GARDEN BAKE is a perfect recipe to try when you’re getting the first fresh tomatoes and small zucchini from your garden… or when you see them at a good price in the produce section of your favorite store. Either way, it’s a fresh taste treat.

GARDEN BAKE

2 medium onions, sliced thin
2 to 3 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 large or 2 small zuccini, sliced as thin as the onions
2 ripe tomatoes, sliced as thin as the onions
1 8-ounce bag shredded Asiago garlic cheese (or mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cook onions in olive oil until tender.
Place onions in oven baking dish
Add balsamic vinegar
Place layer of zucchini on top of onions
Place layer of tomatoes on top of zucchini
Cover with foil and bake until fork-tender
Remove from oven and top with cheese
Let stand, covered with foil, until cheese is melted.

This batch turned out pretty much as I intended. It’s a bit more crumbly than I’d like but the taste is perfect. My recipe calls for a few “specialty” ingredients: erythritol, carbalose and polydextrose. All can be ordered on-line from www.netrition.com . They are staples in my low carb kitchen and they make wonderful substitutes for the old, carby stuff we used to eat… with very similar results.

So, here’s my recipe for Sweet, Chewy Bran Muffins:

Sweet, Chewy Bran Muffins

3 cups wheat bran
1/2 cup erythritol, granulated (or granulated sweetener of choice; Splenda won’t give the same results)
1 cup Carbalose
1/4 cup polydextrose
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk OR soured milk (put 1 tblsp vinegar in 1 cup measure, then fill with milk)
1/3 cup softened shortening or oil
1 egg

Mix all dry ingredients together thoroughly
Mix shortening/oil with egg and milk
Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. It will be a very thick mixture.

Divide among 12 greased muffin cups. They will be almost filled to top but these don’t rise much.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are firm to touch and you see just a bit of browning on top.

Let them cool for a few minutes before removing from pan. These will be very tender and may crumble more than “regular” bran muffins but the taste is wonderful.

Carbalose, erythritol and polydextrose can all be ordered from www.netrition.com

Whisk everything together thoroughly. Let sit for several hours before using, so the flavors can blend.

Vary by adding lemon or orange zest, or a tablespoon of garlic oil; by using flavored vinegar; or by adding a teaspoon or two of finely minced herbs.

Yield: about 1 cup dressing

1 can (8 oz) unsweetened crushed pineapple, drained
1 can (4 oz) tiny shrimp, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
1 medium cucumber (about 8 inches), cut into 1/4-inch slices
Fresh dill sprigs, optional

In a bowl, combine pineapple, shrimp, mayonnaise, onion, mustard and minced dill. Spoon onto cucumber slices. Garnish with dill sprigs if desired.

Yield: 32 appetizers

Place beans in a saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Refrigerate until serving.

In a blender or food processor, combine the remaining ingredients. Cover and process until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to blend flavors. Serve with beans for dipping.

Yield: 1-2/3 cups dip

Just in case you have some fresh beans or cucumbers lurking in your garden, here are a couple of appetizer recipes that will please the family, not just those doing low carb:

Picnic Beans with Dip - these are just as tasty to nibble on while watching TV rather than the usual high carb, high calorie junk. And the fresh beans have such a satisfying crunch!

Cucumber Shrimp Appetizers - These come in at almost 2 carbs each, so don’t overdo it.

Ingredients:
2 cups vital wheat gluten (from health food store) 
1 package dry yeast (Rapid Rise/Highly Active)
1 cup warm water (95-105°F)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Splenda (bulk) 
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and sift together well. Add ingredients to bread machine in the order recommended by your machine’s instructions.

Set your machine to the basic cycle (3 – 3 1/2 hours) and bake. With most machines it benefits low carb breads to allow only one kneading cycle, then allow to bake. This recipe makes a bread that’s a chewy cross between Italian and French. This bread works best in a machine, but if you want to try it by hand, use the following method:

TO MAKE BREAD WITHOUT A MACHINE:
Follow the recipe in the same order as for the bread machine.
After you mix and knead all of the ingredients together, put the dough in a clean bowl and set it into a warm, draft-free place for about 45 minutes to an hour (one option is to turn on your oven for a pre-heat for a minute and a half to get it warm, then turn it completely off before setting the dough in to let it rise in the oven.) The dough should rise to about twice its original size. Afterward, knead slightly (do not over-knead – the gluten content will keep this bread from rising well the second time unlike “regular” bread! You’ll want to be careful not to handle the dough too much after it rises the first time.) Put it in a loaf pan, cover and set in warm draft free place for another 30-45 minutes, and then bake at 380 degrees until done. (35-45 minutes – depending on your oven, you may have to shorten or lengthen the time.)

Makes 16 slices. 5 carbs per slice.

Low Carb Version of Starbucks Frappuccino (adapted from Top Secret
Recipes)

Coffee Version:

1 1/2 c. cold coffee
1/2 c. half and half
1/2 c. granulated Splenda
1 tsp. sugar free chocolate syrup
1/4 tsp. salt (don’t omit this, it really does make a difference)
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract
3 c. crushed ice or ice cubes

Combine the coffee, milk, sugar, chocolate syrup and salt in blender on
medium speed for 15 seconds to dissolve sweetner.  Add the vanilla
extract and ice then blend on high until smooth and creamy.  Stir with a spoon
to help blend.  Pour drink into two 16 oz glasses.

Caramel Version:
For this version, add 2 tbs. Sugar Free caramel syrup (ice cream topping) to the mixture in the blender. Top each glass with whipped cream and drizzled caramel syrup (ice cream topping).

In addition to its being our first Thanksgiving, we were able to include a few things actually produced here on our little farm. We had home-grown pumpkins, sweet potatoes and eggs. Admittedly, not much but we’ll do better next year.

And so we gave thanks for our first, very good year!

Our Low Carb Menu:

Appetizers:
*Crudite with blue cheese dip
*Deviled eggs

Main Course:
Deep fried turkey
*Almond stuffing
*Cranberry sauce
*Green bean casserole
*Mixed vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and mushrooms)
*Mashed “potatoes”
*Sweet potato casserole
*Giblet gravy

Dessert:
*Pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream topping
*Pecan pie
Mince pie (not low carb but my skinny son’s favorite)

*Recipe on site