Cantaloupe Sorbet

Since I've been preparing a lot of our food from scratch for some time now, I am not finding it difficult to avoid many processed products (though I do miss the few that I was using!). One adventure I tried a summer or two ago was sorbet. I found this wonderful recipe for cantaloupe sorbet that was really easy and not at all intimidating. It tasted great and, for its function (i.e., frozen yummy dessert), it was reasonably healthy.

What I like about this recipe - and most of my other favorites since I've started the BBG diet - is that it doesn't require any changes, and it doesn't feel like a sacrifice in any way. More than the actual foods that she eats, I want to give BBG the feeling that she is still able to participate in this thing we call eating without feeling like she is missing out. Sure, cantaloupe sorbet isn't ice cream - but it's delicious and refreshing, and feels great going down.

Cantaloupe Sorbet

(adapted from epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c. sugar

1 c. water

6 c. cantaloupe chunks (doesn't that sound appetizing?)

While cutting up your cantaloupes into chunks, boil the water and sugar together in a small pot.

Pour the syrup into a 9 x 13 pyrex dish.

Process cantaloupe with S blade of food processor until smooth.

Add cantaloupe puree to the syrup in the pan, mix well.

Freeze the sorbet for a few hours until partially frozen, then pour out into a large bowl and mix with electric mixer until smooth, then pour back into pan and refreeze until solid.

Note: Last time I made this I was too lazy/busy to remix it. I think it was better done with two mixings, but that could have been psychological. It was still very good. And I still scraped away at it for a long long time.

Carrot Slaw

Every week I cook for the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbos), which holds its own set of challenges for me. Not eating my homemade challah is one. Another is the fact that so much of an Ashkenazi Shabbos consists of egg- and wheat-based dishes: gefilte fish, kishka in the chulent, and all kinds of kugels. I am welcoming the opportunity to try to cook more healthful Shabbos meals, and I've been finding all kinds of wonderful, simple salads.

This week's gem is carrot slaw. I was going to wait to post and review the recipe after my family ate it on Shabbos, but I just made it and tasted it and LOVE it. I'm sure it'll be even better after chilling in the fridge. I'm a big cole slaw fan, and this has that same sweet and tangy flavor. It was easy (since my food processor did most of the work), and I'll definitely be making this again.

Carrot Slaw

(based on recipe from the Interwebs)

Ingredients:

8-10 carrots

1 red pepper

1 onion

1 apple

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. lemon juice

1/4 c. oil

1/2 t. salt

Shred all the salad ingredients in the food processor.

Boil dressing ingredients in a small pot.

Pour dressing over salad, mix well, and refrigerate.

I hope my family enjoys this. If they don't, I guess I'll have this salad all to myself.

That Awkward First Post

I've had a hard time starting this blog because I'm not sure how to start. Do I just write assuming you know me, and you'll figure it out as I go? Do I post a long introduction? A short one? Maybe no one is here anyway? (A thought that is kind of lonely and kind of cozy at the same time.)

So here goes: I'm the mother of a beautiful baby girl (BBG) and her older siblings. She has been suffering with skin issues for quite a few months now, and we've only recently been able to discover the reason: she has a number of severe allergies that have been transmitted to her through my breast milk. So I've had to radically change my diet to accommodate BBG's health. Namely, by removing milk, wheat, eggs, soy, and peanuts from my diet.

For a 100% kosher, mostly vegetarian who loves dairy and peanuts, this has been a challenge. But I'm up for it! I've been searching the Internet for recipe ideas, and unfortunately, it hasn't been so easy all the time. I don't really want to buy lots of weird ingredients (though I may), and I could figure out how to replace margarine with soy-free margarine myself, thankyouverymuch. But since this may well turn out to be a longer term issue for BBG personally as she eats a more varied diet, I think I have to really develop a repertoire of recipes for her, both in terms of relatively easy items (soups, salads and other vegetable-based dishes, non-wheat grain dishes) and the more difficult ones (bread and crackers, cakes and cookies, good sources of calcium). So let's get started...