JGE 110 - Japanese Beef Curry

Good Day,

Last night I tried something completely new and very, very different. I cooked and ate Japanese Beef Curry.

What you see is the completed dish, the Japanese Beef Curry on top of Jasmine Rice all topped with broiled Mozzarella Cheese.

I discovered the recipe, completely by chance at the site Pressure Cook Recipes.

Was this good? Is the sky blue?

Easy to make with few ingredients but it does take about 3+ hours to prepare.

Ingredients were quite simple, and I adjusted a bit for two of us -

1 pound Beef Chuck Tender steak
6+ medium Garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 cup unsalted Chicken Broth
2 Golden Curry roux cubes
1 tbsp Soy Sauce

1 1/2 pounds Yellow Onions, thinly sliced
3 tbsps unsalted Butter
Kosher Salte and ground Black Pepper

1 cup Jasmine Rice
1 1/2 cups Water

Mozzarella Cheese, grated for topping

I will say that the preparation did take some time, especially the mise-en-place and the cooking of the ingredients, the onions. I followed the well thought-out instructions at Pressure Cook Recipes...and I used my Instant Pot.

Here are some images, and I'm not creating a cookbook, just some quick shots with my iPhone.

Supper was terrific.

My blood sugar did go up 7 points this morning to 116 mg/dL, and if I had eaten anymore I am sure that my FBS would have gone up a couple more ticks.

Right, I used my Instant Pot.

Jim's gotta eat. Be healthy,

Jim

JGE 109 - Pak Cham Gai Fan – aka Chinese-Style Steamed Chicken

Good Day,

I really, really, really like my new Instant Pot. Last night I tried to make Pak Cham Gai Fan – otherwise known as Chinese-Style Steamed Chicken.

My prime ingredient included -

1 large boneless/skinless Chicken breast

marinated in -

2 tbsps Regular Soya Sauce
2 tbsps Dark Soya Sauce
1 tbsp Shoaxing Wine
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp White Pepper

I added 3 cups of Jasmine Rice, rinsed, and 3 1/2 cups of water to the inner pot.

I followed the instructions directions from Happy Noodle TV and added

4 Spring/Green Onions
8 Garlic Cloves
2 Inches Ginger
150 g Shitake Mushrooms
3 Star Anise, (not sure of the plural)

It’s supposed to be an 11-minute Instant Pot recipe.  I followed the instructions and used the manual settings on high pressure.  I was expecting the typical pressure cooker steam whistling.  There wasn't any.  So I repeated the process again.

Well lo and behold every turned out okay.  The chicken was cooked.  The rice was cooked.  I plated the meal with chicken and rice topped with some Dark Soya Sauce and Toasted Sesame Seeds.  I added a teaspoon of Hot Pepper Sauce, the one I made from Habaneros.  I also steamed some Baby Bok Choy.

Supper was terrific.  (But I am looking for that burst of steam.  Maybe I am wrong.)

My blood sugar dropped 13 points this morning moved up 2 points to 107 mg/dL.

Right. I am sold on the Instant Pot.

Jim's gotta eat. Be healthy,

Jim

JGE 108 – New Instant Pot Challenge – This Morning: Congee

Good Day,

Breakfast - Congee..

And yes I do like kitchen gadgets. I hummed and hawed about getting another small appliance some time ago. I thought I would never use it. But I got suckered…sort of.

Yes, I did get a new Instant Pot. The model I got on an Amazon.com super deal moment. Instant Pot IP-LUX60 6-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker, 6-Quart 1000-Watt.

And this morning after checking the slight upward swing of my fasting blood sugar count I decided that I wanted to have…to make some Congee.

There are 320,000 Google results for the phrase “Congee recipes”. When I change the search phrase to “Congee recipes, Instant Pot”, I received 74,000 results. And of course who knows how many are just duplicate copies or each other.

Well this morning I decided to pattern my Congee concoction after the “Instant Pot Congee (Jook)” from the website BudgetByte$.

Of course I did not have similar ingredients. My ingredients:

1 cup Long-grain Rice
6 cloves Garlic
2 inches fresh Ginger
6 large white Mushrooms
5 cups Chicken Broth
2 cups Water
½ tsp Salt

Toppings:

Dash of Soy Sauce
2 Green Onions
Dash of toasted Sesame Seeds.

I followed the directions for the Instant Pot.

And there was left-overs. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I have made Congee on my stove-top.

Everything turned out fine, and I had me a bowl of freshly made Congee after I completed my sit-ups this morning. Will have to wait until tomorrow to see if there is any impact to my A1c calculation.

Right. I am sold on the Instant Pot.

Jim's gotta eat. Be healthy,

Jim

JGE 107 - Habanero Sauce

Good Day,

Yes, I've been growing peppers; Habaneros and Red Thai/Bird's Eye Chilies.

And I harvested the habaneros and figured I've got to do something with them.

I found Rick Bayless' recipe for Habanero Hot Sauce.

Quick list of ingredients: Habaneros, Onions, Carrots, Garlic, Apple Vinegar, Water, Salt, and Sugar.  And of course I tweaked the amounts; more to the plus-size.

Hot! Spicy! Hot! Damn sweet.

Any questions, thoughts, ideas, comments email me at Jim’s Gotta Eat. Oh yeah, Jim’s Gotta Eat has a new URL address – http://jimsgottaeat.com.

Jim’s gotta eat. Enjoy,

Jim

JGE 106 – Supper Showdown – Grilled Basque Wings

Good Day,

And I had a craving for Grilled Basque Wings.

This morning’s blood sugar count showed a net change of 2 points from my last posting July 5th. And the early morning FSB recorded at 98 mg/dL. It actually decreased by 10 points for the day before.

Supper was a tall order of Gilled Basque Wings and a Grilled Potato and Onion Salad. And I had a Shock Top Belgian White and of course a couple scoops of ice cream.

What I like about these chicken wings is that they are grilled plain on the bar-b-que and then dunked after into the sauce.

From the book on my shelf: I used the recipe for Grilled Basque Wings - Thrill of the Grill by Chris Schlesinger & John Willoughby the ingredients included, as I changed them: Garlic; Lemon Juice; Olive Oil; Habanero; Fresh Oregano; Salt and Pepper; and Chicken Wings.

And from The Joy of Grilling by Joe Famularo I followed, sort-of, the recipe for Grilled Potato and Grilled Onion Salad. My ingredients: Potatoes; Olive Oil, Onions; Vinegar; Lemon Juice; Green Onions; Fresh Thyme; Salt and Pepper.

And my approximate carbohydrate tally for supper-

Grilled Basque Wings ≈ 0.0 grams
Grilled Potato and Onion Salad ≈ 25.0 grams
Shock Top Belgian White Beer ≈ 15.0 grams
Ice Cream ≈ 40.0 grams

My unscientific and approximate total ≈ 80.0 grams

This morning’s results –

FSB – 98 ↓ down 108 (Normal range 100 – 125 mg/dL)
A1c – 5.37 ≈ 5.37 (Normal range 5.7 – 6.4 %)
eAG – 107.4 ↓ down 107.5 (Normal range 117 – 137 mg/dL)

Tune in tomorrow to Jim’s Gotta Eat to see the comparison of the results...and the set up a new Supper Showdown.

Food for thought – Try not to eat too late in the evening. Manage the amount of food that I eat. Do not over eat because my eyes see good food.

I am trying to control my diabetes with exercise and food. I have eliminated all diabetes medication. I am keeping my weight stable, and Jim's gotta eat.

Enjoy.

Jim

JGE 105 – Supper Showdown – Kakavia +++

Good Day,

My 4th of July meals were a celebration of foods from all over the place and the world.

This morning’s blood sugar count showed a net zero change from my last posting 2 days ago. And the early morning FSB recorded at 100 mg/dL. It actually increased by 2 points as compared to yesterday.

Lunch – Poutine, Cuban, and Yuca Fries and a beer at Cigar City BrewPub.

Supper last night was my, throw in the pot, Kakavia.

Another Greek name is Psarosoupa, but I found it easier to pronounce Kakavia. Another name/version might be a Bouillabaisse; also Cioppino; bottom line – a Seafood Stew.

My guide recipe was from the site Kalofagas | Greek Food & Beyond.

My ingredients included: Onion, Garlic, Celery, Carrot, Potatoes, Spanish Olive Oil, Jamaican All-Spice, Black Peppercorns, Salt with Fennel and Garlic, Star Anise, Bay Leaves, Saffron, Dry White Wine, Chicken Stock, Tomatoes, Cilantro, and Lemons. The seafood ingredients included: Cobia, Cod, Shrimp, Mussels, and Clams.

And my dessert was a slice of Whole Foods’ Apple Pie with a slice of Irish Cheddar Cheese

And my approximate carbohydrate tally for lunch and supper-

Poutine ≈ 53.0 grams
Cuban ≈ 56.0 grams
Yucca Fries ≈ 58.0 grams
Beer ≈ 38.0 grams
Kakavia ≈ 10.0 grams
Slice of White Whole Wheat Flax Bread ≈ 14.8 grams
Apple Pie ≈ 47.0 grams
Irish Cheddar Cheese ≈ 1.0 grams

My unscientific and approximate total ≈ 277.8 grams

This morning’s results –

FSB – 100 ↑ up 98 (Normal range 100 – 125 mg/dL)
A1c – 5.35 ≈ 5.35 (Normal range 5.7 – 6.4 %)
eAG – 106.8 ↓ down 106.8 (Normal range 117 – 137 mg/dL)

Tune in tomorrow to Jim’s Gotta Eat to see the comparison of the results...and the set up a new Supper Showdown.

Food for thought – Try not to eat too late in the evening. Manage the amount of food that I eat. Do not over eat because my eyes see good food.

Yesterday I began my new exercise routine on a new Jim’s Trek Part V.

I am trying to control my diabetes with exercise and food. I have eliminated all diabetes medication. I am keeping my weight stable, and Jim's gotta eat.

Enjoy.

Jim

JGE 104 – Supper Showdown – Moroccan Beef Meatball Tangine – Down 1

Good Day,

This morning’s early morning blood sugar count is down by a net of 1 point to 100 mg/dL.

The last time I reported my FSB and my Supper Showdown was 6 days ago. Supper last night was my twist on a Moroccan Beef Meatball Tangine.

And yes I do not have a tangine.

I used the Bon Appetit’s recipe as my basis.

Ingredients included: Ground beef; Egg; Panko Bread Crumbs; grated Onion; Ginger; Garlic, Tumeric; Paprika; Cumin; Cinnamon; Nutmeg; Saffron; Cilantro; 6 In 1 Tomatoes; Chick Peas; Carrots; Raisins; Olives, Chili Pepper, Salt, Pepper, Beef Stock, Lemon and Couscous.

And yes I had two scoops of Rocky Road Ice Cream with a couple of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

And my approximate carbohydrate tally -

Moroccan Beef Meatball Tangine ≈ 46.7 grams
Couscous ≈ 36.0 grams
Rocky Roads Ice Cream ≈ 40.0 grams
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies ≈ 38.0 grams

Approximate total ≈ 160.7 grams

This morning’s results –

FSB – 100 ↓ down 101 (Normal range 100 – 125 mg/dL)
A1c – 5.36 ≈ 5.36 (Normal range 5.7 – 6.4 %)
eAG – 107.0 ↓ down 107.1 (Normal range 117 – 137 mg/dL)

Tune in tomorrow to Jim’s Gotta Eat to see the comparison of the results...and the set up a new Supper Showdown.

Food for thought – Try not to eat too late in the evening. Manage the amount of food that I eat. Do not over eat because my eyes see good food.

And from diaTribe Adam’s Corner – "…light walking lowers blood sugar more than you would expect – I found a drop of 1 mg/dl per minute of walking. There is lots of research to suggest that walking after meals really blunts the rise in post-meal blood glucose."

And oh yeah, I am planning to start tomorrow on a new Jim’s Trek Part V.

Nearly forgot, The Pack's suppertime menu - Blue Buffalo: Small Adults -

I am trying to control my diabetes with exercise and food. I have eliminated all diabetes medication. I am keeping my weight stable, and Jim's gotta eat.

Enjoy.

Jim