Easy Yogurt

Archeologists and geneticists are discovering that early people in Europe were keeping dairy herds for nearly 2,000 years BEFORE most of the population developed the mutation to digest lactose. Why were early Europeans keeping cows and goats for milk when the lactose would have made most adults sick?

The answer appears to involve fermented milk in the form of yogurt and cheese.  The fermentation of milk involves a culture that digests the lactose (sugar) and produces lactic acid (which most lactose intolerant adults can eat digest comfortably). 







Yogurt comes in many varieties: 

• Thermophilic is the most common in American grocery stores.  This culture requires keeping the milk and culture at a low heat for some hours to activate the culture.
• Greek yogurt and its cousin labneh are common in the Middle East and now are popular in the United States.  This type of yogurt is strained to press out some of the liquid.  The completed product is thicker in texture than other yogurts.  Labneh has the consistency of a soft cheese.

But I am blogging today to tell you about mesophilic yogurt.  Specifically, I use a mesophilic culture called Viili.  It is thought to have originated in Sweden, but today is considered a Finnish yogurt culture.  As with making kefir in my previous post, mesophilic yogurt ferments milk at room temperature.  No heating required!

Easy Peasy Instructions:

• Mix 1 cup of whole milk with a packet of Viili mesophilic yogurt culture (can be ordered online from Cultures for Life) in a mason jar.
• Place a coffee filter or paper towel over the mason jar and allow to sit 24 hours (usually 48 hours required for the first batch when the culture is reviving) at room temperature on your kitchen counter.
• Once the yogurt thickens until it looks, moves, and tastes like yogurt, move to your refrigerator. 
• Save 1 tablespoon of the yogurt and enjoy eating the rest. 
• Start a new batch by mixing 1 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of the first batch in a mason jar.  If you want larger batches, add 1 tablespoon of your yogurt per 1 cup of milk.

Be sure to feed your new yogurt culture friends.  If you do not give them fresh milk at least every 7 days, the culture will starve and die.

Hard Cider

Here is another easy peasy fermentation project. Like hard cider such as the popular Ace or Angry Orchard?  Make your own!

• Buy or get some apple juice that has no preservatives.  It can have ascorbic acid to retain color. I use Sam's Choice 100% Apple Juice.  

• Sprinkle some wine yeast (bread yeast works too but may not taste as good) over the juice. Leave the cap off the bottle and cover with a coffee filter. 

•. Wait a few days. Taste the juice/cider every day until it reaches the balance of sweet/hard/alcohol that you like.  

• Put the cap back on. Refrigerate. Consume. 

WARNING:  The yeast consumes the sugars in the juice to produce two things:  alcohol and carbon dioxide. If the yeast have consumed all the sugar and died, your cider will be higher in alcohol and stopped bubbling carbonation. If not, it may continue to ferment in the fridge and will be very carbonated. In extreme cases it can explode. So be aware of this when you open. 

Kefir

Kefir is a type of cultured milk resembling a more liquid version of yogurt. The flavor tends to be milder than yogurt but tart. You can buy kefir in grocery stores, but it tends to be highly sweetened and expensive. Instead, make your own for less than a dollar.

Homemade kefir is rich in probiotics. Studies find regular consumption helps alleviate or eliminate many gastrointestinal ailments. 

And it's SOOOoo easy to make:

• Order some "kefir grains" from an online vendor such as Cultures for Health. Kefir grains are a complex colony of enzymes and cultures which feed on the lactose (milk sugars) in milk and ferment the milk into kefir. 

• Pour a cup of milk (I use organic whole milk for the taste) in a mason jar. 

• Put the kefir grains in a square of cheesecloth and tie the cheesecloth into a little sack or pouch holding the kefir grains.  Alternatively put the grains directly in the milk and filter them out later with a fine mesh kefir. I've also used a metal tea ball to hold the kefir, but some books say to avoid having metal touch fermenting foods. 

• Place a coffee filter or paper towel over the mason jar and screw the jar's ring (but NOT seal/lid) over the coffee filter to secure the filter. 

• Leave your handy dandy new fermentation machine on your kitchen counter at room temperature. 

It may take 48 hours for your first batch to refresh the kefir grains. After that, the grains will do their work usually in 24 hours. It may be faster or slower depending on how warm your home is. 

Ferment 1 cup the first time and then build up to 2-4 cups. 

When the kefir has reached the consistency of loose yogurt, either move the whole jar to your fridge or filter out your grains and store the kefir in containers. Then start another batch. The grains can wait a week in the fridge but if stored much longer without fresh milk, your little kefir grains will starve and die. Feed them and they will feed you. 

Kefir can be eaten by itself or with berries, fruit, honey, agave, etc. It also makes tasty smoothies and Greek-style dips.  

Fermentation Week

This week I begin a series on fermentation.  In recent months I've become fascinated by how ancient peoples across the planet turned to fermentation to preserve both food...and their long term health.  In scanning PubMed for research articles, numerous studies find people who consume more fermented foods report better health overall and a greater resilience to a number of cancers and gastrointestinal ailments.

In my readings one book shines above them all. I highly recommend Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentation.  It's excellent. 

When I started fermenting foods, I was apprehensive that I'd poison myself. Yet, I'm finding fermentation is easy. It's safe. It approaches nature as an ecology shared with our bodies, the tiny living things within our bodies and the life forms surrounding us. Try to seal ourselves off from this ecology and we quickly grow sick. 

Still, our best guides to safety are smell and taste.  If something seems off, trash it and start a fresh batch.  

Happy Fermenting!

Posole Stew

Chimayo, New Mexico

Since I'm posting recipes with a Hispanic influence, I thought I'd repost this wonderful, wintertime stew.  

I discovered how to make posole stew while living in Medanales, NM, in the summer of 2011.  Posole or pozole is the Spanish word for hominy.  In New Mexico posole stew is traditionally prepared at New Years with the leftover Christmas ham.  In Lexington, KY, Mexican restaurants usually serve pozole only on weekends, and it consists of a similar but much spicier soup made with pork and ground red chile paste rather than with green chiles.  This is my favorite soup.

• 1 Tsp oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 can hominy, drained
• 1 large can chopped green chiles (or better fresh roasted chiles)
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1 Tsp oregano
• 1 clove garlic

Sauté the onion in the oil in a large pan.  

When the onions are caramelized or translucent (depending upon your taste), add the broth, hominy, chiles, ham, oregano, and garlic.  Bring to boil.  

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  

This dish often tastes better the next day after it has set and seasoned a bit in the refrigerator.

A small bowl of posole -especially if with limited amounts of hominy- can make for a 200 calorie lunch or dinner.  One cup of hominy has 119 calories by itself.  

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (but only if you leave out the green chiles)
Paleo:  yes* (but only if you leave out the main ingredient, hominy)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Vegetarian:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Artichokes in Italy

If you love artichokes, Italy offers a delicious variety of ways to prepare them. Besides the marinated versions in jars familiar to Americans, Roman restaurants serve two traditional artichoke ("carciofo" in Italian) dishes:  "carciofo alla romana" and "carciofo alla giudio".  That is, artichokes Roman style or artichokes Jewish style.

Roman style artichokes are stewed with a meat broth or olive oil broth. Jewish style is fried. The Jewish style produces salty fried artichoke pedals that taste very similar to potato chips. The picture shows both versions. 

Gezunt Latkes

Photo courtesy of Elena's Pantry

A few years ago my friends Mark, Nancy, Rachel, and Ben had me over to share Hanukkah with their family.  Hanukkah is a relatively minor Jewish holiday, but it tends to fall near Christmas.  So, it has been elevated to more prominence as a parallel Jewish winter holiday.  What's not to love about a holiday that requires you to drink several glasses of wine with family and friends?!

One Hanukkah tradition is the preparation of latkes, or potato pancakes, with most everyone taking their turn at the fryer.

Latke derives from Russian via Yiddish according to Wikipedia, and my healthy take on latkes I've named Gezunt Latkes, or healthy latkes, in Yiddish.  If gezunt sounds familiar, it is because Yiddish evolved out of German, and we get our American sneezing word Gesundheit (German for health) also from German.  No sneezing around the frying pan though!

• Start with my earlier recipe for Mashed Potatoes for Mo, a delicious faux mashed potato dish made from mashed cannellini beans, You'll need 2 cups of Mashed Potatoes for Mo.
• One of these three options:  
• 3 tablespoons wheat or almond flour
• 2 slices of white bread
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Oil
• Salt
• OPTIONS:  sauteed minced onion, sauteed zucchini, or sauteed carrot slivers

This dish has a lot of optional ways of cooking it:

Method 1:  To the basic mashed beans add 3 tablespoons wheat or almond flour.  Mix together.

Method 2:  To the basic mashed beans add two slices of bread and puree in a blender.

Method 3:  To the basic mashed beans add 2 beaten eggs.  Mix together.

Once you have your chosen pancake batter from above, you can make your basic latke by frying in oil with a dash of salt.  The oil in the pan should be high enough to come up to about halfway up the height of the latke.  Too little oil and your latke will stick.  Alternatively, just toss that latke in your Fry Daddy and fry daddy fry.

To this basic latke you can add a variety of additions:

• sauteed onions
• minced raw onions
• raw green onions
• matchsticks of julienned and sauteed zucchini
• sauteed (or raw if you like more of a crunch) carrot slivers

After cooking to a golden brown (usually about 4 minutes on each side on medium heat), put the latke on a paper towel on a napkin to cool slightly and to soak up some of the excess oil.  Then serve as is or with a side of sour cream, applesauce or apple butter.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes*  (especially if you use Method 3 rather than flour or bread)
Gluten Free:  yes* (if you use Method 3)
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no (has beans)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes* (if you use Method 3)
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Wedding Cookies

One of the best Christmas gifts I have ever received -and one I use at least every few months- is a cookbook my aunt Susie created using recipes from family and friends.  She collected and printed these recipes.  Then she put them in a 3-ring binder.

Today that binder is filled with other bits of paper with recipes from my mother and own friends.  It is my go-to cookbook when I want to make one of the delicious recipes my mom, aunt, or maternal grandmother would make.  I know this cookbook is a work of love, but it also took a great deal of time to make and copy.  Yet, what a wonderful gift this makes for any family of cooks.

Here is a recipe from my aunt Susie's cookbook courtesy of her friend Gus L. Liveakos.  Mr. Liveakos was a famous local cook and these wedding cookies were his specialty.

Gus L. Liveakos' Wedding Cookies

2 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 sticks (1 cup) margarine, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 (1 pound) box confectioners sugar
1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped

Sift flour and 7 tablespoons of confectioners sugar together into a large bowl.

Blend in the margarine one spoonful at a time.

Add vanilla and mix well.

Add pecans and mix well.

Cover and chill dough for up to a week.

When ready to use, grease a cookie sheet with oil spray and wipe off.  Take a 1/4 of the mixture and form balls about the size of the end of a thumb.  Each 1/4 of the mixture should make around 30 balls.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Do not overcook.

Cool the baked cookies slightly.

Fill a paper bag with the remaining confectioners sugar.  Put the warm cookies in the bag and gently roll from side to side.  Do not shake or the delicate cookies will shake.  Coat the cookies with the confectioners/powdered sugar.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes* (only if you use vegetable shortening instead of lard)
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Christmas with an Indian Twist for Mistletoe-Minded Munchies

Photo courtesy of elstro_88 via Compfight cc

Nathan and I have a near addiction to mukhwas, an Indian sweet and breath freshener.  Specifically, we love the mukhwas consisting of fennel seeds coated in sugar.  These delicious little things come in many colors and can be found at most Indian and many Middle Eastern grocery stores.  They may remind you of Jordan almonds because they are basically the same technique applied to fennel seeds instead of almonds:  dip and re-dep a seed or nut in a colored sugar coating until it reaches the size you want.








Fennel mukhwas give a nice fennel/anise/licorice flavor and satisfying crunch to Christmas cookies.  Once you have cut your cookies and have them on your baking sheet, brush them with a little water or a water/egg wash.  This provides a stickier surface to catch and hold the mukhwas to the cookie.  (It also is a useful trick when applying colored sugar to cookies).

Then just back as usual to transform the flavor, look, and feel of a simple sugar cookie into a real delicacy.  Plus, the fennel will do a nice job on your breath for later under the mistletoe.

Here are some of this year's Mukhwa Cookies and Linzer Cookies.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

The Forbidden Cookie

I seriously love desserts decorated with dragees.  I love dragees nibbled by themselves.  And I loved them before I knew they were called dragees.  Before that I thought of the little balls of sugar coated in silver as cake BBs. ;)

I love them even more since I learned makers will not ship dragees to California.  Now my cookies decorated with dragees take on the air of that most delicious of ingredients....the forbidden!

As with apparently any metal used in food such as gold or silver, there are tiny trace amounts of other elements toxic to humans in large quantities.  In 49 states and the rest of the world, people take the obvious solution of not downing quarts of gold leaf or silver dragees.  But America being America and California being California, someone in California sued.  I'm not exactly sure of the outcome of the lawsuit, but to be safe dragee makers ship to all 50 states -minus one. Yep.  Dragees are not illegal in California, but if a baker wants to make her/his cupcakes golden in the Golden State, he/she will need to have the dragees shipped across the state line and go pick them up.

Silver dragees make beautiful cookies.  Here are some tips though:

a. Order online.  Dragees are hard to find in many places and often are $12 or more for a small plastic bottle.  Online you can find more sizes, both gold and silver dragees, and cheaper prices.  I tend to order mine from Golda's Kitchen.

b. If you are using the tiny dragees, be aware they often melt in the oven over 8-10 minutes at 350 F.  The resulting pattern can be used in artistic ways but usually does not make for a pretty Christmas cookie. Instead, use larger dragees when baking them.

c. Or, you can use the tiny dragees or any dragee to decorate Christmas cookies after baking.  I use two methods:

I make a Linzer cookie, coat the bottom cookie with a bit of icing, place the second cookie on top of the bottom one, and then fill the hole with tiny dragees.  These cookies tend to look really fancy and rather fit for a wedding.

The second method I use is to put dabs of white icing on a cookie.  Then on each bit of icing press a silver dragee on top.  The results really are spectacular -really- and also double as a nice cookie for anyone into leather studs or Metallica. ;) 

Finally, I thought I'd reminisce a bit about one of the most elegant Christmas desserts I have ever seen.  In 2011 I used a bunch of frequent flier miles to go to Vienna, Austria, before Christmas.  At the Demel Bakery they made merengues coated with silver dragees.  Frankly, they were a little too crunchy to eat comfortably, but they were gorgeous.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Sugar Cookies Cinderella Transformation

Photo courtesy of neonzu1 via Compfight cc

Sugar cookies use a fairly simple recipe.  With a few little tricks, however, you can take this little simple cookie make it quite the elegant Cinderella.  "Dress to impress" extends to cookies too. Today I'm going to describe how to make a Linzer cookie that is easy to make but makes a big impression.






 The Linzer Cookie:  Named for Linz, the 3rd largest city in Austria, this little cookie can be made from a sugar cookie recipe or a butter shortbread recipe.  A Linzer cookie consists of a bottom cookie topped by another cookie whose center has been cut out in a decorative shape before baking.  After baking and cooling, you assemble a Linzer by:

a. Sprinkle the top cookie with powdered sugar.

b. Put a dab of a high quality jam or preserves in the middle of the bottom cookie.

c. Put the top cookie over the bottom cookie so that the jam shows through.

The result is beautiful and delicious.  Raspberry jam is often used with these cookies because the sharp, tart flavor goes well with the sweet dough.  The key is rolling out your dough to a thin sheet so that your cookies are not too tall.

Tip:  Dip your cookie cutter between cookies in a bowl of flour.  This keeps the dough from sticking to the cookie cutter.

Here is a picture of this year's Christmas Linzer cookies made with raspberry jam in the shape of a star.

If you need a good sugar cookie recipe, here is my family's sugar cookie recipe.  The nutmeg adds a great yet subtle flavor:


Hirschmann Family Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1- 1.5 teaspoons of freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 rounded teaspoon baking soda
6-7 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Mix all the ingredients together by hand, hand mixer, or mixer (I use my Kitchenaid mixer).  Add enough flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll out and cut.

Flour a rolling pin and your rolling surface (table, counter, cutting board, etc.).  The flour is key to keeping this and most doughs from sticking.

Roll out to your desired thickness.  Decorate with sprinkled sugar, etc.

Place on parchment paper or a Silpat...or a lightly greased...cooking sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes.


DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

A Special Sugar Cookie

Christmas 2013

It's time for some Christmas cookies, and this recipe is very special to me.  It comes with a story intertwined with my family's history:

Over the years my aunt Susie and I have shared our hobby of doing family genealogy.  To my surprise, thus far most of my ancestors arrived in North America in the 1600s and 1700s during the British colonial period.

The last bunch of immigrant ancestors to arrive, however, were a German branch of my family, the Hirschmanns.  My great-great-great-grandparents Hirschmann and their family left Upper Franconia (in English) or Oberfranken (in German) -now part of Bavaria- and made their way to Iowa around 1840. My great-grandmother Clara Hirschmann Williams used to tell my aunt Susie that her father -who was born in Germany and who worked as a baker in Iowa- would make these cookies and keep them in wooden barrels to sell to people passing through in covered wagons.

My aunt Susie remembers her grandmother Clara baking these same, simple sugar cookies for her and the other grandchildren generations later.  I share this sixth generation cookie recipe from my family to yours.

Hirschmann Family Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1- 1.5 teaspoons of freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 rounded teaspoon baking soda
6-7 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Mix all the ingredients together by hand, hand mixer, or mixer (I use my Kitchenaid mixer).  Add enough flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll out and cut.

Flour a rolling pin and your rolling surface (table, counter, cutting board, etc.).  The flour is key to keeping this and most doughs from sticking.

Roll out to your desired thickness.  Decorate with sprinkled sugar, etc.

Place on parchment paper or a Silpat...or a lightly greased...cooking sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes.


DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Bizcochitos

Photo Courtesy of Renee

Here is a trivia question for you: What state was first to have an official state cookie?

If you guessed New Mexico, you would be correct!  

I love New Mexico and was fortunate to live there for a month in 2011. Early Spanish-speaking settlers from Mexico created the bizcochito.  It is a shortbread type cookie made with lard or shortening instead of butter and flavored with cinnamon and anise.  

My friend Renee has lived all over the United States and is a serious foodie and cook.  She shared her friend Yolanda's family recipe and her 2013 Christmas batch that she made for a community bake sale.  Many thanks to Renee -and Yolanda and her aunts- for this yummy recipe.

Bizcochitos

Ingredients:

1 cup of lard or shortening. (I've used shortening and it's okay, lard is traditional.)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon anise seed

3 tablespoons of sweet wine (I've used white German wine.)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Method:

1.   Cream lard and sugar until very creamy. Add egg and beat until very fluffy.

2.   Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Stir in wine and anise seed.

3.   Roll out dough on a floured board until 1/4 inch thick. Cut into fancy shapes. I used a snowflake cookie cutter and small Christmas tree cutter, but my aunts used to cut them in hearts, diamonds, spades, and clovers like playing cards suits.

4.   Combine 1/4 cup sugar and the tablespoon of cinnamon and sprinkle on top of the cut cookies.

5.   Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Put them out on your Christmas Even buffet with your tamales. Don't forget the hot chocolate! You can freeze these cookies.

 

Source: Yolanda via Renee

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes* (only if you use vegetable shortening instead of lard)
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Christmas Cookies!

Merry Christmas Eve!  While I make Christmas cookies for gifts earlier -and also over a generous cup or two of wine with some friends at my annual Old World Christmas Cookie Decorating Party- Christmas Eve is when I make cookies for my family and I to share today and on Christmas Day.

So I've saved up some recipes that I'm going to post all day. Hopefully you get off early from work or have the day off.  If you want a project -for yourself or with your grandkids- then these recipes are for you!

Diana's Cranberry Salad -Diabetic Friendly Version

Photo by Muffet

No Thanksgiving or Christmas are complete for me without my mom's Cranberry Salad.  Folks often rave about this holiday side dish both for its taste and for how well it presents on the table.

I'm posting my own diabetic take on how to make this dish a bit healthier for those avoiding sugar.

• 1 bag of fresh cranberries
• 1 3/4 cup Splenda or equivalent stevia or other sugar substitute
• 1 small box of sugar free strawberry gelatin
• 1 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 small can of unsweetened pineapple

Remove a handful of cranberries from the bag and reserve for later.

Cut up the remaining cranberries in a blender until a rough chop but not a puree.

In a bowl mix the chopped cranberries, the Splenda, and the handful of reserved whole cranberries.  Cover and let rest in the refrigerator overnight. 

The next day mix the gelatin, hot water, pecans and pineapple.  When the gelatin has dissolved, pour the cranberry-sugar mixture and gelatin mixtures together into a clear serving dish.  

Let the salad congeal in the refrigerator -usually overnight.  The resulting dish has the brilliant reds of Christmas and a tart, sweet crunchiness that leaves that other cranberry sauce where it should remain -in a can on a far, back shelf.

OPTIONS:  My aunt Susie prefers to make her cranberry salad with cherry gelatin.  

My mother's original recipe calls for 1 3/4 sugar instead of Splenda and has 1 cup small marshmallows and about 1 cup coconut generously sprinkled on top of the gelatin to create a red and white layer effect.  Marshmallows are pure sugar, and most baking coconut is sweetened with sugar.  You may, however, add unsweetened coconut on top.  

In full disclosure, I also am not a fan of nuts in food so I usually leave out the pecans.  The nuts also are rather high in calories if you are trying to slim down the caloric punch of your Thanksgiving.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes* (if you allow yourself to have Splenda or similar)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes*  (if you can find a gelatin made without animal products)
Vegetarian:  yes*  (if you can find a gelatin made without animal products)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes* (if you leave out the pecans)

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Homemade Sauerkraut

Cabbage fermenting in my glass crock

I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of yogurt, so getting regular amounts of yogurt's wonderful, beneficial probiotics isn't always tasty to me.

Fortunately, I recently discovered that other fermented foods have many...sometimes more...of the probiotics and other health benefits of yogurt.  And, I LOVE good sauerkraut.

So I decided to see how hard it was to make my own.  I think modern people are often afraid of trying the preservation techniques used for centuries out of ignorance and/or fear that we will accidentally poison ourselves.

Homemade sauerkraut is a great way to start exploring making your own tasty, healthful fermented foods because it is one of the easiest things to make.




Homemade Sauerkraut

• 1 head of green cabbage
• 1 tablespoon salt
• OPTION:  2 tablespoons juniper berries
• OPTION:  1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1. Wash and then shred the cabbage into long, string-like pieces EXCEPT FOR 1-3 outer leaves.

2. Put the shredded cabbage in a crock or glass/ceramic pot.

3. Add the tablespoon of salt and any optional berries/seeds.

4. Squeeze and press down on the cabbage to get it to release its juices.  Keep doing this every 15 minutes or so for an hour or two.  Eventually the cabbage should release enough juice to cover the pressed cabbage.  If it doesn't, mix 1 cup of water with 1 tablespoon salt and add to the crock.

5. Place the clean outer leaves on top of the shredded pieces to hold them under the juice.  Place a plastic lid, plate, or other clean item over the cabbage.  Then place a plastic bag full of water and a tablespoon of salt (in case it should break) on top of the lid to weigh the cabbage down and keep below the water line.

6. Place the crock in a pantry or other area of 4-6 weeks to ferment.  

The cabbage contains natural bacteria that will digest the sugars in the cabbage and cause it to ferment.  The kraut will kind of begin to be ready in 3 days to a week but reaches its best at 4-6 weeks.  Some bubbles are normal in the ferment process -as with wine.  Also, occasionally some mold may form on any pieces of the kraut extending out of the water.  Remove and do not worry about this.  If you ever have made pickles, you will be familiar with similar phenomena.

When the sauerkraut is ready, place in your refrigerator and eat cold or heated.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Breakfast: German Fitness Bread Toast

200 Calorie Meals:

German vollkornbrot (whole grain bread) is marketed here often under the name Fitness Bread by Mestemacher and other makers.  Aldi for instance sells several versions of the bread.  You will need to check the ingredients in the version you find, but it is usually made of 100% rye.  Thus, it is an ideal bread for individuals avoiding wheat and wheat products.

I also recommend Bonne Maman brand preserves.  Made in France, this brand has no high fructose corn syrup but instead uses sugar.

• Black Coffee:  5 calories
• German Fitness Bread, whole rye:  137 calories per slice
• Unsalted Butter:  11 calories for a 1" x 1/3" high pat
• Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves:  25 calories for 1/2 teaspoon

TOTAL:  178 calories

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  no, though rye bread has less gluten than wheat
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Cebollas Encurtidas (Pickled Onions)

Photo courtesy of Belly of Ecuador

Cebollas Encurtidas are a wonderful Latin American side dish used as a condiment with pork and other dishes.  They add both color and a sweet, tangy addition to many different meals.

It is surprising I like these wonderful morsels of onion.  While I love caramelized and other thoroughly cooked onions, I pretty much hate raw onions.  Cebollas Encurtidas, however, are more like an onion pickle.  

These onions are a common side dish in many Mexican and other Latin American restaurants.  I began making my own when I found it difficult to find any commercial brands in local Latino groceries.  I believe most people just make this dish at home.  They are easy to make, and you can find a number of different recipes online.  After some experimentation, here is my own variety that I have come to love:

• 3 red onions
• 1 c lime juice
• 1 c water
• 1 c red wine vinegar
• ¼ tsp cloves, ground
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Slice the onions horizontally into rings.  Put into a bowl and salt.  

Bring the water and vinegar mixture to a boil.  

While the vinegar is heating, move the salted onions to a bowl with the lime juice.  Add the cloves and pepper.  

Pour the vinegar/water mixture over the onions.  Let them set for 2-3 hours until they turn pink.  

Refrigerate and eat within 2 weeks or so.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Black Bean Soup

The other night Nathan had a dish at a new Latin fusion restaurant served over a thick, delicious black bean soup.  I've craved it since and decided to try to create my own.  The result is quite tasty if I say so myself:

• 2 cans black beans (I used Goya brand.)
• 2 pints of chicken stock (I used Costco brand.)
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 small red onions
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Saute the onions and garlic in the oil until the onions are nicely translucent and cooked.

Drain the black beans and rinse with cold water.  

Add the beans, chicken stock, and cumin.

Cook on medium for about 20 minutes to reduce the liquid by about a third.  

Either mash some of the beans into a soupier texture in the pot or remove a portion of the mixture and puree with a blender.  Then put the puree back in the pot.  Simmer on low until you are ready to taste the deliciousness!

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock)
Vegetarian:  yes* (substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes* (up to a cup of soup)

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Ropa Vieja

Since this is Latina Week, I wanted to repost my take on the Cuban specialty, ropa vieja.

I do not know the calories in a serving of this delicious slow cooker recipe, but it is compliant with those eating a gluten free, SugarBusters, diabetic, or Paleo eating plan.

Ropa Vieja -old clothes in Spanish- makes for a delicious dinner.  This traditional Cuban dish gets its name from the resemblance of the strips of succulent pork and peppers to strips of old clothes cut into rags.

1. Combine in a slow cooker set to 4 hours (high)...or slower, longer if you wish:
• a pork roast
• 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 Tablespoon cumin powder
• 5-7 bay leaves
• 8-10 green olives with pimientos
• 1 teaspoon diced garlic
• 2 large onions, cut into slices or diced
• 4 green/red/yellow peppers, cored, sliced and cleaned of seeds
• 1 can diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes diced
• 2 stalks of celery cut into 1 inch lengths
• 3 carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch lengths
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (you can salt to taste more when serving)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• a dozen grapes (optional, adds a yummy hint of sweetness)
2. Enjoy by itself or serve over diced, roasted cauliflower as a rice substitution.  The traditional dish is served over rice, but the cauliflower is an improvement in my book for flavor.

This dish improves its flavor after resting awhile in the refrigerator.  Thus, it makes for great leftovers and savory lunches warmed up in the office microwave.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  no
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes (especially if you do not eat the olives)

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.