The doctor's report was as expected, not dire but not elating,
either. EF is down to 26 from 29, so a loss of 3% or 10% heart
function depending on how you look at things, and the A1C is back
in the double digits.
Those are not great numbers at all. Are you considering any diet
concessions as a result? I know you are already watching your sodium
intake carefully.
Bearing in mind that a year and half ago my EF was 5, this is
not so bad. As far as sugar goes, my father the pharmacologist
claimed that unless his A1C was in double digits, he couldn't
think. His diabetes didn't catch up with him until he was 80,
and he started dialyzing at 85 and lived to 89.
I appreciate your concern, and if I weren't inviting comment
the subject wouldn't be brought up on the echo, but context is
important, and family and my own health history are relevant.
For me 20/200 vision, 200 cholesterol, and 200 glucose are
to be celebrated (my current numbers are in this range, except
that my corrected vision is double to triple worse than that),
whereas for many of us these would be in the panic zone.
This is from one of my favorite food blogs, which abruptly
stopped being updated a number of years ago, with worldwide
dismay and concern about the fate of the author.
Sicilian Almond Sorbet
categories: fxcuisine, dessert
yield: 1 batch
200 g almonds, shelled and skinned
1 l mineral water
300 gr sugar
bitter almond extract tt
Granita di mandorle
Start by grinding the almonds to a powder. You can use a
mortar and pestle like I do or do it in the mixer, but
please don't use ground almonds bought from the store, much
of the delicate almond taste will be gone before you even
start.
Bring the water to a boil, add the sugar and stir until
dissolved.
Add the ground almonds and leave to rest overnight. You can
use a mixer to further grind the almonds in the liquid if
you want. The point of the overnight infusion is to draw as
much of the almonds' flavor as possible.
The next day, taste and add a little sugar or bitter almond
extract if needed. Some Sicilians will not filter their
granita but I find the bland almond powder distasteful. I
recommend you use a cloth or find sieve to filter them out.
You will end up with almond milk, a whitish liquid
reminiscent of cow milk but with a delicious barley water
flavor. Amazing for breakfast!
If you have an ice cream machine, just churn it until
frozen. Most Sicilians don't have an ice-cream machine and
just place the almond milk in the freezer, removing it every
30 minutes or so for a quick mixing with an electric mixer.
You could even do it with a fork, the point being to avoid
the formation of large water crystals and go for a snow-like
consistency.
It is traditionally eaten over brioche, the French
butter-and-egg Sunday bread, a testimonial of 19th century
French influences over upper-class Sicilian cuisine.
Although the association of ice cream and pastry seems odd
and of the I-love-to-mix-ketchup-with-mustard kind, the
combination is a real winner.
I recently served this with brioche for tea to a British Sir
and Lady - the real deal - ending up with 'FX, we don't
know how we dare invite you again, nothing we can serve you
will stand up to this!'. They sure were nice, but since they
finished the whole batch I think they were sincere!
In luxury hotels in Sicily you would always find in the
breakfast table both almond milk and its frozen brother
granita di mandorle. Above is a picture I took of a white
breakfast in Sicily, with a glass of almond milk, almond
granita just behind in the glass with the spoon and a choice
of fresh cheeses and bread. For all its troubles, this
island sure has much to offer!
fxcuisine.com
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