I've been playing a bit of a disappearing act lately. In the words of Indigo Montoya (who doesn't love The Princess Bride?). "Let me 'splain...No, there is too much. Let me sum up."
The third trimester of this pregnancy has hit me hard. Between the 90 degree days that completely sap me of any energy and the crazy humidity that comes with weeks of pouring rain and causes amazing swelling in all my joints, I've been a bit out of commission. Then there's the incredible back pain that seems to hit somewhere around noon every day. But the thing that's been the biggest struggle of late is trying to get my high blood sugar under control.
If you've been a reader for a while, you will by now recognize that I have a bit of a sweet tooth. And it's hard for me to pass up a slice of bread or croissant if one crosses my path (okay, I really mean near impossible). How can I just ignore the breadbasket sitting on my counter? But I know how to seek out whole grains and, fortunately, am able to make my own breads and have a whole variety to choose from at my fingertips here in Germany. Interestingly, I've found out that I enjoy spelt quite a bit. Testing my blood sugar 6 times a day has made me accountable for every little thing I pick up to eat and I have to think about the smallest snack I might grab. I've been working hard at it and don't always make the right choices, but after a few weeks I think I might be getting the hang of it. Even making changes to my diet hasn't helped, though, and I'm still struggling with what my body is failing to accomplish every day and frustrated that I now have to rely on extra insulin too.
In all honesty, even though much of my waking day is spent concentrating on the food that goes into my body (and definitely what doesn't) I haven't exactly felt that I have a lot to contribute here. I'm too tired and fixated on little details to have much left for photographing the few things I might find exciting enough to share. Yesterday, though, I kicked my own butt into gear and forced myself to see that it isn't necessarily the complicated baking that makes for the best post, but the food that I am actually making for myself and my loved ones. So even in the rain I found a bit of nice light and whipped up a simple salad dressing for a very summery salad. One that fits into my new diet, but also one I think anybody would enjoy. So I'm sharing- and I must say that's it's nice to be back.
Honey Poppyseed Salad Dressing
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
For the printable recipe, click here.
I am not giving a recipe for the salad or grilled chicken that I served with the dressing. Mostly because they're so simple they don't really need a recipe. I used mixed baby greens, a handful of sliced almonds and some strawberries and blackberries for the salad. The chicken is a boneless, skinless breast that I simply marinated for about a half hour in lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and olive oil then grilled until cooked through but still juicy. My favorite part of the salad? The strawberries. I think I could have eaten them in a soup of the dressing.
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs honey
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp poppyseeds
1 small shallot, grated on a box grater or microplane with larger holes
a pinch of sea salt
Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Serve chilled with your favorite salad ingredients.
No comments:
Post a Comment