Quinoa salad

Making this for my mother's birthday tonight-
http://withstyle.me/2010/11/19/quinoa-and-vegetable-salad/
I added snap peas that we got at the farmer's market yesterday. It looks delicious!

I wanted to mention one product for anyone dealing with babies with allergies - Baby Mum Mums. They are rice and potato flour with a little salt and sugar. The vegetable one has spinach, carrot and peas in it. They are wonderful. They are the only convenience item for babies I have found that do not contain milk. soy or citric acid. Cheerios are fine, but I wanted something softer, like the puffs availlable. My son loves them!

As for dinner tonight, we had corn, black bean and beef taco salads. I made tortilla chips from corn tortillas to serve with it. It was good, but I really missed the cheese and tomatoes.

Dessert, on the other hand was a tremendous success. Last night, I cut up two very ripe bananas and 1 mango and put them in the freezer. Today, I took them out and put them in the food processor and blended them. It didn't take very long, but it felt like it was going to. I kept thinking it wasn't working and then bam!- creamy ice cream! It was delicious. My daughter gobbled it up and asked me to make some more.

Beginning

My son, who is now 6 months old, has allergic reactions to dairy, soy and citrus in my breastmilk. The doctor told me it was infant acne, eczema and normal spit up. He also thought he was not eating enough as he lost weight for the first month and a half. He told me we would have to switch to formula. Having some experience with allergies, my daughter was allergic to citrus (which took us way to long to figure out) and having done some research of my own, I refused to give up breastfeeding and began an elimination diet. The rash went away, the spit up is completely gone and he is gaining weight beautifully. He is also much happier and sleeps better. I am starting this blog to encourage others to keep trying and to help them figure out what to eat if they do find a reaction. All of the recipes I post will be dairy, soy, citrus and peanut free and many will be wheat free. He is not allergic to peanuts or wheat, but I am scared to add peanuts back in and wheat gives him gas, so I have to limit it.

The first recipe I am going to post is adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe. It has some expensive ingredients, so it is more of a special occasion dish, but it was delicious! While shopping for this one, I found the soy/dairy free Earth Balance spread that can be used in place of butter. I can't wait to try it in other things!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups low-salt beef broth
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 12 ounces assorted fresh mushrooms (such as oyster, crimini, and stemmed shiitake), cut into large pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces thinly sliced pancetta (Italian bacon), coarsely chopped
• 6 tablespoons Earth Balance soy/dairy free spread
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 pound quinoa pasta

Preparation

• Bring broth and wine to a boil in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to 1 cup, 15–18 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.
• Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; season with salt and pepper. Sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a plate. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and pancetta to same skillet. Sauté until pancetta begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Add wine reduction, Earth Balance, and herbs; simmer until liquid thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until almost tender but still firm to the bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
• Stir pasta and into mushroom mixture. Stir over medium-high heat, adding water by tablespoonfuls if dry, until pasta is al dente and sauce thickens and clings to pasta, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl.