Detour: South Africa

So I'll take a little time away from my commentary on the food allergic life to share something else.

I have been planning a trip to South Africa, Cape Town in particular, for approximately two years. You see, being in medical school, I knew now would be a lovely opportunity to go before being bound down with contracts and job responsibilities after graduation. So I looked into my international rotation opportunities and quickly narrowed them down to Cape Town. (I don't speak Spanish, so that knocked out quite a few countries!)

So I've been working around Cape Town in my schedule for the longest time, it seems. Moved it around a few times based on testing schedules and interviews, but had it pinned down to the Spring 2014 for about the last year. It started to become more and more official looking as I got the paperwork sorted out for the school and my passport renewed. I also started to work on vaccinations, get travel insurance, etc...

As the autumn progressed, I was in touch with the school regarding the paperwork, for it obviously takes an extensive amount of paperwork to go abroad and practice medicine. There was a new administrator on the South African end which was complicating things, but we assuredly could get it done.

Along with all this, I was reading books and watching assigned documentaries on HIV/AIDS in Africa. I set up a rotation in an HIV clinic in America, figuring it would be a good experience--and it was, undoubtedly. I know for a fact that I want to work with HIV patients. I got more excited about going to the forefront of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Then I get an email regarding flooding in Cape Town, had I seen it in the international news? You all know, I've been busy traveling and interviewing and while I kept up to date with the headlines (those mornings newspapers in the hotels helped), I had not seen it. I searched a little and hey, there it is waaaaaaay down on CNN. Okay, regardless, a hospital getting evacuated for flooding is a big deal. No need to push, I can deal. Plus if there's flooding, there's definitely not paperwork getting done for the international medical student. I pushed my dates back from February to the end of March, the latest I could go and still get my six weeks in just before graduation.

I even made my hotel reservation. Bought that travel insurance. Have the travel guide sitting there, read through it, got excited about Table Mountain and botanical gardens...penguins! Dolphins! The Cape of Good Hope! (History major here!) Let alone the whole apartheid and Mandela drama that had taken place in Cape Town.

Mandela. The man is most definitely a legend and when I saw the headline news of his death, one might say the writing was on the wall. Mix in another idiom, three strikes, you're out.

It actually wasn't his death that truly that did my trip in, but rather the upcoming elections. The politics will be dicier with Mandela even nominally in the picture. Things get nasty on the TV in the US, but in other countries, elections can be a much different story (eh, Arab Spring anyone?). Taken in combination, it's not a safe place to send students. I would probably be fine, but it's the whole 'probably' thing. While I would be staying in Cape Town, I would be travelling into the poorer areas, where it would be more likely that events could occur. Things were more likely to occur there regardless and I had been warned, so add in the furor over elections, things were not going to be pretty.

So that's that. It's saddening and quite honestly, a bit heartbreaking. I've been dreaming of Cape Town for about two and a half years. Add in my vacation to London (not only was I a history major, I focused in British history--London is my mecca) at the end of it and I've basically got my dream trip to get me through the next few years of residency.

I've spent a few days moping about it, cancelling reservations and making phone calls. I'm moving forward now. It's difficult for me to not be active about anything in my life, so I'm considering my options. There's about three months to get something together, and I doubt anything will live up to South Africa in my mind and heart. There's options in Ethiopia and Ghana, but I'm not sure if Africa is a good place for me right now; like I'm trying to substitute something in for my dream. There's a nice opportunity for HIV/AIDS outreach in Jamaica, which is probably the most likely option going forth.

And who knows, I may just go to London anyway. A Christmas present to myself.

progress

As you all are probably well aware, I have been quite busy these last few months. I apologize for the delinquency of my not posting, but I have fallen into very little cooking and experimenting for many reasons.

First off, I was busy on a surgery rotation where I was at home so not alone was I scarfing down whatever I could feasibly find in a period of time so I didn't get hypoglycemic in surgery, I had my mom cooking for me. We did find the glories of how to bind a black bean burger appropriately--I can't buy fake meat or anything frozen because there's generally yeast. For some reason, my mom tried black beans with couscous to bind it and it generally works. I have subsequently been glorying in the modified burger--a biscuit, black bean burger, a slice of cheese, and appropriately safe ketchup. I have missed burgers so this has become a new standard while I've been home.

The other reason I've been busy is that I've been travelling with interviews (thus the accident with the chicken--that happened at a pre-interview dinner). Getting vaguely nauseous eating McDonald's fries, making my car reek of bananas as I travel with banana skins, dripping honey from biscuits my mom sent me forward with...it's been an adventure.

Oh, and for people who want to know what I ate for Thanksgiving--mashed sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, candied carrots, and green beans. Cherry tarts for dessert.

On an allergen front, this is the time of year that I really become retrospective. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas are heavily oriented around food. I have already become creative trying to avoid the nut-encrusted gifts that have been given to us in the office for the holidays. I pray daily about what will be coming in as Christmas approaches. Holidays that are focused on big meals make me confront the fact that I can't eat like everyone else. My family general celebrates with just us, so it's been doable but it's still up front for me.

And it's been difficult because I've had to come to grips with the fact that they're getting worse. Some things are getting better, so there is some good news, but for the most part, things are going downhill and rather rapidly too. I have spent far too much time recently with abdominal pain and the much more frustrating specter of nausea--can't move, don't want to go anywhere nausea. Standing next to the sink/toilet because I know I'm going to vomit. It has never been like this before. In fact, nearly two years ago, when I was diagnosed, I scoffed at the idea of food allergies--abdominal pain? Nausea? Vomiting? Not me!

For example, I have been able to eat eggs and know the reaction I would have to them--so I could safely anticipate what was going to happen. I cannot predict it anymore.

I have had days when I have eaten nothing allergenic and still had problems.

I have been getting more rashes on my face--a known reaction to rice, but not to rice in these instances (The other discovery? Sometimes they're scarring, which almost made me cry last night).

I want oh so much to be in denial about this, but I can't. I will soldier on, but it will be difficult. Especially considering in the upcoming weeks, I will turn to preparing to leave for South Africa where I will be less stringently vegetarian and also have to start from scratch with knowing brands' ingredients.

So there it is. Things are not all on the up and up and I'm struggling. But whoever said life was fair?

sprouts!

I am a very delinquent blogger here. apologies. i have been traveling and not cooking, resuming my hospital cafeteria salad diet so there haven't been a lot of new recipes to share. there is something i am about to try, and one thing i have been recently exposed to while traveling--brussel sprouts.

I have a feeling that will get a very mixed reaction from y'all but hear me out--i feel that sprouts have gotten a bad reputation. They are actually quite delicious when cooked properly and also very nutritious! Wikipedia tells me "They contain good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fibre. Moreover, they are believed to protect against colon cancer, because they contain sinigrin." Thomas Jefferson himself grew them at Monticello. With a recommendation like that...

Cut the sprouts in half. Get a frying pan good and hot and add oil and brussel sprouts flat side down. Let them brown nicely on that side. Shake them around and good a while longer. If they need to, you can ad a tiny bit of water, put the lid on until they are eating consistency. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme if you like. 

They really do need to be browned and crispy otherwise they're just soggy cabbage.

I challenge those of you who have never tried Brussel sprouts and have avoided them based on reputation to try them. Maybe you'll change your tune.

accidents

So sorry, y'all, to NOT be posted. but there hasn't been a lot to say! I've been really busy with work/school stuff and subsequently haven't been cooking. All of this is also happening while I'm staying with my mom, who has been doing all the cooking and grocery shopping. We can find some cool stuff, but mostly it's nice because i thoroughly detest grocery shopping.

In good news: my mom has perfected the yeast-free black bean burger, which was an accomplishment. It's very difficult to find something to bind the black bean and corn together, but somehow couscous works. Also, it was a good time to find out that couscous is not an allergen. I had it sometime in the last two years, but it was one of those super-organicy places, where I took it out of a barrel. There are so many potential allergens within that--the barrel, whatever the scoop had last been placed, poor storage allowing microscopic mold to take hold, etc. So I've been enjoying actually being able to have a burger again--in my own way. We take a Pillsbury biscuit, slice it in two and hope it doesn't crumble up too much, put the burger on it, cheese, and a dab of ketchup (we found a safe brand). It is a similar enough experience to the real burger that I have been eating these fairly regularly recently. It's amazing the craving for a burger that hits sometimes--there are so many occasions in America that call for burgers.

So the other news is that one of the reasons why it's been almost a month since I posted anything is because I've been travelling rather extensively. It's funny enough travelling by car and unloading in a hotel room: garment bag, suitcase, purse, bag o' food. The fewer meals I eat out, the better. And even better: flying. I always wonder about the TSA and what they will let through. I didn't have any problems this time, but all I took was the vanilla cupcake graham goldfish and a sleeve of shortbread. delicious, but even my sweet tooth was down and out after a few 'meals' of this. Flying in the morning means all the restaurants are serving bacon, eggs, and biscuits. No fries. I can do fries. And then I flew back late, so places were closed. I texted my mom that I was almost home and please can i have something warm to eat, since i was subsisting on shortbread.

Overall, the reason I'm writing this now is to make an accounting for a recent event--I was out to dinner with a group of applicants pre-interview and we'd ordered some appetizer plates. I didn't know what was on each one, but the one in front of me looked like fried shrimp and some quesadillas. Nobody had touched it yet, in a polite, etiquette kind of way, so I went ahead and got things started. Except as I bit into the shrimp, I realized--NOT SHRIMP. CHICKEN. It was a very odd looking wing. And of course, not a wing, with no bone. Regardless, chicken! Chicken! It sounds so stupid--I accidentally ate chicken! but it's wholeheartedly true. I avidly avoid the meats I'm allergic too, and for good reason. Besides my anxiety ticking off the charts at that moment, knowing that my H2 blockers aren't going to be powerful enough to combat chicken, I knew I had to a) finish getting through the dinner and b) I still had my interview the next day. Luckily, I was able to order some scallops seared with lemon butter that was totally safe, and a safe dessert also. Sometimes when I eat something I shouldn't, I'll try to overwhelm my body with other, safe particles. Doesn't work always, but sometime it'll mitigate things. At the very least, dessert makes me happier.

I woke up the next morning and felt like I had done an intense abs workout, how sore my abdomen was. Luckily I was also suffering through a sinus infection, so my meds had kept me mostly knocked out and unaware of what I know is crippling abdominal pain.

And I made it through my interviews just fine. :)

I was also recently eating apple pie, which seems to be just fine...not exactly easy for me to distinguish, because at the same meals I had other allergens present so I couldn't sort it all out, but it was interestingly a very minimal reaction so we'll see...

And then there was the Greek food yesterday I was presented for lunch...I could not identify a single thing on the plate besides the grape leaves...always a pleasure to be eating out and have no say in my food.

But then there are occasions, like where I got to order the vegan creme brulee, made with avocado and coconut milk and something else, topped with raspberry sauce--it was amazing. AMAZING. makes up for some of the other stuff.

Never a boring day in my life with food.

chocolate chip banana donuts

I have finally wrested control of the kitchen back from my mother this weekend. It involved getting up and started before she did and also had me going, "mom, where's this? and then that?" because she's reorganized the kitchen in the years while i've been gone. But i have persevered to the delicious smelling house that generally indicated a recipe well done.

and the best part? Mom's allergic to bananas so this recipe is all mine!

Chocolate Chip Banana Donuts

·        1 cup Mashed Ripe Banana (Roughly 2 small bananas)

·         1/2 cup Raw Cane Sugar

·         1/2 cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt (I use 0% Fage)

·         1/4 cup Unsalted Butter (Melted)

·         2 Eggs (Room Temperature)

·         1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

·         2 cups Spelt White Flours (You can also use AP Flour)

·         1 teaspoon Baking Powder

·         1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

·         1/4 teaspoon Salt

·         1 cup Chocolate Chips 

1. Preheat the oven to 325F

2. Using your electric mixer with the whisk attachment, add the mashed banana, sugar and greek yogurt. Mix until incorporated.

3.Add melted butter, eggs and vanilla extra and mix.

4.Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the batter and mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix!

5.Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

6.Scoop the batter into a zip lock bag and seal shut. Using scissors, snip the bottom corner of one side of the ziplock bag to create your homemade piping bag.

7.Grease your doughnut baking pan and pipe 3/4 full the batter into each doughnut mold.

8.Optional: Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture on top of each doughnut batter before baking. Or you can dip the doughnuts once baked in the cinnamon sugar mixture. You may need to paint melted butter on top of each doughnut before dipping the doughnuts in the sugar mixture to allow them to stick. Both options work perfectly.

9.Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool before eating.

(http://janieskitchen.com/2012/12/03/banana-chocolate-chip-baked-doughnuts/)

It was interesting--the first time i'd cooked with greek yogurt. Really not a big component at all, but a new thing for me. Also, i think using real eggs in this would be a big plus over my powdered-add-water-egg-replacer because the dough ended up being a little-to-a-lot dry and difficult to get into the pan, but you lose that nice eggy quality with the thickened paste of "egg" that I add. I have a container of egg whites currently in this kitchen (in the land of non-allergic people) but I still chose to use the powder. I've been having problem with egg whites recently so we're not going there.

So they do make your place smell delicious! Always a plus. And generally, these are the ingredients you probably have at home. I was surfing my pinterest recipes this morning, craving to make something new and this caught my attention--yes, i did have two bananas, and greek yogurt (it was banana flavored, but that would obviously work) and the rest is basic kitchen requirements.

they're rather good. Particularly when still warm and the chocolate is gooey. Mine were a little dry which I think is because of the lack of egg, but they're a nice way to wake up on Saturday morning. :)

A warm breakfast on a chilly morning.

pumpkin cream cheese

Voila! Quick and easy, though I recommend using honey instead of maple syrup. We didn't even try the maple syrup--it's not a staple in this house and considering that the whole concept of maple means it's from a tree and has its own subset of allergens....we stick with honey. nice and creamy on a piece of toast!

Also, I'm not sure what my mom ended up using instead of the pumpkin pie spice, but probably just some nutmeg and allspice. Balance to taste.

Happy fall y'all!

mini pumpkin rolls

hey y'all--it's almost fall! which means that one of my favorite food items is back in play--pumpkin! So far this almost-fall week I've had these delicious mini pumpkin rolls and also a pumpkin cream cheese spread. My mom made the latter for me so I have yet to finagle that recipe from her, but I made the mini pumpkin rolls so here goes:

MINI FALL PUMPKIN PIE CROISSANTS—makes 32

2 Tubes Pillsbury crescent rolls

4 oz. (1/2 block) of softened cream cheese 
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1 – 2 T pumpkin pie spice (adjust to taste)
3 – 4 T sugar (granulated or powdered; adjust to taste if you want the filling sweeter)

Start with 2 tubes of Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls. Roll each crescent roll out and cut lengthwise in 2.
Beat the cream cheese, pumpkin, and 1T of spice together until fluffy and spread about one teaspoon of filling over each triangle of dough. Roll into croissant shape.
Mix together 4 T sugar and 1 T pumpkin pie spice and roll each pumpkin pie croissant in it.

Bake at 375* for about 13-15 minutes (this time is for on a baking stone) – you want them to be lightly browned and the dough baked through.

I used allspice instead of cinnamon which gave it a little different flavor. Also, I thought that the pumpkin spread inside could have been a little sweeter--it may have been because we didn't use the cinnamon, but somewhere between a teaspoon to tablespoon of sugar could have been a real benefit to this recipe. 

I enjoyed using the crescent roll dough, but I know that pillsbury also makes a roll of pastry dough (as does Pepperidge farm) that is safe for me to eat and I almost wonder if this would be better in a jelly roll format. These are great and bite sized, so a nice hors d'oeuvre shape, but a jelly roll/pastry dough version of this recipe could be better for say Thanksgiving dessert.

As a side note (side dish), check out this interesting article I saw on CNN about Food Allergies cost. I obviously don't have the issues of my family losing productivity time to be protective about my allergies, but I can tell you that my food budget is unbelievably more in the post-food allergy age.

And now I'm off to return the "cherry tarts" my mom bought for me yesterday which are most definitely strawberry...it'll be interesting to see the reaction at the store.

here's to you

here's to you, who let me read every food label and patiently wait while I reread it more slowly.

here's to you, who welcome me into your house, and understand when I have to read every food label of every item in the meal you're preparing.

here's to you, who invite me to stay and email/text to see what you can buy for me...and for understanding when I bring my own food.

here's to you, who don't add a single spice to a food without checking with me.

here's to you, who invite me into your house while i'm travelling and offer me safe harbor from foods.

here's to you, who cook me food that seems bland and boring and IS bland and boring, but don't comment on it.

here's to you, who go out to eat with me and understand while I question the server. who understand why i peruse the menu before we even go out to eat. who doesn't comment when i proceed to scarf down every morsel on my plate because I so rarely get to eat such deliciously prepared food I didn't have to make myself.

here's to the server who thinks to tell me the pasta is made fresh with eggs in it and that the bread is made in an environment with eggs in it. who brings the dessert menu already knowing which item has eggs in it. (i tip well to prove my gratitude to you!)

here's to you who scout out places for me--be it to check if there's a kitchen or to tell me there's a grocery store here or a good, safe restaurant here.

here's to my mom, who cooks me shrimp even though it makes her anaphylactic and thus generates twice as many dishes when she goes to cook her own beef/chicken entree.

here's to my brother, who can't remember the list of foods and offers me bread, to have his wife reprimand him, to his comment of "just say no."

here's to my sister, who tells me to order anything on the menu that i want, knowing the options are limited.

here's to you, who listen when I complain about my diet and my theoretical anemia or vitamin deficiency.

here's to you, who understand that it's not gluten and I'm not a vegan.

here's to you, who don't say, "hey, I didn't know you were a vegetarian!" like there's some expectation that everyone knows I'm a vegetarian.

here's to you, who don't judge when I do eat something I shouldn't just because it looks so good.

here's to you, who walk with me as I peruse the fair looking for something safe to eat.

here's to you, who modify your holiday plans and feasts to incorporate something that I can eat.

here's to you, who text me from your wedding caterer visit to make sure that there's something i can eat.

here's to you, who understand why I don't tell everyone that i'm allergic to everything on the list and who understand why sometimes I eat allergens when people offer it to me.

here's to you, who say "we don't have to go out if it's too hard." who understand me skipping meals. who understand the lunchbox I carry with me almost everywhere and the snacks in my purse. and the pills.

here's to you, who send me new recipes. and to those who teach me the recipes of their culture.

here's to you, who understand my shyness and discretion.

here's to you, my fabulous support system.

Cauliflower Casserole

I remember my parents always being so proud of my siblings and I as kids for always raiding the veggie plates at events; we were, and still are, big broccoli and cauliflower eaters. So when I saw this recipe for cauliflower casserole on my sister's pinterest, I pinned it myself as a possibility. And I will outright say I didn't like it. I'm not a huge fan of sour cream and this had a tendency to collect in the crevices between the cauliflower. However, my mom liked it AND she took it in to work (since I obviously wasn't going to eat it) and they all liked it too. It's apparently quite good on certain dishes, like a baked potato.

It was a bit of work, since I had to shred the monterey jack myself. I also will caution y'all to make sure your steamed cauliflower is well drained--between the water that cooks off that and the cheese, I ended up draining a bit of water out of my finished dish.

• 2 lbs cauliflower florets
• 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 8 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• 8 oz block cream cheese, softened
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream 
• 2 bunches green onions, sliced (1 1/2 cups)
• 6 sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Steam cauliflower florets until tender.

3. While cauliflower steams, cream together 6 oz of the shredded cheddar, 6 oz of the Monterey Jack,

cream cheese, and heavy cream.

4. Stir in sliced green onions, chopped bacon, and garlic.

5. Set aside.

6. Drain any liquid from steamed cauliflower and add hot cauliflower to cheese mixture.

7. Stir cauliflower and cheese mixture together.

8. Taste for seasoning, and add as necessary.

(If you want a finer texture, give a few mashes with the potato masher.)

9. Pour into a 2-3 quart casserole and sprinkle on remaining cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.

10. Cover dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes; remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is brown and bubbly.

I would also add that you could probably add a lot of variety to this--broccoli and cauliflower mix, more/less bacon (bits or otherwise), garlic or onions in greater quantity, etc etc. I probably won't have anything further to say on this subject because of the whole clumps of sour cream antipathy that I have going on towards this dish, but for anyone who likes cheese/cream, the world's your oyster. :) (but not mine, I'm allergic!)

So I went out to dinner...

...and it was pretty epic.

First off, I obviously don't go out to eat very frequently. It's simply too difficult from start to finish--picking the right company, figuring out what allergies I can legitimately claim to quiz the waiter/waitress on, the menu itself, and then of course, what if something goes wrong and i'm out on the town, trying to enjoy myself? I will say, since this is an FAQ, if pressed, I'll go with Mexican because a cheese quesadilla is pretty safe, or Italian because I can usually get a spaghetti/marinara dish without too much trouble.

Onwards...to set the scene. My friends, who are fully aware of the full list of allergens and do their absolute best to accommodate at all times, and I were in Pittsburgh for a concert. In the district, there are a ton of restaurants. I perused menus beforehand and was totally overwhelmed so we ended up conferring over a few menus before we even went (That's the other thing. I will ALWAYS peruse the menu before I go to a restaurant). Adam had picked one restaurant in particular that he thought would be a good one--called Meat and Potatoes. We joked about how the 'meat' wouldn't work for me but maybe the 'potato' part would. So I got online and checked out their menu. I scanned it, then went down and read it very closely. And then I called my mom. She did the same thing. The conclusion? Nothing, absolutely NOTHING was possible. I was in a good mood that night, so that was pretty funny. That has never happened before and I'm not knocking the restaurant at all, but it's pretty intriguing how that happened. Basically it's cause they added meat to just about every dish, but still.

See how this is shaping up to be pretty epic even before we got to Pittsburgh?

We did okay with the menu on the next restaurant. I'm not going to name this one because I'm going to make snarky comments and it's probably not truly reflective so I'll let them languish in anonymity for now. So Adam sent me the name of choice number two and I look at it. It's limited, but there's a few options we can work with. So we head over to Pittsburgh and begin our evening.

My options quickly dwindled. I had the foresight to ask about the tempura for the tempura shrimp. I do truly love to eat good seafood and this was a classy enough place to have good seafood (the further you get from the coast, the more I doubt the quality of the seafood--I'm a snob about my seafood, but I can be--I grew up near the coast). I mentioned the egg allergy and the waitress asked about other allergies.

"Anything else? Dairy allergy?"
"No, no other allergies."

Let's reference back to the fact that I am allergic to SEVENTEEN things. 17! (In all actuality, it's probably more like 18--I've added two potentials and subtracted one that doesn't seem to do anything, but anyway!)

NB: I've never counted my allergens before. that's a little eye opening statistic there.

I must have been in a good mood looking forward to this concert because I just kinda laughed all that off with an eye roll. It's a blatant lie, but should I confront anyone with my list of allergens? Considering the bafflement I got from a nutritionist once...i'm thinking it's not the best course of action. Plus we'll always go back to the fact that I don't get anaphylactic so I don't want anyone totally freaking over the list.

So anyway, the tempura had egg in it. We had another waiter by this point, and he confirmed that with the chef. So that eliminated a number of my options, so I just went to my old standby, the salad.

You know how the waiter always swings by and checks if everyone's ready to order? In recent months, everyone always eyes me when this statement is made. I am the deciding factor (I also always get to choose restaurants). So I say yes and I ordered my salad. Without the dijon vinaigrette because it simply didn't sound safe. And hey, I don't like mustard and I feel entitled to not like foods even when you eliminate all 17 things I can't eat (but I have tried things I have previously dismissed in order to have, you know, options for food). I ask if there's another vinaigrette I can substitute. Short answer, there's not. So I got oil and vinegar instead (and btw, it's not like vinegar is completely safe--rice vinegar? Apple cider vinegar? It ended up being balsamic, hooray!). I forgot to make sure they took off the bleu cheese, but I ended up managing.

The real gem of the evening came next.

"And what would you like for dinner?"

I can't imagine the look on my face, but what kind of a world doesn't consider a salad a dinner? I get that there's a side salad and it's usually part of the pre-entree fare, but seriously, dude? And he didn't even pick up on my snark: "Well, I was going to order the shrimp..."

So Adam and Amy order and the waiter scurries away to do what waiters do. We have entertaining conversation--partially surrounding food. They're getting married and we talked about reception food, which is interesting to consider (see previous blog posts!). I brought up the consideration of what to serve at my wedding and this proceeded to have Adam declaring there we should establish a restaurant named "Pam's" and all they serve is food I can eat. An interesting proposition, but you wouldn't notice it at one meal or even two; it's living the life that makes the point of what I can and can't eat.

Dinner proceeds and we get to the offering of the dessert menu, complete with the original waitress and her commentary on it. She also misses on the snark when we pass on dinner with the comment that everything has eggs in it.

We headed onwards to our concert, which was fabulous, and I will admit to only being plagued with mild abdominal cramps throughout the first song or two. So I'll knock that up to a success, though calling a salad a success is pretty blase.

I am still entertained by this experience, but I'll let y'all know it's not always this entertaining. The company and overall experience made it worthwhile. I recently went to lunch with my mom to try a new organic cafe in town and also ordered a salad; that lunch was much less memorable because of the uncontrolled children and the soccer moms. Although it can be entertaining, because my mom does have anaphylactic food allergies.

Never a boring day and never a morsel of food passes through my lips without consideration. I have "good food days" and "bad food days." But can you see why I may decline to go out to dinner and instead invite you over?

cake pops

I ventured into a new recipe world recently and it was so bizarre. seriously cake pops? they're the strangest thing!

so here's the deal: my sister gave me some of the teflon ice cube trays for my birthday; one shaped as butterflies and one as music notes.

I can eat cake mix, I just have to make sure to add egg whites or egg substitute instead of straight eggs. And luckily, this recipe called for one egg, instead of three (which is a complete no-no even with the egg substitute). but i know these are very popular right now and thought i would try them.

first off, they're TONS of work! and take TONS of time! I don't know if anyone else around here has made them, but let's recap. you bake it like a cake, then crumble it (but you have to let it cool first), press it in the shapes, add the stick, and freeze/refrigerate it. if you're lucky, they look like they're supposed to:

I won't get into the difficulty in pressing them into the shapes. I got the butterflies down, obviously, but the stems of the music notes? forget it! and even the butterfly's wings look a little rough around the edges.

so after you refrigerate them, you take them out and melt some chocolate down and dip them in that. so then the butterfly shape would be obscured, so what's really the point? And since this is funfetti, you cover them in sprinkles too. but you have to have a styrofoam board to stick the pop in so it can set.

I will say, they're handy. it's cute. but holy cow. can you imagine that these are probably the new thing to take to your kid's classroom for their birthday? cupcakes were bad enough (my mom complained doubly because she has twins!) but these things are even more extravagant.

i probably should have just settled and eaten regular cake for celebration, instead of trying the cake pops. but this is one of things we can all blame pinterest for...pinterest is great, but cake pops are hard.

that was my adventure into new recipes this last month and it was obviously not a success! (and on the allergy front, either the egg whites weren't separated well enough or something because i still ended up getting sick from them) I'm going to have to stick to using my ice cube trays for ice cubes from now on, not cake pops.

mmmm...mold

I was flipping through Eat This, Not That 2013 yesterday and while most of it does not apply to me, i found a few charming tidbits worth sharing.

Did you know the average American eats 79 pounds of corn annually? Their point was that we only eat 1lb fresh yearly, but this made me giggle regardless because corn is one of my two major food groups (potato is the other). I can only imagine how much corn I eat. Plus there's all kinds of sources of corn in food people don't even think/know about--maltodextrin, for one, can be made from corn, and is in almost everything.

Here's the kicker:

"The FDA legally allows up to a 60 percent mold count in canned or frozen blackberries and raspberries. Canned fruit and vegetable juices are allowed to contain up to 20 percent mold."

MMMM hooray. no wonder I can't drink fruit juice without feeling weird! It explains why that raspberry tea I was drinking the other day gave me terrible abdominal pain (while driving home from a day trip which made it all even more charming) despite the fact that i'm not allergic to raspberries. (Was I checked for raspberries? I don't think so. I'm contemplating the fact that it seems that any fruit that you eat the skin with gives me problems while any fruit that you skin doesn't...that's where the mold is, on the surface).

I tried to get on the FDA's website to figure this out but it was rather baffling to find anything on their site. I did find a study showing this: Certain foodborne molds and yeasts may also elicit allergic reactions or may cause infections.

No duh! :)

hospitality, part 2

So y'all responded very well to the last post, so I wanted to continue on the successful theme. Plus I haven't tried any new recipes recently so I have nothing new to report on that front (but I did spent two hours yesterday flipping through my aunt's old cooking magazines and ripping out new recipes!).

Something to ponder and consider: how often do you offer people food around you? Something extra you have in your lunch, why not share it... Or also, you're snacking, a coworker comes by, you offer them some of your nuts, strawberries...?

This happens to me ALL THE TIME. The more I thought about it, the more I could remember it happening. Also, being raised in the gracious South, I feel rude when I continue to refuse the generously offered foods.

It was just rather funny in a terrible way on my last rotation--different people have different attitudes towards food. I was working with a female physician with her own children, and I've noticed that these women usually 'adopt' me and just can't help taking care of young people. She also ate a very healthy diet, which meant that the daily offerings were nuts, apples, oranges, strawberries...hmmmm. Luckily, the nuts were mixed nuts, so I casually picked out the peanuts and avoids the walnuts and almonds (I'm not allergic to walnuts, but my mom is so I never ate them and thus don't like them). I did end up eating about half an apple one day and just went about with the cramping abdominal pain all afternoon. Somehow I got out of the orange. It's easy enough when she would get distracted by other things. The commonality of strawberry allergies got me out of that one. I can claim certain allergies without getting the weird look--strawberries and eggs usually. As her offerings of food were on a near daily basis, I couldn't keep refusing, so I pushed through. The educational opportunities were worth it, for the most part.

As a side note, it was with her that I recently ate pizza without my prophylactic medicines. I will flat out say that delivery pizza is one of the hardest things for me to resist and it's difficult to explain why I can't eat it--what twentysomething doesn't like pizza (and beer)? I ate it, dashed home and took a full dose of H2 blockers (antacids) and one Benadryl (so 25mg, a half dose from the full allergic reaction dose of 50mg) and went off to take a test. It was a difficult situation but I did find that I didn't acutely react to the yeast! It was a rough few days afterwards of just not feeling right, but it was pretty good for me. Plus the dessert pizza was TOTALLY worth it--I'm searching out a good yeast-free recipe. :)

The other side of the food offerings spectrum is the men--they're more likely to allow me to chose my own food and then not let me pay for it. Some of them get snarky about the constant salad choices, and I have one physician who thinks that I don't eat anything of substance (which can be totally true depending on the day!). In fact, he's writing me a letter of recommendation and I'm mildly concerned that the food allergies are going to sneak into that...can you imagine?! I went to a dinner lecture he gave the other night and one of the first things he said to me was to inquire if there was food I could eat. (There was--and I had very cooperative friends to assess if the spring rolls were actually vegetarian or not...you have to have good friends to get through meals!)

It wasn't something I had really thought about until recently, but in certain circles, we nurture those around us in a very primitive way--by feeding them. Someone comes to your house, you offer them hospitality and in older days, it would have been very rude to reject such hospitality. There were also rules that went along with hospitality and the guest/host relationship. Things have obviously changed in the twenty first century, but it is a very interesting conundrum for those of us with special needs--and this isn't just a food thing, but anyone who needs accommodation. I think about it in terms of food, but I know that's not the only consideration--it's just my consideration.

hospitality

here's an interesting question to ponder: if you have a food sensitivity and you're hosting an event, do you serve that food to your guests?

It's something to truly think about. Even if you're just a vegetarian by choice, what do you serve at your wedding reception? That's the question that's been raised and discussed recently. I saw something awhile back when Chelsea Clinton got married--she's a vegetarian--that she chose to serve grass fed organic beef to her guests rather than serving a meatless meal. It was considerate to the guests; not a majority of the people in the world are vegetarians, so it's catering to them.

It's wedding receptions where this is really an issue to be debated. It's an interesting statement more than anything else. I was at a wedding reception last year where the bride was a vegetarian (so likely the groom, but I don't know for certain so I won't comment) and the meal they served was vegetarian. They also had a cupcakes and then the one layer cake for them to cut and eat themselves, but they had a gluten-free brownie discreetly sitting there for any guests who wishes to partake and had gluten sensitivities. It was very well done of them.

I will also say--i could eat the green beans, and that was it.

Which raises the question for those of us who have more than just the no-meat thing going on: do I accommodate you or do you accommodate me?

Meatless Monday is a legitimate event and I don't think that many people consider an occasional meal without meat to be a big thing. I don't think that anyone was too surprised at this wedding reception that there was no meat--a comment here and there, but it didn't hurt anyone to eat fettucine alfredo and green beans and then a rice/bean dish (side note: what does it say about me that I can remember what was served at a wedding I went to almost a year ago? this is how much attention I pay to the food when I go out!). Plenty of people eat salads and call it a day; or cheese quesadillas; or some pasta dish without meat. No big deal. So that's not a big surprise if you were to do that at your wedding. Moving on...

I've not done the gluten-free thing, but I don't consider that to be a big change in most people's meals at a wedding reception...so no bread basket, nothing breaded, and then the accommodation with the cake. I know I'm simplifying, but once again, a few comments and then we've all moved on.

What about the milk allergic people? That knocks out anything with cheese...most baked dishes...onwards. Shellfish, peanuts, soy...accommodate-able.

But then there's people like me. I could probably come up with a wedding reception menu that wouldn't raise too many questions, but the caterer would probably think i'm nutso. But then it would be MY wedding reception. Should I accommodate everyone else and serve normal food? Or should I give everyone a taste of what it's like to be me, and eat like me--while celebrating one of the most joyous occasions in my life?

I go back and forth on it. I'm trying to come up with a good place to go for graduation dinner where I'd be able to eat and so would my family. Someplace nice, so not the Mexican place down the road where I can get a cheese quesadilla. Or wherever. I don't graduate for another year and I'm already thinking about it. (I'm currently stuck on The Melting Pot...maybe. may be possible)

I'm thinking about this more now because I had friends over for Memorial Day--and what's tradition summertime food to kick off this holiday? Burgers. I bought meat and we grilled some burgers...and I ate pasta salad. We had to wrap my cutting board in saran wrap so that the meat juices didn't contaminate it while we were shaping the burgers. In fact, I didn't even touch the meat until it was cooked and then only with a spatula. Everything the meat touched went straight into the dishwasher so it would be thoroughly cleaned. And the leftover hamburger buns went home with my friends.

I also almost left the grocery store without any meat I am so used to bypassing the meat counter completely. I also stood there for about ten minutes, trying to figure out the right thing to by.

It didn't bother me to accommodate them; they're my friends and my shield when I go out--they make sure to take me aside at their parties and point out the foods that I can eat and they will sometimes email me to recheck the list and consider a Pam-safe food to serve.

Shades of grey here, hmmmmm? Who accommodates whom?

Raisin Brown Bread

Or as I call it, Boston Brown Bread. Except you all know me and it did not leap off the page as written into my baking pan because of the way that I am. Interestingly, it was a fairly straightforward recipe for me that became more challenging through the realization that I needed to go to the grocery store!

From a site called "Eat Better America" and the citation has faded because it's been in my cooking binder forever and also it's a recipe my mom found in the first flush of no yeast bread searching. I'm been pretty consistent with Bisquick based breads and recently, due to laziness/lack of time, the Pillsbury Grands pop-open tubes are yeast free. I buy them regularly because of the convenience. It's not a loaf of bread and doesn't make sandwiches the same, but it'll do. (orrrr it'll do, donkey, it'll do, muttered in a Scottish accent--thanks, bro, for that one!)

Anyway, this raisin brown bread is "created in Colonial times and also called Boston Brown Bread, this authentic dark bread is made with cornmeal and molasses. Originally, it called for rye meal, which was available at that time. If you really like rye, use 1/2 cup rye flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour in addition to the all-purpose flour. Whole Grain serving: 1/2."

As fits it being yeast free, it's a very dense bread. The molasses gives it flavor, as do the raisins--or in my case, cranberries. But without further ado...

1 c all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c whole-grain cornmeal
1 c raisins
2 c buttermilk
3/4 c molasses
2 t baking soda
1 t salt

Let's pause here and recap what happened in my kitchen yesterday...i glanced over this and was like, yeah, I can do this. Plus it'll use up the semi-expensive molasses I have barely touched except in poaching bagels. But wait...I used up all my cornmeal (i tried polenta...that did not work). Eh, just substitute another half cup of the other flours, the thing on the recipes says you could try rye flour so obviously there's room for change. Raisins to cranberries, check. Buttermilk...hm, but I have two cups of skim milk...add some vinegar, got it. (Safe for me vinegar, too. Have i mentioned that before--it can't be apple based? Or rice?) Great. And then at the very end, I have my general failure of I have lots of baking powder but not soda. GRRR!

Savior: http://www.myrecipes.com/how-to/ingredient-substitutions-00420000003012/?subsid=e Ingredient substitutions! And here's where it gets tricky--for baking soda, 1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/4 cornstarch + 1/2 tsp cream of tartar. Well, I don't have cornstarch, but you can use flour. Nor do I have cream of tartar...but you can apparently use vinegar or lemon juice to add acidity. Great. So I used all my substitutions for my 2 t baking soda--baking powder, vinegar, and flour. It was like I was in science class, btw, particularly when I added the vinegar and it all started bubbling. Should I have started cackling like a mad scientist?

Onwards.

Heat oven to 325F. Greast 2qt casserole dish with shortening or cooking spray.
In a large bowl, beat all ingredients with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on medium 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Pour batter into dish.
Bake uncovered about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Immediately loosen sides of bread with metal spatula and unmold bread; cool on wire rack.

And I just discovered that 1 serving is only 90 calories! Makes me feel better when I'm chowing down...good thing I don't know what 1 serving is! Plus with the changes I made, it could be different. 

It's one of those recipes that I bit into and I immediately understood how people used to eat just bread and butter for meals. In fact, that is what I ate for lunch yesterday. All those historical novels where bread and butter is a meal...it feel into place. 

And now I'm probably off to breakfast on bread and butter now.

drum roll please...

as some of you might be aware, i'm setting up some travel for next year. And a long awaiting dream is coming true...

Straight No Chaser "Africa"

I'm going to Africa! South Africa, actually. As in the country, not the region. Cape Town to be specific. For a month!

I am beyond excited because this has been something I have wanted to do for ages, but I had to grow up and be an adult and the opportunity never came around--until now. I'm not even going until early 2014, but I'm planning the trip myself and traveling on my own (for the most part) so there's a lot of work ahead of me.

This is relevant to you, my lovely audience, because it would probably amuse all of you that in a discussion of all of the necessities that come along with foreign travel, the topic of food of course came up. You might imagine how difficult this has the potential to be. I have been toying with eating the milder allergens recently because of knowing that different options would be opened to me while traveling. I found that I should be able to get by on the cheese and fruit breakfast and then the vegetarian dominated diet found there (hooray for the Asian influence--not that it'll help on the rice front, but where there's a will there's a way!).

As such, when I get closer to going, this will be transitioned into more a travel blog than a food blog. It'll go back after I come back, and I'm sure I'll mention the food while traveling, but I wanted to mention that at least.

Before I go on "holiday."

I have strep throat and laryngitis right now and I'm lying around contemplating all the loveliness that is in the future with this...think of the possibilities! And listen to Straight No Chaser rock out to "Africa"!

Off to scout for travel books...

potatoes!

So first off, food allergies got a shout out at the White House Correspondent's dinner last night:

An extended news-media-as-high-school metaphor: “Fox is the jocks. MSNBC is the nerds. Bloggers are the Goths. NPR is the table for kids with peanut allergies. Al Jazeera is the weird foreign exchange student nobody talks to. Print Media, you’re the poor kid who died sophomore year in a car crash. Cheer up, we dedicate the yearbook to you!”

As a fact, I do listen to NPR when I'm driving sometimes. :)

Anyway, sorry it's been awhile! I've been busy and all I can say is that that trend will continue. The next few weeks are busy with some major events for school, so I'll be hoofing it with food allergies the best I can. Also, my seasonal allergies are flaring right now which has, rather annoyingly, made my food allergies way worse. I've had to be particularly careful recently and it hasn't always worked in my favor. In fact, fritos honey BBQ chips have very nearly the same packaging as the spicy BBQ chips and that meant that I accidentally bought the ones with yeast in them (honey BBQ). Be wary, food shoppers. It's been an opportunity to experiment with what "autolyzed yeast extract" means for me in terms of allergenicity...and it's working out okay.

I wanted to post a simple and very easy to manipulate for your own flavor choices recipe that I made recently. My microwave broke and I had to resort to only having an oven to cook in and a toaster oven to rewarm/reheat. That meant turning to the potato staple. I eat lots of potatoes (and corn, since everyone always asks this--potatoes and corn are what i rely on) and this was a handy recipe to make and eat until my landlord replaced my microwave.

Ranch-Bacon Cheesy Potatoes

http://joyouslydomestic.blogspot.com/2012/10/roasted-ranch-potatoes-with-bacon-and.html

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes (unpeeled, washed and cut into chunks)
1/2 cup ranch dressing (bottled, not packet)
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping (if desired) (I used more like 1/2c)
1/4 cup crumbled, cooked bacon (I sprinkled more on top with the cheese)
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
3 scallions, washed and chopped
Salt
Pepper
Non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add (in a large bowl) the ranch dressing, dill, cheese and bacon.  Add in the potatoes.  Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt and pepper.  Toss to coat potatoes.

Spoon into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.  Cover with foil.

Bake for 60 minutes.  Stir gently halfway through to get the bottom potatoes rotated so they don't become burnt and to ensure that the middle and top potatoes get a chance to brown. 

Remove foil.  Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees.  Gently stir again, as necessary.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes, then sprinkle on a little more cheese, if desired.  Bake a few more minutes or until everything is gooey, browned and bubbly on top.

Serve with scallions sprinkled on top for garnish.

Great with a dollop of sour cream.

I didn't end up adding the scallions on top and I've never eaten sour cream with my potatoes, but that's what I mean about this being a great recipe for manipulating for your flavor tastes. I've been thinking about using a ranch dressing--the powder kind--to coat the potatoes and see if the ranch flavor is stronger that way. I'm rather pototoed out right now though, so it'll be awhile before I come back to this. Also, an excellent recipe to share at family dinners!

But don't burn yourself making it like I did....big mistake. The door rebounded onto my arm and I have this fabulous burn on my arm that has three distinct stripes on it that make it look like I've been assaulted--they're exactly the right size, shape, and spacing to look like someone grabbed my forearm. Thankfully, the weather's been cold enough for me to wear long sleeves.

up to speed

hello all! I've had some revelations re: my food allergies here which are for both the good and bad.

but there's a little something that happened today which was totally disgusting and i had to share...i was at the salad bar at lunch. there is precious little that i can eat in the cafeteria except the salad, so that's where i usually head. i have my doubts about the ingredients in the salad dressing, but i'll get by. regardless of all that, i was waiting patiently behind someone who was in my way at the dressing end of the line and i noticed that as she poured the dressing on her salad, she smeared the ladle all over the hard boiled eggs she had placed on her salad. my eyes about bugged out as i watched her do this three more times (also mind boggling at the calories she just dumped on that previously healthy salad!). it was indeed the dressing i was about to use but i chose something else. but holy cow! if i were anaphylactic, she just contaminated the ladle and also the entire salad dressing by putting it back in the tub.

like i said, mind boggled, eyes bugged. i mentioned something later to a friend and she was surprised that eggs are even allowed on the salad bar anymore and i made the comment that no one's thought about it. you don't think about things like that unless you have to.

speaking of, i just read a fabulous (for me) book called Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life, by Sandra Beasley. she's got the long list like i do, but unfortunately gets the throat-closing, etc anaphylaxis symptoms. Just like I can't eat yeast, which eliminates an unbelievable amount of food, she can't eat dairy. She talks about things like a college roommate eating cheese pizza and talking on the phone. Sandra then picks up the phone and gets hives from the oils left on the phone. That's what came to mind with this lady with the eggs in the cafeteria today (Sandra also mentions the perils of the college cafeteria--too true!).

Regardless, what i loved about the books is that I don't feel so alone in the world. When you have a *list* of food allergies, it can be very traumatizing to go out. She mentions things like having friends at weddings to swipe food off her plate; she had a friend who had a cupcake specially made for her so she could eat cake at that bride's wedding. I have friends with whom I regularly can eat food and trust them so that i don't have to read all the food labels--they're the ones with whom I spent Christmas Eve and also Easter.

It's unbelievable sometimes the tricks I have to implement. Sometimes I can get away with freely admitting to allergies--that happened at a wedding i went to recently, where the cake was served with chocolate covered strawberries. The groomsman sitting next to me asked how I could possibly pass up on a chocolate covered strawberry and I laughed it off, "Easy, I'm allergic!" to which he responded with something like how that was a good reason. Early at this same wedding reception, however, I felt compelled to eat rice. I could eat the fish and green beans and be totally fine with food, but a friend of mine passed me the risotto in a well meaning attempt to make sure I could eat whatever I could. It was okay, I had taken a pill in a preemptive move and damn, was that good risotto, but it came with sacrifice.

I can sometimes slither out of eating things, like the strawberries, or sometimes not, like the rice. It was also difficult when I recently attended a luncheon. I know the cook had done a roundabout check on the food allergies because shrimp and chicken were both offered....with rice. Eggs were completely avoided. Almonds were slivered onto the salad. It was a minefield. And being a small luncheon, unavoidable with being rude and that is a huge thing for me. I muddled through and went home with a pounding headache and some misery later in the afternoon.

Food allergies can also be wielded when i'm feeling malcontent. I was at a party where the hostesses did a very poor job mingling divergent groups of people and just overall it was not a good experience. At the end, they were passing out cookies as a favor...I bluntly said something like no, i wasn't interested, I'm allergic to eggs--completely meaning to make them feel bad. I have had only a twinge of regret over the comment because I truly believe that people should be more considerate of things like that (I also could not safely eat any of the food at the party) but...yeah. I shouldn't wield my food allergies as a weapon.

Either way, none of this is easy on me. I discovered that rice gives me an eczematous rash...ON MY FACE. Also on my leg but that's not as much of a cosmetic sacrifice. It probably explains why I could never get that patch on my leg to clear up. My face has always given me trouble, but has been remarkably clear in the last year or so...the thing about skin? 28 days to regenerate. Which meant that rash was here to stay. I also recently came home from a lunch where, once again, there was nothing I could eat, so I took a pill and powered through some broccoli salad and then remembered that i was allergic to grapes...the raisins in the salad were suddenly little bombs waiting to attack. I spent the afternoon curled up in bed in agony (grapes + eggs).

Nothing about this is easy. As always, it's a reminder for everyone to not take for granted that which we all frequently do...I am reminded on a daily basis how blessed I am to be able to walk and talk and move independently and have a family that loves me...so while I struggle to find anything to eat, it's generally not too much of a sacrifice. Most day. :)

In other news...I did successfully manage to go out to dinner the other night. I cannot remember the last time this happened. And granted, I brought home half of my grilled shrimp entree because I wasn't certain the glaze they put on it was safe (it was, i had the rest last night) but it was a success. I had massive anxiety the whole time my mom and I were out, but it was indeed a success.

Watch out allergy sufferers...pollen is creeping up on us all! (And it makes the food allergies worse, btw).

More recipes to come...I got pinterest to feed my need for allergen-free recipes. :)

cheesy biscuits

Now you all know that i love to make bread that I can actually eat. I also love cheese. when you combine the two, all the better!

These were a big hit at Easter dinner...

1 Container of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits (original called for flaky layers…really?)

1 8oz package of mozzarella

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 tsp. Oregano/Italian Seasoning

1. Open biscuits and flatten. Preheat to 350.

2. Cube mozzarella into approximately 2” chunks. (I had some left over which I grated and used instead of the parm)

3. Place 2-3 cheese chunks on flattened biscuits and seal well. Place seam side down on baking pan.

4. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan and Italian seasoning (I used garlic powder).

5. Bake at 350 for approximately 15-20 minutes until golden and firm.

Now, as you might expect, some cheese leaks out depending on how well you sealed them. I had cheese leak out of nearly all of mine, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Trimming and eating melted cheese was a delightful part of this. As such, I think flattening the biscuits and creating a crater in the middle to give you more dough to create a seal with will probably be an avenue I explore in the future. 

They are, rather obviously, best served warm.

gluten-free

http://jezebel.com/5991724/will-everyone-please-eat-gluten--please-because-you-are-literally-killing-me-kind-of

A very well written and expressed article. The fact that gluten-free foods are way easier to find and buy is a huge plus, but people who do it anticipating a quick fix to their waistline are unbelieveable. The author puts it well--just eating whole wheat is a great alternative!

And many people don't realize that with "fat-free" there's something replacing the fat...usually sugar!

I know I've said it before too, but eating a healthy lifestyle is usually more expensive and I get the percent that this author quotes--242% more expensive. I was on the phone with my mom while grocery shopping the other night and was so pleased to finally find the molasses (you'll see why in a few days if the recipe goes well!) and my mom said something about the price. I looked, $2.48, I believe, and just kinda brushed it off. I don't even look at prices any more when I'm buying groceries unless I happen to have choices--shocking! (And by choices, I mean when I was looking at flax seeds today, I found a previously ground selection or whole flax seeds...which was better for my recipe? Unknown. but the whole flaxseeds were cheaper and what the recipe did actually call for...)

Anyway, in lieu of my actually putting together a well though out article, I offer that one to y'all.

peanut butter bars

One of the things I miss the most is a granola bar. You all know the ease at which you can just grab one and eat it on the go. They all have oats or rice in them, so I haven't found a good replacement. My mom was reading her shredded wheat box one day and called me to try the recipe on there. Now I did not have any shredded wheat in my apartment so I got online and found their recipe on the Post website.

the formatting is theirs and I know it drives me batty but not enough to retype it. Regardless, the recipe works halved, and I use craisins instead of raisins (grapes!). I was contemplating putting chocolate chips in them too to add a bit of sweet to it, though the craisins and honey/PB combo makes them pretty sweet. Also, mine fell apart (I halved it so I don't think it bound together very well) but I still enjoyed eating the remnants.

But a quick, easy, and healthy treat!

Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients

·         1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

·         1/2 cup honey

·         1/2 cup reduced fat peanut butter

·         3 cups Post Original Shredded Wheat Spoon Size Cereal, coarsely crushed

·         3/4 cup raisins

Directions

1.      Mix sugar, honey and peanut butter in large microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until bubbly at edge; stir until well blended.

2.    Stir in cereal and raisins. Press firmly into 8-inch square pan sprayed with cooking spray. Cool.

3.     Cut into bars. Store in airtight container. Makes 16 servings, 1 bar each.

Tips and Suggestions

Use Your Stove: Mix sugar, honey and peanut butter in large saucepan; cook on medium heat until smooth and bubbly, stirring occasionally. Continue as directed.

Take Along Tip: After completely cooled, wrap bars individually in plastic wrap. Leave in bowl on kitchen counter for a great grab-and-go snack.

Nutrition Bonus: On the run? Then enjoy one of these Grab 'n Go Peanut Butter Bars as part of your healthful eating plan.