Freezing Food Notes

There has been a lot of freezer and composte action this weekend.  Our family has evolved and grown these past few years that our food consumption has changed and grown as well.  Starting out married dinner for 2 people easy.  Then a  baby came baby food and food allergies hmmm.  Then baby turns into toddler and more babies follow with more food allergies and other nutrition education.  Babies turn into toddlers into older children into tweens (is that really a word I can't even use it I still like preteen) well now we are a family of 7 people.  Big and small we love to eat food and try recipes and prepare our food. 

I've mentioned before I'm the anti-canner.  If I can avoid canning I will but I love my  freezers the kitchen one and the bigger one in the basement.  While the family was growing when then older ones were babies I got into the habit of freezing baby food. Then I started freezing fruits we picked.  Last summer I began freezing very few vegetables just  a couple of bags that didn't last long.  This summer I went all out and went into a freezer frenzy collecting some of our favorite vegetables  for recipes, preparing the stations on the counter, trying to figure out an efficient process with some help around here.  My advice recruit whoever you can for chopping even for just a little while. 

I think my main motivation to freeze much more this year is because our family has evolved from having a busy crazy schedule, to decreasing our activity schedule, then making slow decisions to homeschool and now slowing it down a bit more.  Whatever our path may have been  or is now meals need to be made and it would be nice to have certain food items already handy in the freezer.  It takes the prep work out for later and makes it easier sometimes when trying a new recipe.  It's also nice when we can be more in touch with our food from the csa, farmer's market and picking.  We talk about the process and months later remember hopefully we will carry on year after year. 

During this whole process I made lots of notes in a notebook just for harvesting about planteing, how and what grew, what didn't work and what I wanted more or less of this summer.  Now there are notes in there about this freezing process for fruits and vegetables and yes I also took lots of pictures this weekend at every step when I remembered.  There was a comment floating around here that I took more pictures of food than the kids.  Yes true but temporary.

So from Friday till Sunday we froze:

tomatoes

leeks

scallions

beans

corn

swiss chard

peaches

The last summer weekend was spent in the kitchen washing, dicing, boiling, freezing, running out to the composte. In the end it was worth knowing there will be summer vegetables in the freezer this fall/winter. The notebook and pictures is to document for future reference and make any needed adjustments and for the blog.  I know all the recipes and processes can be googled but this weeks posts will be a  Freezing Food Series  of what went on in my kitchen. So bear with me this week with the vegetables, instructions, pictures and repetition. 
Hope you will come on by leave a comment and if you have any suggestions or stories I'd love to read them.

Food allergies on my mind and coleslaw

I'm always on the look out for recipes that are similar to what is out there at chain or family restaurants, specialty restaurants (like Chinese, Italian or Thai), small homemade eateries, the supermarket or wherever they sell food that looks good that our family member(s) with food allergies can never have. It's always cooked in this or next to that which is an allergy problem. There is never much available for options except for french fries. I'm not kidding it happens too often. Even if we do get lucky at an establishment the situation has to be explained no cross contamination for example I can't just pick out the nut or cheese or no that can't be cooked with butter or peanut oil or what's in the bread. Sometimes the server will bring out the package so I can read the ingredients. In the best of circumstances something can be specially made after the explaination. Usually I throw my hands up and don't bother going out too eat it's not worth the fuss or extensive research for one meal. It's a good thing I like to cook and bake because usually what happens is I can cook or bake that at home.

It doesn't seem fair to me that the kid(s) with the allergy is singled out at mealtime. Also that they get to watch this beautiful food passby that smells good but can't have any. Even the individuals we eat with have make sure hands and mouths are wiped to prevent cross contimanation during play time or kissing on the cheek.

Usually when a family finds out that a child has a food allergy the child is a baby or toddler. The parent learns about epi pens and reading labels and some resources. Sure it's overwhelming but then things change. If a family is lucky the child grows out of it and that's a huge weight that's been lifted. (It's happened with one of our kids.) But for some like myself I have little people that are no longer toddlers but older children and more food passed under their nose of how good it smells but can't have any. I almost miss the toddler and baby years because then it was less obvious in some situations.
Now it's obvious when eating out and at parties, family/friend functions how much more one kid can't have or try. It's disheartening to hear "That looks or smells good. I wish I could try that. I wish I could have cheese it looks good. Am I allergic to this?" That's why I'm always on the look out for recipes and how to take the main stream stuff that the rest us can have and make it allergy friendly and taste good.

Today's post was supposed to be about a coleslaw but I guess had to share what's been on my brain about food allergies in a growing family.

One of the recipes on my radar has been coleslaw. From time to time I find a coleslaw recipe that I like but it is never a hit with the whole family. I've tried them with vinegars & lemon and they were yummy and had no dairy or eggs. But my family really likes the KFC or Popeye's coleslaw which doesn't work for someone who has an egg and dairy allergy. The last recipe I tried seems to be as close as it's going to get to KFC and most of the family liked it. Its modified from Household Ways and tastes just like KFC's coleslaw. We used a Trader Joe's 1 % mayonaise because it has no eggs and soy milk. There is a veganaise out there without dairy or eggs. I should tell you that this does come out watery so you have to scoop it out with a spoon with holes. It may need to be modified again because of that but at least the taste is good.

Dairy-free and Egg-free Coleslaw

1 head of cabbage shredded

about 1/4 cup carrot shredded
2 Tab. minced red onion
1/2 mayonnaise (Trader Joe's reduced fat 1% or veganaise)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
2 1/2 tablespoon. lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 tea.spoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a blender or food processor chop coleslaw, carrots and onion till it's minced. This may need to be done in batches. In a bowl mix the rest of the ingredients and then pour over the cabbage. Refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight. I make this in the morning for dinner. The flavor is really good the longer it sits but it will be watery because of the substitutions.

Enjoy as a side to a meal or just eat with a slice of bread :)

Good morning cherries & smoothies

Another beautiful summer week gone by there has been a lot of pool splashing, lots of sock cutting and sewing, some slow crochetting, quilt thinking, a little cleaning and good reading. Also forgetting to do a few things like blog and avoiding a few other things (basement clean up). If you're in need of a really good book to read this summer The Help is incredible.

The cooking has been good around here, we have made stuffed vegetables but I'm not sure how to explain that recipe because I made it up. I'll try to have a post on it next week. I did bake cherry muffins this week (some preferred the starwberry & rhubarb muffins). They did go nicely with the morning smoothies. We're big on fruit smoothies for breakfast especially in the summer when there is more variety for sweet fruits.

The smoothie recipe is 2-3 cups of cut cantelope, 1 peach peeled and sliced, 4 or more strawberries, 1 banana and ice cubes. Blend till smooth and enjoy. I apologize that this recipe is vague about the quantities but it's all based on what we have and how many will be drinking the smoothie. If you have cherries throw in a few without the pits instead of the strawberries. It's a good morning boost.

The cherry muffun recipe was modified from Cucina Nicolina here's my version.

CHERRY MUFFINS

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 vegetable oil

1 cup soy milk

Mix together 1 1/2 Tbsp. oil, 1 1/2 Tbsp water and 1 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups of cherries pitted and chopped (or frozen if you have them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl mix sugar, oil, soy milk and baking powder mixture. Then add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix. The batter will look lumpy and thick. Fold in the cherries. Fill each cup of the muffin pan 2/3 full. Bake till golden brown for about 20-22 minutes. Enjoy!

The first picture in this post is a smoothie with bagels cream cheese and cantelope with jello. We just cut the cantelope in half and then mixed the jello according to the directions and poured it into the cantelope. Let the jello firm and then cut into slices. Refreshing and fun!
Have a great weekend!

Allergy Strategy & My Recipe Binders

Yesterday woke up and thought about going to the grocery store later these week. We are not a self sustaining family and I don't miss canning from my childhood. I am impressed with the mama's out there in the blogs that do self sustain and can. A couple of times I have even thought about canning myself but I'm just not ready yet. I'm more of a freezer fan if that saves me at all. I like to pick fresh fruits off the tree or vine when they are in season and bring them home get them stored in the freeze for months to come. As for the rest off to the grocery store I go.

But how do I do it with multiple food allergies? One child is allergic to nuts, dairy, eggs and some fruits, another child is allergic to legumes and outgrowing eggs, and another child is allergic to eggs and white fish. I myself am allergic to canned tuna fish, scallops and possibly mushrooms in case anyone around here is interested lol. Well with that being said you can see how cooking could be a daily struggle. Oh and did I forget to mention a couple of years ago one of the kids had to be on a high calorie intake diet. So the foods for the kid who need more calories consisted of lots of dairy which was a danger to the kid with the dairy allergy. It would have been easier if the doctor said "Hey Luisa can you pick up the sun and the moon and make them collide?" My response would have been "Why sure it would be easier than trying to figure out these daily meals ."

Well since then things are much much better. It took a couple of years to figure out the food allergy situation and learn a few tricks. I adapted them to suit my family. Once I had a handle on that I was thrown the challenge of incorporating a high calorie diet. So that took at least one whole year to figure it in and deal with the daily stress of cooking and snacks. What came out of it was a whole new strategy of what I call the main meal and the add ons. Cook a main item with sides and add the high calorie piece so it does not contaminate the rest of the meal.

Example #1 Hamburgers, french fries, corn and salad. Cook the hamburgers plain add the cheese kids plates who are not allergic to cheese. Increase caloric intake add oil or dairy free margarine to corn and ranch dressing to the salad.

Example #2 Pasta with all the toppings. Cook pasta without sauce just add olive oil. For the topping I have cooked a side of spinach, sausage, shrimp or just have cheese at the table. Each person can have a plate of pasta with what they like and minimize cross contamination.

These are just examples but the idea is to find out a couple of main things that work for your family and see how to adjust and add items. We are not vegan or vegetarian and I don't make the whole family give up things because one person may be allergic. I'm not a fan of coconut oil or products that claim they are substitutes. Because usually the substitutes are expensive and I wonder what are they made from anyway? Sounds like more processed foods.

Although in recent years things have gotten better there is way more awareness out there. Way more recipe sources. Also people are trying to eat healthier so even snacks can be home made. Recently I have been finding more blogs with families living with food allergies and tasty recipes. I now enjoy again trying new recipes and have grown comfortable with just working with recipes and changing an ingredient or two to make it allergy friendly.

Going back to yesterday I knew we need some grocery items so I sat down with my breakfast pulled out my clipboard , blue recipe binder, and this months Real Simple magazine. I jot down what I need and what meals I would like to make. I also look through the blue recipe binder to check on any new recipes I would like to try and add any ingredients to the grocery list. I'm also eyeing a strawberry-rhubarb pie from this months Real Simple. The recipe says to use 2 eggs I'm thinking soy milk for the substitute.

My blue recipe binder is to organize all the tear outs and print outs of things I would like to try. Once they have been made allergy friendly (if needed), tested and approved they go into my permanent binders.

The left one is for meals and the right one is for baking.
So that's how I do it. Most recipes can be be made allergy friendly and put into pretty binders. I hope that this was helpful to other families out there.
I would love to hear from other families to see how they do it?