My mom and I spent the last week in a delightful, riverside cabin in the mountains of central Oregon. For our meals we brought with us just a few ingredients: polenta, chicken, fresh mozzarella (my saving grace in this new cheese-deprived life), sweet Italian sausage (fresh and nitrite free, so no risk of triggering a headache), greens, asparagus, eggs, onions, mushrooms and thyme. Okay, maybe that sounds like a lot, but I have a tendency to cook entirely different meals each day, so this was an interesting exercise.
Our first meal was polenta, garlicky sauteed greens and baked chicken breast topped with onions and mushrooms sauteed with fresh thyme (if onion is a migraine trigger for you, substitute shallots). This is such an easy meal and, as you will see, it provides a plethora of leftover options. If polenta isn’t a regular part of your culinary repertoire, I recommend that you consider making it so. I love polenta because it’s delicious, the leftovers can be prepared in an entirely different ways than the original and it’s simple to cook (the idea that you have to arduously and continuously stir it is a myth; I actually recommend staying far away from it as it cooks because it vigorously ejects fiery hot polenta bombs as it bubbles away – I have the scar to prove it).
For breakfast later in the week, we fried up the polenta in butter and olive oil, and served it with asparagus, Italian sausage and a fried egg (obviously frying eggs is not my forte):
And a lunch one sunny afternoon: greens, fried polenta croutons, leftover chicken from our first night, fresh mozzarella and asparagus.
In a way it was liberating to cook with the same set of ingredients for several days. I can be a little tyrannical about variety, so I’ve been making an effort to actually develop a repertoire of go-to meals. Without that, as much as I love eating good food, cooking can become overly demanding.
Fun! I need a vacation. You don’t need extravagant food when you’re in the outdoors – everything just tastes better. Like when you’re hiking and a Clif bar actually tastes good. I don’t ever cook with polenta, but I will take your advice and try it (or actually have my husband try it, as he’s really the cook).
Easy pumpkin pie recipe and low fat. It was a big success at Thanksgiving. My sister even liked it and she claims she doesn’t like “low fat things”
Pumpkin Pie, Basic Crustless
Diabetic Living, Winter 2008, p. 114
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar or Splenda [check package for translation]
2 tblspns honey
1 ½ tspns pumpkin pie spice
½ cup refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed, or 2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tspn vanilla
?[¾ cup evaporated fat-free milk] [Note-I'm not sure how this would be rated by the diet experts.]
1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Lightly grease an 8 inch springform pan. For filling: In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, honey, & pie spice. Add eggs & vanilla. Beat lightly just until combined. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into prepared pan and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.
2. Bake for 45-50 min or until center appears set when gently shaken. Cool for 1 hour on a wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours before serving.
3. To serve, can use a topping (below). Loosen pie from sides of pan by ranning a thin metal spatula around the edge. Remove sides of pan. Cut pie into wedges to serve.
8 servings.
w/sugar Cal 95 Fat 0; Protein 4; Carb 20; Fiber 2; Chol 1 Satfat 0
w/Splenda Cal 67 Fat 0; Protein 4; Carb 13; Fiber 2; Chol 1 Satfat 0
Pumpkin Pie Topping idea
Diabetic Living, Winter 2008, p. 115 adapted
Gingersnap cookies, broken and sprinkled
Oat bran cereal flakes
Thin slices of apples or pears, cooked in skillet covered in ¼ cup water over medium heat for 5 min until soft, not mushy. Drizzle with maple syrup on pie.