What I Really Think

I love wheatberries. No, I really do. I loved them for years before I even knew what they were. Chris and I used to go to this restaurant, around the corner from our first apartment, Park and Orchard and they would serve this rice dish, with these little things in it that added a bit of crunch - I loved it (still do). Never knew what they were though.

Flashforward about 18 years, and I'm watching the Barefoot Contessa one day on FoodTV. She's making this Wheat Berry Salad (It was the Back for the Weekend episode. It looked good, so I thought I'd give it a go, and I loved it. I then realized, that's what those little things were in the rice at Park and Orchard.

Now, making that salad wasn't as easy as it sounds, because my local Shop Rite doesn't stock wheatberries. I'm not even sure they know what they are. So for a few years, I had that recipe tagged with no means of making it. Then into my life came, Whole Foods. In their bulk section, Whole Foods has tons of wheat berries. So I bought some for the salad and loved them. Knowing it's my only local source and knowing I don't get there near enough, the next time I went, I bought more ... and the next time .... and the next. Problem is I wasn't cooking with them. I need to find more wheat berry recipes.

So yesterday, I started with this one from, where else, Cooking Light, Wheat Berry-Black Bean Soup. Here's my portion (I topped it with some baked tortilla chips and Frank's Hot Sauce). Chris wanted a dollup of sour cream on his but couldn't find any in the refrigerator.

Chris really liked the soup. I thought it was okay. I'd make it again (to use up some wheat berries) but there are other Black Bean Soups out there that I like better. It was missing ... I don't know ... something. Perhaps if I figure that out, I'll make some adjustments. It got five stars (Outstanding) over on Cooking Light, I'd probably give it three (Good Solid Recipe). For you Weight Watchers out there, it's four points in one serving.

A while ago - probably over a year now, I bought Stir it Up, Super Skillet Cookbook at my Weight Watchers meeting. For a while, I cooked out of it but back then I was core, and so it got shoved to the back of the pile as many of the recipes in the book aren't (core that is). Anyway, as I was poking around for inspiration in making my shopping list, I saw it sitting there, wedged between a Nick Stellino and the Weight Watchers Comfort Food, so I thought I'd pull it out and give it a go.

Tonight for dinner I made the Lo Mein Pork and Peanut Noodles - the kids usually like pork and they like peanut butter, so I was hopeful. I became a bit discouraged though when I realized the amount of veggies in the recipe (1 large red bell, 1 small zucchini and scallions) and became even more concerned when I realized, these veggies aren't cooked but served in the noodles raw. I persevered however, and tossed the noodles and pork together first, then served the kids, then added the veggies which seemed to satisfy everyone.

I'll tell you, though it was quick to cook (once the water boiled for the noodles, 5 minutes), it did require about 20 - 30 minutes of prep time (slicing, dicing, you know the drill) - still pleasantly surprised with the results. Sammi gave it thumbs up and Becky said, "Okay." (she has a thing about spaghetti-like noodles - it's a consistency issue. I will make this again.

Okay, okay - I know I'm two weeks behind. I still haven't even done the bread sticks from week three but today, I finally got to the Grappa Soaked Sponge Cakes from week 4. Now, like so many of my fellow Sunday Slow Bakers, I did not have mini-bundt pans and though my intention all week had been to hit Bed Bath and Beyond to see if I could get some there, I never did. So like others, I improvised using a small bundt pan for half the batter and my large muffin tin (6) for the other half. Also, I don't have grappa, and at this point in my life, I don't feel like buying any. I'm not a grappa drinker. Normally, when a recipe calls for grappa, I sub brandy but after reading Palma's blog, I decided to go with limoncello instead (it was a toss up between limoncello and Disarono but more members of my family prefer lemon flavor, so the limoncello won).

The cake is pretty easy to put together though with a few distinct steps (e.g., making the glaze, dry ingredients, wet ingredients, separate eggs - oh and I always wonder, should I have sifted the cake flour and then measured or measured then sifted?). Also I feared I may have deflated my egg whites some when I incorporated them into the batter but everything seemed to rise just fine. Baking time was exactly 25 minutes, and while I enjoyed brushing the limoncello glaze on at the end, I realized I need new pastry brushes, as little bristles got left behind here and there.

Here are some shots, sorry no decoration with them and my results weren't nearly as pretty as my fellow bakers. Oh and I didn't do such a hot job of greasing the bundt pan (all those nooks and crannies), so the cake came out in two pieces leaving a bit behind in the pan.

Tons of beer left in the fridge from last weekend, a beautiful day and a major craving for red meat, sent us out to the grill last night for some Chile-Spiced Tenderloin Steaks. We went back to Cooking Light, looking for Quick and Easy recipes to grill and these came through. You marinade them only for as long as the charcoal grill warms up, so no need to pre-think this either (well, except for the ingredients). They had a nice kick but not burn your mouth spicy and I would definitely make them again.

Chile-Spiced Tenderloin Steaks

Still cooking and still doing quick and easy meals, so for the last Friday of Lent (aka Good Friday), I returned to cooking light and found this shrimp recipe. It couldn't have been easier, with some chilled white wine, roasted asparagus and good old Uncle Ben's Wild Rice Pilaf, this came together easily. Oh, and everyone loved it.

Garlic Lover's Shrimp

Last week we had some cool, cloudy days, days you don't mind turning your oven on. I also had some buttermilk that was about to turn, so I thought, why not bake? It feels like forever since I have, so I went for it.

I've been having a difficult time lately keeping crappy food out of my mouth, so rather than hit one of my "normal" baking cookbooks, I opted for my Weight Watchers Best-Ever Desserts. I have to tell you though, other than the portion size, I don't think there's much "Weight Watchy" in this cake; it's pretty darn good.

Chocolate Glazed Bundt Cake

We celebrated our Valentine's dinner an evening early as Chris works tomorrow (though the girls are off from school). We were quite lazy, watching the Olympics (interspersed with House on Bravo) so it was a good thing this meal came together so quickly.

First we started with some caviar that we purchased at Whole Foods earlier in the day. Chris went with the usual blini but in an effort to keep the points down, I opted to use some endive leaves as my "scoop." Yum.

Next up, we moved onto Roasted Lobster Tail with a Ginger Dipping Sauce and some simply roasted brussel sprouts.

Roasted Lobster Tail

Yes, I promised recipes and here's another (from March again). It's in the Weight Watchers Slow Cook It book and it's pretty darn good (and easy).

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

2 (1/2 pound) bone in chicken breasts, skinned
1 onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
6 fresh parsley sprigs
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bay leaf
1T chopped fresh thyme or 1t dried
1/2t salt
1/4t black pepper
2 32oz cartons low-sodium chicken broth (I used the fat free kind)
1 1/2C no-yolk egg noodles
1/4C chopped fresh dill

1. Combine first 10 ingredients (up until broth), in 5 - 6 quart slow cooker. Pour brother over all that stuff, cover and cook until chicken and vegies are tender (4 - 5 hours on high or 8 - 10 hours on low).

2. At end of cooking time, remove parsley, garlic and bay leaf. Transfer chicken to a plate and let stand for about 10 minutes (until you can handle it). Remove the meat from the bones and cut into bite size pieces (I just shred it using two forks).

3. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, cook the noodles.

4. Add chicken meat and noodles to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high until chicken is hot again, about 5 minutes.

Serve sprinkled with fresh dill.

I think the title should say it all. But if you need more convincing here's the picture!

These were quite good and came together easily enough. The batter was very thick though which made distributing the chocolate chips at the end a bit difficult. I think next time, I may use mini-chocolate chips to get a better disbursement. Also, these were 4 PPV (points plus value) as described in Cooking Light at 20 servings for the pan, but I used my Perfect Brownie Pan which only allows for 18 servings, so that brought them into the 5 PPV range.

These will definitely be made again!

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

Ingredients

5.6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (I swirled the melted butter into the measuring cup so the peanut butter came out a little easier)
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray
4 (0.75-ounce) peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped - This was one King Size Reeses package that contained 4 cups.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Combine peanut butter and next 4 ingredients (through eggs), stirring well. Add peanut butter mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Scrape the batter into a 9-inch square metal baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray (mine was 12x8), and arrange the peanut butter cups over batter. Bake at 350° for 19 minutes (it took mine 23 minutes and I've seen others say 24 minutes) or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack.