...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?
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
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:
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.
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.
Friday, July 5, 2013
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! :)
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! :)
Monday, June 17, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
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?
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?
Sunday, May 19, 2013
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.
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.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
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...
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...
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