Making comfort foods allergy friendly (and healthier)

Just like every other kid that was born in the 70's and early 80's, you probably had red-labeled condensed cream of something soup based casseroles make frequent appearances on your dining room table.  Those soups were great dinner starters/helpers.  

Mom even had a cookbook published in the mid '70s dedicated to soup based meals.  My sister was helping mom reorganize the house recently and found this recipe and texted it to me.  I'm so glad mom never made this recipe.  Instantly, the old Sesame Street song came to mind..."One of these things is not like the other...one of these things just doesn't belong..."

Besides the traditional green bean casserole, mom made two cream of mushroom soup dishes that us kids ate without too much complaint and we even requested that she make them.  The first was "pea patch chicken."  It was a one skillet meal of chicken pieces, a can of soup, and a bag of frozen peas.  Let that cook for a while and serve on top of rice.  Another was hamburger gravy.  Same concept, just hamburger and soup served on top of rice. 

Those two meals are a couple of my favorite childhood dinners.  Maybe it's just the memories associated with the dinners, but occasionally I find 
myself craving them now, especially after a rough day at work, or when I'm sick.

I don't buy the condensed soup anymore because it's full of things I'm allergic to, as well as preservatives and additives that I choose not to eat anymore.

One day, while surfing around on Pinterest for allergy-friendly recipes, I saw a recipe for "Homemade Cream of Something Soup" with many different options to make it allergen free, vegetarian/vegan, etc. I was so excited when the pin took me to a legitimate website and I ended up at Once a Month Mom, a website dedicated to once a month freezer cooking.  I was pleased to see that there were so many options for making all the cream of something soups I had grown up eating.  

I decided to make a cream of celery soup.  Because this recipe has several steps and can take a bit of time (and I am always pressed for time), I decided to quadruple the recipe, and freeze the equivalent of one can of soup into a Ziplock.  

Make sure to use a large pot if you quadruple the recipe, because you will outgrow your standard sized sauce pan...not that I know this from experience or anything...

Condensed Cream of Celery Soup
from Once a Month Mom

1 tbl of coconut oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 small onions, diced
2 cup celery, diced
1 cup Earth Balance Coconut Spread
1 cup brown rice flour
1 quart rice/almond/coconut milk
3 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth
salt and pepper
1 tsp dried thyme

Heat a large, deep skillet or dutch oven over medium heat.  Add about 1tbl of coconut oil and heat.  Saute garlic, onion and celery and set aside. Melt coconut spread over medium heat. Whisk in brown rice flour. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add “milk” and stock/broth. Add sauteed garlic, onion and celery mixture and thyme to the milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until it reaches desired consistency (about 20-30 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Makes the equivalent of 4 cans of cream of celery soup.  Each can is approx. 1.5 cups of soup.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.  You can also divide into separate portions and freeze in freezer bags.   

looks better than the stuff from the can!

How come my Pinterest Project doesn't look like the pictures?

I saw these cute daisy eggs all over pinterest and thought they were so cute! Since I can't eat eggs, I thought I would surprise hubby with them!

I started out by slicing a bell pepper into rings. I put it in a hot skillet with about 1tbl bacon grease.

 I cooked the pepper on both sides. 

When the pepper was getting close to being soft, I cracked a small egg into each ring. 

I put a lid on the eggs and cooked them for about 2 minutes until the whites were completely cooked but the yolks were still soft.

My eggs don't look as pretty as the fancy styled ones on pinterest. I should have used bigger bell peppers because my eggs leaked out.

 I also should have cut the rings a bit thicker so there would be a taller wall for the egg to live in. And I needed to cut the rings more evenly because they were very uneven and the eggs were leaking underneath the pepper ring. Overall they turned out good, they were super cute and hubby loved them. I will definitely make these again.  

What's for dinner? (An allergy friendly sushi swap)

I remember my sisters and brother and myself always asking mom that question as a child. "Food" or "I don't know" were the typical responses she always gave to us kids. As I got older and learned my way around the kitchen, that answer often changed to "Why don't you figure it out?"

I had always loved to help in the kitchen, but my dad died when I was 12, that's one of the responsibilities I seemed to help my mom with the most in the years that followed. As as adult, I read cookbooks for fun and before we cancelled our cable, my DVR was filled with cooking shows. Last weekend I was staying where there was Direct TV and spent HOURS watching the Food Network and the Cooking Channel. Food porn. It's my weakness. Watching a TV chef make a gooey mac n cheese or a Egg Benedict with crab salad...be still my beating heart.

Now that I'm on such a limited diet, my entire cooking world has been turned upside down. It has been such a challenge to learn to cook within my limitations. I'm used to flavorful foods full of spices and layers and TASTE. Salt, pepper, and garlic just aren't my idea of a flavorful meal. I miss my cumin, cilantro, coriander, and chilies. I miss food that makes me sweat when I'm eating it. Food that makes me swoon when I breathe it in out of the skillet. Although I'm adhering to my elimination diet 100% of the time with no deviations, not a day goes by where I don't spend some time lusting over pictures and recipes of Mac n Cheese, Kalua Pig Nachos, Vietnamese Shaking Beef, or an antipasti platter with a nice glass of wine.

One of my favorite foods to eat is sushi. But sushi is pretty much off limits to me now. Sushi rice has vinegar, many of my favorite rolls are spicy, contain shellfish, or have sauces that contain soy or wheat. Thankfully, I have a wonderful local sushi restaurant and Chef Tyson will help me out and make "safe" sushi with plain rice, no shellfish, and no sauces.

Since I can't afford to go there all the time, I have started making my version of sushi at home. It may not be as beautiful as your favorite sushi bar, but it tastes amazing, and will help with your sushi craving. I have found that Costco sells some Wild Smoked Salmon that doesn't have any of my allergens. My friend Lauren and I made these and man did it hit the spot! Thanks for taking this yummy picture!

Allergy-Friendly Sushi Rolls

Nori Sheets, cut in half
Cooked sushi rice, cooled to room temperature
Sliced sashimi grade fish, or smoked salmon
Cucumber, seeded and sliced into matchsticks about 4"
Avocado, thinly sliced
Carrot, cut into matchsticks about 4"
Green onions, sliced into 4" pieces
Coconut aminos


Take a nori sheet and put about 1/4 cup of rice on the left third of the sheet. Spread the rice so it's even. In the middle of the rice, place a piece of fish, a couple pieces of the vegetables and then sprinkle with green onions. Then roll it up like a taquito. Repeat until you have made desired amount of rolls. Usually 2-4 rolls are enough for the average person. Dip in coconut aminos.

The beauty of this is that you can customize it to your taste. Don't like fish or Avocados? Leave them out! Want to add sprouts or lettuce? Do it! Don't have my food allergies? Use soy sauce, spicy mayo, wasabi, add some seasoned rice vinegar to your rice. Use crab or shrimp tempura or tempura veggies. It's like a sandwich, your imagination is the limit.