Diabetes diagnosis forces change in kitchen for Aberdeen man
Dec. 7—ABERDEEN — In May, Mike Rhea had a nasty accident that ultimately saved his life.
The home contractor/remodeler stepped on a rusty nail, and complications landed him in the hospital for 30 days. While there, he was diagnosed with diabetes.
Rhea lost half of his left foot, but the outcome could have been so much worse.
"I could have lost my life without that diagnosis," said Rhea, 57. "And I've got a lot more living to do. I've got a lot of family to take care of."
Rhea and his wife, Paula, have been married 30 years. They have five children and nine grandchildren.
"After I was diagnosed, I was a fanatic about food for quite a while," he said. "The first thing to go were all the carbs and refined sugars. I was determined not to spend the rest of my life on medication."
Rhea had to change the way he ate and the way he cooked because he prepares most of the meals at his home in Aberdeen.
"There are certain things I make that are diabetic-friendly that the family will eat, like stuffed pepper soup and cabbage ghoulash," he said. "But I still cook things for them that I won't eat. If I make spaghetti, I'll make them regular pasta noodles, and I'll have skinny noodles, which are keto-friendly."
Rhea, who was born in South Carolina, lived all over the South as a kid and spent his formative years in Marshall County. But he did not grow up cooking.
"Boys didn't go in the kitchen unless you were getting something to eat," he said. "But I did plenty of planting and shelling. We had several gardens and grew everything we ate. I was 10 or 12 before I knew you could buy vegetables and meat in a grocery store."
Rhea initially took an interest in cooking about 20 years ago, when Paula started traveling more for her job. She would spend the weekends preparing meals for the week and freezing them for Rhea and the kids.
"I got to wanting something different," he said. "One day I was flipping through the TV channels and I found 'Essence of Emeril.' He just made it look fun and easy. That was one of his things, that food doesn't have to be complicated to be good."
Rhea's diabetes diagnosis has made him want to spread a cooking message of his own.
"My goal is to keep improving my recipe portfolio to show people that just because you're diabetic doesn't mean you have to eat garbage, cardboard," he said. "There are a lot of recipes out there for diabetics that are delicious. I want to use what happened to me to try to help other people so they don't have as hard a time as I had."
DO YOU KNOW A GOOD COOK? Send your nominations to Ginna Parsons, Cook of the Week, P.O. Box 909, Tupelo, MS 38802. Or you can call (662) 678-1581 or email them to ginna.parsons@journalinc.com.
STUFFED PEPPER SOUP
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 to 3 ounces chopped onion
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground Italian sausage
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can Italian diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups beef broth
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Pepper
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
Sour cream, chopped parsley, chopped scallions and/or shredded Cheddar
In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add onion and stir until golden brown and caramelized. Add ground beef and sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown and caramelized. Add chopped peppers and garlic and cook for a few minutes, stirring.
Add tomatoes, broth, water and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes more. Add fresh parsley.
Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream, freshly chopped parsley, chopped scallions and/or shredded Cheddar cheese on top.
CABBAGE GOULASH
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground Italian sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 (28-ounce) cans diced Italian tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 head cabbage, shredded
I tablespoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
In a large skillet, brown ground beef and sausage; drain and set aside. Heat olive oil in skillet, add onions, and cook until caramelized.
Combine drained meats, caramelized onions, tomatoes, tomato sauce, cabbage and seasonings. Pour mixture into a greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours or until cabbage is tender.
3-BEAN MOLE CHILI
2 pounds ground chuck
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon Ancho chili powder
1 can chili beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 bar unsweetened dark chocolate
Salt and pepper
Sour cream and shredded cheese
Brown ground chuck; drain and set aside. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook until vegetables are soft. Add cumin, oregano and chili powder and cook for about 5 minutes. Add drained meat, beans, sauteed vegetables, tomatoes, cinnamon and chocolate and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with sour cream and shredded cheese.
PHILLY CHEESESTEAK EGG ROLLS
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped
24 egg roll wrappers
12 slices American cheese, cut in half
3/4 cup vegetable oil for frying
Cook beef in a large skillet over medium heat, gently breaking it into pea-sized pieces, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Gently stir in Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper; transfer mixture to a bowl.
Melt butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook and stir until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Return beef mixture to the skillet and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
Place egg roll wrappers on a flat surface. Place 1/2 slice American cheese onto each wrapper, then top with about 3 tablespoons of filling. Pull the bottom left corner up over the filling and fold the two sides in, moistening the edges with water as you go; roll tightly.
Fill a large saucepan with about 1 inch oil; heat over medium-high heat. Working in batches of 3 to 4, fry egg rolls until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
SOLDIER PASTA
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
9 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes in juice
1 (15-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound rigatoni pasta
1 pound part-skim Mozzarella, grated
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Heat 4 tablespoons of oil with the garlic in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Once it begins to sizzle, cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is soft and just beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes, then add the tomatoes and water.
Increase heat to high and bring the tomato sauce to a boil, crushing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat; stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce cool for 10 minutes then puree in a blender until smooth.
Grease a 9-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until it is slightly less than al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta, then spread it in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Stand each piece of rigatoni on end in the prepared springform pan until it is completely filled (you might not use all the pasta). Place the pan on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch drips. Pour the sauce over the noodles, and spread it with the back of a spoon, pushing it into the pasta holes until they're filled (you might not use all the sauce). Sprinkle the pasta with the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
Cover the pan with foil, doming it slightly to avoid touching the cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and continue cooking until the top is golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes more. Let the pasta cool for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the sides of the pan. Cut into wedges and serve.
