The Smiling Onion

Vegetarian and Gluten-free Cooking

Subscribe

Imitation Horchata

By Leave a Comment

Horchata is a delicious, creamy beverage that originates in Valencia and is popular in many parts of Latin America. The version I’m familiar with is served in Mexican restaurants and usually made from rice, but this “imitation” version uses boxed almond milk for simplicity’s sake. In fact, I almost didn’t want to post this recipe, since it’s laughably easy! However, I realized that if I was making it all the time, maybe others would want to do the same – especially since drinking something cold, sweet, and creamy on a summer day just can’t be beat. Boy does it hit the spot! So I decided to share.

All you need is some unsweetened almond milk, maple syrup, and a light sprinkle of spices. Mix it all together and it tastes like…well…horchata! So easy!

This drink is a perfect afternoon pick-me-up, especially if you’ve been out in the sun all day. It’s also fantastic as a dessert craving quencher or the sweet ending to a spicy meal. You’ll be amazed how something so easy can taste so delicious.

[Read more…]

Carrot Top Pesto

By Leave a Comment

Summer is in full swing and with it comes gorgeous Farmer’s Market veggies galore. This includes carrots that have not been rudely decapitated – or in other words, relieved of their feathery tops. And what a blessing that is!

Carrot tops join the ranks of underappreciated and often discarded veggie parts, along with beet greens, fennel fronds, and potato skins, among others. I’m still waiting for Chopped or some other Food Network show to do an episode that features these underutilized veggie components, all in the same round. Or maybe they have — I’m a bit behind on my Food Network binging! If they did, I hope someone made potato skin nachos with pickled beet greens, carrot top pesto, and fennel frond queso…

Anyway, back to carrot tops. Next time you find yourself with a cutting board full, please don’t throw them out. Instead, make this quick + delicious, flavor-packed pesto. You’ll be glad you did!

[Read more…]

Bourbon-Sour Cream Ice Cream for the 4th of July!

By 2 Comments

You may have noticed that I tend to put whiskey in my holiday blog posts – at least once a year.  There’s this year’s Irish Whiskey Banana Bread (St. Patty’s Day), last year’s Cinnamon-Sugar Sandwich Cookies with Chocolate-Whiskey Cream (Valentine’s Day), and my whiskey-glazed Apples & Honey Cake from Rosh Hashanah 2015…er…5776 (Jewish calendar). In any case, I’m beginning to realize I may have a whiskey dessert problem.

But what a wonderful problem it is! Bourbon lends itself perfectly to ice cream. In fact, no matter what flavor I decided to create, it probably would have included at least 1 tablespoon of the stuff since adding alcohol to homemade ice cream helps make it creamy and prevent iciness. (So does arrowroot starch, incidentally, which you’ll also find in this recipe!) And the caramel notes of the bourbon with the tanginess of the sour cream – it really can’t be described in words.

In addition to tasting divine, this ice cream recipe is also lactose-free, low fodmap, egg-free, coconut-free, soy-free, and nut-free! Interestingly, I haven’t been able to find a lactose-free ice cream recipe that doesn’t use coconut milk or nut milk, and really wanted one, since coconut can tend to taste quite coconuty and nut milk doesn’t quite have the proper texture to yield a creamy result. This probably has something to do with the fact that traditional ice cream is made from a blend of heavy cream and milk, and, while there is plenty of lactose-free milk on the market, I don’t think there is any heavy cream. There is, however, lactose-free half and half and lactose-free sour cream. I had a hunch that thickening the half and half slightly with some arrowroot starch (which also prevents an icy ice cream texture) and then blending it with the sour cream might be a winning combo –  and I’m happy to say I was right!

This ice cream is the perfect balance of creamy, rich, tangy, and sweet. Whether you’ve never had sour cream ice cream before, or you’re already a convert, you really must try it! So plug in that ice cream maker, grab yourself a bowl, and get ready for some fireworks.

[Read more…]

Salty Oat Coffeeshop Cookies

By Leave a Comment

Have you ever been to Teaism? Whenever I find myself in DC, I normally make it a priority to stop in at one of their three locations. It’s a cute, exceedingly popular tea house with an extensive tea menu and Asian small bites. I don’t often eat there – just chill and drink tea – but on my last visit, I noticed an enticing menu item: salty oat cookies! Sadly, they were not gluten-free, so I had to content myself with buying one for my husband and asking him detailed questions about it.

Fast forward a few months and a late-night cookie craving hits. When this happens, I’m often torn: do I measure so I have a potential blog recipe in the making or do I just throw stuff in a bowl and try to recreate it later? I opted for the throw-stuff-in-a-bowl option, since I knew that measuring would surely increase the amount of waiting time until my my cookie craving – which was increasing in urgency – was quenched.

As is often the case when I forgo measuring altogether, the cookies came out amazing. Like mind-blowingly good. They were soft and chewy when they first came out, filled with hearty oats, creamy peanut butter, and quinoa flakes with just the right amount of flour to hold them together. They were also the perfect sweet and salty combo, buttery and delicious. And as they cooled down, they got even better: developing a lovely crunch on the outside. I couldn’t stop eating them!

Now, when I tried to recreate these cookies a few days later – using actual measuring devices – they weren’t quite the same. They were, however, quite delicious. And coincidentally, they were also very reminiscent of how my husband had described the salty oat cookie at Teaism, potentially minus the peanut butter. In short, these taste like the perfect coffeeshop cookie: hearty and delicious, lovely with or without a cup of tea or coffee. They are packed with oats and quinoa flakes, salted butter, creamy peanut butter, toasted coconut, and chocolate chips. And they seem to get even better as the days go by – keep them at room temperature in a ziplock bag and enjoy having the perfect snack on hand whenever a craving strikes. I even made an ice-cream cookie sandwich with them using homemade ginger ice-cream (recipe coming soon!) which was absolutely divine.  If anyone has actually had the salty oat cookie at Teaism, I’d be very interested to hear whether this is, in fact, similar. Please let me know in the comments!

[Read more…]

Spring Carrot “Pasta” with Herbs and Hazelnuts

By Leave a Comment

Oh Spring Carrot “Pasta” with Herbs and Hazelnuts, how do I love thee. Let me count the ways:

  1. You’re ready in minutes and completely grain-free; all that beta carotene really balances my Qi.
  2. You’re beautiful and bright, with a pleasant little bite
  3. You’re elegant and delicate, mounded high on a plate; you’d cost $19 in a restaurant, but to make you’re less than $8.

Okay…Elizabeth Barrett Browning is probably turning over in her grave right now. That’s got to be some of the worst meter ever put to page! Thankfully, it doesn’t come close to describing all the merits of this recipe, which – in sharp contrast to my poetry – is actually really good. (Not that you probably trust my judgment right now…) But seriously, this is one of those shockingly simple recipes that tastes and looks far more complex than it really is. There is some (dare I say poetic?) quality that makes this entirely vegan pasta dish taste like it has oodles of butter in it – a richness, a depth, that will keep you twirling those pretty orange ribbons around your fork bite after bite. Spoiler alert: it’s definitely the hazelnuts.

[Read more…]

Chestnut Hummus

By 1 Comment

Large quantities of chickpeas and garlic (two of my absolute favorite things!) are unfortunately prohibited on the Low FODMAP diet. For me, this meant going through some pretty severe hummus withdrawal.

Incredibly, I created a pretty darn good hummus substitute completely by accident, one lazy evening when I wanted pizza but had absolutely nothing in the way of typical sauce fixings. There were no tomatoes, no pesto-making herbs, and no olives for a tapenade. To make matters worse, the crust I had thrown together definitely did not lend itself to a white-pizza set-up, especially since I didn’t have any cheese. As I often do in these situations, I pulled out a blender and started throwing some random stuff inside, in the hopes I could come up with something spreadable and yummy. Lentils went in, then chestnuts, then some herbes de provence, olive oil, and spices. When I tasted the concoction, I was elated. It was a complete failure in terms of being a pizza sauce,  but it tasted remarkably similar to hummus!

After dancing around the kitchen for a good half hour rejoicing over having hummus back in my life again, I had one of the worst pizzas of my life for dinner (the absence of both cheese and sauce proved devastating) and promptly abandoned it in favor of some chips and chestnut “hummus.” Back to dancing – I could eat this stuff all day!

[Read more…]

Maple Teff Muffins (and a Review of Tenera Grains Teff Flour!)

By Leave a Comment

As the rain pours down in New York City and gusts of wind slam against our windows, I’m drinking a nice, hot cup of earl grey tea and enjoying a basket of fresh-from-the-oven teff muffins, slathered with grass-fed salted butter. I haven’t felt this peaceful in a while.

Later today, things will get done. The state of the bedroom matches the weather – it’s a tornado of papers and clothes that need to be sorted and folded. And laundry awaits, too. But right now, sitting at the table watching the cat admire the rain, muffins, tea, and butter are all-consuming.

I can thank the kind people at Tenera Grains for making these muffins happen. Seeing that I use teff quite frequently in my recipes (check out more teff flour recipes here), they offered a bag of their freshly milled flour in exchange for an honest review. It’s been sitting in the cabinet for a while now, urging me to make injera, or waffles, or pizza crust, or … the call that finally got through to me … muffins! I absolutely love teff flour in muffins because it’s high in protein (which gives you a nice boost in the morning, helps cut the sweetness, and adds moisture to gluten-free baked goods) and has a hearty, nutty flavor that reminds me of bran. In fact, these muffins are quite similar to my Mystical Applesauce “Bran” Muffins which also use teff, with a few notable changes:  banana instead of applesauce, maple syrup instead of agave, and more teff flour. Just like that recipe, however, I’ve used the same baking powder/baking soda combo (see why here) and remained true to my tradition of making a “mystical” dozen (11 muffins instead of 12).

Well, Tenera teff flour did not disappoint! The muffins came out moist and delicious – with a lovely, nutty maple flavor and a light and airy texture.

[Read more…]

Grain-Free Lokshen Kugel for Passover

By Leave a Comment

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…]

Parsnip Mash

By Leave a Comment

Passover is coming up and I know one dish that will be on my table this year: parsnip mash. Have you ever made it? If not, you are definitely missing out!

Parsnip mash is quite similar to mashed potatoes, but much less fussy. The parsnip has a lovely sweetness that adds to the comfort-food factor and lends itself beautifully to fresh herbs like the rosemary and chives in this recipe. Parsnips also have a unique consistency that (if you follow the directions below) yields the loveliest of mashes:  as you dig into billows of light, fluffy,  pillowy goodness, you’ll be left wondering why potatoes still have a monopoly here.

In fact, they really shouldn’t. Here are three reasons why parsnips are actually a better fit for the infamous mash:

1. You can use your food processor. 

If you tried to make mashed potatoes in a food processor, you’d end up with a gluey, starchy, heavy mess. Not so with parsnips! Processing, in contrast, yields a mash that is  light, airy, and fluffy. No gluiness or starchiness at all.

2. Parsnip mash reheats beautifully.

Ever tried to reheat mashed potatoes the next day and failed miserably? They are a finicky food to reheat and tend to become grainy or otherwise unappealing after refrigeration. This parsnip mash, in contrast, can easily be reheated on the stovetop. You don’t even have to add liquid; just stir until hot!

3. You don’t need to add copious amounts of fat and liquid to get it right.

Mashed potatoes are not mashed potatoes without the addition of lots of butter or oil and a liquid like cream, non-dairy milk, or vegetable broth. You also have to add the fat before the liquid if you don’t want to end up with a grainy texture. All you need with this parsnip mash – though it might taste like it has a ton of butter in it – is a bit of olive oil and a little bit of the water the parsnips were cooked in. Nothing else!

Did I convince you? If so, let’s get to the recipe!

[Read more…]

Mexican Chocolate Chia Pudding

By Leave a Comment

Yes, this is the second recipe I’ve posted recently involving Mexican-spiced chocolate. But can you blame me? I was so enamored with my Mexican chocolate hamantaschen filling that I just had to keep the love fest going with a delicious chia pudding. Especially since — despite making and eating chia pudding on a regular basis — this is the first chia pudding recipe I’ve posted in two years of blogging!

How can this be?!  Chia pudding is one of the world’s most perfect breakfasts. It is remarkably filling, nutrient-packed, and exceedingly versatile. All you need are some chia seeds, some liquid, and some “seasonings.” I’ve made chia puddings “seasoned” with matcha, raspberry-black sesame, maple, you name it. I even recently made a savory chia pudding with turmeric and ginger. But today, I wanted to share this Mexican chocolate chia pudding with you, because it’s just what you need to start your day off right: with flava.

[Read more…]