One of the more interesting Chinese cuisines is medicinal foods, foods that are designed specifically to aid in the correction of health problems while providing a nutritious and tasty meal. If you’d like an excellent introduction, I suggest Henry C. Lu, Chinese System Of Food Cures: Prevention & Remedies. Unlike the dietary “cures” often touted [...]

Categories: dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, infusing, technique, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, dessert, gluten-free, technique, vegan, vegetarian

I want to make meatloaf, and for me a meatloaf has a bacon wrapping and a ketchup glaze. I could buy the bacon and ketchup, I suppose, but really, where’s the fun in that?
Chipotle Ketchup
1 onion, chopped
1½ tablespoons oil from garlic confit or extra-virgin olive oil
Put the onion and oil into a deep saucepan and [...]

Categories: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, vegan, vegetarian

Sitting under all that cheese is a simple marinara sauce. By itself it’s an excellent sauce for pasta, polenta, and that Italian-American standby Chicken Parmigiana (or it’s vegetarian/vegan version, Eggplant Parmigiana). It makes a great pizza sauce. I even used some as part of a seafood stew whipped up in just a few minutes. As [...]

Categories: gluten-free, mother recipe, pantry, preserving, sauce, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, mother recipe, pantry, preserving, sauce, vegan, vegetarian

Haricots vert sautéed in garlic. Sounds easy, and it is: easy to do well; even easier to do poorly. Some simple alterations will make this dish dairy-free, vegetarian, or vegan.
First you have to decide whether or not to remove the tails. As you can see, I chose not to remove them. If you don’t want [...]

Categories: dairy-free, gluten-free, side dish, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, side dish, vegan, vegetarian

Whether you’re serving a nice pâté or are putting together a charcuterie platter, want some crunch in your sandwich or just need a quick burst of flavor, a sweet pickle chip is just right! Michael Ruhlman published a recipe for a delightfully simple, wonderfully flavored sweet pickle chip in Charcuterie, a book I highly recommend [...]

Categories: charcuterie, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, side dish, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: charcuterie, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, pantry, preserving, side dish, vegan, vegetarian

This is a wonderful winter salad that makes an excellent palate cleanser. It needs a little time for the flavors to meld, so you’ll want to be sure to put it together while you’re waiting for the rest of your meal to finish cooking.
Start by thinly slicing a red onion. If you want to mellow out [...]

Categories: dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, salad, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, salad, vegan, vegetarian

Cranberry-Pear Salsa
12 ounces cranberries, fresh or frozen, roughly chopped
2 pears, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 serrano chile, seeded and diced
zest of 1 orange
1 tablespoon blue agave syrup or honey
1 tablespoon canola oil
salt to taste
Mix ingredients together and adjust the seasoning. If you want more heat, use the seeds or add another chile. Best [...]

Categories: Thanksgiving, condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: condiments, dairy-free, entertaining, gluten-free, Thanksgiving, vegan, vegetarian

Nasturtiums are staging a coup in the vegetable garden, trying to take over everything. They need to be thinned, and are delicious, so I decided to make a salad with nasturtiums. Salad goes well with soup for a meal so I started thinking about what soup might be nice. I remembered the Pan-Roasted Carrots I [...]

Categories: Soup, dairy-free, gluten-free, salad, vegan, vegetarian
Tagged: dairy-free, gluten-free, Soup, vegan, vegetarian

Country style pork ribs have great flavor, but they can be difficult to cook well. Hot smoking is an excellent way to prepare country style ribs or any other protein.
Start the ribs by brining them for better flavor and to retain moisture. I used enough apple juice to cover the ribs in a bowl, then [...]

Categories: dairy-free, entertaining, glazing, gluten-free, smoking, technique
Tagged: dairy-free, entertaining, glazing, gluten-free, pork, smoking, technique

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have an abundance of cherries, particularly Rainier and Bing cherries. When I saw Rainier cherries for $1.49 per pound, I knew it was time to try making a liqueur.
I started with two pounds of Rainier cherries, unpitted, and added 1½ cups of sugar and a fifth of grain alcohol. [...]

Categories: beverage, dairy-free, pantry
Tagged: beverage, dairy-free, pantry