Kitchen Tip Tuesday! Onions

Today's kitchen tip takes a kitchen staple - the humble yellow onion - and unlocks both flavor and utility. 

When roasting meat, take the metal rack out of the roasting pan and replace it with thickly sliced onions.  The "onion rack" will keep the meat from touching the bottom of the pan, and will add great flavor to the pan drippings.  In addition, you can serve the onions over top of the sliced meat for a delicious flavor boost! 

Kitchen Tip Tuesday! My Dairy-free Secret to Creamy Soups!

Who doesn't love a creamy soup?  I'm a huge fan of soup, nearly ANY soup, but especially of creamy soup.  The warm, filling, comfort of a creamy soup is hard to beat on a blustery Fall day, or in the midst of Lake Effect Snow - like today!  

The view from my kitchen! 

When dairy is taken out of the equation, it's sometimes difficult to get that creamy mouthfeel that I crave in a soup when the cold weather sets in.  There are several standard purees that can be added to a soup to make it "creamy," like pureed cashews - which doesn't work for this nut-free crowd, or potatoes, blended right into the soup.  Both are good, but I'm going to share my secret with you, are you ready?  Here it is: 

TA DA!!!!

Some of you might recognize this gorgeously odd looking veggie from the aisles of the produce department.  You might have filed it under "Things I don't know what to do with." Or, maybe it doesn't look familiar to you at all.  One of my friends and I were grocery shopping together when I bought this, and her exact words were "WHAT is THAT???"

I'll tell you what it is, it's CELERIAC!  Also known as "Celery Root," this underutilized gem of a vegetable is delicious as a mash, or even blanched and fried like a french fry.  It has a delicate celery taste and a potato-like texture.  But, it has a secret...it makes soup creamy!  This is my secret weapon!  I use it in any veggie base that I will be pureeing into a "cream" soup.  Here's how to get at the pale, lovely interior of celeriac. 

First, cut off the top stalks, and the bottom "bumpy" part, so it sits flat on the cutting board. Then use a knife to peel the thick exterior to reveal the surprisingly smooth, dense interior. 

Proceed to dice as you would a potato!  After
cooking them along with carrots and onions
for a soup base, add the broth and then puree with an
immersion blender!  The soup will be dairy-free and
have a delicately creamy texture! 

Now that I've let you in on my secret, you can start making creamy soups of your own!  Start by trying my Potato Leek soup, or simply replace the celery in your favorite Chicken Soup recipe, with one large bulb of diced Celeriac.  Before adding the chicken pieces, blend soup with an immersion blender for dairy-free, gluten-free "Cream of Chicken Soup!"

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

Kitchen Tip Tuesday! Preparing for the Long Winter

I live in upstate NY.  We get our fair amount of snow over the winter, plenty of below zero days, and the occasional blizzard or ice storm.  There are times we go without power, or just have to hunker down until the roads are clear.  Now, I'm perfectly aware that everyone, not just families with food allergies, should be preparing for winter conditions. However, I think that because food allergy families can't just make do with whatever they find at the gas station down the block, we need to think ahead in a very strategic way. Today, I'm going to share my Top 5 items to stock up on for the long winter ahead!

(Drum roll please...)

Number 1:  Shelf stable milk alternative. (Especially if you have toddlers or pre-schoolers!) Each time you do your regular grocery shopping trip, pick up one (or two) large container (s) of whichever milk alternative your family uses.  We use Rice Dream Rice Milk as our shelf stable alternative.

Number 2:  Canned tomatoes.  Whether you've canned your own, or you purchase them, lay in a supply of canned tomatoes.  Stock a variety so you can make sauces, soups, or add them to a crock pot recipe.  Canned tomatoes are versatile, and can be used to create many different warm comfort-food dishes. Again, just pick up an extra can or two each time you go shopping for your weekly groceries.

Number 3:  Pasta.  All different shapes and sizes.  Whether you eat rice pasta, or wheat pasta, stock up on this hearty staple.  Pasta can provide good energy for those days you might have to shovel the driveway, or knock the ice off your roof!  It can be a main dish, side dish, ingredient in a dish... When the brand of pasta we purchase goes on sale, I buy a LOT of it.

Number 4:  Baking staples. Flour (GF if that is what your family needs), sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, shortening.  If you have a good supply of baking staples, you can make breads, pancakes, waffles, dumplings, biscuits, hey - maybe even some cookies!  I tend to stock up on these items using sales or coupons.

Number 5:  Last, but perhaps most importantly, stock up on prescriptions.  Refill all your/your child's prescription medications in case you cannot get to the pharmacy due to whether.  No one wants to be without epinephrine, nebulizer supplies, steroid cream, or antihistamine when they need it.

May you have a safe winter, and may you eat well if you get snowed in!

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

Photo Credit: Gregory Van Horn

Kitchen Tip Tuesday! Double up

Convenience foods for food allergy families are expensive!  You name it - breakfast foods, snacks, main meals, desserts?  All pretty pricey.  One of my secrets to staying on a budget is to double up! Double the recipe you are making, and freeze the extra!  I have a kitchen cabinet dedicated to freezer containers.  I double everything I can (that freezes well), and it saves me time and money when time is short, and the budget is tight.  With seven kids, we are always on the go, and some nights I don't have the time to make a healthy, safe, dinner from scratch.  With a well stocked freezer, I know that I can get food on the table without a huge amount of time, or breaking the budget.

Here's what you need in order to become a "Freezer Diva!"

- Reusable freezer containers in ALL sizes

- Zip-top freezer bags

- Sharpie marker

- Roll of masking tape

- Advanced planning to double at least one recipe each week (two is better) 

I use these "Pen Pal" pencil holders to keep my Sharpie and a pencil always on hand in the kitchen.  The holders just peel and stick right to the door.  I love not having to rummage around a junk drawer to get what I need.  The masking tape is always tucked right in there too! 

On a "Double Up" night, after your family enjoys the sumptuous meal you've prepared, portion out the leftovers into containers.  Use masking tape as a label, and write in permanent marker, not only the contents of the container, but a "Use by" date, and anything you'll need the day you bust out the frozen leftovers.  For example, if I freeze the veggie and meat mixture from a stir fry, I write "Stir-fry: needs rice" on the label. 

Be strategic about your portions.  Is it something that might be nice as a hot lunch?  Save in 2-cup containers for individual sized meals. Is it something that you'll want to heat up for the whole family? Make sure that the freezer container isn't bigger than the vessel you'll be reheating in! 

I can't tell you how many times using the "Double Up" method has allowed me to get a healthy safe dinner on the table on a super busy day.  Here are 10 of our favorite "Double Up" foods:

Pancakes (recipe in "Love Letters from My Kitchen")
Waffles (recipe in "Love Letters from My Kitchen")
Zucchini Bread (recipe in "Love Letters from My Kitchen")
Apple Bread
Kicked Up Sloppy Joes
Chicken Soup (freeze without noodles)
Potato Leek Soup
Turkey Slop (yep, it says slop...turkey in gravy, and then we serve it over a scoop of mashed                                     potatoes) *freeze just the turkey in gravy
Meat sauce 
Cookies (recipe in "Love Letters from My Kitchen")


Get started and "Double Up" a meal this week!  For additional freezable baked goods, get my cookbook, "Love Letters from My Kitchen!" Available here, or on Amazon!  

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

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"!

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

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"!