Dairy Free Pizza - a weekend lunch

Tuna and basil pizza, with soy cheese and a vegetable-filled tomato sauce.  

Treat of the week

Chocolate chip cookies

Dairy-free and egg-free weekly menu plan

This week our evening meals will be: 

Friday - salmon cutlets, jacket potatoes, salads

Saturday - at a wedding, the one where the venue can't cater for The Allergic One ... I think he'll be eating Burger King kids hamburger meal ... how gourmet ... not!  

Sunday - leftover salmon and potatoes made into patties, served with sweet potato fries and corn on the cob 

Monday - beef and lentil bolognese with fusilli and garlic bread 

Tuesday - leftover bolognese with jacket potatoes and salad 

Wednesday - sausage and pumpkin risotto 

Thursday - leftover sausages stirred through a tomato, courgette and basil sauce with fusilli 

Beef, lentil and veggie bolognese - with soy cheese on the side

Stir fried chicken, veggies and rice

This is a great use for chicken left over from a roast ... stir fry your veggies of choice, add cooked chicken to thoroughly warm through, add a 'sauce' made from soy sauce, black pepper, sugar, cornflour and water at the end and stir through some cooked brown basmati rice.  Healthy, tasty, quick, cheap.  (And no egg-eaters mentioned the lack of egg in the stir-fried rice).  

Roast chicken

Clean plates all around ... roast chicken, roast potatoes, steamed cabbage, carrots and peas and homemade gravy ... cut into easy-to-shovel-in mouthfuls for a three year old.  

Making bagels with the kids

Recipe from my favourite Food Allergy Mama ... here.  

Now, this is not an exercise to be undertaken if you are hungry and actually want to eat a bagel quickly ... it is however a fun thing to do with the little ones and is a great way of keeping the husband and children entertained whilst one is getting one's hair cut on a Saturday morning.  Plus, the finished result is so much better than any bagel you buy in a packet from a shop ... eat them warm with ham and Dijon mustard ... or, if you are three, with Marmite.  

After school snack

Chewy cookies with rice krispies in ... recipe from here.  Very easy to make them allergy-friendly ... just swap the butter for some vegan marg. 

Treat of the week

Mini chocolate muffins from 'Allergy-Free Cooking for Kids' by Antoinette Savill ... they freeze really well too if you have any left over ... we didn't.  

Dairy-free and egg-free weekly menu plan

This week our evening meals will be:  

Friday - fish and chips and peas

Saturday - roast chicken, jacket potatoes, roast sweet potatoes and parsnips, steamed broccoli and carrots, gravy

Sunday - leftover chicken in a creamy sauce with bacon, leeks and mushrooms served with brown rice and corn on the cob

Monday - the last of the leftover chicken, quesadilla-style

Tuesday - sausages and roasted vegetables - potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, red peppers, courgettes

Wednesday - sweet potato cottage pie, with green beans

Thursday - leftover sweet potato cottage pie, with baked beans 

Speedy sausage and red pepper 'risotto'

Serves 2 toddlers
1 tbsp olive oil 
1 leek, white part only, quartered lengthways, finely chopped enough so they can't pick it out
1/2 a red pepper, finely chopped
75g quick cook rice (ours said 10 minutes) 
100g Helen Browning Organic Speedy Sausages, chopped into 1/2 cm rounds
400 ml chicken stock 
mugful of frozen peas
black pepper and parsley, to taste 

1. Sauté sausages and red pepper for 2 minutes
2. Add leek and rice, sauté for 1 minute
3. Add rice and stock, cook for 7 minutes
4. Add frozen peas, cook for 3 minutes
5. Check seasoning, serve 

More comfort food

Wahey! A big fat unhealthy pasty-type thing (actually made with pizza dough, not pastry) served with ketchup all over it ... filled with last night's leftover slow cooked beef...  suppose I had better make tomorrow a salad day.  

Autumn comfort food

Here is a photo of my adaptation of the Jamie Oliver four hour beef recipe, served with mashed potato and steamed savoy cabbage.  It was so good ... exactly what we needed on an Autumnal day with boys feeling a little under the weather - tired and snuffly - perfect comfort food.  

Creamy pancetta and pea pasta

I love a pasta dish where the sauce is done in the time it takes to cook the pasta ... this one fits the bill very nicely.

Ingredients - serves 2 toddlers 
1 leek, white part only, quartered and finely chopped
100g cubed pancetta, or smoked streaky bacon 
mugful of frozen green beans, chopped 
mugful of frozen peas 
100ml soy cream
90g dried pasta

Get pasta onto boil (the fusilli I  used took 9 mins to cook) 
In small frying pan sauté pancetta until crisping up (?3 mins), add leek, sauté until soft (?1 min), add frozen beans and peas with a little water if needed until cooked (?3 mins), add soy cream, bring to simmer, drain pasta when cooked and mix into sauce.  Add salt and pepper to taste and some chopped fresh parsley if you have it.

Treat of the week

Chocolate Orange Brownies ... my Non-Allergic boy had seen this  recipe for Chocolate Orange Brownies in the October instalment of Good Food magazine and asked if I could bake them for him (it was the only recipe in that edition that caught his eye, hmmm).  However, containing, as it does, four eggs, 200g of butter and some Terry's Chocolate Orange, it is not a recipe I can use.  

So ... I adapted this recipe by adding the zest of half an orange and swapping half the golden syrup for agave.  Gorgeous!

Dairy-free and egg-free weekly menu plan

Friday - From Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie's Dinners', Jools' Favourite Beef Stew with mashed potato and green beans 

Saturday - Calzones filled with leftover stew

Sunday - Creamy bacon, leek and pea pasta 

Monday - Prawn and sweetcorn rosti with salad 

Tuesday - Jacket potatoes with tuna and salad 

Wednesday - Sausage and red pepper risotto with garlic bread 

Thursday - Chicken and salad wraps, with wedges, if appetites demand it 

Cook once, make three meals: day three

Mini calzones filled with lamb casserole

Step One: make up a batch of pizza dough ... I will blog the recipe I used another time
Step Two: I sautéed another carrot and a leek to add to the lamb casserole ... plus the obligatory tin of sweetcorn
Step Three: Divide dough into four, roll out into a rectangular shape, cut little strips down the sides, add a quarter of the (cold) casserole mixture to the dough and fold the lattice around the mixture

Step Four: Brush with some olive oil and pop into a hot oven for 15 minutes

Step Five: Leave to cool ... 

Step 6: Eat! 

Cook once, make three meals: day two

And here is the fusilli with slow cooked lamb and basil ... all I did was break up the lamb with the back of a fork and then stirred the warmed casserole around the cooked pasta ... 

Cook once, make three meals: day one

I've embraced Jamie Oliver's 'family tree' idea from his Jamie's Dinners ... essentially, you cook one big meal and then use the leftovers to make two more meals.

So this week I give you ... slow cooked lamb casserole which will become:

Meal i) slow cooked lamb casserole with new potatoes and tenderstem broccoli 

Meal ii) fusilli with slow cooked lamb and basil

Meal iii) mini calzones filled with slow cooked lamb 

My basic recipe is: 

1kg stewing lamb, cubed 

glug of olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

4 carrots, finely chopped

4 sticks of celery, finely chopped

handful of mushrooms, quartered

500ml of liquid - lamb stock or red wine or a mixture of the two 

2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes or passata

salt and pepper

 - brown lamb in oil in heavy bottomed pan on hob 

 - add onions, saute until soft

 - add rosemary, garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms, saute until soft

 - add red wine, bring to boil and let it bubble away until reduced by about  half

 - add tomatoes or passata, bring to boil, season

 - add lid onto pan and move into a very low oven - about 130 degrees - for 2 to 3 hours

 - check the seasoning again, I also added a tablespoon of sugar towards the end of the cooking time to take away some of the acidity of the tomatoes 

And here is the  slow cooked lamb casserole with new potatoes and tenderstem broccoli and cannellini beans: 

Sunday lunch with friends

Dolly mixture cupcakes and chocolate crispy cakes ... I baked these to take to lunch with some friends so the Allergic One didn't feel left out but the non Allergic kids ate them too ... so a big thumbs up for a bit of vegan baking.  And our lovely friends bought dairy-free chocolate buttons as a treat too.  

Must eat less sugar tomorrow ...   

Treat of the week

Chocolate chip and oaty cookies ... 

Dairy-free and egg-free weekly menu plan

Friday - chicken tacos 
Saturday - creamy leek, bacon and pea penne 
Sunday - Lunch with friends ... I think the children will be eating sausages 
Monday - sweet potato cottage pie
Tuesday - leftover sweet potato cottage pie 
Wednesday - slow cooker lamb ragu (make double, one for freezer) 
Thursday - tuna pizza and salad 

Snack supper

Snacky supper ... after a main meal at lunchtime ... tuna pizza 'snails' and pieces of salad: 

Back to school allergy checklist

To take with us on Day One: 

1.  Labelled medicine bottle and dropper - I'll hand this over to teacher in front of The Allergic One and let him know that she has it if he needs it 
2.  Copy of NHS Emergency Management Plan
3.  Photo of The Allergic One for the Dining Hall team

Anxious mother worries: 

1.  Should I have bought a Medical Alert wristband?  
2.  Is it inevitable that he'll have a reaction ... or two?  
3.  Do I need to be making like-for-like desserts so he won't feel left out?  (The Dining Hall reckon they can accommodate his allergies for the main meal but not for the puds).  
4.  Will he feel left out anyway?  

Aaaaah!  

In praise of ... Aunts and Cousins who understand allergies

We are newly returned from a weekend at our Aunt's house ... she made 4, yes, 4 meals in a row of delicious allergy-friendly meals.  Our cousin and her wife made the most amazing cake too.   How lucky are we?  

Here's what they kindly and thoughtfully cooked for us: 

Breakfast 1: just-out-of-the-oven home made bread and fruit

Morning tea: chocolate and beetroot cake with avocado and chocolate icing 

Lunch: home made sausage rolls, smoked salmon, chicken, pasta and seafood salad, coleslaw, home grown salad

Supper: chicken casserole, new potatoes and veggies

Breakfast 2: more just-out-the-oven home made bread, cereals and fruit 

Quicker-than-a-proper roast - roast chicken and gravy

Serves 2 adults and 2 toddlers 
glug of olive oil
1kg new potatoes, halved lengthways
4 chicken thighs, skinned and boned (up this quantity for the very hungry) 
6 shallots, peeled 
50g pancetta, cubed 
4 carrots, quartered
mug of frozen peas
300ml chicken stock
1 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water 

Oven at 200 C fan
Stir oil and potatoes in a large oven proof roasting dish, roast for 20 mins, stir 
Add chicken, shallots, pancetta, carrots, stir, roast for a further 20 mins, stir 
Add chicken stock, cook for 10 mins, stir 
Add cornflour mixture, stir, cook for 5 minutes
Add peas and time for a final five minutes, stir
Serve with another vegetable, we chose baby corn, of course ...

Treat of the week

Strawberry cupcakes

Recipe for the cakes from 'Allergy-Free Cooking for Kids' by Antoinette Savill, 'airy fairy cupcakes' ... recipe for icing: 100g icing sugar, 30g marg, 25g strawberries plus fresh strawberries to decorate.

I made these with one three year old ... he loved it.  

Dairy-free and egg-free weekly menu plan

Friday: sausage, tomato, red pepper risotto, with home made ciabatta

Saturday: family party

Sunday: chicken with mushrooms, sweet potato mash, corn on the cob

Monday: tuna and sweetcorn pizza, salad

Tuesday: chicken fajitas with guacamole

Wednesday (first day of school): spag bol

Thursday: leftover bolognese sauce with jacket potatoes

Savoury scones

Savoury scones without cheese?  Yes, this works really well ... you can use them for sandwiches or to dunk in soup:

Oven at 180 C fan
275g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
100g margarine
30g finely grated carrot
30g finely chopped red pepper
120ml soy milk

Sift dry ingredients, mix, then add margarine until breadcrumb consistency, then add carrot and pepper, then slowly mix in soy milk until the ingredients come together.  Roll out to about 1cm thick.  Makes about 12. Cook for about 15 minutes. 

Allergies are both hereditary and gender-related

This recent piece of research mentioned on the Allergy UK website interested me, and it's definitely the case for us! 

http://www.allergyuk.org/news/latest-news/post/37-new-research-reveals-that-allergies-are-gender-related/

'Lunch' at the Science Museum

Lunch was the low point in an otherwise great visit to the Science Museum.

According to our server at the cafe, the lunch options available to us were:

1) spicy bean and veg soup - although served without bread as the bread 'should be okay but might have a bit of milk in it' ... she checked with the chef for us but even then was unable to provide a definite answer!  Er, no bread then thanks 
2) salad leaves, roasted veggies and couscous ... which looked good though but perhaps not so filling or of special interest to a three year old ... 
3) hot chips, sachets of ketchup and raisins 

Guess which one my three year old chose?

Ugh, yes, the third ... so I have just cooked him supper chock full of veggies and protein to compensate.

The rest of the food looked so good, it was pricey but well worth it I'm sure ... really attractive-looking pizzas, sandwiches, salads, cakes, muffins ... it just all had egg and milk in it.  

Allergy-friendly verdict: could do better! 

(Photos taken on 'phone in artificial light ... so rubbish quality).  

Summer BBQ for the four of us

Ah, the yin of the sausages and white bread nicely balanced with the yang of a shed-load of salad ... went down a treat with the boys ... 'Mummy, please can we have this again?' ... 

Treat of the week

So many recipes for jam tarts seem to contain an egg, or at least an egg yolk in the pastry which of course is a no-go for us.  However, a quick check in the ever-reliable Be-Ro cookbook, available online here, came up with an egg-free pastry recipe for jam tarts ... which were very much appreciated by two boys ... 

Dairy-free and egg-free weekly menu plan

Our evening meals this week will be: 

Friday - salmon fish cakes, carrots and green beans  (didn't get around to making these last week) 

Saturday - leftover salmon fish cakes, corn on the cob, sweet potato wedges 

Sunday - bacon, butternut and pea risotto, home made focaccia 

Monday - marinated pork fillet, sweet potato mash, broccoli, baby corn, carrots and gravy 

Tuesday - tuna, courgette and basil pasta (make double quantity, reserving half for ...) 

Wednesday - tuna, courgette and basil pizza, with potato wedges and salad 

Thursday - sausage and noodle stir fry ... replacing the egg noodles for rice noodles  

Home made focaccia

The warm weather has given me cause to reach for an old copy of Delia Smith's 'Summer Collection'.  I don't think I've looked at it since we had the children, let alone since I've been trying to cook for allergies.  I gave it a quick scan to find what might be lurking that was allergy-friendly and found one or two recipes that I'll be giving a whirl over the next few weeks.

The first one I tried was Mini Focaccia Bread ... really easy and very tasty, I'll definitely make them again.  I used rosemary from the garden, so saved a few pennies too.  

Chicken and chorizo paella

Another use for leftover roast chicken ... I think I only had 200g or so left but once mixed with the chorizo and the veggies it didn't seem like a small amount.  I added some extra smoked paprika which gave the dish a great flavour that the little ones seemed to like.  

NB: dairy-free chorizo from Unearthed ... available from Ocado and Waitrose.  

Quick lunch with leftover roast chicken

An easy lunch: shop-bought wraps filled with cold leftover roast chicken, avocado, cucumber, pepper and sweetcorn ... 

A restaurant doesn't want us!

I've been feeling so positive about dealing with allergies lately.  We have even eaten out for goodness sake ... that's what normal people do.  

But ... we are off to a wedding at the end of September, the meal part of which will be held at an Italian restaurant.  We have just heard that the venue can't accommodate our allergies - they feel unable to guarantee that contamination of The Allergic One's food will not occur.  Fair enough I suppose ... and certainly preferable that they state this in advance than we run into trouble and have to dash to A&E on the day of the wedding.  It still feels like a kick in the teeth mind; they don't want our business damn them!  

The venue have said that they don't mind if we bring his food with us (ah, too kind! as if I'd let him sit there without food while the rest of us were chowing down) so at least he can sit and eat with the other children there, albeit partaking of a different menu.  I can't help feeling sad though when I think of how he might feel when he realises that the contents of his plate are different to their plates.   I'll have to find out what the other kids will be eating and try to replicate.  

The rational me knows that allergies are not the worst ailment from which a child can suffer.  But in this instance I am allowing myself to feel sad about it ... just for a little bit.  I'll be right again tomorrow. 

I like this article ... I admire Giorgio and Plaxy Locatelli ... it's good to read how other parents of allergic children cope and interesting to hear how a chef and restaurateur's perspective has been altered by his daughter's predicament ... the revelation in paragraph 11 of how Giorgio thinks that restaurants can treat those with allergies makes me think it's a good idea to be taking our own food ... 

Treat of the week

Raspberry truffle brownies ... although ... I actually used frozen blueberries. 

Recipe from:  http://www.theppk.com/2012/01/raspberry-truffle-brownies/

(Such an amazing website) 

Served here with Swedish Glace Neapolitan ... 

I made the apple purée with an apple from our own tree ... pictured in today's late summer sunshine: 

Dairy-free and egg-free weekly menu plan

Friday - chicken and chorizo paella 

Saturday - sausages on the BBQ, with salads and home made bread rolls

Sunday - beef and lentil spag bol with home made garlic bread

Monday - leftover spag bol 

Tuesday - bacon and spinach pizza, salad 

Wednesday - salmon fishcakes, corn on the cob, peas

Thursday - tuna, courgette and basil pasta