Welcome! I am so delighted that you’re here! I’m using this first blog post to introduce myself, my family, and my company to you. I am mother of four, and an attorney turned cook. The path that led me to Sonria Kitchen is a long one, but it has been an incredible learning experience. Through this blog, I am hoping to share some of the experience I’ve gained from the trials and tribulations of being an “allergy mom.” As almost all of these stories go, we learned about Thomas’s allergies the hard way when he was eight months old. He’d had odd reactions to certain types of bread, and while we waited for the bloodwork to come back, our allergist gave us a prescription for an Epi-pen and recommended we fill it “just in case.” Thankfully, we had it on that June morning when Thomas had a full-blown anaphylactic reaction. My husband was feeding Thomas a delicious breakfast of peas, carrots, and potatoes, when his throat started to close, his entire body swelled and hives appeared everywhere. In an eerily calm, but absolutely terrifying moment we injected Thomas with the Epi-pen and raced to the emergency room. Four hours, and a lot of tears shed by me later, it was confirmed that he had reacted to the peas in his breakfast. The next day, we got the results of the bloodwork that in addition to peas, Thomas was severely allergic to Wheat, Tree Nuts, Legumes – especially peas, and chick peas, Soy, and Peanuts. My heart ached wondering how we’d protect him in a world that seemed filled with things Thomas couldn’t safely eat. Over the next six years we tried almost every “allergy friendly” product out there (and there are some epically bad ones). I wanted Thomas to be able to be able to enjoy all the meals I loved growing up. So much of our lives is centered on food, or sharing a meal with others. I didn’t want Thomas to ever feel that he had to eat boring, bland food to be safe. Rather, I wanted him to know that he could have complete, delicious experiences without worry or stress. Therein lies the heart of this mission. I want to teach people that all the same foods they know and love can be modified to accommodate their dietary needs. Those “creature comforts,” your grandmother’s chicken-noodle soup, your Aunt’s savory boeuf bourguignon, your favorite bread recipe, can all be adapted to be just as delicious and comforting as always, but in a way that is safe for everyone. At Sonria Kitchen we will be making food to make you smile, and I hope sharing this culinary journey together.
