Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Chicken Pot Pie With No Wheat, Dairy, Soy, Corn or Peas




     Chicken pot pie usually contains a bunch of common allergens, but it doesn't need to. If you're allergic to corn and/or peas, the bags of "vegetable medley" in the frozen foods section at the grocery store are all useless, but there are plenty of fresh vegetables that taste good with chicken! 

     oil (See Oil in the Glossary)
     1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
     2-1/2 c. of diced veggies (whichever you like of carrots, celery, cauliflower, 
          fennel, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. Peppers can be good, but note that 
          most grocery store peppers are covered with wax containing soy, 
          corn or dairy.)
     salt (See Salt in the Glossary)
     black pepper (See Spices in the Glossary)
     1/4 tsp. thyme leaves (See Spices in the Glossary)
     2 c. of teff gravy 
     just over 1 lb. of raw, boneless chicken, diced and sauteed with a 
          smidge of oil just until it turns slightly golden and is cooked 
          through (See Oil in the Glossaryor 2 cups of diced previously 
          cooked chicken
     1 recipe of nonallergenic pie crust 

     Heat a tablespoon or so of oil in a skillet, add the onion and other veggies, sprinkle with salt, and saute on medium heat, stirring frequently, just until the veggies are tender and somewhat "cooked down." Add a sprinkle of black pepper and the thyme and continue cooking for another half minute or so. Stir the gravy into the cooked vegetables, add the chicken, and adjust salt and black pepper to taste. Chill (this is so the filling doesn't sog up the crust before the crust has a chance to cook). 

     Follow the instructions for filling and baking the pie crust.

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Hypoallergenic Hot Chocolate

     Chocolate is not the only allergen in instant hot chocolate. Besides the powdered milk, it generally contains corn and possibly soy lurking in the "flavorings" and other ingredients. Fortunately, it only takes 3 ingredients and a few minutes to put together a perfect cup using plain cocoa powder.

     Use any variety of milk or "milk" that you are not allergic to.  Note that you can use canned coconut milk, but it is too rich and too intense as is: dilute it (1/4 c. canned coconut milk + 3/4 c. water = 1 cup "milk"). Water is an option too; if hot chocolate made from water seems a bit bland consider adding a bit of cinnamon (See Spices in the Glossary) or a drizzle of mint syrup.

     If you're allergic to chocolate, check out sahlep for an alternative hot milky drink.



     2 cups milk or water (See Milk in the 
          Glossary)
     1/4 c. pure cocoa (not drink powder), or 
          to taste (See Cocoa in the Glossary)
     1/4 c. sugar, or to taste (See Sugar in the 
          Glossary)





     First heat the milk. You can do this on a stovetop, but I recommend a microwave, where it is not nearly as likely to stick and burn. This should take 1 to 1-1/2 minutes per cup, but you need to watch it. If it passes boiling point, it will suddenly foam up and out of its container.

     If you try to mix the dry ingredients directly into the hot milk, they will form stubborn lumps. One approach to avoiding this is to pour a small amount of the hot milk into the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly until they form a smooth paste, then stir in the rest of the milk. I prefer to use a blender (with the lid held down tightly!).  Not only is this a foolproof way to make completely smooth, unlumpy cocoa; it also gives it a nice head of foam.