Stir fry

The sauce:
4 cubes of chicken or beef bouillon
1 and 3/4 cups of water
1.25 tsp of ginger powder
1 T of garlic powder or 7 cloves of garlic minced
4 tsp of balsamic vinegar
2 tsp of brown sugar
pinch of black pepper
1/3 cup of white sugar
1 T of sesame oil
1/4 cup of canola oil
4 and 1/2 tsp of white vinegar
1/2 cup of pear juice
1/2 tsp of guar or xanthan gum
1 tsp salt

vegetables
sliced carrots
sliced green peppers
chopped broccoli

meat
4 pounds of beef roast trimmed of fat and thinly sliced

dissolve and mix sauce ingredients together until an emulsion is obtained between water and oil ingredients. lay meat in a glass pan and pour the sauce over it to marinate the meat from 1 to 24 hours. When desired marinating time has been reached, simmer the sauce and meat mixture on low for at least one hour. Steam vegetables and then add into the meat mixture before serving. Good over garlic infused basmati brown rice.

Bread

Dry ingredients
3.5 cups of ground brown rice flour*
0.5 cups of amaranth flour*
2 cups of tapioca starch or potato starch
1 cup of instant dry milk
0.5 cups of potato pearls
2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 T of yeast
2 T of xanthan or guar gum
2 tsp of baking soda

Wet ingredients
6 eggs
2 tsp of white vinegar
1/3 cup of oil

3 cups of warm water

Directions:
mix together thoroughly the dry ingredients. mix the egg, vinegar and oil in a stand mixer until homogenous mixture is obtained. Heat the water until about 120 degrees F and then mix into wet ingredients. Slowly add dry ingredients into the stand mixer while mixing on low to prevent a mushroom cloud of flour. once all flour is added, mix on high for 3 and 1/2 minutes. Grease bread pans and neatly fill them with the dough, wiping the sides to prevent burning of dough in unwanted areas. Let the dough rise in a warm oven set to 170 degrees F until the dough has doubled in size. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, then cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy.

*We now add a cup and a half of bean four instead of a cup and a half of the rice flour. It adds a great wheat like flavor and also adds nutrition and keeps costs low

*If you don't have amaranth you can substitute rice flour. Amaranth is very healthy for you though so you might try it and see if you like it.

Life with Allergies: Where to Begin?

My nephew was just diagnosed with a long list of allergies. I'm overwhelmed for their family and it has made me think a lot about what advice I would give them. I didn't grow up as a kid with known allergies. I was sick most of my life and finally figured out my medical problems were due to Celiac Disease and allergies when I was 21. It was a very overwhelming day. It's of course nice to know the reason for your illness and it's even nicer to have a cure, but it was still difficult. My life would never be the same. It was very difficult in the beginning to adjust to a new life of eating differently than I had ever before done, but now it isn't difficult at all. I rarely think about it. So where do you begin? How do you adjust? I think the first place to begin is by making a list of things you can eat. Focusing on what you can eat and not on what you can't makes the transition much easier. Make a list. Ask others for input. Start by food group or walk through a grocery store with pen and paper in hand. I think you will find there is still quite a bit out there that you can eat. Don't overwhelm yourself in the beginning by trying to perfect an allergy free version of whatever is your favorite food. Focus on what is naturally allergy free for you. Learning to cook allergy free takes time and it takes patience. Things don't always taste the same. Your taste buds will adjust though and so will you.

Mac and Cheese

8 oz of rice or corn elbow macaroni
1 medium red onion chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter
1 T corn starch
3 cups of 1% milk
2 cups of shredded mild or medium cheddar cheese

1. In a medium saucepan, saute chopped onions in 1/2 stick butter.
2. Stir in 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tablespoon corn starch.
3. Mix in milk slowly to attain a smooth consistency with no lumps, add in macaroni and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until desired texture is achieved.
4. Mix in cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and evenly blended into the mixture.

Mexican Rice

2 cups rice (we use basmati)
1/4 cup oil
1/2 chopped purple onion
2 tsp Taco Seasoning (see previous post for homemade recipe)
One 6 oz can of tomato paste
1.5 tsp salt
4 cups chicken broth

1. In a large Saucepan or stock pot saute onions in 1/4 cup oil and then add the rice stirring often to make sure the rice doesn't burn.
2. Once rice has browned slightly, add 2 tsp Taco Seasoning, 1.5 tsp salt, 4 cups of chicken broth and the 6 oz can of tomato paste.
3. Bring to a boil and then stir well to make sure the tomato paste has dissolved in the chicken broth. Once the tomato paste has dissolved, reduce heat, cover and and simmer until most of the broth has evaporated (I've never timed it, I usually monitor the steam coming out the top and use my nose to detect doneness).

tip: it may be easier to dilute the tomato paste first in a cup or so of chicken broth before adding it to the pot.

Taco Seasoning

1/4 cup chili powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 T ground cumin
4 tsp salt
4 tsp pepper

Mix together and store in a moisture tight container (or else it will clump).

Caramel Corn

I love caramel corn and what's great is that it is naturally gluten and soy free.
Here is my favorite recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract
5 quarts popped corn (1 cup of popcorn is about right)

Directions:

1. Melt butter and sugar
2. Stir in corn syrup and salt
3. Boil stirring constantly for 4 minutes
4. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla
5. Mix caramel with popcorn evenly and then bake in oven at 250F stirring every 15 minutes for an hour.

Tips:

You can bake the popcorn in the oven on a cookie sheet like most people do, but it is a bit difficult to mix every 15 minutes without all the popcorn falling off and making a big gooey mess. If you do use a cookie sheet I recommend covering it with foil to avoid a really difficult to clean cookie sheet. I use our turkey pan to bake our caramel corn. It's deep and big and this makes it very easy to stir and make sure all of the caramel corn is covered and baked evenly. Good Luck!