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Grain-free, nut-free, soy-free, dairy-free homemade substitutes for cooking with milk, sour cream, and yogurt:
Boil white starchy vegetables in water or broth until soft, and blend. Use cup-for-cup for milk. Make it thicker (less water) and add a tablespoon of vinegar to replace sour cream in cooking.
Vegetables that make good savory dairy substitutes:
potatoes
cauliflower
added onion and garlic enhance the flavor
rejuvelac yogurt for dairy-free sour cream or dairy-free cottage cheese
-I learned about rejuvelac and yogurt in Paul Pitchford's "Healing with Whole Foods". You can do an internet search for the options that work best for you (not grain-free)
boiled and blended rice also thickens soups and sauces (not grain-free)
The fussy recipe for flavor and measurement aficionados:
Savory Vegetable Milk
A nut-free and grain-free milk substitute for savory dishes.
yield: 4 cups
2 TBSP olive oil
½ onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz cauliflower florets, fresh or frozen, chopped, or potatoes
3 cups filtered water
1. Heat oil in large pot or skillet. Sauté onions until translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently so they don’t brown.
2. Add garlic and continue to stir for 1-2 minutes.
3. Stir in cauliflower or potato and slowly add water.
4. Bring to a boil, and simmer for at least 20 minutes, until vegetables are soft.
5. Remove from heat, and blend with a stick blender until smooth.
Use as a milk substitute in savory dishes like quiche, cream sauces, soups, and more.
Substitutions/Suggestions:
Make sure frozen cauliflower has no preservatives!
Store unused portion in refrigerator for 2-3 days; can be frozen in individual portions.
An easier but much less flavorful option is to simply puree boiled cauliflower.
Disturbed by the additives in milk substitutes, the pain of soaking and blending and straining, a sensitivity to nuts, and the unsavory sweetness gained from rice, oat, and coconut milks, I developed a "vegetable milk" to be used in savory dishes like cream soups, cream sauce, quiche, souffle, etc.
I started out by simply pureeing cauliflower, which does suffice, but if I learned anything from Hungarian cooking, it's that onions and garlic are the essence of life itself. Simmering them low and slow and blending with the cauliflower takes cream dishes to a whole new level. I made a summer squash souffle with this "vegetable milk" and nearly ate the entire dish in one sitting.
As it is time-consuming to do it the flavorful way, I make more than needed, and either plan to do all my "cream" dishes in the same week, or freeze the milk in 1/2 cup portions. If time doesn't allow, a very easy way to use this up is to just add a few vegetables and broth, and call it a cream soup.