triscuits!

So just a quick little note for y'all because it's been on my mind.

I can't eat saltines. How ridiculous is that? They're flat crackers and have like nothing in them, but they do have yeast in them! (I do eat matzo though) Actually, a lot of crackers have yeast in them and in fact, one of the flatbread crackers that has come out in the last few years has THREE types of yeast in them.

You know what i use in soups instead? Triscuits. I eat a lot of soup and sometimes I miss the crunching on food sensation that you get in most meals. When I'm eating a lot of mashed potatoes, soups, and smoothies, there's not a lot of chewing and crunching. When I add triscuits, I get a nice crunch and also a little salt to sometimes liven up whatever soup I'm eating with a new flavor.

As a bonus, triscuits make some soups totally scoopable (I was eating the baked potato soup I posted a bit back today and scooping with triscuits).

In a pinch, wheat thins work too. Not quite as good. but just a sidenote, if that's what you have, use it. try it.

ps--totally craving meat. don't know why. probably vitamin deficient in something and that's my body's way of telling me to do a better job getting the nutrients i got from meat, but no go. we'll see.

also, I haven't been to the grocery store in about three weeks. i did pick up a gallon of milk while i was at target recently, but i thought that was pretty significant...i've stocked up on non-perishables, and eaten some good vegetables and fruits while i've been at work apparently. no wonder my body's telling me i haven't gotten enough nutrients recently!

danishes

I've been superbusy recently and have been eating only potatoes. seriously. I was so proud the other day because i picked up pineapple on the breakfast bar at work, but i also got hashbrowns. didn't even think about what i'd been eating for dinner all week.

but so it's finally saturday and i have time to cook! also, my landlord just came and fixed my non-draining kitchen sink so I can cook again. also, i need to get rid of the mold smell that has permeated my apartment over the last few days. besides having the windows open, running the dishwasher after cooking, the cooking itself should hopefully waft my apartment with delicious peach smells. why is that, you say? peach danishes!

the recipe calls for apricot, but i have peach preserves in my fridge. i was looking through a recently acquired bisquick magazine cookbook and found a few delicious breakfast recipes. I love breakfast. and i love danishes too, but i had always reserved them for continental breakfast type affairs. never made them before. but i really need to do something with those peach preserve and hey, i have all the ingredients here so no trip to the grocery store required!

Easy Drop Danish

2c Bisquick original baking mix
1/4 c margarine or butter, softened
2 T sugar
2/3 c milk
1/4 c apricot preserves
Glaze (see below)

1. Heat oven to 450. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Stir baking mix, margarine, and sugar in medium bowl until crumbly. Stir in milk until dough forms; beat 15 strokes.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto cookie sheet. Make a shallow well in center of each with back of spoon; fill with 1 teaspoon of the preserves.
3. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. While warm, drizzle with glaze.

Glaze
2/3 c powdered sugar
1 T warm water
1/4 t vanilla

Beat all ingredients with spoon until smooth.

The best part? The recipe comments say easily halved, which is what I did. I don't need a dozen danishes for a first-round recipe that I don't know if i'm going to want to share. I ended up having to add a little more bisquick to get an actual dough to form. Also, it comments that you can feel free to use your favorite flavor of preserves, which i clearly did. Didn't even need prompting.

My hints right now is that shallow wells are key, I had some preserves coming onto my spatula while i was taking the danishes off the cookie tray. others (maybe the more shallow ones, in an ironic twist?) overflowed over the danish onto the cookie tray. so if you're one of the people who try to avoid sugar burning on your nice cookie trays, don't use that nice tray with this recipe.

(as a side note, do other people do that? my mama taught me all about sugar burning onto cookie trays, so i have a few--one i use to do some serious potato roasted, so it's always slightly glazed with oil. another that i use if i know sugar is going to burn onto it; it's a cheap one i picked up at walmart. and then i have nice cookie trays that i use for nice things that aren't going to burn onto it. and NONE of these go in the dishwasher. i have a lot of pans.)

not a significantly strong smell emanating through my apartment, but some nice treats to reward myself on a beautiful saturday afternoon!

as another side note, they're not fabulous danishes. but in my spectrum of being-able-to-eat-things and knowing that danishes i buy in the store most likely have rice flour, eggs, and/or yeast in them, i'll take them. they're still pretty nice.

rediscovering

So I don't know how other people grocery shop, but I can tell you I used to be a no-list-keep-it-all-in-my-head kind of shopper. Go in, grab the essential bread, milk, and ground beef/chicken for that week's one cooked meal that would last me out the whole week (right, my fine cooking-for-one friends? make a family sized meal and eat it at least three days in a row...). Now I'm more of a list shopper because I'm usually trying new recipes or I realized that I'm out of [fill in the blank].

The one thing that is cool about the food allergies? Even with the list, I usually end up going up and down every aisle seeking that elusive allergen-free whatever. A few weeks ago, I found myself going down the cracker/cookie aisle and I saw Nilla Wafers right at eye level. Considering I haven't read their food label recently, I did. And voila! Something I can eat! Immediately into the cart. My next trip I found Nutter Butters...and rather joyously, in a resealable snack pack! and on clearance!

I guess what I'm saying is that in recent months, as I've gotten more comfortable with my food allergies, I've branched out. I still eat a lot of potatoes and corn, but there's a little more variety. I'm less discouraged by thinking that oh, this'll definitely have something in it i'm allergic to. I'm thrilled that many Pillsbury products use baking soda as leavening instead of yeast. I'm not gluten-sensitive/celiac disease, but I'm charmed by the increasing incidence of gluten-free products on the shelves. It gives me hope. And in the meantime, I've rediscovered some of the joys of foods I've forgotten even really existed.

Maybe we should all try it...give up your list and just leisurely go down every aisle of your grocery and rediscover something.

In other news.....we are entering the fall season, also known as the season of spice. Pumpkin spice latte, anyone? We'll see how I do without cinnamon as the months progress...

just imagine...

I went to the grocery store today. One of my least favorite tasks these days; I have to go with a very specific lists for these new recipes and I will inevitably forget something so I even write down "butter" and "milk" so I don't leave without these essentials. Here's the scoop: I spend about $15 more now on groceries (for just me) than I did pre-food allergies. Granted, food prices are going up, but a lot of people ask me about that and I realized that today. I used to always think meat was one of the most expensive things I bought before too, and I don't buy that anymore.

Anyway, here's the point of what I wanted to get at today: put yourself in my shoes. I know many people my age cook on the weekends and then have food to eat during the weekdays. I do this too. But so imagine...it's Wednesday, you just got home after a long day at work, and you open the refrigerator. No leftovers. You open the freezer and the cabinets: nothing to eat. Nothing quick. Everything takes at least twenty minutes if not more. Can you put something in to cook while showering? An option, but that'll just yield you some biscuits or something. How quickly can you shower if you want to set water on to boil for pasta...etc etc.

There are a few demons I fight daily with these allergies: I can't eat anything out of a box and a daily battle with nutrition. A bit back I wrote about poptarts and threw in a few references to FiberOne browies; they're one of the few pre-prepared foods I can eat (AND both have egg whites in them). I have cans of fruits and vegetables I can eat, but that's not a filling meal (nor is a package of poptarts). I love the baked potato soup recipe I just posted because I eat it and I feel full, a foreign feeling for me in the last few months.

Food occupies so much of my time. I will be finishing up dinner and seriously consider if I even ate ANY protein yet that day. Did I get some milk with my cereal? What about fats? Most people would never consider that they haven't eaten enough fat in their diet; the American diet has lots of fat and cholesterol in eat. Some cholesterol is essential, as are some fats. I often don't get them in my diet. I already add Ensure powder to smoothies to balance out other micronutrient deficiencies, but sometimes there are other gaping holes.

I've switched to eating Greek yogurt because it has more protein in it, though I don't particularly like it. I've stopped buying reduced fat items because I need that fat in my diet. I don't even concern myself with sodium like I used to; I don't eat anything that's from a box, just add water and thus has mega-grams of sodium in it.

I reassure myself that my diet is super-healthy, and it is if I do it right and take my vitamins. But the amount of time I spend thinking about food is really ridiculous.

And here's one last thought to occupy you, a question I frequently ask: have you read your food labels? It's not the apples and strawberries that I find myself avidly avoiding--it's the yeast, malt, rice flour. Even sesame oil pops up in weird places. Consider what is in your food and whether or not you really want to be consuming it.

But next time you come home from a long day at work and pop that lean cuisine in the microwave, remember your blessings. :)

baked potato soup

so recently went on vacation. enjoyable. i had a lovely time. my aunt was there for a bit and she was cooking. one of the first things discussed once I had established that I had a safe trip, driving through philly wasn't bad, how many times I'd stopped (a topic of discussion much belabored by family...I can drive for hours only stopping for gas and they all worry that I'm going to get a DVT. somehow, I think i'll be okay.), the conversation turned towards food. my mom and aunt are great cooks and in the last few months have spent many conversations discussing my cooking alternatives.

either way, my aunt was ready to cook this baked potato soup for my cousin and wanted to see if i could eat it. and i can. the vegetarian says no bacon, but i can indeed eat pork. i would say substititue with soy bacon or bacon crumbles or whatever if you can't do the bacon, but i used some microwavable bacon my mom had bought me in another attempt to get me to eat meat. i have to wonder if actually frying up some bacon would impart the soup with more flavor, but i'm not going to go buy some bacon to try it out so somebody can let me know.

whether or not you put bacon in this soup or not, it's lovely. don't stint and buy margarine instead of butter, or skim milk instead of whole milk. go all out. with the weather starting to turn around here, it'll be a nice recipe to have for the winter.

I will say that on my recipe it says prep is 15 minutes which is totally wrong. first off, you have to "bake, cool, peel, and cube" the potatoes. WHICH TAKES MORE THAN 15 MINUTES. i did an hour at 450 and they came out nicely. and then they cooled. and i didn't spend a lot of time peeling and cubing, i just basically sliced them in quarters and squeezed the potatoes out of the jackets and voila. 

I was also taught early in life about making a white sauce, which is essentially what the early steps of the soup are, so I took it slow and thus is definitely took me longer than 15 minutes. also, i really did add the milk in slow steps. but i enjoyed it. i listen to audiobooks while i cook, so it didn't seem to take very long though i know it did.

·         2/3 cup butter

·         2/3 cup flour

·         7 cups milk

·         4 large baking potatoes, baked, cooled, peeled and cubed, about 4 cups

·         4 green onions, thinly sliced

·         10 to 12 strips bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled

·         1 1/4 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese

·         1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

·         3/4 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

In a large Dutch oven or stockpot over low heat, melt butter. Stir in flour; stir until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened. Add potatoes and onions. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until soup begins to bubble. Reduce heat; simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; stir until cheese is melted. Serve baked potato soup immediately. 
This baked potato soup recipe serves 6 to 8.

(I would say more than 6-8, but it's very filling so I probably eat it sparingly...either way, delicious!)

back to bread

i have a very large number of bread recipes. despite my exuberance over finding biscuits and, more recently, pizza crust that i can eat, I still make most of my bread myself (that is a terrible sentence and i apologize but i'm not changing it). it's easy to do on the weekend usually one loaf will last me through the week. it even makes things more palatable...

i made a cheddar and broccoli soup a few weeks back from what was supposed to be the TGIFriday's recipe. i've never had the restaurant's version, but this version definitely fell flat. i'm not sure what happened, but i couldn't palate it and i froze about half of it and managed to eat the other half. but so i was confronted with these tupperware containers of soup i needed to get rid of. and brilliance struck. i made this delicious honey wheat bread that was an excellent compatriot to this soup. i defrosted it and drained the excess water off occasionally and voila, a decent way to eat the soup and not become completely disgusted by it.

it's from an egg free cookbook my mom found. there are variations at the end of the recipe.

Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread

"this basic, quintessential, not-too-sweet quick bread--quick, simple, hearty, and rich despite the fact that it contains no eggs or butter. Although you can use it for sandwiches, this is best served warm, as part of a meal."

Oil/butter for greasing the pan
1 2/3 c buttermilk or yogurt (or 1 1/2 c milk plus 2 T white vinegar)
2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/2 c molasses

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Grease an 8x4 or 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. If you're using buttermilk or yogurt, ignore this step. If not make the soured milk: Warm the milk gently--1 minute in the microwave is sufficient, just enough to take the chill off--and add the vinegar. Let it rest while you prepare the other ingredients.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients. Stir the molasses into the buttermilk. Stir the liquid into the dry (just enough to combine), then pour into the loaf pan. Bake until firm and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about an hour. cool on a rack for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Lighter whole wheat quick bread: a little cakier: use 1 1/2 c whole wheat and 1 1/2 c all purpose flour; omit the cornmeal. Substitute honey for the molasses for lighter flavor and color. Beat 1 egg into the wet ingredient in step 3.

So that's that. My mom has made it with the molasses and we've decided that honey is the better way to go. I don't remember eating the molasses version, but she says that it's bitter. I have made it both with the cornmeal and alternately with the all purpose flour. It stays a little denser and damper (it's weird but if you do it you'll understand) with the cornmeal, but both recipes work. The cornmeal version reminds me of what i read about Boston brown bread, though I've never tried that or done anything but read about it.

Either way, it's delicious. and whole wheat! good for the heart. :)

ps do check it with a toothpick or the cake sticker thingy...i undercooked this majorly the first time thinking it was done and it wasn't. it looked a little burned on the outside this time when i finished with it, but it was perfectly done inside and was definitely not burned!

guilty pleasures

So basically I can't eat processed foods. Almost everything has something in it....usually yeast. I think it must be a preservative of sorts to be used in it. My mom jokes that I can't eat anything that comes in a box and it's pretty true. Somebody commented at lunch that my lunch (salad, pineapple, fiber brownie--they have a new flavor! I was so excited the other day when i found them!) would not be enough for her and I replied that it wasn't enough for me, but that was all i could bring with me today. I wasn't prepared and didn't think about it last night that I didn't have anything for lunch and thus, salad and canned pineapple and pre-wrapped FiberOne brownie.

So no processed foods. like I said, it makes lunch hard. but you know what I can eat? Pop-tarts. And not the fruit kinds because I'm usually allergic to the fruit--even the cherry ones have dried apples in them! No. I eat the dessert ones--ice cream sundae, sugar cookie, chocolate chip cookie dough, rainbow cookie sandwich...see a theme?

I even buy them in the double pack box!

My friends don't believe that these things exist but as I live and breathe, they do! I even discovered chocolate fudge ones this weekend. There is also a new flavor of confetti cake, but that has rice flour in it.

The rainbow cookie sandwich one has the icing as the middle part of the 'tart.' I haven't tried my chocolate chip cookie dough ones yet, but I'm looking forward to breaking into that box.

My favorite so far are the sugar cookie ones--they also had fun snowy printed characters on them. They were a mom-discovery.

So that's my guilty pleasure...some people accuse me of the whole "my body is a temple" attitude because they don't know and so they always see me eating salads and fruit, but this would definitely prove them wrong!

[Disclaimer...there are egg whites in all of them. Same with the FiberOne brownie bites. I can tolerate egg whites though so bring on the poptarts!]