Beef Stew and cooking with allergies

 Cooking through cookbook with allergies

When my husband discovered he had developed an allergy for tomatoes I was heartbroken.  I am one of those Southern women that knows it is summer only after I have eaten a home grown garden tomato sandwich with Duke’s Mayonnaise.  The first thing I do when we move to a new home is to decide where the tomato plants will go.  Spaghetti, home made pizza, tacos and salads, baked ziti, all my favorite meals are made with tomatoes in them.  

 

First I argued with him.  How was it possible to develop an allergy as an adult?  He was the father of three kids, too old to start new things like this. As it turns out adults developing new allergies is fairly common.  A study published in JAMA, (Journal of American Medical Association) said nearly half of adults who have food allergies get them later in life. 

 

 Kevin, my husband, would eat something with a tomato in it, and a rash would show up around his mouth.  He would develop ulcers in his mouth, and down his throat.  During one outbreak he visited a doctor and they counted over 100 ulcers running down his throat and along his gums and mouth.  We cut out tomatoes and the reactions stopped.   We tested with fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes and even with baked beans that only had a dash of ketchup in them.  He always reacted the same.  Once he ordered a hamburger in a restaurant.  It came with a tomato slice, and since he had asked for there to be no tomatoes he sent it back.  A few minutes later he had a new burger, and after three bites he started getting the ulcers.  It was pretty obvious the cook had just pulled the tomato slice off.  Now in restaurants we make sure the word allergy is used clearly and loudly.

 

I read an article recently about the singer Ariana Grande. She had to cancel two concerts because of a suddenly developed tomato allergy.  She told her fans she was doing better but “still felt like she was swallowing a cactus.”  I’m not sure if she had the same reaction as Kevin, but it sounds like she did.  She also said, “Nothing is more unfair than an Italian woman developing an allergy to tomatoes in her mid 20’s.”  Yes, I understand.  

 

For several years our entire family ate no meals that included tomatoes.  We had to throw out all condiments and barbeque sauces that included tomatoes.  I would be scanning a cookbook for meal plans and had to avoid over half of them.  Finally I decided to get creative.  My daughter has a friend from the Philippines, and once when we were visiting we were introduced to banana ketchup.  This is a red sauce that looks somewhat like ketchup, if you aren’t paying close attention.  It is made from bananas and has a gloopy, thick texture.  But, if you put this weird red sauce on hot dogs or hamburgers and if you have had to avoid ketchup for over five years, it tastes pretty good.  Or so I am told.  

 

Now when I want to cook a chili or sloppy Joe I use the banana ketchup in the place of tomato ketchup.  Since it is thick I can substitute it for tomato paste as well.   We have had other people tell us that yellow tomatoes are less acidic and that we should try them.  He seemed to have no problems with them, so one year I planted rows and rows of only yellow tomatoes.  I canned them, froze them and made all sorts of meals with them.  In our house pizza came on a yellow sauce.  Spaghetti also had been turned yellow.  Unfortunately we moved, and now have no room for planting on that scale.  Farmers markets are our friends now, and we have discovered certain heritage brands are also safe for him to eat.   I will bring home a tomato, cut a slice and have Kevin put it to his mouth.  If there is no tingling, we are good.

This week I cooked a beef stew from my Cooking for Two Test kitchen cookbook.  This recipe calls for a can of tomato paste, but I used one farmer’s market tomato simply cut up in the mix.  The cookbook wanted the stew to taste like it had been simmering all day, even though the recipe takes only 20 minutes, so the secret ingredient is an anchovy fillet chopped up into the mixture.  This was a very good meal.  If I don’t have a safe tomato to use next time I will just add my banana ketchup, and with the fishy anchovy in there, no one will know.