I Need "Cooking for IBS for Dummies"
#16957 - 08/11/03 10:50 AM
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BL
Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 3522
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I am a disaster in the kitchen! This morning I decided to make the smoky eggplant hummus dip. Heather didn't say to put the eggplants on a pan or in a baking dish (I know, this should be obvious!), so I just placed them on the oven rack. Big mistake! Halfway through the cooking time, juice is oozing out of them and dripping all over the floor of my oven. I had the sticky lemon bread ready to go in the oven next, but that was impossible with the burning, smoking disaster I had!!!! So thank goodness my neighbor was home and let me put the bread in her oven.
Wait! That's not the end of the story. I bought a new food processor last night to mix the hummus dip up in. I spent more than I should have on it, but thought this one would be reliable. I got all the ingredients in it, pushed the buttons, and it wouldn't work. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I called the company and they advised me to return it to the store. After spending all morning preparing the ingredients (and a lot of money at the grocery store), I was furious! So there I go scraping the hummus ingredients out of the new appliance and trying to fit them into this tiny chopper I have. (Have you ever scraped tahini out of a bowl?) My oven is now locked for 4 hours on the self cleaning cycle. I'm definitely not Martha Stewart! HELP! Why does this always happen when I have guests coming?
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Oh dear...
#16963 - 08/11/03 11:31 AM
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Heather
Reged: 12/09/02
Posts: 7799
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I am so sorry. It was a mistake for me to not specify that you put the eggplants in a pan. That's actually not so obvious, and I should have realized that.
What a bummer about the food processor, and how frustrating. You could use a blender if you have one, though this is really after the fact, I know.
I remember how completely infuriating it was to start cooking and be unclear about recipes - what was mix vs. beat vs. blend? Did I use a spoon or an electrice mixer? Nothing was ever detailed enough, and it drove me nuts. But...it won't take you very long at all for a lot of things to become very easy and second nature, and cooking will go much faster after that, I promise.
I was once banished from a friend's kitchen in high school, when I baked a loaf of banana bread. I lined the pan with waxed paper, as my grandmother always did. But I didn't realize I needed to trim the overhang of the paper...so it melted and caught fire in the oven, set off their smoke alarm, and smelled like a toxic waste dump. I smoked their whole family out of the house for the whole day. And needless to say, the banana bread was completely inedible. I'm still friends with the girl whose house this was at, but her mother still snorts every time someone mentions me cooking. So take heart... 
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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You know - I am happy to hear I am not the only one to have problems understanding the book.
At times I found the cookbook to be kinda vague. I can't remember off the top of my head right now - I am not a cook and so trying to learn new recipes is more difficult if sometimes the recipes are vague.
I know alot of people just know what to do - but I really truely don't - my mom never cooked anything except roasts, chicken etc. We never adventured out into the ethnic foods so a person really truely doesn't know how to cook these things.
I am just glad to hear I am not alone.
Last Christmas I put a Casserole dish onto a burner. My mom used to do it all the time. I had atleast 6 cups of water in there too. It just blew to bits and the funniest part was if I actually found 2 tablespoons of the water - the rest was gone!!!
LOL - The things we learn through trial and error.
PS - I still love your book I will just have to post my questions here to clear up the vagueness.
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Lana_Marie
Proud Mommy to Bentley Taylor
Born May 12, 2004 9lbs, 3oz
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I'm not the greatest either but I'm loving learning how to cook. I found this Web link that's helped me:
http://www.cafecreosote.com/dictionary.php3
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~jules
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Just when I thought my day in the kitchen could not be any worse, my neighbor, who baked the lemon bread for me, brought it over and said, "It didn't look done after an hour so I baked it an extra 15 minutes." Ugh!!! I can understand her MAYBE baking it an extra 5 minutes, but 15 minutes? I wished she had called and asked me about it first. I took a bite of it and it's so-so, but not the gooey lemon bread I expected because she overcooked it. I'm hoping after it sits a day it might be a little more moist.
Heather, I had to laugh at your story about you smoking up your friend's kitchen. At least I'm not the only one who does that!
Two more questions----
1)Was I supposed to discard all the seeds in the charred eggplant? Please tell me I was.
2) I doubled the Italian Basil/Lemon Tuna Pasta Salad and added a third can of white tuna to give it more "meat." I already mixed the dressing with it. Now I'm afraid it will be too dry tomorrow when I get ready to serve it. If so, what do I do? Add a little canola oil to it? Lemon juice? Or mix up some more dressing? (which I probably won't have time to do!)
Thanks so much for your help! (Your recipes are yummy; I just can't cook very well.)
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Hi - When I was working on Eating for IBS with my editor, we went back and forth about what direction to take with the recipes. Should the book be a very basic primer for people who had never cooked, or should it be a full-on cookbook with recipes that assumed some basic level of kitchen familiarity? We decided to make it a regular cookbook...and in hindsight I think that was a mistake. I have since heard from so many people who have never cooked before but now have to due to IBS, or from people who were used to just throwing together convenience food but now needed to expand into more in-depth recipes, but didn't know how. So, the book has been great for people who already cooked and just needed to know how to modify recipes or venture into more ethnic/gourmet territory, but it hasn't really fit the bill for folks who don't know how (or don't want to know how!) to cook.
That's why I've been trying to work on a fast and easy diet book for IBS, that's less a full-blown cookbook and more a how-to guide. With Eating for IBS, it was assumed that people were already cooking. With the new book, I won't make that assumption and everything will be taken step by step. I'm also going to concentrate more on ideas and suggestions for throwing a meal together instead of having specific recipes (though I will include those too). More store-bought things will be included, and the focus will be on learning the basics of cooking so you can eat safely for IBS without having to really get into cooking and recipes. Hopefully this will fill the gap...
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Ah no, not the bread too! I've had this happen when I've asked other people to take breads and cakes out of the oven for me. My grandfather pulled out a chocolate cake once that was RAW in the middle - didn't even test it. I came home and the cake was already cooled off, and he said, "well, the timer went off!" I couldn't believe he didn't even test it. Had to throw the damn thing out. 
For the eggplant, you can discard all the seeds, but you don't really have to. They'll be so soft from the roasting that they'll blend up smooth. But the end result won't really be different either way, so no worries.
For the salad...best thing to do is make more dressing. You could make it in advance and add tomorrow as needed. Or, tomorrow blend a little water with the lemon juice, maybe a teaspoon or two of olive oil, and add until things are moist enough.
Don't worry, it will all be fine!
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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I first learned a lot of tips and secrets to cooking from my mom...who learned from my grandma...who learned from Betty Crocker! If you go to http://www.bettycrocker.com there is a section for learning how to cook and learning shortcuts, etc. Great info there!
Hope this helps!
Sarah
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BL-Thanks for making me feel right at home. I am the worst cook ever! A lot of my efforts end up in the garbage disposal. So far I'm sticking to the diet strategies, but I'm sure not making any gourmet meals!!
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Yay!!
#16986 - 08/11/03 02:25 PM
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Judithg
Reged: 07/14/03
Posts: 157
Loc: California
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Heather--I'd LOVE a fast and easy cookbook! Let us know the moment it comes out!! Though I want to learn to be a better cook, I'm not there yet. Plus I don't have tons of time AND my husband won't eat anything very unusual.
I made the Rice with Currants and Cardamom--thought he'd like it because it's sweet. I LOVED it, but he didn't like it because the cardamom was new to him.
By the way, I found that recipe very easy to follow and, as far as I'm concerned, it was a success.
Meanwhile, I'm glad I have the website for posting all my food and recipe questions!
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That would be so appreciated. I used to be able to do a quick meal - we never ate gourmet or ethnic food before.
So not only do I not know how the new food is supposed to taste - I do not know the proper way to prepare the food. Or even what half of these foods were.
I have only had to start really cooking more indepth since I was diagnosed.
I can hardly wait for your IBS for Dummies Cookbook. That will be so much more down to my level and hopefully I will be able to learn the gourmet meals later down the road.
I have practically worn out some of the breads etc, but anything more than that is too complicated.
Also - if you could find more common foods. I just want to be able to make a meal with the spices and veggies a regular person has in their fridge. That would be so wonderful LOL.
Thanks Heather,
Maybe we should sign up for a dinner party at your house so we know what these foods are supposed to taste like - then we can go home and try to copy you LOL
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Lana_Marie
Proud Mommy to Bentley Taylor
Born May 12, 2004 9lbs, 3oz
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I think your idea of a simplier "cookbook" is fantastic. It took me weeks to decide to purchase this one because I was so intimidated by the recipes (the number and kinds of ingredients was a little much for me). For example, I have never broiled an eggplant before, and I made the biggest mess. After the eggplant cooled, I had no idea whether to puree the seeds or to throw them away.
Also, I'm fortunate that I live in a large enough city to be able to find most of the ingredients, but I know many people, such as my mother who lives in a very small town, cannot.
The recipes are delicious, it's just that I rarely have the time (and money) to make gourmet meals. Ideas for throwing a simple meal together with common store-bought items would be wonderful!
Sadly, I have been in the kitchen since this morning trying to put together something for this luncheon tomorrow and have not had a lot of success. I am exhausted, and I feel guilty because one of my sons just asked me what was for dinner. After trying out these new recipes all day and getting the kitchen cleaned up, I am too tired to fix my family something for dinner. So, I guess I will be sending them to the nearest restaurant, or ordering pizza for them. (Who knows what I will eat!) If I could just run to the grocery store, pick up a few items, and fix a quick and SAFE IBS meal, then I'd be happy.
And I'm fortunate that I don't work. What would a working mom with 2 screaming toddlers do if she had IBS and needed to fix something simple, yet safe?
Hurry up with this new "cookbook." I need it NOW!
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Okay, okay!
#16997 - 08/11/03 02:56 PM
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Heather
Reged: 12/09/02
Posts: 7799
Loc: Seattle, WA
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In the meantime, I tried to make all the cooking show recipes very fast and easy, and most (though not all) are non-ethnic too. I had to be able to cook them from start to finish in 20 minutes flat, while talking and walking my way through them on camera, so that means they're only about 10 minutes of real-time effort. All those recipes are here web page
I try to make the newsletter recipes mostly fast and easy as well, with the occasional more elaborate or ethnic option in there (because if I don't, I start to hear from the people who do cook, so it's always a balance).
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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I think this sound like the book i need! I've never really had to cook by following a receipe,i tend to stick to the basic stuff i know i can do and are safe at the moment.Am dying to try out the breads in heathers book,but i need to get a blender! Though i am aprehensive about the results!!
Hope your lunch goes well!
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Morven
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I bet if you had written the easier cookbook first, you'd have had requests to write the second one from those of us who like to work with more exotic food elements and more unusual combinations. IBS aside, this is truly an amazingly inventive cookbook from someone with an outstanding talent. So I don't think it was a "mistake." I also imagine that by writing a more gourmet book, you were able to establish yourself as a cook of no mean ability, and that would help all of us as you get attention from the public at large for IBS.
Having said that, I think the new book will be something I will use as much as the old, so I'll look forward to it once you have a chance to catch your breath!
Linda
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It's funny to read these emails because I actually got your book from the library two years before I had my actual diagnosis and thought there is no way that I could give up that much food. I told my husband about the diet when he got home from work one day and we laughed about it. Now you have to realize that at that time I was making alfredo sauce once a week, which meant at least one day of leftovers per week. Cheese was a main source of my daily intake. I could not imagine having to give up my "favorite foods."
Now I have been on the Eating for IBS diet for two years and am for the most part healthier than I have ever been. I too would love to have another cookbook from you. I have made so much out of your cookbook and loved most of them. I have made mistakes, but that is part of cooking. I just want to thank you for caring enough to put your life into this. You have touched the lives of more people than you know.
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lovejoy_22
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Heather,
I too love your cookbook! I am waiting on a quick and easy one from you with baited breath! Every time I make a recipe from your book it is a success! Cept my peppermint fudge cake I am going to try that again this weekend and hopefully get it right! You are a gem!
Trish
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~Deborah
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Re: Oh dear...
#17176 - 08/13/03 11:54 AM
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RLU
Reged: 02/04/03
Posts: 117
Loc: Jackson, Mississippi
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This sounds wonderful, I am a girl on the go, and shopping takes a lot of time due to label reading and then what will I take for lunch, etc. So I would love to be able to have a ready-made list of safe things I can take for lunches snacks, etc. Since I IBS-C I stay away from everything that has casein, dairy, whey, which by the way is almost everything !!!! ughhh I would love to have list of safe store foods!!!!
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Screen Name: Nan275
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