"If I can't serve it to everyone, I won't serve it to anyone"

Stephanie Hapner will return to Tulsa to talk about allergy-free cooking.

Hapner, author of "Allergy-Free Cooking Everyone Loves" was in Tulsa in November after the release of her new cookbook. She'll be back on Saturday at Akin's to talk about the book and give a cooking demo.

She became immersed in the world of gluten-free, dairy-free and casein-free cooking when her son was diagnosed, at age 9, with a rare disorder called eosinophilic esophagitis requiring the removal of food allergens from his diet.

Hapner was determined to not give her son a diet that tasted like cardboard. She experimented with recipes and ingredients, creating foods good enough that anyone could eat them.

"If I can't serve it to everyone, I won't serve it to anyone" became her mantra.

"I've learned plenty of things the hard way," Hapner said. "But my goal is to help other allergy-sufferers benefit from my experience to eat better and live better."

Hapner's book includes 301 recipes free of corn, dairy, wheat, barley, rye, gluten, peanuts and casein. It offers a glossary of alternative ingredients, a crash course in label reading and a section on stocking the allergy-free pantry.


Stephanie Hapner will give samples of these cookies at her demo at Akin's Saturday.

QUINOA HONEY COOKIES

Makes 2 dozen cookies

1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup sucanat
1 teaspoon molasses
1/2 cup sunflower nut butter
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla
1 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup quinoa flakes
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl beat honey, sucanat, molasses, sunflower nut butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy; set aside.

2. In a small bowl combine the white rice flour, quinoa flakes, baking soda and sea salt. Add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture 1 cup at a time, stirring well to combine ingredients.

3. Drop by teaspoonfuls on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 12 to 13 minutes or until lightly browned.


Cooking Demo And book Signing

What: Stephanie Hapner will give a cooking demo and sign copies of her book.

When: Noon to 2 p.m. Saturday

Where: Akin's at 7807 E. 51st St.; 918-663-4137

You can also find Hapner on July 23 at the Akin's in Mayfair Place in Oklahoma City.


Original Print Headline: Allergy-free cooking guru comes to Tulsa

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=39&articleid=20110713_39_D3_CUTLIN576646

By NATALIE MIKLES World Scene Writer 

Published: 7/13/2011  2:23 AM 

Weston's scope is scheduled for August and it can't come soon enough.  He was up last night screaming for over an hour in pain.  It's freaky to watch him because it's like Kaylin being 2 all over again.  We haven't even introduced the soy or rice milk back in like we will before then.  Not looking forward to this at all.

WNYT.com - Coping with a child's rare disease

Help CURED Support Gastrointestinal Research at Feinberg

CURED (Campaign Urging Research for Eosinophilic Disease), an organization that supports the important eosiniophilic disease research of Drs. Nirmala Gonsalves and Ikuo Hirano at Feinberg, is one of 100 regional finalists in the 2011 Vivint Gives Back Project. This national online campaign will award $250,000 to the winning non-profit organization, and $100,000 to five regional charities throughout the United States and Canada.

You can cast your vote now for CURED. In addition to voting, supporters can also make online donations. On select days, Vivint will match these donations dollar-for-dollar—up to $50 per donor, and $2,500 per charity. Participants can vote for one finalist per day.

Vote now and continue to cast your vote each day through August 27, 2011.

Started by the mother of a patient, CURED raises money for research of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGIDs). ALL proceeds raised from events go directly to research. EGIDs are a growing group of diseases where the eosinophils attack the gastrointestinal tract in response to foods eaten. Many children with EGIDs have extremely restricted diets and live on elemental formula. This organization is helping to find treatments and hopefully someday a cure.

Our latest Update

Well, we are coming up on another EE clinic appointment in just over a week and we're looking forward to one of the best ones ever. It has been six months since Kaylin has been seen in the clinic and she has been doing great.

Along with the Pulmicort slurry, we have managed to pinpoint the foods that she reacts to. As of right now she is off all dairy, pork, shellfish, rice, blueberries and we are careful to keep eggs and soy in small amounts - usually baked into other foods. We have thought for years about some kind of fruit bothering her but we were not able to put a finger on which one. A few months ago, she began throwing up blueberries and we knew we had found the culprit. I don't understand why she was able to tolerate them last year with small symptoms but this year led to throwing up and pain. This disease is so strange.