I Heart Divvies!

     Yes I know, it goes without saying...largely because I'm always singing the praises of Divvies.  Our first beloved box of chocolate chip cookies arrived in 2006, while I was pregnant with child #3 and in no shape to experiment with treats for our oldest.  A year later,  I decided to brave it up and bought my first 5 pound shipment of chocolate chips to try my hand at allergy baking sand I haven't stopped the experiments or the chocolate purchases since then.
     There are so many happy Divvies moments here, I can hardly write them all.  But the highlights would have to be Brynn's sheer joy when Chef Amber created a Divvies ice cream sundae at DisneyWorld, the chocolaty giggles when biting ears off the Divvies Easter Bunnies, the squeals of delight finding Benjamint Bars in the Christmas stockings, finding Divvies at LaGuardia airport during an unplanned layover, or all the kids helping the UPS man haul in the annual massive chocolate purchase that marks the start of Christmas holiday baking.  I'm sure Divvies might be as confused as I was when Brynn wanted to go to "Benjamin's Mom's Bakery" on our second visit to DisneyWorld.  Apparently, she remembered buying Divvies popcorn and cookies at the Main Street Bakery and it is now known as "Benjamin's Mom's Bakery".
     So imagine my delight when The Divvies Bakery Cookbook was released this past summer!  I review allergy cookbooks for kidswithfoodallergies.org, so I've read them all and this one tops my list of favorites.  I could give you a million and one reasons why to buy this book, the recipes are awesome, the photos are beautiful...but the real gut reason why I love this book...it makes me happy.  This book is just one big party waiting to happen.  There are some fancy recipes, like the chocolate bags (which I adapted below, to make chocolate heart cups).  But there are some simple recipes that have changed my cooking forever.  I'll never be able to make simple, thin, rice crispy treats again.  They have to be thick and packed full of Fruit Loops or Apple Jacks.  The fun ideas just burst out, and after multiple readings...I keep finding new ideas for the daily party. Give yourself a huge prize: order up the book,  a few pounds of chocolate chips and get ready to celebrate.  No special occasion needed.

Thank you Divvies!

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Irish Soda Bread

     The first time I had Irish soda bread was 11 years ago in Mott Children's Hospital on a dreary Saturday morning in March. I'd been up all night with really sick kids, completely over my head, begging the morning to come while subsisting on hospital-issue saltines, peanut butter and coffee.  The morning came, and so did our attending physician, a wonderful pediatric rheumatologist with a basket full of hot bread, triple citrus marmalade and orange juice.  She was like a personification of Mrs. Beaver from C.S. Lewis and her bread was pretty much heaven.
     It wasn't until many years later, as I was working through my Martha Stewart Baking Handbook, that I made the soda bread only to realize it was that same heavenly bread from Dr. Adams.
Irish soda bread is a quick bread, and comes together in a similar fashion to scones.  This version is a touch sweet with the addition of golden raisins, I think it's technically called "Spotted Dog".  Regardless of technicalities, it goes well with marmalade and tea.  Gray Michigan March is optional.

Irish Soda Bread

2  1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold dairy-free margarine or shortening

3/4 cup golden raisins, covered with boiling water
1 cup soy milk + 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, set aside to thicken

1.) Preheat oven to 375 and get some boiling water on the raisins.
2.) Pulse the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor to blend and pulse in the margarine until mixed well. Dump into a large mixing bowl. If doing by hand, whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and cut the margarine in with a pastry blended until well mixed.
3.) Drain the raisins in a strainer and press all the water out with the back of a spoon. Stir the raising into the dry mixture.
4.) Pour the thickened soy milk into the dry ingredients and blend carefully. Don't overmix this.
6.) Dump the dough on to a parchment-lined baking sheet, shape into a mound and slash an 'X' in the top with a bread knife.
7.) Sprinkle with sugar, unless you're feeling like a mean mom.
8.) Bake for 40 minutes, until it is golden brown on top and an inserted knife comes out clean.
9.) Cool and enjoy. This stuff is best on the first day, still pretty good toasted on day 2.

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Paczki for All

I'm a European mixed breed of everything but Polish. I'm not Catholic. I live nearly opposite side of the state from Hamtramck. But I've still got Paczki on the brain. The towering boxes stacked in the grocery store over the past few weeks haven't helped either.
Traditionally, Paczki are meant to use up all the eggs, sugar, butter & lard in the pantry before Lent. Since nearly none of those stipulations apply here, creating an egg-free and dairy-free Paczki was a fun & leisurely affair without the pressure of Ash Wednesday breathing down my neck. Filling with jam or pudding is up to you.  Consider yourself warned on this one, these are really, really good. You might end out having a Fat Sunday, Fat Monday, Fat Tuesday...

Paczki

1 1/3 cup coconut milk (about 1 can)
1/3 cup sugar
2 heaping teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
A few shakes of nutmeg & cardamom (optional)
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1.) Mix all the ingredients except for the flour together in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2.) Add enough flour to get a sticky dough. Add a bit more if it's a gloppy mess. Don't add too much flour or these guys will be tough.
3.) Knead only enough to bring the dough together, you don't want gluten formation here.
4.) Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let raise until doubled, about 2 hours.
5.) Gently dump the dough on to a generously floured surface.  Roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut into rounds.
6.) Place the donuts on a floured and parchment-lined cookie sheet. Cover the the plastic wrap again and let raise for another hour or so.
8.) Heat some vegetable oil up in your deep fryer or in a dutch oven to 350 degrees. I used soybean oil. Canola smells fishy, Crisco shortening is waxy. Never use lard. Ignore what Fanny Farmer and King Arthur Flour say about this matter. Lard will make your house reek of dead cow. Don't do it.
9.) Fry for 2-3 minutes per side and allow to cool and drain on paper towel before filling.
10.) Fill with jam or custard using a pastry bag and piping tip, roll around in powdered or granulated sugar. Enjoy!

Vanilla Custard Filling (embarrassingly easy)
3/4 cup soy milk or soy creamer
1 package instant Jello vanilla pudding mix

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Frog Shakes...uh, Shamrock Shakes

     One of the great things about allergy cooking is doing "field research".  I mean, how am I supposed to make safe versions of DQ Sandwiches, Cadbury Eggs or Thin Mints without sampling the real thing...over and over...just to make sure I'm on the right track?  In the case of Shamrock Shakes, I just couldn't rely on my childhood memories to make a reliable duplicate, so I had to take a little detour through the McD's drive through.  But I paid in cash.  I just couldn't bear answering "What on earth did you buy at McDonalds for $1.87 at 9am after dropping the kids off at school?" when the bank card statement came through.
     For the uninitiated, Shamrock Shakes are a seasonal shake at McDonalds around St. Patrick's Day. Green. Kinda Minty. Creamy. Good.  Luckily, they are also super-easy to make at home.  So easy, that I can't really write a real recipe.  I'll just give you a general guideline, and you can wing it.  Apparently "Shamrock Shake" is too much of a tongue twister for 3 year olds, so Jack's dubbed these "Frog Shakes". Now that's cool and green.

Frog Shakes 

Vanilla ice cream (homemade recipe below, or store bought Tofutti, Rice Dream, So Delicious)
Vanilla soy milk
A couple drops of peppermint extract (go easy, or these will taste like Toothpaste Shakes)
Green food coloring
Blender, food processor, immersion blender, or milkshake maker

1.) Pick your blender of choice. I'm a bit promiscuous when it comes to kitchen gadgets, so I have all 4 options. I went with the immersion blender today because I was just making a little batch. But a food processor is great for a big batch.
2.) Scoop in the ice cream, pour in some milk, a few drops of peppermint and some green. Add a little more soy milk or ice cream to get the desired thickness.

Simple Dairy-Free Vanilla Ice Cream

3 cups plain soy creamer (about 1 1/2 pints)
20 regular marshmallows (about 1/2 bag)
1/3 cup sugar
2 T. oil ( I used avocado, coconut or canola would be fine)
1 t. vanilla

1.) Put the marshmallows in a big microwave safe bowl (I have an 8 cup Pyrex that is perfect for this)
2.) Heat for 1-2 minutes, until soft and puffy.
3.) Whisk the soft marshmallows with 1/2 cup soy creamer until smooth. You may have to return the mixture to the microwave for another minute or so to get the marshmallows to fully melt into the creamer.
4.) Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of creamer, sugar, oil, & vanilla.
6.) Cool the mixture down in the freezer or refrigerator before pouring into an ice cream maker to freeze.  I have a Cuisinart that is wonderful. 

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