Cornless sugar

I was taught this simple trick for making powdered sugar, so I'll pass it along. Powdered sugar bought at the store most often contains sugar and corn starch. That's no good for those of us with kids dealing with corn problems. Corn does horrible things to both of my daughters. So, make your own. Put regular sugar in a food processor and do it until it breaks down to a powder. You can add a starch to help recreate the "powder," like potato starch or arrowroot starch. Store some in a kitchen container.

Organic shortening? Really?

Yep, you read the headline correctly -- organic shortening. Spectrum Organics makes an organic shortening that's made from 100% organic expeller pressed palm oil. It lacks the bad stuff in Crisco -- like soy. And, it's free of trans fat. That certainly doesn't mean it's fat free. But, it's great for the allergy cook and for kids on the autism diet. So, maybe that impossible pie crust is possible after all?

Fufu fantastic

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. Been out of circulation here between illness and work. Anyway, we finally got around to making some Fufu (see my earlier post called Fufu 4 u). It was as easy to make as instant mashed potatoes. But's it's just cassava. It's somewhat firmer, so you can take a chunk and roll it into a ball with your hands just like you would do with a dough. That's how I gave it to my daughter -- in little balls. She loved it. I salted the mix a little with sea salt, but that's it. My older daughter has not wanted to try it yet, but clearly is interested. I like the taste, too, and am trying to think of other ways to use this unique mix. Try some.

Finally -- rice!

Sometimes, solutions fall from the sky. Or, so it seems. My kids cannot eat rice and I've tried over and over to find a good substitute. No, quinoa and amaranth didn't go over so well. And, sorghum tore up their stomach's just like corn. I still have to try millet, but fear the same reaction as sorghum. Anyway, to my point.

A couple of nights ago, I made some tapioca noodles for my youngest daughter, who loves noodles. I drained them and placed them in a bowl, which I put in the fridge.

Last night, I pulled them out. The noodles looked like a round blob, or even a weird UFO. They had stuck together to the point they gelled, making it impossible to pull the noodles apart. It was just one big blob of tapioca pasta.

So, I heated a pan, sprayed it, poured a tbsp of canola oil in, a little diced onion and sea salt, and the blob. I began chopping it apart with a spatula. I did this for maybe 10 minutes. The noodles never did come apart, but I managed to chop the blob into edible, bite-sized pieces.

I made myself a bowl. It was good. My youngest daughter walked past, looked at the bowl, and said, "I try some rice?" Stunned, I said, "Sure."

Then, my oldest daughter walked in, saw what the youngest was eating, and said, "I want some rice, too." More stunned, I said, "Sure."

We all had two helpings of "rice."

The end result of all the chopping and cooking was that the tapioca blob looked like rice pieces all stuck together. The kids didn't care. It looked like rice and was flavored like I'd make rice, so they ate it.

One problem solved. A million more to go.

Safe Easter candy

Just a tip on one candy that you might consider when searching for safe stuff to fill Easter baskets ... cane sugar candy. It's very simple -- cane sugar and water. No candy is really healthy. I found bags of this at the Asian grocery for 79 cents a pound. No preservatives, corn, soy, grains, etc. Just cane sugar and water. They're similar to hard candy. They will either melt in the mouth or crumble if bitten. Very good.

A Yucca recipe

Dealing with allergies to rice, corn, soy and gluten at the same time makes finding side dishes tricky. What's left -- potatoes? I've recently found that yucca -- a root commonly used in other cultures -- is a good substitute for potatoes to rotate into your menu. Here's a good recipe to start with.

"French fry pancakes"

These really are just a version of potato pancakes, using yucca. My kids, of course, love fries, so I called them french fry pancakes. They're a hit. Here's my recipe:

• 2.5 lbs yucca, either frozen or fresh.
• 1 small onion
• cooking oil
• pam original cooking spray
• thyme, basil, cilantro or parsley
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup homemade broth -- I use low-fat chicken

If using frozen yucca, thaw them. I put mine in a pot, cover with water, a little sea salt and a little lemon juice. If fresh, peel and quarter.

Boil the yucca with lemon juice for roughly 45 minutes, depending on how big the chunks are. Strain, let cook slightly. Remove the tannish core stem that will become visible after cooking.

Put yucca into food processor and mash it down. Then, in mixing bowl, add yucca, your choice of spice (I use 1 tsp thyme), sea salt and broth, mix well.

Put 1 tbsp cooking oil in pan and heat to medium high temp. Wet hands before handling the yucca mix. Scoop a dollar-sized amount of yucca mix and shape into a pancake. Cook a few minutes each side until golden brown.

This recipe is very adaptable. You can cut the oil and just cook with Pam Original, for example, to cut down on fat. You may use your choice of herb. And, you may use your choice of broth.

In addition, you can use this mix to make yucca pancakes, yucca balls, yucca logs, or even a yucca dough by mixing in some flour. I haven't tried that yet, but I plan to. And, if you can make a yucca dough, then you could make yucca noodles or yucca gnocchi, just like you would with potato.

By the way, I found yucca -- both fresh and in 5 lb frozen bags -- at a local Asian grocery that also carried some South American foods. So, look either in South American or Asian groceries for this. Cost was $1/lb.

Coconut flour

That's right -- coconut flour! I'd never heard of it or seen it until today. An entry on the GFCFrecipes board submitted the following recipe she made for her son. I thought I'd repost it here because of its uniqueness. I plan to try it soon.

"After 6 month of trying to do a bread for my son with no success, he is on Gluten, soy, corn, yeast, beans, dairy, nuts (only walnuts are ok), grain free diet, I was able to find a very simple coconut bread recipe. Here's the recipe:

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted (I used 1/3 cup olive
  oil)
• 2 tablespoons honey (I didn't put any, in my mind bread
  shouldn't be sweet)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I put a little bit more)
• 3/4 cup sifted coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Blend together everything, pour into greased 9x5x3 inch
or smaller loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, remove from pan and
cool on rack. I actually made small balls (like meatballs) and baked for 20
minutes instead, they came out like buns."

Anyone interested in trying coconut flour can find it at Bob's Red Mill or Wilderness Family Naturals' website.

Eggless recipes

How do you cook without eggs? As long as you can tolerate potato, this is the answer. Ener-G makes an egg replacer powder that can be used in most recipes. It's not a sub for fried eggs or scrambled eggs. It's to be used as a sub in recipes, like cakes, cookies, etc. All you do is mix a little powder with water, stir and add. I've used it and it works well. And, one box goes a long way. I buy this at a local food co-op, but I imagine it's also available at Whole Foods, etc. You can also order it online at Ener-G's website.

Fufu 4 u

Here's another experiment that I'll be trying in March. Fufu flour is a specialty flour made either from cassava or plantains. The box shown at the left is made by Tropiway and contains cassava and elephant's ear plant tubers. This may seem strange to you and me but it's standard in Africa and parts of South America. You can find it at an Asian or Latin American grocery. I paid $3.45 for the box. Fufu really is like a dumpling and served with a meal. It's also very simple to make. So, I plan to try variations. Like, could it become the base for a pancake mix? What about rolls? Could I use it to make a gravy mix? What about a bisquick-type mixture? Lots of possibilities. I'll update on my successes and failures.

Snowflake fries

Yep, the lotus root worked. I promised to update how some of my potato alternatives worked and I'm happy to report that the lotus root was successful (see my previous post, "Potato or potato," from 2-17-06). The lotus root, as you can see from the photo, has air chambers, giving it a pinwheel or "snowflake" shape if sliced. So, I decided to fry some and call them snowflake french fries. The lotus root is easy to work with. You cut off the ends, slice it like a potato and then cut as you desire. Most people stir fry them, enjoying them as a crunchy addition to their meals. I may try that next time. Frying is trickier because they cook quickly and it's easy to overcook. I fried in a pan set at medium-high for about 4 min. each side, thinly sliced. Actually, I turned them when I could see the edges starting to brown. You want that tan-brown color rather than the deep brown. Add some sea salt and ketchup.

Quinoa stuffing

I was involved in a message board discussion yesterday and today at GFCFrecipes about how to get more protein in a child's diet if they're picky about meats. One way is to introduce the quinoa or amaranth grains into the diet -- if you can find a good recipe for the child. I haven't mastered amaranth yet, but I do make a quinoa recipe that the kids love. It's called "broccoli circles." This is from my posting:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa grain
• 1 cup broth -- I use homemade chicken broth.
• 1 cup water
• margarine -- I use ghee (clarified butter)
• 1/2 medium onion
• 3-6 celery stalks (depends on preference - I use 3)
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pepper (I skip this)
• 1 tablespoon parsley flakes

Now, bring water and broth to boil. Add quinoa. Bring to boil. Cookover medium heat for 12 minutes OR until quinoa has absorbed all theliquid. (When cooked, quinoa will "pop" open, thus creating the "circles.") In a skillet, melt the margarine or ghee, cook chopped onion and celery about 10 minutes. (I dice the celery in smaller pieces) In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, onion mix and the spices.

I got this recipe from Bob's Red Mill's website. It says you can use this to stuff a turkey. However, my kids used to love eating broccoli pieces but cannot anymore because of one daughter's food intolerance. When this recipe cooks, the parsley pieces sticking to the celery gives the appearance of broccoli. When the kids saw it, they called it broccoli and then they saw the quinoa and said, "circles." So, "broccoli circles."

Gee, Ghee!

Ever hear of ghee? What about clarified butter? Well, that's what ghee is. It's essentially butter without the dairy. It's very popular in Indian cooking and can be found at an Indian grocer. I also find it at my local food co-op.

I think ghee is best used to saute. It holds up well in the pan, unlike other fake margarines. It smells great, too. And, it's gluten-free, dairy-free (casein-free), hormone free, non-hydrogenated, free of transfatty acids and salt free. So, for us folks on strict diets due to allergies and other medical resaons, this stuff really fills a cooking void.

The only downside to ghee is that it really isn't a spread. It's actually very hard. And, I don't think it has much taste. My kids don't have much alternative, so I melt some ghee and brush it on a roll or bread for them.

I buy Purity Farms brand ghee for about $10.

Fake rice

Since one daughter has an intolerance to rice, I've tried to find a substitute. She really liked rice, even more than potatoes. I've tried quinoa (keen-wah) and amaranth, which a lot of people turn to. Quinoa is OK -- it's much different than rice and certainly doesn't look like it. But, my daughter liked one recipe I tried (I'll post "broccoli circles" later). Amaranth is much different than either rice or quinoa. It's very sticky and small. Maybe good for a hot cereal mix but not mock rice. After much trying, I've found my answer: white sorghum. Yep. Maybe you've heard of sorghum flour. This is the grain. I found the grain in a local asian grocery. A 2 lb. bag cost just $2. It looks like a round rice, which is what I called it in front of my kids. The sorghum I bought is "white sorghum," so it's even colored like rice. You soak the sorghum overnight. Then, cook it like you would regular rice. I make mine with homemade chicken broth, sea salt and chopped onion. The kids love it. They renamed it "big rice," because it puffs up a little bit in cooking. I think you still have to watch your kids for intolerances. Sorghum can cause reactions similar to corn. I'm still monitoring my one daughter for such a reaction -- rash. You can also look for this in your local health store or CO-OP. I've also found it sold online through flour mills in the midwest, where sorghum is grown everywhere.

Fake bacon

That's right. Fake bacon. Believe it or not there is a way to cook fake bacon and your kids will like it. And, you'll save money in the process. I should start by telling you why I did this. Between my two daughters -- ages 4 and 2 -- they're allergic/intolerant to gluten, dairy (casein), rice, cabbage family, peas, beans, soy, corn, tomatoes, chocolate, pineapple and a few others. We limit the bad stuff too -- like preservatives, hormones, etc. And, bacon can cost more than $4 a pound, especially the healthier brands, like Applegate Farms. So, I buy kosher hot dogs -- Best's Kosher does not have soy (Hebrew National does). And, I buy it in bulk at a local restaurant supply store in our city's wholesale district. I'll bet your city has one too. So, I get the hot dogs at about half price of retail (about $2 a pack rather than $4). So, take a hot dog, slice it down the middle lengthwise. With each slice, slice it again lengthwise about 3-4 times, making long slivers of hot dog. Bunch them together and then cut them up into small diced pieces, like bacon bits. Toss them in a pan to cook for a few minutes. There -- bacon pieces. I add diced potato that's already been cooked and salted. I call it "bacon taties." They eat it for breakfast a couple of times a week. I know -- the recipe is overly simple. But, finding things for my kids to eat that they actually like is tricky. I know you know what I mean.