Gluten Free Birthday (Part 1)

It is that time again.  "What time??" you ask.  PARTY TIME!

Oh, yes... I probably don't have to explain to all your "allergy moms" out there how much of an issue it can be to deal with parties when your child has multiple food allergies.  We tend to take our own cupcakes and snacks whenever we go to someone else's party.  It is just easier and I assure the mom we are totaly used to doing this.  For our own parties... I have tended to have them at home where we could control all the food issues and still have fun. 

This year, however, we recently moved [read: there are still boxes in my house] and decided on a pool party at a local indoor pool.  The problem was that pizza came included in the package.  So I had to decide... Do I just nix the whole pizza idea?  Or do I serve the pizza to the other kids and bring allergy free pizza for my family??  We decided to go with the second idea.  [Something to do with one less thing for me to prepare.]

I'm going to share some of our favorite party food recipes over the next several posts.  Maybe it will help you not have to go through as much trail and error as we did on our journey.

Let's just start with the best stuff.....
The ICING (Oh yea!)
4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. real butter/ or spectrum butter
1/2 c. coconut "oil" [the consistency of shortening]
dash of salt (optional)
2 tbsp. rice milk/water
1 tsp. vanilla

This is a basic buttercream icing, but without the regular shortening (which is soy based).  Store bought icings always seem o have either soy or wheat starch in them.

Cream the coconut shortening and butter together.  Add in the vanilla.  then add in powdered sugar one cup at a time.  Add in milk as you go to keep the consistency right.  Add food coloring if needed and you can tollerate them.

You can make this ahead and store in an air tight container in the fridge. 

Raw Foods??

I've been reading a lot about this lately.  We probably eat more veggies than your average family... but we still have lots of room for improvement in that area. During the past year I have discussed the whole "raw foods" craze with a couple of friends who actually eat this way.  They like it and are so much healthier because of it.  My big worry over this form of eating for us was that we simply cannot eat some of the foods because of allergies/sensitivities.  Even so, I have kept my eyes and ears open to learning more about this new eating lifestyle and how it might help us. [It's really hard for a "cornbread" girl like me to give up her hot, slow cooked veggie way of life.]

Then, it happend.  A box arrived on my porch last month.  My mother calls and says... "I want you to be healthy!"  She had sent us one of those super-sonic-juice-anything-you-put-in-it juicers!  Well... I can't have a new fun toy and not use it. I started immeadiately learning how to operate the big black machine that now occupied a large portion of my counterspace. 

Viola'!  Juicing.  I love it!  I love dumping 3 or 4 kinds of fruit in the thing with some distilled water and a few veggies and watching it swirl!  [It's kinda loud... but you adjust.]  I even made hot soup in the "health machine".  It's better than a V8.  It's fresh and RAW!  I have arrived into the raw foods world through the back door of juicing. And I'm o.k. with it!

"The Kids Favorite Juice"
1 c. frozen sliced strawberries (you could use fresh)
2 large oranges (peeled, we like seedless)
2-3 carrots (we like to peel ours... less gritty)
2 stalks of celery
2 c. distilled water

Dump it in, turn it on... dance around the kitchen... then serve it to your babies with a smile! 
Note: It isn't necessary to tell them it actually has veggies in there.

Gluten Free on a Diet??

It January.  I think every ad I see right now has to do with taxes or diets.  Sigh....

I read an article quite a while back that stated an interesting fact.  It said that family memebers who were not gluten intollerant, but ate the gluten free diet tended to gain weight. So that explains it!  (And I thought it was all the GF cookies I made. Ha!)  The gluten free diet can tend to have more calories that a standard diet because of the extra protein and good fats (nuts, oils, seeds).  I have to say that I am much healthier having gone through this whole process with my family (and a bit heavier also). 

So these past couple of weeks I have been working on menus that included recipes that I could pull out my portion and then let the family have at the rest.  I picked up a "Weight Watchers" 5 ingredient/15 minute recipe book (sounds about my speed most days) actually had a slew of recipes that I could prepare for my family!  Recipes like "Lemony Broccoli", "Pears and Greens Salad", "Orange Chicken" and even a quinoa recipe!  I did have to leave off some cheese here or there.  It was so nice not to have to fix me a seperate "diet" meal.

It inspired me!  I have an old Weight Watchers Points counter.  So I'm attempting to become more aware of the portions I eat with my family.

Here's a little something for you...

"Baked Salmon"

1.5 pounds salmon (usually sectioned into fillets)
1/3 c. lemon juice
salt & pepper (to taste)

Preheat your lovely oven to 400.  Arrange fish, skin side down, on pan (I like my stoneware pan).  Salt and pepper fish.   Drizzle the juice on top. Lay a piece of foil over the top of the dish.  Bake approximately 20 minutes.

Servings: 4
Points: 7 per serving

Serve with a big salad and some rice prepared the way you like... Better than a resturant!

Back in action...[Breakfast is served!]

... well, at least out of traction.

My dear bloggy friends with multiple food allergies, I feel I have left you far too long. Forgive me. I have many recipes that I have tried out over the holidays and some of my computer issues have been resolved. Therefore, I'm back. [Sort of like a bad rash] Here it a treat for all your great patience as I concentrated on other things in life for a few weeks.

Breakfast is a trying experience for people with multiple food allergies. If you were an average kid growing up in the States like I did, you ate one of those pre-fab "tarts" that was popped into the toaster and eaten on the way out to the bus stop. [Back then, it was supposed to be “healthy”.] I'm all grown up now and have learned what it means to have protein for breakfast. And I have also learned that it is possible to not be starving an hour after breakfast when one eats a little protein in the a.m. Therefore, when I started the laborious label task reading for my family, I was just confounded to find out all that goes into foods like sausage and bacon. My kids and hubby needed those precious B vitamins from a meat source because they were so limited in grain selections.

I searched far and wide for gluten-free/night-shade free breakfast meats. I even emailed my little heart out to every company that would answer me back. (Most of them were very obliging, by the way.) Alas.... it came down to making our own "sausage" if we wanted to be sure that it was “safe” for us to eat… and if we didn’t want to be hungry and hour later.

Making sausage has not been the great chore that I thought it would be. It is really quite simple... like making hamburger patties. We buy fresh ground turkey (you can buy the meat you prefer) in a large package. We dump it in the bowl with the seasonings we like. Mush it for a while, and then make little patties to brown in a skillet. We usually make a big batch on the weekends and freeze back for the weekdays. Not hard... really!

TURKEY SAUSAGE
3 lb. ground turkey
1tblsp. sage
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
(Traditional sausage seasonings include pepper or paprika, which taste great; we just can't eat the nightshades. If you can eat nightshades go on and try it!)

Mush together in a big bowl. Make lots of small patties (about 30). Brown in skillet with just enough oil to keep the turkey from sticking to the pan.

Tip: Do a Google search for sausage recipes. Make a lot of the seasoning you like and keep it in a sealed bag or container. Then add about a tablespoon +/- per pound of meat when you are ready to cook sausage. It saved time in the long run!

Tip 2: You will become somewhat of a “sausage connoisseur” over time making your own sausage. Try not to be too snobby the next time you are at a restaurant and they serve you a grease laden, tasteless piece of meat on your plate.  Your kids will giggle when you look up and whisper “this could really use more sage and less lard”.

Merry Christmas Cookies!!!

Alas... computer issues have kept me from posting far too long!  So I've confiscated hubby's laptop and uploaded some pics to the photobucket so I can at least give you a Christmas Cookie recipe. I plan on getting that man to help me figure this thing out this weekend so I can get back to sharing with you guys all the fun baking we've been doing for the holidays! 

I hope your time this season is peaceful and a little merry too. 

I tell you.  Cookies have been a delima for us.  When you can't use an egg in the mixture cookies just kinda fizzle (to say the least).  Well this holiday season I have discovered a new thing!!!!  COCONUT! (O.K. it's sort of an old thing..... but new to me!)  Coconut milk does a marvelous job in pudding mixes (rice milk just never cut and things were always a bit runny).  Coconut "oil" (which looks a whole lot like shortening) works just marvelous as... well... shortening! 

So for all you dearies out there who just can't tolerate the soy and dairy.... this ones for you!

[I adapted this one from a recipe for Pumpkin Cookies over at Karina's Kitchen....]

Chocolate Chip Cookies

(that actually have the texture of a cookie... yahoo!!!)

Wisk the dry ingredients together:

2/3 c. buckwheat flour

1/3 c. millet flour

1/2 c. sorghum flour

1/2 c. corn starch (or tapioca or potato)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. xanthan gum

1 tsp. cinnamon

Beat the wet ingredients with the sugar:

1 c. canned pumpkin

3/4 c. coconut oil/shortening (or Spectrum Shortening)

flax meal egg replacer for 2 eggs (or eggs if you can) ***

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. brown sugar (or 1/2 c. agave)

Add in the dry ingredients and beat until combined:

Add in:

1 c. chocolate chips (sun chips if you can't do the regulars)

1/2 c. pecans/walnuts/or your favorite (or none if you have an allergy)

Mix in the addins.  Your cookie dough wil be soft and sticky.

Preheat the oven toe 350 degrees F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper/ or wax paper.  Oil your hands.  Drop golf ball size clumps of cookie dough on the prepared baking sheets.  Round and flatten with your hand (not too flat).  Press a nut on top of each cookie.  Bake 15-18 minutes until firm.  Cool on wire rack.

I don't know what the pumpkin does to make that dough smooth, but YUM!  We like more chocolate chips.

These actually taste and "feel" like a cookie!!!!  Woohoo!!! 

Tips: If you are not a buckwheat fan.... go with more millet and sorghum instead!

*** Egg Replacer (this amount for each egg)
1/3 cup of very hot water
1-2 tblsp. flax meal
Stir the flax meal into the hot water and let sit while you are preparing the other parts of the recipe.  Stir every little bit until you get ready to add it to the recipe.  It's best if it has time to become more like gelatin.  Oh!  And it's got lots of healthy stuff in there for you too!

Let's Talk Turkey!

Yep! It's that season.  I'm getting ready to do some major posting of recipes and menus for the upcoming holiday.  Be on the look out the next few days for some fun stuff.

For now... let's discuss "the bird"!

Fortunately, life has grown so much better for those going GF and watching other allergy ingredients.  Food processors are listing things on the label more and leaving out the wheat more!  Woohoo!!!!  So, dearies.... read those labels!  Not all turkeys are created equal... well, at least processed equal. 

The biggest issue are the additives.  Namely, that lovely 7-15% broth ("added for flavor"... right....) that can contain more than water.  Read the fine print, leave off any flavoring packs and have a happy turkey dinner!

Coming soon with all the fixings!

Hamentaschen (Feasts of Purim Cookies)

We are studying ancient history right now with the kids.  We've reached the Persian Empire days and it's been quite enlightening!  Floating bridges, conquering armies, the orginal postal system and.. ah, yes!.... the story of Esther (Hadas'sah).  The Feasts of Purim actually don't occur until February/March-ish... but we decided that since this is the season of Thanksgiving... why not!  We're a having our feast tomorrow along with making the Hamentaschen Cookies for the neighbors and finishing our "shoeboxes" for the poor (actually Operation Christmas Child... but it works).

I was totally excited to find a gluten free version of the triangle cookie (said to be shaped like the hat of Haman... "boo...hiss!"). 

Check out this website for more info on the Feasts and other interesting info.
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm

Hamentaschen

2/3 cup butter or Spectrum margarine

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg  (we will use the flax-egg replacer)

1/4 cup orange juice (the smooth kind, not the pulpy)

2 cups GF buckwheat
1/2 milled flaxseed
1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

Various preserves, fruit butters and/or pie fillings.

Blend butter and sugar thoroughly. Add the egg (or replacer ) and blend thoroughly. Add OJ and blend thoroughly. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating buckwheat and flax seed, blending thoroughly between each. Add the baking powder and cinnamon with the last half cup of flour. Refrigerate batter overnight or at least a few hours. Roll as thin as you can without getting holes in the batter (roll it between two sheets of wax paper lightly dusted with flour for best results). Cut out 3 or 4 inch circles.

Put a dollop of filling in the middle of each circle. Fold up the sides to make a triangle, folding the last corner under the starting point, so that each side has corner that folds over and a corner that folds under (see picture at right). Folding in this "pinwheel" style will reduce the likelihood that the last side will fall open while cooking, spilling out the filling. It also tends to make a better triangle shape.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until golden brown but before the filling boils over!

Traditional fillings are poppy seed and prune, but apricot is yum. Apple butter, pineapple preserves, and cherry pie filling all work quite well.

The number of cookies this recipe makes depends on the size of your cutting tool and the thickness you roll. I use a 4-1/4 inch cutting tool and roll to a medium thickness, and I get 20-24 cookies out of this recipe.

The resulting hamentaschen will have an unusual pumpernickel color, but they taste great!

Make sure the buckwheat flour you use is wheat-free/gluten-free! Sometimes buckwheat flour is mixed with white or wheat flour. The Hodgson Mill buckwheat and flax linked above are gluten-free and have reliable kosher certification.

List of Dates

Purim will occur on the following days of the Gregorian calendar:

Jewish Year 5769: sunset March 9, 2009 - nightfall March 10, 2009

Jewish Year 5770: sunset February 27, 2010 - nightfall February 28, 2010

Jewish Year 5771: sunset March 19, 2011 - nightfall March 20, 2011

Jewish Year 5772: sunset March 7, 2012 - nightfall March 8, 2012

Jewish Year 5773: sunset February 23, 2013 - nightfall February 24, 2013