Soy Free Cookin'

Do You Trust Where Your Meat Comes From?

2011-11-03T13:09:00.002-06:00

Do You Trust Where Your Meat Comes From?

The link above is from a blog by Bruce Bradley. He worked for over 15 years in the Big Food industry working for companies such as General Mills, Nabisco, and Pilsbury.

Why does Big Food relate to soy free cookin'? Because processed food made by these huge companies is full of soy. Soybean oil, soy protein, soy fillers, soy flour. Soy is cheap. Big Food companies who make the cheapest food possible use soy heavily. I wouldn't have been aware of this if it wasn't for my soy intolerance. I was forced to read my food labels and find out what was really in the food I ate.

What does meat have to do with a soy allergy? Many sausage products, hot dogs, and brats have soy fillers.

Traveling with a Food Allergy

2011-09-16T13:20:00.005-06:00

Traveling with a food allergy can be a worrisome experience. I have been doing it for a couple of years, so I have my system down pat. There are always essentials I have to pack in my luggage - pasta sauce, oatmeal, bread, and some type of snacks like crackers or pretzels. Last weekend, I flew to Massachusetts and I decided to make homemade granola bars to bring to the airport since they are filling and very yummy.

Food at the airport is not allergy friendly. My only soy-free option is a salad (with no dressing), and the ones that come in the plastic containers just scream "food poisoning" to me. The lettuce is always a little brown and who knows how long it's been on the shelf. If you're lucky, you can find a restaurant with a good salad option but plan to pay at least $10 for a small. This is why I pack snacks like granola bars and fruit to hold me over until I reach my destination. I'm usually hungry all day, but try to bridge the hunger with healthy snacks.

I can pretty much eat all pasta. This makes it easy for meals while staying at the in-laws house. My husband's Mom will make me a box of pasta and put it in the fridge. I then have a backup meal in case I can't enjoy what she prepares. Oatmeal is my go-to for a soy-free breakfast because it's small for packing. I could find soy-free pasta sauce and bread at a store in MA, but then we'd have to spend our vacation hunting down natural foods in grocery stores we aren't familiar with. It's more convenient to just bring it along.

Every time I travel, I'm always relieved to come back home to my comfort zone where I am in control of what I eat!

I posted the recipe for the granola bars last year:
http://soyfreecookin.blogspot.com/2010/04/granola-bars.html

Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill

2011-08-30T14:15:00.003-06:00

There's a new restaurant opening in Fort Collins in a few days: Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill. Having a soy intolerance, I don't try new restaurants often. As long as the place has a salad, I can eat there. Lettuce/vegetables are the only surefire way to not have a soy attack.

I saw an article in the local newspaper about the new Mediterranean grill who was claiming to have healthy food. Healthy to me means minimal ingredients. Soybean oil is a main ingredient in many processed foods. Not only soybean oil, but a variety of words and phrases that can't even be pronounced. I went hunting on the website for Garbanzo to see what they were all about. Much to my surprise, they have an allergen menu that is downloadable! There are a lot of options for me that are soy-free. Cheers to them for having this info readily available to their customers. It's takes the guess work out of eating at a new restaurant for us food allergy individuals.

http://www.eatgarbanzo.com/home.php

http://www.eatgarbanzo.com/pdf/Ingredients_Allergens.pdf

Busy Busy

2011-05-30T11:46:00.000-06:00

The garden is almost in full swing. Today I am planting 3 kinds of beans (2 bush and 1 pole), squash, and my pepper plants. It's been a cold and rainy spring in Colorado, but it's starting to warm up.

My blog has taken a back seat to something more important this spring/summer... planning a wedding. I am getting married in less than two months. Juggling a garden and a wedding hasn't been easy, but I'm been working my butt off to get everything grown from seed and since I'm craft crazy, pull off elaborate wedding crafts. It's all in good fun because gardening and crafting are my two favorite hobbies.

I am looking forward to putting full focus on the garden for the second half of the summer. I am usually reading a lot of gardening books in the winter and spring to learn more about organic gardening and starting plants from seed, but this year I am winging it. I am into my third year, so I am just going off of memory instead of being anal about the proper way to do everything.

I will be posting more yummy recipes and gardening tips and tricks once August rolls around. My plants will all be full grown by then and producing fruits and vegetables!

Seed Catalogs

2011-01-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

I recently read an article in a free publication called the 'Edible Front Range.' The author, John Hershey, compared seed catalogs to pornography. Here's an excerpt:

"The seed companies understand that sex sells. This is fine, but there's a word for looking at pictures of unattainably attractive things and fantasizing about having them. So to control our expectations and our spending, we should acknowledge what seed catalogs really are: garden porn. Come on, admit it. You feel a confusing mix of excitement and shame as you furtively page through the catalogs, imagining yourself in the garden with those fruits and vegetables."

The article made me laugh and smile because this is totally true. My seed catalog came in the mail and I was instantly flipping through the pages looking at all the attractive vegetables that I wanted to grow. I can't explain how exciting it is to plan next years harvest. What will fail? What will prevail?

Fluffy Dinner Rolls - Dairy and Soy Free

2010-11-26T10:10:00.001-07:00

Here's a yummy recipe I tried this Thanksgiving using a soy / dairy free recipe.

2 1 /2 cup white unbleached bread flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pkg rapid rise yeast
3/4 cup warm water (110 - 115 degrees)
1 egg
2 Tbsp olive oil

1. Mix 1 cup flour with the sugar, yeast, and salt.
2. Stir in egg, oil, and warm water. Beat until smooth.
3. Cover with a hand towel and let rise in a warm place for 15 - 20 minutes.
4. Stir in remaining flour and knead for about 3 minutes on a floured surface until dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Divide dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls.
6. Place in a greased bread pan so the rolls are touching.
7. Cover and let rise another 15 - 20 minutes.
8. Once doubled in size, brush on olive oil with crushed garlic and sprinkle sea salt on top.
9. Bake 8 - 10 minutes at 400 degrees or until slightly brown.

Using a bread pan allows the rolls to bake into perfect little squares. I used 2 bread pans total. If you only have one bread pan, you can put half on a baking sheet.

End of the Season

2010-11-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

The end of the gardening season is a new beginning. It's a new beginning for the health of your soil and the start of planning next year's adventure.

We had a very late frost this year. I was still picking tomatoes off of my plants in the middle of October. It didn't officially freeze until the 25th, but the weekend before I tore up my plants and tilled the soil. Ideally, I would put the dead plants into my compost pile, but until we buy a house I don't think I'll have one. I bought three bags of compost from the local nursery and tilled them into the soil after raking out the rows. It's good to add the compost in the fall so it has all winter to break down and create nutrients for next year's plants.

Breaking down your garden is almost gratifying. It's sad to see everything die at the end of the season, but it's the circle of life. By the time October comes around, I've had enough of weeding and watering. It's time for my body and the plants to rest.

Just as soon as I had the garden overwintered, it was time to plan the layout for next year. I am taking careful consideration of crop rotation to keep my soil healthy and pests to a minimum. If you plant the same thing in the same spot year after year, it will deplete your soil of its nutrients.

Today, I spent all morning drawing up a chart showing good companion and bad companion plants. After I had this set, I knew where my garlic could get planted. Garlic is a bulb that has to be in the ground all winter long to be able to grow properly in the spring. It's kind of nice, because once we are pulling out of the long winter, it is such a reward to see life in the garden (with hardly any work).

Here's some pictures of me planting in the slight snow shower today....

GMOs

2010-10-14T21:36:00.000-06:00

The link below is an article giving a glimpse inside the controversy behind the USDA requiring labeling of Genetically Modified Foods. Please take a couple minutes to read and digest the implications of GMOs in our food and culture.

http://www.organicvalley.coop/community/beyond-the-plate/no-gmo/page1/

quote from that article.....
"According to the USDA (5), fully 80 percent of all corn and 90 percent of soy varieties planted in the U.S. are genetically engineered"

"By law, certified organic foods are produced without the use of GMOs."

This in the only way to know your food is safe.

Freeze Warning

2010-10-12T22:49:00.000-06:00

Every gardener dreads the day the weather service issues a freeze warning. This means your plants are experiencing their last day of sunlight that allows them to grown and produce fruit.

After work today, I went right out to my garden and started harvesting. Any fruit you don't take off the vine will be ruined by the freezing temps. It's sad to see your plants die, especially after growing them since late March, but there's a time for everything to recycle life.

I did cover three plants with old sheets as an experiment to see if they would survive. My jalapeno and thai pepper plants were in pots, so I moved them to the back mud room for the night. I have a ton of jalapenos to pick for a final round of poppers!

Below is a picture of my last harvest including beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and a variety of peppers. The tiny red things are called Sweet Pea Tomatoes.. literally the size of a pea. Kind of worthless, unless you eat a handful at once.

The closing of the gardening season only brings on next year's adventure. Garlic has to be planted in early November, before the ground freezes. Therefore, I have to plan next year's garden layout before I plant. There's a lot of work to be done before now and then. I'm going to till in two loads of compost into each bed this fall. Last year, I put it in in the spring, but the compost really needs all winter to break down and create nutrients for your soil. It's also beneficial to do this in the fall because tilling the soil in the spring destroys all of the tunnels the worms worked so hard to create. Worms eat the compost and poop out nutrients for your plants. Worms are a gardeners best friend!

Food Allergens on Menus

2010-09-08T17:03:00.001-06:00

I want to mention a great restaurant located across Colorado - Beau Jo's Colorado Style Pizza.

Beau Jo's not only has delicious deep dish pizza, but their menu includes a food allergen chart. They have every item they serve broken down by ingredients and food allergens. This is priceless for someone who has a soy intolerance. I'm always stuck getting the salad at restaurants, because most processed / industrialized food is saturated with soybean oil. Salads are always my safest bet.

Even if I ask if there is soy in something, the restaurant employee might say no because they think 'we don't use soy in our food preparation.' For example, I was a cookie shop in Estes Park, CO with my family. We asked if there was soy in cookies, and the lady said no we don't use soy. I proceeded to ask what they did use as ingredients because it's hard for me to trust them. When the employee listed margarine, I knew right away I couldn't enjoy their delightful cookies. I have yet to find margarine that doesn't have soybean oil as one of the main ingredients. I have to use the real stuff, butter. I am happy for this though because the ingredient list for margarine compared to the butter is disturbing. Ingredients on a box of stick butter = cream. That's it!

I feel that all restaurants should have to list ingredients and food allergens on their menus. Not only for people with food allergies, but for those concerned about their health. I'm sure if people knew what was actually in restaurant food, they would consider not eating it. The U.S. is getting somewhere by requiring calorie counts on menus, but don't you think we should take it one step further? We have a right to know what is in our food and the origin of what we consume.

Here's a link to Beau Jo's in case you're ever visiting Colorado and need a good hearty pizza...

http://www.beaujos.com/

The Late Night Harvest of the Great Tomato

2010-08-31T19:53:00.001-06:00

I was lying in bed last night with stories running through my head of my Aunt Pat's tomato thieves. I leaned over to my fiance and decided I must go out and harvest my 1 lb. tomato before an animal got to it first. We had just settled into bed around 10pm but I knew I must grab the flashlight and pruners and save my prized tomato.

I've never grown a tomato this big and I'm proud that I started the plant from seed. It's a heirloom Hungarian Heart - you can see the heart shape in the picture below. We are planning to make BLT's with it tomorrow night.

There's nothing better than fresh delicious tomatoes from the garden.

Jalapeno Poppers

2010-08-14T13:34:00.000-06:00

The only reason to grown jalapenos is to enjoy fresh jalapeno poppers in the summer. I picked 8 from my plant this weekend and tried a new recipe. I usually just cut them open and put cream cheese in, but I wanted to make the real thing - minus the deep frying.

Ingredients:
6 jalapenos (if bought from the store b/c they are usually larger)or about 8 garden jalapenos
1/2 cup grated monterey jack cheese
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
seasonings to taste - cumin, chili powder, garlic, salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, cream together cheese and cream cheese and add some seasonings.
3. In a small bowl, beat together egg and milk.
4. In another small bowl, combine bread crumbs and seasonings.
5. In another small bowl, combine flour and seasonings.
6. Cut jalapenos in half and clean out the seeds.
7. Stuff each half with cheese mixture. Then coat each one in flour, egg, and then bread crumbs.
8. Place on lightly greased baking sheet (stuffed side up) and bake for about a 1/2 hour until the crust is golden.
9. Remove from the oven and serve with a cold beer.

This recipe gets a little messy, but the poppers don't have to look perfect to taste delicious!

Fresh Garlic

2010-07-29T21:27:00.000-06:00

What can I say... when I pulled back the first chunks of dirt from around the garlic I was really surprised how many were underground. I had no idea what the bulbs I planted last fall would amount to. Garlic, garlic, and more garlic! I planted about 20 bulbs and harvested 115.

Fresh garlic is one of the small pleasures of my life. Nothing tastes or smells like locally grown garlic. Ever since I tried some from the farmer's market last year, I can't eat anything else. The anticipation of harvesting my own was eating at me all spring.

I stopped watering at the end of June to dry out the bulbs. This is essential to properly "cure" the bulbs so they store for 6 - 8 months. After carefully digging them out of the ground, the garlic needs to hang outside for 2 weeks to finish curing.

Garden Update

2010-07-29T21:08:00.001-06:00

The garden keeps me too busy for blogging. Now that the nights are getting shorter, I have a little time before I hit the sack to get things done in the house. I don't enjoy being inside after work. Maybe it's the lack of air conditioning in our house, or maybe it's the thriving plants that need my attention.

I have a ton of pictures to post. The most exciting thus far was harvesting 115 bulbs of garlic. All from the 20 bulbs I planted last fall. I will include a separate post just for the garlic.

In the order below: purple radish, red & yellow onion, sante fe peppers, harvested lettuce, 2 kinds of lettuce still in the ground (I have lettuce coming out of my ears at this point).

Soy Free Fair Food

2010-06-09T22:02:00.001-06:00

The official start of summer for me is not only Memorial Day weekend, but the Boulder Creek Fest. Every year Boulder puts on a huge festival with free goodies, craft booths, beer, food, live music, rides, etc. Going to an event like this makes a food allergenian worry. (I'm coining the term allergenian). Will there be anything I can eat?

No worries for me. I'm a seasoned veteran at the Creek Fest, and I know what they have to offer. My favorite soy-free pizza joint has a stand - Abo's Pizza. It's the best in Boulder. Very fresh and made from ingredients that are supposed to be in pizza (like yeast and flour for the dough not a bunch of crap). After my yummy pizza, I get corn on the cob. Any type of fruit or vegetable is ok to eat for soy-free folk so corn is a good choice. Although, I do bring my own tiny stick of butter to season my corn on the cob. Most processed fake butter / margarine is made of soybean oil.

I was surprised to see the sign below at the festival. A booth was actually advertising they had soy-free food. I was stuffed by this point, so I didn't get to try anything but good for them for supporting the food allergy sufferers!

Brussel Sprouts

2010-05-25T21:25:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to put up a picture of my seedling brussel sprouts. They almost look like tiny clovers when popping out of the soil. I always find great pleasure in witnessing the growth of new plants.

Snow in May

2010-05-12T07:04:00.002-06:00

It's May 12th and I woke up to 3" of snow on the ground. This is a great example as to why I have to start my plants inside. If I lived in a southern state, I'd be putting crops in the ground in April.

Colorado's average last frost date is May 15th. It's a good idea to wait a week after the 15th, just to be sure. I think this is our last snow/frost because the forecast has 70 degrees for the next week. Let's hope!

Driving home from work yesterday, I noticed the whole city of Fort Collins was covered in plastic. People were vigorously trying to save their spring flowers. I built laundry basket forts around my tulips and garlic, so the heavy snow wouldn't break their stems.

Gardening has it's challenges in every region, but the challenges are what keep us gardeners coming back for more!

Pepper Update

2010-05-07T22:03:00.000-06:00

My peppers are flourishing. I've had more success this year than last. For one, I am using plastic containers for transplanting the seedlings into their separate homes. I tried peat pots last season, and they only grew mold really well. I ended up transplanting a second time into plastic pots with minimal success. This time around, I'm going right into the plastic pots and fertilizing with Age Old Kelp. I do have to say I'm proud of my peppers.

As for the tomatoes, I just transplanted them into their single pots last week. They have a ways to go before posting pictures. I do need to post pics of the germinated brussel sprouts. They almost look like four leaf clovers. But for now, I leave you with two pictures of the thriving peppers.

Only 3 more weeks until planting outside!

Granola Bars

2010-04-25T19:29:00.000-06:00

This recipe is from one of my allergy cookbooks. It has some different ingredients because it avoids all common allergens, but is very delicious!

3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil (heat on the stove or microwave to soften)
2 1/4 cups oats
3/4 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup nondairy chocolate chips (use regular if you're not avoiding dairy)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream honey and coconut oil together in a large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Press into a well-greased 9x13 pan. Bake for about 35 mins until golden brown on top. Let cool. Cut with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Makes 12 bars.

True Leaves

2010-04-13T21:36:00.000-06:00

The "true leaves" are the pair that come after the seed leaves. I think every plant has seed leaves.. it's kind of like a generic leaf that pops out first.

I've also included an update picture of the garlic and some flowers I planted in the yard. I love the early bloomers. They don't last long, but they add a splash of color to the yard that gives me hope warm weather is on its way.

I also show a picture of my updated setup in the seed room (formally known as the craft room in the house). I just planted the tomatoes tonight. We should have germination by the weekend!

Seedlings!

2010-04-07T19:28:00.002-06:00

The onions are the tall and skinny ones and the peppers are the ones with the seed leaves.

Seed Planting

2010-04-01T07:37:00.001-06:00

This past Sunday, I planted my pepper and onion seeds indoors. This is my second time experimenting with starting from seeds inside. I learned a lot last year, and will avoid things like using peat pots for transplanting (they get really moldy).

Yesterday, Wednesday, a little onion poked it's head above the soil. I was so happy to see one germinated. It's a good sign of hope. Peppers take a little longer to germinate - about 10 days.

In the pictures below you can seem my florescent light setup, homemade onion trays, seed heating mat, and pepper seeds. The heat mat is necessary to warm the soil to 70-90 degrees. If the soil isn't heated, the seeds will rot before they will germinate.

More pics to come once a lot of my seedlings have emerged themselves from the soil.

Being a Colorado Gardner

2010-03-25T21:05:00.003-06:00

Here's an excerpt from the Fort Collins Nursery Newsletter. It makes me smile be a budding Colorado Gardner.

I think I can say without any hesitation: Spring is here.
     Sure, it's a Colorado spring, with snowstorms followed by 60 degree days followed by more snow, but I'll take it. In fact, it is exactly this schizophrenic climatological path we follow that makes me so happy to live in Colorado. It keeps me on my toes.
     I don't know about you, but I tend to get complacent when things are too easy. Learning to dance the complicated steps required to garden well in between snowstorms is something I take pride in. I feel it makes Colorado gardeners superior, in many ways, to those so-called lucky people who don't understand what it means to expect frost in early May.
     As we speak, the sun is shining outside my window, and I can practically hear the crocuses bursting forth from their icy slumber. I have finally had the pleasure of seeing the soil I lost sight of during the first snowstorm last October.

The weatherman says it is supposed to snow again in two days, so I'll keep this short. That crazy Colorado snowstorm two-step won't dance itself, and I have a date with my back yard.

Sincerely,Jesse Eastman

General Manager, Fort Collins Nursery

Tator Tots

2010-03-21T20:45:00.002-06:00

Tator Tots. What a great name for delicious potatoes shaped into tiny bullets.

I found my first bag of soy-free tator tots at Whole Foods made by Cascadian Farms. Tony and I baked some for a mid game treat while watching March Madness today. I was in heaven.

It's kind of interesting that most of the organic or natural brands out there make knock offs of processed foods. Like Cheese Nips for example. The brand Back to Nature makes a cracker that tastes just like them but has a lot less crap in the ingredients. You can find frozen pizzas, ice cream, candy, tator tots, chips, and all sorts of "bad foods" made to look good for you by labeling them to be made with organic ingredients. I do have to admit that I am a sucker for these.

Being soy-free has really changed my diet in the past couple of years. I eat a lot less processed foods, but not having something like tator tots for so long makes me want to hunt down brands I can eat. I wonder if I'll ever have a revelation that these foods are still bad for me, even if they are soy-free or made with no genetically modified ingredients? Until then, I'll keep enjoying some greasy homemade nachos and pizza in between my fruits and vegetables.

Garlic

2010-03-15T19:44:00.000-06:00

Good news is... my garlic is sprouting! Bad news... it's only the middle of March. It's my first time growing garlic, so I don't know how resilient it is to color weather. The past few weeks in Colorado have been very mild with highs in the 50's and reaching 63 this coming Wednesday. The problem is, I know there is more snow on the way. It's only March 15th!

Last fall, I also planted tulips and mini daffodils which are about 2"out of the ground. Spring is upon us, and it's a great feeling. The days are longer and you get to feel that sweet sunshine on your face.

Next weekend I'm starting the tomatoes, peppers, onions, and brussel sprouts indoors. Since CO has a shorter growing season, one must start these seeds 8-10 weeks before the average last frost date. I'll write more about that next weekend and post some pics of my setup.

Pictured below is the garlic coming up out of the soil. The chicken wire is preventing squirrels from digging up my crop for an early spring snack. The pic with the turtle shows some of the flowers.

Ordering Seeds

2010-02-20T09:55:00.001-07:00

As of this morning, my seeds are officially ordered from the Seed Savers Exchange. It's a good day!

Here's a list of my final decisions:

Bush Bean, Bountiful
Bush Bean, Empress
Pole Bean, Rattlesnake Snap
Brussel Sprout, Long Island
Cucumber, Japanese Climbing
Carrot, St. Valery
Lettuce, Grean Oakleaf
Lettuce, Grandpa Admire's
Onion, Red Wethersfield
Onion, Yellow of Parma
Pepper, Wisconsin Lakes
Pepper, Thai Hot
Pepper, Santa Fe Grande
Pepper, Ancho Gigantea
Radish, Plum Purple
Spinach, America
Tomato, Earliana
Tomato, Currant Sweet Pea
Tomato, Hungarian Heart
Tomato, Martino's Roma
Tomato, Nyagous (black tomato)

I also picked up a few seed packets at the Fort Collins Nursery:

Zucchini
Butternut Squash
Dill
Cherry Tomato
Jalapeno Peppers

Now I've got some garden planning to do... good companions, bad companions, rotation, etc.
More on that later....

Happy Planting!

Genetically Modified Food

2010-02-12T20:05:00.003-07:00

I just watched an interesting movie called "Bad Seed: The Truth About Our Food." The interviews were kind of long and some of the info a little hard to believe (can't believe everything you hear or read), but really made me think about our American food chain.

Other countries such as Europe have fought to get GMO food labeled. We are one of the only countries that doesn't label foods with genetically modified organisms. Also, the FDA says GMO products are so safe that we don't even need to test them! This means that no long term studies are being done concerning the side effects of ingesting GMOs or the consequences or growing GMO crops.

Here's a link to the movie if you'd like to find it on Netflix.

http://www.badseed.info/

I have seen some better food movies, but this one is all about GMOs, so it was informative.

Always ask youself what is really going into my body?

Food Labels

2010-01-25T20:23:00.005-07:00

Here's a great website for anyone who wants to know what's in their food:

foodessentials.com

You can search for products by type, manufacture, or ingredients and see what the label says. Good for those who'd like to see what's in something they might buy, but don't want to spend a hour at the store reading every label. It's a nice resource.

Seed Savers Exchange

2010-01-16T09:01:00.003-07:00

I found an USDA organic seed catalog that isn't owned by Monsanto. I'm really excited about this arriving in the mail because now I can start to officially plan my 2010 garden.

I've decided not to grow corn this year. The 11 x 7 ft. garden plot is precious space. Last year, I grew and grew corn all season only to have it ravaged by raccoons right before harvest. I had a chicken wire fence around this plot, which really worked all season. No squirrels ate the seeds or anything. One morning, I got out of bed to realize my sweet corn had been trashed. Corn takes up a lot of space, because you need at least 4 rows for it to pollinate itself.

I already have 2 rows of garlic bulbs planted. I bought some heirloom "seeds" (really just cloves) at a farmers market last fall and put them in the ground in November.

I'll definitely be growing tomatoes, variety of peppers, carrots, zucchini, lettuce, beans, and radishes (they are easy and harvest early-only 28 days compared to 70-100 for most crops). I grew all of these last year successfully. I'm going to use the rest of the space to experiment with new crops. Maybe broccoli, potatoes, or some type of onion.

Seed Catalog

2010-01-11T20:09:00.002-07:00

I'm on the hunt for a seed catalog that isn't owned by Monsanto. I used Burpee last year, but after a little research found they are associated with Monsanto. Burpee carries seeds from a company called, Seminis, which is directly owned by the big M.

Monsanto controls about 70% of the seed market, with patents on every seed they produce. It is illegal to save their seeds from the fruit/veg. that grow. You have to buy new ones every year, or you could be heavily fined. Monsanto has been taking down the small Amercian farmer one family at a time. Even if you're not growing their seeds, if they find their genetically modified plants in your field (transported by wind), they will take you to court until you can't afford to pay any more legal fees.

Ok, enough ranting about Monsanto. Go ahead and watch "Food Inc." if you'd like to learn more about this money hungary heartless company.

2010 Garden Season

2010-01-09T17:28:00.002-07:00

It's that time of year again... time to start thinking about next summer's garden.

I am switching up my blog a bit to incorporate my gardening adventures. I had a lot of ups and downs last year (do I need to mention hail?) that I would like to share. I'll be documenting everything from buying the seeds to harvesting the fruit.

Since eating healthier is part of having a soy allergy, it's only fitting that I blog about growing my own produce.

Zucchini Alfredo

2009-07-23T21:25:00.002-06:00

If you have an overgrown zucchini plant in your backyard, this recipe is for you (Sirena & Dan). : )

Ingredients:
3/4 package of uncooked egg noodles
3 tbps olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 an onion
4 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup milk
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cub chopped fresh basil (or some Italian Seasoning if you're cheap like me)
salt & pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook until done, then drain.

2. Heat up the oil in a skillet and stir in onion and garlic - cook about 2 minutes. Mix in zucchini and cook about 15 minutes until some of the moisture has evaporated.

3. Pour the milk into the skillet and stir in cream cheese until melted. Add in the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Serve over the cooked noodles with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Popcorn Flavoring

2009-07-01T12:27:00.003-06:00

Tony and I were watching a movie the other night, enjoying a bowl of popcorn when I started having an upset stomach. I was going back through the things in my head that I ate all day, and couldn't come up with anything that would have turned my stomach into knots. We had to pause the movie for a bathroom break, and once I sat back down I looked at the popcorn flavoring ingredient label.

It's the flavoring container that has 4-in-1. I usually use the Buttery Jalepeno because I know it's soy free. For some reason, I thought that night that I'd always been enjoying the Garlic Butter. I didn't even look at the label, I just had a blonde moment and sprinkled it on my popcorn. After checking the ingredients, I realized it has soybean oil. Ah ha! Mystery solved.

I've been wanting to try something with soy in it just to see what would happen, but I chicken out because I don't want to be on the toilet. It worked out that I ate the soy tainted seasoning without knowing it had soybean oil. This allowed myself to not freak out and cause and upset stomach on purpose. It was out of my control. So, it was sort of a happy accident that I ate the seasoning. It just reassures me that I can't tolerate soybeans.

Pizza

2009-04-07T10:41:00.003-06:00

A couple comments on soy-free pizza..... If you're hankerin' for delivery, all it takes is a phonebook and few calls to find out who doesn't use soybean oil in their ingredients. I love pizza, and after some research, I found out that all of the national wide pizza chains have soy in their crust or sauce - Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Black Jack, etc.

Finding a local chain is your best bet. A Mom and Pop shop who actually makes their dough and sauce won't be using soybean oil. All you have to do is call around and ask if they use soy in any of their ingredients or if they hand-make their dough from scratch. My advice is to call when they are not busy, otherwise they may not look hard enough.

And for those who are brave enough and have a pizza stone, here's a recipe to make your own! It's really not too hard, and putting on the toppings is a lot of fun - not to mention it tastes delicious. The best part is, the recipe is for 3 balls - 2 of which you can freeze and use another time.

Hil's Homemade Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1 (.25oz) pkg of active dry yeast

1 Tbsp white sugar

2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp salt

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

5 1/2 cups white bread flour

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water (110 degrees). Let sit until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir the oil, salt, 4 1/2 cups of flour into the yeast mixture. Mix in remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour a 1/2 cup at a time. Stirring well after each addition.

3. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic - about 10 minutes.

4. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (this prevents the dough from getting a crust on top do to exposure from the air). Cover with a dish towel and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume.

5. Deflate (punch) dough and put on a floured surface. Divide into 3 balls. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

6. Put two of the dough balls into separate ziplocks and place in the freezer. Use a rolling pin to roll the 3rd ball into a pizza shape - load on your sauce, toppings, and cheese.

7. Transfer finished pizza to a pizza stone that is preheated in the oven. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Homemade Alfredo Sauce

2009-03-26T08:07:00.002-06:00

This recipe is very delicious. I highly recommend it to anyone who is soy free or just looking for a tasty easy sauce to make!

Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

1 cup table cream

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Instructions:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 mins., then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly heating through. Stir in seasoning and serve.

Tuna Salad

2009-02-21T18:10:00.004-07:00

Buyers Beware: Hellman's "Real" Mayonnaise contains soybean oil and so does StarKist and Chicken of the Sea tuna (even if you buy it packed in water). I continually ask myself why does tuna need soybean oil??

Buyers Beware: Hellman's new "Olive Oil" Mayonnaise is a gimmick. Check the ingredients - soybean oil is listed before olive oil. Who are they trying to fool?

Since I love tuna salad, finding soy free mayo and tuna was an essential task.

Here's my suggestion:

Hain Pure Foods Mayo is made with Safflower Oil and actually tastes good.

Natural Sea Tuna has 3 ingredients: tuna, water, and salt and it's wild caught.

I've included a picture for reference.

A natural food store is your best bet for both brands, but major chains such as King Soopers are starting to carry Hain mayo.

Cheesy Corn Chowder

2009-02-10T06:20:00.005-07:00

This is a yummy winter soup that doesn't require any chicken or beef base (both hard to find w/out soy).

Ingredients:

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups chopped potatoes

1 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped green onions

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup table cream

1 cup water

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 can (16oz) cream style corn

1 can (16oz) regular corn

Instructions:

Combine water, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt, and pepper in stock pot. Cover and bring to boil. Simmer 10 minutes or until tender.

Melt butter in a sauce pan over low heat and stir in flour. Cook while stirring 3-4 minutes. Gradually add cream and water, stirring constantly. Bring to boil and cook 1 minute. Add cheese and stir until melted.

Gradually add cheese sauce to soup , stirring constantly. Stir in corn.

Makes 6 servings.

Two cups of milk may be substituted for cream and water in the cheese sauce, but it won't be as creamy.

Easy Loaf of Bread

2009-01-28T16:29:00.012-07:00

This is a simple recipe for making a standard loaf of bread using Rapid Rise yeast. Using this type of yeast eliminates the first rising step and cuts out about a hour of your time. The recipe makes one loaf and takes about 3 hours total (only about 30 minutes is actually work - the rest is rising, baking, and cooling). I've used both white flour and whole grain flour - both turn out delicious!

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cup bread flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. Rapid Rise yeast

1 Tbsp. white sugar

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

1 cup water heated to 120 - 130 degrees F

Instructions:

1. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl

2. Stir in sugar and yeast

3. Add butter and rub into mixture with your hands

4. Heat water to 120 - 130 degrees F (the temperature is very important to the success of the yeast)

5. Add water to mixture, mix well into dough (I start with a spoon and end up using my hands - you may need to add a splash more water if the dough is too dry and won't hold together)

6. Knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic

7. Let the dough rest 10 mins. while covered w/an oiled piece of plastic wrap

8. Shape into bread pan shape by rolling and moving your hands outwards

9. Place in greased bread pan. Cover and let rise until doubled in size (about 40 minutes on a warm stovetop)

10. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes

11. Flip the bread pan over onto a wire cooling rack, tap on the bottom of the bread. If it sounds hollow, it's done!

12. Let cool a 1/2 hour on the rack so the moisture redistributes and makes the bread soft

Here's a few pictures for reference:

Why Soy Free?

2009-01-18T21:45:00.002-07:00

I discovered my soy intolerance in August 2008. I was experiencing bad cramping and running to the bathroom after eating a variety of foods. I thought it might be my intestines, gallbladder, stomach, etc. After going on the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast), I began adding food back into my diet. After I thought I was getting better, I had an english muffin (thinking it would fall under toast), but it sent me directly to the bathroom. I investigated the ingredients - one of which was soy.

I did a lot of reading about malfunctions of the digestive system, and I didn't have signs of liver disease or intestinal problems. I read a book about food allergies and really started to consider the concept. Food allergies to me were always a fictitious problem that people had to be making up b/c it's so common these days. I started to consider the foods that made me feel sick and run to the bathroom. For example: tuna sandwiches - I just couldn't stomach them anymore. The made me feel woozy and I could only finish half of it. Your standard tuna's first ingredient is soybean oil, not to mention the mayo I made tuna salad with - first ingredient is soybean oil. It's also in the bread we were using (and in any store bought bread like Wonder Bread or Sara Lee).

Another example includes an Indiana breakfast at Bob Evans. I had an "episode" where my stomach really hurt after having eggs, toast, and potatoes. I did some research, and sure enough I discovered they cook their eggs in soybean oil. There are a few more instances, but I won't bore you with them. Basically, I started putting two and two together and am now 99% sure my stomach problems are caused by soybeans. I haven't had a prick test done, but will when I get some decent health insurance.

I've done research on the subject, and something has to happen to your immune system to let down the defenses that used to fight off your allergy. Last winter I had a horrible case of food poisoning. I was on an Amtrak train from Chicago to Denver, but I won't get into that. Really thinking back on it, I did have stomach problems all last spring and summer after the food poisoning. I thought I just couldn't handle alcohol or coffee anymore, I thought that it was ripping my stomach apart. It was really soybeans that were upsetting my stomach and intestines the whole time. Seriously, I've pulled a 180 on how my digestive system feels since last year.

There was a whole transition period of disbelief. I didn't even know people could be allergic to soy. It's one of the top 8 food allergies - along with milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, fish, shellfish, and wheat. I thought to myself - hey, at least I'm not allergic to milk or wheat. What would I do without milk, cheese, and bread!? Little did I know that every standard bread at the grocery contained soybean oil. The only kind soy free was a local Denver bakery at $4.50 a loaf!

Soybeans are in more products than you can imagine. The hardest things to find are tuna, mayo, salad dressing, bread, tortillas, and chips. Natural food stores do offer alternatives, but at a steep price. I will go into more detail about the brands that I have found soy free and where to shop in another post.

This leads me into why I am creating this blog. I hope I can bring an understanding and awareness to this common food allergy. I want to help others who have my same problem. I plan to include delicious recipes and key brands and places to shop for soy free products. I've been at it for 6 months now and have a lot experience reading food labels and making my own food from scratch.

Don't worry, you can use this blog if you aren't soy free. One thing I have found out - if you avoid soy in food, you will eat healthier. I've dropped some pounds just by avoiding soy. I can't eat food that has words you can't pronounce b/c 9 times our of 10 there's soybean oil in it. Although, don't get me wrong. Cape Cod potato chips - I thank you for only having 3 ingredients.

After being soy free - I have really started to pay attention to what I'm eating. Just take a minute at the grocery store and read the label for what you will be putting into your body. The saying is true "You are what you eat." Do you really want to consume a word you can't pronounce or even know what it is?

More to come on thoughts and recipes of being Soy Free.