If you think school isn’t hard enough, go to kindergarten
Fri, 3/09/10 – 12:30 | No Comment

I’m confused. Genuinely perplexed, as opposed to the fake puzzlement I sometimes try to pull on the guys. As in, “I just don’t understand why you thought it was a good idea to cut gaping …

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Food

Picky eaters and allergy-safe cooking — the two aren’t necessarily unrelated.

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From policy to politics, this rant’s for you.

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The day’s events in a family way — unless something else amuses me.

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From preschool to kindergarten — so far

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Inexpensive homemade gifts, creative parties and low-cost projects, for Christmas and beyond. Many are easy enough for children to help.

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Egg-free blueberry coffee cake
Saturday, 28 Aug, 2010 – 8:20 | No Comment
Egg-free blueberry coffee cake

I know I have a blueberry coffee cake recipe … um, somewhere. Where the heck did it go? Aw, never mind. I’ll just Google.
I’m glad I did, because the new one I conjured up went …

Egg-free brownie muffins
Saturday, 21 Aug, 2010 – 8:26 | No Comment
Egg-free brownie muffins

Sometimes it really is this easy.
Aside from the soda-pop cake, though, it’s usually not this easy in the world of egg-free baking. That’s why I eyed the recipe my mom had clipped from a magazine …

Egg-free Venetian butter cookies
Sunday, 16 May, 2010 – 9:19 | Comments Off
Egg-free Venetian butter cookies

This egg-free version only vaguely resembles the original Martha Stewart recipe, which is described as biter-biscuit hard. That’s a good thing, because I’ve spent too much on dental work of late to crack a crown …

Egg-free fruit cobbler
Saturday, 8 May, 2010 – 9:44 | Comments Off
Egg-free fruit cobbler

It turns out that even an ugly cobbler still tastes pretty dang good.
I found that out this week when I doubled this recipe and made it in a small roaster to take to a pot …

Egg-free dessert pizza
Saturday, 17 Apr, 2010 – 9:12 | Comments Off
Egg-free dessert pizza

This is another fine mess that Club Penguin and my big mouth got me into.
There’s one section of the online community where kids can earn “money” by making pizza – decidedly strange pizza, with ingredients …

Egg-free brownies for Dad’s birthday
Saturday, 10 Apr, 2010 – 8:52 | Comments Off
Egg-free brownies for Dad’s birthday

I thought this was going to be a stumper that involved a week of failed kitchen experiments: Create an egg-free brownie recipe that tastes good but is stable enough to survive a trip to Afghanistan …

Pineapple cake filling
Saturday, 10 Apr, 2010 – 7:46 | Comments Off
Pineapple cake filling

Sometimes, it’s not that hard to spend a few extra minutes to get rid of some dye and high-fructose corn syrup.
Such is the case with this cake filling recipe. You could easily open a can …

Egg-free bread machine pizza crust
Saturday, 3 Apr, 2010 – 10:52 | Comments Off
Egg-free bread machine pizza crust

Warning: This recipe makes a lot. A whole lot. Do not even attempt it without a two-pound bread machine.
That’s because I hate making pizza crust. It’s strictly a maintenance thing for me – every Monday …

Garlic-free marinara sauce
Saturday, 27 Mar, 2010 – 9:13 | Comments Off
Garlic-free marinara sauce

This is versatile recipe – it’s our pizza, spaghetti, manicotti and lasagna sauce – that I’d make even if allergies weren’t a factor because it’s so easy to cook in bulk. Not to mention that …

Egg-free banana bread
Saturday, 20 Mar, 2010 – 9:02 | Comments Off
Egg-free banana bread

Big Guy was not going to like banana bread at all. At least, that’s what he told me when he saw me reach for loaf pans instead of muffin tins last weekend.
“Why don’t you just …

Egg-free strawberry muffins
Saturday, 13 Feb, 2010 – 11:23 | Comments Off
Egg-free strawberry muffins

In part because I live in a place where egg replacer isn’t readily available and in part because I’m tired of toting ingredients when I’m on the road, I’ve been experimenting lately with baking with …

Egg-free chocolate-chocolate chip cookies
Saturday, 30 Jan, 2010 – 15:19 | Comments Off
Egg-free chocolate-chocolate chip cookies

It took Big Guy a while to work up the nerve to trust a chocolate cookie after his heart-breaking disappointment at the chocolate-espresso drops I made at Christmas. He even made Boots try them first, …

Garlic-free Greek green beans
Saturday, 23 Jan, 2010 – 9:27 | Comments Off
Garlic-free Greek green beans

I don’t like green beans. At all.
I don’t despise them, though, in the “want to spit it out immediately” way that I hate lima beans. Green beans are just boring.
I cook them anyway, in part …

Garlic-free chipotle creamed spinach
Saturday, 16 Jan, 2010 – 9:00 | Comments Off
Garlic-free chipotle creamed spinach

How many ways can I screw up a recipe and still have it turn out OK?
At least three in the case of this one, and it turned out more than OK plus lower fat to …

Egg-free pumpkin pie
Saturday, 9 Jan, 2010 – 9:21 | Comments Off

Usually I don’t bother messing with a good thing, and Rosemarie Emro’s pumpkin pie recipe in her most-excellent “Bakin’ Without Eggs” is perfect as far as I’m concerned. Don’t make the version with extra brown …

Egg-free sour cream coffee cake
Sunday, 27 Dec, 2009 – 12:08 | Comments Off
Egg-free sour cream coffee cake

Sour cream is a magic potion when it comes to egg-free baking. It has the fat needed to replace part of the missing egg, plus the “sour” part seems to help leavening as well.
That’s why …

Egg-free snickerdoodles
Wednesday, 23 Dec, 2009 – 8:09 | Comments Off
Egg-free snickerdoodles

It’s not necessarily odd that I’d never made snickerdoodles before tonight.
What is odd, though, is that I’d never had one until a couple of years ago, when someone brought some into work for a potluck. …

Egg-free cranberry icebox cookies
Monday, 21 Dec, 2009 – 8:42 | Comments Off
Egg-free cranberry icebox cookies

Were it not for the fact that I’m incapable of rolling pretty little round logs of cookie dough, this might be the perfect recipe. It’s easy to make, has no hard-to-find egg replacers, and two …

Egg-free chocolate-espresso snowcaps
Sunday, 20 Dec, 2009 – 17:26 | Comments Off
Egg-free chocolate-espresso snowcaps

Yes, there is such a thing as a cookie that’s too chocolate-y. I thought that was impossible, too, until today.
Based on a recipe from Martha Stewart’s Web site, the egg-free version behaves perfectly. It’s just …

Peanut-free haystacks
Sunday, 20 Dec, 2009 – 13:24 | Comments Off
Peanut-free haystacks

Yes, it is possible to get sick of chocolate. And after making chocolate fudge, chocolate-raspberry fudge and chocolate cookies, I’d reached that point.
So I decided to give haystacks a try. But definitely not the chocolate …

Can we build an egg-free gingerbread house? Yes, we can
Wednesday, 9 Dec, 2009 – 22:29 | Comments Off
Can we build an egg-free gingerbread house? Yes, we can

Somewhere, there’s a”Max and Ruby” episode that involves gingerbread. I haven’t seen it but Boots has, and it set him clamoring to make houses. Foolishly, I promised him last week that we would over the …

Egg-free carrot cake
Friday, 30 Oct, 2009 – 15:33 | 2 Comments
Egg-free carrot cake

Pardon me for the mistake in the headline – most people do not spell “pumpkin” c-a-r-r-o-t. We do in this house, though, especially when Mom’s craving carrot cake and she needs a way to convince …

Garlic-free baked beans
Monday, 26 Oct, 2009 – 14:05 | Comments Off
Garlic-free baked beans

Back in the day before the double shot of food allergies – mine to pork and Big Guy’s to garlic – my grandmother’s baked beans recipe was a go-to potluck recipe.
Based on canned pork and …

Steak with ginger gravy
Friday, 9 Oct, 2009 – 13:48 | Comments Off
Steak with ginger gravy

I conjured up this recipe while searching for slow cooker steak and gravy that doesn’t include canned soup and/or instant soup mix – the garlic allergy evicts those from this house. I never found what …

Egg-free, garlic-free honey mustard dressing
Monday, 5 Oct, 2009 – 21:02 | Comments Off
Egg-free, garlic-free honey mustard dressing

This recipe is another adult coupe against the kids – Mom’s sick of ranch dressing again.
I knew making it would mean Big Guy would resume his salad boycott, so we might have to become a …

Orange-carmelized onion salmon
Monday, 28 Sep, 2009 – 11:55 | Comments Off
Orange-carmelized onion salmon

Once in a while, the big people stage a coup. Last week, after pizza one night and macaroni and cheese the next, the adults were due an uprising.
I’d planned on plain baked salmon until I …

Egg-free zucchini bread
Monday, 21 Sep, 2009 – 23:00 | Comments Off
Egg-free zucchini bread

Rarely do I make a recipe so revolting to the rest of the house that no one else will touch it. That was the case with this zucchini bread, but the heck with them. I …

Egg-free cake donuts
Thursday, 3 Sep, 2009 – 21:08 | Comments Off
Egg-free cake donuts

Once upon a time, in a land about 370 miles away, there was a donut shop that didn’t use egg or peanut oil. That made Big Guy very happy, because it allowed him to enjoy …

Garlic-free guacamole
Tuesday, 1 Sep, 2009 – 17:54 | Comments Off
Garlic-free guacamole

This one is so easy I can’t believe I ever bought store-bought. And, even better, the garlic-free version is more than acceptable.
Most recipes I’ve run across say to use a blender but currently lacking one …

Garlic-free taco seasoning
Sunday, 23 Aug, 2009 – 22:32 | Comments Off
Garlic-free taco seasoning

This another one that falls into the “I’d make it even if I didn’t have to” category, if for no other reason than to avoid all the extra salt an/or MSG that comes in commercial …

Egg-free cookies and cream ice cream
Sunday, 21 Jun, 2009 – 21:47 | Comments Off
Egg-free cookies and cream ice cream

You know that old ditty about screaming for ice cream? It’s a good thing my daily newsletter from Feels Like Home lands while the guys still are awake, or there would have been no getting …

Review: Van’s All Natural Waffles
Sunday, 21 Jun, 2009 – 21:10 | 2 Comments
Review: Van’s All Natural Waffles

I absolutely hate the idea of paying $3.49 for six frozen waffles. Yet, I have been because once summer hits I lose all inclination to stand at the stove and flip pancakes.
That’s why Van’s All Natural …

Garlic-free ginger vinaigrette dressing
Monday, 25 May, 2009 – 21:31 | Comments Off
Garlic-free ginger vinaigrette dressing

This is another fine recipe inspired by sheer boredom: I wanted salad for dinner this evening and I’m deathly tired of Big Guy’s favorite ranch dressing.
Not that I’m complaining, mind you. At least he’s eating …

Review: Delallo Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce
Monday, 25 May, 2009 – 21:00 | Comments Off
Review: Delallo Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce

It was late on a Friday and we were still at the grocery store way past dinner time, which means the guys were prone to beg for extras and I was inclined to give in.
That …

Review: Pasta Roni shells and white cheddar
Saturday, 23 May, 2009 – 23:00 | Comments Off
Review: Pasta Roni shells and white cheddar

The blue box had sat in the cabinet for months, waiting on Big Guy to get past his lust for the other blue box – the one he adored before we started avoiding dye. The …

Epiblogue: Snow cone syrups
Monday, 18 May, 2009 – 23:38 | Comments Off

Do I ever feel like a dolt after my post last night lamenting the difficulties of finding dye-free snow-cone syrups.
I went to a Middle Eastern market today to pick up some hummus ingredients and ran …

It’s snow cone season!
Sunday, 17 May, 2009 – 22:22 | Comments Off
It’s snow cone season!

Thousands of dollars of training and where the heck’s my bartender when the serious heat wave hits?
Oh yeah, that’s right. Army training, which leaves me to my own devices when it comes to making cool …

Asparagus-cheese tart
Thursday, 14 May, 2009 – 22:22 | Comments Off
Asparagus-cheese tart

Look out, guys,  your momma is staging a coup. She does that every once in a while when she gets tired of tailoring meals around what you picky little bugs will agree to eat.
I was …