Sober Treats

One thing that gave me tremendous pleasure and confidence in my first year sober was learning to cook well without alcohol. As a keen home cook I’d always sloshed in red wine, white wine, sherry, port, liqueurs. I used alcohol in marinades, gravies, sauces. I couldn’t imagine how to do without that flavour-base.

Then I discovered cloudy organic apple juice, slightly dry. This works very well in many dishes because it gives a little sweetness and taste of fruit. I also use orange juice diluted, home-made chicken stock and vegetable stocks. I thicken sauces with almond milk, flavoured bread crumbs or reduced stocks. My cooking now has lighter and cleaner flavours and nobody ever asks if I left out the wine.

For baking I scrape fresh vanilla pods rather than vanilla extract with an alcohol base, store pods in small canisters of sugar. Though I prefer to use honey or agave syrup rather than refined sugar.

Another great treat for me these days are homemade vegetable smoothies — and I use them in soups and to flavour casseroles as well. I use spinach, chard or kale as a base along with fresh parsley and rocket, fresh ginger and broccoli in different combinations and flavoured with mint or basil or origanum, a little sea salt and black peppers. A dollop of Greek yoghurt. I also have smoothies with avocado, cucumber and fresh herbs. Really good pick-me-ups for an early lunch or late brunch. Fennel juice with lime and orange combinations or cucumber, ginger and celery, cilantro or coriander to taste.

Other favourites:

Pistachio Milk: Soak 1 cup pistachios / 5 oz overnight, covered, in filtered water. Drain, combine with 3 cups water, and ladle into juicer. This was my favorite non-fruit juice by a stretch. Flavour this with orange blossom water, or citrus zest.

Grapefruit and ginger juice with a little honey. I can’t give quantities and a little fresh raw ginger goes a long way. Great with a fairly bland bowl of oats for breakfast.

Zoom- boom-vroom-va-rooom energy savoury drink alongside sourdough bread or crackers with cheese. Juice 1/4 cup carrot juice + 1/4 cup almond milk + 1/16 teaspoon cayenne + 1/2 teaspoon ginger juice + 1/8 teaspoon fine grain sea salt + 2 tablespoons celery juice.