I Need Your Recipes!

[Magpie]

Have they tried Lactaid? or lactose-free milk I use it.

Unfortunately there's a lot of other dairy insensitivities. The main reason that everyone knows about lactose is that it's the one that we have an easy cure for, not so much that it's as common as the marketing companies would like us to think.

[Solumina]

There is just something really wrong about lactose-free milk. After all isn't that kind of what makes milk milk?

[Magpie]

There is just something really wrong about lactose-free milk. After all isn't that kind of what makes milk milk?

Sugar is the defining factor? I admit, I'm biased by my current insensitivity being to casein (I was lactose intolerant as a kid, but I outgrew it), but I'd have defined it by the protein. Honestly, all that you need to do to make lactose-free milk is to add the enzyme that most people (of certain ethnic backgrounds) have in their gut. It breaks the lactose down into other sugars. It's just that it happened early.

Ok, given how most people would react to a steak smoothie, I can see your point. (i.e. it's still steak, just it's had part of the digestive process already performed). However, nutritionally it's still pretty much the same. It still has awesome miracle protein in it, and the same amount of sugar.

And on a somewhat more on-topic note: almost any recipe can be made dairy-free by the use of soy/almond/rice (pick one) "milk" and vegan margarine to replace milk and butter or regular margarine. I don't recommend rice milk unless allergies force it, because unlike regular milk or soy milk it doesn't complete the protein with grains, being grain-based itself.

[Solumina]

You can also modify recipies by useing a 10-12oz of soda instead of oil/egg/water, light colored soda for white/yellow cake dark soda for chocolate and such. Some people use applesauce but I've never done that myself so I don't know the amount used.


Also this is a recipe for gluten-free vegan chocolate cake that I got a while ago from a friend and it is pretty awesome:

Cake Batter:
2 cups white rice flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 Tbsp tapioca flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/3 cups unrefined sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 3/4 cups vanilla soy milk
2 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup organic canola oil

Frosting:
2 pckgs (349-g) *SILKEN* extra-firm tofu, patted dry (must be silken extra-
firm tofu, not regular x-firm tofu)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (generous) non-dairy chocolate chips

For the cake:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and baking soda, then add in sugar and salt and mix well. In another bowl, combine non-dairy milk, vinegar, extracts, and oil. Add wet mixture to the dry, and stir until well combined. Pour into 2 lightly oiled round cake pans (wipe with a little canola oil), distributing batter as evenly as possible. Bake for 24-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack.

For the frosting: In a *food processor (don't use a mixer, it won't smooth out the tofu), combine tofu with maple syrup and vanilla, and puree until very, very smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a bowl fitted over a pot with simmering (not boiling) water. Pour melted chocolate into food processor with tofu mixture, and puree again until well incorporated (again, scraping down sides of bowl). Transfer to a container and refrigerate until cool (will thicken as it cools). Once cool, spread frosting on cake layers, then refrigerate cake for at least a couple of hours to set (preferably overnight).

[jedimaster91]

Some people use applesauce but I've never done that myself so I don't know the amount used.

Applesauce is a straight substitution. Meaning you can use the same amount of applesauce as oil. Personally, I think it makes the baked good taste funny, but it definitely cuts down on the fat and cholesterol. That cake sounds absolutely nummy. I might have to try that one myself.