Hot Summer Day Lunch: safely seperating allergens at the table

It's another hot, humid Houston afternoon.  For lunch, I chopped up some cucumbers, celery, carrots, purple grapes and leftover rotisserie chicken.  This plate contains items safe for all of us.  I also have an avocado for slicing.  Allergic Mom has her own plate of fresh lettuce from Animal Farm as a base.  Things that are different: Little Brother has buckwheat crackers while Big Brother has stone wheat crackers, a hard-boiled egg and some favorite Blue Heron goat chevre. Both boys know to keep to themselves at the table.  Big Brother has the allergens on his plate only and Allergic Mom serves everyone from the center plate.  Utensils are never mixed. When we are finished, the boys go wash up and then clean the crumbs from the table, chair and floor.  They have a mini duster and dust pan to help.   After putting away leftovers, Allergic Mom washes off Big Brother's plate and utensils with soap and water.  She never uses the sponge as to avoid allergen cross-contamination.  Then all plates and utensils go in the dishwasher.  This is how we all eat what we can while keeping each other safe.   

lots of favorite choices for lunch.  Gazpacho helps on a hot day.

Our Thanksgiving Meal

carving our local, heritage turkey from Tejas Heritage Farm:
olive oil, rosemary, satsuma and real salt

"Abundance", "feast"and "enough" are words that have been swirling around in my head lately. They are particularly loaded with meaning for me during Thanksgiving.  Is it still abundance when there are so many restrictions?  Do our allergic restrictions make me feel like I don't have enough comfort food and in turn not enough joy?

This year, there was enough food at our table.  It was a feast: A turkey, and a mighty fine one in fact.  There were salads and cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes and even pumpkin-lucuma ice cream.  The food was local, simple and homemade. We had a bowl of squishy persimmons and freshly picked satsumas. We even had a pot of turkey stock going the following day to help nourish us during the flu.  

I told a dear friend that I would refocus and live in the present: this meal would be delicious despite all of the ingredients left out.  

Perhaps I should start to feel proud instead of sad and nostalgic.  We eat pretty well despite so many food allergies.  

In order of appearance: 1) homemade cranberry sauce 2) Baby Brother eating
along with the rest of the family 3) Big Brother eating on his second helping,
4)turkey soup with veggies and rice pasta 5) allergy friendly waffles with 
chicken sausage and homemade cranberry sauce 6) bowl of persimmons
and assortment of oranges 7) Boys making me turkey soup

Happy New Year

Our New Year menu highlights how easy it can be to enjoy a dairy-free, nut-free, seed-free, soy-free, egg-free, gluten-free holiday.  Some early afternoon appetizers, followed by a braised meat dish.  This year it was Osso Buco (note: make your own pine nut-free gremolata on top as it may contain pine nuts in a restaurant). We enjoy braised meat and chicken dinners regularly with roasted potatoes, rice or polenta.  These also happen to be great dishes for sharing with others and celebrating special occasions.  They also provide leftovers!  I love to change up the veggies to go with the leftovers according to what we get in our CSA basket or Saturday Farmer's Market run. This week: sautéed garlicky spinach, roasted cauliflower/mash, steamed sweet potato moons, honey rosemary roasted turnips and carrots.  We always pick up purple grapes for the New Year's Eve Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes as the New Year rings in.  This year, just like the past few with children, the grapes are now a morning snack tradition.  Serve grapes for dessert with some champagne; now that's easy and allergy-friendly! Just remember to check for a sulfite allergy with your guests.

challenging to chop herbs, plate without sauce
spreading everywhere and take photos while feeding Baby

Allergy-Friendly Entertaining Ideas

So great to come across allergy-conscious articles on entertaining with food.  It is great to feel included, no?  It is great to a have a host make sure an allergic person, especially child, feels included and safe.
Check out these ideas for baby showers:
http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2012/07/12/allergy-free-recipes-for-your-baby-shower/
They bring up a good idea for avoiding cross-contamination:  put out items on separate tapas-style plates with separate serving utensils for each one.  No bananas mixing with the strawberries, thanks!

How funny, and later in the day I stumbled upon this question: How far should a guest go to accommodate?  Some good comments to read on this subject. 

 http://www.thekitchn.com/restrictive-diets-burden-of-the-guest-or-host-the-new-york-times-174088

I struggle with how much to hope for as a guest, especially with an allergic child.  I just feel that it comes down to basic empathy and wanted to include vs. exclude.  

And check out: 
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dealing-with-food-allergies-as-a-host-180304

Delicious Meals to Feed Us Difficult Dinner Guests

I just finished reading this post on a favorite website, www.thekitchn.com.  I thought I'd include the link for  ideas and future reference.  I did note the use of sesame in several of the dishes, something to just work around.  Well put, "To the engaged cook, however, these guests and challenges are not moments of exasperation — they are inspiration and a challenge to create something delicious in constrained circumstances."


http://www.thekitchn.com/the-most-difficult-dinner-guest-ever-and-5-delicious-meals-to-feed-them-169102