0 FDA Consumer Update: Dark Chocolate May Not Be Milk Free

From the FDA Consumer Updates site, a warning about dark chocolate; essentially that it may still contain traces of milk.

“If you or someone in your household is allergic to milk, take heed: a recent study by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested 100 dark chocolate products and found that many contained milk. More importantly, you can’t always tell that’s the case simply by reading the food label….Consumers who are allergic to milk should be aware that a high proportion of tested dark chocolates contained milk.”

The only thing missing from this  FDA Consumer Updates site article that would be the most useful to the milk allergic community is what brands were tested and found to have traces of milk when they made claims of milk-free, vegan and/or allergen-free.

Stay safe everyone!

Detail: FDA Consumer Update: Dark Chocolate May Not Be Milk Free

0 Udi’s Gluten-free December 2014 Contest, #EatDrinkBeMerry

Udi's Gluten Free #EatDrinkBeMerry sent me some of my favorite tree nut-free gluten-free bread - white French rolls,  cinnamon raisin bread and bagels and their white bread and bagels -  in support of their contest where *you* can win some of their goodies. 

Here's one of my favorite weekend morning recipes using Udi's white bread: 7 Essential Ingredients for French Toast. 

Even simpler, yet equally delicious: cinnamon sugar toast. My bubby would make this for me as a snack when I was little and it never disappoints as a snack, breakfast or after dinner treat:

White bread toasted
Generous gobs of butter (or butter substitute)
A mix of cinnamon and sugar, sprinkled on top, in generous amounts.

What’s your favorite treat of any kind? You can submit your recipe entry on http://shop.udisglutenfree.com/eatdrinkbemerry or share a recipe using  #EatDrinkBeMerry on social media and be entered to win. 

More details, rules and regulations on the Udi’s website: http://shop.udisglutenfree.com/eatdrinkbemerry 

Contest runs through December 31, 2014 so get those recipes in and be entered to win!

Detail: Udi’s Gluten-free December 2014 Contest, #EatDrinkBeMerry

0 Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cake With Cinnamon Marshmallow Frosting

As my friend Chris said: my cupcake is wearing a "jaunty beret" of frosting

This is less of a recipe for more like semi-barely-not-really-homemade-but-I-did-use-my-mixer-and-bake-it homemade and all delicious.  I’ve always been severely allergic to tree nuts and seafood (and OAS to some fruits and veg) but since becoming intolerant to wheat, dairy and soy ten years ago, my baking from scratch has been curtailed. 

*Here a link to an explanation from AAAAI.org about the difference between allergy and intolerance.* 

Food allergy friendly mixes have saved the day and I have a few favorite go-tos, like Namaste Foods. 

CAKE: For this cupcake, I use the Namaste Foods Spice Cake mix and make the pumpkin variation on the box. Namaste is a lovely company that built their own facility in 2011 that is free from: "wheat, gluten, corn, soy, potato, dairy, casein, peanuts and tree nuts, are carefully manufactured in a dedicated allergen free facility and Kosher certified."

From a Namaste Foods 2011 press release: “Operating under the name of Taylor Gleason Enterprises, LLC, the new facility is virtually a one-of-a-kind allergen free facility. In addition to being free of the top eight allergens (dairy, 
egg, wheat/gluten, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish) the facility is also free of corn and potato. It is estimated that 30 percent or more of the people with food allergies have multiple allergies. Being free of so many allergens demonstrates Namaste’s commitment to people with
food allergies above and beyond other manufacturers."

So yum!

FROSTING: And this is simply my new go-to frosting recipe. It's nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free and oh my goodness worthy.

Marshmallow Frosting

By Lori Karavolis and further adapted by me




1 C Domino’s confectioners’ sugar

1/2 C Spectrum organic palm shortening

1 C Durkee’s marshmallow fluff

1 t Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract

2 T hot water

Pinch of kosher salt


Mix well and try not to spoon directly into your mouth.

***

The reviews of this cupcake: 
“Do you have more?”
“You could sell these.”
"The frosting. The pumpkin cake. The frosting. YUM!!!!! So amazing!"

My uncle loved them so much that he created a thank you card featuring me and my mother atop the cupcake!

Detail: Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cake With Cinnamon Marshmallow Frosting

0 Recipe: Tree-Nut Free, Gluten-Free Birthday Cake with Marshmallow Frosting

Birthday cake perfection

I start celebrating my birthday pretty much the moment after Halloween until around Thanksgiving; that is, the better part of November. I start thinking about my birthday cake way earlier. I’m not a chocolate looooover, I’m more of a vanilla person but for some reason I do love chocolate cake with white icing and that is my recent (like last twenty years) choice for birthday cake. 

I usually make cupcakes because everyone can have their own mini-cake and they are easy to transport or set out on a pretty platter. And also, let’s get real, there's a higher ratio of frosting to cake in a bite per bite level. At least in my household.

I did a trial run of whoopie pies earlier in the month, thinking maybe that would be something fun to do but it didn’t feel celebratory enough. I wanted cake. But that marshmallow–based frosting for the middles turned into a small obsession. (More about how the Durkee Marshmallow fluff factory works here.) I decided to make cupcakes with a new frosting recipe and everyone who has tried it has gone gaga for it. One rave from my pilates instructor: “Every cake should be that cake. Every frosting should be that frosting.”

I agree. 

Is this a recipe? Not exactly.  More like semi-barely-not-really-homemade-but-I-did-use-my-mixer-and-bake-it homemade and all delicious. 

CAKE: I use King Arthur Gluten-Free Chocolate cake mix. I use their instructions on the back. It’s made in a top 8 facility, even though the package doesn’t say it anymore. They changed the label because they don’t test for those allergens and didn’t want to be unclear; they only test for gluten. I emailed with them this week to triple check. And yes, all the same. Please call them directly if you have any questions.

MORE CHOCOLATE: I add Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips to the batter, a handful or two for funsies.

FROSTING: I made two batches of this frosting recipe that I slightly altered.

Marshmallow Frosting

By Lori Karavolis and further adapted by me



1 C Domino’s confectioners’ sugar

1/2 C Spectrum organic palm shortening

1 C Durkee’s marshmallow fluff

1 t Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract

2 T hot water

Pinch of kosher salt

Mix well and try not to spoon directly into your mouth.

The result is above and here again.

It’s so easy to throw together and everyone, with dietary restrictions or without, loves. Most of all this birthday girl. 

Enjoy!

Detail: Recipe: Tree-Nut Free, Gluten-Free Birthday Cake with Marshmallow Frosting

0 Recipe: Sandwich Cookies, Nut-Free, Gluten-Free

Finished sandwich cookie of goodness

So I got it into my head that I wanted to make an Allergic Girl friendly Whoopie Pie for my birthday. I don’t think I’ve ever had a whoopie pie growing up (my mom’s confirms, we didn’t have them in the house); moon pies at camp yes, with marshmallow filling and graham cracker, enrobed in chocolate, but whoopie pie, nope. 

The last few years I (or Brooklyn Allergy Mom) made safe for me birthday cake that was chocolate cake with white icing, which is my favorite flavor combo. I use King Arthur Gluten-free Chocolate Cake Mix and this dairy-free buttercream recipe.

This year I thought, let me try a whoopie pie. I looked up on Google who was making them gluten-free and nut-free and I also wanted to use a mix that was safe for me like  King Arthur Gluten-free Chocolate Cake Mix or Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Devil's Food Cake Mix.

I found this GF Whoopie Pie recipe online. It’s based on Cake Mix Doctor Bake Gluten-Free's recipe, whose book I really liked and I reviewed here. When I looked at the original recipe  in Anne Byrn’s book, it had way more ingredients and steps. As this GF Whoopie Pie recipe looked simpler, I thought I’d try.

The upshot: the finished product was delicious. Several fellow musical improvisers, none with food allergies or dietary needs, all loved and were licking their fingers looking for more.

The cookie is fudgey and cakey, with a dark cocoa taste. It's not overly sickly sweet, which I like, a lot. Even with the filling, it's a great balance of texture and sweetness.

Cooling cookies

The inside the cakey part and the edges have a little crusty texture. A nice mix of textures overall.

Inside view of the cookie

The filling is very soft when made, which is why the top cookie looks like it's sliding off; because it is.

I don't know that cooling the filling once made would help but the filling sets-up and gets firmer once chilled. So there's that.

And I don’t know that I would call it a whoopie pie. Having said this, one of my testers, upon having a bite, said, “What a great whoopie pie!” 

I prefer to think of it a super yummy sandwich cookie. I would make them again. But for my birthday, I'm sticking with cake.

The recipe as written bellow is gluten-free, tree nut free, peanut-free and can easily be made dairy-free. Here is the recipe with my substitutions. 

Enjoy!

***

Recipe, Sandwich Cookies, Nut-Free, Gluten-Free
By Lori Karavolis and Anne Byrn, further adapted by me


Cookies:
1 -15 ounce box GF Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Cake Mix
2 medium size organic eggs 
5 T melted organic butter (or diary-free substitute)

Filling:
1 C confectioners’ sugar
1/2 C vegetable shortening (I used palm shortening)
1 C marshmallow fluff
1 t vanilla extract
2 T hot water
Pinch of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all cookie ingredients in heavy duty mixing bowl; mix well. It will be dry looking. That's correct, don’t worry. Using a scoop or a teaspoon, shape batter into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set. Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes on baking sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

As cookies are cooling, make the filling. Place the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. 

To make sandwich cookies, spread a heaping teaspoon of filling onto the flat side of one cookie. Top with a second cookie to make a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling. Chill to set as they will be sloopy.

Yield: 15 Sandwich Cookies

Detail: Recipe: Sandwich Cookies, Nut-Free, Gluten-Free

0 Recipe: Blueberry and Corn Clafoutis, Nut-Free, Gluten-Free

Blueberry and corn clafoutis, fresh from the oven

The clafoutis is a very simple pancake type dessert make with an easy batter and whatever fruit you have around. So simple, so French. I haven’t made on in ages, not since culinary school. Oh, have I mentioned that I was classically trained in the French cooking style?  Yup yup.

When I ran across this on Chef Marcus Sameulsson’s siteI thought about the extra blueberries, corn and Gluten-Free Bisquick mix I had in my fridge. Could I pull all of that together into this recipe? Of course.

Why I love it? It’s the flavors of summer in a light, buttery, not-to-sweet package: the fresh sweet corn bursts in your mouth, as do the tart juicy blueberries.  A perfect dessert after a summer meal.

A yummy slice

Here’s my food allergy free for me version. It’s free from peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish and is lactose-free. It *does* use milk, butter and eggs.

Blueberry and Corn Clafoutis Recipe

Adapted from Chef Marcus and Sandra Lee 

Ingredients

1 cup blueberries, washed and dried

1 cup fresh corn kernels from 1 corn cob

3 organic large eggs

3/4 cup organic lactose free 2% milk

1/3 cup raw brown sugar

½ cup GF Bisquik (pancake mix)

1/4 tsp salt

4 tbsp unsalted organic butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for the pie dish

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch diameter glass pie dish. Mix the blueberries and corn kernels together and arrange in the buttered pie dish, set aside.

2. Combine the eggs, milk, sugar, GF pancake mix, and salt in a Tupperware container that has a top. You can hand mix by doing a quick shake shake shake! Blend until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add the melted butter, and blend again, until well combined, about 15 seconds. Pour the batter over the blueberries and corn.

3. Bake in the oven until the center is set and the edges are golden, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Serve with fresh blueberries, a dusting of powdered sugar. It’s great for a tea time snack, after dinner treat or even breakfast.

Detail: Recipe: Blueberry and Corn Clafoutis, Nut-Free, Gluten-Free

0 Food Allergy Counseling: Eater.com, "How Restaurant Pros Are Handling the Surge of Food Allergies"

Gluten-free, nut-free & fish-free pasta at Maialino

Eater National published an excellent profile of how one restaurant in Austin, Texas called Odd Duck is striving to handle patrons dietary needs when it comes to severe life threatening food allergies, celiac disease and a host of other medical needs. They profile several restaurant groups and leaders in the field, including me! Have a read here.

Thank you to Amy McKeever and Eater.com for this excellent job tackling a complex issue.

***

Want to know how I dine out safely and often?

1. Check out my book: Allergic Girl: Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies (Wiley, 2011).
2. Read out this article in Allergic Living magazine.
3. Contact me for a more personalize program of lifestyle coaching around dietary restrictions.

Detail: Food Allergy Counseling: Eater.com, "How Restaurant Pros Are Handling the Surge of Food Allergies"

0 Product Review: King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Doughnut Mix

When I was little, there was a butcher store near our country home called Dressen’s that my parents would take me to for powdered doughnuts  - the deep fried variety. I have very specific food memories of their texture and taste: fresh fluffy cake, with a deep fried edge of brown dough, covered in layers of powdered sugar was so thick, it would get everywhere. Part of a child's delight. In the same area, there was another doughnut that competed for my attentions: the apple cider doughnuts made at the Milk Pail. There were sold in a pack of a dozen, in a plastic bag, also light and cakey, with the deep brown deep fried crust and color. But no powered sugar. I liked them equally.

In 2000, when I was still eating wheat (I’ve been wheat free since 2005 due to an intolerance), my then boyfriend (Henry in my book: Allergic Girl) would bring me boxes of Krispy Kremes. Wow, did I love those – deeply vanilla scented dough, not cakey but soft and sweet with a slick white vanilla glaze. We’d inhale half a dozen before we even got home. 

However, I haven’t had a wheat-based doughnut since 2005. Really. So, when I saw one of my favorite allergen-friendly companies, King Arthur Flour came out with a doughnut mix, I had to try. King Arthur Flour was kind enough to send me samples to try and try I did.

Here’s the ingredient label. I made the recipe as directed, using Organic Valley organic butter and Organic Valley organic lactose-free 2% milk.

The cake was light and yellow with an excellent crumb. It reminded me of Dressen's doughnuts without the deep fried crust. It even smelled doughnutty. The texture wasn’t grainy or dry, which can happen with GF. It was moist, light. And even though baked, tasted decadent.

Since I haven’t eaten wheat regularly since 2005, my taste buds have changed. So, I gave doughnuts to two wheat-eaters, who devoured the samples. They said it tasted very close to the real thing and they would happily serve to guests. I gobbled three during taste testing and then two after lunch yesterday. 

Irresistible is my verdict!

Thank you, King Arthur Flour for making another hit.

***

A note about allergens: King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free regularly tests for gluten in their dedicated facility. This facility is also free from the top 8 allergens, however they do not test for any allergens outside of wheat. If you have questions about your needs, please contact them directly.

Detail: Product Review: King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Doughnut Mix