South Slope Brooklyn Blog

Allergy Free Olympic Hockey Game Menu

2010-02-28T11:53:00.002-05:00

Allergy free cooking for this afternoon has begun with Adobo Marinade. As I've said before, Mexican cooking (without seeds, peanuts and tree nuts) lends itself brilliantly to the allergy-free lifestyle. With its emphasis on big flavor, simple ingredients and fresh vegetables, it is not only delicious, but has tons of antioxidants. (I'm sounding like an advertisement now...I'll stop!) I made enough of the marinade so that I'll have some leftover to put in the fridge for next time - or perhaps our daughter would like to try some on her chicken this evening. I know you'd think she'd love it, but just remember, because one has allergies doesn't mean they're not picky! This is a child whose food cannot touch and who likes to eat in courses. More on that later.

Today's Olympic Hockey viewing menu:

Marinated Flank Steak (child allergic to beef - note: make chicken first)
Chicken Adobo (using the same marinade for the flank steak)
Chipotle Salsa
Roasted Tomato Salsa
Mango Salad
Tortillas (corn of course)
Roasted Vidalia Onions
Rice
Jalapeno pickles (made last weekend without mustard!)

All recipes are free of wheat, milk, eggs, gluten, soy, nuts, tree nuts, seeds, and more. Our most difficult allergy is now Mustard as it means I must make my own pickled Jalapenos. But it's worth it - they're delicious! The only thing on this "allergy free" menu that our allergic kid can't have is the steak - so I'll make that up separately and most probably after I make up the chicken. And the other good news is that with the exception of the salsa (already made by my husband) almost everything else only requires either roasting, chopping or tossing.

26 February 2010: Snow Day!

2010-02-26T17:01:00.008-05:00

23 February 2010: Photo of the Day

2010-02-23T10:28:00.003-05:00

How I Unlearned How To Cook

2010-02-20T13:10:00.002-05:00

@Ruhlman posted on Twitter yesterday a request that people (I guess this means bloggers) write about why they like to cook.

I thought I would take that a step further and write about how I unlearned how to cook.

One Christmas, before our daughter was born, my mother sent me My Aunt's self-published cookbook with her families favorite recipes. A number of them were quite good. All of them called for either butter, cream of mushroom soup, milk, eggs, and nuts. It was a functional cookbook, and I, for the most part, was a functional cook.

I always enjoyed cooking and one Christmas tackled roasted chestnut stuffing, and home made egg nog. I drank the egg nog while making the stuffing, and nine months later, our first (and so far only) child was born.

The food allergies that we discovered in her first year went the usual food allergy route. As one would expect the full body eczema and anaphylactic reactions were caused by wheat, eggs, milk, rye, millet, nuts, tree nuts and soy. Yes, I say the usual and expected, because the unusual and unexpected food allergies were yet to come when she was around three.

Faced with the challenge of over 30 food allergies when our daughter was three I was forced to unlearn everything I knew about food and cooking.

Eleven years ago, I realized I had to learn about organic farming and how it differed. I was forced to research high fructose corn syrup (corn allergy). It was a requirement that I know just how and why hydrogenated oils came into our food supply. What was the reason why sugar was so white while raw sugar was not? I discovered which manufacturers added Dextrose (corn) to salt. I researched how many chemicals were being added to our tap water. I had to find out what those scientific words in the ingredients list really meant. I learned about mercury in the fish supply. I learned what animals were being fed antibiotics, and why buy local. I learned about pesticide use all over the world and how they differed from country to country. I stumbled upon the early raw vegan movement. I called food manufacturer after food manufacturer making sure that packaged foods were going to be alright to feed to my toddler. I learned how to make sure my child was getting all her nutrients without being able to eat the normal American diet and without being able to tolerate supplements.

Which leads me back to cooking.

I had to learn how to make cookies out of four ingredients - yes, four ingredients only. And I had to learn how to make a birthday cake using only rice flour, water, olive oil and pears. And so it began. My love for cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. My own recipes for gluten free, egg free, milk free food - ALL FREE - are proof.

Life is much different now - with the plethora of amazing cookbooks on the market, and the awareness of food allergies in the medical community, restaurant community and general population - our lives have changed for the better. Although I now have reading glasses, being able to read ingredients list on a package that doesn't read like a science experiment is a godsend. Manufacturers printing "may contain" and information on how their product is stored and whether or not they use shared equipment has increased our quality of life ten fold.

But the best result from all this unlearning how to cook? Our daughter. Tall, beautiful, healthy...and always hungry... ;)

The Food Allergic River: Grandma's Visit

2010-01-24T14:58:00.001-05:00

While I was making jambalaya and chili ancho rubbed skirt steak this afternoon I was thinking of how I could explain to those aspiring to cook for my family how best to approach preparing safe food that is "separate" but being cooked on the same stovetop as an unsafe food.

I divide the stove into two parts, left and right. On the left is the "unsafe" food that my husband and I can eat. On the right is "safe" food for our food allergic child who cannot have steak (among many other things). Her (and our) jambalaya is made with chicken sausage (and no shrimp in case you're wondering). The outcome is we have one dish we can all eat, and one dish that Jim and I will share. We will also have a veggie that is shared - today it was plain steamed broccoli.

We've developed our strategy over the past 12 years and perfected it to be second nature. Different spoons that only go into their respective pots and/or pans; timing on frying unsafe foods next to safe foods to minimize splatter. The moment the spoon "crosses the line" we have to figure out what to do with the meal. Do we forget it and move onto a new meal? Or, do we take a clean utensil and get rid of the contaminated food at the point of impact and around. Luckily this is something we rarely have to confront anymore.

Except when Grandma comes.

When Grandma comes, our normally well controlled food allergic kitchen becomes confusing and chaotic. Within moments of arriving in the kitchen, Grandma has spoons dipping into Steak laden sauces, and quickly mixed with our child's Turkey chili. Dishes are ill-washed with rags that cleaned up the steak juice spill on the counter, leaving Jim and I to merely gasp. Though Grandma means well, her presence and inability to sit idly by while we do the cooking is a source of incredible stress for us.

The other unique phenomenon that happens with Grandma, and many other family members, is that they're never quite sure what our daughter's allergies are. And instead of asking before they come, they'd like to make it into an hour long discussion during their visit. If there's one thing we've learned, it's that having long drawn out discussions about food allergies in front of a food allergic child is uncomfortable for us and for them. We try to limit those conversations when at all possible and deflect with sentences like, "She's thirteen now and has an exemplary diet, is right on track for weight and height, and is very intelligent."

Life isn't all about food. Or is it?

Wonder Wednesday: The Thinker

2010-01-13T20:19:00.002-05:00

Music Monday: Konceptions at Korzo Tuesday 12 Jan 10

2010-01-11T09:11:00.003-05:00

Today (taking a cue from Twitter) is Music Monday featuring a weekly round up of live music in and around Brooklyn, NY. (Until I can manage to fragment these disparate and random ramblings, please bear with me while I place them here on this blog.) Firstly and perhaps entirely is Konceptions, a musical series curated by James Carney (disclosure, he's my husband). Konceptions is presented at Korzo on 5th avenue between 20th and 19th in Brooklyn every Tuesday night with sets at 9:30pm and 11pm. Konceptions was conceived to be a simple jazz series that encouraged musicians to try out their new tunes, form new groups, spread out and explore in a laid back supportive environment.

Tuesday, which would be tomorrow for those of you who have not yet had your third cup of coffee, boasts a lineup of two power trios: At 9:30pm Todd Sickafoose, Erik Deutsch, and Ben Perowski. Then, at 11:00pm the irrisistible Tom Rainey, Ingrid Laubrock and Mary Halvorsen.

My very own very biased opinion about Konceptions and the quality of music coming out of Korzo on Tuesday nights is that it's a series that is not to be missed. Where else in Brooklyn can you see the best of the best for the price of a hamburger ($7) and no pressure to purchase the amazing European beers on tap? Do you really want to travel into Manhattan and have a $125 night on a Tuesday? Don't answer that.

But wait! There's more.

Other places worth a mentioning in Park Slope & South Slope Brooklyn:
http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com
http://tealoungeny.com/
http://www.puppetsjazz.com/
http://bar4brooklyn.com
http://spsounds.com/

Enjoy the week with music.

2010 Review: Cookbooks from a Food Allergic POV

2010-01-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

Managing my own food allergies along with those of my husband and twelve year old can be daunting. After twelve years I think I've got it down. It still takes a good two hours of my day, every day. Here are five cookbooks in my kitchen cabinet that I use often.

The first cookbook is the one that I will say I could not live without is:

1. SPECIAL FOODS FOR SPECIAL KIDS by Todd Adelman and Jodi Behrend

A huge shout out to Todd and Jodi for devising this cookbook. Parents and kids will enjoy sitting down and devouring this book together. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Todd through one of his taste testers. This cookbook is so well thought out and written that I have not found a recipe yet that didn't come out perfectly. From the snickerdoodles to the cornbread and main dishes, this is a must have for any food allergic parent. The recipes are clear and the line art illustrations are wonderful. It also has excellent substitution suggestions for those of us with multiple food allergies.

2. VEGAN LUNCHBOX by Jennifer McCann

Although some of the recipes are a bit daunting and time consuming, who can argue with trying to get more veggies into your children? The recipe for Sneaky Mama's Tomato Sauce incoporates kale without sacrificing color or taste. This book is worth it just for Jennifer's recipe and her step by step instructions for sushi rice. You'll never order out for vegan sushi again!

3. THE NEW BOOK OF MIDDLE EASTERN COOKING by Claudia Rodin

This is a difficult book for us since we avoid chickpeas, quadrapeds, lentils and nuts; however, I mention it because of some of the incredibly tasty recipes for veggies and the different way of looking at food preparation. Of gastronomic and nutritional interest to us are the Syrian mushrooms, the carrot spread, cauliflower saute and the white bean dip. Claudia presents simple, delicious recipes for everyday food. Additionally, learning how to integrate a dried lime into lamb stew (for those of us who can have quadrapeds) is a real taste enhancer and the chicken dish with honey and rosewater is perfect for a cold winter night.

4. THE GOODHOUSEKEEPING COOKBOOK edited by Susan Westmoreland

Solid recipes and an updated appendix make this book a must have in every cook's library I've used many of these recipes as a base and substituted ingredients when necessary with very little disappointment.

5. MEXICAN EVERYDAY by Rick Bayless and

ROSA'S NEW MEXICAN TABLE by Roberto Santibanez

These two books are for everyone who loves Mexican food. Rick's book is contains recipes that can be made within an hour, where Roberto's book is for advanced cooks who really want to dive into Mexican food like your abuela (grandmother) did. Roberto's book taught me how to make amazing pinto beans from scratch after eight years of trial and error. His recipe is simple, and I'm not going to reveal it here - buy the book, it's worth it! Rick's book contains a wonderful skillet upside down cake which easy and deliciouso! (of course I had to change it to be gluten free, egg free and dairy free, but I found it wasn't difficult!) We eat a lot of Mexican food since we find that it is very forgiving to food allergics and it agrees with our tastes and our cravings. We couldn't live without these two books.

A New Year's Walk with Angels

2010-01-01T20:08:00.000-05:00

Greenwood Cemetery Brooklyn 01 January 2010

Very Restrictive Sweet Potato Scones - A Freedom Story

2009-12-29T16:25:00.000-05:00

It occurred to me a few years ago that everything I cook or bake has a story to it - a reason for being. After discovering and being let down by books written for food allergics in mind, for 10 years I opened, looked at or yearned for not a one. Instead, I purchased and sought out cookbooks whose tastes I thought we might enjoy, and then changed the recipe to be "free of". While the words "free of" should be in a sense, liberating, they are anything but. They are words that are restrictive, exclusive, and difficult. Thus, the title of this blog post...

NOTE: (Saying "Just don't eat it..." to someone who has a food allergy is like saying, oh, yeah, that's a gun, just don't touch it you'll be fine. As a matter of fact, let's just pretend it isn't in the center of the room, loaded and spinning like that, hmm? Would you like some, er, water?)

Which brings me to scones. As someone who ate wheat products for 30 some odd years, scones were never my favorite baked good, so they were rarely sought out. I was from Colorado and we didn't have many English bakeries. I believe my first scone was eaten while I was with my friend Shelly, who later changed her spelling to Shellie, at an English shop in Cherry Creek. The dryness of it was a bit overwhelming, but was helped a bit by a spot of tea. The not very sweet, kind of savory, crumbly lumpy thing never made it to my short list of baked goods.

The idea of a pumpkin scone came to me after reading a recipe for sweet potato scones. It also came after some research into pumpkin and what a fabulous source of iron and fiber it is. I had a can of pumpkin so I decided to try my hand at making a batch. (Trust me, we'll get to the sweet potato scone story soon enough, just follow along...). As with anything, the first batch was lacking, but I dutifully wrote down what I did, as always, and there the recipe sat for a few years to be made only a few times per year. I almost always used canned pumpkin, which worked fine, but the flavour was always a bit bland. Until today.

I'm not sure what it was about today. Possibly it started with the winter sun being a bit unforgiving to a clear blue sky. Or the wind that beat temperature and branches outside my window. Or the trees' refusal to let go of yellow brown pods that will feed the wild parrots this winter.

More than likely it was the left over sweet potato in my fridge begging for a reason not to be thrown in the trash.

Taking the quite large sweet potato out of the fridge, peeling and mashing it, I figured it was about a can of pumpkin or sweet potato. Adding cardamom, ginger and cinnamon as well as a bit more sugar than usual, to the gluten free flour blend and one of my favorite egg replacers, and voila. There they were, the most beautiful scones ever. The outside was beautifully hard and carmelized, the inside lovely and cake like. Oh, I guess I must not have mentioned that I don't like a crumbly scone. I think I ate three. The kid had two, I think, I'm not sure.

Ah - now for the the freedom part of the story. Some time after making the scones I walked into our newly remodeled neighborhood boulangerie the "Lopez Cafe" on 5th avenue between 18th and 19th where I ordered a small coffee, black, with a bit of sugar. Despite the amazing smell of bread and the beautiful overwhelming baked goods on display, I didn't even feel a twinge of jealousy, because I had already eaten the most wonderful scones in the world. Those very restrictive sweet potato scones had indeed freed me from fresh baked gluten jealousy.

If you ever find yourself with leftover sweet potato, I highly recommend making a scone, very restrictive or not, you won't be disappointed.

© 2009 by Heidi Bayer. All Rights Reserved. Photo credit: Heidi Bayer

25 December 2009

2009-12-25T13:11:00.000-05:00

Wishing you and yours a happy holiday...

Winter Solstice

2009-12-21T14:00:00.000-05:00

Twenty-two years ago today at eleven o'clock the telephone rang and a nice female voice on the other end of the line told me that my father had passed away. It was 1987. I remember looking out of the window into my mother's backyard where snow fell quickly, quietly and lightly, blanketing lumps of cold metal cars, hard red brick of the garage, and tree branches still holding onto brown leaves. I believe I said the words, "really", "thank you" and "okay" a few dozen times through a throat that was hoarse and thinning and with a voice that was older than my twenty-one years. By the time the phone was placed on the receiver after a forced "have a nice holiday," the backyard was shrouded in white.

What happened after that is a blur. My father was cremated. My brother, sister and I, along with my mother and her third husband, had a small ceremony commemorating his life. A few people came. More than a few people wanted items (mostly money) from his Estate which consisted of a 1971 Brown Pinto and a few boxes of, among other things, pictures of my father in pink leather at a Halloween Party, at the Inauguration of President Ronald Reagan, President Richard Nixon, of him as a young man with President Dwight D. Eisenhower. I moved all of his boxes into my mother's garage from his apartment and did what I could to organize things in the cold dark light of the crowded garage. To those looking for money, I told them simply that he had none. My brother, sister and I somehow came to an arrangement on how the boxes and things were to be distributed. After the holidays, I returned to college.

The death of my father, William Chester Bayer of HIV in 1987 marked the end of the first year of the scourge of AIDS / HIV deaths that took so many lives from 1987 - 1992. Although my mother had been divorced from him for ten years, her employer fired her out of fear and mis-information about how AIDS was transmitted. If my father had lived a few more years, then he may still be with us today, managing, like a lot of people, on a regimen of medication, and lifestyle changes.

After all these years, my brother, sister and I have stopped passing the loosely packed boxes around to each other. They contained untouchable, painful pieces of family history that we'd rather not open. And indeed, it took us years to open and organize the boxes. It took years to decide what pieces of family history we were going to cherish, pass on, and tell our children about their biological Grandfather, the only child of a cattle rancher and schoolteacher, the simple part he played in our lives, and his complicated yet unintentional place in History.

Two decades after his death, although the things have been distributed, my siblings and I are still unsure what to tell our children, his five grandchildren, about their biological Grandfather. Today, we tell them that this is the day their Grandfather died, and say that we wish they were able to know him, simply and without complications.

©2009 by Heidi Bayer and South Slope Brooklyn Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Kashmiris in Brooklyn

2009-12-19T13:12:00.002-05:00

As I sit in my beautiful loft which was converted from a Catholic School into a condominium five years ago in the Southern Slope of Brooklyn, I load my iTunes with the South Indian ragas of L Subramanimam. From the first time I heard Indian music while studying at California Institute of the Arts in the late eighties, the raga has always represented, for me, a way to gather my thoughts, relax and meditate. And so I find myself, twenty years later, doing the same on a different coast, not as a student, but as a professional, a mother and a wife to the same man I fell in love with in College.

This time of year, one would expect to hear Christmas music coming from the stereo, and, many times this week it has. However, as we near the final week before December 25th, and the final two weeks before the end of the year, my thoughts turn to those generous, magical and musical souls that we have lost in recent years.

Two years ago the planet lost, among others, Daniel Morris, a young man in his late thirties, to a complicated series of illnesses. Dan was, among many things, the drummer in my husband, James Carney’s group for years and had recorded on some of his albums. He had attended California Institute of the Arts after us, had studied South Indian drumming and had lived in South India in the nineties for a year while studying with his guru. Dan enjoyed his trip to India and, in later years, would speak of it often. Upon his return he brought my husband and I two Kashmiri shawls. He explained one was for me, the red/pink one, and one for Jim, the green one. Some time later, as we were re-finishing our house, and preparing for the birth of our first child - I put them in our cedar chest for safe keeping.

After fourteen years, a move across the country and two years after Dan’s passing, the South Indian Kashmiri shawls have found their way out of the cedar chest and into my winter wardrobe. This week in the frigid cold seedlings of winter, I have found that if I wrap my head with the scarf and throw the rest of it over my shoulder, I do not need a hat. I feel somehow that wearing the Kashmiri’s in order to keep myself warm, not only honors the loss of Dan and others this time of year, but it also helps to keep the innate sadness at bay, the feeling of loss that always overwhelms me this time of year.

While moving forward into 2010, I would like to honor those who are no longer here, and send a message of hope, warmth, solace, and peace as the planet prepares to transition to another year. If you happen to see me walking down the street wrapped tightly in a red or green Kashmiri scarf, please say hello and pass on the message of hope, warmth and love.

An abbreviated listing of those glorious souls gone too soon:

William Chester Bayer d. 1987

John Charles Carney d. 2006

Hilary Case Ake d. 2006

Daniel Morris d. 2007

Alice Coltrane d. 2007