Dinner Party? Tonight!

My brother-in-law was in the area to visit his mother this week and of course we want to get together with him while he is near. His trip was a last minute event that we could not plan around, so our schedules are in the normal hectic to crazy level and his is still undecided and fluctuating momentarily. Now add food to the equasion, because every family gathering must include food. This is a law of physics, I have come to believe.
With our food allergies, the food part is harder to solve than the schedules. We used to meet halfway for dinner at a restaurant. As dining out is nearly impossible with our combination of food issues, we invited everyone to our house. Everyone includes my brother-in-law and his family as well as my Mother-in-law and her husband, plus our family. Since my parents are local and get along well with my in-laws, they were invited also. We also offered to bring a meal to my MIL's home for everyone if that would be easier.
There is a lot of back and forth discussion with no firm decisions made for several days. We only have one window of opportunity to spend with him while he is here and we can't get a firm answer if it will work for them or not. Finally the morning of our one day of opportunity arrives and I don't know what or how much food to prepare for dinner. A flurry of emails is exchanged and my husband announces: "Do it!" This is my cue to prepare a dinner party for tonight, they are apparently coming up.
I pull some lamb out of the freezer. Sarah and I had already held a discussion about possibilities. We had lamb a few days ago, as well as other red meats this week already. Last time we prepared a meal for MIL, we did a pork dish, so we need some variety in the offerings. We also have poultry on the menu quite a bit this week and we, nor Father-in-law, are big on seafood. This leaves us in a dilemma, but we had decided lamb it would be if we do the dinner. SO, back to my story, I pull a leg of lamb and two shoulder roasts out of the freezer. Is this enough meat? I sure hope so. Now, how to prepare it and what to serve with it? How many people do we have coming anyway?
My trusty crockpots to the rescue again. I made the leg of lamb with one recipe and the shoulder in a different crockpot with a Honey Dijon Roast. (Full disclosure: I did not have time to marinade the lamb overnight, so it marinated in the crockpot.) Might as well make everyone guinnea pigs, right? No better way to compare two recipes than side by side comparisons and this is the perfect opportunity.

Out the door we fly, for we have dentist appointments this morning. Followed by an appointment with the allergist. While waiting for the appointments, I am searching for good ideas of sides that will go well with lamb. This is made more daunting by not only the fact that I have never prepared a lamb roast before to know what will pair well with it, but also by the fact that my FIL is a diabetic and I need to incorporate his needs (as best as I understand them) into the plan.
A few errands to run, including grabbing any needed ingredients for the as yet undecided sides, and pick up one of the attendees for 4H sewing this afternoon at my house. Head home, unload groceries (and girls) and prepare for the sewing project meeting.
Once tables are set up and extension cords are readied, we make croutons and rolls for the dinner party. Our friends begin to arrive and our house is busting with needles and thread, as well as the young hands learning to use them, for two hours. We clean up, take home the attendee whom we had picked up, and begin the process of creating the still yet unknown side dishes.
The side dish winners were an apple cranberry wild rice, a fruit salad and a tossed salad. I don't know if it was good for FIL's diet, but I was out of time and had to have something to serve to my guests. I have to put some of the responsibility on him to determine what is safe for him to consume. I was still chopping and cutting as our dinner guests arrived and joned me in the kitchen. Some sitting and visiting, others rolled up their sleves and grabbed kitchen utensils. I love when we can be ourselves and family just loves us the way we are.
The rice was another new recipe and a huge success. Next year, I will have to put up more cranberries so I could use my own (which would be lower in sugar than the commercial ones we are currently using) as my family has suddenly realized the wonderfulness of this tiny little fruit.
Wow! It was a long and exhausting day, but we were able to pull off a wonderful dinner party for our family. Martha Stweart may not have been impressed, but we all had a great visit that resulted in full bellies and warm hearts. It is rewarding to create a satisfying meal that accomodated everyone's food issues. A year ago, I could not have done this party without a week's warning to research it all. Today, I did it in the minutes of opportunity between appointments and events. Plus, we ate healthy, real food. If our food allergies did not limit us, we would have taken short cuts, like dining out, that would have been less rewarding for our bodies or our souls.

Grieving over food

I recently found this draft post from over a year ago. It was written shortly after I discovered my allergy to milk, so probably around September or October of 2011. It was too personal and raw too post at that time. However, I realize many other people go through this same emotional period when facing their own food allergies and it may be beneficial to them to see that they are not alone. Also, to realize that like any other grieving period, you will eventually reach acceptance and life will get easier and better. It will never be the same, but it will be good again.


It saddens me to realize that I am grieving the recent discovery that I am allergic to milk.  I have known of a corn allergy for years, and that was a huge adjustment to my diet. Now, milk is having an equally profound effect on our lives.  Both of these products are widely used in obvious ways, but even more so in "hidden" ways that we don't initially think about.  Most of my "comfort" foods are now on the list of forbidden food items. I love cheese, it is in almost every recipe I make.  Eating out is simply not an option.  I am mature enough to understand, and willing avoid these foods. However, it is a great frustration to plan and prepare meals right now.  I am adjusting, and faster than I expected to, however, not with out the stages of grief. As I am finally moving into acceptance, I am actually starting to find some good things.  Some of the food substitutes are surprisingly good.  Also, by working harder to find foods I can eat, I have found old recipes that work with little or no tweaking.  Things I like but had stopped preparing because one or more of my kids didn't like them. 
I have been increasing my knowledge of canning and preparing foods from scratch for many years.  This helped prepare me for the new challenage I am facing which will further improve my cullinary skills and eventually the grocery budget.  Right now, the budget is suffering as I make attempts that don't always work well or am buying pre-made expensive substitutes while I learn to make my own substitutes.
One of the challenges I am currently facing is bread. I have not developed my baking skills very well. To quote my mother, "Ya ain't gonna learn any younger, so ya better buck up and get to learnin'!" However, finding a recipe that the whole family likes and contains no milk or corn on top of my lack of skill has been interesting.

Tips for Traveling with Allergies

Traveling with Allergies

By Air

The most important step is to put yourself in the proper mindset. Expect a long day with food difficulties and be prepared that what you take may get thrown away. Just accept it now and then every item that you get to keep is a blessing. Maintaining a good attitude will help you to handle the problems with a clear head, and also remember the flies to honey adage.

Realize that every airport and each member of security may interpret rules differently, so there is no clear answer to what will work every time. However, there are things that you can do to improve your chances.

Have a letter from your doctor. This will help support your cause if you do have any difficulty. I made a copy of the letter for every suitcase or bag we took. This allowed baggage screeners to find it if needed and also allowed me to have lots of extra copies so I would not have to dig for it or risk losing it if one bag got misplaced.

Have your liquids and medications bagged to pull out on the way through security. With the doctor’s letter, you should be allowed extra liquids for medical reasons, but if at all possible make it fit in your quart size bag so you don’t have to worry about it. You are not required to put medications in a separate bag and pull it out the way you are liquids, but it showed an honesty and organization to the items we had that paid off several times. I also had scripts and original packaging for as many meds as possible. I broke down the boxes and put it all in a baggie that could be accessed easily if there were any questions about the legality of my meds. Again, my organization paid off that they never questioned it.

Be honest if questioned, or on customs paperwork. The officials realized I was honest to a fault and then just walked away from me, saying just go.

Label everything. All of the snacks that we carried on the plane were repackaged to fit better, but I labeled everything, often cutting off the labels of original packaging and including in the baggie.  This allowed not only identification, but access to ingredients lists later if there is a problem or reaction.

Take a cooler. A small soft sided cooler that will fit under the seat counts as your personal item that you are allowed to carry on. Also, with your doctor letter, the cooler may not be counted against you as a carry on item at all if you are tight on bags. I simply stuck my purse inside the cooler and walked on the plane.

We had sandwiches (labeled with names and ingredients, found out that was good later), apples, oranges, pickles, fruit snacks, summer sausage (already sliced), jerky meat, rolls, crackers, dry cereal, etc.

Ice packs will sometimes make it through security, sometimes not. My plan was to take re-usable ice packs to the airport and leave them in the car. Then I had empty baggies in the cooler so I could get ice from a vendor inside security (even if I had to purchase it). However, I forgot to pull the ice packs out. I was prepared to throw them away, but security did not say anything so we got lucky.

At one point, our fruit snacks set off an organic matter detector at one security point. They opened the bag, saw the well-organized food and realized it was “candy.”  “That’s a first,” they said and let us go.

In checked luggage, we had an entire suitcase full of items to bring. We priced the cost of shipping items and realized the international shipping was extremely high and opted for the baggage fee (a $400 savings).

We made breads ahead of time and froze them, pulling them out and packing frozen. Upon arrival at our destination we put most of the breads into a freezer. Yes this did cause re-freezing, which is not good on food but our best option. We had plenty of breads for the entire trip. We had contacted the Jamaican embassy in Washington DC to learn a little bit about what we could or could not take in. This research helped us to know what to expect. They confiscated one orange and one apple that were left on arrival and one package of summer sausage because it had pork added. Two sandwiches were left and they allowed those because of the way I had them packaged and labeled. Nothing else was scrutinized at all.

We did find some items in the airports that we could eat, mostly fruits. Not much. We were very grateful for the prep work we did and all that we carried with us. We went through most of what we had brought.

Most importantly, be prepared. Prepared with research of what you are allowed. Prepared with organization of your bags and documentation for meds. Prepared for ignorance regarding allergy issues. Prepared for long days and little food. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

By Car

Again, preparation is your key. Each trip is different and you must first analyze your situation. I find it helpful to look at it in segments. For example, travel and destination, and they have different needs and potential pitfalls / solutions.

The big picture:

Where will you be staying and what kind of amenities will they have available? What kind of space do you have for packing items with you vs. the availability of items at the destination? What will you do while you are there? Plan food to bring accordingly, think ahead about what ingredients are difficult to find (for me it is baking powder) and worth bringing with you. Create a folder or binder that travels easy with copies of recipes and emergency substitutions for products that you may have trouble finding. Consider shipping items that are not perishable or fragile and that you won’t need until your destination. Most hotels will sign for and hold your shipped box until your arrival if you have made prior arrangements with them to do so. If not, find a relative or friend in the area or even a church member whom you can ship to.

Even if you will have a full kitchen, you are traveling for a reason; vacation, conference, family event. You do not want to spend all of your time preparing meals. If possible, do prep work at home before your trip.

Determine packability of food items. For example, fresh produce is often okay without refrigeration, however it is susceptible to bruising as well as bulky. Chopping and subsequently freezing peppers, onions and etc., makes them much easier to travel, but they will take up space in the cooler now.

 Pre-cook and freeze meals in serving size portions. This allows you to take only the amount you need and increases the flexibility of packing the meal into the cooler. An example of this would be to make mini meatloaves in a muffin pan instead of a loaf pan. Now, pack the “muffins” two or three to a bag. One bag will fit in this corner of the cooler, and one bag in that corner, etc. Keep them frozen until you need them and pull out just the number you need, leaving the rest frozen. Also, this is a great way to deal with differing needs within the family. Johnny’s muffin has oatmeal in it, but Jimmy’s has cheese and Lisa’s has carrots in it.

Frozen foods can reduce the need for ice in a cooler, if you are not getting in and out of it a lot. I often pack 2 coolers, one for the destination and one for the travel portion. In the destination cooler, pack as much frozen food as possible if you will be traveling for several days, consider purchasing dry ice to keep items frozen. (Available at Wal-Mart and HyVee) If the weather is hot, protect your cooler from direct sun and don’t leave it in the car overnight. We have even sealed them shut with straps or duct tape, to avoid any risk of the cooler coming open.

Getting there:

Know ahead of time where restaurants and hotels that work for you are along your route. Plan your stops. Spontaneity is great, but with serious allergies or food concerns may leave you very hungry or worse, in need of medical treatment. These resources may help.

 

Book: The Next Exit 2013, every interstate exit in America and what amenities they offer. (available at Amazon for as little as $8. There is a Kindle version available, too.

ISBN-13: 9780984692118 

Phone App: Road Ahead, checks for upcoming exits and what amenities they have.

Trip Advisor Offline City Guide, download so it works even when you are not connected to a network.  

Plan before you leave at: map quest allows you to find specific stores or types of amenities in a specific area.

 Trip advisor has lots of detailed reviews about personal experiences people have had. It even ties into social media so you can find reviews from people you know and trust.

Think with the “new normal” mentality that we are all working on developing. Instead of fast food restaurants, look for grocery stores, or go back to what our parents did. Stop at the rest areas and eat from your cooler at the picnic table. Many of those are closing, so do the next best thing, look for a city park to visit. It is a wonderful way to stretch our legs, breath fresh air and eat healthy.

Pack essential items and keep in an area that has easy access. Items such as silverware and plates (disposable or not as fits your lifestyle), napkins or paper towels, wet wipes or water bottles, a bowl & soap (wash hands, food, dishes), condiments / spices that work for your needs, a few shelf stable snacks, extra medications and a couple of plastic grocery bags work nice for collection of trash or dirty dishes to be dealt with later. We have a bag with these items in it that we keep by the door and just take with us, even for running errands around town in case we are out longer than expected.

On a long road trip, snacks are essential. Bring them with you so you don’t have to hunt for them after you are already hungry and grumpy. Ideas that travel well: carrot sticks, fresh fruit, muffins, lunch meat, baby food, nuts, canned meats (be sure to include a can opener, we have on in our essentials bag).

At your destination:

Pick your hotel carefully. Paying extra for amenities that are important to your family may actually help save you money overall, making the luxury more affordable. We often rent a house or at least a suite with a full kitchen. That added expense will pay for itself in dining charges, plus you have food that is safe for your needs, plus the extra space is wonderful after the tight quarters of the car ride or airplane. Research your options thoroughly. Call the hotels and ask about what you are not sure of. They can tell you if there are grocery stores in the area or how big is the refrigerator in the room?

I like homeaway for houses/ condos etc. and trip advisor for research. I often find that once I pick a hotel, if I call in and speak with them directly, they will match or beat the online price I found and I can double check any questions I have regarding the facility.

Once you are there, make use of those amenities you paid extra for. If the kitchen doesn’t have something you want, ask. Maybe it is supposed to be there and has been misplaced, or maybe the hotel doesn’t provide in every room, but they do have a few at the front desk for when people ask. I have even known hotels to purchase items for us that they realized were a good idea and should have some on hand.

If there is a free breakfast, don’t write it off as useless for you. Maybe they have fresh fruit that you can grab and take to your room for a snack later. I make waffle mix that is safe for us and freeze it in serving size amounts. This packs better than premade waffles and defrosts by breakfast. Then, I use the hotel waffle maker to prepare it. More and more places are recognizing and accommodating food issues, so check out the products and make requests or recommendations. Especially if you are scheduled for a multi-day stay, the hotel may be willing to provide some items that you can eat. They may even find those to be very popular and end up changing the menu based on your suggestion. Some free breakfast buffets offer eggs to order and such. The chef may be willing to prepare something special for you (chicken breast). Health codes may determine if they can let you bring in your own food or not. Ask ahead of time to allow them time to purchase items. It doesn’t hurt to ask, the worst they can say is no, and you just might be pleasantly surprised.

Some hotels offer services that can be very beneficial in a strange town or on a busy trip. For example, Residence Inn will go grocery shopping for you. You can leave a very detailed and complicated list, with specific brands / varieties or variables explained. They will pick up the groceries, put them away and leave the receipt on the counter. At the end of your stay, the cost of groceries is added to your bill, no extra fees. Even if some of these services do come with fees, it may be worth it to you.

If kitchenettes are not available, ask if there is a fridge or microwave you can use. Often they will find a way to help, especially if it is medically necessary. In a pinch, the ice bucket or a tub full of ice can make a decent short term cooler.

These tips are based on my experiences and what works for my family. Each trip is a unique experience and your needs will vary every time you travel. Plan ahead, think it through and be prepared to find compromises and solutions.

Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. - Babe Ruth.

feeling crafty

We just finished creating our sewing/craft room and started working on some of those wonderful projects we have been finding on Pinterest! We are working on a basket for a 4H fundraiser. The theme is Superheroes so our club is creating a toddler birthday party kit to include in the silent auction. My daughter, Sarah and I have been making superhero masks and capes out of scrap fabric. Next we will embellish the capes with some embroidery or applique.
We also created an organizer for the kitchen. This one was made from cardboard, scrap fabric and ribbons and held together by duct tape. We then slipped the whole thing into the inset on the inside of the cabinet door as a wonderful place to stick recipe notes, appointment cards and etc. that always end up on the kitchen counter with no home.

Dinner Rolls for Thanksgiving

It was not easy, but we finally created the perfect dinner roll! There are no commercial bread products available that meet our dietary requirements (corn and dairy free), so we decided to create our own dinner rolls for the Thanksgiving table. Simple enough, we will take a basic recipe and plug in our substitutions and viola! we will have scrumptious dinner rolls that everyone will fawn over. NOT!
 I found a recipe for King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread online, so we decided to start there. They were horrible, but if we tweak this and that... Attempt two, was slightly less horrible. Finally, I dug out my old fashioned cookbook. This is the Pillsbury book and I absolutely love it. I always start online for something and realize that my Pillsbury book has what I just spent hours looking for and it was sitting on the shelf, just flip to the page and here we go.  Again, my Pillsbury proved true.  There is a recipe for Hawaiian Sweet Bread. Similar, but very different from the first recipe.  Well, Sarah and I race to the kitchen to start.  The rolls worked better, but were still not right. Now they are too plain, need a little kick, plus the dough is way too sticky.  Now it is time to get creative.  We start pretending that we understand chemistry enough to figure out why did batch 4 not rise? Did we have too much salt and kill the yeast? Maybe the kitchen was too cold.  On and on we go until FINALLY! We had a viola! We now have the perfect recipe for rolls. A little sweet, a little wheat, soft yet firm, and very yummy! Quick, remember what we did? Oh, no, how do we repeat this success? We did get it written down and here it is... Our idea of a perfect dairy and corn free dinner roll!

Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup almond milk
2 T orange juice (at room temperature)
1/4 cup coconut butter
1/2 cup pineapple juice (room temperature)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/3 cup mashed potatoes (or potato flakes)
2 cup bread flour
2 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
I used the bread machine on dough setting and then formed rolls.
Be sure to use parchment paper and to oil your hands, this dough is very sticky.
Preheat oven to 200 while shaping rolls. Turn off oven and place rolls in oven to rise, about 30 minutes, until doubled.
Remove from oven and preheat to 350, then return to oven for approximately 15 minutes.

Paper Clips

I guess my first post should explain my title.  Paper clips are one of the little things in life we take for granted, but they can make a big impact.We use them to stay organized: notes that belong together, bills with the payment, grocery list to the coupons, even marking our page in a book or calendar.  They can also be used in countless ways as makeshift tools: on a string to get the car keys out of the a/c register, as screwdriver or the end of one to fit in the tiny hole to re-boot electronic devices. Link them together to make jewlry, or the median for match box cars. The uses of paper clips are endless. I like to remember that the little things do matter, often more than we realize.


Paper clips took a special place in my heart, however, this winter when our middle child was attending Air Force Basic Military Instruction (The military can't be content to let us call it basic training anymore).  When he first arrived at basic he was, of course, homesick, scared and questioning his commitment to this career choice.  In an effort to help with his morale, I was sending notes every day. 
I remembered a time when he was a little boy of 4 or 5 and was having trouble keeping his room clean. Everyday, I would take away the toys that did not get put away.  Before long he had not a single toy in his room. I checked on him during nap time, certain he would be in bed as there was nothing left to play with in his room, I found him playing with a box of paper clips he found in his desk. Quite content and happy, he had a new toy and it was great, as good as the legos he was currently not allowed to play with. 
I recounted this story to my son in one of my letters and said, look for the paper clips at basic.  Find those little things that can brighten your day, and hold on to them.  After that, with every letter or card sent, I clipped a paper clip to the corner.  I also told any friends who were sending him notes to do the same.  By the end of basic he had a long chain of clips.  Each and every one of them was special because it said, "I love you! I know you can do this!"

This blog is to be my paper clips, a place to organize thoughts, store recipes, share stories, and remind myself of the good things I want to hang on to.