Boeuf Bourguignon or should I call it Boeuf Merlot?

Hi.  I know, I know.  It's been like 3 weeks.  But hey, great news!  I passed my 3hr glucose tolerance test!  I don't have gestational diabetes!!  Woohoo!!

Other than that, we haven't been sick or anything, but my child did get an enormous wound on her head that required a trip to the ER and a billion (well okay, 8) stitches, and xray, and a CAT scan last week.  How's that for too much excitement to blog?

We've been having a lot of repeat recipes and things made with ground beef......

But tonight I went for it.  I made Boeuf Bourguinon.  Well, kind of.  I thought I was going to get really fancy and make Julia Child's recipe for it.  If you want to do that you can go HERE.  But after examining the recipe for a few minutes I decided to save that for a weekend.  Maybe for a special occasion.  It's really involved and it required bacon (which I only had a bit of) and beef broth or bouillon (which I didn't have).  So I did the next best thing.  Well, another good thing.

I used Anthony Bourdain's recipe loosely.  I didn't have a bouquet garni laying around, so I had to use some dried herbs.  I also messed with the quantities a little bit because I wasn't making a huge batch of stew, but I still wanted lots of carrots.  I also added mushrooms because I thought they'd taste great and Julia's recipe had mushrooms too.  Oh, and I used regular stew meat.  I have no idea what part of the cow stew meat comes from, so I can't say if it's the shoulder or neck like Anthony recommends.

I did something that both chef's would probably scoff at though.  I didn't actually use Bourguinon, that's Burgundy for all you non French speakers.  Yeah, I used Merlot.  I couldn't find any cheap Burgundy at the grocery store, so I went with a Merlot.  Let's face it, I'm not going to shell out a ton of cash on a nice Burgundy from France on a weeknight meal.  Now if I decided to go with Julia's incredibly involved and probably amazing recipe and I were making it for some beloved company on a weekend, then yeah, I'd find the Burgundy.  But hey, I'm on a budget.  Forgive me professional chefs, forgive me.

So here's what I did. 

Boeuf Bourguignon
adapted from Anthony Bourdain's Boeuf Bourguinon recipe


Ingredients

1lb beef stew meat
1 1/2cups water(or more)
6oz red wine (preferable Burgundy, I used Merlot)
1 garlic clove minced
2-3 tbsp oil (I used coconut and a little butter)
1 large onion diced
1tbsp all purpose flour
3 carrots cut into chunks
1cup crimini mushrooms halved
1tsp dried parlsey
1tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1.  Season your stew meat with salt and pepper.

2.   Heat the oil on medium high on a dutch oven.  When you're sure the pot is very hot, add a third to half of your beef pieces.  Don't overcrowd the pot or else it will get too cold and the beef won't brown nicely.  You're looking for a dark caramel sort of crust.

3.  After you've browned all your meat, set it aside and add the onions to your pot.  Lower the temp a little so they don't burn quickly.  You'll want to saute them until they're tender and translucent.  Don't worry about the brown stuff on the bottom of the pot, you want that.  If you need a bit more oil you can add that too.  I think I added a tiny bit of butter and oil.

4.  Once your onions are soft, add the flour and mix to incorporate. 

5.  Add the red wine and stir the pot to loosen all the brown bits at the bottom (deglaze it!).  Bring the wine up to a boil.

6.  Put the beef back in the pot and add the carrots, garlic, herbs and water.  Anthony Bourdain says you're looking for a ratio of 3 parts liquid to 2 parts meat.  So eyeball it.  My measurement for water is approximate. 

7.  Bring it up to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 2 hours until the beef is tender enough to mash it with a fork.  Check it every 15 to 20 minutes to make sure you still have plenty of liquid and that nothing is sticking and burning to the bottom of your pot.

8.  After about an hour and a half of simmering add your mushrooms.

9.  Taste and season with salt and pepper before serving.  Voila!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father,

  thank you for a week full of blessings.  Please help our little girl continue to heal well.  Please help the crazy blog writer to stay healthy through this pregnancy.  Please help us this week with our special intention!!!  Amen.

Eggplant Rollatini

I know right?  Eggplant?  This is what happens when I set out to eat low carb.  Don't worry though, it's pretty good!  I think I can say, "it's good" honestly, even though I have a cold and can't taste most things at the moment.  If I can taste this through a cold it must be flavorful right?  Oh and if Jon gave it a 4 right off the bat that's pretty good considering it's rather experimental and way out of my cooking comfort zone!

I've been trying really hard to stick with the lower carb/high veggie type of diet and I think I've been doing reasonably well with it for the past week and a bit.  Heck, I'm even liking the fact that I get to try out new recipes involving only vegetables.  Gasp!  Only vegetables.  Who said that?  Who am I?  What is happening?  Ha ha ha!!  Okay but seriously, this is a great recipe.  I found it while searching on foodgawker for eggplant recipes after I found out that eggplant is a relatively low carb vegetable.  1cup of cooked eggplant is only 9g of carbs.  Not bad.

I have also had a generally good view of eggplant growing up.  We didn't have it often at my house, in fact we only ever had it prepared one way, but it was good!  My mom used to make torta talong (translates to eggplant fritata) and I loved it as a kid.  I've also learned to appreciate eggplant parmesan since Jon and I started dating because at the time it was (and maybe still is)his favorite dish. 

This recipe looked appealing because it seemed to be halfway between eggplant parmesan and canneloni.  But I had to tweak a few things with this woman's recipe.  To keep the carbs down I didn't double bread the eggplant before pan frying it.  I also added twice the amount of herbs she called for (just because I didn't think her recipe sounded like it had enough) and I used kale instead of spinach because we were fresh out of spinach!  I think next time I might use a bit more garlic and spinach instead of the kale I substituted, because the kale seemed to have a little too much texture to it in this dish.  Other than that, I really liked it and it totally satisfied my craving for something Italian tasting, and it wasn't crazy high carb!

I am pretty sure that this recipe is completely gluten free too for my gluten intolerant friends!

You should definitely try this one!

Eggplant Rollatini
adapted from Sprinkles of Parsley
Makes about 8 rolls

Ingredients
Eggplant
1 large eggplant sliced lenthwise into 1/4 inch slices (the longer the eggplant, the better- makes it easier to roll)
3 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Filling
2 cups chopped kale

8 ounces of Ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used the Trader Joe's provolone, parmesan, asiago and fontina mix instead)
1 large clove fresh garlic, minced

Topping

1 cup tomato sauce
1 clove garlic minced
2tsp italian seasoning
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (again, I used the TJ's mix)

Procedure

1.  Heat a small amount of butter in a large frying pan (cast iron or non stick will probably work best) and fry your eggplant 2 at a time over medium heat until they get floppy and seem rollable.  They'll brown lightly and might become slightly translucent.  Don't forget to season them with a bit of salt and pepper!

2.  Mix all the ingredients for the filling together in a large bowl until it's well combined.



Filling Ingredients





All mixed together.  See?  The kale gave everything a little too much texture.  It was still good, but I think I'll stick with spinach next time.



3.  After all the eggplant is fried and cooled a bit so you can handle it easily spoon two or three tablespoons of filling onto the end of a slice of eggplant and roll it up carefully.  Place it into a square (I used 9x9) casserole dish.  Repeat until you've used up all the eggplant slices and all the filling.



4.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5.  Combine the tomato sauce, garlic, and italian seasoning for the topping and spoon or pour some over each of the eggplant rolls.  Sprinkle with cheese. 

At this point I was thinking that they looked like mini enchiladas!

6.  Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until your cheese is golden brown and everything is heated through.

Enjoy!

Dinner success!  Even Mikey seemed to like it!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Dear God,

  thank you for providing for our every need.  Help us to remember that we do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from your mouth and specifically, the word made flesh.  Amen.



Veggie Lumpia (Egg Rolls)

Well, I don't know that lumpia is necessarily a low carb food, but if you don't eat a ton of them all at once (like Jon) I think it can fit into a low carb diet.  As far as I calculated each lumpia should be around 14g of carbs, so the two I had at dinner a couple days ago wouldn't have been too bad! 



Sorry, I didn't get many pictures of the rolling process, I was making these while the kiddos were napping and the hubby was at work!  Remember, just think "skinny burrito" when you roll them.



This nebulous recipe comes from my sister's mother in law.  It's really simple.  So simple that I feel almost silly posting it on the blog.  But judging from all my friends who I know absolutely love it, I thought it'd be worth a post.  Oh and if Jon eating 5 of these large lumpia at dinner says anything....they're pretty good. 

Lumpia are basically egg rolls.  No self-respecting filipino party ever goes without lumpia in one form or another.  I personally haven't ventured into lumpia shanghai territory yet (meat lumpia shanghai style), but I make these whenever I'm hosting a party!

So here's how to make them!

Veggie Lumpia
Adapted from Tita Nette
Makes about 40 egg rolls

Ingredients
1 head of cabbage 
1 carrot
(You can also use 2 bags of coleslaw mix instead of the cabbage and carrots if you want to make life even easier)
2 tsp garlic powder
2tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1tbsp oil for sauteeing

lumpia wrappers (also called egg roll wrappers)

Oil for frying



Shredding cabbage and carrots takes pretty much zero time if you have a food processor.  This way you can make organic, super fresh lumpia too!!  I'm pretty sure it'd be cheaper than buying coleslaw mix as well.



Procedure

1. Heat 1tbsp of oil in a large pot and add the cabbage and carrot.

2.  Sprinkle with the garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and continue stirring until the veggies are just barely wilted.

3.  Take the veggies off the heat and let them cool to at least room temp.  This will happen faster if you take them out of the pot and transfer them to a cool bowl.

Wrapping

4.  Lay out 1 egg roll wrapper and keep the rest of your wrappers under a damp towel so they don't dry out.

5.  Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of veggie filling onto the wrapper and wrap the edge over, then the two sides and roll tightly.  Think "skinny burrito".  Make sure you roll everything as tightly as possible to prevent lumpia explosions in the hot oil.  I'm not so good at this, but they usually turn out well enough to handle and eat!

6.  After rolling all your lumpia heat some oil on low-medium heat in a large pot and fry away!  The oil should come at least half way up the sides of the lumpia.  If the oil doesn't make a sizzling sound when the lumpia are placed in, then it's not hot enough.  Watch them carefully!  When you start to see the bottoms/sides turn golden brown flip them over.  I think everyone's stove and pots are different, so you'll just have to get into a rhythm with this and watch them closely. 

7.  Drain on paper towels and enjoy when cool enough to handle!

If you end up with left over lumpia then simply place them in a toaster oven on low for a few minutes to help them crisp up again.  If you use a microwave they'll just be soggy and gross, not to mention potentially hazardous to your health.





Hopefully you enjoy these, I don't honestly know anyone I've served these to that hasn't!  My one caution is to be very careful choosing lumpia wrappers.  I got a bad brand this time because I was trying something new.  They were all stuck together and I had a lot of wrappers with holes in them.  If nothing else, be extremely careful while you're separating them.

Happy Eating!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Dear God,

  thank you for family gatherings and joyful celebrations.  Help us to remember that we belong to a larger global family and always be mindful of how our actions affect our brothers and sisters elsewhere.  Amen.

Food for your Face 1 - Oatmeal Scrub

A few of you who are my friends know that I like to try to go natural/organic with all my skin care and bath products too.

So I'm going to post a few recipes for your skin that you might like to try.  I know that the face wash at least is a pretty big hit with some friends and relatives.

Here's the first one!

"Fix my face" oatmeal scrub (after Jon started using this he said that it totally fixed his face)

Ingredients
2 parts oatmeal
1 part sugar
honey (enough to make a paste)

Procedure
1. Put the oatmeal and sugar into a blender and process until both the oatmeal and sugar are powdery.  If the mixture is too coarse it will scratch your face too much, so try to get it as powdery as you can.

2.  Place your powder in whatever container you'll be using for your face scrub and slowly add honey while stirring.  Add just enough to make it into a paste.  It might be stiff at first, but the next day it will feel more like liquid, so don't add a lot of honey.  Just make sure there's no leftover powder pockets or dry powder in the mix.

3.  Use it!  You can use it right away!!  If you want more of a mask experience apply a few tablespoons to a dry face, leave it on for 5 minutes and rinse off with warm water.  Your face will feel firm, soft and pretty much fantastic afterwards.
To use it as a daily scrub/cleanser apply about a teaspoon to a wet face and rub all over.  Rinse with warm water.
I usually do a 3 step face routine using the oatmeal scrub as the cleanser, witch hazel as the toner, and extra virgin coconut oil as the moisturizer.

You can use it as a body scrub too!

By the way, extra virgin coconut oil on your face?  Yes!  Don't worry, it's amazing.  Not only will you smell like coconut, but it absorbs into your skin quickly (you only need a tiny bit even if you have super dry skin like mine), and it leaves your skin SO soft.


In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father,
thank you for giving us all sorts of plants and natural remedies!  You truly provide for everything we could possibly need!  Amen.

Beef and Mushroom Tart

So keeping with the lower carb meals tonight I present something mildly experimental.  I got this recipe from my mom a long time ago.  It's actually an hors d'oeuvre that we make for parties, but tonight I thought I'd try a bigger version and just make it into a meat pie/tart type of thing.  I think it turned out pretty well. 

Since I'm trying to keep the carbohydrate count low so I can pass this next 3 hour gtt I had to make a few changes to the recipe.  I don't actually know where she got the recipe for this, so hopefully it's okay that I'm posting a modified version. 

In the original recipe if you were going to make these as  hors d'oeuvres for a party you would smash slices of bread into muffin cups to use as tart shells and use a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup along with the other ingredients in the filling. 

For tonight's recipe I made my own whole wheat pie crust (so that'd be about 10-12 grams of carbs for 1/8 of the pie).  I didn't use the cream of mushroom soup, but used real mushrooms and thickened up some milk with some parsley and a bit of added garlic powder and onion powder instead.  If I had used the cream of mushroom soup 2 things would have happened:

1.  It would have tasted better.

2.  It would have had 6.75 more grams of carbs per slice (assuming you had 1/8th) of pie. 

Since I was planning on eating more than 1/8th of the pie I decided to skip the soup.  If you're not so worried about carbs I'd definitely say use the condensed soup (get the organic kind without msg!!). 

Otherwise, on it's own this was pretty good!  I had the flavor of the hors d'oeuvres in my head, so this pie wasn't as amazing as those, but not too shabby for a low carb, weekday meal. 

Here's the recipe if you want to make it!


Beef and Mushroom Tart

Ingredients
(Pie Crust)
1 1/3c whole wheat flour
1/2c butter cubed
1/2 tsp salt
3tbsp cold water

(filling)

1lb ground beef

1cup mushrooms diced

1/2 green pepper diced

1 small onion diced

3large cloves of garlic minced

1tbsp butter

1cup milk

1tbsp flour

1tbsp parsley

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder and onion powder to taste

1/3cup cheddar cheese grated

For the filling:

1.  Brown the ground beef. If you're not using lean meat drain off some fat.

2.  Add the mushrooms, green pepper, onion, garlic and butter and saute on medium heat until the onions are translucent and the green peppers are soft. 

3.  Sprinkle the flour over the beef and veggie mixture and stir it in. 

4.  Add the milk and bring everything to a boil over medium heat.  Allow the sauce to get thick and bubbly.

5.  Add the parsley, salt and pepper, and garlic powder and onion powder if you think it needs a bit more kick.  Stir everything to combine well.

6.  Take the mixture off the heat and cool down a bit.

For the crust:

1.  Combine the flour and salt in a food processor.  Just pulse it a couple times.

2.  Add the cubes of butter slowly while pulsing. 

3.  When the flour and butter look like coarse crumbs add the cold water slowly.

4.  When it comes together into a ball it's ready to roll out.

5.  Roll out the dough on a floured board until it's larger than the pie plate. 

6.  Carefully place your dough in the pie plate.  Roll the edges over and if you want to be fancy flute the edges. 

7.  Prick the bottom of the crust and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Bringing it together.

1.  When the pie comes out fill it with your beef and mushroom mixture and top with cheddar cheese.

2.  Bake in a 350 oven for 20 minutes!



Before it went in the oven!





The finished product.



 Hope you enjoy it!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the Christmas Season and all of the joy that comes with celebrating your son's birth.  As we begin this New Year help us all to remember the gift you have given us in your son and the gift of our lives.  Help us to remember not to squander what we've been given and appreciate it and cultivate it every day.  Amen.

1 hour gtt

So I know I've been absent for a while.  At first it was due to the sicknesses and computer mess ups.  Then the holidays rolled around, we travelled to Canada to be with family and I honestly didn't feel like blogging instead of spending time with my family.  After the Canada trip for Christmas we spent the New Year with Jon's family. 

Throughout the time I haven't been blogging I was trying out lots of recipes for Christmas, baking birthday cakes for my Mother in Law, making gingerbread for Clare's birthday, making fudge and toffee for Christmas, and various other Christmas cookies.  Unfortunately me, pregnancy, and sweets don't do so well together. 

Last Thursday I had my 1 hour glucose tolerance test (the pre-screen for gestational diabetes) and I failed it.  I chalk it up to the taste testing from all my holiday baking and the eating with abandon I did over the holidays.  Let's just stay I didn't exactly stick to my whole foods, organic, balanced diet over the last month or so.  So having the glucose test after the holidays was a pretty upsetting wake up call for this preggo.  Thankfully I have another chance before I'm diagnosed for certain with gestational diabetes.  Sometime in the next 3 weeks I'll be taking a 3 hour glucose tolerance test (not fun) and if I pass that then I'm in the clear. 

I failed my 1 hour gtt with my first pregnancy too, so I'm trying to be hopeful and pro-active thinking that if I just adjust my eating and get back to normal I'll pass the 3 hour (like I did with my first pregnancy). 

In the meantime, I'll probably be posting a few veggie and low carb recipes as I'm trying to swing my blood sugar the other way.  So basically I'm going to be cutting the carbs a ton until I get back to normal and pass my 3 hour gtt for sure. 

Prayers please, as gestational diabetes will really affect my chances of a vbac!

Oh yes, and I'm currently trying to figure out how to get quality grass fed meat that doesn't cost a billion dollars again since my local butcher went out of business.  Blah.  So at the moment I only know where to get good chicken!  I'm hoping that the health store will at least have a some grass fed ground beef and stir fry beef available!

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father,
  thank you for modern medicine.  Without it I wouldn't have taken notice of how poorly I was nourishing myself lately.  Please help me reign in my desires for unhealthy food for the health of my baby so that we can have a successful and healthy birth.  Amen.