Monthly Archives: February 2015

Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Hints of Spring with Ham & Asparagus Egg Muffins

Lovely spears of asparagus are on sale at the grocery store, which is a sure sign that spring is on the way.  Of course, we are all hoping for a big thaw in some parts of the country and in my area, we are expecting the usual spring snow or two.  In fact, weather may be coming in this weekend, but for now, I am enjoying the sunny, but cold, days and the sight of asparagus in the grocery store.

So that’s the inspiration for this simple, very low carb recipe for ham and asparagus egg muffins.  They’re muffins only in the sense that they’re baked in muffin cups.  They make a wonderful breakfast-on-the-run — just grab one or two, pop ’em in the microwave and take them out the door with you.  One thing I wouldn’t recommend on this, and I tried it, is to use muffin papers with it.  The paper just sticks to the egg or vice-versa and it’s a bit of a mess.  Grease the muffin wells with butter or baking spray to get the entire cavity covered and they should come out fairly cleanly.

Ham & Asparagus Egg Muffins

8 Eggs
1/2 cup Ham, cubed
4 to 6 speaks Asparagus, chopped
1/4 cup Mini Peppers, chopped
3 tablespoons Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 355 degrees (F). Prepare a 12-well or two 6-well muffins tins by spraying with cooking spray or coating with butter or oil.  Make sure to come all the way up the sides.

In a large bowl, break the eggs and add the cream, salt and pepper and ricotta cheese and mix well with a whisk. Add the ham, asparagus and peppers, then stir in 3/4 cup of the cheese.

Use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop and fill each of the muffin cups to about 3/4 full  with the egg batter.

Bake for 25 minutes, then sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of each muffin and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Let cool before serving or putting into storage bags to put in the refrigerator.  Heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds or eat at room temperature, if preferred.

Makes 12 egg muffins

Nutrition Info per muffin:
Calories: 129 Fat: 9.6 g Net Carbs: 1.3 g Protein: 8.9 g

Book Nook

Book Project Underway

Posted September 2014 and moved here to allow the main page to be an index.

Very optimistically, I am starting a books page.  I have the beginning and a plan for a low carb cookbook to come out in 2015.  I am currently aiming for a Kindle e-book although there is a possiblity of a soft cover print.  Because I am including photos, the cost of printing may be high, so that remains to be seen.

But I am excited about putting out a book with my recipes for two people.  It will be called “Low Carb Meals for Two” and will include recipes scaled down for mostly two servings.  A few make small batches, but may leave leftovers.  Like those are a bad thing.

The header image is my announcement card for the book.  I’ve been spreading it around everywhere I go, so I am hoping to generate some interest in it.  For me, it’s a great way to share my recipes and happy experience with low carb living.  I say that it doesn’t have to be boring and I hope these recipes prove that you can still enjoy foods you love done the low carb way.

As of now I’ve selected all the recipes for the chapters and it’s about 105 recipes.  I still have some recipes to make and photograph, so that is progressing.  I have started the layout and I think this is going to be a fantastic project.

As I make progress on this, I’ll be adding more information here, so please check back for the status.

Book Nook

Cookbook Launch Planned

As I mentioned previously, I am putting out a cookbook!  I have some recipes that have not appeared on this blog as well as a few that have, but they are all adapted for small batches or for two servings.  If you’re like me, there’s only two low carb eaters in the household and we don’t want a lot of leftover food in the ‘fridge.  It tends to get shoved to the back and go bad before we see again and that’s not just wasteful, it’s also icky.  So this book aims to make it easier to cook for one or two people.

I almost have the cover design done so that will be going up in early March for a preview.  I am currently targeting March 14 as the launch date and I will keep you updated on the progress and if that changes.  I am busily reviewing the recipes to make sure I haven’t missed anything or put in any wrong measurements.  It’s amazing how much work actually goes into writing a cookbook, testing the recipes, and photographing them.  But it has been a lot of fun and I love tasting all of these.  They are all on the high taste-o-meter scale, so I hope you will love them as well and will want to pick up a copy for your tablet or possibly book shelf.  Still not sure about actually having a hard copy available.

Once again, the planned launch date is March 14th, barring any technical problems with the file.  I haven’t tried converting the text and photos to Kindle yet, so that could prove to be a delay if it doesn’t go smoothly.  Either way, the news will be here and on my Facebook page.

Appetizers, Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes, Sandwiches

Sassy Salmon Spread for Tea Sandwiches

As I mentioned last week, I was helping with a tea party for a dear friend’s 90th birthday, which was on Saturday, Valentine’s Day. What a great party it turned out to be!

I posted the recipe for the Curried Chicken Sandwiches last week and this week, I am bringing you the recipe for the Smoked Salmon Spread. This is a fantastic and easy sandwich spread that incorporates the salmon into cream cheese to produce a lovely pink colored spread. I added a little dill to it along with a bit of red pepper. The result is delicious and has just a hint of bite. I forgot to take a photo as soon as the sandwiches were set out, so my photo shows most of the top layer of the carrier gone. I didn’t get any photos of the ones on my low carb focaccia bread, btu I can tell you, they were wonderful! You can use the spread on vegetable rounds, like cucumber or zucchini, instead of bread. Or you can put it on low carb crackers or Oopsie Rolls cut into finger-sized sandwiches.

Smoked Salmon Spread

4 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 tablespoon Heavy Cream
3  tablespoons chopped Cucumber
4 ounces  cold Smoked Salmon, thinly sliced
1/2  teaspoon  Lemon Juice
1/4 teaspoon dried Dill
1/8  teaspoon  ground Red Pepper
12  Low Carb Bread slices or 24 slices of thinly cut zucchini
1/4 cup Green Onions, chopped

Reserve 1 oz of the salmon for topping.

Process cream cheese and cream in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.

Add the chopped cucumber, 3 oz. of salmon, lemon juice, red pepper and dill; process until well blended.

Use low carb bread of your choice or thinly slice two or three large zucchini’s to use as a base. You could also serve on sliced cucumber rounds. I used low carb focaccia bread for my sandwiches. You could also use Oopsie Rolls as a base – make them into bread-sized squares.

Spread each slice of bread with the filling. Slice the bread into triangles or cut in half.  Top each sandwich with a small piece of smoked salmon and a sprinkling of green onions. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Makes 24 finger sandwiches.

Carb counts don’t include the bread or vegetable base, so that needs to be added.

Filling Only:
   Nutrition Info per recipe:
     Calories: 587  Fat: 49.8 g  Net Carbs: 7.3 g  Protein: 30.2 g

   Nutrition Info per sandwich – 24 yield:
     Calories: 24.5  Fat: 2.1 g  Net Carbs: 0.4 g  Protein: 1.3 g

Desserts, Recipes

Rich Chocolate Valentine Treat – Low Carb and Flourless!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, here’ s super easy and totally fantastic-tasting small chocolate cake that is low carb, gluten free and flourless!  Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?  But it is the best!  I scored this recipe from All Recipes latest magazine and I only had to make a couple of changes to make it into low carb deliciousness.  I add vanilla whey powder to mine, which is gluten free in case you’re wondering (although check to be sure the brand you use says it’s gluten free), but it isn’t required.  I just like the extra taste and texture that it brings to the cake.  So, feel free to omit it.  I also added a little espresso coffee powder, which kicks up the chocolate flavor a little.  I topped it with miniature orange slices, but a few raspberries would be great on top also.

By the way, if you have valentine heart molds, this recipe would be super-special made in  heart shapes, then topped with a bit of sugar free raspberry jam and a teaspoon of whipped cream.  If I had thought of this sooner, I’d have done it!

For other Valentine’s Day ideas, try:  Valentine Torte. Raspberry Cream Gelatin, Valentine Candies

Espresso Flourless Chocolate Cake

2 1/2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder
1/4 cup sugar free Chocolate Chips
1/2 teaspoon Espresso Powdered Coffee
2 tablespoon Heavy Cream
2 1/2 tablespoons Butter
1/4 cup Sugar Substitute
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 tablespoons Vanilla Whey Powder (optional)

Prepare two small cake molds, 3 1/2″ each, with parchment paper on the bottom, then spray with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, melt chocolate chips and butter for about 20 seconds and stir together. Stir in the powdered coffee until it’s dissolved, then add the remaining ingredients and mix together well.

Spoon batter into each of the prepared molds. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until cake pulls away from the side of the molds and a toothpick comes out almost clean. Cool in the molds for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to continue cooling.  Serve with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar substitute on it or a dollop of whipped cream.

Serves two or four. This cake is so rich, one half a cake really is enough, but if you want the whole thing, it’s still low carb. Omit the orange slices to save carbs.

Nutrition Info per cake (without orange slices):
Calories: 233.5 Fat: 23.2 g Net Carbs: 4.2 g Protein: 5 g

Nutrition Info per 1/2 small cake (4 servings to a recipe):
Calories: 116.7 Fat: 11.6 g Net Carbs: 2.1 g Protein: 2.5 g