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Thank you for asking this question! I've been put on a limited diet too, and I feel like I don't know how to cook anymore! Flavoring without garlic and onions is just so difficult for me. My only suggestion is to embrace ginger, it's got a nice kick and emparts wonderful flavor to dishes. Good luck, and I feel your pain!

The spice asafoetida is used in several Hindu (including Jain) cusiines that use no garlic or onion. It is delicious but very potent and tastes better than it smells. It tasts like a garlicky/oniony mix. Start with a tiny dash and go from there.

Wow, what a bummer! I'm sorry to hear about your predicament!

You can look at vegan baking books to avoid the eggs and dairy, just watch out for soy.

Think of this as a challenge, not as being held back. Think about all the new things you're going to get to try that you wouldn't have, otherwise!

I would definitely look into a good spice cookbook, something that will tell you what things are, and how to use them. Also, remember that adding alcohol to things can drastically up the flavor in a dish with very little effort. Just a splash of wine to your dish makes a HUGE difference.

Try something like mussles steamed in wine and herbs, or herb baked chicken over pasta.

My partner was on a similar diet. Since I am the cook, I invested in some good simple ingredients! Cook simple - but use a tasty "fruttato" Extra Virgin Olive Oil to dress stuff(don't heat it up-use regular EVO to cook) also walnut oil is amazing as a drizzle on. Use the best fresh vegetables you can get.

Lemon was a lifesaver for us also (she was not allowed to use vinegar or wine). Lemon, Fresh Dill, and Olive oil are a holy trininty. If you eat meat, slather herbs/oil on roast chicken, fish, etc.

Check out artisianal Italian Dried Pasta, as it should be dairy and egg free. Dress simply with oil, herbs, salt, and pepper. Roasted or grilled vegetables also can be chopped fine and used with good oil as a sauce. Look for cheese free pesto recipes (e.g. arrugula/walnut/oil, or red pepper/walnut/parlsey).

1. roasted red pepper/dip
2. roasted vegetables with orzo, olive oil, and lemon, with basil

Lemon and peppers would be my two big flavoring suggestions, in addition to your green garden herbs. Ginger is obvious, too.
I feel so sorry for you, Ellen -- may your three months pass quickly and you end up not allergic to onions and garlic!

Another great source of flavor in addition to ginger and herbs is lemon.

I suggest taking a look at this website:

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/

These are North Indian recipes that do not include onions or garlic. I've tried a few of the recipes quite successfully.

I've been cutting back a lot on using onions and garlic, just because I have always relied on them so heavily, and I have gotten kind of tired of their flavour. I'm finding that foods can taste a lot fresher and brighter without the inevitable taste of alliums.

You probably know this, but when you search for recipes online, you can add -onions -garlic etc to eliminate the ingredients you don't want from the search results.

vinegars can really help. also, check out bragg's liquid aminos..it may or may not have soy in it (as a sub for soy sauce)

for vegan baking, veganomicon and vegan cupcakes take over the world (both by moskowitz and romero) are excellent choices, I cook from both of them a lot. (like, last night for veganomicon)

so, while savory is harder, sweet is not: grilled fresh pineapple is sinfully delicious, as is almost anything grilled.

you can also look at macrobiotic cookbooks, as they don't use tomatoes (angelica's kitchen cookbook has a "not" tomato sauce recipe, iirc).

for spices, you can make your own curry powders that don't contain the foods you must avoid.

for milk, almond milk is delicious, as is rice milk (be sure to look for enriched milk, to get your vitamins!)

good luck! hopefully the restriction period will make you feel better.

Seconding the recommendation to invest in good olive oil. Consider investing in good salt as well. These two can make just about any vegetable taste fantastic.

Remember that caramelization is your friend. Grilling mushrooms or roasting cauliflower or broccoli can give a dish extra depth of flavor without garlic or onions.

Consider adding citrus zest and fresh herbs to finish dishes. If vinegar is ok, use those liberally. In addition to the lemon, dill olive oil combo already mentioned, some other good combinations:

rosemary, balsamic vinegar, olive oil
fennel seed, orange zest, walnut oil
oregano, lemon juice and zest, olive oil
cumin, cilantro, lime, jalepeno (optional)

Good luck!

Experiment and expand your spice horizons -- stir fry potato cubes with curry powder, roast cauliflower with nothing but salt and pepper and oil until it gets deep brown and popcorny, mix up couscous with dried apricots and almonds, find the perfect lemon-and-sage roast chicken, maybe even learn to make sushi. Play with hot sauce. Find weird new vegetables like kohlrabi and jicama. Make cold soup out of fresh cherries. Grill a wasabi-marinated flank steak. Buy unfamiliar lettuces for salad and make your own vinaigrette.

Cheeses and onion/garlic are easy things to reach for when you're adding flavor, but you'll find a LOT of other ways to spice things up. If there's a Penzey's or other spice store in your area, visit and sniff. (Avoid the blends that have onion or garlic powder, obviously.)

Best of luck!

We are eating mostly vegan this summer, and I've found I have to think about my pantry very differently to get good flavor. A generous stash of ginger, jalapenos, tasty vinegars, lemons, limes, and herbs is a must. And indian spices. We are making a lot of indian dishes with coriander, cardemom, garam masala, etc. Have you tried fenugreek seeds? They have a wonderful richness.

And don't forget to enjoy fresh fruit!

Um, Jains using ginger? Am I missing something? Does it grow on trees now?

Ginger, hot pepper, some chili powders, coconut milk, fresh fruits (anywhere you would normally put tomatoes, try apple or peach for a change), did I mention hot pepper?

I'm curious, specifically about the length of time and process to which this doctor is suggesting. 3 Months? I'm allergic to half of all foods under the sun (or so it seems sometimes), but my allergist and I have never discussed that length of time and taking that much out of my diet at once. Nor have I ever seen something so restrictive to be mentioned, unless one already knows that one has an allergy to all of these items, but it sounds like the poster is trying to find out what they are allergic to. Normally, you'd cut two things out or so for 3 to 4 weeks. Not months. You'd know after not eating dairy for 3 weeks or so if it was something you'd need to cut out. But how would one ever find the source of allergy problems if one cuts out this much food. You'd never know which culprit(s) are the baddies. Just curious as to this type of reasoning.

Aww sorry to hear that!!

Spices and herbs.. ginger.. lemongrass.. And broth /stock of any kind, chicken or beef or veggies, adds flavor (umami, savory) to almost any dish and they are easy to make and freeze for later use.

I believe the right mix of fresh, quality ingredients is always yummy even if all you have is salt and pepper and oil!

If there is a particular ingredient you love, like tomatoes or soy sauce or something, you can usually find decent substitutes online.

Hope you have fun figuring out new recipes in these three months! It's an opportunity to branch out =))

Look at this as an opportunity to expand the ingredients that you usually use. Consider 'sweet' spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, etc), but don't limit their uses to sweet dishes. Think about fruits (and not just citrus). Explore the possibilities of the malliard reaction. Try using herbs you aren't familiar with.

See also: http://kitchenhacker.net/content/flavor-blasts for some other suggestions.

Not the healthiest suggestion, but bacon is awfully delicious.

I was curious that the Jain religion keeps you from eating anything that grows under the ground but they eat ginger. I looked into it (if Wikipedia counts...) and they make a distinction between root vegetables (potatoes, garlic, etc) and rhizomes (an underground stem, e.g. ginger).

Homemade Sushi!

Whole grain salads might satisfy your cravings for soy... and mustard will add some kick to your dressings and marinades, in place of the onion and/or garlic.

A good home made stock will bring depth of flavor to most dishes --- substitute chicken stock, beef stock, veggie broth, or mushroom broth when you cook things like rice, or make soups or sauces. A good sauce can help make a bland dish really tasty.

Yup -- my mom (an allergist) used to refer to it as "You can have all you want . . . of everything you hate." Because allergies have to do with exposure and therefore stuff you haven't been exposed to won't be an allergy trigger. In general, I suggest exploring COMPLETELY NEW foods. For example, find an ethnic cuisine you've previously ignored.

The good news is -- once you can pinpoint the problem/s, there are some really good and effective ways to treat the food allergies. Just make sure your doc is doing bloodwork for testing -- the pinprick method was the first way developed to check and it's about as accurate as throwing a dart.

Flavored salts have done wonders for me.
I have a saffron salt, black truffle salt, and a hickory smoke salt in my arsenal. Just a little pinch adds so much flavor to any dish I make.

I would consider pickled foods (I LOVE sweet vietnamese carrot salad & korean bean sprouts), asian dishes and using smoke for both veggies and meat.

Oh and a rediscovered old favorite of mine - veggie muffaletta sandwiches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jain_vegetarianism

For more info.

@King of Arcadia If I had to guess, I'd say she's probably going to get to re-introduce those foods one at a time to see which one causes issues.

Don't ignore Italian parsley, it's good in pretty much everything. Cilantro's another favorite, especially in salads. Good luck!

- pasta salad with olives, roasted red peppers, tuna fish, parsley, mint, and capers.
- roasted squash or other vegies with panch poran (Indian 5 spice mix - fennel, fenugreek, cumin, mustard seed, nigella)
-kiccherie - lentils & rice with a tarka of cumin. Usually tarka is ghee but you could do with oil. OR, similarly you could do other lentil/rice pilafs without onions and with sweet spices like cinnamon and cardamom.
- grilled fish with lime and chilis
- roasted chicken and potatoes - no garlic but you could use rosemary or sage.
- grilled flank steak marinated in fish sauce, chilis and lemongrass - grilled, sliced across the grain and served over rice.
- Investiagte Indian food - most Tamil Brahmin dishes have no onion & garlic, and some of these have no tomatoes.
- Applesauce cake made with oil not butter
- Mussels steamed with lemongrass, chilis, kaffir lime leaves.
- Roasted cauliflower with smoked paprika
- Watercress, orange and fennel salad with lemon vinaigrette
- Dolmades - stuffed with rice, herbs, currents (leave out scallion and tomato)
- Almost any kind of baked or grilled seafood or game...

Wow, such great suggestions! Keep them coming.

To clarify for those interested, these specific foods were targeted as a result of blood tests. Basically, my digestive tract has been damaged due to other issues, and as a result my body developed allergenic responses to these foods. So, in conjunction with other treatments, the three months is to give my body ample time to repair. Fingers crossed!

I think something Indian-inspired will be on the menu tonight. Thanks so much everyone!

Ellen: seriously a bummer!

If you think you'll be doing a lot of Indian foods OH MY GOD check out "660 Curries" by Raghavan Iyer. The book is AMAZING, weather you're an experience cook or a total newbie. Most of the recipes I've tried *do* involve onion, but I think you could safely leave it out of many of them. One of my favorite things about the book: he gives you literally dozens of different recipes for garam masala, and they're amazing with EVERYTHING.

I second, third and fourth Iyer's "660 Curries" - I cook a LOT of Indian food (often 3 meals a day), and this is one of my favorite Indian cookbooks. And he is so much fun to read as well. Check it out from the library at least to explore it. Most recipes in it do have onions or garlic or tomato - but not all, and it's worth dipping into to see if there are any ideas here that could be of interest.

cheese. and salt. and pepper.

I use fresh herbs, in almost everything I make, and they make an incredible difference (as a result in my case I've reduced my salt intake by about 80%).

Citrus, citrus zest, flavored vinegars, flavored olive oils (Stonehouse Olive Oil - Berkeley and SF - they're online - makes incredible flavored olive oils like blood orange, persian lime, etc), and in addition to the spice blends mentioned above explore some from other regions, for instance the garam masala comparable in the Middle East is boharat (aka baharat aka bohara'at) and here are some variations:

http://www.geocities.com/umhajar/baharat.html

I used to sprinkle it over chicken, before roasting, and now that I don't eat meat I add it to lentils and rice with roast vegetables.

If you love food, think of this as an adventure and really explore the use of a few new ingredients, my guess is that by the time you're through with the limited diet you'll have a whole bunch of new recipes to add to your regular repertoire (and to share with us!).

@ebbrooklyn

The "no dairy" thing would eliminate the cheese.