I like food. There's no doubt about it. I probably like cooking it more than I like eating it, however. From the time I was a kid, my parents were teaching me how to cook. Mom and Dad each had their specialties. My mom makes the best chili I have ever tasted - don't even try to convince me yours is better. I won't believe you. My Dad is Master Griller. And if you ask him? He's king of the meatloaf. I've definitely taken the throne away from him on that one, if you believe what I have to say.
For most of my life, I have been what my parents would probably call a special eater. I was diagnosed with a (really long and boring sounding) stomach disorder when I was about 14. The basis was I had too much acid in places I shouldn't due to a non-functioning stomach muscle which made me sick often, I suffered from heart burn from the time I was a little one, and my teeth bore another brunt of the side effects from all the acid. Before my diagnosis, the doctors were sure I had an ulcer. Then they were certain it was a bleeding ulcer. That being said: my parents had to make sure I was ingesting little to no acid at all times. It was a boring existence. And probably just as horrific for my poor parents. After the diagnosis I was able to eat almost anything I wanted to.
It was, at this point, that I decided I should become a vegetarian. Clearly this was the best idea. Who wouldn't want to give up something when your options had just been opened up? Again, my poor parents. To this day, I am certain the reason I have no children is really because I don't want to have to put up with a kid like me. So then came the search for veggie-friendly meals that would be enough substance to take the edge away from all the acids and stomach issues caused by that one stupid muscle in my stomach. I can remember the day the doctor said that it wasn't working and my stomach was being torn apart, literally. My dad drove through Burger King and made me eat a Whopper. I cried. But dang did it taste good. I won't even pretend it didn't. I was sick as can be for days. But then I started to slowly bring meats back in and voila! Much better.
Less than a year later I started to become extremely sick. No one could figure out what was going on. I couldn't breathe, my face was consistently covered with hives. My eyelashes and eyebrows were suffering. I was crabby and horrible. Then they discovered my allergy to garlic. This wouldn't have been so horrible, if it wasn't my most favorite food group EVER. Yes, garlic is a food group. Try cooking without it, forever, and you'll realize I am right. A few years later, on a date with a boy, I tried my first bite of shrimp. He rushed me to my parents' house, when my face became three times its normal size and I was wheezing like an overheated dog. By now, at thirty, I can safely say the list of foods I must avoid if I want to continue to breathe safely has grown to a less than desired size . I carry a card in my wallet that lists them all: any and ALL blue food dyes, tree nuts, shellfish, garlic, and avocados. I also steer clear of anything I haven't tried before. We weren't fish-eaters when I was a child. So I know I can safely eat cod, pike, and salmon. All other fish are off limits since they discovered my shellfish allergy. The doctors, my family, and I agree that this is the best plan. I rarely introduce new foods into my diet unless I have a box of Benadryl, a cup of coffee, and an epipen on hand.
My father was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2005. He is still with us, surviving and fighting every day. We're proud of him. He is the one who took it upon himself to learn how to cook ALMOST everything in what we call "Neesey-safe" or "Denise-safe" ways. When the cancer made its way to his adrenal glands, they removed them. He now has to take synthetic hormones that regulate the adrenal functions. This makes it hard on his blood sugar levels. They're up and down. A sugar spike can come from nowhere. He had to start using insulin and test his sugar frequently. For all intents and purposes, it threw him right into the "diabetic" category. We had to learn to cut back on or go without sugars.
Since my dad had always been such a trooper and learned to cook within my allergy-filled world - it was never a question if we could do the same for him. When a family friend's young daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and could no longer have gluten in her diet, he just started cooking things for her that were gluten-free. I guess you can say we have long been a family of "Cooking Without...."
There are so many cooking channels and shows now-a-days. You can't flip through the channels without seeing someone cooking something. Usually they're throwing in a handful of garlic gloves, some flour, or a cup or ten of sugar. Where's the cooking show on how to get around this? I know we aren't the only people dealing with limitations when it comes to our diets!
People often say "Oh poor you," when they find out what I can't have. I felt like that for a year or so after some of my allergies were discovered. But now I love it. It has taught me to cook anything you can eat, just in a different way. I'm not going to find a way to make lobster without lobster of course...but I can still make a killer lasagna, a great pesto sauce, or a cake to die for. All without SOME main ingredient. Having any of the limitations that I, my father, or our friend's daughter have makes it nearly impossible to eat wherever and whenever you want. You can't pick up a boxed frozen dinner and just eat it. So we've learned to deal with it the best way we can. Cooking Without!
I'd like to share some of our tips, tricks, and recipes here. I also live alone and work long hours (I love my job...just in case my co-workers or bossholes find this here blog ;) LOL) so I have mastered the make many meals at once and freeze or make one big entree turn into 4 meals. Stick around, give us your input, and feel free to share your recipes, too. Likewise, if you have a special limitation you'd like to challenge us to cook without? Go ahead and give it to us. We can make that our X for the week. Cooking Without X (wherein the variable X is something that everyone else loves and uses way too often in their everyday cooking! HA!).
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