If Only There Were a Pill

When we finally learned that my son had EE and food allergies, I was relieved. The symptoms fit. After many years of trying to figure out what was wrong we finally knew what the problem was. My son, who was now ten, was not so relieved. He now had a list of foods he needed to eliminate from his diet. He wanted to know:

“Why can’t I just take a pill?”

After all, he had been taking the purple pill when we thought he had acid reflux, and he could take a pill for lactose intolerance, so why shouldn’t he expect that there would be a pill for food allergies?

Ten years later, having now gone half his life without wheat, milk, cheese, butter, soy, eggs, or peanuts, and knowing that he feels better, he is happily avoiding the foods that make him sick.

If there were one present I wish I could give him on his twentieth birthday it would be a pill, followed by a pizza, complete with a wheat crust and lots of gooey cheese. Ahhh, but instead I made him an allergen-free cake that even his fraternity brothers won’t be able to tell has no wheat or milk or eggs in it.

Happy 20th birthday Patrick!

For this cake I used Bob's Red Mill chocolate cake mix and added:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance shortening (in place of butter)
• 1 cup chocolate hemp milk (instead of cow's milk)
• 1/2 cup applesauce (in place of 2 eggs)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/3 cup water, and 2 tsp vanilla per directions
• And I added 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (just because)

Because we were traveling I used a 9 X 13 pan instead of two rounds.