two recipes without almost everything!!

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

 

 

 

I am finally back on deck – well, almost!!!

 

 

 

I’m sorry I have been a bit quiet recently, but the last couple of weeks

have been rather ‘eventful’ to say the least. I have been off work with a

terrible case of flu. It started on 5th March so it has now lasted two

weeks and it still doesn’t seem to want to leave me. I have coughed so much

that it seems that every muscle in my body is aching!!!! Even now, I still

can’t sit at the computer for too long a time as I start coughing and my

eyes start running.

 

 

 

I went to the doctor in the first week I was off work – not about the flu

though. I had a fair idea in advance of what I would be told about various

symptoms I have been noticing for several months. I even mentioned my

suspicions to Hans in before going to doctor so no-one could accuse me of

being wise after the event. I told the doctor what I had been noticing and

she sent me off for blood tests. The results came in a week ago and

confirmed exactly what I suspected – diabetes. Because I still feel so

awful from the flu I haven’t really given the diabetes much thought yet.

There won’t be much dietary change involved as we are virtually eating a

diabetic diet anyway. All I hope is that when the medication starts to kick

in I will get some relief from the complete and total exhaustion I have been

feeling more or less constantly for ages now. It all remains to be seen.

The doctor has not mentioned the need for insulin at this stage so hopefully

a sensible diet and exercise regime will hold that at bay for the

foreseeable future. The thought of diabetes does not really worry me at

all. What I am hoping for is that the medicine (I started on tablets last

Tuesday) will help me feel less tired. Exhaustion is one of the main

symptoms of diabetes and it is getting to the stage where the even thinking

about minor exercise (such as walking outside) makes me feel tired. Other

symptoms I had, which made me suspect diabetes, were dry mouth, “heavy” legs

and very cold feet.

 

 

 

I mentioned dietary changes and the need for some careful menu planning.

Finding a suitable and varied menu has now become quite an interesting

challenge. I have mentioned previously that my husband has been put on a

special diet and a diet supplement called Glucosamine in an attempt to help

relieve the symptoms of arthritis. When he bought the Glucosamine he was

given a sheet with dietary recommendations. The list of foods he should not

eat is quite extensive –

 

 

 

Meat (no problem for vegetarians!!!)

 

Alcohol (ditto as we don’t drink either)

 

Coffee (again not a problem as Hans can not stand anything bitter)

 

All unrefined grain products

 

All dairy products from cows

 

All sugars and sweeteners

 

Cocoa

 

Chocolate (that is a huge problem for Hans as he has always been a

chocoholic!!!!)

 

Peanuts

 

All artificial flavour enhancers

 

 

 

He is also supposed to restrict his intake of eggs to about 2 a week.

 

 

 

In addition to these restrictions I now have the extra fun of working my

diet for diabetes into the general scheme of things – apart from avoiding

sugars I have to be careful to eat a regular supply of carbohydrates. As a

legacy of a near-fatal kidney disease I had when I was 18 I also have to

severely restrict my use of salt.

 

 

 

One of the greatest changes to the way I cook is that I now have to make

everything from scratch. In the past I sometimes (only very occasionally

LOL) had a ‘cheat day’ with a bought pizza, using a tin of soup as the base

for a sauce or serving pasta with a bought sauce. These are now all out of

the question. As well as having to spend much more time planning my menus

it now also takes a lot longer to do the shopping as there is no health shop

nearby. The supermarkets here do not stock more than the absolute basics as

far as specialty products are concerned. Sometimes I can’t even buy

wholemeal flour there. Needless to say, cooking everything from scratch

takes a huge amount of time and, being away from home for 11 ½ - 12 hours a

day Monday-Friday doesn’t give me much time to cook. I guess it will sort

itself into some sort of routine eventually but right now it is quite an

adventure!!

 

 

 

They say that “necessity is the mother of invention” and I quite believe

that. I looked through quite a few of my cookbooks and had trouble coming

up with recipes that met all our dietary requirements/restrictions. I came

to the conclusion that it would be quicker and easier to go to the kitchen

and “fly by the seat of my pants”. Here are a couple of recipes I came up

with in the past few days. They are simple, use common ingredients and are

not too time consuming. However, be warned – they are NOT gourmet fare.

The ingredients are only approximate as I have to admit to being a

‘non-weigher’ (unless I am baking)

 

 

 

PEPPERS STUFFED WITH CURRIED RICE

 

 

 

1 medium-large bell pepper per person (I used red ones)

 

Brown long grain rice (about ¾ cup for two large peppers)

 

Spring/green/salad onions – 1 bunch (you could substitute leeks)

 

Curry powder to taste (I used about 3 teaspoons)

 

Soft mozzarella - chopped (I used buffalo mozzarella)

 

A few finely sliced button mushrooms (I think I used about 5 or 6)

 

1 can sweet corn kernels

 

A few frozen green peas (I just added a few at the last minute for extra

colour)

 

Oil for heating curry, mushrooms and onions (I guess I used about 1

tablespoon or maybe a tiny bit more)

 

 

 

Cook rice in boiling water until tender. (I didn’t add any salt but most

people would probably find it too bland without salt). When rice is tender,

remove from heat, leave lid on saucepan and set saucepan aside. The rice

will absorb any remaining liquid.

 

 

 

Heat oil in frying pan and add curry powder, onions and mushrooms. Cook

over gentle heat until curry begins to release its aroma and the

onions/mushrooms are soft but not soggy.

 

 

 

Mix cooked rice, cheese, curry mixture, corn kernels and peas in a large

bowl. The residual heat it the rice will make the mozzarella melt and get

stringy.

 

 

 

Remove ‘lid’ from each of the peppers and carefully remove seeds and

membrane without cutting through the flesh of the peppers. Stuff the

peppers with the rice mixture, sit the ‘lid’ back on each pepper and stand

them in a small ovenproof dish (just big enough so that they can stand

upright without falling over). Put about 1” of water in the dish then cover

dish with aluminium foil. Put in a medium hot oven for about an hour (or

until peppers have begun to get ‘wrinkles’, indicating that they are cooked

through). Remove dish from oven and carefully pour off water.

 

 

 

I served the peppers with Brussels sprouts and a green salad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VEGETABLE CAKES/FRITTERS

 

 

 

I made these for dinner tonight and, even if I say so myself, they were

delicious and stayed quite moist without breaking up. When I went into the

kitchen I had absolutely no idea what I was going to cook so I looked at

which vegetables I had in stock and started from there. Once again, the

quantities are very approximate. I ended up with too much mixture (enough

for 8 quite generous sized patties) but the 2 left over patties will keep

until Tuesday when I can serve them as a side vegetable,

 

 

 

1 large carrot, coarsely grated

 

2 medium potatoes, coarsely grated

 

I large(ish) zucchini, coarsely grated

 

1 medium onion. I grated the onion but you could also chop it if you prefer

 

1 egg

 

About 2 tablespoons wholemeal flour

 

Freshly ground black pepper (Feel free to add salt too. Most people would

find it too bland without salt, but Hans is now quite used to adding his

salt separately when the meal is dished up)

 

A little (probably about 2 teaspoons) Worcestershire sauce (I used a

vegetarian variety – most brands contain anchovies)

 

Oil for cooking (I estimate that I used just under 1 tablespoon of oil for

each batch – I used olive oil)

 

 

 

Thoroughly mix all the ingredients (except the oil) together in a large

bowl.

 

 

 

Heat a little less than a tablespoon of oil in a pan until a little water

‘flicked’ in sputters immediately. Place large tablespoons of mixture into

the pan and allow to cook until brown underneath and you can turn the

patties over without them breaking up. I cooked 4 patties in each batch.

Turn patties and cook on second side. Make sure that the patties are cooked

long enough to remove the ‘floury’ taste but not so long that they dry out

too much. Keep first batch warm in the oven while you cook the second batch

in exactly the same manner. Rest patties on paper towel before serving to

make sure they are not too oily.

 

 

 

We had the patties with nothing other than a green garden salad.

 

 

 

Cheers from Marie in Holland