Winter Soup

Its that time of year to snuggle up and sip on warm beverages, that includes soup. I created a new one today spur of the moment for company, and we all enjoyed it. One of my guests does not tolerate onion, which makes soup-making a slight challenge. To me, onion adds a ton of flavor. However, except for the onion in the soup base I used (which does not appear to bother him), there was no onion in the pot.

I try to have in my pantry at all times Imagine No-Chicken Broth. It comes in handy to add as a base to soup, in mashed potatoes, and to cook poultry in. I also use it to make the rue for my gluten-free green bean casserole- that's right, I don't use canned cream of mushroom soup. Anytime you want to keep a dish vegetarian or vegan, and the only animal product it calls for is Chicken broth, this is a great substitute. So with that little plug for a favorite staple in my house, here's the recipe from today's soup.

Winter Soup
2 Large carrots, diced, approximately 1 1/2 Cups worth
2 stalks celery, diced
1-2 Tbsp canola oil
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 package frozen cooked butternut squash (squash is only ingredient in package)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt (approximately)
2-3 Cups Imagine No-Chicken broth

1. Saute/sweat the carrots and celery in the oil for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the sweet potato for another 2-3 minutes. Stir occasionally.
3. Add the thyme, salt, frozen squash, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Stir occasionally. Continue to cook 30-40 minutes.
4. With an immersion blender (sorry, don't have a regular blender), puree soup. Let cook an additional 10 minutes on low and then serve.

Easy Entertaining

I now have an easy go-to menu for company. Its got a hint of the Southwest, and has plenty of flavor. It can be made ahead or just in time to serve. The first recipe is Lime Marinated Chicken Breasts, and the second recipe is Kicked-up Quinoa. The Quinoa has enough protein in it to be a meal in itself, and can be served warm or cold. It definitely can be made a day ahead, and the chicken can be cooked in the crockpot (ergo the easy part) or in the oven. The quinoa dish is a definite menu item when I have a vegan or vegetarian guest.

Lime Marinated Chicken Breasts
1-2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 C lime juice (4-6 small limes)
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder

1. Juice the limes. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, and garlic powder.
2. If cooking in the crockpot, place chicken breasts in crock, pour marinade over them, cook 4 hours on high.
3. If cooking in the oven, place chicken in a resealable plastic bag, add the marinade, let sit in the refrigerator 2-6 hours. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken and liquid in a pan, bake for 40-45 minutes.

Kicked-Up Quinoa
1 C uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1/2 tsp Table Salt
2 Cups frozen corn kernels
1/4 C vegetable oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2-1 C medium sweet onion, finely diced
1 10 oz can tomatoes with mild chilis (e.g. Rotelle), drained*
1 14 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp canola oil

1. Put quinoa in a pan with 2 Cups cold water and 1/2 tsp table salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for about 15-18 minutes (until liquid is gone).

2. Saute corn in vegetable oil for 5-8 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add onions and sea salt. Cook an additional 2 minutes, until onions are softened.

3. Add corn mixture to quinoa. Then add tomatoes and black beans.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together lemon juice, cumin, sugar, and Tbsp oil. Pour over quinoa.

5. Serve warm or cold.

*if you don't like spicy foods, use a can of regular diced tomatoes, and cut back on the cumin to taste.

Happy Hannukah!

Its the first night of Hannukah, and we've done the traditional things, such as lighting the Menorah, playing with dreidels, listening to Hannukah songs (XM radio channel 28), and eating latkes. And now my little one is asleep in her high chair.

Making latkes allergy-friendly is extremely easy. Grate potatoes and onion, drain any liquid, add some salt, a little of your favorite gluten-free flour (about 1 Tbsp), and flaxseed (combined first with water). Mix, and fry up the pancakes in canola oil. Couldn't tell the difference! I enjoyed mine with applesauce and some Sour Supreme (soy-based sour cream).

This holiday season we have more to celebrate, because it appears we can now add rice to our diet. Yesterday, for the first time, we enjoyed Orgran Outback Animals, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free vanilla animal crackers. They were tasty, and she seemed to enjoy them. Our holiday is now off to a sweet start!

All that is Rice

Now that we are in a new area, we needed to find a new allergist for the Babe. We saw the doctor last week, and had skin testing done. She previously only had blood work done, which shows IgE antibody levels. The results are on a scale of 0-6, and the levels themselves do not necessarily correlate to the degree of allergic reaction to expect. In fact, the Babe scored low for a rice allergen (1), and our former allergist thought she could eat rice, until we reminded her that at that time rice cereal caused hives.

For the past 15 months, we have been living without dairy, eggs, wheat, rice, barley, rye, peanuts, tree nuts, strawberries, and coconut. We were not surprised when she again tested positive for dairy, eggs, or the glutenous grains. While the list is still major of what she is allergic to, the biggest victory right now is rice. That's right- she doesn't appear to be allergic to rice anymore. The allergist wants us to do a food challenge at home before assuming we are in the clear to start eating rice. However, he said rice is a very low allergen, so any reaction would be less dramatic. So, when I have a weekday that is clear, I shall do the challenge. And if the Babe is clear, then, oh the doors that will open!

Once we can integrate rice into our diet, here are some of the wonders that are rice, besides the beautiful white little grains I so love to eat! Most gluten free baking recipes contain rice flour in them, and supposedly cookies and bake goods taste more natural using rice flour. Ergo, I can buy mixes (like Bisquick's Gluten Free mix) and some pre-baked breads. There is rice wine vinegar. Rice noodles. Rice pilaf. Wild rice (usually a mix of wild rice and white rice). Rice milk. Rice crispies. Rice crackers. All the various ethnic rice mixes. And the list goes on.

We Have Blast Off!

Can you tell my excitement? Ever since our Allergy Babe was diagnosed with food allergies, ice cream was the enemy. Well, it was a beloved friend that was banished from our home. There are ice cream substitutes made of soy, rice milk, and coconut milk. The soy based products are manufactured in facilities that also have her allergens present, and she's allergic to rice and coconut. Thus, they were also off limits. Only on dates, with a babysitter watching the Babe at home, could we enjoy some sweet frozen cream.

While I have an ice cream maker that has never had dairy in it, I could not find a safe dairy substitute where we previously lived. I knew what the product was that would work, but not one single grocer carried it or could find it in their list of products sold by the manufacturer. We now live in a more metropolitan area, and more than one grocer carries it. I immediately bought 2 - 8 oz containers of the product. And tonight I made a batch of nondairy mint chocolate chip ice cream. And we have blast off!

The product that I needed was Rich's Whip, a faux whipping cream. Previously I could find Rich's Nondairy Creamer, which is not to be confused with the whip. The following is my recipe.

Non-dairy Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
2 - 8oz containers of Rich's Whip, defrosted in the refrigerator
1 cup vanilla soymilk, chilled
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp mint extract
1/2-3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Freeze the bowl of your ice cream maker for at least 24 hours
2. Mix the soymilk with the sugar for 1-2 minutes, dissolving the sugar. Then add the Rich's Whip and mint extract.
3. After all the ingredients, except the chocolate chips, have been combined, pour into the bowl of the ice cream maker.
4. Run your ice cream maker for 25 minutes. Then add the chocolate chips. Let run another 2 minutes to combine.
5. Eat and enjoy!

Easy Lunch

O.k., I take forever to post stuff, and then a ton of stuff at once. However, today's lunch deserved mentioning, and really doesn't have much to do with Garbanzo Beans (see earlier post). Lunches are a challenge. My precocious toddler has certain things she really enjoys to eat, such as hot dogs and frozen french fries. She particularly loves avocados, or "ca" as she calls them. And in deference to garbanzo beans, she's probably the rare child who actually likes to eat hummus. But I've begun to reach a point where I don't want to eat what she's having. So today I made something so simple, but new to me, that I think I will have it again tomorrow.

I made a basic taco. Wow, I'm sure that sounds utterly amazing when its the easiest thing on earth. But if you've noticed, we don't eat wheat, rice, or dairy in this house. That means we have corn tortillas, not wheat. Corn tortillas may look similar to wheat tortillas, but lack in flavor unless properly heated. And what to fill the tortilla with? I made a base of quinoa, thinly sliced avocado, sprinkled fresh cilantro over it, lime juice and salt. All I can say is, yum! Never would have thought to use the quinoa in lieu of rice if a friend hadn't mentioned it. It was the perfect lunch and/or snack.

A Not So New Ingredient

Its in the packaged flour blend I've been using to bake gluten-free, yet had no idea that independently there was so much I could do with this ingredient. Through one little reference to a recipe forwarded to me by father-in-law, I am now aware of Garbanzo Bean Flour.

While I knew Falafal, a middle eastern food, was made from ground chickpeas, apparently you can use chickpea flour to make them too. This I tried using a recipe from Bob's Red Mill, before even attempting the very simple recipe my father-in-law told me about. He told me of a food called Farinata, a street food found in the Genoese region of Italy. After my own search of the internet, I discovered a parallel food from Nice, France called a Socca. Both are simple pancakes. They have a base of chickpea flour, salt, and water, with additional lemon juice, herbs and olive oil. One requires as little as 30 minutes to set before frying, and the other a minimum of 2 hours (some recipes say at least 4 hours), to set, before baking. Both had interesting, savory flavors that distinguished themselves from the raw flavor of the flour. Apparently time makes a difference in altering the flavor of the flour, which is why the Falafal, Farinata, and Socca, each require a period of time for the batter to set.

There are more recipes out there to try using the garbanzo bean flour. Besides the regions already mentioned, I'm waiting to test a few recipes originating from India. One of the interesting parts of our unique diet is finding different food uses internationally. Not everyone has a diet concentrated on dairy or wheat- thankfully!