Passover Blintzes (Crepes) and "Noodles"

Carb Free, Low Fat / Yield: 12 crepes or 2 cups noodles

INGREDIENTS

7 eggs plus 7 egg whites
11/2 tablespoons potato starch
1/2 cup water, divided
11/2 tablespoons olive oil (or walnut oil for sweet blintzes)
non-stick cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Beat eggs and egg whites together with salt and set aside. Mix potato starch with part of the water to form a smooth paste. Add the rest of the water and beaten eggs and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well again. (A blender or food processor is handy for mixing the batter, but be careful to mix just until blended. Overmixing will create a foam that must be removed, or it will affect the texture of the finished crepes.) Transfer batter to a pitcher that is wide enough to allow mixing.

Heat olive oil and non-stick spray in an 8- inch, non-stick frying pan. Pour off extra oil into a dish. Keep a paper towel in this dish to use for wiping the pan after every few crepes (this helps keep the amount of oil needed down to a minimum), or spray with non-stick cooking spray. When the pan is hot, lower the heat to medium and pour in 1/4 -1/2 cup of batter. Tilt pan to cover the bottom and pour any extra batter back into the pitcher. This will ensure very thin blintzes. As soon as the batter is firm, loosen the edges and turn over onto a dish towel or slightly greased piece of aluminum foil. Then return it to the pan to cook on the other side. (You can flip it with a spatula, but most people find it easier to turn it out and then return it to the frying pan.) Cook on the second side for no more than a few seconds and remove to a towel. Before making the next crepe, mix batter with a fork in order to blend in any potato starch that settles. Unless you're a real pro, the first 1 or 2 blintzes will probably not come out easily and will tear.

For Noodles:

When blintzes are cool, roll up a few at a time and slice into ultra-thin strips. For smaller noodles, slice down the length as well. Allow noodles to dry a bit and then store in an airtight container or plastic bags. These freeze well.

For crepes (blintzes):

Use the filling of your choice (see next page) and either fold the crepe around it blintz-style (like an envelope) or roll up. The unfilled crepes freeze well, either stacked or in layers divided by wax paper.

Fillings:

You can certainly use the standard mashed-potato filling, but if you want a lower carb count and something more interesting, here are a few suggestions:

Low-carb potato:
Mix equal amounts of cooked potato with cooked cauliflower and some fried onions. Add salt to taste.

Meat:
Mix ground meat and/or chicken with fried onions and seasoning.

Apple:
Grate apples; add sugar substitute, cinnamon and ground nuts.

Nut:

Beat 1 egg white just until shiny and starting to stiffen. Add ground nuts to form a paste. Add sugar substitute, cinnamon (optional) and juice from half a lemon.

Cheese:
Mix farmer cheese with 1 beaten egg white, sugar substitute, cinnamon and vanilla flavoring.

Tip

If you're cooking for a crowd and want to save time, use a large frying pan and make extra-large crepes. Pile up cooled crepes, slicing off the sides to use for noodles. You will be left with nice-sized rectangles that can be used for folded blintzes.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size 1 crepe (Tbsps noodles) 2-3
(oz) 1
(g) 30
Calories 37
Protein (g) 3.1
Carbs (g) 0.7
Fat (g) 2.3
Sat. Fat (g) 0.6
Cholesterol (mg) 85
Sodium (mg) 37
Calcium (mg) 11
Fiber (g) 0
Exchanges: Lean protein 1/2

Fresh and Natural Applesauce

Low Carb, Fat Free / Yield: 20 servings

It's hard to go back to store-bought applesauce after tasting this delicious, refreshing dessert. The trick to this great dish is tea bags. Be daring and try a variety of different flavors.

10 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced into eighths
juice of half a lemon
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 flavored tea bags of your choice
water
sugar substitute, optional

for fruit compote:

use fruit of choice Place apples in a 5-quart pot. Add lemon juice, salt, vanilla, tea bags and water, covering not more than half the apples so that the end result will not be too watery. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until apples are soft. funny pictures Hand-blend and mash to desired consistency. For additional sweetness, you can add sugar substitute. Variations:

For a crunchy fruit compote:

Bring ingredients to a boil and cook on high heat for 7 minutes. Turn off heat and cover. Let stand overnight. In the morning, put into a jar and refrigerate. This can be frozen in an airtight container.

For a strawberry-rhubarb apple compote:

Add 11/2 cups of sliced strawberries and 1 cup of sliced rhubarb to the apples. Rhubarb is quite tart, so add sugar substitute according to taste. Blend well and refrigerate.

For cinnamon applesauce:

Add 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon to blended apples. For a beautiful crimson color, as well as additional flavor and fiber, add 1-11/2 cups frozen blueberries.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size (cup) 1/2
(oz) 2 2/3
(g) 80
Calories 34
Protein (g) 0.1
Carbs (g) 8
Fat (g) 0.2
Sat. Fat (g) 0
Cholesterol (mg) 0
Sodium (mg) 0
Calcium (mg) 5
Fiber (g) 0
Exchanges: Fruit 3/4