Allergy Friendly Creamy Macaroni Salad
Classic Creamy Macaroni Salad
Serves 4 to 6
Free of: gluten and all top allergens
Pasta salad may seem like a no-brainer, but gluten-free pasta can get tough after a few hours, and allergy-friendly mayo isn’t always easy to locate. Luckily, I’ve got a few recipe tricks up my sleeve to tackle both issues.
8 oz gluten-free elbow macaroni pasta (I use Tinkyada brown rice with rice bran)
½ cup + 2 tbsp soy-free vegan mayonnaise (store-bought or my Rice Milk Mayonnaise)
1 large garlic clove, minced or crushed
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp gluten-free sweet relish
2 tbsp plain rice milk
½ cup minced celery
½ cup minced red bell pepper
2 tbsp minced yellow onion
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Curly parsley, for garnish
1. Cook pasta in salted water until tender (do not stop at al dente). Drain but don’t rinse. Spread in a single layer on a baking tray to let cool and dry.
2. Combine mayonnaise, garlic, sugar, vinegar, mustard and relish in a medium bowl. Whisk in rice milk until smooth.
3. Toss pasta in a large bowl with celery, bell pepper and onion. Sprinkle with salt and a few turns of freshly ground pepper. Add dressing, and stir gently to coat.
4. To let flavors meld, cover pasta tightly and chill in refrigerator 1 hour.
5. Adjust salt and pepper, to taste. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.
Classic Creamy Macaroni Salad © 2013 by Cybele Pascal
This recipe first appeared in the Summer 2013 issue of Allergic Living Magazine
Fruit Kebabs with Allergy Friendly Creamy Strawberry Dip
Fruit Kebobs with Creamy Strawberry Dip
Serves 4 to 6
Gluten Free and Free From the Top 8 Allergens
No picnic is complete without watermelon. But why not jazz it up with some additional fruit on highly portable skewers? Add a little allergy-friendly strawberry vegan dip, and bingo – kid-friendly picnic food! As an added bonus, my boys like to help me make this treat. Or better yet, to make it for me! It’s Mother’s Day tomorrow, and I’m putting in a request. Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!
½ cup sliced strawberries
8 oz (¾ cup) plain vegan cream cheese (use Daiya for soy-free)
6 oz plain vegan yogurt (I like So Delicious coconut milk yogurt)
2 tbsp honey, agave nectar or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups fruit, such as cubed watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, strawberries and grapes
Wooden or bamboo skewers
1. Puree sliced strawberries in a blender.
2. Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and whip with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add yogurt, honey and vanilla, and mix until smooth and creamy. Add strawberry puree and mix until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, thread fruit onto skewers, alternating, as you go. Serve skewers alongside dip.
Fruit Kebabs with Creamy Strawberry Dip © 2013 by Cybele Pascal
This recipe first appeared in the Summer 2013 issue of Allergic Living Magazine
How to make a Porcupine Watermelon
Dear Readers, are you looking for the perfect allergy-frirendly picnic or potluck dish? Look no further than the Porcupine Watermelon. This baby is as fun to make as it is to eat. Read on for step by step instructions to creating the cutest food art I’ve ever carved up. Enter, the Porcupine Watermelon!
1. Using an 8″ or 9″ chef’s knife, cut the watermelon into a baby rocker shape. Remove the top, and refrigerate to keep cool. Use the knife to cut around the edges of the watermelon flesh, and use a large spoon to scoop out the insides. Put in a large bowl, pour off extra watermelon juice and refrigerate.
2. Use a small paring knife (I know it looks big in this pic, but it’s just the angle!), to cut the top of the head into a jagged edge by cutting out little wedges.
3. Use toothpicks to adhere two blueberries for eyes, by skewering them through from the inside of the melon. Remove the top half of the melon that you cut off in step one, with rind still in tact, from the fridge. Use the small paring knife to cut out a triangle for a nose. Leave some pink along the bottom, but trim it down. Cut the tip off so it’s flat so you can adhere the blueberry for the tip of the nose. Break a toothpick in half, and skewer the flat tip of the nose. Attach the blueberry. Then attach the nose, by sticking at least three toothpicks through the rind from the inside through the nose. Line it up on the little brown spot in the center of the melon.
4. Nose and eyes attached. Next onto the ears.
5. To attach the ears use three toothpicks, skewering through from the back of the rind. Push the top one out farthest, so the ear is perky at the top.
6. Here’s a profile shot.
7. Fill with cubes of watermelon, and then insert a couple of toothpicks into each cube. I added a lot more after this pic was taken as I realized it didn’t look spiky enough.
8. Add the feet. be sure the bottoms have been trimmed flat so the lay flat.
9. Porcupine Watermelon! Serve with extra toothpicks on the side and keep adding them to the cubes as your guests eat down through the layers. Keep back-up watermelon cubes in the fridge to refill. Be sure to pour off watermelon juices of backup cubes or they’ll get boggy and soggy. Enjoy! And share!