Nibbles & Sips

Fun with food and beverages: recipes and opinions about what, how, and why we eat.

Low-FODMAP Kale and Carrot Eggs with Tri-Color Millet

Nibbles

While we’re no stranger to meatless meals, it does get a bit tougher on a Low-FODMAP diet to eat vegetarian and, frankly, I’m at a loss of how vegans with FODMAP-triggered IBS manage. It must be tough with so many vegetable protein sources no longer viable alternatives.

This was the thought in the back of my head as I applied to participate in the OXO/Plated Very Vegetarian challenge and, when I was accepted, the thought turned to ‘okay, then, time to prove you can do it!’

Plated is a service that goes a step beyond providing a recipe subscription service and actually delivers the ingredients as well–which, if you’re the type that hates grocery shopping with a passion or are just to busy, that might sound like absolute heaven to you! (Granted, at the moment you also need to live in the DC or Chicago area, but their website says they’re looking to expand, as well.)

So Plated teamed up with OXO and their wonderful line of kitchen tools to ask bloggers to create a vegetarian meal based on the Plated guidelines that took no more than 30 minutes to prepare (including prep work!) and that used at least three items from the tools we were sent.

It was the 30-minute time limit that really is the kicker–there’s plenty you can do with slow-roasted casseroles and simmering soups to make mouth-watering vegetarian meals, but if you’re in a hurry it can be a challenge to grab something more complex than a salad.

My own challenge, of course, was to make a Plated-worthy meal (I hope) that fits the Low-FODMAP guidelines as well. Here’s what I came up with.

Kale and Carrot Eggs with Tri-Color Millet

Kale and Carrot Eggs with Tri-Color Millet

Kale and Carrot Eggs with Tri-Color Millet

Serves 2

1/2 cup Millet
1 1/2 Tbsp Garlic-infused Olive Oil, divided
1/2 bunch Kale (about 3 cups, chopped)
1 medium Carrot
2 Green Onions (green tops only)
2 Eggs
1 Yellow or Orange Bell Pepper
8 Grape Tomatoes
1 stalk Celery
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Tbsp grated Ginger
2 oz Feta Cheese

Equipment Needed: Sauce Pan, Saute Pan or Ovenproof Skillet, Ramekins or Small Pie Plates, Baking Sheet, Measuring Cups/Spoons, Knife, Cutting Board, Hand-Held Mandoline Slicer, Silicone-Tipped Tongs, Salad Dressing Shaker

Toasting the millet.

Toasting the millet.

1. Put 1 1/4 cups of water into a medium sauce-pan and heat on high. While it’s coming to a boil, toast your millet in a dry saute pan for 5 minutes. This is optional, but it improves the flavor so it’s worth it. Once the 5 minutes is up (or your water has come to a boil) add the millet to the water, return to a boil, cover with a lid and reduce heat to medium-low to simmer for 25 minutes.

2. Place your ramekins or small pie plates onto a baking sheet and place in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 375º F and allow to preheat while you prep the vegetables to go inside. Preheating your individual cooking vessels helps to keep the temperature constant when you add your ingredients, later, and speeds up cooking. Heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil on medium heat in the same saute pan you used for the millet.

Saute the carrots, kale, and green onions

Saute the carrots, kale, and green onions

3. Wash and shake dry your kale and then stack and slice the leaves into 1/2″ strips, removing any thicker stems. Slice the green onion tops and add them and the kale to the hot pan. Peel your carrots and use the hand-held mandoline slicer on setting 2 to make little coins of the carrots straight into the pan. Saute 5 minutes or so until the kale is wilted, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

I picked up these sweet little mini pie plates on clearance, but ramekins could certainly work as well.

I picked up these sweet little mini pie plates on clearance, but ramekins could certainly work as well.

4. Remove the heated dishes from the oven, spray with olive oil spray to prevent sticking, and divide the kale and carrot mixture between them using the silicone-tipped tongs, creating a bit of a nest with the strips of kale. Crack an egg into the center of each of your kale nests and return the pan to the oven for 10 minutes or until the whites are set but the yolks are still liquid.

(I usually cook for 4, so the quantities here are double than the recipe above shows.)

(I usually cook for 4, so the quantities here are double than the recipe above shows.)

5. Now prep the vegetables and dressing for your millet. Dice the bell pepper into 1/2-inch pieces, halve the grape tomatoes, and quarter the stalk of celery length-wise and chop into a small dice. Tip: If you run a vegetable peeler down the back of your celery you’ll have far fewer stringy bits to deal with. In the salad dressing shaker combine the remaining olive oil with the lemon juice, ginger, and salt and pepper to taste and shake to combine.

6. When the millet is finished (has absorbed all of the liquid), stir in the vegetables and dressing and crumble in the feta. Divide the millet between two plates and add you individual dish of kale and carrot eggs. And if you’ve got some snipped chives around, sprinkle a little on top of the millet for good measure.

There are a few different way to approach this dish. If you don’t have ramekins or the little pie plates, you could create the nests of kale in a cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet and put it straight into your pre-heated oven. You could even whisk the eggs and divide smaller portions between the wells of a muffin tin if you wanted. The thing about the muffin-tin option is that breaking the egg yolk over the kale and carrot mixture adds an almost-decadent level of richness to the dish, something you’ll miss if the yolks are already broken.

As for the FODMAP implications, kale is one of those foods that is usually considered safe enough once you’ve completed the elimination and challenge phases of the diet and have determined your own tolerance levels. If your system can’t handle the kale, fresh spinach will work just as well, but with a different flavor. I’ve done my best to add a number of vegetables into the dish for flavor, color, and variety while still staying in the safe-zone of FODMAPs–I may be pushing the upper limit slightly, but my own lack of reaction shows it’s a good place to start.

Prepping this meal white taking notes and pictures all while my kitchen timer counted down 30 minutes was a little like playing the home version of one of those Food Network Challenge shows. I haven’t felt quite so under the gun since working the dinner shift during my Culinary School internship. Granted, if you make this dish you certainly won’t be watching the clock so much!

It’s projects like this one and the Dip & Sip (which I won, by the way!) that I would love to do more of because they give me that kick-in-the-pants to do things I’ve been thinking about doing in that nebulous eventually, maybe someday way and giving them a deadline. So even if my recipe isn’t one of the ones Plated chooses to add to their menu line-up (four will be, as I understand it), I’m still grateful for the experience!

***Just in case I wasn’t clear enough, above, I received products from OXO to be incorporated in the meal-preparations. No other compensation has been received, all opinions expressed are my own, yadda yadda yadda.***

Meet the Sparklings: Moscato Spumante

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jwalker_ss_barefootmoscatochampagne

Hold up, wait a minute, what’s a California wine doing with the name Champagne on it’s label?!

Because, yes, the Barefoot brand is most definitely a California-produced wine, but they’ve been using the Champagne name since before it was “outlawed” in 2006 so they have special dispensation, as long as it clearly says its home state on the label so as not to confuse the consumer. Not only that, but this is obviously not the Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend a Champagne by any name would rightfully be.

Moscato is still pretty popular as far as it’s preponderance on store shelves attest to, so it’s no surprise that there are plenty of sparkling versions on the market as well. The bottle I had on hand, Barefoot Bubbly Moscato Spumante, is a low-alcohol, fairly sweet one that is fun for a girl’s night out sort of feel or, my reason for having it on hand, mixing into cocktails. (We’re actually using this as part of our signature drink for our wedding next month.)

And what about the name Spumante? I remember feeling very grown up when we were given a bottle of Asti Spumante by a client and I was allowed to have some (I was slightly under the legal drinking age, I admit). I remember it was fizzy and sort of sweet but the memory is tinged more with affectation than actual experience.

Apparently spumante and frizzante are two different classifications of Italian sparkling wines usually made by the Chamat method (double fermentation in vats, the frizzante having fewer bubbles than it’s cousin; though it should be noted that not ALL spumantes are made in that style, some only use single fermentation) in the Piedmont region. It is usually made from Moscato grapes, so barefoot’s appropriate of 2 different countries wine names is sort of understandable.

Described as peachy, I get more of a rosey-floral nose and even though it is definitely sweeter than Brut Champagne, it’s not as sweet as some others I’ve had. It pairs well with either very spicy foods (creating a complementary balance of flavors) or pair it with desserts–I tried it with a lemon shortbread cookie and was surprised at how the citrus toned down the floral notes.

Cheers!

Meet the Sparklings: Prosecco

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jwalker_ss_cupcakeprosecco

Have you ever idly wondered what the difference is between Champagne and Prosecco? It’s not an uncommon questions but I’ll bet it’s one seldom followed-up on because by the time you’ve popped the cork and had a few sips you’ve probably moved on to other great questions of the day.

Like where you put the strawberries.

Prosecco is very much like Champagne in that they are both regionally distinct names–the Prosecco region in Italy (Veneto–which, if you were/are a “Real Housewives of New York” viewer you may giggle at the remembrance of when that name came up*) would be akin to the Champagne region in France. They each use a particular grape (for Prosecco it is the Glena grape, whereas Champagne is usually a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), and double ferment the wine to produce the lovely, bubbly finish. The fermentation, though, is where the biggest difference comes into play.

Whereas Champagne undergoes first a barrel fermentation followed by a bottle fermentation, Prosecco uses the Charmat style of double fermentation, both cycles of which take place in stainless steel vats. As I understand it, this is a faster process and perhaps one of the reasons Prosecco remains more readily available and priced lower than it’s French contemporary.

Prosecco can be either dry or sweet and my research shows that the label should tell you what level of sweetness the bottle contains. The bottle I happened to have on hand, the above-pictured Cupcake Vineyards variety, does not make this distinction that I can find, but by taste I can tell that it is of the more widely-available Brut or Extra Brut (extra dry) variety.

This particular Prosecco (and, yes, for the curious, the California brand does import this from the proper region in Italy, so it really is Prosecco, is very pale in color and, according to their tasting notes, smells of peach and melon with flavor influences of lemon and brioche. Actually, I get more toast from the nose (though if I really inhale I can get the peach, too, still not so much the melon) but can definitely taste the citrus notes. They suggest serving it with prosciutto-wrapped melon (I could go for that), a rich cheese like Gorgonzola (again, no complaints here), or a fettucine alfredo (okay, this one I’m not as thrilled by for some reason). At around or under, depending on your store, $10 a bottle you could drink far worse.

Cheers!

*Romona’s fondness for Pinot Grigio got her into creating her own brand produced in Veneto which she pronounced ve-NET-toh. Countess Luann corrected her by explaining it was pronounced VEH-ne-toh or some such and then roasted her in the interview voice-over about how stupid a person must be not to know how to pronounce the name of the region your wine was being produced in. Oh, Countess… As a child I remember reading words and understanding their meaning clearly enough (context clues!) but having only read them, didn’t know I was saying them wrong in my head. The word annihilation comes to mind, in particular. (What? I had found a copy of Alas, Babylon at the used bookstore and I was maybe 10 or so. You can imagine that annihilate hadn’t come up on the spelling tests, yet.) Also, I stopped watching after Alex left the show so I have no idea what hijinks the women are getting up to these days.

Daring Bakers | Pastel de Tres Leches

Nibbles

Because I didn’t have enough going on, I decided to join up with the Daring Bakers challenges starting this month. Actually, the reason I joined up was that with the “alternative” baking I’ve been doing, it’s easier just not to and there’s so much out there to experiment with. I figure the challenges will help push me to test my theories of Low-FODMAP baking while getting back to a bit of my pastry chef-roots.

Inma of la Galletika was our Sept. 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and WOW did she bring us something decadent and delicious! Pastel de Tres Leches or Three Milk Cake, creamy yet airy, super moist but not soggy… just plain delish!

Low-FODMAP Pastel de Tres Leches cake

Low-FODMAP Pastel de Tres Leches cake

I have eaten Tres Leches before but I’ve never made it myself. Nonetheless, making it for the first time in a Low-FODMAP way wasn’t all that daunting for 2 reasons:

  • The base is a sponge cake and sponge cake is more about technique than ingredients. I have successfully made sponge cake before.
  • While 3 milks (the translation of tres leches) may be asking a lot of someone who needs to avoid lactose, it’s different than needing to be actually dairy-free, so I had some wiggle room.
the steps

Top row: The golden brown sponge cake and the spongy texture inside.//Bottom row: Rather than a brush, I used the small ladle that came with my gravy boat to gently spoon the three milks syrup onto the split cake layers and my carefully arranged mandarin oranges in the center.

The Sponge Cake

The recipe we were given to use started with 5 separated eggs and used only 1 cup of flour. That’s why I think a sponge cake is a great type of cake for gluten-free or Low-FODMAP baking because the whipped eggs whites are providing both the leavening (lift) as well as the majority of the protein structure, so I was able to use my go-to 5-Flour Blend and 3/4 tsp of xanthum gum (though I probably could have left that bit out) with no problems.

The technique for a sponge cake involves whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks and then gently folding the rest of the ingredients without deflating the whites. That’s where the danger lies. If you’re too forceful with that mixing, the eggs will lose the air trapped inside, the air that holds the place until the threads of protein coagulate (that really is the technical term) and can hold up the cake, and your finished cake will be dense and heavy and super-chewy. On the flip side, if you don’t mix it enough, you’ll have a streaky mess on your hands that won’t look or taste appetizing.

The Three Milks

No matter how well-made, a sponge cake is so named because it does have a texture than reminds one of a sponge and is usually a bit on the dry side. Which is why you should beware any recipe that does not come with or suggest a syrup or some other liquid be applied when the cake is still somewhat warm.

For Tres Leches the syrup is comprised of three milks, usually evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream, and our version suggested flavoring with cinnamon and rum. Since evaporated and condensed (evap + additional sugar) milks concentrate the High-FODMAP lactose levels, they were definitely not going to be in my version of this cake.

Instead, I opted to use 1 (13.5 oz) can of unsweetened coconut milk, 1 cup of lactose-free whole milk, and 6 oz of Velvet Cinn (a Horchata with rum and cinnamon made by Cruzan–reviewed on my cocktail blog). Now, the Velvet Cinn does contain milk, so there’s a little lactose in there (and rum is the only spirit not allowed on the Elimination phase of the diet, so can be problematic for some), but if you figure that a 9 inch cake yields 9 servings and there’s only 6 ounces of the liqueur in there, that’s under an ounce per serving and should be within tolerances for all but the most sensitive. Most of the alternatives I saw searching around included soy and almond milks, which aren’t really great from a Low-FODMAP standpoint. Rice milk is a good option, but you have to be careful which kind you get it to avoid High-FODMAP additives or sweeteners.

In the end, my syrup was thick and rich and soaked into the cake beautifully and I had no adverse reaction to the Velvet Cinn component.

A nice, respectable serving.

A nice, respectable serving.

The End Result

The Tres Leches cakes I’ve had in the past were not filled with anything and I don’t remember them being topped with anything other than maybe a swirl of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. For our version, mandarin oranges were suggested and since citrus is one of the easiest options on a Low-FODMAP diet, I decided to run with it. For the topping I suppose I could have used non-dairy whipped topping but I really wasn’t wanting to go such an artificial route, I guess? So instead I mixed another can of coconut milk with some powdered sugar for sweetness, arrowroot to help thicken a bit, and a splash of vanilla. It wasn’t a thick topping, more of a glaze, really, but it worked.

After chilling for a few hours I cut a slice for a pretty picture and because I was curious to taste how it turned out! That first night there was still quite a lot of coconut presence which is really no surprise with the coconut milk x2 and even some coconut flour in the cake. The next day, however, when I brought it out for our gaming group, the Velvet Cinn’s influence had asserted itself and the flavor was much more mellow.

Overall it was a fabulous first-go with the Daring Bakers and I look forward to next month’s challenge!

Review | Healing Fatty Liver Disease

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fattylivercover

***This is a sponsored post. A copy of Healing Fatty Liver Disease by Raman, Sirounis, and Shrubsole was provided for the purpose of review. No other compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own. Now that we’ve got that out of the way…***

A few years ago, as I was dealing with a number of converging health issues, an abdominal ultrasound revealed some “fatty infiltration” of the liver. At the time this was the least of my concerns and I joked that I was “foie gras.”

Fatty Liver Disease isn’t much to laugh about in all reality. Having measurable fat deposits in the liver may not progress to any sort of decrease in liver function, or it may progress so far as NASH or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (which is to say, liver disease with inflammation and scarring), not to mention an increased risk of developing cirrhosis. And while fatty infiltration can be detected, to an extent, by ultrasound, a liver biopsy is necessary to determine the extent of the infiltration and the severity of the disease.

Since I was already going in to have my gallbladder removed, my surgeon opted to do the biopsy then, which is when we found out that while there is fat in my liver, I also have A1AT (alpha-1 antitrypsin) deficiency–a rare, genetic condition that makes both my lungs and liver more susceptible to disease. Thankfully, regular liver function testing since then shows that my liver is just fine for now and we’ll continue monitoring it, probably for the rest of my life. And I need to not antagonize my liver too much to help keep those levels where they need to be.  This is one of the many reasons I jumped at the chance to take a look at Healing Fatty Liver Disease: A Complete Health & Diet Guide by Dr. Maitreyi Raman, MD, MSc, FRCPC; Angela Sirounis, BSc, RD; and Jennifer Shrubsole, BSc, RD.

Like many similar guides from the Robert Rose publishing house, the first part of the book is chock-a-block full of basic information about the role of the liver and general health information, as well as the ways the liver is affected by Fatty Liver Disease in particular. Since weight and it’s related contributions to daily life plays a part on the stress put on the liver, managing weight is a large part of the idea behind the Healthy Liver Diet.

Healthy Liver Diet Program Principles:

  • Low-calorie
  • High-fiber
  • Balanced food groups
  • Rich in micronutrients
  • Sustainable

Which is pretty much the same advice given to anyone advised to lose weight in a safe and healthy manner. The question for many, though, is how.

Since fatty liver disease is not something that’s looked for in the general way–it’s  usually discovered as a result of another health inquiry–most people are dealing with more things than just a liver concern, and it seldom surprises me (what with the massive food marketing pushes out there that often based on profit margins and not health) that folks don’t know how to go about refitting their daily needs to a liver-healthy (or heart-, etc.) diet. The authors apparently share this view, and that’s why they’ve not only included recipes that will work to that end but even 2-week menu plans that include 3 meals and 3 snacks a day based on 3 different calorie needs.

The recipes focus on “increasing total and prebiotic fiber, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats such as omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D” and minimizing omega-6 fatty acids and saturated fats. In fact, this book included the most clear and concise explanation and examples of the difference between the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. They do use margarine in some of their recipes, which I usually balk at, but at least these days there are better options for buttery spreads that do not include trans-fats.

Of course we tried out a few of those recipes, and I think they do a good job of showing that meals designed to meet the above requirements don’t have to feel like restrictions and can be tasty and satisfying.

Local Veggie Egg Scramble served with bacon and half a gluten-free English muffin

Local Veggie Scrambled Eggs served with bacon and half a gluten-free English muffin

The Local Veggie Scrambled Eggs (p.148) are almost more like a frittata than scrambled eggs, but they were very tasty nonetheless. For another meal we made their Oatmeal Banana Pancakes (p.149) and while they had a more waffle-batter texture than pourable pancake batter (something we’ve found to be pretty common in the “healthy” pancake recipes), the oatmeal was a nice touch and made for some very filling pancakes.

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes--very thick and fluffy when done!

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes–very thick and fluffy when done!

Ever since I first encountered jicama during my stint at the Plantation, I’ve been in love with it’s crisp, bright flavor and crunchy texture. Consequently, the Beet, Orange and Jicama Salad (p.187) was a bit hit with me. Meanwhile, the dressing on the Greens with Strawberries (p.189) salad was quite a hit but the sprouts in the salad part didn’t go over quite as well.

Greens with Strawberry Dressing

Greens with Strawberries

Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Crust served with a baked potato and steamed bok choy.

Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Crust served with a baked potato and steamed bok choy.

As entrees go, the Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Herb Crust (p.198) was positively decadent yet very simple to prepare, similar can be said for the Sweet and Sour Pork (p. 204), it’s always a good staple recipe to have on hand. 

Sweet and Sour Pork served with Ginger Carrots

Sweet and Sour Pork served with Ginger Carrots

Chicken in Butter Sauce served over Basmati rice with green beans on the side

Chicken in Butter Sauce served over Basmati rice with green beans on the side

The Chicken in Butter Sauce (p.210) is similar to what you’d find at your local Indian restaurant and filled our home with wonderful aromas. Continuing with the updated ethnic cuisines, I’d been craving Pad Thai (p.212) for a while, so when I saw that there was a version in this book I had to try it out. The sauce was possible the best I’ve tasted and did not use peanut butter so I didn’t even have to make any substitutions (Todd’s preferences).

Pad Thai with Beet, Jicama and Orange Salad

Pad Thai with Beet, Orange, and Jicama Salad

Thai Turkey Stir-Fry

Thai Turkey Stir-Fry

The Thai Turkey Stir-Fry (p.213) (recipe below) needed truly minimal adjustments to fit a Low-FODMAP diet (as with many of the recipes, the biggies were subbing garlic oil for garlic and the occasional onion substitutions) since bok choy and red bell peppers are already a-okay. Even though I subbed angel hair for the linguine (gf pasta availability is a bit hit-or-miss at our usual grocery store), the Linguine with Chile Shrimp (p. 230) was still quite tasty, though somewhat on the small side, portion-wise. All the more reason to serve a filling side dish!

"Linguine" with Chile Shrimp

“Linguine” with Chile Shrimp

Eggplant Lasagna tasted a lot better than it photographed!

Eggplant Lasagna tasted a lot better than it photographed!

Roasting the long, thin slices of eggplant for the Eggplant Lasagna (p.240) was a different way of going about thing but I can see where it helps move the cooking along and adds to the flavor. This dish was a bit of a mess when it was served up, but the flavor was hard to beat. And whereas you’d expect Ginger Carrots (p. 253) to be sweet, their recipe leans more to the savory–another nice change of pace.

By combining more than 100 pages of good, solid inner-working information and 100 recipes to get someone into the habit of cooking healthy meals, I think the authors have put together a good reference manual for someone who’s left the doctor’s office with a diagnosis of Fatty Liver Disease and wondering what to do next. I appreciated their candor when they talked about the non-sustainability of so many of the diet plans on the market today and the solid information they’ve presented, even if it can be a bit dry at times (it’s a tough road, making liver function interesting, so I don’t hold it against them too much). The only thing I wish they would have done is fill out the case studies they included throughout the learning section of the book with more information on the results, not just the decisions that the patients and the doctors made.

An online friend of mine, Tea Silvestri of The Word Chef, was recently diagnosed with fatty liver disease as well as a few more issues that part of the whole package. I suppose the real question about this book is whether I would recommend it as a reference for her own situation and, yes, I definitely would.