Label Daddy

Since I am not shy about plugging businesses that I am fond of, I would be remiss if I did not mention one of my favorites... Label Daddy. I was originally introduced to this local company through a fundraiser at Ella's school. They offer a variety of labels that can be applied to all kinds of surfaces, from clothing to sippy cups. They are super quick... I received my order within a week. And the product is high quality. These labels are also really good gifts... Check them out...

Lots of Anxiety, Very Few Answers

We visited Ella's allergist today because she was due for her yearly check in. She has been having a ton of allergic flare ups, and not because she has been eating known allergens. Her eczema is as bad as ever and I am almost certain that she is also allergic to latex. We put a band-aid on her after she got a boo-boo at school and she broke out in tiny hives all around the bandage. There are several other "hot spots" on her body all working hard to ensure that I have sleepless nights.

And I am stressing about the fact that she is due for her second MMR shot. When she had the first shot, at 15 months, she had a horrific reaction. At the time, we were told that she was amongst the 1% of the population who react negatively to the highly controversial vaccine. She had a high fever (103 degrees, for about 3 days) and broke out into a measles like rash that started about a week after the inoculation and lasted another week. It was freaky. And this was all before we became aware of her allergies. As a mother who is always looking for answers, I cannot help but wonder if the MMR contributed to her long list of allergies. Of course, I am not a doctor and there is no research to support my irrational thought, but maybe there is a link? And maybe (most likely) I am just crazy. In any case, it is pretty hard for me to consider possibly subjecting Ella to this madness again. So I asked our allergist to consult on this issue. She was very careful about how she responded to me, but it was clear that she did not think that giving her the 2nd MMR is a good idea. She suggested that we try and get the shots separated, omitting the Measles portion. And if that cannot happen she said that no one would think of me as a bad parent if I decided to pass on the whole enchilada. So now I will have this conversation with her pediatrician and we shall see.

Adding to all of the stress is the fact that Milo is now 18 months and has not yet had his first MMR shot. I am so unsure about how to proceed. Normally, I am the most decisive person you would ever want to meet. But on this matter, I am completely at a loss. What to do? What to do?

Normally, we do a blood test at our yearly allergist visit. Not today. Her doctor would like us to come back in a month or two so that we can do a full allergy scratch test. DREAD! I can tell you from personal experience that this will not be easy. One might even call it, hell. But I am also curious about my current allergic situation so I will also be doing the scratch test with Ella. I will go first and hopefully Ella will not see me flinch and will march ahead, the brave little soldier that she is. And maybe we will find out what is really going on with her. I am praying that there are no new allergies... like to dairy or rice. And maybe there will be a bright light if we find out that she can indeed eat things that are currently on the forbidden list.

For now, her meds have been upped... Zyrtec in the evening, Singulair in the morning. Topical creams for the rashes and eczema. Oh how I love my little girl. I am so sorry that she has to endure life like this. But her determination and strength is truly inspiring. She stands tall and marches on! She is my hero!

FAAN's First Annual Online Auction: Bidding For A Cure!

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network’s First Annual Online Auction, Bidding For A Cure, is now open! The auction is open from May 3, 2009 through May 17, 2009, and funds raised will go toward FAAN’s mission to raise public awareness, to provide advocacy and education, and to advance research on behalf of all those affected by food allergies and anaphylaxis.

If you are interested in checking it out, making a donation or learning more about FAAN, click on the link above. This is a very worthy cause and the auction has lots of great items to bid on.

Deli Tray Leftovers?

After Ella's party on Friday we were left with a ton of leftovers from several deli trays. What can a family of four do with a veggie tray, a bunch of condiments and a pound of cold cuts? I decided to make a supper using as many of the ingredients as possible. The end result was Pasta Primavera with an Italian Salad and bread pudding for dessert. Here's a rough breakdown of what I cooked...

Pasta Primavera

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

leftover assortment of veggies, chopped

- we used zucchini, yellow squash, red and green bell peppers, carrots, asparagus

3 cups of chopped tomatoes (there were about 8 sliced tomatoes on the condiment tray)

15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon chopped basil (2 teaspoons, if fresh)

1 teaspoon chopped parsley (2 teaspoons, if fresh)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 box pasta of your choice, we used brown rice spaghetti

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot. Add onions and garlic and cook until the begin to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 1 minute. Add the

assortment of vegetables and cook until they soften, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sauce. Stir. Add spices. Bring to a boil and cook for about 25 minutes, or longer for better flavor. Make pasta according to instructions. Serve with Parmesan and crushed red pepper.

Italian Cold Cut Salad

Chopped Lettuce

Chopped tomatoes

Salami, sliced into 1/2" pieces or strips

Ham, sliced into 1/2" pieces or strips

Turkey, sliced into 1/2" pieces or strips

Cheeses, sliced into 1/2" pieces or strips

Chopped Cucumber

Pepperocinis, sliced

Can of garbanzo beans

Can of sliced black olives

Can of artichoke hearts or hearts of palm, optional

Cover the bottom of a serving platter with lettuce. Pile the meats and cheeses in the center. Place the remaining ingredients around the perimeter, in whichever fashion suits you. Serve with Italian dressing.

Bread Pudding (Shhhh, don't tell Ella! This one contains wheat, but could easily be made with wheat free bread or rolls.)

1 bag of leftover dinner rolls, cubed into 1" cubes

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup raisins

1 sliced banana

butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a glass dish. Put the bread into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Drizzle mixture over the bread and toss. Add the raisins and toss again. Let rest on the counter for about 15 minutes, tossing frequently. Pour into the greased pan and top with the sliced bananas. Bake for 35 minutes or until the egg mixture is set. Let cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

This is also good as leftovers for breakfast. Serve it with maple syrup.

Cake #2: Classic Cherry Chip

Ella wanted to have another cake at her big birthday party, and who am I to say "no". One of the cakes that I remember fondly from my childhood was cherry chip with cherry butter cream frosting. And since Ella has recently discovered the Maraschino cherry, I thought it would be fun to recreate my nostalgic favorite into a wheat-free cake. Once again, I used the Vanilla (Butter) Layer Cake recipe from the Annalise Roberts cookbook. After making the mix, according to instructions, I folded in 1/2 cup of well drained, finely sliced Maraschino cherries and 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips. I frosted the layers with cherry butter cream and topped the cake with rolled fondant butterflies, that I colored to match the theme colors of the party.

Along with the cake, I made 2 different types of cupcakes for our guests to choose from: Dark Chocolate with Orange Cream Cheese Butter cream and Cherry Chip Yogurt and Buttermilk cupcakes with Cherry Butter cream, both with wheat flour. Several people tried both the cake and the cupcakes and each told me that while liking the cupcakes, they found the cake to be even better. Two of my Mommy friends are either Celiac or allergic to wheat and they were thrilled to have a chance to try the cake.

Needless to say, I will be making this one again. Now I had better get myself some of the leftovers!

Cake #1: Abby Cadabby

Ella has been celebrating her birthday in high fashion this year. She has had three parties to commemorate turning 4, each a little different from the other. On Tuesday, we celebrated with family and friends at Disneyland. On Thursday, she had an ice cream party at school with her classmates. And on Friday, we had a bigger birthday party that included everyone. She has recently rediscovered Sesame Street and is very into Abby Cadabby. One of her birthday wishes was to have an Abby Cadabby cake. No cupcakes, Mom. Just an Abby Cadabby cake. So I visited a local bakery who is known for making wheat- free/gluten-free cakes. And after looking through many books, I decided that I could make a cake that would be better than anything that I was seeing. So I went online and found a great mold from Wilton and took on the task of making Ella's cake.

I was not sure how the wheat-free cake recipe I had would do using a cake mold, but it actually was no different that traditional cake ingredients. I greased the pan REALLY well and then lightly dusted it with rice flour. Once the cake came out in one piece and I sighed a giant sigh of relief, I went buttercream crazy. It was actually a lot of fun. The directions that came with the mold were fairly easy to follow. Naturally, being a perfectionist, I had my issues. I had tried to save money by using food colorings that I already had rather than the suggested ones made by Wilton. And the pink ended up looking a lot like Madonna Inn pink, rather than Abby Cadabby pink. (You can take the girl out of San Luis Obispo, but you cannot take the Madonna Inn out of the girl!) And I was not happy with how the eyes turned out. Like I said, I am a perfectionist.

We took the cake with us down to Disneyland and enjoyed it with everyone at the hotel. The cake was delicious. I used the Vanilla (Butter) Layer Cake recipe from Annalise Roberts' Baking Classics cookbook. The frosting was traditional buttercream. The best part was that I served it and no one knew that the cake was wheat-free until I told them! Actually, the BEST part was seeing how happy the cake made her. It was all worth it!

Birthday Season Madness

This is the time of year that we fondly refer to as "Birthday Season". When all of Ella's friends have birthdays. Almost all of the kids that we know were born in March-May. And since most of them have parties to celebrate, we spend an astounding amount of our weekends criss-crossing the greater LA area. This year has been especially crazy and I feel like we have been to every kind of party venue imaginable. Since it is hard to predict what the hosts will be serving at their events, we go hoping to find something that Ella might be able to eat. Fruit and veggies trays are always a welcome sight. I also bring along a bag full of snacks to supplement. The other thing that I do is take along a cupcake for Ella to enjoy when the cake is passed out. I bake a batch of cupcakes, wrap them up individually and store them in the freezer. That way, I have them on hand anytime. When we are getting ready to leave for the party, I pull one out and by the time we have reached our destination the cupcake is defrosted. I used to frost them at home and then I came up with the brilliant idea of taking the frosting off of the birthday child's cake and using it on Ella's cupcake. We often get some crazy looks, but this really helps Ella feel like she is a part of the party. And she doesn't complain about not being able to have the cake that everyone else gets to have.

We have been having lots of fun, but between you and I, I am ready to get my weekends back!