About the Recipes- Beth P.

Allergy Free Kitchen

Now that I have a few recipes posted I should talk about the whole allergy free kitchen we run here. Since my older sons have severe food allergies, here in the Padgett household we have separate toasters for gluten free breads and not and use most pans for allergy free cooking only. Since my pregnancy with son #3 began last June I have been eating on the diet as well and that just leaves my husband eating all the allergens. He cooks his own breakfasts and lunches during the week and has little time in the kitchen that we have to worry about. There is a separate bin for allergen containing food. (It would be a cabinet if we had the space.)

About the Recipes

I basically have never met a recipe I didn't want to change. I might use an unfamiliar recipe exactly as written once but after that there is a continuing evolution. I might run out of a certain type of flour, I might just want a different flavor or one of the kids might distract me in the middle of something leaving me to make changes on the fly. Generally speaking I use electric stuff as little as possible. The two most used items in my kitchen are my hand whisk and a plastic spoon shaped like an old fashioned wooden spoon. It is easier to clean and since son #2 has developed a mild allergy to peanuts I like to know I am not contaminating the things I feed him. If I post a recipe and say to use an electric mixer it is necessary to the process. I have a beautiful Kitchenaid that sits idle most of the time here because my grandmother taught me to do it by hand.

In terms of the recipes I am trying to achieve as much of a normal American life here as possible. Although my older boys had their diets changed at ages 4 and 2 respectively and as a result remember very few of the tastes from before, they do not live in a bubble. They see what their friends are eating and what is available to eat at restaurants and wish to participate. I don't blame them. Food was also a big deal in our house growing up and I want to share all of the tastes from my childhood with them. I am not a foodie by any means. This is basic American fare and heavy on the baking. Some of that is because so much of our culture's food is wheat and soy based baked goods.