Amusing? Sometimes

Karen at Avoiding Milk Protein asked me for some summer travel tips, and m is concerned about her 13-year-old dairy-allergic son's upcoming trip to Hershey Park--without his parents. So let's talk amusement parks, shall we?

Go to the website of the amusement park you will be visiting and look for allergen information, usually somewhere under food/restaurants. More and more locations are posting this information on their sites. Print it out and keep a copy for reference at the park. HOWEVER, you never know how often the information is updated. Or maybe they ran out of the hot dog buns listed on the site and had to substitute with another brand. You just don't know, so you still need to be on the alert at the park.

With that in mind, look for contact information. Using the Hershey Park website as an example, yes, they do list the ingredients of some allergen-free foods online. They also provide contact information for those with questions about allergens. Use this contact information. Personally, I like to use email because then I have everything in print. Explain your situation, then ask whatever questions you have, such as:
May we bring allergen-free food with us into the park?
Who do we ask at the restaurants to let us see ingredient labels?
Who do we contact if we run into a problem at the park?
Etc.

Even if some of these answers are provided on the website, I like to have them with me in print in an email from a high-ranking employee of the park. Then if I run into any resistance, I can pull out the "permission slip."

This is an especially important technique for parks that don't have as many allergen-free options. We have been allowed to bring food for Katherine to various locations that don't usually allow outside food and have never been questioned. But I had my email copies with me just in case someone asked. In these instances, I had to dig around on the websites a little more to find someone to write to. Sometimes I've used the generic "contact us" address and my email was forwarded to the appropriate person. A reply may take awhile, so as soon as you know where you will be going, start writing.

Traveling with food-allergic children is stressful. Sending them off on their own is even more stressful. So until all amusement parks become as forward-thinking as Holiday World, write those emails. Write them before to ask your questions, and write them after to say, "Thank you."

Guerrilla Cooking, With Bonus Baby Content

Here is another obscure cookbook from my collection. It was written by Mel Walsh, another Peg Bracken devotee. We had the Mexican Spaghetti (minus the cheese) for dinner last night.

Mexican Spaghetti

"Use this on the nights when you're tired and you don't want guff from anyone about the menu. The all should like this, and if they don't, tell them it's their turn to cook tomorrow night. "--Mel Walsh, Guerrilla Cooking: The Survival Manual for People Who Don't Like to Cook or Don't Have Time to Cook

1 pound spaghetti
1 pound ground round
1 small onion, chopped
11 oz. can Mexican-style corn [I use frozen corn.]
1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes, either fresh or canned
2 tablespoons chili powder [I use one T. so the kids will eat it.]

"Put the pasta pot on to boil. Meanwhile, brown the beef and chopped onion in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Stir so they won't stick. Drain off any fat. Then add the corn, drained tomatoes [I don't drain them.], and chili powder. Stir. Simmer with the cover on so the juices don't evaporate.

When the pasta is cooked, drain and put it into a serving dish. Pour the meat sauce over the pasta. If desired, sprinkle with grated Monterey Jack cheese. [We don't, obviously.]

Serve with a green salad topped by avocado slices."




And here is our almost-four-month-old baby girl (*sob*), whose baptism was this Sunday. We dressed her in a ridiculous tutu-like outfit from her great-great aunt because, what better time to wear such a thing? The service was beautiful, even the part where Eli tried to escape from Gramma and she managed to catch him by the tip of his tractor boot. Good reflexes, Gramma!

Breads From Anna Piecrust Mix

Breads From Anna Piecrust Mix

Gluten and Yeast Free
Corn, Dairy, Soy, and Rice Free

Ingredients: Tapioca Flour, arrowroot, millet, maple sugar, potato starch, Montina(TM) (perennial bunch grass, achnatherum hymonodies), chick pea flour, navy bean flour, pinto bean flour, salt, xanthan gum, cream of tartar, baking soda.

I made our piecrust with plain soy milk, apple cider vinegar, and canola oil. The directions on the package didn't have all of the baking information I needed to make a fruit pie, so I went to their website for additional baking tips.

The crust was very easy to mix up and roll out, even for me, the non-baker in the family. Because of its crumbly consistency, it was a bit tricky to place in the pie pan, and it did crack during baking. (See photo.) One thing I appreciated about this gluten-free piecrust is that it wasn't sweet, so it could be used for savory pies as well as dessert pies. However, most tasters didn't like the bitter aftertaste of the crust.

www.glutenevolution.com
Breads From Anna Piecrust Mix
$4.35/package

This review is for Go Dairy Free.

Wanna Read a Story?

A Kindergarten Tale:

D. accidentally spills his cheese crackers at snacktime. They land near Katherine, who wisely doesn't touch them. M. and L. come over and clean up the spill. (D. helps, too.)
M. says, "We just saved Katherine's life!"

For more Food Allergy Awareness Week stories and blog posts, check out this week's Living With Food Allergies Blog Carnival at Check My Tag.

Recipe for a Blog Entry

Take these popular blogging topics:
Food Allergy Awareness Week
The rising cost of food
Being frugal
Cooking without allergens

Mix them all together, and you get Nowheymama's Summer Resolution (I can make a resolution any time of year, thanks.) : I am determined to make more of my family's snack foods from scratch.

*Crickets chirping*

Well, I'm excited about it, and that's what matters. Here are the categories I'm thinking about:
Frozen desserts, such as soy ice cream, sorbet, popsicles
Fruit treats, such as fruit snacks and fruit leather (Remember the 70's? Of course! We all do.)
Gelatins made with fruit juice
Cracker-type items
Snack bars

Because:
I'm tired of spending so much money on this stuff. ($3.79/pint for Tofutti ice cream, Local Health Food Store? Really? $4.19/box for six EnviroKidz peanut butter bars, Local Grocery Store? REALLY?)
I think I can make these things in a healthier AND more cost-effective manner. (You won't see me making my own soy milk anytime soon, for example.)
I want a good supply of go-to recipes for school lunches in the fall.
I think this is the one area of grocery shopping where we haven't cut back much yet.

I'll share recipes and family reviews as we try different foods, and would love to hear any or all of your snack recipes.

Are you with me? Come on, dust off that ice cream maker and dig out your Mom's old Tupperware popsicle molds. Maybe we'll even invest in food dehydrators! Whee!

Email Tutorial

Remember when the Internet was "new" and Martha Stewart wrote columns about web etiquette--like how to properly address emails? No? Just me, then? Okey-doke.

Today I'm going to play Martha and offer my own email tutorial because I think it's important to praise companies when they do a good thing and to gently reprimand them when they, say, suddenly add unnecessary allergens to a product. Does it make any difference? I honestly don't know. Probably not. But at least I know I've spoken up. Besides, it takes just a few minutes to send an email to a company: no envelope, no stamp, no hunting for the address, no getting it to the mailbox before the mail carrier arrives, etc.

Letter The First:*
Dear [Company]:

I am writing to let you know how much our family enjoys [product]. My [person] has a severe [allergen] allergy, and s/he is able to eat your [product] because it is [allergen] free. Please continue to produce your wonderful [products] !

Sincerely,
[Name]

* Variations:
Write to your local supermarket to thank them for carrying certain products.
Write to a company whose product you enjoy and would like your store to carry and give them your store's contact information.
Write to a restaurant and thank them for the allergen-free items on their menu.
Write to a potential vacation spot you love and ask them about their allergy policies.
Write to a show that is allergy sensitive. (I wrote to Sesame Street to thank them for the "soy milk for sale" sign in Hooper's Store. Katherine was really excited about it.)

Yes, some of these messages could be delivered in person, but the company can use your wonderful letter (known in the airline industry as an "orchid letter") as an example of how awesome they are, making it more likely that they will continue to carry your item. You will almost always receive a thank you for your note.

Now it's time to let your passive-aggressive tendencies shine.

Letter The Second:
Dear [Company]:

Our family has enjoyed your [product] for many years. Sadly, we are no longer able to use [product] because you have changed the recipe and added [allergen]. My [person] is severely allergic to [ingredient] and cannot eat it. We will miss using [product] and hope that you will reconsider changing the recipe back to its original form.

Thank you for your time,
[Name]

You will almost always receive a response that cites the months of consumer research the company did to come up with their "new and improved" recipe. You will often also receive a coupon for the altered product, encouraging you to "try it again." This might make you want to beat yourself over the head with your laptop, but at least you tried.

Now get writing!

Food Allergy Awareness Week

This week, May 11-17, is the The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network's eleventh annual Food Allergy Awareness Week. FAAN's website states: "This week is devoted to food allergies. There are lots of ways to get involved—visit a local ambulance provider to learn about epinephrine, hang posters, have a fundraiser, talk to legislators, everything helps." Other suggestions for getting involved are here.

One of my favorite FAAN programs is the Be a PAL: Protect a Life from Food Allergies program, which has easy steps for nonallergic children to help their allergic friends:
"Anyone can be a PAL by following these five easy steps:

1. Never take food allergies lightly.

2. Don’t share food with friends who have food allergies.

3. Wash your hands after eating.

4. Ask what your friends are allergic to, and help them avoid it.

5. If a friend who has food allergies becomes ill, get help immediately!"

PALs can be thanked with a free certificate from the website.

Me a Whiny Girl

Friends of my parents tell this story of their 4-year old son and 2-year old daughter talking in the back of the car:
Daughter: You a whiny boy.
Son: No I'm not! I don't whine! Mom, [Daughter] said I'm whiny! Tell her I'm not! Tell her to stop!
Daughter: You doin' it now.

Today I am a whiny girl. I have a sinus infection. Whah, whah. Poor me. It's rainy and overcast. Bleah. So this morning the little ones and I will go to playgroup where Eli will parallel play and I will sit in the corner with Helen and try not to infect anyone. And tonight I will cheer myself up by serving everyone Beck's Chocolate Surprise Cake* (There are beets in it! Shh!) and watching Juno with my husband.

I will also be cheered up by the thought of my reader panel idea being published in the July/August issue of Wondertime. I'll be published! And they're paying me $75! I'm the next Catherine Newman! HA HA HA HA HA HA.

*Substitute dairy-free margarine for the butter, and bake it in an 8"x8" pan at 325 degrees.
[Edited to add: I ended up with enough batter to fill a 9"x13" pan, so that's what I used. We frosted it with dairy-free cream cheese icing, and everyone liked it a lot.]

Take a Letter

THIS MESSAGE WILL SELF-DESTRUCT FAIRLY SOON.

Ka-blam!!!

Angel Food

Have you all heard of Angel Food Ministries? Lately, I've been reading lots of blog entries and talking to people about their food and gas cost concerns. I thought this program was something that might help. According to their website, Angel Food Ministries is "a non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing food relief and contributing to benevolent outreaches in communities throughout the United States."

Angel Food is open to anyone--regardless of income. For $30 a month, you get ~$65 of food. A month's menu may include:

• 4 lb. IQF Leg Quarters
• 4 oz. Beef Back Ribs
• 1 lb. 80/20 Lean Ground Beef
• 2 lb. Breaded Chicken Tenders
• 1.5 lb. Bone in Pork Chops (4 x 6oz.)
• 1 lb. Ground Turkey
• 18 oz. Stuffed Manicotti (Cheese)
• 12 oz. Smoked Sausage
• Betty Crocker Seasoned Potatoes
• 7 oz. Cheeseburger Dinner
• 16 oz. Green Beans
• 16 oz. Baby Carrots
• 2 lb. Onions
• 1 lb. Pinto Beans
• 1 lb. Rice
• 7 oz. Blueberry Muffin Mix
• 10 ct. Homestyle Waffles
• Dessert Item

Are some of these items problems for people with food allergies? Yes. But anything your family can't eat could easily be shared with someone else or given to your local food pantry.

Although we haven't tried it yet, I know many families (of various sizes and incomes) in our community have signed up for Angel Food and are pleased with it. I think it's a great idea. You can find your closest site here.

Great.

Now I'm addicted to Facebook.

Here's a cute kid photo to enjoy while I go look up people from my past.

Things You Can Find Online

A make-your-own onion soup mix recipe.

Ways to be frugal.

Fun games.

A parenting magazine right in my own backyard.

A slideshow by my husband.

Three Months

Dairy-Free Fried Chicken

Katherine was asked to submit her favorite recipe at school for a class cookbook. She chose Daddy's fried chicken. Here is the recipe as she and Daddy submitted it.

Daddy's Fried Chicken

3 eggs
1/3 C. water
2 C. self-rising flour
1 t. pepper
chicken pieces (Katherine likes legs the best.)
vegetable oil for frying

Beat eggs with water. Stir pepper into flour.

Dip chicken pieces into the egg, coat well in the flour mixture. Fry in hot oil (350 degrees) until brown and crisp. (Dark meat takes about 15 minutes, white meat takes about 10.)

Freezes well - reheat at 400 until hot and crispy.

Reuse the oil - it tastes better the second time.

Buy This Book

People often ask me what resources I recommend to learn more about food allergies. Of course I mention the many wonderful online resources, but for a print one, I recommend Food Allergies for Dummies. Not because I think the people asking are dummies, of course, but because it is such a great starting point for anyone who wants to learn more about food allergies. The author, Dr. Robert Wood, has a food allergy himself, so he knows of what he speaks. The text is very accessible, and it is full of information about and reviews of other food allergy books and websites.

I recommend Food Allergies for Dummies to teachers, childcare providers, and parents of allergic children or just-diagnosed individuals who are learning about food allergies for the first time. I also think this is a great book if, say, your child's friend or classmate has a food allergy and you want to learn a little about it without delving into complex medical texts.

Food Allergies for Dummies, Robert Wood, M.D. and Joe Kraynak. $13.39 on Amazon.com.

[Written for Go Dairy Free.]

On the Internets

The newest Food Allergy Blog Carnival is up at Rational Jenn's, and Karen at Avoiding Milk Protein has posted a Nowheymama interview. You can find it under "Avoiding Milk Protein News and Information." Thanks, Karen!

Also, I finally got my postpartum self in gear and officially joined WEGO Health, which is shaping up to be a great online community. Come join us!

We Was Robbed!

Photo courtesy of Menshealth.com.

I'm kidding. We had a great time at the Bake-Off. I think any of you who are eligible should enter next time.

The winners are here. A blog about the event (Complete with photos of Scott!) is here.

[Edited to add: Here's some of the "bad press" Scott's recipe received, to which I have to say: Lighten up, Dudes.]

To Do List

1. Pack for Dallas!
2. Pick a travel outfit to wear while holding an infant lap child (white shirt and mustard yellow pants?)!
3. Clean for my parents who are watching the other kids at our house!
4. Plan easy meals!
5. Write down important information that my mom already knows!
6. Worry that we will be stuck in an airport and miss the Bake Off!
7. Surf for helpful travelling-with-an-infant tips!
8. Figure out cool places to go if we have any free time! (Besides here, which is included in our trip.)
9. Plan what to say to Sandra Lee if I meet her!
10. Cook dinner!
11. Wonder what I've left off the list!

I'm a Big Chicken Person

That's what I said on my first date with a guy when he asked me what kinds of food I liked. He laughed. A lot. I hope he's gotten some mileage out of that story.

So, speaking of chicken, here's the "top secret family recipe" of one of our postpartum meal delivery people. She was kind enough to let me in on the secret, and so I share it with you. I bet you could easily replace the egg and make it egg-free as well as dairy-free.

Also, have you ever had City Chicken? (Just replace the butter with margarine to make it dairy free.) Apparently, we Pennsylvanians and our odd customs are getting some national attention thanks to our April 22 primary.

I'm off to thaw ground turkey, not chicken, for our dinner. I'm a big turkey person, too.

Firsts

Katherine took her first communion yesterday and also lost her first tooth. If I were a certain type of writer, I would compose a thoughtful, heartfelt piece about the passing of time and the many ways our little ones are growing up. I would tell you how I felt full of joy at the sight of her serious face concentrating on her thimbleful of grape juice, and I would tell you how I felt helpless at the pre-tooth loss tears. "I don't want my tooth to come out!"
And, I would tell you that a little part of me didn't want Katherine's first baby tooth to come out, either. I would tell you about my sadness over the loss of that particular little smile. But helping our children change and grow is part of our job, so I would tell you that in the morning I reminded her to sit quietly in church during the communion service, and that in the evening I gently grasped the loose baby tooth and helped her pull it out.

Tell Me All Your Thoughts on Blogs

Like many of you, I don't like blogging about blogging, but here is my secret blog confession:
I don't use one of them there RSS thingys yet. (GASP!) It just always seemed too burdensome. But I think now is the time because I'm missing too much that's going on. I need a tutorial, please. How do I do this?

Also, what other bloggy accessories can you not live without?

Seven

Hey! Where have I been? I've been here, with my lists of seven. (I'm altering the rules, Ria.)

Seven aliments of the House of Hatfield:
1. stomach flu
2. ear infections
3. sinus infection
4. thrush
5. common cold
6. diaper rash
7. RSV scare (not RSV, another virus)

Seven dairy-free recipes we've enjoyed recently*:
1. Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs (renamed "Celebration Rolls" for Easter breakfast because the marshmallow "disappears" and they're empty when you cut them open. You know, like the tomb.) Also, if you're looking for more Easter/Springtime brunch ideas, check out Alisa's recipes.

2. Fruit Pizza (made with Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese instead of dairy cream cheese for Eli's birthday)
3. Country Fried Steak and Gravy
4. Bubba's Beer Biscuits (I'm sorry, all of you Paula haters--We like her recipes.)
5.Back to School Sloppy Joes
6. Split Pea Soup (made with leftover Easter ham)
7. Lady Brownies
*Replace all butter with dairy-free margarine, of course.

Lady Brownies by Paula Deen
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I do 1/2 applesauce, 1/2 oil)
4 eggs
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
11/2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Blend together the sugar, oil, (applesauce,) eggs, cocoa, and vanilla. Add flour; mix. Add nuts; spread into greased 13x9-inch pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Seven books I'm reading a page of whenever I have a second:
1. The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook (Um, obviously.)
2. Birth
3. The Baby Book
4. The Soul's Code (An unlabeled gift I received in the mail. From my brother-in-law, maybe? )
5. A nonfiction political book. I'm trying to stretch, here.
6. Eat, Pray, Love
7. Felicity's Cooking Studio (This is Katherine's, but I'm really enjoying it.)

Off to do dishes and laundry before our next pediatrician appointment....

We Heart Eat n' Park

Here's my eleventh-hour entry for the awesome Food Allergy Blog Carnival that Rational Jenn keeps up and running. I am happy to be included as a carnival...er? ...ist? whenever I remember to send in a link.

This week's theme is "Restaurants." I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize Eat n' Park, a Pittsburgh-based chain that is very allergy-aware. I thought I'd written about them somewhere before, but I can't find a link at the moment. Maybe it was on someone else's blog. Anyway. Focus, Nowheymama!

Eat n' Park is just excellent. They have had Silk soy milk on their menu for at least two years, and the staff is very knowledgeable about what ingredients the menu items contain. We usually order the salad or breakfast bar for Katherine because she can eat many of the items on either one. If we worry about cross-contamination, the server will bring a serving of a bar item straight from the kitchen to Katherine. Also, if a usual bar item is missing (like apple butter, for instance) they will bring her a serving of it at no extra charge.

I wrote to them awhile ago to ask about which of their menu items would be safe, and they sent me an email saying that they didn't want to publish any information on their website until they were absolutely sure it was correct, but they told me the items that they were certain were dairy free. I noticed that their website now has a gluten-free menu listing.

My only complaint is that the Smiley cookies (that they give to every child 10 and under) are neither dairy nor wheat free, and they don't have an alternative treat.

Anyone Else?

Centerpiece by Katherine and Gramma

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We celebrated on Saturday with boiled dinner and green cookies. Mmmm....

I answered some questions that were asked during my maternity leave in the last post, and I didn't mean to leave anyone out. So, any questions you'd like me to answer? Fire away.

I'll get you started with a fun fact. The number one search for this blog is "Star Wars birthday party." True story.



Pistachio Pudding Cookies*

1 cup Bisquick baking mix
1 small package instant pistachio pudding
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients until the dough forms a ball. Shape dough into one-inch balls. Place about two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie with a fork, as you would with peanut butter cookies. Bake until the edges are light brown, about eight minutes. Makes about two dozen cookies.

*Most pudding mixes are dairy free, and so is Bisquick. This recipe is from my junior high home ec. class, although I'm sure you could find a million variations of it online.

[Edited to add: Do NOT use sugar-free pudding mix. Just ask Swistle.]

Q&A

1. How are the preparations for the Pillsbury event going? --MyBuddyMimi

Very well, thank you! (And there is still time to vote for Scott's recipe!) Scott's even been on local TV. We'll be going to Dallas in a month so he can compete and I can laze around the hotel with only a newborn to keep me company. Aaahhh.... [Edited to add: Yet another photographer came to take pictures last night. Good thing I cleaned the kitchen.]

2. Helen's birth story? --Mommy Daisy and Saly

My induction was scheduled for 7 am on January 25, so my mom and my sister arrived at our house at oh-god-thirty (as my grandmother would say). Mom stayed with the kids, and Scott and Emily and I headed to the hospital. Because I love my particular OB/GYN, we had to travel to a hospital about 30 minutes away from our house, yet a different thirty-minute-away hospital from the one where Eli was born. So, three deliveries, three different hospitals. Anyway, we arrived and a very nice woman checked me in, saying, "In just a few hours, they'll be calling me with the registration information for your baby." Yeah....
We went to the maternity ward and after answering a billion questions, my lovely nurse, who looks like my college roommate, started the Pitocin. (Also, my doctor checked in before he went into surgery.) Aaannd, they upped the Pitocin and kept upping it all day long. By mid-afternoon, I was one or two clicks away from the highest level, and... nothing. My doctor stopped back in and prepared me for the possibility of stopping the Pitocin, letting me rest overnight, and starting again in the morning. Because of my earlier experience, this did not thrill me. The nurses and dr. kept asking if I wanted an epidural, but what little contractions I was having were not painful at all, and if I had to stay overnight, I didn't want to be coming off an epidural. So, we waited. (Emily and Scott are old pros at waiting around the hospital, so they came armed with books, movies on the laptop, and money for the cafeteria.)
Around 5:30-6 pm, my doctor came back in and checked me, and I'd made it all the way to three centimeters. He said we could wait overnight, or he could break my water. "Break it!" The contractions immediately became stronger, and yes, I wanted an epidural. The anesthesiologist was on his way in to the hospital to give an epidural to another woman; he'd see me after her. Did I want other pain meds? I decided I didn't at the last second. They tend to make me really loopy, and I didn't want to be out of it. Instead, I got to have lots of undulled Pitocin contractions. The anesthesiologist came to see me around 8ish. The night-shift nurse (who was awesome) checked me before he began, and I was at 4 cm. By the time he was done setting up the epidural, it was 8:45 pm. The nurse checked me again and said, "You're at 10 cm!" Me: "????" They hurriedly called the dr. and started bringing in all kinds of equipment and supplies. At a little after 9 I was told that the dr. was in the building and that I could go ahead and push. I pushed 2-3 times, and Helen was born at 9:17 pm.



3. Enough of this baby stuff. How about some new recipes and dairy-free content, Girlie? --Various

Dairy-Free Meat Pie (from my neighbor, Tracy, who is a saint)

1 lb+ ground beef
2/3 lb pork sausage (Tracy recommends Jimmy Dean.)
Brown meat and add a sprinkle of minced, dried onion. Drain off fat, reserving about 1 tablespoon.
Mix together with:
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon sage
black pepper
Set aside.
To the 1 tablespoon of reserved pan drippings, add:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon beef bouillon
1/2 cup water
Boil down for a few minutes into a gravy. Add the gravy to the meat mixture. Put the filling in a double-crust pie (Pillsbury refrigerated crust is dairy free). Brush the top crust with egg white and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. (Optional, of course.) Bake at 425 for 40 minutes.

Tracy delivered it to us assembled but unbaked, so we could cook it when we wanted to. We served it with applesauce and green beans. It is sooo good. I can't wait to make it myself.

I've made some new dairy-free contacts over the past couple of months, or rather they've contacted me. Say hello to WEGO Health, Whey Out Chocolate, Boys Rule My Life, and The Boy Loves to Read, who reminded me that I need to order some Mabel's Labels for the fall.

Eternal Sunshine of the Postpartum Mind

Um, hi. Remember me? It was nice to take a six-week blogging maternity leave, but it's good to be back. I'm feeling a bit rusty, so bear with me. There's lots of news and a birth story to share, but I'm going to ease into things with a meme. Thanks, Mommy Daisy!

Da Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you. (See above.)
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog. (I'm going to do seven facts about the past 6 weeks.)
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
5. Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged.

1. While I was away, this blog turned one year old, Eli turned two years old, and Helen turned six weeks old. Time is speeding by.

2. I received so many wonderful comments and emails--both baby and non-dairy related--while I was away. Thank you all so much for your good wishes and kind messages and for your patience with my lack of blogging and emailing. I will be writing back/catching up with all of you as soon as I can.

3. While I am very vocal with hospital personnel and pediatric nurses about soy vs. dairy ("Do NOT give my baby formula supplements--especially not dairy ones!" "Soy milk IS calcium fortified, you Nimrod, therefore my son and daughter DO get enough calcium!"), I am a big chicken when it comes to being honest about sleeping arrangements. ("Yep, the baby always sleeps in a bassinet or crib. Uh-huh. All the time.") Even though I truly believe that whatever NSSP works for your family is best, as evidenced by the co-sleeping/musical beds thing we have going on here.

4. It hurts my feelings a little bit that SO many people have asked if Helen is a family name. Like, "Dude, the only way you could have come up with that name is to pick it off your family tree." It is a family name, AND we think it's pretty, and it's not as if we named her, I don't know, Ethel or Dotty or something. (My apologies if those are the names of any of your present or future children.)

5. We received so many wonderful meals during our first few weeks home, and almost everything was dairy-free. I am collecting recipes as we speak, and I can't wait to share them. Mmm... meat pie.

6. I really cannot think of an instance where it is appropriate to ask someone if they are done having children or to say, "Please tell me this is your last one." Unless maybe you are their doctor and another pregnancy would kill them.

7. Oh, the birth? The baby? After a day on Pitocin, the delivery was mercifully, miraculously short. (Extended birth story still to come.) And Helen is an angel--a good sleeper and eater who is blissfully unbothered by her siblings' love and attention and overenthusiastic head patting.

I tag whoever hasn't done this meme yet, which I'm guessing is no one. But I'll have to read all of your old blog entries to make sure.

Induction Junction

My old friend Pitocin and I met again to duke things out. But it's hard to complain when this is the end result:

Helen Priscilla
9 lbs, 0 oz.
21 inches long
January 25
9:17 p.m.

Review-o-rama

Let's burn off some of this pre-labor energy by writing some overdue reviews for Go Dairy Free before Alisa fires me, shall we?



Authentic Foods Pie Crust Mix (gluten, wheat, and dairy free)

This made-from-almonds crust has a shortbread-y feel and taste that our whole family enjoyed. It is definitely made for sweet, not savory fillings. Scott and I think it works best with a creamy/custard filling. We filled ours with dairy-free pumpkin pie filling and it was lovely. (Yes, I should have covered the crust edges with foil. I forgot. Oops.) As with so many gluten-free products, you can't expect this crust to bake up like a wheat one would. But we really enjoyed the almond flavor and texture, especially with a smooth filling.

Ingredients: rice flour, natural almond meal, evaporated cane juice, tapioca flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, potato starch, vanilla, salt

We mixed in 1 large egg, 2 tablespoons plain soy milk, and 4 oz. of shortening. One package makes one crust.



Kinnikinnick Chocolate Cake Mix (gluten, wheat, and dairy free)

We liked this chocolate cake mix for many reasons, the most important being: it tastes like chocolate. Deep, dark, cocoa-y chocolate. Mmmm. I frosted it with dairy-free chocolate glaze.
I tend to like the texture and moistness of gluten-free mixes like those made by Namaste Foods, whereas Scott prefers a drier texture and finer crumb. This Kinnikinnick cake was just what he likes. Don't get me wrong, it is not a dry cake, nor was it disliked by anyone in our house. It's just a slightly different texture than other gluten-free mixes we have tried, which I think is a good thing. If at first you think you don't like gluten-free mixes, try, try again.

Ingredients: Sugar, potato starch, white rice flour, cocoa powder, sweet rice flour, KinnActive baking powder, guar gum, salt, pea protein, sodium bicarbonate, pea starch, pea fiber.

We made the cake with 4 eggs, 3/4 cup oil, and 3/4 cup cold water. The mix makes two 8x8 cakes or one 9x13 cake.



Kinnikinnick Pancake and Waffle Mix (gluten, wheat, and dairy free) (shown here with mixed berries)

I love this pancake mix. The kids eat it not knowing that it is any different from our usual pancakes. Scott said the only difference he could detect is that this batter is slightly sweeter than other mixes/recipes we've made. He doesn't mind the sweetness; he was just being pressured by his wife to comment on what, if any, differences he detected. I like the pancakes we make with this mix because I don't feel as if I have a lump of dough sitting in my stomach after I eat them. And I feel smug about feeding them to the children. "You're eating pea protein and liking it! Mwaa ha ha."

Ingredients: Pea starch, white rice flour, cornstarch, sugar, tapioca starch, dextrose, defatted soy flour, whole egg powder, KinnActive baking powder, inulin, pea protein, pea fiber, fructose, salt, cream of tartar, sodium bicarbonate, sodium, carboxy methylcellulose, vanillin, guar gum.

We mixed in 1 egg, 3/4 cup plain soy milk, and 1 tablespoon of oil with one cup of mix. One bag makes about 3 batches of pancakes. The mix does contain whole egg powder.

Yeaahh....

No baby yet.

Time to enjoy some online retail therapy where no one looks at me and where I do not run into a woman in the lotion aisle who says, "I just can never find a lotion that works!" before opening various lotion containers to sniff and spread all over her hands and arms. In the store.

Let's Get This Party Started

I don't have to be induced! I get to go into labor on my own! I... have no idea if I'll actually realize when I'm in labor! I've never done this before!

Brief Birthing History, TMI Edition (Look away, Dad.)

Baby #1: Admitted to hospital on Thursday evening, released Friday evening after a failed induction. (Note to medical personnel - TELL PREGNANT WOMEN INDUCTIONS MAY NOT WORK.) Went home and ate my weight in fried chicken livers while sobbing hysterically. Readmitted to hospital on following Tuesday at lunchtime. Water broke early Wednesday afternoon as doctor was filling out release forms to send me home again. When I told him my water had broken, he said, "Oh, Ok. (Pause.) It's going to be a long day." Baby born first thing Thursday morning, at 42 1/2 weeks. Cervidil and Pitocin were used liberally both times. Poor, poor baby was born with the help of a vacuum extractor.

Baby #2: Admitted to hospital Wednesday evening. Induction started without drugs. Reached 5 centimeters by morning but still wasn't in labor, so it was time for Pitocin. (Bleah.) Baby born early Thursday afternoon at 40 weeks.

So, 36 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing, then 18 hours of labor, 1 1/2 hours of pushing. Do I hear 9 hours of labor and 45 minutes of pushing for #3? Hey, I can dream.

I had an appointment yesterday, and I have reached two whole centimeters all by my ownself, which has never, ever happened before. Also, this little girl does not appear to be a 9- or 10-pounder like her siblings, so there is time to wait things out.

But enough of this waiting stuff. I want to hear all of your voodoo tips to move things along. GO!

To the Lady in the Megamart

Hello,

I don't know if you remember me, but I remember you. We met only once, in the summer of 2001. I was grocery shopping after work, having brought my husband along for company and protection. You see, I was very, very pregnant with my first child, and the last few times I'd been shopping I left the store in tears after one too many unwanted comments/stomach fondlings. (And it was almost always a retirement-age man touching my belly. What is with that? Not that I'd expect you to know.)

Anyway, we saw each other several times weaving in and out of the grocery aisles, the pharmacy aisles, and I caught you looking at me each time we met. I hid behind my husband and whispered, "That woman keeps looking at me!" Inevitably, we met in the toiletry section while my husband was somewhere else. You reached out to touch my arm. As I braced myself for a comment I was sure I didn't want to hear, you said, "Excuse me. I just wanted to tell you how lovely you look in that shirt. I'm sorry I've been watching you all through the store, but it is just such a flattering color on you."

Thank you.

I think of you often. When I am pregnant and besieged by unthinking comments, yes, but especially when I catch myself looking at a pregnant woman. I remember your kind words, and I try to pass them on.

Vote Fer Mah Man

C'mon, look at that food.

Photo courtesy of Pillsbury.com.

S@MOSA T@QUITOS WITH @PRICOT CHUTNEY S@UCE (Dairy Free!)
by Scott H@tfield for the 2008 Pill$bury B@ke Off

(I attracted all kinds of unwanted visitors when I wrote about this before. Trying to be a bit more careful.--Nowheymama)

For taquitos

• 3 tablespoons Crisco Pure Canola Oil
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 bag (30-ounce size) frozen country-style shredded hash brown potatoes (4 1/2 cups)
• 1 box (9 ounces) Green Giant frozen spinach
• 1 can (4.5 ounces) Old El Paso chopped green chiles
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 package (10.5 ounces) Old El Paso flour tortillas for soft tacos and fajitas (12 tortillas)

For sauce

• 1 jar (12 ounces) Smucker's Apricot Preserves
• Remaining Old El Paso chopped green chiles
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and potatoes; cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are thoroughly cooked and slightly browned.

Meanwhile, cook spinach in microwave as directed on box. Drain spinach; cool 5 minutes. Carefully squeeze with paper towels to drain. Pull spinach apart into smaller pieces. Measure 4 teaspoons of the chiles; reserve remaining chiles for sauce.

Stir spinach, 4 teaspoons chiles, the salt, coriander, 1 teaspoon garam masala and 1/2 teaspoon ginger into potato mixture. Cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixed and thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; gently stir in lemon juice.

Place about 1/4 cup potato filling on each tortilla, 1/2 inch from one side. Starting at side with filling, tightly roll up each tortilla around filling; place seam side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush taquitos with remaining 1 tablespoon oil.

Bake 8 to 11 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir sauce ingredients until well mixed. Serve warm taquitos with sauce for dipping.

Serves 12.

Look at that guy with the crappy kitchen. Clearly he needs a better cooking environment.


Photo by Rebecca Droke, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


You can vote for his recipe here--and by voting you enter yourself for a chance to win one million! The Post-Gazette article is here. Bon Appetit!

Edited to add: The person whose recipe gets the most online votes will win $5000. Scott goes to compete for the $1 million in mid-April. Dude, I'm just excited about the free microwave he gets.

Crayons, Church Ladies, and Communion

First things first: yes it is January 2008, and yes, I am still pregnant. The due date is the 26th and I've always been induced before at 40+ weeks, so simmer down now. Although if you feel like sharing any home induction tips, please feel free. I will not hold you in any way responsible for what does (or does not) happen.

Secondly, what do you do with a load of non-chlorine-bleach-only lights that somehow went through the dryer with a toddler's brand-new, jumbo-sized, orange crayon? I mean, hypothetically. "Sit down and cry" is the best option I've come up with so far, but I'm happy to entertain other suggestions. Bonus points for those who know how to clean all of the wax out of the dryer.

I haven't been to church in a couple weeks, so yesterday I got the full-on smile-knowingly-at-the-pregnant girl (Trust me, in this group of folks, I am a baby) treatment from the church ladies, as well as the what-are-you-still-doing-in-that-condition-yuk-yuk treatment from their husbands. Our seminary intern decided to really drive the point home with an Epiphany sermon about the magi that began, "I'm sure we all know a young couple who is expecting a baby...." Gee, thanks. Let me just wrap things up by waddling down the aisle collecting the offering so everyone can smile and make "big belly!" gestures at me. That'd be swell.

On the plus side, I finally procured a copy of the church's top secret communion bread recipe! (Of course I'll share it with you.) We've been waiting to find out the ingredients so we know whether or not it's safe for Katherine to start taking communion. Church Lady Number One told me that it is safe when the volunteers follow the recipe, which she and Baker Number Two apparently do. Baker Number Three (whose name Number One would not reveal) likes to mix things up and use cinnamon cake mix in place of the cake flour called for in the recipe. So the communion bread is safe for Katherine when it is white, but NOT when it is khaki. Number One will talk to Number Three, but she can't promise anything. Ah, the intrigue.

Here's the recipe, which I have never made. Some of the directions are a bit...vague, but they're what I was given.

Dairy-Free Communion Bread, courtesy of Tower Presbyterian Church

2 1/4 cups egg whites
4 1/2 t. baking powder
3 cups flour
3 cups cake flour (or dairy-free cake mix!)
3/4 cup shortening
2 1/4 cups sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line pans with waxed paper. (What pans? I have no idea. Jelly roll/cookie sheet pans, I'm guessing.)

Beat egg whites (For how long? No idea.), add sugar, then shortening, then flours and baking powder.

Spread a layer on each cookie sheet and loaf pans. (How many? I dunno. However many you find in the church kitchen, I guess.)

Bake until the bread starts to brown on the edges, approximately twenty minutes.

Turn out and pull off waxed paper. Trim off edges and cut while still warm. (Apparently this is very important.)

According to Church Lady Number One, this makes enough communion bread for three Sundays, two services a Sunday (or approximately 150-200 people per Sunday).

Holy Crepe

Wow. I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted. Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I know we did.



Katherine received an apron and the Ratatouille cookbook for Christmas, among many other things. The night she received the cookbook, she immediately began altering recipes to make them dairy free and/or to use ingredients she likes better. She and Daddy prepared dairy-free crepes for New Year's Day brunch, and they were fantastic! Katherine has decided that she's going to be a "cooker" when she grows up, which is fine with me.

Colette's Crepes, adapted from What's Cooking? A Cookbook for Kids

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups plain soy milk
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted soy margarine (Katherine likes Soy Garden.)

Put all the ingredients in a blender in the order listed and blend until smooth. Remove the lid and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Briefly blend the mixture again. Set the covered blender in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight.

When it's time to cook the crepes, spread 1 teaspoon of dairy-free margarine in the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch shallow nonstick frying pan and place over medium heat. Blend the batter again to smooth it.

Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter into the pan. Immediately tilt and swirl the pan to evenly coat the bottom. This should take about 5 seconds. Cook the crepe on the first side for about 45 seconds, then quickly flip it with a spatula and cook the other side for about half as long. Remove to a plate, folding if desired. Spread a little more margarine in the pan before cooking the next crepe.

Katherine recommends serving the crepes with thawed raspberries from the freezer and powdered sugar.

The Very Non-Dairy Christmas

I finally managed to pry The Very Non-Dairy Christmas out of my children's hands long enough to write a review. This book has been on heavy rotation in our house since it arrived here several weeks ago. A Christmas book! About dairy allergies! Clearly this was written for us.

After the first two readings (one right after the other), Katherine kept saying, "Santa is just like me! He can't have dairy--just like me!" Eli loved the cartoon-y drawings, especially the ones of "Ho ho ho" (Santa). While we have read books about other allergies, this is our first dairy-only book, which Katherine loves. And the fact that it's about Santa is the icing on the dairy-free cake.

Writing fiction about medical issues--such as food allergies--in a natural way can be a challenge. To Scott's and my ears, some of the explanatory dialogue sounded a bit forced, but our children haven't been bothered by it at all.

I think that any child or sibling of a child with food allergies would enjoy this Christmastime tale. I don't know how it would translate for children who don't have allergies in their families. Their parents might not want to bother with buying special soy milk just for Santa! But The Very Non-Dairy Christmas is destined to be a Christmas classic in our house.

[This review was written for Go Dairy Free.]

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Have you been to a Christmas pageant yet this holiday season? Did it seem more Herdman than holy at first? Maybe it went something like this:

The children's choir sings while the Angel of the Lord climbs up onto her perch. Mary and Joseph arrive with their baby doll Jesus, who has bright blue eyes and looks decidedly feminine. After cradling her baby and placing Him in the manger, Mary chats quietly with the Angel of the Lord while Joseph tries to strangle himself with his shepherd's crook. The (female) shepherds arrive with their stuffed... goat. The children's choir continues singing and playing chimes as if they are handling martial arts weapons. The wisemen arrive; one of them receives a coy little finger wave from Mary. Joseph, still wrestling with his crook, pays no heed. As the choir continues to sing, Mary plays with pieces of hay while Joseph chews on some. A wiseman picks his nose. The shepherds play restlessly with their shepherd's crooks. At last, the entire cast lines up at the front of the stage to sing "Go Tell it on the Mountain," mumbling the verses but belting out the chorus. Then, in a triumph of mixed media, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive with little candies and trinkets for all of the children and their siblings.

Perhaps there is an almost-two-year old keeping you company in the audience, who claps his hands and yells, "Yay!" after every song. Maybe he calls his sister's name in excitement when Mary comes onstage, and says, "Oh wow!" when Santa appears. Maybe you think about Christmas just two years ago, when he was kicking your ribs like this baby girl is now.

Maybe the evening ends with many congratulations and a few cookies left over from the potluck dinner. I hope so.

Double Chocolate Chewies from The Cake Mix Doctor
(adjusted to be dairy free)

1 package plain, dairy-free devil's food cake mix
1/3 cup water
4 tablespoons dairy-free margarine, melted
1 large egg
1 cup dairy-free semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two cookie sheets. Place the cake mix, water, melted margarine, and egg in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for one minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the speed to medium and beat for one minute more. The dough will be thick. Fold in the chips and nuts.

Drop heaping teaspoons of the dough two inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake the cookies until they have set but are still a little soft in the center, 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheets for one minute. Remove the cookies with a metal spatula to wire racks to cool completely, 20 minutes.

Holler 'Nuff!

Remember the touching Christmas scene in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy where Almanzo and his snotty cousin Frank were pounding the stuffing out of each other in the snow? And Almanzo wouldn't give up till Frank hollered, "'Nuff?" Well, I'm hollering "'nuff." I am giving in to this pregnancy. I am tired! I take naps when I should be working while I let the children watch crappy cartoons! I sent out some bills without stamps and some bills without checks the other day! I made Scott leave work early for K's Christmas dance recital this past Tuesday, and it's this coming Tuesday! I fed the kids pizza for lunch and dinner yesterday! (Scott, teasing, "Yeah, Mommy doesn't care anymore.")

To keep from becoming a total Mama Scrooge during this Christmas season, here are some of the links to fun and easy Christmas crafts I'm planning to use to entertain the children. While I nap.

Family Fun Christmas Printables
Wondertime Holiday Links
Nativity Paper Dolls (From Beck)
Jan Brett (From Soulemama)

On Cupcakes and Parties

Jill left some questions for me to answer, and I've decided to answer them in a post. (Hope that's Ok, Jill!)

"I wondered about your daughter taking her dairy-free cupcakes to things. How does she like that? Is she ok with it? Does it go over ok with other kids and stuff? Do you have several in the freezer and pull them out for these occasions? Are they already decorated in the freezer?
Sorry for all the questions, but my daughter is allergic to dairy, eggs and soy. So, I have been letting her take a piece of candy instead of eating the cake (she doesn't normally get candy, so she has been fine with it so far). Just wondering about making cupcakes for her to take to birthday parties and such."

When Katherine was younger (2-3) I was more likely to pack fruit snacks or a granola bar for her dessert if we went somewhere. She didn't really notice what the grownups were eating. But that was before school, friends, birthday parties, etc. Now that she's older, she prefers to match her friends whenever possible, but she understands if what she brings isn't exactly the same. Katherine's friends and classmates are very accepting and understanding as well.

I keep cookies, cupcakes, Tofutti frozen dessert, and Tofutti Cuties in the freezer. The cookies are usually unfrosted sugar cookies and chocolate chip. The cupcakes are usually yellow cake mix with chocolate frosting. After baking the cupcakes and letting them cool, I peel back one side of the cupcake wrapper, slice the cupcake almost in half horizontally (as you would a hamburger bun) , and spread frosting in the middle. I then rewrap the cupcake and place it in a freezer bag with several others. I usually send one Tofutti Cutie sandwich and one cupcake with Katherine when she attends a birthday party. More information on what I send to school and other locations is here.

Since we are dealing with just one allergen, our situation is a bit different than yours, Jill, and I know that not all of the foods I'm writing about are safe for your daughter. (Maybe you could give her sorbet or Italian ice for a frozen treat?) But I hope this helps a little bit!

First Weekend in December

How to spend the first weekend in December:

Saturday
Begin the Advent calendar.
Go Christmas shopping with Daddy. Buy your brother a stuffed froggie for his Christmas present.
Receive your Christmas ornament kits in the mail.
Go downtown for the annual Christmas parade.
Sit on Santa's lap because you're not scared of him anymore. Ask for a digital camera.
Go to a neighbor's house for an after-parade party. (Bring your own dairy-free cupcake and Tofutti Cutie.)
Come outside to find snow falling. Walk home in the snow.

Sunday
Go to Sunday School and church.
Watch Mama and Daddy's old Grinch and Charlie Brown Christmas videos.
Light the first candle on your new Advent wreath (beautifully handmade by a member of our congregation) at dinnertime while Mama reads Isaiah 40:3-5.
Dream sweet dreams.

Anecdotal Evidence

EDITED.

Thank you so much for all of your birth stories! I love a good baby story. Here's a new one!

Baby Peanut is weighing in at 4 lbs 10 oz here in week 32/33. We'll be keeping an eye on her size, and I am not allowed to travel during the holidays, as I suspected.

Also, if you are, say, 22 months old and want to freak out your mother, wake up from your nap with your inner ear bleeding. Ear infections are wicked gross, and mommy's facial expressions are so funny! You will have to go to the doctor and get ear drops, though.

Leftovers

Thank you all so much for your awesome cleaning tips. I especially liked Hipwritermama's idea: "Leave out some disinfecting wipes and place them in wastebaskets so the rooms smell clean." Genius!

Thanksgiving went very well and we had a lovely time with both sides of our family. The only glitch was my pie making. I baked them the day before, in the midst of cleaning and organizing, which may have been a mistake. The first pumpkin pie burned because, although I remembered to reset the timer, I forgot to turn the temperature down from 450 to 350 after 15 minutes. I hurried up and made a second one, but in all of the confusion of people coming in and out of the kitchen during dinnertime, the oven got turned off while the second pie was still baking. We turned it back on and it turned out all right. Clearly I didn't learn to stop while I was behind because after everyone left, I tried to make a pecan pie for the first time while Scott brined the turkeys. (Spellcheck suggests I use "brained" or "bribed" instead of "brined.") The recipe practically yells at you not to let the pie overbake and to take it out while the middle is still a little jiggly, which we did. Unfortunately, it was still jiggly the next day at Thanksgiving dinner. I had made the dairy-free pecan pie for Katherine since she can't eat her grandmother's pecan pies, so Scott and I kept the unappealing, oozing pie down at our end of the table. Not surprisingly, K. decided not to try it. At least the pumpkin bars turned out well. (I frosted them with dairy-free frosting.)

Here's the pumpkin pie recipe. It is a lovely pie when you follow the directions. No photo, for obvious reasons.

Pumpkin Pie from A Vegetarian Harvest

1 15-ounce can of pumpkin
2 eggs, beaten
12 ounces of soymilk (I use vanilla.)
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar
prebaked graham cracker pie crust

Preheat the oven to 45o degrees. Mix together the ingredients. Pour them into the crust. Bake 15 minutes at 450 degrees, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 50 minutes.

There is no school today because it is the first day of antlered deer season for rifle hunters, affectionately known as "the first day of buck." The kids are snacking on the last of the candy corn while coloring snowflakes and snowmen to hang from the dining room chandelier. I'm digging out some of the Christmas decorations and taking advantage of some online sales in between catching up on blogs. Happy first day of buck to you all!

Cleaning...or Not

It's time to fess up: what awesome pre-holiday, pre-guest cleaning tips do you have to share with a very pregnant person who inherited the chaos gene? I'm not talking about FlyL@dy shiny sinks or passive-aggressive-Martha-advice. I'm talking dim the lights and light some candles survival.

I'm talking about this:
"I glanced involuntarily at the heap of ashes in the grate, but she saw them as no obstacle at all. From a scratched oak box beside the hearth, she produced three firelighters and a handful of sticks. These went on top of the ashes, which got only a desultory poke. She struck a match, lit the firelighters, and made a wigwam of coal. The new fire flared up good-temperedly on the body of the old while Madge took the hearth brush and swept a few cinders out of sight behind a pile of logs.
Fascinated, I watched her continue with her housework. She drifted across to the dead flowers, opened the window, and threw them out. She emptied the water from the vase after them, then put it back on the windowsill and shut the window.
From behind the sofa... she pulled out a large brown cardboard box.... [O]n the inside it was half filled with the same sort of jumble which was lying around the room. She wafted methodically around in a large circle, taking everything up and throwing it just as it was into the box, a process which took approximately three minutes. She then pushed the box out of sight again behind the sofa and plumped up the seat cushions of two armchairs on her way back to the door. The room, tidy and with the brightly blazing fire, looked staggeringly different. The cobwebs were still there but one felt it might be their turn tomorrow. [Her son] was right. Ma had got the time-and-motion kick completely buttoned up, and what did it matter if the motive was laziness?"
--Dick Francis, Forfeit

Go! Meanwhile, I guess I'll get off the computer and start. *Sigh.*

Holiday Dinner Tips

In case you are going to someone else's house for Thanksgiving and are not hosting it like a crazy person, and/or if you have other festive events on the horizon, here are some food allergy hints and tips we've come up with over the years.

For any kind of everybody-bring-a-dish event, bring dessert. Kids are less likely to mind if their veggies don't match everyone else's, but if they are eating a stale granola bar from the bottom of your purse while everyone else feasts on pie, things are going to get ugly. I usually bring something in individual servings, like cookies or cupcakes. That way, there is no fear of the server from a cream pie being used to serve the dairy-free pie. As an added precaution, I put a plate of cookies/cupcakes out for everyone but keep a baggie full of them in my bag. No cross contamination, and this prevents the cookies from being eaten by everyone else first. (This really did happen to us one Thanksgiving, even though I told everyone that they were the dairy-free Katherine cookies and the only dessert she could eat. Fool me once....)

We often bring rolls as well because Katherine loves bread and has a hard time watching everyone else eat it in front of her. Cranberry sauce makes an excellent dairy-free spread. If we don't bring rolls for everyone, I pack a few dairy-free ones just for her.

I also pack a potato. If there are facilities for me to cook it in, I pack it raw. If not, I microwave it at our house and throw it into a baggie. By the time we reach our destination, the potato is cool enough to eat. Also, steaming in the baggie makes for easy skin removal. You can then cut it up or mash it up and season it with salt and pepper.

There are usually enough fruits and veggies that are dairy free (get to the relish tray early!), along with the cranberry sauce and jello salads (as long as they don't have cream cheese, of course). Check to make sure the turkey hasn't been basted with butter. Otherwise, it's usually fine. When I don't know much about the foods being served, I will pack some precooked chicken or turkey and canned green beans as well as the bread, potato, and dessert.

If this is an immediate family event, you can usually check with everyone ahead of time about what they're bringing and what the ingredients are. Some people are happy to alter recipes, and some are not. I choose not to push the issue and just bring lots of our own food. This is each parent's personal choice. If someone is interested in substituting dairy-free margarine for butter, I am happy to give them safe brand names. If great-grandma's stuffing has always been made with butter and American cheese and we are by god not changing that for anyone, fine.

As we all know, food can be a very emotional topic for people, especially at holiday time. Also, cooking dairy free (or gluten free, or nut free, or egg free, etc.) can be very intimidating. And, as many of us were taught that asking "What's in this?" is rude, it can be hard for people not to take offense. I really, really try to be understanding. I am so appreciative when people try to make things Katherine can eat, and I try so very hard to remember it is nothing personal when they don't. The flip side of this is that I hope they remember that we are talking about a six-year-old child. So I hope they aren't offended when she doesn't like the dairy-free dishes they so carefully made for her.

Raspberry Salad

Here's my friend Tracy's raspberry salad recipe. Sorry there's no photo, but I wanted to go ahead and post it for those who might be interested. This is going to be a part of our dairy-free Thanksgiving.

Raspberry Salad

approximately 35 ounces of applesauce*
2 small or one large package of raspberry Jello
16-20 ounces of frozen raspberries

Set the raspberries out to thaw a bit while you heat the applesauce until it starts to boil. Stir in the Jello. Stir in the raspberries. Pour into a 9x9 dish or a Jello mold. Refrigerate until set.

*Tracy usually buys a large (50 oz.) jar of applesauce and measures out the amount she needs.

Scott thinks this would be good with other Jello/berry combinations, too. Hey, who am I to disagree?

Dairy-Free Thanksgiving Menu

So, who's hosting Thanksgiving? For both sides of your family?

*Nowheymama shakily raises hand.*

Let's plan a menu so I can sleep at night. What do you say? And since my blog becomes less private every day--Family, this is what we're having for dinner.

Dairy-Free Thanksgiving Menu
Two turkeys, deep-fried by Scott and my Dad
Gravy, made by Dad, who substitutes dairy-free margarine for the butter, of course
Mom's stuffing, two batches
Scott's mashed potatoes
My brother-in-law Jarred's sweet potato casserole (Um. Please, Jarred?)
Peas
Green bean casserole
Salad
Rolls
Cranberries: cranberry jelly and the awesome cranberry orange relish made by our grocery store
Raspberry jello salad (my neighbor Tracy's recipe, made with frozen raspberries from the farmer's market)
Applesauce
Relish tray
Appetizers, if someone else wants to make them

Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie?

Cider
Soda
Water
Wine
Decaf coffee

I promise to post/link to more recipes ASAP. This is a 100% dairy-free Thanksgiving menu.

Oh-so-exciting family health update: Eli is recovering from the croup and an ear infection. I do not have gestational diabetes (told ya!) and am fine. The baby is growing and growing, which is great, but my dreams of an induction-free birth fade with every ounce she gains. Ah, well. And Katherine and Scott are just dandy. Wake up, I'm finished.