Notice: Function _load_textdomain_just_in_time was called incorrectly. Translation loading for the wp-ultimate-recipe domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/maryzahc/public_html/adultfoodallergies.com/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121
November 2014 – surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

Month: November 2014

  • Vegetable Lentil Chestnut Soup

    Vegetable Lentil Chestnut Soup
    Vegetable Lentil Chestnut Soup

    Looking in my fridge and freezer, apparently all I’ve made for weeks are soups and stews and chilis. It’s getting cold (maybe it just IS cold?) and soup is warming. This soup is based on a recipe title I read a year or so ago, possibly on a can. I can’t remember where, and I never could find it again. All I had was “lentil chestnut” and it sounded good.

    I figured this would be a quick and easy soup if I used canned lentils and packaged chestnuts, both of which I usually have on hand, and my standard trio of soup vegetables: onions, carrots, and celery. I also used homemade stock, as I try to do, because frankly, mine tastes better.

    This soup is hearty because of the lentils, a bit sweet because of the chestnuts, and full of vegetables for flavor, texture, and, hey, nutrition. I even had a lentil naysayer taste the soup, and it got a general approval. My vegetables were rather giant in relation to the chopped chestnuts and tiny lentils, and if that will bother you, consider chopping everything more finely. I kind of liked it, and it made for more interesting photographs (so did having a better camera to play with).

    Vegetable Lentil Chestnut Soup
    Vegetable Lentil Chestnut Soup

    Vegetable Lentil Chestnut Soup

    • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 onion)
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup chopped carrot (three small carrots)
    • 1 cup chopped celery (2 larger stalks)
    • 1 teaspoon chopped garlic (2 cloves)
    • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
    • 1/2 teaspoon dill
    • 1/2 teaspoon tarragon
    • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
    • 5 oz cooked and shelled chestnuts, chopped (this is the size of package I can buy around here — cook and shell your own, if you like, but be warned, it’s more work than you think it will be!)
    • 2 cups cooked lentils — any type you like except red, which will not hold their shape. I used black.
    • 3 cups of vegetable broth, preferably unsalted. Add your own salt.

    In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, add the oil to a hot pan. When the oil is shimmering hot, add the onion and salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes. Do the same with the celery.

    Now season: Add the garlic and stir well. Then add the spices and stir again. Give it a minute to heat up — this seems to let the garlic really permeate this base of the soup.

    Add the chestnuts and lentils, stir, and then add the vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil. There are two ways to do this. If you’re feeling patient, leave the heat at medium and let it come up to a boil slowly. This is great for flavor, but honestly, not enough to insist that this is the right way to do it. You can also just turn the heat up to boil it fast. Either way, after you’ve had a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.

    Enjoy soup.

    Vegetable Lentil Chestnut Soup
    Vegetable Lentil Chestnut Soup

  • WW: Cookbook Review, "Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking" by Cara Reed

    Baked goods. I crave them.
    Baked goods. I crave them.

    I bought Cara Reed’s cookbook Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking a few months ago. Cara is the genius/madwoman behind the Fork and Beans blog (the woman made her own Cheerios, seriously). I bought the cookbook because I’ve made a few of the recipes on her blog (starting with these adorable ghosts, although I made a lot of weird shapes instead), and I knew that they worked, so I was excited by the cookbook. I am not being compensated for this review — I bought the cookbook with my own hard-earned money, and then I spent the rest of it on gluten-free flours to bake with.

    This is, hands-down, one of my top 5 cookbooks I’ve ever purchased. Only a few cookbooks capture my kitchen this way, where I keep picking them up and picking out something new to make from them. I love cookbooks, and I enjoy just reading them. But for the majority of cookbooks, they sit on my shelf a lot and I think about making things from them. This one? I’m baking from, nearly weekly.

    THIS IS NOT A HEALTH FOOD COOKBOOK. For anyone who thinks “gluten-free” and “vegan” both mean some weird definition of “healthy,” um, yeah, this isn’t it. This cookbook is cookies and cakes and pastries and sugar and then some more sugar. It is awesome. Cara Reed’s goal in food seems to be bringing us all the cookies and things that we miss, living with food restrictions (chosen or not). She makes pop tarts.

    Reed’s recipes are all based on one of her two flour blends. I’ve only made the standard one, and I’ve been through 3 recipes of it (it makes 9 cups. NINE CUPS.) I’m sure I’ll get to the second blend; I keep meaning to. But making flour blends is one of the *sigh* *so much work* BAH parts of gluten-free baking, so the fact that I have one on hand means I’m more likely to bake. The fact that this one is half sorghum was also a selling point for me; so far, I’ve had more luck with sorghum than any other gluten-free flour.

    The one and only “problem” I’ve had with any of these recipes is that, in my oven, the cooking times are too short, by anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. At the moment I’ve misplaced my oven thermometer, but it was good 6 months ago. Regardless, this is a pretty easy issue to fix. It is consistent enough that I’m adding 5 minutes of time to every recipe and then going from there, though. Different ovens.

    So far, I’ve made the following recipes:

    • Chocolate Cloud cookies, which were quick, easy, and chocolate
    • Brown Sugar donuts
    • Cracked Pepper and Herb Drop Biscuits (but I made them plain)
    • Gingerbread cupcakes
    • Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes
    • Blackout cake
    • Whiteout cake
    • Chocolate “Soufflés” Individual cakes (more like lava cakes)
    • Cinnamon Streusel Coffee cake
    • Pumpkin Streusel bread
    • Dark Chocolate Quick bread
    • and several frostings for this

    High on the list of things to try:

    • the Samoas
    • Cheese-Its
    • cheesecakes (Key Lime Bars, and strawberry cheesecake)
    • Chocolate Indulgence biscuits
    • the almond croissants and danish squares
    • Cinnamon Raisin loaf

    Okay, does that list make you drool? If not, really? I’d offer photos, but it turns out that I’ve not remembered to photograph a single one of these recipes. They are *that good.*

    When I had to start gluten-free baking, along with the vegan side (the egg allergy was new at the same time, but I was so good at vegan cake already that it didn’t matter), I failed so much. I made brownies that no one wanted to eat. The experiments that weren’t inedible just weren’t very good. I tried a few cookbooks, but honestly, I was disappointed, overall, with the results. Gluten-free failures are expensive, too! I have been a baker since I was 10 years old. I have always loved baking, especially cakes. I’ve gone through several obsessive baking phases — first Bundt cakes and then for a while vegan cupcakes. This is a less thematic baking cookbook to be obsessed with, which is nice. But the other thing that’s nice is that these recipes all work.

    HIGHLY, highly, highly recommended. Check it out.

     

  • Chunky Mustard Refrigerator Pickles

    Chunky Mustard Refrigerator Pickles
    Chunky Mustard Refrigerator Pickles

    So here’s another canning inspired recipe, because these pickles were really a winner. I used the recipe from the Ball Complete Guide to Home Preserving, but modified it to leave out the ClearJel (which is modified corn starch) and to substitute the distilled white vinegar for apple cider vinegar instead. I did water bath can them originally, but I’ve rewritten the recipe here for a much smaller quantity and so that you can do them as a refrigerator pickle for those of you who don’t can. These would be great to do as a part of your appetizer plate for Thanksgiving. They’ll need to sit in the refrigerator for a week or so to absorb the flavors, so start them now for Thanksgiving.

    Makes 1 quart.

    • 2 cups of a mix of zucchini and summer squash, washed, trimmed of stem and blossom ends, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (you can use pickling cukes, but they are harder to get this time of year)
    • 1 2/3 cups of onions, chopped
    • 1/2 Tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon of canning salt or sea salt (nothing with any additives)
    • 1/2 cup and 1/3 cup of sugar
    • 1/2 Tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon of ground mustard
    • 3/4 teaspoons of ground ginger
    • 3/4 teaspoons of ground turmeric
    • 1 1/2 Tablespoons of water
    • 1/2 cup, 1 Tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (safest for those allergic to corn is probably Bragg’s)
    • 1/4 of a red bell pepper  (put the rest in your freezer in a zip top freezer bag and use it the next time you make pasta sauce or chili)

    In a non-reactive bowl (stainless steel or glass), mix the zucchini and summer squash and onions. Sprinkle them with the canning or sea salt, cover and let them stand at room temperature for an hour or so.  Transfer the vegetables to a strainer/colander over the sink and drain them well.

    In a non-reactive (stainless steel or ceramic or enamel, do not use aluminum or cast iron) sauce pan, combine the sugar, mustard, ginger, and turmeric. Stir well, gradually blending in the water. Add the vinegar and red bell pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Add the drained vegetable mixture and return to a boil for two minutes.

    Ladle the mixture into a non-reactive heat safe container (beware that putting them in a plastic container will cause the plastic to be permanently dyed yellow with the turmeric). Your best bet is probably a mason jar or glass container with a lid.  Just make sure to warm up the jar/container with some hot water (don’t leave the water in the container, just put the hot water in the container to warm it up and then dump it out) before putting the hot veggies and brine into it. Put a lid on the container and let it sit on the counter until it reaches room temperature, and then place it in the refrigerator for a week.

    In a week, enjoy the fruits of your labors!

     

    Chunky Mustard Refrigerator Pickles
    Chunky Mustard Refrigerator Pickles

  • Slow Cooker Pork Roast

    Slow Cooker Pork Roast with roasted broccoli and mashed sweet potatoes
    Slow Cooker Pork Roast with roasted broccoli and mashed sweet potatoes

    It’s set-it-and-forget-it season! Actually, the crock pot is good all year, but because it makes pots of lovely hot food, I think people associate it more with winter than summer. I know I do. The first thing I thought when I saw pork roasts on sale was “slow cooker.” But I didn’t really want barbeque. Nothing wrong with it, but it’s a flavor I’m bored of before the leftovers are gone. Molasses is a fall obsession of mine — while the world goes crazy for “pumpkin spice” everything, I want to drown in molasses (not literally. That stuff kills. Science!). So I started with molasses and went from there. Balsamic vinegar and some spices add up to earthy and hearty.

    This pork roast will make a lot of leftovers, if it’s just one or two of you, or it’ll feed a crowd. And it is quick enough to be made first thing in the morning. I served this with some roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes — I hope to share the sweet potatoes as soon as I work out some kinks with that recipe. Pork and sweet potatoes are great together, and broccoli goes with everything.

    Slow Cooker Pork Roast with roasted broccoli and mashed sweet potatoes on Surviving the Food Allergy Apocalypse
    Slow Cooker Pork Roast with roasted broccoli and mashed sweet potatoes

    Slow Cooker Pork Roast

    • oil to grease the crock
    • 1 sweet onion, halved and sliced thin
    • 1/2 teaspoon of oil
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 2-2.5 lb center cut boneless pork roast, fat side up
    • 1 Tablespoon molasses
    • 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
    • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
    • 1/4 teaspoon mustard
    • 1/2 cup broth or stock, whatever you have on hand
    • 1/4 cup hot water
    • fresh ground pepper, to your taste (I used about 1/2 a teaspoon, not that I measured)

    Grease the crock of your slow cooker. Add the sliced onion to the bottom, and drizzle on the 1/2 teaspoon of oil and the 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

    Place the pork roast on top of the onions, with the fat side up (I do not trim this for the slow cooker — it’s good flavor).

    In a small dish or right in a measuring cup, whisk or stir with a fork the next 7 ingredients (molasses through the broth/stock). Pour this over the roast. Use the last 1/4 cup of water to rinse all the seasoning out of the measuring cup, and pour this along the side (don’t rinse off the seasoning that landed atop the pork roast!). Grind the pepper right on top.

    Cover and cook all day. Or, you know, 4-6 hours on high, 6-8 hours on low.

    When this is done, take just the meat out. Attempt to slice it, and find out that it will shred instead. After breaking it up, put it back in the liquid you cooked it in, and stir well. This lets the meat soak up a little more of the cooking liquid to serve.

    Alternately, you could also make a starch slurry (starch of your choice mixed with water, 1:2 ratio) and add that to the liquid for the last 30 minutes or so of cooking — this will give you more of a gravy consistency.

    Serve with side dishes of your choice — roasted veg would be great, but go wild. You’re coming home to dinner almost done.

     

  • Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce

     

    Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce
    Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce

    As many of you know, I’ve been canning for well over a year now because it was the only way to replace commercial condiments that I could no longer buy at the grocery store because of the whole corn thing. When I saw this recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (you can also find it at this link) I knew I had to make it because I loved that sauce. And I made it, and it was good. Really good. So good that you want to dip all fried food in it. Seriously, dairy-free, gluten-free, fried onion rings are so good dipped in this stuff). I shared a jar with Mary Kate, and she discovered that it’s awesome when used as a salad dressing. So when she ran out, she asked me for help in converting the recipe to a reasonable amount that she could just put in the fridge, as she did not want to learn to can and have nine 8 ounce jars hanging around her apartment. (If you do want to make it in quantity and can it, follow the recipe at the link above.) Since it’s free of the top eight allergens, complies with each of our restrictions, and is fantastic, I thought I’d share the refrigerator version.

    Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce

    Makes a little less than 2 cups.

    • 4 1/2 teaspoons of finely chopped garlic
    • 1/2 teaspoon and a pinch of salt
    • 1 cup, 3 Tablespoons, and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar (safest for those allergic to corn is probably Bragg’s)
    • 1 cup, 3 Tablespoons, and 1 teaspoon of sugar
    • 4 1/2 teaspoons of hot pepper flakes

    Combine the garlic and salt in a small bowl, and set it aside.

    In a non-reactive (stainless steel or ceramic or enamel, do not use aluminum or cast iron) sauce pot, add the apple cider vinegar and bring it to a boil.  Add your sugar and stir with a non-reactive utensil (wooden, rubber, nylon or silicone spatula or spoon), until the sugar is fully dissolved into the vinegar. Reduce the heat and boil gently for about 5 minutes or so. Add the garlic mixture and hot pepper flakes and stir well. Reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the sauce pan from the heat and let it cool until it is safe to put it into a storage container. Place it in the refrigerator to store.

    Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce
    Thai Hot and Sweet Dipping Sauce

    Go fry all the things, and dip the fried things in this stuff, or dump it on your salad. You won’t be sorry.