Recipes from "The Complete Food Allergy Cookbook" by Marilyn Gioannini. COCONUT PECAN FROSTING (15 minutes - Frosts two 8- or 9-inch layers - also soy-free if you use vegetable oil instead of margarine) 1/4 c. margarine or vegetable oil 1/2 c. honey 1/2 c. water or rice milk or other milk substitute 1-1/2 t. arrowroot powder 1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts 1 c. unsweeetened shredded coconut 1 t. vanilla (optional) Put margarine and honey into a small saucepan. Mix 1/4 c. of the water or milk substitute with the arrowroot until smooth. Add the arrot mixture and the other 1/4 c. water or milk substitute to the saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add pecans, coconut, and vanilla. Beat briefly and frost cake while frosting is still warm. Makes enough for two layers (tops only) or a 9x13 cake. 1/12 recipe: calories-156, protein-0.9, carbohydrates-15.2, fat-11.1 g, sodium-60.9 mg, fiber-0.7 g --------------------------------------------------- CREAMY MAPLE FROSTING (20 minutes - 12 servings) 2 (10.5-ounce) packages silken tofu 1/3 c. cashews, or other nuts 6 T. maple syrup 1 t. vanilla (optional) 1/2 t. cinnamon (optional) Remove tofu from package and cut into slices. Place in steamer basket in saucepan and steam 5 minutes. Drain between several layers of cotton toweling for at least 15 minutes to remove all the excess water. Put nuts, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon in blender container. Blend until very smooth. Add tofu a little at a time, blending until the mixture is very smooth and creamy. Scrape the sides of the continer often. Chill before spreading on cake. Makes enough for a 2-layer cake. Tip: Refrigerate leftover cake -- tofu does not keep well unrefrigerated. 1/12 of recipe: calories-69.6, protein-2.9 g, carbohydrates-7.9 g, fat-3.1 g, sodium-12.5 mg, fiber-0 g. ======================================================= MOCK WHIPPED CREAM (20 minutes - About 1-1/4 cups) Good substitute for whipped cream, with no cholesterol, refined sugar, or milk products. It can be used as a cake topping (it is NOT thick enough to spread). 1/2 (10.5-oz.) package silken tofu 1/3 c. raw cashews 1 T. maple syrup 1 T. vegetable oil REmove tofu from package and cut into slices. Put unused portion in a plastic container, cover with water and use within 3 or 4 days. Place portion to be used in steamer basket in saucepan and steam 5 minutes. Drain in a kitchen towel for at least 10 minutes. After tofu is drained, put cashews, maple syrup, oil, and 1/2 c. water into blender container. Blend on medium-high several minutes until very smooth. Add steamed tofu to the blender and blend well. Chill well before serving. Mixture becomes thicker when chilled. 1/8 recipe: calories-64.4, protein-1.7g, carbohydrates-3.9 g, fat-4.9 g, sodium-4.6 mg, fiber-0 g You could also give your cake a dusting of powdered sugar, powdered sugar and cinnamon, or powdered sugar and cocoa. \-Grainlady

I can tell you from experience. Unfortunately, I made custard based "vanilla" the other night. I even put the bean in with the seeds while heating it. And never remembered to put in the vanilla extract. It was really good frozen custard, but it had very very little vanilla flavor. Or course, it could be that I just like it to have a much more pronounced vanilla flavor, so I'll stick with my "both" recipe.

Lars here is my quiche recipe. It has a whole grain crust, which I must admit I have never made, but I make the filling all the time. You can sub any vegetable for the broccoli if you don't like it. I got the recipe from "Vegetarian Times" magazine years ago. Low-Calorie Quiche Crust: 1/2 cup rolled oats 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup unbleached white flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. baking powder 1/4-1/3 cup canola oil 2 TBLSP lemon juice 1 1/2 tsp. honey 2-3 TBLSP COLD water 1-2 tsp. toasted ground sesame seeds Preheat oven to 375. Grind oats to coarse flour in blender or food processor. Mix dry ingredients. Drizzle in oil until mixture looks like coarse sand. Add lemon, honey and 2 TBLSP water til dough forms ball. Add more water if necessary. Roll between wax paper. Sprinkle sesame in pie pan first (optional). After shaping dough into pie pan, prick crust on sides and bottom. Bake 10 min. then remove from oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Filling: 1 tsp. water or olive oil 1 cup minced diced onion 1 tsp. minced garlic 3 cups small broccoli florets or other veggies chopped small 1-2 TBLSP water 2 large egg whites 10 oz package soft silken tofu 1 TBLSP prepared mustard (dijon) 1 tsp. dried basil or rosemary 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper (I use white) 1-2 TBLSP grated parmesean (I have to admit I use about double that!) Heat 1 tsp. water or oil in a nonstick skillet over med. heat. Add onion and saute 3-5 min. Add garlic and broccoli and 1-2 TBLSP water. Steam until broccoli is bright green ~2 min. (Note: this is a lowfat recipe, so you could saute the veggies in more olive oil if you weren't worrying too much about calories. I often just use frozen broccoli and no water.) Drain veggies if necessary. Place veggies in the pre-baked crust. Whip egg whites until frothy. Add tofu, spices and parmesean cheese. Blend until smooth. Pour into pie crist. Garnish with red pepper if desired. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Note: can sub brewer's yeast or fake parmesean for the parmesean cheese. I've had it that way, it is good too. Not a traditional quiche, more like a "tofu vegetable pie" but still good if you like veggies. Seems like it would be good with artichoke hearts too, I like the combo of artichoke and red pepper. I have also made it with zuchinni and yellow squash.

My gyne insists that adults do not need milk products at all. She says that calcium should be coming from green leafy vegetables -- kale, spinach, chard etc and of course, sardines. Almond milk, if you can tolerate it, is also high in calcium and a good source. I drink about 1-1/2 to 2 cups of milk a day in coffee. That's it. I've given up yogurt and most cheese. I do have some kefir in the morning occasionally (good for the gut) with fruit. I agree, it's really difficult with the coffee. I've never found a replacement for coffee and it wouldn't be half&half or cream because of the cholesterol and fat in those. Some can drink lactose-free milk as someone suggested. Fermented soy ie. tempeh is good (again for the gut). But anyone who starts to read labels conscientiously will realize that there are gigantic amounts of soy in many food products. It's used as a cheap additive. Bread, english muffins, many baked goods -- check it out. Our grandson had a soy allergy so I started reading labels before they visited each time. I was rocked by the number of unexpected foods that contain soy high up in the ingredient list. I haven't read about health benefits to adding any more. Most important though, is exercise. As vigorous as can be managed for 30 to 40 minutes a day, at least 3 times a week. Walking is good. But anything that makes you sweat is best.