“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

...a brilliant quote attributed to Albert Einstein. I have grown weary of baking and experimenting with different cookie recipes, scouring through endless allergy cookbooks and internet sites for the "perfect" egg/gluten/dairy/sugar-free cookie. I want one - simple - cookie "recipe" that I can use to make any kind of cookie I'm in the mood for. So while I'm still experimenting with variations, here are the "bones" for a pretty good cookie recipe. The cookies aren't always completely "perfect," but our family thinks they're pretty tasty (they're the best cookies their going to get!).

Here's my "simplest" egg/gluten/dairy/sugar - free cookie "suggestion":
1/2 c. vegetable shortening (non-hydrogenated, soy-free..."Spectrum" is good)
1/4 c. molasses
1/4-1/2 c. maple syrup, honey, agave syrup, brown rice syrup (or any combination thereof)
1 t. vanilla
1 1/4 c. flour (quinoa, buckwheat, teff, sorghum, oat, brown rice, rye (or any combination thereof)
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. xanthan gum (if using gluten-free flour)
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 c. additional flour (see above options) or 2 c. old fashioned oats for oatmeal cookies)
2-4 T. coconut milk, rice milk, almond milk, water, etc. (just in case your dough needs a softer consistency, depending on the type of flour you use)
raisins, dates, currants, candied ginger pieces, goji berries, coconut, carob or chocolate (dairy-free) chips, chopped nuts, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries/cherries, or any other stir-ins (use your judgement on quantity)

Directions: (1) preheat oven to 350, (2) cream shortening, sweetener, and vanilla w/ electric mixer, (3) stir in dry ingredients with a wooden spoon, adding "milk" or water if necessary (dough should be able to be scooped in a spoon and dropped on a cookie sheet, but still retain it's shape), (4) add extra stir-ins noted above, (5) drop by spoonfuls on an ungreased non-stick baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, (6) enjoy!


From my "basic" recipe, I created these Date Cookies:
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1/4 c. molasses
1/4 c. honey
1 t. vanilla
1 1/4 c. quinoa flour
1 c. brown rice flour
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder (aluminum-free)
2-3 T. coconut milk
3-5 fresh dates, sliced, pitted, and chopped in large chunks

Follow the directions listed above. I have noticed these cookies "spread" less than your typical gluten/egg cookie. They bake up somewhat dense, in the same shape that you dropped them in. and tend to be "crumbly" even with the use of xanthan gum. I will try to experiment a little more, and I'm following some "new" experiments of others, but for now these cookies are quick, easy, and do just fine (no one at my house is complaining). However, my kids have never known any different, and I've become so used to these cookies, my definition of the "perfect" cookie does not follow the normal "objective" opinion anymore. See this website, it's very interesting just on the science of baking:
http://www.bakingandbakingscience.com/cookies.htm

Happy Birthday!

My son, Jacob, recently turned 2. Though I usually have only made sugar-free honey cakes in the past (wheat, dairy, and egg-free for my husband), I decided to do something different this year. I decided to make two cakes: one with milk, butter, eggs, white flour, and sugar, and one with buckwheat (gluten-free), coconut milk, coconut, no eggs, only 1/3 c. sugar, and maple syrup. We were having a birthday party, and some kids couldn't have eggs, others needed gluten-free, all were allergic to nuts, some allergic to dairy. I wanted everyone to feel included and have a good time.

I put a lot of thought into the cakes...what would kids like eat? should I use food coloring? should I use sugar (cane sugar/powdered sugar)? should I use a cake mix? After seeing the price on "natural" food coloring at WF, and deciding that it would be too much work to make mine myself (like out of beets), I decided to just have two white cakes. I figured a little sugar would be fine for the occasion, and the cakes with honey did turn out to be a bit runny/squishy. Dear old grandma always used to use a cake mix, but for fear there would be soy or some other strange ingredient in there, I figured I'd just use a cake recipe from my Better Crocker cookbook.

I was happy that the cakes looked basically the same (except when you cut into them of course, the buckwheat one looked more like chocolate).

Here are the recipes:
Starlight Yellow Cake (from "Betty Crocker's New Cookbook")
2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 c. sugar (I used a minimally processed sugar)
1/2 c. shortening (I used Spectrum)
1 1/4 c. milk
3 1/2 t. baking powder (aluminum free - another reason to not use a mix)
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla (I used alcohol-free from Trader Joe's)
3 large eggs

(1) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & lightly flour bottoms of two round pans.
(2) Beat all ingredients together on low for 30 seconds, then high 3 minutes. Pour into pans.
(3) Bake about 30-35 minutes, cool on wire racks completely before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting:
3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. stick butter, softened
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1-2 T. milk

(1) Beat with electric mixer until smooth, adding one T. milk then more if you need to.

Allergy-Free Buckwheat Cake
2 c. buckwheat flour
1 c. sorghum flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. xanthan gum *secret ingredient*

(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two round cake pans as follows: cut a piece of wax paper in a circle to fit in the bottom of the pan. Grease the pan with shortening (vegetable, no soy), and place the wax paper down, and grease again over the paper. Mix the above together in a large mixing bowl.

1/2 c. safflower oil
2 c. coconut milk
2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. maple syrup
2 t. vanilla

(2) Mix the liquid ingredients together with a wire whisk.
(3) Add the liquid ingredients to dry, whisking until smooth.
(4) Fold in 2 c. unsweetened shredded coconut.
(5) Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean and you see the sides of the cake pulling away from the pan a little. Cool completely.

Coconut Frosting (from "Vegan with a Vengeance"):
1/2 c. vegetable shortening (Spectrum)
1/2 c. coconut milk (maybe a little less)
2 t. vanilla
4 c. confectioner's sugar
1 c. unsweetened coconut

(1) Beat all but the coconut together, adding the milk a little at a time. Fold in the coconut at the end.

Pumpkin Seed Butter Cookies

I was going for a gluten-free peanut-butter cookie; but with no nuts. Along the way, I also discovered the *secret* ingredient to gluten-free cooking: xanathan gum. This stuff works great. I added about 1/2 t. to my oatmeal cookies from the Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook (I substituted the spelt flour with buckwheat and brown rice, and added xanathan gum). I suppose the oats still add a small amount of gluten (unless you use gluten-free oats).

Here's my pumpkin seed butter cookie recipe:
1/2 c. agave syrup or honey
1/2 c. better than milk rice powder (original flavor)
3/4 c. pumpkin seed "butter" (for me this is really just ground pumpkin seeds that I put through my juicer. If you use processed pumpkin seed butter that is more "buttery", I'm thinking you could add less shortening *see picture*)
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
2 t. egg replacer mixed with 2 T. Rice Milk

Beat all of the above together with an electric mixer.

Add:
3/4 c. buckwheat flour
3/4 c. millet flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. xanathan gum

Mix until combined, note batter will still be "sticky" because of the rice milk powder. Drop in tablespoon fulls on an ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. They will just start to brown around the edges a little. They puff up when you bake them, but they sort of deflate when you take them out and they are very soft and chewy. Also, they are very sweet. Remove from the cookie sheet and place on a wire rack about 2 minutes after you take them out of the oven. I think you could use less milk powder and honey to make them less sweet, and I also noticed that there is xanathan gum in the rice milk powder, so maybe it wouldn't be essential in this recipe. I've still got to experiment more.

Crepes w/ "no-nut-ella"

My kids slept in late today (8 a.m.), so I did too. Maybe it was finally "sleeping-in" for the first time in years or a lazy summer Saturday, but somehow I was in the mood for crepes. I made the "regular" ones - with white flour, butter, milk & eggs, but started to feel a twinge of guilt when I saw my husband looking woefully into his bowl of almond milk & Joe's O's. So I thought I'd try to make some he could eat.

Here's my adapted recipe. He says they turned out great. They do, however, contain egg yolks (I haven't experimented with egg replacer in them, but I assume they wouldn't be as bendable and crepe-like). Though sensitive to eggs, most of the proteins are found in the whites, so he has been able to eat the yolks. This is similar to ghee, where most of the dairy proteins have been stripped from the butter and the leftover ghee is mostly fat. I could have used melted ghee in place of the safflower oil below.

Allergy Crepes (makes enough for 1 or possibly 2 servings):
3/4 c. oat flour
2 t. sugar (I used pure cane, minimally processed)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking powder
1 c. coconut milk
1 T. safflower oil
2 egg yolks
1/4 t. vanilla

Mix the dry ingredients and mix the wet ingredients separately, then mix them together with a whisk until smooth. Pour 1/4 c. batter onto a hot crepe pan (I just continued after I made my regular crepes, so it was hot and was very seasoned since I was cooking with butter. If you are starting from scratch, try heating some high-heat safflower or sunflower oil on about medium-high until hot...do the water test). Instead of swirling the batter around in the pan, I just let my crepes be a little thicker. You can experiment and see what you like best.

"No - nut - ella" spread:
I love nutella. But it has both hazelnuts (bad for kids with nut allergies) and dry milk in it. Here's my version.

1/4 c. pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 T. cocoa powder (or carob)
2 T. Better Than Milk Rice Powder, vanilla flavor
1 T. safflower oil
1 T. brown rice syrup
3 T. rice milk

Combine all ingredients in a food processor on high speed (this is the "crunchy" version). If you wanted it smoother, grind your pumpkin seeds into "butter" with a juicer.

Spread on crepes and enjoy. Or use fruit-only jam and fresh fruit - I had a blueberry jam & fresh pineapple crepe, a banana & no-nut-ella crepe, and an apricot-orange jam & fresh cantaloupe crepe.

Ginger Cookies

I usually try to bring my own treat for the after-mass gathering at our church. They usually have "munchkins" from Dunkin Donuts (not exactly allergy-free, or healthy). I can generally keep my kids away from the "munchkins" with a home-baked bake good. While not everyone shares my enthusiasm for eliminating refined sugar, I think overall people appreciate the thought. It's fun to see what people think of my somewhat "wierd" creations.

Ginger/Apricot Cookies
1 c. rye flour
1 c. oat flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. cloves
(you could add cinnamon too, but my kids are allergic)

Stir dry ingredients together.

1/2 c. canola oil
1/4 c. molasses
1/4 c. coconut milk
1/4 c. honey
1 t. vanilla

Mix together wet ingredients and add to dry. Then add about 2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats and chopped dried apricots (or whatever dried fruit you want).

Drop in teaspoons on a baking sheet, bake at 350 for 10 minutes. They aren't really sweet, but very "spicy."

Happy Easter - the "sneaky" bunny brought a few treats ;)

Last Easter was a food-allergy disaster. The youngest obviously did not have candy, but my then-two-year-old daughter had both mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and a chocolate bunny, and her cheeks broke out in a horrible rash. Her mood totally changed and I was determined to not repeat the same mistake as last year.

However, I also worry about being too cautious and vigilant about sugar, so I decided that if they were going to have sugar and chocolate, it would be as un-processed as possible with a little bit of nutritional value.

I used the same "baskets" they had last year with the little plastic eggs, and shredded colored construction paper in our paper shredder. I put little ziplock snack bags full of dried cranberries, papaya, pineapple, and raisins from the Whole Foods Bulk Food section in the little plastic eggs. Then I stayed up late and baked some Easter Sugar Cookies and Chocolate Biscotti (at the request of my husband). The kids liked the dried fruit and sugar cookies...we let them decorate the sugar cookies with coconut frosting (no dairy) Easter afternoon. The kids didn't like the Chocolate Biscotti, but my husband did!

Easter Sugar Cookies (adapted from "Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook"):
2/3 c. shortening (Spectrum palm-vegetable only)
3/4 c. sugar (I used natural cane sugar, a less-refined, less-sweet version from Whole Foods called "Florida Crystals")
1 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 2 T. rice milk
1 t. vanilla
1 c. quinoa flour
1 c. oat flour

Beat shortening & sugar with an electric mixer until well-mixed, then beat in egg replacer and vanilla. Then I mixed in the baking powder and flour with a wooden spoon. I shaped the dough into a ball and chilled for about 30 min. Then I rolled it out, using more flour if necessary, cut out my egg and bunny shapes, and baked at 375 degress for about 7 minutes (watch carefully, how long you bake will depend on how thick your cookies are). I tried to make mine at least 1/4 in thick, because any thinner they'll be too crispy or fall apart.

I love the coconut frosting from "Vegan with a Vengeance." It uses shortening, coconut milk, powdered sugar, and shredded coconut. Yes, we used food coloring - though I know this isn't always considered "safe" - it was a fun special treat.

Creamy Jicama Slaw - Raw Food Craze

I'm just starting to get into the new raw food craze. After spending all winter baking, roasting, and broiling, I'm ready to give the oven a rest. It has not only been heating up our kitchen - but also our gas bill.

As a family with a preschooler and a toddler, it's not really feasible for us to go totally raw. Undoubtedly, there are some things that will need to be cooked...but I'm trying to take small steps to introducing more fresh, living foods. For example, I have tried just lightly steaming broccoli. My daughter was really excited about the mini "snack carrots" she calls them, and the kids all love fresh fruit. "Swiss-style" oats, soaked overnight in water or rice milk (or milk if you can have it), are also a great alternative to cooked oats.

For the raw foods lifestyle, it is essential to have a good food processor (I was lucky to receive the Cuisinart dual food processor/blender for a Christmas gift!) It will slice, shred, chop and puree most vegetables, and though I have broken my plastic bowl and top twice, Cuisinart has replacement parts available at a very reasonable price.

There are great shredded vegetable salad recipes in "The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide." My new favorite is "Creamy Jicama Slaw," basically shredded jicama with what they call "Super Smooth Sauce." The recipe in the book has the sauce made with macadamia nuts (I used the nuts and made nut butter in my juicer), however, I tried a tahini sauce for my kids and they liked it.

Tahini Sauce to dip or mix with shredded vegetables:
1 T. Tahini (I used a super-creamy brand that I found at Russo's in Watertown)
1 T. Water
1/2 t. unbuffered Vitamin C powder (tart-tasting)...I used a brand from Cambridge Naturals
1 T. Oil (I used extra-virgin olive)

Whisk together until smooth with a fork. Pour over fresh shredded jicama, cucumber, cabbage, carrots, or zucchini. This is also a good substitute for mayo (egg allergies).

Also a particular favorite of ours is the Carrot-Olive Salad containing shredded carrots, sliced black olives, and olive oil. My kids also love the coleslaw recipe from "The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook," which uses fresh apples and raisins, and a sauce made from olive oil, rice milk, vinegar, lemon and orange juice instead of mayo. We have also found that Vitamin C Powder is a great substitute for vinegar or lemon juice in salad dressings - my husband claims it's not as rough on his stomach as the more acidic vinegar.

Spring is here! More raw food posts to come this spring/summer...

Gingerbread Cookies

I know it's way past Christmas, but winter is not over here in New England. My daughter really wanted to make gingerbreads, and we had not make them yet this year. I had to think about what I would do for a recipe - I knew I wanted no dairy, refined sugar, or wheat - so that we could eat them together as a family and they would be semi-healthy. I used the oatmeal cookie recipe as a guide in the "Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook," which is excellent by the way and you will have to get the book or borrow it from the library to try it. However, here is my version for gingerbread cookies.

1/2 c. vegetable shortening (make sure it doesn't have soy...try Spectrum's brand)
1/4 c. molasses
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 t. vanilla

Cream the above 4 ingredients with an electric mixer.

1/2 c. rye flour
1/2 c. buckwheat flour
1 c. oat flour
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder

Stir into creamed mixture. I used a little of the dough at a time to roll out on a generously floured (I used oat) surface, then cut out my little gingerbread people. We decorated the cookies with raisins and unsweetened coconut. Bake about 7-8 minutes on 350 degrees.

Orange Biscotti

This is an adaptation of an old Betty Crocker recipe. Biscotti has always been one of my favorites with tea, and here is an allergy-free version: no dairy, wheat, or eggs. It can be gluten-free depending on what flours you use. The biscotti does, however, have refined sugar (I couldn't bring myself to substitute everything). You could try maple sugar or date sugar if you needed to avoid refined sugar.

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable shortening or non-hydrogenated margarine (if you are allergic to soy, make sure it's soy-free)
1 T. grated orange zest
1 t. vanilla
2/3 c. water mixed with a scant 2 T. brown flaxseeds
Note: Heat in a small saucepan over med-high heat until boiling, only boil about 1 min until a slightly thickened gel forms - don't make it too thick or you won't be able to strain the seeds out. Strain the whole seeds out and cool the liquid gel. Use the gel in place of the two eggs.
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose (if you can have it) or any combination of flours (I used 1 c. brown rice, 2 c. oat, and 1/2 c. sorghum/milo)
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Make flaxseed gel to use in place of egg and place in an ice bath to cool if using immediately. Beat sugar, shortening or margarine, orange zest, vanilla and flaxseed gel in a large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt. Note: I had a hard time mixing it together, but just use a wooden spoon or your hands, adding a little water if necessary, to form a soft dough. Split dough in half and shape each half into a 10X3 " rectangle and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake about 20 minutes, cool for 15 minutes. Cut crosswise into 1" thick slices (the original instructions say 1/2" slices, but I did 1" with a sharp, wet knife. Using different flours, especially gluten-free like brown rice, tend to be a bit crumbly.) Bake about 10 minutes longer. You want them to be crisp, slightly brown but not too dark. From the initial cutting, I thought they would turn out too crumbly, but after the second baking they held together well.

Thai Mango Sticky Rice w/ Purple Potato

Having allergies makes you branch out to different cultures/styles of cooking to find foods you can eat. This was my first time making sweet, "sticky" rice. Also, it was my first time cooking "purple potatoes." I had them in sweet rice once in a Thai restaurant in Ann Arbor, MI and I finally found them at A. Russo's in Watertown, MA. I followed the directions on the package of sweet rice for steaming the rice in cheesecloth, and I also made some in the rice cooker. I thought the steamed rice turned out better; it was soft but still intact...whereas the rice in the rice cooker came out almost like a pudding. Maybe I used too much water. Anyway, if I made it again I would steam the rice.

Here are the directions:
Soak 1 cup of sweet rice in in water overnight. Drain. Spread sweet rice in thin, even layer in steam rack lined with cheesecloth. Steam covered, over rapidly boiling water 25 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with salt, steam 20-25 minutes more.

In a saucepan, warm 1/2 can coconut milk, 2-3 T. maple syrup, pinch of salt, and 1/2 t. vanilla. Add 1 t. arrowroot powder dissolved in 2 T. of water. As it thickens, turned heat to low and cook about 3 minutes.

I baked the potatoes and chopped them into cubes. Put cooked rice, potatoes, and cut-up mango in a bowl. Ladle hot coconut milk sauce over and enjoy! If you want the potatoes sweeter, maybe soak them in the coconut sauce longer. I've also seen this made with black-eye peas. I love that vegetables/beans are included even in dessert!

Kid's Stir-fried Rice (no soy necessary, but I did use eggs)

The kids needed something fast and nutritionally decent one day, so I decided to make them stir-fried rice. They loved it!

1 crown fresh broccoli, broken into bite-size pieces
2 carrots, shredded or grated
3 scallions, chopped
2 cups of cooked brown rice
3-4 T. sunflower oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten (or you could use silken tofu with tumeric)
1 T. sesame seeds

In a wok, stir-fry broccoli in sunflower oil until soft enough for kids to eat (or crunchy if you like). Add carrots, scallions, and rice. Stir-fry a few minutes until hot. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Note: I recently read that a lot of the proteins people are generally allergic to are found in the whites, not the yolks. My husband, who can't tolerate eggs, has just started eating the nutrient-rich yolks without any adverse effects. Slightly scramble the eggs, when they are no longer runny stir them into the rest of the rice/vegetable mixture. Then make another well in the center and add the sesame seeds. When they are toasted (a few seconds), stir them into the rest of the dish. You can put wheat-free tamari soy sauce on if you can tolerate soy, or my daughter had hers with a little white-wine vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette (from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food cookbook):
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1 T. dijon mustard
salt/pepper
sugar (I used a little honey)
3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

Vegan Carrot Cake

Food is so social. We've been having lots of birthday parties lately, and of course, everyone HAS to have CAKE! It's difficult when you have multiple food allergies in social situations - like the donut breakfast at work, friend's birthday party, a wedding dinner, ordering in restaurants, etc., etc. How do you explain to your co-workers/host that you can't eat what they offer to you? I tell my husband to just say that he's vegan (he can't eat eggs, dairy or most "normal" animal products like beef, turkey or chicken). I mean no offense to all the vegans out there - you have made such great strides as a movement that being vegan is no longer viewed as strange. Being vegan/vegetarian just seems much more accepted and it's something people can generally understand. When my husband tells people he can't have this or that because he's allergic, you see the wonder in their eyes and their brains working to try to explain it. Couldn't you just have a little bit? Who ever heard of someone who couldn't eat tomatoes?

Anyway, I was lucky enough to receive "Vegan with a Vengeance" for Christmas - thank you Gail! The first recipe I tried was awesome - it was the Ginger - Macadamia - Coconut - Carrot Cake. I left out the macadamia nuts and spices on half for my kids. The only criticism I have is that it uses refined sugar (3/4 cup) and powdered sugar in the frosting. I guess you sometimes have to give in somewhere. Next time I would like to try to substitute a finely ground date sugar or maple sugar.

Pumpkin Pie Experiment - Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's an egg, dairy, refined sugar, and wheat-free pumpkin pie recipe I've devised, which has its roots from one that was in an old Martha Stewart "Pies & Tarts" cookbook.

I found vegan pie recipes on-line, but they were all made with soy (my daughter is allergic to soy). The pumpkin pie recipe in the "Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide" was made with gelatin and a refrigerated pie (no baking, except for the crust). I was determined to perfect, or come as close as I could to perfect, a pumpkin pie with no eggs, dairy, or refined sugar.

The first time I tried, I used a whole can of coconut milk and substituted the sugar with honey - and it turned out more like pudding than pie (first picture with coconut sprinkled on top). The second time (second picture) it was a much better consistency, and my sister (the avid taste-tester) said it tasted "normal."

For the crust, see the apple pie post (and just half that recipe if you only want one pie). The first crust (the filling that failed) I made with oat/millet flour, the second crust was oat/corn flour. Oat/brown rice also works too. You could use gluten-free flours for a gluten-free version. They were all tasty.

Pumpkin Pie Filling:
One 15oz can pumpkin puree (just get the one that's plain pumpkin, or make your own puree if you are so inclined)
1/2 cup coconut cream (do not shake a can of regular coconut milk...I used the Thai Kitchen brand...and skim the cream off the top of the can)
1/2 cup maple sugar
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t cinnamon
4 1/2 t of Ener-G-egg replacer mixed with three T of rice milk or water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients together with an electric mixer and pour into the pie shell. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Cool or refrigerate before serving (I let mine cool overnight in the refrigerator, which I think helps it to slice better). Also, I think that I mixed up the egg replacer with the rice milk too soon. The pie would probably rise higher if I blended the rest of the ingredients first, then mixed up the egg replacer and added that last, transferring to the pie shell and oven quickly to aid in leavening. Makes one 8" pie.

Happy Halloween - Carob Cupcakes

Like most moms, I really didn't want my kids eating a bunch of candy for Halloween - with enough refined sugar and chocolate (think, caffeine) it would mess up their sleep schedule and make them cranky for days. So I came up with Carob Cupcakes, my own variation of the Chocolate Cake recipe in the Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook.

Cupcakes:
1/2 c safflower oil
1/2 c honey or brown rice syrup
1 t vanilla
3 t Ener-G Egg Replacer, mixed with 4 T. rice milk
3/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1 c oat flour
1 c brown rice flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 c carob powder
1/4 t salt
3/4 c rice milk

First beat together the oil and honey/brown rice syrup. Then add vanilla, egg replacer, and applesauce. Then I just beat in everything else all at once to save time. Pour into muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for about 17 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (time will depend on how big your cupcakes are).

I made the frosting from the "Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook" too, and just used regular food coloring. If anyone knows of a "natural" food coloring, let me know, but for this Halloween I just used what I could find. We had green, orange, and yellow carob cupcakes.

Milo-Sweet Potato Muffins

The Milo-Sweet Potato Muffins in "The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide" are exceptional. Though I suppose you would say they were a "heavy" muffin, we all eat them like dessert since they're so sweet! If you have given up refined sugar, you will know they taste sweet. If you're still a sugar-addict though, they might not be for you.

Milo is also called Sorghum. I've used Bob's Red Mill Sorghum flour for these muffins. It's a great way to use up leftover sweet potatoes, and the recipe is so basic and easy - just sweet potato, milo/sorghum flour, salt, baking soda, unbuffered vitamin C powder, and oil. I believe that sorghum would also be gluten-free. I used unbleached baking cups from Whole Foods.

Quinoa/Apple Pancakes - A Success!

The headline sort of reminds me of my AQ Times writing years. A lot of headlines were "XXX - A Success!" Things have changed a lot since those good 'ol days. Anyway, these pancakes were finally "a success" after getting a non-stick griddle. I also made some adjustments to the basic recipe in "The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide." The basic recipe calls for quinoa and tapioca flour, baking soda, unbuffered vitamin C powder, cinnamon, oil, and water. I used fresh apple cider for the water, and added apple and hazelnut chunks. They were different pancakes than "normal" - the texture is a little more sticky. But they were mighty tasty and made the whole house smell like fall.

Previously I tried the quinoa/tapioca pancakes in a stainless steel fry pan, and they stuck so badly it was impossible to cook them. The non-stick griddle worked exceptionally well. When I went to buy a non-stick griddle I was shocked by how much they cost. I ended up getting one from Target.

Rye Waffles - Boring Rotation Diet

My grandmother always used to say, "Never eat the same food all the time...eat a good variety out of the different food groups every day." The past couple of weeks we've really been working on a rotation diet. A rotation diet is where you rotate the foods you're eating (and foods in the same family) over a period of 4 days. The basic idea is to prevent the development of further food sensitivities by allowing potential allergens to clear out of your body before you introduce them again. I say, "boring" because we've just been following the standard rotation diet in "The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide" by Nicolette Dumke where all the foods are assigned to each day for four days. We haven't figured out how to incorporate our usual recipes into this rotation yet, "borrowing" foods from one day and moving them around. So we've just been eating very simple meals - broiled/roasted meat/fish, steamed vegetables, and salads.

All of the recipes in this food allergy cookbook are incredibly simple with minimal ingredients. They are easy and incorporate many different and "exotic" foods, but I've been spoiled by the gourmet taste in Cybele Pascal's allergy cookbook. I've become confident in Cybele's recipes that they will turn out, whereas in Nicolette's book I'm still uncertain. However, the pancake, waffle, and cookie recipes all include numerous combinations of grains and flours to go along with the rotation diet, and all it takes is a little more willingness to experiment.

What works: By far, our favorites in this cookbook are the tortillas, crackers, waffles and pancakes. We particularly like the rye waffles - which are just basic rye flour, baking soda, unbuffered vitamin C powder, salt, oil and water. The teff waffles turned out pretty good too (though teff flour is expensive). I tried the teff crackers and those weren't bad, they would have been a little crisper if I had rolled the dough thinner. Teff has a neat flavor - maybe it's the dark color, but it reminds me a bit of chocolate.

What hasn't worked well for us: The quinoa-tapioca pancakes seemed to stick to my stainless steel skillet (which I generally use to make pancakes), even after I used coconut oil to grease the pan. I've since bought a non-stick skillet, so I'll have to try that next time. Also, the rolled cookies sweetened with stevia just seemed like eating a bunch of flour - very crumbly and sticky. I used oat flour instead of the flours recommended...because we couldn't eat kamut, spelt, amaranth or barley. If I try rolled cookies again, I'll just go with the maple sugar ones in Cybele Pascal's book.

First Birthday Cake

For my son's first birthday, I had to consider what kind of cake to make for him. I made one of the boxed cake mixes for my daughter's first birthday...and now I regret not baking one from scratch (even if I was going to use milk, eggs, butter, and sugar...at least it would be fresh and not contain aluminum baking powder).

I decided to make a cake our whole family could enjoy...the Orange Layer Cake from The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook. I was still concerned about my one-year-old eating honey, but figured that for as little cake as he would eat he would be alright. He's further behind his sister at eating, as he is still breastfed and we haven't pushed too much food at him given the allergies that run in the family. Although honey is still sugar, it has to be better for you than refined sugar.

This was a vegan cake...no eggs, butter, milk, wheat, refined sugar. And, I use aluminum-free baking powder in all my baking. I juiced the oranges for the fresh orange juice, and ran the peels through the juicer to get them all ground up for the zest it calls for in the recipe.

The cake itself consists generally of oat/brown rice flour, safflower oil, honey, vanilla, Ener-G-Egg Replacer (a great egg substitute), unsweetened applesauce, orange juice and orange zest. The frosting is a neat little creation using vegetable shortening, honey (and I used 1/2 the honey it called for and 1/2 brown rice syrup so it wouldn't be so sweet), vanilla, rice milk, "Better Than Milk" Vanilla Rice Powder (I found this on Amazon.com - it's like powdered sugar only better), and the zest of an orange. It was pretty hot that day and so the frosting is a little gooey and runny, but I guess that's part of the fun!