Veal Scallopini Funghi, as promised and Picnic Ideas

It has been about a month since I have posted in this blog, and the reason is simple - too busy!  Miss A and Mstr H have spent the last month very sick, so when I did get some down time, I was too tired to do anything.  I know you all in Internet Land will forgive me, we are all in the same boat, so I will put two posts together as a reward!  Firstly, here is the yummy Veal Scallopini Funghi recipe.  This is so easy, and such a crowd pleaser.  I got the original recipe from Weight Watchers, but as it was high in fructose and nuts, I have switched the sauce out completely (which was a lemon, garlic and pine nut jus) for a yummy mushroom sauce.  My new recipe is also gluten and wheat free.

VEAL SCALLOPINI FUNGHI

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp buckwheat flour

500g Veal Scallopini cut or schnitzel steak (from Woolworths)

2 tsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil for frying

200 mls thickened cream

500g sliced mushrooms (if you are short on time, you can buy fresh mushrooms ready sliced from the supermarket)

Squeeze of garlic paste (optional)

black pepper

SeasonAll

METHOD

Season flour with SeasonAll and pepper.  Lightly coat the schnitzel steak with the flour.  Heat oil in a large frying pan until smoking.  Add steak and fry for 1 min each side and remove and set aside.  Add butter to pan and saute mushrooms, reducing heat to low.  When mushrooms are golden, add garlic if using (small amounts of garlic can be tolerated by some people with Fructose Malabsorption, so use your own discretion) and cream, cook until the cream with bubbling.  Add steak back to the pan and cook for a further 2 mins each side in the sauce.  I like to serve with broccolini, mashed potato and green beans.

If you follow my Facebook page, MummyCook, you will know that I took Miss A and Mstr H to the Royal Show yesterday.  This sort of outing is always fraught with danger as to all the allergens for Miss A in this sort of environment.  Animals and food everywhere!  Perfumes, face painting, glitter, bubbles, smoke machines, cigarette smoke, etc.  Since her diagnosis we have avoided these sort of places out of sheer terror of messing up and harming our little one.  This is how we combated the day.  I made sure that every inch of her body was covered so that there was no incidental eczema flares due to contact.  To do this was simple, socks, leggings, long sleeve tee, sneakers.  Hair was plaited to avoid dermatitis from hair contact (yes, this can happen when her skin is flaring), and I packed gloves in case she looked irritated to protect her hands.

This may sound like a bit of overkill, but we have had so many situations where after animal contact her clothes have stuck to her body where the skin has come away, that we try to avoid this at all costs.  The weeks of treatment afterwards do not make for an easy time and it is so painful for her.  Next comes the medications list.  We started the day with a double dose of Claratyne (antihistimine) to give her a fighting chance.  We packed the bottle, as well as Phenergen (a stronger antihistimine), Panadol for pain and Buscopan for IBS flaring.  We also had her EpiPen in case of a food mistake, and baby wipes for clean up after animal and food exposure.  We have noticed that her skin flares are less if we clean her mouth after eating and wipe her hands.

Now the picnic food.  We know from past experience that there is very little food that can be purchased for Miss A, and no drinks except water or milk.  This meant that two days before our outing I was in the kitchen cooking up a storm!  I made Vegan Doughnuts, see my previous post for recipe, which Miss A decorated with butterflies, quinoa crumbed chicken thighs (dip thighs in egg and coat in a mix of Orgran Multigran Crumbs with Quinoa, polenta, SeasonAll and Mixed Herbs, place in a lined baking tray and bake at 200C for 30 mins), Quiche slice (see recipe below) and salad leaves with carrot, celery and cucumber sticks and grated beetroot.  I packed some Mixed Berry Aqua Pura spring water for drinks, and put it all in an esky with wheels. Done! (big sigh of relief)

The day was beautiful and she even tolerated a visit to the Farmyard Nursery, held a baby chick and patted a miniature horse and an alpaca.  The smile on her face was worth the few spots.  We gave her some Phenergen for the ride home and only a minimal flare today to show for it.  Very successful day.  As you can see, all of this preparation means that we can never leave the house on a whim.  I must be ever-vigilant and have stocks in the freezer at all times of safe food, or be ready to cook something up at a minutes notice.

Now you know how our life is, here is the yummy quiche recipe I use.  This is also a Weight Watchers recipe.  Their recipes are really good as they are big on veggies and lean meat and low on wheat, so substitutions are easy.  Give this one a go, it is really yum!

VEGIE AND BACON CRUSTLESS QUICHE

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp oil

1 large zucchini, grated

1 large carrot, grated

1 leek, finely sliced

100g diced bacon (optional)

3/4 cup GF plain flour

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup milk of choice

1/3 cup grated parmesan (optional)

herbs and spices to taste

METHOD

Squeeze the moisture from the zucchini.  Cook the bacon until lightly brown, add the leek and cook until soft.  Place bacon, leek, zucchini and remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined.  Place in a rectangular pan and bake at 180C for 40 mins.  Cool and cut into squares.  Delicious hot or cold.