I'm planning my Christmas dinner in my head already and would like some input from you creative folks out there  

One of the annual Christmas dishes I make is called "Janssens Frestelse" (Jansson's Temptation). It's a Swedish delicacy, an oven-roasted "pie" made of grated potatoes, heavy cream, anchovies, onion and bread crumb.

I am thinking of using sweet potato or butternut squash to replace the potatoes, and I can try to grind up some rice cakes or rye crispbread to replace the bread crumb. However, what to do with the heavy cream? I can't think of anything that can remotely replace the taste and consistency. As for anchovies... well, it's an avoid for me but not for my DH. So maybe I'll use some sardine for half of the pie. Any good suggestions for substitutes?

Another thing I am looking for substitutes is gingerbread cookies. Well, I guess I can use brown rice flour to replace white flour, and agave or vegetable glycerine to replace sugar, right? What experience do you have? I'm making the Swedish version of gingerbread cookies so they are going to be very very thin. Crispiness is key.

Ribbit already has a ginger cookie recipe in the recipe base. I think she uses molasses in them

For the heavy cream, I can think of a few possible options:

1) Go ahead and use heavy cream even though it's an avoid. It's the "least toxic"  liquid dairy product, containing very little milk protein in it, and some Os don't react all that badly to it. Look for the best quality, organic, additive-free heavy cream you can find.

2) Use homemade almond or rice milk, using less water than called for in the recipe so it comes out extra thick.

3) Use commercial rice or almond (or other) milk and boil it down to about 1/3 of its original volume to make it extra thick. My friend recently did this for an allergen-free pumpkin pie (her son is allergic to eggs, milk, and tree nuts, among other things.)

I would suggest rutabegas (aka wax turnips) to replace the potatoes, rather than sweet potatoes or yams. Rutabegas hold up well in soups and stews and absorb the flavors of the liquid it's cooked in, and have texture very similar to potatoes when cooked.

I have defended heavy cream before and I'll do it again. it is not an avoid. If it were, it would be on the avoid list. It is a neutral, as it is not now nor has it ever been listed. The reason for that is that cream is not milk. Milk is a problem, with its lactose and casein. Cream is a fat. A healthy one, by some folks' reckoning. Butter is also fine and ghee is a superfood.

Many individuals, though, don't respond well to heavy cream. After being on a completely dairy-free diet for about 3 months, I had a small amount of heavy cream in a hot beverage. Within half an hour, I started to get congested, and that took a few days to go away.

Heavy cream is not a good food for me personally, and I'd never suggest it to Os as being neutral. However, I do see it as being "less toxic" than other dairy products, and OK to use every once in a while for a special treat.

Do you see the difference? Use a couple times a year for a special recipe, rather than using it daily in your hot cocoa or yerba mate.

Good suggestions, Ruthie.  I like parsnips, too.  I don't know whether or not they are compliant for you, Balletomane.  I'm glad you said that about cream, Janeeo.  I used rice milk in place of cream in a recipe yesterday because I had some on hand and didn't have cream, and that worked out ok.  I just used a little at a time until I had the right consistency.  Cream as a thickening agent in a baked dish, however, can't be beat.  Substitutions don't always make the grade.  I don't know how I'd do on cream.  Had some dairy at Thanksgiving that didn't agree with me.

Ruthiegirl: Thanks for the useful tips. I will have to search for rutabegas in my grocery store... I don't think I have ever seen them....

Jayneeo.... really? Cream is OK? But I remember Lola has told me it is an avoid for "O"s....

Yes, I guess it is highly individual... I haven't had cream for a long time, but recently I had a mouthful of whipped cream in a restaurant and didn't have any adverse reaction to it. However, for this particular recipe, the heavy cream takes up about 1/3 of the bulk, so it might be a bit much. I don't think rice milk or almond milk can make up for the taste or aroma though. Dilemma! Anyway, I only make this dish once a year, so maybe I can allow myself this pleasure  

Balletomane

You might find rutabaga's are called swede's depending on where you are - that's what they're called in the UK.

You could try making your own almond milk and lowering the ratio of water:almonds to make cream.  I've done this successfully in the past and it worked as a substitute.

Just a thought

Oh, Swedes! Yes, I have them in my local supermarket, and one at home too   (My DH)!!!

Almond milk is such a hassle and extremely costly for me to make as I have to buy imported almonds, so I have stopped making it. But if it can really closely resemble heavy cream, I'd give it a try. I think what I'll do is to do make a test run with all these suggested substitutes before Christmas, so that I can make sure the guests will be satisfied  

Thanks!

Yep, I love swedes (the vegetable, although I really liked my visit to Stockholm too  ) - they're a diamond on my Swami.  I love making them into fat wedges tossing them in olive oil, spices, herbs etc and roasting them in the oven  .

Do let us know the outcome of your experiments in search of the perfect cream replacement!  It will be really good to share the knowledge with Christmas coming up and good ol' cream being requisite in so many things.

Andy  

It's so great to get new ideas from members of this forum and expand my "food horizon"  

I'll let you all know how my experiments turn out.

Cheers!

you might want to try it before Christmas Meal, to see if it is satisfactory, if not you can continue and decide, what to use, instead. :>)

I understand people having to go easy with cream. However, for the record, it's a neutral.

Fake cream for sauces (or baking -- but not for whipping):

    * 1 cup compliant milk (rice, soy, almond, walnut-Whatever works for type)
    * 3 tbsp compliant oil (Whatever works for type-ghee, walnut, almond,  ...)
    * 2 tbsp compliant flour (Quinoa, ...)

Preparation:
Heat milk in saucepan over low heat.

Once milk is hot, add oil and flour, whisk vigorously to incorporate and avoid forming lumps.

Allow to simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened.

Quoted Text

I had a mouthful of whipped cream in a restaurant and didn't have any adverse reaction to it.

you lucky nonnie!

I d be in a comma, with all the powdered sugar used when whipping the cream.

Isn't Nonnie-hood just the biggest curse and blessing all rolled into one Lola!!

We get lots of extras (I'm speaking for myself here - Edam, Gouda, Jarlsberg etc on my Swami) sometimes which is great, but the expediency of the slap when we go off piste sometimes lessens the elation that comes from being privileged right  

Quoted from jayneeo

I understand people having to go easy with cream. However, for the record, it's a neutral.

I'm with you jaynee!! neutral & good too, along with butter & ghee   
Besides, I couldn't find any cream in the USofA that didn't have carageenan in it, so who know what is being reacted to eh?

Quoted from Munchkin76

Isn't Nonnie-hood just the biggest curse and blessing all rolled into one Lola!!...but the expediency of the slap when we go off piste sometimes lessens the elation that comes from being privileged right  

personally I try not to go off even half pissed

Munchkin76,

nice way to put our predicament into words!

Quoted from jayneeo

I understand people having to go easy with cream. However, for the record, it's a neutral.

I remember our lengthy forum debates over cream.  And I just went through my SWAMI very carefully and cream is not listed at all.  Milk is listed as a toxin and so is half and half, but cream isn't there.

You know what else is not listed on my SWAMI?

Ice cream.

Neutral?

I'm learning and enjoying so much from this discussion, folks!  

C_sharp: thanks for that fake cream recipe! I'll definitely give it a try!

geminisue: I will definitely try the experiments before the actual Christmas meal  

faux cream

in your bullet or other
make savory cream using stock, an egg and ghee....add more oil if need be, to thicken...
like making mayo.....instant whipped savory cream!

for whipped cream, sweet.....do the same, adding some compliant milk, ghee, oil, sweetener and the egg.....

Quoted from Possum

personally I try not to go off even half pissed

lol.....too funny!

OK, I thought I'd give you guys a report of my Christmas compliant recipe experiment on "Janssen's Temptation." I used: Swedes (rutabegas), fake cream (ultra thick rice milk, ghee and arrowroot starch), anchovies, red onion, sea salt, topped with brown rice "fake bread crumb" and Brewer's Yeast. The whole thing turned out to be too gooey! I forgot to use less of the fake cream... it was like eating porridge! But the taste was good and I ate the whole casserole (around 2 cups) in one setting since my husband wouldn't touch it and since I didn't get all stuffed up the way I used to when eating the real one with potato and heavy cream