The F word!

In a previous life as a teacher, I was always suspicious of the (usually rather pasty and acne faced) boys who seemingly took huge amounts of time off school and, when the absence note eventually came in, or the phone call from mum, the reason given was that ‘his IBS has returned.’ I tended to dismiss this as a ‘lightweight’ excuse for missing school, a symptom of an unwillingness to engage with some of the harsher realities of academic study. However, since the diagnosis of child #3, I have learnt that:

1. IBS is notoriously difficult to diagnose, especially in girls
2. It manifests itself in various different ways, depending on the individual – child#3’s quirk is that she is also lactose and gluten intolerant
3. There is no easy solution to ease the considerable pain it causes

I have quickly become acquainted with the FODMAP diet, one of the usual ways to alleviate symptoms and help sufferers find out which foods suit them best (or least badly). Due to the restrictions it imposes on a diet, it it is recommended to be followed for 4-6 weeks only. For the uninitiated and apologies if I am preaching to the converted, FODMAP stands for fermentable oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols, short chain carbs that are resistant to digestion. The list of ingredients which are ‘bad’ or ‘good’ seems at first glance to a non-scientist like me to be perverse. Wheat is one of the most common triggers for an onset of IBS for many. The Monash university app (paid) is recommended by most doctors involved with IBS. My ‘go to’ list for which ingredients I can use is from the link below and is now a permanent fixture on the laptop.

https://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/

I soon realised this wasn’t about me, so changed my mindset to: ‘how do I make this work?’ There are many challenges to face when cooking for someone with IBS, who happens to be pescatarian. Added to this, at this time of lockdown, I am also cooking for child #1, who is nut allergic and another pescatarian in the family. Below my shortcuts to help produce a variety of tasty meals to satisfy all appetites.

I use garlic oil not olive oil and garlic. This can be difficult to source, so I make my own when I confit garlic (for a confit garlic cauliflower cheese recipe from Anna Jones). Instead of onions I use either celery, chives or the green parts of spring onions. I seek out recipes that use chilli, ginger, za’atar to flavour, rather than garlic, as these all give good, spicy flavour and ‘kick’. And that’s about it interns of replacements. Many pasta recipes work just as well with gluten free pasta. You can get good vegan cheese, lactose free chocolate (some of which is also nut free as well) and lactose free milk. Below some of my ‘go to’ recipes…

Eating: (On the left) Roast sweet potato and crunchy flageolet bean stew. The original recipe is with squash and chick peas, but it works just as well with sweet potato. I could not get any chickpeas, so used the band instead and they worked just as well. I had also run out of spinach, so used some broccoli instead. The harissa and ras-el-hanout provide a good spice and kick. I served with brown rice. (On the right) Za’atar cacio e pepe, recipe adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi. I used gluten free pasta, lactose free spread and a range of different lactose free cheeses, garlic oil and basil leaves from the garden. (Below) Lentil and roast vegetable salad, recipe adapted from Meera Sodha. I used garlic oil and celery to replace the garlic and shallots and then the vegetables I had hanging around – we had as a side salad with the barbecued meats and fish.

Drinking: As always, probably too much. Rhubarb from the garden to make rhubarb gimlets, ideal ‘prink’ in the late afternoon sun, followed by this light but lovely German red, sourced from Virgin wines. Gimlet made from rhubarb syrup, gin and lime juice.

Listening to: As I write in the persistent drizzle of today, the sunshine of the last days seems already a memory, but given how the warmth makes me feel, it has had to be Bob Marley. Lazily I have just ad his greatest hits album, Legend, on shuffle. It doesn’t get better than Stir It Up and Redemption Song.

Reading: Strangely, it has taken me some time to settle into reading in lockdown, despite the time available. This week, though, Barbara Kingsolver‘s ‘Unsheltered’ has been my companion.