A Bit of Vintage for Christmas

Tis the season for many things…from gifts and sweets to traditions and memories.  I have been thinking about memories and traditions to help refocus my attention. 

Did you get a sweater from your grandparents, also?

Grandma Helen

My grandmother's home was always warm and welcoming at Christmas and bustling with activity. She was the matriarch to a family of 11 children.  I lived in a small farm town and she lived in the city, so going to see my grandparents was always exciting.  She often served a salad at Christmas that seemed so exotic and fancy to a small town farm girl because it had avocados and grapefruit.  It seemed like the only produce that came to my small town was iceberg lettuce.  It made an impression.

I asked my mom to share her mother’s recipe as best she could remember.

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing

2 grapefruit, peeled, and sectioned carefully to maintain the juicy fruit

2 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced into ½ inch sections

A bed of lettuce…iceberg is perfect, watercress would be extra fancy.

Drizzled with homemade bleu cheese dressing

Peel

Carefully remove skin from fruit

Remove fruit in a whole section

Bleu Cheese Dressing

2 parts crumbled bleu cheese

2 parts canola oil

1 part water

Combine dressing ingredients in a blender until blended and smooth.

Who Needs Chocolate When You Can Have Paper?

Paper Quilling

As a kid, counting down the days of Christmas usually involved an Advent calendar filled with milk chocolate.  It was the only time I had chocolate with breakfast (as a kid).  My daughter received her first Advent calendar when she was about 3 years old from a loving aunt.   The first thing I did was to read the ingredients of the chocolate.  Not a typical response for someone receiving a gift, but it was something that started coming naturally due to her food allergies. 

The following year, I knew that Advent calendars from the store were no longer an option for our family due to the introduction of new food allergies in our household.  The food allergies came pre-loaded in our newest baby, who was 11 months old by the time the next Christmas season rolled around.

All doors, no windows

I still wanted to count down the days until Christmas, but I was stumped.  I wasn’t sure what I could do and I was still angry that I couldn’t just go buy something pre-packaged.  Can’t something be simple!

The following year, I had an idea to make my own Advent countdown calendar when I saw a cute little house with 25 doors.  Behind each door was absolutely nothing!  I could fill the space behind the door with whatever I wanted.  The first year I tried finding little, non-food, trinkets that would fit in the tiny doors and found that an exercise in frustration.  The following year, I chose to write down activities and special treats for everyone and place the little pieces of paper behind each door.

The activities that I choose are simple as wrapping gifts and as complicated as making ornaments.  The food usually consists of a rotation of hot chocolate, popcorn, and candy canes.  The calendar does require a bit of planning, but as mothers of children with food allergies, we have that skill mastered.

A simple piece of paper can change into something wonderful.

Merry Christmas-Nicole

The Proof is in the Pudding

Surfing Turkey

Thanksgiving week is here and I have not thought too much about my menu as it’s pretty much the same menu every year.  My mom will make the sourdough stuffing, my mother-in-law makes the pies, and we will take care of the turkey, potatoes, gravy, and something green.  This Thanksgiving needed a little lift from the ordinary, so I am going for a beach theme with my turkey and dessert.

I will be stuffing my turkey with citrus fruits of lemon and orange along with a bit of onion and celery.  The turkey will have a citrus undertone, but it will be moist.

My dessert will be an orange infused coconut pudding.  This was a fun recipe to try because my son has NEVER had pudding…ever.  I was so excited to make him pudding.  I think this dessert can stand alone or be served with pumpkin pie.

Orange Infused Coconut Pudding

Orange Infused Coconut Pudding

½ cup of sugar

1 tablespoon of orange zest

½ cup of corn starch

2 cans of coconut milk (not light version)

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Whisk together sugar and cornstarch, place in a medium sized sauce pan.  Add coconut milk to pan with sugar and simmer on medium heat.  Keep whisking the coconut milk and sugar mixture.  Soon, the mixture will start to thicken.  Keep whisking until desired thickness is achieved.   This pudding took less than 15 minutes to prepare and can be served warm or cold. 

Happy Thanksgiving and also try reading my post from last year titled 10 Reasons to be Thankful for Food Allergies this Season.

End of Summer

Frozen

Where I live, the weather managed to turn from Indian summer to winter within an hour.   We knew that winter would eventually come, so we enjoyed the summer weather to the fullest.  In a short weekend, we were able to take family photos, see Picasso's, be awed by Chihuly, eat egg free egg rolls, celebrate a friend’s success with her art studio, make Eggplant Parmesan, and then prepared to shovel snow.

Lovin' Those Glasses

After surviving our family photos, we decided to check out the local art’s center exhibit that had real Picasso, Matisse, and Chagall works.  It was a treat to see these masterpieces and we had fun fielding questions from our children about why everyone was naked (in the pictures, not the museum).  We left to check out the celebration of our friend’s art studio and had a great time at Sage Art Academy! Congratulations Kim!  We were planning on being gone all afternoon and evening so we planned ahead for our child with food allergies.  We grabbed dinner at the pizzeria and brought along a heated dinner in a thermos for our son.

Our Picnic Spot

The next morning, I was feeling ambitious and decided that we should all drive 100 miles away from home to check out the Chihuly glass exhibit at the Denver Botanical Gardens.  Again, we used some of our 'tools’ from my past link and packed a lunch for everyone and enjoyed a picnic surrounded by beautiful gardens and glass.

We had a deadline for getting back to town as we had a dinner party at a neighbor’s home.   They are Chinese and made a beautiful meal that everyone could enjoy knowing that our children had food allergies.  My daughter was able to enjoy an egg roll for the first time due to Ajin's skills and knowledge of Chinese cooking and her big heart!  My daughter was so happy and went back for seconds. 

We finished the weekend with a meal of homemade Eggplant Parmesan.  I did make this version with cheese, but I fried eggplant separately for my son.  I have made multiple versions of Eggplant Parmesan over the last few months and it’s never the same combination of vegetables.  One time I added cherry tomatoes, another time it was green tomatoes.  Another, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Either way, the eggplant is essential.  Here is the recipe:

2 medium sized eggplants, peeled, sliced into rounds ¼-1/2 inch thick.

2 cups of Gluten free bread crumbs

¼ cup milk (or rice milk)

2 TBSP butter or butter alternative

1 jar of spaghetti sauce, divided

8 -12 ounces of mozzarella cheese, divided

Vegetables-your choice.

Eggplant Parm with Cherry Tomatoes

Place eggplant slices in a colander in single layers, generously salting the eggplant on each layer.  Allow the eggplant to rest for at least 45 minutes.  Salting the eggplant will allow some of the bitterness to be leached out.  You should see a big puddle of brown juice underneath the colander.  Rinse the eggplant well.  Dry each slice of eggplant with a tea towel or paper towels. 

Melt the butter in the milk and place in a shallow dish.  In another dish, place the breadcrumbs and add 1/3 cup of parmesan or alternative cheese.  The cheese can also be omitted.

In a large, non-stick pan, add 2 TBSP of canola oil and heat.

Place the eggplant in the milk and butter mixture and dredge in the breadcrumb, then add to pan once the oil is hot. It’s ready when water sizzles when dripped into the pan.

Fry each slice of eggplant, adding canola oil with each series of frying eggplant and set aside.  Once all of the eggplant in cooked, the dish can be assembled. 

First, place a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan.  Add a layer of eggplant so that the bottom of the pan is covered.  Next add a layer of additional vegetables, sauce, then top with cheese.  Repeat with a layer of eggplant, vegetables, sauce, and cheese.  Remember, this dish can be made without cheese.  It's super rich and creamy due to the fried eggplant.  Cheese can always be added.

Bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Allow the dish to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

A New Color for Halloween

Each Halloween, we go through the same preparations as most families.  My kids decide that they want to dress up like minions, zombies, trees, or even dishwashers.  We put together costumes and feel great about our creative juices at work.  Even though my children have food allergies, I allow them to trick or treat and accept all that is given to them on Halloween. Once we are home, we go through the treats with our children and teach them about the candy that has ingredients with allergens.  Next, we teach them about other treats that they should avoid.  This includes candies that lack ingredient labels or homemade items.  This process is surprisingly devoid of tears from my children despite that they are left with a fraction of their candy.  It is still scary because their haul includes plenty of treats that are harmful.

In an effort to help make Halloween less scary for children with food allergies, my family is participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project lead by the Food Allergy Research and Awareness (FARE) group.  This is a campaign to help raise awareness of food allergies in our communities and to encourage people to offer non-food treats on Halloween.  Teal is the color for food allergy awareness and by having painted, teal pumpkin on our porch, families will know that we offer non-food treats.

I have a bucket full of non-food treats that includes themed stickers, pencils, rings, and skeletons for Halloween.  Our other bucket will include items that are gluten, peanut, milk, and egg free.

Have fun,be safe, and stop by if you can!  

A Different Look at Travel and Food Allergies

I have shared my insights about traveling with children and food allergies, but I have not yet shared my insights of traveling without my children.  Leaving your children behind in the care of someone else is never easy for a parent, but for a parent of a child with food allergies, it adds another layer of complexity.   Sure, I will worry about if they are polite and good, or if they brush their teeth and comb their hair, or if they show up to soccer in the wrong uniform.  But what if they eat something that makes them sick…really sick.  Oh yeah, that.

Well, I can’t worry about that too much.  If I did, I would never send him to school or let him leave my side.  What I can do is prepare and educate my children and their caregivers. 

Beyond the extra pairs of underwear, toothbrushes, and favorite books, I have packed every imaginable food and medication that my son might need. 

Here is a list:

Extra Epi-Pen:  My husband and I have been limping along with one epi-pen that we swap between the two of us, but this trip highlighted the need for an extra pen.  One for each set of grandparents.

The Med Bag:  Benadryl, children’s pain relievers, allergy medication, asthma inhalers.

Breakfast: Freshly baked allergy friendly, Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and single serving containers of coconut yogurt.

Lunch:  I didn’t go so far as to make lunches, but I have a care package of lunch items. 

Dinner:  I made reservations for dinner for my husband and I and I also have some easy dinners packed for my son.  Black Bean Soup Kit (boxed black bean soup, can of corn, and a can of black beans) and a Bean Nacho Kit (allergy friendly refried beans, tortilla chips, and dairy free cheese).

Snacks: Lays, Enjoy Life Chocolate Bars, GF pretzels, cookies.

Dairy Free Section:  milk, butter, cheese, and ice cream.

Lunch Box: They will be out and about for soccer and having his food packed in the manner that it is packed for him at school helps to decrease his anxiety. 

Toiletries:  Lotion and shampoo can have food based ingredients, so my son always has a bag of items that are safe for him to use.

I have yet to pack for myself for a trip that I am taking in less than 12 hours, but my children are ready for the long weekend with their grandparents.  Some might say that a weekend away for a married couple is a carefree getaway from the everyday details of family life.  Getting away is all about the details and I know that we will have a wonderful time.  I have my wonderful children and their grandparents to thank for knowing how to make good choices and being prepared to handle any situation.

Grilled Pizza

It has been awhile since I have had the time to share something new.  Time seems to be at a premium now that all three children are in school, soccer season is in full swing, and I am back to work.  When we have that precious time together for a weekend dinner, everyone gets excited about making pizza on the grill, including my son with all of the food allergies.  He affectionately calls pizza night “Mom-gelo’s” after a local pizza parlor named Angelo’s.

Grilled pizza is made easy for those of us who do not have food allergies.   I visit my local Italian grocery, Gagliano’s, and I pick up all of my favorite ingredients…even the dough!  Their pre-made pizza dough is egg free.  I also pick up some fresh mozzarella, artichoke hearts, olives, sauce, and their fresh made sausage.

The pizza dough will need to have time to rise like any yeast bread.  Place your dough in an oiled bowl and set in a warm spot for a few hours.  I slice and dice all of the ingredients that I want to put on the pizza, and set it aside.  Pre-heat your grill to 400-450 degrees.  Take the risen dough out of the bowl and either roll out with a rolling pin on a floured surface or connect with your inner pizza tosser.  Place some coarse corn meal down when you are nearly finished to help prevent the dough from sticking to everything. 

Place the dough directly onto the grill and cook at a high temperature for about 3 minutes or until it has a firm underside on the dough.  Remove the dough from the grill and flip over onto a pizza stone or large cookie sheet.  It is now time to assemble your pizza.  Start with sauce, layer on the ingredients, and top with cheese.  Place pizza back onto the grill and cook directly on the grill for 8-12 minutes.  The heat can be turned down to around 350 degrees.  You may need to spin your pizza if you have hot spots on your grill.  The process of putting dough on and off and back onto the grill can cause moments of stress and humor.  I suggest having a glass of wine handy.

The process for making gluten free, dairy-free, pizza uses the same process, but with different ingredients.

Allergy Friendly Gluten Free Pizza Dough

Makes 4 personal pizzas

Sponge:

¼ cup of luke warm water

1 package of active dry yeast

¼ cup gluten free flour

In a small bowl, make the sponge by combining the above ingredients.  Allow it to sit for 20-30 minutes.

Dough:

½ cup luke warm water

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¾ cup gluten free flour mix (includes potato starch and/or tapioca starch and xanthum gum) Link for GF flour mix

Additional flour for kneading and corn meal

Add the dough ingredients to the sponge and mix until a ball forms.  Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes, adding flour as needed.  Place in an oiled bowl and allow it to rest for 2 hours.  GF dough does not rise well, but it should rise a little.  Divide the dough into 4 parts and form into a round ball.  Freeze unused dough for another pizza night.

Shape the dough, follow the directions as above for grilling this GF pizza dough, and get ready to enjoy! 

Top with your favorite ingredients and dairy free cheese.

Campfire S'mores for All

We went camping for the first time in a long time.  I am pretty sure that our last camping trip was to the local reservoir and included us bringing the ‘pack-n-play’.  Our children loved the weekend of sleeping in a tent, stoking a camp fire, hiking, and fishing.  Like with any camping trip that lacks an expect angler, we planned ahead for our meals in the forest with food brought from home.  It’s a good thing as none us could get a bite on our fishing line all weekend.

We made food that everyone could have and cooked over a campfire and on our cook stove.   The first night we made BLTS and grilled potato.  The second night we made campfire quesadillas.  We packed plenty of fruit, vegetables, and precooked foods like brown rice.  It felt like we were bringing more food than we needed, but camping just has a way of making everyone hungry.

Each evening we made s’mores, even for our child allergic to so many foods.  We had classic ingredients for s’mores for everyone and brought along special ingredients for our son.  For his s’mores, we used Kraft Jet Puffed jumbo marshmallows, Newman’s Own Wheat Free, Dairy Free Newman O’s, and Enjoy Life chocolate bars. 

Neither my son, nor my dad is big on sweets, but they each enjoyed second helpings of s’mores. The only we would do different next time is bring more food!

Get out there!

Oh Thank Heaven

It was a hot week in Pueblo.  My boys spent the week at a sports camp at the university and my daughter was away at a mountain camp.  We wrapped up the week with a family bike ride on the river trail.  A first for our family.  Our youngest is finally able to ride a bike, by himself, in a straight line, using his brakes, and taking off by himself.  We celebrated with a Slurpee from 7-11.  

Why a Slurpee?  A Slurpee is dairy free, nut free, gluten free, egg free.  Free of most anything associated with food, I will admit.  It is a great treat for a child who has never, ever gone out for an ice cream cone due to multiple food allergies.

Oh Thank Heaven for 7-11...

4th of July

We celebrated with 4th of July with friends and family.  We enjoyed an afternoon at the pool followed by a dinner of portobello mushroom burgers, a multigrain side with herbs and lemon, and watermelon arugula salad.  My friend, Andi, provided the portobello mushroom burgers, home baked cookies, and hand dipped patriotic strawberries.  I provided the pool, fireworks, and salads.

Watermelon Arugula Salad

½ of a large watermelon cut into bite size pieces without the rind

4 cups of loosely packed arugula

2 green onions (scallions) finely chopped

1 cup of loosely packed mint, torn into small pieces

½ cup of crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl, sprinkle with feta cheese, and pour dressing over salad and serve immediately.

Dressing:   ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon of sea salt. 

Thank you neighbor for the fresh herbs!

Multigrain, Herbs, and Lemon (6-4-2 Salad)

6 cups of cooked grains (brown rice, barley, quinoa, kamut)

4 cups of fresh herbs finely chopped.  Use a combination of parsley, dill, basil, mint, chives.

2 lemons, squeezed.  Combine lemon juice with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, ½ teaspoon of black pepper, and sea salt.  Add lemon zest for added lemon goodness.

Portobello Burger and Beverage

Portobello Mushroom Burgers

I didn't prepare the burgers, but Andi did share a few secrets.  She marinated the mushrooms in a generous amount of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and herbs.  They were grilled on the cap side for about 7 minutes and another 2-3 minutes on the bottom side.  Serve just like a regular burger.  Well, almost...we added goat cheese and declined the ketchup and mustard.  The kids had those condiments with their hot dogs!

The evening ended with a view of the entire community’s vast array of illegal, aerial fireworks exploding in the air.  It was quite a show.

The simple, legal kind...

Copper River Salmon and Father's Day

I completely spaced Father’s Day 2013.  I remembered that I forgot while in the line at the grocery store.  I quickly grabbed a t-shirt for Scott and stuffed it in a reusable grocery bag that was for sale in the check-out line.  In my defense, we had just arrived in Roanoke, Virginia and we were trying to get settled into our new home. 

In an effort to redeem myself, I planned ahead this year.  I picked up a watercolor painting of a local Roanoke landmark that I thought would remind Scott of biking Mill Mountain, I pre-ordered a World Cup soccer t-shirt, and purchased some whole Copper River Salmon for a Father’s Day meal for Scott and my father.

Copper River Salmon has a limited season and it usually coincides with Father’s Day.  I enjoy cooking a full salmon on the grill with fresh herbs and lemon.   Pre-heat the grill to 400 degrees, reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook salmon on direct heat for about 15-20 minutes or until fish starts to look milky.  I served this meal with diced grilled potatoes and my kale salad.

My Dad

My father had just returned the day before from a week in Alaska visiting my sister and her family.  Thankfully, my dad respectfully ate my salmon despite eating salmon all week.  I knew he would like the potatoes, but I was a little surprised that he was eating the kale salad.   Half way through dinner, I asked my dad how he liked the salad and all he said was, “at least it’s not kale.”  

Well…maybe you should also try my kale salad on someone who doesn’t like kale.  They just might like it.

Top Ten Travel Locations of the Past Year

My family had to relocate for one year due to my husband’s job and we have tried to embrace the opportunity in all aspects of our lives.  Moving to a new part of the county has expanded our circle of friends and our experiences.  Since this is a blog dedicated to living with food allergies, I will offer some stories about the food we enjoyed and tips for being adventurous on a limited diet.  But foodie be warned; this is mainly a post about places we have seen! 

1. Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, North Carolina:  Hands down this was the best place we went all year and given a vote, we all voted that it would be the one place we would all like to visit again.  We stayed a week at the beach, eating, drinking, digging, surfing, and having tons of fun.  We had a very savvy food lover with us on vacation.  He was on a first name basis at the fish market and introduced us to whole crabs and Old Bay seasoning.
   
2. New York City:  We had locals as our tour guides and we explored the city by foot, rail, bus, boat, and cab.  We are thankful to our hosts Laura Lopez and Michael Kim for introducing us to the city in fine fashion.  We traveled by train on Thanksgiving and with a little planning and packing; we enjoyed a holiday feast on the train. 
   
3. Washington D.C.: We stayed the weekend in this great city and toured as much as possible.  We were so thankful to have a comfortable place to stay and a Whole Foods between the metro and the apartment.  Thank you John and Caroline Tunna!
   
4. Cocoa Beach, Florida and Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida:  Given the chance to stay at the beach one more time was an easy decision!  We rented a house at Cocoa Beach.  It close to Disney World, so we stayed there and made a day trip to the Magic Kingdom.  That made the whole family happy.  The beach was so relaxing and it also gave us a chance to see manatees.
   
5. Asheville, North Carolina:  I lived in Asheville for a short time after college and always wanted to go back.  Asheville is surrounded by mountains, waterfalls, and great views.  We had our first taste of Carolina barbecue after spending the afternoon at this water slide.
   
6. Colonial Williamsburg and Historic Jamestown:  Virginia has a wealth of historical sites and many venues for learning about American history.  We packed our lunches and picnicked at these colonial sites.
   
7. Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina: I lump these two cities together only because we visited them on the same trip.  Each city is vastly different from one another, but they are close in terms of mileage.  A visit to the area should include a visit to each city.  We tried a barbecue restaurant, Jim 'N Nick's BBQ, in Charleston.  I must mention by name because they were very accommodating for my son’s food allergies.
   
8. Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina:  Mabry Mill, Floyd, Peaks of Otter.  We hiked, we biked, we explored.  We were very fortunate to have access to this beautiful area within miles of our home.    
   
9. Monticello:  Thomas Jefferson was a man of many talents and interests.  His home and grounds are very interesting and I was most inspired by the garden. 
   
10. Home:  Home has come to mean two places.  We have made a home in Roanoke.  Our Roanoke home is full of friendship, community, and belonging.  People tell me that it is as if we have always been here…but home is also where we will return in a few days.  We are fortunate to return to our Pueblo home that is also full of friendships, community, and belonging…it’s as if we never left.