Link Love and a Recipe for you!

Here are a few finds from the web I recently stumbled across:

• Peanuts Anyone?
  
• Lecture from Wesley Burks (Duke) on the peanut allergy immunotherapy research on i tunes (Via Gina Clowes Twitter Feed)
• Interesting (although old - 2007) Comparison of School Food Allergy Emergency Plans to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network’s Standard Plan (PDF)
• School Lunches from around the world. The US versions are pretty awful looking.

And lastly, I'll leave you with an awesome aioli recipe (ok, it's just a fancy mayonnaise - why'd i have to go all french on you?). Technically you make an aioli by emulsifying egg yolks with olive oil and garlic, but I don't have time for that. I used some vegenaise and it worked like a charm! Since I used it, I guess this makes this recipe vegan, gluten free, and (I think) top 7 free, no? It has soy, so we just missed the top 8 mark - darn!

Green(ish) Aioli(ish)
In a blender, combine:

• 1 cup vegenaise
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• the zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves (you could use dill, basil, taragon, chervil...)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• Salt to taste
  

Whiz it all together until you have a smooth creamy mixture that's combined. I took it all the way so there wouldn't be an option to pick any of the green out (isn't that what all little kids try to do?). It turned a lovely light green color. So Pretty!

I made this for our anniversary dinner on Tuesday night (8 years - woo hoo!) and it was a huge success. I was practically licking the bowl (and maybe you might have caught me foraging through the fridge later that night looking for other things to dip in it).

Try this with grilled chicken, gilled veggies, tofu, dip fries in it, cut up raw veggies, pita chips. It's so tasty you might just want to put a dab behind each ear. Enjoy!

Sunbutter Success!!!

Just a quick post to let you all know that B tried Sunbutter (again) yesterday and LOVED it.

Last year, you may recall, B tried Sunbutter and was not into it.

I haven't talked much about this, but we're moving forward with a food challenge later this summer (I know - can you believe it?!?!?). I've been a bit concerned that B would take one look at the peanut butter and refuse to eat it. Or eat it and be so grossed out by the texture that she wouldn't move forward with the challenge. So I wanted to try to introduce Sunbutter one more time to her. Sure it isn't exactly like PB, but the texture is.

I bought a jar earlier in the week and set it out on the counter (I also bought a jar of Nutella - have any of you with peanut allergic kids let them have it? This jar was for hubs but it looks 'safe' for B I guess? - let me know what you guys have done).

Anyhoo, B took one look at the Sunbutter and said in no uncertain terms that she wouldn't be eating that. I shrugged it off. But yesterday I talked to her about the food challenge coming up. I explained that peanut butter has a funky texture and that maybe she should give Sunbutter another try so she isn't surprised at the doctor's office.

She said, "OK mom, but just a little bit." I practically RAN to the kitchen and made two Ritz crackers with a small spread of SB on each. I presented them to her on a little plate and she tentatively put her pinkie finger into one and gave it a lick.

"Blech," she said. Rats. Oh well. I started to pick up the plate.

"Wait, just let me try it one more time."

In about 1 minute the first cracker was gone.

Then the second disappeared.

Then I guess I tipped the scales a bit. Was it bad that I pulled out a jar of marshmallow fluff and made her a mini Ritz fluffernutter? Hee hee.

Now she's asking this morning for a sunbutter sandwich for breakfast.

I'm not sure who was happier about her liking it. Probably me. I think I fall into the trap many allergic moms do of trying to make up for all that I perceive B to be missing with this peanut free life. Which isn't really fair I suppose. I liken it to vegetarians who eat mock bacon (or other mock meat products). Is it really a good substitute? Is it even necessary?

But it is GREAT to have another source of protein for B. She's a skinny one (she didn't inherit this from me). She's 4 and a half and still wearing 3T pants - yikes! Don't get me wrong, she's growing on the right curve according to her doctor who's not concerned, but she could use a little more meat on her bones.

Make This Recipe & Impress Your Friends

Do you remember back in the late 80's and early 90's where you couldn't open a magazine or restaurant menu without seeing a recipe for chicken with 40 cloves of garlic?

You can't?

Well thanks for making me feel really old.

If you DO remember, then boy do I have a recipe for you.

Last week we had my mother in law over for her birthday dinner and made Ina Garten's Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. It's tasty and only takes about an hour on the stove. Seriously, that includes browning AND cooking. Would I lie to you?

That's right. No roasting in the oven for 6 hours, no trussing chickens, no stuffing anything. And I used a cheap cut - chicken thighs. Oh, and my last hint - buy those prepeeled garlic cloves in a jar in the produce section and avoid the first step of the recipe. I don't have time to boil and peel garlic, do you?

It turned out so tasty, and the garlic wasn't as overpowering as you'd think. Sure it was a little stinky, but the flavor and ease of this recipe was enough for me (and everyone else) to overlook it. Serve it with some rice pilaf and a green salad and you're good to go.

This one's a keeper. And it could definitely be adjusted for various allergies (let me know if you try it).

You're welcome.