Simple Dessert

In this diet, most fruit is not allowed. But berries can be a nice little treat.

I was craving something sweet and cool today. So I decided to give myself a treat. Best part, it is all allowed in the diet. It is also very simple.


Blackberries in Cream

1 cup frozen blackberries *
3 tbsp heavy cream.


Beat the cream until stiff.
Fold in the frozen berries.
Place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
Eat.

The frozen berries help chill the cream.  You could use fresh, but it would not be a cool.

You could use any berries in place of the blackberries. The next time, I am using blue berries.

* Make sure that when you buy the fruit, there is no sugar added to the package.

Clarifying Fat

Why would you want to clarify fat?

For a non diet reason. It's frugal. Instead of tossing that bacon grease, save it. Clarifying the fat helps to keep it longer. It helps save a bit of money. The first time I started to do this, was when we were on a extremely tight budget and I had to save money everywhere. It worked great. When we ran out of margarine (we were buying cheap, not healthy at the time), the clarified the fat, and it worked just as well.

For a diet reason: It will give you another fat to use in your cooking. Butter and olive oil is fine. But what if you want a smokier flavor; clarified bacon fat would be a great addition.

I am copying the directions from this website: Vintage Cookbook Trials

The full post is here: Bonus at the original post; how to render fat.

To clarify dripping (or other fat)Melt the fat and strain into a large bowl. Then pour over double the quantity of boiling water. Stir well and leave till cold and set.  Remove the cake of fat from the top of the water, scrape off any sediment from the bottom of the cake, then melt the fat and pour into a clean basin.

Easy huh?

When I did this, I kept the fat from the same sources together. Beef with beef. Pork, bacon, and ham together. I suppose you could mix chicken and turkey, but I wouldn't.

If you don't have enough dripping to clarify. Save them in them refrigerator, for about a week, then clarify.

Just don't do what some instructions on the web tell you to do; cook a pound of bacon, then clarify the fat.  Basically, some instructions make you waste food. The point is not to waste food.

Need an idea on how to use the clarified fat: Savoury Spreads More To Life Than Butter

Easy Breakfast.

Most of my breakfasts are vegetable egg scrambles or warm ups of the left overs from the night before.

This recipe is simple and is easy to make on days you feel like you want something a little fancy.

There are two ways to assemble them.

Ham and Egg Cups

serves 3

6 slices of ham.
6 eggs
3/4 cup shredded cheese
dash of salt
dash of black pepper

Heat oven to 375
Grease the cups of a 6 cup muffin tin.

Scrambled Version:

Place a slice of ham over a cup, press down to make a pocket. Repeat.
Beat the eggs, add the cheese to the eggs.
Pour into the ham pockets.
Season with salt and pepper

The other way:

Place a slice of ham over a cup, press down to make a pocket. Repeat.
Sprinkle a little of the cheese into the pocket.
Break an egg into each pocket.
Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
Season with salt and pepper

Bake for 15 minutes.


Roast beef might be a good substitute.

Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories 350
Total Fat 24 g
Total Carbohydrate 2 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 1 g
Protein 30 g 60 %

Sort Of Mennonite Borscht - Crock Pot

Borscht is traditionally made with beets. Unless you are using a Mennonite recipe.  Mennonites use tomato paste or sauce in their borscht.

This is my take on the soup.  It seems high in carbs, but the serving size is meal size. We had ours with some chicken breast fillets. It was extremely filling. The meat is on the sparse side, because we the next day was grocery shopping. You could add a pound of your favorite meat to the soup as well.

Ingredients:

Makes 4 meal size servings.

• 2 thick slices bacon

• 9 oz. rutabaga (about medium size), cut in small cubes.

• 1 tbsp butter.

• 1 tbsp vinegar

• 1 tbsp bacon fat

• 1.5 lbs cabbage (shredded)

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1/2 medium green pepper, chopped (I used red for some color)

• 4 cups water

• 6 oz tomato sauce
• 1 cup sour cream
• 
  
• 1. Cut the bacon into bite size pieces.
• 2. Cook over medium heat until crispy.
• 3. Drain off 1 Tbsp of fat.
• 4. Add everything to the crock pot, EXCEPT for the sour cream. Stir it well. If the water does not come to the top of the vegetables, add more.
• 5. Flavor, if you like, but it doesn't need much.
• 6. Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.
• 7. 15 minutes before serving; mix in the sour cream.
• 8. Heat through, then serve.
• 
  
• This is really nice on a cool day.
• 
  
• Nutrition Facts

• Serving Size 1 Serving (I think about 2 cups)
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories 306
• Fat 21.15  g
• Carbohydrate 24.17 g
• Fiber 6.7 g
• Sugars 13.06 g  
• Protein 8.14 g  

Veggie Broth

I have mentioned and it will come up again, my veggie broth. So what is it?

I started to make this when we had to cut back the amount of salt we were eating, after hubby's blood pressure shot up.  But I kept making it, because it has other benefits.

I can't give you a recipe for it, because it isn't a recipe. It is a way to use up some of the parts of the vegetables that you would normally throw away.

Here is the concept.

You need a container to keep in the freezer.
Every time you are preparing vegetables; any part that is still edible, but is not needed for the recipe (like the peels off of washed carrots), throw it in the container in the freezer.

When the container is full, or once a month. Dump the collection into a large stock pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Then let it simmer. I aim for an hour, but have let it go as long as three.

Strain the broth. You may have to strain it a couple of times and through a cheese cloth to get all the bits out.

Then I let it cool slightly and pack it in two to four cup size containers. Then freeze.

It's handy to have around. And saves you money as well. You can use it as a replacement for any broth or bouillon. You may have to add more fat and or salt to the recipe to get the right taste.

The taste of it can change, based on what you had in the stock pot. One year someone gave me a bunch of jalapenos. I froze them because there was no way we could have eaten the amount they gave me at once. A few batches of this broth had one or two of the peppers added to it. Gave it a nice zing.

The only drawback is people opening your freezer and seeing that container full of veggie bits. Some might think you are weird for keeping it around. After you explain what it is, it's not that weird.

Iced Coffee

Again, this one is not going to be a recipe. This is more of the process I use.

The most important thing to remember about making a good iced coffee, is to NOT used hot brewed coffee. You can, but there is a bitter aftertaste.

To make a good one, you must cold brew your coffee.  And its not that hard.

The cheap, quick way: Throw some store bought, pre-ground coffee into a jar. You want it stronger than your regular cup. Try 1 ounce of coffee, per cup of water.  Put that in the refrigerator, over night.
You will have to strain it before drinking. A colander with a coffee filter lining it works good.

In a tall glass, add ice cubes. The amount of ice cubes should be about the same as the amount of coffee. Pour the coffee over the cubes, then add milk or whatever else you want.

I made ice coffee like that for years. I had a special pitcher just for brewing. But it was a mess when it came to the straining.  Later, I found a French press on sale at Marshals.  That does the straining for you.

Purist will say to grind your own beans. I agree. Grinding your own beans does make it taste better. But I have not been disappointed with using ground coffee off the shelf. Unless, the brand is horrible. If it makes a bad cup of hot coffee, it's going to make a bad cup of iced coffee.

Naked Moo shu pork

Naked because it isn't served with it's normal "dressings" of rice or pancakes.

This is a one dish meal. And a nice way satisfy a craving for take out. You can changed what vegetables you want in the dish. You could add sprouts, or spinach for example.  Or saute some bean sprouts and serve it over them?

The peanut butter might seem odd, but it's worth the extra little kick it gives the dish. If you want to lower the carbs in this even more, use a natural, no sugar added, brand. Just remember to mix it up well before you use it in the recipe.


Naked Moo shu pork

A variant, served without rice or "pancakes"

4 servings

3 tbsp olive oil
1 lb pork, sliced
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp ground ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 med onion, sliced
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 cups cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes.
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter.


Cook the pork in the hot oil. Remove.
Pour the eggs into the skillet and scramble them. Remove.
Cook the Ginger, garlic, mushrooms, onions, and green pepper for 3 minutes.
Add the soy sauce, peanut butter, hot pepper flakes carrots, cabbage, and mushrooms. Cook for 3 minutes.
Return the pork and the eggs, Stir.
Serve.


Nutrition Facts
Calories 501

Total Fat 28
Total Carbohydrate 18 g
Dietary Fiber 5 g
Protein 45 g

Turnip Soup

I love to read old cookbooks. They can be fun and sometimes a bit scary (spam in jello?). But the really old ones can have some simple, but good food that can be altered to anyone's taste.

This turnip soup, I found in a Victorian era cookbook. In fact, I found it in a couple I read. It was a common soup of that time, apparently.

This is the basic soup, minus the potatoes. Other variations included meat and other vegetables. If I was to add meat to it, I would cook the meat in the broth, while cooking the turnips. Then add the turnips to the broth as directed.

I list beef broth in the ingredients, but I have made it with my homemade veggie broth and it has turned out just fine.


Turnip Soup

Serves 4

water
6 med turnips, peeled, cubed.
1 med onion, chopped.
2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 cup cream
salt
pepper

Boil the turnips and the onions until tender.
Drain, but do not discard the water.
Mash the turnips.
In another pot, add the turnips and the broth. If seems dry add a little of the reserved water. It should not be soupy.
Add the cream.
If not thin enough for you, add more of the reserved water.
Heat through and serve.


Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
Calories 221
Total Fat 11 g
Total Carbohydrate 24
Dietary Fiber 5 g
Protein 7 g

Egg Salad with Veggies

I don't like traditional egg salad.  It's a texture thing. I need something to crunch to off set the feeling of the eggs and mayo.  This recipe fits the bill for me. I actually combined two recipes I found online. I think it will work.

This would probably be better as a side dish.

Egg Salad with Veggies

Serves 8

Ingredients

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup of fresh cauliflower, chopped.
1 carrot, shredded.
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoons dried dill
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoons salt
12 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions: 

• In a large bowl, mix together the onion, celery, cauliflower, carrots, mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, mustard, lemon juice, and salt.
• Add the eggs to the vegetable mixture and mix together. Season with pepper to taste.
• Chill for 1 hour.

Per serving: 

Calories 212

Fat 17 g

Carb 4 g

Fiber 1 g

Sugars 2 g

Protein 10 g

How to Boil an Egg

This is one of those life skills everyone should know how to do, but it seems like the only time most of us do this is around Easter.  I know, I found myself constantly looking up directions online when I needed to make hard boiled eggs.

Eggs are great for LCHF. They are a quick source of protein. But like everything, don't pig out on them.

Basic Hard Boiled Eggs

eggs
Water
ice (optional)

• Place the eggs in a sauce pan. There should be only 1 layer of eggs.
• Fill the saucepan with water, until the eggs are covered by at least one inch.
• Heat the pan on the stove, until the water is boiling.
• Cover the pan and remove from heat.
• Let sit for 12 minutes
• Remove the eggs from the hot water and put in cold or ice water.
• Drain and Refrigerate

12 minutes is a recommended time. If you find out that your eggs are too runny, let them sit for longer. If too hard, let them sit for shorter amounts of time.

Parsnip Fritters

I remember growing up, my dad would come inside after the first frost with a hand full of parsnips. He would eat them sauteed in butter.  I never really thought much about them, growing up. They looked like a pale carrot.

After I had a family of my own, I rediscovered this vegetable. It's sweet, but not as sweet as a carrot (unless it has been left in the ground after the frost).

Interesting fact: Before cane sugar, Europeans used Parsnips for sweetener.

Parsnip Fritters

Servings: 4

4 parsnips
water
1 teaspoon flour
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon butter

Preparation:

• Boil parsnips.
• Allow to cool so you can touch them and remove the skin.
• Mash them, adding the flour and egg.
• Melt butter in a skillet
• Using a large spoon, drop equal amounts into the hot butter.
• Flatten and cook until brown, then turn. Cook until underside is brown.

Per serving
Calories: 145
Fat 4 g
Carb 24 g
Fiber 7 g
Sugars 6 g
Protein 3 g

Ranch Dressing

After you make your own mayo, you might want to try other dressings.
This one is almost too easy.
Ranch dressing is great on vegetables and meat. If you are having guests over; make a tray of veggies and use this as the dip

Ranch Dressing

Makes 1 1/2 cups or 24 tablespoons
(if using fresh herbs double the amount, 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp)

1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Salt
black pepper

Combine all.
Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Per serving
Calories: 71
Fat 8 g
Carb 0 g
Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g

Simple Homemade Mayonaise

Starting with a simple recipe that everyone should know. There are variations, but this is the one that works for me. Using this as a base, you can make salad dressings, flavored mayo, and other sauces.

Why start with mayo? It's something I have missed over the years. I could never stand the taste of "salad spreads", real mayo or nothing. Athough you can buy it cheaply in the stores. Making it yourself means you control what goes inside. Add a different vinegar. Add less or more salt. Add basil. This is the foundation so you can have fun experimenting.

This recipe uses a blender. Which is perfect for mixing. You could use a whisk and a bowl, but using the blender will mean your arms won't get as tired.

Simple Homemade Mayo 

Should make: 1 cup or 16 tablespoons

1 whole egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup olive oil

• Take the middle part out of the cover of the blender, if you can. This will make it less messy.
• Put in the blender, the egg, vinegar (or lemon juice), salt, a little of the oil. 
• Blend for a few seconds until creamy. Keep the blender going and add the rest of the oil.
• SLOWLY.
• There should be a thin stream of oil running into the blender.
• Pour about a quarter of it in, keep blending for about 15 seconds, and repeat.
• When you have about a quarter of the oil left. Check the mayo in the blender. 
•  If too thick, add a bit of vinegar. Too thin, blend more oil in. 
• When satisfied. Scrape the may out of the blender. Put in a covered container in the refrigerator.
• Throw out after one week, if there is any left. 

Per Tablespoon
Calories 124 Fat 14 g Carb 0 g Fiber 0 g Sugars 0 g