CategoryFood

White Chicken Enchilada Casserole

February 11, 2020
3 Min read
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White enchilada casserole 

This is a Keto safe adaption of an enchilada casserole that Connie Nelson, an acquaintance from our time in the Netherlands shared with the American School of the Hague back in 1999. Perfect for left over roasted chicken, it has been modified to work in a moderate keto diet. It nods only vaguely to the delicious authentic Mexican dish, and it's certainly not Dutch. It's more like gooey comfort food. I occasionally play with the spices, sometimes adding jalapenos or even Indian chile pepper or even a touch of curry to the mix. Serve it with a nice salad and it makes a warm and filling meal for a cold wet evening.

Makes 16-8 large 'enchiladas'  |  ~6 g Carb each

  • 2 Cups cooked chicken cut into small strips
  • 1 cup chopped sautéed onion
  • 2 T Olive oil, coconut oil or butter
  • Small can of greens chilis (hatch is they are available)
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum to thicken the sauce (or a thickener of your choice such as Glucomannan or Guar Gum – or 1/3 C flour if you okay with more carbs)
  • 1 t cumin
  • ½ t cayenne pepper
  • 1 t salt
  • 2 ½ c chicken bone broth (or just broth) If this is salted eliminate or cut down above salt
  • 4 oz sour cream
  • 8 oz cream cheese (at room temperature if possible) sliced into 8 pieces
  • 1 ½ C grated cheddar cheese
  • 6-8 medium size low carb tortillas

Heat the oil in a large enough skillet to contain the meat and liquids. Add onions and fry for a few minutes. When they are soft but not browned add your spices (cumin & cayenne). Continue frying until fragrant and the onion begins to brown.

While the onions are frying mix your thickening agent into a cup of the broth. If you are using xanthan gum note that this behaves quite differently than flour or corn starch. A little goes a long way and it does not require heat to thicken and takes a lot more stirring. Mix using a whisk or a fork until the agent is fully dissolved.

When onions are ready add all the broth including that mixed with the thickener to the pan. Cook until just slightly thick and the mixture bubbles. Add the cream cheese in a piece at a time and let it melt. Add the chicken, sour cream, and green chilies to the mix.

Spoon the mixture into lightly oiled tortillas. Line tortillas in a row in a greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Fill around with extra sauce. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Back at 350 for 40 minutes. Cook with foil on for first half, remove foil for last half of cooking time.

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Squash & Tomato soup

January 23, 2020
3 Min read
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Squash & Tomato Soup was adapted from a New York Times recipe for ‘Turkish Pumpkin Soup’ by Martha Rose Shulman. It satisfies my desire for tomato soup – combined with the sweetness of allspice and cinnamon. Although I’m certain it would taste wonderful using broth and a different sort of canned tomato, I use my own bone broth made from scraps and bones in the instant pot and canned peeled San Marzano tomatoes (as part of my diet I avoid tomato peels and seeds as best as I can). Serve the soup with salt and pepper and if you like a dollop of yogurt or even cream cheese.

* This is not super low carb – it is moderate carb and depends on the ingredients used. Tomatoes and Squash both have moderate amounts of carbs in them and you really have to watch the labeling of yogurt. I’m very careful about reading labels before purchasing anything packaged. None the less, with care taken I personally still remain in a low level of ketosis most of the time. I estimate this contains approximately 11 g of carbs per serving using swerve (no sugar or honey) and without the topping.

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 peeled, seeded butternut or Delicata squash, diced
  • 3 cups chicken bone broth (preferably), chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
  • 1 large can of peeled San Marzano tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon sweetener (I use brown sugar style Swerve instead of sugar important for low carb folks! If low carb isn’t an issue you could use honey or sugar)
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ cup Plain or Vanilla Greek style yogurt (I like vanilla) or heavy cream or even some room temperature cream cheese
  • Aleppo pepper, Turkish red pepper or mild chili powder for garnish.
  1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic smells fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
  2. Add the tomatoes, squash, allspice, cinnamon, stock or water, rice, sweetener, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes (or pressure cook on high for 12 minutes in an instant pot).
  3. Using a stick blender, or in batches in a regular blender, purée the soup. If you use a regular blender please be careful to fill it only half way. The hot soup has a habit of pushing the lid off and jumping out to splatter all over everything. The NY Times recommends covering the top with a towel and pulling it down tight to prevent this from happening Return to the pot and heat through, stirring. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Swirl a tablespoon or two of yogurt (or other topping) into each bowl and sprinkle with the garnish.
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Roast Lamb with Herbs & Cream Cheese

January 21, 2020
2 Min read
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On a cold winter evening when the world is just…sad there is always good food for comfort. This recipe does it all, and guilt free from a low carb standpoint. Here is one of my favorites. The leftovers from this are awesome in any number of dishes, and it takes only about 1 1/2 hour from start to finish.

  • Butterflied leg of lamb, 3 to 4 lbs
  • 8 oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)
  • 2 to 3 T olive oil
  • 1/2 C parsley leaves
  • 1 T fresh rosemary leaves or 1 t dried rosemary
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic chopped or pressed
  • 1 t lemon zest
  • 1/2 t Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Trim excess fat from lamb. In a food processor, purée cream cheese, olive oil, parsley, rosemary, garlic, lemon zest and some salt and pepper.

2. Sprinkle lamb with salt and pepper on both sides, then turn so the side that had been on the bone(this will have an irregular surface), faces up, with the wider end facing you. Smear the surface of lamb with most of cream cheese mixture, then fold it in half so that it fits together with cream chesses on the inside. Tie if necessary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Place lamb in roasting pan and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until rare (130 degrees) or medium rare (135 degrees).
It is best to have the thermometer inserted from the beginning – do not continually poke any piece of meat you are cooking as it will leave it dry and tougher.

4. Let rest on cutting board for 1/2 the time it roasted (this is good practice for any roasted meat) before slicing. Serve with fresh lemon wedges.

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Recent Posts

Had a stroke. Changed my life. Food. Art. Health. Activism.

Delete & Repeat is my artist reflection on living a healthy lifestyle, including creative expression and really good food. Its name is derived from a 2017 stroke that disrupted my life. ‘Delete & Repeat’ became a mantra of frustration for me as I struggled to organize my thoughts and communicate properly.

At the time I was a full time artist working in various new media, happily programming and creating electronic sculpture, interactive video & maintaining a full schedule travelling teaching, and showing.  The stroke effected my cognitive abilities and effectively shut down my career.

It took time and a complete change of lifestyle to recover. Primary to my effort was diet – I undertook a combination of keto with the addition watching inflammation to both lose weight and regain clarity. I added in regular exercise and yoga – and pursued a regular practice of research and learning.

In the food section I will post some of the recipes I live by. These recipes I follow my personal guidelines – they are not all super low carb (I currently stay in a low level of ketosis without the need to actually lose additional weight). In the health section I will include information and links to information that I come accross and see as potentially helpful, as well as things that I believe have helped me including exercise and yoga as well as cognetive practice in research and learning.

I am not a health professional of any sort so please do your own research. Where possible I will notate references.

After several years of effort things are paying off. I’m writing and working again. My art had been paused – it just recently picked back up. I have also renewed my commitment to activism – so important in the troubled world we live in. I intend on helping to right wrongs wherever I can. With my art – and whatever else I can find.

My Name Is Karen

This blog is meant to reflect me as a whole. I choose at this time to not publish my complete name – I’m just not there yet. I need the safety net of anonymity to protect my first real attempts at art again. Just call me Karen, but throw the name’s stereotype out the window. I am simply me.

January 22, 2020