I rarely used my kitchen scale in the past. Occasionally I would get it out for baking; or for actually following a recipe, but, usually, it was tucked out of site.
I've never been a precise cook; always following the Julia Child approach of a glug of this and a handful of that.
When I started posting recipes on my websites and other blog (see sidebar) I started actually measuring and making notes as I cooked.
Well, at least, I tried to... A lot of it was still a bit of guess work.
In most cases, a bit more or less pasta, chicken stock, cauliflower, cheese, etc. is not going to effect the final flavors or appearance in a recipe.
And most, if not all, of my measures were by volume, rather than by weight.
Most American recipes are by volume: 1 cup of this, 1/2 cup of that.
Most European recipes are by weight: 150gr of this, 200ml of that.
The notes I received from the dietitian were all in weights.
It's a lot more precise. Think about the difference in weight (and, therefore food) between 1 cup of small pasta (orzo) versus 1 cup of large pasta (rigatoni)
Out came the scale.
Of course, the guidelines were all for cooked food. Who measures cooked food? I'm too hungry by the time it's cooked to start measuring. Besides, what if it's combined with other foods?
So, I'm slowly doing my own charts.
He should have 30 grams of carbohydrates in the form of pasta, rice, potatoes or legumes at each meal.
He also should have 15 grams in the form of fruit but that's another day....
As it turns out, I would normally make 1/2 cup of brown or Basmati rice for the 2 of us.
1/2 cup of brown rice is 120gr (about 4oz) raw, or 280gr (about 10oz) cooked.
In 150gr (about 5oz) of cooked rice there is 30gr of carbohydrates.... Exactly what he is supposed to have.
Of course, that means that we can't have bread or legumes at that meal.
Or we could have 1/2 and 1/2.
So, while my recipes don't have to change, the way I combine foods will... Sometimes....
It's more important than ever to maintain a well-balanced diet. I have always striven to have fish, spinach, legumes, and a variety of grains at least once each every week. I find that if I don't pay attention it's easy to miss. (Fish is there because V doesn't really like it. It's always a challenge to make the rest of the meal good enough to make up for making him eat fish - in his eyes.
Pan-Fried Salmon with White Bean Salad
I would have done the salmon on the barbecue but... It's buried in the barn at the moment....
The Salmon
2 salmon fillets, 10oz (300gr) total weight
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs Balsamic vinegar
Heat the oil and vinegar over medium heat in a large skillet. Add salmon, skin side up, and sautè 3 minutes. Turn, skin side down, and sautè another 3 - 5 minutes, until done. Fish is done when it turns opaque and flakes easily. Slip the salmon off the skin and serve.
The Salad
11oz (300gr) white beans this should be the net weight in a 15oz can... roughly
1 carrot
1 small onion
1 rib celery
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup Greek olives
1 tsp basil
1 tbs oil
1 tbs Balsamic vinegar
2oz (60gr) spinach
Roughly chop the onion, carrot and celery. You should have about 1/3 cup of each. Mince the garlic. In a medium skillet over medium heat, sautè the carrot, celery, onion and garlic in olive oil until tender, 5 - 8 minutes. Pit olives if needed; cut in half. Open, drain and rinse beans. Add olives, beans, herbs and vinegar to skillet. Heat through. Serve salad on a bed of spinach, next to the salmon.
To start we had steamed Asparagus with a Red Pepper Coulis and to finish, Strawberries with Ricotta... Both recipes will be posted later this week.
