Kitchen Tip Tuesday! Spice it up!

Have you ever purchased a bottle of spices and they just lacked that big flavor you were hoping for? A simple and compact kitchen appliance can give you awesome flavor to enhance your cooking.  A coffee grinder!  Buy an extra coffee grinder and use it exclusively for grinding whole spices as you need them.  Once a spice has been ground, it starts to lose flavor fairly quickly.  (Some already ground spices can sit on the grocery store shelves for a looooooong time.)  Purchasing whole spices and grinding just what you need ensures big, clear flavors, and a longer shelf life of your spices. Storing them whole keeps them fresher and bolder, longer!

*Bonus tip:  For spices like coriander and cumin, toasting them lightly in a dry skillet before grinding enhances the flavor even more! 

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!

Chicken Pot Pie-less

It's Meal Monday!  Today's meal is "Chicken Pot Pie-less!" This is exactly what is sounds like, except that it's allergy friendly for our family, and hopefully yours!  I particularly like this recipe, because it's easy to adapt.  The veggies that I list in the ingredients are not the only ones that make a delicious pot pie-less, use whatever you have!  Think of this recipe as a flexible guideline, not a "set in stone" scientific procedure. 

Biscuits - Dairy free, Egg free, and Delicious!

I know you can't tell in this picture, but they're still warm here.  Are you drooling yet?

I love a good biscuit.  I just do.  There's something really satisfying and nostalgic about watching butter melt between the layers of a biscuit still warm from the oven.  *Sigh*  It took me a while to settle into a biscuit recipe that could meet that nostalgia and become a staple at our dinner table.  I'm pleased to share this one with you, and I hope that you find it as comforting as we do on a chilly day! Pair it with my "Chicken Pot Pie-less" or with your favorite stew, or chili....or soup...really with anything! (In our kitchen, the butter has been replaced with Soy-Free Earth Balance Spread!)

This biscuit recipe is peanut-free, tree nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, fish-free, and shellfish-free. As always, check this ingredient list and your local products to make sure that this recipe is allergy safe for your family and/or friends!

Steps marked with an asterisk (*) are child friendly!  

Click HERE for more information! 

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
4 Tablespoons cold butter flavor vegetable shortening (I rarely                        recommend the butter flavor shortening, but, in my opinion,  it makes difference in this recipe.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar (organic if possible)
1/2 cup flax milk*
1/4 cup Seltzer water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. *In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. 
3. *Cut shortening into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter, or your fingertips.  Be careful not to make the mixture too warm with your hands. 
4. *Slowly add the flax milk and seltzer water, stirring just until a soft dough is formed.  
5. *Turn dough mixture out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead together BRIEFLY, just until the dough comes together enough to roll out.  Too much kneading will make the biscuit tough, you don't want to develop the gluten. 
6. *Roll the dough gently to 1/2 inch thick, and cut with a 2 inch biscuit cutter. 
7. Bake on a baking sheet for 12 - 15 minutes. 
8. Serve while still warm!

You may substitute any other non-dairy milk of your choice here, although, I have not had great results with rice milk in this particular recipe. 

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!

Halloween and Food Allergies- What's a goblin to do?

Halloween time rolls around, and I get a lot of questions (and assumptions) about how we handle Halloween with food allergies. Most people just assume that we opt out of the whole shebang, but that couldn't be further from the truth! We have awesome Halloween traditions!  I want to share them with you, along with some practical tips, especially with you families that are facing their first Halloween with a food allergic child. 

For sure, Halloween can be a scary, and if we're being honest, a truly terrifying day!  The idea of someone putting a deadly substance in your child's trick or treat bag, or of the sticky candy -coated fingers of the neighbor kid next door coming just too close to your food allergic kiddo....these are enough to make any food allergy parent scream and run.  But you don't have to! Halloween can be fun, safe, and memorable for all the right reasons, with some advance planning and attention to detail. Here's how we do Halloween in our family! 

We usually start the day with a Halloween party with our home school group. Games, a costume parade, and non-food treats to share. After the party, we head home and take a rest in order to get ready for the evening's activities.  We have a nice dinner, get the costumes back on and head out for trick-or-treating.  Yep, we go trick-or-treating.  Because some of our children are still quite young, we only go to 10 houses or so.  Here are some tips I have about making it as safe as possible:

• Incorporate gloves into the costumes, reduce the possibility of exposure.  I use dollar tree knit gloves, and I just toss them at the end of the night.  
• Use a single use trick-or-treating bag, NOT a pillowcase, or an expensive cute bag that your child will want to play with again.
• Go up to the door with your child, and if you see a Payday candy bar headed into the bag, politely say "He's allergic to peanuts, do you have a different kind?"  (No one ever just gives out one type of candy, everyone has always responded positively to this...) 

Now, here's my big secret: the candy never enters our house! When we get home, the kids gather on the front porch, and they trade in their bags of candy to me for a clue.  Our tradition is to have a wild SCAVENGER HUNT once we arrive home! 

Here's this year's first clue.  Where do YOU think they should look for Clue #2? Tell me your answer in the comments section to be entered to win a copy of my PDF download: 12 Cookies of Christmas! (Giveaway concluded)

As my kids have gotten older, the clues have gotten more numerous and difficult, and the whole thing gets a little more wild and raucous, but they ALWAYS find the treasure!  What's the treasure? A cute Halloween bag of safe treats and non-food goodies!  This event is much anticipated every year, and honestly, it's the best part of our Halloween!  This year the goody bags will include:

• art supplies like crayons and colored pencils
• safe homemade cookies
• New earbuds for MP3 players for the older ones, coloring books for the little ones, and mini bags of Legos for the middle ones!

So, what happens to all the candy?  Well, my husband, who has a huge sweet tooth (don't tell his dentist), takes the bags straight into his basement workshop.  (The peanut candy gets thrown away, the other candy goes to my husband.) 

I hope that you have a wonderful and safe Halloween this year!  If you need ideas for safe baked goods to make for your children, get a copy of my ebook!  "Love Letters from My Kitchen," there are tons of delicious treats that everyone in your family will love, food allergies, or not!  Also available in paperback! 

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!

Photo Credit: Pumpkins - Aidan Van Horn

Wegmans Pizza Crust - Review

It's "Product Review Friday," so it's time to share another product that we've tested in our kitchen!  Today, I'm reviewing "Wegmans White Flat Bread Pizza Crust."

Make your own pizza night is a favorite event in our home.  I love it too, and I love to make homemade dough, but this school year is kicking my butt with evening music lessons, gymnastics, Little Flowers, Blue Knights, social events...as the kids get older, I seem to be more of a chauffeur!  I recently came upon these ready made pizza crusts as I was cutting through an aisle I don't usually go down.  I noticed the "V" symbol, which - on Wegmans products - means Vegan.  That always catches my attention, because although we are an omnivorous family, Vegan means no dairy, no eggs!  After carefully reading the label, and finding no offending allergens, we gave these convenient crusts a try.  You can imagine what a hero I was upon arriving home, and announcing that we would have "make your own pizza night," commencing immediately! Just hand me my superhero cape. 

We topped ours with homemade sauce, which had been frozen earlier in the month, Follow Your Heart Vegan Mozzarella, and Hormel Turkey Pepperoni.  

Pros: The crusts come in two sizes, 12 inch, and 16 inch, so we can make several smaller ones with different toppings, or a couple large ones to get eating quickly.  The texture is great, they are pre-baked and soft, but after 12-15 minutes in the oven, the crust is crispy and golden.  The crust didn't get soggy with the copious amount of sauce my kids like to load on!  Also, it's a Wegmans "Food you feel good about," so there are no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.  Easy convenience for an allergy family who consumes very few convenience foods on a regular basis! 

Cons: I'm not controlling all the individual ingredients as I would with homemade, and it isn't an organic, non-GMO product.

Bottom Line:  Although I'm still a huge fan of homemade, for a quick dinner, this got thumbs up all around! I'll be buying them again and again this year as we negotiate our busy evenings!  These crusts allowed us to have dinner together on a night that we normally wouldn't have time to bond over a meal! 

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday! Egg Replacement

There are specialty egg replacement products out on the market, but if you don't want to buy a whole box, what can you do?  Or maybe, you and your family aren't egg-free, but you want to make a cake for a friend, or relative with an egg-allergy.  Well, awesome!  Bake away!  Here's an easy egg replacement that you can make with ingredients that you already have in your pantry!  

1 1/2 Tablespoon Water
1 1/2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil (I prefer canola)
1/2 Tablespoon Baking Powder (I prefer Rumford Aluminum Free)

Mix these three ingredients together, vigorously, in a mug, and use immediately.  This will replace 1 egg.  Double to replace 2 eggs.  

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!

Photo Credit: Aidan Van Horn

Cauliflower Potato Soup

This soup is great on it's own or as a base for other dishes!  I serve it as a meal with some freshly baked bread, oyster crackers, or a salad. It's creamy and mild, which also makes it a great base for my "chicken-pot-pieless", casseroles, or any other "cream-based" soups that you might want to make dairy-free! 

*This soup recipe is peanut-free, tree nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, wheat-free, gluten-free fish-free, and shellfish-free. Top 8 Allergen Free! I've also included a vegan option! As always, check this ingredient list and your local products to make sure that this recipe is allergy safe for your family and/or friends!

Divvies Chocolate - Review

I recently attended the Food Allergy Bloggers Conference, in Las Vegas.  When I arrived to register at the conference, I was greeted with two bags of swag!  Coupons, pens, magnets, magazines, and oh so many samples of allergy friendly products!  Of course, I needed to do my duty to you, my dear readers, and try each sample...um, did I mention there were several varieties of chocolate?  Yum! So, I rolled up my sleeves and dug in. Today's review: Divvies Chocolate!

Included in our Swag, was a Divvies Crispy Rice Crunch Bar. I planned to just eat a little nibble, but...click here to see an Instagram of what was left of my Divvies wrapper as I was pulled into this divine treat!  (Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!) Here are my pros and cons:

Pros:  It's like a Nestle Crunch bar, but WAY better!  The Crispy Rice is delicate and just the right texture, and the chocolate has a creamy mouthfeel.  No waxiness in the chocolate, just rich and smooth! The chocolate is dairy-free, egg-free, and peanut-free. This unique little bar is divided up into parts: one for you, and one to share!  I love that concept in an allergy friendly food!  

Cons: I really don't have any cons for this one!  It's a winner all around! 

Bottom line:  This chocolate is top of the line and perfect for sharing!  I will most definitely be purchasing Divvies chocolate for my family! 

For more information on the whole line of Divvies products: click HERE to 

visit their website!  

Please read all labels when purchasing products for your food allergic family and friends, to ensure that the product meets your allergy needs.  

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!

Kitchen Tip Tuesday! Wet and Dry Measurements

Cooking is an art.  Baking is a science.  Baking requires that all of the elements in a recipe work together to get the right lift, moisture, and density.  When eggs and dairy are removed from a recipe and are replaced with other leavening agents and liquids, a recipe can go south, fast.  

One way to combat recipe failure, and ensure great, consistent results is to measure carefully.  Use dry measures for dry ingredients and wet measuring cups for liquid ingredients.  

             

There is a slight difference in calibration between wet and dry measures. Keep a set of both in your kitchen to turn out perfect egg-free, dairy-free baked goods every time!  

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!

Turkey Slop - I swear, it's better than it sounds.

When I was in high school, there was one meal that was legendary, and we called it "Turkey Slop." This might sound like a questionable moniker, but in reality there's just nothing wrong with a scoop of mashed potatoes, scooped out with an ice cream scoop, and hot gravy...with the Turkey. Right. In it. This is the warm comforting goodness of a Thanksgiving meal at its most efficient.

I have taken this humble meal and elevated it to a Fall family favorite in our home.  As soon as the leaves start to turn, and the air gets a little chillier, the kids start begging me to make Turkey Slop. And yes, I do use an ice cream scoop to dish out the mashed potatoes.

*This recipe is peanut-free, tree nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free (using soy free Earth Balance), fish-free, and shellfish-free. As always, check this ingredient list and your local products to make sure that this recipe is allergy safe for your family and/or friends!

If you already have tried and true recipes for roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy, then simply chop up the turkey meat and add it to the gravy.  Serve over mashed potatoes!  If you don't know how to roast a turkey, or need some assistance in the gravy department, keep reading!  If you need a recipe for mashed potatoes, click HERE! 

Ingredients for Simple Roast Turkey:

Whole turkey (I like to stay under 12 pounds)
Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Olive Oil
1/2 onion
1/2 lemon

Directions for Simple Roast Turkey:
*I make the turkey the day before I want to serve the turkey slop. No need to try to do everything all in one day!  Relax, take your time, enjoy the process!

• Make note of how many pounds your turkey is before you throw away the packaging. 
• Remove neck and giblet pack from turkey
• Place the turkey, breast side up, in a roasting pan, pat the outside dry with paper towels.
• Let the turkey sit (out on the counter) for about an hour (this will dry the skin out a bit, and yield a crispier skin, and bringing the meat closer to room temperature will yield a juicier turkey!) 
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
• Season the cavity with kosher salt and pepper
• Stuff cavity with 1/2 an onion and 1/2 a lemon
• Rub outside of turkey with olive oil and season liberally with kosher salt and pepper
• Roast at 450 for 20 minutes, and then reduce heat to 350 degrees F
• Continue roasting 13-15 minutes per pound at 350. *If the outside seems be getting too brown near the end of cooking, cover the breast of the turkey with some foil. 
• Insert a meat thermometer into the outer thigh, inner thigh, and breast.  All places should have a temperature of 165 degrees F or above. 
• Let the turkey rest before carving!

Ingredients for Simple Turkey Gravy:

*I make the stock early in the day.

Turkey stock (Click HERE for a crock pot stock recipe - substitute                  the word "turkey" every time you see the word "chicken")

Flour

Fat (dairy-free margarine, canola oil, turkey fat skimmed from the top of the turkey stock, schmaltz, etc.)

Directions for Simple Turkey Gravy:

To make a delicious gravy in a large amount or small amount, you need only memorize a simple formula: 2T fat + 2T flour + 1 cup stock = gravy!  

• First, know how many cups of stock you have to work with, that will determine how much roux you will need to make.
• Heat your stock to a gentle boil and in the meantime....
• Make your roux.  The roux is the thickening agent, it is the combination of the fat and flour, cooked together. (Cooking the flour in the fat gets rid of that raw flour taste, and allows it to incorporate more smoothly into the stock.)
• To make the roux, melt/heat the fat in a saucepan, and whisk in the flour.  *Equal parts fat and flour!  Cook for a couple minutes. 
• Whisk the roux slowly into the stock and then bring the whole thing to a simmer.  It will start to thicken right away, and you can continue simmering away to continue thickening.  
• Check your seasoning - gravy requires a decent amount of salt and pepper! 
• Add in the chopped turkey and serve over a scoop of mashed potatoes! 

Trust me, this is heaven in a pot! 

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!

Enjoy Life Plentils - Review

Hey everyone!  It's "Review Friday," so let's get down to the nitty gritty!  Today, I'm reviewing "Enjoy Life Plentils."

I recently attended the Food Allergy Bloggers Conference, in Las Vegas.  When I arrived to register at the conference, I was greeted with two bags of swag!  Coupons, pens, magnets, magazines, and oh so many samples of allergy friendly products, including Garlic & Parmesan Plentils! 

My children love Enjoy Life products and I really wanted them to try these, but I had a 4 hour wait at the airport on the way home from the conference...the Plentils were gone well before I got on the plane.  That should give you a hint as to their taste and quality....

Pros: Crunchy, flavorful, and satisfying!   Free of the top 8 allergens, Plentils are safe for every person in my household. And, these tasty chips are made from lentils, so they are packed with protein and deliver goodness that an ordinary potato chip can't.    

Cons: My local grocery store doesn't carry them. 

Bottom Line:  I'm a fan, and I'll be ordering some so my children can enjoy them too!

Click HERE to check out all the awesome products that Enjoy Life Foods has to offer!  All free of the Top 8 Allergens! 

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!

Concord Grape Jam

Fall is in full swing in Upstate New York!  One of the amazing, fragrant offerings of this season is the dusty, gorgeous Concord Grape. A hefty amount of grapes arrived in our CSA crate, and I was inspired to try my hand at making and canning Grape Jam.  My kitchen has never smelled so sweetly delectable!  (Can you tell that I'm in love with the smell of Concord Grapes?)

*This recipe is peanut-free, tree nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, soy-free, fish-free, and shellfish-free. As always, check this ingredient list and your local products to make sure that this recipe is allergy safe for your family and/or friends! 

Ingredients: Concord grapes (at least 2 quarts), water, sugar

Directions:

First, separate the skins from the pulp.  If you've never peeled Concord Grapes before, you're probably thinking that peeling all these little jewels will take FOREVER.  And while it does take a little time, it's not as hard as one might think.  Concord Grapes are a "slip skin" variety of grape, which means a little squeeze at one end of the grape, sends the pulp right out of the skin!  

Place the skins in one large bowl, and the pulp in another.  The pulp will have seeds, but you'll be separating those out after you've cooked it down, trust me, it's easier that way.

Cook the skins over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, with just enough water to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Cook the pulp down, over medium heat, until it is very soft.

Once the skins have cooked down, I like to use my immersion blender to break them up even more. (You can chop them before cooking them, but I find it to be VERY messy.)

I also use a potato masher to break up the pulp while it's cooking.

Strain the pulp through a mesh sieve (or use a food mill, if you're fancy like that), into the pot with the skins.  I prefer to use a wooden spoon to mash the pulp through, so I'm truly left with only the seeds and really stringy pieces in the sieve.

At this point you may want to stop and wipe the drool off of your chin so it doesn't contaminate the jam.  Oh, and resist the urge to put your face in the pot to smell the goodness...this stuff is hot! (Although, a "Grape Steam Facial" does sound like something you'd pay a lot for at a spa...)

Stir the skins and pulp together and add up to 6 cups of sugar per 2 quarts (starting measurement) of grapes. We prefer our jam to be a little more tart, so I cut the sugar to approximately 4 cups per 2 quarts.

Gradually bring the mixture up to a boil, and continue stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Continue stirring while boiling rapidly until the jam reaches the gelling point.  

I test the gelling point by placing a little jam on a cold plate and bringing it to room temperature by cooling it rapidly in the freezer. Once cooled, drag your finger through the middle, and see if the jam holds the separation you've made. 

Ladle into glass jars that have been warmed in a hot water bath. (Hot jam in cold jars = broken glass!!) 

*If you are planning on canning/preserving the jam, leave 1/4 inch headspace and process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. 

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!

*Photo credits: All photos taken by Aidan Van Horn

Quick Stir Fry

It's 5 o'clock, everyone is asking me what's for dinner....I don't have a clue. (Every mom knows the feeling, right?) Our family has multiple food allergies, therefore we can't just "order out" in a pinch, so where do I go?  To the fridge!  I pull out some napa cabbage, scallions, oranges, leftover roast chicken, and bok choy. Dinner just revealed itself to be  Quick Stir Fry! Rice, soy sauce, garlic, and chicken stock round out the ingredient list, and now I'm feeling confident. 

*This recipe is peanut-free, tree nut-free, dairy-free, fish-free, shellfish-free, and egg-free. As always, check this ingredient list and your local products to make sure that this recipe is allergy safe for your family and/or friends!

Suncups Review

I recently attended the Food Allergy Bloggers Conference, in Las Vegas.  When I arrived to register at the conference, I was greeted with two bags of swag!  Coupons, pens, magnets, magazines, and oh so many samples of allergy friendly products!  Of course, I needed to do my duty to you, my dear readers, and try each sample...um, did I mention there were several varieties of chocolate?  Yum! So, I rolled up my sleeves and dug in. First up? Suncups!

Suncups are a peanut free alternative to the Reese Cup. I tested the Dark Chocolate Variety, and let me tell you, it was heavenly!  Here are my pros and cons:

Pros:  Delicious, great texture, fantastic flavor, nostalgic (As a peanut allergy mom, with no peanut allergy myself, Reese cups were a favorite of mine growing up, but I haven't eaten one in almost 10 years.) Suncups are free of peanuts, tree nuts, corn, soy, eggs, and gluten. 

Cons: Just one: Contains dairy....BUT...after speaking to the Suncups representative at the conference, AND checking out the Suncups website, I am beyond excited to say that Suncups with be launching a DAIRY-FREE version later this year, or early in 2015. 

Bottom Line:  This product is great, as is, for me and my husband, who both sometimes long for a peanut butter cup. When the dairy free version launches, I'll be first in line to buy an obscene amount of these beauties for my children!  

For more information on Suncups: click HERE to 

visit their website!  

Please read all labels when purchasing products for your food allergic family and friends, to ensure that the product meets your allergy needs.  

 As always, from The Allergy Safe Kitchen, I wish you "Good Cooking, and Safe Eating"!