The blogs are popping up: the “Who needs Martha allergen-free recipe exchange” and “Martha Disappoints“. Apparently after Martha ran a contest for a new idea, one of her staff came up with the idea for a food allergy magazine. When the results came in, the food allergy magazine won. Second place, though they called it a tie, was a magazine for pet lovers. Well, guess what Martha did. She is going with the pet mag.

Sure, marketing plays a big factor. Pets are cute. Martha can do lots of great ideas for pets. She can feature pet clothes, pet parties, pet themed rooms in her home, even special meals for pets. Would I buy the magazine? No. Would I buy a Martha Stewart magazine on food allergies? Sure! I’d like to see allergy safe foods become a little more en vogue, get the designer treatment, all of that. I’d like to see what Martha would do with that. But even though the majority voted for food allergies, it looks like she is taking the cute route.

Alison on www.surefoodsliving.com has taken a good approach to this snub. She is doing a recipe exchange on her site calling it “Who Needs Martha.” You can enter recipes that are free of the top allergens and be posted on her site. This is a great place to not only feature your own recipes, but also see some of the yummy things others out there are doing to be allergy free. After all, she’s right; who needs Martha anyway?

Here’s my contribution:

Lemon Spaghetti – wheat free, egg free, nut free, soy free, possible dairy free
Wheat free spaghetti noodles
3 tbs Olive oil
2 lemons
¼ fresh Italian parsley
salt and pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (leave out to be dairy free or use a  dairy free alternative like “Florentino Parmazano” by St Giles Foods Ltd)

Boil the noodles according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, zest the 2 lemons and grate parmesan if using. Chop the parsley. Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining the water when the pasta is ready. Put the pasta back in to the pot or other bowl and add olive oil (you can use more or less depending on your taste). Add the zest and juice from the lemons and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. If you are using the cheese, stir this in while everything is still nice and warm. Add some of the pasta water to make the consistency you want. If you are not using cheese, you won’t need to add the water. Enjoy!