Welcome to the World of Cooking Without!

Welcome! I have always loved to cook and almost always cook by feel rather than by recipe. Reading variations on a recipe gives me the technique and then I customize from there. My first recipe will only avoid onions and garlic (you will see why). Future recipes will go ingredient by ingredient with options for each.

My journey in ''cooking without" started when a family member found out they were allergic to onions and garlic. I can hear you saying

"Oh my, that is AWFUL! How could you make ANYTHING without either onions or garlic? I love garlic! So tragic!"

Calm down, it all turned out okay, nobody withered away. Garlic is tasty, but not nearly as essential as you might think. It actually covers up a lot of amazing flavors that I have enjoyed discovering. The onions have been the hardest since the allergic person loves and misses them.

It can be very stressful and discouraging to make food in the beginning when you find out you have to avoid something so common. Imagine having 15 minutes to grab a bite to eat and you end up using all the time reading the labels only to find you can't make anything you know with what is in the kitchen. Not fun. Just making a turkey sandwich is not straightforward. Try finding a mayonnaise without garlic, natural flavors or the ever ambiguous 'spices'. Same with deli meats. Broth, natural flavors and spices are very common to find on the labels. Since my family member is allergic to both consuming and smelling anything in the allium family, I found it easier to make the entire kitchen 'safe'. If someone in your home or a guest is staying over that must avoid something, either make the entire kitchen 'safe' or make a section of the fridge and pantry safe so that it is easy to see what your options are.

The first things I learned to make were ketchup and a red pasta sauce. If I have those on hand, there are at least a few quick options. With that said, take a look at the pasta sauce method I use! (see posting list) You can use this to make traditional pasta sauce including garlic as well. The techniques are easy, the sauce will taste like you simmered it all day but it will only take you about 20 minutes to make. A win in my book!