1. Afghan Lamb with Spinach – 49.1%
2. Kasha with Walnuts and Mushrooms – 40.4%
3. Chicken en Brochette with Orange Marmalade and Sherry Marinade – 35.1%

Before I get to reviewing the recipes where I will do my best to be objective, you should know that I cannot be completely objective about Carol. She is my friend and mentor. One day I will write a post all about her when I can gather up all the words I need to express my admiration, gratitude, and love. For this book, all you need to know is that she is an award winning (IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award and James Beard Award) cookbook author , professionally trained nutritionist, and a type 2 diabetic.

*Recipes are shown here with Carol’s permission.

We loved the Afghan Lamb with Spinach! It’s not as heavy as you expect a lamb stew to be, but so satisfying, and not at all like “diet” food. We had it with some cous cous but rice or pita would be nice too. Neither of us are diabetic but these recipes should really just be seen as healthy, well proportioned recipes. The only danger is we ate too much of it!

Afghan Lamb with Spinach

• 1 pound lamb cubes
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• One 14-to-15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cups lightly packed spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Dust the lamb cubes with flour.

3. In a 3-quart nonstick ovenproof dutch oven or pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the lamb and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove lamb from the pot and set aside.

4. Add the onion and garlic to the pot; cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and pepper until absorbed. Stir in the tomatoes and water; then return lamb to the pot. Cover and place in oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the lamb is soft.

5. Remove the pot form the oven and stir in the spinach until it is wilted. Stir in the yogurt, lemon rind, and salt.

Serves: 4

Diabetic Exchanges: 2 3/4 lean meat; 2 vegetable; 1/4 milk; 2 1/2 fat

These chicken skewers are a nice inventive alternative to the way you’re used to making them, particularly if you like citrus flavors. The glaze just lightly sweetens the meat, which my readers know I like. The recipe calls for grilling or broiling and I would advise broiling because the marmalade causes the chicken to stick to the grill a bit.

Chicken en Brochette with Orange Marmalade and Sherry Marinade

• 1 1/2 pounds skinless and boneless chicken breast
• 1 medium mild onion (about 10 ounces), such as Vidalia or Wala Wala
• 1/3 cup sweet orange marmalade, divided
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry, divided
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the chicken and onion into 1 1/2-inch chunks.

2. In a large bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of marmalade, 2 teaspoons of the sherry, the mustard, 1/2 teaspoon of the soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Add the chicken and toss with the marinade. Add the onion and toss to coat. Let stand at least 20 minutes or longer in the refrigerator.

3. Heat grill or broiler.

4. String the onion and the chicken pieces alternately onto four 12-inch skewers; brush with the marinade; sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Place the skewers on the grill or across the top edge of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan lined with foil. Cook the chicken 4 inches form the heat 4 minutes per side until the chicken is cooked through.

5. While the chicken is cooking, in a small bowl combine the remaining orange marmalade (1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon), 1 teaspoon sherry, and 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce. Microwave on high for 30 seconds or until the marmalade has melted. Using a clean basting brush, bruth the cooked brochettes with the heated glaze. (If you do not have a microwave, just combine the glaze in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.)

Serves: 4 (1 skewer per person)

Diabetic Exchange: 1 bread; 1 other carbohydrate; 2 3/4 very lean meat; 2 vegetable

Lon doesn’t get to judge this one because he doesn’t like mushrooms. I love the nutty earthy flavors, but I’ve found that some people don’t. I like that crumbly whole grain-ness and I found that I liked this recipe even more when it cooled to room temperature.

Kasha with Mushrooms and Walnuts

• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup medium or large-grain kasha
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped portobello mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• salt to taste
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1. In a medium bowl, beat egg white and stir in kasha. In a dry 2-quart nonstick saucepan, cook mixture until the beaten egg has dried onto the kasha; remove form pan. Add vegetable oil, mushrooms, and onion to the saucepan. Cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes.

2. Add broth, pepper, and salt; bring to a boil. Stir in the reserved kasha and return to a boil. Cover and simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Let stand 5 minutes longer. Stir in walnuts.

Serves: 4

Diabetic Exchanges: 1/4 bread; 1/2 very lean meat; 1 vegetable; 1 3/4 fat

The overall feel of Diabetes Cooking for Everyone is a dedication to easy recipes, using readily available ingredients, accompanied with detailed nutritional information. It would make a wonderful gift for a loved one with diabetes, or I’d use it as a get-healthy book too.

Buy Diabetes Cooking for Everyone, by Carol Gelles.

I’ve been asked to review a cookbook, Diabetes Cooking for Everyone, by my friend and mentor, Carol Gelles. To do that, I need to select three recipes and try them but I’m having a hard time narrowing down which 3, so I need your help. I’ll be posting the recipe with pictures and my thoughts on the the three that are selected.

Voting ends August 19th, 11:59 PM

Chipotle

Fiesta Egg Roll
~about 10 egg rolls

Chipotle Rice

• 4 cups water, divided
• 1 oz Chipotle peppers, sliced
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup packed sliced scallions
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin
• kosher salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups white rice

Black Beans, Corn, Roasted Peppers, Cilantro

Black Bean Corn Salsa

• 1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15.25 oz) can whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
• 1/3 cup chopped roasted red pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Sour Cream-Chipotle Sauce

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 

  Cotija Cheese

  1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1/2 cup Chipotle puree (from what you made above)
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar + more as needed
• kosher salt and black pepper t0 taste

Assembly

• oil for frying
• about 10 egg roll wrappers
• 8 oz Cotija cheese
• small bowl of water
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Instructions -

1. Bring peppers and 2 cups of water to a boil in a small covered sauce pot. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Puree in a blender or with a stick blender. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large sauce pot. Sautee scallions, garlic, cumin, kosher salt, and black pepper. Stir occasionally until garlic starts to color, about three minutes. Add rice and saute until most of the rice has turned opaque, stirring frequently, about four minutes. Add one cup of the chipotle puree. Add enough water to cover mixture plus about an inch, approximately two cups. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover, and cook 15 minutes. When it’s done, remove from heat and fluff with fork.

3. While the rice is cooking, you can make the Black Bean Corn Salsa. Put black beans, corn, roasted pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl. Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, stir together vinegar, mustard, garlic, and cumin. Whisk in olive oil. Mix dressing into corm and black bean mixture. Toss and set aside.

5. For the Sour Cream Chipotle Sauce,  whisk all the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.

6. To assemble, place an egg roll wrapper on a flat surface. Spoon on some rice, towards one side, leaving room at the edges.

Top with black bean corn salsa, and then cotija cheese.

Fold in the sides and roll up. When you get to the end, dab your finger in the bowl of water and run along the end. That will help the end stick to the roll. Repeat to make all the egg rolls.

7. Heat oil. You can deep fry or pan fry. Both work, just heat oil to about 375 degrees F and fry until golden brown. Remove to paper towel lined plate.

8. Plate by cutting in half on a slant. Serve with Sour Cream-Chipotle Sauce and chopped cilantro.

So we’re holding the second of our FoodMayhem Reader’s Choice (the first was Crawfish Season). There are so many delicious ideas for grilled cheese that we’d like to do. But frankly cheese is dang expensive, so help us pick which combination you think would be best and we’ll whip it up.

The goal of each of these is to first focus on the cheese (most important); second is the bread; and finally details. We’ll keep this poll open until end of day, Friday, April 17, 2009.

Right before we left, Bill G wrote in our comments section:

“Very cool recipe. I have an idea for Food Mayhem. Once per month you should propose three recipe ideas and let your readers vote on the recipe they would most like to see you prepare and blog about.”

EMC showed interest in the idea:

“I second Bill G–you two make anything exciting, and it’s nice to be a part of the process!”

Thanks for the support everyone! So here we go… It’s crawfish season, but starting a bit slowly this year. So we want to make a crawfish dish around mid-March. We’ll leave voting open until March 14th.