, and butter, caraway, and thyme are often used in Irish cuisine. I don’t know if it’s traditional or not, but I happen to like this with a little pinch of ground mustard thrown in for a slight kick. (I actually thought about serving this with a mustard cream but decided the cabbage was so good on its own I didn’t want to overwhelm it with a sauce.)

Serve this cabbage alongside whatever your St. Paddy’s day meal pièce de résistance happens to be. Or, if you are looking to create a vegetarian pièce de résistance, try using this cabbage as a stuffing for baked potatoes and serve them with the mustard cream I almost made (combine mustard, sour cream, and minced fresh parsley). Options abound! (Oh, and you might as well make the aforementioned whiskey banana bread for dessert!)

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