Introducing myself

It occurred to me that I haven't done an introduction for myself. My name is Mary Beth and I am a friend of Kelli's. We met at church and were in a Sunday School class together for several years, but now I have found myself in Shanghai, China with my husband and 3 boys. I wouldn't say I am a great cook, but I do cook whereas many of my friends do not. I also do like to do some of everything: Cajun (since I am from Louisiana), New England type dishes or more mainstream Americana (since my mom is from Massachusetts), Tex-Mex (since I have most recently lived in and have a home in Texas), and now Chinese food (since I am here now!). I love all food, even though it doesn't always love me. I especially love having people over for dinner, pot-lucks, cook-outs. Maybe it is my Louisiana upbringing, but having a party or any celebration means having food! I also really, really love salads and would love to make a cookbook of just salads if I am ever given that opportunity to do so. I love all food, not just what I mentioned before, but also: Italian, Indian, Thai (which I do have a friend here from Bangkok who is an amazing cook and promises to show me the ropes), Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc, etc. I am way into crock-pot recipes since we have to do just about everything from scratch here in China and that is actually a good thing because it is forcing me to cook more!

However, I do desperately need a Homemade Gourmet injection of some Tortilla Soup mix soon, Kel are you hearing me? - I may get my brother to get a pantry size from me before he comes here in late May!

I also do some baking.

I guess you could say there isn't much I won't do food wise except for some of the Chinese dishes of dog, duck tongue, cow brain or other things of which I can't tell what they are!

I don't have any allergies or gluten problems, so Kelli or others, if something is gluten-free, can you tell me and I can modify to say something is gluten-free or what-not? I have enjoyed getting the recipes so far and am glad I can do some contributing.....

PS - Yes, I am planning to do some authentic Chinese recipes, but not too authentic or you all may not like them! :-)

Take care,
Mary Beth
郭玛丽

Welcome! 5

HI! I am so excited about Can you Eat This!! I am KatieBug, Kelli's little sister, and as she mentioned we are a mess. Allergies abound. Our entire house (including me, my Love, Bubby~6, FireCracker~5, CreamPuff~3 and Peanut~6 months) is gluten free. I am also dairy free and we just found out CreamPuff is allergic to fish and shellfish. So when Kel had the great idea to start a recipe blog I was all over it! I could really use some fresh ideas.

Needless to say we read labels like crazy and can't usually eat food that other people prepare. We also don't eat out much except the occasional double cheeseburger no bun (and no cheese for me) so I cook a lot. I feed my kids by the food program so as long as it has a protein, a carb, and 2 fruits and/0r veggies we call it a meal. Sometimes it gets very.....creative. :)

I really like to cook and am getting to the point I will eat just about anything that is safe because my standards are so low. Kelli and I joke about how often we say "Not bad!" about foods we try. I do a lot of tweaking to recipes just because there are so many ingredients we can't have. Sometimes it turns out great and I pat myself on the back and bring the tasty foods to my friends so they eat the food that was prepared by a culinary genius. Other times I take one bite and put the whole thing in the disposal. You will not be finding those recipes on this blog.

I love to take pictures. I probably won't do a step by step how-to picture post very often but if I think a recipe is good enough to blog about there will be at least one picture. Sometimes I take pictures of my food just because. For me if there is no picture it didn't happen.

I can't wait to see what we can do here!!

Welcome! III

Hello, I am Dana! I think I am the new girl here...I just started blogging in August of this year. But there was no way I was turning down the opportunity to contribute to this blog, given that the topic is FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD! I love to eat, love to cook, love to try new recipes and new restaurants, and I love talking about eating, cooking, and recipes!

I live in Texas with my husband (David) and 2 year old daughter (Gabby). I work full time, and my challenge is coming up with a wide variety of healthy meals for us that require little prep work in the evening. I want to raise my little girl to enjoy a broad spectrum of foods, and I am always searching for dishes where nutrition and convenience are not mutually exclusive.

I am always on the lookout for recipes that can be doubled, frozen, or made in advance. I have a bit of disdain for "kid-foods" and I try to avoid cooking with lots of packets and boxes. Although, I do admit to a major attachment to all the prepared foods in the refrigerators and freezers at Costco.

No dietary restrictions here...my main limitation is David's distaste for salmon. Other than that, everything else is fair game in our house! Most of my recipes are not 100% originals, but it is rare that I find a recipe that I love 'as-is'. I am a perpetual modifier.

I am certain that I will NOT be posting a slew of pictures, a la Pioneer Woman. Although, I might tack on a picture of the finished product where I can. My goal with cooking is efficiency, so I can't be taking 942 pictures while trying to get dinner on the table.

I guess that is all for now...I am glad to be a part of this!

Welcome! II

So, hi everyone. I am Kristen, also known around as Shoeaddict (and sometimes just Shoe). I am from south Louisiana and most of my recipes come from my mom or grandmother. I really love to eat, try new foods, go out to eat at different restaurants (and old favorites) and all of that so, hopefully, I'll have something to add.

I live with (and cook for) my husband, Blue, who is lot pickier than I am. I am also dieting but I usually cook the naughty, yummy food anyway and either don't eat it or eat a little. Blue doesn't like a lot of vegetables (and no salad) and always wants meat. If I just served him warm beef- he'd be fine.

For supper here, I usually cook some type of meat (chicken, chuck steak, fish), a veggie or two and some kind of carb- bread or pasta or rice. Sometimes, we eat spaghetti with meatballs, tacos, or chili. I'm excited to get new ideas here and maybe try some new stuff from my Mama. The first thing that I plan on telling ya'll about, when it's my turn, is one of my favorite holiday foods- sweet potato crunch.

I write in long, run-on sentences and I am a terrible speller. I am a product junkie. I love taking bubble baths and watching tv and taking bad (not on purpose) pictures of my awesome family. I love to be with them- they are the best subjects. My favorite foods (right now) are- shrimp, biscuits, apples, french fries (I never eat them but I love them so). I am also, of course, a shoe addict.

Welcome!

I'm really excited about starting a food blog, especially with a bunch of people contributing. I'm not sure how it will turn out, but my basic idea is to have one place where we can share links, recipes, allergy info, and anything else that seems relevant. Most of my recipes are not original- I'm a great cook because I can read and follow directions. I hardly ever make things up. Let's just all remember to give credit where it's due if it's not your recipe, girls, okay? :) I don't want to step on any toes.

And why Can You Eat This? My family has tons of food allergies. We find ourselves asking each other that question all the time. Can you eat this? I don't know...let me read the label... oh wait, no, it has peanuts/tree nuts/malt flavoring/wheat/shellfish...... we're a mess. And although not all the contributors have food allergies, everybody brings something to the table that they're working on- cooking with and for toddlers, weight loss and lowfat recipes, party food, and all kinds of other yummy things. Can we eat it? I hope so!

So. For the first few posts, let's all tell a little bit about ourselves- what kind of food do you like to cook, who are you cooking for, and what other parameters are you working with?

I'll start. Because I Am The Boss. At least for this post.

Shut up. I AM.

I'm kelli. I cook a lot more than I used to. My son and I were recently diagnosed with celiac disease, which is an intolerance to all gluten. That includes wheat, rye, oats, and barley. In addition, my daughter is severely allergic to peanuts and all tree nuts. Gluten-free nut-free foods can be done, and done very well, but sometimes they're tricky. Certainly it takes a lot of the spontaneity out of our lives. There are just a handful of places we can eat out, and we always have to check the website beforehand and make a big deal about talking to the waiter. It's easier to just come up with home-cooked alternatives most of the times.

I also run a daycare in my home, and pretty much all the standard "kid" lunch foods have to be thrown out or adapted- chicken nuggets, fish sticks, pizza, mac and cheese, pbj... all no good for us. I cook for seven kids at breakfast and lunch, and then my family of six (me, hubby, 2 kids, and my parents) at night.

My focus is mostly going to be on gluten-free nut-free, obviously, but I want to post a lot of different kinds of things. Stuff that just happens to be gf and doesn't take any weird flours or special ingredients is a bonus. I also want to create a section for eating out with food allergies and maybe compile some menu options from different restaurants.

I haven't decided if I am going to include a lot of pictures in my recipes- my mom has already asked if I'm going to do that, a la Pioneer Woman or Buns In My Oven. I have a feeling I'll try, but that I will completely forget to take half the shots I need, and that the other half will be bad. Perhaps laughably bad. Maybe it will add to my charm? Or something?

There you have it. Me in a nutshell. Wait. Not a nutshell. We don't buy those. A handbasket? No. Wait...

Next up: my grandma's potato salad, after all the introductions are complete. :)