Mother May I? Challenge, EFGT, 5/2-6/1

[wifezilla]

that sounds like a good plan lene

(darn! Now I am hungry!)

[CarolynF]

Hi ladies,

Betty was perkier last night when Gary visited, so that was good..It's an up and down adventure, I'm sure..She made some sense and other times not. She didn't go to breakie this morning, so they brought some in and she ate it in bed..not much, though.

Lene: Yes, my dear..all that rind makes the cake rather "tart"...I also added more sweetener than one cup. I do think that adding the sour cream will help
you on the cocoa cake..Let me know. My was a tad "dry", but fine with a cup of coffee.Yeah, on your blood sugars!

Hi MKay, Shon, Sandy, Prozak, hungry Zilla, Poot and anyone else I might have missed due to my state of mind..

I've decided to put Brett's stuff away in his room..It's against all my beliefs as a Mom, but I can't stand it..He is working a 40 hour week making very good money, so maybe I'll charge him for maid service..LOLOL..

[TuscanGirl]

[TuscanGirl]

Carolyn - I can't wait for DS19 to start work so I can get into his room!
You're a good mom!!
He's a lifeguard so won't start until this weekend!

Lene - I just started watching Torchwood. I like it too!

Both of you - so how much sweetener did you use?

[lene]

Oooh, Torchwood. Captain Jack yummies...

Umm, I didn't measure the sweetener at all. Just added and tasted batter til it was ok. Sorry! I so often cook by feel and taste.

I'm so thrilled -- Jeff called me and told me he's ordered a present for me. He knows I've been wanting to spend lots of time sitting out in the shady yard this summer, and he found a good deal on one of these mesh dining tents -- all screened in sides, solid top. No bugs! Yay! It's 15 feet by 13 feet, so big enough to put a small table and some chairs in there for having supper during good weather, and I can invite my friend over to sit out there while we sip lowcarb margaritas. He said it was only $50 shipped, which seems fairly reasonable to me. I was tickled he thought of me and ordered it!

[Shonmarie]

Ok, I give up! I've been searching this thread for the orange cake recipe and can't find it. HELP - sounds too good to pass up.

[TuscanGirl]

Here you go!

Flourless Orange or Lemon Cake
Yields 1 9-1/2 or 10-inch cake

This recipe calls for a choice of 2 thin-skinned oranges, or 4-5 clementines, 350 g kumquats, or 3 lemons.
The lemons will add about 12 net carbs to the entire recipe and the oranges will add about 24 net carbs to the entire recipe. I have no idea about clementines or kumquats.

Your choice of the above listed fruit
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Scrub the fruit well. Place in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and simmer for 2 hours, checking every once in a while to make sure the water hasn’t boiled off too much. Drain and when cool enough to handle, cut the fruit in half carefully, and remove all of the seeds (otherwise the cake will be bitter).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour, or line with parchment, a 9-1/2- or 10-inch springform pan. Use matzo meal instead of flour if you are baking for Passover.

Put the fruit, skin and all, in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree. Measure out 1-1/4 cups.

Beat the eggs with the sugar and baking powder at medium-high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Add the ground almonds and mix well. Mix in the pulped orange at low speed, in two or three additions, beating for 20 seconds after each addition. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour, until firm and a knife comes out clean. If the top begins to get too brown halfway through, cover loosely with foil.


But you need to "taste" the dough to make sure you have enough "flavoring" in it or sweetener..It depends on your oranges. Mine were not very whoppee, so I had to add some orange oil and more Splenda. Plus, when you "boil" your fruit, you can do it in the microwave (with water) for about 10 minutes instead of 2 hours on the stove.

[Shonmarie]

Oh thank you, MK I want to try this over the weekend. I pulled an "MK" and invited some friends over for Monday! Thought this would be good to try, but I'll try it on dh Saturday, first!

[lene]

Oh, I should say that I actually used 1 3/4 cups almond flour instead of 1 1/2, and I added 1/4 cup vanilla whey protein powder to mine. The batter was still quite liquidy, but it may be because I used more Fiberfit for sweetener, or juicier oranges, or the fact that my eggs were jumbos and not large (which I didn't notice til later.) The fact that I did use a bit more dry ingredients with the extra almond flour and the whey powder is why I hope that adding a little cocoa to the normal recipe and subbing sour cream and maybe butter will not make for a too-dry cake, since mine was still very moist even with the extra dry stuff. Good luck on yours! I think this recipe is actually fairly forgiving, esp. if you don't mind fiddling (tasting to see if you need more sweetener, for ex.)

I fiddled some more this afternoon, actually. Jeff and Danny want taco-in-a-bowl for supper (spiced meat, cheese, guac, tomatoes, etc, all in a bowl) so I thought I'd throw together a tomato-based glop to toss on top. No fresh tomatoes on hand, but I took a can of chopped tomatoes, added a can of green chilies, some minced fresh onion, minced garlic, lime juice from a bottle, a rinsed and drained can of black soy beans, some Adobo seasoning from Penzey's (cumin, cayenne, pepper, and other stuff in it) and some Tabasco, salt, a dash of Ancho chili powder, and some olive oil. Stirred it all together and am letting it blend til supper. I'm not in the mood for taco-in-a-bowl, myself, so I'm going to make myself a burger with some melted cheddar before browning their taco meat, and I think I'll have a glop of this tomato stuff on the side as a salad, while they use it on their taco stuff. In fact, I think I'll top my cheddar burger with a dollop of guacamole, too! <g>

[sjl330]

Well, they've decided to put a defibrillator/pacemaker in my mom. I guess the benefits now outweigh the risks. Hopefully they'll do this tomorrow. It scares me to death to think of it. 5 years ago her lung Dr. wouldn't ok this procedure but now will. I can only pray it makes her feel better. Her attitude is: "I'll either make it or I won't" She's still making her own decisions so what can I say? She was very groggy all day today and dizzy every time she got up. I know she's sick of feeling this way and is hopeful that anything will make her feel better.

I guess our "Mother May I" challenge ended up more Mother oriented than we dreamed it would didn't it?

[CarolynF]

Hi ladies,

Oh, Sandy..I'll be praying for your mom tomorrow. Pacemakers can make a huge difference with the elderly. Pray for little Betty, too, because we were called in again by Hospice and spent the evening in her room. I know she is totally ready to go. Her breathing has changed, so she may die tomorrow..We don't know. yup..Mother May I?
is right.

That orange cake is so nommie..I made it according the recipe, but added more Splenda.
I just taste it the raw batter and add more sweetner as needed.

Hi to all my sweet Barry friends..

MKay: I've just decided to keep my son's room clean this summer. Hopefully, he will get so used to having a neat room, he will keep his own clean next year when he and 3 others get their apartment. Miracles do happen!

[Shonmarie]

Originally Posted by sjl330

Well, they've decided to put a defibrillator/pacemaker in my mom. I guess the benefits now outweigh the risks. Hopefully they'll do this tomorrow. It scares me to death to think of it. 5 years ago her lung Dr. wouldn't ok this procedure but now will. I can only pray it makes her feel better. Her attitude is: "I'll either make it or I won't" She's still making her own decisions so what can I say? She was very groggy all day today and dizzy every time she got up. I know she's sick of feeling this way and is hopeful that anything will make her feel better.

I guess our "Mother May I" challenge ended up more Mother oriented than we dreamed it would didn't it?

Oh Sandy, all my prayers will be for your mom today, and for you and your family as well. This is so hard, but I'm sure she has excellent physicians and she certainly has loving and caring family and friends praying for her. And she'll certainly have Our Lord right there with her.

[Shonmarie]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

Hi ladies,

Oh, Sandy..I'll be praying for your mom tomorrow. Pacemakers can make a huge difference with the elderly. Pray for little Betty, too, because we were called in again by Hospice and spent the evening in her room. I know she is totally ready to go. Her breathing has changed, so she may die tomorrow..We don't know. yup..Mother May I?
is right.

That orange cake is so nommie..I made it according the recipe, but added more Splenda.
I just taste it the raw batter and add more sweetner as needed.

Hi to all my sweet Barry friends..

MKay: I've just decided to keep my son's room clean this summer. Hopefully, he will get so used to having a neat room, he will keep his own clean next year when he and 3 others get their apartment. Miracles do happen!

Carolyn - praying for Betty today, too, and for you and your family. It's so hard to find the strength for all of this, but you know God will give you that strength and comfort.

[TuscanGirl]

Carolyn and Sandy - What can I say! Prayers and good thoughts for both of you!

Shon - let me know how you tweak the recipe!
I don't think I'm brave enough to try it for company yet!

Lene - you are very creative!


Today was my first day to sleep in and here I am!

I had the best evening yesterday!
I met a friend downtown where they were having "A Chocolate Affair" at a bunch of businesses.
We picked up treats everywhere (everything from Pinot Noir & chili brownies to Paula Dean's White Trash and the wine store even had dark chocolate with wine and port to try. I loved the port!)

Then our husbands managed to get off work early and join us.
So off for burgers (chipotle and bleu cheese)and beer (water for me) and then more wandering around town.
I called in and canceled myself for the HS board meeting and just had fun!
It was great!

I also met my friends minister - he's 6'9"+.
So nice!
But we looked so strange talking to one another!

Ala in all a carefree fun night!
I need more of those!

I even made it home in time to watch the finale of GA!
It was great too!

UB will have to be watched on-line.

Today it's either the mall with DD21 or more cleaning for Monday's party.

But first, coffee!

[sjl330]

I'll be heading to the hospital in a minute. I just wanted to pop in and thank everybody again. I'll be praying for Betty right along with my mom today. The only thing I'm really worried about is that this will make Mom's heart be so strong that she'll end up suffering more at the end from the emphysema. A good friend's mom died with that and it's not pretty or peaceful for sure. I've always hoped that Mom would just go easy in her sleep like her mom did from a weak heart. But I know I have to realize that I'm not in charge and let go and let God. I'll try to keep you all updated today.

[Shonmarie]

Morning MK. Sounds like you had a wonderful day yesterday! We need those - and more often than we get them! I've been meaning to ask you this - just always forget - are you Italian, hence the name TuscanGirl?

I'm going to try the cake on dh tomorrow and if it turns out then I'll make another for Monday. I'm going to use liquid splenda and erythritol so I'll need to consult KevinPA for ratios. I do make the coconut cake using those same substitutions and it always comes out good - nice and moist. I think the erythritol does that along with the eggs. I did learn that you need to blend the erythritol with the eggs first, then add the other ingredients. If you try to blend the erythritol with any other liquid ingredient, you get ROCKS - literally! Anyway, I'll share once I perfect it - hopefully.

My sister is doing better, but she is on complete bedrest for the duration of her pregnancy - 2.5mos. She has full placenta previa on top of the kidney stones, but fortunately they have passed. She has a neighbor who is an angel - comes in and cleans and cooks for her! That's a real blessing since she lives an hour away and I've had my hands full just helping with my brother.

Well, off to start laundry and clean. Making pizza for dh and his poker buddies for tonight. Hopefully I can stay out of the pizza. I'll have an egg cream first then just shut my mouth!

[TuscanGirl]

Sandy -

Shon - yep - I'm Italian!

All I have is the powdered Splenda, so when I make it I'll just be using that.

[Shonmarie]

Originally Posted by TuscanGirl

Sandy -

Shon - yep - I'm Italian!

All I have is the powdered Splenda, so when I make it I'll just be using that.

Hey Paisano, come stai? What part of Italy is your family from? My dad's family is from Abruzzi and dh is from Naples. His parents actually immigrated and still speak Italian most of the time. What's really fun is all the great recipes they have and many of them relatively lc!

[pooticus]

Morning ladies!

Carolyn saying big prayers for you all!

Sandy saying big prayers the surgery is successful. Remember trust in God and in His mighty power, no matter what the road looks like ahead.

Shon the cake sounds great! And so does the thought of all those yummy recipes! You could share, you know...

MK your night and day sound wonderful hon! So glad you all had a blast!

lene the taco salad sounds soooo great! We may have those for dinner tonight!

Zilla and hope you are doing well!!!

[Shonmarie]

Hi Poot Miss all your great posts. Hope you are feeling better. I know it's been a rough road for you, but I know you keep on trying.

The hard part about those recipes is no one has them written down - 'cuz they just "throw a little of this and a little of that"! But when I do figure out the ratios of some, I'll most certainly share!

[TuscanGirl]

Originally Posted by Shonmarie

Hey Paisano, come stai? What part of Italy is your family from? My dad's family is from Abruzzi and DH is from Naples. His parents actually immigrated and still speak Italian most of the time. What's really fun is all the great recipes they have and many of them relatively LC!

Ciao, la vita è buona!

Three of my four grandparents are from Sardinia, so that's where I claim too!
DH is of English/German descent, but he looks more Italian than I do!
I have some of the blonde hair/blue eyed northern Italian in me, so my kids a little mixed up.

I'd love to have you grab some recipes! Start pinching and posting!
Italian recipes are the best LC meals I've found!

Poot! Always good to hear from you!

[lene]

Sandy and Carolyn, you're both in my thoughts and my heart today. I'm so glad to know that you both have family around you, love and support, while you work to let what will be, be. It's so hard to manage alone, but having them there will help.

Oh, the Italian contingent is killin' me here. Some of my happiest years were when we lived in Italy, and the food, the food... That's where I learned to cook, too. What a blessing! I may not be eating pasta any longer, but I love making the great varieties of sauces and using them on chicken, or veggies. I made spaghetti squash the other day and did it in a carbonara sauce -- yum! Lately I crave some alfredo, so I bought a wedge of Parmesan (I always have butter and cream) and I plan to cook up some strips of chicken breast in the skillet, add a well-drained pkg. of cooked frozen peas, and then stir in alfredo. Peas are higher carb veg, I know, but I like them in an alfredo sauce, I don't know why.

Hi Poot! If you guys make the taco bowls, hope they hit the spot. I've got no idea what I'll make for tonight -- I kinda planned on the chicken with alfredo for tomorrow, if all goes well, but tonight is a blank slate, pretty much. I did think to throw together a small container of fruit last night before bed -- a bag of frozen berry/cherry blend, one lone apple chopped up in tiny bits, a splash of white wine and some Fiberfit to sweeten, and a few leaves of spearmint and of peppermint from my yard. I figure the fruit will be thawed and the mints will have worked their mojo by supper tonight. But what we'll have with the fruit, I have no idea!

I probably won't have computer access all weekend. Jeff's going to be doing computer geek stuff, setting up a new system and so on. I'll be glad when he gets it all done, and I can have my own little computer again, no time-sharing.

[Shonmarie]

Hi Lene In what part of Italy did you live? What I wouldn't give to live there! My dad was from Sant'Eufemia a Maiella, a small town in the Italian province of Pescara, Abruzzo. They lived in these beautiful little mountain houses with outdoor areas for eating. He went back several times when I was a child. I've never had the good fortune to visit, but all the pictures and the stories my dad, aunts and uncles told make me want to go. I do cook my dad's favorite Italian dishes -grew up on them as a child - but have had to try to re-create them from what he and other family members have told me. I'm amazed at how much pasta they "don't" eat! Really alot of veggie dishes and roasted or braised meats. I will put some together and post when I can. Now I'll need to get busy and write them down - which I know will make my nieces and nephews happy!