Disney Dessert Dining with Allergies!

Last fall we were fortunate to go on a wonderful trip! We had some sun, sand and of course great food. For me, one of the easy vacation destinations where I know I can always eat is with Disney. They are so careful with food allergies, whether it’s at the parks, cruise line or resorts. This time we vacationed on the high seas on the Disney Wonder. We were able to explore Alaska, and the west coast including San Francisco and Los Angeles. The cruise concluded with a two week repositioning sail down the Mexican Riviera, through the Panama canal and to the new winter home of the Disney Wonder: Galveston, Texas. It was a great September. Of course it has taken me several months to get my photos from the trip organized, which includes all my pictures of the great meals we enjoyed!

The wonderful thing about the multiple cruises in a row, was our ability to really get to know our wait staff. It made dealing with my food allergies amazingly easy. We had mostly the same wait staff the whole time. Once we dealt with my food allergies for a few days, I didn’t have to worry about it any more. The kitchen took care of my meals, and making sure I had a dairy free, nut free, chocolate free meal and dessert every night. I found myself taking pictures of my desserts many nights, because they were so beautiful. Here are just a few of them!

A spice cake with cream filling and strawberry sauce:

Strawberry_Cake

My hot apple pie with vanilla rice dream:

Apple_Crisp

A blueberry muffin cake with fresh berries and vanilla rice dream:

Bluebery_Muffin

An amazing dairy free strawberry mouse with strawberry sauce and fresh berries:

Pink_Meraingue

I also had the fortune to be on the Wonder for my birthday and we were able to do brunch at Palo!

Happy_Birthday

This was a spiced cake with lemon sauce and dairy-free whipped cream for garnish. The chef told me it was a vegetable oil type whipped cream but it was tasty!

Whipped_Topping

This was a spongy lemon cake with strawberry syrup and fresh fruit. This was the best dessert of the whole cruise!

Lemon_Cake

Just for fun, of course even the ketchup has personality of a Disney cruise!

Ketchup

PS. Yes I am a Disney fan and that is why all of my blog photos have a Mickey theme to them. Probably 1/3 of my kitchen is Mickey themed and I love it!!!! (More importantly, my husband is nice enough to put up with it and sometimes even encourage my Mickey habit) Gotta love the Mouse!!!

Toothless_SignatureJaime

Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower_Bowl

So now that the weather is warming up (slowly, ever so slowly) I am looking for veggie soup recipes that are good weather served warm or cold. I am a huge fan of cauliflower, especially with my limited chewing abilities. It cooks down be nice and tender so I am a fan. The addition of bacon and onion makes it even better! Plus I blend this soup so it is smooth and easy to eat. This soup has become my favorite way to get my bacon fix!

Warm (or cold) Cauliflower soup
3 Tbsp unsalted butter or margarine
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 leeks, ends trimmed, chopped and soaked to clean any dirt
4-5 slices of bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock (1 box works well)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
1 large head of cauliflower cut into 1-inch pieces
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Cauliflower_Simmer

Melt the butter in a pot over medium-low heat and add the chopped leeks and celery. (I skip the celery) I toss in a pinch of salt to help the leeks to sweat out a bit. After about 5 minutes I toss in the chopped bacon to start cooking. After 5 minutes add in the garlic and stir. When the garlic is fragrant add in the vegetable stock, thyme and the cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until cauliflower is soft. Blend with an immersion blender in the pot (or in two batches in a blender). Check seasoning again and enjoy! You can also refrigerate and serve chilled.

This soup is great when served with crisp bacon pieces or cauliflower florets or even croutons or saltine crackers. I have made this soup with shallots or even sweet onions, depending on what is in my fridge. I also have to admit that I have been known to use extra bacon in this soup. I really miss being able to chew bacon, so this blended soup is a great way for me to get a bacon fix!

Toothless_SignatureJaime