Build Me Up Buttercup, Squash Broke My Heart

That's a weird looking pumpkin.

To try to be a little bit healthy, I've decided to sample all the winter squash I can find this year.  Someone told me they all taste the same.  Doubtful.  The local grocery is full of them this time of the year, and they come in all shapes and sizes.  They had one that weighed almost as much as I do.  I'm not sure what variety it was, but it was larger than most jack-o-lantern pumpkins and bright green.  Since they were charging by the pound, and it was more squash then I'll probably eat my lifetime, I passed.

I did buy a few other varieties.  One was buttercup squash. Most squash are low fat and good sources of vitamin C.  Buttercup has vitamin E and some B vitamins too.  It's a low calorie, filling food.  The downside is that each cup has 14 grams of carbs.  It's a bit sweeter than other winter squashes.  Most of the recipes I've found for it call for dousing it with even more sugar.  That's one way to make a healthy food bad.

Buttercup squash should be firm, heavy for their size and have an even cream color.  The ones at my store were quite large, probably about twice the size of an acorn squash.  They look green, squatty pumpkins. 

Buttercup squash taste similar to acorn squash, but are a bit earthier and creamier.

Seriously.  All this work for that?!

I have to be honest.  My experience with this squash was not that great.  I found buttercup squash to be almost impossible to cut into and peel, or at least not worth the effort.  Acorn squash is hard to cut too, but once you cook it, you can easly remove the flesh.  I found this one was even difficult after it was cooked.  I spent a few minutes cursing the squash, but finally got some flesh out.   After all that trouble, there wasn't much flesh.

Maybe I'm a lazy cook.  I preferred the creaminess of buttercup squash to acorn squash, but I think I'll stick to butternut.  It's creamy too, but has more flesh and less problems.

Simply prepared

I roasted it simply with some butter and a bit of cinnamon.  I left the sugar out.  It was good, but not really worth all that effort.  I did have some leftovers.  I think I'll make them into a soup and see what that tastes like.  The creamy nature of this squash should lend itself to soups really well.


With just the butter and cinnamon, 1 cup of buttercup squash has 116 calories, 3 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs and 4 grams of sugar and 7 grams of fiber.

Transformers, Pasta in Disguise: Spaghetti Squash

Low Carb Spaghetti? For real? Heck, yeah!

I don't like most fake pastas.  I've tried those shirataki noodles that Hungry Girl raves about and they made me sick.  I just can't take the weird mouth feel of them.  I'm not even a big fan of wheat pasta.  I like Dreamfields, but my blood sugar reacts to that almost like it does normal pasta so why pay the extra for it?  I often make my own pasta, but it's really not much healthier than the store bought stuff.  It just tastes better.

I hadn't tried spaghetti squash until my mom decided to go low carb.  I've always seen them in the grocery store and thought, "What kind of demon vegetable claims to transform into spaghetti?  That thing has to be the results of some kind of dark magic."  That and I thought it would taste like eating pasta sauce over yellow squash.  Yuck.

Since I'm challenging my perceptions of vegetables, I bought one and I can't believe I've lived all these years without them.  I've eaten it every week since then, because pasta is my weakness.  To me, spaghetti squash are just as easy to prepare as regular spaghetti, and almost as tasty.  The squash has a little bit of a crunch that pasta doesn't, but other than that, I find it quite nice.

I'm not going to give you a recipe for sauce in this post.  I've found this squash takes just about any type of sauce you can throw at it.  I've made it with regular marinara, chunky marinara, pesto, tossed it with vegetables and olive oil, tossed it with olive oil and herbs ... the only thing I've found it didn't taste great with is Alfredo sauce and other cream sauces (some people like it with Alfredo too).  That is awesome for low carb dieters, because you have almost all the variety of meals that pasta can give you, but it's low carb and low calorie.  Woo!

Squastimus Prime: Ready to transform.

When buying a spaghetti squash, choose one that is heavy for its size.  The smaller ones generally taste better, but even a small spaghetti squash should be large, compared to most squashes (except pumpkin).  They are generally about 8 inches by 5 inches.  They should be uniform in color without too many blemishes and no soft spots.  You want to feel it to make sure the flesh is firm all around.  The one picture is a little ugly, but it's still a good squash.  The flesh is firm, and a few blemishes are ok.

This thing is so amazing.  It lasts forever.  If you store it in a root cellar, it can last up to 6 months before it goes bad.  Even at room temperature, you have a few weeks before it starts going bad.  It also freezes well.  I can't eat a whole spaghetti squash.  It makes about 4-5 servings.  It tastes fine reheated too, but I don't like to eat the same thing every day.  I cook it and shred it (see below) and then put the spaghetti in a freezer bag.  It reheats and tastes about the same.  I've never frozen it with sauce, but I guess that would be ok too.  I use the sauce to heat the frozen squash up for 4-5 minutes.

I always give you the nutritional information, but the fact is that the spaghetti squash isn't really that nutritious.  It's mostly water.  Other winter squashes are better for you.  It's what it's lacking that makes it a great substitute for regular spaghetti.    According to the USDA, 1 cup of spaghetti squash has 42 calories, 0.4 gram of fat, 10 g of carbs (4 grams of sugar) and 2.2 g of fiber.  Compare that to regular spaghetti.  One cup of spaghetti gives you 220 calories, 1.3 grams of fat, 43 grams of carbs (0.8 grams of sugar) and 2.5 grams of fiber.   I can have a whole spaghetti squash for one serving of spaghetti.


You also have to factor in your sauce.  It can be low carb, high carb, low calorie, high calorie, nutritious or not.  The choice is between you and your pancreas.

You can cook spaghetti squash in a variety of ways from crock pots to pressure cookers, but the easiest and quickest way is to stick the whole thing in the microwave.  I was once told by a professional chef that a true food lover would never have a microwave in their house.  How pretentious. Microwaves are perfect for certain tasks, and cooking spaghetti squash is one.

To microwave the squash, you just poke a few holes in it with a knife (so it won't explode) and pop it in a microwave whole for about 12 minutes.  Let it cool for another 5-10 minutes before you split it open.  Baking and boiling a whole squash takes about an hour.  Sticking one in the crock pot takes all day.  A pressure cooker takes about 12 minutes too.  Alternatively, you can speed up the cooking by cutting the squash into cubes before you cook it, but these guys are hard to cut when raw.  The cubes makes shredding it a lot less fun.

After it's cooked and cooled, the next step is to cut it in a half and remove the seeds and the pulp, the slimy stuff that holds the seeds in.  You're going to think you've been gypped.  It doesn't look much like spaghetti at all.   It looks like a pumpkin.  Like pumpkin, that slimy stuff is not tasty, so even if you have to remove a bit of the flesh, get it all.  The seeds can be saved and roasted.  They taste a little like pumpkin seeds. 

What the...That doesn't look like spaghetti.

The next step is the most fun part.  You get to make spaghetti.  Invite your friends over and show them how awesome you are.  Just take a fork and rake up and down the cleaned flesh and you'll get "noodles."  I generally prop mine up in a bowl and shred the spaghetti squash over it.

That's more like it.

 I find that spaghetti squash taste best cooked with the sauce.  It's ok if you just pour the sauce over it, but cooking them together makes it really shine.  Most recipes serve the sauce over the squash, so I may be in the minority. You should try it with a variety of sauces and techniques and see what you like best.  You can pretty much do anything with it you can do with normal spaghetti, including baking it in a casserole. I've even seen a recipe for a mock lasagna with it.  The spaghetti squash was layered with lasagna ingredients.  My favorite way to eat it is sauteed with some fresh vegetables, olive oil, garlic and herbs.  I get the vegetables going first and add the squash in the last few minutes.  Yum!

"Noodles" close up.

Nutrition Facts

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Amount Per Serving (1 cup of spaghetti squash, cooked with no sauce)

Calories: 42
Total fat: 0.4 g
Protein: 1 g
Total carbohydrate: 10 g

• Dietary Fiber: 2.2 g
• Sugar: 4 g

Kohlrabi : Bake me to Your Leader

I think most grocery store produce departments have what I call the "wtf section."  I just imagine that the poor produce manager hits a key and accidentally orders something like lycee fruit or nopales.  When then these things show up to the store, they exclaim, "WTF is this stuff?"  The people at the cash registers exclaim similar when you decide to buy the item.

This is the section of the store where I saw these guys, kohlrabi.  I knew nothing about it, except it reminded me of an alien spaceship.  Aliens spaceships and delicious food don't really go together, but I decided to try it anyway.


Turns out kohlrabi is a cultivar of cabbage, but is known as the German turnip (because it kind of looks like a turnip).  It was created from the wild cabbage plant, like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard greens and Brussels sprouts.  Coincidentally, it has a cabbage-like taste.  It comes in green or purple, but both are said to taste similar.  The purple variety is said to be sweeter.

It can be eaten raw, roasted, stir-fried, braised or any number of cooking preparations.  Some people slice the kohlrabi thin like carrot sticks and use them raw for dipping.  Some people eat them like an apple.  I've heard the best way to eat them raw is sliced with a little salt.  I tasted it that way.  It reminded me of a raw potato, but with a slight cabbage taste.  It also reminded me of a slightly less spicy radish.  Some say it tastes like broccoli stems, but I tasted more cabbage than broccoli.  


The greens are also edible.  They can be eaten raw or cooked like any other greens.  Raw, they taste a little bitter, reminiscent of raw kale.  They need to be cooked like turnip or collard greens (low and slow) to get rid of that taste.  I tried my greens at 5 minutes in and at 30 minutes in.  The 30 minute cook time was primo!


According to the University of Illinois, kohlrabi has the mildest and best flavor when small.  The greens are also not as bitter when they are young.  Larger ones tend to be woody.  I saw an episode of "Chopped" recently featuring kohlrabi (the day I cooked the stuff.  I'm surrounded by kohlrabi now).  The judges' complaint to all the contestants was that the kohlrabi was woody because it wasn't cooked long enough.  I think mine are a little larger, but they did not taste woody.  The University of Illinois says 2-3 inches across is ideal. 

The greens are edible, but taste better cooked than raw.

One cup of raw kohlrabi has about 84 mg of vitamin C and it also supplies some of the B vitamins.  It's also high in potassium and low in calories.  It's pretty high in protein for a vegetable too.  The downside for low-carb dieters is that a cup contains 11 grams of carbs.  That's pretty high, especially since 5 grams are from sugar.  It only has 2 grams of fiber.

Since I only had three (and there weren't more at the market when I went back), I decided to saute the body of the plant and prep them like I would turnip greens.  They tasted almost exactly like turnips and greens to me.  The kohlrabi was a little sweeter and not as strongly flavored as a turnip, but really reminiscent of it. 

I'm not crazy about turnips, but if you are these would be a great addition to your diet.

They are completely white inside

Here's a tip about peeling them.  They are white under all that green.  You want to peel past the green.  I took a photo of these before I realized it was white underneath.  I should have peeled these a little bit more.  The green skin is tough.  Use a good peeler or, preferably, a knife.  


Sauteed Kohlrabi and Greens

• 3 kohlrabi (with greens)
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seed (or to taste)
• 1/2 tablespoon of garlic
• 1/2-1 cup of water
• Olive oil

1. Remove the greens from the kohlrabi and set aside.  Peel the kohlrabi and remove all stems.  Dice into cubes.
2. Chop the kohlrabi greens into bite sized pieces, removing any tough stems.  Wash them well (I always do at least 2 soaks with greens, most of the time three), and drain them well.
3. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to your pan, put on medium heat and get it hot.  Saute the garlic, red pepper and mustard seen in olive oil for a few seconds before adding the kohlrabi.
4. Get some nice brown on your kohlrabi (maybe 3-5 minutes).
5. Add 1/2 cup of water and greens.  Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring and checking occasionally to make sure you have enough liquid.  These should have the consistency of turnips and turnip greens.

Nutrition Facts

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Amount Per Serving (1 cup of kohlrabi)

Calories: 48
Total fat: 0 g
Protein: 5g g
Total carbohydrate: 11 g

• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Sugar: 5 g

If You Can't Beet Them, Enjoy Them

Beets are another one of those foods that I think people only hate because they haven't really had them prepared properly.  I remember those pickled, salad bar type beets of my youth.  They tasted like dirt to me and made a big mess.  We ate them a lot in my house, and I'm not sure why.  I remember scarfing them down first, so I could get it over with.  Whenever I saw beets in the store or on a menu, all I could think of is that super earthy, nasty flavor.

They actually shouldn't taste like dirt at all.  They have a mild, sweet flavor, and the consistency of a cooked carrot.  However, cooking them is very messy and beets will stain everything they come in contact with.  I generally operate on beets on only glass cutting boards and right over the sink.

Beet greens are delicious, and I hate most greens.  They're something that I was never served as a kid, but I think I saw Paula Deen make a batch on television once.  I thought to myself, you can eat beet greens?  I didn't think I'd like them, but I tried them anyway.  They have a milder flavor than most greens and a little bit of sweetness.  They are the only greens that I actually like quite a bit.  Now, when I look for beets I try to find ones that have lots of leafy greens.

Besides healthy greens, beet should be firm, colorful and free of blemishes.  I prefer smaller beets.  I think they have a sweeter, more punchy flavor.  The larger ones, like many vegetables, don't have as strong a flavor.

Beets are actually pretty good for you.  We could all stand to eat more of them.  Ancient Romans used them as medicine, mostly for digestive problems and as an aphrodisiac.  Today, we know they're packed with antioxidants, particularly betanin, which gives them their red color.  Interestingly, it's a different red pigment than you find in most red fruits and vegetables.  Most have anthocyanins.  Overcooking can destroy the betanin.  I'm pretty sure it was destroyed in those sludgy beets from my youth.  A correctly cooked beet still has some texture to it. Beets are also high in folates, vitamin C and potassium.

Beet greens are high in oxalate, which can lead to kidney stones.  If you're prone to kidney stones, the health benefits of beets might not be as seductive.

Beets are relatively low in calories with just 27 calories per half cup.  They are also relatively low in carbs and high in fiber, with about 7 carbs per 1/2 cup and 2 grams of fiber.

Beet greens are delicious, and they add a great punch of color to a plate.

Roasted Beets

Beets

Olive oil

Salt

1. Wash beets well and trim the tops, leaving about 3 inches of stalk.
2. Drizzle the beets with olive oil and a few pinches of salt
3. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes to an hour, or until tender.  Time depends on the size of the beets.  Start checking them around 30 minutes in.
4. Let the beets cool.  When cool enough to handle, slip the peels off.  I normally use a paper towel or vegetable scrubber, but the peelings easily come off if you just rub them with your fingers or you can use a peeler or paring knife.
5. You can serve the beets whole or you can slice and serve in a salad.

Beets are delicious by themselves or in a salad

Beet Greens and Onions 

Modified from simple recipes

1 pound beet greens
1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 cup chopped onion or to taste
1 large garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup of water

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/6 cup of cider vinegar

1. Chop the greens into the bite size pieces.
2. Saute the onions in olive oil for about five minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for another minute.  Add water, sugar and red pepper.
3. Toss in beet greens.  Mix well.  Cook, covered, for 15 minutes or until tender. Stir in vinegar.

The vinegar is just a splash, really.  Don't make the mistake of adding too much.  I normally just add a few slices of onion.

Beet greens.

Nutrition Facts

---

Amount Per Serving (0.5 cup each of beets and greens)

Calories: 74
Total fat: 3.6 g
Protein: 2.6 g
Total carbohydrate: 9.6 g

• Dietary Fiber: 3.2 g
• Sugar: 4.3 g

Parsnips Attacked: The Scared Carrot

Looks like a carrot with its blood removed.

Before my mom started her low carb diet, I had no idea how many potato substitutes there were.  It seems like everything in the grocery store wants to masquerade as a potato for a day.  There's celery root, cauliflower and jicama to name a few.  Low carb dieters must crave french fries and bacon more than anything.

Today's masquerader is parsnip.  Someone told me that parsnip was the best potato substitute.  I consider myself pretty educated in food, but I thought parsnip was something green.  I had no idea it was a root vegetable related to the carrot. When I went to find one for myself, I was reminded of a book I read when I was a kid: Bunnicula.  It's about a vampire rabbit that, instead of blood, sucks the juice of vegetables leaving a path of white carrots in his wake. This guy looks like he's seen a vampire bunny.

Parnsips are slightly sweeter than carrots, and also slightly more nutritious.   A half cup of parsnip has 50 calories, 11 grams of carbs and 3.2 grams of fiber.  It's a good source of fiber and potassium.

Choosing a parsnip is very similar to choosing a carrot.  The one difference is that you want a parsnips to be free from color.  The whiter the flesh, the sweeter the parsnip.  Much like carrots, you want parsnips to be firm, heavy for their size and free from blemishes.  The smaller ones are sweeter. 

I decided to really test the parsnip's ability to imitate the potato and make parsnip fries.

Sliced parsnips

 Parsnip Fries
2-3 parsnips
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel the parsnip like you would a carrot.  Julienne it to french fry size.  I used a mandolin. 
2. Toss the parsnip with minced garlic and olive oil.
3. Spread out on a baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes at 425 degrees.  You should flip the fries a few times during cooking.
4. Toss with Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper before serving.

They almost look like real fries.

These I would definitely eat again.   They taste like a sweet french fry, but not too sweet.  I find sweet potato fries a little too sweet.  These are just perfect. With something like a cajun spice blend, they'd be to die for.  I tried adding rosemary my second attempt at these and it was great.  I think I'll be making these instead of sweet potato fries from now on.

Nutrition Facts

---

Amount Per Serving (makes 4)

Calories: 175
Total fat: 10.7 g
Protein: 6.3 g
Total carbohydrate: 14.3 g

• Dietary Fiber: 2.9 g
• Sugar: 3.8 g

The Muscles from Brussels: Getting to know the Belgium Sprout

Fish heads?  They do look more like baby cabbages I guess.

I was reading over my first few blog posts and I noticed it's full of pasta, fried okra and pizza.  I'm trying to live healthy and whole here.  It's easy to slip into old habits, I guess.  Today, this entry is 100% healthy.

I have a bad history with Brussels sprouts.  My mom says I liked them when I was little.  I don't remember that.  I do remember that my sister told me they were little, slimy fish heads at dinner one day.  I haven't really eaten them since then. I always see their little slimy lips and eyes just peering at me.  Yuck.  I know they're not really little, slimy fish heads, but it still grosses me out.

What Brussels sprouts are is cultivar of cabbage. They are named after Brussels, but the origin is unclear. They were believed to be first grown in Belgium in the late 1500s, though some believe they were enjoyed as early as the 13th century.  Brussels sprouts taste similar to cabbage, but are generally more nutritious than cabbage. 

Brussels sprouts have twice as much protein, vitamin C and folic acid than cabbage and more vitamin A, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium than cabbage.  They also have twice as many calories and 1/3 more carbs than the same serving size of cabbage, but neither has enough to really worry about (cabbage has 17 calories and 4 grams of carbs per 1/2 cup, Brussels sprouts have 28 calories and 6 grams of carbs).  Brussels sprouts and cabbage are both high in fiber.

Brussels sprouts contain sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol, like broccoli and cabbage, if you eat them steamed or stir-fryed.  This is why people claim they have anti-cancer properties.  There is some real, randomized study data on the consumption of cruciferous vegetables and cancer risks.  The data seems to indicate that there is some decreased risk with daily servings of cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts.   However, boiling or blanching the vegetables destroys the compounds. Raw is the best way to go, but a quick cooking method preserves many of these compounds.

To pick out fresh Brussels sprouts, look for the bright green ones.  The brightly colored ones with the fewest brown leaves are best.  They should be firm, compact and tightly packed.  It's best to choose sprouts that are similar in size. Avoid any with an odor.  I think the smaller ones are better because they require less prep, and taste sweeter.

This one really does look like a fish face.

I have a theory that most people don't like vegetables because they've never had them properly cooked or fresh.  It seems that whenever I try something I "hate" at a restaurant with a really good chef, I'm always shocked.  I actually like it.  People, including myself, don't like Brussels sprouts because we're used to the slimy, boiled and nasty type we were served as kids. 

Fresh Brussels sprouts taste fresh.  They don't have the bitter taste of the frozen, over-cooked variety.  Over-cooking releases the bitter, sulfur compounds, making them less healthy and less delicious.  Fresh Brussels sprouts have a sweet, almost buttery taste.

As always, the best way to try a vegetable out to see if you really like it is a plain preparation.  Here, I tried roasted Brussels sprouts.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
About a dozen Brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

The core.

1. Clean the Brussels sprouts well and remove any outer leaves that look brown or yellow.  Cut the bottoms off and you can remove the core, if they're bigger.  See the photo on the right.  The white part in the center is the core of the sprout.  Smaller ones have a softer core that is easier to eat.  It's tough on larger sprouts, in my experience.
2. I like to cut mine into halves or quarters so I get more browning, but you can roast them whole. 
3. Toss them with a few tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper.
4. Arrange the sprouts on a sheet pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until tender and barely brown.
5. Taste them, you can salt again if needed.

Even I like the simplicity of roasted Brussels sprouts, and they don't look anything like fish heads.  Well, maybe a little like a fish head.

Roasted and ready to eat.

Nutrition Facts

---

Amount Per Serving (makes 2)

Calories: 165
Total fat: 14.1 g
Protein: 3.2 g
Total carbohydrate: 8.9 g

• Dietary Fiber: 3.4 g
• Sugar: 2.2 g

Artichokes: Defeat by Edible Hedgehog

Is this thing worth the trouble?

You normally wouldn't consider a hedgehog looking vegetable edible.  That's why vegetables (and hedgehogs) grew those spikes in the first place.  We're not supposed to want to eat them.  Artichokes are supposed to be worth the hassle of getting to them, but are they?


I was watching an episode of "Chopped" last week and one of the judges, kid you not, said that an improperly prepared artichoke could actually kill you.  She said if you left the choke (the furry part) in, the person who ate it would choke on it and possibly die.  That sounds about as appetizing as fugu.

Here you can see the deadly choke (the furry part in the middle)

I looked it up after I saw it, because I was freaked out.  A vegetable in the produce section at my local Kroger can kill me?  Madness!  I couldn't find any reference to death by artichoke, thank goodness.  I read that the choke is very unpleasant to eat, and it might make you cough.  Eating anything hairy would.  It's not really deadly.  The chokes of baby artichokes or Spanish and Italian artichokes are ok to eat.  

That's a relief.  I wouldn't want my inept artichoke fileting skills to kill a dear friend.  Knowing that my poorly cut artichoke would not result in immediate death, I decided to soldier on and try this beast myself.

Artichokes are low in calories and fat.  They are a good source of B vitamins and Vitamin C.  They also have Vitamin K (something to watch if you're on warfarin/coumadin).  They were once famed to be an aphrodisiac. They are reported by the Artichoke Advisory Board (there's really one of those) to be one the vegetables with the highest amounts of antioxidants.

Artichokes look different at different times of the years.  In the spring, their leaves should be tightly packed.  They should be bright green and heavy for their size.  During the fall and winter, they have a bronze color on their leaves and are less tightly packed. The advisory board says they are most delicious during fall and winter.

I would pretend to tell you how to dissemble one, but I did a horrible job.  I had more waste than artichoke.  At least I, for sure, got all the dangerous, deadly choke out.  I had it in my head that I wanted to do a dish with artichoke heart instead of a simple dipping sauce, so I went in to fully dissemble the critter.   Here are two great tutorials:

• How to get the artichoke heart.
• How to trim (for a stuffed artichoke dish or something like that).

Here's mine.

Yup,  that mess is just one.  I did a little better with the second one.

I got enough heart out of it to steam the heart to make a pizza, but not the wonderful dish I had in mind.  You just steam the hearts for about 25 minutes, until they are tender.

The pizza tasted ok, but I feel like the artichoke defeated me.  For one, I did use flour (in my defense, I used my Vita-mix to make whole wheat flour from wheat berries.  Maybe I should post about that sometime).  For two, my artichoke didn't look like any of the photographic tutorials I followed or even the can of artichoke hearts I almost bought.  I did learn a lot about artichoke anatomy.  I also learned that it can't kill me, so I'm going to try again.

I got a little artichoke heart, but not enough to feel accomplished.

Squash Alfredo Corkscrews: Not Healthy, but Delicious

I am weak when it comes to pasta.

This meal proves that I'm a junk food vegetarian.  I said previously that I didn't really like acorn squash.  If I blend it up and put it over pasta, apparently I find it delicious.  I guess the problem is that it vaguely resembled something good for me before.

I've mentioned that I'm trying to cut out gluten and processed foods, but it's hard for me to do.  I work 12 hour shifts, and most of my years of cooking experience have centered around pasta.  I can throw together a pasta meal in a few minutes, and it will taste wonderful.  Trying to come up with something gluten free often takes me hours.  I'll blog later about what I think about the low glycemic pastas everyone loves (the short: I agree with Jimmy Moore, they affect my blood sugar just like regular pasta).

I had an acorn squash in the fridge that I hadn't figured out what to do with, and I was hungry.  Corkscrew this gluten free thing, I'm making a pasta dish. This dish was made with some whole wheat twists or spiralini, but I'm not pretending they are any healthier than regular pasta.  Just check the nutrition facts. 

When I sampled the plain acorn squash, I immediately thought it had the tang and texture to be a delicious Alfredo.  So, I decided to try it.

Mock Alfredo (Serves 4)
1 Acorn Squash
Olive oil, cinnamon, salt and pepper to season
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
Parmesean cheese to taste
Cooked pasta (I used about 3 cups of spiralini, but you can use whatever.  It'd be best on something the sauce can stick to like rigatoni or penne)

1. Cut the squash into quarters, sprinkle it with some olive oil, a pinch of cinnamon, salt and pepper and bake it for about an hour, until tender.
2. While baking, steam the broccoli
3. Take two of the squash quarters (see step 6) and puree them in a food processor or blender with about 1/2 cup of milk, 2 tablespoons of sour cream and a handful of Parmesan cheese.  I would add the milk last, because the amount you need really depends on how moist your squash is.  I wanted a slightly thick sauce consistency.
4. Toss the pasta and sauce together.
5. Cut the remaining squash into cubes and carefully toss the cubes and broccoli florets in with the pasta.
6. If you don't like the consistency of squash, you can puree the entire squash and use it as a sauce.  I thought the cubes made it more interesting.
7. Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

I thought it was quite delicious.  Even if I’m delusional about the pasta being good for me, I know the meal was at least healthier than traditional Alfredo.  A way to make it extra healthy would be to add an extra cup of broccoli and only use a cup or two of pasta, so you get more broccoli than pasta.


Nutrition Facts

---

Amount Per Serving (makes 4)

Calories:  391.9

Total fat: 13.6 g

Protein: 31 g

Total carbohydrate:  47.8 g

• Dietary Fiber: 16.3 g
• Sugar: 3.7 g

For comparison, Olive Garden's Fettuccine Alfredo has 1220 calories.  To be fair, their dinner portion is at least 2 portions, so it probably evens out.   Ok, I admit it.  I had two servings of this too.  Pasta is like crack.  You can't resist the urge to go back for seconds.  Though, looking at the carbs and calories, maybe I should have.

Braving Celery Root

A creature from another universe or food?

I don't normally eat things that look they've been stuck in the back of my fridge for a month.  I decided to give celery root, or celeriac, a try anyway. It's pretty nutritious and everyone says it makes a great addition to a healthy diet.  Hard to believe since it looks like something my cat could have coughed up.

Celery root is used a lot as a potato substitute. It has less than half the calories of a potato and one third of the carbs (reference). It's great for low carbers. However, nutrition wise, a cup of baked potato has about twice as much fiber, three times as much vitamin C, three times as much potassium and about the same amount of phosphorus. You're only cutting calories and carbs by substituting celeriac, not adding nutrients.  Celeriac is just less dense, with a higher water content than a potato.  That's helpful if you're trying to lose weight, but not if you're just trying to eat better. 

One cup of celeriac has 1.5 grams of protein, 9 grams of carbs, 42 calories and 1.9 grams of fiber. Vitamin C - 5.6 mg, Potassium - 268 mg, Phosphorus - 102 mg

One medium baked potato has 4.33 grams of protein, 27 grams of carbs, 161 calories and 3.8 grams of fiber. Vitamin C - 16.6 mg, Potassium - 926 mg, Phosphorus - 121 mg

Since this furry cousin of celery is a root vegetable I've always passed at the store and never thought twice about, I decided to purchase one and be brave.

Picking out a celery root is not that tough, if you can get past the hairy exterior. You want one that's firm, has no fleshy or soft spots and looks uniform in color. Like a lot of vegetables, smaller ones don't taste as woody as the large ones.

I had a problem at the checkout.  The young guy ringing up my groceries looked at it and then to me and said, "What is this?"
"It's celery root, or celeriac.  I'm not sure what it's listed under."
"Oh.  Is it supposed to look like this?"
"Well, I think so.  They all look like that."

He finally figured out how much to charge me.  Celery root is more expensive than a potato, in my experience.  The one pictured above was $3.  You can sometimes buy a whole bag of potatoes for that.

To prepare celery root, you have to wash and peel the skin. I tasted a piece raw. The raw piece had a strong celery flavor, but when I sampled a cooked piece I barely detected it. I hate raw celery (big surprise). This was actually much nicer. It has the flavor of celery but a nice, clean texture. It's more like a turnip in texture, which is so much nicer than the stringy celery plant.

I think I could like this vegetable.

For my first experience in celery root, I decided to make a very plain soup. I like my first sampling to be pretty plain.  I just used made my favorite leek soup, but used celery root instead of potatoes.

Celery Root and Leek Soup (6 servings)
2 tablespoons butter
Olive oil to coat pan
3 leeks (cleaned and chopped)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large celery root (peeled and cubed)
3 cups of chicken stock
2 cups of water (or to taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup whipping cream

1. Heat stock pot with butter and olive oil. When heated, add leeks and cook for a few minutes before adding garlic. Cook until translucent.
2. Add stock and celery root and simmer for about an hour. Check the celery root like you would a boiled potato. If you can pierce it with a fork, it's done.
3. Puree in a blender or use a stick blender until the desired consistency. I used my Vitamix. If the soup is too thick, which it probably will be, you can add the water (or add more stock if you want to). Season to taste.
4. Add the whipping creme and put the soup back in the stock pot. Reheat gently on low heat.

Great for a cold day.

I really liked the soup. It's said celery root tends to take the flavor of what it's cooked with, and this tasted as good as any leek soup I've ever had. Leek soup generally uses potato as a base, but leeks are such a  powerful flavor.  I always taste the texture of the potato more than the flavor. I can imagine spicing the soup up would make it even better. Also, if you really wanted a low fat soup, you could leave the whipping cream out.

Nutrition Facts

---

Amount Per Serving (makes 6)

Calories: 122
Total fat: 9.5 g
Protein: 12 g
Total carbohydrate: 8.8 g

• Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
  
• Sugar: 2.3 g

Cutting out the cream drops it to 87 calories, 5.8 grams of fat per serving. Protein drops to 1.5 grams and the carbs remain the same.

Conquering Acorn Squash - Part 1

At Least It's Pretty

I'm starting this journey to try everything I hate and become a more balanced eater slow, with new fruits and vegetables.  One of the first things I decided I wanted to like was winter squash.  In the past, when I've seen winter squash on the menu, I immediately decided that I didn't like.  I would say to myself, "It tastes like pumpkin.  Who wants a sweet pasta?"  One day a friend was talking about how much she loves to eat it in the fall and I realized: I hate it and I've never even tried it.

That's hardly fair to the poor winter squash.  I should at least give them a chance.

Acorn squash is very nutritious (butternut squash is better for you, but not by much).  When not filled with brown sugar, it's low calorie and low carb.  A whole acorn squash only has 172 calories and 39 grams of effective carbs.  It has 6.5 grams of fiber.  Winter squashes are great sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, beta-carotene, thiamin, vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium and manganese, and a good source of iron (reference).  A lot of these nutrients are missing from the standard American diet (SAD) and missing from the junk food vegetarian diet I have.

Luckily for me, the acorn squash you find in the US are pretty consistent.  You just have to look for one without external blemishes and signs of rot.  The ones with less yellow/orange on the outside are best.  The bigger ones have a stringy texture, so the small ones are the ones that find their way to most carts. 

Once you get it home, you have to conquer the hardest part of the acorn squash: cutting it.  I literally broke a knife cutting the first one.  After that, I used a serrated knife to cut it.  It's similar to carving a pumpkin.  I've also heard you can microwave them for a few minutes to soften them before cutting.

A casualty of war

The first recipe I tried was the simple one my friend gave me. It was pretty easy: cut the thing in half, remove the seeds, fill the middle with butter and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake it on a baking sheet for an hour at 350-400 degrees and then serve. 

I wasn't a fan.  It tasted ok.  It was pretty sweet, but not too sweet.  It's supposed to taste nutty, but I think the brown sugar toned that down.  I didn't taste the nutty flavor much.  The texture was weird. It was almost like eating pulpy jello. 

I made a note that it would be better in soup or pasta.  Everything tastes better in pasta.  Now, to find the perfect soup or pasta recipe.  I haven't given up on you, winter squash.  [Here's my update with a pasta recipe.]