Onion, Cubanelle, JalapenoSweet Bell PepperFresh BasilPoblano
This was incredibly hot, spicy soup. I used less lentils than I normally do in other soups so this one was more brothy.
I started by chopping up the jalapeno, poblano, cubanelle, sweet bell pepper and onion with no oil in the pot. Very soon, I found myself coughing. The dry peppers were roasting and causing an allergic reaction. At one point I thought I might have to stop chopping and walk away, but finally made it through. I then added Grapeseed Oil to the pot.
Why add basil? Hey, I currently have a bunch of basil growing on my small patio. *I think you could add cilantro instead of the basil and it would “work”. I don’t think Flat Leaf Parsley would add anything, but color.
I’ve found that adding just a few tomatoes enhances the flavor. You don’t want to overpower the soup with tomato flavor.
The carrot added a cooling influence.
Red Lentils
Red, Orange & Yellow Sweet Bell Pepper
Red Jalapeno
Poblano Pepper
Cubanelle Pepper
Carrot
Onion
Small Tomatoes 3 – Quartered
Fresh Basil
Grapeseed Oil
Margarine
Bacon Grease
Celery Seed
Garlic Powder
Ground Pepper & Salt
Chicken Broth & Water
I had stopped coughing from cooking the peppers and now a little over an hour later (I think.) the soup was ready. As I start to eat the first bowl, I start to cough again, and one thought is that I may be having an allergic reaction. I stop eating, and then manage to drink some juice. The coughing subsides and does not come again. *The soup was hot, spicy and addictive.
The soup went well with these salty crackers.
NOTE [07/16/22]: I made some more of this spicy hot soup this morning. I did not have any Poblano peppers. I also added some Cilantro. The resulting soup was not as flavorful.
I decided to add some Polska Kielbasa. The soup was better, but no where near as good as the previous batch.
I bought a couple of types of peaches and two heirloom tomatoes (not sure if Cherokee Purple, Purple Boy, etc.). One of those times when I didn’t ask them to write the peach type on the bags.
Steak from IGA, okra from State Farmer’s Market Raleigh, cabbage from Food Lion and bread from Publix.
The bread has been exceptionally good with two meals. The first meal was with some homemade chicken salad that I made. All of these peppers that I bought at Lee’s Produce from the State Farmer’s Market were hot. This wasn’t a problem when I sauteed them with some onion and added them to the left over Thai Basil Chicken that I had from Maguro’s. They actually made the meal better. But… the peppers, raw, added to the chicken salad were a distraction. Didn’t need the heat.
The bread is good at “sopping” up gravy and juices. I think it would be good with butter and molasses.
I added some Half-n-Half, Duke’s Mayo, and Vidalia Onion, garlic powder, marjoram, celery seeds, Equal sweetener and Agave Nectar, to the chopped cabbage, for cabbage slaw. It was some slaw that I had a the Rainbow Restaurant. I think I asked about it, and the waitress said they added cream/milk to it. It does something with the mayo to make it better.
NOTE: Now that I take a look at the remaining heirloom tomato, I’m not sure both of them were the same type. The first had the purple hue, but this one is more reddish. *Yes. When I cut into the second tomato, it was different. It was reddish and not purplish. It had good flavor. Not a great tomato, but a good one.
I just fixed me a steak, with fried okra, corn on the cob (microwaved) and sliced tomatoes (Campari). I haven’t had really sweet corn yet, this year. But I have had some good sweet corn.
I normally cut the ends off of each ear, leaving the corn in its husk. I might take off some of the outer layers of husk. I then put the ears in the microwave and set cooking time for 5 minutes.
The corn steams within its own husk. When it is cooked, I take one ear out, at a time, and turn the sprayer on my sink faucet. The corn is really hot, so I need the cold water spray to be able to handle it while I shuck the husk and then pull the silks off.
I then add some salt and some margarine or butter.
Last year, I was able to get corn on the cob late into the year at the Farmer’s Market in Raleigh. I think I may have gone as late as December. And I kept being surprised at how good and sweet the corn was, thinking that I had tried my last of the year, each time.
There were some good looking tomatoes at the Farmers Market, but when it came time to buy, I didn’t. I also didn’t buy the smallish watermelons, some of which were listed at $10 each.
After stopping at the IGA and Food Lion in Lillington, I couldn’t find any watermelons, or they were extremely small (smaller than most small cantaloupes), I came to the Food Lion nearest me and found a couple of pretty good sized watermelons, and they were only $3.99. I think they were originally marked at $6.99, but this was the day after the 4th of July. I bought one.
The watermelon had good flavor, and I cut most of it up and put it in several Tupperware containers, and then in the fridge. This was something I did for the first time, last year, and it worked really well.
Last Corn 2021Black Eyed PeasFirst Corn from WalMart 2022
So, as I am eating this corn on the cob, I think to myself, “This is another food that I really like.” The other two foods that I really like, when done well, are black eyed peas, and white butterbeans. I like some chopped Vidalia Onion with my black eyed peas and good seasoning meat with both.
NOTE [07/16/22}: I should have paid attention to how I had labelled the “First Corn” photo above. I got it from WalMart. I bought some corn at Pate’s Farm Market a couple of days ago. The Pate’s corn turned out to be tough and old. Not good. I bought some more corn at WalMart yesterday, and checking before buying, I saw it had the multi-color kernels. Ate some last night, and “yes” it was still tender and sweet.
ADDENDUM [05/31/23]: I think it was an episode of America’s Test Kitchen, a new one, without Richard Kimble. The new guy was showing how to fix corn, on the cob, without boiling it. He did bring the water to a boil, but then took it off the heat and put the ears of corn (with the husks still on) in the hot water and let it cook this way. *But, and I wasn’t paying that close of attention, he then showed how to remove the silks. He had the stalk end of the ear of corn cut off, and he just took hold of the silks end and began to squeeze the ear of corn out of the husk. Darned if the silks didn’t come out along with the husk, and the clean ear of corn. **I am going to just cut the stalk end of the husk off, and cook the ear in the microwave, as I have been doing. Then under cold running water, because the cooked ear is still extremely hot, I will squeeze the silk end & husk and force the ear out of the husk. The silks should come out with the husk. I’ve tried this once and most of the silks came cleanly off the ear.
Not sure how I came across this deli, but was probably looking online for a place that served a Pastrami Reuben. I had looked at their menu online, and saw they had both a Reuben on Rye (corned beef) and they had a Pastrami on Rye (with mustard & no sauerkraut). I figured they would probably have no problem making me a Pastrami Reuben (Rachel), and fortunately there were two clerks at the counter where I ordered. The older man knew how to ring up my special order and showed the younger woman (girl) how to do it.
I arrived about a quarter to 12, busy but not overcrowded. I ordered fries and water with my sandwich. They gave me a small plastic cup for the water, and a black electronic disk which would buzz when my order was ready.
Pastrami Reubenwith fries
Before I sat down, I walked around into the next small room, and there was a long hallway that ended. The drinks, ice, napkins & condiments were along the inside wall of the hall. I got my ice water, some napkins and went back into the other room (where the registers & pick-up area were located), and sat at a small table that had two chairs. I sat facing the register area.
After I picked up my order, I walked around into the other room and got some ketchup. The large ketchup dispenser ran out of ketchup and I grabbed a few packets of ketchup and went back into the larger room and sat down.
The sandwich was good, and in fact it was too much for just one meal (although I ate most of it). I could have shared the sandwich & fries and ordered two drinks. My meal with water was $14+ with tax.
Between the two rooms, there must have been a small condiment bar, which I just failed to notice. I had to walk past it several times, and didn’t even take note of it as I was leaving. *A young woman sitting to my right, had gotten up and gone to this condiment area to get some ketchup. I had laughed to myself for not noticing it.
The clientele were mixed: working singles in ties, small families with child or children, older families, and older couples & singles. Some in shorts, some not, but all comfortable in their various garb.
Okay, this Pastrami Reuben was not as good as the first one I had at “Macados” in Salem, VA, but it was probably as good as the one I had at “East Village Grille” in Asheville. This did have Thousand Island Dressing, Sauerkraut and a Dill Pickle. I think my homemade Rachel is as good as this, and my homemade Thousand Island Dressing is definitely better.
I was online and came across an image circa 1957. The photo was of a woman in a plexiglass domed lawnmower, with her husband relaxing nearby, laying on a lawn chair, in their yard. The black & white advertisement must have been interpreted from the actual photo.
We probably laugh like they did, 65 years ago, when they saw the photo. This led me to recall an event that happened a few years ago, when I was eating lunch at The East Village Grille in Asheville, NC. This restaurant, as you can see, is located almost on the main thoroughfare, with not even enough room for a sidewalk between the building and the road. Note the windows located next to the street. The Grille is located diagonally across the street from the VA Hospital. [ NOTE 12/13/23 ]: I just did a zoom from Google StreetView, and there is actually a sidewalk, but it is jammed between the street & the restaurant building. [ end NOTE ].
StreetView of East Village Grille across from VA Hospital
I was seated in a booth, facing out, toward Tunnel Road and I could see that someone was mowing the Hospital lawn directly across the street. I included the picture of a John Deere lawnmower above because it was this type of mower that was being used. Note the steepness of the bank on which the trees are growing.
I wasn’t the only customer in the restaurant that began to watch the mower.
At first I thought that the bank was too steep to mow using this tall mower. I thought it would be too “top heavy” and might tip over. But the person mowing didn’t hesitate. He turned the mower so that it was headed directly up the bank. He went up the hill, and then backed down. He moved over slightly and then went up & down again. He did this until he was past the trees, and then he started mowing, running parallel to the road. The mowing completed without an incident.
As I said, several customers either looked, or turned to look (when their table mates pointed it out) at the mowing event. So, although we laugh at our home lawn mower being air conditioned, it makes perfect sense for someone that has to mow a large area, especially in the summer heat.
NOTE [05/30/22]: I tried Tiger Sauce (c.2011) for the first time while eating at the East Village Grille, and during my Pastrami Reuben Tour (c.2017), this was the second restaurant where I ordered a Pastrami Reuben. The sandwich here was a little less delicious, but this would have been ranked #2.
ADDENDUM [01/02/25]: I visited Asheville back in September 2024, just about five weeks before the Hurricane came through and devastated the area. I only spent a day there, and I ate at the East Village Grille for dinner the first & only night. They had changed their menus which at one time had been quite a few pages, but now was pared down to about maybe 6 pages, two sided, and laminated. The waitress said they no longer offered a Pastrami Reuben. How sad. [end NOTE]
ADDENDUM [05/31/22]: The “Southern Highland Craft Guild, Folk Art Center” and the “East Village Grille” are about 2,500 feet (about half a mile) from each other, “as the crow flies” and with the VA Hospital Complex being directly between the two. That amazes me, because I normally would have thought of these two locations as being a great deal further apart. I normally stop at the Folk Art Center after driving down the Parkway, having come from Weaverville, and up the back way to the Parkway. For the public, except for “bus groups”, you can only get to the FAC from the Parkway. Staff have to come to the FAC a different way, and there appears to be no connecting way between public parking and staff parking.
When you come to the FAC, the area is shrouded in trees and having been there several times, I did not realize that just a few yards past the trees is a large nursing home.
It is a short distance from Tunnel Road to the entrance of the FAC, but coming from the opposite direction, via the Parkway, you are lulled into thinking you are deep in the forest.
The FAC parking area is surrounded by trees and vegetation, and this is the walk up to the FAC.
[ADDENDUM 02/14/25]: I visited Asheville last year, about 5 weeks before Hurricane Helene came through and severely devastated the area. It was a short, but extremely pleasant visit & stay at a Quality Inn near downtown. I arrived in Asheville in the late afternoon, and went immediately to the East Village Grille for dinner. Their extensive menu had been severely shortened, and they no longer offer a Pastrami Reuben. I think I had a Philly Cheese steak, which I’ve had before (Tiger Sauce intro years ago.). [end]
The basic ingredients came to about $7.50. I added a clove of garlic ( large chop ), dried basil, S&P, a little Splenda, some Agave Nectar and a little lime juice. *Just a little Splenda and Agave give this chili a slightly sweet taste, and the chipotle peppers, chipotle powder, red pepper flakes, and cayenne give it a good heat. I would add some chopped jalapenos (red or green) for extra flavor and I did add some chopped yellow bell pepper.
I’ve tried something like this before, but it did not turn out well. This did satisfy! It was a little sweet, with some heat (about 3 chipotle peppers) and large chunks of Vidalia onion.
One Clove (large chop)Agave NectarTwo Roma Tomatoes (chopped)
I tried this a second time, but instead of using canned white chunk chicken, I bought a whole baked chicken (original flavor) and shredded some of the white meat and added it to the chili mixture. This worked great!
Chunk ChickenShredded Chicken
I had some Mission Corn Chips left, and they went well with this chili. I see that avocado, cilantro, sour cream and Mexican cheese are suggested toppings for this. *The second time, I added a bunch of cilantro to the chili during cooking. I ate an avocado with the chili, and this was good.
I was in the Compare Grocery the other day and saw some red jalapenos (marked that way on the price card). I only got about 4 of these and took them to the checkout along with the other items I was purchasing. The girl rang up these as “Thai Red Chilis”. I think the price was about a dollar more per pound than the sign had said for the red jalapenos, so I said to her that these weren’t Thai Red Chilis but Red Jalapenos. She stopped and showed the clerk at the next register, and whatever was said, she still rang them up as Thai Red Chilis. It could be that both clerks were referencing the wrong code number, or maybe the grocer had labelled this item incorrectly in the system. But, I told her I didn’t want to purchase them and she set them aside.
Red JalapenosThai Red ChilisRed Cayenne Peppers
Seems that the Red Cayenne Peppers are slightly different in curvature and a little bend at the end of the pepper, but Thai Red and Red Jalapenos are distinctly different.
NOTE [05/30/22]: The oven-roasted chicken was a great idea for this, but at about $7.35 for the whole baked chicken, this is a great deal. I had a couple of drum sticks, and a bunch of white breast meat that could be shredded for the chili, and/or for a sandwich, etc. I was sort of surprised at how cheap the whole baked chicken was this time. I think the price had gone up (several months ago) and was over $8.
NOTE [ 12/16/23 ]: The can of Bush’s White Chili Beans now costs about $1.98 at Walmart, previously $1.76. I did go to Compare Foods again and bought some green Jalapenos, Poblanos and some red peppers (not sure if they were red Jalapenos or some other variety. I had a small can of diced Green Chilis. I don’t see if I added some chopped onion before, but, I did this time. I used sweet onion but that is just because I have an overstocked abundance of the sweet onions. Added some cayenne pepper, some whole Cumin seeds, some dry Cilantro & dry Parsley. Did add the bit of Splenda & Agave Nectar.
Funny, was just reading above and the same thing happened again at Compare Foods. The girl at the register rang up a red pepper, but it was a couple of dollars more than what the sign had said. I had already taken a picture of the red peppers & listed price and I ended up getting these cheaper, maybe even a dollar cheaper than had been advertised on the signage.
I was fixing some Chipotle, Chicken & Avocado Soup for lunch and had thawed about three raw chicken strips. I fried the chicken in some bacon fat, and then shredded it all using about a third of it in the lunch soup. The rest I put in the small pot that I had used for the soup, with the white chili beans and other ingredients (dicing the various raw chili peppers). I’ve got the chili in the pot, on the stove-top, and cooking on low heat.
Even though I didn’t use a roasted chicken from Publix, the whole roasted chicken for about $8 from Publix is a great deal. The two drumsticks are each a good meal, and the breast meat from each side is another couple of meals, and what is left over is enough for 3 more portions… maybe for a chicken salad (with sweet bell peppers, onion, mayo and some diced celery), or a chicken salad with Romaine lettuce, Kalamata olives, Pepperoncini peppers & a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, sweetener and dried Italian herbs. This is reminiscent of a Greek Salad, with which I currently have become enamored.
I bought some more of these pre-sliced Ciabatta rolls at Publix this morning. Not sure why, but the thought of making some pizza at home using one of these came to mind. I was going to several grocery stores this morning. I bought a 6 oz. can of tomato paste and some sliced pepperoni from IGA. I knew I had some grated mixed cheese (several Italian cheese blend) at home. I had used some of this cheese on the grit cakes that I had made earlier in the week. The cheese toasted with brown highlights on the polenta, and worked well.
Pizza Sauce (Basic) (Approximately 670 calories total, Makes about 1.5 cups)
12 oz tomato paste (organic if possible) (~360 calories)
½ tsp salt (negligible calories)
2 tsp oregano (~8 calories)
2 tsp thyme (~8 calories)
½ tsp garlic powder (~4 calories)
4 Tbs olive oil (~480 calories)1
2 tsp white vinegar (negligible calories)
Notes:
Calorie counts are approximate and can vary slightly depending on brands.
The majority of the calories come from the olive oil.
This is the total calorie count for the entire recipe. To determine the calories per serving, divide the total by the number of servings.
The finished product of this recipe yeilds approximately 1 and 1/2 cups of pizza sauce.
With approximately 1.5 cups of pizza sauce, and needing about 1/4 to 1/3 cup per small pizza, you could cover roughly 4 to 6 small pizzas.
I had bought a 6 oz. can of tomato paste so I just “eye-balled” the rest of the ingredients and put them in a small glass jar and mixed it up with a dinner knife. The finished product tasted like the pizza sauce that I enjoyed at Pizza Hut/Inn in years past. I used about half of the homemade tomato sauce for the two Ciabatta slices, slathering the sauce fairly thickly on the bread from edge to edge. Spreading pizza sauce on Ciabatta slices may require more sauce than if you were spreading the sauce on a smooth pizza dough because of the craggy nature of Ciabatta (like an English Muffin has a craggy surface).
I diced up a little (very little) sweet yellow bell pepper, and some onion, and put this on each slice. I then put some grated cheese blend on each slice and then finally, I put about 7 or 8 of the pepperoni slices on each slice of bread.
I used Bake at 400 degrees for a while until I thought the cheese was browning. I then used Broil on Hi for a short time until I saw the pepperoni beginning to shine (oil). *In retrospect, it might be more useful to toast these pizzas first, without the pepperoni on top. That way the cheese and other toppings could melt and then add the pepperoni which would crisp up much quicker than the other items.
After I took the pizza out of the oven, I sliced each slice in half. The pizza looked good… the pizza tasted good. This would satisfy my hunger for pizza at home.
NOTE: I used another Ciabatta roll the next day to make another pizza, like the one above. The homemade pizza sauce that I had refrigerated may have been even better. It has a real good pizza sauce flavor. Bake 425 degrees for most of the time, and then a short time on Broil on HI. The pizza was good again!
I managed to make three pizzas (3 Ciabatta rolls, pre-sliced in two, and then each half cut in two after the pizzas were done) out of the homemade pizza sauce. That sauce has really good flavor. I want to find a pizza dough, or pre-cooked pizza base to make a larger pizza. But, the above Ciabatta Pizza is very satisfying and probably is enough for a meal.
I bought a Ciabatta Loaf at Publix and had them slice it. The loaf was a little more flat, compared to the one shown above, so the slices were more elongated. *I made another batch of pizza sauce, which turned out to be good again. I used four slices of bread, slathered with pizza sauce and added some red bell pepper and onion. Then sprinkled sparingly with the 6 cheese blend. The elongated slices took four slices of pepperoni. *I decided that I didn’t like the Ciabatta Loaf better than the Rolls.
NOTE [08/28/22]: Publix has had a problem, for more than a month, with getting ingredients for their baked breads. The dark Mountain Bread has been unavailable for about a month. I just noticed that the Ciabatta Rolls weren’t available either. But, I haven’t been trying to buy them to make homemade pizza, until recently. *I went to Fresh Market and found some Ciabatta Rolls. Not quite square in shape as are the ones from Publix, and the interior side is much more craggy (more craggy than the Publix Ciabatta Loaf pictured above), even some very large depressions, which makes spreading the pizza sauce more difficult. [end NOTE]
*Not something I want to do regularly, but there are other Publix, not nearby, but I went to a Cary Publix and had no problem getting the Ciabatta Rolls. And, I bought a couple of Ciabatta rolls from Wegman’s the other day too.
Tomato Paste $1.25Homemade Pizza Sauce@ Harris TeeterYellow Bell Pepper $1.49 ea.Sweet Onion $1.29/lb.Shredded Italian Cheeses $2/8oz.Pepperoni Slices $2.48/6oz.
Ingredient Cost for 1 Ciabatta Roll (sliced with two halves & then quartered):
Ciabatta Roll [top & bottom halves/quartered] $.75
Homemade Pizza Sauce $.75
Yellow Bell Pepper $.35
Sweet Onion $.35
Shredded Italian Cheeses $.50
Sliced Pepperoni [16 slices/8 @ half] $.80
Total Cost for 4 slices of Ciabatta Roll Pizza: $3.50
Just had it again. Made some fresh pizza sauce, and the finished product doesn’t give me indigestion! I haven’t made 12 oz. of the pizza sauce yet, and I forget and add the other ingredients as if I were using 12 oz. of tomato paste, but it still has good flavor.
I think I can make about 3 Ciabatta Roll pizzas out of a 6 oz. can of tomato paste. I did have some left over pizza sauce that I did not use for a week, and I think it was starting to “go bad,” so use the sauce you make within a few days. *The note to myself about the quantity of sauce I want to make is, make only a half recipe (use only 1 6oz. can of tomato paste) of the pizza sauce. I only need enough sauce for 3 or 4 Ciabatta Roll Pizzas, and left over sauce will go bad.
This is an extremely satisfying homemade pizza. It is consistently good, and satisfies my “pizza craving.” But, I think I am locked into the basic ingredients: Ciabatta roll, homemade sauce, chopped bell pepper & sweet onion, shredded mozzarella (or an Italian cheese blend) and sliced pepperoni. *I tried a Hawaiian Pizza: chunk pineapple and sliced ham, and this wasn’t as satisfying. **Update: I’ve found a bread that is more satisfying, in a way, and that is the “Thomas Keto Bagel Mini.” It is very thin and pre-sliced (it would be extremely difficult to slice it by hand) but this makes it perfect as the mini-pizza bread.
Remember. No indigestion from this, and it is filling & satisfying.
I was looking online at the Pizza Sauce recipe and saw that they had a “books” section. The following “The Pizza Bible:…: had an excerpt on “After School Ciabatta Pizza”.
NOTE [07/05/22]: When I was in Whole Foods today, I noticed they had Ciabatta Rolls. There were four in a pack, and each roll was longer. I hope to remember to buy one of these to try out for the pizza, but didn’t today because I knew I already had some at home. The price was cheaper, for the 4 I think.
[NOTE 09/06/24]: I tried some different flavors for dinner tonight. I still had some sliced onion but I picked some fresh basil off my porch, and I opened a can of the Season Anchovies. *I put the anchovies and the chopped basil on top of the pizza sauce and then spread the shredded mixed Italian cheeses blend. I baked this for a while and set it to broil on low. After the cheese started to toast I put the pepperoni slices on top and put it back under Broil HI. It doesn’t take long to crisp up the sausage, so you have to pay attention or it definitely could burn.
I didn’t like the flavor because I had put too much anchovies on these slices. I do like anchovies on a pizza, but not on these homemade pizzas. I would put the chopped basil on again, with onion and the chopped bell pepper and pepperoni. That is satisfying.
If I could get the right fresh ham, I might like to try a Hawaiian Pizza. I like the ham and pineapple chunks. But, I would have to cut the chunks into really small pieces.
I like bacon and ground beef, and they might go well, but I would leave off the pepperoni. Still, I know that the Pepperoni, Onion & Sweet Bell Pepper pizza, with cheese is consistently satisfying. [end NOTE]
[NOTE]: I may have mentioned elsewhere that you could use this sauce for breakfast too. Maybe on English Muffin halves with melted cheese would go with a scrambled egg and bacon. *In fact, maybe coming up with a Ciabatta Roll Breakfast Pizza that includes tomatoes, bacon & egg. [end NOTE]
[NOTE 12/27/25]: The last time I made pizza at home, I used a Thomas Keto Bagel Thin instead of Ciabatta rolls. They have a hole but it is small enough to be filled with one or two slices of pepperoni. I’m wearing a Stelo CBGM and plan to test out whether the pizzas are diabetic friendly. *I don’t know how long I had the left over bagels in my fridge. I put the pizza sauce on the bagel, then a pepperoni to cover the hole, and then sweet bell pepper & diced onion, then the shredded cheese blend and finally a layer of pepperoni. Looking at the picture of it, I prefer to put the pepperoni layer on the pizza sauce layer. [end NOTE]
[NOTE 12/29/25]: I use three halves of the Thomas Keto Bagel Thins. They are very thin and are only 2 Net Carbs and 80 calories per bagel. What I did this time, and it worked very well, was to put the pizza sauce on each bagel half. I then layered pepperoni around each bagel. I had a small amount of ground beef that I browned in a small skillet along with some green bell pepper, onion & a miniscule amount of red jalapeno diced. I did add a little garlic powder and some red pepper flakes. *I normally wouldn’t use green bell pepper, but had some left over after trying to make chili last night and most of the ground beef was also used for the Wendy’s Chili.
[end NOTE]
Thomas Keto Bagel Thins BaseThomas Keto Bagel Thins Base
📊 What Stelo is telling you
From the image:
Meal time: 145 mg/dL at 6:19 PM
2 hours later: 147 mg/dL at 8:19 PM
Net change: essentially flat
Peak: modest, stayed well within the green zone
No sharp spike, no crash
That’s exactly what you want to see.
For most people with insulin resistance or diabetes:
A spike of 30–50+ points would be common with pizza-type foods
You had ~2 mg/dL difference over two hours — that’s excellent control
🍕 Why this particular meal worked
Even though it looks like “pizza,” it’s doing several things right:
✅ Protein & fat buffering
Meat + cheese slow digestion
That blunts glucose spikes
✅ Vegetables present
Tomatoes, peppers, onions add fiber
Fiber slows carb absorption
⚠️ Likely lower refined carbs
These look like mini pizzas, not big bread-heavy slices
Portion size matters, and this appears controlled
⚖️ Timing matters
Evening meals often spike more
Yours didn’t — which says a lot
🧠 The key point (this matters)
Stelo doesn’t judge food — it judges your response.
For you:
This meal = stable glucose
Stable glucose = good meal
If someone else ate this, results could be very different. But your body handled it well.
I bought a small bag of grits and ran most of them through my chopper to give them a finer consistency. I then used 1 cup of grits and started off with 2 cups of water. I had to add extra water, stirring to keep most of them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. After they were done (to taste), I poured the cooked grits into a 9 in. glass pie plate and put some plastic wrap over the top and put this in the refrigerator. Went to lunch and several hours later started the oven Broil at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Put a little margarine around the edge of the pie plate at the edge of the grits. Then, switched to Bake for about 7 minutes. There was just a little browning (very little), and a fine film of grits formed across the surface. I cut these into pie shapes, put most in a Tupperware storage container and put them in the refrigerator. **The baked grits did not stick to the glass pie plate, and there was just a small amount of moisture in one isolated location on the bottom of the plate.
I had a small amount of Creamed Spinach which I reheated. I had more of my stewed tomatoes (cold), which are like the tomato chutney that the Blue Willow Inn provides for meals. *The tomato chutney (sweet) as excellent with the Fried Green Tomatoes (savory).
I had no meat or gravy, but the grit cake, creamed spinach and the tomato chutney made a delicious meal… I even heated another grit cake with a little margarine on top, but had finished off the spinach and tomatoes. The little bit of spinach & tomato remaining in the bottom of the bowl flavored the grit cake well.
I haven’t had Polenta in a long while, but do like it, and this was my attempt to make a Polenta-like cake from cheap grits. *I’m sure the grit cakes will go well with the Round Bone Lamb Chops and a little of the gravy from the lamb. Glazed carrots, tomato chutney, creamed spinach, steamed cabbage or asparagus.
Actually, I just recalled that my first introduction to a Polenta cake was probably at “Trillium, a Bistro” in Asheville, NC several years ago. It would have been with the Alligator Sausage, and with Andouille Sausage… or with a Lentil soup.
NOTE: Add jalapenos, and or cheese to the grit cakes for alternate flavorings.
In my googling, I came across several articles regarding using a waffle iron with polenta (or could also be used to make a waffled grit cake). I was cleaning my bedroom closet and found my waffle iron.
[04/10/22]: My first attempt at using a waffle iron with the grit cake polenta went okay. I brushed oil on the waffle plates, top and bottom. I then cut triangles (and other shapes) of the grit cake mixture and placed them in each of the four plate sections, closed the lid and waited. There was steam coming from the plate and eventually, the waffle iron light turned green, the signal that the waffle should be ready. Not sure how the waffle iron measures doneness… is it the moisture content of the waffle mixture, and how would you measure that? The temperature?
But, when I opened the waffle iron, the grit cake was still un-browned, but it was a good grit cake that went well with the mushroom gravy I had prepared. *Think I’ll try fixing a few more grit cake waffles, and then brown them in the oven, with cheese on top, just before eating them.
[04/11/22]: Turned out really well! I had some left-over steak, mushroom gravy, glazed carrots (with Cary’s Sugar Free Syrup {has a maple flavor}), tomato chutney {what I am now calling my pot stewed tomato & onion concoction}, and I put some of the 6 Cheese Italian Blend shredded cheese on a couple of the small grit cake waffle sections, and put it under Broil HI for several minutes. The cheese browns nicely. These turned out really well, and grit cake (or polenta) soaks up the gravy and other juice flavors.
Before and after adding the mushroom gravy and the tomato chutney.
I was in Publix a few days ago and walked past a sales display for Mission Tortilla chips. The display was showing as BOGO. The price, per bag, was around $3.68 so I picked two different styles of chips. I noted that the register tape showed half off for each style (instead of treating all styles of Mission chips as one). I had made some salsa at home and it was refrigerated.
I opened the Thin & Crispy bag and dipped a chip into my salsa. The chip was good! Sometimes there is a burnt aftertaste with some chips, but not with these. I finished the salsa and a day or so later made some more. I would buy these chips again. I haven’t opened the other bag yet, but hope they have a good flavor too.
I reviewed a homemade salsa ingredient list, on this site, and have left out several items but the basics are still the same:
Diced Roasted Tomatoes (with or w/o Garlic, drained)
Sweet Bell Pepper (diced)
Sweet Vidalia Onion (diced)
Chopped Raw Jalapeno Pepper
Salsa Ranchera
Agave Nectar
Splenda
Lime Juice
Red Wine Vinegar
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Cayenne Pepper (ground)
After I have assembled the above ingredients, I run them through the chopper, but still leave the salsa a little chunky. Refrigerate.
Bill Gibson, II 