Low Carb (Keto) Strawberry Pound Cake

The other day while everyone was panic buying shopping I found a quart of beautiful strawberries. I like strawberries and keto likes me to have a few strawberries so everyone is happy. Except the keto police only like me to eat four or five strawberries a day and that quart had a lot more than those few. Next I had to decide what to do with the surplus, since they tend to get too soft after a couple of days, and my freezer contains a full bag of frozen excess from past purchases.

While browsing keto recipes I found one that I thought might be worth trying, so I made it because I can't go anywhere so I might as well cook. I know I could also clean, but, cleaning is cleaning, and that is my least favorite thing to do. And yes I know I have to clean the kitchen after I cook, but somehow it still counts (at least in my brain) as part of the cooking process and is therefore immune to my disdain for housework.

Strawberry Pound Cake

4  tablespoons butter, softened
1/2  cup Swerve
4  eggs
1  teaspoon vanilla
1/4  cup sour cream
1 1/4  cup almond flour
1/4  cup coconut flour
1/4  cup  golden flax meal
1  tsp baking powder
1/4  tsp salt
1/2  cup chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 350. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of a loaf pan. Grease the paper and the sides of the pan with butter. (be generous)
With a mixer cream the butter and sweetener until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time mixing after each one.
In a small bowl mix  the flours, meal, baking powder, and salt until thoroughly combined. Fold in the strawberries. Pour into loaf pan and spread evenly.
Bake at 350 for 45-60 min until golden, firm to the touch. Take it out of the oven and let it cool in the pan. Do not do what I did and try to remove it while it is warm. Keto baking firms as it cools. In the picture you will notice the gigantic crack that resulted from my impatience.

Once it is cool remove it from the pan (this is where the parchment paper lining pays off in spades)  and slice.
Since I realized there was going to be a ton left over I put all the slices except the two we were eating on a cookie sheet and stuck them in the freezer until they were frozen. Then I put them in a zip lock bag. The next time we have them I will just put them out on a plate until they are thawed.

This was really good and better than I expected. If it had not been lazy I would have whipped some cream which would have been exceptionally good. Next time I will. I still have 8 slices in the freezer!

This was good, it's keto and I could have my cake  and eat it without the guilt!

Feed Me Seymour

Because the threat of a pandemic impacting anyone is real  I have to take it seriously. I am just tired of it being the focus of my time and mind, so I decided to go ahead and switch gears and do a little meal planning/prepping. For once I might actually stay somewhat close to my plan because I am definitely trying to limit my exposure as much as I possibly can, which is virtually impossible. Mom has 5 different sitters and I am exposed exponentially to every single person they come in contact with, not to mention every single person I happen upon. And I still have to go see Mom daily, plus I still have to take her to her dr. appointments. We are trying to limit her exposures also, but again, see above! Short of total isolation there is no way we can stay away from the possibility of it.

But geez, did I ever digress!

Last week I planned our meals based mainly on our leftovers:
1. Chinese leftovers
2. Spaghetti or noodles with leftover meat sauce, tossed salad
3. Leftover chili  (TheHub) or chicken soup (me)
4. Leftover chicken and dumplings (TheHub), huge tossed salad, asparagus
5. Soup and grilled cheese sandwich (TheHub) or grilled chaffle sandwich (me)
6.Hamburger patties, mashed potatoes or caulimash, broccoli
7. Dinner out (We have a fundraiser to attend)

And this is what really happened:

Monday: Chinese leftovers 

Tuesday: Leftover chicl (TheHub), chicken soup,(me) coleslaw

Wednesday:Takeout Crustless pizza from Papa Murphy's

Thursday: No idea what we she

Friday: Spaghetti sauce over pasta or zoodles, tossed salad
Saturday: Grilled burger patties, mashed potatoes or caulimash, broccoli, tomato cake and red onion salad/
Sunday: Pan seared scallops, asparagus, baked potato (or not) steamed carrots (or not) leftover tomato sure and red onion salad. keto crustless coconut pie 

And now I have decided (at least right now) to have the following based on only things I already have in the house. Since I can't really go anywhere I might as well make some delicious things, right? As usual the meals are in no particular order, but the St Patricks Day meal is pretty evident. 

We usually eat out at least once a week. In an effort to keep a little distance between us and the rest of the world we are "eating out" at home this week.  We are going to eat by candlelight in the dining room twice this week, with background music playing.  The actual food served might be lackluster but the intent will be there. 

We are also planning to go to the lake for the weekend, so I am including the meals we will have there. (We can't get a whole lot more isolated than we are at the lake.)

And this is what may actually happen.

1. Stuffed bell pepper, caulitato salad toasted bread (keto or regular) keto strawberry pound cake with whipped cream
2. Corned beef, cabbage, potatoes  and carrots (or no potatoes and carrots) keto chocolate mint truffles
3. Crustless ham frittata, tossed salad, brussels sprouts, keto coconut flour cookies
4. Chicken something or the other with mashed potatoes or caulimash, carrots, sliced tomatoes, crustless coconut pie
5. BLT on real bread or chaffles , tossed salad
6. Chili (probably the last for the year. Not what I really want but it is extremely portable) keto cornbread, coleslaw
7. Sausages with kraut and potatoes (or not) green beans.

Sunday afternoon I got a little busy making some of these  things for the week and plan on making a few more to keep me out of the store compliment dinner time. 

This is what I made/ need to make
1. Keto dinner rolls
2. Keto strawberry pound cake
3. Keto coconut custard pie
4. Keto coconut flour chocolate chip cookies
5. Keto cinnamon cookies
6. Keto cornbread

Wishing each and every one of you a healthy week!

p.s. Just in case you are bored out of your skull and need some entertainment The Metropolitan Opera is offering free screenings of several operas for the next couple of weeks.  This is the link https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/met-to-launch-nightly-met-opera-streams-a-free-series-of-encore-live-in-hd-presentations-streamed-on-the-company-website-during-the-coronavirus-closure/
I know I want to see a couple of them! It will be like almost being there except I will be in sweats and a tee shirt

All Dressed Up And Nowhere To Go

Ugh! Right now I am feeling trapped and am sort of pacing between the kitchen and laundry room. Church has been canceled for at least the next two weeks and Sunday afternoons we usually go to the movies. Not today though. We are just hanging out at the house.and though I do not want to give up living like I normally do, normal is changing rapidly here in The States.

We had several events scheduled for this weekend and next week and all have been cancelled, except for the touring Broadway play (and I look for a notification that it is cancelled soon). If not, then next Sunday I will be seeing Waitress.

So now I wonder, do I clean the laundry room which needs a good stem to stern cleaning, do I prep a lot of foods to fill my already overstuffed freezer,  work in the yard which is filled with blowing pollen, have an in house beauty day with self manicures and facial masks, or do I make a cup of coffee and go binge watch some Netflix series?
Binge watching sounds best to me!

Meanwhile I will leave you all with a Facebook post I saw today. It hit home with me.

Breaking News:

Going outdoors Not Cancelled
Music Not Cancelled 
Family Not Cancelled
Reading Not Cancelled 
Friends  Not Cancelled
Singing  Not Cancelled
Laughing Not Cancelled
Hope Not Cancelled

Let's embrace what we have!

10th Week of Joys

As my usual intro for this post goes, so does this one.  I try to catalog my joys each day. My plan is to sit down on New Year's Eve and read each post to see how joyful every day could be if I just looked for the things that brough smiles and happiness. This is my list for the 10th week of the year.

Wednesday: After having Mom in the ER for hours I was overjoyed she was released to go home. I was equally overjoyed that the ER doc issued a request for medical transport back  to her house.  She was totally unwilling to walk or sit because of the pain. Her tolerance level to discomfort is very low and she even yells and winces when the blood pressure cuff inflates. Before we left she was given an infusion for pain, got home, drank a little water then went to sleep and slept through the night. Another joy!

Thursday: Son3 and DIL3 flew in from New York for a long weekend. We have not seen them since June so it was a great joy for them to be here. Later Son2 and DIL2 came over for dinner also and we had a lot of conversations and laughter. We do have a hard and fast family rule though, no discussions of politics or religion during mealtime so we mainly talk about the funny or embarrassing things we have all done. I think focusing on laughter is critical!

Friday: Late Thursday night Son3 and I went to Mom's house to put the alarm pad on her bed. Though not comatose she was almost lifeless, lying in her bed and unable to speak above a whisper. Son3 was very upset and so was I. It is the worst I have seen yet. I even slept with my phone in my bed just in case the overnight care giver called to tell me to get down there immediately.
What a surprise when I went to her house the next morning. She not only was up and talking, (from about 2 am through 7)  but she was fighting mad because things were not going her way. So my joy would be not getting a call during the middle of the night that something had happened, and of course having our visitors

Saturday: We are taking the Corona virus precautions, but I do think it is funny that people are learning the need for hand washing. I am a hand washer and wash mine all the time, but will also admit I keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse 100 % of the time. Who would have thought hand sanitizer would become an almost black market commodity? I have been unable to find any but did find  a "recipe" for some DIY stuff. My joy was rather simple this day. TheHub and I went to Sprouts where we found plenty of aloe vera gel, as well as a couple of small bottles of hand sanitizer. It's the simple things in life, right?
Oh yes, I almost forgot a huge joy. Son3 and DIL3 need a bigger apartment so they had looked at a few before leaving town. While they were here Saturday, they got a call that they were approved for one. I forget that in NYC you don't just rent a place, but you have to provide personal details about your life and career then be approved by the board. I guess they were deemed acceptable!

Sunday: We were able to have a nice little pre-birthday party for Mom. It was TheHub, me, Sons 2 and 3,  DILs 2 and 3, My Beloved Sister, BIL, Mom and her sitter. Mom seemed to know what was going on and enjoyed everyone being there, even though she could not really follow conversations. Son3 played the piano while DIL3 sang. Mom even got up for a minute and "danced" with DIL2. It was the best gift anyone could ever give her.

Monday: The visiting duo flew back Monday evening and the visit was a huge success. We loved having them here. TheHub and I ate Chinese leftovers, put on seriously soft clothes and socked in for the night for some serious tv watching. I think we watched 3 episodes of Hunters, a new Amazon original series. The first episode made no real sense to me but by the second one it turned into a series with a lot of potential. I think we are really going to enjoy it.

Tuesday: It looked like Mom might have suffered a TIA overnight. As the day progressed it seemed less and less likely that it happened and most likely she had just slept funny and her face was kind of crinkled from an odd sleeping position. My joy was that she was doing OK until later in the night when I got a call from the caregiver that she was being combative. She is on waiting lists for several places but  we are even considering some less than stellar nursing homes now.

I am sure there were more joys but I wrote this after the company was gone so I am positive I left out a lot. I hope everyone reading this found joy somewhere in their week.  Cheers for an excellent week 11!

Meals That Mostly Did Not Happen

This was the meal plan I had come up with for the past week, but we had some major changes in our plan so it pretty much got tossed out the window. For the most part the changes were surprising and good, but as usual there was one Mom snafu.

 Anyhow, this was the plan:

1. Keto chicken and dumplings, coleslaw, keto cornbread (TheHub actually likes this)
2. Reuben chaffles with pickles and coleslaw
3. Hamburger patties with keto gravy and mushrooms, baked potato or no,t  broccoli, roll or keto roll
4. Spaghetti sauce over pasta or zoodles, tossed salad
5. Orange ginger chicken, rice or caulirice, stir fried veggies, coconut pie
6. Keto chicken enchilada casserole, tossed salad, niblet corn or not, keto flan
7. Out to eat

And this is what really happened:

Monday:  I spent a good bit of the day messing around in the kitchen. After cooking 10 pounds  of chicken quarters, then cooking the bones into a super thick rich broth, I was chickened out. I had seen a recipe for Rye Chaffles and thought it might be quite good on a reuben sandwich which would use up some leftover corned beef. So Monday turned into a sandwich night before going to see about Mom. She fell __again__ and might have cracked a rib. My Beloved Sister and I decided the risk of her contracting some other illness  in the ER late at night was greater than the risk of leaving her un X-rayed. I hated it for her and I hated that I had not ordered a bed alarm. It was ordered along with a gait belt.
Reuben Chaffles with a side of pickles and regret!

Tuesday: We are part of the Super Tuesday voters, and TheHub and I decided to go vote together and then go out for an inexpensive meal. Instead we drove to a local food truck and brought a sack of deliciousness home. We both had chicken arepas, but both fillings were different. I really did want to eat the bread, but I left it in the bag. Bummer!
Chicken Arepas, tossed salad (because I had some already tossed in the fridge)

Wednesday: Tuesday Mom was unwilling to leave her bed Tuesday so we gave her another day before having her back looked at. By Wednesday it was evident I would not be able to get her into my car to take her to the dr. Instead I arranged for an ambulance and we just went to the emergency room. The ER doc was a lovely man and after examining Mom for about 6 hours and determining she had fractured 2 vertebrae, she was released to go home. I had nothing ready for dinner so TheHub and I tried (unsuccessfully) to dodge the deluge and went to a local BBQ joint.
Pulled pork with coleslaw and collards. 

Thursday:  Son3 and DIL3 came into town in the late afternoon.  After a post flight snack of cheese and crackers, or just cheese for the ketonian (sounds like a civic club member doesn't it) we waited around a bit talking. About an hour and a half later Son2 and DIL 2 came to join up for dinner and a lot of laughter.
Spaghetti or zoodles with meat sauce, tossed salad and  dinner rolls (or no rolls)

Friday: Son3 and DIL 3 were able to take my car and do some running around during the day.Because I was unable to run down to Mom's, I got some chores I normally don't have time for done, plus I read a bit. Yea! 
They decided to eat dinner here but were meeting some friends for drinks after. Since drinks were planned we acted as chauffeurs and dropped them off. TheHub and I ran a couple of errands then went to a coffee shop for a little caffeine and conversation until they called us to be picked up.
 Chicken and dumplings or keto chicken and dumplings

Saturday: Son2 and DIL2 invited us all over to their house for dinner. I had not been there since shortly after they moved in. I love what they have done to the place. DIL2 has great taste and Son2 is a really nice weekend carpenter! They made dinner from scratch and it was delicious!
Chicken in mushroom sauce, risotto (or not) asparagus, tossed salad and focaccia

Sunday: While 2 of 3 sons and their spouses were available we went to Moms in the late afternoon for a little birthday celebration. Her actual birthday is not until Thursday, but she was able to have a little festivities a few days early. 
We decided since Son3 and DIL3 were in town we wanted to take them out to eat, but we also wanted to be somewhat mindful of a budget so we went to Red Pearl, our favorite Chinese restaurant. (If you are ever there ask for the basil chicken. It is not on the menu but it is delicious) Son2 and DIL2 also love Red Pearl so we asked them also. 
While we were there we learned how to play a new game called "What are the Odds". I am not going to go into the rules of the game right now, but every time our server came to the table I had to do a jazz hands motion and say "Jingle Jangle". The game was fun but a tad embarrassing. 
Assorted Chinese dishes shared with the table

The wrap up:

After finding Son3 and DIL3 were coming to town, and Mom had her issue I punted my meal plans for the most part. Our main objective when they are here is to make sure they can do whatever they want to, while we stay available for visiting with them during the gaps. I can always cook on a plan, but I can't create more time with them, so I will gladly sacrifice the plan, for time with  people I love every single time. 
I created this new plan for the week and will either follow it or not. It just depends on the week

1. Chinese leftovers
2. Spaghetti or noodles with leftover meat sauce, tossed salad
3. Leftover chili  (TheHub) or chicken soup (me)
4. Leftover chicken and dumplings (TheHub), huge tossed salad, asparagus
5. Soup and grilled cheese sandwich (TheHub) or grilled chaffle sandwich (me)
6.Hamburger patties, mashed potatoes or caulimash, broccoli
7. Dinner out (We have a fundraiser to attend)


p.s. This. should have been posted yesterday, but DIL3 and Son3 did not leave until later in the day and I wanted to spend time with them and not spend time on the computer.

Joy for the ninth week

If you have been reading this blog you know that I have been keeping up with the joys I find each day. My goal is to read them in New Years Eve just to remind myself that every single day has something joyful. I hope to reflect on every good thing and truly appreciate each day. If you haven’t read them before, welcome and it is a joy to have you here.

Feb. 26  Found a sale on things Mom needed and also rented the movie Jo Jo Rabbit. I enjoyed it but I am not sure I understand how it was nominated for a best movie award.

Feb, 27  Picked up a very discounted corned beef from Aldi and decided to go ahead and cook it just to see if the flavor was worth the savings. It was delicious and I made plans to go pick up at least 2 more before the sale ended.

Feb. 28 Met a substitute sitter for Mom. She was a delight and I felt good about leaving Mom with her the following day. After work, TheHub and I went to Mooyah for a delicious hamburger. As an added plus__ they actually have a keto burger on their menu. After eating we went to Aldi for the corned beef sale. Then we hit Sprouts for a couple of things that were in their ad. We are pretty exciting aren't we.

Feb. 29 This had to be the biggest joy I have had in a long time. We went to the inaugural talent show for Unless U, an academic and social facility for adults with special needs. It was held at the Lyric Theater  which is an old, restored to its former glory, venue. The beautiful setting was the perfect place to contain all the joy both from the participants and everyone who came out to support them. What an outstanding show/ fundraiser. I am not sure who enjoyed it more, those on stage or those in the audience.
After the performance the audience was milling around in the lobby talking to all the various participants. I am seriously claustrophobic so I told TheHub to take his time and talk to whomever he wanted, but I was going to wait outside. 700 plus people in a tight space is just more than I can bear. While I waited I watched the doors where people were slowly exiting and did not see one person who did not come out smiling, though most were grinning from ear to ear. That is what I call one successful show!
Btw in 2 years the organization has raised almost 1.5 million in capital funds for their new building .  Their goal is to build it debt free. Hopefully after Saturday night they met their goal. Kudos all around!

March 1  I thought about celebrating the arrival of a new month but didn't. The day was a typical Sunday for us__church, lunch, nap, 60 minutes, and of course food. I guess I had 2 joys for the day. I had cooked several things in advance, so the chili for dinner was made and just had to be heated, and I did not have to go to Mom's. My Beloved Sister and I swap days on the weekend so each one of us has a day free from having to go. I am at Mom's 6 days a week so the one day of not going is almost like a vacation.

March 2 Mid morning I got a phone call from Son3 with some surprising news. He and DIL3 are
planning on coming for a visit. This is a huge joy since we have not seen them in quite a while! One other small joy is when I set up the new computer I did not  lose my Spotify play list. I have an extensive list I curated over a few years with over 50 categories. When I finally got it installed it was all there! Whoo hoo! I missed it terribly.

March 3 Mom was not doing so well after a fall late the night before. I went to her house early and there was no doubt she was hurting. My joy was taken from an old episode of M.A.S.H.  As most of you know Mom has dementia and mostly has no idea of what is going on. I had no rx pain medicines so I took two ibuprofen capsules and told her it was a very strong pain med so I was giving her a double dose. The placebo effect worked! She slept all day and through the night which gave me time to arrange special medical transportation for the following day.
 Because I spent a lot of time with her, I had nothing for dinner. TheHub and I picked up some takeout at an Argentinian food truck. Yum!

Back to the Table

I have been very lax planning menus lately, mostly because I was having to use my phone to post and frankly it just teed me off to no end, so I did not post anything really except for my weekly joys. Now that I have my new toy and have an actual keyboard rather than a key pad, life is so much easier for me, but I am still not able to utilize the computer for blog responses. Any help out there would be greatly appreciated.

Lent is in full swing now and one of the things I am doing to observe Lent is staying on keto without some of the breaks I tend to take. So I really do need to menu plan including whatever I need to make in addition to just the meals. Keto, at least for me is not easy when I am flying by the seat of my pants, especially around lunch time when I might be inclined to just eat crackers spread with peanut butter, or a turkey sandwich. For me to stay on it successfully I need things that are leftover but still satisfy my mouth, plus an occasional keto cookie or dessert helps tremendously.

This is the list of dinner possibilities for the upcoming week. I will try to cook enough for some leftovers I can have for lunch the next day. The meals are in no particular order and are based on things I have already bought. I begin this week with a ton of fresh vegetables, some strawberries and grapes, ground beef and many possibilities from the freezer.

1. Keto chicken and dumplings, coleslaw, keto cornbread (TheHub likes this)
2. Reuben chaffles with pickles and coleslaw
3. Hamburger patties with keto gravy and mushrooms, baked potato or no,t  broccoli, roll or keto roll
4. Spaghetti sauce over pasta or zoodles, tossed salad
5. Orange ginger chicken, rice or caulirice, stir fried veggies, coconut pie
6. Keto chicken enchilada casserole, tossed salad, niblet corn or not, keto flan
7. Out to eat

Needed to make:
Keto dinner rolls
Keto cornbread
Keto butter cookies
Keto coconut pie
Keto flan
Keto breakfast cereal or granola ✓
Keto caulimash (enough for 4 meals) ✓

Any of these I make will be much more than I need for the meal plan, so everything left will be frozen for  the upcoming weeks. The exception is the flan. It will need to be eaten immediately with any leftovers refrigerated and consumed within a day of two. I may or may not actually make it.

Hope you have a good food week!