Tea for N

How we have tea at our house. We usually have one of the sweets and three of the sandwiches, except on special occasions. (Note: regular mayo or Miracle Whip are acceptable, but NOT light/lite versions. Margarines must NOT have whey or any other dairy product in them. One commercial bread brand and variety that is Sam-safe Orowheat Whole Grain 100% Whole Wheat bread; usually we make our own.)

Scones:

Use any standard scone recipe (e.g.), replacing the butter with a Sam-safe margarine (e.g. Fleishman's UNSALTED sticks) and the cream/milk with rice milk. Can also add a bit more margarine, to compensate for the lower fat content of the rice milk, but this is not required. Can include pecans, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, dried cherries, dried strawberries, apple pieces (dried or fresh), cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate chips, colored sugar on top. I usually cut them with cookie cutters appropriate to the nearest holiday, or into heart shapes, as a default.

Cucumber sandwiches (open faced):

• peel cucumber and slice very thin
  
• cut crusts from bread
  
• spread thin layer of margarine on bread, and place cucumber slices on bread, overlapping
  
• light sprinkling of salt and a blurp of mayo on top, with a sprig of parsley or rosemary or some other fresh herb (a plastic bag with the corner cut off makes a quick and dirty pastry bag)
  

Cucumber sandwiches (closed):

• peel cucumber and slice very thin
• cut crusts from bread
• spread thin layer of margarine on half of bread slices, mayo on other half
• layer cucumber slices on margarined slices and lightly salt
• sprinkle with dried or fresh parsley
• close and slice sandwiches
  

Curry chicken salad:

• cooked chicken breast meat, chopped very fine
  
• mayo
• chopped almonds
  
• 1/2 tsp curry powder/chicken breast

Cherry chicken salad sandwiches:

• cooked chicken
• dried cherries, cut into 1/4" pieces
• mayo

Toast bread; spread with a thin layer of cherry preserves, then cherry chicken salad, and top with second slice of toast.

Ham sandwiches

Remove crusts from bread and spread with honey mustard. Put a layer of fresh spinach leaves or other salad greens on bread, then ham slices.

Tuna Salad

Canned tuna (Bumble Bee albacore or 365 brand from Whole Foods) mixed with mayo, with a dash of Tobasco or lemon juice, a spoonful or two of sweet pickle relish, and some chopped celery.

Egg Salad

Hard boil eggs; slice and separate whites and yolks. Mash yolks and mix with mayo, a squirt of mustard, salt, pickle relish, maybe some chopped celery. Chop whites and mix with yolks.

Fruit Salad

Chopped fresh fruit, which can include the following: oranges, strawberries, shredded coconut, cantaloupe, apples, green grapes, cherries. I sometimes put in almonds or pecans, too.

Angel Food Cake

Most has no dairy or soy in it (soy oil is O.K.), but check to be sure. Slice into fingers or chop into chunks, and serve with jam/jelly/preserves to dip them in.

Meringues

The bite-sized ones are less messy; plain/vanilla are safer than other flavors.

Tea

Any decaf tea; Sam prefers mint or orange spice. Serve with sugar (cubes are always fun) and Rice Milk.

News Flash!

Campbell's Double Noodle Soup is no longer Sam-safe. :-(

Squash and Pepper Soup

This is an attempt to recreate a dish I thoroughly enjoy at a local restaurant. The chef was cagey about what was in it, but I think I'm closing in on it. May carmelize the onions next time, to see if that adds the finishing touch.

1 butternut squash
3 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup rice millk
1/2 stick margarine
1 onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
3 bell peppers, chopped
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup instant potato flakes

Stab squash a few times, then microwave on high for 5 minutes.

When cool, peel and seed, then chop into 2" by 2" chunks. Throw this and all remaining ingredients into crock pot, and cook on low for about 8 hours. Just before serving, blend or mash to a smooth consistency

Broiled Bananas

3 bananas
2 tbsp brown sugar
rum or rum flavoring

Slice bananas the long way, laying them flat side up. Cover flat side with brown sugar, then sprinkle with rum or rum flavoring. Place under broiler for approx 2 min. (time will vary with distance from broiler)

Banana Crepes

Make crepes from a standard recipe, replacing the milk with rice milk, and the butter with vegetable oil.

3 tbsp margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp almond extract
two bananas
powdered sugar

melt margarine in a pan

add brown sugar and almond extract

slice in bananas and heat over low heat until warm, approx. 3 min.

spoon banana stuff onto crepe and wrap; spoon a little more sauce and bananas on top, then dust with powdered sugar

Serves 3

Chocolate Bunnies

Made my first stab at molding chocolates for Samantha. The result was edible, but more fudge-ish than chocolate-ish. Set up nice and firm in the fridge, though, and popped right out of the mold, so that was good.

1 pkg. Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp Fleishman's unsalted margarine
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp powdered sugar
1/8 cup rice milk

spray oil and cocoa powder

Spray molds with oil, then dust with cocoa powder.

Melt chips in microwave. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed. Fill molds, pressing to make sure there are no air bubbles.

Place in refridgerator for about 1 hour.

Pop chocolates out and wrap in foil or plastic wrap. Store in fridge.

As I said, this produces a quite rich, fudge-like chocolate. It was also a little gritty, because of the granulated sugar. Next time, I will use all powdered sugar, more rice milk, and less margarine, though I may have to add pectin to make it set up. Might need more vanilla, too. A work in progress.

McDonald's Update

We have recently found out that McDonald's fries have milk in the "browning coating" and so cannot be considered safe for Sam. I don't know how long this has been true, unfortunately. This makes it MUCH more difficult to feed Sam out. Drat!

Eggnog

The first two times I made this, it was great. This last time, when I made it so I could remember what I did so I could post the recipe here, it was only so-so. May figure out what I changed and come back and tweak this at a later date.

2 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
4 cups rice milk
2 tbsp Fleishman's Unsalted margarine
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp pectin (The Hubster says this is easier to find at OSH than anywhere else.)
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg whites
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp rum flavoring
sprinkle of nutmeg

Separate eggs. Put whites in fridge, while you work on the custard.

In medium saucepan, mix egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar. Mix cornstarch with about 1/2 cup rice millk; pour this and the rest of the rice millk into the pan, add pectin, margarine and salt, then heat over medium flame. (The good news is that, unlike regular milk, it doesn't seem that the rice milk mixture curdles. The bad news is that it is hard to tell when it's done because it doesn't "coat the back of a spoon" which is the doneness test listed in the original recipe.) Heat for about 20 min, or until it starts to foam up, stirring often. Cool.

When custard is cool, beat egg whites until foamy, then add the 3 tbsp sugar gradually. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form. Fold into cooled custard; stir in vanilla and rum favoring. Chill.

When serving, sprinkle nutmeg in each cup.

Eating Out

The easiest place to take Sam out to eat is, sadly, McDonald's. She can have the apple pies and most of the buns there, and any hamburger that has no cheese, tomatoes (ketchup is O.K.) or sesame seeds. (Update 4/02/07: McDonald's fries are no longer allowable.)

At other restaurants, a safe bet is a baked or grilled chicken breast, but ask what they are cooking it in. Also, grilled steak is usually safe. She loves shrimp, so shrimp cocktail is good, too. (Also closer to the amount she will actually eat!) If they do grilled shrimp, make sure it is basted with oil, not butter; and I usually don't take a chance on breading, so we don't order her fried shrimp. Tacos, with no cheese, tomatoes or salsa, are good; she can have avocado on it, but guacamole only if it has no tomatoes or sour cream. Fajitas are usually good, too (as long as they cook the meat in its own fat or in oil, and not butter) as she can have onions and bell peppers.

For side dishes, pasta with no sauce, plain baked potatoes, and steamed rice are good bets. (We usually bring Sam-safe margarine with us, which widens the possibilities.) Breads are usually NOT safe (though the buns at Micky-D's are).

Steamed veggies such as carrots, green beans or broccoli are usually safe.

Angel food cake is usually safe, though you have to make sure they don't put whipped cream (even the fake stuff) on it. Cherries or strawberries on it are O.K. Fresh (allowed) fruits are good, as is most jello.

Pehaps, when she is older, we will convince her to eat salads, as salad bars would be good choices for her, but for now, she refuses to eat "leaves". :-)

Pigs in a Blanket

Not the healthiest of meals, but she loves it, and it's quick and easy.

1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, original
4 Hebrew National Hot Dogs

Cut hot dogs in half, then roll one piece up in each crescent roll. Bake as directed.