Dairy Free

Emily Stokes
I'm a lady who loves cheese, sour cream, & ice cream, but I recently became lactose intolerant. My key focus in recreating dairy recipes is taste, but I try to be as health conscious as possible. Some of my recipes are low lactose rather than dairy free. I'm also a writer, teacher, nanny, dog mom, housewife, native Yinzer, current Californian, and social organizer extraordinaire.

Dairy Free

Roasted ā€œButteryā€ Fingerling Potatoes

Roasted "Buttery" Fingerling Potatoes from dontmissdairy.com
Plants are amazing. 

I dabble in gardening over the course of each year. It’s hard to do much with a small patio, but I have three earth boxes and sundry pots.

I’d like to say I grew eight trees for Earth Day, as I have four grapefruit and four lemon seedlings at the moment. They are healthy and green little babies.

But I didn’t grow them for Earth Day, I just happened to be growing them on Earth Day.  For me, every day is Earth Day. I love plants, and I love helping them grow. I also love reaping the benefits of my hard work. 

Sometimes I barely do any work. Let’s take a look at my pot of baby potatoes, which inspired me to make this dish.

Roasted "Buttery" Fingerling Potatoes from dontmissdairy.com

I had a bag of sprouting red, gold, and purple potatoes last year, so I cut them up and buried them in a pot full of yummy soil (for the plants, that is).

It took awhile, but they eventually sprouted beautiful, green stems. These stems were yummy, too (for the snails, that is).

When we moved in to our new apartment in December, the potatoes weren’t ready yet, so I had to move them to my new patio. After a month or so of little progress, they were viciously eaten by an onslaught of hungry, slimy snails.

The green stems were completely gone. I considered my potatoes eliminated, finished.

This month, however, as I was getting that pot ready for replanting, I found buried treasure in the form of cute little colorful potatoes!

Roasted "Buttery" Fingerling Potatoes from dontmissdairy.com

I was absolutely amazed. They had been abandoned by me. How did these little potatoes not get eaten by insects, sprout, or decompose? They were full, healthy potatoes that had survived for months, just waiting to be dug up. Plants are truly amazing.

I didn’t quite have enough to make this full dish, but I supplemented with store-bought potatoes.

I was very much inspired by my garden to make this flavorful, buttery roasted potato dish–dairy free and yummy, too (for the humans, that is)!

Roasted "Buttery" Fingerling Potatoes from dontmissdairy.com

Roasted "Buttery" Fingerling Potatoes from dontmissdairy.com

Almond Meal Pancakes with Berry Reduction and Coconut Cream

Almond Meal Pancakes with Berry Reduction and Coconut Cream from dontmissdairy.com
I’ve made these pancakes a bunch of times, but I hadn’t found the right opportunity to blog about them until now.

Not only have I been trying (extra emphasis on that word trying) to go gluten free, but my best friend is trying out the Paleo diet with her husband. She is a supportive wife, that’s for sure. I know how much she likes her Nutella and milkshakes and pasta.

She brought up a simple question when we were on the phone the other day: ā€œWhat am I going to eat for breakfast?ā€

That really got my brain going. I’m always thinking of creative food options to meet different needs. I instantly thought of eggs baked in an avocado, eggs fried in a pepper ring, and my usual breakfast, a spinach and egg scramble. 

Then she said she wasn’t into eggs that much. Hmmmm.

A lightbulb clicked on above my head and I thought of my simple almond meal pancakes! Now, neither of us knew much about the Paleo diet, but we tried to guess based on quick research. If it’s okay to eat almonds, then it should be okay to have almond meal.

Almond Meal Pancakes with Berry Reduction and Coconut Cream from dontmissdairy.com

My pancake recipe calls for a tablespoon of maple syrup. We weren’t sure about that one… but they really don’t need the sweetener! It’s just a sweet, sweet bonus. So I replaced the tablespoon of maple syrup with a tablespoon of water.

And, oh my. That berry reduction and coconut cream.

To.

Die.

For.

Almond Meal Pancakes with Berry Reduction and Coconut Cream from dontmissdairy.com

This is definitely a Paleo dessert! It’s made with healthy whole foods with no added sugar and the protein content is high, but the almond meal and coconut cream have a lot of fat. It makes sense to limit your intake of nut products and full fat coconut milk. The berry reduction is also high in natural sugar. It’s pretty tasty though, so is that okay? Yes. Unless you are very strict about your diet, I say ok. 

Don’t let the small pancakes fool you; this is a very filling meal. Remember, it’s almond meal, not flour. This serves two people. 

I recommend making the berry reduction ahead of time and storing in the refrigerator for up to a few days. Reheat before serving or enjoy cold like jam. I used the coconut whipped cream tutorial from Oh She Glows. The almond meal pancakes are adapted from  Laura Dolson’s recipe on about.com.

This post is dedicated to the wives who try to follow diets their husbands are following to support them (and vice versa)! Go you!

Almond Meal Pancakes with Berry Reduction and Coconut Cream from dontmissdairy.com

Almond Meal Pancakes with Berry Reduction and Coconut Cream from dontmissdairy.com
Did you try it? How did you like it? Leave me a comment!

Guinness Float with Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream

Guinness Float with Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream from dontmissdairy.com
Want to know something really cool? My brother Patrick came to visit me on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Wahoo!

California isn’t the best place to celebrate being Irish in America. I’d say it was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It’s the funnest place ever to drink green beer and go crazy. And on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is a little Irish.

But I’m so glad my brother came to California this weekend so I could try out this Guinness ice cream float! I needed someone to taste test, and Eric is not a beer drinker. This is definitely a recipe for the person who loves bold flavors. Strong coffee plus dark beer equals intense dessert.

Guinness Float with Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream from dontmissdairy.com

I know you are all going to hate me for this…but….it’s about 80 degrees here. Don’t be too jealous. It’s pretty awesome.

As I’m typing, there’s a kid’s pool party happening across the street. People are wearing sandals and shorts. We are soaking up this sun like it’s our job! Even sandals go away for the cold season in Silicon Valley, and though we can’t really tell if it’s summer or spring, we are happy to put them back on!

I’m happy to have this sunny warm weather because it means my little bro will fall in love with CA and will come to visit me again.

Also, warm weather means ice cream!

My ice cream maker sat on the shelf so long it had a nice layer of dust on it. It was time for some spring cleaning and ice cream making. 

An ice cream maker is necessary to make my dairy-free coconut coffee ice cream, but you could still enjoy a dairy-free Guinness Float this St. Patrick’s Day by substituting some store bought vanilla ice cream like SO Delicious Coconut Frozen Dessert Vanilla Bean. 

What’s that you say? You don’t like Guinness?! It’s okay. Put your coffee ice cream in a cup of coffee or some cola instead! Drink with a green straw. Or enjoy with one of those cute little shamrock cookies from Eat’n’Park. My brother brought them to me all the way from Pittsburgh, but you can order them online! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Guinness Float with Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream from dontmissdairy.com

Guinness Float with Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream from dontmissdairy.com