Sunday, November 25, 2012

quick link

this: http://captainawkward.com/2012/11/25/398-im-tired-of-explaining-my-medical-condition-to-helpful-folks/

exactly it.

also, mom and i got by at thanksgiving with a "this is delicious, however did you make it?" to discover hidden allergens. and amusing tidbit--i was frying mashed potatoes leftover for breakfast the day after, and the cat beside me got leftover turkey. the upside to being a vegetarian...:)

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thanksgiving

As we, in America, approach this holiday where we appreciate all that we are blessed to have and join together with family and friends to give thanks...I find myself growing bitter. I am indeed so very grateful for my family and friends and the life that I am so blessed to lead, but there are other aspects to this holiday that are grating.

One of the first reactions to my list of food allergies last New Year's was from my sister, saying she didn't want to eat Thanksgiving with me. This was even before we realized how expansive my food allergies are. Here's a consideration: string bean casserole. In our family, a can of cream of mushroom soup, French style green beans, and some fried onions. Except y'all know I've already ranted about cream of mushroom soup. So at first glance, no problem, I can eat all of that...but I can't. So that's already the reaction garnered months ago.

No worries, Mom'll have me covered and we can do this. Well, turns out my mom isn't doing Thanksgiving this year. Usually she does and it's just me and my siblings/significant others. All of whom I trust and who know about my allergies. This year my sister-in-law is doing Thanksgiving so her family will be present. I don't like to discuss my food allergies in mixed company (thus the blanket statement of "I'm a vegetarian" with the addendum of "I'm allergic to eggs" with which I try to get by) and even if I eat dinner with people that know the list, I still don't bring it up. I'll occasionally make some comment about eliminating entire sections of the menu (Steak, sandwiches, etc) but that's eat. I frequently say, "No thank you, I'm good" when someone offers me food.

So Mom's not cooking and there will be other people present who are not familiar with my diet...I'm on shaky ground to begin.

The constant commentary on my diet is also exhausting. Oh, I'm a vegetarian, so am I a vegan? I get chided when there are bacon bits on my food, even though they are more frequently the soy bacon bits and infrequently the real bacon bits. Why am I eating poptarts as my "main" food at lunch? And as always, why am I constantly turning down baked goods and other offerings? I cannot really remember the last day I went through a meal with another person and did not have someone comment something about my food. I can stand the inquiring questions that are meant by someone generally trying to be sympathetic in realizing how very little I can eat when we go out, but that's about it.

The teasing is also not funny. "Stop being allergic to everything!" (like i can help it?) or "We can't take you anywhere" (at least I have manners!) get old. The only one I find amusing is that some people refer to the list as things-that-will-kill-Pam. They won't, but these friends are being considerate of my list and trying to accommodate it/them.

I have frequently gotten backed into a corner too. This morning, my boss brought me fried apples in cinnamon. Double allergens there. I had declined over the phone but he decided to bring them in anyway. Somebody's buying dinner for the medicine team, what should we get? Pizza? Why not? What am I really supposed to do? I've been raised to be polite and courteous...

I've also been incredibly busy recently and am so worn down by all the cooking for myself. I was chatting with a college student yesterday who was saying about how he had been so busy before leaving for the holiday break that he'd found himself eating Hardee's three times last week! Sympathetic smile from me while insides I'm crying out I wish I could get fast food.

So yes, Thanksgiving represents many things but it comes down to a meal shared between family and friends. And it's a meal in which  can't truly partake. Thanksgiving is making me bitter and it's also had the privilege of being the first time in the last 11 months that my allergies brought me to tears. I have been frustrated to no end by them, but never cried. Until this week.

You can't understand, but you can empathize. Run your eyes over the table and consider what I can eat. I'll tell you--the mashed potatoes and the cranberry sauce (depending on the recipe though). Unless accommodations have been made (egg-free cheesecake, yeast-free biscuits), that's my Thanksgiving.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

french onion soup

so i haven't tried this one yet and it's up to debate whether or not i can (sherry--wines, fermented...decisions to be made. what will probably happen is i have my mom make it and i try it and see, and then she can have the rest if i doesn't go well!) but a friend sent it to me as a must-have so i shall share it!

Crock Pot French Onion Soup
Ingredients
FOR CARAMELIZED ONIONS:
6 large yellow onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
FOR SOUP:
1/2 cup dry sherry
6 cups broth
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
6 sprigs fresh thyme, tied in bundle with twine
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste

Directions
Step 1, Caramelize the Onions:
Cut the peeled onions in halves and then quarters from pole to pole. Cut each quarter, pole to pole, in 1/4 inch slices. Coat inside of slow cooker with cooking spray. Add sliced onions and olive oil to slow cooker; toss with tongs or 2 forks to separate slices and distribute olive oil. Cover and cook on high for approx. 12-14 hours, until browned to caramel color. Keep an eye on them during the last few hours of cooking time; if they begin to burn around the edges, stir, re-cover, and continue cooking until caramelized throughout.

Step 2, Make the Soup:
Add the sherry to the caramelized onions in the slow cooker, and cook on high with the lid off for 1/2 hour to evaporate the alcohol. Add chicken and beef broths & soy sauce. Tie thyme sprigs into a bundle with cooking twine. Add thyme, bay leaves, and black pepper to the soup. Stir, cover and cook on high for 1-1/2 hours. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Taste and add salt, if needed. (For speedier finishing on the stove-top, transfer caramelized onions to a large stove-top pan. Add the sherry and cook on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Add the broths, soy sauce, and seasonings; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.)

also, crock pot recipes rock.

i am preparing a thoughtful post on thanksgiving, but i have to get my thoughts in order for it. but keep tuned!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

grocery store fail

So I usually go grocery shopping fairly early in the day to avoid everyone else as i need to read ingredient labels. Particularly on days when I know I want to try something different, instead of always buying things that I know I can eat--it gets old! There are usually some great new discoveries (I just cracked open a bag of kettle cooked potato chips that are sun-dried tomato and parmesan flavored--delicious!) but a lot of disappointments. Today, I was going to try out a new recipe. It's getting cooler and thus it's crock pot season! So I had this great looking black bean and hominy recipe which would basically make a taco salad. Not too different from my recipe where I dump black beans, mexicorn, and sometimes salsa if I have it into a pot on the stovetop, but I was willing to see what it would be like. Plus this one had condensed cream of mushroom soup in it, so it had the potential to be a different flavor.

Soup can be the bane of my existence. I'm pretty sure Campbell's has either yeast or autolyzed yeast extract in every single soup. I know some of their sip'n'go cups don't, but the actual cans do. The same goes for the off-brand soups too...I know I personally shop at Kroger and Walmart and have checked those, but I'd be willing to say most of the others have yeast in their brand too. I went so far last week as to buy organic cream of celery for my potato enchiladas only to be brought down by rice flour and rice starch! There's an organic brand called Amy's that makes soups, and I know a) their cream of mushroom doesn't have anything in it I can't eat and b) Walmart carried that brand. Success! I headed out to Walmart and found Amy's soups...AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE CREAM OF MUSHROOM. Foiled.

This is actually the story of my life (and my mom's too). We know exactly what brands are carried at what stores and what may/may not work. I know Wishbone salad dressings don't have eggs in them (at least the ones I've looked at), but almost all the other brands have either egg or yeast in them. Luckily, almost every store carries Wishbone. There are other things, like the Rainbow Cookie Poptarts (which appear to be discontinued!) that my mom buys/bought at Food Lion. They've not been seen elsewhere. Sometimes I get food from my mom and across the front in permanent marker--"Kroger" or "Walmart" or wherever she found that. Sometimes I have to call her and say that none of my food stores carry x, y, or z so she needs to go get it.

So the next time I go to the grocery store? It'll be Kroger, to stock up on the particular brands they carry.

In other news, the sugar cookie poptarts have been spotted! It almost makes up for the lack of cream of mushroom soup...:)