Kashi is recalling GOLEAN Powder Chocolate Energy Shake Mix due to undeclared milk.  The product is packaged in a 14.8oz canister with a bar code 18627 71000. Canisters with a use by date between January 17, 2009 and November 15, 2009 are included in the recall.

For more information click here: Kashi Company Recalls Kashi GOLEAN Energy Shake Mix

Site Map Yesterday I was on the phone with my Dad, who keeps Kosher,  and he was telling me about the margarine he is using.  Again. He has been swearing for months now that the Fleischmann’s Light Spread is soy and dairy free. Yesterday he read me the ingredients. No soy. No dairy. But a warning CONTAINS: SOY.  Now I was really confused. No dairy, no soy ingredients but the soy warning.  So I called customer service for Fleischmann’s. After a half hour on hold I got a real person on the phone. The woman at Fleischmann’s informed me that while the Fleischmann’s Light Spread does not contain soy or dairy that it is manufactured on equipment that manufactures soy products. She then went on to tell me that they thoughrogly clean the equipment to make sure that there is no cross-contamination, but they want to warn people anyway.

Two things crossed my mind after this conversation:

1. Thank You Fleischmann’s!!! I would rather know that a company is being over informative than leaving out information.

2. How many companies are risking cross contamination and not informing us??

Anyway, I haven’t been able to try the Fleischmann’s Light Spread yet (anyone in Orange County know where to get it?) and it’s up to you whether you want to take the risk…but it’s out there….the elusive dairy free, soy free margarine.

The Holiday Season is upon us! I love the Holidays but I also know how hectic they can get. SO, I was wondering what I could do to help out and I came up with this idea. I started a bakery on ETSY.com where I am selling SPEWD Free (gluten free too!) gingerbread men. They are great for gifts or for the SPEWD Free people in your life. They are delicious and have no preservatives. I am also open to requests if anyone is looking for something special and allergy friendly. so check it out at http://spewdfree.etsy.com

Have a  safe, Happy Holiday!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And I found Rice Nog!! Ok, so I had knew I wasn’t going to be able to make fresh eggnog for my son…even if I could come up with a recipe, I just haven’t had good luck with eggnog in years past.

So imagine this: here I am pushing my cart through the local grocery store, J sitting in the front. I go to get the shelf stable Rice Dream ( I always have some in the cupboard for emergencies) and siting right next to it on the shelf is Rice Nog, by the same people who make Rice Dream!!! I checked the ingredients….no soy, no peanuts, no eggs, no wheat, no dairy….and bought two boxes.

Today I opened one up and tried some. I will admit that it is not the fatty, creamy, thick eggnog of my childhood, but it is good. In fact, I almost like it better. It’s not so thick and rich that you feel sick afterwards and it’s got less fat. The best part is…later tonight I can give some to my little J! (I will try to get a reaction picture.

I highly suggest this yummy allergen friendly eggnog! If you want to find out where you can get your hands on some, check out this website for a store locator Rice Dream Rice Nog Store Locator

I am so excited to announce the SPEWD Free Meetup! I started the SPEWD Free Meetup so that we can all get together in a “safer” environment. I know sometimes when I take Jackson out to play with other children, I get nervous that he is going to get near a pb&j or some cheese puffs. So I decided to start a playgroup where we don’t have to worry. I know not everyone that is reading this is in South Orange County, California so I am hoping to find a way that we can meet virtually…

So even if you are not in the area feel free to join the meetup.  You can participate on the message boards, and in any other way you can think of.

By the way, if you want to start a SPEWD Free Meetup where you are, please contact me. We could definately have chapters in different areas.

Ok, so to join the SPEWD Free Meetup, click here: SPEWD Free Meetup

I hope to meet some of you soon!!

I have just been alerted about two food recalls, so here they are:

1) Nestle is withdrawing its Farinha Lactea Cereal in the United States. The cereal is produced in Brazil by Nestle Brazil and is being withdrawn due to traces of a pesticide that is not apporved for use in wheat in the United States. For more information click here: Nestle withdraws Farinha Lactea Cereal in the United States

2) Amy’s Kitchen, Inc. voluntarily recalls Tofu Scramble in a pocket because it contains undeclared dairy. The product comes in a frozen package  with a code that is located in white on the easy ope zipper and reads  10 H148 A, B, C, or D. For more information click here: Amy’s Kitchen, Inc. voluntarily recalls Tofu Scramble in a pocket

Hi Everyone,

Well, the walk for food allergies is next week in Santa Monica. I am so excited!! But, that only gives you one week to donate or decide to come walk with us……. Anyway it made me wonder, is anyone else out there going to be walking in Santa Monica? Leave me a reply.

By the way keep checking the blog for some new SPEWD Free news…

I joined the daring bakers group in October and my first challenge was pizza dough and toppings! I was so excited because I had never made pizza dough before. It turned out to be a lot of fun and I am going to share my recipes with all of you out there!

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).

Ingredients:
4 ½ cups GF Flour Blend with xanthan gum or 1 cup brown rice flour, 1 cup corn flour, 1 cup oat flour, 1 ½ cup arrowroot, potato or tapioca starch + 2 tsp xanthan or guar gum
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

DAY ONE

Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar or agave syrup and cold water, then mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough.

3. Flour a work surface or counter.  Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them.  Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8.  On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the number of desired dough balls from the refrigerator.  Place on a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with a gluten free flour. Delicately press the dough into disks about ½ inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil. Lightly cover the dough round with a sheet of parchment paper and allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven.  Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Press the dough into the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough).

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.
During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.
In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11.   Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

12.  Place the garnished pizza on the parchment paper onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.

NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.

If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

I made two pizzas: one sweet and one savory.

The savory one was topped with picadillo.  You can find the recipe for the picadillo under recipes. The only thing I did was to lightly coat the pizza crust with olive oil and garlic.  Here’s how it  looked when it was done:

The second pizza I made was a chocolate banana pizza! Here is how to make the topping.

Ingrediants

1 bag Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, melted

2 tablespoons dairy free, soy free margarine

1 1/2 sliced bananas

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon sugar

a pinch of salt

In a medium bowl, combine margarine and chocolate chips. In a separate bowl, combine sliced bananas, cinnamon, sugar, and salt. Spread chocolate mixture on pizza crust. Top with bananas. Bake and eat!

Here is how the chocolate banana pizza looked:

Anyway, the pizzas turned out yummy! I hope you try to make your own pizza crust! Leave me a comment with how your pizza turned out and what you topped it with.

Ciao!

Harry and David is recalling approximately  400 1lb 4oz boxes labeled Harry & David Moose Munch Confection, Milk Chocolate Gingerbread because of undisclosed pecans. The affected product was distributed in Harry and David Stores nationwide. For more information click here : Harry and David Recalls Moose Munch, Milk Chocolate Gingerbread

Nonna’s Real Italiana Cuccine is recalling Stuffed Artichokes, net wt 15 oz  because of undisclosed milk, soy, and wheat.  The stuffed artichokes were distributed in the greater New Orleans area, including the Northshore, from October 8 to October 17, 2008. For more information click here: Nonna’s Real Italiana Cuccine Recalls Stufed Artichokes

SO, I have recieved requests for a SPEWD Free pumpkin pie lately. And because I love all of you, I have tried to come up with a great recipe. My crust always turns out good. But the filling never seems to set…..so have good pie crust with yummy, runny pumpkin filling.  I have tried everything but nothing seems to work. ( I swear I have gone through six pies!)   I was hoping that all of you out there could help me.  Send me your recipes for pumpkin pie filling (remember they have to be free of soy, peanuts, eggs, wheat and dairy) and if they set into a nice pie, I will have some very trusted judges try them and then I will send the winner a t-shirt. Oh yeah, and I will feature your recipe on my website (and give you credit for it, of course).

Thanks for all of your help!