SOUTH BEACH SAGA CONTINUES

I'VE BECOME QUITE DETERMINED to stick with the program here and lose weight. I can say that I haven't really missed the bread and the pasta, but the sugar thing has been a real challenge. One never truly realizes how insidious something is until you stop using it or eating it and experiencing first hand the powerful stranglehold it has over you. I must confess that I've cheated on the sugar thing (chocolate or a cookie here and there) but my intake has dropped dramatically considering what I was consuming over the holidays. 

The most important thing, though, is that I have indeed LOST weight: 8 pounds and counting!

ROASTED ASPARAGUS, BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND TOMATOES

I was telling someone the other night that the South Beach diet has forced me to be inventive with meals (breakfast especially) but it hasn't proved to be uninteresting. One morning, for instance, I had a hamburger (organic meat) and a poached egg with a sliced tomato. I stretched out a bunch of roasted Brussel sprouts, asparagus and cherry tomatoes into 3 meals, with lots of variation. Completely satisfying and filling, to boot. I've had a few omelets along the way (all cooked with olive oil) as well as a chicken soup with vegetables, a fantastic salad with lardons and more. All of it without any bread, pasta, rice or dessert. Yogurt with cinnamon and almonds isn't bad either. I should qualify the dessert thing by saying that one can eat a sweet but it must be made with artificial sweetener. Cheese is allowed as well, so I will probably make Ricotta tomorrow or the next day. Topped with unsweetened cocoa powder and nuts can be pretty tasty. I also discovered that they now make artificial powdered sugar (now that would be interesting to try - once!). 

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

2 tbs. olive oil
2 lbs. Brussels Sprouts (washed but left untrimmed)
3 tsp. bacon (medium dice)
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Nutmeg (optional)

I leave the sprouts untrimmed because the root makes a terrific way to hold the sprout if you're going to dip them into something, bagna cauda for example. 

Preheat the oven at 350º (325º if using convection)

Heat the olive oil in a deep cast iron skillet and add the bacon. Sauté until the bacon begins to render some of its fat. 

Toss the Brussels sprouts in the pan with the bacon and oil, add the lemon juice and seasonings and place in the middle rack of the oven. Roast for about 45-60 minutes (depending on how crunchy or cooked you want them to be). Shake the pan every now and then to distribute the sprouts for an even roast.

Serve immediately or store in an air tight plastic container and refrigerate for later use.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS

I like flash roasting asparagus at a high temperature. They become very crisp - almost like French fries - but must be eaten immediately if prepared this way. 

Preheat oven to 425º (400º for convection).

2 lbs. Asparagus (ends cut off and stems trimmed)
2 tbs. olive oil
Salt and pepper
Juice of one lemon

Line a large roasting pan with aluminum foil. Place the asparagus on the foil, drizzle the oil and lemon juice on them and roll the asparagus back and forth on the foil to grease them evenly. Salt and pepper and roast in he oven for 30-35 minutes. They should become very crisp. Serve immediately.

If you want to use roasted asparagus on an antipasto platter, roast them in the same manner but at 350º for about 45 minutes. They won't be as crisp but you can serve them immediately or store in the refrigerate and serve either at room temperature or reheated. You can dip these into a sauce as well. It's delightful finger food!

ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES

2-3 boxes cherry tomatoes
2 tbs. olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tsp. dried thyme

Preheat oven to 350º (325º if using convection).

Pour the oil into a large cast iron skillet or roasting pan. Add the salt and the thyme and then the tomatoes. Roll the tomatoes around in the pan, add about 12 turns of the pepper mill and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes or an hour. I like to roast these longer to let them get crunchy;  the natural sugars help to caramelize the skins, preserving a lot of succulent tomato juice inside each tomato.

POACHED EGGS WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

POACHED EGGS

Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, crack 2 eggs (for one person) into a bowl and pour 1/4 cup of vinegar (plain distilled or cider will do nicely) into the bowl with the eggs and let rest while you're waiting for the water to boil. The vinegar will help the egg whites coagulate around the yolk.

When the water comes to the boil, gently pout the eggs and the vinegar into the pot. Gently stir from the bottom up to make sure the eggs don't stick to the bottom of the pan. You want to make the whites swirl around the yolk as you lift them up towards the surface. There will be a fair amount of egg white and foam that floats on the surface which you can ignore until it's time to take the eggs out of the water. Let the water boil for about 2-3 minutes before removing the eggs.

Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and cut away any extraneous egg white matter that hasn't become part of the poached egg. You should have a white pillow, similar to a ball of mozzarella, but encasing a beautiful semi-soft yolk. 

Serve immediately in the manner you like best.