No joke, I’m dead serious. Saturday afternoon I looked down and my fingers were bleeding resulting from dish washing from baking dozens of muffins, cookies and cupcakes sans gloves and then being in cold temperatures still without gloves from about 8am to 2pm! Last Saturday, my son and his pal Kienan held their annual Starbucks coffee and bake sale in our drive way to raise funds for the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. There are no prices…everything is free.. donations of any amount are accepted! It’s a great morning of holiday cheer, community spirit and my secret thrill: giving my little food allergy friends a moment in time to come and be normal! They get to choose from a nice big assortment of food allergy friendly treats just like the other kids do at bakeries! I even buy white bags like the bakery to put stuff in! There! It is out… my secret thrill of having a food allergy friendly bake shop!
Please note: This picture is small, but the signs on each goodie lists the “free of” items! Many items are bagged individually so cross contact was not an issue.
My day was made by my little preschool pal Clare, picked out two whole bags of ANYTHING…I mean ANYTHING from my table! When does that every happen??? My home is nut and sesame seed free and I do not bake with dairy, but do bake with egg sometimes. I bake in order of allergens and wash everything between use including using specific bowls or pans designated as gluten free, etc. I even separate what towels are used to dry my dishes! It is a sickness I know, but I have peace of mind baking this way.
I had several gluten free choices thanks to brownie and cake mixes plus an easy gluten free Oatmeal cookie and those Fabulous Sunbutter popcorn balls. Since we gluten is not an issue in our household, this type of baking is new to me. I’m not allergic to gluten, but it just rips apart my gut, so I’m trying to avoid it. I’ve learned about buying safe oatmeal due to crop rotations contaminating the Oats. Gluten free living is quite challenging I am learning and am humbled by my gluten free friends.
From my kitchen….
- Apple Cinnamon muffins (dairy, nut, sesame seed free)–—I’ve decided to retire this recipe…the tops don’t brown and I keep over baking them!
- Butternut Squash muffins (dairy, nut, sesame seed free)—–this was new and a keeper, next time I will try roasting the squash first.
- Chocolate applesauce muffins with ganache-Vegan (dairy, egg, nut, sesame seed free)
- Chocolate applesauce muffins with raspberry jam and ganache – Vegan (dairy, egg, nut, sesame seed free)
- Cranberry Orange bread (dairy, nut, sesame seed free)—–new recipe that was amazing, you swirl jam into the batter once it it is poured into the pan!
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake (dairy, nut, sesame seed free)—–new recipe that is a keeper.
- Vegan chocolate chip cookies – Vegan (dairy, egg, nut, sesame seed free)
- Sunbutter popcorn balls – Vegan and Gluten Free (dairy, nut, sesame seed and Gluten free)
- Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownies—–I liked this recipe a lot! Non food allergy friends sent me text saying they were the best brownies ever…little did they know!
- Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devils Foods Cupcakes with raspberry jam and ganache—–I found the cupcake to be a tad simple, but when you add raspberry jam and ganache it becomes beautiful!
- Oatmeal Crisps (dairy, nut, sesame seed and Gluten free)—–I hid some for myself, these only used 5 ingredients.
Gluten free heaven with oatmeal and dates
from Barbara’s kitchen were…
- gluten free chocolate chip cookies
- gluten free banana bread
- banana nut bread (yes, you heard nuts, her relative made them and forgot to hold the nuts. They were packaged up tightly and folks were welcome to take those home..no eating nuts on our property is allowed.
- cranberry orange bread-these
- My pal Chandra contributed a hit of a few dozen of her Toll House cookies too that were made with dairy.
All in all the day was fun and 3,220 people are going to be fed one meal as a result of an allergy friendly coffee and treat stand!
A few bloody fingers and my new found love of dish washing gloves was worth it! Will you use any food allergy recipes to share your Holiday spirit? If so, can you post or share them???
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
Everything was delicious, and Clare was absolutely in heaven! Thank you for helping to make her day so special!
That little cutie made MY day so special! I’m the lucky one.