SGOTW #52: The Good Carb Cookbook

So, it's Sunday and that means it's time for SGOTW. The number drawn for this past week's game was #73. #73 ended up being Sunset Vegetarian, a cookbook I have already cooked from for this game. Since I've only been playing a few weeks and since I'm not really thrilled with that book, I generated another random number for myself and ended up with The Good Carb Cookbook by Sandra Woodruff.
I don't really remember why I bought this cookbook! I've never gone low-carb though I did toy with the idea. I think I might have bought this hoping it would contain a lot of recipes for using whole grains in everyday dishes, but this did not turn out to be the case. What really turns me off about this book is the use of things like reduced-fat or fat-free dairy products and the heavy-handed use of egg substitute. I like to eat healthy, but I can only go so far before my eyes begin to roll back in my head due to utter boredom. In my opinion, you're better off using naturally low-fat foods, like fresh vegetables and fresh herbs, to achieve a great low-fat, low-carb dish than to try to take something that relies on fat for flavor - such as cheese sauces - and try to dumb down the flavor. Sometimes it can work, but most of the time it doesn't.

Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and Olive Oil

In any case, I did find a recipe that intrigued me, mostly because it's one that involved a veggie that we have never tried - broccoli rabe. Broccoli rabe looks like a cross between a dark, leafy green and broccoli. My family was more than a bit skeptical - nothing like the word "broccoli" to activate up their veggie-wary radar. Maybe I should have just called it rapini. I was happy to see, though, that they managed to keep an open mind and give it a fair shake and in the end, they liked it. The preparation was simple - the broccoli rabe was lightly steamed and then sauteed in olive oil and garlic. We did not find the flavor to be overly bitter, maybe just a bit, but nothing unpleasant or overwhelming.

I am happy to say that broccoli rabe has now been added to our list of healthful vegetables that are welcome at our table. However, I think the cookbook will be hitting the garage sale pile. In fact, this game is really opening my eyes to the fact that I have a bunch of books gathering dust on my shelves and not just because I don't think to use them, but because they really don't grab me at all. As this game goes on, I'll bet I'll be getting rid of more than a few of my 26 cookbooks and making room for something a little more exciting........

SGOTW #53 is going to be the Anniversary Edition. We are going back through all of the old games and selecting a recipe - as always, one we've never tried before - from the recipes that were posted over the last year. You can find a list of the past SGOTW here.

Don't forget to go over to the CLBB and check out the thread for SGOTW #52 to see what everyone else made.