Bring 4 quarts of waterto a boil in a large pot.
Addspinach and cook at a boil for 3-4 minutes.
Drain spinach in a colander and rinse with cold water.
Squeeze out the excess moisture from spinach.
Place spinach on a cuttingboard and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Melt but ter in a nonreactive skillet.
Add cooked spinach and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Stir in the heavy cream.
Reduce the flame and cook for 30 minutes.
Do not cover the skillet; the spinach will release too much moisture and dilute the flavor.
To avoid scorching the food, keep the flame at a low setting and stir frequently.
You can also use a heat deflector (an inexpensive round metal disk, often with a wooden handle, that you can place between pot and burner while cooking) to prevent scorching.
Serve spinach warm.
It will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
This dish is a good one for those who suffer from gastroparesis if the spinach is chopped finely.
Note You can often buy spinach prewashed. Getting it this way will save some preparation time, as spinach can be very gritty and bunch spinach must be thoroughly washed. You can also use mature spinach leaves, but they should be stemmed and roughlyshredded, kw
BAKED CHEDDAR CHEESE FRITTATA 4 servings Per serving: 7.2 gm cho, 2 oz pro CHO (gm) PRO (gm) 4 eggs 2.4 24.0 1 cup heavy cream 6.6 4.8 1 Tbsp butter ,
0.1 1 cup sliced button mushrooms 8.0 3.4 1 cup sliced red bell pepper 9.2 1.2 % tsp salt ,
Va tsp dried oregano 0.3 ,
426 Your Diabetic Cookbook
Va tsp cayennepepper (optional) 0.4 0.1 Vi cup grated cheddar cheese 2.0 14.0
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Blend togethereggs and heavy cream in a mix ingbowl and set aside.
In a 9-inch ovenproof skUlet (see Note), melt butter overmedium heat and saute* sUced mushrooms and beU pepper.
Add salt, oregano, and cayenne pepper (optional; omit if you don't care for spicy foods or suffer from gastroparesis) and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and the peppers are wUted but not mushy.
Add the egg and cream mixture to the saut6ed vegeta bles.Cook on a low flamefor 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle on grated cheddar cheese just before placing the skiUet in the oven.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes uncovered.
Serve warm.This recipe worksweU as a Ught mealfor lunch or sup per.
It canbeserved warm or at roomtemperature.
It wiU storefor 2-3 days refrigerated in an airtightcontainer.
Note IfyourskiUet hasa plastic handle, before baking, transfer theegg, cream, and vegetable mbcture to a greased 9-inch round baking pan or pie plate, then sprinkleon the cheddar. kw
ROASTED FENNEL WITH ROSEMARY 8 servings Perserving: i6.6gm cho, <0.5 oz pro CHO(gm) PROfem) 2 bulbs trimmed fennel (see Note), sUced in quarters lengthwise 34.2 5.8 1cup leeks, washed thoroughly and sUced in ^-inch diagonals 8.0 0.8 Vi cup diced red beU pepper 4.6 0.6 3 Tbsp chopped blackoUves 4.0 ,
4 Tbsp oUve oU ,
Vi tsp salt ,
Vi tsp black pepper 0.9 ,
1 tsp dried rosemary 0.8 0.1
Preheat oven to 425°F. In a large mixing bowl, gendytosstogetherfen nel,leeks, red pepper, and black oUves. Add oUve oU, salt,blackpepper, and rosemaryto the vegetables and mix ingredients together, taking carethat aU vegetables areUghdy coated with the oU and seasoning. In a baking tray, arrange the fennel first, placing cut sides down. Evenly distribute the remainingingredients over the fennel. Bake the vegeta bles uncovered on the middle oven rack for 45 minutes.
Recipesfor Low-Carbohydrate Meals 427
The roasted vegetables should be served warm. They wiU keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 daysin an airtight container.
Note Fennel resembles a smooth celery in color and shape but has a fragrance like anise or Ucorice. Its base is bulbous and it has featherlike strands in its center (its leaf looks a bit like dill). Select fennel that has smooth skin and does not appear wrinkled or dried out. Lookfor one with a largebulb, sUghdy smaller than a baseball. For this recipe trim away all parts of the vegetable but the bulb, kw
TURNIP "MASHED POTATOES" WITH FRESH CHIVES 4 servings Perserving: 9.3 gm cho, <0.5 oz PRO CHOfem) PRO(gm) 4 medium turnips, trimmed at the root and stem ends and quartered 33.6 0.8 Vi tsp salt ,
2 Tbsp butter ,
Vi cup heavy cream 3.3 2.4 Va tsp black pepper ,
3 Tbsp finely chopped chivesor scaUions 0.3 0.3
In a medium saucepan, bring 3 quarts water to a boU.
Add turnips and salt.
Cover the pot and cook 30-40 minutes, or until tender when pricked with a fork.
Drain turnips in a colander.WhUe the turnips are stiU warm, put them into a large mixing bowl.
Add butter and heavy cream.
Using a potato masher,mix ingredients together. (If you would like a whipped texture you can use a food processor.
Put the mixture into the food processor workbowl and blend for 2-3 minutes.) Add black pepper and chives.
Serve turnips warm as a vegetable side dish.
This recipe's soft tex ture and mUd flavor would nicely complement Steamed Scrod with Watercress and Ginger, page421. kw
BAKED MUSHROOMS FLORENTINE 4 servings Perserving; 9.4 gm CHO, 1.1 OZPRO CHO(gm) PROfem) 2Wasa Fiber Rye crackers 10.0 2.0 12large white mushrooms (large enough to stuff) 16.0 6.8 4 cups fresh spinach leaves 8.0 6.4 3 strips crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled (optional) , 6.0
428 Your Diabetic Cookbook
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese 0.4 4.2 1 Tbsp butter ,
1 tsp minced garUc 1.0 0.2 Vi cup heavy cream 2.2 1.6
Preheat oven to 375°F.
In the food processor workbowl,blend crackers into coarse crumbs.
Remove the cracker crumbs from the workbowl and set aside.
With a paring knife remove the stems from the mush rooms.
Keep the mushroom caps intact and setthem aside.
In the food processor, finely chop mushroom stems and spinachleaves.
You may need to add the spinach in two portions because of its volume.
Re move processed ingredients to a large mixing bowl and blend in the bacon and cheese.
In a heavy skUlet, heat butter on a low flame.
Add garUc and spinachmixture.
Stir in the heavycream.Saute* for 4-5 min utes.Transfer ingredients to a mixing bowl.
Spoon the fiUing into the mushroom caps.
Lighdy grease a baking tray.
Place fUled mushrooms on the trayand bakeuncovered for 45 minutes.
Serve the mushrooms warm.
They wUl keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
In the freezer they wiUkeep for about a month, kw
MEDITERRANEAN EGGPLANT STEW 6 servings Perserving: 8.5gm C <HO, 3.2 oz PRO CHO(gm) PRO(gm) 1 Tbsp oUve oU ,
1 Tbsp minced shaUot 1.7 0.3 lh cup sUced button mushrooms 4.0 1.7 Vi cup diced red beUpepper 4.6 0.6 2 medium eggplants, about 1 pound each, peeled and cut into large chunks 40.0 6.4 1 tsp salt ,
1 tsp dried oregano 0.5 0.1 Vi tsp red pepper flakes 0.6 ,
1 lb ground turkey , 105
Heat oU over low temperature in a Dutch oven.
Add shaUots, mush rooms, beU pepper, and eggplant.
Add seasonings and stir ingredients together.
Raiseheat to medium.
Vegetables wiU start to "sweat," or re lease Uquid, as they cook.
Continue stirring for 7-10 minutes, aUow- ing some of this Uquid to cook away.
Add the ground turkey to the pot and stir gendy to blend.
Cover pot, lower the temperature, and aUow to cook for 45 minutes.
It is not necessaryto stir the pot as long as the heat is low.
Serve the stew warm.
It wiU store for 3-4 days in the re frigerator.
It may also be storedin the freezer for 2-3 months, kw
Recipes for Low-Carbohydrate Meals 429
STUFFED SAVOY CABBAGE WITH RED SAUCE 4 servings Perserving: 11.3gnu ZHO, 5.7OZPRO CHO(gm) PROfem) 8 outer leaves Savoy cabbage (seeNote) 6.0 ,
2 Wasa Fiber Rye crackers 10.0 2.0 Wa lb lean ground beef , 120.0 2 eggs 1.2 12.6 1 stalk celery, diced small 1.5 0.3 1 cup green beUpepper, diced smaU 9.2 1.2 Vi tsp salt ,
1 tsp dried oregano 0.5 0.1 Wi cups ItaUan-Style RedSauce (page394) 16.8 0.9
Remove 8 outer leaves from a head of Savoy cabbage.
Rinse them un der cold water.
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boU in a stockpot.
Add the cabbage leaves and cook at a boUfor 4-5 minutes.
Remove the leaves from the water and place in a colander to drain.
In the food processor workbowl, blend crackersinto coarse crumbs.
Combine the ground beef and eggs in a large mixing bowl.
Add the crackercrumbs, celery, beU pepper,salt,and oregano.
Thoroughlymix aU ingredientstogether, then divide the mixture into 8 portions.
Stuff the cabbage leaves one at a time.
Place a leaf of cooked cab bageon a flatsurface.
Using a paring knife, remove about Vi inch from the bottom of the center rib, to makethe leafeasierto roU.
Place a por tion of the meat and crumb mixture in the center of the leaf near the bottom.
Fold the sides of the leaf over the fiUing.
Starting at the bot tom, roU up the leaf to enclose the fiUing.
The finished roU should be about 2x3 inches.
Continue in this fashion until aU the leaves are stuffed.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Pour % cup of the red sauce on the bottom of an 8 x 8 bakingpan.
Place cabbage roUs on the saucewith seamside down.
Pour the remaining red sauceoverthe cabbage.
Bake uncovered for 1 hour.
Serve warm.The stuffed cabbage wittkeep in the refrigera tor for 3-4 days.
The roUs may also be stored in the freezer for 2-3 months.