Beware: Sjöggie in the Kitchen

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So I'm starting to feel somewhat better as I mentioned in my last post.  I decided it was time to get back in the kitchen and do a little cooking.  One of my winter favorites is Turkey Soup.  I find it to be richer and tastier than chicken soup and the meat keeps its flavor even after simmering for over an hour.  

For me, however, even making soup can be an adventure. The story goes like this. I'm enjoying my new found post-flare freedom as I cook my delicious soup. I am stirring the soup.  Smelling the soup.  Pretending to be a real cook.  Then the timer goes off.  It is time to taste the very hot soup that has been cooking for close to an hour and a half. I take the ladle holding boiling soup and manage to pour it not in my mouth, but on my chin.  My mind must have been wandering at that critical moment. The soup was very, very hot.  Did I mention it was hot?  Lucky me, I now find myself with a burn. 

At first, I didn't think it was much of anything.   But my chin is quite red where the soup hit it.  No blistering at least, but I definitely have a burn there. I had planned this to be my well-deserved hiatus from doctoring.  Instead, I will be at the doctor bright and early tomorrow morning to make sure that I don't need to do anything to prevent it from scarring or getting infected.  

This is the danger of being both a Sjöggie and a klutz!  When my autoimmune symptoms seem to settle, I absentmindedly injure myself. Well, I guess at least this is a "normal"-person doctor visit.  

I don't want any of this to be taken as a knock on my favorite Turkey Soup. In case any of you want to try your own version, I've provided the super easy recipe below. As with all my recipes, it is adjusted for me significantly due to wide-ranging food allergies.  I'm sure others can add additional flavors, but I'm very limited...and I still think this tastes great. 

Please do beware in the kitchen, I don't want anyone else to injure themselves on account of this soup!

Winter Turkey Soup

Ingredients

2 Turkey Thighs (or other Turkey Parts of your choosing)

4-6 Peeled and Sliced Fresh Carrots, 

8 Small Potatoes 

Fresh or Dried Parsley

2 1/2 teaspoons Sea salt or Kosher Salt

Pepper 

6-8 cups of water

Directions

1) Place turkey thighs in soup pot.

2) Add any vegetables you desire and parsley on top of turkey. ***I'm limited in the ingredients that I can use due to food allergies.  But if I could I would also add garlic, onions, and celery.***

3) Pour six cups of water into pot or enough to cover vegetables and turkey.

4) Spice accordingly with salt and pepper.

5) Bring soup mixture to boil. It usually takes about 20 minutes.

6) Keep soup partially covered and simmer for 1 hour.

7) Stir occasionally and add an additional half cup of water if too much liquid has evaporated.

8) Once finished cooking, transfer turkey to bowl.  When adequately cooled, remove turkey meat from bone and add back to soup. 

9) Serve with your favorite noodles or rice. 

Preserving Energy With Cooking: Frozen Vegetable Magic

From reading the title, you might think this post is about ecologically sound ways to cook.  But it is actually about preserving my energy, something at which those of us with chronic illness and autoimmune disease need to become master strategists. 

I like to buy fresh vegetables when possible from the farmer's market or the super market and have one with dinner every night.  Depending on what's in season, I am big fan of spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts and have recently added swiss chard my regimen.  But there are certainly many evenings when the process of washing, chopping, and cooking vegetables is too much for me.  My fingers can be stiff and tired or I might just have general fatigue.  

On those evenings, I tend to scour my freezer for frozen vegetables that can be easily microwaved without much effort on my part.  Yesterday was one of those evenings.  The problem is that I have grown tired of what can often be soggy microwavable vegetables.  On a whim, I decided to try an experiment and "doctor" a bag of frozen cauliflower to see if I could make it a bit tastier.  I came up with Microwaved Cauliflower Sauté. Pictured below:

Cauliflower Sauté

*ingredients in bold*

1) Dig through your freezer for a bag of frozen cauliflower  (Hearty vegetables like broccoli or brussels sprouts might be a good substitute)

2) Microwave for half the time suggested so the vegetables are defrosted, but still cold.

3) Heat olive oil in a sauté pan on medium heat.

3) Add the cauliflower and a pinch of sea salt.

4) Saute for five minutes turning the cauliflower so parts turn brown, but are not over done.

5) Remove form the pan and serve

I didn't know what to expect, but it worked!  The cauliflower was definitely delicious.  Crisp and not soggy or watery.  I could have eaten a couple more helpings if I didn't have to share with my husband.  I'm not sure he could actually tell the difference between last night's experiment and the fresh variety.  I didn't say a word to him (Shhhh) about using frozen cauliflower because I think a blind taste test between the two might be in order.  This dish is also more economical than buying the fresh variety of organic cauliflower so it is a good way to save a few dollars every now and then.  The best part is that the whole process of cooking only took 8 minutes without any chopping or pain, and clean-up was minimal.

What tricks and adaptations have you made in the kitchen to accommodate living with autoimmune disease?

Sometimes You Need (Gluten & Corn Free) Pancakes

This past weekend I was madly craving pancakes.  This sort of thing usually happens when I am taking post infusion steroids and my desire for carbohydrates goes up exponentially.  All I could think about  eating are those delicious butter and maple syrup topped treats.  Healthy, maybe not, but splurging is allowed sometimes.

While I certainly wouldn't mind heading out to a local diner and enjoying pancakes without any cooking involved, this is not feasible with my corn allergy and gluten sensitivity.  If I want pancakes, I have to make them myself and find, or at least adapt, a recipe that fits my allergy specifications.  Luckily, I found a simple recipe on allrecipes.com for rice based pancakes that calls for few ingredients all of which were in my pantry.   For me, less ingredients is my motto.  Less ingredients = less likely to have an allergic reaction and less room to make a catastrophic cooking mistake.   

The pancakes were super easy to make and tasted good too.  My father, who was in town visiting and also cannot have gluten, joined me in eating them.  He hadn't had pancakes for quite some time and definitely enjoyed this rare treat.  My husband who is lucky not to have any allergy restrictions also had some.  I figure it is always a good sign when someone who eats gluten has two helpings of a dish that is gluten-free.  It means it must pass the wheat-eaters taste test.

I topped my pancakes with plenty of butter and maple syrup to satisfy my increased appetite from steroids.  Maybe next time I'll have to add my corn-free and gluten-free chocolate chips to the recipe!

Rice Flour Pancakes. 

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda * (Added for additional fluffiness)

Directions

1. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl with a whisk or hand mixer.  Add the milk, vegetable oil, and salt into the same bowl. Add and stir in the rice flour until no lumps remain.

2. Cover the bowl and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour or in the refrigerator overnight.

3. Heat a lightly-oiled/buttered griddle or fry-pan over medium-high heat. Drop batter by large spoonfuls onto the griddle.  Add fruit or chocolate chips to pancake batter if desired.  Cook until bubbles form and the edges are dry. Flip and cook until browned on the other side.

  

An Almost Everything Free Recipe: Chickpea and Arugula Salad

As many of you know along with being an Autoimmune Gal, I am an Allergy Gal as well.  I have had to drastically change my eating habits over the last five years when I was diagnosed with adult on-set food allergies. The number of foods that I am allergic to has increased steadily so just as I think that I have mastered how to eat, it seems a new food allergy diagnosis comes my way

I have started to cook all of my own meals from whole foods and wanted to share some simple recipes. I published the basics since for someone like me minimizing ingredients helps reduce the likelihood of an allergic reaction. For those less constrained you might want to spice them up a bit.  My recipes are corn, tomato, tropical fruit and onion family free.  And I almost forgot to add gluten free, which is a sensitivity not a true food allergy.

This chickpea and arugula salad recipe came about because I had been looking for additional sources of healthy protein to add to my diet. I came across chickpeas (also called garbonzo beans), which are high in fiber, folate, and zinc and taste mighty good.  I found some zesty fresh arugula at the local farmer's market and thought voila -- why not make an arugula and chickpea salad

Arugula and Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas (canned chickpeas can be substituted)
3 1/2 cups arugula
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)

Directions

Rinse dried chickpeas in cold water. Cover generously with cold water and soak overnight or for at least 6 to 8 hours. Rinse soaked chickpeas again.

Simmer chickpeas in approximately 6 cups of water for between 45 minutes to 1 1/4 hours.  Stir occasionally and cook until tender. Chickpeas should no longer be white in the center

Let chickpeas cool. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

Wash and thoroughly dry arugula (a salad spinner works perfectly).   Place chickpeas on top of arugula as shown or toss the two ingredients together if preferred.  Add other seasonings or dressing as desired.

If your food allergies allow, some ingredients that might be fun to include are tomatoes, basil, fresh lemon juice, or feta cheese.  There are so many possibilities.  I would love to hear your variation on this healthy recipe.

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