If only I had someone to share the leftovers with!
Showing posts with label SCD Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SCD Recipes. Show all posts
Monday, February 1, 2010
Hot and Sour Soup
Flipping through Eat Well Feel Well, I decided to take on hot and sour soup last night. Well worth the prep time, and very different than what I'm used to cooking. I've never really tackled Asian dishes, but I'm loving it so far. Filled with garlic, jalapenos, shiitake mushrooms, cilantro, bok choy, pork, and toasted sesame oil, I have a feeling this will become one of my favorite comfort foods.
So much better than McDonald's
I'm really stoked on this Comfy Belly blog I found. Great recipes, great pictures! I had a hankering for something deep fried and yummy so I opted for chicken nuggets with honey mustard since I had some pre-cut stir fry chicken in the fridge. Like most recipes I come across, I ended up adding much more seasoning to satiate my ridiculous need for spice and salt. I added garlic & onion powder, extra salt & pepper, and fried them in about an inch of olive oil. The honey mustard I dipped them in was simply that. Amazing how delicious food can be when it's not chock full of preservatives.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
My Masterquiche
This post is named after the master piece that I came up with yesterday, hereby known as the Masterquiche. I had a ton of veggies about to go bad, 2 dozen eggs, and a bunch of cheese. The first one was so good that Adam and I ate it and I made another one for today. You can prep a bunch of the veggies and throw this together in about 5 minutes if you want a few fresh out of the oven, but they also taste great cold. I didn't really have a recipe, but I'll try and recreate this as best as I can... Store leftover veggies for an omelet or additional quiche.
Masterquiche
makes one
1/2 Sweet Onion diced
1/3 Red Onion diced
3 Scallions finely chopped
1/3 Red Bell Pepper chopped
1/3 Yellow Bell Pepper chopped
1/3 Orange or Green Bell Pepper chopped
4-5 Baby Bella Mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 TBS Minced Garlic
1 Small crown of Broccoli finely chopped
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar loosely packed
2/3 Cup Swiss or Gruyere loosely packed
1/2 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan
4-5 eggs (depending on size)
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, make your crust, chop all vegetables. A food processor is helpful for the onions, but I would suggest doing the rest by hand to avoid veggie mush. Beat eggs until fluffy, grate all the cheeses, and set aside. Par bake your crust for 10 min, but I suggest omitting the honey. I think it comes out better for a savory dish without it. A food processor works great for this too.
Place broccoli on a foiled cookie sheet and sprinkle/toss in olive oil and salt. Roast for 15 min. While the broccoli is roasting, saute sweet onion and mushrooms over medium heat in olive oil until they have given off their liquid and are a caramel color. Add garlic, brown a little more, and transfer to a bowl. By this time the broccoli should be done, add it to the bowl.
Now saute the bell peppers the same way as the mushrooms until slightly brown, transfer to the bowl. I cook them in this order because different types of vegetables cook at different rates, so if I did the peppers with the mushrooms they would burn before the onions were caramelized. It's possible to do them all in the same pan, but the flavor isn't as great in my opinion. I use a lot of salt, but you can choose how much you'd like when cooking everything. No need to cook the scallions or red onion. When you're done you should have a couple little bowls of prepped veggies.
At this point you should have all your cheese, crust, veggies and eggs ready to go in front of you. Place a thin layer of cheddar and swiss at the bottom of crust. Spread an evenly mixed layer of all the veggies, and cover that with a bit of the egg. Use a spoon to smear the egg over the whole top if needed. Repeat this process until you are out of everything except the Parmesan. After you have done your top layer of egg, cover with parm and fresh cracked pepper. I also dusted with a little garlic and salt. Bake for 40-45 min until egg is set, and you will have a masterquiche!
Masterquiche
makes one
1/2 Sweet Onion diced
1/3 Red Onion diced
3 Scallions finely chopped
1/3 Red Bell Pepper chopped
1/3 Yellow Bell Pepper chopped
1/3 Orange or Green Bell Pepper chopped
4-5 Baby Bella Mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 TBS Minced Garlic
1 Small crown of Broccoli finely chopped
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar loosely packed
2/3 Cup Swiss or Gruyere loosely packed
1/2 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan
4-5 eggs (depending on size)
Salt and pepper to taste
Prep work is the key in this recipe.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, make your crust, chop all vegetables. A food processor is helpful for the onions, but I would suggest doing the rest by hand to avoid veggie mush. Beat eggs until fluffy, grate all the cheeses, and set aside. Par bake your crust for 10 min, but I suggest omitting the honey. I think it comes out better for a savory dish without it. A food processor works great for this too.
Place broccoli on a foiled cookie sheet and sprinkle/toss in olive oil and salt. Roast for 15 min. While the broccoli is roasting, saute sweet onion and mushrooms over medium heat in olive oil until they have given off their liquid and are a caramel color. Add garlic, brown a little more, and transfer to a bowl. By this time the broccoli should be done, add it to the bowl.
Now saute the bell peppers the same way as the mushrooms until slightly brown, transfer to the bowl. I cook them in this order because different types of vegetables cook at different rates, so if I did the peppers with the mushrooms they would burn before the onions were caramelized. It's possible to do them all in the same pan, but the flavor isn't as great in my opinion. I use a lot of salt, but you can choose how much you'd like when cooking everything. No need to cook the scallions or red onion. When you're done you should have a couple little bowls of prepped veggies.
At this point you should have all your cheese, crust, veggies and eggs ready to go in front of you. Place a thin layer of cheddar and swiss at the bottom of crust. Spread an evenly mixed layer of all the veggies, and cover that with a bit of the egg. Use a spoon to smear the egg over the whole top if needed. Repeat this process until you are out of everything except the Parmesan. After you have done your top layer of egg, cover with parm and fresh cracked pepper. I also dusted with a little garlic and salt. Bake for 40-45 min until egg is set, and you will have a masterquiche!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tasty Little Devils
I had deviled eggs so much growing up, I thought that every one liked them. I learned that is not exactly the case the first time I ever brought a tray of them to a party... I went home with a tray of them. Apparently it's old people food. Whatever, I still love them just the same, and I don't even have to modify them for the SCD. Here's my recipe!
Deviled Eggs
(makes 1 doz)
6 Jumbo Eggs, Hard Boiled and Peeled
2 TBS Mayo (I made my own)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
2 Twists of the Pepper Grinder
1/4 Tsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp Yellow Mustard
Juice from 1 Lemon Wedge
Paprika for Garnish
Slice eggs in half long ways. Gently pop the yolks into a small bowl. Using a fork, mash the yolks well. Add all remaining ingredients except paprika, and mash until very smooth and creamy. Place about one spoonful of the yolk mixture back into the egg whites, spreading evenly. Garnish with paprika.
Deviled Eggs are something that you can play with, feel free to add more/less seasoning, substitute Dijon mustard, or use cayenne instead of paprika if you really want some zing. There is no wrong way to prepare them, just your way.
Deviled Eggs
(makes 1 doz)
6 Jumbo Eggs, Hard Boiled and Peeled
2 TBS Mayo (I made my own)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
2 Twists of the Pepper Grinder
1/4 Tsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp Yellow Mustard
Juice from 1 Lemon Wedge
Paprika for Garnish
Slice eggs in half long ways. Gently pop the yolks into a small bowl. Using a fork, mash the yolks well. Add all remaining ingredients except paprika, and mash until very smooth and creamy. Place about one spoonful of the yolk mixture back into the egg whites, spreading evenly. Garnish with paprika.
Deviled Eggs are something that you can play with, feel free to add more/less seasoning, substitute Dijon mustard, or use cayenne instead of paprika if you really want some zing. There is no wrong way to prepare them, just your way.
French Onion Soup
Last night I made French 3 Onion Soup with Gruyere from the book Eat Well Feel Well by Kendal Conrad. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who like Asian inspired recipes as well, it's got a ton. I'm going to try my hand at Tom Ka Soup next week if I can find kaffir limes and lemon grass.
I'm not going to post this recipe because I'm not that impressed with it. Although the soup was very good, it could have been amazing if not for the following:
It called for chicken stock instead of beef. They say to cook the onions for 20 minutes. This isn't incorrect, but after 20 minutes my onions were not caramelized, and properly caramelized onions are key. I went ahead and followed the recipe against my better judgment (a mistake I will not make again with soup). They also instruct you to cook the leeks, shallots, and garlic for only 1 minute before adding the broth. No bueno, they could have used a good browning. I added a little Swiss to my Gruyere to mix it up a little, I was not disappointed. I'll post the recipe once I perfect it for myself. It did look beautiful though!
I'm not going to post this recipe because I'm not that impressed with it. Although the soup was very good, it could have been amazing if not for the following:
It called for chicken stock instead of beef. They say to cook the onions for 20 minutes. This isn't incorrect, but after 20 minutes my onions were not caramelized, and properly caramelized onions are key. I went ahead and followed the recipe against my better judgment (a mistake I will not make again with soup). They also instruct you to cook the leeks, shallots, and garlic for only 1 minute before adding the broth. No bueno, they could have used a good browning. I added a little Swiss to my Gruyere to mix it up a little, I was not disappointed. I'll post the recipe once I perfect it for myself. It did look beautiful though!
Lemon Meringue Pie
I got the following recipe out of The Grain Free Gourmet. Tastes good, but a little runny. This could be partially my fault for not cooking the lemon curd long enough, but I think it has a little to do with folding in a couple egg whites before baking. Next time I'll just double the curd and omit the egg whites. Also had some trouble making peaks and mounds out of the meringue. Maybe I didn't whip it long enough before adding the honey. I think the moral of the story is: I am too impatient to be dealing with things like lemon meringue pie.
Message me if you're interested in the recipe, it's far too long to type (that's me being impatient again). Or, if you're interested in having an entire book of delicious grain-free, sugar free, low lactose recipes, simply go out and get Grain Free Gourmet.
Message me if you're interested in the recipe, it's far too long to type (that's me being impatient again). Or, if you're interested in having an entire book of delicious grain-free, sugar free, low lactose recipes, simply go out and get Grain Free Gourmet.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The thing I love the most is killing me
Here is a quick back story to make a little sense of my dietary adventures: In 2006 I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. It was somewhat of a relief at first, to be able to put a name to what I had been experiencing for the last 20 years, not have to deal with Doctors telling me that it was "stress" or "irritable bowel", and to eat "bland" foods, whatever those are. I was excited that I would be able to get medication that was specifically for my problems, and I couldn't wait to start feeling better!
This was short lived. Optimism gradually became despair and self pity. Come to find out, at 24 years old I had one of the "most advanced cases" any doctor that I spoke to had ever seen. There are only about 5 different medications for Crohn's and none of them were working on me. Surgery was not an option, because while most people have a small concentrated area in their intestines that is affected, mine were riddled with ulcers and polyps throughout the small and large. Over the next 2 years I went up and down in weight, on and off of steroids, various medications, and different diets. Between 2007 and 2008 I was hospitalized over 24 times. I lived in the Mayo Clinic for a while. Turns out they are nicer to you, but not much more help than any other doc on the block, just more expensive. They all wanted the same thing, which I refused: REMICADE. We'll discuss my reasons in another post.
I have tried so many different diets under and out of the supervision of doctors and naturopaths that it's insane. One thing was slightly successful in that period of time, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Known as SCD from here on. I never adhered 100% however, so can't really say how much it has benefited me. Reason number 1 being, IT IS HARD AS HELL. I'm not going to downplay or sugar coat this. This diet SUCKS. Mostly because it is restrictive, cuts out most social eating situations, and is incredibly inconvenient. Forget about trying to vacation on it. UG. Some people may think I sound like a spoiled brat, but maybe I like going out to eat OK? I really love food. I am a foodie. I love the dining experience, I love food from all different cultures, I love cooking (and I'm damn good at it), baking, the sensual aspect, the social aspect, everything about it! That's what is so infuriating. The thing I love the most is mostly what makes me sick. Not just a little allergy here either, we're talking bleeding colon (sorry, I tend to be rather graphic and not hold back much, expect TMI throughout) and trips to the ER. However, at this point in my life I think I am ready to take the plunge and make a serious life change. You see, I am overweight and extremely unhappy because of steroids that I can't get off of because they are literally keeping me alive. My Crohn's is not acting up, but I'm getting terrible side effects (i.e., someone hugged me and broke my rib 4 days ago, weak immune system, fatty deposits in cheeks, WTF). I'm currently taking 52 supplements per day on top of that from my NMD, and this is sucking me dry since none are covered by health insurance. I'm tired of going to the doctor or naturopath once a month and writing down all my poops. I'm tired of just getting by. I want to feel good and look good again!
It's hard being so young and not being able to go out to sushi or pizza with friends, and that is one major reason I failed any diet in the past. For the last year I have given into just taking Prednisone to calm my inflammation and pretty much eating how I want. This doesn't necessarily mean fast food or junk food either. A dinner of drive through hamburgers will have the same negative effect on me that seared scallops over a bed of baby arugula will. But now, I want off these steroids more than anything, and I know that if I can try the SCD again I might have some chance of really curing myself of this incurable disease. It also has the pleasant side effect of making you drop pounds like crazy, and the drugs have put 20 on me in the last 6 months. For a full list of side effects check this out. Mania is the 3rd one, It's pretty scary.
So... The REAL reason for this blog is to keep track of the ingenious recipes I am going to come up with in the following months and share them with others. I will also use it to bitch about stuff from time to time. There are a TON of fantastic blogs and recipes out there, but frankly I'm a little tired of making dense banana bread and homemade yogurt cheesecakes. I'm talking real food for real foodies, and simply making it SCD legal. I can only find ONE freaking hot sauce on the market that I can even ingest dammit! So I'll be making my own. This will take some time however, because I only started the diet (for the 3rd time in my life) 2 days ago and this time I'm doing the "intro diet" for a LONG time before I jump into advanced foods. Be warned also, this is not your mommy's baking blog. I am going to curse and describe my bowel movements and talk about my fat ass (not fat for much longer!).
When all is said and done, I just hope that I am able to get out there and help others on the diet find some more options and some more excitement in their diet as well, all the while holding my self accountable for my recovery.
This was short lived. Optimism gradually became despair and self pity. Come to find out, at 24 years old I had one of the "most advanced cases" any doctor that I spoke to had ever seen. There are only about 5 different medications for Crohn's and none of them were working on me. Surgery was not an option, because while most people have a small concentrated area in their intestines that is affected, mine were riddled with ulcers and polyps throughout the small and large. Over the next 2 years I went up and down in weight, on and off of steroids, various medications, and different diets. Between 2007 and 2008 I was hospitalized over 24 times. I lived in the Mayo Clinic for a while. Turns out they are nicer to you, but not much more help than any other doc on the block, just more expensive. They all wanted the same thing, which I refused: REMICADE. We'll discuss my reasons in another post.
I have tried so many different diets under and out of the supervision of doctors and naturopaths that it's insane. One thing was slightly successful in that period of time, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Known as SCD from here on. I never adhered 100% however, so can't really say how much it has benefited me. Reason number 1 being, IT IS HARD AS HELL. I'm not going to downplay or sugar coat this. This diet SUCKS. Mostly because it is restrictive, cuts out most social eating situations, and is incredibly inconvenient. Forget about trying to vacation on it. UG. Some people may think I sound like a spoiled brat, but maybe I like going out to eat OK? I really love food. I am a foodie. I love the dining experience, I love food from all different cultures, I love cooking (and I'm damn good at it), baking, the sensual aspect, the social aspect, everything about it! That's what is so infuriating. The thing I love the most is mostly what makes me sick. Not just a little allergy here either, we're talking bleeding colon (sorry, I tend to be rather graphic and not hold back much, expect TMI throughout) and trips to the ER. However, at this point in my life I think I am ready to take the plunge and make a serious life change. You see, I am overweight and extremely unhappy because of steroids that I can't get off of because they are literally keeping me alive. My Crohn's is not acting up, but I'm getting terrible side effects (i.e., someone hugged me and broke my rib 4 days ago, weak immune system, fatty deposits in cheeks, WTF). I'm currently taking 52 supplements per day on top of that from my NMD, and this is sucking me dry since none are covered by health insurance. I'm tired of going to the doctor or naturopath once a month and writing down all my poops. I'm tired of just getting by. I want to feel good and look good again!
It's hard being so young and not being able to go out to sushi or pizza with friends, and that is one major reason I failed any diet in the past. For the last year I have given into just taking Prednisone to calm my inflammation and pretty much eating how I want. This doesn't necessarily mean fast food or junk food either. A dinner of drive through hamburgers will have the same negative effect on me that seared scallops over a bed of baby arugula will. But now, I want off these steroids more than anything, and I know that if I can try the SCD again I might have some chance of really curing myself of this incurable disease. It also has the pleasant side effect of making you drop pounds like crazy, and the drugs have put 20 on me in the last 6 months. For a full list of side effects check this out. Mania is the 3rd one, It's pretty scary.
So... The REAL reason for this blog is to keep track of the ingenious recipes I am going to come up with in the following months and share them with others. I will also use it to bitch about stuff from time to time. There are a TON of fantastic blogs and recipes out there, but frankly I'm a little tired of making dense banana bread and homemade yogurt cheesecakes. I'm talking real food for real foodies, and simply making it SCD legal. I can only find ONE freaking hot sauce on the market that I can even ingest dammit! So I'll be making my own. This will take some time however, because I only started the diet (for the 3rd time in my life) 2 days ago and this time I'm doing the "intro diet" for a LONG time before I jump into advanced foods. Be warned also, this is not your mommy's baking blog. I am going to curse and describe my bowel movements and talk about my fat ass (not fat for much longer!).
When all is said and done, I just hope that I am able to get out there and help others on the diet find some more options and some more excitement in their diet as well, all the while holding my self accountable for my recovery.
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