Tofutti

There are so many things my Mikey has had to live without in his life. His allergy to milk, or whey, has deprived him of so much. Only in the two years we've been together has he tasted the likes of chocolate (dark chocolate) and mashed potatoes (sans milk). Now, he has tasted even more with the invention of tofu-based products. A trip to Whole Foods Market gave us the discovery of a product called "Tofutti." This brand makes sour cream and cream cheese without dairy. They even have flavored cream cheeses. I've tasted it myself and other than a small difference in consistency, the taste is identical to the real thing. Now my honey can enjoy baked potato with sour cream and eat bagels with cream cheese in the morning. Who knows, maybe I'll attempt a cheesecake with Tofutti cream cheese. Oh the possibilities! Thank you Tofutti!

Diverticulitis

A friend of mine at work saw me order my salad without tomatoes the other day and asked if I had this disease: Diverticulitis. Well, I guess it's not a food allergy but a condition where little pockets are formed in the intestines and things can get caught in them and become inflamed. Mainly small things like seeds. But, its serious enough that my friend can't eat any foods that have seeds. No tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, strawberries, and much much more. I thought my tomato allergy was bad. Makes me wonder if maybe some food allergies are the result of some kind of disease or inability to digest something. Is that what food allergies really are? Interesting and worth further research.

Moon Dough

I saw a commercial recently for a children's toy called, "moon dough." Basically, it's play dough, but the new and improved version. It doesn't dry out and its just as safe. In fact, the ad's big selling point was that Moon Dough is "hypoallergenic, wheat free, gluten-free." Wow, gluten-free? Really? I guess in this day and age we need to think about kids putting their toys in their mouths, but to go a step further and boast about a toy catering to food allergies; I never thought I'd see the day. In a way its a big breakthrough, yet in another what has this world come to that we have to invent something like Moon Dough?

Crema Cafe

An unfortunate letter I was forced to write. I believe it says it all:

"To the Owners of Crema Cafe:

My fiancee and I moved to Seal Beach at the beginning of the year. We have heard so many wonderful things about Crema Cafe, it is even highly rated on Yelp. We could not wait to walk down Main Street and taste test for ourselves. Finally, we were able to visit your establishment yesterday, August 4. The experience was not only
undesirable, but downright dangerous. My fiancee ordered an iced chai with soy milk, because he is extremely allergic to milk. He took a sip and thought it tasted funny. I tasted it and could tell right away that it was not made with soy milk. We asked the young man who made it, and he admitted to using non-fat milk. He remade the drink but showed no remorse, even after we informed him of his allergy. We tried
to stay and eat a meal but my fiancee was feeling quite ill. He had trouble walking home, and when we finally reached our house he had already gone into anaphylactic shock. His throat closed up, his lungs tightened, and he was unable to breathe. Luckily, I had sufficient medication at the house to treat him because a trip to the emergency room would have been too late. I should have called 911 right at your
store, though I doubt you would want that kind of attention. Please, please, please advise your employees to be more careful! This could have been a fatal visit, people ask for soy milk for a reason, not just to be picky. We are extremely disappointed and are wary for my fiancees health. Needless to say, we will not be returning to Crema Cafe, nor will we be recommending it to any of our friends. I am not asking for any compensation, but I would greatly appreciate it if you advise your employees to be more careful so as this incident will not happen again (or a much worse fate)."


I'm never one to complain nor do I like confrontation, but it had to be made aware so that others can benefit and escape a similar incident.

The OC Fair

One of the best parts of summer: the OC Fair! Fun, food, and friends. It's pretty easy to navigate through the fair with food allergies; the food is very straight forward. BBQed, frozen, or deep fried. Nothing fancy, but oh so good! My only real problem with food at the fair is eating far too much, and far too much junk. You think fair, and the concept of restraint just flies out the window. What exactly do we eat? Corn dogs, bratwursts, giant turkey legs, deep fried potatoes, chocolate covered bacon, deep fried oreos, BBQ corn, ice cream, and often many sodas and even beer or margaritas. No allergy symptoms, but lots of heartburn and upset stomachs. And you know what? I'm going again next week! I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment. But when you have to watch your diet all year long and battle with your own health, a summer fair is a welcome punishment. :)

Hollandaise Sauce

So creamy, without any milk and oh so yummy! I use "Challenge" butter for this recipe, and my dairy-allergic boyfriend is able to enjoy it symptom free.

Ingredients
3 egg yolks
1/2 tblsp fresh lemon juice
4 tblsp unsalted butter, chilled
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
salt to taste
1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1. Add egg yolks to small sauce pan; whisk til lemon yellow and slightly thick, about 1 min. whisk in lemon juice.

2. Add 2 tblsp cold butter and place over very low heat. Whisk constantly while butter is melting until thick. Remove pan from heat and beat in 1 tblsp cold butter. Repeat. Whisk in melted butter a little bit at a time. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.

Bon apetit!

Health and Allergies

I had a conversation with some friends recently about how none of us knew one person who was completely healthy. And by healthy we meant illness or allergies. Everyone has something. What has this world come to? Within my circle of friends alone is a dairy allergy, gluten allergy, lupus, tomato and pea allergy, and countless numbers of deficiencies. I even attended a funeral of a close family friend this weekend; she was 25 years old. And at the buffet were endless dishes with tomato bases, dairy bases, or peas mixed in. I couldn't help but laugh out of sheer lack of knowing what else to do. I guess there's nothing to do but learn to live with it all. And even that is hard enough. Health...we don't even have that anymore.