Wow - A Busy Week

What a week! There was a lot going on between C's birthday and getting ready for school. We had a small party for C. at the house. Just a couple of families who also have 3 year old boys , and a couple of neighborhood kids for my older 2 to play with. I am a big theme person when it comes to birthdays. C LOVES trains, so I chose a train theme. Since it was a small party I used Evite for the invitations, but I did customize the invite with an image of a train. I also tend to get obsessive about coordinating goodie bags and the cake. I always make my own cake - except for the time I was 7 months pregnant.

I purposely planned food that would be safe for the kids. I normally do serve wheat products to my older children, when we have other kids running around the house I do not allow anything that could harm C. I would worry that he would eat a stray cracker. We also have a friend who's son has Celiac's disease, so I wanted to have things he could eat too. I held the party from 2 to 4 on a Sunday so I did not have to prepare a meal. Here is what I served:

Corn Tortilla chips (Tostito's now make an ORGANIC yellow corn chip - I am so happy, since C eats a lot of snack food I would at least like it to be organic!)

Salsa

Spinach dip - it did have mayonnaise , but there is no way C would touch it with a 10 foot pole! Served with carrots and corn chips.

Bruschetta for the adults. - I had every intention of making gluten free french bread, but I ran out of time. Since it was just for adults I went ahead and used a store bought baguette. Again, there is no way C. would touch it.

Birthday Cake made from Cherrybrook Kitchens and ice cream.

Assorted adult and kid friendly beverages.

The weather was perfect - sunny and not too hot, so we did end up sitting on the patio for quite a while. We gave everyone a train tattoo when they arrived and had train bubbles to play outside on the deck. I ordered a foam train craft foam Oriental Trading Company, and purchased a "Stick the Number on Thomas Game" the kids had a lot of fun with the activities. The kids were so silly trying to put the number in the right place on Thomas. My husband also set up a large train track in the family room with our wooden Thomas Train track set. After that they were happy to play in the yard and the basement. It really does not take much to entertain 3 and 4 year olds.

The cake was great! It looked fabulous. My mother in law had bought me a great silicone cupcake kit from Wilton.

It is designed like a puzzle to make a train, dump truck, or rocket. It really makes the creative process very easy. This cake was very easy to make - you can decorate using any safe candy that your child likes. I used Skittles and Twizzlers. I hope they make more designs. Perhaps a girl theme?

I debated making some regular cupcake for the adults, but my husband and I tasted the Cherrybrook Kitchens cupcakes and decided they were good for everyone. They are really good straight out of the oven. The next day they are a little dry - but frosting and ice cream can hide that. I did serve chocolate (I do prefer vanilla) which I feel is not as moist. Everyone loved them - you really can not tell that there is no wheat or egg. They were all devoured! I also used the Cherrybrook Kitchens frosting. It is delicious and easy to work with. It spreads smoothly and pipes easily. One thing I did learn, was to use Crisco instead of butter if you want true white frosting. I have read it before, but I think it seems too unappealing - I do not even use it in cookies. The butter gave my frosting a slight yellow tinge, which makes it harder to dye accurately. My blue and greens were not exactly the shade I had hoped for.

I found a great web site for goody bags and supplies. It is Birthday In A Box. All you do is search the site for the theme you want, and they have pre selected goody bags you can order. I was really impressed, for $5.99 per bag I was able to buy a conductors hat, toy train, train whistle, train stickers and super ball. I was impressed with the service (delivery was prompt) and the quality. Since we were having a small party, it was in the budget (and I feel a good value). For a bigger party it might add up - but there is something to be said for convenience too. If you are looking for a birthday resource, check it out.

Made a New Bread

For 2 years C. has been existing on grilled cheese sandwiches made from Ener-g Brown Rice Bread. It was the first safe bread I found for him. It is so dry that grilled cheese is about the only thing you could do with it.

I am trying to branch out and encourage C. to eat new things. We got the go ahead from the allergist to try Sunbutter so I thought he needed a better bread to eat a Sunbutter and jelly sandwich. I bought the Gluten Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Bread. I have hesitated to bake bread in the past for 2 reasons. 1. I do not have a bread machine and I was not confident that I would get it to mix and rise properly. 2. I can not use egg and I was not sure how the egg replacer would effect the final product. I finally just decided to give it a try.

I mixed the bread according to the oven method preperation. I did substitute the egg for 3 tbsp of Ener-g egg replacer mixed with 2 tbsb of warm water. Be sure to whisk it thoroughly. I was a little unsure of where to set the bread to rise. The directions say "a warm place." Well, considering that it is summer and our house is cooled with air conditioning I was perplexed. I finally decided to heat a cup of water in the microwave to warm it up, and let the bread rise in the microwave. It seemed to work well!

I am pleasently suprised that it is quite good. It is like real bread! It smells good and has the right texture. It even keeps well in the fridge for a few days. My older 2 like it toasted with Soynut Butter. Of course, I have used it to make grilled cheese. Hopefully I can get C. to try a Sunbutter jelly sandwich! Even if he does not eat it now, I feel better that I can offer him a real sandwich when he get a little older and goes to school.

Allergen Free Brownies

We finally got a chance to make the new brownie mix I purchased. It is the Ooey Gooey Chocolaty Brownie Mix from The Cravings Place. They are gluten free, wheat free, egg free, and nut free. It is hard to find gluten free items that do not pose a risk for cross contamination with our other allergens, so I was very excited to find this company. I especially love that the recipe does not even call for eggs, so I do not have to think about how the egg substitute will alter the brownies.

I have to give credit to my husband who actually baked them while I was out. When I came home they smelled wonderful. These brownies are great! Every member of the family loved them. They are light and fluffy - a little cake like. There are chocolate bits in the mix which become melted and gooey. You would never know that they were wheat and egg free. Some of my previous wheat free, egg free baking has come out really dense. I was surprised how light they were!

After the kids went to bed my husband and I ate them with vanilla ice cream. YUM! This will be a great mix to have on hand to take to parties and school functions. I think next time I might make a little frosting to spread on top.

The Cravings place offers several other cake, cookie and muffin mixes. I will definitely be trying more mixes from them. Check it out and let me know if you try any other mixes!

New Food Products

Oh my goodess there is so much going on lately. I have a lot to share, but I am going to have to break it down. First of all I found some new food products that my son C. can eat. (He is allergic to wheat, eggs, peanut, tree nut, peas, banana, sesame and coconut.) It is challanging to find manufacturers that have a wheat free product, which is not cross contaminated with one of his other allergens.

I would like to echo the sentiments posted on Kids Food Allergies Blog. It would be great for more food manufacturers to take notice of food allergies. Especially multiple food allergies. It is very disapointing to find a new product you could use only to find that there is a cross contamination issue. I am grateful for Cherrybrook Kitchens and Enjoy Life Foods - we love their products. I am sure it is very difficult to make foods that are tasty, will ship well and are allergy friendly. I am sympathetic to the challanges - but there is a market for these products!

Anyway here is what I found:

1. Grahahm Crackers by JO-SEF - gluten free and egg free. Made is a dedicated gluten, casein, peanut and tree nut facility. They are very tasty and C. loves them. They are also the right size to make smores. Yay!!!
2. The Cravings Place Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chewy Brownie Mix. They also make other mixes that are gluten free, wheat free, dairy free, egg free and nut free!!!! I am so excited! We are going to make them this weekend, and I will post the results.
3. Miss. Roben's Mock Graham Cracker Mix. I have only seen Miss. Roben's products online and was glad to find something on the shelf that I did not have to order. I am going to attempt to make cut out cookies and will post the results.
4. 1-2-3 Gluten Free - baking mixes that are Gluten -free, wheat-free, Corn-free, Dairy-free, Nut-Free, Peanut-free, Soy-free. I did not buy any on this trip. They are a little expensive, but I will give them a try at some point. Check out their web site.

Over all it was sucessful trip, although I spent more than I intended. When I find something new I just can't resist.

Need Help Cooking Without Eggs

I am not one to bake from scratch. I always felt that cake mixes were better than anything I could do from scratch, so why bother? Well now with all the allergies we have, I guess I have to become more adventurous. I will admit I am resistant, and not patient enough to make the same thing over and over again until I get it right.

Tomorrow I take C. in for a food challenge to oat and peas. I need to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (with gluten free oats.) I should be doing that now, but the health food store left my safe chocolate chips out of the bag! UGH - I was ready to cry when I discovered that. C. is sleeping now so I have to wait to go back and get them. In between swimming lessons, swim team practice for my oldest and my physical therapy. I know I will not be baking these until 9:00 tonight.

Anyway here is my question for you daring bakers out there. There are so many ways to replace eggs (applesauce, flax seed, Ener G egg replacer etc.) What works best when? Is there a cheat sheet out there somewhere? I have also read more than once that when using the Ener G egg replacer it is better to double the powder used. I also was going to buy a safe brownie mix that called for 4 eggs. I hesitated because I thought when replacing that many eggs there is no way it would come out right. Someone at the health food store suggested using purred prunes. For a $10 box of brownies I was not willing to take a chance. It is a little confusing for us non bakers. I would love any help!!

Thanks!

I was Inspired to Bake Today

I am on a mission to find more family friendly allergy free foods. Since it is food allergy week I have decided to try some new things. Today I was inspired to bake. I will admit that baking without standard wheat flour does intimidate me quite a bit. When I read my first recipes and saw how many ingredients I had to blend to replace wheat flour, I pretty much shut down. That was a couple of years ago, am now I think I am ready to face the challenge. But if I can find a short cut, you bet I am going to take it! I had purchased some bread mixes made by Gluten Free Pantry, and I thought I would give them a try.

The first was the Ginger Spice Cake Mix. Since C. is allergic to banana I have wanted to bake applesauce bread for him. I mixed the following:
· 1 cup buttermilk
· 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Added the dry mix and then folded in ¼ cup of applesauce, in place of the egg. I baked these in mini muffin pans instead of a loaf pan for 15 – 17 min. I find mini muffins to be more convenient for the kids and easy to freeze.

I have to say that they were really good! The whole family loved them. J You would never know that they did not have wheat and eggs. This will be a great treat to bring to preschool next year. They would also make a great cupcake - perhaps with cream cheese frosting. They are pretty sweet, so I think next time I will try unsweetened applesauce.

I was feeling really good about my results with the muffins, so I thought I would try the Sandwich Bread mix. I have hesitated in the past as we can not use egg, and the recipe calls for 2 eggs. I have been unsure if you can use egg replace in yeast bread. I finally just decided to give it a try. I mixed the bread according to the directions for the oven method. I used Ener-G egg replacer in place of the egg. I have heard from 2 different sources that this egg replace works best when you use double the amount of powder for water. So, to replace 2 eggs I used 6 tsp of egg replacer whisked with 2 tbsp warm water.

I let the bread rise for 40 min – it did not seem to rise as high as I would have thought. I am not sure if this has to do with the egg substitute or not. I decided to bake it anyway. I would say that this bread is pretty good. It is a little dense, buy fairly moist and good flavor. My kids enjoyed it toasted with soy nut butter. I will try using it to make a grilled cheese sandwich tomorrow. This bread is not as dry as the pre made brown rice bread that I usually buy, that is pretty terrible.

Does anyone out there know how to make good sandwich bread without wheat and egg?