The Sensitive Chef
March 2023
But I’ll spare you the details of my South Korean orphanage life as Uijung Kim. I would rather tell you about life after my adoption as Meaghan Casey Dunn.
So how does a Korean woman end up with such an Irish name, you may ask. It begins with my mother, who fell in love with the name Meaghan, one of the many Kennedy cousins, after reading about the Kennedy family. As for my middle name, my brother Drew, who loved baseball, chose Casey after legendary Yankees manager, Casey Stengel. And my last name Dunn came from my Russian and Ukrainian paternal grandparents, which was shortened from Dunovsky when they immigrated to the US.
I grew up in Doylestown, with my Jewish parents sending me to Hebrew school before I could even speak English. My mother was not fond of cooking, and I’ll leave it at that (so she won’t get offended with me should she read this article). However, her grandmother Fanny – my Bubby – loved cooking, and planted the seed for one of my absolute favorite activities to this day.
Today, I’m a mother with a daughter who was born with many severe food allergies, which forced me to learn to cook in a completely different way. From birth, Nari has been allergic to pretty much everything but rice and potatoes. I had to feed her genetically-engineered formula as a baby, and I remember feeling overwhelmed by the challenge of how I was going to feed this child.
In the early 2000s, allergy-sensitive ingredients were still limited, there was no Facebook or allergy-friendly apps with hip, allergy friendly recipes, and stores didn’t have entire sections of gluten-free, non-dairy, and vegan options. Thankfully, things have changed quite drastically over the years. Ingredient alternatives for dairy and eggs, gluten-free flour blends and plant-based meats are now readily available.
Having spent years in California, I divorced when my daughter was still an infant, and moved back home to the East Coast from Los Angeles to be closer to family again. Raising a child with severe food allergies solo can feel extremely overwhelming, particularly when you have no partner to reassure you or question you when you’re doing the wrong or right things as a parent.
Nari is now 19, living in Southern California studying animation and design in college. I kept her alive for two decades despite her multiple visits to the ER over the years from severe food allergy emergencies. Everyone knows that one kid in school who is allergic to absolutely everything, having to sit segregated at a separate table protected from any possibility of stray peanut butter or a milk particle. That was my kid.
I recall other parents being nervous when our children had playdates together, wondering what they would feed my child or how they would handle a sudden allergy attack. I always packed a snack kit and EpiPens with her so they didn’t need to worry quite as much. But as a parent in that situation, you always worry if they’re getting enough of or the right nutrients, or if their diet is well-balanced. When a child doesn’t have many food options, you have to learn to make the ones you have tasty and fun. After all, they’re still just kids.
But I also worried about what the other children would say when they saw and tasted the gluten-and dairy-free birthday cupcakes she brought in to class. It’s disheartening when your child can’t join in the pizza party where the costumed mouse and other anthropomorphic animals perform while children play video games. It’s not just from the food she ate. Nari would break out in a rash from touching the cheese oil all over the games and tables. It was hard to resist just putting her in a bubble to keep her safe.
Around 32 million Americans have food allergies, including 5.6 million kids under 18. I don’t remember kids with food allergies like Nari’s when I was that age. But we know more now, we know better. And my own daughter – like anyone else – has food cravings, and deserves fun, tasty meals and snacks. When she wants a special treat, she often asks for anything chocolate like brownies or cookies.
With everything I learned about cooking and baking from my Bubby, I experimented with many recipes and ingredient replacements over the years, and have learned how to create delicious goodies for her like these amazingly-buttery, crisp, and thin, chocolate chip cookies that everyone who eats enjoys, even those without any food sensitivities. They are vegan, soy, dairy, egg, and nut-free. I use Enjoy brand semisweet mini chocolate chips and a ground flaxseed, tapioca and potato starch mix for the egg replacement.
My best bit of advice when making these cookies is to allow enough space on the parchment lined baking sheet between the cookies for them to spread out without touching one another. They become very flat when baking, so don’t be alarmed, it’s not a mistake. It’s also key to allow the cookies to completely cool before trying to remove them from the pan, so be patient and it will be worth it for the crispy, heavenly treat. And if you’re looking for some variety, you can easily alter the recipe by swapping chocolate chips for dried cranberries or raisins.
But I’ll spare you the details of my South Korean orphanage life as Uijung Kim. I would rather tell you about life after my adoption as Meaghan Casey Dunn.
So how does a Korean woman end up with such an Irish name, you may ask. It begins with my mother, who fell in love with the name Meaghan, one of the many Kennedy cousins, after reading about the Kennedy family. As for my middle name, my brother Drew, who loved baseball, chose Casey after legendary Yankees manager, Casey Stengel. And my last name Dunn came from my Russian and Ukrainian paternal grandparents, which was shortened from Dunovsky when they immigrated to the US.
I grew up in Doylestown, with my Jewish parents sending me to Hebrew school before I could even speak English. My mother was not fond of cooking, and I’ll leave it at that (so she won’t get offended with me should she read this article). However, her grandmother Fanny – my Bubby – loved cooking, and planted the seed for one of my absolute favorite activities to this day.
Today, I’m a mother with a daughter who was born with many severe food allergies, which forced me to learn to cook in a completely different way. From birth, Nari has been allergic to pretty much everything but rice and potatoes. I had to feed her genetically-engineered formula as a baby, and I remember feeling overwhelmed by the challenge of how I was going to feed this child.
In the early 2000s, allergy-sensitive ingredients were still limited, there was no Facebook or allergy-friendly apps with hip, allergy friendly recipes, and stores didn’t have entire sections of gluten-free, non-dairy, and vegan options. Thankfully, things have changed quite drastically over the years. Ingredient alternatives for dairy and eggs, gluten-free flour blends and plant-based meats are now readily available.
Having spent years in California, I divorced when my daughter was still an infant, and moved back home to the East Coast from Los Angeles to be closer to family again. Raising a child with severe food allergies solo can feel extremely overwhelming, particularly when you have no partner to reassure you or question you when you’re doing the wrong or right things as a parent.
Nari is now 19, living in Southern California studying animation and design in college. I kept her alive for two decades despite her multiple visits to the ER over the years from severe food allergy emergencies. Everyone knows that one kid in school who is allergic to absolutely everything, having to sit segregated at a separate table protected from any possibility of stray peanut butter or a milk particle. That was my kid.
I recall other parents being nervous when our children had playdates together, wondering what they would feed my child or how they would handle a sudden allergy attack. I always packed a snack kit and EpiPens with her so they didn’t need to worry quite as much. But as a parent in that situation, you always worry if they’re getting enough of or the right nutrients, or if their diet is well-balanced. When a child doesn’t have many food options, you have to learn to make the ones you have tasty and fun. After all, they’re still just kids.
But I also worried about what the other children would say when they saw and tasted the gluten-and dairy-free birthday cupcakes she brought in to class. It’s disheartening when your child can’t join in the pizza party where the costumed mouse and other anthropomorphic animals perform while children play video games. It’s not just from the food she ate. Nari would break out in a rash from touching the cheese oil all over the games and tables. It was hard to resist just putting her in a bubble to keep her safe.
Around 32 million Americans have food allergies, including 5.6 million kids under 18. I don’t remember kids with food allergies like Nari’s when I was that age. But we know more now, we know better. And my own daughter – like anyone else – has food cravings, and deserves fun, tasty meals and snacks. When she wants a special treat, she often asks for anything chocolate like brownies or cookies.
With everything I learned about cooking and baking from my Bubby, I experimented with many recipes and ingredient replacements over the years, and have learned how to create delicious goodies for her like these amazingly-buttery, crisp, and thin, chocolate chip cookies that everyone who eats enjoys, even those without any food sensitivities. They are vegan, soy, dairy, egg, and nut-free. I use Enjoy brand semisweet mini chocolate chips and a ground flaxseed, tapioca and potato starch mix for the egg replacement.
My best bit of advice when making these cookies is to allow enough space on the parchment lined baking sheet between the cookies for them to spread out without touching one another. They become very flat when baking, so don’t be alarmed, it’s not a mistake. It’s also key to allow the cookies to completely cool before trying to remove them from the pan, so be patient and it will be worth it for the crispy, heavenly treat. And if you’re looking for some variety, you can easily alter the recipe by swapping chocolate chips for dried cranberries or raisins.
sheet between the cookies for them to spread out without touching one another. They become very flat when baking, so don’t be alarmed, it’s not a mistake. It’s also key to allow the cookies to completely cool before trying to remove them from the pan, so be patient and it will be worth it for the crispy, heavenly treat. And if you’re looking for some variety, you can easily alter the recipe by swapping chocolate chips for dried cranberries or raisins.
Nari’s Favorite Chocolate Crack Cookies
Ingredients
1 pound (4 sticks) Earth Balance red soy-free butter
or Smart Balance green soy-free butter
3 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 Tbsp. flax seed meal + 10 Tbsp. water
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill gf cup for cup flour or
your favorite cup for cup gf flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. gf baking soda
2 bags Enjoy brand semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
Directions
Step 1-Preheat oven to 400°
Step 2-Cream butter until smooth; add both sugars, and beat until smooth. Beat in egg replacement and vanilla. Into a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Slowly beat dry ingredients into wet mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
Step 3-Using a melon baller, scoop small balls of dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, but only 6 per pan spaced apart. (Do not use silicone pans or dark non stick pans.)They spread apart flat and should not touch.
Step 4-Bake for approximately 8 minutes until dark golden brown, but don’t wander too far away or they will burn. It also depends on your oven so adjust time accordingly. Then allow to fully cool before eating or they will break apart. When cooled they should be crispy and snap apart with a crunch. If they’re soft then you didn’t bake them long enough.
Contact Meaghan Dunn at: thescheflife@gmail.com
or visit dumplingmama.com
