Life in the Allium-free Zone (No Garlic and No Onions)

Meatless Options

2016-07-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

Recently I heard a podcast about animal cruelty and resolved to eat less meat. That can be tricky when you're already trying to avoid garlic and onions. Most meat substitutes like Boca Burgers and Chick'n have one or both of those ingredients. But I did find a couple of things at my local grocery store, both by Lightlife. One was Gimme Lean Meatless Veggie Sausage, which turned out to be surprisingly good. It doesn't smell like sausage when it's cooking but it does taste like it. It's even better when fried with a little asafoetida, but also perfectly fine on its own.

The other was Smart Bacon, which unfortunately had neither the taste nor texture of bacon. Sorry, but I can't recommend that one.

Both products are GMO-free and certified vegan.

Any other meatless options out there for the allium-free folks? I'd love to get some recommendations.

Frozen foods for an onion or garlic allergy

2016-03-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

When you're living with a onion and garlic allergy (or intolerance), there are certain foods that are hard to find. One is frozen pizza. I've found a few, and they're a house brand at Target: Archer Farms. The flavors I've found with allium-free ingredients lists are:

Mediterranean Arugula & Tomato
Margherita (I think this is the right link; my box just says "Margherita" and this web page says "Margherita Di Bufala")
Spinach & Goat Cheese

I've also found a package of taquitos that seem to be safe. I found no onions or garlic in the ingredients list, although it does contain "spices", so depending on your sensitivity level, that might be a problem. It's okay in our household.

El Monterey Chicken & Cheese Frozen Taquitos

Also, we have kids, who of course love fish sticks. And most of those have onions or garlic. We used to get Gorton's potato crunch fish fillets, but I think the recipe changed. Now we get these:

Gorton's Beer Battered Fish Fillets

I hope all this helps someone out there!

Jumbo pasta shells with cheese & tomato sauce

2013-11-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

This recipe is adapted from the "Vegetable Cheese Filling" recipe in the pasta chapter of <cite>The Joy of Cooking</cite>.

Combine:

1 oz. minced pancetta (I used Canadian bacon)
~1 cup frozen spinach, microwaved for 1.5 minutes

Fry in olive oil in a skillet.
Add to:

1 heaping tablespoon dried cranberries
1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1.5 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
Ground nutmeg
Salt and ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cook half of a 12-oz. box of jumbo pasta shells in boiling water for 9 minutes.

Make the tomato/pizza/pasta sauce from earlier in this blog.

Spray a 9-by-12" pan with oil and spoon in half the tomato sauce.

Drain the pasta shells, place on a platter, and fill each with about 1 Tbsp. each of the cheese filling.

Arrange in a single layer on the pan. Sprinkle with the other half of the tomato sauce and some shredded mozzarella cheese.

Cook for 30 minutes at 400 °F.

Faux garlic bread

2012-02-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is so easy, I'm not even sure I can legitimately call it a recipe. But it's worthwhile.

Ingredients

French bread
butter, 1 stick
oregano, dried
truffle oil
Japanese dried chili pepper
Parmesan cheese, grated

Slice the bread in half the long way. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Mix in a Tbsp. or so of truffle oil and a sprinkling each of dried oregano and Japanese dried chile peppers.

This last ingredient can be found in Asian markets. The one I'm using right now comes in a small spice bottle with a red plastic cap. It's distributed by S&B Foods and says "nanami togarashi". The ingredients listed are chile pepper, orange peel, black sesame seed, white sesame seed, Japanese pepper, ginger, and seaweed.

Use a spoon or a basting brush to distribute the melted butter mixture on both sides of the bread. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Then put the bread together, wrap it in foil, and place it in a cold oven. Heat the oven to 400° F. When the oven reaches temperature, take the bread out. It is ready to eat, and so good.

Superhero ingredient: truffle oil

2012-02-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

This is the other secret weapon in my pantry. Today's superhero ingredient...

Truffle oil
What it is: Olive oil, infused with black or white truffles (Tuber melanosporum or T. magnatum). Truffles are the underground fungus that sells for $29 per ounce or more (USD, whole black truffles). Traditionally, pigs were used to sniff out truffles.

How to use it: You can use truffle oil any way you can think of: cook with it, mix it into sauce, or drizzle it over foods. For example, I use it to jazz up Buitoni Light Alfredo Sauce, which is allium-free at the moment (companies are always tinkering with their recipes for packaged foods, so always check ingredients lists when you buy). Someone in my family uses it to make a great faux garlic bread, which will be the next recipe post.

Where to find it: I've found it in regular grocery stores like Safeway. I've also found it in Whole Foods, and I'm sure specialty importers have it as well. The two brands in my pantry right now are Oliviers & Company, and Plantins Delices (www.plantin.com). Both are from France.

Tomato/pasta/pizza sauce

2012-02-09T19:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a very quick and easy recipe that uses asafoetida, the superhero ingredient we talked about in the previous post. This is the tomato sauce that I use for pasta and pizza. I got it from my friend Catherine.

Ingredients

olive oil
asafoetida
tomato paste, 1 small can (6 oz.)
red wine (whatever you have open or handy)
oregano, dried or fresh
basil, ideally fresh

Heat the olive oil on medium to medium-high heat in a small saucepan. Sprinkle in some asafoetida. Wait a moment as it turns golden-brown and becomes fragrant. Add the tomato paste, and one can full of water. Stir gently. Add in a splash of red wine, a sprinkle of oregano, and basil -- if fresh, use a handful of diced or torn leaves; or if dried, use a generous sprinkle. Stir the sauce until it starts to bubble, then turn down to warm. Add salt and pepper.

Superhero ingredient: Asafoetida

2011-10-24T23:54:00.000-07:00

My friend Catherine, who is a brilliant cook, introduced me to two superhero ingredients. They've transformed my cooking; I use them every week. I'm going to talk about the first one in this post, and save the second for another post. Today's superhero is...(da dum da dum)...

Asafoetida (also known as hing)

What it is: Asafoetida, as you might guess from the name, smells, well, strong. I wouldn't say 'fetid', but then we have several soft cheeses and a bottle of nam pla fish sauce in the fridge, so my standards may be odd. We're lucky enough to have several Indian grocery stores in our area, but if you're not that fortunate, Amazon.com sells the kind we're currently using. It seems to keep well: I've only had to buy a small jar every few years. Despite its onion-like smell, it's not a member of the Allium genus or even the same order. It's a powder made from the dried resin from the root of a giant fennel. (You have to wonder how hungry someone was to first try making that.)

How to use it: The way I generally use it is to substitute for onion. For example, if I'm making latkes, I heat some oil in a pan and sprinkle in a few pinches of asafoetida. I wait a few moments until it turns golden and the smell mellows, and then I spoon in the potato batter on top of it. Same with making a red pasta sauce: oil, asafoetida, pause, then tomato paste and other ingredients. It's used by Jains, followers of an Indian religion, who do not eat any root vegetables. So if you like Indian cooking, try getting a Jain cookbook.

Other info: The only cautions I have about asafoetida are that if you use too much, it can give an odd taste to the food, so just use a sprinkle or a pinch. And my friend Catherine says to avoid using it with the other superhero food I'm going to talk about next, truffle oil. Nothing bad happens; apparently they just cancel each other out in taste.

By the way, according to Wikipedia, asafoetida is also an anti-flatulent. So if for some reason you were on the fence about using it, consider that!

Welcome to the allium-free zone

2011-10-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

Since 2000, I've been cooking allium-free, or as I say to restaurant staff, "no onion, no garlic, no leeks, no chives, no shallots, no scallions, no garlic or onion of any kind". It's not that I'm a picky eater. One of my family members has a strong allergy to alliums. If he gets onion mixed in with his food, or if there's garlic in the sauce (more common than you would think), he won't die, but it will make him painfully ill.

It's surprised me how many times people hear about this allergy and chime in that they can't eat onions or that their friend is allergic to garlic. So I'd like to use this blog to share what I've learned: recipes, safe brands of food, the occasional cookbook with allium-free recipes, and the sneaky stuff that you might not realize has allium in it. I hope this is useful to others out there, living in the allium-free zone.