Destination Anywhere

Another Gratitude Friday, with gratitude to Diana. http://creativestructures.blogspot.com/

A few items I have been very grateful for during the past six months I've been getting healthier:

Exercise resistance bands. These are nifty little things. A set of handles connected by stretchy rubber tubing. They come in three different levels of resistance, to be used in various ways. As you stretch them your muscles are working, and as you release while still holding, the muscles are still working against the lessening resistance. They've done amazing things for my upper arms. They are light and portable, so you can throw them into a suitcase. It takes a bit of practice to learn how to use them, but there are plenty of DVDs, websites and books with clear instructions.

Trader Joe's 0% plain Greek Yogurt. Tastes great, non-chalky, and much cheaper than the Fage. I eat it every morning with fruit, a bit of Stevia, and cereal. I mix it with salsa for a dip. I marinate chicken breasts in it with spices and lime juice. And while we're talking about TJ's, I've also been grateful for their low sodium organic chicken broth, salsas, Kosher chicken, ground white meat turkey, Joe's O's cereal, and 21-Salute salt-free herb mix.

Stevia. This is a natural plant-based sweetener with very few calories. I've found that using more than just a bit gives a slightly bitter aftertaste; but its great to use in sweetening hot drinks and yogurt without chemicals.

Costco. Yes, its a big box store. (But at least from what I've read, does well by its employees and sources locally from small producers as much as possible). What I think it excels in is produce. My weekly shopping list from them includes tiny green beans, spinach, lettuce, raspberries and strawberries in season, mini cucumbers, mushrooms, hydroponic tomatoes; and seasonal treats like chantrelle mushrooms, Tuscan melons, figs, persimmons. They also carry organic chicken, big tubs of Sabra hummus, their Kirkland brand of egg substitute is much cheaper than Eggbeaters, do a very decent store-made lime and chipotle marinated shrimp, and a huge roasted chicken for $5.00. It's interesting to compare our grocery cart to the others in line.

Kalyn's Kitchen. http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/ This website, while focused on recipes for the South Beach Diet, has a lot of fantastic recipes, and links to many others. I've gotten so many great ideas and delicious meals from her site. Very strong on vegetable recipes.

Kirkland egg substitute. The Costco brand of eggbeaters. One cup is equal to 3-4 eggs, has 120 calories, and 24 grams of protein. Makes for a huge frittata with sauteed spinach and tomato, and is often my lunch.

FitDay. http://www.fitday.com.I use this website to track my diet and exercise, it has a pretty good calorie counter, and you can graph your weight loss.

The treadmill and DVD player, and my NetFlix account. I've caught up on years of movies as I've sweated.

Russo's Market, Watertown. This is a wonderful produce store, carrying all manner of the usuals plus lots of Asian, Latin, Middle Eastern, and Italian items. Where I go from everything from cauliflower and swiss chard to long lavendar Chinese eggplants, jicama, and Armenian lavash bread.

Spray cooking oil. I use this instead of pouring on the oil for sauteeing, for roasting vegetables, for making sure food doesn't stick to the grill.

Fiber Gourmet pasta. http://www.fibergourmet.com/default.aspx This is great stuff. A pasta that's loaded with extra fiber, which brings the calories count down. It certainly isn't as marvelous as an imported pasta, but it's really very decent. One cup is only 130 calories, with loads of fiber. It isn't carried in many stores, so I order directly from the website.

Humn. I'm sure there are more, but I'll do another post with them at some point. Hope this is useful to someone!

This has become a staple in my house.

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Eggplant

Eggplant, sliced (I prefer the long lavender Chinese eggplants, which I slice on the diagonal)

Mix the marinade:
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. honey
1/2 tsp (or more) chile powder
salt and pepper to taste (no salt if you've salted the eggplant)

Brush the marinade on both sides of each eggplant slice. Let rest for 15 minutes. Grill until lightly charred and soft. If the eggplant begins to burn on the outside but isn't soft enough yet, put those slices into a metal or foil pan on the grill so they can finish cooking. Sprinkle with basil or parsley and serve hot or at room temperature.

I love olives. I eat them as is, and in all sorts of dishes. They're high in fat, but it's the good kind; the sodium isn't too horrible if you don't go overboard; and a little goes a long way in adding flavor.

I made two olive mixtures using mostly green olives, a traditional Moroccan salad using black olives, and took advantage of the season to buy a few pounds of green olives to try curing.

Cracked Green Olive, Walnut, and Pomegranate Salad

This recipe comes from Paula Wolfert's the Cooking of The Eastern Mediterranean. She calls it an olive salad that in Turkey is used to accompany grilled meat or slices of ripe melon. I fiddled just a bit to make it slightly lower fat. I tried it with melon, on an arugula-orange salad, and on its own with pita. I think I liked it best just with pita for scooping, so it doesn't compete with any more things. I'm looking forward to trying it with simple grilled chicken or beef. This is another mixture that needs to sit so the flavors can develop, and she recommends it be made the day before serving. I thought this was a very neat combination, with salty, sweet, and tart flavors hitting the tongue at once. This is one for adventuresome eaters.

1/2 pound cracked green olives, drained
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup shelled walnuts, finely chopped
2 scallions, minced
1/4 cup minced parsley
1/4 tsp. Aleppo pepper or other mild chile powder
2 tsp. pomegranate molasses (available in Middle Eastern stores)
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
cracked black pepper

1. Make the salad at least one day before serving. Pit the olives, and roughly chop.

2. Mix the olives with the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 hours, more is better.

3. Bring to room temperature and serve.

Continue reading "Sunday Small Bites--Olives Four Ways" »

With gratitude to Diana, for beginning Gratitude Fridays. http://creativestructures.blogspot.com/

Yeah, the day slipped past me again. Here's something simple.

I am grateful for the loss of my double chin.

Continue reading "Gratitude Friday" »

Let me tell you my sad, sad story.

I immediately knew what I wanted to try making for this week's ingredient, pumpkin. Many years ago there was a Lebanese restaurant nearby that made a pumpkin kibbeh that I loved. Kibbeh (or kibbe, kibbee, you see it spelled different ways) is a Middle-Eastern appetizer made from bulgar wheat that is pressed around a filling, formed into an oval, and fried. There are also versions where the bulgar is pressed into a pan, the filling spread on top, the rest of the bulgar forms the top crust, and the dish is baked then cut into small triangles or squares.

I found a recipe in Paula Wolfert's "The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean" for a pumpkin kibbeh filled with spinach, chick peas and walnuts, but it was the fried variety. I adapted the recipe for a baked version, added some seasonings I found in an online version, but did not use the huge amounts of oil called for in the baked kibbeh recipes in Wolfert's book.

The results were disappointingly dry, to say the least. Sawdust around a tasty spinach and chickpea filling. (the recipe for the filling is in my previous entry) But isn't it pretty? Even my husband, notoriously cheerful about all my cooking, even the low-fat efforts, pushed it around his plate before asking "is it supposed to be like this?"

Let's face it, there are reasons why so many recipes call for frying; why oil, butter, all those lovely things were used by the gallon in the days when people physically toiled 18 hour days to put a dish on the table every night. It makes the food taste better, especially the humblest foods. They needed the calories. I do not. This, children, was not one of the dishes where the fat calories could be taken out and the eater wouldn't notice.

OK, on to pumpkin number two. Simpler, and this one was a keeper. The roasted pumpkin was a really nice addition to peppery greens. Great Fall salad!

Pumpkin, Pomegranate, and Pine Nut Salad
serves four, increase as needed

1/2 small sugar pumpkin (or butternut squash)
spray cooking oil
salt and pepper

fresh spinach and arugula (I used a mixture) or mesclun
1 pomegranate, seeds removed--use 1/4 to 1/2 cup seeds (TJ's often has containers of the seeds)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (or use pepitas, toasted hulled pumpkin seeds)
1/4 cup fresh goat cheese

Dressing:
3 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. dark nut oil--pumpkin seed, toasted hazelnut, or pistachio
2 Tbs. vegetable or chicken broth

1. Get out your machete. Or your sharpest knife. Cut, peel, and dice the pumpkin. Spray a cookie sheet with oil, toss the pumpkin cubes on, spray with more oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 450 oven for 20-25 minutes, until browned and soft.

2. Combine dressing ingredients, mix well.

3. Put salad greens in a bowl, and toss with most of the dressing, reserving some. Put some of the dressed greens onto serving plates.

4. Top each pile of greens with some of the roasted pumpkin, pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and chevre. Drizzle on just a bit more dressing, and serve.