The Smiling Onion

Vegetarian and Gluten-free Cooking

Subscribe

  • Home
  • All Recipes
    • By Cuisine
      • Mexican
      • Indian
      • Caribbean
      • Italian
      • Middle Eastern
      • Asian
      • New American
    • By Diet
      • Peanut & Tree Nut-Free
      • Egg-Free
      • Grain-Free
      • Vegan
      • Dairy-Free
      • Low FODMAP
    • By Type
      • Soups and Stews
      • Salads
      • Sides
      • Entrees
  • Breakfasts
  • Twists on the Classics
  • Simple and Easy
  • Baked Goods and Desserts
  • Pantry
  • About The Smiling Onion
  • Recipe Guidelines
  • Recipe Gallery
  • Musings
  • Contact

Strawberry & Cream Blini Rolls (Grain-free!)

January 8, 2019 By Alana Leave a Comment

Strawberry & Cream Blini Rolls

Hibernation is one of the coolest things about the winter. I don’t know about you, but I always feel at least a small twinge of envy imagining all manner of creatures –  from bears to bats to turtles – hiding out until the sun comes out and the world is a warm and happy place again. Turns out I missed the hibernation memo, though, because I’m emerging from my cave smack dab in the middle of winter and spent most of a mild autumn outside of my daily routine. Of course, my hibernation period was also a little less envy-producing;  my cave was filled with work and school and dwelling in it throughout the autumn season meant a longer than usual break from blogging. So I’m super excited to rejoin the world, even if I have to do so from beneath a few pounds of outerwear.

And what better way to bring some brightness to this cloudy January than with these delicious blini rolls! For those who aren’t familiar with blinis, they are Russian pancakes that vary in thickness and can be served sweet or savory. My grain-free version is a little thicker than a crepe but much thinner than your standard American pancake. It is filled with strawberry preservers and a delectable sweet cream, then rolled and sliced into elegant little spirals for your eating pleasure. These guys are fairly simple to make – the blinis have just three ingredients and come together in the blender and the filling is even easier. And, provided you let everything cool completely, unmolding them from the parchment paper, rolling, and slicing is really no big deal. In fact, the most difficult part of this recipe is probably separating your eggs! (But don’t worry, I have plenty of ways for you to use up those yolks – see notes below.)

[Read more…]

Tagged With: Cream Cheese, Plantain, Sour Cream, Strawberry Jam Filed Under: Baked Goods and Desserts, Grain-Free, Low FODMAP, Twists on the Classics

Zucchini Spice Cake with Vanilla-Nutmeg Frosting

September 16, 2017 By Alana 1 Comment

Zucchini Spice Cake

It started with a gigantic zucchini, surreptitiously hidden amongst many ordinary-sized zucchinis in my mother’s garden. Once it emerged, we were left wondering how something so enormous could successfully remain in hiding for so long. Was something supernatural at play? Not wanting to take any chances, my mother not-so-surreptitiously unloaded the mysterious monster onto me, where it not so much sat as embodied all of the remaining space in my fridge with its girth.

When life – or family, in this case – hands you a gigantic zucchini suspected of  having supernatural powers, breaking it down becomes somewhat of an urgent matter. So I made zucchini bread. And it was awesome. Enjoyed warm, right out of the oven, it was even supernaturally-awesome. Airy, delicately spiced, buttery….so it was true! There was loveliness inside even the scariest monsters.

Once refrigerated, the bread took on a denser, cakier texture and it occurred to me that it might function as a delicious layer cake. (I happen to like my cakes on the denser side, provided there is some light and fluffy frosting accompanying the layers!) So, enter this zucchini-spice cake, which is composed of two zucchini bread layers separated and surrounded by a vanilla-nutmeg cream cheese frosting that you won’t be able to stop eating. If you can, I’d be worried that this recipe unknowingly transmitted some supernatural  zucchini powers to you, dear eater! And what a pickle we’d be in then.

[Read more…]

Tagged With: Butter, Cream Cheese, Nutmeg, Sour Cream, Zucchini Filed Under: Baked Goods and Desserts, Low FODMAP, New American

Grain-Free Lokshen Kugel for Passover

April 8, 2017 By Alana Leave a Comment

Lokshen Kugel

Noodle Kugel for Passover? Am I meshugana? Nope. This kugel is completely Passover-appropriate. It also happens to be grain-free, gluten-free, nut-free, lactose-free, and low FODMAP. (Sorry vegans – I’m working on it.)  Don’t be scared by that long list of “frees” either; this kugel is the opposite of deprivation. Carrot noodles take the place of traditional noodles, which means more flavor. And holding them together? It’s that traditional sweet cream cheese custard we all know and love. In fact, when I first made this, I was almost disappointed by how much it tasted like your standard deli kugel – should I have added some ginger? Orange zest? Something to make it a bit more unique?

Then I realized grain-free noodle kugel was unique, and the fact that it tasted remarkably similar to traditional kugel was probably a selling point. Spiralized carrots are baked with sour cream, eggs, cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a few (optional) raisins. Then the whole thing is chilled overnight, cut into squares, and …voila! It’s that traditional, sweet, Jewish dessert so quintessential to special occasions. And Kosher for passover to boot.

So if you want to experiment with some ground ginger, or orange zest, or cardamom, or whatever sounds good to you – by all means, do it! And please let me know how it turns out. But if you are a traditionalist – look no further. This is your kugel.

[Read more…]

Tagged With: Carrot Noodles, Carrots, Cream Cheese, Kugel, Passover, Sour Cream Filed Under: Baked Goods and Desserts, Eastern European, Grain-Free, Low FODMAP, New American, Peanut & Tree Nut-Free, Twists on the Classics

Connect with Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Hi, I’m Alana!

Thanks for checking out my collection of gluten-free and vegetarian recipes (with many grain-free, vegan, and dairy-free options) inspired by the cuisines I like most :-)

Read More about The Smiling Onion

gluten free blog network directory

Recent Posts

  • Oatmeal with Frothed Milk, Jaggery, Raisins, and Hazelnuts
  • Oyster Mushroom & Edamame Tacos
  • Turmeric-Carrot Muffins
  • Cranberry & Ginger Cream Parfait
  • Green Bean Chutney

Categories

Archives

  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015

Home  About  Contact - Copyright 2015