Keto?? Yes, I fell down that rabbit hole and it’s working for me!

Seasonal Diet of the Pandemic
Controlling my weight as a chef and a baker — and basically someone who just loves all food — has always been a challenge. My usual procedure is work really hard on some kind of quick weight loss plan (never lasts) or a plan like Weight Watchers (the best, most sustainable program out there), lose the 20 pounds, keep it off for about 2 years, and then get bored of all the accountability, lose the plot, and then before I know it I'm eating chocolate chip cookies and I am doomed. Sugar is my crack and almost as addictive.

I have learned I am better with a plan that has strict rules and suggested menus to follow. I love a challenge, and I like to develop recipes to meet whatever crazy palette of ingredients I am currently allowed. So the keto diet has been my pandemic challenge. It's not easy to follow. To do it right, I have to monitor the macros of everything I eat (I use the free version of My Fitness Pal) to get the right percentage of fat (massive amounts of fat), protein, and carbs (the new enemy) as well as testing my blood and glucose to see if I have successfully reached ketosis — which is when your body burns fat and weight starts to disappear. Fat is now my friend, which is so weird!

If you are interested, there is a huge amount of info on the web as well as some great books I'll list at the end of this post.

After almost 4 months, I am down 15 pounds and at my goal weight. Anyone who has ever had a weight issue knows the really hard work is keeping it off. But I am going to keep my expectations realistic and not beat myself up. One of my favorite parts of this challenge has been all the discoveries that taught me new ways to use ingredients to create some of the foods I no longer eat — like bread!

I would like to share 3 recipes which are delicious, nutritious and kind of cool: hearts of palm bread (GF); celery root, butternut squash, and bacon rösti; and mocha mousse. They are all Keto, so remember they are high in fat and calories but low in protein and carbs. The orgiginal recipe sources are linked, but I've made a number of changes in some of these recipes.

Celery Root, Butternut Squash, Bacon and Parmesan Rösti

Adapted from Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan

Ingredients
2 slices sugar-free bacon, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded raw celery root
1/2 cup shredded raw butternut squash
1 shallot
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove fresh crushed garlic
1 egg

Procedure
In a 10 inch sauté pan, cook the bacon until mostly crisp. Remove bacon and save the fat. While the bacon cooks, combine the shredded celery root, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, and egg and mix well. Put 2 tablespoons bacon fat back into the sauté pan. Add the celeriac mixture to the pan with the cooked bacon in it and stir well. With the back of a large spoon, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a round cake.

Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the bottom is dark golden brown and crisp, and the top is softened. Put into 375 oven for 15 minutes. Carefully place a serving plate over your pan and flip the cake onto it crispy side up. Serve it hot, garnished with more parsley if you like.

Hearts of Palm Bread

Adapted from I Breathe I'm Hungry by Mellissa Sevigny

Ingredients
1 (14 ounce) can of hearts of palm, well drained (equals about 8 ounces drained weight, or 1 1/2 cups sliced)
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups super-fine blanched almond flour
2/3 cup coconut flour
3 tablespoons psyllium husk powder
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt (sea salt or Himalayan salt preferred)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9.5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Combine the hearts of palm, eggs, olive oil, and water in a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour into the mixing bowl of your stand mixer. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder and salt.

Mix with a dough hook on low to medium for 1 to 2 minutes or until a dough is formed. If you don’t have a stand mixer, mix by hand with a sturdy spoon for several minutes, then knead by hand for a minute or two, until you have a well-blended and uniform-looking dough.

Form into a loaf about 8 inches long by 3 inches wide and 3 inches high, and place in the parchment-lined loaf pan. Bake for 70 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the bread has risen by about 1 inch.

Remove from the oven and carefully lift the loaf out of the pan by the edges of the parchment paper. Place the loaf (without the parchment paper) on a wire rack too cool. This will keep it from getting soggy on the bottom, and will allow any moisture to evaporate as steam. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Store the bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Note: most forms of Psyllium husk will turn your bread a slight purple grey. This does not affect flavor, but the recipe creator recommends Healthworks brand because it never turns her baked goods purple.

Mocha Mousse

Adapted from from Ruled.Me

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup granulated Swerve
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated Swerve

Procedure
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Next, blend in the vanilla extract, Swerve, cocoa powder, and coffee powder until incorporated and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add Swerve and beat a bit more. Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Be sure to not deflate the bubbles. Fold in the remaining 2/3 of the mixture until the whipped cream is evenly incorporated.

Transfer the mousse into 6 8-ounce ramekins and refrigerate until set, then just eat it all.

some more keto resources:

• The Complete Ketogenic Diet for Beginners by Amy Ramos
• The Keto Diet by Leanne Vogel
• Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan
• Sweet and Savory Fat Bombs by Martina Slajerova
• All Day I Dream About Food
• KetoConnect
• Ruled.me

Celery Root Latkes with Pastrami

Nice New Nibbles
I love celery root, but I basically have a limited list of things I do with it: celery root remoulade; whipped potato and celery root puree; cream of celery root soup. So you can imagine my delight when I came across this recipe at Food52. I love latkes, I love pastrami (though I never eat it), and I love pickles — put them all together and you have a great treat! I used turkey pastrami which has way less fat and is really quite tasty. So here is the recipe:

Ingredients for latkes
2 1/2 pounds celery root, trimmed and peeled (about 4 medium celery roots)
1 medium yellow onion, peeled
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup matzo meal
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Ingredients for topping
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces thinly sliced pastrami, at room temperature or warmed
3 kosher dill pickles, thinly sliced on the bias

Procedure
Heat the oven to 250°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet and set aside.

Using the medium-coarse shredding disk of a food processor, shred the celery root and onion and place in a large bowl. Add the eggs, matzo meal, and measured salt and pepper and stir to combine; set aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until a piece of celery root instantly sizzles when dropped in, about 4 to 5 minutes. Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop up the celery root mixture, tightly pack it, and carefully drop it into the pan. Repeat until you have 4 mounds. Using a spatula, gently press each mound into a flat disk about 1/2 inch thick. Fry undisturbed until the bottoms of the latkes are golden brown, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Flip and fry until the latkes are golden brown on the other side, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more. Transfer the latkes to the rack on the prepared baking sheet, season with salt, and place in the oven to keep warm. Using a slotted spoon, skim and discard any bits of latke remaining in the pan. Repeat frying the remaining celery root mixture 4 latkes at a time until all of the mixture has been used. (Make sure to skim the remaining bits of latke between each batch.)

To assemble, spread about 1 teaspoon of the mustard mixture on each latke. Divide the pastrami among the latkes. Top with the pickle slices and serve immediately.

Celery Root Remoulade

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
This is a favorite of mine and I'm sure I posted it before, but it's part of the whole classic French cooking class I did last week, so I thought I would post it again.

Ingredients
1 pound Celery Root, peeled and washed
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 small dill pickles, diced
4 large pitted green olives, chopped
3 Tablespoons capers
Apple slices for garnish

Procedure
Shred the celery root in the food processor. Combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon, sherry vinegar, and tarragon. Toss with celery root. Add diced pickles, olives, and capers. Let sit in refrigerator overnight to tenderize the celery root. Serve chilled over greens and garnish with apple slices.

Celery Root Remoulade

Bonus Holiday Recipe of the Week
This is one of my favorite recipes of all times. It's better made the day ahead so the flavoring soaks into the celery root. I know it's an ugly-looking root, but once you cut off the outside it's just beautiful. This time of year I find it at Smith's, go figure!

Ingredients
2 pounds celery root
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 shakes Worcester sauce
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons capers
2 sour dill pickles diced small
6 large pitted green olives diced small
2 teaspoons aged Sherry wine vinegar
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon

Procedure
Use a serrated knife to peel the celery root of all the brown outer portions, like peeling a pineapple. Cut the celery root into chunks and grate them using the shredding blade in a food processor fitted with the coarsest grating blade, or by hand. Place the celery root in a large bowl, and add everything else. Let sit in fridge overnight. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Celery Root and Wild Rice Soup

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Santa Fe is known for many things... Deborah Madison and the Farmer's Market are just two of them. This recipe is from Debra’s Local Flavors cookbook, and it's for a nice autumnal soup made with celery root and wild rice.

Ingredients
1/2 cup wild rice
1 celery root, about 1 pound
2 large leeks, white part only
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 piece of celery diced
1 cup thinly sliced Russet potatoes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
1 fresh Thyme sprig
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups half-and-half
drizzle of truffle oil (optional)

Procedure
Cover the wild rice with 5 cups water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover for 45 minutes, or until rice is tender. Set aside till the end. Thickly cut and trim celery root to remove nasty outside, then cube into bite-size pieces. You should get 3 cups. Chop the leek, rinse well, and drain. Melt the butter in a soup pot and add vegetables, parsley, thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and bay leaf. Cook 5 minutes. Now add stock, bring to a boil, and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add half-and-half and simmer till everything feels tender. Take out 1 cup of vegetables and soup, puree, then add back to soup pot. This will thicken the soup! Adjust salt and pepper. Divide into 4 warmed soup bowls, fill with soup, and add a mound of wild rice to the center of each bowl. Drizzle with truffle oil before serving. Top with a little extra chopped parsley.