Sweet, Savory & Free

I'm so lucky to not have any food allergies! I can only imagine how hard it would be to avoid such ubiquitous ingredients as gluten, soy, or nuts. But I do have a few friends with food allergies, and when I cook for them, I have to be very careful about what goes into my dishes. Debbie Adler's new cookbook — Sweet, Savory & Free: Insanely Delicious Plant-Based Recipes Without Any of the Top 8 Food Allergens — should be a great help in those instances. But it's also just an awesome book that anyone can use because her recipes are delicious!

Those top eight allergens include dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish. Plus, Debbie's recipes are also free of refined sugar and oil. And they're all vegan of course! The book contains everything from sweet and savory breakfasts to homemade condiments (HOMEMADE SRIRACHA!), soups, sides, pizzas, pastas, gluten-free breads, and desserts.

I tried a few recipes and loved them all. I typically eat ramen noodles every Sunday, and I tend to buy those Lotus Foods gluten-free rice ramen packages just because they're all-natural and delicious. So I had to try the recipe for the Sweet Miso Forbidden Rice Ramen Noodle Bowl.

I accidentally got the Lotus Foods Jade Pearl noodles instead of Forbidden Rice noodles, but they were still gluten-free. Just not the right purple color! The broth is made from sweet potato, ginger, turmeric, and green tea, and it's so savory and amazing. I usually add frozen veggies to my ramen bowls, but I've never had a broth made from pureed veggies. Genius!

From the Main Attractions chapter, I made the Mushroom Herb Ragu over toasted quinoa (from I Heart Keenwah). Paul loves mushrooms, so I knew this was a main dish we could eat together. Plus, I'm still doing the Dr. Fuhrman GBOMBS thing, and I need to get mushrooms in daily. This creamy dish is made with coconut milk and thickened with tapioca starch. I did have to add a little extra tapioca starch beyond what the recipe called for though as mine didn't thicken quite enough at first.

On the side, I made the Creamed Kale from the Meals in Muffin Tins & Ramekins chapter (what a fun theme for a chapter!). I've never actually had creamed spinach, but this is Debbie's take on that classic dish, using kale instead of spinach. The kale is steamed, chopped, and stirred into a creamy coconut sauce seasoned with coconut aminos. On top, you sprinkle Debbie's homemade Parmezan (a parm blend made from ground sunflower, pumpkin, and hemp seeds), and then you bake it in the oven.

Wow! The creamed kale is so full of flavor, and it's just fun to eat an individual portion in a ramekin! And I'm glad I have extra Parmezan left for topping other dishes.

I had a hard time deciding what to make from this book because everything looks so good! The Sriracha Hemp Noodles, Chipotle Mexican Omelet Tostada, Fakiin Bacon Crescent Rolls, Ultimate Veggie Pad Thai, and Cookie Dough Cupcakes are all calling my name! I also love that Debbie includes lots of traditional Jewish dishes, like Matzo Ball Soup, Challah, and Kugel. I'm not Jewish, but I've long been drawn to those traditional dishes.

Whether you have a food allergy or you just want healthy, wholesome, vegan meals (free of oil and refined sugar!), Debbie's book has something for you!