Posts Tagged ‘low glycemic’

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Pear Skillet Bread

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

Sometimes I get something in my head and I’m not letting it go until I get what I want! This recipe is a perfect example. I love my Nana Skillet Bread, but bananas don’t agree with me…and I can’t have grains. But I believed I could make it work with pears and was absolutely determined! Darn thing wasn’t going to get the best of me. Most of the “failed” batches were delicious, but they were a pile of crumbs, so I was always “forced” to eat them. Quite a hardship! I generally make things in season, and started working on this at the beginning of pear season, and didn’t figure out how to make it work until a week ago. I have a stash of frozen pears, and methinks this is where they’re headed.

It’s not quite a bread, and not quite a cake. It’s perfect for breakfast, brunch or a snack, and it’s quite healthy, too! If you don’t have a skillet, you can do it in an 9 inch round, but the crust won’t brown as nicely. Lining the skillet with parchment is essential if you’re using a skillet, or it will totally get stuck. Salba or chia is a must, and flax won’t work. You’ll get a pile of crumbs. Tasty crumbs. Trust me. For more info on Salba, I have a two articles here. If you don’t have mesquite, add more almond flour instead, and add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and more spices.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
¼ cup mesquite flour
1Tablespoons +1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup pecans or walnuts (optional)
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
pinch of salt

Wet:
1 1/4 cups very ripe pears
1 tablespoon ground chia (Salba) seeds
2/3 cup agave (a little less)
3T oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon maple extract
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Line the bottom of a 10 inch cast iron skillet with parchment paper, then grease the paper and sides of the pan. Preheat oven to 350 and put skillet in the hot oven 10 minutes before adding the batter.

Thoroughly mix dry ingredients together. Dump wet ingredients in a blender. Let it roll until well blended. In my vitamix, that takes less than a minute. I would assume an ordinary blender would take a few minutes. Add wet to dry mix until well everything is combined, then stir in the nuts.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until top turns a beautiful golden brown. Almond flour browns a lot so don’t be surprised if it’s darker than you expect. Cool on a drying rack 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Top with sauteed apples if desired.

Yum.

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008

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Posted in baked goods, bread, recipe | 5 Comments »

Red Pepper Soup

Saturday, November 8th, 2008

I love red peppers. And yellow peppers. And orange peppers. I guess I really mean all sweet peppers! Raw, roasted, sauteed…you really can’t go wrong. I eat a ridiculous quantity of roasted peppers in the summer and fall months. As it gets colder, I turn more toward red pepper soup and sauce.

This is one of those “un-recipe” recipes. Every time I’ve done it it’s been great, and each time is slightly different, depending on what I have on hand and my mood. You can use different nuts. I like brazil nuts and almonds, too. When I have some, I add in a clove or two of roasted garlic, and it works well. I try to put aside some of my herb-y roasted peppers (if I can manage not to eat them all!!), but canned marinated peppers work, too.

The soup is creamy and satisfying and best of all it’s quick and easy to make!

1 cup roasted peppers
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup broth
a squirt or two of agave
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder (if your peppers are not already marinated or seasoned)
pinch of sea salt
black pepper, to taste
pinch cayenne
sprig of thyme

Put everything except thyme in a blender and blend until smooth (this may take a while!). You’ll have a great soup ready in just a few minutes. Warm over gentle heat, sprinkle with fresh thyme and enjoy.

This is my weekly submission to Weekend Herb Blogging, which has passed from Kalyn’s Kitchen to Haalo ofCook Almost Anything At least Once (words to live by!) This week’s hostess is Wiffy of Noob Cook

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Posted in recipe, side dish, soup, vegetables, weekend herb blogging | 13 Comments »

Pesto time!

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

As always, I leave things to the last minute, and this is pretty much the last hurrah for my basil.   I’m just lucky that the weather has cooperated and that my basil is still around!  I love pesto, and it’s just so easy to do.  It’s even better because the basil and garlic are from my garden (the garlic was harvested and roasted months ago).

And, as an added bonus, pesto is part of my sneaky agenda to add vegan meals to the menu without DH noticing.  Pesto is so hearty and filling, especially with a great protein like quinoa, and I think it somehow escaped his attention.  Whenever he notices, he feels the need to compensate by eating a big bowl of ice cream…which entirely defeats the purpose.  He says it’s not intentional, but I don’t buy it.  We had a deal when we married.  I wasn’t moving to Rochester, and he wasn’t going vegetarian.  So far, we’re living in Virginia, and still have a mixed diet.  But that doesn’t stop me from trying to push the envelope.  Ah, the things we do for love…

But onto the pesto!

I make a bunch at a time and freeze it so I can enjoy in the winter. I tend to make a pretty dry paste to freeze, and then just thin out with more olive oil as needed when I’m ready to use it. And there are so many ways to use it! Stir it into quinoa, as above, or use it as a pizza topping. Use it as a dip, pesto your fish….you’re only limited by your imagination!

You may also notice that there’s no cheese in this recipe, since I’m allergic to dairy. You can certainly add in some parm, but between the pine nuts and walnuts, there’s a delightful creaminess and I never miss it.

3 cups packed fresh basil, washed at the last minute
4 cloves roasted garlic (optional)
1 clove raw garlic
1/2 cup olive oil*
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts and walnuts
Big pinch sea salt
good squirt of lemon
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives (optional)

*more as needed or desired

Toast pine nuts and walnuts over medium heat in a dry skillet, shaking to prevent burning. Set aside.
Process basil, garlic and oil until smooth-ish. Add in salt, nuts and lemon and pulse. I like to leave chunks, but that’s a matter of personal taste!

Since I’ve been missing the “Grow your own” deadlines for a while, I’m reversing the trend and submitting early! The host for this round is Andrea, of Andrea’s Kitchen, who also was the founder of this event.

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Posted in main meal, recipe, weekend herb blogging | 9 Comments »

Crispy crackers: A daring baker challenge

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

This was such fun!  Many thanks to Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and co-host Shel, of Musings From the Fishbowl for September’s Daring Baker Challenge. I haven’t had much in the way of crackers or bread in the past 4 or 5 years.  Something about not being able to have gluten, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, sugar, yeast, and made the idea of bread and bread products a little off-putting.  Crazy, I know.  And then came the really fun part: giving up grains for a while (long story).  What can I say, I’m always up for a good challenge, it inspires me to be more creative.

I don’t think I have ever had real lavash crackers so I didn’t have a good sense of what I was going for.  I decided to play with several ideas, and it was great fun.

After quite a few experiments, the crackers started to taste like…well, crackers. I could have precut them to make them more evenly shaped, but that’s not really my style. I thoroughly enjoyed them, and certainly do plan to make them again. I also made the Salsa-mole to go with them, but alas…I was having such fun eating the crackers that it didn’t occur to me to dip them until they were all gone! They are especially great if you are on a low glycemic, a low carb, grain free or no amylose diet, or South Beach kind of diet because they are tasty, and they aren’t very difficult.

Take 1: almond flax crackers

I barely got a picture of these babies before I gobbled them all.  I didn’t quite get the texture right, but the taste was yum. However, I wanted something much crispier.

Take 2: flax crackers:

I got a sheet of goop that was starting to burn.    Direct to garbage.

Take 3: hazelnut/mesquite/agave/cinnamon crackers
they smelled heavenly, but were way too gooky. I’ll have to work more on those.

Take 4: brazil nut/chestnut/sorghum crackers:

I played with these a bit. They very yummy, not quite crispy or thin enough.  If you want the recipe, drop me a line. But I really wanted to make a grain free cracker, so…

Take 5: my delightful, grain free, crispy, delicious crackers. 

2/3 cup canned or cooked garbanzo beans, washed and drained
1/3 cup chestnut flour
14 brazil nuts
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons of water, or until the mix starts to come together

3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Wash the garbanzos well and drain off all of the water.  Put first group of ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the nuts disappear into the mix.

Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time. 2 worked well for me, but it may differ slightly depending on how moist the beans are and the size of the brazil nuts.

Line a baking sheet with parchment. Put dough on the sheet and put a second sheet of parchment on top. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough as flat as you can. Refrigerate dough for an hour.

Preheat oven to 275, and Sprinkle coarse salt and herbs on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on how thick the dough is. Some “pockets” may bake a little faster than others.

I can’t wait to see what the other Daring Bakers did with their lavash crackers!

~from Cheryl’s kitchen ©2008. Please do not replicate without crediting/permission.

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Posted in appetizers, baked goods, bread, daring bakers | 11 Comments »

Salsa-mole

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

I was fully prepared to make guacamole, but there were all of these tomatoes and I was craving salsa, too. Problem solved: salsa-mole.

This made a great, quick, vegan lunch that I enjoyed most thoroughly! If you’re a big fan of cilantro, like I am, you may want to increase it. You can enjoy this on tortilla chips, crackers or just with a spoon. Yum!

Cilantro, or coriander, is a member of the same family as carrots, celery and parsley, and yet the neighborhood rabbits leave it alone. Come to think, they’re not too clever, they rarely munch on my garden. Usually they have grass instead. Hey, I’m not complaining but grass instead of veggies? You must be kidding! Now that the weather is getting cooler, I’ve planted some again and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Many culinary traditions make good use of cilantro, such as in Mexican, Indian and many others. However, there are some misguided people out there that can’t abide the taste or smell. Regretfully, DH is one.

1 avocado, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 heirloom tomato, diced
1/2 sweet pepper, diced
small shallot, finely minced, or a Tablespoon sweet onion
small handful of chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
good squeeze of lime

Add everything together, mix and enjoy!

This is my weekly offering to Weekend Herb Blogging, the baby of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s host is Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once is our host, and that’s a motto that sounds like fun. Her photos are stunning!


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Posted in main meal, recipe, side dish, vegetables, weekend herb blogging | 9 Comments »

Grilled Herb-y Red Peppers

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

First, an ode to my peppers, from their very beginnings
Just a baby

Seedling

Go, baby, go!

Red peppers are one of my favorite foods. They’re amazing roasted, better grilled, and best, grilled with fresh herbs. There’s something about adding herbs and sea salt that just adds another dimension of yum that just puts them over the edge of total yumminess. My favorite is with thyme, but I’ve used rosemary for a change, too. You just can’t go wrong.

Not only that, the leftovers are incredible! Red pepper soup. Red pepper sauce. Red pepper dip. Are you drooling yet? And no, I do not discriminate. Yellow and orange peppers are just as welcome on my grill, but they’re usually harder to come by. I usually use bells, but smaller ones work, too. About half of the ones in the picture of grilled peppers above are actually from my garden

My poor husband knows that no matter how many peppers we make, I’m eating most of them, and so help him if he tries to steal my peppers. Seriously, good grilled red peppers are up there with chocolate in my book.

9 peppers, seeded and chopped or torn in 4ths (depending on the size)
2 loosely packed tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of vitamin c crystals, a good squeeze of lemon, or splash of balsamic vinegar (optional)
3 Tablespoons high heat oil (almond, avocado, rice bran, high heat sunflower or safflower, etc)

Mix peppers with seasonings. This can be done a few hours in advance if needed. Put peppers on grill on low to medium heat skin side down. Turn once they’ve started browning (about 5 minutes) and grill 3-4 minutes more on the second side.

This is my submission for Weekend Herb Blogging, originated by Kalyn’s Kitchen. Our host this week is Ulrike from Kuchenlatein. The posts look so yum that I’m going to have to find a site that does translations!

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Posted in recipe, side dish, vegetables | 18 Comments »

Roasted tomato and caramelized onion soup

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

This soup is a celebration of summer veggies, and is one of my favorites!  I make a huge batch and freeze it, and it’s such a treat to devour a bowl of summertime in the middle of the winter.

Growing up, I wasn’t a fan of tomatoes.  It was only once I started having them straight out of the garden that I discovered they were actually quite yummy!  So I never had tomato soup growing up, nor did I really develop a concept  of what tomato soup should be like.  I made a bunch of batches last year, and discovered that I like thick, serious soup…none of that thin, watery soup for me.  That’s why I seed everything by hand rather than using a food mill, because it gives a much heartier soup.  This does take a while, but it’s totally worth it–trust me!

As you’ll notice, the ingredients are as simple as can be.  That’s because when veggies are totally ripe and garden fresh, they shine best with little adornment.  For variety, I’ve roasted the tomatoes with fresh thyme, or added in a little cayenne.

I caramelize onions with just a little oil and long, slow cooking.  I do stir, simply because I like doing huge batches.  Otherwise, there’s so little left to enjoy! on!  This summer, I’ve only found sweet onions at the market, which are super yummy, but very watery, so i periodically “bail out” some onion juice and save it to add it back in later.  That’s not needed with yellow onions.   As you can see, they cook way down.

The cashew cream on top isn’t necessary, but boy, is it the icing on the cake.  You can also use a dollop of pesto, if you’ve got some handy.

4 large onions, sliced thinly
2 Tablespoons oil
pinch of sea salt
4 lbs of tomatoes, seeded and peeled
fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil

2 tablespoons of fresh thyme (optional)

Cashew Cream:
2/3 cup cashews
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon agave or maple syrup

Thinly slice the onions.  If you have a mandolin slicer, it’s much easier.  Heat the oil in a big heavy pot on medium heat, and add onions, stirring every 2-3 minutes for the first 10 minutes.   Add in a pinch of salt.  Onions should keep cooking over medium low heat for 70 min or so until dark and gorgeous.  They require little attention, just stir every 10 min or so while you’re working with the tomatoes.

Preheat oven to 350.

De- seed tomatoes, by chopping and squeezing gently.  For Romas or plum tomatoes, cutting in half is perfect, for a huge heirloom tomato, smaller pieces might be necessary.

Place tomatoes skin up on a WELL LINED cookie sheet.  Spray or drizzle with oil (if desired), thyme (if desired), black pepper and sea salt.  Roast for 15-20 minutes.  You will have more than one tray.  If you have a Vitamix or a high powered blender, it’s not necessary to peel the tomatoes.   If you don’t, it’s easy to pull the skins off as they are cooling.

Puree tomatoes in batches, adding in onion “water” if there is any.  Pour pureed tomatoes into the caramelized onion mix.

If you’re using the cashew cream, soak cashews in water overnight, then blend with water until smooth (this may take a long time!)  Add sweetener to taste.

Gently heat tomato soup, and serve with fresh chopped basil and cashew cream.

Cool to room temp before freezing.

This is my entry to the August edition of Go ahead honey, it’s GF, as hosted by the Crispy Cook.  This month’s theme is seasonal veggies.  What’s more seasonal than tomatoes?

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Posted in go ahead honey, recipe, soup, vegetables | 13 Comments »

Thai-ish Red Curry Paste

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

Sometimes I choose my menus, sometimes they choose me.  I meant to make red curry paste with my lovely Thai red peppers (shown here while still green!) but kept putting it off.  Then I happened upon galangal at Wegman’s, and it was a done deal.  Ginger is good in a pinch, but galangal is the real deal, and it’s hard to come by around here.

The recipe is an amalgamation of a bunch of recipes, with more than a few twists to accommodate my inherent desire for maximum taste with minimum work.  I didn’t want to bother seeding peppers, so I made up for it by adding in a mild pepper.  I used garlic scapes (frozen from my garden a few months ago) in the recipe because I couldn’t find shallots that looked good and was out of garlic.

The taste was quite delightful, and we had a lovely dish with coconut milk, the paste, of course, and stir fried veggies.  This recipe makes a lot of paste, so I’ve got a bunch in my freezer in ice cube trays to last me much of the winter!

I saw Kalyn’s Entry for “Grow your own” and I knew I had to participate. Especially since our host, Andrea of Andrea’s recipes is actually a neighbor of sorts. I love my garden, and always welcome the chance to show off my goodies. And besides, doesn’t it just taste better if you grow it? So the lemongrass, Thai peppers, garlic scapes and mild peppers are from my very own garden.

20 fresh red Thai peppers (2-3 inch long)
1 heaping Tablespoon of coriander seeds, toasted
2 big fresh lemongrass stalks, 1 or 2 outer leaves discarded
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
4 teaspoons galangal
8 fresh or frozen Kaffir lime leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro roots or stems
1 mild or small bell pepper
1/2 cup garlic scapes
5 serrano peppers
2 anchovies* (more traditional is fish sauce or shrimp paste, but due to allergies, those don’t work for me) OR vegan fish sauce OR extra salt and a little soy sauce
1/3 cup of water, or as much as it takes to run the blender.

Toast the coriander seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for a few minutes.  Put all ingredients in a Vitamix and blend for 2 minutes or until smooth.

If you don’t have a vitamix, regretfully, there’s a lot of chopping, pounding, and grinding in your future.  Pretty much you have to chop everything finely, then toss into a food processor.

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Posted in main meal, menu plan, recipe | 8 Comments »

Ground Cherries

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Just a tidbit of news, since it’s making my day: Karina, the GF Goddess is posting low glycemic (low carb) recipes. As a nutritionist who is very into low glycemic foods, and someone who loves to eat, I’m delighted.  Wait, you’re not gluten free?  No worries, good food has no boundaries!  So check out her luscious blog, you’ll be glad you did.

Now on to other tasty topics: ground cherries.  I was reading a seed catalog, which isn’t as boring as it sounds. Hey, I was on a plane and didn’t have much else to do! The description was intriguing: they “have a flavor reminiscent of pineapple”.  How could I resist?  I’d never heard of them before, but hey, that’s never stopped me in the past!

Lo and behold, they’re totally delicious, and probably the happiest member of my garden.  They’re a relative of tomato, but are much sweeter, like a typical fruit.  Like tomatillos, they have a papery peel, which you remove to get the fruit.   Unlike tomatoes,  they grow close to the ground, and they are super low maintenece (i.e. all I do is pick ‘em and they’re happy)

As far as preparation, usually I don’t really do much with them aside from peeling and popping them into my mouth.  I’ve used them in salsa, and in salads as a colorful addition.  I found recipes to make a jam with them, but adding sugar to them seems totally unnecessary.  Besides, I end up eating them so quickly I’d have a hard time getting enough!

I wanted to make sure I was following the WHB rules and give a recipe, so I tried dehydrating a few with a tray of apricots I was drying.  They’re interesting and not as sweet as I expected.  They’re a bit like raisins, but don’t have as full of a flavor.  However, if by some quirk of fate, you’re allergic to grapes (like me), they might make a decent substitute.

As a totally unexpected bonus, they also make an excellent cat toy.  I co-habitate with a large, lazy feline, and he went nuts for one that I dropped on the floor.  Apparently, it makes a great puck.  But the next morning I discovered they’d somehow maneuvered a bunch out of the bowl they were in so the guys would have more toys.  Gotta love it.

This is my entry into Weekend Herb Blogging, as originated by Kalyn’s Kitchen.  This week’s happy hostess is Marija from Palachinka, a fellow Daring Baker who has some seriously drool-worthy pictures on her site.

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Posted in recipe, side dish, vegetables, weekend herb blogging | 7 Comments »

Minty Chicken

Sunday, August 10th, 2008

Mint was the food of the week for Menu Plan Monday, and so I figured it was a good excuse to make this.  This dish is in our standard rotation, sometimes done with chicken pieces and sometimes with chicken breast, and it’s always delicious and easy.  I use chocolate mint from my garden, which doesn’t even taste remotely like chocolate.  False advertising!  The stevia leaves give a subtle sweetness, but don’t worry, they’re not super sweet like powdered stevia.

Mint tends to be a potent tummy soother, and is a good source of fiber. It’s even got a neat story from Greek mythology about its origins. And, of course, if you grow it, you know that it’s very plentiful and a perennial, so I’m always looking for ways to keep up with my plant.

I enjoy this dish because it’s low carb, quick, easy, and using mint is a nice way to add a little variety. The chicken is yummy on a bed of lettuce with cucumbers and tomatoes, and I also like it with apple. We grilled a few ears of corn to go with it as well. And, of course, what I like most is that DH grills it and I can be lazy. For winter months, we just bake it in the oven.

1.5 cups of mint leaves, loosely packed
6 large stevia leaves
several good squeezes of lemon, or a pinch of unbuffered vitamin C powder
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram leaves
1/4 cup oil
2-3 tablespoons water

Either put everything in the blender or chop the mint leaves and combine. Marinate chicken for 2-3 hours (I tend to do all day for chicken pieces). Drain marinade, grill and enjoy!

This is my weekly “Weekend Herb Blogging” submission, founded by Kalyn’s Kitchen. Our host this week is Divya of Dil Se, a yummy blog chock full of East Indian dishes. I’ve bookmarked it and plan to try some!

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Posted in main meal, weekend herb blogging | 3 Comments »

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