What I Cooked! June 19, 2010

Since January, I've been preparing one meal a month for my mom. They are always multiple courses, but WLS-friendly. (Even though my mom is a non-op, I refuse to cook foods that I can't eat.)

This month, I sort of went with a summer solstice theme. Here's what I served:

Course 1: Watermelon Three Ways

Right: Frothy cucumber-watermelon gazpacho with lemon.

Center: Salad of baby arugula with caramelized watermelon, warm almond-crusted goat cheese medallions, and orange-infused balsamic reduction.

Left: Spicy watermelon salsa with thinly sliced summer squash. The salsa contains watermelon, jicama, tomato, avocado, red onion, jalapeno, basil, and a little salt, vinegar, sucralose, and red pepper flake.

Course 2: Biscuits & Jelly

Clockwise from the top: (1) Jalapeno-cheddar Carbquik biscuit; (2) Tomato gazpacho aspic with cucumbers, bell peppers, and red onion; (3) "Candied" turkey bacon (made using Nature Sweet brown); and (4) Hard-boiled egg. This was sort of a deconstructed thing. It's designed that you take a little of each thing and eat it together. Both my plating and photography were particularly bad - sorry!

Course 3: Poached Halibut with Summer Bounty in Lemon-Chamomile Broth

"Summer Bounty" is just another word for summer vegetables, and this version contained asparagus tips, golden beets, kohlrabi, and hen-of-the-woods mushrooms. The halibut is sprinkled with a few crushed pink peppercorns. Unfortunately, with all the craziness going on, I think my halibut was slightly overcooked. That was a practically criminal mistake considering how expensive it was!

Either way, I loved this dish. It really tasted like summer with the floral aroma of the chamomile, the brightness of the lemon, and the light feel of the entire dish.

Kohlrabi is a particularly welcome new discovery. Steamed simply with salt until fork tender, it tasted like potatoes - but check out these fabulous stats. This summer veggie could open up a whole new world of culinary possibilities.

I think this might be my best plating for any entree thus far. My entrees usually look like a mess, but I thought this one was quite beautiful.

Course 4: Red Velvet Pancakes and Reese's Cup Protein Pie

Top: Chocolate peanut butter fudge frozen protein pie. Check out the recipe from Bariatric Foodie. Unfortunately, I ate almost the entire pie by myself, so I don't think I'll be making it again unless it's for a party where lots of people will eat it. Very yummy! One small change I'd suggest is using much less crust than the recipe calls for. I'd cut the crust recipe by a full 2/3.

Bottom: Red velvet protein pancakes with (sugar-free, fat-free) cream cheese sauce and toasted chopped pecans. This was so, so, so, so good. Mom gobbled it right up. The cream cheese sauce made all the difference.

I followed the basic protein pancake recipe from Maria Health blog, but used chocolate protein and cocoa instead of vanilla, tripled the amount of baking powder, and of course, added red food coloring.

I had fun. It sent me on a bit of an eating spree, but it is always fun to brainstorm and prepare these meals.