Tag: immersion blender

Making Your Own Mayonnaise for Cowards – Atkins Induction Day 10 (with 07/05/13 Update)

There’s cooking and there’s cooking.

Throwing some chicken on the grill, over seasoning with a store-bought seasoning mix, then checking that it is cooked enough to avoid salmonella poisoning is cooking of a sort. Throwing everything into a pot and cooking until done is also technically cooking, but ‘cooking’ is a discipline that extends across a continuum from the ham-fisted, knuckle-dragging cooking that I do, through an inspired craft, ending at fine artistry in edibles.

I think cooking is a big part of any success I have had over the years in maintaining my (at the moment) 65 pound weight loss – and I’ve made a number of inspired dishes, though a true gastronomic devotee would be generous in saying that it least there was some creativity and enthusiasm.

But then there’s technique – knowing what your ingredients can do, understanding their properties and the proportions that yield something special – something unexpected. Something rising above mere cooking.

Mayonnaise is one of these things.

Continue reading “Making Your Own Mayonnaise for Cowards – Atkins Induction Day 10 (with 07/05/13 Update)” →

Recipe: Low Carb Kale Chili (That Looks Like a Bowl of Lawn Clippings)

Another weekend and another installment of ‘Let’s Make Something Out of What Didn’t Get Used From Last Week’s Shopping Trip‘.

The star of this particular fridge-cleaning was 3 bunches of kale bought in expectation of a use of the juicer to dispense with some aged fruit. The kale was supposed to be used in conjunction with the aged fruit, but the juicing never occurred  the fruit just became more aged, and the kale began moving into its dotage.

That’s a lot of kale – and I just made my wonderful kale and sausage soup which I ate with a lot of Greek yogurt and enjoyed every mouthful. I wasn’t in the mood for more right at this point, and I had a pound of grass-fed beef to use up. So I rifled through the refrigerator and pantry and decided to make a chili of sorts, using Trader Joe’s Taco Seasoning mix to spice it up, which I find works well to, um, enhance the strong flavor of kale.

Of course, that strong bitter flavor of kale is what makes it good for you. The world is twisted that way. Continue reading “Recipe: Low Carb Kale Chili (That Looks Like a Bowl of Lawn Clippings)” →

Fast and Fake Low Carb ‘Mashed Potatoes’ for Thanksgiving

I was going to forego mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving, but cleaning out the fridge to make room for the Thanksgiving turkey revealed an old head of cauliflower and some aged radishes. With 10 minutes of unattended cooking and 10 minutes of prep, using ingredients I had in the house, I had a decent mashed potato substitute for tomorrow.

Ingredients

  • 1 medium head of cauliflower, washed
  • 6 white radishes
  • 1 green onion
  • 1 tablespoon of garlic puree
  • 4 ounces cream cheese

Directions 

Nuke the cauliflower and radishes in a 2 quart bowl in the microwave for 10 minutes with 2 tablespoons of water. When done, they should be soft. Add the cream cheese, garlic puree and green onion and hit it with the immersion blender, working the blender around until all of the radish and cauliflower are of a mashed-potato-ey consistency.

Done. The radishes worked out quite well, adding an additional bright flavor note, and the cream cheese makes it creamy – and it’s nutritious and low carb.

I won’t be feeling deprived tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving All.

 

 

 

Kitchen Experiment: Low Carb Cauliflower Soup

Here’s what I tried when I wanted to make a simple soup great for a cold winter day.

  • 1 large head of cauliflower
  • 2 whole bunches of scallions – yes – bunches
  • salt
  • 4 cups of water
  • pepper
  • 1 cup heavy cream

In a deep cooking pot, place the chopped scallions and the chopped up cauliflower head in 4 cups of water and bring to a boil, then simmer for a half hour. Continue reading “Kitchen Experiment: Low Carb Cauliflower Soup” →