Totally Homemade And Only a Dollar

I could hear the girl on the street corner from a block away.

"Cupcakes! Water! Cupcakes! Water!"

As I approached, she pointed to her card table set in the grass at the corner of Lincoln and Ridge in Evanston. She had purple frosted cupcakes to sell - and it was a game day. Her white posterboard sign announced $1 cupcakes and $1 water bottles. It was the perfect breakfast for Northwestern students who are walking to the football stadium for an 11am game.

I was coming back from a tailgate where I had consumed a scone, a twinkie, and a brownie, so I immediately shook my head no. Then I reconsidered. I had to support a fellow baker, an entrepreneur, a 10 year old marketing genius.

"They're totally homemade and only a dollar!" she crowed as I forked over a dollar bill. I asked if she had anything for me to put it in because I wasn't going to eat it right away. She profusely apologized for not bringing tupperware. In my car I found some scrap paper and wrapped it around the cupcake, then nestled it in the hood of my windbreaker on the passenger seat. I had visions of purple frosted seats, but the cupcake held up to my erratic driving and I got it home safely.

It's not hard to please with cupcakes and they don't require special techniques. If you can whip up a buttery cake batter, if you can frost with the best of them, you can equally thrill a room of 2nd graders or a group of a bachelorettes. Only the second graders' cupcakes would have a cute frosting carrot on them while the bachelorettes' cupcakes should boast another frosted phallic object.

We make cupcakes not to aspire to high gourmet but because they can be eaten out of hand, a ready made serving that stays moist in its paper wrapper. We'll wave away that slice of cake claiming a diet but accept the cupcake because it's perfectly proportioned. It's modest, like the cute, quiet girl at the back of the classroom, not the bossy drama queen that is a four layer cake. It won't beg to be consumed, but its unassuming quality is light and satisfying.

That girl's totally homemade cupcake was nothing to get excited about. The white cake and sugary frosting was all a bit too sweet, and uninspired except for the purple of the frosting. But little girls making cupcakes and being entrepreneurs and big girls still eating cupcakes instead of fancy desserts is always worth at least a $1 to see.

Guinness, squash, and peanut butter

Gina, thanks for bringing the carb content of Guinness to my attention. Live and learn! Funny thing is, I can't even remember the last time I ordered anything other than a light, domestic beer. Oops!

After thorough research, both Guinness and cider beers are 10 grams of carbohydrate per 12 ounces. So, my two 12 ounce Black Velvets run me 1 1/2 carb choices (20 grams of carbohydrate). While this doesn't SEEM like a lot, it kinda is. Bud Light and other light domestic beers run between 3.2 and 6.5 grams of carbohydrate per 12 ounce serving.

Look at this beautiful fall produce I picked up today -- Granny Smith apples, pomegranate, acorn squash, butternut squash, and red pears (which are SUPER high in fiber!). Thanks for the squash recipes, I am DEFINITELY planning to make at least one of them this week!

I also saw a new product while waiting in line at Walgreens...so, I had to try it. These bars are called "Full Bar" and come in a peanut butter and cocoa flavor. In my opinion, they're not worth the cost ($1.50) or calories (170 calories)...plus, they simply tasted like lightly chocolate-coated Smacks cereal -- nothing special. But, here's what they look like:

Other than Guinness carbohydrates being unbeknown to be, so was hydrogenated oil in peanut butter!! While I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I didn't know that, I'm not a peanut butter guru and consume it on a rare occasion. Now that I have to have protein-containing evening snacks, however, I purchased the raved about Smart Balance peanut butter. Check out the label, particularly the part that says, "No Hydrogenated Oil".

 

 

Half time is over, back to rooting on my Illini! Thanks for keeping me in check and providing me with yummy recipes, readers! I much appreciate it!

Bad diabetic -- the importance of an evening snack

As I mentioned yesterday, it was date night last night. We ended up going to a swanky Italian restaurant in Tulsa called Garlic Rose. It was pretty much as delicious as could be, even for our snobby Italian food standards. Mark and I ordered 2 pasta dishes to share -- one was bow tie with chicken in pesto with pine nuts, goat cheese, and spinach (these 3 ingredients combined create nothing short of taste bud ecstasy!), and the second dish was a lemon seafood bucatini that included HUGE chunks of fresh squid, lobster, scallops, and ginormous shrimp. As a seafood lover, I was in heaven...especially when such divine food is polished off with a sip of 2005 Banfi Chianti Classico..mmmm!

Now would be a good time to admit that I likely went over my carbs for the meal. However, I did skip the cookie at the RD meeting yesterday, unexpectedly, and went with a 2% mozzarella cheese stick instead.

Pasta, is a "rip off" as far as carbohydrates -- 1/3 c. cooked = 1 carb choice. I'd say I had 1 1/3 cup, or 4 carb choices worth. Not bad, right? I sure didn't think so! Because our meal started with a cheese platter with toast pointes and fresh fruit (I had 2 toast pointes and approximately a half a handful of fruit -- 1 carb), I would say my meal totaled 5 carb choices. Oops!

In counseling a diabetic who goes over their carb choices, I would recommend taking their blood sugar 2 hours after they've completed their meal. When tested two hours post-prandial, blood glucose readings should fall at 140 mg/dl or less in a controlled diabetic.

From dinner, we went to a local bar that hosts hundreds of beers from across the world. I love beer, and so I partook. I limited myself to 2 beers (Black Velvets, pictured to the left -- 1/2 cider and 1/2 Guinness) -- 1 carb choice. This was obviously not the best way to spend calories OR carbohydrates, but more importantly for a diabetic is the fact that consuming alcohol LOWERS blood glucose. When we arrived home, 3 hours after finishing our dinner, I did not have an evening snack. Firstly, of course I was not hungry. Secondly, I'm not into the mind-set yet of remembering to eat a snack before bed. And thirdly, I was pooped...it was a work day ending at midnight! Regardless, I would've told any patient that it would be of utmost importance to have had a snack after last evening's alcohol consumption. If I were a diabetic and checked my blood sugar this morning, chances are it would have been high due to a blood glucose drop mid-rest and a rebound high, compliments of the liver, as we discussed previously. So, I was a BAD diabetic yesterday! Turning the page to today and moving on!

Breakfast:

1 1/2 c. Cheerios (2 carbs)

1 packet Truvia (0 carbs)

1 c. skim milk (1 carb)

cappuccino with 2 Tbsp sugar-free International Delight (0 carbs)

     Total: 3 carbs

Lunch:

1/6th Chicken Tamale Casserole (3 carbs)

2 c. toss salad with mixed veggies (0 carbs)

1 Tbsp Light Toasted Asian Sesame dressing (0 carbs)

     Total: 3 carbs

Dinner & snack:

TBD - football party over here

Predictions: Illinois over Penn State, OSU over Indiana, Michigan over Michigan State, and Oklahoma over Miami.

Does anyone have any butternut or acorn squash recipes to share? I'm heading to the grocery store for some squash and other produce...and need a squash fix soon!

Granada: Day II with Lolita meeting!

Hi everyone, my sweethearts!

Today I will prepare a farewell dinner for my closest friends from Algeciras, I'm going to cook curry, the one I make is terrific and very easy to prepare ... you want the recipe?

Last Saturday we had a left of Lolitas in Granada, where I said goodbye to many wonderful people I've met in my stay there. I will miss them all so much.

Sachi, Nia, me, Jezabel, Noeru, Munsault and Rakeru.

Jezebel prepared the most delicious muffins in the world and Noeru a brownie that was delicious!

The delicious brownie from Noeru!

Jezabel and her muffins!

Mario with a muffin and his smile, so great! Beside him is Nia.

Nia, so adorable.

Sachi and her boyfriend, Javi... the more lovely couple!

Noeru with a muffin. I was joking all evening with her because her Angelic Pretty dress... I tol her "Now, you're only a dress" and I talked all the evening to the dres, hahaha!

Me! I was wearing my Metamorphose red skirt, a Blanco black shirt, Bodyline shoes and socks and scarf offbrand. The headband with ribobn is from Primark.

At night we went for a walk around town, I was in the Untoten Gothic club, which belongs to a friend; ant to the Tornado pub also; where we were dancing.

Sachi at the Untoten gothic Club.

Me at the Tornado.

Issis and me... this woman is gorgeous!

Electra.

Me with César, a very good friend.

Carla, Dalverme and Elenna at the Tornado!

I will miss a lot of grain, but I still have so many adventures to live ...!

KARELA FRY

Ingredients:

Karelas (bitter gourds) .... 4

Onions .............................. 3-4 small

Tomato ............................. 1

Green chillies .................... 2

Garlic paste ..................... 1 tsp.

Curd .................................. 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder ........... 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder .......... 1 tsp.

Cumin powder ................ 1 tsp.

Sambar powder .............. 1 tbsp.

Peanut powder .............. 1tbsp. (dry roast and grind coarsely)

Amchoor powder ............. 1 tsp. (or 1 tbsp. tamarind juice)

Jaggery ............................ 1 tsp.

Mustard seeds ................ 1 tsp.

Curry leaves .................. 1 sprig.

Salt ................................. to taste

Red chilli powder .......... 1 tsp.

Asafoetida ....................... a pinch.

Coriander leaves ......... for garnishing

Oil.

Method:

1. Peel and slice the karelas. Marinate them with quarter cup curd and salt for few hours.(preferably overnight)

2. In a pan heat 2 tbsps. oil. Add a pinch of asafoetida and mustard seeds. Then add the garlic paste and the curry leaves. Saute and add the sliced onion, green chillies and fry for a few minutes.

3. Now add the tomato and the karela slices. Simmer for 5 minutes and add all the dry masalas and simmer it stirring from time to time till the colour is brown.

4. When almost done add the remaining 1/4 cup curd and cook for few more minutes on low fire.

5. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rotis or as a side dish with plain boiled rice and sambar.