Dairy Free

Avocado lovers will go ga-ga over the taste and those with swallowing difficulties or mouth sores will delight in the texture. Those of you into cool or room-temperature soups will embrace the clean, fresh feel of this blend. Avocados are one of those great superfoods, full of good fats and vitamins. They’re fun to work with, and all of the great shades of green in this soup are like preparing a beautiful watercolor that you can eat.

I was working at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing when the only living woman Indian saint stopped in. Her entourage laid down some pretty strict rules: No talking to the saint. No approaching the saint. And whatever you do, don’t touch the saint. But after eating her bowl of dahl, this little imp of a holy woman motioned me over and then … proceeded to kiss me on the forehead! The Chopra folks (and I guess the saint as well) like their dahl chunky, and I love it that way too, but it’s just as enjoyable blended and smooth. Blend the dahl a bit if you want something a little easier to swallow or digest. Small amounts of this dahl are wonderful for someone who isn’t particularly hungry, as the cumin is an appetite stimulant.

Here’s a recipe where a little culinary ad-libbing met the needs of a caregiver. My husband, Gregg, was feeling a little sick but wanted to eat, but there really wasn’t anything in the house. I saw some fennel and thought, “That’s good for the belly.” Then I found some carrots. But what to do with these limited ingredients? For years I’d made a carrot ginger soup recipe for many of my patients. Would carrot fennel soup work? I went to the fruit compartment for my trusty lemons, but only found an orange. It all went into the pot, and a little while later I put it in front of Gregg. He took one taste and started raving. A few weeks and tweaks later, I found that adding cumin, cinnamon, and allspice really brought this soup home. I named this recipe after Bella because she’s quite possibly the only dog on the planet who prefers carrots to bacon; for every four carrots that go into making this soup, one goes into Bella’s mouth. Otherwise she howls. (Sigh.)

Cauliflower is a wonderful vegetable that’s full of excellent cancer-fighting enzymes, yet it’s sorely in need of a PR campaign. That’s because most people steam cauliflower, which makes the kitchen smell like a stink bomb detonated. Either that or, like my dad, they eat cauliflower raw and tasteless as crudités (in his case, dipped in Russian dressing). The secret is to roast cauliflower. Not only does this avoid the sulfur smell, it also produces an unbelievably sweet flavor.

What’s the first thing you think of when somebody says, “Let’s get Thai food”? Most of my friends have an involuntary response: they start to sweat. Many people think that Thai food is hot, hot, hot. Well, maybe not, not, not. True, some Thai food can set off smoke detectors. But real Thai cooking emphasizes distinctive flavor combinations regardless of the heat. This soup, a takeoff on traditional Thai tom kha gai (a chicken soup), uses coconut milk, which is very soothing to the nerves. The ginger aids digestion, while the lime brightens up the overall flavor. The result is a soup guaranteed to jump-start even the most jaded taste buds.

This soup is for mushroom maniacs, although if you’re on the fence about them, I guarantee this soup will sway you! There’s simply no taste in the culinary world that mimics mushrooms, and that flavor is backed up by a host of health-supportive properties. Between the shiitakes, the barley, and the rich broth, this is a warming meal in a bowl. Since the barley must soak overnight, you’ll need to plan ahead.

A little cultural pride is a good thing, and I have to tell you I always thought my people had the market cornered when it came to making chicken soup. I mean, there’s a reason they call it Jewish penicillin, right? Well, in the interest of complete fairness, let me say that the Greeks know a thing or three about chicken soup, as well. Their Mediterranean take is to fold a little lemon and egg into the mixture. And unlike the yiddishe version, which I love but which can be a little fatty, this version is light and bright. Because of the egg, which provides protein, and the Chicken Magic Mineral Broth, this a nutrient-dense bowl of yum. You’ll need to cook the farro in advance, so plan ahead.

When it comes to cooking, Italians believe in region first, country second. That’s why this recipe is my version of culinary heresy. By taking white beans—a notoriously Tuscan legume—and mixing them with saffron, which is more common to northern Italy’s Lombardi region, I’ve committed what might be considered a food felony. My defense for breaking with tradition is justified in this case: saffron is a powerful cancer-fighting spice. It’s best to soak the beans overnight before cooking them, so plan ahead.

Beef broth has long been used as a healing beverage. Beef bones are filled with collagen and minerals the body uses to build connective tissues, such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. It’s a perfect sipping medium for people who are trying to figure out how to get five or six hits of nutrition a day. I’ve had clients with eating difficulties who have literally lived on this broth for days or weeks at a time.

If ever there was a dish that proved I wasn’t Italian, it’s meatballs. And that’s kind of embarrassing, because not only do I love to make Italian food, I even studied (okay, suffered, but it amounted to the same thing) under an Italian signora on the Isle of Elba. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never figure out how to keep my meatballs from falling apart, until I tried basmati rice. Now my meatballs not only taste great, they also don’t disintegrate on the fork. These are actually mini meatballs, closer to the Latin-American version known as albondiguitas, with the ginger providing a little zing. If timing is an issue, the meatballs can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until you’re ready to cook them. Also, this recipe makes twice as many meatballs as you’ll need for the soup. To save the remainder for later, place them in the freezer for 1 hour to firm up, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Some people have soul sisters. I have a soup sister. Julie and I have one of those friendships where I can barge into her house uninvited and nine times out of ten I’ll find Julie in the kitchen making soup. She’s so good at it that when I return home from a long out-of-town job, the first place I call to make dinner reservations is her house. Last winter we were trying to come up with a hearty chicken broth recipe when we realized everything we needed for a foundation was already in the Magic Mineral Broth recipe (opposite page), with its rich color, aroma, and flavor and impressive nutritional profile. Here, we’ve enhanced Magic Mineral Broth by adding chicken bones, which infuse the soup with even more minerals, especially calcium and phosphorus, which, not surprisingly, are vital for bone health.

This is my Rosetta stone of soup, a broth that can be transformed to meet a myriad nutritional needs, serving as everything from a delicious sipping tea to the powerful base for more hearty soups and stews. So no matter what a person’s appetite, it can provide a tremendous nutritional boost. Chemotherapy often saps your strength due to dehydration, which pulls vital nutrients out of your system. This rejuvenating liquid, chock-full of magnesium, potassium, and sodium, allows the body to refresh and restore itself. I think of it as a tonic, designed to keep you in tip-top shape.

These multipurpose rolls are great as part of a continental breakfast, for making ciabatta sandwiches or panini, along with soup or salad for lunch, and they are a fabulous roll to pass at dinner. This one covers all your bases. Bon appetit!

Soft and warm, these rolls have a wonderful aroma. I have given proportions for a large batch because I find these rolls get gobbled up quickly. They also freeze well, so you can keep a batch in the freezer, defrosting, then warming a few . . . whenever.

Traditional matzo recipes are made from water and one of the five grains permitted for Passover. These are barley, oats, rye, spelt, and wheat. This creates a problem for the gluten-free Jew. But help is on the horizon. This matzo is not made from grain at all; it’s made from potato starch and flaxseed meal, and I did adhere to the Passover rule that the matzo be made in eighteen minutes or less.

My grandmother and mother very often made cornbread sticks along with our summer suppers when I was a child. I grew up on Cape Cod, and we ate a lot of fresh fish back in those days. Cod, haddock, flounder, and bluefish were all staples at our summer table. Cornbread is eaten alongside fish to help push down any bones you might accidentally swallow. Due to food allergies, and tragically polluted and overfished waters, we’ve stopped eating the fish. But the cornbread sticks have remained. My mother still bakes them up every year when we go back East for our annual summer reunions, and I make them for my kids, who love them just as much as I always have. I make them with my Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix, but you may also use Gluten-Free Bread Flour Mix (page 158) for a more intense flavor and a slightly more crumbly texture.

My son Lennon is a pizza fanatic. He calls this crust “awesome!” High praise indeed for such an easy-peezy pizza pie. Top this crust with tomato sauce, onions, sliced mushrooms, sliced tomatoes, basil, and any other veggie you desire. The possibilities are endless.

I first became interested in soccas (chickpea flour crepes) because they are allergen-free, glutenfree, low-carb, high-protein, and delicious! Soccas go back to at least 1860. They are from southern France, but were most likely an import from northern Africa, where they eat a lot of chickpeas. In the nineteenth century, there were socca sellers at the markets and at work sites, where they provided the morning meal to the workers. The socca sellers used special wagons with built-in charcoal ovens to keep their wares hot while they announced them with the appropriate cries of “Socca! Socca! Socca!” I have kept my socca recipe simple, because I like the rustic flavor. You can top it with olive oil, salt, and fresh pepper, or go all out, topping it with things like caramelized onions and grilled red peppers.

This is an outstanding loaf of bread and a great way to showcase your talents as an allergen-free baker. I have chosen seeds that I know can be found free of cross-contamination risk with other allergens (see Resources, page 177), but feel free to substitute.

This rustic flat bread is great served with white bean dip or dunked in red sauce. It’s also wonderful dipped in olive oil. Be sure to serve it warm.