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ISO: A non-dairy sauce for steamed vegetables


Darienne

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At night we eat a light meal with our heavier meal at noon.  In the summer, three out of four nights is a salad, or salads, of some sort.  Night #4 is often steamed vegetables with a cheese sauce for Ed and a lemon juice/olive oil dressing for me.  And Ed does not like my sauce on his vegetables.  He has been using just butter recently. Now Ed has been taken off dairy for the time being to see if that will alleviate his sinus problems. 

 

My problem is to find a sauce which he will be willing to use.   Who has a wonderful sauce in their repertoire?   Thanks. 

 

(The sauce can have meat in it.)

Edited by Darienne (log)

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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I've been having fun&licious with oriental sauces of late - fish sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce . . . there's whole shelves full of many ....

 

the basis is oil - I use olive or safflower

for thick stuff, I'll put it in a small bowl and thin it with hot water

blend with oil

kick it up with a sharp vinegar

adds:

hot pepper stuff/sauce

capers

minced onion/garlic

minced/mashed ginger

citrus zest - lemon/lime/orange

 

I don't have a recipe.  I start, I sniff it, I add other ingredients based on my opinion of how the smells go together....

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Tahini and Miso dressing, last time I made it, 1/4c each tahini and white miso, about 1/2 water (stir while blending in, easiest with a fork), a bit of maple syrup (1 tsp to 1 tbs, as you desire).

I also like a mustardy vinaigrette made with coarse Dijon type mustard (with the seeds), very little oil. Bit of orange juice is nice in it, too.

Peanut sauce, plenty of recipes out there to suit your taste.

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"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" - Oscar Wilde

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I've enjoyed these sauces on vegetables:

In Amá, Josef Centeno has a Vegan Cashew Queso that may be good if a cheese sauce was a favorite. I found a modified version of his recipe here on NYT Cooking.  I see many others online. 

That book also has a delicious Cilantro-Pecan Pesto that he serves with roasted cauliflower.  The recipe is available online here

The "Torrada" sauce that he serves on roasted broccolini is also delicious.  Made with pecans, walnuts, garlic, anchovy, cilantro, olive oil, lime and various seasonings. He describes it as a Mexican-inspired version of the classic bagna cauda, which might also be a possibility. 

 

Along the lines of the Tahini & Miso dressing that @BeeZee mentioned, Mollie Katzen has a recipe for a Miso-Almond Sauce to be served on steamed vegetables, tofu and/or noodles.  I used to make that over and over. Here's an online version. You can make it with any nut butter and any sort of miso.  Three ingredients.  No cooking.

 

The Pine Nut Vinaigrette from Six Seasons appears online here. You can sub other nuts for the pine nuts. 

The same book has a Caper-Raisin Vinaigrette that is also excellent on vegetables.  The recipe uses a 2 ounce tin of anchovies, which I think make it delicious but this online version omits them for a vegetarian version. You choose. 

Those 2 above are somewhat tangy so they may not suit someone who doesn't care for your lemon/olive oil mix. I think the other flavors balance that out, but everyone's different.

 

In the creamy but non-dairy category, Shaya has a preserved lemon aioli that he serves with crab cakes.  I think it's great on steamed vegetables...or on a spoon!  I can't find it online but can paraphrase it for you if you think it would be of interest. 

 

Editing to add this link to the fabulously flavorful tonnato that Mandy Lee of Lady & Pups calls, "Tuna Sando Sauce."   It's amazingly delicious!

 

Edited by blue_dolphin
missing tuna sando sauce (log)
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I used to roast eggplant in a honey-miso mixture; I want to say it was 1/4 cup miso and 2 tbsp honey. It ought to make a nice veggie sauce. If it was too sweet, you could always whisk in a splash of vinegar or lemon juice.

 

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Don't ask. Eat it.

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Wow!  Already I am overwhelmed and will have to spend much time going through all your answers.  Thank you so much.  

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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1 hour ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Tonight we'll have Tonnato sauce on beefsteak tomatoes.   Try on blistered green beans, broccoli, old shoes...

Alas, mayonnaise is also out of bounds.

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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40 minutes ago, Darienne said:

I don't think  so....

 

 

There are some brands that are very good.  Currently we are using I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. (No artificial ingredients.)  Think of it as flavored vegetable oil.

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Mark

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14 minutes ago, mgaretz said:

 

There are some brands that are very good.  Currently we are using I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. (No artificial ingredients.)  Think of it as flavored vegetable oil.

 

I get your point but I have margarine issues from the 60's so I would prefer a nice spicy olive oil or even pumpkin seed oil or pistachio oil, or walnut or hazelnut oil with a touch of acid ;)  Trader Joes had a holiday gift pack of the latter 3 around the holidays once and I enjoyed playing with them. Truthfully I just spoon on a bit of my nuoc mam. Someone mentioned oyster sauce. That was my into to gai lan at yum cha and I was entranced. Like this https://www.recipetineats.com/chinese-broccoli-with-oyster-sauce/ Now I find oyster sauce too heavy - obscuring the nice sweet/bitter of the vegetable.. Tastes change.

Edited by heidih (log)
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23 minutes ago, mgaretz said:

 

There are some brands that are very good.  Currently we are using I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. (No artificial ingredients.)  Think of it as flavored vegetable oil.

I'm like heidih, in that my memories of margarine go back to the 60s and 70s when we could not afford butter.  Here in Ontario, the margarine came in a tough plastic bag, and was a dead white color.  Not very appetizing to look at.   Each bag contained a breakable color button and the  purchaser had the option of coloring the margarine so that it looked more like butter.  From the day we decided we could afford to buy butter....I've never looked back. 

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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9 minutes ago, Darienne said:

I'm like heidih, in that my memories of margarine go back to the 60s and 70s when we could not afford butter.  Here in Ontario, the margarine came in a tough plastic bag, and was a dead white color.  Not very appetizing to look at.   Each bag contained a breakable color button and the  purchaser had the option of coloring the margarine so that it looked more like butter.  From the day we decided we could afford to buy butter....I've never looked back. 

 

My memories of that margarine are the same as yours.  Was it Blue Bonnet that was the brand name?  My mother always cut that yellow blob out, so we ate it white.  Ugh.  Once I left home, I switched to butter, preferably unsalted.

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39 minutes ago, Darienne said:

I'm like heidih, in that my memories of margarine go back to the 60s and 70s when we could not afford butter.  Here in Ontario, the margarine came in a tough plastic bag, and was a dead white color.  Not very appetizing to look at.   Each bag contained a breakable color button and the  purchaser had the option of coloring the margarine so that it looked more like butter.  From the day we decided we could afford to buy butter....I've never looked back. 

 

27 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

My memories of that margarine are the same as yours.  Was it Blue Bonnet that was the brand name?  My mother always cut that yellow blob out, so we ate it white.  Ugh.  Once I left home, I switched to butter, preferably unsalted.

 

Being "a tad" older than you two, I well remember white margarine during WWII rationing when butter was not available and the dairy lobby forbade colored margarine.   My mother saved "top milk" which she laboriously beat into the white glark, along with the coloring capsule.   A relative just served it as had, like a slab of lard.   My mother just shook her head.    I remember her joy when she was able to buy Imperial, and finally butter.

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5 hours ago, heidih said:

 

I get your point but I have margarine issues from the 60's so I would prefer a nice spicy olive oil or even pumpkin seed oil or pistachio oil, or walnut or hazelnut oil with a touch of acid ;)  Trader Joes had a holiday gift pack of the latter 3 around the holidays once and I enjoyed playing with them. Truthfully I just spoon on a bit of my nuoc mam. Someone mentioned oyster sauce. That was my into to gai lan at yum cha and I was entranced. Like this https://www.recipetineats.com/chinese-broccoli-with-oyster-sauce/ Now I find oyster sauce too heavy - obscuring the nice sweet/bitter of the vegetable.. Tastes change.

 

 

5 hours ago, Darienne said:

I'm like heidih, in that my memories of margarine go back to the 60s and 70s when we could not afford butter.  Here in Ontario, the margarine came in a tough plastic bag, and was a dead white color.  Not very appetizing to look at.   Each bag contained a breakable color button and the  purchaser had the option of coloring the margarine so that it looked more like butter.  From the day we decided we could afford to buy butter....I've never looked back. 

 

I guess we didn't have that in the 50s and 60s when I was growing up, but I have heard the stories.  But still, butter is out when you can't have dairy, and while I like vinaigrette and cook with a lot of oil instead of butter, it just doesn't work in some places where butter does.  

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Mark

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15 minutes ago, mgaretz said:

 

 

I guess we didn't have that in the 50s and 60s when I was growing up, but I have heard the stories.  But still, butter is out when you can't have dairy, and while I like vinaigrette and cook with a lot of oil instead of butter, it just doesn't work in some places where butter does.  

 

I should back up. Margarine was the default in all my Austrian pastries when i translated them  from weight measures. . Maybe post WW2 issue by my peeps but even @ChefCrash used it in his baklava. and I trust his food taste.  

 

Edited by heidih (log)
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5 hours ago, heidih said:

 

I should back up. Margarine was the default in all my Austrian pastries when i translated them  from weight measures. . Maybe post WW2 issue by my peeps but even @ChefCrash used it in his baklava. and I trust his food taste.  

 

 

 

We get plenty of margarine based baklava around here due to a demend for non-dairy kosher desserts. That said, no one I know will claim it to be preferred over butter.

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~ Shai N.

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Tahini based sauces where mention, but for us the default is the classic tahini sauce. Good tahini, lemon, some water, salt. It's served with everything, vegetables raw or cooked, meat, poultry, eggs, bread.

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~ Shai N.

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7 hours ago, mgaretz said:

 

 

I guess we didn't have that in the 50s and 60s when I was growing up, but I have heard the stories.  But still, butter is out when you can't have dairy, and while I like vinaigrette and cook with a lot of oil instead of butter, it just doesn't work in some places where butter does.  

I've never made ghee but it doesn't look that difficult and I'm wondering what it tastes like.   Ed did suggest I try it and I will.

 

OTOH, it will take me a week to go through all the replies which you all so kindly provided. ❤️

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

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