can you tell what I'm making?

At about 3:20, I cut some eggplants into small cubes, tossed them in olive oil and some sea salt, and placed them on a baking sheet.

I also wrapped up an ear of corn in aluminum.

It's 3:35 now, and both are going in the oven.

UPDATE 1: (3:50) Now that the eggplants and corn are cooking, I wanted to add that I'm using 3 different kinds of eggplants. I can't resist all those cool and weird-looking varieties at the Farmers Market! This dish will have American eggplant (the familiar purplish-black, "globe" eggplants), a Filipino eggplant (like the one in my hand here), and a Rosa Bianca eggplant.

UPDATE 2: (3:57) I just put a pot of water on the stove, to bring to a boil, and now my oven timer is beeping, so I'd better go check the eggplant and corn.

UPDATE 3: (4:02) The eggplant tastes great! Time to start working with some of the other ingredients: onions, a jar of roasted red peppers, heirloom cherry tomatoes, and capers. I left the corn in the oven, but turned the heat off. I'm also starting to wonder why I thought it would be such a great idea to cook today, when it is super, super hot outside.
UPDATE 4: (4:17) I keep nibbling on the eggplant chunks, and I'm still waiting for the water to boil! I did slice my cherry tomatoes into halves, though. It was about 40 cherry tomatoes - I counted them, just for you. :)

Speaking of nibbling, when we got home from the Farmers Market today, we took a bunch of the black seedless grapes we'd bought, put them in a freezer bag, and stuck them in the freezer. Mike and I just tasted the frozen grapes, and they were so sweet and refreshing. Highly recommended!

UPDATE 5: (4:30) Finally! The water is boiling, so I put in the whole wheat penne pasta. In the meantime, I also sliced up 3/4 of a yellow onion into half rings, and I'm working on caramelizing it (on medium-high heat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil) now.

UPDATE 6: (4:40) OK, the pasta is done, and it's sitting in the colander in the sink. While it was cooking, I remembered the corn (by some miracle), got it out of the oven, and sliced the kernels off into a bowl. I hold the tip of the stalk with my left hand (using an oven mitt), resting the other end of the cob in the bowl. Then I simply cut the corn off with a knife. I'm going to cut a few canned fire-roasted red peppers into strips next.



UPDATE 7: (4:44) Still caramelizing, so there's time for this comment/hint. This dish traditionally has a kind of sweet-sour flavor, which most recipes achieve by adding sugar. I'm not going to do that, of course. I'm hoping to get there through the sweetness of caramelized onions, corn, and yellow (along with some red) cherry tomatoes.

UPDATE 8: (4:50) That's enough caramelizing! I just turned down the heat and added the tomatoes and roasted red peppers to the onion pan, along with a clove of minced garlic, a teaspoon of salt, and 3 twists of the pepper grinder.

UPDATE 9: (4:58) I have added the eggplant cubes to the pan now, along with about 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. The tomatoes are cooking down nicely. And I had a thought...you know what else is kind of sweet? Tarragon! I don't have any fresh, so I threw in a teaspoon of dried tarragon. And a dash of red chili flakes, because I'm going to use fresh mint leaves later, so this dish will play around with hot-cool and sweet-sour.



UPDATE 10: (5:05) Final additions to the sauce: the corn, 4 teaspoons of capers, and 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts. Funnily enough, it's hard to tell the pine nuts from the corn kernels once they're all mixed in!

UPDATE 11: (5:14) The answer - I'm making eggplant caponata. Sort of! It's going to be a cold pasta salad instead of a spread. The idea occurred to me because A.) it's really hot outside, and B.) eggplant caponata is often served at room temperature or chilled. Now that the caponata sauce is done, I have combined it with the penne noodles in a container, and it's all in the fridge chilling. I'll let you know how it is in a couple of hours!

UPDATE 12: (8:00ish) It was good! The picture below shows the finished dish, garnished with shaved Parmesan and some mint sprigs. It really did have the sweet factor - so much so, that next time, I might skip the tarragon and use some more savory herbs. Still, we liked it because it was so refreshing and summery.


Mucho thanks to Mike for all the pictures he took and uploaded!

brown rice and mushroom risotto

This recipe was inspired by a delicious brown rice risotto that I recently tried at one of my new favorite restaurants. The place is called Hugo's, and it is a hypoglycemic's paradise. Finally, a place where I can eat out and choose from quinoa, whole grain rolls, brown rice, and wheat ciabatta!! If you live in LA, you should definitely check it out - Hugo's is also great for vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free people. They are also very eco-friendly and try to be a "green" restaurant as much as possible. And yet, it's not the kind of place where you feel like "healthy" is being rammed down your throat. You can get carne asada and goat cheese mashed potatoes there. Hugo's seems to be kind of an entertainment industry hangout as well, because every time we go there, we seem to overhear people at neighboring tables talking about casting calls and thier IMDB profiles. (If you don't know what IMDB is, clearly you don't live in LA - it's big here!)

Aaaanyway. Normally, my blood sugar sensitivity won't allow me to eat risotto, so brown rice risotto is a pretty exciting concept. I used short-grain brown rice from the grain bins at Whole Foods, so it's also a cheap meal. It does take at least an hour to make, with all the stirring and adding broth, but it is worth it, and the texture does turn out creamy and dense like a regular risotto. Mushroom broth can be a little bit hard to find, but I picked up Pacific brand broth at Whole Foods. If no one stocks it near you, you can make your own by rehydrating some dried mushrooms and keeping the liquid, as I described here. (Be sure to use enough dried mushrooms to make 2 cups of broth.) I wanted to use chopped up green beans for a perky little crunch, but I didn't have any, so I threw in some sliced zucchini at the last minute. It was good too, but I am eager to try this again with green beans! (Any excuse, really.)

This recipe made enough for Mike and I to have a hearty meal, but next time we'll double it so there are leftovers. I was a little sad not to have much left, especially after taking the time to make this batch.

BROWN RICE AND MUSHROOM RISOTTO

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 yellow onion, diced
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 cups mushroom broth
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup short grain brown rice
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 cup chopped crimini (or other brown) mushrooms
1 zucchini chopped (or your choice of vegetable)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium pot. Saute the onions, and add the garlic after a few minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring the broth and tomato paste to a boil in a separate pot, stirring so that the paste disentegrates into the liquid.

3. When the onions are nearly translucent, add the rice to the pot and stir to coat. Then add 1 cup of the boiling broth mixture. Adding it hot will help the rice to begin to simmer. Keep it going at a very low simmer, partly covering the pot with the lid. Stir every few minutes until the rice has absorbed almost all of the liquid - this could take 30 minutes. At this point, add half of the remaining broth and repeat the procedure.

4. When the rice has once again soaked up most of the liquid, add the sage and mushrooms to the pot. Then add the rest of the broth mixture, and repeat the stirring/soaking process.

5. For the vegetable, you could steam or saute in a separate pan and add it to the risotto just before serving. This method would give you the most control over its done-ness. Or, for a simpler approach, you could throw the veggies into the rice pot on the last addition of liquid, allowing for the necessary cooking time relative to the veggie you've chosen (a little more for green beans or asparagus, a little less for zucchini).

6. When the rice has absorbed the final portion of broth, stir in the Parmesan cheese and serve. Maybe garnish with a little sage leaf. :)

Warm Wheat Berry Salad with Copious Coriander

Since I gave up eating refined white breads, flours, pastas, or rice a couple of years ago, I have been slowly discovering the wide variety of whole grains that are out there. Lately, wheat berries have become one of my favorites. The wheat berry is simply the entire, unprocessed, uncracked wheat kernel. A bowl of wheat berries with some veggies is a very satisfying meal, or treated oatmeal-style, it would make a hearty breakfast. You can also grind up the wheat berries to make your own whole wheat flour - I'm not that ambitious...

For this recipe, I used Bob's Red Mill Soft White Wheat Berries, because that is what I found at Whole Foods, but hard white or hard red wheat berries would work too. You do have to plan ahead a little, since it takes about an hour to boil the wheat berries - then you are free to put them together with anything you can think of. One cup of dry wheat berries will make two dinner portions, and leave enough extra that you can have for breakfast or throw into a pot of soup later.

My other inspiration for this recipe was cilantro/coriander. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you have probably noticed that coriander is one of my absolute favorite flavors, but did you know that coriander seeds and cilantro come from the same plant? So, why not combine coriander seeds, ground coriander, and fresh cilantro into one dinner? It's like a perfect circle. On that note, I feel I have to mention that there is a blog called F*@# Yeah Cilantro, and if you like tongue-in-cheek, vulgar humor involving herbs, then you should check it out. If you don't like pictures of food accompanied by tons of F-bombs...well, you have been warned.

If you can't find coriander seeds in the spice aisle at the store, check in the aisle where they keep the Mexican specialty food items. Tossing a few of these into a recipe adds a pleasant crunchy, orange-y surprise when you bite into a seed. This recipe should be made with your choice of whatever vegetables are in season. The baby artichokes and purple cauliflower I used were really good, but I could envision this working with squash, green beans, asparagus, mushrooms, etc.

WARM WHEAT BERRY SALAD WITH COPIOUS CORIANDER

1 cup uncooked wheat berries
3 1/2 cups water
a pinch of coriander seeds
a pinch of salt
6 tulip artichokes (or other baby artichokes)
2 tsps. olive oil
1 small head of cauliflower (I used purple cauliflower, but white is fine.)
1/4 cup olive oil
6 Tsps. apple cider vinegar
4 scant tsps. Dijon mustard
4 tsps. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
another pinch of coriander seeds
salt and pepper to taste
2 dozen small shrimp
4-5 cubes feta cheese per bowl
4-5 tsps. chopped fresh cilantro

1. Bring the wheat berries and water to a boil, sprinkle in a little salt and a few coriander seeds for added flavor. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about an hour, or until the wheat berries are al dente. You may have to drain off a little excess water before serving.

2. Steam the baby artichokes for three minutes in a microwave steamer bag, or for about 15 minutes on the stove top. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then peel away and discard the outer leaves until you reach the tender part that doesn't resist cutting with a sharp knife. Cut off and throw away the tough tips, then slice the remaining artichokes lengthwise into halves or quarters. (More about working with baby artichokes here.)

3. Cut the cauliflower into small florets, and heat the olive oil to high heat in a large pan. Sear the cauliflower florets on high heat for about three minutes, stirring frequently. You want to see a little bit of char in spots. Turn the heat down, and add the artichokes and shrimp to the pan.

4. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, coriander, cumin, and coriander seeds, along with a few dashes of salt and pepper. Set this vinaigrette aside for now.

5. While the shrimp are heating, start assembling the bowls. Drain the wheat berries if necessary, then scoop an ample portion into each bowl. Once the veggie/shrimp mixture is finished, spoon it on top of the wheat berries, drizzle on the vinaigrette, and top with the cubes of feta. (Don't use pre-crumbled feta. Get a block of feta and cube it yourself for a creamier texture.) Garnish each bowl with a generous sprinkle of cilantro.

soba noodles with veggies & scallops in ginger mushroom broth

Of all the things I want to do with this blog, one of the most important is to point out the variety of whole grains out there. If you follow a hypoglycemic diet, you give up white pasta, white rice, flour tortillas, white bread, etc. - which can be a drag sometimes, especially at restaurants, or when you find yourself peering wistfully at all the goodies behind the glass at the coffee shop. Fortunately, there are some really good, overlooked whole grains that everyone ought to try, whether you are watching your blood sugar or your waistline, or perhaps if you are bored with the usual stuff.

So, today's featured whole grain is...(drumroll, please)...soba noodles! Soba is a Japanese pasta, made from a blend of buckwheat and wheat flour. I love that there exists an Asian noodle I can eat, since Pad Thai and Pho and all those fresh-looking Asian noodle bowls are usually off limits unless I want to feel woozy and get a pounding headache. With soba, I can learn to make my own versions of these dishes, as well as a plethora of hey-what-do-we-have-in-the-fridge stir fries, such as the one I'm posting here. You should be able to find soba in the "ethnic foods" aisle of most nicer grocery stores. You'll notice that they are brown, somewhat like whole wheat pasta, but they cook a little more quickly.

I used frozen jumbo scallops in this stir fry, which, I admit were from New England, thus not as eco-friendly as I usually try to be. While I think eating locally-produced food is one of the most important ways to help reduce your carbon footprint, I don't advocate being rigid about it when (for instance) you want some interesting seafood in your stir fry. To quickly defrost the scallops, just put them in a plastic ziploc-type bag and immerse in a bowl of lukewarm water. You may have to change the water a few times (because the scallops will make it icy), but they will defrost in 20 minutes or so while you are getting your other ingredients ready. Most of the other ingredients in the recipe are in season - veggies you'll find at the farmer's market in early spring.

I had never cooked with baby bok choy before putting it in this recipe, but it is super easy to work with, and quite yummy. Although it is known as Chinese cabbage, the flavor is milder than the cabbage most of us familiar with - but, strips of regular cabbage would make a decent substitution if you can't find baby bok choy. Swiss chard would also work. I highly recommend branching out and trying some of those mysterious greens the markets are so full of right now.

SOBA NOODLES WITH VEGGIES & SCALLOPS IN GINGER MUSHROOM BROTH

2 tsps. toasted sesame oil
1 medium onion, sliced into half circles
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 oz. dried wild mushrooms (shitake, crimini, oyster, etc.)
1 carrot, peeled into strips
4-6 jumbo scallops, cut into halves or quarters
1 cup snow peas
2 heaping Tbsps. freshly grated ginger root
1/4 cup mushroom broth (created from rehydrating your mushrooms)
2 Tbsps. low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
soba noodles
2 baby bok choy
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 avocado

1. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet. Add the onions. Cook for a few minutes before adding the garlic.

2. Meanwhile, rehydrate the dried wild mushrooms in a medium-sized bowl. Cover the mushrooms in hot water for 15-20 minutes. When you take the mushrooms out of the bowl, save the water to use as mushroom broth later in the recipe. (You can also keep the extra broth in the fridge for a while - I'll be posting another recipe soon in which I used it again.)

3. Use a vegetable peeler to make carrot strips. I used a yellow carrot, but any kind will do. Toss the carrot strips into the skillet with the onions. Next, add the scallop pieces and stir so that the scallops have contact with the skillet bottom. After 3 minutes, add the snow peas, and turn the scallops. Cook for another 3-4 minutes.

4. While things are cooking away in the skillet, use a knife to remove the brown skin from the ginger root. Then use the smallest part of a grater, catching the ginger and ginger juice in a bowl. You might have to scrape the grated ginger off the back of the grater with your fingers. Once you have enough, stir it into the skillet. Pour in the mushroom broth, and add the soy sauce and rice vinegar. Turn the scallops over again.

5. Boil the soba noodles according to package directions. This recipe made enough for two of us, plus enough leftovers for me to eat for lunch one day. So, shoot for three bowls' worth of noodles.

6. Slice the bok choy into long strips, and add them to the skillet. Squeeze in the lemon juice, and cook for 3 more minutes. Once the scallops look done, you're ready to go.

7. Serve the veggies and broth in a bowl on top of the noodles. Garnish with avocado slices.

Note: We are trying to remember to start taking (and posting) pictures of these dishes...but it's a work in progress. Enjoy!

spaghetti in rosemary cream sauce with Indian eggplants, snap peas & prosciutto

Now that it is officially spring, it's time to look for ways to add all the new ingredients appearing at the Farmer's Market into our cooking plans! Sugar snap peas (a kind of "sugar" I can have) add a fresh crispiness and delightful green brightness to this adaptation of the basic cream sauce used in an earlier, more wintry post, "Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Ricotta and Meyer Lemon Zest."

I was also eager to do something with the cute little baby eggplants that I've been seeing at the Encino Farmer's Market. Can you tell that I'm in love with miniature vegetables lately? I know eggplants are generally in season in the summer, but sometimes veggies have a longer growing season in California, and sometimes the baby veggies appear sooner than the full-sized ones. I'm not sure if that's the case with these eggplants, so if anyone out there knows, please share!

In fact, according to the sign at the market, what I bought were Indian eggplants. There are lots of different kinds of eggplants, and crazily enough, they are technically considered a berry - kind of in the same way that tomatoes are considered a fruit. Whatever they are, these little eggplants were yummy to use in this dish because the spongy texture of the eggplant allows it to soak up the flavor of the cream sauce.

SPAGHETTI IN ROSEMARY CREAM SAUCE WITH INDIAN EGGPLANT, SNAP PEAS & PROSCIUTTO

3-4 baby eggplants (or Indian eggplants)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt & pepper
2 cups sugar snap peas, cut into bite sized pieces
1 clove minced garlic
2 Tbsps. white balsamic vinegar
3 slices prosciutto
2 stalks green onion, chopped
2 Tbsps. butter
1 long stalk fresh rosemary, leaves separated from stem and chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh ricotta
salt & pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
whole wheat spaghetti noodles (enough for 2 people)

1. Slice the eggplant into long, thin strips, leaving the skin on. Heat the oil in a large skillet, then add the eggplant strips. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes or so. Add the snap pea pieces and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the white balsamic vinegar.

2. Roll up each slice of prosciutto and slice the rolls so that you make bite-sized strips. Mix the prosciutto into the veggies and cook for a few more minutes. Add the green onions and cook briefly so that the green doesn't darken too much.

3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in another pan, then add the rosemary - the herbal oil will infuse the butter. After heating the rosemary for a few minutes, pour in the heavy cream. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes before adding the ricotta. Stir over low heat to melt and blend the cheese into the cream, then remove from heat.

4. While the noodles are boiling, stir the Parmesan into the cream sauce mixture until it melts and disappears. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Serve the noodles in a bowl with the cream sauce and veggies spooned on top.

quick polenta bowl with tomato sauce and seasonal veggies

Here's a quick dinner I whipped up one night last week when I didn't have the energy to cook, or much in the fridge. I try to keep a can of tomatoes in the cabinet, and I almost always have a tube of Trader Joe's heat-and-serve polenta available...so, that and some asparagus I had from the Farmer's Market = dinner in 20 minutes flat!

Asparagus is just starting to appear at the Farmer's Markets here in LA, since it's early spring. There are also hot house tomatoes, but they're not that great (and I didn't have any), so I went for canned. In the summer, it's not that hard to make a sauce from fresh tomatoes, and I might use green beans instead of the asparagus. I also just used the fresh herbs I happened to have, plus some of the Italian seasonings in my cabinet. What I'm getting at here is that you should feel free to use: a) whatever is in season and sounds good, b) whatever you've got. This is a pretty hearty meal for two, and maybe more, depending on your appetite - especially if you add a green salad.

QUICK POLENTA BOWL WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND SEASONAL VEGGIES

2 tsps. butter or olive oil (for the polenta)
1 18 oz. tube of polenta
1 tsp. olive oil (for the sauce)
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I used crimini, but whatever you have is fine.)
1 or 2 cloves minced garlic
7 or 8 asparagus stalks, cut into 1 inch bite-sized pieces
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
app. 3/4 of a large (28 oz.) can of tomatoes
1 Tbsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 Tbsp. basil
1 tsp. thyme
salt & pepper
goat cheese (optional)

1. Slice the polenta log into circles about 1/2 inch thick. Melt the butter or heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the polenta slices. Once they start warming, they are easier to mash up and stir together - at first, just be sure to stir so that the same ones aren't always on the bottom hogging all the butter or oil. While you cook your tomato sauce, check on the polenta periodically, and mash/stir it until it's a thick, uniform texture. Remove from heat if this consistency is acheived before the sauce is ready. (Note: I believe Whole Foods and other stores have thier own ready-made polenta tubes, not just TJ's. And it is, of course, possible to make it yourself, but the point of this recipe is quickness and ease!)

2. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large pan, then add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, and add the asparagus once the mushrooms are starting to brown. Cook until the asparagus turns bright green and retains some of its crispiness. (Soggy, overcooked asparagus is gross.) Add a tablespoon (or just a generous splash) of balsamic vinegar and cook for a minute.

3. Add the canned tomatoes to the veggie mixture. I didn't use the whole can, but just eyeball it according to your desired ratio of veggies:tomatoes. Add the herbs and simmer for several minutes, adjusting the seasonings (a little more of this, a lot more of that...) and salt & pepper to taste.

4. After you've perfected your tomato sauce, spoon the polenta into individual bowls, smashing it up against the sides to make a polenta bowl-inside-a-bowl. Spoon the tomato sauce into the polenta-lined bowls, and serve with some crumbled or grated cheese on top, if you like. We happened to have goat cheese, which melted just a little, resulting in extreme creamy goodness.

whole-grain Mexican(ish) casserole

I am so proud to post this recipe, because Mike and I created it ourselves this past weekend. True, it is based on the principles and quantities of this yummy recipe for mushroom casserole from 101 Cookbooks, which we have also made twice in the past three weeks - you should try it. But, the Mexican(ish) twist is all ours, and it turned out brag-to-your-friends delicious on the first draft. Both recipes are filthy sucre friendly because of their innate whole-grain goodness.

The reason I am referring to it as "Mexican(ish)" is because we used quinoa in our version in place of the brown rice. Quinoa was the staple grain of the Incas, arguably the key to their empire's success. (No really: read Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, and I promise you'll have a new appreciation for the role of natural food resources in the course of human history. It's kind of mind blowing.) Anyway, the Incas and their descendants hail from the Andes, not Mexico, and I strive to be accurate in my recipe designations. Quinoa was great for the empire, and is great for hypoglycemics because it is the highest source of protien of any grain. It's easy to find at the grocery store, so you should give it a try if you haven't already. The other ingredients are pretty much inspired by our love for Mexican food.

MEXICAN(ISH) CASSEROLE

3 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
3 stalks green onions, chopped
1 1/2 roasted red peppers, diced (The kind that comes in a jar is fine - or you can roast your own. This would be about 3/4 of a jar.)
1/2 cup corn (I used frozen, but would love to use fresh in the summer.)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cloves minced garlic
2 large eggs
16 oz. fat free cottage cheese
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon epazote (a green herb used in Mexico, omit if you can't obtain it)
1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese
salsa verde and guacamole to serve as toppings

1. Prepare the quinoa per the instructions on the box. The recipe calls for 3 cups of the grain - I had some left over when I made 1 1/2 cups of dry quinoa and 3 cups of water. Set the quinoa aside.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 and oil a 13x9 inch pan.

3. Saute the mushrooms and green onions in a large skillet. Add the roasted red peppers and corn after a few minutes. Add the cumin, chili powder and garlic. Let the mixture cook for a few more minutes so the flavors start to blend, while you begin the next step.

4. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, cilantro and epazote. Set aside.

5. Add the quinoa to the skillet with the veggies and stir to combine.

6. Thickly shred the cheese if you haven't already.

7. Add the quinoa/veggie mixture to the egg/cheese/sour cream bowl, and stir well. Pour the mixture evenly into the casserole dish. Sprinkle about 2/3 of the pepper jack cheese on top, cover in aluminum foil, and place in the oven for 30 minutes.

8. Remove foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes, until golden edges are acheived. Garnish with the remaining cheese and some more fresh cilantro, then serve with salsa (preferably green) and guacamole.

oatmeal...while there's still time!

OK, the title might seem a little dramatic, but there are only a few days left in National Oatmeal Month! In honor of the official breakfast food of January, I thought I'd offer my top two oatmeal treatments.

Oatmeal is something that most people eat with a heapin' helpin' of sugar. You either ladle the filthy sucre on directly, or if you eat flavored instant oatmeal, you're usually getting 12 grams or so of sugar per bowl. Just for the sake of comparison, a Milky Way bar contains 14 grams of sugar. I really read the labels for breakfast items because I find that if I start my day with something sugary, I'll be in trouble before lunch. I stay away from any cereal with more than 4 grams of any kind of sugar, which, by the way, severely limits my choices. As a slight digression, I just noticed online that Quaker has a reduced sugar flavored oatmeal now (with 4-6 grams) and McCann's has a sugar free maple-flavored oatmeal. Good for them. I wonder if any grocery stores are actually stocking those...

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I remember how my sister and I used to eat oatmeal whenever we stayed at our Grandma's house. Southerners like things pretty sweet (as in they tend to assume you are diabetic if you don't order sweet tea). We ate our oatmeal with lots of sugar, plus pools of sweetened condensed milk, which is normally only used if you are, say, making a pie. It was tasty, but did I mention that these are the same grandparents with all that family history of diabetes? Still, I have to give Papa credit for always drinking unsweetened iced tea.

Anyway, I'm not an oatmeal purist. I know some people look down upon instant, but I just don't have the energy before breakfast to be a snob about it (just ask Mike how many times I hit snooze in the mornings). So my recipes here are ones I use with plain non-flavored instant oatmeal, but you could certainly use made-from-scratch stuff. Trader Joe's has a really healthy instant oatmeal with high Omega-3 content from flax, plus protein powder and a bunch of calcium and other vitamins. On to my two oatmeal variations:

BIONIC PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL

1 packet plain instant oatmeal
1/2-2/3 cups milk or water, depending on how thick you like it
1 heaping teaspoon peanut butter (crunchy is good)
generous sprinkles of cinnamon
optional - apple slices

This is a power breakfast. It's what I ate at 4:30 in the morning before that one sprint-distance triathlon I did a couple of years ago. I use milk instead of water in my oatmeal, because it makes it a little bit richer and boosts the protein, which is always good for hypoglycemics. Add the peanut butter before you microwave your oatmeal (according to the directions on the box). Don't worry about stirring the peanut butter in until after it's heated. Once the oatmeal reaches its optimal consistency, sprinkle on your cinnamon. By the way, cinnamon is an overlooked superfood that is good for you in many ways, including blood sugar control. I use it a lot as a semi-sweet flavor, especially at breakfast. If you are really hungry, you can slice up an apple and add it to your bowl of oatmeal. This is also a great small meal for rebalancing your blood sugar if you are feeling low or borderline.


PINK OATMEAL

1 packet plain instant oatmeal
1/2-2/3 cups milk or water
a big handful of fresh raspberries
optional: a little Splenda for extra sweetness

I think this one might go over well with little kids...who knows how I came up with it, since I'm not all that functional before I eat breakfast. Just put the raspberries in the bowl with the oatmeal packet and milk or water, and heat it all up together. Once it's hot, smoosh the raspberries and stir them in. Your oatmeal will be nice and pink, and fairly sweet just from the fruit. If you really want more sweetness, you could add a little Splenda. I try not to go too crazy with artificial sweetners, but Splenda seems better than the ones with aspartame. And for hypoglycemics, it's definitely better than anything with real sugar.

P.S. If you want to keep eating these in February, I won't tell.

whole wheat spaghetti with ricotta and meyer lemon zest + a salad dressing recipe

I've realized that I've been posting a lot about root vegetables lately, and there's more of that to come, but let's not forget that citrus is also at its peak in the winter (frigid 80 degrees that it is here in LA at the moment). So, tonight for dinner, Mike and I had this recipe by Celestino Drago from Food & Wine magazine, which I found through a great website called Mighty Foods. This is a little bit decadent since it's a cream sauce, but it is extreeeemely tasty. The only change we made from the original recipe was in using Meyer lemons instead of regular ones. You may not be able to find these unless you are in California, but use them if you can because Meyer lemons are rather special. They're ony available for a short time each year, and they are quite sweet in comparison with normal lemons. I sliced up some of the lemon after grating the zest off, and used small wedges as a garnish - they were delicious with the creamy, savory sauce. It was a very easy recipe and came together quickly.

Served with a salad, this pasta made for a bright and refreshing dinner. Here's the salad dressing I put together tonight.

DIJON CORIANDER VINAIGRETTE

3-4 Tablespoons olive oil
2-3 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 heaping teaspoons dijon mustard
salt
pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon coriander

This should be enough dressing for two side salads. I actually make it in a little glass and stir it with a fork. Just put everything in together, taste it, and mix it up to the best of your abilities. It's hard to keep the oil and vinegar mixed, so you have to pour a little on one salad, then a little on the other, alternating back and forth to make sure no one ends up with all the oil. I also don't really measure this as I'm doing it, so the above quantities are estimations to guide you in getting the proportions right. Coriander is amazing, by the way. It is made from cilantro seeds, but has a warm, orangey flavor. Chill your salads with dressing on while you make the pasta. It'll be so good!

Pan-Grilled Polenta with Blood Orange Relish

Mike and I went to the Farmer's Market in Long Beach today and loaded up on stuff that's in season (which in CA is a lot, even in January). One of the interesting things about living in Southern California is that you can't always tell what season it is by the weather or foliage. The grass is currently quite green, and you can find just as many purple-blooming trees as gold-colored leaves. But, you can still celebrate the seasons by paying attention to what is available at the Farmer's Market at any given time.

One of our favorite winter treats is the fabulous blood orange - sorry, Nicole, I mean raspberry orange! (The sanguine name of this fruit can be a little off-putting, but don't miss out on the beet red, berry flavored citrus.) So, we bought a bunch of them and made this easy Pan-Grilled Polenta with Blood Orange Relish that I found at cookandeat.com as an appetizer tonight. It was amazing!!

We did use pecans instead of pine nuts, since we had a bunch leftover from a salad we made last week. We just threw them in the pan to toast alongside the polenta we were grilling (or frying, really). We also added a little fresh mint to the relish, after a suggestion from one of the commenters on the original recipe. And, instead of following the recipe for the polenta, we took advantage of a Trader Joe's shortcut and simply cut thin slices off a tube of their ready-made polenta and put it in the pan to heat. If you're not familiar with polenta, it's like a more glamorous Italian version of good ol' grits. It is served in a more stiff form than some people's grits (which can be soupy), and more like my Mom's grits, which you could sculpt.

One last thing - I got lazy and didn't bother peeling the skin off each segment of the oranges, but it was still good. I was getting too hungry and impatient. Did I mention I'm hypoglycemic?

Another last thing - it seems some people recommend that hypoglcycemic people should not eat fruit. I don't buy that. The fruit sugar is tempered by the fiber, and I don't feel it making my blood sugar swing. Also, the polenta is made from corn, and counts as a whole grain. Enjoy!