Saturday, March 24, 2012

restaurants and chocolate mousse

I have eaten low carb for about 7 years.  Cheesecake or chocolate mousse was usually a safe dessert to order.  But now I am eating Primal, no grains or sugar.  I haven't reduced my carbs much more; I am eating more fruit.  We took Aunt Florence out for her birthday tonight, and I suggested John and I share a chocolate mousse.  It was very sweet, and with a thin cake layer at the bottom, so I decided after a few bites that it wasn't worth eating.  So I came home and made myself something I would enjoy more.  I didn't have any eggs to spare, so I invented my own take on chocolate pannacotta.  I melted 1/4 of an 85% chocolate bar in a little butter, sprinkled a little unflavored gelatin over it, and set it aside to cool.  I put maybe 3/4 of a cup of heavy cream in the blender and blended it until whipped, then added the chocolate mixture and blended some more.  By this point it was too firm to blend well, but I just scraped it out of the blender and mixed it together.  It was a bit austere so I added maybe a tablespoon of tart cherry juice concentrate, which was perfect.  Delicious!  And I put half of it in the refrigerator for tomorrow.

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin

1 large cooked spaghetti squash
1 bunch swiss chard
grated rind of 1 lemon
salt, pepper, seasonings to taste
1 cup sour cream
sliced or grated cheese (I used swiss)

Cut the chard into small pieces and shred the spaghetti squash.  Mix squash, chard, lemon rind, seasonings, and sour cream. Top with cheese and bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Many variations are obviously possible, but I'm recording the recipe because it had never occurred to me to make a gratin with spaghetti squash, much less to add chard.