Food Allergies

Having food allergies is a daily struggle to find foods that will nourish your body. Reading labels becomes a common routine during every trip to the grocery store. Doing research to find ALL  the names for corn, soy and wheat so that you can identify the culprits that make you sick in everyday foods. The easiest way to beat the label is to create your own delicious meals.

Right now I have a huge pot of onions caramelizing on the stove for French Onion Soup. The sweet smell of those onions that I pampered and raised this summer, that I so carefully cured in the last days of the hot summer sun, are now going to become another dish that can be safely consumed by my better half. We can top it off with Glutino Millet bread toasted to perfection and some shreds of Pecorino Romano Parmesan Cheese, which is 100% goat's milk. Yummm.

The hardest part for me, who is gluten-free by choice for other health reasons than allergies, is going to other people's homes for dinner. I love potlucks and dinner parties, but its so hard to know what everyone has made and how they made it. But recently we found a wonderful group of folks who understand our limitations because they have some of the same! It's so nice to be around people who can share struggles and recipes. We have been introduced to the companies who do gluten-free/dairy-free well and who does it not so well. I'll be sharing those items and brands as we move along in this adventure. But I have to say here that we have found that what others make and package for convenience are so much better made at home. Is it that special ingredient...love... that makes is better? Well, yes, that and you control everything about it! Convenience food is STILL convenience food no matter if they are gluten-free or not, full of preservatives and fillers. The best food comes from real food! Although I must admit to eating a lot of convenience food as a college student. Always on the run in between classes makes it tough to sit down for a real meal. But as with anything, we do the best we can.

To get you up to speed...

As I sit here under the blanket of the first snow of the season, I am reading over the shoulder of my better half. He is reading Eliot Coleman's "Four Season Harvest," a GREAT book for any gardener wishing to extend the season of fresh food. We  currently have two small hoop houses in which we are growing bok choi, spinach, lettuce, and radishes. We are also overwintering carrots and bunching onions. They are staying warm under a layer of straw and a low hoop house. What a fascinating adventure it is to grow food during the winter!!

This year was my first real gardening experience. The good... and the bad (but mostly AMAZING). Last winter while still living in a dingy basement apartment, with only north facing windows, we tried an indoor container garden. Being thrifty college students, we used our grow light as our reading light, and spent most evenings watching our plants grow. We had some success with lettuce, spinach, and carrots (yes, carrots!) see picture.

Spring came and we moved into an above ground rental, where we are lucky enough to have a huge yard and garden! We began our transplants immediately, readying ourselves for a full blown garden. We also volunteered for our student-run organic farm, so we were keeping up with the schedule set by "real" vegetable farmers. This student farm also runs a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for 25 families. We were anxious to learn everything we could before we left the comfortable confines of college.

Tomato starts which spent the first part of their life in our bedroom, where there was much more natural light and heat than anywhere else.

So now we have just finished our first summer and fall season of gardening. We are experimenting with winter growing and are having some success. We have already learned some valuable lessons, such as planting earlier that we did (early October) and doing successive planting. And we are also planning an indoor garden of some sort to see what else we may be able to grow completely indoors.

Now... on to the cooking. My other half has many food allergies which make cooking a constant challenge. No wheat, no dairy, sparing amounts of corn, rice, tomatoes, and chocolate (I hear your gasp). It's tough to have two eaters in a household with very different eating habits and styles. But I am learning everyday to stretch and grow as cook. My recent foray into gluten-free cooking has been successful, and I am so glad that my other half is an amazing baker. He has been whipping up squash carrot ginger muffins weekly. Along with our weekend pancakes of potato, millet, amaranth, arrowroot pancakes. We haven't been missing wheat in our house at all!!

My first try at gluten-free pizza. Delish! 

Thanks Bob's Red Mill for making a simple to use crust!

Tomatoes and basil are from our garden too!