Flying Southwest Airlines with Food Allergies

We just got back from a trip to Buffalo last week! The reason for the trip was sad, but it was good to see familiar faces and places again, regardless.

We also met a new friend--we paid a visit to Dairy Free Gina, who lives in the area! It was great to meet and network with such an awesome food allergy blogger!

In order to get to Buffalo, we flew for the first time in almost three years! I’ll confess that I was more nervous about the boys' peanut allergies than I ever was on previous flights. It may be because the last time we flew, Zax had tested positive for peanut allergy but we hadn’t confirmed it via challenge—and we knew nothing about Kal. We hadn’t called ahead for peanut allergy last time and I’m not even sure we wiped down the seats very much. Now we know that Zax is anaphylactic to very small amounts of peanut. Kal’s reaction to his challenge was less severe, but we know that he has picked up trace amounts via cross contact. Plus, our kids touch everything. (Kal, at age 4, still regularly puts his fingers in his mouth.)

Southwest Airlines was great though! They were friendly and their regular policies allowed us to preboard to clean our area, and they suspended serving peanuts for the flight.

Our Preboarding Pass and a "Peanut Dust Allergy Document" to
give to the flight attendants. That told them to implement
all of their Peanut Allergy policies.

Wiping down all surfaces that a child might touch is a big task, and I was glad my husband and I were able to work at the same time! We went through 1 1/2 packs of baby wipes between four flights and a week vacation. I felt leery of the floor since we couldn't clean it, and I confiscated any toys that fell down during the flights.

I also brought along extra Epi Pens--the ones we got back from school. I figured that if we were stuck in a tin can at 30,000 feet where even an emergency landing could take some time, we ought to be prepared with all we had.

There were interesting differences in the various legs of our journey. On the first flight towards Buffalo they also made an announcement asking passengers not to eat peanut products, and then they stopped by a few times to ask questions or check in. A passenger near us asked if it was just peanuts or all nuts, and another passenger all the way across the plane asked if they could eat their peanut butter sandwich, and each time they came to get our opinion. We were happy to answer questions and explain the nuances of our needs. The flight attendants also warned us that the pretzels they were serving had a cross contact warning. One of the flight attendants also told us that the air on the plane is not recirculated--it goes through the engines, then into the cabin, and then out to be replaced by fresh air. I don't know if that's standard for all airplanes, but it would explain why the plane always smells like exhaust as it's backing away from the gate.

On the second flight towards Buffalo, they again warned us that the pretzels had a "may contain" warning on them, but did not make any announcements.

On the first plane home, a flight attendant started handing out packets of pretzels and packets of peanuts, then saw us a few rows back, remembered the allergy, and raced back through the cabin confiscating all the packets he'd just handed out. He then made an announcement that the reason they weren't serving peanuts was because there was someone with a severe allergy onboard. Oops!

On the final leg of the journey home, they again did not make any announcements. They didn't warn us about the pretzels either, however they completely bypassed our row when handing them out. Fortunately, we'd brought our own food along (I can't imagine flying with food allergies without doing so!) Our longer flights (1st and 4th) had two snack services, and the second was Ritz Chips which did NOT have an allergen warning.

It's funny how an airline with the same policies approached us differently for each flight. So much of air travel really is dependent on the flight attendants assigned to your plane. Overall, we thought they did a good job and they got us safely to our destination. Even through a thunderstorm!

Actually, we tried landing in said storm twice, and each time the pilot had to abort and pulled us back up amidst bumpy g-forces and loud engine whines. We were pretty nervous. DIA closed to arrivals after the second attempt and we had to fly to Colorado Springs to wait and refuel, since we didn't have enough fuel to keep circling for a long time. Oy! I was glad our preboarding had allowed us to snag seats at the very front of the plane for that flight--it gave the boys a little more space to move.

Overall, Southwest took good care of us, and we made it home safely, if four hours late. Hooray for Southwest!

Egg-Free Cake Decorating 101

My sons' cakes are different from other kids' cakes.  We have multiple food allergies in the house (me to tree nut, Kal to peanut, and Zax to egg and peanut) so we have to use special ingredients or recipes to keep everybody safe.

I did this recently--it's hard for me to believe, but my youngest baby just turned four. Four!!!  He's not such a little boy anymore!  Superheroes are big around here, as you've probably guessed, and so Kal wanted a Batman birthday party this year.  We bought Batman favors and played Batman games, and I also made a Batman cake.

Until my kids were born, I wasn't very creative with cakes.  I made the occasional layer cake, but mostly I just baked cakes in a 9x13 pan, left them in there, and slathered a thick layer of frosting on the top.  However, when Zax turned one, that just didn't seem like enough.  I wanted to make a special cake that reflected his birthday celebration--and I never looked back.  As the years have gone by, my cakes have gotten increasingly intricate and detailed.  It's a masochistic hobby, or so I tend to call it, because I'm usually up until 3:00am the night before the party making it.  Egg-free cakes fall apart so easily that they require a lot of special handling.  But I enjoy doing it.  It's time that I spend listening to showtunes and making special memories for my kids, and it's totally worth it to see their faces light up when they see their special cakes.

This was Kal's Batmobile cake for his 4th birthday party

After posting this picture on Instagram, I had several people ask me to do a tutorial on decorating cakes, and so that's what I'm doing today!  I'm walking you through how to make a Batmobile cake, but the principles can be applied to any shapes you wish--within reason.  It's only cake, after all!  Please bear in mind that I have had no official training, just online instructions, youtube videos, and a lot of creative sculpting--but I have learned some pretty good tricks!

www.allergysuperheroes.com

How to make a Batmobile Birthday Cake

First, of course, you have to bake your cake(s).  And you'll want to make sure they stay together until you're ready to cut them, so line your baking pans with parchment paper that you've cut to the right shape and size--this will enable you to get them out of the pan without sticking or, hopefully, breaking.  If you're doing this egg-free (or anything-free) it will probably behave differently than a normal cake, but do your best.  Preferably, you want a cake that can hold it's form.  Wacky cakes are good for sculpting (and yield decent results, even with gluten free flour) because they come out very dense and moist, which helps them hold together--but use whatever cake you're most comfortable with.

Allow your cake to cool completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer.  Repeat until you have all the cake you'll need.  (If you don't let it cool first, you'll end up with a moist, gummy layer sticking to the plastic wrap--trust me, I've made this mistake.)

For the Batmobile cake, I made two 9x13 sheet cakes.

You'll also need frosting. Depending on the type, you can make this in advance, but you will want it to be easy to spread when it's decorating time, so if it's the type that hardens up in the fridge like my Cream Cheese Frosting, you either need to make it fresh or allow it to sit at room temperature for an hour or two before decorating.  If it's the sort that hardens up even at room temperature like my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, it's preferable to make it fresh, but you can heat it up in the microwave if you want to make and store it beforehand.

You'll need a surface for your cake to sit on as well.  I've used large platters, but eventually I took several layers of large, hardy cardboard and taped it all together.  I completely coated it in packing tape (so the moisture wouldn't seep through into the cardboard) and I use this as my cake plate most of the time now.  I wrap it in foil before every cake because it provides a nicer-looking surface.

Once your cake is frozen and your kids are out of the way, it's time to begin!

Unwrap your cakes and carefully place them in the orientation your first layer will need.  Do your best to line them up correctly before you put them all the way down, because they will be difficult to move after they've touched a surface.  Using a serrated knife, saw your cakes into large blocks that will be the groundwork for your cake.  It's important for the cake to be frozen when you do this, because being frozen will allow you to cut straight, even edges.  For the batmobile, I used one whole cake and just over half of the second, all lined up straight.

While the cake is still frozen, cut details into your first layer.  I shaved the edges of the full cake in at an angle to approximate the batmobile's sleek and slender body shape, and then cut wing-like edges at the back.  I was able to take advantage of the curved corners of my cake pan to match some of the contours of the batmobile.  Starting about two inches in, I also cut the front end of the batmobile at an

angle to resemble the front of the hood.

If your cake is starting to get soft, pop it back into the freezer.  ANY time your cake gets soft or starts to crumble (or the frosting starts to smear) you need to pop it back into the freezer for several minutes.  Refreeze any useable cake scraps too, if you aren't finished sculpting.  You need a large freezer to do this with anything big.  I usually have to rearrange our deep freeze before getting started so there's enough flat space for me to place my cake tray into.

Next you'll need some frosting and the pieces for your second layer.  In this case, I needed to add the driver's cab.  Using what was left of my second cake, I cut a thinner strip and shaved off the front end at about a 45 degree angle again, about the same as the toy I was trying to match.  Use a layer of frosting to attach the two layers together and carefully place the second layer.  Frosting hardens quickly when places on frozen cake, so you'll need to act swiftly to get your top layer secured.

Then you'll want to apply a crumb coat.  This is a coat of frosting that is going to look ugly, but that's okay because nobody is ever going to see it.  Using the spreader of your choice (I like to use a small rubber spatula) place a layer of frosting over the entire cake.  Some crumbs will get caught up in this layer, but that's okay--that's why it's called a crumb coat.  This locks the cake into a better shape for your prettier frosting to go on top of.  You will need to use gobs of frosting to fill in any gaps where two cakes meet.

For the batmobile, I used my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.  It doesn't have to be real butter, this recipe works well with Earth Balance--but I used real butter this time since nobody in attendance had a dairy allergy.  Note that the crumb coat doesn't even need to be the same color frosting as your final coat will be--however it's good to have similar shades so nothing bleeds through.

Even though you should expect crumbs, beware.  As soon as you start to get larger crumbs or big pieces try to break off, it's time to put the cake back in the freezer for several minutes.  With all the details (and tiny crevices) at the back of this batmobile, I think it took me three tries to get the crumb coat finished.  Once you're finished with the crumb coat, put the cake back in the freezer.

Any time I'm waiting for my cake to refreeze, I make more frosting or do dishes--anything that I'd have to do anyway that can occupy me while waiting for the cake.

After your crumb coat, you'll want to apply your real frosting.  I made a second batch of Chocolate Buttercream frosting for this, and then added black food coloring.  If you're doing a multi-color cake, only add the permanent colors where they're needed.  If your crumb coat starts to come loose or mixes with your top coat, put the cake back in the freezer.  Put it back any time you're taking a break, too.

Next, clean up the edges.  Your cake will have a much crisper appearance if you wipe away all of the globs of frosting that fell onto your tray while decorating.  I usually just carefully slide a dish cloth along the perimeter of the cake to get a straight line, but hubby caught me here using a knife to get extra frosting out of the crevices at the back.

Now add details!  I piped three different types of frosting onto the batmobile for details--first, I used leftover plain chocolate for contours and lines on the car.  I used this for doors, ridges, and the front grill--I just looked at the toy next to me and approximated where they needed to go. I used a pastry bag with a small circular tip for each color (don't even know the details of the tip--sorry.)

I made a quarter batch of my Cream Cheese Frosting and separated it into two bowls to mix up gray and yellow frosting (the gray came out blacker than I'd intended, too much food coloring).  I used the gray to outline and fill in the windshield and also to outline the engine exhaust thingies on the hood.  Then I carefully drew the bat from the Bat Symbol on the center of the hood. This wasn't on our toy, but I wanted to have it somewhere and it wasn't going to work on the doors.

Remember that any time your frosting starts to smear, put it back--you guessed it--in the freezer.  The chocolate frosting gets harder so I didn't have to do this much this time around, but on cakes that I've frosted exclusively with Cream Cheese Frosting, I've had to freeze them several times to keep a firm work surface.

I used yellow to pipe headlights and to make an oval around the Bat Symbol.  Finally, I used more gray to outline and complete the Bat Symbol.

Lastly, I used gray frosting to attach Oreo cookies for wheels, and used more gray to make hubcaps.  I used leftover frosting to write a Happy Birthday message on the tray in front of the car.  Once you're finished, your cake should wait for your party in the freezer or at least the fridge, to prevent sagging or bleeding of colors before the party.  I take it out at the beginning of the party so people can see it and so it can thaw.

As a final touch, we stuck the candles in the back of the batmobile to be the jet engine.

To say that Kal (and his brother Zax) were excited about this cake is an understatement.  I think it's so cool to see their faces light up when they see one of these creations!  It makes getting only four hours of sleep before the party worthwhile!

You can do this sort of sculpting with any sort of cake, even if nobody has any allergies. Ours are allergy-friendly, but nobody can tell.  My sons' cakes are different from other kids' cakes, but even though they're aware of their allergies, the only difference they really notice is that their own cakes are darn cool!

Linking up at Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Fridays, and Corn-free Everyday

What sort of allergy-friendly birthday cakes have you made?  Please share!  And if you're worried about your allergic child at birthday parties, note that Allergy Superheroes is now open!  We've got super Superhero products to help remind the party host and other adults that your child has dietary restrictions while keeping it cool!  www.allergysuperheroes.com

Meet the Food Allergy Villains

Here's something I meant to post a few weeks back, when we were first launching.

Our Food Allergy Villains aren't just snarling faces, they each have a history too! Let's take a look at Jet Trail and Arctic Storm's Rogue's Gallery:

Lex Legume

Lex was popular as a youngster, and quickly gathered worshippers around him.  Unfortunately, his lust for power didn’t stop at his peers, and soon he was hoarding money as well.

Lex became quite successful, but he was disturbed by the fact that not everyone loved him.  Then one day he discovered that a whole subset of the population was allergic to him.  He was a little nuts, so this discovery sent him over the edge.  He closed his businesses and turned to a life of crime, figuring that with all the peanut allergies, few would dare approach to stop him.

To this day, Lex is an illegal business overlord.  He’s quirky and a bit of a germophobe, as evidenced by the black gloves that he refuses to take off.

Professor Egg-stein

Professor Egg-stein was the result of an unfortunate accident involving his mother, his father, and a crowded henhouse.  While otherwise a human, Egg-stein’s head is genuinely an egg, and by sacrificing a little brain fluid, he has been known to threaten people with egg allergies.

The term “egg head” has been widely used as an insult against smart people, usually used by those who don’t study against the person who wrecks the grade curve.  Few people know that this term originated with Egg-stein.  While growing up, Egg-stein was teased relentlessly, not only for looking different but also for being smarter than everybody else.

Feeling that he would never fit in, Egg-stein became a criminal mastermind.  Few know it, but he is probably the smartest criminal in the world.

The Milkotaur

The Milkotaur took up residence in the legen-dairy labyrinth after Theseus killed the famed Minotaur.  For thousands of years, he demanded sacrifices of goat milk and goat cheese, which changed into cow milk and cheese as dairy farming evolved.  But as time passed and legends died out, his sacrifices were forgotten.  Enraged, the Milkotaur finally emerged from the labyrinth (after he found his way out) and he has been haunting the human race ever since.

The Celihawk

The Celihawk is a genetic mutation, the unfortunate result of birds of prey feeding on rodents fattened with GMO crops.  Celihawks are still birds of prey, but they contain gluten in their DNA.  Another mutation is that the Celihawk’s eyes tend to be bigger than its stomach, so it is known to attack anything from rodents to large mammals.  One Celihawk isn’t too big of a threat unless you have gluten issues, but when a swarm arrives, it’s best for everyone to take cover.

Celihawks have a natural fear of  jelly, Sunbutter, honey, and many other substances commonly spread on bread, so if caught in the open and facing a swarm, grabbing one of these foods and preparing to turn the predator into prey is your best defense.

CLAWS

CLAWS started out life as an ordinary crab in the Bering Sea, until an encounter with a fishing boat changed her life.  She lost her left claw in a narrow escape, and the experience made her into an enemy of humankind.  She studied people, studied our ships, and learned how to escape us dozens of times over.

Time passed, and despite her disability she never succumbed to a crab pot or a predator.  Living such a long life caused her to grow to an unnatural size, and she’s still growing.  CLAWS learned from our technology, and made herself a replacement claw from scrap metal in sunken ships.

Crews on the fishing boats began telling stories about her, and when these legends reached her ears, she decided it was time to venture into the land of men.  She is the worst enemy of those with shellfish allergies.  If you chase her with a vat of melted butter, she may retreat, but whatever you do, you need to stay out of range of those sharp claws!

Homemade Chai Tea

I'm back!  And it's Monday, so it's time for another recipe!

It's funny, four years ago I discovered that a good way to ignore the passage of time is to be 8 1/2 months pregnant on your birthday.  I wasn't the least bit interested in turning 30 because I had a baby on the way (and accompanying health conditions to worry about.) This year I discovered that a good way to ignore the passage of time is to launch a business.

This was, perhaps, not the best time to launch a business, what with my birthday, Kal's birthday, and the end of the school year for both boys all coming within several jam-packed weeks.  We were determined to launch within Allergy Awareness Week though, so it was what it was.  Since I let the blog slide for a few weeks, here's the announcement:

Visit our site to safely adorn your allergic little ones!  www.allergysuperheroes.com

But on to the recipe!  Because if I don't start back now, who knows when I will!

I am not a coffee drinker and neither is my husband.  In fact, we don't even own a coffee pot.  We do, however, like tea.  Chai is a nice, rich beverage that we both enjoy, but it can get expensive.  I found this recipe in a magazine years ago, adjusted the spices to my liking, and quickly fell in love.  It's a little time consuming until you get used to it, but it's well worth it!

Homemade Chai Tea Concentrate

Ingredients:

• 4 tsp ground ginger
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• 4 tsp ground fennel seeds (I can't find them ground, so I do it myself)
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 cup loose black tea (I use Earl Grey, like Captain Picard :)
• 3/4 cup agave
• 2 Tbsp molasses
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice 

Directions:

Heat spices in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant*.

Add 4 cups of water and the tea. Bring to a boil*.

Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes, then strain out the tea and spices*.

Stir in agave, molasses, vanilla, and lemon juice.

Combine 1/4 cup of your concentrate with 3/4 cup milk of your choice.  Either heat or serve over ice.  (You can even use water if you like things less rich.)  Cover and refrigerate the rest.

*Note!  Do not overcook the chai! I've made this several times, but every once in a while I don't get much tea--instead, most of it turns into a gelatinous mass.  The spice/tea leaf combo usually gets a bit gelatinous and sticks to itself at the bottom of the pot, but once or twice the whole mixture turned out this way, and I think it was tied to cooking the spices and/or boiling the tea for too long.  You want to be ready to move onto the next step of the recipe right away.  Be aware!

Enjoy!

Linking up at Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Fridays, and Corn-free Everyday!

What are you cooking up this week?

Meet the Allergy Superheroes Heroes!

The Allergy Superheroes themselves have finally graduated from the Academy of Heroes!  I'm thrilled to introduce them to you!

Jet Trail and Arctic Storm will be appearing on some great allergy gear, coming up very soon!

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ARCTIC STORM

Arctic Storm is a wondrous young woman who has amazing ice powers.  She can freeze Villains in their tracks or build ice walls to keep them out.  She loves to ice skate, and gets around by making an ice path on the ground and skating along it on ice blades.

Arctic Storm happens to have food allergies.  She knows how isolating allergies can be, and so she focuses on anti-bullying.  She empowers kids with food allergies to remember that they are special and super, and that they don’t have to take bullying from anyone—not from kids, not from grown-ups, and not from the Food Allergy Villains!

HISTORY

Arctic Storm is the daughter of research scientists.  She has moved around a lot—mostly to places that are cold.  She doesn’t mind, however, because she loves outdoor winter activities.  She has always enjoyed sledding, snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, and eating icicles.

Since she was often the new kid in school, Arctic Storm was quiet and shy, and not quite sure where fit in.  Unfortunately, school bullies exploited these traits and picked on her.  She usually stood her ground, but the bullying got worse when the bullies realized she had food allergies.  Arctic Storm again stood tall against their taunts, but worried that she wasn’t safe.

When Arctic Storm’s parents got jobs at a research station in Antarctica, she welcomed the chance to explore one of the world’s wild, untamed landscapes.  The isolation was a relief too—she was in her element in the snow and felt free to be herself.

Arctic Storm loved exploring—although she always obeyed her parents’ rules and kept the research station’s radio tower in sight.  While sledding one morning, she found a new fissure in the ice that was glowing green.  Upon closer inspection, she saw that the fissure went most of the way around a large shape buried under the ice.  She ran back to tell her parents about it, but not before snagging some green-tinted icicles to snack on.

Many scientists were interested in the green shape, but Arctic Storm was more concerned about herself.  After eating the green ice, she began to feel very strange.  She felt cold at first, and then unusually hot.  Her hands felt tingly, and she thought she could feel the movements in the ice and snow all around her.

Her mother tried to bring some hot tea, but Arctic Storm didn’t want anything hot.  She pushed the mug away, and to everyone’s surprise, the tea inside froze.  That was the moment when Arctic Storm realized she had ice powers.

Her body settled down after a few weeks, but the ice powers didn’t go away.  In fact, they got stronger.  Her parents took her back to the mainland, where she was quickly recruited by the Academy of Heroes.  There, she learned to master her powers.  She could freeze enemies in their tracks, she could build ice walls, and she could make a path of ice—and affix ice blades to her shoes—so that she could skate on her own ice.

Becoming a part of the Allergy Superheroes helped Arctic Storm grow as a person.  For the first time, she was an important part of an important group, and she loved having friends around her.  Now that she’s graduated from the Academy, she focuses on preventing kids with food allergies from getting bullied by anyone—peers, adults, or the Food Allergy Villains.

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JET TRAIL

Jet Trail is an amazing boy who can move things with his mind using a power called Telekinesis.  This is a fantastic power for a Superhero, because he can move heavy objects and also keep Villains far away.  Jet Trail loves things that fly, so he discovered that he could use telekinesis on himself to make himself fly.

Jet Trail also happens to have food allergies, but he doesn’t allow those food allergies to define him or slow him down.  He uses his Superhero training to keep other people with food allergies safe by fighting off the Food Allergy Villains.  He wants to remind other allergic kids that having a food allergy doesn’t make them any less super!

HISTORY

To begin with, Jet Trail was just an ordinary boy who loved everything that could fly:  birds, planes, helicopters, hang gliders, kites, blimps, hot air balloons… even paper airplanes.  If it could hang in the air, Jet Trail loved it.  He spent hours watching planes take off and land at a nearby airstrip, and he was going to be a pilot when he grew up—just like his dad.

Nobody thought there was anything different about Jet Trail until one day at the age of four, when he tried to reach a container of cookies on top of the refrigerator.  He wasn’t tall enough to reach them, but when he stretched his hand up toward the enticing prize, the container came down to his hand magically.  Thrilled, Jet Trail dug in.

Unfortunately, this amazing new ability proved to Jet Trail’s family that they couldn’t keep allergenic foods in the house.  The cookies had been out of reach because they contained ingredients that Jet Trail was allergic to, but fortunately his mother witnessed the extraordinary event, stopped him from eating more than a few bites, and took care of his resulting allergic reaction right away.  Jet Trail learned three things that day:  1) to always check the safety of a food before eating it, 2) that Epinephrine saves lives and should always be kept nearby, and 3) that he had the ability to move things with his mind—a power called telekinesis.

Shortly after, officials from the Academy of Heroes recruited Jet Trail and helped him learn how to control his powers.  He could be an amazing force of good in the world, if only he would use his powers to help people.  That became Jet Trail’s goal in life—to become a Superhero and to help people.

Jet Trail became very good at using his telekinesis over the next few years.  As long as he could see an object, he could move it; although the closer he was, the more precise he would be.

Through all of his training, Jet Trail was still obsessed with flight.  So one day he told his instructors that he wanted to try levitating himself.  They set up plenty of padding on the ground and agreed to let Jet Trail try to fly.  To everyone’s surprise and delight, it worked!  It took Jet Trail more than a year to gain full control (because using his powers on other objects was much different than using them on himself) but he eventually became a master flyer.

Jet Trail was thrilled to combine his love of flying with becoming a Superhero.  He promises to do his best to protect your little heroes from the Food Allergy Villains!

Crockpot Hawaiian Kalua Pork

A few years back, I wondered if I could replicate the traditional Luau Pork in a crockpot, to serve at a Hawaiian themed party.  Internet searches led me to a variation of this recipe, which is both wonderfully flavorful and wonderfully easy!  The only catch is that it takes a lot of time.  It stews in the crockpot for almost a full 24 hours, so you really need to plan a day ahead at least.  But if you want to bring a Hawaiian Luau stateside, this is the way to go!

Crockpot Hawaiian Kalua Pork

Ingredients

• pork butt or shoulder roast (5-6 pounds works best)
• 3/4 Tbsp coarse salt FOR EVERY 2-3 POUNDS OF MEAT
• 1 Tbsp liquid smoke flavoring FOR EVERY 2-3 POUNDS OF MEAT
• 1 head of cabbage, shredded

Directions

Use a fork to poke holes all round the uncooked meat.  Place in a crockpot and rub salt and liquid smoke flavoring all over.

I do this one side at a time, in the crockpot to contain any mess.

Cover and cook on low for approximately 18 hours, turning the roast over at the 10 hour mark

This roast weighed a little more than I usually
use--and it was quite full!

Except you're not really turning it over, just lifting up pieces that fall apart and turning over as much as you can.

After "flipping"

Once cooked, shred with a fork and stir to incorporate the drippings into the meat.  Stir in the cabbage and allow to cook for an additional 2 hours.

I can never get a whole head of cabbage in.  1/2 to 2/3 is
usually all I can manage!

Try not to overcook the cabbage. The rest of the timing is pretty forgiving, but if you go more than 2 hours on the cabbage, it will lose all crunch and become quite soggy.

Serve with rice.

This is a family favorite now!  It makes quite a bit, so if you're not making it for a large gathering, you'll want to bag and freeze most of the leftovers--which makes for an easy and delicious meal quite a few more times!

Linking up at Allergy Free Wednesdays and Gluten Free Fridays.  I hope you enjoy!