You Say Tomato, I Say Faux-mato!

[herlander_refugee]

I am allergic to the bulk of the nightshade family. Yes, I went into official mourning for potatoes and tomatoes.

But for some of my tomato cookery, I have a solution to tomato sauce! I can make passable red spaghetti sauce, or lasagna now without tomatoes. It is also non-dairy and gluten free.

Any other allergic sorts interested?

A few other solutions I will share on request:

(1) a yummy mash of white sweet potatoes and rutabagas so I can get my share of "potatoes" and giblet gravy in the holidays.

(2) Millet bread - a passible grainy almost corn bread for those who cannot endure corn products.

(3) An egg free chocolate cake.

I don't want to burden the group if there is no interest; still feeling my way here!

Comments

[meloukhia]

Yes, please! I am an indiscriminate eater but I often cook for people with allergies and am always looking for new recipes.

[herlander_refugee]

Which one would you like? Or did you mean (gasp!) all of them?

[meloukhia]

All of them would be awesome! I am a recipe-collecting FOOL.

[herlander_refugee]

The Fauxmato is up now, here in comments and in stand alone post. I will get to the rest over the next couple days.

Bit finger sore from yard work---blackberry vines BITE~!

[willful_zephyr]

I am curious on how to do a marinara-type sauce without tomatoes.

Please share!

[herlander_refugee]

I'm not sure how it compares to actual marinara---nothing duplicates tomato perfectly. But some tomato lovers have had this and were shocked to learn it was not "real". My son, a lover of red sauces, says it tastes most like the vodka-tomato sauces.

I make this up in a huge recipe so I can freeze it for use later.
I freeze it in quart, pint, cup and even ice cube tray bits (for the perfect "2T tomato sauce" recipes seem enamored of all the time!

I have posted the recipe as a stand alone post now, and suitably edited this comment!


Now, if you like and know what cuisine you will use it for; you could season it further. I don't even salt mine, but adding Italian herbs, and onion and garlic is a temptation sometimes.

Usually, I pack it up in containers of several sorts, cool it in the fridge and then freeze it. I pull out and defrost and THEN season it for the meal in question---Italian or Mexican, or Cajun.

In soups and stews that call for tomato sauce, nobody has EVER realized it wasn't the real deal.
It makes a good sauce thinned a bit with more broth or water for spaghetti and makes a convincing lasagna---best with meat recipes in my opinion.

[pauraque]

I can't eat tomatoes either, so count me interested.

[herlander_refugee]

It is in this comment thread! I'll also post it as a stand alone, for convenience!

[juliet316]

My nephew while not allergic hates tomatoes(I don't get it either), so this would be relevant to my interests in terms of cooking for him.

[herlander_refugee]

It is up there! I never liked fresh raw tomato on anything, but thought it was a texture thing more than taste. Every kid I know loves this sauce.(and it is posted in the comments replies now!)

[dragonscrawl]

Tomato sauce does unfortunate things to my digestive system, so I would like to see your tomato-less red sauce.

[herlander_refugee]

Posted and up! Perhaps the acidity in the real deal is what gets you? Mine should avoid most of that, so long as wine doesn't irritate you.

[pennyplainknits]

Share share share!

I have a freakish phobia-thing about tomatos (I can't touch them, even. I don't want to call it an allergy as it isn't. I don't get a reaction, but I DO get freaked out)

[herlander_refugee]

Well, perhaps this will be better then: free standing post now up and waiting.

[alphaviolet]

I'm interested in the millet bread.

[herlander_refugee]

Coming up tomorrow....I promise.

[mathsnerd]

*laughs* You have stumbled into a community of food junkies. Even if, on the very rare chance that no one has the allergy or food dislike, or cooks for someone sometimes with said allergy or food dislike, that prompts a "strange" recipe, there will always be a generous handful of people here who will jump at the chance to try something strange and new just for the 'oooh, new' factor. Post away, at your leisure. :D

[herlander_refugee]

How odd, at a point in my life when although I have been a lifelong food crazed fool and reputed as a very good cook; now, I actively dislike cooking most of the time. My allergies have made it too much of a pain in my own tail!

I keep trying new things to regain my like of food and recipes.

[killing_rose]

Dude, I'd like to see all of them. (I'm going out on a limb here and assuming that the millet bread and cake are not gluten free?) Even if they aren't, I cook enough for an odd assortment, so it'll be helpful.

(I have seen the faux-tomato sauce recipe post and I am totally making that the next time I get an hour to myself.)

[herlander_refugee]

The cake and millet bread recipes are up as of today. The cake can easily be gluten free. The millet bread can as well...millet IS gluten free and if you use a gluten free flour, you are golden.

I have made both gluten free when I had guests with issues. The gluten free millet bread is VERY soft indeed, but tastes perfectly splendid. And using brown rice flour as part of the gluten free mixture actually adds to the slightly grainy "cornbread" texture.