Saturday May 22, 2010
Me: “Liam, today is your happy birthday!”
Liam: smile
Me: “Now you are two!”
Liam: “No! On(one)!”
I wonder how many times we’ve gone through that conversation the last two days! It was too cute the way he kept insisting he is still “on”! In the tub at nap-time he got all poochy lipped about it. “No, me, oo(two). ON!” But he was so, so pleased every time I told him it was his happy birthday. He’d get this slow, delighted grin on his face and just beam at us.
Most of David’s family came over in the evening to help us celebrate with strawberry pie and ice cream. I’d gone around and around trying to decide whether to try for a party at all. I think I planned four or five of them in my head and after two days kept nixing them. It was just too hard to come up with a menu for a meal that Liam could enjoy that I could do for a crowd of thirty-one. And while it was of primary importance to me that Liam could eat the food at his own party, I really wanted everyone else to be able to enjoy it, too. And I wanted it to seem like birthday party food. Not say, baked chicken and sweet potatoes. I quickly realized I was going to have to break one of those three rules or the bank. First I thought we could do a BYOF (Bring Your Own Fish) cookout for whoever wanted to come. I thought it was cool to think up a new idea. David thought it was atrocious to ask people to bring their own fish. Bam. Then I thought I could do a Southern cookout with fried chicken (rice flour works well for breading) and pasta salad and dinner rolls and all that stuff but once again I was up to my ears in double dishes to make safe versions for Liam, palatable versions for everyone else. And finally I gave up and decided on cake and ice cream. Except that the more that I thought about a gluten free, egg free, dairy free cake with decorator icing … the more I just did not want to serve that to a crowd of guests who have never eaten that kind of food. So a few days before the party I switched to strawberry pie and ice cream. Well, between vacation and illness, the crowd dwindled to seventeen; but I was still happy with a dessert only evening. Liam loved his strawberry pie.
{ Liam’s Allergy Friendly Strawberry Pie *
Rice Pie Crust
3/4 c. rice flour
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/4 c. crisco
1/4 – 1/2 c. water (I think I used roughly 1/3)
Cut crisco into dry ingredients. Add water. Roll out. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Actually I baked mine more like 25 minutes and it was a tiny pie.
Filling:
2 c. water, divided
1 c. sugar
1 drop lemon juice (or 2-3, whatever happens to fall out)
a few drops red food coloring
1/3 c. tapioca starch
Bring 1 3/4 c. water, sugar, lemon juice, food coloring to a boil. Add remaining 1/4 c. water to tapioca starch and whisk ’til smooth. Slowly add tapioca mixture to boiling water while whisking to avoid lumps. It may or may not take all the tapioca mixture. Mine didn’t. Just add til it’s the right consistency.
Cook on very low heat (stir often) for 15 minutes until the starchy flavor is gone. Taste testing is an amazing job.
Let cool at room temperature. When the mixture is still just a little warm, add washed sliced berries and stir. Fill baked pie crust and refrigerate til cool.
Top with dairy free topping of your choice. I was planning to use a cookie cutter in the goat milk ice cream we make for Liam; but we were still making it and it was very soft serve. When it went on the pie, it looked creamy like whipped topping but by the time the candles were blown out it had melted down into the pie. Liam didn’t mind. * As always: gluten, dairy, egg, soy free}
Difficult as it has been to find satisfactory recipes, there are a few recipes I am thrilled to have thanks to Liam pushing me to experiment and branch out. Sometimes people say to me, “How do you find time to do that?” (referring to blogging). I always sort of cringe inside. Yes, I know I could be out there weeding flower beds or gardening or sewing or baking bread or doing something productive like they are. But I am not everyone else. And all writing-is-my-outlet and I-love-the-social-interaction aside, had it not been for blogging, I would never have read Lisa’s blog post about milk allergy induced eczema several years ago. Her knowledge helped me pinpoint what was happening to Liam much more quickly. Another friend from Ireland shared a fantastic recipe for Garlic Chicken Wings in the comments section here. I’ve never followed the exact recipe (one of these days I keep saying), but I altered it just a little and it is now hands down our favorite marinade for chicken breast. How I love that input and help from people.
I think the olive oil is the secret to the most super-moist grilled chicken you’ve ever encountered. And all that garlic. Mmmm, num, num.
Here is my version:
2 c. olive oil
1 T. salt
1 T. pepper
1 T. basil
1 T. oregano
1 t. thyme
2 1/2 T minced garlic (or make that about sixteen cloves if you’re one of those real chef kind of cooks who does it the real way. I’m the “jar in the frig” cook variety.)
Marinate for several hours. Grill. Try not to overindulge.
Liam’s short but sweet happy birthday dinner included grilled chicken breast, herbed rice pilaf, and green beans. He is on a super green bean kick. In fact, some days I run downstairs to the freezer to grab a pint out of the freezer and cook them for lunch. I mean what would you do if you saw an almost two year old standing by the stove literally jumping up and down in excitement saying, “be beans! be beans! be beans!” because you said it was lunchtime? I cannot resist.
Back to the party. It got late and dark; but I love these pictures so much. These little cousins have no idea how fortunate they are to live in the same community and celebrate life together. And at every birthday party, they are all so excited to see all the presents and to play with them and even help unwrap if they could just get it done before their mommies and daddies stop them! 
It’s so sweet to watch them and probably one of my favorite parts of this stage. Sometimes children’s lack of inhibition is totally endearing. They just love life and happy moments and they dive right into them.
Liam seemed a little at a loss as to what to do. When we sat him on a little chair, he looked around trying to figure out what was going on. He was pleased with all his things; but when he got to the little tractor, he was lost in a world all his own. The rest of the cousins opened and oohed and ahhed over the water sprinkler from Pa Beachy and Grandma while Liam concentrated on driving his tractor through the maze of strawberry pie crumbs on the table. He doesn’t know it yet; but he is going to love that sprinkler so much. Adam has a toy that shoots water up and out; but it’s half broken and I can hardly get it to stay upright in the grass. Adam thinks the sprinkler water is too cold. Liam just runs into it and giggles hysterically. I love that this one will work on the deck.
But the funniest part of all was that as soon as the gifts were all open, Liam headed inside to play with his old toys. 
My catharsis at every first time food event is hopefully over. Or at least the worst of it. We’ve done holidays. We’ve done a weekend away from home. I’ve eaten lunch out with other moms. We’ve gone to potlucks laden with peanut butter. And now we’ve celebrated a birthday. I am still a far cry from one of those moms who only say happy, upbeat, this is not a problem things; but I finally feel like saying, “Yes, we can do this.”
This birthday, more then any other birthday I’ve celebrated, felt like an incredible celebration of life. The past week I have been thinking so much about Liam and what he has been through in the past year. The months of sickness and pain and no weight gain. The months of trying to find what works and what doesn’t. The constant vigilance and the price he has to pay when I goof even the tiniest bit. But bigger then all that, the adorable, happy, sweet, healthy, funny, chubby-cheeked little boy he has become in the past six months. I’m crying all over again just thinking about it. He is beautiful. An amazing gift from God to us. And I’m just so, so, so glad God is giving us grace to muddle our way through as we learn how to take care of him.
Happy 2nd birthday to Liam!
I have such a respect for moms like you. I often marvel at the mental energy that it takes to always be on top of the food allergy thing, and yet I realize you don’t really have a choice, either.
I haven’t “known” you long enough to know Liam’s journey, but from what you’ve written, it sounds like it was a challenge! YEA for Liam and two year old birthdays!!
Happy Birthday to Liam! I was at a bulk food store around here the other day and they had gluten free flour and I thought of you. This is prob something you already use but thought it might be cheaper. I’m guessing it was like 10 cup in the bag and it cost $4 dollars.
Oh my! How I have taken birthday parties for granted. You do an amazing job of cooking for Liam, Michelle. And I wonder how it would be to have all the little cousins coming for a party…….
Loved your post again.
soooo adorable
happiest of birthday little dude! 😀
Happy Birthday Liam, you look so happy. Michelle, you are a wonderful mother. Looks like lots of fun.
This is such a happy post. I’m so happy for you in reaching at least some milestones in dealing with his allergies! You are a brave Mom and a good one, too. Never mind when people wonder how you find time to blog. I know all about the “needing to” part. It’s therapy, plain and simple. But…lately I’ve been so busy and my brain is muddled with things that would not be good to blog about. So I mostly spend my extra time thinking about controversial stuff and not having the nerve to write.
And why would I be up at this hour on a Sun. morn? When you can’t sleep because of pain in your hands (carpal tunnel) then you do crazy things like visit your friend’s blogs. Happy Sunday!
Happy Birthday, beautiful chubby-cheeked Liam.
I ran across this “seemingly” cool cookbook advertisement in Coastal Living- and it made me think of you because it was full of gluten-free, etc-free recipes. If I find it again i’ll have to send you a link. Not that you need anymore help!!! The chicken looks fab!! I’m not a chef but i would be the one squeezing out 16 garlic cloves with my trusty Pampered Chef press. 🙂
loved the b-day pics and esp that last one…
liam, you are so handsome! and i am so glad you feel alot better these days! happy birthday, little guy.
it still astounds me that i was able to be helpful to someone as i muddled my way through my ordeal with allergies. but i am really glad! many, many times i think of you and the constant weight his allergies lay on you. i am filled with admiration for your unflagging dedication. look how far he has come in the last year! here is hoping the next year will be filled with even more healing but most of all huge measures of love and happiness!
I’ve had a new appreciation for mom’s like you. Although we don’t have the allergies issue, my husband went on the South Beach diet for health reasons/to lose weight, and that was challenging enough trying to come up with seperate foods during the first phase. But to deal with it every day, all day long, and knowing that getting off a little will cause serious problems, would be very difficult! Sounds like you’re doing a great job, though. Your chicken breast marinade reminded me of something I discovered with cooking for Steve. Chicken breasts are something he can have, and one day I was wanting a good marinade for them, and decided to try some of his “Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar” dressing, adding a bit more salt, for a marinade. We were both amazed how tender and moist they were after grilling. I had decided too, it must be all the oil.
Michelle, looks like such a fun birthday party! Good job. And I so badly want Vince and Liam to get together someday. 🙂 Is it just me, or is he getting chunkier?
That was such a sweet post. The last line you wrote made me tear up. 🙂
GOOD JOB on the party and planning.
Our oldest has severe wheat AND dairy allergies, so I get where you are coming from. His first birthday party consisted of a tub of Rice Dream frozen non-dairy dessert with a candle perched on top. It was rather sad, but at that point, we didn’t know of ANY grains he could safely eat except rice, and we had no internet access to net-work with others easily . . . .
Now we know he can eat organic spelt flour (which does have gluten, but his issues do not seem to be gluten related–just really truly a wheat allergy, and a dairy allergy) so baking is much easier. However, we have to drag food every where we go, and it’s a challenge keeping enough good, yummy food to keep a hungry 17 year old stocked up. I’m grateful that we have some very supportive people at our church who will give me a hand sometimes at church pot-lucks or whatever and leave cheese off some of a dish or like today–fry some hash browns in oil for him instead of butter.
God bless and if you ever want to “talk shop”, feel free to contact me.
Yay for Liam and Yay for you! I, for one, am glad that writing is your outlet even if you technically don’t “have time” for it. I always really enjoy reading your posts!
@ariemichelle –
That’s really kind of you. I actually don’t use a g/f flour mixture much. I have a bag a friend picked up for me and don’t use it. Since he is allergic to 3 of the 4 main staples in every recipe, I only have success with trying completely new baking recipes centered around allergies instead of just substituting for regular flour in the recipes I normally use. Those usually call for specific measurements of various flours like rice flour, potato starch, or tapioca flour or a number of others. But thanks for thinking of me!
@smuckers4jesus –
Thanks! It sounds like Gwenyth had a very happy, birthday, too! Kind of cool that they share the date …. I will never, ever forget coming to see you that Friday morning when she was just a few hours old! So special to have had first babies so close together like that!
@lwstutz –
I don’t know what your muddle is about; but I do know what mine is and it’s why half of my blog posts stay hidden right now. 😉 So sorry about the carpal tunnel!!!! Ouch!
@lin789 –
I would love to have that link if it’s gluten and dairy free! Just g/f often isn’t helpful b/c there are almost always a minimum of two other no no items in every recipe.
@mlt10202002 –
All I can say is, those pictures of Jase are still branded in my mind … and why I remember the post. I have never, ever in my wildest imagination dreamed that eczema could look so awful. Thank God you spared Liam.
@chambray7 –
Thanks for that great heads up! I will be reading Newmans Own labels. I keep trying to find a dressing that is safe for Liam but he reacts even to soy lecithin … something people allergic to soy are supposed to tolerate. And all the Kraft versions have either romano or parmesan cheese in them. I’d finally found that he did ok with Food Lion brand Italian. But in the past two weeks he’s started refusing to eat anything with that dressing on it.
@ewaldro –
I know. It would be so much fun to hang out with you guys and we could each bring half the food and our little guys could actually eat all of it! They have definitely shared a similar journey! I think he’s getting chunkier. His wellness check is this week and I cannot w.a.i.t to see what he weighs and where he lands on the growth chart by now. Best wishes with your upcoming bday party!
@happymom4 –
Wow! I can only imagine what it’s like to keep a 17 yr old filled up. So much of Liam’s food doesn’t have lasting power … rice flour just seems like a lot of empty calories, you know. And when you avoid dairy you avoid a lot of fat. Have you ever seen elanaspantry.com? My favorite baked recipes are from there b/c they seem so wholesome. And as long as you are not allergic to almonds, you’re in good shape! I use the honey cake with goat milk yogurt for Liam’s breakfast right now and I cannot believe the way that combination keeps him full all morning long. It’s wonderful. I also love the pumpkin muffins and her chocolate chip cookies are excellent. They have a wonderful nutty flavor instead of that starchy g/f flavor.
He sure is beautiful! Happy birthday, Liam!
And that chicken looks soooo good! I’ll have to try that one!
What a CUTE birthday boy!!!
Glad he is doing so much better…..you are doing GREAT, as his mother.
Have a Happy week!!!
Love, love, love this happy post. I’ve ached often for you as I’ve read your Liam experiences, but I never knew what to say because food allergies are something with which I have absolutely no experience. I hope & pray that the worst is over for you and for Liam.
I used to feel the same way that you do about writing/blogging. . .not sure what happened. . .sometimes it feels like that part of me has died (or else it’s been hopelessly buried under homeschool paperwork and dirty diapers).
i love these pics esp the one of Liam with his daddy & holding the – is it train station? – Anyway. Ooh, I’m graduating in about 7wks, wanna come do my pics?? Lol, how I wish!!
@psalm150girl –
Oh, I wish too I could come do your pictures! That would be a blast! And the little thing Liam is holding is the train crossing that goes w/ the Thomas set the boys have.