This is so awesome!!! You are so generous to post and share! I am trying to figure out if these are the same recipes from a magazine that my late mother bought me a subscription for when I got my firsta partment in 2001. The only recipe I have handy s is the Secret Chocoalte Chip Cookies (still a hit). I'm tyring to find the lasagna recipe...it was like "Grandma's Best Lasagna" or something...had cottage, ricotta, parmasean, and moz cheeses. I had so much fun with these magazines, and exploring the recipes each month was such a great way to learn how to cook!! Thanks again!

You can skip the watercress in this. Plus they're easy to make ahead: PESTO-STUFFED CHERRY TOMATOES (serves 6-8) 2 cups (1 pint) cherry tomatoes 3 oz pkg cream cheese, softened 2 TBL lemon juice 1/4 cup grated Parmesan 1/4 cup finely chopped pine nuts or sunflower seeds (almonds work also) 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley 1/4 cup finely chopped watercress 1 1/2 tsp dried basil 2 cloves garlic, crushed Cut tops off cherry tomatoes. Scoop out pulp. Drain tomatoes upside down on paper towels while making the filling. Beat the cream cheese w/the lemon juice in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Fill tomatoes w/cheese mixture & chill.~~From Appetizers CHEESE STRAWS (makes about 5 dozen) 1 scan cup flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt Dash of cayenne 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar 5 1/3 TBL butter 2-3 tsp water Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne & cheese. Add the butter & rub in until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle in enough water to make a stiff dough. Roll out about 1/8" thick & cut in 3x1/4" strips. Bake on a cookie sheet in a preheated 400° oven for 10 minutes or until slightly brown.~~Company's Coming For this you can vary the kinds of chips: NUTS & BOLTS (serves 12 or more) 2 small boxes Cheez-its 3 cans mixed nuts (3-4 cups) 8 oz shelled pecans 1 qt popcorn (best freshly popped) 2 pkg sesame chips 2 cans coconut chips 1 small box pretzel sticks 2 sticks margarine 1/2 tsp garlic salt or 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 tsp salt 1 tsp curry powder Dash of Tabasco 1 TBL Worcestershire sauce Preheat oven to 250°. Mix the Cheez-its, nuts, popcorn, chips & pretzel sticks in a large roasting pan. Melt the margarine in a small pan & stir in the seasonings. Sprinkle over the mixture in the roasting pan. Bake 1 hour, stirring 2-3 times. Cool on absorbent paper & store in cans or jars.~~Cincinnati Celebrates HAM CHEESE BALL (serves 12-15) Two 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened 1 cup ground smoked ham 1 TBL grated onion 2 tsp dried parsley flakes 1/2 tsp seasoned pepper 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Cover & chill 30-60 minutes. Shape mixture into a large ball & coat w/chopped nuts. Wrap w/plastic wrap & refrigerate. Serve w/assorted crackers.~~Food for Thought Oh, and deviled eggs go over well with nearly everyone.

It is always difficult to adapt, just like anyone who is put on a restricted diet of any kind for whatever reason. It's so easy to focus on what we CAN'T have - so reverse the process and focus on what they CAN have. Since everyone with gout has different "triggers", it's not easy to recommend recipes, per se, because you don't share enough information to do that. Try this to help off-set your frustration. Make a list of foods they CAN eat. Stick to whole foods in meal preparation. This helps you avoid "mystery" ingredients in commercially prepared foods which may trigger a flare up. As far as I'm concerned, whole foods are also beneficial because they are usually quick to fix (wash/peel/cut-up/serve, or minimal preparation and cooking), and the additional fiber found in many of them also helps with gout. If they can eat baked potatoes, then figure out what kinds of things from your CAN-EAT-LIST can be combined to make a "new" dish out of baked potatoes. Just like we've added broccoli and cheese, or chili to the baked potato, figure out what other options from the list you can use as a new topping. Creativity is your best friend. Can you whirr something rather unexpected - like lima beans - in the blender and make a soup or sauce from the liquified bean mixture? Do a Google search on "gout-friendly recipes" and I'm sure you will find some help there, or find a Yahoo group for some support and ideas. What else are you doing? I've suggested black cherries and/or black cherry juice as a "folk" remedy, to 2 friends, and this has really helped them. Have you tried increasing foods with potassium? Potassium makes the acid crystals go into solution so they can be eliminated. Is he drinking LOTS of water? Are you using lemon juice? After each meal drink the juice of one freshly squeezed lemon in a glass of lukewarm water. To get more juice out of the lemon, bring it to room temperature, then roll it around on the counter with the palm of your hand. Good luck with your extreme cooking challenge. -Grainlady

You can put textured vegetable protein (TVP) in chili, and eventually if you find that he likes the taste, put it in other things too. Vegetarian chili is also good, plenty of protein in beans. Morningstar Farms makes fake chicken patties, nuggets and buffalo wings that are really good, even to people who are not into fake meat. You could try cooking a lot of chinese food, with mostly vegetables and the meat just for flavoring rather than a main ingredient. Things like fried rice. Some pasta dishes use meat mainly for flavoring too, like pasta with bacon and broccoli and spaghetti carbonara. Cheese-based dishes and egg-based dishes both have lots of fat and protein, which are probably what he craves. Homemade macaroni and cheese is so good. Meatless lasange. Spinach is the best, with whole milk ricotta, yum! Risotto. Enchiladas are much better with vegetables than they are with meat, in my opinion. Spinach enchiladas especially. Try making meals out of a few heavy dishes that he really likes that are traditionally sides, and just leave out the main course. For instance (I don't know if he likes this stuff but it is just a suggestion), deviled eggs, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, and a vegetable. What about fish? I don't really know what gout is, but maybe he can eat fish, or shellfish - clam chowder. Corn chowder is good too. I sometimes just serve salad and baked potatoes with lots of toppings (butter, sour cream, chives, fake bacon bits, broccoli, grated cheese, salsa). Twice-baked potatoes are also good. Add warm potatoes and/or cauliflower to green salads to make them a bigger part of the meal, and experiment with making your own dressings, which are usually so much better than bottled. Also experiment with adding cheeses to salad. Spinach salad is a nice change if you don't usually have that.