Time to bust out the Chicken Francais recipe. This is one of the first ones I came across/developed when I started this recent interest in cooking. It is simple, quick, easy and makes a dish which tastes like it came out of a New York gourmet restaurant. This is definitely one for company; never ceases to impress.
I came to this when I first ordered Chicken Picatta, then Chicken Francais down at Mamma Maria's. I looked up a few recipes on the internet to get a feel for what they were, then started cooking. This recipe is where I wound up. Basically, it is chicken in a white wine, lemon, caper sauce.
Chicken breast, 1 1/2 lb sliced thin
Chicken broth, 15 oz can
White wine, 1 cup
Lemon juice, 1 cup
Capers, 1.5 oz
Flour, some, like 24 g
Grated Parmesan Cheese, some , like 36 g
Garlic, 2 cloves, 8-10 g
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil, 2 tbl
Make a dredge by mixing the flour, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. I use a 10" stainless steel skillet to make this. Heat the oil in the skillet, coat the chicken pieces with dredge, and brown in the skillet. Reserve the browned chicken. Add more oil if you need to but I try to minimize it. Add the garlic to the remaining oil. Add the can of chicken broth (you can use home made, of course, if you happen to have it on hand) and mix in dredge and browning leavings from the bottom of the skillet. Add wine, lemon juice, and drained capers. Carefully dust the remaining dredge onto the surface stirring it in carefully to avoid clumping (you may have to get out the old whisk and go to work here to break up the lumps) to thicken the sauce. Add the chicken back to the skillet and cook until chicken is done and sauce thickens.
That's it. Takes about 45 minutes. The Italian restaurants serve this over linguine, but I prefer Pennsylvania Dutch egg noodles. We generally have it with a fresh veg, which often means steamed broccoli with lemon juice these days.
Getting fancy? Add in thin slices from a real lemon (as opposed to ReaLemon, which is what I generally wind up using) and garnish with parsley.
It's goood. I know people who will not eat chicken who will eat this dish (Cousin Jim Adams, if you can believe it) after having it served to them.
VARIATIONS
For Zoe, I substitute slices of low fat Tofu for the chicken - works great. I haven't tried it, but I assume you could substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth and with the Tofu make this truly vegetarian.
These days I seem to be adding 1/4 tsp of ground mustard to everything I make, so I did to the last time I made this.
If you want a little excitement, sprinkle in some red pepper.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Roasted veggies
Yesterday was supposed to be cool and rainy all day, and I was craving red meat. A quick look in the freezer turned up a small rump roast, which let me to think "roast beef!" In trying to put together a menu idea, I also thought of the three pounds or so of CSA Savoy cabbage and all the other little bits and pieces of random veggies crowding up our fridge. A quick check of google let me know that roasting cabbage is not a new idea, and I was off and running. So last night, after a day that turned out to be mostly sunny and warm (the rain didn't come in until after we went to sleep), we had a small roast beef, and roasted cabbage, potatoes, asparagus, and fennel (I forgot the carrots, whoops!). It turned out to be a pretty great meal. It was also super easy to prepare: For the potatoes and fennel I just chopped them and then mixed with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. I sliced the cabbages into about 3/4" thick slices, then made a dressing of equal parts melted butter and lemon juice that I brushed on the slices. I then sprinkled them with some crushed fennel seeds and popped them into the oven. The asparagus got brushed with the same dressing. Everything cooked at around 425 for about 20 min, with one turn in the middle. Cleanup was super easy too: my baking pans are so old and rusty that I always just cover them with aluminum foil before putting anything on them. So, when everything came out of the oven, I transferred the food to different bowls, threw away the foil, and put the pans right back in the drawer where I keep them! We also had a couple cilantro sauces (one cilantro mint chutney and a chermoula - recipes another time) left over from some chicken kabobs we made a week or two ago, so I brought those out to go with the potatoes. Otherwise they probably would have needed some more flavor. I guess I also made some popovers to increase our protein content, since the roast was really small. But, all in all, it turns out that you can roast just about any veggie and making a medley of roasted veggies is a great way to turn small amounts of various veggies into a nice meal.
-Maggie
-Maggie
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Asparagus Quiche
I made my first quiche the other night following Mom's verbal directions. Quiche, it turns out (you all probably know this already) is incredibly easy to make and yields a first rate dish, definitely something you can feed to company. My first try at it was really good. Classic quiche is made in a pie crust but an alternative which I really like and which is ridiculously easy to make is a rice crust. You press warm cooked rice to the inside of a glass pie plate to form the crust, spray with a small quantity of oil (Pam), and bake at ~350 F until it dries out and starts to brown slightly. This is particularly easy if you happen to have some leftover rice to warm in the microwave; gets rid of leftovers, too. Then you just add grated cheese, onions (sliced and separated into rings), and whatever else you are including - we had fresh asparagus from the garden chopped into 1/2 pieces - cover with beaten egg and milk mixture, and bake at 350 until done, about 45-50 minutes. I used a mixture of cheddar and Swiss cheeses, mostly because we have some not-very-good Swiss cheese that I have been trying to use up. Here are the quantities (in grams; aren't kitchen scales great?) I used, in detail:
I seasoned the beaten egg and milk mixture with salt, pepper and chopped savory from the herb garden.
Obvious flavor options are what vegetable you use, what cheeses you use, what herbs you use, what crust, etc.
NUTRITION:
Add it all up and here is what you get:
The recipe comprises 1084 grams containing 1474 calories. Cut it into 6 servings and each is 181 g with 246 cal. Big boys are likely to eat two pieces, so double that for them. The breakdown is:
246 cal 57 carbs 123 fat 65 protein
100% 23% 50% 27%
Whoada thought this classic "health food" would be 50% fat calories? Well, that's what you get from eggs and cheese. Our local has recently started stocking reduced fat cheddar cheeses from Cabot Creamery, 50% less and 75% less (made from 1% milk). I plugged these into the calculator to see what effect using them would have on the quiche nutritional composition:
212 cal 57 carb 90 fat 65 protein
100% 27% 42% 31%
197 cal 57 carb 75 fat 65 protein
100% 29% 38% 33%
So you could skinny this up by using the low fat cheese. I bought some of each to try: not bad but noticeably not as good as the full fat cheddar when just eating it. They would probably be OK in cooking. On the other hand, growing kids need fat to make lipid membranes and nerve sheaths, etc. so you do not want to take too much fat out of the diet. Couple a piece of quiche with a veg (we had broccoli) and a piece of fruit and your total for the meal is 466 calories in a 48/32/20 ratio. That's pretty healthy eating and you can always control total calories by adjusting portion size.
By the way, if you use whole milk instead of nonfat, it adds another 12 fat calories per serving.
So, adjust the fat as appropriate to the crew you are feeding by selecting the milk and cheese you use, eat with some fruits and vegetables to add carbs, and adjust total calories through portion control.
Delicious, nutritious, and versatile. Oh, and easy. Oh, and people think it is gourmet so you can serve it to company. And, there's a gazillion ways to play with the flavor combinations.
With the heat, the spinach is reaching end-of-season in the garden, and the chickens have been getting ahead of us on eggs, so I pulled a bunch and made fresh spinach quiche for dinner.
We had just enough asparagus for two and Zoe picked the first baby beets of the season. Great dinner from the garden (and hen house).
L
Rice, white, cooked 205
Onion 41
Garlic 9
Eggs (6 large) 358
Olive oil 1
Milk, nonfat (1 cup) 245
Cheese 142
Asparagus, raw 83
I seasoned the beaten egg and milk mixture with salt, pepper and chopped savory from the herb garden.
Obvious flavor options are what vegetable you use, what cheeses you use, what herbs you use, what crust, etc.
NUTRITION:
Add it all up and here is what you get:
The recipe comprises 1084 grams containing 1474 calories. Cut it into 6 servings and each is 181 g with 246 cal. Big boys are likely to eat two pieces, so double that for them. The breakdown is:
246 cal 57 carbs 123 fat 65 protein
100% 23% 50% 27%
Whoada thought this classic "health food" would be 50% fat calories? Well, that's what you get from eggs and cheese. Our local has recently started stocking reduced fat cheddar cheeses from Cabot Creamery, 50% less and 75% less (made from 1% milk). I plugged these into the calculator to see what effect using them would have on the quiche nutritional composition:
212 cal 57 carb 90 fat 65 protein
100% 27% 42% 31%
197 cal 57 carb 75 fat 65 protein
100% 29% 38% 33%
So you could skinny this up by using the low fat cheese. I bought some of each to try: not bad but noticeably not as good as the full fat cheddar when just eating it. They would probably be OK in cooking. On the other hand, growing kids need fat to make lipid membranes and nerve sheaths, etc. so you do not want to take too much fat out of the diet. Couple a piece of quiche with a veg (we had broccoli) and a piece of fruit and your total for the meal is 466 calories in a 48/32/20 ratio. That's pretty healthy eating and you can always control total calories by adjusting portion size.
By the way, if you use whole milk instead of nonfat, it adds another 12 fat calories per serving.
So, adjust the fat as appropriate to the crew you are feeding by selecting the milk and cheese you use, eat with some fruits and vegetables to add carbs, and adjust total calories through portion control.
Delicious, nutritious, and versatile. Oh, and easy. Oh, and people think it is gourmet so you can serve it to company. And, there's a gazillion ways to play with the flavor combinations.
May 31, 2012
With the heat, the spinach is reaching end-of-season in the garden, and the chickens have been getting ahead of us on eggs, so I pulled a bunch and made fresh spinach quiche for dinner.
We had just enough asparagus for two and Zoe picked the first baby beets of the season. Great dinner from the garden (and hen house).
L
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Nutrition Data
When I want nutrition data on any food, I Google "[foodname] Nutrition Facts". In the first or second hit, there will usually be one for a website called nutritiondata.self.com. That's where I go for my data. Actually, you can just go to that website and use their search engine to search for your food or you can browse their database. I like this source because the data is exhaustive; each of nutrition sources is broken in detail - how much of what kind of sugars, how much of what kinds of fats, amount of each amino acid in the protein, etc. Plus, they list vitamins and minerals. I use copy and paste on each of the columns of data to transfer it to an Excel spread sheet (it is an html table so it parses into Excel cells automatically), then use VLOOKUP to transfer the data to database record/field format on another page. I have to fill in the food name and portion weight by hand in the Excel SS, then use Copy and Paste Special As Value to move the info into a database list. In time, my database contains all of the foods of interest to me.
Then I use VLOOKUP to create a recipe calculator, where I can list the ingredients and amounts and get them transferred to another table where they are summed. Results from a recipe can then be copied up into the database. Similarly, I have a menu calculator which sums up all the components of a menu to get the total calories and nutrition breakdown.
Lindsey
Then I use VLOOKUP to create a recipe calculator, where I can list the ingredients and amounts and get them transferred to another table where they are summed. Results from a recipe can then be copied up into the database. Similarly, I have a menu calculator which sums up all the components of a menu to get the total calories and nutrition breakdown.
Lindsey
Moroccan Chicken Pot Pie
Dad's post about chutney reminded me of this recipe. I think it was his mention of raisins that got me thinking about Moroccan Chicken Pot Pie.
I first had this when a friend brought it to a potluck. Much to my dismay, it disappeared before I could grab seconds. Not to worry, I found her source and made it myself. This is a simple weeknight dinner that will not dissappoint.
Here's the recipe (copied and pasted from Epicurious.com)
I first had this when a friend brought it to a potluck. Much to my dismay, it disappeared before I could grab seconds. Not to worry, I found her source and made it myself. This is a simple weeknight dinner that will not dissappoint.
Here's the recipe (copied and pasted from Epicurious.com)
Monday, April 23, 2012
Chutney
A few weeks ago, I tried making a chutney to go with a dinner. The dinner was a flop because the chutney I made did not go with the main dish or with the lemon-dill raita I made the same day. Also, the raita had not had enough time for the flavor to develop well. However, the lemon-dill raita turned out great in the end, as mentioned in previous posts and the chutney is pretty good also if you find the right thing to serve it with, so the evening was not a total failure.
I looked up chutney recipes on the internet and read several. It turns out chutneys are just cooked up goodies (usually a sweet and a bitter, I think, but maybe not always) and spices with brown sugar and vinegar. It opens door to picking the goodies and the spices to match the meal. Lots of room for creativity here.
The chutney I made was citrus-raisin. I included lemon slices, thinly sliced orange peel, and thinly sliced grapefruit peel. As far as I am concerned, the grapefruit does not contribute anything worthwhile. And I picked the lemon slices out after it was done because they were difficult to eat. The lemon and lemon juice contributed to the flavor, however. So here is the recipe I made (minus the grapefruit rind):
Onion 1 small (65 g)
Garlic 2 cloves (10 g)
Ginger root ~1 1/4 inch (33 g)
Orange rind 38 g
Juice from the orange
Lemon 1 (109 g)
Raisins 145 g
Vinegar 1/2 cup, I used apple cider vinegar
Brown sugar ~ 1/4 cup (37 g)
Vegetable oil 2 Tbl
Garham masala 1 1/2 tsp
Mustard, gnd 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg 1/4 tsp
Hot pepper pinch or to taste, I used African Bird Pepper (very hot)
Mince the onion, garlic and ginger root. Slice the orange rind into very thin slices about 1 to 1 1/2 inch long. Slice the lemon into very thin slices.
Heat the veg oil in a wok. Add the onion and garlic. When the onion is translucent, add the ginger root. Adding small amounts of water as needed to keep the wok from drying out, add the lemon slices, orange rind, and raisins. Stir continuously while cooking. Add vinegar and brown sugar. Add spices. Continue to stir until the raisins are hot and the orange rind is soft and cooked thru. As I said above, I wound up picking the lemon slices out after it was done.
Or something like that.
I thought this came out well. The whole concept is very open to experimentation. I hope to hear about what you try next time you need a chutney. I see there are a lot of suggested recipes using cranberries...
Lindsey
PS Do not serve this chutney with fish; that was my flop. Maybe pork chops...
I looked up chutney recipes on the internet and read several. It turns out chutneys are just cooked up goodies (usually a sweet and a bitter, I think, but maybe not always) and spices with brown sugar and vinegar. It opens door to picking the goodies and the spices to match the meal. Lots of room for creativity here.
The chutney I made was citrus-raisin. I included lemon slices, thinly sliced orange peel, and thinly sliced grapefruit peel. As far as I am concerned, the grapefruit does not contribute anything worthwhile. And I picked the lemon slices out after it was done because they were difficult to eat. The lemon and lemon juice contributed to the flavor, however. So here is the recipe I made (minus the grapefruit rind):
Onion 1 small (65 g)
Garlic 2 cloves (10 g)
Ginger root ~1 1/4 inch (33 g)
Orange rind 38 g
Juice from the orange
Lemon 1 (109 g)
Raisins 145 g
Vinegar 1/2 cup, I used apple cider vinegar
Brown sugar ~ 1/4 cup (37 g)
Vegetable oil 2 Tbl
Garham masala 1 1/2 tsp
Mustard, gnd 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg 1/4 tsp
Hot pepper pinch or to taste, I used African Bird Pepper (very hot)
Mince the onion, garlic and ginger root. Slice the orange rind into very thin slices about 1 to 1 1/2 inch long. Slice the lemon into very thin slices.
Heat the veg oil in a wok. Add the onion and garlic. When the onion is translucent, add the ginger root. Adding small amounts of water as needed to keep the wok from drying out, add the lemon slices, orange rind, and raisins. Stir continuously while cooking. Add vinegar and brown sugar. Add spices. Continue to stir until the raisins are hot and the orange rind is soft and cooked thru. As I said above, I wound up picking the lemon slices out after it was done.
Or something like that.
I thought this came out well. The whole concept is very open to experimentation. I hope to hear about what you try next time you need a chutney. I see there are a lot of suggested recipes using cranberries...
Lindsey
PS Do not serve this chutney with fish; that was my flop. Maybe pork chops...
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Green Bean Salad
This recipe makes green beans about as healthy as Dad's Mashed Potatoes make potatoes...and it. is. awesome.
Very simple recipe for you today. Tucson was flirting with 100 degrees today, so I spent the afternoon playing tennis, lounging in the pool with a beer in hand, and now I'm about to go to a BBQ. This recipe is summery, simple, and delicious. Start with the following cast of characters:
Green beans, cherry tomatoes, pesto, and vinegar (I used red wine).
The hippie in me reached into my freezer to take out some pesto I had made with basil I grew in my "garden" last summer. However, it looked like this compared to what I bought...
The brown/grey color was suspicious. The freezer burned texture wasn't the most appetizing. The flavor...where was the garlic!?
Mmm..green beans - you're healthy now...but just wait.
Anyway, all ya do is cook the green beans (don't forget to throw them in an ice bath!), halve the tomatoes, and throw them in a bowl together. I then used the vinegar to thin out the pesto a bit and make a little vinaigrette. Add that to the tomatoes and green beans and toss.
Then, my favorite part, steal a green bean or two to test it out. Add more pesto/vinegar as needed. I added more pesto...it seemed like the right thing to do.
I have a suspicion that this gets better with time. Had I not been laying on a raft in the pool all afternoon, I would have made this earlier so it had time to really blend. I'm still happy with my decision.
As for the health side of this...I think it's all fine and good except for the gobs of olive oil and cheese in the pesto. All in all, better than french fries.
Happy Summer!
Molly
Very simple recipe for you today. Tucson was flirting with 100 degrees today, so I spent the afternoon playing tennis, lounging in the pool with a beer in hand, and now I'm about to go to a BBQ. This recipe is summery, simple, and delicious. Start with the following cast of characters:
Green beans, cherry tomatoes, pesto, and vinegar (I used red wine).
The hippie in me reached into my freezer to take out some pesto I had made with basil I grew in my "garden" last summer. However, it looked like this compared to what I bought...
The brown/grey color was suspicious. The freezer burned texture wasn't the most appetizing. The flavor...where was the garlic!?
Mmm..green beans - you're healthy now...but just wait.
Anyway, all ya do is cook the green beans (don't forget to throw them in an ice bath!), halve the tomatoes, and throw them in a bowl together. I then used the vinegar to thin out the pesto a bit and make a little vinaigrette. Add that to the tomatoes and green beans and toss.
Then, my favorite part, steal a green bean or two to test it out. Add more pesto/vinegar as needed. I added more pesto...it seemed like the right thing to do.
I have a suspicion that this gets better with time. Had I not been laying on a raft in the pool all afternoon, I would have made this earlier so it had time to really blend. I'm still happy with my decision.
As for the health side of this...I think it's all fine and good except for the gobs of olive oil and cheese in the pesto. All in all, better than french fries.
Happy Summer!
Molly
Dad's Best Mashed Potatoes in the World
It sounds pretentious to make a "world's-best" claim, but my mashed potatoes really are the best I have ever tasted. Every time I have served these to others they receive rave reviews, including from at least one professional chef. People ask for the recipe; when I tell them, they do not believe it could be so simple. Today, here on this blog, I reveal all.
The recipe is a combination between "simple is best" and "if some is good, more is better, and too much is just about enough..." There are just four ingredients:
Potatoes Some Use white or red potatoes. Do not use gold or russets.
Butter More (That's butter, not margarine!)
Black Pepper Too much Use fresh-ground
Salt To taste
Peel the potatoes, cover with water in cook pot, and boil until cooked (fork passes through the potato easily). Drain and mash with a mixer, adding butter, salt, and pepper. Taste often to be sure they are OK and don't need more of something. Keep grinding the fresh black pepper right up until the time you're ready to stick the forkful in your mouth; I seriously do no think you can get too much black pepper in these.
Do not add anything else. I don't care how your mother made them, how Chef Richard make them, what you've read in Good Housekeeping, etc. The whole key here is basic potatoes, no additives, and too much butter.
These will get you rave reviews at the Thanksgiving table or any other meal featuring mashed potatoes (pork and 'kraut, OSR and gravy, sausage and rice balls...)
THE DARK UNDERSIDE
Mom has shuddered every time I have made these mashed potatoes for years. Now that I've taken an interest in nutrition as well as eating, I understand why. Let's take a look at this recipe:
A 220 g serving of potato contains about 205 calories, 187 from carbs, 2 from fat, and 15 from protein, so 91.4% from carbs, 1.2% from fat, and 7.5% from protein. The protein is complete with the lowest essential amino acid being Leucine at 109%. So your basic potato is a very good, low fat, source of carbs with a not-insignificant contribution of balanced, complete protein - a great fundamental building block for a nutritious meal.
Now, take the mashed potatoes that were so well received when we got together last Thanksgiving. We used red potatoes, 7 1/2 pounds, and added 1 pound of butter, so now you know about the right proportion for "some" and "more". Now, a 220 g serving contains 366 calories, 165 from carbs, 186 from fat, and 14 from protein, or 45.1% from carbs, 51.0% from fat, and 3.9% from protein. The butter has essentially doubled the calories, basically all from fat. Being butter fat, the omega-6/omega-3 ratio is in the wrong direction (~7.5/1). And of course, if you go back for seconds, it just makes it worse.
So, if you are young and active and can stand a couple hundred extra fat calories in your diet now and then, these are the mashed potatoes to make. I think for me, I will have to retire this recipe except for very special occasions and even then I will have to eat in moderation.
Lindsey
The recipe is a combination between "simple is best" and "if some is good, more is better, and too much is just about enough..." There are just four ingredients:
Potatoes Some Use white or red potatoes. Do not use gold or russets.
Butter More (That's butter, not margarine!)
Black Pepper Too much Use fresh-ground
Salt To taste
Peel the potatoes, cover with water in cook pot, and boil until cooked (fork passes through the potato easily). Drain and mash with a mixer, adding butter, salt, and pepper. Taste often to be sure they are OK and don't need more of something. Keep grinding the fresh black pepper right up until the time you're ready to stick the forkful in your mouth; I seriously do no think you can get too much black pepper in these.
Do not add anything else. I don't care how your mother made them, how Chef Richard make them, what you've read in Good Housekeeping, etc. The whole key here is basic potatoes, no additives, and too much butter.
These will get you rave reviews at the Thanksgiving table or any other meal featuring mashed potatoes (pork and 'kraut, OSR and gravy, sausage and rice balls...)
THE DARK UNDERSIDE
Mom has shuddered every time I have made these mashed potatoes for years. Now that I've taken an interest in nutrition as well as eating, I understand why. Let's take a look at this recipe:
A 220 g serving of potato contains about 205 calories, 187 from carbs, 2 from fat, and 15 from protein, so 91.4% from carbs, 1.2% from fat, and 7.5% from protein. The protein is complete with the lowest essential amino acid being Leucine at 109%. So your basic potato is a very good, low fat, source of carbs with a not-insignificant contribution of balanced, complete protein - a great fundamental building block for a nutritious meal.
Now, take the mashed potatoes that were so well received when we got together last Thanksgiving. We used red potatoes, 7 1/2 pounds, and added 1 pound of butter, so now you know about the right proportion for "some" and "more". Now, a 220 g serving contains 366 calories, 165 from carbs, 186 from fat, and 14 from protein, or 45.1% from carbs, 51.0% from fat, and 3.9% from protein. The butter has essentially doubled the calories, basically all from fat. Being butter fat, the omega-6/omega-3 ratio is in the wrong direction (~7.5/1). And of course, if you go back for seconds, it just makes it worse.
So, if you are young and active and can stand a couple hundred extra fat calories in your diet now and then, these are the mashed potatoes to make. I think for me, I will have to retire this recipe except for very special occasions and even then I will have to eat in moderation.
Lindsey
Friday, April 20, 2012
Yogurt cheese
I've been searching my brain for recipes that I've made up and that count as healthy and coming up fairly empty I'm afraid. But, here's one that I think goes the distance.
If you put yogurt into cheesecloth and let it hang for a day or so, a lot of whey will come out and you'll be left with a wonderful soft cheese-consistency yogurt. At this point, you have lots of options: I like to use the "recipe" below to make a savory spread, which makes a great snack when spread on a cracker or piece of bread. I especially like it on a piece of toast with a slice of avocado or between an egg and a piece of toast. I've also gone the sweet route, and mixed the base cheese with some (homemade) jelly. I like that version spread on pancakes or waffles as a healthier alternative to syrup and one that provides some protein as well. I shared this with my friend Jill, and she used it as a substitute for cream cheese (honestly, I get a little lost at the thought of making a cream cheese substitute - I love the real stuff WAY too much!). She mixed the basic cheese with pumpkin, a little maple syrup, and some spices. Anyway, there's tons you can do with it. Health-wise, I like to think of it as a way to get the benefits of yogurt in a medium that's spreadable. If you have a good low-fat yogurt you can use that, but I think the flavor is honestly much better with full fat yogurt. It doesn't matter as much for the sweeter versions.
Here's my favorite (savory) version:
Line a sieve or colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth. Pour 1 large container of yogurt in, then lift the corners of the cheesecloth and tie around a spoon handle set over a large bowl so that the yogurt hangs like "large fuzzy dice" from the spoon handle without touching the bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge. Dump out any accumulated whey* from the bottom of the bowl occasionally. When no more whey collects (usually overnight) or you're becoming impatient, untie the cheesecloth and dump the yogurt cheese into a bowl.
Stir in:
1 smallish glove of crushed garlic
~1 t. minced fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste.
Let sit for a little while - a few hours to a day is plenty - to let the flavors develop.
*Another great use for the whey is as a "starter" for homemade sauerkraut (and probably other fermented veggies). The bacteria that makes sauerkraut is the same as that which make yogurt. It occurs naturally on cabbage leaves, so this starter isn't strictly necessary. But in my (limited) experience, it gets the fermentation off to a quicker start and, most importantly, spikes the cabbage with the good bacteria that you want to grow, helping the good bacteria win out over other bacteria and fungi.
If you put yogurt into cheesecloth and let it hang for a day or so, a lot of whey will come out and you'll be left with a wonderful soft cheese-consistency yogurt. At this point, you have lots of options: I like to use the "recipe" below to make a savory spread, which makes a great snack when spread on a cracker or piece of bread. I especially like it on a piece of toast with a slice of avocado or between an egg and a piece of toast. I've also gone the sweet route, and mixed the base cheese with some (homemade) jelly. I like that version spread on pancakes or waffles as a healthier alternative to syrup and one that provides some protein as well. I shared this with my friend Jill, and she used it as a substitute for cream cheese (honestly, I get a little lost at the thought of making a cream cheese substitute - I love the real stuff WAY too much!). She mixed the basic cheese with pumpkin, a little maple syrup, and some spices. Anyway, there's tons you can do with it. Health-wise, I like to think of it as a way to get the benefits of yogurt in a medium that's spreadable. If you have a good low-fat yogurt you can use that, but I think the flavor is honestly much better with full fat yogurt. It doesn't matter as much for the sweeter versions.
Here's my favorite (savory) version:
Line a sieve or colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth. Pour 1 large container of yogurt in, then lift the corners of the cheesecloth and tie around a spoon handle set over a large bowl so that the yogurt hangs like "large fuzzy dice" from the spoon handle without touching the bottom of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge. Dump out any accumulated whey* from the bottom of the bowl occasionally. When no more whey collects (usually overnight) or you're becoming impatient, untie the cheesecloth and dump the yogurt cheese into a bowl.
Stir in:
1 smallish glove of crushed garlic
~1 t. minced fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste.
Let sit for a little while - a few hours to a day is plenty - to let the flavors develop.
*Another great use for the whey is as a "starter" for homemade sauerkraut (and probably other fermented veggies). The bacteria that makes sauerkraut is the same as that which make yogurt. It occurs naturally on cabbage leaves, so this starter isn't strictly necessary. But in my (limited) experience, it gets the fermentation off to a quicker start and, most importantly, spikes the cabbage with the good bacteria that you want to grow, helping the good bacteria win out over other bacteria and fungi.
Laptop Lunches
This isn't a recipe, but it is food related, so I thought I'd share. Last year at some point our daycare provider asked us to start providing lunches for Will in exchange for no increase in daycare fees. So, we had to go find a lunch box for Will. After reading my friend Jill's food blog (about healthy snacks for kids - here's the link if you're interested: http://www.healthykiddosnacks.com/ ) I looked up buying a Laptop Lunch, which is an Americanized (larger) version of the traditional Japanese bento box. I loved Will's so much, I went out and bought one for myself a week later, and I've been extremely happy with it since. We can pack plenty of food into one of these to keep me going strong all day long, and it's made a big difference in how healthy my lunches are. We still fill it with leftovers, but having the different internal containers encourages us to eat more veggies and less starch. So, instead of filling a whole tupperware with leftover pasta with a few pieces of broccoli on the side, I get one container of pasta, one container of broccoli, another container with fruit, and one more with something else, usually some kind of protein. The only 2 things I don't like about it are that the closing/latch mechanism isn't great, and the containers are plastic, so I don't like heating food up in them. That said, I pretty much always just eat my lunch at room temp, so it's not a big deal for me.
I got ours from Amazon. Here's a link to one, though if you just search Laptop Lunch you can find them for all different prices and in all different colors.
http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-Lunches-Bento-Navy-Stripe/dp/B003ZWL7P2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1334976585&sr=8-5
Will's came with the insulated carrying case, which has the added bonus of helping to keep the main container closed. The preschool we're likely moving him to this summer provides all food again (we're a little bummed about that, since it's nice to know exactly what and how much he's eating, but oh well), and I'm looking forward to taking over his carrying case for my lunch box when he doesn't need it anymore.
This isn't a recipe, but it is food related, so I thought I'd share. Last year at some point our daycare provider asked us to start providing lunches for Will in exchange for no increase in daycare fees. So, we had to go find a lunch box for Will. After reading my friend Jill's food blog (about healthy snacks for kids - here's the link if you're interested: http://www.healthykiddosnacks.com/ ) I looked up buying a Laptop Lunch, which is an Americanized (larger) version of the traditional Japanese bento box. I loved Will's so much, I went out and bought one for myself a week later, and I've been extremely happy with it since. We can pack plenty of food into one of these to keep me going strong all day long, and it's made a big difference in how healthy my lunches are. We still fill it with leftovers, but having the different internal containers encourages us to eat more veggies and less starch. So, instead of filling a whole tupperware with leftover pasta with a few pieces of broccoli on the side, I get one container of pasta, one container of broccoli, another container with fruit, and one more with something else, usually some kind of protein. The only 2 things I don't like about it are that the closing/latch mechanism isn't great, and the containers are plastic, so I don't like heating food up in them. That said, I pretty much always just eat my lunch at room temp, so it's not a big deal for me.
I got ours from Amazon. Here's a link to one, though if you just search Laptop Lunch you can find them for all different prices and in all different colors.
http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-Lunches-Bento-Navy-Stripe/dp/B003ZWL7P2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1334976585&sr=8-5
Will's came with the insulated carrying case, which has the added bonus of helping to keep the main container closed. The preschool we're likely moving him to this summer provides all food again (we're a little bummed about that, since it's nice to know exactly what and how much he's eating, but oh well), and I'm looking forward to taking over his carrying case for my lunch box when he doesn't need it anymore.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
My Perennial Herb Garden
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| My Perennial Herb Garden |
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| Luvage and Mint on the Side of the House |
Lindsey
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| Luvage Plant Transplanted from Kanga's at Schaeffer Street |
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| Spring Garden with Lettuce, Beets, Spinach, and Radishes |
Who buys the ice cream?
This doesn't really have anything to do with a recipe or healthy eating. Just a story for ya'll.
Yesterday in rehearsal I was working on a piece called Java Jiva with my chamber ensemble. The last phrase (unlike all the rest in the piece) has an eighth rest on beat one. Despite having rehearsed it, I of course had a couple kids come in on beat one rather than waiting for the rest. I was moved to tell them a story...
I told them the story about "buying the ice cream." How many times did we hear that on hikes..."if you get your feet wet, you have to buy the ice cream!" Of course I made the story all dramatic for them. Anywho the moral of the story was that who ever sang on the rest has to buy the ice cream for the choir.
It just reminded me of you guys. Enjoy your Thursday and don't get your feet wet!
Molly
Yesterday in rehearsal I was working on a piece called Java Jiva with my chamber ensemble. The last phrase (unlike all the rest in the piece) has an eighth rest on beat one. Despite having rehearsed it, I of course had a couple kids come in on beat one rather than waiting for the rest. I was moved to tell them a story...
I told them the story about "buying the ice cream." How many times did we hear that on hikes..."if you get your feet wet, you have to buy the ice cream!" Of course I made the story all dramatic for them. Anywho the moral of the story was that who ever sang on the rest has to buy the ice cream for the choir.
It just reminded me of you guys. Enjoy your Thursday and don't get your feet wet!
Molly
Monday, April 16, 2012
Salmon Eggs and Grits
Roaming around the nutrition database (more on that later) I discovered that canned Sardines are a real nutritional bargain. A can of sardines-in-water for lunch can really round out your protein intake for the day and the carry-along calories are fat (also sometimes a deficit if tending towards vegetarian diet), not carbs. More to the point, they are omega-3 fats and can completely balance your essential fats. The proteins are balanced also. So I see this as a nutritional bargain, especially when they are on sale for 10 for $10.
I was pushing this as part of a general discussion of the nutritional benefits of canned fish with Katherine when she commented that Salmon Eggs and Grits was a traditional southern breakfast. Further discussion proved we were not talking about caviar here, just canned salmon and scrabbled eggs with grits.
Well, that was enough to set me to trying it. This morning, I diced 1/2 of a small onion and one clove of garlic (if the knife touches onion it might as well touch garlic, right?), melted 1/4 pat of butter in a 6" iron skillet, sauteed the onions and garlic, added about 1/4 can salmon (cleaned of skin and bones) as a layer of chunks covering the bottom of the skillet. I added water as needed to keep the pan from drying out and to steam the veg and salmon. Meanwhile, I scrambled one large egg in a bowl with salt, fresh ground pepper, and two sprigs of winter savory, minced (the herb garden is starting to produce!), When the veg were cooked, salmon hot, and the pan approaching dry, I turned down the heat and added the scrambled egg mixture. Scrambled eggs cooked gently and turned out on a plate and voila - salmon eggs!
Meanwhile, I made a bowl of Quick Grits using the microwave recipe - messy but quick and effective - and cut a half grapefruit. I served the salmon-eggs with lemon-dill raita, grits, and a cuppa joe. I was planning a piece of rye toast with Baumans Apple Butter to finish it off but got in an argument with the toaster and lost. The burnt toast went into the compost bucket.
OK, I'm not gonna lie - salmon eggs are really good and go really well with grits - try it, you'll like it. The lemon-dill raita adds a whole new dimension not mentioned in the traditional recipe, so I feel like I have contributed here. This can form the basis of a really exquisite Sunday brunch. On the flip side, as a breakfast, this puts a really nutritious foundation on your day.
Lindsey
I was pushing this as part of a general discussion of the nutritional benefits of canned fish with Katherine when she commented that Salmon Eggs and Grits was a traditional southern breakfast. Further discussion proved we were not talking about caviar here, just canned salmon and scrabbled eggs with grits.
Well, that was enough to set me to trying it. This morning, I diced 1/2 of a small onion and one clove of garlic (if the knife touches onion it might as well touch garlic, right?), melted 1/4 pat of butter in a 6" iron skillet, sauteed the onions and garlic, added about 1/4 can salmon (cleaned of skin and bones) as a layer of chunks covering the bottom of the skillet. I added water as needed to keep the pan from drying out and to steam the veg and salmon. Meanwhile, I scrambled one large egg in a bowl with salt, fresh ground pepper, and two sprigs of winter savory, minced (the herb garden is starting to produce!), When the veg were cooked, salmon hot, and the pan approaching dry, I turned down the heat and added the scrambled egg mixture. Scrambled eggs cooked gently and turned out on a plate and voila - salmon eggs!
Meanwhile, I made a bowl of Quick Grits using the microwave recipe - messy but quick and effective - and cut a half grapefruit. I served the salmon-eggs with lemon-dill raita, grits, and a cuppa joe. I was planning a piece of rye toast with Baumans Apple Butter to finish it off but got in an argument with the toaster and lost. The burnt toast went into the compost bucket.
OK, I'm not gonna lie - salmon eggs are really good and go really well with grits - try it, you'll like it. The lemon-dill raita adds a whole new dimension not mentioned in the traditional recipe, so I feel like I have contributed here. This can form the basis of a really exquisite Sunday brunch. On the flip side, as a breakfast, this puts a really nutritious foundation on your day.
Lindsey
Raita
Masalas and curries go very well with riatas. Riata is basically equal parts of plain yogurt and diced cucumber with minced onion and spices. Riatas go very well with hot dishes providing a cooling contrast to the heat of the peppers.
When I needed a riata to accompany my first attempt at Gohbi Masala, I Googled "riata recipe" and went to the first or second hit for "Traditional Riata" from Epicurious. [Whoops! I just went to check my source and discovered that Epicurious (and everyone else who is right, I presume) spells it "raita". Funny thing is, "riata" gets hits for recipes, so it's not just me.]
So here is their recipe for
Traditional Raita
When I needed a riata to accompany my first attempt at Gohbi Masala, I Googled "riata recipe" and went to the first or second hit for "Traditional Riata" from Epicurious. [Whoops! I just went to check my source and discovered that Epicurious (and everyone else who is right, I presume) spells it "raita". Funny thing is, "riata" gets hits for recipes, so it's not just me.]
So here is their recipe for
Traditional Raita
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup chopped seeded English hothouse cucumber
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons chopped green onions
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Gohbi and Channa Masala
BACKGROUND
This started while we were enjoying Zoe's tried and true eggplant vegetable curry and speculating that we should try to develop a recipe for curried cauliflower. I read several recipes in the Taste of India cookbook to get an idea of how they are made, then went into the kitchen to wing it based on the reading and memory of some Gohbi Masala dishes at several Indian buffets (always seem to include potatoes).
The first attempt did not include the chickpeas or tofu. Flavor was excellent but the nutritional analysis showed it was low in protein and, since I had added additional oil as the spice mixture got dry, higher in fat than we would have liked. Also, on the evening I made it, the flavor was a little "raw"; the leftovers were much better the next day after it had a chance to blend.
On discussing it, we decided chickpeas would be a great addition with tofu added to help boost the protein. Also changed the instructions to use water, not more oil, to thin the spice paste when it got too dry and the instruction to make it at least 4 hours in advance. These changes fixed the deficiencies pretty effectively and I am happy to launch this recipe now.
We tried this once with chicken breast strips added, which does great things for the protein balance. We actually prefer the vegetarian version; looks like we have gone over to the dark side.
Addition of the chickpeas (channa) to the cauliflower (gohbi) and use of mixed spices (masala) makes this a Gohbi and Channa Masala.
RECIPE
COMMENTS
We really like this dish. I had it with Zoe's eggplant curry as a kind of leftover-Indian-buffet-style-lunch and it went really well, so it works as meal by itself or as part of a multi-dish rijsttafel. I made it once with no red pepper and tomatoes with green chiles in place of tomatoes with jalapenos and it worked equally well as a mild version.
Lindsey
This started while we were enjoying Zoe's tried and true eggplant vegetable curry and speculating that we should try to develop a recipe for curried cauliflower. I read several recipes in the Taste of India cookbook to get an idea of how they are made, then went into the kitchen to wing it based on the reading and memory of some Gohbi Masala dishes at several Indian buffets (always seem to include potatoes).
The first attempt did not include the chickpeas or tofu. Flavor was excellent but the nutritional analysis showed it was low in protein and, since I had added additional oil as the spice mixture got dry, higher in fat than we would have liked. Also, on the evening I made it, the flavor was a little "raw"; the leftovers were much better the next day after it had a chance to blend.
On discussing it, we decided chickpeas would be a great addition with tofu added to help boost the protein. Also changed the instructions to use water, not more oil, to thin the spice paste when it got too dry and the instruction to make it at least 4 hours in advance. These changes fixed the deficiencies pretty effectively and I am happy to launch this recipe now.
We tried this once with chicken breast strips added, which does great things for the protein balance. We actually prefer the vegetarian version; looks like we have gone over to the dark side.
Addition of the chickpeas (channa) to the cauliflower (gohbi) and use of mixed spices (masala) makes this a Gohbi and Channa Masala.
RECIPE
Gohbi and Channa Masala
Curried Cauliflower and Chick Peas
Cauliflower ½ medium head (~400 g)
Potatoes 2 medium (~220 g)
Onion 1 medium (~125 g)
Garlic 4 large cloves (~22 g)
Fresh ginger root ~1 ¼ in (~23 g)
Tofu Some (~100-200 g)
Garbanzo beans 1 15 oz can
Diced tomatoes 1 15 oz can with Jalapeños (or green chilies for less heat)
Vegetable Oil 1 tbl
Curry powder 1 tsp
Cumin 1 tsp
Coriander 1 tsp
Turmeric 1 tsp
Garam Masala 1 tsp
Ground mustard ¼ tsp
Paprika ¼ tsp
African bird pepper v. small pinch (substitute your favorite hot pepper to taste)
Salt 1 tsp or to taste
Fresh ground black pepper Some (to taste)
I routinely make this at least one day ahead of time and re-heated/finish
cooking before serving. This way the flavors
have time to blend and it makes a very quick and easy dinner on the night it is
served.
I like to pre-measure the spices into a single container
(1/4 cup measure for example) so I can dump them quickly and manage the stirring
of the spice paste without interruption – not necessary but it makes it easier
to manage.
Separate the cauliflower into florets (~3/4 to 1”) and place in a shallow pan with the
liquid from the garbanzo beans (and extra water as needed) to cook. Peel and dice potatoes (same size as
cauliflower florets); add to cauliflower.
Peel and dice the onion. Peel and
mince garlic and ginger.
When all of your prep is completed, start the cauliflower
and potatoes cooking. While the
cauliflower and potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a skillet, add the onions
and sauté until they are nearly translucent. When the onions are nearly done, add the
minced garlic and ginger. Do not
overcook the garlic and ginger, leave them with a fresh flavor. Add the spices and stir the mixture. Add water as needed to keep the spice paste
from becoming too dry. Add the spice
mixture to the cauliflower. Add the can
of garbanzo. Add the can of diced
tomatoes. Cut the tofu in small cubes
(1/4” or to taste) and add. Stir to
thoroughly and evenly distribute spices throughout mixture and cook partially, brought
to a boil, fully stirred and homogeneously distributed, spices forming a
uniform yellow brown liquid distributed throughout the dish. Before
cauliflower and potatoes are fully softened, remove from heat, cool, and
refrigerate until ready to heat for serving.
Reheat on stove top, cooking until cauliflower and potatoes are fully
cooked but still firm. Serve with
basmati rice and raita (I used the recipe that Google turns up from Epicurious
except I substituted yellow onion for green, regular-old cucumber for “seeded
English hothouse cucumber”, and dried cilantro for fresh due to availability;
also added ½ tsp lemon juice).
NUTRITION:
As written this should yield four large servings containing a total of about 1450 cal. derived 60% from carbs, 26% from fat, 14% from protein. Essential amino acids are all above 100% of the needed proportion except methionine + cystine at 98%.
A one quarter portion served with ¾ cup (cooked) basmati rice and ½ cup of plain yogurt will be about 584 cal derived 67% from carbs, 17% from fat, 16% from protein with lysine now the lowest essential amino acid at 104%. That’s healthy eating.
If we do not require the dish to be vegetarian, and add 1 cup (140 g) of chicken breast meat to this recipe (we tried this and actual thought we preferred the vegetarian version), a portion with rice and yogurt becomes about 642 cal derived 61% from carbs, 17% from fat, 21% from protein with lysine now at 126%. That’s pretty close to perfect nutrition.
COMMENTS
We really like this dish. I had it with Zoe's eggplant curry as a kind of leftover-Indian-buffet-style-lunch and it went really well, so it works as meal by itself or as part of a multi-dish rijsttafel. I made it once with no red pepper and tomatoes with green chiles in place of tomatoes with jalapenos and it worked equally well as a mild version.
Lindsey
Blog Startup Message
Recently I have taken up an interest in healthy cooking. Since I am home and Zoe is working it seemed only right that I should be doing the cooking and I wanted to continue the family tradition of eating really good, nutritious food which Zoe has maintained for so many years. So I have had to learn what is good to eat (turns out it's just all those things Zoe has been serving) and how to cook it. And of course, it turns out to be a lot of fun making food that tastes really good.
I thought it would be fun to set up a blog for sharing successful recipes (or reports on experiments that are not so successful), nutrition information, etc. within the family.
I will post my Chana Masala recipe to start today, then will try to catch up on a few others as well as one not so successful experiment. Please feel free to comment and post your own ideas.
Lindsey
I thought it would be fun to set up a blog for sharing successful recipes (or reports on experiments that are not so successful), nutrition information, etc. within the family.
I will post my Chana Masala recipe to start today, then will try to catch up on a few others as well as one not so successful experiment. Please feel free to comment and post your own ideas.
Lindsey
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