Lemony Cookie Baskets with Surf Sweets Jelly Beans

I've been away from the blog for over a month due to a crashed hard drive and long delays in repairs and, oh, I'm so glad to be back!  I have quite a backlog of recipes and reviews to share, but I'll try to space them out.  To start I have these adorable little jelly bean basket cookies that came about because of a request from Surf Sweets Jelly Beans for a baked goody for their recent blogger recipe contest.

I'll confess I was almost as curious to find out who the other 15 bloggers were as I was to find out who won.  Huge congrats to Charmaine of Yummy Allergen Free for her grand prize winning scones!  She was one of the very few who didn't reach for a muffin tin or make a nest, and her creativity paid off.  I was happy to see that some of my favorite food allergy bloggers were indeed among the other entrants, such as Sarah of No Whey, Mama, Lindsey of Frugal Food Allergies and Katrina, the Gluten Free Gidget.  The entire list of bloggers and recipes is kind of awesome (if I may say so myself!), so just go ahead and scroll through this great list of recipes.  All of them are allergy friendly and/or gluten free, so there's something here for everyone.  (I discovered in the process of writing this blog post that there was an error in the recipe that I submitted, so if you decide to make these, please use the recipe below, rather than the one on the Surf Sweets site.)

For these dense, chewy little cookies, I decided on a tart lemon flavor to contrast with the sweetness of the jelly beans.  I also tried a version using coconut oil instead of margarine, which The Kid actually preferred.  Feel free to substitute it, but you may need an additional tablespoon to reach the perfect Playdoh texture for shaping the dough.

The recipe is very kid friendly if you have short people who would like to help make the dough, but I strongly recommend having an adult press the jelly beans and pipe cleaners into the cookies, because the muffin tin will be far too hot to allow little fingers near it!

Lemony Jelly Bean Baskets

(Click here for printable recipe.)

Dry Ingredients:
1 C all-purpose flour
2 Tbs corn starch
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:
3 Tbs non-dairy margarine, melted (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
1/2 granulated sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice

Additional:
36 allergy friendly jelly beans (Surf Sweets Spring Mix, of course!)
pipe cleaners for basket handles (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a mini muffin tin with 12 liners.  Measure dry ingredients into a medium bowl, then whisk together.  Melt margarine and combine with sugar in a separate bowl.  Once sugar is completely dissolved, stir lemon juice into wet mixture.

Pour wet ingredients into dry, then stir together until a dough forms.  Roll dough onto a flat surface, such as a cutting board, and mold dough into a flat disk or "snake".  (This is where the Playdoh skills come in handy!)  Divide dough into 12 equal pieces.  Roll pieces of dough between  palms until a ball is formed, then gently drop each ball into a muffin liner.

Bake cookies for 18 to 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately press 3 jelly beans into the top of each cookie.  Insert pipe cleaner handles, if desired.  Makes one dozen cookie baskets.

I'm sharing my darling little baskets with:

• Allergy Friendly Friday hosted by Cybele Pascal,
• Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love at Allergy-Free Vintage Cookery,
• Allergy Free Wednesday at Real Food Allergy Free and
• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free.

I love how there are so many food allergy and gluten free round ups now.  I keep thinking I need to start one of my own, but can't quite decide on a theme.  Maybe one that is specifically kid and allergy friendly?  I'd really like to hear your suggestions!

Finally, I'm going to be at Techmunch in Tampa on April 21st.  (I wish I could also go to Nourished, but, alas, it is not to be.)  Hopefully I'll see some of my local Florida food bloggers in real life soon!

Valentine's Day Recipes

Here's a few recipes from the archives for a deliciously sweet Valentine's Day!

These Creamsicle Cut Out Cookies make fantastic heart shaped treats, on or off a stick.  They lend themselves to easy flavor variation, too.  My personal favorite is raspberry lemon.  Just substitute raspberry preserves for the orange marmalade and zest a lemon instead of an orange.

I originally made these Be My Valentine Cakes as a Little Debbie substitute, but they are a decadent treat that hardly compares.

They are still the closest I've come to making an allergy friendly brownie that I'm happy with.

As a final option, here is my old, reliable Red Velvet Cake recipe.  They are wonderful as a layer cake or as a cupcake of any shape or color!

Here's wishing you a safe and loving Valentine's Day!

Chicken Paella

Chicken Paella, a very yellow chicken and rice dish.

I had some really lovely saffron left over from the Marx Food dessert challenge I took part in last month, so I decided to make an allergy friendly version of paella which is a traditional rice dish from Valencia, a coastal region of Spain.  The original version is something between a gumbo and a risotto which is cooked in a special pan over an open flame and is stuffed with up to a dozen different kinds of highly allergenic seafood.

Since I don't own a paellera and prefer to avoid flames in my kitchen, I adapted Mark Bittman's technique for starting paella on the stove and finishing it in the oven from his book, How to Cook Everything.  The resulting recipe was surprisingly easy to make.

Yellow chicken...

Despite paella's traditional roots and heavenly spices, it is really just a basic rice dish which can be thrown together on a weeknight with any meats or vegetables you have on hand.  The oven finish has the bonus of giving you enough time to throw a salad together and yell at direct the kid to set the table.

...coordinating yellow "tablescape".

Chicken Paella

(Click here for printable version.)

1 qt chicken stock (homemade, if possible)
healthy pinch of saffron threads
2-4 Tbs olive oil, divided
2 lbs chicken, chopped into bite size pieces
2 tsp ground paprika
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 large onion, chopped (I like 'em sweet)
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 C short grain rice
1 C frozen peas
1/4 C dry white wine (optional)

Heat oven to 450°F.  Warm the stock and saffron threads in a saucepan over low heat until ready to use.

Use a large, ovenproof 12 to 14 inch skillet.  (Cast iron is perfect.)  Heat 2 Tbs olive oil over medium high heat.  Combine chicken with paprika, salt and pepper, stirring to coat, then brown in hot skillet.  Remove from pan after all sides are just browned. and set aside.

If needed, add additional tablespoon of olive oil.  Cook the onion and bell pepper in hot skillet.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Stir occasionally while cooking until the onion is translucent, then stir in crushed garlic.

Check again to see if additional olive oil is needed.  If so, add last tablespoon and heat.  Add rice to pan and stir until all grains are shiny.  Carefully pour stock mixture into pan, then stir in chicken, peas and wine.  Adjust seasonings as desired.  (If you are using a commercial stock, additional salt will probably be unnecessary.  If using homemade, add salt and/or pepper as desired.)

Make sure that mixture is spread evenly in the pan, and all of it is below the level of the stock.  Transfer the skillet into the oven and allow to bake undisturbed for 15 minutes.  At this point carefully evaluate the rice.  If all the stock has been absorbed and the rice has cooked to tenderness, return it to the oven, turn off the heat and allow it to sit undisturbed for another 15 minutes.  If the rice is dry but too hard, add a small amount of water or stock (about a quarter or third of a cup) and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.  Reevaluate the rice after 5 minutes, adjust liquid and cook time again if needed, then turn off oven and allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving.

I'm sharing my golden paella with:

• Allergy Friendly Friday hosted by Cybele Pascale and
• Gluten Free Wednesday at the Gluten Free Homemaker.

From the Archives: Thanksgiving Recipe Round Up

Here's a list of recipes from the archives for a delicious Thanksgiving:

Chicken Stock:  Homemade stock makes everything better.
Grandma Annie's Candied Carrots:  Easy yet uplifted side dish.
Thanksgiving Mashers:  Only once a year do the all the elements fall into place to make these amazing potatoes.
Cornbread & Wild Rice Rice Dressing:  Friends and family demand that I make this every Thanksgiving.
Buttermilk(less) Biscuits:  Throw these little darlings in to bake in just 15 minutes when the turkey comes out of the oven.  Then watch them disappear.
Pumpkin Bundt Cake:  Who says it has to be pie?

For more ideas, be sure to check out The Biggest Gathering of Dairy-Free Thanksgiving Recipes by Alisa Fleming at Go Dairy Free.  (There are lots of additional restricted diet options, such as vegan and gluten free, included in the list.)

I wish you a wonderful, family filled and food allergy safe Thanksgiving!

This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days.

What I Ate Wednesday: Wish Fulfillment

Baked corn puppies, plus a couple full sized dogs.

Sunday is the only day when The Kid and I are both free of school and work.  So that's the day when we have big family dinners, baking gets done and I do some prep for packed lunches and other meals.  (It's also the day I usually pick for What I Ate Wednesday, since I do separate lunchbox posts.)  This weekend's meals turned into a series of my son's favorites.  He didn't mind a bit.

I managed to sleep through breakfast, thanks to the time change and my husband's indulgence.  We are allowing The Kid a little more self sufficiency in the kitchen, though still supervised, and he made himself breakfast of a bagel and soy milk.  Unfortunately when he's left to his own devices, nutrition takes a beating, and he "spread" the bagel with non-dairy margarine (it's more of an enthusiastic flail with the butter knife) rather than the usual Sunbutter.  The bowl of fruit on the counter also became completely invisible.  Just like magic.

Darth Vader is no match for...KETCHUP!

For lunch I baked up a tray of corn dogs and puppies with both turkey dogs and turkey sausages wrapped up in a corn biscuit dough.  The Kid snarfed up a corn dog and a half plus grapes and apple juice.  (I barely managed to snag the other half of the second dog for myself!)  The small sausages I baked with little wooden cocktail forks in them to pack for his lunch a couple days this week.  One quick baking session made for three days of lunch happiness.

Vegan pizza with spinach lurking under the "cheese".

The night before I had mixed up a batch of pizza dough and tossed it into the fridge, where it developed a lovely sourdough flavor.  The Kid's enthusiasm for the new Daiya vegan cheese continues, and I made his individual pizza with the mozzarella shreds with a pile of baby spinach leaves carefully concealed underneath them.  (I don't usually hide veggies, but it was a last ditch effort to salvage the day's meals.)  Despite their general awesomeness, the Daiya shreds don't brown particularly well, so I've started giving the pizza a quick spritz of olive oil to encourage it, and my son's pizza is now almost indistinguishable from one with full on dairy cheese.  He ate the whole thing.

This blog post is joining up with:

• What I Ate Wednesday hosted by Peas and Crayons and
• National Health Blog Posting Month – 30 blog posts in 30 days organized by Wego Health.

Coconut Ice Cream Parfait & A Review of Enjoy Life Granola

I'm always happy to receive samples of Enjoy Life products for review.  Usually when a carton with the red logo shows up on our doorstep, the only challenge is to keep The Kid from ripping it open, since he knows that food allergy friendly goodies are inside.  When this box with the Mega Chunks and the Double Chocolate Crunch Granola arrived, I thought we had just hit a double jackpot.

The Mega Chunks quickly became part of one of our new favorite treats, Chocolate Chunk Blondies, and we are eagerly waiting for more of the bags to show up on local store shelves.  I'll admit, though, that the granola had me a bit stumped.  The Kid simply will not eat any kind of cereal with any (nondairy) milk.  Just nibbling on the granola, snapping a photo and typing up a description didn't seem to do it justice.

Alina at Enjoy Life had helpfully suggested a nice, healthy yogurt parfait, but as the heat index crept well over a hundred degrees and my ice cream maker began to get an almost daily workout, the word parfait conjured up a much different vision in my overheated mind....

Primarily made of brown rice flakes with a generous percentage of mini chocolate chips mixed in, the crisp clusters are much lighter and less dense than a traditional oat and nut granola.  The chocolate manages to dominate without being overwhelming, and the granola's flavor is nicely balanced and not overly sweet.  If you've ever thought of granola as a virtuous health food, the Double Chocolate Crunch will change your mind.

This is not a penitential granola.

So as the temperature rose above all reason, my family worked tirelessly to find an appropriate home for the granola.  After a grueling round of taste tests we unanimously decided that the it was much better sprinkled on top of the homemade vanilla bean ice cream than mixed into the homemade double chocolate ice cream.  (It was a really good week for desserts at our house.)  In fact, the granola did indeed find its true calling as part of a parfait, layered between homemade vanilla bean ice cream and strawberries.

Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Ice Cream

3 C coconut milk  (I used So Delicious)
1 C granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, insides scraped and pod finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.  Stir while heating over medium.  As soon as the liquid begins to bubble, remove from heat.  Allow to cool, then move to refrigerator to chill.  Once cold, process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Enjoy alone or with your favorite toppings.

Blogger Disclosure:  I received free samples, but was not paid for this review, though I did win Enjoy Life  Cookies for Everyone Sweepstakes two years ago.


I'm submitting my lovely parfait to:

• Allergy Friendly Friday, hosted by Cybele Pascal,.
• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free and
• Gluten Free Wednesday at the Gluten Free Homemaker.

What I Ate Wednesday: Going Bananas

It's What I Ate Wednesday again, so I can give you another glimpse into a fairly typical day's meals for our allergic kiddo and share a few recipes that don't merit their own post.  Lately he's been on a banana smoothie breakfast kick:  one large or two small bananas broken into chunks and dropped into a blender carafe, enough vanilla soy milk to cover them (about a cup) and a quick whiz with the stick blender to finish the job.  It's the perfect summer breakfast.

For lunch he had a Sunbutter and banana sandwich and some homemade mango lime sorbet.  The sorbet was made from two humongous mangoes, the juice of one lime and half a cup of agave syrup.  A trip through the food processor yielded about 4 cups of liquid and resulted in the same amount of sorbet after going through my ice cream maker.

Since my little boy loves Tex-Mex, which is tough to do while avoiding all dairy products, I decided to try making the Potato and Kale Enchiladas with Roasted Chile Sauce from Veganomicon.  (The photo is actually of my husbands plate.)  To make it kid friendlier, I toned the spiciness way down by roasting a huge green bell pepper instead of the chiles and substituted paprika for the chili powder.  I also used spinach, since I couldn't find kale, and sprinkled it with sunflower seeds, since it will be a few more months before I'm toasting pumpkin seeds again.  On the side was the usual glass of vanilla soy milk.

The adults, including my mom, all ate the enchiladas happily, but they got a big meh from my ungrateful child.  (I've started to notice a sort of inverse relationship of appreciation versus energy expended in the kitchen. The more effort a meal requires and the more pans it dirties, the less likely he is to actually enjoy it.)  I'd love any suggestions for other dairy free Southwestern type recipes!

Be sure to check out all the other submissions to WIAW at Peas and Crayons!

Feeding the Allergic Kid in Real Life

When I saw the blog event "What I Ate Wednesday" over at Peas and Crayons, I thought it would be great to do a post showing a typical day's meals for my son, since that's the inevitable question when someone learns the full extent of The Kid's food allergies, "What on Earth does he eat?"

For breakfast The Kid had banana pancakes with margarine, maple syrup and some more banana, plus a cup of vanilla soy milk.  While making pancakes is definitely a weekend activity, eating them can happen on any day of the week, since I usually make extras and freeze them.

For lunch my little boy had leftover chili rolled up in a tortilla to make a burrito, honey pretzel twists, grapes and apple juice.  He absolutely adores any kind of Tex-Mex food, so he actually asked to have the leftover chili, rather than a sandwich.

For dinner I made a turkey sausage and spinach soup, which The Kid ate with saltines and another glass of vanilla soy milk.  For dessert he had a cup of blueberry soy yogurt.  As you can tell, we lean pretty hard on soy to make up for the lack of dairy in his diet.

Be sure to check out all the other submissions at What I Ate Wednesday  If you're looking for some ideas to get out of a food rut, this is the place to go!

Cherry Limeade Frozen Fruit Pops

I'm not sure if I could pick a favorite fruit, but if I had to, cherries would be one of my first choices.  I rarely cook or bake with them, though, because during the short, glorious period that they are in season, they simply don't last long enough once they come in through the front door.

Whole Foods is celebrating the season with Cherry Fest, along with a blogger contest for kid friendly cherry recipes.  Since I can't resist the chance to create an allergy friendly treat for kids, here's an easy, summertime favorite with a twist.

Cherry Limeade Frozen Fruit Pops

2 limes, juiced (about 1/3 C)
1/4 C agave syrup
3 C water
2 C cherries, halved and pitted
1 C strawberries, thinly sliced
1 peach, thinly sliced

Combine the juice from the limes, agave syrup and water.  Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Prepare fruit.  Arrange fruit pieces in popsicle molds, or other containers.  The number of popsicles will be dependent upon the shape and size of your molds.

Pour lime mixture over fruit.  Insert sticks.  Place in freezer at least 4 hours or overnight.

If you don't have a pre-made popsicle mold, don't let that hold you back.  You can go the traditional paper cup and wooden popsicle stick route.  (Or shot glasses and swizzle sticks, for that matter.)  Of course, if you've ever been asked "Why do you need all those bento picks?" now is the time to break them out and fill up an ice cube tray with fruity goodness to make mini pops.  Just insert the pick into a cherry half before trying to put the pick into the ice cube tray and you'll have some of the cutest little treats of the summer.

There's lots of popsicles left in my freezer, so I'm sharing them with practically everybody!

• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free,
• Gluten Free Wednesday at The Gluten Free Homemaker,
• Allergy Friendly Friday hosted by Cybele Pascale,
• Wellness Weekends hosted by Ricki Heller at Diet, Dessert and Dogs,
• Real Food Weekly at The Whole Gang and

Lunch in Spaaaaaaaaaace!

At my son's annual I.E.P. meeting a few weeks ago, one of the school staff told me about a conversation she had with The Kid:

Q:  What do you want to be when you grow up?
A:  An astronaut and a paleontologist.
Q:  What would you eat in space?
A:  My mom would pack food for me!

Yes.  Yes, she would.

Today's lunch is ready for blast off with a couple of hot dog aliens (turkey dogs and spaghetti) in silver flying saucers (cupcake liners), another in a long running series of lunch box foods that adults won't eat cold, but kids will gobble up, grapes with food pick rings, an astronaut sticker claiming the pretzels for all humankind, cookies in the shape of a rocket and the number 42 made from the raspberry and lemon version of my Creamsicle Cut Outs, all of which is packed in an Easy Lunchbox.  Apple juice is in a reusable juice box on the side.

If you do manage to leave the planet today, make sure you don't forget your towel.

In remembrance of Douglas Adams, an author who took me across a galaxy only he could have imagined.


I'm sharing my interplanetary lunch with:

• What's for Lunch Wednesday hosted by Shannon of Bento Lunch Net
• and Margot of Coffee and Vanilla for her Healthy Lunch Box round up.  (This month I promise to remember to email you my submission!) and
• The UFO bento round up at BentOnBetterLunches.

Disclosure: Post contains Amazon Affiliate links.

Kitchen Sink Soup

When food allergies are first diagnosed, cooking becomes incredibly challenging.  My best suggestion when confronted with this overwhelming change in lifestyle is to keep meals very simple during that first period of adjustment, and save the search for new ingredients, substitutions and products for a little later.

This soup  is a bowl of comfort with endless variations, perfect for that transitional period and any time after.  It has a tomato base with lentils and potatoes plus any vegetables that are in season or on hand.  It's gluten free, vegan, nutritious, thrifty, delicious and filling.  I've added turkey sausage when my meat eating Midwestern family comes to visit, and lost track of the other variations I've made over the years.

Soup has another magical property.  Vegetables that are controversial on my son's plate get gobbled down without hesitation when bathed in a savory broth.  What's not to love?

The ingredients that usually stay the same when I make this are in bold print; feel free to add, omit or substitute the others according to whatever strikes your fancy or is available in your pantry.

Kitchen Sink Soup

(Click here for printable version.)

2 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced, with leaves reserved
2-3 carrots, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic or 1 tsp powdered garlic
salt and ground pepper to taste
2 Tbs dried mixed Italian herbs
29 oz can crushed or pureed tomatoes
6-8 C water
1 C dried lentils, rinsed
1-2 lbs potatoes, peeled if desired and cut into small cubes
fresh herbs if available (I added some basil)
9-12 oz bag washed baby spinach

Heat olive oil in large soup pot over medium.  Add onion, celery, carrots and seasonings.  Stir occasionally while cooking until onions are translucent.  Add tomatoes, water, lentils, potatoes herbs and reserved celery leaves.  Bring soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes until lentils and potatoes are soft.  Stir in spinach and adjust seasonings immediately before serving.

Makes a ginormous pot of soup.  The leftovers freeze well.

Getting down with the soup.

I wanted to take a photo of the soup on the stove, but The Kid thought I should take a pic of him with the soup instead.  If you look over his left shoulder, you can just see the simmering Dutch oven.  (By the way, if you are ever offered a free haircut by a student barber for your squirmy child, just say NO.  Trust me on this.)

I'm sharing my big pot o'soup with:

• Allergy Friendly Friday, hosted by Cybele Pascale,
• Souper Sunday with Deb of Kahakai Kitchen,
• Diane's Real Food Weekly at the Whole Gang and
• My Legume Love Affair, begun by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this month by Smitha of Kannada Cuisine.

Finally here's a gratuitous shot of the Japanese Eggplant that just started flowering on my patio.  I'll be posting more about our container garden later!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I look back at some of the older recipes on this blog, I cringe a little.  Originally I was making notes more for myself, rather than writing for a theoretical internet audience, so quality control wasn't really an issue.  I was still at the beginning of a pretty steep learning curve, and often I was just happy to put something edible on the table.

Since then this blog has become a very personal creative outlet, not just a recipe file.  I've gradually improved the design, and started to learn some photography basics.  (For those kind enough to offer suggestions, I am already painfully aware of my lighting issues!)  My standards for a recipe I'm willing to share have also improved from "not bad for restricted diet food" to "only dishes that are as least as good as, if not better than, the traditional version."

At the beginning of the year I promised updates and remakes of some those early posts.  My original recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies is a good example of one of my early experiments that desperately needed improvement.  This new version is incredibly good and chewy and could be served without any embarrassment, if there were any left to share after the cookies vultures left the kitchen.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Click here for printable recipe.)

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 C dairy free margarine, softened (I used Earth Balance)
3/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/4 C plain or vanilla soy milk
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Additional Ingredients:
3 C oats (regular or quick cooking)
1 C chocolate chips (I used Divvies)

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.  Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk together and set aside.  Cream margarine and sugars together until light and fluffy.  Reduce mixer speed to low and add soy milk, vinegar and vanilla extract.  Mix until smooth, then add oats and chocolate chips, and stir in by hand.

Place large rounded spoonfuls of dough (up to a quarter cup) on cookie sheets.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges just begin to turn golden brown.  Allow to cool for at least 5 to 10 minutes before moving, to allow cookies to firm up.

Store cooled cookies in a tightly closed, well hidden container.

These cookies are a great way to start Food Allergy Awareness Week.  Tomorrow (Tuesday May 10th) I'll be co-hosting a Live Chat at 1pm ET at The Motherhood:  Recipe Swap and Tips for Cooking and Baking Delicious Allergen-Free Food.  It's being led by Lori Sandler of Divvies, and some of the other amazing co-hosts are Alisa Fleming of Go Dairy Free, Sloane Miller, author of Allergic Girl, and Cybele Pascal.

If you aren't able to make the chat, there will be a summary posted afterward.  Also feel free to check out the summary from last week's chat, Navigating Food Allergies:  Advocating for Your Child at School, also led by Lori Sandler, and co-hosted Gina Clowes of Allergy Moms, representatives from both FAAN and FAI, and me.  (I had posted last weeks information on the Allergic Kid Facebook page, but not here on the blog, in case you missed it.)  So bake up a batch of cookies, make yourself a cuppa and be sure to join us tomorrow!

I'm sharing my cookie remake with:

• Allergy Friendly Friday hosted by Cybele Pascal.

Three Sisters Stuffed Zucchini

Traditional Native American agriculture grew over the centuries upon three staples:  maize, climbing beans and squash.  These "Three Sisters" were planted together in mounds, with the maize providing a support for the beans to climb and the squash creating a microclimate on the ground, which held moisture in and kept weeds out.  In this elegant system, the plants complement each other both botanically and nutritionally, and, not coincidentally, taste awfully good together.

Here in Florida, corn is in its prime, and I've been contemplating making a Three Sisters salad of corn, beans and squash.   Then I stopped by my favorite produce stand and saw these beauties.  I cannot resist a round zucchini or hold back the urge to hollow it out, stuff it with various savory goodies then slip it into the oven and wait for the magic to happen.

I'll make a salad some other time.

As I've assaulted, stuffed and baked various squashes over the years, I've learned that, although a tomato sauce is my topping of choice, baking them in a covered dish with water, not sauce, is the only way to achieve the tender courgette I crave.  To the Three Sisters filling, I added another New World delight, turkey sausage, and made the tomato sauce on the stove top while the zucchini baked.

Three Sisters Stuffed Zucchini

(Click here for printable recipe.)

2 Tbs olive oil

2 lbs zucchini

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp crushed rosemary

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground sage

1/2 tsp salt

ground pepper to taste

1-2 cloves crushed garlic

1 lb ground turkey sausage

2 ears of corn (a minimum of 1 C kernels sliced off)

15 oz can black beans, rinsed

15 oz can diced tomatoes, liquid reserved

2 Tbs corn starch

29 oz can tomato sauce

To prepare round zucchinis for stuffing, either treat the same as standard long zucchini and cut off ends, then slice in half top to bottom and hollow out centers to create boats, or slice off only the top about half an inch down from the stem, then hollow out from the top.  (The boats, whether from long or round zucchinis, will hold almost the entire batch of filling, unlike the upright round zucchinis, but I am a sucker for those little hats!)  Use either a melon baller or spoon to remove the inside, leaving about a quarter inch thickness, then finely chop the zucchini's innards, reserving the shells for stuffing.

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, chopped zucchini and seasonings, including garlic.  Stirring occasionally, cook mixture until soft.  Add turkey sausage and continue to stir while browning.  Once all pink is gone, stir in corn, beans and diced tomatoes.  Whisk corn starch into the reserved juice from the tomatoes until completely dissolved, then stir mixture into skillet.  Continue to stir while cooking until juice begins to bubble, then turn burner down to low heat.

Gently fill hollowed zucchinis with mixture.  Filling may be mounded in flat boats, but only fill upright zucchinis to top, then cover with stem hats.  Arrange filled zucchini in a baking dish, then carefully fill bottom of dish with half an inch of water.  Cover dish with aluminum foil, then bake for 45 minutes.

While zucchinis are baking, mix the can of tomato sauce into the remainder of the stuffing.  Cover skillet with a lid and allow to simmer over low heat until the zucchinis are done.

Serve baked zucchini with grain of choice, topped with tomato sauce.  I used quinoa, since it was also a Mesoamerican staple.  The combination was delicious.

Stuffed zucchinis...with hats!

I'm submitting my darling little zukes to:

• Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday at Allergy Friendly Cuisine,
• Gluten Free Wednesday hosted by Linda, The Gluten-Free Homemaker,
• the Real Food Weekly Round Up at The Whole Gang and
• the Blogger Recipe Contest at Fresh Supersweet Corn.

Spring Salad with Fresh Corn and Asparagus

Sometimes a salad is just a salad.  Sometimes it's a fortuitous combination of what's in the pantry with what's in season that becomes more than the sum of its parts.  This one was a happy accident that paired the best of the spring produce at the market and some potatoes, that were a little past their prime, with a tangy, creamy mustard and dill dressing.

Oh, and remember those lovely pink flower cookies?  I didn't have any red food coloring at the time, so I cracked open a can of beets to get at the liquid to tint the icing.  The beets have been sitting in my fridge since then, just waiting for this moment.  They were so good in the salad that my husband noted with surprise how well he liked them in this dish and my son even ate a few bites of them with hardly any gagging noises.

Spring Salad with Fresh Corn and Asparagus

(Click here for printable recipe.)

Vegetables:
3-4 medium potatoes, about 2 lbs, washed, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
3 ears fresh corn, broken in half
1 lb asparagus with ends removed, washed and cut into 2 inch pieces
15 oz can sliced beets, drained and cut in half, with liquid reserved

Mustard Dill Dressing:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbs Dijon mustard
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs reserved liquid from beets
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 Tbs agave syrup (or other sweetener)
3 Tbs fresh or 3 tsp dried chopped dill weed
1 tsp kosher salt

Add potatoes and corn to a large pot of salted water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.  The asparagus may either be steamed separately to maximize nutrients or tossed in with the potatoes and corn for the last five minutes of cook time for convenience.

While the vegetables are cooking, combine olive oil, mustard, lemon juice and liquid from beets in a large bowl.  Whisk together until creamy.  Add garlic, sweetener, dill and salt, then whisk again until smooth.  Stir in beets until covered with dressing.  (This will help keep the potatoes from getting irregular pink stains.  Instead they should have a nice, even pink hue.)

When the vegetables are done boiling, use a pair of tongs to pull out the corn.  Place them in cold water to cool off.  Drain the potatoes (and asparagus) and mix into the salad dressing.  Stand a piece of corn on the cob vertically on a cutting board and hold it in position while cutting the kernels off into planks.  Repeat with the rest of the corn and mix into the salad.

Salad may be served immediately while still warm or chilled for later.


I'm sharing my hearty, healthy salad with:

• this month's SOS Kitchen Challenge issued by Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs,
• Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday at Allergen Free Cuisine,
• Souper Sunday hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen,
• and the Real Food Weekly Round Up at The Whole Gang,

Taste Test: The New & Improved Enjoy Life Cookie Line

Enjoy Life Foods decided to do a complete makeover of their entire allergy friendly cookie line, and I was one of the bloggers fortunate to receive three boxes as samples for review.  We take both cookies and taste testing pretty seriously around here, so my family was quite excited when the Snickerdoodle, Double Chocolate Brownie and Lively Lemon Cookies arrived.

Not only the cookies, but also the packaging was redesigned with no detail overlooked.  I especially enjoyed the sly humor which turned the UPC code at the bottom of the boxes into a cookie jar.  Each package contained a dozen cookies.  They weren't large, but I've found that baking without eggs or gluten makes it difficult to create a larger soft and chewy cookie that still retains its structural integrity.  (I included a quarter in the photo above for reference.  All the cookies are the same size as the Lively Lemon in front; the ones on the plate simply appear smaller due to foreshortening.)

For the actual taste taste, we had four adult members of my family without food allergies and my seven year old son with multiple food allergies try all the cookies, plus an adult friend with celiac disease try just the Snickerdoodles.  All of them are definitely cookie enthusiasts.

The response was overwhelmingly positive, especially since most of us were using cookies that hadn't been adapted to be allergy friendly as our baseline.  The Snickerdoodle cookies were, quite frankly, a revelation.  I've never had a gluten free cookie so chewy and with such great texture before.  My mom, who doesn't like regular snickerdoodles, said these cookies could change her mind, while my friend with celiac disease simply inhaled them.  These were the favorite for both my son and me.

The Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies were also well received.  These were my mom's favorite, though she said she would have preferred larger chocolate chips in the cookie.  Considering how many other double chocolate brownie cookies have been tried and tested at my house, this is no small achievement!

My husband liked the Lively Lemon cookies best, but I was somewhat disappointed.  These had been my favorite of the Enjoy Life cookies before the recipes were reformulated, and I had been looking forward to trying them the most.  They seem to have lost some of their zing, and the lemony bits in the cookies now provide more texture than taste.  All the adults who hadn't tried the older version gave them a thumb's up, but they were still too tart for my son.

Overall I highly recommend the Enjoy Life cookies.  Their efforts to create yummy cookies free of the "Big Eight" allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, eggs, milk, fish and shellfish) have paid off.  Not only do they taste good, but Enjoy Life uses dedicated suppliers for their ingredients, as well as batch tests them for allergens to ensure their safety.

Disclosure:  I was provided free samples, but not paid for this review.  I did win the Cookies for Everyone Sweepstakes several years ago and am a huge fan of Enjoy Life Foods, but I like to think I managed to squeeze out an honest review, despite my fangirl tendencies!

I just found out that my blog has been nominated to Circle of Moms list of Top 25 Most Inspiring Families.  I'm not quite sure what my family would inspire, but I am honored to be included and would be greatly appreciative if you'd take the time to vote for The Allergic Kid!

Meatball Kebobs with CousCous

We're having a lovely March with the snowbirds still roosting here in Florida.  Our meals, as a result, have tended to be a little more Midwestern than usual with regular servings of meat and potatoes.  One of the flock, my mom, is famous in our family for her delicate palate, which has also taken my seasoning down a notch.  (By "delicate" I mean "unable to tolerate a single fleck of pepper".)

While planning a recent meal I asked Mom if she minded if I served some couscous that was taking up my valuable shelf space.  I was surprised when she hesitated.  Thinking that she might not be familiar with it, I explained that couscous was a pasta that resembled a small grain.  No, that wasn't the problem.  It was just that Mom found couscous to be a little bland.

After I stopped laughing, I told her that I would absolutely be able to make it flavorful without making it spicy.  She said, "You can do that?"  Once my second set of giggles had subsided, I assured Mom that I had quite a bit of practice doing exactly that.

The skewers were an outright hit, and the couscous, um, satisfactory to them.  Next thing you know I'll have the snowbirds eating quinoa!  This recipe is easily adaptable to the seasonal vegetables of your choice and the meatballs can be omitted if you are not of the omni persuasion.

Turkey Sausage Meatball & Marinated Veggie Kebabs with Couscous

(Click here for printable recipe.)

Marinade:

1/4 C olive oil

1/4 C balsamic vinegar

1-2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp salt

Vegetables:

2 medium zucchini, in half rounds

1 red bell pepper, in 1 inch squares

12-15 pearl onions, peeled

4 oz mushrooms, halved

Meatballs:

1 lb ground turkey sausage

1 C fresh bread crumbs

2 Tbs ground flax

Additional:

10-12 wooden or metal skewers

If using wooden skewers, soak in warm water at least 30 minutes before using.

Combine marinade ingredients.  Clean and chop vegetables.  Mix with marinade and set aside.  (Note:  vegetables may be prepared in advance and refrigerated until ready to use.)

Place oven rack in the second position from the top.  Turn on broiler to preheat.

Combine bread crumbs and ground flax, then stir into turkey sausage until mixture is smooth without any lumps.  Using wet hands, roll into small meatballs no more than one inch in diameter.

Gently slide alternating kinds of vegetables and meatballs onto skewers until all are used.  Arrange in a large broiler pan with none overlapping.  Place under broiler for twenty minutes, turning skewers over and rotating pan halfway through cooking time.

Check to make sure meatballs are cooked all the way through and serve with couscous, recipe below.

Savory Couscous

2 Tbs olive oil

2 C Israeli (large) couscous

1-2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 1/2 C chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 Tbs dried parsley

1/2 tsp salt (omit if using commercial stock)

Heat oil over medium in a heavy bottomed pot.  Add couscous and garlic and stir to coat with oil.  Cook while constantly stirring until couscous is lightly browned.  Add chicken stock and seasonings and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes.

I'm sharing my snowbird special with Presto Pasta Nights, founded by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and hosted this week by Sarah of Maison Cupcake and as a late entry to Friday Potluck, hosted by Erin of EKat's Kitchen.