Yes. That yellow brick. After 2 years of agonizing stomach aches, innumerable blood and skin tests, one endoscopy and a truck load of prescription strength Prilosec, we have our answer: Em is allergic to dairy.
OH. MY. GOD. I was kind of hoping for something simple, like corn. It's not like corn is in everything... oh wait. Actually, it is.
So, my heart is breaking. Of course on the bright side, we'll all probably lose a few pounds here since I won't be adding tablespoons of butter to everything a la Paula Deen. On the dark dark dark side: mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes are a staple in our house. I know one can mash up potatoes with chicken stock (in fact, I usually boil my potatoes in a combination of chicken stock and and water), but to get them super super creamy you need butter. A lot of butter.
Want to know what is NOT going to cut it for the mashed potatoes? This:
Want to know what is NOT going to cut it for the mashed potatoes? This:
This would be margarine. I don't care that it's in gold packaging, I don't care that it is organic margarine (an oxymoron if I ever heard one) it's margarine and it sucks.
Years ago, in the late 70's when my parents and the parents of everyone else I knew was on a heart-healthy-health-food kick and consuming enormous amounts of margarine (...if you think it's butter but it's not...) - I remember my grandfather taking a stand. Margarine was simply not allowed in his house. My grandmother would plead, "But, Jimmy, our arteries..." and my grandfather would have none of it. "That stuff'll kill you," he said plainly. This was a man who salted his cantaloupe half each morning. Who drank a Co-Cola every day, and a cocktail every night. Sure he only lived briefly into his seventies, but he LIVED. You know? I miss that guy.
So, margarine isn't in the genes. And I think olive and other expeller pressed oils are fine - and can be used in a lot of things in place of butter (see my next post which will be on truly yummy dairy free pancakes) but - oh - dear - the mashed potatoes.
No recipe in this post, just mourning here. Just mourning...
Years ago, in the late 70's when my parents and the parents of everyone else I knew was on a heart-healthy-health-food kick and consuming enormous amounts of margarine (...if you think it's butter but it's not...) - I remember my grandfather taking a stand. Margarine was simply not allowed in his house. My grandmother would plead, "But, Jimmy, our arteries..." and my grandfather would have none of it. "That stuff'll kill you," he said plainly. This was a man who salted his cantaloupe half each morning. Who drank a Co-Cola every day, and a cocktail every night. Sure he only lived briefly into his seventies, but he LIVED. You know? I miss that guy.
So, margarine isn't in the genes. And I think olive and other expeller pressed oils are fine - and can be used in a lot of things in place of butter (see my next post which will be on truly yummy dairy free pancakes) but - oh - dear - the mashed potatoes.
No recipe in this post, just mourning here. Just mourning...
Ah, I commiserate on the mashed potatoes front. I don't have it often but it ranks almost atop my "ordinary dishes that are princes among foods," or something like that.
ReplyDeleteThe rather tasty looking pancakes post (those blueberry pancakes look scrumptious) was the first I read, so I was wondering why canola oil and not butter? — now I understand.
And Kerrygold is definitely a butter worth going out of one's way for. Glad when supermarket chains began to carry that in the U.S.
Well you could do what Margarette does — separate out the batches — one dairy,one not. Marg is used to that since she's a vegetarian and the boys and myself are only 75% vegetarian.
Great wee blog you have here.
Cheers,
PG