Rachel’s Recipe Box

I just received Passover by Design, by Susie Fishbein; a gorgeous cookbook of Kosher delights. Kosher laws require the separation of meat and dairy, so Kosher meals are very easily adaptable for allergic cooking. When Jews are celebrating Passover, they need to avoid most grains, unless they are in the form of Matzoh.  As a result, of the 160 recipes, 130 are gluten-free, and many of the other 30 could be adapted to be gluten-free, though perhaps not passover-safe. Watch for a upcoming book review.

The great folks over at godairyfree.org are hosting a gfcf (gluten & dairy-free) giveaway - a $50 gift certificate at Namaste foods. Go check it out and enter! Namaste foods has wonderful allergy-safe mixes, free of gluten, dairy, eggs, and the other top allergens, too.

It has nothing to do with food, but I have a fun book giveaway running through Monday 3/3 that will keep you laughing in between cooking meals!

Last week I had the opportunity to review a new juice called Froose. It’s a mix of whole grain brown rice and juice, and is gluten-free, kosher pareve, dairy-free, soy-free, and sweetened with brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup or sugar. Please check out our review and check out Froose for yourself. We really like the peach!

We were also lucky enough to receive a sample of some new gluten-free and dairy-free treats from Amy’s Kitchen! They sent us my favorite enchiladas, plus the new gluten & dairy-free pizza, ziti, cream-of-rice.  Yum!  They’ve added a delicious-sounding tamale, and a ziti kid’s meal to their product line, too. Check out the labeling at Amy’s Kitchen - it’s really easy to see what items will fit with your dietary restrictions.

I haven’t seen my kids looking forward to lunch this much for a while!  However, I doubt that when Amy’s Kitchen created their vegan and gluten-free pizza they intended for kids to dream of adding meat-filled pepperoni!

FYI - this week is Food Allergy Week! Check out the information from FAAN and the Check my Tag Community.

I have written up Our Story of food allergies, food sensitivities, and celiac disease. I hope having it written down helps someone! (and that I haven’t forgotten too many things) Enjoy your allergy-safe, delicious food this week!

You might want to check out this book review - there’s a great book called The Peanut-free Cafe, which would be a good read this week!

While we wait (im)patiently for the archives to re-appear, and I try desperately to cook without my recipes, I offer you proof of a wonderful gfcf, allergy-safe, gluten-free, celiac Thanksgiving!

We had:

• Ginger Butternut Squash Soup (small picture)
• Focaccia
• Stuffing
• Candied Yams
• Cranberry sauce
• Roasted Asparagus
• Roasted Broccoli
• Mashed Potatoes
• Gravy
• oh, and Turkey!

Don’t forget dessert:

• Apple Pie
• Chocolate Pecan Pie
• Pumpkin Bars

Soon this will have links to all the recipes, and even more pictures. We promise we’re working as fast as we can!

This is my favorite. It’s an adaptation of a few recipes, plus some twists of my own. The basic concept of adding Ginger Ale came from Alton Brown of Good Eats. Brilliant. Adding a little fresh ginger boosts the taste a bit, and the sauce ends up very yummy, but it is incredibly easy.

This is gfcf, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and wheat free. If you get the right brands, this could also be corn free. Cranberries (and blueberries) are in a different food family than strawberries, raspberries, and other berries, so they are safe for our berry-allergic child.

Ingredients

• 2 12 oz bags cranberries

• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 cups ginger ale (check ingredients)
• 2 pinches kosher salt
• zest of 1 orange or 2 clementines (depending on what you have in the house)
• 1 cup brown sugar (check ingredients - some add caramel color)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 knuckle-sized piece of ginger, grated

Method
Put all ingredients into a large saucepan or small soup pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer about 30-45 minutes, until it is significantly reduced and pretty thick. Cool, and either refrigerate until needed or serve.

The cooking will mash the cranberries a bit. You may want to puree some or all using an immersion blender, depending on your tastes, and the willingness of your family members to eat things with lumps.

This recipe is an adaptation of one I found online. I made several modifications, though, to make it work well for our family. Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients - it’s a very easy recipe to make. Less than 10 minutes prep time, then the rest is cooking in the crock pot. You could also simmer on the stove for a couple hours if you prefer not to use a crock pot.

This recipe is gfcf, wheat, gluten, dairy, soy, nut, peanut, egg, fish, shellfish, and corn free. Please remember to double check ingredients on all labels. This is not vegan or vegetarian, but it could be if you modify it by simply removing the ground meat and adding another can of cannelini beans - the quinoa and beans give it a lot of protein.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef/ground turkey/or TVP if veg

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 carrots — cut into circles (4 baby carrots = 1 carrot)
• 1 medium onion — chopped
• 3-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• several grinds black pepper
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed well
• 3 cups broth or water
• 1 28 oz can diced or chunky crushed tomato
• 1 14 oz can cannelini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed)
• 1 6 oz bag baby spinach (or equivalent frozen spinach)

Method:
Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Saute carrots, onion, and garlic until they begin to get tender. Add ground beef and brown. Drain well.

Add all ingredients EXCEPT the baby spinach/frozen spinach to the crock pot.

Cover; cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours.

1/2 hour before serving, add baby spinach/frozen spinach and stir.

Serve as is, or with breadsticks, focaccia, or rolls.

Things will be returning to normal soon. We hope.

New Server, nice people, it’ll just take a few days for the archives to come back up. Please bear with us!

My main blog is having a Health Week this week, and today’s entry about Celiac Disease.

EnjoLife Foods sent us a great box of their new products to try. Yum! Our Spotlight Reviews has a review of their trail mix, called Not Nuts. It’s a great trail mix for anyone, but especially anyone going to a no-nuts camp, daycare, school, or activity!

Last week I was lucky enough to participate in a conference call hosted by Revolution Health with a half-dozen bloggers and a few experts about Celiac Disease to raise awareness about the disease and about The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. You can hear our discussion right here. Excuse me as I squirm thinking of people hearing me talk!

Don’t forget to check out the Revolution Health Online Health Fair, and their Celiac Page, which has the video from The View on Celiac disease, plus a Celiac PSA from CNN anchor Heidi Collins.