In which we talk about my lunch (a recipe)

Herbed waffle hash browns, low histamine, gluten free, and also kosher for Passover

Hello all of you lovely souls, especially the new ones who found me through the grace of the algorithm or friends and family who sent you here. I was recently talking with a friend whose daughter was reacting to a certain set of foods, which he detailed for me (onions, garlic, beans, artichokes, and others) and I looked at him and said, “inulins/fructans.” Still no word on the daughter, but I am pretty sure I’m one step closer to being the intolerance whisperer, so there’s that. So far I’m only on team histamines, but am learning of lots of other intolerances lately like salicylates, oxalates and Alpha Gal. It’s rough waters out there for so many of us. But still so important to eat food that nourishes you and brings you joy.

So I’m developing some recipes. There are so so many! Here is one for you to enjoy, easily adaptable to vegan/alpha gal friendly by changing out the butter for olive oil and obviously not using ricotta. The butter will yield a slightly crunchier outside, but the olive oil version is good, too.

Herbed waffle hash browns
Makes two waffles, serves 1

1 medium potato (around 3-4 oz), washed (use whatever kind you have on hand). I don’t peel them, but you can if you like.
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dill
1 pinch salt
1 T butter, melted (or substitute olive oil for vegan/alpha gal)

Grate the potato on the coarse side of a box grater, and just with your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can, by the handful of potato shreds. One potato was about 3.5 handfuls for me.

Place your squeezed potato shreds in a large enough bowl to mix and toss, and add the herbs, salt and butter or oil. Toss to coat.

Use a spoon to place the mixture into the preheated waffle maker. No need to spray beforehand.

Allow waffle to cook in waffle maker for ten minutes or to the brownness you desire.

Remove and serve topped with ricotta (as shown), or other cheese of your choice, or an egg and maybe a salad of whatever you have on hand nearby. I have a salad made of leftover steamed broccoli, arugula, watercress, red onion and shredded carrot, dressed with salt, olive oil and lemon. Arugula, watercress and red onion are all high in the bioflavonoid quercetin, which is a mast-cell stabilizer and can help with endogenous (body-released) histamines, which can make you less reactive . Lemon may or may not aggravate you, so use judiciously.

Enjoy! And let me know how it goes, pretty please.