Dai Fat Go--Cakes for a Prosperous New Year

Most of our mothers and grandmothers have literally perfected a few to several dozen specialty Chinese dishes; but most do very little home baking.  This is not to say that they are immune to the wonderful smells wafting out of the doors of the Chinese bakeries on Stockton, Clement, or Irving Streets--the don tats (egg custard tarts), char siu baos (steamed pork buns), and the gai mei baos (cocktail buns).  But let's just say that my mother-in-law's oven is most popularly used to store over-sized pots and pans--not for baking.

It's nice to have a big wok with a lid for steaming.  It will fit a 6 muffin tin.

So it was fun to see how her eyes lit up when she realized she could make a simple cake using equivalent amounts of just four simple ingredients, after a friend gave her the recipe.  The "fat" in the name of the little cakes means prosperity [think: gung hay fat choy], so, they are typically made around Chinese New Year.  This year, the first day of the year of the snake lands on Sunday, February 10.

I rivaled my mother-in-law's excitement with the realization that the recipe is naturally egg and dairy free, two of the main food allergens in our household. My mother-in-law has been making the cakes all week, and the kids have been enjoying fresh muffins for breakfast.  I've found they go especially well with my afternoon cup of coffee.  They are really moist, spongy, and slightly sweet.

What gives these cakes their pretty flower shape is that they are steamed, not baked, so I guess my mother-in-law will be keeping her pots and pans tucked safely away in her oven for the time being.  Steaming muffins was a first for both of us.

Before I give you the recipe, you should know a few things about my seldom-baking mother-in-law. When someone says to add 1 cup of something, she uses a dry measuring cup, not a liquid one.  And when someone says to add brown sugar, packing the sugar is optional.  So even though the original recipe said to add one cup of brown sugar, packed it was equivalent to 3/4 of a cup.  This recipe couldn't be easier.

Logan had a blast helping his grandmother with the cakes.  Way too much fun for a sick day.

Dai Fa Go--Big Prosperous Cake  (No Egg or Dairy)

1 cup flour

1 cup water

1 cup dark brown sugar, unpacked (or about 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed)

1 cup Bisquick

Stir the ingredients together, pour into lined muffin pan, and steam on a plate in a large pan or wok covered for 15 minutes.

Makes 6-8 little cakes

A big prosperous Chinese New Year to all of out Get Allergy Wise families!  Time to go clean the house...

Product update: Trader Joe's Whole Grain Milk has been discontinued!

RIP July 2011.  Help bring it back!

Last week I was shopping in Trader Joe's and noticed that they were out of their lightly sweetened whole grain milk.  I figured it wasn't a big deal.  Sometimes it takes a couple days for shelves to be restocked.  I bought a couple cartons of their unsweetened variety and figured I could just buy more whole grain milk next time.  Yesterday I still couldn't find any of our usual whole grain milk.  A GAW reader was kind enough to inform me that Trader Joe's has discontinued its whole grain milk line.  Noooooo!!!

I visited the company's website and sent in a comment.  Nikki of customer relations promptly replied to my concerns and confirmed that Trader Joe's has indeed discontinued selling whole grain milk due to poor sales.  She did say that the company is always open to hearing from its customers.  So if many customers contact Trader Joe's about a product's cancellation, the company may bring it back.

Our family loves Trader Joe's whole grain milk as an alternative to cow's milk and almond milk (to which my boys are allergic) and soy milk.  Compared with similar offerings at Whole Foods, Raley's, and Safeway, it is affordable and tastes pretty good.  If you are one of the many people who rely on whole grain milk as your dairy or soy substitute, I encourage you to write Trader Joe's immediately.  Your letter could make the difference!
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*Update:  FYI: I bought some of the last cartons of Trader Joe's whole grain milk while on vacation in L.A.  I reread the label and now realize that it *does* contain soy in the form of soy lecithin.  I know some soy-allergic people can handle soy lecithin just fine but many cannot.  So this alternative might not work for milk- and soy-allergic people.  Almond milk does not contain milk or soy.

I hope Trader Joe's comes back with a similar milk substitute free of all the most common allergens.

Daily Bite: Addison & Cookies

A Daily Bite is a peek into our lives with our food allergic children...

Addison loves her cookies (and cakes, and other sweets--and "loves" is an understatement).  And being not yet two, she doesn't quite understand what it means to have an egg allergy (especially when the eggs are hidden in the most scrumptious looking desserts!).

The two of us were at a party over the weekend where we didn't know most of the guests.  It wasn't long before Addison had made herself comfortable, making her way around the room.  I was really happy to see that she had come out of her shell a little, so with Addi preoccupied, I took a few minutes to eat and socialize. 

When Addi came up to me with something in her mouth, I was puzzled, and quickly scanned the room, until I saw a woman on the other side of the room smiling at me with a half-eaten sugar cookie in her hand. 

Panicked, I asked Addi to open her mouth and spit out the cookie.  "She's allergic to egg!" I blurted out to no one in particular.  Crying quickly ensued, while I watched her swallow what was left in her mouth.  Luckily, Addi had a mild reaction, and a small rash appeared that evening.  But it got me thinking...

I haven't been very proactive in teaching Addison not to accept foods from other people.  She had been so shy in the past that getting unglued from my leg at any point during an event was considered a huge success.  But she was getting over her stranger anxiety, and so the time had come to warn her about other people's food.  And, until Addi is able to understand not to accept food from others, I needed to keep a much closer eye on her at social events.

My little girl's growing up *sigh*.  With allergic children growing up means so much more than watching their developmental milestones--it means teaching them to manage their food allergies at a very early age.  Tristan learned fast because his immediate response to a food allergen was to vomit over and over, and even at a young age, he didn't forget that.  But Addi, our little cookie monster, is going to be a more reluctant student.  So, onto the next leg of the journey!

A little allergy-wiser every day...