Missing Your French Fries and Tater Tots?

Well, miss no more, thanks to Ore-Ida foods, which now offers a wonderful gluten free line!

I baked up some of their Extra Crispy Tater Tots today, and boy were they delicious! I haven’t eaten tater tots in years, due to the fact that most of them are coated with wheat. I think these were honestly the best I’ve ever had.

These tots do not contain gluten, dairy or eggs. There are some small amounts of corn and soy. I have yet to try any of their other gluten free products, but I’m aiming to!

Well, enough talk from me. Go ahead and click on this link to find out more about the Ore-Ida line of gluten free foods. Once at the website, click on the red box that says ‘see products’, which will bring up a list of product names you can click on to see ingredients.

Isn’t this just the greatest thing since school hot lunches? Well, I sure think so!

Happy Hot Lunches!

Just Ducky! (Sorry. What a dumb title.)

Duck eggs.

What can be said but…..thank you?

Thank you, ducks of the world. Thank you duck farmers of the Gem State. Thank you to the person who discovered that if you’re allergic to chicken eggs, the chances are good that you can eat duck eggs.

Just *tears* thank you.

My chicken egg allergy was confirmed through an IgG food allergy test. I already knew I was allergic, but didn’t want to accept the fact. Every time I ate chicken eggs (grocery store, farm fresh…it didn’t matter) my face and arms would break out in an itchy, water filled rash. Nice. So I. just. knew.

So for the last hundred thousand years I have lived without my favorites:

• Omelettes
• Crepes
• Souffles
• Eggs over easy
• Scrambled eggs
• French toast
• Baked goods that don’t get on the crumbly side
• Pumpkin pie that isn’t flat
• Egg dumplings for soup
• Homemade bagels
• That super yummy breakfast casserole

But those wonderful ducks changed it all.

I’m told that the protein in a duck egg is entirely different from the protein in the chicken egg, which is why those allergic to one can eat the other. Most of the time. Unless you have an allergy to the duck egg protein. After which you may want to try goose eggs. That was my next step if the duck eggs didn’t fly.

Get it? Didn’t *fly*?

Anyway.

You can find all kinds of different websites by googling about duck eggs. There is a wealth of information out there, including sites about how to raise your own ducks for laying. I’m still toying with that one.

I found where to buy them locally by googling ‘duck eggs’ and my state and city. They can be quite expensive (usually four to six dollars per dozen), but they are worth every penny. Rumor has it that ducks do not lay year round, but I am told that one can ‘stock up’ by simply cracking an egg into a freezer safe bag and they will keep frozen for up to six months.

Also, since they are larger than chicken eggs, if a recipe calls for two eggs, I simply use just one.

So if you have a chicken egg allergy, don’t lose hope!

You may just be able to have scrambled eggs with your bacon once again!

Happy Egg Hunting!

The Facebook Freak-Out

I did it.

I finally, finally did it!

We are no longer a ‘Facebook’ family.

Our accounts are deleted forever.

Which means we get more time with each other instead of with hundreds of people on a computer screen.

But it also means that The Freak Food Gourmet is no longer on Facebook either.

And that’s okay.

Because it was never really about fame and numbers anyway.

It was about helping dear people like you with your allergy suffering.

So I am still here and perhaps you’ll read even more from me.

Because I won’t be spending all of my computer and free time on Facebook.

And I’ll probably be in the kitchen more.

Much to the pleasure of my dear, sweet man.

::Next Up::

 My continuing saga of duck egg triumphs!

Happy Redeeming the Time!

Cold Beverages for HOT Summer Days!

My friends…

Don’t, don’t, don’t go blowing money at Starbucks.

Well, more than once a week anyway.

Although, I like the local Roastere’ better because they make me whatever I want with almond milk and honey and they don’t look at me strange. Oh, and they offer buy one get one free coffees six days a week from 2 – 4 p.m.

But I digress.

You can make your own little iced coffees right in the comfort of your home. And you can do that by saving up all the money you would spend at a coffee shop and buying yourself an inexpensive espresso machine instead.

And the recipe for iced coffee is simple:

* Brew two shots of espresso

*Fill a tall cup -not a glass or it will shatter when the hot brew hits it- (I like the ‘sippy’ cups with a lid and straw) with ice.

*If you want any sweetener in your beverage, stir it into the hot espresso. Sometimes I like to use a few tablespoons of honey along with unsweetened Silk Almond Milk. But you want to stir any sweeteners into the hot beverage so that they dissolve entirely.

*Pour your brewed espresso, sweetened or unsweetened, into the iced cup.

*Fill the rest of the way with your favorite alternative milk. I like Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk. If using the chocolate, no prior sweetening is needed.

*Stir, add a straw, and you’ve got a ‘coffee house’ type iced latte’ that will keep the heat away.

Oh, and before I go, one little helpful hint for going out for coffee, if you must:

If you cannot have soy and find that all of your favorite coffee places only offer such, then take one ‘baby box’ of almond milk along:

When ordering, ask for a double shot on ice in a 20 oz cup. They will look at you like you have just grown goat’s hair on your face, but that’s okay. Just explain you’ve brought your own milk because they are big, mean ogres for not offering anything but soy. Well, don’t say that, but make your point that they need to get with the times.

ANYHOW, once you have your iced espresso shots (which are usually less than 2 bucks, oh yeah!), open your little, bitty drink box and pour the contents in. Give it a good stir and put your lid/straw back on. Now you’re in business.

And you get to carry around a cup with some weird mermaid woman on it just like everybody else.

Happy Cold Sipping!

Peanut Butter Cookies – Without the Worries

Unless you’re allergic to peanuts, that is.

Then you’ll need to worry.

Or just substitute a different kind of nut butter.

No worries. You can eat these.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal (or quinoa) Cookies: No egg, dairy, gluten, sugar or soy

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened *OR* 1/3 cup Earth Balance Spread
• 1/3 cup agave nectar or 1/2 cup honey (I recommend the honey)
• 1 egg or 3 TB applesauce (I don’t recommend commercial egg replacers for this recipe. It makes the cookies too dry.)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup peanut butter (I used and recommend Adams)
• 1 1/4 cup GF flour
• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats or 1/3 cup quinoa flakes
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

First, beat together all of your ‘wet’ ingredients: honey, Earth Balance, ‘egg’, vanilla and peanut butter. Next, add the flour, soda and salt. Then beat in the oats or quinoa. If your dough seems a little dry, add a few drops of almond or other milk to get it to ‘just moist’. You don’t want the dough to be wet.

(You’ll notice in the photos that there seem to be A LOT of oats! That’s because the original recipe – before I got to it and changed it all up – called for an insane amount of oats. I won’t do that to you, my friend.)

 Scoop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased stone or baking sheet. Criss cross the dough balls with a fork.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are barely golden. Remove from oven and let cool for at least five minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack. Allow to cool almost entirely or entirely before eating, as gluten free cookies tend to be crumbly when hot.

Make yourself a cup of coffee and take five with these yummy cookies.

Oh, and if you’re a sugar aholic, you probably will notice these aren’t as sweet as you would expect. Which is good, because you actually taste the ingredients and not the sweeteners. Even better!

Happy Cookie Breaks!

DUCK!!!!

I ate some of the above this morning.

So far, I have not died.

Or broke out in a rash.

Or developed a sore throat.

They were actually quite tasty. I would have never known they came from different fowl than chickens if they were just served up without announcements.

I’ll keep you posted on the outcome.

I’m so excited at the prospect of bringing eggs back into my life that I would do backhandsprings if I could.

 

Happy New Discoveries!