Reading Labels.. and yes THEY MATTER

well let me give you an example of what i mean....

PANKO BREAD CRUMBS.. Nice product with Excellent reviews:

 Ian's Natural Foods Panko Breadcrumbs Gluten Free Original Description

• NO Wheat or Gluten
• NO Milk or Casein
• NO Eggs
• NO Peanuts or Tree Nuts
• Fat Free • Cholesterol Free

Food-allergy gourmets and celiac chefs - it's time to celebrate. You're holding the country's most allergy friendly Panko Breadcrumbs ever! Prized from their light and airy crumb, Panko Breadcrumbs add a crunch to your favorite foods without weighing them down. Ian's Allergy-Friendly Gluten-Free Panko Breadcrumbs are made with no wheat or gluten, no milk or casein, no eggs and tree nuts - so everyone can enjoy this culinary favorite.

Free Of Artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, wheat, gluten, milk, casein, eggs, nuts.

Disclaimer
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

ISNT THIS AWESOME?.. but the ads, while showing what it does not have.. did Not show what it DID have.. so had to go a hunting..

and finally found it..(why not include it in the ads??)

Other Ingredients: Rice flour, xanthan gum, salt, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, gluconolactone), canola oil, sugar, yeast, ascorbic acid.
Processed in a facility that manufactures products containing soy.

AND FOUND two more allergy items…

LABELS MATTER.

 A recent conversation with the kids went a little bit like this.

Me: so, what do you think about having a tomato/V8 Aspic for the buffet??

Them: Huh??????? Tomato what???

Me: its rather like a veggie jello.

Them: uhhh… eewww????!

Me: it was REALLY popular at parties in the 50s-70s. quick and easy….. allergy free..

Daughter: next time don’t describe it, just have us taste it first THEN explain it..

Sigh..

 ****************************

“Aspic is a dish in which ingredients are set into a gelatin made from a meat stock or consommé. Non-savory dishes, often made with commercial gelatin mixes without stock or consommé, are usually called gelatin salads.

When cooled, stock that is made from meat congeals because of the natural gelatin found in the meat. The stock can be clarified with egg whites, and then filled and flavored just before the aspic sets. Almost any type of food can be set into aspics. Most common are meat pieces, fruits, or vegetables. Aspics are usually served on cold plates so that the gel will not melt before being eaten. A meat jelly that includes cream is called a chaud-froid.

In the early 19th century, Marie-Antoine Carême created chaud froid in France. Chaud froid means "hot cold" in French, referring to foods that were prepared hot and served cold. Aspic was used as a chaud froid sauce in many cold fish and poultry meals. The sauce added moisture and flavor to the food

Historically, meat aspics were made before fruit- and vegetable-flavored aspics or 'jellies' (UK) and 'gelatins/jellos' (North America). By the Middle Ages at the latest, cooks had discovered that a thickened meat broth could be made into a jelly. A detailed recipe for aspic is found in Le Viandier, written in or around 1375 “

Variations of Aspics have been made around the world, even in Kathmandu Valley in Nepal (tho I doubt if I can manage a Buffalo meat jelly!)

photo courtesy of http://www.thesaucysoutherner.com/tomato-aspic/

Here are a couple of sites with some INTERESTING variations on this theme.. (although the Thai Kung Phet Aspic Spicy Prawns in Aspic with gin & vodka is kind of out there lol)

https://lindaraxa.blogspot.com/2010/08/reviving-classictomato-aspic-before-and.html

2nd photo from

http://www.coconutandlime.com/2013/01/tomato-aspic.html

Now, in Spite of the ‘conversation’ the kids DID try the first Aspic I made. 

I used V8 juice, plain gelatin and cucumber pieces.. tasted ‘ok’ but did not have the worchestshire sauce recommended. Turned out bland and a bit sloppy (not set well)

The second try was the same but with lemon jello added.

Conclusions: I LIKED it.. BUT.. am going to re-try – with the following changes. ADD the worchestshire sauce. It NEEDS so pizazz. (some recipes suggest adding hot sauce, but wont do so for a number of concerns). Eliminate the cucumbers.. I think their high water content was part of the problem of being soggy. Daughter & I liked the added lemon flavoring of the jello addition.. 

I think I would like it either without ANYthing in it (not fond of celery or red pepper in jello myself) or ‘something’ else just not sure what yet..

Will give later updates on this 😊

4/20/17 ---UPDATE: made it one more time.. V8 juice lemon jello & worchestshire sauce.. SO good! no things in it. just the aspic.. i expect i will make it for my self on a regular basis.. its NICE.. :)

Dissecting a recipe- or Simple isnt Always so simple..

As I go along I am starting to 'develop' a process of Dissecting and then reassembling recipes. 

Lets start with a SIMPLE & fairly common easy to make lovely little dessert - 

Easy no Bake parfait..  (its quite yummy all on its own!)

https://www.justataste.com/easy-no-bake-cheesecake-parfaits-recipe/

but for our purposes may be bit too complicated 

The required sugar, lemon juice/zest, vanilla (tho i would use best quality)& fruits present no particular  problems.

and the Cream Cheese. now that I know i can make homemade cream cheese i dont see this as a major barrier

we have the choices of Goats Milk Cream Cheese, Coconut Cream cheese & Vegan Cream Cheese (note that this recipe DOES use Cashews) one of our taste testing days will compare the 2 & possibly 3 of them..

http://www.dailyforage-glutenfree.com/2014/09/homemade-dairy-free-coconut-milk-cream-cheese.html

Mind you this is somewhat a more complicated looking recipe.. its unlikely I will want to do this myself.. but its Certainly looking interesting.

https://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/12/how-to-make-soy-free-vegan-cream-cheese/

·        Now to the GRAHAM CRACKERS:

·         

·        I have found One retail product Enjoy Life Handcrafted Crunchy Cookie, Vanilla Honey Graham, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free & Soy Free, 6.3 Ounce (Pack of 6) that claims to be

·        ALWAYS Free-From: gluten, wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish

·        Products made without casein, potato, sesame and sulfites

·        Allergy-Friendly, Verified Non-GMO, Certified Gluten-Free

It Sounds pretty good. Until you realize at at least 160 servings & each box costs just under $15 each- this is definitely not the solution to this problem..

https://www.ama zon.com/Enjoy-Life-Handcrafted-Crunchy-Vanilla/dp/B004SEU95U/ref=sr_1_1_a_it/144-4921256-1655457?ie=UTF8&qid=1491701490&sr=8-1&keywords=wheat%2Bfree%2Bgraham%2Bcrackers&th=1

Here is another retail product that sounds promising.. Pamela's Products Gluten-Free Graham Crackers Honey Description

·        Graham Style Crackers

·        Certified Gluten-Free

·        Egg-Free

·        Kosher

·        Made with Real Honey

·        No Artificial Additives

·        No Hydrogenated Oils or Trans Fats

UNTIL you read the “other ingredients:

Other Ingredients: Rice flour base (brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, xanthan gum), organic non-GMO butter, brown sugar, sorghum flour, gluten-free oat bran, molasses, organic non-GMO honey, gluten-free natural flavors, grainless and aluminum-free baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, potato starch, sodium bicarbonate), baking soda, cinnamon, sea salt.

Allergen Information: contains milk. Both are Allergy products for the some of the guests

So what alternatives are there..

1 suggestion included: .

Cold Cereal

Look no further than breakfast for lots of crunchy options for pie crust. Grind up granola, crispy rice cereal, or cornflakes together= the rice cereal looks hopeful.. I will come back to this in another post..

The last item in the recipe is whipped cream..

At this point in my breakdown I am being reminded that we are going to feed a minimum of 150 guests, and until I know otherwise about the venue I MUST assume refrigeration is not an option until told otherwise. The levels of complication & cost factors have taken this standby appetizer and dropped it to the bottom of my 3^rd level list..

Its probably a no-go.. but it HAS been MOST educational..

the RESEARCH

THE RESEARCH BEGINS:

For the first couple of weeks of my general research has been on Pinterest. Is there anyone who has Not gotten lost in That particular black hole??

Way too much fun but HARD to stay focused.. 

I started with Appetizers and hors d’oeuvres & found WONDERFUL RECIPES.. seems so easy… haha.

THEN I READ the INGREDIENTS… ooops. And realized that NOT ONLY was this going to be a tad more complicated than I at first realized, but that I was actually rather excited but the CHALLENGE..

CAN I COME UP WITH AN EDIBLE & ENJOYABLE MENU to feed EVERYONE?

So that’s it in a nutshell.

I have started a notebook of interesting/easy recipes. And as we go on, we will be doing taste testing on original recipes and tweeking those that must be Adapted & re-taste testing. I will be adding notes, not only from myself, but the bride & groom & the guinea pigs… err friends/tasters on their reactions & preferences and thoughts, which I will be Sharing here on the blog..

As we build the wedding reception menu, I plan on sharing links and photos of where I find good recipes that we are using/adapting as will as links & photos of other dietary/allergy information I come across.

I also will share how we tweek the recipes

I realize mine is not the ONLY way to to create this Menu but I hope it will be of interest & help to others

SO COME ALONG FOR THIS CRAZY RIDE and join in on the fun. The wedding is in January so with any luck this will be doable.