unsuspecting foodie

  This post is dedicated to my Dad, of blessed memory, as today is his birthday.   As my brother Barry noted, today our dad would have been 99 years old.  He died a little over 10 years ago between the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  He enjoyed a good meal including dessert.  While I think he might have preferred my mixed fruit dish of blueberries and raspberries topped with ice cream, he would have appreciated my effort at a low-carb diet and that the dish is instead topped with ricotta cheese (as shown in today's featured photo).   I hope you are having a nice weekend.

 Hello, As some of you know, today is a beautiful fall day here.  I hope it is wherever you are.  Buddy (our dog) and I went on a nice ride to Homer Lake (about 20 miles east of here for those of you unfamiliar) and had a lovely walk.  There was hardly anyone there and it was easy to keep lots of distance from those who were there enjoying the day.  Last night, I made the dish featured in today's post:  Indian Vegetable Korma, vegetables in a creamy coconut sauce.  Actually, the Korma was pre-made so I just heated it up and then added the salad fixings and the yogurt.  It might be a little bland looking but it was delicious and easy to prepare.   Also, I don't know how many of you know this but I used to be an avid bird watcher.  I still love to watch birds and with more time now have reengaged that hobby.  Today, at Homer Lake, we saw what was either a Great Blue Heron in "white-phase" or a Great Egret.  I bet it was the ...

 Hello there! I rarely eat noodle dishes due to the fact that noodles, especially gluten-free noodles, tend to be high in carbs.  However, recently I spotted a package of gluten-free manicotti noodles at the store and, well, I have very fond memories of baked manicotti from when I used to eat it many years ago.  There are two featured photos today: One is of 2 oz. portion of baked manicotti, which is still high in carbs, and if I eat that size portion I won't have any other carb heavy foods with the meal.  The other photo is probably the portion size I used to eat.  Wow!  Accompanying the baked manicotti is a salad of cooked spinach with sweet peppers, broccoli, and onion.   Interestingly, I realized that what I really liked--and missed--was the filling.  This time I used ricotta cheese--normally I use low-fat cottage cheese in place of ricotta in a recipe.  I'll probably stick with the filling in the future and find a low-carb food to m...

 Hello Readers, I hope this blog post finds you well. I came across a non-dairy milk product that might be of interest.  It is loaded with calcium (although not that much Vitamin D) and is low-carb and vegan. It's an almond and coconut blended milk--nice flavor.  You can read more about it from today's featured photos--scroll down to see the nutrition information: All the best to you, Faye

 Hello,  Today's featured photo is of a slice of  delicious  gluten free almond cake .   While it isn't easy to make low carb cake, I used a low-carb type of almond flour by Pamela's, "low glycemic" organic brown coconut sugar, a low carb almond/coconut milk, and limited the quantity eaten.  While the recipe calls for coconut oil,  I used avocado oil.  Avocado oil has a high smoke point and is my go-to cooking oil. The recipe was sent to me some time ago by my friend Lisa M., since then I've made the cake a few times and shared it with others.  It has been well received.  I made for this past weekend, Rosh Hashanah, to encourage a sweet year.  May you each have a sweet year as well--regardless of when yours renews.  Of course, if you are on a low-carb diet you might need to make some adjustments in terms of the ingredients and how a serving fits with your overall allotted carb intake for the day.   Enjoy!

Dear Blog Readers,  As some of you know, we are nearing the end of the month of Elul and Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) begins this Friday evening. While I do enjoy wholesome food, I think sharing it with family and friends is the best part of any meal.  As gatherings are limited these days, reflecting on foods that I have enjoyed over the years--and some I have learned about more recently--is wonderful.  I won't cover all the recipes I wish to share--at least not this month--but I am glad to have shared a few with you at this time.   Today, I am including a variety of photos that reflect dishes inspired by family and friends.  My dad, may he rest in peace, taught me the secret to patties of any sort: A batter of bread crumbs, egg(s), and whatever else one wishes to include, mixing it, and then combining it with the protein of one's choice.  I have used this basic batter recipe over time for an array of dishes. It really adds wonderful flavor....

Hello, I hope you are having a refreshing weekend.  Last week, I received some recipes from my friend Eugenia F.  One called for Japanese eggplant.  I found one type of Japanese eggplant very reasonably priced at our local Harvest Market grocery store and another type, by chance, at our local Common Ground Food Coop.  I couldn't resist purchasing some of each--so today's photo features Japanese eggplant.   I really like the size, colors, and shapes of it.  So far, I've prepared one recipe calling for Japanese eggplant--it was tasty.  However,  one of my favorite eggplant dishes--and one I haven't made for years-is ratatouille.  This morning I made a batch and look forward to having it--cold or heated--during the week.  Take care!