Since he came off the dairy we have noticed a secondary allergy that was masked before. We finally tracked it down to eggs. Now I'm going through all the recipes and menu items I've found that are dairy free and altering them to be egg free too. It's a bit of work and there are some foods I just won't be able to make until he grows out of it. (Please let him grow out of it) But I have also found some recipes and ideas I never would have had if I hadn't had to look around.
Sometimes in our writing we get so comfortable with a plot line or a basic character that we don't challenge ourselves to look for something different. If we cut out a word or situation that we often rely on we might be surprised with what we come up with.
Just for fun since it's Friday I'm going to post my favorite cake recipe here. I'm not a cake person so I don't make cake much. Not even for birthdays. This cake however is too delicious to pass up. No it's not dairy free so when I make it we have to hide it from the kids. I do, however, have a gluten free version if anyone wants.
Enjoy.
Honey Bun Cake- Original Version
1 box yellow Cake Mix
¾ cup Wesson oil
4 eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
1 8oz sour cream
1 cup coconut
1 cup brown sugar
3 or 4 teaspoons cinnamon
Mix cake mix, oil and white sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream. Blend well with electric mixer. Stir in coconut. Pour half of batter into a greased and floured 9 x 13 dish.
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle ½ cup of mixture over batter. Pour remaining batter over sugar mixture and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Swirl with knife if desired. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until done in center.
Glaze
½ to ¾ cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons melted margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 or 3 teaspoons milk
Use an electric mixer to blend ingredients. Pour over hot cake.
Best. Cake. Ever.
Bless you, Sara! What a daunting task. And the cake sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good cake, worth the calories. Just make sure you have someone to share it with or you'll eat the whole thing.
DeleteThat cake sounds incredible. I love coconut. And I like your metaphor about getting comfortable. I've found several words and phrases I tend to use constantly because they're not cliches and they sound really cool. I know I have to stop that.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
It's best warm. We all have things we rely on, but we'll never learn to walk if we always use the crutch.
DeleteOne of my kids doesn't have good allergies, but is allergic to other things that affect his asthma. It's been difficult at times and like you pray that he will grow out of it. Dealing with food allergies would be so hard. But at least you know how to help him.
ReplyDeleteThat cake looks yummy!
That should read food allergies, not good allergies! I don't think allergies are good at all.
DeleteI have dust allergies and hay fever which aggravate my asthma so I know how your kid feels, poor guy. Good luck.
DeleteOh my goodness! Milk and eggs are in SO MANY THINGS! I hope for both of your sakes that he outgrows it. And great analogy! It's true-- when we go looking for something outside of what we would normally do, we can find some really great things.
ReplyDeleteThey are in a lot of things but we've found some substitutes and are doing ok. I think it would be much much worse if he couldn't have wheat or gluten.
DeleteOh goodness.. Our neighbor boy has the same allergies and the more I think about it, the more I wonder what they eat! I'm so impressed that you have figured out what to do to make it happen. And I love how you've applied this to writing. Awesome - and so true.
ReplyDeleteThey eat Oreos! There are options you just have to find them. And some things you have to give up. Can I say waffles without eggs are not so good.
DeleteI have a sensitivity to cow's milk, so I know what you mean. It's in everything! I've been able to substitute goat's cheese and soy milk. But eggs? That's tough. There's lots of vegan recipes out there that will be both egg- and dairy-free. Hopefully he does grow out of it.
ReplyDeleteSorry you have it too. I've been looking through some vegan websites for recipes, though I'll admit some of the recipes scare me.
DeleteI was just talking to another parent this weekend, and they recently learned their son outgrew allergies to gluten and peanuts. There is hope!
Deletewow, I didn't know you could outgrow gluten allergies. That's pretty cool. Most kids do outgrow milk and egg allergies so it looks pretty good.
DeleteOooh, I love it when people give recipes - thanks! It's tough to have an egg allery i think -those suckers are in everything!! Your analogy is good though - having to work around the usual can take us to much better places we'd never have gone!
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy the recipe. Better places! That's the key, and the journey is fun too.
DeleteOh dear, no dairy or eggs? I might have a few recipes, let me look.
ReplyDeleteYum, anything with coconut sounds good!
I love coconut. The original recipe called for pecans instead of coconut but the lady who made it for us had changed it. It was so good I've never even bothered to try it with pecans.
DeleteSara, is the egg white, the yolk, or both he's allergic to? I ask because I am only allergic to the egg yolk. Being allergic to just the yolk has far reaching complications. For example flu shots, pneumovax shots and a host of others are incubated in egg yolks because of this I have allergic reactions to the shots so bad it hospitalizes me if I am caught unaware.
ReplyDeleteFor me, life is multiple allergies to drugs, foods, and environmental stuff so I can relate. The only thing that didn't show positive for allergies was corn, pine, and strawberries on my last allergy testing. I go through them every couple of years. I went through the weekly and bi-weekly shots but never reached a maintenance does of once a month after two years. Everything I scored four and above on out of a five scale is avoided and the rest are handled by antihistamines by mouth, in the nose and in the eyes twice a day every single day. I've lived like this for ten years now and counting.
I don't know. From what I've read you just can't cleanly separate the two at home to watch for reactions and the doctor won't test him this young unless there are life threatening reactions. This young their immune system isn't fully developed so they get a lot of false positives.
DeleteWow, that's a lot of allergies. Glad you've found a way to survive. I love modern medicine.
I agree about challenging ourselves with our writing. I find that when I come at a scene from a completely unexpected angle, the whole story can open up in interesting directions.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true. Just doing something as simple as changing pov, or the location of the scene can give us interesting possibilities.
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