Good Food St. Louis

Sia’s Italian Ice: Fat, Gluten, Dairy, and Cholesterol Free

January 23, 2022

You may think: “The cheese done fell off her cracker,” when you see me posting about Italian Ice in the middle of winter.

But if you’re dealing with dietary restrictions, it’s good to know a few things about the icy nibble. It’s fat free, gluten free, dairy free, cholesterol free, nut free, salt free, and vegan! That’s a lot of food freedom.

Even so, the low calorie, fruit/water mixture has a refreshing, satisfying taste all year round.

Give Your Taste Buds a Roman Holiday

A tourist timeout in Syracuse, Sicily, while traveling with Robin some years ago. Hmm . . . Italian ice or gelato, that is the question.

I first came upon Italian ice during a visit to Rome. It was good, but gelato was even better. Then one day, after I returned home, I ran onto a guy restocking an ice cream display in Straubs.

We got into a conversation and I discovered I was talking to Barth Holohan, the owner of Sia’s flavored ices, a St. Louis based business.

As I examined one of the attractive containers, I asked about the name. Barth said it came from the first initial of his three daughters: Sabrina, Isabella and Amelia.

He’d started selling the hand-crafted ices from a food truck in 2012. A few years later, he opened a retail store in Des Peres, where customers today can view the open kitchen and enjoy a variety of the frosty fruit mixtures.

Not a Crushed Popsicle in a Cup

Sia’s half-pint mango variety. Best eaten when scraped rather than scooped.

Made with Real Fruit

Similar products often contain excessive sugar and chemical flavorings. But Sia is all natural, lightly sweetened, and contains purified water.

Flavors include lemon, mango, blood orange, cherry, grape, strawberry, sweet and sour, pomegranate, orange pineapple, and mocha. The frozen dessert differs from sherbet in that it contains no dairy.

Sia’s was first available only from their food truck. But today the ices can be found in pint and half-pint contains in Straubs, Dierbergs, Schnucks, and Whole Foods as well as their Des Peres retail outlet.

Italian Ice may never completely replace chocolate ice cream for me. But I’ve found it to be perfect when you want something sweet, that’s not overly-filling and laden with fat.

There’s about 55 calories in a 4-ounce serving.

A Cup of Optimism

Recently, while sitting around the fireplace on a frosty evening, sipping hot chocolate, my visiting friend reminded me that spring was nearly here. That seemed overly optimistic, but, as they say, “Hope springs eternal.”

Summer is just around the corner; stock up on Sia’s.

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Loving Those Lentils

January 21, 2022

Red Curry Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach

Lentil soups are not only delicious, they’re refreshing to body and soul. After downing a hearty bowl, I feel purified. They’re full of fiber, protein, iron and vitamin B, making them a meal in themselves. The healthy, edible legume has no fat, cholesterol, and few carbs.

What’s more, the lentils come in more colors than a packet of M&Ms. There’s red, green, brown, yellow and variants to all those.

Red Curry Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach

The makings of a red lentil soup. The legumes are grown mainly in India, Turkey and Canada.

No Need to Soak Red Lentils

Red lentils are sweeter and softer than other lentils. They require no pre-soaking, have a sweeter taste than other varieties, and cook very quickly. As they simmer, they “melt,” that is, dissolve into a thick soup.

The recipe in this post comes from the New York Times. The legumes get mixed with sweet potato chunks, spinach, garlic, onions, chicken broth, lime, a pepper, fresh ginger, turmeric, coconut milk, and Thai curry paste.

This drool worthy bowl of soup is bright in flavor and has the comfort of a warm hug.

French Green Lentils with Sausage

I usually make Red Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach. But when I’m feeling a bit risque, I go with French Green Lentils with Sausage.

I order the sausage from the Wurst Haus in Hermann—can’t find it in the Lou, though it does sell in Jefferson City. I’m especially fond of their signature Caramelized Pear and Gorgonzola Brats. Because I keep tasting the sausage, there are often fewer chunks in the dish than I intend by the time it’s ready to serve.

French Lentil Soup with Sausage. When cooked, the brown and green varieties retain their shape well, making them suitable for casseroles and stews.

Lentil Lessons

The sausage version that I make calls for French green lentils, sometimes referred to as puy lentils. They’re darker green than others and more variegated. The texture and flavor are considered by many to be the most outstanding of all lentils.

You can’t find the French variety everywhere, so I stock up when I’m at an International food store. But I’ve found the supermarket variety will do in a pinch.

Add Your Own Heat

Those acquainted with Indian cuisine might refer to this recipe as Masoor Dal (Spiced Red Lentils). But sometimes such names frighten those who think a dish might be overly spicy or strange.

That’s not the case with this wonderful, vegetarian bowl. You can regulate the heat by the type of chili pepper used and the amount of Thai red curry paste.

With a chunk of rustic bread, a bowl of lentils becomes a meal in itself.