No Whey, Mama

• The toddler stages are some of my favorites.
• A toddler saying "Whoa ho ho" for "Santa" is one of the cutest things ever.
• Speech therapists are miracle workers. At least, ours is.
• My two-year old was the best-behaved child I have ever seen in the candlelight Christmas Eve service. This is in no way bragging because a.) I don't know why he was, and b.) my other three two-year olds had to be removed from their respective services.
• I love reading the same books as my daughter. Yay, mini book club.
• Telling me you're 'one of the good guys' immediately lets me know that you are not.
• I really enjoy serving people good homemade food.
• Getting rid of baby gear is sad, but it makes LOTS more room in our little house.
• Keeping your hand on my shopping cart while I'm unloading it and leaning into my van to peer at my groceries and children is very threatening behavior, sir.
• Major Pettigrew's Last Stand was my favorite book of 2012.
• Dying the day all the out-of-town guests leave was really inconsiderate, Kevin. Rest in peace, little parakeet.
• Buying a new pet bird for the kids two days after Kevin's death was a little fast for Mama. Welcome, Hedwig the cockatiel.
• I love my job.
• I wish I had written this. "Just as I would never dream of going to vegan blog, insulting the writer and demanding a steak recipe… please don’t come to my blog and get worked up about marshmallows or honey in my homemade ice cream recipes." Preach it.
• Copying and pasting a quote from another blog messes up my font settings.

Yes, I am ignoring the stack of Christmas cards I need to address to share:

• A free six-month digital subscription to gluten-free magazine Easy Eats
• Mad Alex Products' going-out-of-business sale
• Gluten Freely's closeout sale (because they are teaming up with Betty Crocker and Live Better America)
• Alisa Fleming's and Hallie Klecker's new ebook, Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free: A Whole Food Starter Guide and Cookbook

...to say about anybody, come sit by me.--Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Allergic Living magazine is looking for contributors (You can remain anonymous!) for an article about food allergies and marital stress. I mean, I'm sure you and your spouse and (削除) in-laws (削除ここまで) extended family have NEVER had any disagreements about anything related to the care of your food-allergic children, but if you happen to have a friend who has experienced these issues, she could respond. Anonymously.

They're looking for happy stories, too.

I look forward to reading the article and figuring out which contributor is (削除) you (削除ここまで) your friend.

More information and a link can be found here.

I'm the new Associate Editor at Go Dairy Free!




And holy crap, is that a big photo of my face.

Hey! Thanksgiving is Thursday! I'm hosting it at my house again! Recipes here and here, and, a new addition, here is (削除) Scott's (削除ここまで) my dairy-free mashed potato recipe. Thanks, Honey!

Also also, Mary Ostyn posted her cream of anything soup recipe from her cookbook! Just use plain powdered soy milk and dairy-free bouillon (I never spell that right the first time) and you are SET to make dairy-free green bean casserole and dairy-free pot pie with the leftovers! The possibilities are endless.

Please enjoy these recipes while I stalk Amazon. Thank goodness for today's annual Melissa and Doug sale, otherwise the baby would have nothing under the tree. Magnetic Farm Hide and Seek, you are mine.

Don't you like the sound of that?!

So tell me, just how much fun is it to have a niece or nephew to spoil and then send home? Especially when your sister* and her family are moving in three doors down and you can steal him/her away whenever you want?

*She went public on Facebook today, so I can FINALLY tell you!

RIGHT NOW on Amazon, The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book ebook is free! Go, go, go! before the price changes in five minutes to 79ドル.95! (Ah, Amazon. We love ya.)

I own this cookbook and use it often. I can't wait for Kelly's next cookbook to be released!

I wake up and bathe
I greet the roofer working
Outside the window

Firetrucks are cool
I do not blame you, Toddler
Crying when they go

Hey, Librarian
Thanks for insulting my kid
And making me cry

I forgive you, Friend
For backing into my van
I hate this rental

Aldi, thank you for
All of your pumpkin goodness
A lot dairy free

I'd like to direct your attention here, and invite you over for homemade dairy-free ice cream once my new ice cream maker arrives.

P.S. I'm giving my current ice cream maker to my sister to thank her for the idea.

I am late in posting this, but you can bet I will be 'encouraging' my allergic child to enter. 2000ドル college scholarship? Yes, please. I've always loved Julie Bowen (WHEN will "Ed" be out on DVD?!?) and now I love her even more.

I do because we're getting a new roof. Well, we're getting a new roof on the house and porch. The attached garage/shed combo will have to wait a few years. Is there anything more anticlimactic than pouring money into your house for necessary repairs? Maybe next we'll redo the wiring! WHOO! So pretty! At least I won't cringe every time it rains, so that's something. And I did get to pick the shingle color. (Scott: "There are different colors?")

In part of my ongoing quest to bum free food off of people, I'm expecting a delivery of overripe tomatoes and some basil today. You know I'm going to make Catherine Newman's roasted tomato sauce. Did you see her food feature in the latest Family Fun? Now I must have the microwave chips maker she mentions. Hey, I love the Whirley-Pop she recommended.

I was at a church meeting last night where the other members of the committee un-ironically referred to me as a "youngster." I've often thought that I never want to live in a retirement community because I want to be surrounded by people of various ages making me feel young. It never occurred to me I might start reaping those benefits in my late thirties.

Welp, this youngster's going to do some cooking and try to drown out the pounding with children's musical soundtracks.

One of my favorite Tightwad Gazette tips is the one about letting people know you are willing to take free stuff. Even free stuff that seems like junk to them. It may be trash, or it may be something wonderful like hand-me-down clothing. Or green tomatoes.

Fried Green Tomatoes, adapted from Wisconsin Country Cookbook and Journal

green tomatoes
dairy-free milk
flour, mixed with salt, pepper, and a little maple or brown sugar
DF margarine
shortening
more DF milk
DF chicken bouillon powder

Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Dip in milk and then in flour mixture. Fry slowly in 1/2 DF margarine and 1/2 shortening until crisp, brown, and tender. Remove to a plate. Add more DF milk to the pan, along with a sprinkling of DF chicken bouillon. Reduce into a pan gravy and pour over the tomatoes.

After you've eaten your fill of fried green tomatoes, puree the rest of the green tomatoes in your food processor and freeze in 2 1/2 cup and 2 cup amounts to make:

Green Tomato Cake--I usually leave out the raisins and stir the coconut into the batter.
Green Tomato Raspberry Jam

(Yes, we've cooked and enjoyed both. The cake is one of my dad's favorites.)

Now go raid your neighbors' tomato patches. With their permission, of course.

Mah babies are at school! I miss them so. Time to distract myself with cooking, especially foods for them to enjoy in their lunchboxes.

Money Saving Mom is starting a lunchbox freezer cooking session, and Milk Allergy Mom is following along with some dairy-free versions of the recipes.

Alisa posted a great-looking curry chicken nuggets recipe at Attune Foods. I especially like the curry sauce.

Our friends just dropped off 5 pounds of Concord grapes, which means it's jelly time! I use the cooked jelly recipe from the Sure-Jell pectin recipe insert, but I freeze the jelly instead of canning it. I prep the grapes this way because I have a Foley food mill, and I follow the advice of this recipe that says I don't have to strain the grape juice.

On vacation one day we had eggplant Parmesan that contained dairy, so for Katherine's lunch, I made this:

Easy Eggplant Parmesan

2-3 small, thin eggplants
salt
1 garlic clove
olive oil
Progresso Italian Panko Style Breadcrumbs

Slice the eggplants into 1/4 inch circles, salt lightly. Chop or press the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and saute until slightly browned. Add the garlic, turn the heat to medium, and cook until eggplant is tender. Toss in a handful of breadcrumbs with a little more oil if needed and stir to combine. Serve with red sauce.

What do your kids like in their lunches?

I love you, Graham. I hope you have a perfect birthday, although I know nothing can compare to the gift the neighbors already gave you: your VERY OWN doggie pillow pet. Life is good.

What to have for your eleventh birthday when it's on a weeknight and your dad won't be home in time to make your favorite fried chicken before you have to leave for your school open house:

Bacon cheese chicken made with Daiya cheddar and ranch dressing made with 1/2 mayo and 1/2 Tofutti Sour Supreme, using Mary Ostyn's ranch dressing mix
Crack Broccoli
Baked Potatoes
Daddy's Rolls
Pineapple Upside Down Cake (using cake mix)

Happy Birthday, Katherine.

I woke up in bed with a 40-year old man today. Don't worry, it was Scott. When we first met he was 24. Insert cliche about the passage of time here.

So, what do you do for the man who doesn't want a big party or like attention? You take him to see Jim Gaffigan ("Four kids? That's one way to live your life.") and you bake him a pake. Ever since Angry Chicken posted about this I've been obsessed. Instead of the cherry/chocolate combination, I'm doing a small dairy-free apple pie baked in yellow cake with vanilla frosting. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

We've been talking about getting older and how fast time goes. The other night at dinner, "In My Life" came on, and I said, "This is one of those songs that I thought I got as a teenager but really makes me weepy now. 'Landslide' is another one." THE VERY NEXT SONG was "Landslide." Scott: "Wow, Pandora's getting a little too on the nose." Me: "What channel did you select? Morose Songs That Make Sarah Cry?"


Happy birthday, Honey. I'm so glad to be going through life with you.

I am not dead. But I was on vacation and at a family wedding, so all that travel made wish I was. Nothing kicks 'my babies are growing up' mooniness to the curb like 40 hours together in a minivan.

I missed the chance to tell you about the Pittsburgh Pirates' first ever allergy awareness night, which was on August 10. They now have a peanut-controlled section. Go Bucs!

The FDA just approved the first talking epinephrine auto injector by Sanofi-US. It's called Auvi-Q, and the part I am super excited about is that it is the size and shape of a credit card and the thickness of a smart phone, which makes it way easier to carry in a pocket. Like, say, the jeans pocket of a teenager who doesn't want to be seen lugging a traditional EpiPen around. Awesome.



And! Mylan Specialty is offering a free EpiPen four pack to schools across the country through their EpiPen4Schools program. All this allergy-related news makes me feel hopeful, unlike the mountain of laundry in my basement.

We used to belong to a big city CSA, back when our neighbor commuted and brought us the veggies on her way home. Now she lives in the city full time and we bum produce from our friends with gardens. Luckily, the CSA posts all of their newsletters online. I searched all the way back to 2008 to find my favorite refrigerator/freezer pickle recipe. Here it is for you to enjoy and for me never to lose again.

"Fresh Cucumber Pickles: Cut 3-4 cucumbers and a medium onion into a large bowl.
In a sauce pan place 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup of sugar, ½ cup of water, 2 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp dried dill weed. Heat until the mixture comes to a boil stirring often. Pour over cucumbers and onions. When cooled I place in a large 1 ½ quart jar and place in the frig. Will keep for about 2 weeks. We eat ours quick. After you finish the first batch you can still use the liquid for another time."--Kretschmann Farms


Edit: Here's their fresh dill spears recipe, too. "Fresh Dill Pickle Spears: Slice 1 or 2 cucumbers into spears and place in a glass quart jar with a few sprigs of fresh dill, or dill seed. Then heat 1/8 c salt, 1/4 c vinegar, and 2 c water to boiling with a cut-up clove of garlic. Pour this over the cukes and when it cools, refrigerate."

...origami?*


This girl has. I love her.



*Random 80s TV commercial reference:

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