Treasury of Memories

I have always loved to bake and cook, ever since I was a little girl. It probably had something to do with the fact that my mother is a cook and baker.  If you need a meal cooked, a banquet catered or a recipe, my mother is the person to go to.  She has been cooking for fundraisers, schools and churches for as long as I can remember.  She would always convince me to help her with her cooking endeavors and I would always readily agree.  I would love to spend hours in the kitchen with my mom preparing meals for others, reading recipes and making up our own as we went.  One of her go to cook books was, and very much still is, The Mennonite Treasury of Recipes.

 This classic cook book filled with tried and true recipes was so worn that it no longer had covers, there were notes written in every margin and each blank space had other recipes scribbled in.  Some pages had been so used and spilled on that you could barely make out the recipe, then again those pages were mostly memorized already and consulted only as a formality.

I loved this cook book as a kid.  So when I saw it on the shelf of my local Ten Thousand Villages store in Saskatoon this past June I quickly bought.  I love thumbing through the recipes looking for the next one to try.  And that is when I decided that I would cook my way through this wonderful cook book.

Now here is the catch.  As much as I love this cook book, it has some quirks that may make cooking my way through it rather interesting.  This cook book was published in the 60's, a time of jellied food and easy casseroles.  Many of the recipes also take for granted that you know a lot about baking or cooking and they use many vague phrases like ' mix until it feels right' or 'add just enough flour' (without giving a quantity). So the results could be...interesting.  I will be picking recipes to make, following them to the best of my ability, with no changes or alterations, hosting friends to try the recipes and then blogging about them.

So come back often to check out what I'm cooking next.  I'm going to end this post with a quote from the introduction:
        "By the time the book was on the drawing board it was decided to add a chapter of Mennonite recipes. Many of these originate from times of want and austerity and are no longer in use but may be of interest for coming generations, perhaps as inspiration to adventurous cooks."

Consider me inspired!

5 ordinary products you would never believe contain dairy

I am one of the 2.5 million people in Canada with a food allergy.  Mine happens to  be milk and milk products.  And before you ask, I am not lactose intolerant, I am allergic, there is a difference.  I can not have any milk product or by product, whether they include lactose or not.  If I do, I get a full range of symptoms that include more than intestinal issues.  I won't go into the details.  Thankfully my allergy is not overly severe, but it is bad enough that I read every label as often as possible to avoid the symptoms.

Over the years I have discovered that you just don't know what you will find dairy products in, so I have put together this brief list of products that always seem to surprise people when I turn them down. There are of course many other strange products that contain dairy, but these are a few that have been served to me most often in an attempt to make a meal safe for me to eat.

I have listed them in no particular order.

1. Luncheon meat.  Well really processed meat of many kinds.  This includes most deli items, sausages, breaded cutlets and even some canned seafood.  The saddest for me is when I am celebrating Christmas or Thanksgiving somewhere and the host has used a pre-basted turkey, or a pressed ham, unfortunately I can not eat either *but cheat a little...you know I can't be rude and refuse all the food offered*  Thankfully there are a few companies processing and packaging more natural meats with less preservatives and by products.

2. Margarine.  That 'great' butter substitute contains whey, which is a dairy by product and will unfortunately will still trigger a dairy allergy.  Many super kind people would bake for me using margarine thinking it was safer than butter, and because my allergy is not as severe as some I would still sample their baking, but it would still trigger an allergic reaction.  There are a few companies putting out a vegan margarine which has a nice taste and is completely safe as allergies go.  I personally bake using a vegetable shortening but use a vegan margarine on toast.



3. Chips.  I know what you are thinking, 'oh good, those nacho cheese chips I love so much actually have some real ingredients in them'.  Well they do have dairy, but so so some brands of salt and vinegar, all dressed, ketchup and even some hint of lime taco chips.  Always read the labels.




4. Bread.  Many store bought breads have some dairy or modified milk ingredients in it.  I find this food one of the hardest to avoid, not only because I love bread, but because it is often the 'safest' item served at a meal.  Without being able to check every label in a restaurant or a friend's house, plain dry bread will most likely contain less dairy than a pasta sauce or salad dressing.  When possible choose a rye bread, as it has been my experience that they have little or no dairy in them.  This of course varies from recipe to recipe and brand to brand.  I have some great bread recipes that I make at home that are dairy free that I will share on this blog at a different time.

5. "Non-Dairy" alternatives. Many dairy alternatives still contain a milk by-product called casein, which does not have lactose, so is safe for those who are lactose intolerant but is not safe for those with a milk allergy.  This includes some 'cheeses', frozen dessert products and whipped dessert toppings such as Cool Whip. Just make sure you read all of the labels, or look for products that are labeled vegan as they will definitely be safe for all levels of dairy allergies.

Now, listing all of these things that you should be careful with a dairy allergy (and these are just some of the 'sneaky' ones) always makes me sad, like I am missing out on so many yummy (if not unhealthy) foods that I thought I would list one food that you would expect to find dairy but does not, Oreo Cookies!! To the best of my knowledge of food labels, Oreo cookies are dairy free! So bring on the Oreos!!

Over the next while I will post some recipes, great alternatives and 'work arounds' that I have used to cook well dairy free.  I will also share some of the online resources that I have found helpful as I have been working towards having a dairy free life.
Stay tuned.