I hope this is the right place. Need help finding something to make. Gluten, Dairy, and many...

[sweetsunshine85]

Mamas, HELP!

Next weekend I have my next plant medicine weekend and I am supposed to bring a meal to feed everyone. Thing is it needs to be gluten free, dairy free, garlic free, peppers free and without egg whites and meat. I have NO IDEA what to make! I never cook without garlic and usually have meat and gluten in my food. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cassiani]

ooooh- this one is HARD!

Can you do a stir-fry?  If you use ginger, gluten-free tamari (or Braggs) you could use regular rice or quinoa.

here's a basic recipe that would serve a group of 6 or so:

1 zucchini, cut into small quarter disks or matchsticks

1/4lb green beans, cut to smaller than bite-size

1 cup peas

6 carrots julienned

3 stalks celery minced

1 onion

spinach, swiss chard, or some other green is a nice touch

a yellow veggie would be pretty too- i like to pick and choose by color

(any other veggie but the pepper and garlic- though omit onion if it is an allergy to onions/garlic family)

heat oil (we use coconut or olive) in pan and when hot add in pre-cut veggies.  i like to mix up the shapes but make them about the same volume so they cook evenly.  matchstick/julienned carrots are pretty, and swiss chard would add some nice red to the dish, but making everything smaller cooks it quickly, evenly and makes the dish pretty.  stir veggies and keep cooking over medium heat, add in gluten-free soy sauce/Braggs, powdered ginger, pepper and finish cooking.  After cooking drizzle lightly with a touch of roasted sesame oil- this gives it a rich, nutty flavor that makes it amazing and no one notices no meat!

Serve over quinoa or rice.  

i eat gluten-free all the time, dairy-free sometimes, and meat-free never, but have run a vegan kitchen many times.  if this recipe doesn't work out, let me know, I have many more.  but i am greek, so leaving out the garlic is hard for me!

[kavamamakava]

I just put this recipe in another thread but it works here too. You can use any lentils but I like red lentils.

Wash and soak lentils red = 3-4 hours, other lentils overnight.

How many people? This recipe will make 20-30 patties.

2 c lentils

water or soup broth

1/2 inch piece of peeled ginger

handful of cilantro

1/2 T salt

1 t cracked pepper

1 t cumin powder

1/2 c or so garbanzo flour (It's called besan at indian grocery stores or maybe it's sold at whole foods in the gluten free section? you can also use a different sort of non-wheat flour like rice or potato or buckwheat flour)

Put soaked and drained lentils into a blender or food processor. add ingredients and 1/2 c liquid. Pulse a bunch of times so that it blends into a thick batter that can be spooned. Add more liquid if needed.  Add flour if too thin.  

I cook it in a pan with a very shallow amount of oil.  I like coconut or olive oil (not EVOO).  Heat pan on med heat, add oil. When oil is hot, carefully spoon about 1-2 tablespoons of batter at a time into the pan. I usually fit about 5 in a pan at once. Let cook until the edges look a bit solid and you can flip the patty. Cook until cooked through. The take about 3-5 minutes.  You can flip them over a few times if they aren't cooked in the middle but it's sort of like cooking little pancakes.  

Is this a whole meal you are cooking or just a dish? You can serve them with rice and tomato chutney and a simple salad. They also go very nicely with a sweet salsa like a mango salsa.  I like to toss green leaf lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers with balsamic viniagrette, extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. The simplicity makes all the flavors stand out so nicely.  

Another quick and easy meal is to use to make soup with rice noodles and toss in a bunch of veggies and tofu and things that you like.  Flavor the broth with miso. My kids eat it up. I usually put tofu cubes and asparagus and carrots and baby bok choy.

Think international:  Black bean burritos, Falafel and tabouli made with quinoa instead of bulgur wheat, cabbage rolls stuffed with nuts and wild rice and topped with tomato sauce, rice and dahl and cauliflower pakoras...

[sweetsunshine85]

I'm cooking for about17 people. There are two of us cooking, bringing a main dish and a salad or dessert. I never have cooked anything like this. I sadly eat the very poor american diet... Thank you for help! 

[kavamamakava]

I love cooking and I'm a vegetarian raised on vedic temple food so no onions or garlic and I also was gluten/casein free for a year. I can give you tons of info but I need to narrow it down. How much time do you have to cook? Will you be transporting the food somewhere when you are done? Will it be served at a table or is it more like a potluck party thing? 

When I'm cooking for a large group I usually just make a stew with lentils and rice and vegetables in it. I serve papadams on the side which are made of lentil/garbanzo flour and fry up in a few seconds and are crispy like chips but big like tortillas. Then I serve a dessert that is usually dairy based but you can easily make a fruit salad with a soy yogurt mint sauce or drizzled with agave nectar and fresh squeezed lemon and some pine nuts tossed on top. 

[sweetsunshine85]

I need the dish for next weekend. I have Friday afternoon-night to cook. I will be transporting the food on Saturday and we are serving it buffet style.

[kavamamakava]

Hrmmm so you're cooking the night before. I think those patties would work well. You can serve them with a choice of condiments like a mango salsa and a tomato chutney and maybe mustard too?

To make a fresh mango salsa without garlic or chili or onion, just mix up some diced mango with cilantro, salt, fresh squeezed lime and lemon and pepper - maybe add some red bell pepper for color and crunch.  The flavors will marinate well overnight in the fridge.  

I make tomato chutney by heating cooking oil in a pan, adding 1/2 t each of seed spices like mustard seeds and/or cumin seeds, then minced ginger, then about 4 chopped fresh tomatoes. Cook on med for about 20 minutes, stirring ocassionally.  Once the tomatoes start to cook down, add a little water to keep it a sauce and then add a bit of brown sugar to caramelize the tomatoes. Once all ingredients seem cooked well together add a generous pinch or two of salt and sprinkle pepper on it. 

You can serve the lentil patties over a bed of lettuce or toss a side salad together. I wouldn't toss the salad until right before serving.  And for fun, you can skewer some fruit and drizzle it with an agave nectar, lemon, cinnamon dressing. Strawberries and tangerines and bananas would look pretty. 

What do you mean by peppers free? No hot peppers? No bell peppers? No black pepper? 

[sweetsunshine85]

I have an allergy to any pepper, bell, spicy, cayenne, chili, with the sole exception of black pepper. All the other allergies belong to others in the group. I think my meal is not being served til Sunday, but I am not certain.

[SandraMort]

Mujadarah, a lentil and rice dish, seems to fit all of those requirements.  Don't skimp on the olive oil and take the time to sllllllooooowwwwwwlly cook lots and lots of onions and everybody will be impressed.  It was my go to recipe as a vegan, though truthfully I prefer it made with bulghur wheat to rice.  

Googling madly...

http://www.grouprecipes.com/46986/middle-eastern-lentils-and-rice.html seems like a good place to start, but you need to make a LOT more onions than that and be less stingy with the oil.  Additionally, serving it with labneh or greek yoghurt is good, but nonfat yoghurt is not.  A nice salad completes it.

[kavamamakava]

You could also make enchiladas on Friday and heat and serve the next day. Black bean enchiladas, spinach enchiladas, tofu enchiladas. Lots of options there. Or how about a shepherd's pie? 

[mumkimum]

Brazilian black beans and plain rice  -  just leave out the garlic, maybe add some orange zest/juice (with toppings - limes, avocado, scallions).  There's recipes out there without the beets too - but they're kinda tasty in it.

Or a vegetarian-chili like stew (so without garlic, peppers, chili powders - add in sweet potato, carrots, tomato, onions, cumin, coriander/cilantro and oregano for seasoning, maybe even cauliflower or greens)  You could top it with a gluten-free cornbread topping (or have on the side) with this.

Italian-style white beans and greens with tomato sauce is good too.

Aloo gobi (indian cauliflower & potatoes) would probably work too.  I can't recall about the garlic/peppers in it but I think you could make it without since it's heavy on the fresh ginger/onions and use extra cilantro and garam masala.