{guest post} Spicy Artichoke Dip

Today's post was written by Tali Wee who currently lives in Seattle and blogs about life in the northwest.  She owns Wee Picket Fences where she writes about being a new homeowner, bargain hunter, a dairy-free foodie and DIY enthusiast.  Tali works at Zillow where she handles the community outreach for Charlotte, NC.  She enjoys family, food, travel, writing and spending time on projects around the house.

Thanks Tali for posting!

In my family, food is the most common topic of conversation and is usually the reason for gathering together.  We are all healthy, but we appreciate eating dynamic meals and tasting new foods.  In high school I discovered that I had an allergy to a few random foods, but primarily dairy.  Unfortunately, it’s not lactose intolerance where popping a Lactaid pill will provide me the enzyme to enjoy a bowl of ice cream.  Luckily though, my diet restrictions are fairly common, and there are grocery aisles full of dairy-free ingredients and numerous blogs packed with flavorful recipes and substitution tips.  The toughest part of transitioning to a dairy-free diet was convincing my family that dairy-free dishes can actually taste just as delicious as their full dairy versions.

Since becoming dairy-free, I began testing out recipe substitutions on my friends, family and co-workers. The trick is to offer the dishes without divulging the allergy details.  Truthfully, ‘dairy-free’ and ‘gluten-free’ don’t make non-allergic people’s mouths water!  It’s such a fun challenge to swap around ingredients to make the dishes safe for everyone in the group.  Plus, I feel much safer making dishes myself as many people don’t understand the ins and outs of food allergies.  Fortunately, I have such a food-focused family they try their hands at allergy-safe dishes when we get together.

One tough course for the dairy-challenged is the appetizer.  Many popular hors d'oeuvres include cheese as a main ingredient.  For this Spicy Artichoke Dip recipe, I simply eliminate the cheese.  I don’t recommend this approach for all dip recipes because it can negatively alter the overall texture.  This recipe holds up consistency with additional veggies and reduced moisture.  Enjoy this dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan appetizer at your next gathering. 

Salted Pretzel Caramel Brownies

The other day, I saw this pin that caught my eye: Salted Pretzel Caramel Brownies.  Yum - what a delicious combination of flavors and textures - chocolate, pretzels, salted caramel, fudgy, crunchy, gooey.  It sounded like a culinary masterpiece, and I had to come up with an allergy-free version.  

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

My aunt just sent me fresh Vermont maple syrup last week, and let me tell you, it is so much better than the stuff you can buy at the store!  It was the perfect excuse to make my daughter some allergy-free pancakes, and luckily my food-blogging soul sister, Tessa the Domestic Diva, posted one of her pancake recipes just the other day!  I made a few modifications to her yummy recipe to create my own apple-cinnamon pancakes - yum!

Smoky Shrimp with Garlic

One of my favorite things to do is to scour the internet for recipe ideas and then tweak them a bit for my own tastes.  The other day I was searching for a paleo shrimp dish and came across this one from Williams Sonoma.  I'm obsessed with all things smoky right now, so I decided to make this one with a smoky, southwestern twist. The bonus, it's allergy-free too!

Chocolate Coconut Mousse/Ice Cream

While searching for the perfect chocolate coconut ice cream recipe, I came across a combination of ingredients that resulted in a very versatile dessert.  This recipe can be used to make either chocolate mousse or chocolate ice cream, depending on your mood.  The bonus: it's Paleo and allergy-free!

'Slap Yo Mama' Caramel

For those of you with a dairy allergy, on the Paleo diet, or who eat only raw foods, caramel is typically out of the picture.  Well, this is your lucky day!  I have found a no-cook, dairy-free, 5-ingredient caramel sauce that will make you 'slap yo mama,' as Tim Hawkins would say. The original recipe can be found here, but I made some slight changes to make it creamier and closer in flavor to the caramel I've been so fond of.  

Coconut Crack Balls

Thanks to Pinterest, I found this recipe the other day for Coconut Crack from the yummy food blog This Chick Cooks. I made some for a luncheon I had at my house this week, and every time someone bit into one, their eyes widened in delightful surprise.  They are incredibly delicious, and are a great choice to have if you're wanting to wean yourself off of your refined sugar stupor of the Holidays and Valentines Day.  The recipe makes about 12 balls and contains a total of 1/4 c of maple syrup.

Another bonus, the recipe only contains 5 ingredients and takes very little time to prepare.  Try them! You can find the original recipe here, but for those of you who want fewer clicks, here it is:

Coconut Crack Balls

Ingredients

• 1 c shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 1/4 c maple syrup (grade B is fine)
• 2 T coconut oil, softened
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• dash sea salt
• shredded coconut for garnish

Cooking Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until well mixed and the mixture sticks together. If the mixture is too gooey to form into balls, stick it in the fridge for a little while.
2. Form into balls, sprinkle with additional shredded coconut, and chill for at least an hour.

Shared on: Whole Foods Wednesday, Healthy Vegan Friday, Gluten Free Friday, Gracelaced Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Wheat Free Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Raw Foods Thursdays

Simple Oven-Roasted Ribs

The other day, I found a great deal on some baby back ribs, so I scoured the internet for oven-baked rib recipes.  I found quite a few and combined what I thought was the best of all of them into one easy allergy-free recipe.  Lucky for all of you Whole30 people, it happens to be Paleo too!

After preparing my pan with aluminum foil, I mixed up the spices in a small bowl. Chances are, you have all of them in your pantry.  

I then rubbed the rib rub mixture into both sides of the ribs and sealed up the foil.

After baking for 3 hours, I removed the foil (you can simply open up the foil as well) and returned it to the oven for 20 minutes to brown up.

The finished ribs had a nice crust and were so deliciously tender! What's your favorite way to eat ribs, wet or dry?  Why?  Add your answer in the comments below.

Shared on: Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Allergy-free Wednesday, Wheat Free Wednesday, Gluten Free Fridays

Recipe:

Simple Oven Roasted Ribs

Ingredients

• 2 racks baby back ribs
• 6 T rib rub (see below)
  *Rib Rub* (makes about 2/3 cup)
• 2 T paprika
• 1/2 t cayenne pepper
• 1 T black pepper
• 1 1/2 T garlic powder
• 2 t onion powder
• 1 1/2 T salt
• 1 1/2 t dried oregano
• 1 1/2 t dried thyme
• 1 t dried mustard

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F, and line a large baking sheet with a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil or two sheets of regular aluminum foil, enough to cover the pan twice (you will seal this up around the ribs later)
2. Place the ribs on the foil, not overlapping. Rub about 3 T of the rib rub onto both sides of each rib (6 T total), fold the foil over the ribs and seal tightly.
3. Place ribs in the oven and bake, undisturbed, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The ribs should be very tender.
4. Remove the ribs from the oven and peel back the foil so that the ribs are exposed. Return the exposed ribs to the oven to brown for about 20 minutes longer.
5. Take the ribs out of the oven and set aside to cool briefly before cutting between the ribs and serving.

Millet-Sorghum Bread

There are lots of delicious gluten-free breads out there, but not if you are allergic to dairy and eggs as well.  Udi's has some lovely-looking loaves, but all of them contain egg whites.  So, I have to bake my own allergy-free bread.  The other day, I came across this blog post by Authentic Simplicity for a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free bread made from millet and sorghum flours.  I slightly adapted it to be a little sweeter and discovered an easy, delicious gluten-free bread. 

Butternut Squash Lasagna

When some people hear 'Butternut Squash Lasagna,' they might be reminded of squash-filled pillows of ravioli.  This delicious paleo dish uses the butternut squash in a completely different fashion: it is used as a replacement for the noodles.  The recipe comes from one of my favorite paleo recipe websites, Health-Bent.com.  Another bonus: it is free of the top 8 food allergens! The result is a flavorful, healthy, plate-licking dish that the whole family will love - even the children.