A marathon post to make up for my marathon absence - and three new desserts!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written anything. The initial cause of my absence was a terrible flu-like virus that my five-year-old caught. She was sick for several days with a really high fever and coughing. Then my almost two-year-old got it, of course, and it hit her even harder - it drained her of energy and eventually caused severe wheezing.

After an entire day in the pediatrician's office, where they gave her repeated breathing treatments and steroid doses, we ended up in the emergency room the next day because it turned into pneumonia. Thankfully, we only spent two days there, although they were a very uncomfortable/miserable two days - have you ever tried to keep a 23-month-old happy while she has several wires attached to her and has to stay in a metal crib?

The first night was particularly miserable because they gave us a tiny room and both my husband and I wanted to stay with her (okay, I begged him to stay - I still have terrible memories of the week we spent at the hospital last year when she had RSV and I had to stay with her by myself each night). The problem was there was no adult-sized hospital bed in the room like we've had before so Dave ended up sleeping on the couch while I had to sleep in the crib with her (I got about 1 hours' sleep the entire night). We wised up the second night and brought our sleeping bag so Dave could sleep in that while I took the couch.

Anyway, after a week and a half off from work due to these illnesses, I had a lot to catch up on at work and at home and didn't really do much cooking or baking for a few weeks. But now we're all healthy and happy and my cooking/baking craze has been reignited. So here are the recent fruits of my (and my mother's) labor ...

First, the other day I wanted to bake something sweet but was feeling pretty lazy. I looked in my pantry and discovered that I had an old box of Cherrybrook Kitchen chocolate chip cookie mix and a box of Cherrybrook brownie mix. Hmmmm, I thought, chocolate chip cookies and brownies, my two favorite things - why don't I combine them? The result: Brownie chocolate-chip cookie muffins. And wow, are they good! Here's the how-to:

Brownie Chocolate-Chip Cookie Muffins

Prepare 1 box of Cherrybrook Kitchen brownie batter according to package directions. Fill 22 muffin cups with the batter. Bake at the temperature indicated on the package for 7 minutes.

While brownie layer is baking, prepare 1 box of Cherrybrook Kitchen chocolate chip cookie dough. Add a little bit of extra water (about 1 tbsp) to the dough to make it more liquidy and spreadable like batter.

When brownies have baked for 7 minutes, take muffin tins out of the oven and put some of the chocolate chip cookie "batter" on top of the brownie layer in each of the cups. Then put back in the oven for an additional 7-10 minutes (begin inserting toothpick after 7 minutes, take muffins out when top layer looks like a baked chocolate chip cookie and is still moist but not gooey).



The second yummy dessert we've had lately is something my mom made after seeing the recipe on the back of a box of ice cream cones. It basically involves filling an ice cream cone with cake batter, baking it, and then putting icing on top. The finished product was so cool that I think I'm going to make these for Leighton's second birthday.

Cupcake Cones

Prepare 1 box of Cherrybrook cake mix (any flavor) as directed. Open 1 box of safe ice cream cones (my mother used Keebler cake cones, but I have found many different brands of safe cones). Don't use the sugar cones, though - you need to use cones that have flat bottoms so they can stand up on their own.

Spoon batter into each cone. Do not fill the cone completely with batter - instead, leave 1/2-3/4 inch of space at the top of each cone because the batter will rise while baking.

Wrap bottom of each cone in aluminum foil (to help them stand up better on the baking sheet) and set cones on baking sheet.

Place baking sheet carefully in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes (start checking after 15).

Take out of the oven and allow to cool completely. Then frost with your favorite safe frosting (many Pillsbury icing flavors are safe, or you can make your own frosting if you're feeling particularly energetic). Put colorful sprinkles on if desired (and what kid doesn't desire that:).

Here is a pic of one my mom made:

Finally, this last treat is for those times when you don't feel like doing any mixing or baking (in a real oven, that is - toaster oven is required for this next treat). One of my old stand-by desserts is Smores. Yes, your allergic child can have Smores! We use safe graham crackers (Honey Maid or Kroger brand), marshmallows (Kraft Jet-Puffed), and chocolate (I find that chocolate chips melt the fastest. I use either Kroger FMV or Enjoy Life). As always, check to make sure these brands are still safe before using!

Smores

Break 1 large graham cracker into 2 squares. Put several mini-marshmallows or 2 large marshmallow halves on one of the squares; put several chocolate chips on the other. Carefully place each piece directly on the rack in a toaster oven (or place crackers on a baking sheet and put the sheet in a real oven if you don't have a toaster oven). Some of the chocolate chips might fall off when you put the squares on the toaster oven rack - just pick them up and put them back on the square. Toast until marshmallows look puffy and chocolate chips look glossy. Take out of the oven and put the 2 pieces together to form a sandwich. Let cool and enjoy!

Super yummy, healthy smoothie

My husband is on a health kick. He resolved to be more active this year, so he's been working out with the Wii we got for Christmas. He has also been eating much better. One of the things that he most needed to revamp was his breakfast routine. He used to skip breakfast entirely or grab a bagel or McDonald's on the way to work. Now I make a batch of (Ainsley-safe!) healthy muffins every couple of weeks and he eats those for breakfast. He has also become our Smoothie King - I showed him how to use our new food processor and he has really taken to it! Normally he is very uncomfortable trying to cook anything but apparently if it involves a loud, pulverizing appliance he's right at home. Every morning he gets up and makes enough for all of us, and we drink every drop.

Dave's Yummy, Healthy Smoothie Recipe

1 C orange juice

1 C So Delicious strawberry coconut-milk Kefir (can substitute vanilla or plain Kefir or strawberry, blueberry, vanilla, or plain soy yogurt)

2/3 C frozen strawberries

2/3 C frozen blueberries

1/2 C or 1 individual-sized container no-sugar-added applesauce

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp ground flax seed

1-2 bananas

Put all ingredients into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Makes 4-6 servings.

Little girls and tea parties

I've mentioned before that I rarely take Ainsley to birthday parties - it's a lot of trouble for me because I have to bring all of her food and it's usually a bittersweet experience for her because, although she loves most of the usual party festivities, she gets sad that she can't eat the party food, especially the beautifully-decorated cake.

But this weekend one of her best friends is having a party so we're going. It's a tea party - the third one we've been to in the last year. If Ainsley didn't have allergies, tea parties would be great: little girls in princess dresses sipping tea and eating little sandwiches - is anything cuter? But the problem for us is that these parties revolve around food, much more so than a normal birthday party.

Thankfully, the moms who've organized these have been wonderful about sending me the menu beforehand and asking about safe ingredients. I try to bring a safe version of everything they're having. Last time I had to make iced blueberry scones because that was one of the menu items. It's a lot of work, but obviously worth it to see Ainsley having fun with her friends. So if, like me, you're the mom of a little girl who is attending lots of tea parties these days, I empathize with you!

Hankering for peppermint hot chocolate

One of my favorite food things the past two holiday seasons has been Westsoy's Chocolate Peppermint Stick beverage, which I discovered last year among the other shelf-stable soymilk cartons at Whole Foods. Before that I spent way too much money on peppermint hot chocolate at Starbucks, so I was so happy to discover a cheaper - but incredibly tasty - replacement. This year, Ainsley got addicted to it too, so we doubled our purchases from last year. Well, all good things must come to an end - we went to Whole Foods yesterday and, alas, it was no longer there. But thanks to my recent purchase of peppermint extract for a recipe I have yet to try, I decided to concoct my own, which Ainsley declared to be "just as good as the kind we get at the store!" Here's the "recipe":

-Start with 1 mug of soymilk (plain or vanilla).
-Mix in enough liquid chocolate Nestle Quick or Hershey's syrup (both are free of Ainsley's allergens!) to make the milk very brown ("hot chocolate brown").
-Add 2 drops peppermint extract.
-Microwave for 1 min. to 1 min. 30 sec. (I microwave Ainsley's for just a minute because I don't want it very hot for her).
-Add safe marshmallows (like Kraft Jet-Puffed) if desired.

Fun food allergy Christmas gifts

Before I had Ainsley, I never knew what to say when people asked what I wanted for Christmas or my birthday. I am not one of those people who enjoys collecting purses, jewelry, perfumes, shoes, DVDs, CDs, or anything like that (believe me, Dave is quite happy that he married a girl like me! I have saved him a lot of money over the years). So I have always had to think of random things for them to get me - but it was never anything that I really had to have.

Since we discovered Ainsley's allergies and I began (slowly) learning how to cook and bake from scratch, however, I have discovered the fun world of cookbooks, kitchen gadgets, and appliances, and all of a sudden I had things I really, really wanted - or even needed - that I could put on my Christmas and birthday list.

This Christmas I got a great haul of these items, including: the Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book, a new food processor (old one died), a new hand mixer (Leighton threw away one of the beaters to my old one, and a one-beater mixer is not very effective), an immersion blender (I saw this on someone else's blog and thought it looked really cool), and a Belgian waffle iron (I looooove Belgian waffles).

So far I've used all of them except the immersion blender, which I plan to break out next time I make soup. I've even combined gifts: I used the waffle recipe from the baking book to make waffles using my waffle iron and have also made her berry breakfast smoothie in my new food processor (I have resolved that our family will eat a healthier breakfast in 2010 so I've been feeding them bran muffins and smoothies every weekday morning; I break out the waffle maker on weekends).

The fact that Ainsley's entire family, including the grandmothers, is cooking more means that I also have more ideas for gifts for them than I did before. This year I got my mom a new cake pan and cookie sheet because the ones she uses now are really old, and she was really excited.

Any cool kitchen gadgets/appliances you love? I am always interested in hearing what gets used a lot in other kitchens.

Some ideas for people who must also eat soy-free

Last week I had a cooking/baking challenge that opened my eyes to how difficult it is to live with a soy allergy - especially when it's coupled with a dairy allergy. We threw a little New Year's Eve dinner party for friends who, like us, have small children (and thus can't do the traditional stay-up-til-midnight drinking thing). One of the moms who came is eating dairy- and soy-free because her baby has a suspected milk and/or soy allergy. She has been having a really difficult time finding recipes that don't contain one of these allergens as an ingredient. I always knew it would be hard to have both allergies - because most dairy substitutes are made with soy - but buying ingredients to make food that was safe for her made me thankful that we do not have a soy allergy in our house. I have been taking for granted that almost everything I make for Ainsley has soy in it.

I finally landed upon a few recipes that turned out wonderfully. One was the plain cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (see sidebar, "My Favorite Cookbooks", for link to this book). The only substitutions I made were to use rice milk in place of the soy milk and soy-free Earth Balance in place of the regular Earth Balance I usually stock at home. I also made the icing from that cookbook using soy-free shortening (Spectrum, which is 100% palm oil), soy-free Earth Balance, and rice milk (in place of the soy milk).

In addition, I made cookies using this recipe from Kelly Rudnicki's new baking book: http://www.foodallergymama.com/2009/06/02/another-treat-idea-for-end-of-school-year-parties/ . As with the cupcakes, I used soy-free Earth Balance and rice milk.

Both the cupcakes and cookies turned out wonderfully. I got many compliments from non-food-allergic people about how yummy the cupcakes were (one said to me that it was the best cupcake she'd ever tasted).

I also made a dairy- and soy-free pizza for my friend (and Ainsley - for the other people we ordered in from a local pizzeria). I used this pizza dough recipe: http://www.foodallergymama.com/2009/03/08/the-fastest-allergen-free-pizza-ever/ , which contains no soy. For the sauce, I combined 1/2 can of Muir Glen Organic pizza sauce (available at most Whole Foods) with 1 small can tomato paste. For the topping, I browned ~1 lb. of ground chuck in a skillet. When the meat was still a little pink, I added 1/2 chopped green pepper and 1/2 chopped onion. I also added liberal amounts of salt and pepper. After the meat was browned and the veggies tender, I put the mixture on top of the sauce and baked the pizza according to the above recipe's directions. (Note that if you're okay with soy, you could also use Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust.)

I have to say that this was probably the best dairy-free pizza I've made, and our soy- and dairy-free friend loved it. I sent the leftover pizza and desserts home with her to enjoy. If any of you have any easy soy- and dairy-free recipes you'd like to share, please post them or post links to them and I will be sure my friend gets them!

Easy Christmas goodies

Have you noticed that I still haven't gotten around to posting about our Disney vacation? I have been lazy the past few weeks, just enjoying the holiday season, baking up some yummy things, and spending time with our family. But I had to post about a couple of things I did lately that are so incredibly easy to make, and are safe for kiddos with Ainsley's allergies.

First, I made peppermint bark for the first time, and it was a hit. The directions are as follows:

Dairy-free, Egg-free, Nut-free Peppermint Bark

Ingredients:

2 bags safe chocolate chips

About 5 mini-candy canes or 2-3 full-sized ones (I used Spangler brand because the box said the candy canes do not contain any of Ainsley's allergens and are made on dedicated equipment)

Directions:

-Put candy canes in a gallon-sized plastic ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin until they are in very small pieces.

-Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper.

-Pour the two bags of safe chocolate chips into the pan, making sure to spread them out pretty evenly.

-Put pan in the oven at 375 degrees for about 5 minutes. Check after five minutes - if the chips appear to be melting, take pan out and tap on the counter to spread out the chocolate so that it gets (relatively) flat and smooth. If the chocolate chips haven't melted enough to do this, put in the oven for a minute or two more. Be sure not to overcook the chocolate chips, as they will eventually dry out in the oven and not be spreadable.

-If the tapping doesn't completely smooth out the melted chocolate, you can use a spatula to smooth the top of it.

-Sprinkle crushed candy canes on top of chocolate. Cool pan in refrigerator until chocolate is solid. Then break into pieces.

Here is a pic of the LAST piece of ours!

I also took a reader's suggestion and, for the first time, made chocolate pudding using Jell-O instant pudding mix and coconut milk (we are loving being able to use coconut!). We were completely enamored with the result.

Dairy-free Instant Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

1 can (about 13.5 oz) regular coconut milk

1 box Jell-O chocolate instant pudding mix

Directions:

-In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the 1 can of coconut milk and 1 cup of water.

-Refrigerate bowl for about 20 minutes or stick in the freezer for about 10 minutes to make sure mixture is cool (you could also chill can of coconut milk before opening it and mixing it with the water).

-Take bowl out of refrigerator and add the Jell-O instant pudding mix. Whisk for ~2 minutes. If you can wait, refrigerate for 15-30 minutes before eating. If not, eat right away!