A few weeks ago I was an artisan in the Etsy section of the Spring One of a Kind Show and Sale in Toronto. Which meant that on top of creating all of my stock, designing my booth/table setup, marketing, and packing up, I also had to prepare food for the 5 day, 11-13 hours/day sale.
This was a bit of a challenge, but I managed to go the 5 days without succumbing to the temptation of the food they sold there, which was slightly better that mall food court fare.
So, the week before the show, I started preparing food. Actually, I had been putting food aside for a while, but then I realized that maybe the Indian beet soup and Butter Chicken I had frozen into individual portions weren’t the best idea, because a) if I spilled them they would stain and b) they might leave me with garlic and onion breath, with which to meet and greet customers. Not so ideal.
Since I was going to be there for 11-13 hours most days starting at 9 or 10am, I had to figure out how I was going to eat. I decided that I’d have a second breakfast around 11 or 11:30am, and one big meal (lunch/supper) at around 3 or 4pm when things slowed down between the day folks and the evening folks. That was when I had friends come in to spell me off for a break. Other than that it would be little snacks on the spot.
For my hot meal, I had Mockeroni Cheese from the The Vegetarian Low-Carb Diet Cookbook, referred to in an earlier post, and my husbands yummy sausage stew. Sorry no photo but here is the recipe:
Sausage and Carrot Stew
- 4 garlic sausages
- 150 g chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 carrots
- Pepper to taste
- 1.5 tsp oregano
- .75 tsp cumin
- 560 ml canned tomato quarters
- 4 tsp tomato paste
- Parsley.
- Remove sausage casings, cut into rounds or chunks
- Fry sausages. Keep the juices, Add onion, fry a bit, add carrot fry some more.
- Add tomato, pepper, oregano and cumin. Cook on low heat for a bit. Season.
- Serve with parsley.
For snacks, I made Tamari Almonds:
I got the recipe (so my recipe database tells me) from KitchenDaily.com but I can’t find the recipe there anymore (besides, I modified it), so here it is:
- 5 cups almonds
- 1/4 cup tamari sauce
- dash Worchestershire sauce
- Preheat oven to 250 F
- Mix/toss ingredients in a bowl, spread on a baking sheet with sides. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
- Cool completely on pan and transfer to airtight container.
Yep, it’s that easy.
I also made Sunflower Cheddar Crackers, from 500 Low-Carb Recipes:
This person has posted the recipe. I do them on a baking stone, which may be why mine aren’t burnt on the bottom like theirs, or maybe I just didn’t bake them as long. Also I use a rolling pin to flatten them between 2 pieces of parchment.
Speaking of gluten-free crackers, as I was searching for the above recipe, I came across these, which I haven’t tried, but they look pretty tasty. I may have to try them in the future.
I also made myself treats: mini Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Muffins:
On day 1, my mom came with a friend and dropped off some of Wheat Belly Cookbook’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. The recipe is similar to my modified version, but I think she adds coconut chips in there as well. Sorry, no photo!
For my second breakfast, I made Overnight Chocolate Coffee Chia Breakfast Pudding. I chose that since the days were long and I figured I could use the extra boost.
The recipe comes from paleomg.com, but I skipped the sweetener (it doesn’t need it). So it’s just:
- ½ cup brewed coffee (chilled)
- ½ cup full fat canned coconut milk
- 1 heaping tablespoon almond butter (or other nut or seed butter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup chia seeds
- Blend all but chia seeds in blender.
- Place the blended mixture into a resealable large jar (or 2-3 smaller jars) then add chia seeds. Seal jar(s) and shake.
- Place in refrigerator overnight or for at least 3+ hours.
I also brought cheese slices and carrot sticks. And a lot of water. Because it was dry in there. Crazy dry. Thankfully, they had the HTO To Go water refill station there.
And that managed to get me through it without buying any food or carbing up.
As a little bonus to this entry, last weekend I was visiting friends in the country whose family raises free-range chickens for their own use. They saved all the livers and put me to work making 7 lbs of chicken livers into pâté. I took a few photos, and it was my best batch ever.
Those were all combined (along with ground ginger, salt, and cream) to make a huge vat:
We divided it into jars and gave a bunch away, took some, froze some, and started eating some right then and there. As we didn’t have crackers made up, we just spread it on cucumbers and celery. Delicious.
Low-carb kitchen adventures 