Unconventional Fondue Feast (photo journal + recipes)
The “Self & Life” section of my blog has been sadly neglected. So begins my attempt to remedy that. (I do have a life outside of writing, really.)
Today’s share: a photo/recipe journal of my at-home dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free fondue feast (that’s a lot of “free”s). Fondue has always been one of my favorite foods (food types? food groups?). Since I stopped eating dairy and gluten, I’ve felt fondu-deprived.
No More! My brother gave me a fondue pot for Christmas, and presto! excellent motivation to get creative.
The feast, as it happened–
Ingredients were laid out…
Course 1: Vegan, GF cheese + bread
I discovered Daiya vegan cheese at Pala pizzeria in NYC–they also have gluten-free pizza, go check them out, but I digress. I was ecstatic to realize my local health food store carries their products. This stuff melts and shreds and tastes quite a lot like “the real thing.” (And, no, I am not affiliated with Daiya in any way, and this is not an ad.)
Layla-approved? Yes!
Likelihood of enjoyment by people who eat everything? Not very high. Stick with the conventional version.
For the cheese fondue, I combined this recipe from the Daiya site for “Cheesey Fondue” with this one for conventional cheese fondue from Simply Recipes.
Like so:
1. Split a clove of garlic and rub all over the inside of a small saucepan.
2. Bring 1/2 cup white wine to a boil, lowered heat.
3. Mix in 1 package, or a bit more, of Daiya mozzarella-style shreds, and cook on low-heat until melted.
4. While cooking, stir in 1 tbs of rice flour. Add: Braggs liquid aminos, lemon juice, onion powder, and garlic powder (to taste).
5. Transfer to double boiler insert of fondue pot.
6. Eat! Dip cubes of bread (I used Gluten-free, vegan rolls from the supermarket), cool for a few seconds, and enjoy.
Course 2: Free-range Bison + veggies in olive oil
Bison is my favorite meat. Feel free to substitute yours (my mom had beef). I used this recipe from Lidner Bison (to find it, scroll down on their site). It’s really simple: meat + enough olive oil to just cover it. Note: don’t use the double-boiler insert for this one. When it came to the sauce, I didn’t have all the ingredients, so I did this:
Tangy dipping sauce:
1/2 cup vegan mayo
1 tbs catsup
1 clove garlic, minced
It was delicious.
Layla-approved? Heck, yeah!
Vegan/vegetarian? Use veggies, and tofu or tempe (maybe spice up your oil a bit)
Course 3: Vegan Chocolate!
Doesn’t that look good? I adapted this recipe from About.com.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup vegan margarine
- 8 ounces vegan chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp rice flour
- 1/2 cup agave syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tbsp soy milk
Prep: Melt chips, butter, and milk in a double boiler. Once melted, add other ingredients. Transfer to double-boiler insert of fondue pot. Enjoy with fruit.
Layla-approved? Total win. This tasted exactly like the one I used to get at my favorite fondue restaurant!














