First Family Pizza Night (Avocado Arugula Pesto)

Tommy doesn't care much for the texture of avocados. But they’re so good for you and he’s not allergic to them. So I thought instead of giving him diced avocado, I would try and make a sort of avocado pesto. I’m using the term pesto pretty lightly since it doesn't actually contain any basil, nuts or cheese.

I made the Vegan Pizza Crust from The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide Part 1 by Brittany Angell and Iris Higgins. It uses millet flour and potato starch. I doubled the recipe and made two pizzas. One was a typical pizza with ground turkey, onions and red bell peppers. The second pizza I topped with my Avocado Arugula Pesto, ground turkey, onions and red bell peppers.

The typical pizza with tomato sauce was a big hit. And the pizza crust was delicious. It had a nice sort of corn flavor from the millet flour and it was easy to assemble.

The Avocado Arugula Pesto pizza was interesting. I liked it a lot more than Ben and Tommy did. It did have a nice bright flavor and the green color survived the baking. Give it a try if you love arugula and avocado and are looking for a little more of an adventurous pizza. I think the pesto would be great as a sandwich spread too.

Avocado Arugula Pesto

1 ripe avocado

2 cups arugula

2 Tbsp canola oil

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

½ tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

The Vodka Tonic that Saved Dinner (Millet Flour Pork Tostadas)

I had so much success making the flaxmeal tortillas that the next time we had tostadas, I decided to experiment with my own tortillas.

Ben was working in the garage and Tommy was happily playing in the living room. I thought, ok, I already have cooked shredded pork, so I’ll just whip up some tortillas and we’ll have an easy and delicious dinner. Well, it wasn't quite that simple or pain free.

Our tortilla press came with an instruction booklet that contained a recipe for corn tortillas. It was a simple combination of masa and water. I thought, ok, millet flour has a corn-like flavor and masa is pretty dry and crumbly, so figured I could do a combination of millet flour with some flaxmeal goop and presto, we’d have corn-like tortillas! I combined ¼ cup flaxmeal with 6 tablespoons of hot water and let that sit to form a gel. Then I added ½ tsp salt, 1 ¾ cups of millet flour and 1 cup of water. The batter was really runny. Obviously the millet flour didn't absorb as much water as the masa would have. So I added another 1 ¼ cups of millet flour.

The dough looked pretty good and I was ready to press out my first tortilla. I thought I had developed a pretty good technique when I made the flaxmeal tortillas, so I went about the same method this time. I lined the tortilla press with parchment paper and placed a 1 inch ball of dough in the middle. I pressed down the lever, and voila! It looked like a beautiful round corn tortilla. However, the tortilla dough had fused with the parchment paper and I could not get the tortilla off. 

So then I tried spraying the parchment paper with canola oil spray and pressed out another tortilla. This one stuck too. So then I decided to use the silicone pan liners I have and sprayed those with the canola oil spray. The tortillas even stuck to that! At this point my frustration was getting pretty bad. The tortillas looked so perfect, but I just could not get them to come off the liners.

So then I added 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch. Finally, I had a dough that would actually separate and make it to the pan! I cooked up the first tortilla and it was super dry and flavorless.

At this point, I was almost ready to cry. I was tired and hungry and defeated. I felt like I had wasted a lot of ingredients and time and I still wasn’t close to having anything for dinner. Right then Ben came in from the garage and provided some much needed emotional support. I wasn’t looking for any help with my hopeless tortilla situation; I just needed a hug and reassurance that not every recipe we make will be an instant success and that’s ok.

I decided then that I really wanted a vodka tonic. Ben made us cocktails and that gave me the time I needed to take a step back and reassess our situation.

I really didn't want to waste all the ingredients. I figured if I couldn't get the tortillas to come off of the tortilla press, maybe I could make the dough more like a pancake batter and just pour the batter into the pan. So I added another 2 tablespoons of canola oil and somewhere around ½ cup of coconut milk. 

I poured the batter into the pan, and it worked!

They were moist, flavorful and super delicious! Dinner was saved!

Sometimes you just need a little moral support. And a vodka tonic.

Millet Tortilla Pancakes

¼ cup ground flaxmeal

6 Tbsp hot water

3 cups millet flour

1 cup water

3 Tbsp canola oil

½ cup coconut milk

2 Tbsp tapioca starch

½ tsp salt

Combine ground flaxmeal and hot water in a large bowl. Let sit for five minutes to gel. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Add more coconut milk if needed to make the batter into the consistency of a pancake batter.  Heat a large nonstick skillet to medium heat and spray with nonstick spray. Use a ¼ cup measure to pour the batter into the skillet. Cook each pancake for a couple minutes until the bottom browns and then flip. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Pork Tostada Filling

3 cups cooked, shredded pork

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 Tbsp canola oil

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper and sauté until soft. Add the shredded pork and stir to combine.

Simple Guacamole

1 avocado

¼ of an onion, finely diced

1 tsp lemon juice

¼ tsp salt

Mash the avocado with a fork and stir in the onion, lemon juice and salt.

Millet Flour Pork Tostadas

To assemble the tostadas, top a millet pancake tortilla with the simple guacamole, pork tostada filling, shredded lettuce and salsa. Enjoy! 

Unexpected Tears (Coconut Berry Popsicles)

Tommy’s 21 months old and he’s never had a popsicle. It’s been pretty warm here, so I figured a coconut berry popsicle would be a great afternoon snack. Boy was I wrong. I've never seen Tommy so upset about a snack. He burst into tears when we handed him a popsicle. He wouldn't even lick it! Sometimes it’s funny the things that will upset toddlers. The popsicles were nice and refreshing. I think we’ll have to try them again next summer.

Coconut Berry Popsicles

Berry puree

Vanilla coconut milk

Popsicle molds

I made a berry puree by cooking frozen mixed berries in a heavy bottomed stainless steel pot. I cooked the berries on medium for several minutes until they turned into a chunky sauce. Then I pureed them in a blender. Using water, measure the volume of your popsicle molds. Combine one part berry puree and one part vanilla coconut milk. Stir to combine in a large measuring cup and pour into the popsicle molds. Freeze for several hours until firm. 

Tilapia Tacos with Mango Salsa

Earlier this month we made our best fish tacos ever! Pan fried tilapia, mango salsa, diced avocado and flaxmeal tortillas.

My husband Ben is the master fish pan-fryer. We use a modified version of Melissa D’Arabian’s crispy fish recipe from the Food Network. Usually we dredge tilapia in wheat flour, salt and pepper and then fry it in canola oil. Since we wanted to make fish tacos Tommy can eat, this time we dredged the fish in coconut flour. It worked perfectly! The fish was nice and crispy and it didn't have an overwhelming coconut flavor.

The fish is very simple to prepare, but be forewarned. The oil tends to splatter a lot and your kitchen may smell like fish for a couple days. But it’s completely worth it!

This was my first attempt making tortillas and they were a little crumbly but pretty straight forward to make. I made the Paleo Flax Tortillas from Brittany Angell’s Real Sustenance. I think next time I will add a tablespoon of canola oil to the dough. The tortillas sort of have an odd taste if you eat them by themselves, but with all the other ingredients they were delicious!

Tommy gobbled up his taco and asked for more! We’ll definitely be making these again!

Pan Fried Tilapia

2 lbs tilapia fillets

¼ cup coconut flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

Canola oil

Combine coconut flour, salt and pepper on a plate. Heat a large stainless steel skillet over medium high heat and add enough canola oil to cover the bottom. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture. When the oil is hot (but not smoking), add the fish to the pan and cook for three minutes on each side. If they start to burn, turn down the heat.

Mango Salsa

2 mangoes, pealed and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

½ onion, diced

Juice of ½ a lemon

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl

Paleo Flax Tortillas

http://realsustenance.com/flax-tortillas-glutengrainstarcheggcornsoynut-free/

Early Intervention (Coconut Banana French Toast)

Tommy was a late walker and talker. A few months ago his pediatrician recommended that we take Tommy to be evaluated by our state’s Early Intervention Program. Tommy qualified for physical, speech and occupational therapy. Initially I was a little embarrassed. I felt like I had somewhat failed as a mom and that I wasn't trying hard enough to teach Tommy to walk. It turns out he just wasn't ready. After a couple months of physical therapy, Tommy is now walking around like crazy and he no longer needs physical therapy.

Because of Tommy’s food allergies, he never had many of the common baby snacks like puffs and Baby Mum Mums. He loves food and he used to gobble up his food so quickly that he wouldn't chew. Anything with a firmer texture was just swallowed whole and while he never full on choked, sometimes it was a little scary. Tommy’s occupational therapist gave us tips on how to encourage chewing by giving Tommy things like dried mangoes and not giving him all his food at once.

Tommy’s occupational therapy now consists of a weekly group therapy/play group with other kids ages 2-3.  Each week they have a discovery activity, like playing in a large fishbowl, they sing and sign a song about animal noises, do a little craft and then have snack time. Snack time is a big part of the group since it helps the kids overcome any food aversions they have plus they learn how to use utensils.

Tommy’s occupational therapist is well aware of his food allergies and she coordinates the snacks with me so that she will either accommodate his allergies or I will provide an equivalent snack. One week his therapist said that they were going to have French Toast with maple syrup for snack. 

So that left me with the challenge of making a wheat, dairy, and egg free French Toast recipe within a couple of days. Thank goodness we finally had a bread recipe that you can actually slice. It turns out mashed bananas, coconut milk and cinnamon makes a delicious batter. Tommy LOVED the French Toast. 

It was a huge sense of accomplishment to make a delicious French Toast recipe that Tommy loves and I think tastes better than the traditional version. As my husband said, making a wheat, egg, and dairy free French Toast is like painting a masterpiece without being able to use one of the three primary colors. This victory has fueled my curiosity and drive to make more family recipes. 

And I think we've officially entered the “Sticky Kid” phase...

Coconut Banana French Toast

8 slices of bread

1 mashed banana

½ cup coconut milk

¼ tsp cinnamon

Coconut oil for cooking

Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Whisk the mashed banana, coconut milk and cinnamon in a large bowl. Soak the bread in the milk mixture. When the pan is warm, add as many slices of bread to the pan as will easily fit without touching. Cook for approximately 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Continue cooking the rest of the bread adding more coconut oil as needed.  Slice into sticks and serve with maple syrup. The French Toast can easily be frozen and thawed in the microwave.

Mock Romesco Sauce

Recently my sister and her fiancé threw an awesome engagement party. My sister made a fantastic Romesco Sauce.  Her sauce was so delicious on sliced bread that I couldn't stop eating it. Her sauce was made from almonds, red peppers, tomatoes, roasted garlic and bread. I would like to eat that sauce by the spoonful, but since Tommy’s allergic to almonds and wheat, I made my own Mock Romesco Sauce.

Tommy loved dipping his bread into the sauce. I think he liked the act of dipping more than the taste of the sauce, but it’s a start. Here is the recipe for my Mock Romesco Sauce:

Mock Romesco Sauce

1 red bell pepper, diced
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
¼ cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and sauté until softened. Add the tomatoes, salt and black pepper. Cook until heated through. Puree the sauce in a blender until smooth. Serve warm. 

Bread!

July 28 was a breakthrough day at our house. That was the day I made my first successful loaf of gluten free bread. It’s crazy to me that Tommy was 20 months old before he had his first piece of bread. For a while his only safe grains were millet and oats. I had tried making muffins with millet flour, but they were so crumbly that it wasn't worth the hassle.

Finally we had successfully trialed enough other grains. On July 28, I made the Yeast-Free, Vegan Sandwich Bread from The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide Part 2. It uses a combination of sorghum flour, potato starch, teff flour, and psyllium husks. And it was amazing! The bread rose in the oven and actually stays together so you can slice it! It tastes a lot like a dense whole wheat bread.

I am so excited that we have a bread recipe that’s easy to make and best of all Tommy loves it! I never thought I’d be buying things like sorghum flour. I feel fortunate that I can buy all the ingredients at our local health food store.

Catching Up

When I decided to start a blog, I began documenting our recent cooking adventures. But I didn't get around to starting the actual blog until today, so I have some catching up to do. I’m looking forward to having actual typed copies of my recent recipes instead of just notes on scratch paper. 

Welcome!

This is how the conversation usually goes: 

Other person (usually a mom): “Oh, your son has food allergies? What’s he allergic to? 
Me: “Dairy, nuts, peanuts, corn, egg whites, rice, wheat, barley, beef, peas and pineapple. And either honey or mustard” 
Other person: “OMG, what CAN he eat?!” 

For a while, our son pretty much subsisted on oatmeal, fruit, sweet potatoes, ground turkey, peas (before he developed a pea allergy) and coconut products. Now he’s almost two and he’s finally realized that mommy and daddy are eating food that looks much better than his. So now we have the new challenge of making foods that our toddler can eat and that we’re willing to eat too. 

I love to cook, but I don’t cook all of his meals from scratch because I’m making a statement or against grocery stores. I cook his meals because I have to. Trust me, if he could eat mac and cheese from a box I’m sure that’d be a frequent meal in our house. After lots of prodding from my husband, I've finally decided to start a blog.