Oyster Pasta

Since beginning at Harlem Hospital most of my diet has been dedicated to creating massive flavor within the dieticians guidelines for diabetic patients.

...and make no mistake. I have eaten very well. There are a lot of flavor packed and delicious foods that can be made within those restrictions. To read some of them visit stirringthepotharlem.blogspot.com .

Despite the impact of the storm a friend biked up before the wind hit hard and brought me oysters.  He found them when fishing, the previous day, they had washed up on the beach.

 The shells were chalky and they could not be easily shucked so they had to be steamed open.

Lightly cooked and succulent, I had about 20 oysters read to go. My first thought was what could I do with low fat, low sodium, and few carbohydrates. I did realize that the Stirring The Pot was the place for those recipes and since I was stuck in my apartment....and then the doorman called.

I'd been telling my neighbors that if they got stuck to feel free to come by. I had plenty of food on hand. One of my neighbors from the next building was at the door, the doorman wanted to know if it was okay to send him up. What could I do?

I broke out the wine and made a pasta. I admit the picture is not pretty, however this pasta was amazing.

Spaghetti with Oyster

Makes 2 servings but can be doubled

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped chives
A little fresh basil
Dash of Salt and Black pepper
4 ounces spaghetti or fettucine

Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet and saute the garlic til fragrant. Add in the cream, melt in the cream cheese and add salt and pepper to taste. When it cooks down to a thick consistency, stir in the oysters and cook your pasta.

The heat is off the sauce at this point and the oysters will make the sauce a little thinner, don't worry, they will gently warm without getting tough and the pasta will thicken up again at the end.

When your pasta is very al denta, drain and turn the sauce back up to medium high stirring in the pasta. Slowly add in the Parmesan cheese and toss, see it thicken and absorb some of the sauce.

When it is all fully incorporated turn off the heat and stir in the chives and basil.

Serve in warm bowls

For those of you who have not joined us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/StirringThePotHarlem?ref=hl come on over and say hello.

This is where I will link all of the healthy recipes and food for diabetics, as this site goes back to it's regularly scheduled pasta.

To find us directly...stirringthepotharlem.blogspot.com

I will get back to cooking for myself normally as soon as my apartment is ready at Lenox Terrace. I am still couch surfing and working in other's kitchens.

The Destination

I must admit that I got a bit waylaid with my Fusion on the Road Series...long drives, no internet, and exhaustion caught up with me.

I can say that for the most part I did manage to keep my carbs and calories under control. Nutrition varied from excellent to 'you've' got to be kidding, but it is possible (not easy) to eat right when out of the house and on the road.

I did manage photos of some of the food I ate.

State Fair Lamb Gyros

Shrimp and Salad Bar

Of course the reason for all the travel was to get me back to Harlem. As of today we have a new website for the program which can be found at stirringthepotharlem.blogspot.com and a Facebook page, come on and like us at https://www.facebook.com/StirringThePotHarlem.

The Diabetic specific recipes can now be found at the Stirring the Pot site and this website will go back to it's regularly irregular programing.