garlic fingers with fake fromage

**There is milk in naan. You could always sub a milk-free flatbread or pizza crust instead.

I suck at not eating lactose. Not drinking lactose is easy. There are so many milk-alternatives available for roughly the same price as milk. They even make lactose-free milk. Same taste, but none of the bad stuff. So not drinking milk is definitely doable. But cheese, now that's a different story.

I tried a cheese alternative once and just could not swallow it. It smelled bad, had a weird texture and was Italian flavor. Blehhh. So I just kept eating cheese and experiencing very unpleasant side-effects, none of which need to mentioned on this little blog here.

My highly-allergy plagued friend L told me about Daiya when we were discussing our various stomach issues over lunch one day at the Wooden Monkey. Don't we sound like a good time?

It's basically a tapioca-arrowroot product that melts like cheese and does not taste disgusting, it actually tastes good. It doesn't have a true cheesy flavour or texture per se, but I have found it to be a great substitute! It only comes shredded, but that hasn't stopped me from eating it by the handful at times... I use it on nachos, burritos, pizza, chili, lasagna and all of those other things that taste incomplete without cheese. I've bought both the mozzarella & cheddar style before and they both work well. I used to buy it from Pete's Frootique but they now carry it at Sobey's, where we do groceries every week, for $3 cheaper!

Lately, my big indulgence has been garlic fingers. I take a piece of naan bread, spread it with garlic butter, sprinkle real bacon bits on top, cover with Daiya & bake at 400F for about 10 minutes. The best non-cheesy garlic finger you'll ever taste. So all this to say, if you are lactose-intolerant or allergic to milk... you need to try Daiya. It will help you resist actual cheese. Most of the time...

Do any of you have allergies/intolerances? Do you find that having a good substitute helps you resist temptation? I think substitution is key, even for people who are dieting. Quitting cold turkey, just does not work for some people. Myself included!

  

FYI: I am lactose intolerant but will eat some packaged foods with milk in them, like bread or chocolate (sometimes). Anything milk-based though is out of the question. No milk, yogurt, ice-cream, alfredo sauce etc.  

Me & cheese are fighting it out. I can't quit.

easiest chickpea curry

 

I don't know why I haven't written about this yet. Actually, it's probably because it doesn't seem to last long enough for me to snap some photos. This is my #1 go-to weeknight meal. When I come home, I'm starving and am turning into a cranky lady, I make this. Even D likes it, despite his aversion to whole chickpeas. (He loves hummus!) As usual, this is not really a recipe. There are no measurements & no rules as to which veggies you can put in, so experiment & find out what works for you.

Ingredients:

- Garam Masala spice - chili powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander (optional) - olive oil - 1 can of diced tomatoes (whole is okay, but you'll need to add some water) - onion - garlic - sour cream or cream/milk (I use Tofutti Sour Supreme) - 1/2 can chickpeas - veggies (this time, I used frozen corn, baby bok choy, kale and orange pepper

How to:

- Heat up the olive oil on medium heat in a large wok/pan. Dice up the onion & stir until just brown.
- Add in garlic, veggies, drained chickpeas & 3-4 T of garam masala spice, 1 T of cumin, 1 T of turmeric, 1 T of chili powder & a dash of ground coriander. Stir-fry until veggies are almost soft (about 10 minutes). You may need to stagger your veggies, putting the hard ones in first, ie. carrots & the softer ones later on, ie. spinach. 

-  Add in can of diced tomatoes undrained. 

- Cover & simmer on medium-low for at least 15 minutes. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes!

- Remove from heat and stir in a dollop or two of sour cream just before serving.

We usually serve this with naan or basmati rice, sometimes both! You can also adjust the liquid by adding water or more cream if you want more of a soupy consistency.

Please tell me if you try this out. I LOVE Indian food but I can't really justify splurging on spices, so this is my shortcut. I hope you like it!

tonight's supper: goat cheese and craisin salad

How do you make a salad taste special? Throw some craisins at it. And while you're throwing things, chuck some goat cheese that way. A drizzle of olive oil a pinch of basil and done.

I love salads. I crave salads. Weird, right? But D, well, not so much. Usually when I suggest salad as a side dish I get a blank stare in return. But when I suggest adding goat cheese I get a much more enthusiastic response. 

Half the fun is making a salad less "healthy", really. I love grabbing for some real bacon bits, creamy dressing and cheese... oh, the cheese. D even told me tonight that this tasted like a fancy restaurant salad! A restaurant salad. Swoooon. We paired our "fancy salad" with turkey bacon quiche with yellow pepper. I always use those ready-made frozen pie shells to save time. It only took about 35 minutes to cook in the oven at 425. Not a lot of prep/cook time for an easy, week-night dinner that's a little special. 

How do you dress up your salads? Feta? Nuts?

Tasty Tuesdays: Lemon Basil Chicken

This is what I made for supper tonight! I served the chicken with some frozen sweet potato roasties + BBQ mayo. I made the chicken a few days ago so I just pulled it out of the fridge and heated it in the microwave for a fast supper.

If you'd like to give it a go, here's the "recipe":

Lemon Basil Chicken

- 2-3 chicken breasts

- 1 lemon, sliced

- a few squirts of lemon juice

- olive oil
- basil + coriander

Preheat oven to 425. Put chicken in a baking dish & drizzle with olive oil & lemon juice. Sprinkle generously with basil + coriander. Grind fresh pepper over top if you want. Place sliced lemons in dish on top or between pieces of chicken.

Bake for about 45 mins, depending on the thickness of chicken. Let sit 5 minutes to lock in juices.

I put basil on/in so many different foods: guac, eggs, wraps, salads etc and I find it pairs nicely with lemon, but if you're not a fan you can always sub chili powder, turmeric or oregano.

Bon appetit!

Breakfast for Supper: Birds' Nests

 We are officially halfway through the week! As you know, Canada day is Friday and I'm very much looking forward to the (hopefully sunny) long weekend. I'm planning on celebrating with some friends including none other than my dearest friend, Disaronno. What are your plans?

Before I get to today's post, you may have noticed the change in background. I'm going to be playing around with some new templates and adding a super pretty header in the next couple of weeks. Also, I'd love to get some feedback on my blog whether it's content, design, suggestions for posts or anything else. Feel free to shoot me an email at sugar_plum_cutie@hotmail.com with your comments and suggestions. Go ahead and laugh at the email, it was grade 7 and my family nickname was sugarplum...

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So today's recipe is my first Breakfast for Supper feature (see my other breakfast posts here & here). Here's what you need to make super-delicious & filling Birds' Nests:

Serves 2 hungry people

 

2 cups of hasbrown potatoes (frozen or cut up potatoes)

4 eggs

1 very small onion, diced

Real crumbled bacon bits
1/2 tsp of basil 

1 tbsp olive oil

pepper to taste
grated mozzarella

maple syrup

To make:

Heat your oil in a large pan & throw in the hashbrowns. Add basil & pepper. Cook until soft, add onion & fry until browned. Add bacon bits and fry just to intensify flavor (1 or 2 mins).

Meanwhile fry up the eggs one at a time in a small pan.

 

Serve by arranging hashbrown/bacon bit mixture in a circle on large plates. Add 2 eggs to each plate and top with grated mozzarella. Drizzle with maple syrup and serve hot. You can also forgo the syrup for ketchup if that's more your style!

 

In my books, anything with bacon is always amazing, but add a little bit of sweetness and it takes it to a whole other level. Val, you know what I'm talking about!

 

The cheese grater was dirty & I was hungry, so cut up mozza it is!

 

 

Apparently, I cook with sunglasses on my head.

Come visit me and I'll make you one. Any takers?

xo Janelle