Browsing Tag

grain-free

Main Dishes

Delicious & Versatile Creamed Spinach!

June 5, 2018

Creamed spinach is a great way to add vegetables while keeping carbs and calories to a healthy minimum.  Plus… this recipe fits into almost any diet:  Not only is it grain- and gluten-free, but also Vegetarian, Paleo and Keto friendly!  It works as a side-dish, but I love it topped with a poached egg, a la “Eggs Florentine.”  When I’m really hungry, I top the egg with a slice of cheese and broil for a minute.

The recipe below yields about 6 cups, or …12, half-cup servings at 160 calories and very few carbs.

In addition to the ingredients featured in the photo, I also used about 1-1/2 tablespoons of Quinoa flour to thicken, which adds a negligible amount of carbs.

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 9-oz packages of baby spinach, chopped
  • 1 large Vidalia or sweet onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream (feel free to substitute Half ‘n Half)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbsp good butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (not shown)
  • 1-1/2 tbsp flour (I prefer gluten-free flour)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • pepper to taste (I ground about 20 times)

Preparing

  1. Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet
  2. Add chopped onion and salt, then sauté until onions are soft and clear
  3. Toss in all the chopped spinach and sauté, turning and stirring until soft
  4. Add the cream, stir, then add the parmesan and incorporate well
  5. Simmer about 3 minutes, then sprinkle in flour to thicken, pepper to taste and simmer until the mix reaches the desired consistency.

TIP: Portion out the large batch into individual half- or one-cup servings for freezing!
They thaw quickly,  so you’ll always have a handy, healthy side vegetable!.

My Daily Kitchen

Lemony, Minty Vegetable Soup

June 5, 2017

Here you go people. It’s Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian & Vegan!

Many years ago, I spent about 10 fascinating days in Istanbul where I was introduced to flavors profiles I had never tasted growing up in Greenwich, Connecticut.

My very learned mother was keenly interested in just about everything and she did her best to bring the world to our kitchen table. Well, it was really a counter, probably one of the very first “kitchen islands” before they became popular. It was long, like a bar, and we kids bellied up every night at 6 pm, perched on stools, waiting to see what country was being served on any given night.

She and our dad exposed us kids to an impressive variety of international foods. We were taken to Manhattan for Smorgasbords, but also never left the “city” without stopping at the now famous Papaya King for that then rare and exotic papaya smoothie.  We tasted real Honduranian “Picadillo” with tender raisins. I  watched, bug-eyed,  my sister Madeleine cringing in complete horror, as our mother peeled and sliced up delicious beef tongue. I would sit on the counter by the stove,  fascinated,  as I watched my dad slice and fry up yummy these dark sausages he called “black puddin” which I later learned were also called blood pudding’. Enough said.  But with all my parents’ interest in international fare, never had we been introduced to the flavors I discovered during the few weeks I spent in Turkey.

One afternoon in Istanbul, I stopped to  grab a regular meal at a cheap and local cafeteria style diner. I can’t remember all I put on my tray, but will never forget the surprise in my mouth as I tasted what I expected to be a plan, salty lentil soup. Wow! Turkish Lemon & Lentil soup bursting with unmistakable notes of mint, lemon and heat.  Mint? In a soup? This was new to me. And lemon? Lemon in a soup with tomatoes? The experience, all those decades ago, was something entirely unexpected to this little New England girl.

Today, as in the same morning of this posting, I wanted to try to recreate that never forgotten experience. Alas, I’m back on a the no-grain wagon with a renewed commitment.  When  you eat truly grain-free, lentils and other legumes are not on the menu!

What to do?

Well, only days ago, I had bagged up some cups of “riced” cauliflower so I thought I’d try using these in place of lentils.

The result was a low-carb, vegetarian & vegan (without the dollop of sour cream) hot, spicy, minty and lemony medley.

I enjoyed my first taste of this soup in a nice bowl, but I think tonight I will place a poached egg on top for protein.

Lemony, Minty, Spicy Vegetable Soup

  1.  Pop your favorite soup pot on the stove, turn the heat to  medium and fire up 2 tablespoons of good olive oil. To this, add…
  • 3/4 cup of diced onions & 1 tsp salt.  Sautee this for a minute or two, then add…
  • 1 Grated carrot
  • 1 Grated sweet potato
  • 1 diced, fresh tomato.
    Sauté this mixture for a few minutes, then add…
  • 1 can of salt-free, diced tomatoes
  • 1-2 cups of riced cauliflower
    (about 1/2 a head of cauliflower, riced in a food chopper. See photo, below.)
  • 1/4 cup well-chopped fresh parsley  OR 3 tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 tbsp fresh, chopped mint leaves OR dried mint.
  • Juice from 1/2  a fresh lemon
  • 1/2 tsp (or more) of red pepper flakes

2.  Cover and allow  to simmer on low for 10  minutes, adding salt or lemon or mint to taste.

3.  Now add 1 cup of  good quality vegetable stock (or chicken stock if you are not vegetarian.)

4.  Once your vegetables are soft and the flavors have emerged, pull out  your hand-blender (or a regular blender)  – do not puree – and lightly mix up all the mixture until you still have visible vegetables, but not slush.

5.  Now that the mixture is all smooth and lush, I added about 1/2 a cup of sour cream. (Vegans, substitute the same amount of any creamy  vegan product, such as a  Half & Half substitute or any creamy product you like to use.)

6  Ladle into a nice  bowl. Garnish with parsley or mint and a nice dollop of sour cream, or sour cream substitute. 

TIPS:
You can make this same recipe SUBSTITUTING RED LENTILS and OMITTING the Cauliflower. If you do this, do NOT add the sour cream.

If you are serving this as an appetizer, cut up some oldish bread, sautée quickly in salted olive oil until crispy and golden, and serve on top!

I enjoy a nicely poached egg on top of spicy vegetables and the lemon will be fine. Remember, Hollandaise sauce is very lemony! When I really want to make this a warm, late night comfort meal, I melt a slice of mild and  creamy cheese on top of the egg. That is not for vegans though.

Comfort Food

Easy Veggie Comfort

April 22, 2015

I often feel that if I eat vegetarian or vegan, I’m going to be left wanting. I have nothing against the raw food champions, but me? I like my food warm and creamy.

This dish not only fills the comfort-food bill, it fills you up and it does so without dairy or meat. It’s vegetarian healthy (vegan if you use a pesto that does not include Parmesian).

Serve up a large bowl for lunch, or serve it as a side dish to a main course.

Mushroom Comfort

Lace the bottom of a your favorite frying or sauté pan with 1-2 tbsp. coconut oil (or substitute cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil, or half & half, mixing the oils), and heat.

Add to the pan, and  in this order:
2 Teeth garlic, minced
1 Medium onion, thinly sliced
Sautee onion and garlic about a minute, then add in:
2 Cups sliced mushrooms (any kind)
2 Cups sliced zucchini (I cut half-moons to match the mushroom shapes).
Salt & Pepper to taste.

Sauté together until the mushrooms are soft, but not limp,  and the zuchini is softening, but not going clear. You want it to hold a little firmness.

Add 3 tbsp of your favorite home-made or jarred Pesto (vegans, you will want to use a pesto that huses a substitute for the Parmesian cheese or incorporates extra nuts and basil).

Stir together until hot and then… add the juice of 1/2 a lemon.
This is going to really give the dish some zing and bring out the flavors.

Vegetarians and meat-eaters, top with grated Parmesian.
Vegans, opt out of the cheese and top with toasted nuts.