Tagines

I was going through the pantry and noticed that we were out of a lot of different kinds of beans, but we had several cans of chick peas. I thought, what could I make with chick peas? (or garbanzo beans, whatever your nomenclature preference)

I thought about the chicken pieces in the freezer and thought, aha, a tagine! I was first introduced to tagines at a restaurant in Portland. I was on a very bad date, but that's another story. The food was good, and that's what I remember, and I specifically remember chicken and garbanzoes and some other stuff, and interesting spices.

The combination of foods I remember did not involve any of the ingredients Chloe can't eat, so it sounded perfect.

I skinned the chicken legs and browned them in vegetable oil. I added about 3 cups of water, 3 yams cubed to about 1 inch, two cans of drained and rinsed chick peas, and two handfuls of raisins. I seasoned lightly with pepper, sea salt, and allspice.

While we were at supper Daniel said to me that this reminded him of the kind of meals he ate in Tanzania--a bowl of brothy rice and beans with some chicken pieces. It started me thinking about all the possible variations.

The main elements of the theme: smallish meat pieces, and a variety of additional and complementary ingredients.

The results from googling "tagine" yielded information that the traditional Moroccan tagines are made with lamb, olives, and lemon, and that traditionally the dishes include citrus fruits and almonds. Many of the dishes are served with flatbread and olives, and of course, we couldn't serve flatbread to Chloe (or almonds), but we could serve the tagines with rice to soak up the broth, and fruit such as grapes to accompany it.

So we thought of all the Chloe-safe chicken variations we could:
potatoes, celery, carrots, Italian herbs
corn on the cob pieces, black beans, red pepper, southwest spices
lemon, rice, olives
potatoes, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, onion
peas, carrots, potatoes
white beans & sausage (kind of like a jambalaya without the shrimp)

There would probably be quite a few variations using lamb or other meats. I'm excited because the possibilities seem endless. This particular concoction, with the yams, chick peas and raisins, even pleased my husband's palate. He confessed to being "pleasantly surprised" by the taste and had two helpings.

What I like about cooking these is that for one, they're easy, just a little bit of prep and tossing everything in one pan to simmer. Secondly, the ingredients are natural and close to their original form--recognizable. Third, the finished dish is very pretty to look at with all the various colorful foods mixed together. If you had a traditional tagine dish with the cone-shaped lid, they would be lovely indeed.

Most importantly, it's all safe for Chloe.

Chloe's food list

This is by no means a complete list of the safe foods Chloe can eat, but it is meant to be user friendly. At the bottom is a list of foods she absolutely cannot have, and to make it easier I've listed some of the common things milk, eggs, wheat and peanuts are found in. This list is meant to be care-giver-friendly!

Note: Chloe has not been exposed to fish or shellfish, nor has she been tested for them. So for now we are going to assume she IS allergic to them, and avoid a reaction, rather than go through the whole explanation.

CHLOE IS HIGHLY ALLERGIC TO MILK, EGGS, WHEAT, NUTS, and FISH
Giving her even small amounts of these foods can cause a life-threatening reaction.
She will get hives if she comes into contact with dog, cat, or horse saliva or hair.

Foods/Drinks Chloe CAN eat:

Rice Dream rice drink (blue box)
Plain juice like apple or apple/grape (and water, of course)

Plain baked (not mashed) potato or yam, seasoned with salt
Other roasted veggies such as eggplant, red pepper, etc. with oil/salt
Plain white/brown rice
Plain cooked or canned beans (like green beans, pinto beans, etc.)
Rice noodles
Any plain cooked meat (cooked in oil, not butter) such as roasted chicken, roast beef or pork with no sauce cut up into tiny bites (the size of a pencil eraser), or ground beef, cooked with just herbs or salt/pepper
Plain fresh, canned, or frozen fruits or vegetables— with no creams or sauces such as canned peaches, pears or pineapple, canned corn, fresh mango, frozen berries, applesauce, bananas, black olives
Oatmeal cooked with water, seasoned with sugar and salt
Gluten, dairy and egg-free pancakes which I have made and labeled “Chloe-safe”
Tamales labeled “Chloe-safe”, corn tortillas
Rice chex, corn chex, corn flakes, Crispix cereals
Plain jams/preserves (check ingredients for just “fruit” and “sugar”)
Sunbutter sunflower seed spread
Any dish/recipe I have made and labeled “Chloe-safe”
Approved allergen-free products
Plain corn or potato chips (check ingredients for just corn or potato, vegetable oil, salt)
Plain lunch meat ham or turkey (check ingredients for fillers; we prefer nitrite-free processed lunch meats)
Plain rice cakes, depending on ingredients (some have hidden lactose)
Juice popsicles

Ingredients to 100% AVOID when cooking for Chloe:
DAIRY: Milk, cheese, cream, “creamed” anything, Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, casein, lactose, ice cream, yogurt, margarine, whey
EGGS: Eggs, egg whites, egg yolks, albumen, scrambled eggs
WHEAT/gluten-containing flours: wheat, barley, regular pasta noodles, flour, rye, bread
NUTS OR SEEDS except approved products like the sunbutter
FISH or anything with Omega 3 (you never know)
COMMERCIAL BAKED GOODS, like crackers, cereal, granola bars, pasta, pop tarts, cookies
Peanut oil and sesame oil
Mysterious or not so mysterious sauces such as Chinese sauces, bottled salad dressings
Processed meats such as hot dogs (they often have wheat fillers)