Feeding Between the Lines

When we moved to Seattle, we acquired a group of neighbors who get together on most Friday nights for food and conversation. We congregate at different homes for potlucks or go to restaurants in the area. Our Friday Night Follies are frequently complicated by assorted food allergies, intolerances, or aversions. Here is the line up, with the number affected over the years in parentheses:

• Gluten (2 intolerant adults, 1 celiac child)
• Zucchini (3 averse, including my Significant Other)
• Meat, fish, and poultry (2 vegetarians)
• Tomatoes (2)
• Peppers and chiles (1 intolerant, 1+ chile wimps)
• Alliums: Onions, garlic, shallots, scallions, chives (1)
• Walnuts (2)
• Cow’s milk dairy (1)
• Goat’s milk dairy (1)

As one can imagine, this can make meal planning messy. However, we’ve managed to sidestep most of the issues. Here are some of the strategies we’ve employed over the years:

•  Try to make a dish that the maximum amount of people can eat. Potatoes and rice are our mainstay starches. I made a brussels sprout and carrot coleslaw without bell pepper, onion, or paprika for one potluck.
•  Put the offending items, such as tomatoes or croutons for salad, on the side.
•  Gluten-free products are becoming more common. Some of them are even tasty. Tamari is gluten-free soy sauce. Meringues, ice cream, sorbets, and flourless cakes are also standard desserts.
•  When you find a restaurant that will cater to the range of allergies in your group, go there often so it will stay in business! We frequent a Chinese restaurant that will use gluten-free soy sauce in the dishes ordered by our celiac friend. When a number of us were in California, we had brunch at a restaurant that accommodated the gluten-free and Paleo diet folks at the table.
•  A make-your-own taco or burrito feed is a popular option that we’ve employed over the years to include all comers. Provide corn and flour tortillas, an assortment of fillings and salsas, and it’s every diner for his/herself.

We’ve hosted two dinners that put these strategies to the test. The first was a salmon feed in honor of my birthday. The onion-garlic-averse, gluten-phobes, and vegetarians were all present. Our usual salmon dish is grilled on a plank and smothered with onions and garlic. We roasted a bunch of new potatoes on the side, and made a red lentil dal for the vegetarians. We also planked a small bit of plain salmon for the allium-phobe.

One Easter the vegetarians were absent, but we still had gluten and allium issues to deal with. We bought a boneless leg of lamb from Costco. Since it was a very warm day, we unrolled the lamb and grilled it with nothing more than salt and pepper. It was served with a mint vinaigrette that balanced the richness of the lamb. Side dishes included new potatoes, pan-roasted asparagus with mustard-lemon sauce, herb bread, and flourless chocolate cake.

Sometimes the most meticulously-planned menu item will not be tolerated by someone. Often the gluten-free or vegetarian family will bring their own food as a backup. The philosophy of our Friday Night Follies is that nobody starves, and there’s no pressure to satisfy everyone in attendance.  Camaraderie is the most important feature of our gatherings, diet restrictions be damned.