Not Technically Red Sauce (No corn, yeast or tomatoes--and not actually red)

     Commercially canned tomato products generally contain citric acid made from corn or soy and may contain traces of yeast or mold (see Tomato Products, Canned in the Glossary). Fresh tomatoes from the grocery story are generally coated with wax containing corn, soy or dairy products and have likely been gassed with ethylene gas made from corn. 

     This recipe evades all these problems with tomatoes by replacing them with a different tart, somewhat fruity vegetable. The sauce doesn't taste like tomatoes, but it is surprisingly tasty. Try it on pizza.

The rhubarb in this batch of sauce was mostly
green. The color would be deeper with bright red rhubarb.

  

     1/4 c. olive oil or other oil to which you are not allergic (See Oil 

          in the Glossary)

     2 celery stalks, chopped

     2 carrots, chopped

     1 onion, chopped

     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     2 cloves of garlic, crushed

     3 c. chopped rhubarb stems

     1 Tb. basil (See Spices in the Glossary)

     oregano (See Spices in the Glossary)

     Heat the oil in a pan. Add the celery, carrots, and onion. Sprinkle with a bit of salt. Saute gently on medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent. Do not brown. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute, stirring constantly. Add the rhubarb, basil, oregano and one cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook on low heat until the vegetables are quite soft. Blend thoroughly, adding a small amount of water if necessary, and adjust salt to taste. If you prefer to "cut the acidity" in spaghetti sauce you may want to add a spoonful of sugar.

Teff Gravy

Teff gravy made with chicken stock

     Any starch will thicken a liquid, but different ones give different textures. I have tried a lot of different starches, and in my opinion teff flour is the best gluten-free choice for making gravy. Besides having a very mild, pleasant flavor of its own, teff produces a gravy that has very much the texture of a conventional wheat gravy. An added bonus is that teff is just the color to make gravy look even darker and richer. Sorghum flour is a good choice too: simply substitute 1/2 c. sorghum flour for the teff flour in this recipe.

     ¼ c. oil (or fat from pan drippings, if available) See Oil in the Glossary

     ½ c. teff flour

     4 c. beef or chicken stock—or watery part of pan drippings, if available 
          (See Broth, beef or chicken in the Glossary)

     salt  (See Salt in the Glossary)
     black pepper (See Spices in the Glossary)

     Heat the oil in a pan; then add the teff flour and fry it, stirring constantly, until it smells toasty and loses its raw-flour character. Whisk in the stock and bring it up to boiling, stirring constantly.  Add salt and pepper to taste. If needed, gradually stir in  more liquid to adjust the thickness to your taste, bringing the gravy back up to a boil after each addition.  Remember that gravy thickens a bit as it cools on the table. 

     If you are planning to use the gravy in a meat pie, remember that gluten-free pie crusts can get soggy more easily than wheat pie crusts do and keep the gravy on the thick side.

     Gravy can turn surprisingly thick and gelatinous in the fridge. This is normal. To serve it again, just reheat, whisk and add a bit more liquid if necessary. 

Mushroom Broth

     Mushroom broth is delicious as a simple soup, a soup base, a gravy base or the liquid for cooking rice. The commercially available mushroom broth is actually pretty good, although not as good as homemade. It comes in packages made of paperboard covered with wax, though, and the wax may contain corn, soy or dairy products. If you're very allergic to any of those, you might want to make your own mushroom broth. It's actually pretty easy: you don't need to meticulously cut the vegetables into tiny pieces, for one thing: no one will see them in the end anyway. You can use up vegetables that were previously set aside in other recipes: mushroom stems, the top parts of leeks, parsley stems. Also, the broth is pretty forgiving: you can add celery, add more thyme, skip the carrot, or what have you, and still get good results.

     1 Tb. oil (See Oil in the Glossary)
     1 carrot, peeled and sliced
     the green parts of one leek, chopped
     1 onion, chopped
     6 cloves of garlic, cut into a few slices
     2 lb. of mushrooms, sliced
     good handful of parsley (See Produce in the Glossary)
     6-8 sprigs of thyme (See Produce in the Glossary)
     2 bay leaves 
     1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
     3 quarts of water (12 cups)
     salt  (See Salt in the Glossary)

         Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add the carrot, leek, onion and a good sprinkle of salt, Saute gently, stirring frequently, until the veggies are softening up and the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook until the garlic is also translucent, another minute or so. Then add the mushrooms, parsley, and thyme. Continue cooking on medium heat, stirring now and then,until the mushrooms are cooking down and releasing juice. Pour in the water, add the bay leaves and peppercorns, bring back to a boil, and simmer for an hour or a bit more. Next line a colander with a cloth and strain the broth into another large pot. Let the strained veggies cool off for a few minutes, then pick up the cloth and wring the juice out of the veggies and into the broth.

     If you are using the broth immediately as soup, add salt to taste. If not, leave it alone: this allows you to reduce it inside sauces and things without making them too salty. 

Corn-Free, Yeast-Free Catsup

  

   Commercially bottled catsup generally contains corn in multiple forms. Often it contains quite a lot of corn syrup; it also generally contains white vinegar (made from corn) and citric acid (usually derived from corn or soy). Vinegar, of course, is a fermentation product and thus may contain traces of yeast, and, like other commercial tomato products, catsup can contain traces of mold or yeast (See Tomato Products, Canned in the Glossary)



     For some corn-allergic people, searching out the brands that list sugar in their list of ingredients instead of corn syrup may be sufficient. If you make your own catsup you can use sugar instead of corn syrup and replace the vinegar with citrus juices. I don't like my catsup to taste lemony so I use a mixture of grapefruit juice and lime juice. Any juice with a good acidic kick should work fine.

 

     3 lb. vine-ripened Roma tomatoes (See Produce in the Glossary)
     1/2 tsp. paprika (See Spices in the Glossary)
     2 Tb. fresh squeezed lime juice (See Juice in the Glossary)
     1 Tb. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (See Juice in the Glossary)
     1 tsp. salt (See Salt in the Glossary)
     sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)

          Peel the tomatoes (see Produce in the Glossary). You can seed them at this stage too if you like. Cut each tomato into a few pieces. Put them in a saucepan with a small splash of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for half an hour. At this point the tomato pieces should be coming apart and the seeds should be softened up so that a blender can break them up. Process the tomatoes, in batches, in a blender. If there are still too many visible seeds to suit you, you can strain them out using a food mill or a sieve with a fine enough mesh. (Remember that the seeds will become more apparent as you reduce the tomatoes.) Put the processed tomatoes back in the saucepan and add the paprika, lime juice, grapefruit juice, salt and 2 Tb. of sugar. Stirring occasionally, simmer uncovered until the mixture is reduced to about 2 cups and reaches a.catsup consistency. Add sugar and salt to taste, remembering that the catsup will taste slightly sweeter once it is cold. Refrigerate.

Dairy-Free Fruit-Salad Dressing

Fruit-salad dressing

     Fruit salad is a dessert, so use the rich coconut milk that comes in a can, not the coconut-based milk substitute that comes in a carton. This will provide all the rich creaminess you want in your fruit salad. 

     Sugar draws juice out of fruit, watering down any dressing. The solutions to this are to 1) use only fruit that is fairly sweet to start with and skip the sugar and/or 2) only stir the dressing into the prepared fruit just before serving it.

     This mixture is particularly good on tropical fruit (pineapple, bananas, etc.) It works well with a garnish of toasted shredded coconut.

Banana and pineapple

     1 cup canned coconut 

          milk (See Coconut and 

          Milk in the Glossary)

     ½ tsp. cinnamon (See 

          Spices in the Glossary)

     ¼ c. sugar (See Sugar in 

          the Glossary)

     Mix all ingredients together..

   

Fruit salad

   

Green Chutney

     This classic Indian condiment is spicy, herbal and delicious on grilled meats, vegetables, rice, and other foods. It is also notable for involving few ingredients and very few possible allergens. 

     Grocery store peppers are coated with wax which may contain corn, soy or dairy products, so you may need to mind where get your peppers. Alternatively, you can avoid the wax by roasting and peeling the peppers, but I don't think cooked peppers are quite as good in this sauce.

     If yogurt is a problem, the version with coconut milk is also authentic and just as good.

      3/4 c. fresh mint leaves (stems removed)
     1/2 c. cilantro leaves (stems removed)
     6 green chili peppers, seeds removed (You can use more or less peppers, 

          depending on how much heat you like) See Produce in the Glossary
     2 cloves of garlic
     1/2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
     1 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice (See Juice in the Glossary)
     1/4 c. yogurt or coconut milk (See Coconut and Milk in the Glossary)
     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     Put the mint, cilantro, chili peppers, garlic, ginger and lemon juice into a food processor and puree. Stir in the yogurt or coconut milk and salt to taste. Refrigerate.

Tomato Sauce and Tomato Paste

 Tomato Sauce

A few more minutes of simmering, and this sauce will be perfect.
Actually, if the plan is to simmer it further inside, say, spaghetti sauce,
it's ready to go right now.

    Commercially canned tomato products generally contain citric acid made from corn or soy and may contain traces of yeast or mold (see Tomato Products, Canned in the Glossary). If you are so severely allergic to any of these that commercial tomato products are a problem, you might consider making your own. Garden tomatoes picked ripe are the best for this, both because they have the best flavor and because they are not coated with wax containing corn, soy or dairy products and have not been gassed with ethylene gas made from corn. Roma tomatoes have more pulp, which makes them excellent for making tomato sauce or tomato paste. 

     4 lbs. vine-ripened  tomatoes, peeled (see Produce in the Glossary). 
     4 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice (See Juice  in the Glossary)

     Cut each tomato into a few pieces. Put the tomatoes in a saucepan with a small splash of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for half an hour. At this point the tomato pieces should be coming apart and the seeds should be softened up so that a blender can break them up. Process the tomatoes, in batches, in a blender. If there are still too many visible seeds to suit you, you can strain them out using a food mill or a sieve with a fine enough mesh. (Remember that any remaining seeds will become more apparent as you reduce the tomatoes.) Put the tomatoes back in the saucepan and, stirring occasionally, simmer uncovered until they reach the tomato sauce consistency you like, probably when their volume is reduced by about half. Add the lemon juice. Do not skip this step if you are planning to can your sauce: one purpose of the lemon juice is to ensure the sauce is acidic enough that you can safely can it at home. Refrigerate or can the sauce.
     

Simmered for 1/2 hour, blended, and brought back to a boil.
In another hour or two this will look like the sauce shown above.

 Tomato Paste

     To turn your tomato sauce into tomato paste, just keep simmering it uncovered until it reaches the tomato paste consistency you like, probably when its volume is reduced by about half again. Note that as it becomes thicker it will require more attention to keep it from sticking and burning. Near the end you will need to keep it at the lowest boil possible and stir frequently. Refrigerate or can the paste.

Corn-Free Chocolate Syrup

     Commercially made chocolate syrup generally consists largely of corn syrup.  Fortunately, it is easy to make corn-free chocolate syrup at home using plain cocoa (not a drink mix) and cane or any other sugar you are not allergic to. Note that store-bought vanilla extract generally contains corn alcohol. You can make your own extract, but if you just leave the vanilla out your chocolate syrup will still be fine.

Corn-free chocolate syrup on caramel ice cream

     1-1/2 c. sugar (See Sugar 
          in the Glossary)    
     3/4 c. cocoa (See Cocoa 
          in the Glossary)        
     dash of salt  (See Salt 
          in the Glossary)   
     1 c. boiling hot water     

     optional but highly 

          recommended: 2 tsp. 

          corn-free vanilla 

          extract


     Stir the sugar, cocoa and salt together in a small pot.  Add about a third of the hot water, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the rest of the hot water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and simmer for another three minutes, stirring constantly. Add the vanilla. Refrigerate.

Add this syrup to milk or "milk" to make
chocolate milk.

Corn-Free Syrups and Corn-Free Soda Pops

Rhubarb syrup and rhubarb soda

     Most commercial syrups are made with corn syrup, as is most soda pop. To make simple syrup from your choice of plain sugar, follow this recipe:

     1 part water
     2 parts sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)

     Heat the sugar and water together, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils. The sugar should be thoroughly dissolved. Refrigerate.

     Fruit or other flavored syrups: In place of the water, substitute any fruit juice to which you are not allergic. (See Juice in the Glossary) Mint or other infusions and rhubarb juice make interesting syrups too. (To juice rhubarb in a juicer, first peel the stalks. The strings clog up juicers.) Sweeter fruit juices will make somewhat thicker syrups. For infusions that don't have any acidity (such as mint), you need to add some lemon juice to prevent mold.

     Soda Pop: To make soda pop, mix 1 part flavored syrup with 3 or so parts plain soda water.

Hypoallergenic Salsa

This might have been a prettier red if I had stuck with red peppers,
but I like poblanos.

     Commercially made salsa usually contains corn whether you can see kernels of it or not.  Most contains citric acid (corn and/or soy) and/or distilled white vinegar (corn). If you make salsa yourself, remember that grocery store tomatoes and peppers are generally coated with a layer of wax containing corn, soy or dairy products. You can peel them following the instructions under Produce in the Glossary. On the plus side, the process of charring the peppers so that the peel blisters up gives the peppers a savory, roasted flavor that is good in salsa.

     2 lb. of peppers, whatever variety you like (See Produce in the Glossary)

     4 lb. of ripe vine-ripened tomatoes (See Produce in the Glossary)

     4 cloves of garlic, sliced very thin or minced

     (optional) 2 Tb. chopped fresh cilantro leaves (See Produce in the 

          Glossary) 

     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     couple of  limes 

     Prepare and peel the peppers and tomatoes as described under Produce in the Glossary. Remove the seeds from the peppers. You can seed the tomatoes too, if you like; salsa is chunky, so I don't think a few tomato seeds matter. Chop the peppers and tomatoes; put them in a pot with the garlic, cilantro, 1/2 Tb. salt and 3 Tb. lime juice. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the thickness is about right. The vegetables will have become very soft and melded together, and the salsa will have cooked down to about half of its initial volume. This will take 2-3 hours or so. Adjust salt and lime juice to taste if needed.

About the right proportion of peppers to tomatoes, ready to peel.
Note that salsa is forgiving: you can vary the proportion of pepper
to tomato, replace the garlic with a finely chopped onion, use  
lemon juice instead of lime, or add parsley, and  your salsa will
 still be delicious.

All chopped up and ready to simmer

Corn-Free, Dairy-Free Caramel Sauce

    

Glass jars are perfect for storing caramel sauce.

 

     The distinctive flavor of caramel comes from cooking sugar at a high temperature. Unfortunately, both cane sugar and beet sugar consist of sucrose, which has a nasty tendency to recrystallize while you're cooking it  If any bit of the sugar turns back into crystals, the rest quickly follows suit, leaving you with a mess that can't be salvaged. The addition of even a small amount of syrup made up of certain other sugars can prevent this.  Corn syrup is basically glucose and works like a charm, which is why practically everything "caramel" has corn syrup in it. Rice syrup has a couple of other sugars (no sucrose) and works fine too. Rice syrup has a pleasant flavor of its own, one I think actually adds a deep, rich note to the taste of caramel. Note that some rice syrup is not gluten-free, as the processing involves enzymes which may have been derived from barley. Watch for gluten-free syrup if this is an issue.

     1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk (See Coconut and Milk in the Glossary)

     1/4 tsp. salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     (optional) 1/2 vanilla bean or 1 cinnamon stick

     1 c. sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)

     1/4 c. rice syrup*

     3 Tb. water

     6 Tb. palm oil shortening

     Put the coconut milk and salt in a small saucepan. This is your chance to add other flavors without including corn alcohol from extracts. Put in a cinnamon stick, or slice a vanilla bean lengthwise and toss it in. Experiment with other flavorings if you like (chipotle, cloves, whatever). Heat to boiling and turn down to a simmer.  

This is the color you want your syrup
 to reach.  Time to take it off the heat.

   In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar, rice syrup and water on medium high heat, stirring just until the sugar is completely dissolved. The mixture will then foam, bubble and, after a few minutes, start to turn darker.  When it turns the right shade of golden brown, take it off the heat. Pluck any vanilla bean or cinnamon stick out of the coconut milk mixture, and immediately whisk the coconut milk into the syrup.  Stir in the palm oil until it is really, thoroughly blended in (otherwise you will have lumps in your caramel sauce).  Refrigerate.

See the oily shine on top?
This caramel sauce needs
more whisking while it is
still hot.

*Note that some rice syrup is not gluten-free, as the processing involves enzymes which may have been derived from barley. Watch for gluten-free syrup if this is an issue.

Soy-Free, Corn-Free, Sesame-Free, Fermentation-Free Stir-Fry Sauce and Sushi Dipping Sauce

     The purpose of stir-fry sauce is to add deep savory flavors, lively seasoning and texture to stir-fries.  This can be accomplished without soy, sesame, corn or fermentation products (soy sauce, coconut aminos, or vinegar). The sauce produced by the recipe given here, though not quite conventional, is tasty and has just the right level of tartness. By all means bring soy sauce and sesame oil out as condiments for those who aren't allergic to them. 


Stir-Fry Sauce

     4 c. chicken or beef stock (See Broth in the Glossary)
     3 Tb. freshly squeezed lime juice  (See Juice in the Glossary)
     good sprinkle of black pepper (See Spices in the Glossary)
     1 knob of ginger, peeled and chopped fine
     3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped fine
     salt to taste--the amount will vary according to how much salt was in the 

          stock (See Salt in the Glossary)

     1/2 Tb. or so tapioca starch, depending on how much you want the sauce 

          to thicken

     Reduce the stock to ½ cup; i.e., boil it until only ½ cup is left.  Stir in the remaining ingredients. Add to a stir-fry that is otherwise ready, then cook for a few seconds, until the sauce thickens.


Sushi Dipping Sauce

     For a condiment that perfectly complements sushi and egg rolls, follow the recipe above but leave out the tapioca starch and stir in 2 Tb. of gluten-free rice syrup. Note that some rice syrup is not gluten-free, as the processing involves enzymes which may have been derived from barley. Watch for gluten-free syrup if this is an issue. 

Corn-Free, Yeast-Free Horseradish Sauce

     Horseradish sauce usually contains a good dose of white vinegar (corn, yeast). Fortunately, it is surprisingly easy to make your own with lemon juice.

     You may be tempted to chop up some horseradish root and use a food-processor to mix it up with the other ingredients.  Don’t do this: I tried it and found it pretty much impossible to get the lumps out of the  sauce after that. Also, do not attempt to grate horseradish straight from the freezer in your food-processor: I tried that too, and broke a couple of food-processor attachments in the process.

     fresh horseradish root

     equal parts cold water and freshly squeezed lemon juice (See Juice in 

          the Glossary)

     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     First peel and grate the horseradish. Mix to a thick paste with a little water and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes while the heat develops. Then add the same amount of lemon juice as water. Add more water and lemon juice as needed to get the desired consistency. Salt to taste. Keep tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Yeast-Free, Corn-Free Chimichurri

     Chimichurri  is a beautifully green, intensely flavored sauce that is delicious on any kind of grilled food and on potatoes and rice. It keeps me from missing steak sauce and all its fermented, corn syrupy allergenicity. 


     The classic recipe requires little tweaking: I replace the usual vinegar with lime juice to avoid traces of corn and yeast. The addition of cilantro is untraditional for this Argentinean delicacy, but a lot of people like it.

     4 cloves garlic

     1 c. olive oil (See Oil in the Glossary)

     2 c. firmly packed parsley leaves (replace up to ¼ c. 

          with cilantro, if desired) See Produce in the Glossary

     2 Tb. firmly packed oregano leaves (See Produce in

          the Glossary ) or a good sprinkle of dried 

          oregano leaves (See Spices in the Glossary)

     1 tsp. salt (See Salt in the Glossary)

     1/2 tsp. ground black pepper (See Spices in the Glossary)

     ¼ c. freshly squeezed lime juice (See Juice in the Glossary)

     (optional) sprinkle of red pepper flakes or cayenne

           (See Spices in the Glossary)

     Put all the ingredients in a food-processor and process until the garlic is thoroughly blended in. Chimichurri is meant to have some texture: it should not be pureed.  Do not make it in a blender.