New and not so new life changes...

Yesterday, I finally went to the allergist. I probably should have gone a while ago but the timing was never right and the truth is that I was not ready to go. However, last week I had an allergy attack that was pretty scary. I finally decided I could no longer ignore what was happening and that I needed medical confirmation for what I already knew in my heart. While not unexpected, I received the news that I am highly, severely, allergic to dairy. I am also allergic to pecans (that came out of the blue! but no real loss since I am not a huge pecan fan).

Years ago, my friend and kinesiologist told me that I needed to stop eating dairy because it acted like rat poison to my system. Scary words and ones I took (mostly) seriously. I avoided dairy because I would suffer the health consequences when I did not- lots of unpleasant GI stuff almost right away and my immune system would crash and I would get a cold within a few days. Still, I joked a lot about dairy being able to kill me. It seemed utterly ridiculous that a food could hurt me, possibly fatally, even though I knew that a large and ever growing number of people deal with serious food allergies. But me? No way. I had eaten dairy on and off most of my life. I would go off it for a couple of years and then be fine with it again for a couple of years. I had no idea that I could become one of the severely allergic members of this country. I had no idea it would become my reality that dairy could actually kill me. It freaks me out just thinking about it. Yet, I also realize that it is not that big of a deal as long as I know what to do if/when I come into contact with dairy. As long as I know, and other around me know, what to do when an attack happens then I will be safe. Yes, its scary but it does not have to control my life.

Still, scary facts aside, I have learned to do without dairy for a while now and I think I do a pretty good job. Something I did learn at the doctor's was that I need to go out and buy a new set of cooking-ware for myself. Non-dairy cooking-ware because cross contamination is too big of a danger. As someone who loves cooking this will not be such a hardship to "force" myself to go get a new (possibly color coded?) cooking set. My dad even offered to go to Williams-Sonoma with me and pick out some fancy dishes! There is a silver-lining to everything!

I hope everyone out there has a wonderful and allergy friendly/safe Thanksgiving!

Zucre Coco aka Moroccan Coconut Fudge

While doing a project for school on Morocco I did a lot searching for yummy recipes to share during my presentation. This was one of the sweet treats I learned how to make. The following recipe is listed as I found it but instead of using real butter I used Earth Balance and instead of using a dairy condensed milk I used soy. My classmates could not tell the difference.

Ingredients:

2 C moist-grated coconut

3/4 C condensed milk*

2 C sugar

2 T butter (we use Earth Balance)

1-2 T lemon rind grated

Line an 8x8 pan with tin foil.

Combine coconut, condensed milk, and sugar in a large sauce pot.

Stir and simmer until the mixture reaches "soft ball" stage. To figure out if the mix has reached that point, fill a small cup with cold water and drop a small amount of the mixture into the cup. If the mix has reached the right temperature it will look like it forms a soft ball. If the mixture spreads out or does not look like a ball, keep on simmering it for a while longer. Don't worry if it doesn't happen right away, it took a while for it to reach the right temp for me.

Once it reaches the correct temperature, stir in the "butter" and lemon rind. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Stir/beat until the mix is thick and glossy- this does not take long. Pour into the prepared pan and chill in the refrigerator. Once chilled, cut into small pieces. This is VERY rich and a little goes a long way!

*Condensed soy or rice milk:

Prepare 2 cups powdered milk mix- use triple the powder called for on the container (so if it calls for 2 T use 6 T)

Add 3/4 cup sugar

cook on stove top until sugar is completely dissolved and the liquid is bubbling slightly. Add vanilla to taste and a pinch of salt.

cool and store in a contain in the refrigerator.

Dairy-Free Sweet Potato Pie

I was a skeptic of the "Sweat Potato Pie" idea until I actually tried it. I thought-sweet potatoes in a pie?! You have to be joking, right? To my great surprise, I could not believe how much it tasted like a pumpkin pie. I made this recipe up during a dinner party. I was making a bunch of pies and someone requested a sweet potato pie (I think it was because we had a bunch of sweet potatoes that someone had brought to the dinner). I agreed to try making a dairy free version. All the while, thinking, "sweet potato pie....what a strange concept" I was not at all sure that the recipe would turn out to make a edible pie but to my surprise it turned out great! Everyone loved it and there wasn't a piece left.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes

Then bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours (cooking at higher altitude makes things take longer)

2 C cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (approx. 3 sweet potatoes)

1/2 C "butter" softened

2 eggs separated

1/2 tsp ginger and nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp (or more) Cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt (or do as I do and just add a pinch)

1 C rice milk (or nondairy milk of choice)

1/4 (+/-) sugar

1 pie shell

Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, butter, egg yolks, spices, and salt. Mix until light and fluffy (you can do this by hand, as I did, or use a beater to make things go faster). Add milk slowly- still mixing as you go.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add 1/4 (+/-) C sugar and beat some more. (Note the sugar is +/- because 1/4 cup is just about right but depending on your sweet tooth you can add more and if you are trying to cut back you can add a bit less- not much less though!)

When sugar is fully incorporated into the egg whites and they begin to feel a bit stiffer (you are not trying to make a meringue so don't worry about this part too much!) slowly fold mixture into the sweet potato mix. Place entire mixture into an uncooked pie shell and cook!

Remember that you need to start out at 400 degrees and bake the pie for 20 minutes. Then lower the temp. of the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. You will know the pie is done when a knife stuck in the middle of the pie comes out clean.

Cool then serve!

Dairy Free "Butter"cookies

These cookies come from some very old Mennonite cookbook that my grandmother had laying about. They are very light in color and neither too sugary to be gross or lacking in sugary goodness for those with a sweet tooth. The addition of the lemon or orange adds a little bit of an interesting favor to them.

I am sorry to say this is one of the harder recipes to replace eggs in- it really does need 6 eggs. I have not played much with replacing the eggs in this recipe though so if you have any luck, please let me know how it goes! Sorry to those with egg allergies out there!

Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes

Ingredients:

1 C "butter" (I use Earth Balance's vegan butter or shortening- they now even a soy free version!)

1 C sugar

4 egg yolks

2 eggs (yolk and white)

dash of salt

1 tsp vanilla (I always, always add more)

rind of 1 lemon or orange

2 1/4 C flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and egg yolks to mixture and beat well. Add the rest of the ingredients, slowly adding in the flour. Cool dough in refrigerator for several hours. Take out and roll out thinly. Cut with cookie cutters. Lightly grease a pan and bake- they will look almost white in color when they are done so be careful not to overcook them.

Option: Bet 1 egg yolk and 1 tsp water together and brush on top of cookies before you cook. This gives the cookies a kind of glaze but my family did not really like this option and I don't do it any more. Instead we just eat them plain or decorate them with sprinkles and icing.

Note: Different extracts can change the flavor of the cookies some....try more vanilla, or lemon, or peppermint, or if you are not allergic to nuts try almond extract. The possibilities are endless....