I am really into soup right now. OK, so maybe not Campbell’s, but if I could eat it, I would be into it.

I know it’s a little strange to be so into soup with summer right around the corner.  Soup is a winter food, a comfort food.  It’s also a leftover food and a food that can be made ahead and dished out after reheating for a couple of minutes in the microwave.  In other words, soup is doing everything for me that I need it to do right now.

I’m going to be frank.  This time of year, today in particular, sucks.  I want to get in bed and stay there for a few days, but I have kids and so I can’t.  I also know that once I get out of bed, I’ll have to turn on my brain and the memory will still be there, so I might as well just get up and deal with it rather than hide from it.

So.  I have some unhealthy coping mechanisms, and one of them is eating.  Fortunately, I’ve been able to turn this one around and make it work for me.  If I didn’t like to eat so much, I never would have gotten into writing cookbooks or publishing this weekly blog.  Soup is one of those foods that makes my life easier and warms me up like a big hug, so I like to eat it.  Often.  Honestly, that is comfort food to me.  Soup doesn’t demand my attention at the 5 pm witching hour,  which allows me just that much more time to be at the playground with my kids or tying up loose ends before everyone gets home.  Me likey.

I like this particular recipe because 1) it uses up all of the leftovers 2) it takes 20 minutes to make from beginning to end 3) it’s cheap and 4) I can eat it all week for lunch and be getting my vegetables and protein all in one bowl.  If you feel like it, you can even add in leftover (cooked) rice or gluten-free pasta.

So, dig in.  I offer this one up to make you feel better and to warm the soul at a time when I really need it.  What was that old tagline?  Oh yes, Mmm Mmm Good.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Serves 4 generously

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrot

1 pound diced chicken breast

10 cups chicken stock

10 sprigs fresh thyme

10 ounces pre-washed baby spinach (use organic, my nutritionist said so)

salt to taste

1) Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large stock pot.  Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook them until they begin to soften, about 7-10 minutes.  Add the diced chicken and brown it on all sides.

2) Add the chicken stock and the thyme and bring the soup to a boil.  Immediately turn the heat to low and simmer for 11 minutes.  Stir in the spinach in the last 4 minutes.  Remove the thyme twigs and serve immediately.

3) The fully cooled soup may be stored in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Stop it!  I know you are drooling on your keyboard and you are going to break it if you don’t stop.  After all, who doesn’t want to drink this delicious drink?  Me, for one.  However, I do it, because it contains more vitamins, minerals and fiber than any other meal of my day.  Thus, I drink this smoothie almost daily.  Because I am excellent at pounding a drink, I am able to knock it back in a couple of gulps.  However, if it’s for a picky eater that you are making this, I suggest adding a banana or using orange juice in place of both the water and apple juice.

In general, you know that I prefer dessert.  But, everyone swears that kale is going to cure my wrinkles and extend my life so many years that I’d be stupid not to give it a try.  I don’t know if those people are right, but I do know that one of these smoothies gives me at least 2-3 servings of vegetables, and that it also adds some variety to my usual salad routine.  Whether you drink it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack, rest assured that you will be doing your body a favor.

Green Smoothie

Serves 1

2 cups chopped kale (sometimes I do 1 cup kale/ 1 cup watercress)

juice from one lemon

1 celery stalk

4 ounces apple juice

5 ice cubes

1/2-3/4 cup water

Add all of the ingredients to the pitcher of a heavy-duty blender and blend until smooth.  Drink immediately.

In my life, I have found that my mother was right.

It is best to own one uber-expensive black dress and wear it to death.  No one should leave home without knowing how to make a classic vinaigrette. One should never skimp on Q-tips or laundry detergent.  Sticking to the classics and basics when cooking ensures a meal’s success.  Every time.

This week I have been really short on time, but I have, of course, wanted to feed my children and husband well.  When this scenario presents itself, I always turn to the fastest, easiest dinners I have in my allergy-free lexicon.  Trust me, you know how to make them, too.  It’s just that sometimes we forget about those super-basic techniques and the foods made so delicious by them.  I feel like the food world has gotten a little  pretentious as of late, and I often get bogged down by the recipe that I saw in this paper or in that magazine.  A return to the basics usually makes the best, simplest food.

Since Thursday, I have grilled, poached, braised and roasted and every meal has been delicious.  On Thursday  night I braised a brisket and, amazingly, it finally came out perfectly.  On Friday, I grilled a Kiel Basa (no corn syrup or soy lecithin in there thank you very much!).   On Saturday I poached a salmon filet and last night I roasted a pork tenderloin.  Though the brisket took four hours to cook, none of these meals took longer that 10 minutes to prep, and every single one of them was not only impressive but both EASY and delicious.

Are you scratching your head?  Despite the fact that I was raised in a chef-y family, I didn’t always learn proper terminology.  So, it was not until a few years ago when I started hanging out with serious foodies that I started to understand the difference between braising and roasting.  It was then that I finally understood that some herbs and the proper technique could make or break a simple cut of meat and therefore an entire meal.  So, I thought I’d take a minute to share what took me thirty years to finally figure out.  I hope that it helps you, too.

Braising:  a technique that combines searing a roast, for example, and then adding water and cooking the meat in liquid, covered, at low heat, for hours.  A good example is pot roast.  As much as I would like to tell you that this is the world’s easiest method, I had a hard time getting it right.  I make stew by braising the meat, too.  Once you figure it out, this is a very quick-prep way to get your dinner ready.  I may be the only person in the world who had trouble with a pot roast; I know.  The great news is that The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook has a great recipe for it!

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Poaching: Believe it or not, this was the only method that I could use to cook for my husband when we first met.  Cooking in my apartment was just out because (unbelievably) I didn’t have any proper cooking equipment thanks to space constraints.  My husband’s oven had been broken for years, and he had never had a reason to get it fixed seeing as he didn’t know how to bake and all.  Poaching a salmon filet is easy and ensures moist salmon every time.  To poach just bring enough water to cover the salmon and a splash of white wine, some whole pepper corns, sliced carrots, bay leaves and a white onion cut into wedges to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the salmon, cover and simmer for about 8 minutes per inch of thickness.

Roasting:  This is your basic Thanksgiving turkey cooking method, but this week I used this technique to make a pork tenderloin.  It’s basically just a way to dry-cook meat in the oven.  Just preheat the oven to 425, rub a 1 pound pork tenderloin roast with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, place the roast in a roasting pan and bake for 20 minutes or until an instant read meat thermometer reads 145 degrees.  Remove the roast from the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.  This photos is actually of a pork tenderloin roast that I marinated and cubed to make Pork Souvlaki.  The recipe will also be in my new book The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook.

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Grilling:  I think this one speaks for itself, but I will take one second to sing the praises of my grill pan. Love it, and it is SO useful since I live in a NYC apartment where grilling is illegal (and I don’t have a balcony, so where would I grill anyway?!).  This is where we go on the weekends in the summer, and here I am relaxing as I put my husband to work.  This might be my favorite cooking method….

Subway got Jared thin and now they are trying to keep our stomachs healthy.  How are you feeling about their move toward offering gluten-free fare in their Texas market?  I’m a little worried about cross-contamination, but it won’t really matter much for me anyhow– their new gluten-free buns are made from egg whites, so I won’t even be able to taste them.  But Subway, you had me at gluten-free Brownie.  If only I lived in Texas.

It was one of those days.

I woke up to a beautiful, sunny morning only to realize that it was before 6 and that my youngest had kicked me in the side to waken me.  She insisted on crawling in bed earlier in the night, and sleepy, I was too weak to refuse.  Run behind me, I came home to clean up (both myself and the house) before two couples and their 5 children descended upon us for brunch.  Don’t misunderstand, I was really looking forward to their arrival, but I am a neat-freak, so I had a lot of Windexing to do before they showed up.

I neglected, at such an early hour, to remember that half of the electricity in my kitchen went out yesterday and that I was going to have to make everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING on the grill.  Fortunately, I had baked a coffee cake the day before, so at least I wasn’t going to have to bake on the grill.  Now, I have to admit, that in this case, the cake was full of everything that would make you or I very sick.  However, I was in the clear minority: of the 13 people at the house, I was the only one with food allergies.  I digress.

I fired up the grill an hour before our guests came in order to boil enough water to make coffee for everyone.  We use a Chemex ’round these parts, but even if I had wanted to use a coffee machine, the electrical problems prevented it.  Water simmering, giant, not-oven-proof pot being ruined, I went up to my room to shower before coming back to the grill to make something else that I couldn’t eat, frittata.  Of course, I was distracted from showering for over an hour while I found and Swiffered up stray hairs, cleaned the tiny hand prints from various windows and mirrors and came across laundry that had been left scattered about the house by anonymous family members.  Our friends were to arrive at 10:30, so a 9:45 shower was cutting it close but not unreasonable.

Just after drying my hair, standing buck naked in my bathroom with the door open, I heard our friends’ children burst into the house shouting: “WE’RE HERE!”  Yes, I screamed and panicked as I ran, now wrapped in a towel, to my closet.  Standing atop the Nordic Track that had been stowed there for the brunch, I quickly dressed and went to tend to the now boiling water, acting as though it was no big deal that they may or may not have seen me in the flesh.  The grill is not, after all, induction, so the water was just about boiling by then, and I was just about to die from embarrassment.

I am pleased to report that I scrubbed the char from the outside of the water pot, no one saw me naked,  the grilled frittata was a success and we had a great time.  Right now you are probably thinking: “I don’t care about her entertaining snafus,” but there is an allergy-free idea that came from all of this.  I realized after all of this chaos that there are many ways to achieve the same results.  In this case, it was cooking over an open fire while I waited for the Long Island Power Authority (or maybe it’s National Grid these days) to show up.  However, studying the coffee cake at brunch, I realized that there are different ways to approach my recipes, too.  Take, for example, the Moist Cinnamon Cake in Allergy-Free Desserts.  In the original recipe, I use an 8-inch square pan for baking, but it could have been just as delicious and maybe just a smidgen more festive if I had baked it in a tube pan.  So, test it out for me.  Try baking that one in a tube or a Bundt pan and see if your family feels just a little bit fancier.  Because when life gives you lemons, grill up a Bundt cake.

Today, when this came out of my gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free oven, I nearly wept tears of joy. I love bread, and, unfortunately, I have been bread-free for nearly seven years.  I’m sorry folks, but rice cakes just do NOT stand in as a close second.  On the contrary, they are basically salty, edible styrofoam.  But this, this, was a real, live sourdough Boule that won’t make my skin molt like a snake just before a growth spurt.  It looks like bread, smells like bread, toasts like bread and most importantly, tastes like bread.  I am looking forward to gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free toast in the morning and a sandwich for lunch.  It’s almost too much, I tell you: moist, tender brisket for dinner tonight followed by toast for a late night snack.  I’m on a roll, and I can’t wait to show you more next week.

Oh my God, hold the phone! I haven’t had good bread in about 7 years, and now I’ve discovered the best.

If anyone followed my Twitter and Facebook updates last week, then you know that I was jonesing for a carbohydrate fix.  You also then know that a potato or a bowl of rice was not going to do the trick.  I needed pizza.  I needed a bagel, and I while I was at it, I really wanted some toast.  I didn’t think that I’d be able to find any of the above, but I set to work to do some heavy-duty internet research, and I tracked down lots of options.  Lots of options for people not allergic to eggs, that is.

But then I remembered a bakery called Gluten-Free Creations that my friend told me about two years ago.  I figured I’d look it up, though I was not hopeful.  BINGO!  There were the yeasty bread products of my dreams.  Bagels, bread, English muffins, some with eggs, others without.  Credit card in hand, I started ordering: egg-free bagels, a loaf of white bread, a pizza crust, and while I was at it, I paid a fortune to get it all to NYC lickety-split.

It didn’t get here fast enough.  Thirty-six hours after placing the order, it wasn’t here, so I had to take to my bed to cope with the disappointment.  Never mind, they arrived the next day.  I’ve been eating toast ever since, and it has been divine.  However, I ate so much of it, that I finally took the bread and bagels to a neighbor’s freezer for safe keeping.  She will be in charge of rationing from here on out.

Irrespective of my lack of self-control, my kids and I give Gluten-Free Creations four thumbs up and urge you to try them too.  Yummy, yummy, yummy; I’ve got sparkles in my tummy!  Toast and spread with jelly, honey, cinnamon and sugar, or if you can tolerate dairy, by all means, please schmear with butter or cream cheese.  No matter how you take bread or bagels, just eat them!  Thanks to GF Creations and their delicious white bread.

Lately, a lot of people have been asking me if, after I switched to a wheat and egg-free lifestyle, I have had any vitamin deficiencies.

I really hadn’t given this much pause until the question came up more than once.  I never considered the fact that not eating enriched grains could lead to a B12 problem, so of course, I did some investigation.  After I looked into it, the reason why I am not B12 deficient (I got a blood test, so thank you to everyone who made me curious and get on top of my health) became clear: I have a crazy addiction to sweet potatoes and bananas.

It’s true, ask my husband.  After the birth of my first daughter I developed food allergies, and when the second one came, I acquired an affinity for yams.  It was so weird, since as a child, nothing, not even toasted marshmallows on top of a sweet potato puree could convince me to give this tuber a fair chance.  And then Baby 2 arrived, and I wanted nothing but.  I started eating them for breakfast with butter (I’m lucky to be able to eat dairy), cinnamon and salt.  I roasted them at dinner with cayenne, lime and some chopped scallions.  I microwaved one every day at lunch, and frankly, the bigger the yam, the better.  One day I wondered just how much the enormous yam that I was cooking weighed, and it was a hefty pound and a half!  I love yams so much that when I went to the endocrinologist and he checked to be sure my hands weren’t shaky, he commented: “You know you’re orange, right?”  I had no idea, but it would explain why everyone thought I looked really tan.

Then recently, I drifted away from the yam in favor of the thrice daily banana.  I eat them on my gluten-free oatmeal.  I eat them for snacks.  I eat them with chocolate and I would probably fry them if I weren’t so busy frying up plantains.  The yam is so last year.  The banana is so right now.

A B12 deficiency is nowhere in my future.

The point of this rant on my funny eating habits is that sometimes our bodies just know better than we do.  When I was pregnant but did not yet know it, I was suddenly repulsed by coffee, something that wasn’t so great for my baby.  I also developed a craving for orange juice in the first trimester when I ate nothing but burgers, ensuring that the baby got enough folic acid (also B12), and then, when I was diagnosed with something that shut me out of many enriched grains, it responded again.  The nose knows and so do the taste buds– my body needed B12 so it went out and found it.  We really are intuitive, amazing machines.

In case you hate yams and bananas, here is a list of some foods high in B12:

organ meats (gross)

dried beans, lentils, peas

potato and sweet potato

spinach, beets, brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, banana, oranges, peaches

After a weekend filled with allergy-free cookies and lots of hot chocolate, I really feel like I need to slow down on the sweets.  But, hey, a girl’s gotta eat, right?  So, I got to work in the kitchen this morning to cook up a light, vegetarian lunch that also happens to be gluten, dairy (casein), soy, nut and egg-free.  I combined many of my favorite flavors to yield a delicious salad that is colorful, flavorful and high in fiber.  I love that I can eat this for lunch by myself, or portion it out for four people as a side at dinner.  If you’re serving it as a side dish, this salad pairs well with a grilled pork tenderloin or a roasted chicken and rice.

1/2 tsp olive oil

1/2 medium red onion(s), cut into thin wedges

2 medium garlic clove(s), finely chopped

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cube cubed, cooked yam

2 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped

2 tsp lime juice

1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste

1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste

pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the onions and garlic.  Sautee for 2-3 minutes or until soft and translucent.  Add the cumin, black beans and cubed yams and cook just until heated through.

Transfer the mixture to a large serving bowl.  Add the cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper and dash of cayenne (if using) and combine well.  Serve warm or cold.

Serves 1 as a main course, or makes 4- 1/2 cup servings.

I’m So Sick of Cooking…..

After Thanksgiving and then a weekend of eating goose, yes, goose, we had it at my inlaws’ house over the weekend, I just can’t lift a finger in the kitchen.  Ok, well, maybe I can lift a dialing finger.  Thus, I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorite allergy-aware dining out options.  Granted, with the exception of my Japanese pick, these are all options exclusive to New York City, so if you are somewhere else and have a favorite restaurant that you would like to share, send it to me.  Tell me the name of the restaurant and your favorite dish, and I’ll post it!  Some of my recommendations are expensive, so to get a bargain, go for lunch.  The lunch menus are usually more affordable:

Candle 79—154 E 79th St, New York 10075 (Btwn Lexington & 3rd Ave) (212) 537-7179.  I’m not kidding when I say that this place is expensive.  We go infrequently, but it is worth it every once in awhile.  The food is delicious; they have a separate gluten-free menu and the service is fantastic.  I love the “creamed spinach”.  As a warning, a lot of the dishes do contain soy.

Pure Food and Wine (not safe for nut allergies)– 54 Irving Pl, New York 10003 (Btwn 17th & 18th St). (212) 477-1010  This raw food restaurant is vegan and it has the most stupendous dairy-free ice cream and sundaes in New York City.  However, the ice cream is made with soaked cashews, so do not dine here if you have nut allergies.  I love the vegetable lasagna.  This is the only restaurant I’ve ever frequented that left me feeling full at the end of the meal, and I it weren’t so far from my apartment, I’d probably go once a week.  PF&W is pricey, so if you want to try the ice cream but don’t want to sit for a full meal, pop around the corner to their “One Lucky Duck” take away store.

Risotteria– # 270 Bleecker St, New York 10014 (Btwn 6th & 7th Ave) (212) 924-6664 The irony of Risotteria is that before my diagnosis, I practically lived next door.  Now I couldn’t live further from the restaurant, but I’m a fan.  A warning, risotto is usually made with parmesan cheese and butter, but this is a great  gluten-free option.  I love that the menu is so clear about what is gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan and that they note that the mushrooms are cooked in butter.  I love honesty, so this place gets high marks from me.

Any Japanese restaurant in the City.  What a great choice for any of us with allergies!  Get the chicken Yakatori skewers (cooked) without the sauce to start, a bowl of rice, some sashimi or vegetable rolls for a main course.  Don’t forget to bring your own wheat-free tamari or sprinkle some lemon juice over the top instead.

Hampton Chutney Co.— 464 Amsterdam Avenue between 82^nd and 83^rd.  I love this place.  The dosas are enormous, savory, crispy, Indian crepes, and they are completely gluten-free.  Uttapams are made from the same batter but thicker, more like a chewy pizza crust. Choose your own toppings and chutney.  I especially like that I can choose cheese or not, that I can choose chutney or not, that the chutney ALWAYS comes on the side.  Of course this yummy restaurant delivers but the dosas and uttapams are never as good outside the restaurant.  They are crispiest and yummiest hot off the grill.

Mike’s Pizzeriza– 654 Amsterdam Ave, New York 10025 At 92nd St (212) 362-0700 I just walked by this place today and noticed that they are offering up gluten-free pizza.  I can’t try it because it contains eggs, but I have heard great reviews.

Pala—198 Allen Street (212) 614-7252 Look, you heard me raving about it two weeks ago.  Go!