Category Archives: Vegetables & Salads

Mexican/Spanish Recipes, Recipes, Vegetables & Salads

A surprising rice substitute

Photo: Riced Turnips with chiles.

Turnips are often overlooked when people think about vegetables. While we turn to cauliflower to provide for many low carb vegetable substitutes, we don’t think about some of the other low carb vegetables that can work as well. Among them are kohlrabi, celery root, zucchini, beets, and turnips. All of these can be riced and used as a rice substitute.

Turnips can also be cubed and shredded to stand in for potatoes in hash or home cooked hash browns.

When I made stuffed Mexican chicken a few months ago, I substituted turnips in my rice with chiles. It was wonderful! I love the flavor and was thrilled with how well it worked.

One key to working with turnips is to use them as soon as you can. Although they keep a long time, they tend to get bitter the longer they sit.

Riced Turnips with Chile

1 large Turnip, peeled and cut into cubes
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Green Chiles, diced
1/4 cup hot Water
1/2 teaspoon Better than Chicken Bullion
1/4 cup Onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Chipotle Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Boil water, pour into a 1/4 cup measure and add the bullion, stirring to dissolve.

Put turnip cubes into a food processor and pulse until it is chopped to the size of rice. In a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter, then add the riced turnips and onions. Sauté for about five minutes, add the bullion water and stir it in. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add chiles, salt and seasoning, stir and cook for another 10 minutes until the turnips are tender and most of the water has evaporated.

If the water cooks out before the turnips are tender, add more water. It should be about the same texture as cooked rice. Fluff up the turnips before serving.

Makes two 1/2-cup servings.

Image: Nutrition for Turnips with chile

 

Breads, Desserts, Recipes, Vegetables & Salads

Thanksgiving is Upon Us

Amazingly, we have arrived at Thanksgiving in the USA. Canada celebrated a month ago. For everyone else, think of it as a prelude to the end of the current season. Here, in Reno, Nevada, our non-evergreen trees have dropped the last of their leaves signaling that Winter is coming. Snow is already on the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I can recall more than one snowy Thanksgiving here, so it could be a possibility.

Hope all of you are well. This has been a particularly tough year for everyone, but we are still surviving and are so thankful for it. For me and the friends I cherish, this is the one thing I am so grateful to say. Our hopes are to have a resolution to the pandemic soon, but until then, to continue to stay safe and healthy.

This message is a little late getting out, but if you are looking to keep your carbohydrates down over Thanksgiving, here are a few recipes I’ve published to help you do that:

 Happy Thanksgiving 2013 – Pumpkin Panna Cotta – has links to Smashed Turnips with Leeks, Irish Style Celery and Kohlrabi, and Butternut Turnip Mash.

 

Easy Low Carb Stuffing Bread

Use it in your favorite stuffing.

 

Traditional Pumpkin Pie 

Includes crust recipe.

 

 

 

 No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

 

 

 

 

Got leftovers?

Try this Turkey and Stuffing Pie

 

 

Use the search feature to find even more recipes for vegetables and desserts to compliment your feast.

I don’t have a new recipe for today because I’m scurrying to get everything prepped for Thanksgiving and doing NaNoWriMo (for those who don’t know, that is National Novel Writing Month, so I am writing as many words on a new novel as I can). I will have a recipe on Friday for low carb Pecan Pie. You won’t miss those carbs at all. Trust me.

Until then, have a very good Thanksgiving and stay safe.

Rene

Seafood, Vegetables & Salads

Crispy, Cool Salad for Warm Evenings

Photo: Shrimp Salad

As we move into the dog days of August, I think about cool and easy to prepare dinners. That often means a salad. In this instance, it’s a lovely combination of shrimp, asparagus, avocado, and cucumber over a nice bowl of mixed salad greens. Requiring only a little cooking for the shrimp and asparagus, this dish comes together in about thirty minutes or less. The lemon vinaigrette can be prepared in advance and refrigerated until ready to serve.

For the salad:
8 oz Shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups Spring Mix Greens
10 spears Asparagus, trimmed and cut into one-inch pieces
1/2 Avocado, cubed
1/4 cup Red Onions, sliced
1 small Cucumber, peeled and sliced
Salt and Pepper, to taste

For the lemon vinaigrette
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 large Lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon Sugar-free Honey
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1-2 cloves minced Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Make the vinaigrette first. In a small bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk together. Taste to see if it needs more honey, salt, or pepper. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. Whisk again before serving. You can store any excess dressing in the refrigerator for about one week.

Heat a medium-sized pot to boiling and add the shrimp. Cook for about three minutes, then drain and plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Heat olive oil in a saute pan and add the asparagus spears. Cook for about three minutes. Drain the shrimp, pat dry with a paper towel, and add to the pan and stir fry them for a couple of minutes to get slightly browned.

Remove the shrimp and asparagus to a pan or bowl to cool. Using two salad bowls, divide the spring greens and arrange half the onions and half the cucumber in each bowl. Divide the shrimp and asparagus between the bowls, then add avocado pieces. Spoon about two tablespoons of the lemon vinaigrette the ingredients in each bowl.

Serves two.

Tip: Buy pre-cleaned and deveined  frozen shrimp to save time, and it make less mess in the kitchen. If you don’t have a fresh lemon, use 6 tablespoons of lemon juice. 

Image: Nutrition Information: Shrimp Salad

Recipes, Vegetables & Salads

Cool Down with Cucumber

Photo: Thai Cucumber Salad

Summer has arrived with hot days and somewhat cooler nights. But with daylight lasting until almost 9 pm, I am not too keen on cooking right now.

Seeking a cool side dish, I pulled up this recipe for a cucumber salad. It has just a bit of kick from the peppers in it. It originally called for jalapeno pepper, but I had an Anaheim in my ‘fridge so I switched it. Takes away the hot bite for a milder one. It also used cilantro, which I didn’t have on hand, so I used fresh mint from the garden. Changes the flavor profile a bit, but it’s very tasty.

The onions are also my addition. I love the cucumber and onion combination. But if you don’t like onion, leave it out. The peanuts are part of the original recipe, but I forgot to add them when I served. We didn’t miss them at all, so up to you to add or not.

Thai Cucumber Salad

1 large Cucumber, peeled
1 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Sugar Substitute
3 tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 medium Onion, sliced and cut into pieces (optional)
1/4 Anaheim pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon Spear Mint, chopped or cut into pieces
2 tablespoon Peanuts, chopped (optional)
4 leaves of Romaine lettuce, rinsed and dried

Peel a large cucumber and cut it down the middle lengthwise. Slice into 1/4-inch half-rounds. Put slices in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Turn the mixture with a spoon or your clean hands to spread the salt around. Let sit over the sink for 20 minutes. Wash off in cool water.

In a medium bowl, add the sugar substitute and the rice wine vinegar. Mix together until the sugar is dissolved. Add the sliced onion and chopped pepper. Mix in the cucumber slices and toss the salad to coat everything in the sugar-vinegar dressing. Sprinkle chopped mint leaves over the top. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving.

Serve on a Romaine lettuce leaf or shredded lettuce. Top with chopped peanuts if you desire.

Serves 4 side salads or 2 large ones.

Nutrition Image for Thai Cucumber Salad

 

Recipes, Vegetables & Salads

Cauli-Potato Pancakes: Make an old favorite with fewer carbs!

Photo: Cauliflower Potato Pancakes

For the most part, I’ve avoided potatoes because of their higher carb count. But when mixed with cauliflower, this lowers the hit considerably. Mashed potatoes are lower than some of the other ways of serving them, but they can be cut with cauliflower to lower the carbs. This recipe is a great one for using leftover cauli-potato mash, or you can make them just to make the pancakes. You can add in other ingredients, such as bacon bits, onion flakes, chopped green onions, garlic, or chopped green chile. Do not add cheese to the mix, but you can top it with cheese after they are cooked.

Eggs and flour help hold the mash together while you cook it. You can use any low carb flour, but if you use coconut flour, use 1/4 cup and allow time for it to absorb the liquid before cooking. Low carb flours break easily, so you need to allow time for the cakes to cook until the top looks dry before flipping. Even then, they might split apart. Smaller cakes work best as it’s easier to get the entire pancake over the spatula. I used Bakesquick in mine, and they held together pretty well.

Photo: Pair of pancakes
A pair of nicely browned cauliflower-potato pancakes.

The instructions below are to make the pancakes from scratch for this recipe. If you have leftovers, use 2 cups of the cauli-potato mash and omit the cream and butter. Then, skip to the second paragraph of the instructions.

 

Cauliflower and Potato Pancakes

1 cup Mashed Potatoes
1 cup Mashed Cauliflower
2 tablespoons Heavy Cream
2 tablespoon Butter
2 large Eggs
1/2 cup low carb Flour
Salt and Pepper
Seasonings of choice

Optional add-ins:
Chopped Green Onions
Drained Chopped Green Chiles
Bacon Bits or Pieces
Chopped Onions

To make the cauliflower and potato mash, combine one cup of cooked and cubed potatoes and one cup of chopped cauliflower in a pan of boiling water. Cook until tender, about 15 min. depending on the size of the pieces. Drain and dry off as much as possible. Put back in the pan and add cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Mix together and use a masher to break up the potatoes and cauliflower, or use a mixer or a food processor. They can be lumpy. Put in a medium-sized bowl and chill about an hour. (You can do this the day before if you wish.)

In a large bowl, mix the mashed cauliflower and potatoes, eggs, and flour together. Add seasonings to taste. If you are using add-ins, add them now. Mix well. The dough should be fairly thick.

Coat a skillet or griddle with baking spray and let it heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-high. Put a heaping tablespoon of the mixture in the pan or on the griddle and press to form about 1/2″ thick cake.

Photo: Pancakes cooking in a pan.
My square copper skillet can handle four pancakes. You can also cook them on a griddle.

Cook about 3 to 5 minutes per side, then flip to cook the other side about the same time. If the cake doesn’t hold together when you first try to turn it, give it a couple of more minutes. Remove to a plate. Repeat with the rest of the cauliflower-potato mix.

Photo: Cheese-topped cauliflower potato pancakes
As this picture shows, not all of my cakes held together. I can attest they still taste great and a little cheese covers the failure. The garlic honey pork chop recipe will be coming up soon.

Serve with a cheese sauce, sour cream, or ranch dressing, although the cakes are tasty just the way they are.

Nutrition Information