Venturing into the World of Tofu

Armed with some basic knowledge of tofu, thanks to AB's TofuWorld episode, I took the plunge this week. AB's Tall and Tangy Tofu Thangy looked like a wonderful way to introduce children to tofu, and it was all I hoped it would be! Of course, I modified it to be allergy friendly. Based on some of the comments on the recipe page, I chose to blend tofu, cranberry juice, and a banana. It was a nice texture, though I think next time I will freeze some of the cranberry juice into cubes ahead of time.

The helpful website over at Food Network popped up this yummy BLT Pasta recipe as I was perusing AB's recipe. I made the recipe as suggested, though I used drained canned tomatoes -- they always taste better in my opinion, but maybe that's just because I didn't have to chop them! To keep it allergy-friendly, I used rice pasta, left the sour cream/mayo part separate, and substituted it with a pureed tofu/chopped green onion mixture. I will definitely be making it again!

On the Fly: Tarragon Turkey Penne

One of the standard back-up meals at our house (say, leftover night but nothing allergy-free is leftover) is pasta with some turkey pulled out of the freezer tossed together with olive oil. Here's the same pasta and turkey but my first try at a dairy-free "cream" sauce. 1 tbsp rice flour whisked with 1tbsp olive oil, then 1 cup ricemilk/soymilk blend whisked in and brought to a simmer. The ricemilk/soymilk blend had a touch of sweetness that seemed to beg for 1 tsp tarragon, and a dash of salt and pepper. The sauce came out a bit thicker than I expected; I think next time I will use just 2 tsp rice flour. So good to finally have my pantry well-stocked with some allergy-free staples and be able to experiment a little!

How to receive updates to your Facebook page

If you are reading my blog, thanks! Do you want to have previews of new posts automatically appear in your Facebook feed? If so, click on the link to Allergy-Free Gourmet -- in the right-hand column in the Networked Blogs box, select "Follow".  And viola!

Summer Staple

Finding good sources of calcium for my daughter's diet has been challenging. Calcium-enriched OJ? Nope. Tums? Nope (contains corn starch). My first effort at adding non-dairy sources of calcium is to add Spinach-Strawberry Salad to our weekly menu (no fancy recipe -- just spinach and strawberries). We especially like Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette on this salad... and on just about everything else.

Next on the list to increase our calcium is to try tofu. It is sitting in the fridge just waiting for the perfect recipe to come along. An article in this month's Taste of Home (that sadly I cannot find on their website) suggests dry-roasted nuts, dried figs, salmon, great northern beans, and apple/cinnamon oatmeal as good sources as well. I love to use great northern beans, but that will have to be another post!

Travel

Soon after we found out the allergies my daughter has, we left for a week-long trip. As much a reminder to myself as it is advice to anyone else, one huge help as we went was to bring along pre-packed food -- veggie chips, cooked rice, etc. Almost anywhere we could find some grilled meat and a salad to go along with those. When we ate out, award-winners are:

Best: Cheesecake Factory! Loved the little banana and bread (minus the bread) plate they bring out for kids.

Worst: Wendy's! I had researched a number of possible eateries before we left home, but when it came time for lunch, none of those were available. How bad could Wendy's be? Take a look at their website and see for yourself. An amazingly long list of ingredients for a grilled chicken fillet.

Obvious in Retrospect

There is a recipe for grilled turkey tenderloin (from the previously mentioned, well loved issue of Taste of Home) that is positively glorious. But alas, it is an apple juice marinade. Weeks after contemplating this sadness, it occurred to me that pear juice would likely be a satisfactory substitute, and I tried it with much success! My marinade came out something like 1 cup pear juice (I used a juice box -- might as well use the whole thing), 1/4 cup veg oil, then vanilla and spices as called for in the recipe.

In my weekly menu planning, I recently have been planning one night of grilled meat with pasta and grilled or steamed vegetables. This dish went wonderfully with some rice rotini and green beans. I froze the turkey tenderloin after purchasing it, and it was nowhere near thawed when I was ready to use it. So instead of grilling, I put the entire pan, marinade and all, in a 300ºF oven for two hours, turning midway through and uncovering for the last 15 minutes.

Flash of Brilliance

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or in between. Sliced by themselves or atop a nut butter of choice, blended in a smoothie... What is this wonder food? Frozen bananas! Rescue a spotted banana from certain doom by peeling it and putting it in the freezer.

Variation: slice half a non-frozen banana down the middle and spread with nut butter. Very messy, but yummy!