Valentines Day

Holidays are hard when you're dealing with food allergies. There is a lot of emphasis put on, and tradition based on, food and not much of it is soy based analogs. With every holiday comes the class party where food is served, presents are given (many food related), and of course there is candy, usually chocolate (of the milk variety since most 3 year olds aren't into the dark stuff.) As everyone knows the best defense is a good offense so I always find out what is being served at the party and bring him something similar he can eat. I also make him some sort of sweet so he does not feel deprived of the fun. I can not control at all  what people give him as a present though. Valentines Day is a holiday, like Halloween where well meaning people hand my child a figurative loaded gun. I try my hardest to give things that almost anyone can have. This year I have discovered Pintrest and so I had an endless supply of ideas for non-candy valentines.  For the kids in his playgroup and his class I made these:

I found these on Pintrest, of course, but they came from a great blog called Zakka Life . The thing that is supposed to look like a planet is a glow in the dark bouncy ball. I hope that's just as exciting as a piece of candy.

For his teachers we made these:

I got the idea for these from the blog E is for Explore! . They turned the flowers into a wreath, but I didn't have that kind of time or patience so I thought the flowers would be flowers and we went on a walk and picked up sticks that we painted green and I hot glued to the flowers Pat (and I) painted. Then I just used one of those jars that I hoard and glued some ribbon to it and used a printable manila tag I got from Creature Comforts blog .

I feel good about the fact that I'm not giving out candy. I wanted to do it for Halloween but my husband vetoed that plan. He did not want to be THAT house. Don't get me wrong, I am the first to admit that I show love/gratitude/joy with food. It's ingrained in us, but I'm trying everyday, to show people in some other way, that I care for them.

Homemade Rocky Road Soy Ice Cream

I have been wanting an ice cream maker for awhile. I wouldn't break down and buy one because I didn't want to spend $40 on another small appliance that I have to store. Well, the other day I was strolling through Goodwill and how excited was I too see an ice cream maker, still in the box, for $3.99. That's right $4 for an ice cream maker. Needless to say I bought it. It had no manual but not a problem. I easily found it on the internet and was able to download it. I put the canister in the freezer that day and looked up recipes I thought I could easily adapt to dairy free. In the manual was a recipe for Rocky Road ice cream. I had everything I needed for this, perfect. Here is the recipe that I found in the manual with the substitutions I used in parentheses:

1⁄4 cup (60 ml) unsweetened cocoa powder

3⁄4 cup (175 ml) sugar

1 cup (250 ml) milk (regular soy milk)

1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

Dash of salt

1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream (soy coffee creamer)

1 ounce (25 g) semisweet chocolate square, chopped (most semisweet chocolate is milk free but read the label to be sure)

1⁄2 cup (125 ml) miniature marshmallows

1⁄4 cup (60 ml) pecans

In heavy saucepan, combine cocoa powder and sugar. Gradually stir in milk.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted. Remove from

heat and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

This is what mine looked like at this point:

When ready to freeze, mix whipping cream, salt, and vanilla extract into the chilled

mixture. Start ice cream maker and pour mixture through hole in lid.

After 15 minutes, add coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate and pecans.

Continue to freeze until desired consistency or the unit stops. Stir in marshmallows.

This is what it turned out like:

It was more the consistency of frozen yogurt but that could have been because I didn't let it churn long enough. Who could wait? No worries it was still delicious. We all enjoyed it but as normal Charlie enjoyed it the most. The boys were a little hyped up and it was hard to get a good picture, but I think you can tell they liked it.

Mini Zucchini Muffins, pre-school snack

I just got back from dropping Patrick off at preschool. One of the reasons I picked this school was the fact that snack is provided by parents. Every week a different parent has snack responsibility for the class. This ensured there would be no problem with me bringing Patrick his own snack and also that at least every few weeks he would have the same snack as everyone else.

As a mom of a child with allergies you would think I would be hyper aware of allergies that other children may have. Unfortunately I am not. I don't know if I'm just busy worrying about Patrick or self centered but I forget other people have lots of different allergies as well. In Pat's class there is another child with a milk allergy, a gluten allergy, and a child that is vegan (not an allergy but a lifestyle choice that should be respected).

Today I was in the classroom as the mother that had snack this week dropped it off. Her son does not have food allergies so I expected Pat would probably have to eat his snack I packed for him. Much to my surprise the teacher pulled out chocolate soy milk as the drink. Unless you have a child who isn't able to eat the same things as other kids it's hard to explain the happiness you feel when your child can sit down with other children and safely enjoy a meal, especially a fun snack. I am so grateful to the moms that do this when they don't have to. I know it makes bringing snack a little more difficult and no mom needs more difficulty in there life.

I wish I could say that when I bring snack I make sure everyone in the class will be able to eat it. I try but something always seems to slip my mind, or the day gets away from me and things don't get done as planned. My best attempt was gluten and dairy free Mini Zucchini Muffins. They have eggs in them so they aren't vegan. I didn't think of that until I was cooking and there was no time to go get egg replacer. I will try harder next time to include everyone. If a mom, who by the way has three children, can think about my child, I can make it a priority to think about other peoples children. Here's my best attempt so far:

Gluten and Dairy free, Mini Zucchini Muffins

1 3/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grnd nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 vegetable oil
2 eggs beaten
1/3 cup water
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients; fold into dry. Bake in mini muffin pans  for 15-20 minutes. Makes 3 dozen mini muffins.

Chicken and dumplings, dairy free cream of chicken soup

I'm not sure what made me want to make this. It's not at all something I normally make or eat but I had a craving so I made it and it was soooo good, if I do say so myself. It was also super easy, which I love on a Saturday night. The base of the casserole is cream of chicken soup. There is not a commercial non-dairy cream of chicken soup that I have ever found. I'm pretty surprised because it's so versatile and really easy to make. Here's all you need:

2 Tbsp dairy free butter or margarine
1 cup unsweetened soy milk or other milk sub, plus 2-3 Tbsp
1 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp herbs (whatever goes best with what you're making)
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon (be careful most have dairy in them. I use the organic Better than bouillon)

Mix corn starch with 2-3 Tbsp milk alternative until dissolved. Set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan. Slowly add milk alternative and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and add the cornstarch mixture. Add onion and garlic powders, herbs, and bouillon. Stir constantly until thickened.

This makes a one to one substitution for a can of condensed cream of chicken soup. If you want cream of mushroom just omit the bouillon and add a small can of mushrooms.

So once that was made ( I used herbs de Provence just because I had them and it's an easy mixture for chicken, use what you've got) the rest was a total breeze.

8oz frozen mixed veggies
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk alternative

Mix the veggies and the chicken into the soup and heat until veggies are not frozen. Mix the Bisquick and the milk alternative until a soft dough forms. Pour soup mixture into a casserole and drop dough on to soup mixture by large spoonfuls. Cook at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until soup is bubbly and dumplings are golden on top.

Note: When I make a whole chicken I take whatever is leftover, bones and all, and throw it in a stock pot with ends and pieces of carrot, onions, and celery. Cover it with water and cook for a couple hours. Then I have about 8 cups of chicken stock and a bunch of chicken that I would normally have thrown away that falls right off the bone. What are you talking about ends and pieces of carrots you might be asking. Yeah, I'm crazy, I don't throw away the ends you cut off those veggies. I put them in a zip lock bag in the freezer for this or vegetable stock. Mushroom stems are another good thing to save.

This dinner was a big hit. The kids loved it. Charlie ate his whole plate and then came over and finished what Patrick hadn't. Hope your family enjoys it as much!

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Friday night Pizza

I'm not a chicken nuggets and mac and cheese for dinner type of mom so, on Friday nights, I like to make dinner a little more fun and kid friendly. We eat dinner in the living room and watch a movie. Most of the time Patrick picks pizza for Friday night dinner. There are a couple of non-dairy frozen pizzas on the market. Amy's is one that I always have in my freezer for emergencies. It's about the size of a personal pizza so it's perfect for my boys to split if Matt and I are going out or eating something they won't or can't eat. This pizza is also gluten free. Tofurkey makes a larger size non-dairy pizza. They also have more flavors, pepperoni and supreme, that I can think of. These are meat substitutes, but very good. These are not the flavors of pizza we want to eat each week so I've started making our pizza. If I am in a hurry I use Pillsbury pizza dough in a can. It does not have any dairy in it and is very convenient. Recently I've been trying to learn to make bread. Someone told me making pizza dough was a good way to get used to using yeast. So I tried it and it was very easy and so tasty. Here's the recipe I use:

1 1/3 cups warm water
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 Tbsp honey
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (if you want to be healthier you can substitute whole wheat flour)

Put water, yeast, and honey in the bowl of mixer. Let sit until foamy. Add flour. Turn mixer on low, with bread hook attachment. As dough forms increase speed to medium. When ingredients are completely combined and dough starts to cover dough hook it is ready. Place dough on greased baking sheet. With greased hands spread dough out to desired shape and thickness.

From here you just cover it with what you want. I make sauce sometimes, use leftover spaghetti sauce or use jarred (making sure it is dairy free of course.) Then we use the Daiya mozzarella and out toppings. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes and then broil for 3 minutes (this helps the Daiya have a more cheese like texture for my husband and me.) Let it rest for about 5 minutes before you cut it.

My favorite Green Smoothie

Getting kids to eat vegetables has been a battle fought for ages. Last year I started getting concerned about the number of vegetables Patrick was taking in. I have a friend who juiced and was able to get her daughter to drink "Green juice." This was some combination of fruit and kale. I looked into juicing but not having a juicer I also looked into alternatives. I came across this book, Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Towards Natural Health by Victoria Boutenko. I tried one the next day and I was hooked. I've made them almost everyday since. We all drink them, Patrick and Charlie included. The boys don't balk at the green color of them. They don't even question it. I also freeze the leftovers into popsicles and they eat those up too. When Charlie was still eating baby food I mixed the smoothie with his rice cereal. He loved it. The best part is that it isn't just any vegetables. It's the vegetables we should be eating most, dark leafy greens. Spinach and kale are the two greens I use the most. Spinach is the easiest because you don't even taste it. Kale is also pretty easy to disguise the taste but it is more fibrous. I also use chard, collards, dandelion greens, or regular old lettuce. Whatever I have around. Chard has an odd sweet taste, dandelion greens a bitter taste, so these are harder to get kids to eat but worth a shot.
This morning I made my favorite smoothie. It's tart but sweet enough that every bit gets finished. Here it is:

2 oranges, peeled ( I've used clementines also)
2 cups spinach or 1/2 bunch kale cut to fit in blender
1 cup water
1 container peach soy yogurt (I don't always put this in, it's sweeter with it)
1 banana, frzn
1/2 pkg frzn peaches

Put the oranges, spinach or kale, water and yogurt into the blender and blend until greens are completely pureed. Add the frozen fruit and blend until smooth.

Try it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Non-dairy Ricotta cheese, Grilled Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Tonight for dinner I made a non-dairy version of a recipe I found in Williams-Sonoma's Vegetarian for All Seasons. They call it Grilled stuffed portobello mushrooms on porcini cous cous. I couldn't find porcini mushrooms at the grocery today so I just made cous cous in vegetable broth. The Portobellos are stuffed with veggies and ricotta cheese in their recipe so I had to make a non-dairy ricotta. This is so easy and yummy. My 1 year old Charlie was standing on a stool being my taste tester as I made it! Here is the recipe for the ricotta:

1 pkg firm tofu, pressed
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
2-3 Tbsp nutritional yeast

In a large bowl mash the tofu with a potato masher. Add lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Mash until mixture resembles the consistency of ricotta. (it will not be as creamy)Add 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, taste and add more as needed.

Note-Pressing tofu is a pain. You can just put it between two pieces of paper towel and set a skillet on it, just squeeze it, or use a contraption. I have a contraption that gets all the liquid out, but some people like a bit of the liquid.
       -Nutritional Yeast is not the same as what you use for baking. Not really sure what it is to be honest but it makes things taste like cheese and has a lot of vitamins that you don't always get if you aren't eating meat or dairy. You can usually find it by the supplements, in the baking isle (I don't know why,) or just kind of stuck in with the organic foods.

Here is the recipe (the way I made it, not the way the cookbook says to) for the Stuffed Portobellos:

4 Portobello mushroom tops, stem and dark gills removed
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 med sweet potato, peeled and grated
2 cups baby spinach
salt and pepper
1/2 the ricotta from above recipe
1 cup cous cous
1 1/4 cups vegetable stock

Since it's winter I used a grill pan inside but this would probably be even better on a charcoal grill. Heat whatever grill you're using. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the shallot and cook until softened. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the sweet potato. Cook until tender. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Add the ricotta to the veggie mixture and combine. Spoon into the mushrooms. Place mushrooms filled side up on the grill until heated through. Meanwhile bring vegetable stock to a boil and add cous cous. reduce heat and continue to cook until all stock is absorbed. Serve the mushrooms on top of the cous cous.

Pat had a dentist appointment today and he was such a trooper I decided to make him some dessert as a treat. I had left over phyllo dough (I did end up making that Turkish eggplant pie) that I wanted to use up so I figured I'd just wrap it around something sweet. This is what I came up with:

For each phyllo pocket

3-4 sheets phyllo
cooking spray
2 Tbsp chocolate hazelnut butter ( I used Justin's because Nuttella has milk in it, and a TON of sugar)
1/4 of a banana sliced

Lay out one sheet of phyllo and spray it all over with cooking spray (you could use melted margarine and it would be super good, this is just way easier.) Continue until all sheets are layered. Put the chocolate hazelnut butter and the banana slices in one corner of the dough. Fold dough in half length wise and then do a flag fold into a triangle pocket. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 for 15-18 minutes.