What I Really Think

Last night for dinner, I wanted something quick, since we got home late from the shore (GSP traffic sucks). You know that old joke, why do they call it a parkway if you drive on it and a driveway if you park on it? Well, yesterday, you pretty much parked on the Garden State Parkway, well, at least until many of the PA locals departed onto the AC Expressway (which I bet wasn't much of an expressway).

Anyway, as always, I digress. So I wanted something quick for dinner last night and since I had been a bit off program (can you say sticky buns and Johnson's Caramel popcorn?) for almost a week, I also wanted something healthy.

Man, that being on the out of control merry-go-round sensation is not abating these days. Hopefully, next weekend, after Becky's play, our century ride, and my family reunion, things will calm down some. But in the interim, I've been inundated with produce from my local CSA. Which, by the way, adds a certain level of pressure. I mean I feel guilty when I don't use it all (so please don't ask about the load of pickling cucumbers I just threw out). Luckily though, with some help from Chris and the kids, last week I was able to make a bunch of stuff and today a bit more, so I though I'd post some recipes.

Okay - before I get dressed and hunker down with the rest of Boleskine's trip report (don't worry Jerry, it will be published soon), let me try to get the next couple of recipes up.

First one, Damn Hot Peppers (or Darn Hot, if you want to be "correct"). Actually, I think the batch I made yesterday should be called, "G-d Damn Hot Peppers," they're that hot. I got this recipe from Michael Chiarello at

It's a little different on his website than originally published in his NapaStyle cookbook. Anyway, here it is:

Okay one more before we head out to a wedding. I made this a couple of years ago and thought I'd resurrect it now. It's still in the oven, so I can't comment on this year's endeavor but if memory serves it was pretty good last time.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
From

Cake:
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk
2 cups shredded zucchini
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
8 teaspoons fat-free milk
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare cake, coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust pan with 1 tablespoon flour.

Place sugars, cream cheese, and vegetable oil in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Lightly spoon 2 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour and next 5 ingredients (2 1/2 cups flour through cinnamon) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in zucchini, 2/3 cup chocolate chips, and nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine 3/4 cup powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons cocoa in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine milk, 2 tablespoons chocolate chips, coffee, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract in a 1-cup glass measure. Microwave at medium 45 seconds or until chocolate melts, stirring after 20 seconds. Combine powdered sugar mixture with chocolate mixture, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over cake.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 281 (30% from fat); FAT 9.5g (sat 2.4g,mono 4.2g,poly 2.4g); PROTEIN 6.6g; CHOLESTEROL 27mg; CALCIUM 96mg; SODIUM 241mg; FIBER 2.6g; IRON 2.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 45.6g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2002

For more ways to cook zucchini click here.

In addition to all the zucchini I got last week (by the way the chocolate zucchini cake was good), I received a whole bunch of cucumbers. So yesterday I decided to make a batch of Amy's Chilled Cucumber soup, original recipe found on on the SlowTravel Talk Message Board . Warning, if you're not a premium member, you won't be able to access that forum.

Now I'm not a big fan of mint, so I left that out. Plus I like a little chunk, so I pureed the soup, but then threw back in about half a cucumber in a fine dice. Lastly, I didn't have time to get to the Lebanese market or Wholefoods for some good yogurt, so I used Stoneyfield Non Fat and combined it with some fat free sour cream too. Probably not as "tangy" but still delicious. Here's my version.

Cucumber Soup

Ingredients

• 2 large cucumbers


• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (If you can get the Total Greek Yogurt at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, it makes all the difference)


• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream


• 1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice


• 1 teaspoon honey


• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• tablespoons skim milk (optional)

Directions

1. Peel the cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard. Cut cucumber into slices.


2. In a blender container or food processor, puree the cucumber until almost smooth. (I leave it a little chunky). Then, add the yogurt, lime/lemon juice, honey, cumin, and salt. Cover and blend or process until almost smooth. Blend in milk, if desired to thin out.
   
3. Cover and chill 2 hours.


4. Stir before serving.

Makes 4 servings

Well, the hullabaloo around the century ride is starting to settle and lo and behold, I still need to cook dinner and the CSA is still giving me produce, so I thought it was time to use up some of (well all of) the beans I had in the refrigerator, probably two weeks worth. I found a recipe in August's Cooking Light that looked promising, and since I was craving Chinese (and meat), decided to make Ginger Beef and Green Bean Stir Fry last night. I only used two teaspoons of the chili garlic sauce to tone it down for Becky (but it was still too spicy and she only gave the dish a "so-so" rating). I liked it and when making it for Chris will probably use three teaspoons. Mom, if you're reading this, you should barely use one. I also usually complain about the lack of sauce in many CL stir-fries, but this had plenty. It used up those beans nicely, was tasty and once all the chopping was done, assembled very quickly.

The last few weeks we received several eggplants from the CSA. Not the big bulbous variety but the long slender ones. Still, they sat in my refrigerator's produce drawer until I could figure out a) what to do with them b) had time to do something with them.

So the other night, I dug out my falling apart copy of Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian (yes, that Frugal Gourmet, of someone dubious subsequent fame). He has a recipe near the front of the book for Caponata that we love, then he has subsequent recipes for what to do with the caponata once you prepare it (e.g., serve over pasta). Here's his recipes, with my changes:

Caponata
2 pounds eggplant - 1 inch dice
4 stalks celery - thin slice
1 medium onion - chopped
olive oil
1 can Italian Plum Tomatoes, crushed (I use a 28 oz. can of whole Italian tomatoes, and give them a quick whirl in the blender first)
2 T tomato paste
1/3 cup white wine vinegar (I was out this time and used red wine, no discernible difference)
1T sugar
2T capers, rinsed and drained (I through the entire drained jar in).
6 large green olives, sliced
4 - 5 anchovy fillets, he cuts them in half but I mince them

First he has you sprinkle the eggplant with 1T salt and let it sit, with a weight atop to "squeeze" out the bitterness. Then rinse and dry it. I didn't bother with this step.

Then he sautes the eggplant in batches, in olive oil, in a large skillet for about 10 minutes each batch, to soften. I didn't do this either - didn't want to use all the oil. Instead, I sprayed a large jellyroll pan with Pam. Then I put the eggplant on it (gave it a quick shot of Pam), and roasted it in a 425 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes or so, until softened and very slightly browned.

In a large dutch oven, I put 1T heated 1 T olive oil, and sauteed the celery and onion until soft, but not brown (about 15 minutes). At one point, I covered the pot, so it steamed a bit. To this I added the roasted eggplant and the rest of the above ingredients. Brought it to a boil, covered and simmered on low flame about 20 - 30 minutes. Voila!

You should know, he also adds toasted pine nuts to this after it's simmered, which I sometimes do too but I'm currently out of them. I think 1/2 cup would do nicely. And he adds raisin at this point, which I would love to do but Chris thinks raisins are the devil's food, so I don't add them (it would be about 1/4 cup).

In addition to the sauce I mentioned before (use sliced garlic, some white wine, maybe some pasta water to loosen), this is great atop bruschetta.

Enjoy!

Oh and if someone knows if I can can this in a hot water bath, please comment and let me know.

I have a Weight Watcher friend (i.e., someone I know from my meetings), who has the WW One Pot cookbook. They no longer sell this cookbook so she offered to bring it to a meeting for me, let me look through it, mark the recipes I would like and she would copy them for me. Good deal I thought.

So last night, I made the first of the copied recipes, this Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya. Now normally, I don't feel comfortable posting recipes from known sources on my blog unless they're already out there on the web (e.g., on Cooking Light or FoodTV) - not sure why, I guess just my bugaboo - guess I want the cookbook author to get to make another sale or something. But since this is from a book that's no longer in print, and therefore no one can make anymore money on it, I don't feel so bad.

Tomorrow, Chris and I will celebrate our wedding anniversary. But since more often than not, he's on the road for our actual "anniversary" we celebrate on the weekend before. So last night we cooked a wonderful anniversary dinner together, then set the dining room with our fine china, popped the cork on some bubbly (and later a Dei Montepulciano de Nobile Riserve 1997) and enjoyed.

To start, I ordered some domestic caviar from Tsar Nicoulai. It arrived Friday afternoon on schedule and we kept it on ice for last night in the fridge. I also ordered a package of blini mix which Chris cooked up during the afternoon.

Well, it's that time of year again, time to get ready for Thanksgiving. Why does it seem that every year, I think I'll have plenty of time to prepare and experiment with some new dishes, only to get jammed up the last week?

I know, it's because we usually end up going away during November, and by the time we return, I'm always hit with the realization that Thanksgiving is only a week away.

This year is no exception, but for the fact that rather than a week after our return, I'll only have two days, I find a bit daunting. You see we're heading out tomorrow for my brother's wedding in Florida and will not return until Monday afternoon; looking forward to the weekend but man, am I a bit nervous about next week.

So with that in mind, I threw together my menu and to do list last week, and rather experimenting with some new dishes, one that incorporates some old favorites, only one new dish, and some make aheads that I'm working on now. I also forfeited the idea of making the desserts from Dolce Italiano, Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen, to save some boockoo time, and decided for the next best thing, pies from Emery's.

I made this tonight for dinner after getting the original recipe from In One Pot by Weight Watchers (a book that's no longer published). We really enjoyed it, it came together pretty easily and was tasty. I've noted my changes at the end and I think the only thing I'll do different next time, is toast the flour in it's own saute pan or in the oven as Cooking Light does in their Gramercy Crawfish Gumbo. Enjoy:

* Exported from MasterCook *

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon oil
3/4 pound pork tenderloin -- trimmed of fat and 1/2" chunks
1/4 pound low fat sweet Italian sausage links -- casing removed
1 large onion -- chopped
1 large green bell pepper -- chopped
2 stalks celery -- chopped
3 cloves garlic -- minced
1/2 cup water
14 1/2 ounces canned diced tomatoes
10 ounces frozen okra -- sliced
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 bay leaf
2 cups hot cooked rice

Sprinkle the flour evenly over the bottom of a large nonstick dutch oven or heavy pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the flour is fragrant and begins to color, about 5 minutes. Cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is the color of peanut butter, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer the flour to a small bowl, wipe the pot clean.

Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pork and sausage and cook until very lightly browned, 6 - 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic and water to the dutch oven. Cook stirring occasionally, and scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon, until the vegies are softened, 3 - 5 minutes.

Return the flour to the pot and cook, stirring about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the okra, broth, thyme salt, pepper, cayenne and bay leaf. Return the pork and sausage to the pot; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered until the pork is tender and the liquid thickens slightly, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.

Put a mound of the rice in the center of each soup bowl. Ladle the gumbo around the rice.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 372 Calories; 7g Fat (16.8% calories from fat); 30g Protein; 47g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 55mg Cholesterol; 944mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.

NOTES : I sliced the okra though the recipe didn't call for it. So I defrosted the okra for a couple of minutes in the microwave first. I like it sliced because its pieces are then the same size as the others in the pot and it acts as an additional thickening agent. Also, instead of the salt, pepper, and cayenne, I subbed 2 teaspoons of Creole Seasoning. Lastly, I used Turkey sausage.

Serving is 1 1/2 cups of gumbo and 1/2 cup of rice.

I followed Palma's lead and made the infamous Cheddar, Date Biscuits, that Shannon, of Poptarticus had originally told us about, but with the changes Palma described in her blog, Palmabella's Passion, The Biscuit Experiment. While I love the taste, I'm not crazy about the "appearance." I keep thinking there should be something speckled green in the dough - like an herb or something but I can't think of anything that would go.

I froze a bunch though (unbaked) and will experiment with the reheating (i.e., do you defrost them first or bake right from the freezer, and if so, for how long) this weekend. Next, I need to figure out the WW points in each.

Pine Nut Biscotti

I'm back to cooking and baking so I thought I'd post a couple of things from yesterday, in case anyone is interested.

First, we had a bit of an ice storm yesterday, so to me, that means cookies. I tried Cooking Light's Pine Nut Biscotti from the December 2007 issue. While making it I made one change, I subbed almond extract for the vanilla because I like the taste.

Every year Chris's Grandma (and Grandpa) would make a huge batch of these very basic cookies for the holidays. This was before I knew them or Chris at all (actually, I never met Chris's grandpa as he passed away before we met). Anyway, when Chris and I first got married, his grandma gave us a big tin full of these cookies on Christmas morning. Our second Christmas together, we were living in Missouri, and she sent a tin to us there, with instructions not to open them until Christmas morning (I had to hide them from Chris). She passed away five months later.

Yet, the next year, we still received our tin, this time, from Chris's aunt, who took over the making of "Grandma's cookies." Each year we would receive our tin, and each year I would hide them until Christmas morning when we would eat them for breakfast.

When we moved back to Jersey in 95, I was indoctrinated by Chris's aunt into the making of "Grandma's cookies." The first year or two, I pretty much just watched but as Ann got a bit older, and her shoulders a bit stiffer, I began to assume more of the responsibility. We make a huge batch, and there's a lot of dough involved that has to be mixed (too much for my stand mixer), so we end up kneading it, almost like bread dough).

Now, on Thanksgiving, we pick a day to get together to make the cookies. We try for a weekend when the girls can help (they've been indoctrinated too - so much so, that this year, we even let Becky knead but mostly they crank the machine, shape and dip the cookies into the seeds, aka sprinkles). If we end up on a weekday, due to busy schedules, it takes Ann and I about three to four hours to bake about maybe 15 - 16 dozen (maybe more I've never really counted). When the girls help, we can get done in under three hours.

This year, Becky grabbed her camera and documented the event.

Last week I received a $5 off coupon to Weight Watchers new book, Mix it, Match it, so I bought it. Each page is divided into three, so you can make "x" many permutations of daily menus by selecting one from the breakfast category, one from the lunch category and one from the dinner category. The points range from two to seven for breakfast, three to seven for lunch and four to seven for dinner. Each recipe has a picture which is nice.

So yesterday, I made the Updated Bistro Salad and modified it for just me (the recipe serves 4 normally).

• 1.5 ounces Canadian bacon, diced
• 4 cups packaged mixed greens (the recipe calls for 2 cups (if broken down into individual servings but I just used an entire mixed bag for me, which I think is about four cups).
• 1 large egg
• 1 t olive oil
• 1/2 medium shallot, minced (I used 1 small shallot)
• 1T fat free chicken broth (they used reduced sodium but I only keep fat free in the house)
• 1.5t white wine vinegar (I used champagne vinegar - I'm out of white wine vinegar)
• 1/2 t Dijon mustard
• 1/4 t dried tarragon (okay I just used a bit more than 1/2 t of tarragon mustard I brought back from France rather than these two).
• pinch of salt and pepper

1. In a nonstick skillet, over medium heat, cook the bacon until brown. They want you to transfer to paper towels to drain but it was pretty lean so I didn't bother. Toss this with the greens in a large bowl.
2. In another skillet (doesn't have to be no stick), fill 1/2 way with water, bring to a simmer. Crack the egg into a small cup and then slide into simmering water. Reduce the heat and cook egg until whites are set, about 2 minutes. Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and put this on paper towels. I did this because I didn't want a lot of extra water in my salad.
3. Now back to the first skillet (the one you did the bacon in). Add the oil to that skillet and put back on a medium flame. Add the shallots and cook about 2 minutes, until soft. Add the broth and simmer until it's reduced to a glaze (roughly 20 seconds but who is counting?). Remove from the flame and add everything else, mix. Pour over the greens and top with the egg.

I liked this one - it wasn't real "quick" but really good and I'll make it again. Wish I had taken a picture though, but I ate late and was starving - sorry.

On New Year's Eve day, Chris, Becky and I went to New Hope PA in search of some gloriously spicy pretzels (unfortunately, Suzie Hot Sauce was closed) but still ended up having a great time walking around the town, visiting the little shops. In one of them I found a Scottie cookie cutter, which of course I had to buy.

So today, in honor of Fala's birthday, I baked Fala Cookies! I used the same sugar cookie recipe I use at Christmas but rolled them a bit thicker and instead of using all vanilla extract or part almond extract, used 1/2t lemon extract. It made a dozen Fala Cookies, and about 1.5 dozen little circle cookies that will be great with tea. The Fala cookies Becky iced with royal icing (one egg white, to 1 cup powdered sugar plus coloring).

Give them a try if you like. The Fala cookies, because they were so big are 4 Weight Watcher points, if you use normal size cookie cutters, they're 1 point each.

• 1 cup butter or margarine -- softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1 large egg -- beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or lemon or more vanilla or whatever you feel like).
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.
2. Add egg and extracts.
3. Combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to the creamed mixture, mix well.
3a. Chill for at least one hour.
4. On a surface lightly sprinkled w/ flour, roll out a quarter of the dough to 1/8" thickness (because the fala cookies were so large, I rolled them thicker - maybe a 1/4").
5. Place on ungreased baking sheets (I line mine with parchment paper).
6. Repeat w/ the remaining dough.
7. Bake at 350 for 7 - 8 minutes or until the edges begin to brown (Fala cookies cooked for 15 minutes)

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 59 Calories; 3g Fat (48.4% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 12mg Cholesterol; 54mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : Cookies may be sprinkled with the colored sugar before baking or frosted after being baked and cooled.

I thought the girls and I would have a nice Friday night dinner, so I decided to make a big lasagna (also had some noodles I wanted to use up in the pantry). Anyway, as it turned out, Becky went to a friend's house to "study" and Sammi doesn't appreciate "lumps" in her lasagna (aka ground beef), so she and I had a bit of this huge tray while watching Wheel of Fortune - so much for a nice dinner - I watched as Sammi scraped the sauce off the noodles and ate noodles and cheese.

Anyway, I liked it and would make it again. It is a bit of work because you start off making the sauce. I assembled the entire thing in the afternoon, and stuck it in the oven before going to a swim meet. I called Sammi to turn the oven on at 5:00 and dinner was ready about 6:30.

I'm hoping to freeze a chunk of the leftovers. Give it a shot though; it comes in at 8 WW points per slice.

My friend, Rain, is having a baby. It's getting difficult getting to the supermarket, when she's very pregnant and already has a toddler in tow. So she decided to try one of those home delivery/pick-up services. Basically, she goes on line, orders her food and then for two different prices, she has the option of either picking up the order, or having it delivered. The problem with these services, is, as a shopper, you must be completely aware of products and sizes. Rain, not so much - as she ordered a five pound bag of baby carrots last week. Five pounds is a lot of carrots and I'd imagine most people would be hard-pressed to use them up, let alone someone who doesn't cook or bake regularly. Lucky for me though, I became the recipient of about four pounds of that bag, so I went to work finding recipes to make.

Yesterday, I did a bit of baking after finding these recipes on Cooking Light. First up, Quick Carrot Bread.

Carrot-Raisin Quick Bread
From

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup coarsely shredded carrot
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup fat-free milk
3 tablespoons stick margarine or butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl (flour through nutmeg). Combine carrot and next 5 ingredients (carrot through egg) in a small bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring just until flour mixture is moist.

Pour batter into an 8-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 174 (19% from fat); FAT 3.6g (sat 0.8g,mono 1.5g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 3.1g; CHOLESTEROL 19mg; CALCIUM 42mg; SODIUM 215mg; FIBER 1.2g; IRON 1.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.9g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 1998

I have a few dozen recipes I've bookmarked in Dolce Italiano but unfortunately got a bit side-tracked during the holidays. But I'm back now. Last night I went to a friend's house for dinner and I thought I'd bring a little something from the book for dessert. Angela from A Spoonful of Sugar had baked the Venetian Apple Cake back in November and had given it high marks so I thought I'd give it a go.

It comes together pretty easily once you grate the apple. Which I must say, I've never done before and I didn't get much out of it, even after scraping the grater down, but I didn't worry. I knew from reading Angela's blog that the cake had the essence of apple, not big chunks, like most of the apple cakes I've made in the past. The only other thing I noted was that after grating the apple, while assembling the other ingredients, the apple turned, not unexpected but I wondered if it would affect the coloring of the cake. It doesn't. The cake is golden and the apple fits right in - you don't really see it. Lastly, the spices used (a combination of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg) give it a real autumnal flavor - yum!

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.

I don't know if the Polynesians actually ever made anything like this but Weight Watchers thinks they did and as I went back to the Stir It Up, Super Skillet Cookbook for inspiration again, I thought I'd give it a go. Heck, one of my kids likes chicken and pineapple anyway. Well she just picked out the chicken (but deemed it edible), while the other of the picky palette, glanced at it, and asked, "Can I have a Kids Cuisine?" She's sick, so of course I agreed. I on the other hand really enjoyed it and served it with a 1/2C brown rice. On it's own a 1 3/4C serving comes in at 7 points, with the rice 9.

Sometimes at my Weight Watcher meeting, my leader, Amy, hangs recipes on the walls. Today there were two up there that sounded interesting, oven fried chicken (still to come) and Raisin Scones. I opted to try the raisin scones first, since I was looking for something sweet to make to have with some afternoon tea (I'm trying to kick the popcorn in the afternoon habit).

It took less time to assemble these than it took for my oven to preheat. Also, I soaked the raisins first in hot water (I like to do that to plump them a bit before baking). Lastly, I ran out of raisins so I did half raisins half currants. They're not bad - light and easy - and at one point each, who can complain. Next time, I may try cranberries with a little orange zest added in. Or the currants again with some lemon zest.

I think I mentioned somewhere that my CSA is experimenting with a winter share this year. They've never done one before but for $400 we get 16 weeks worth of crops from November through March (or so). It sounded like a good experiment, so I bought in. Though the quantity of crops has not been as rich as the summer, the quality is still good.

That said, last week, I received a cabbage head, that's, well, bigger than Becky's head.

(she's not happy up there because it's right after swim practice). Anyway...

At first, I thought I'd make Roasted Cabbage Rolls but then I saw this recipe in the March Bon Appetit, Cabbage and White Bean Soup with Sausage and it stuck in my head plus the Roasted Cabbage seemed too labor intensive and I didn't feel like it. So Wednesday, when I was at the farm market, and they had chicken apple sausage I decided to make the soup instead. Only problem, when I got home I realized I didn't have everything I needed. So this is what I came up with.

A few weeks ago, Jerry, posted a recipe for Tilapia with Thai Coconut Curry Sauce that he originally got from Cooking Light. It looked so good, I knew I wanted to make it but always having the hardest time finding Red Curry Paste, I wasn't sure when. Then last weekend we popped into Dean and DeLuca and I saw the paste. I couldn't remember what I needed it for, but I knew I needed it, so I bought some. When I got home, and was planning our weekly menu, with fish for Friday because of Lent, I remembered, so ta da!

I know, I glopped on a lot more sauce than Jerry seemed to. Also, I didn't use Basmati rice but one of those Lundberg rice blends instead. All this along with some steamed sugar snap peas drizzled with a bit of sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds and that was one good dinner.

I'll post the recipe for those of you too lazy to check out Jerry's blog but you really ought to - lots of good stuff over there.

Last Friday I took a ride down to Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck). I needed to pick up Tilapia for Friday's dinner and since Matt sold the fish store I used to patron, I'm not as crazy about the quality of the goods. Anyway, while I was there, I thought I'd find something for us to have Saturday night. Of course, when I asked Chris for requests, I got the usual response, "I don't know." When I pressed him, I got a bit more information, "Something meaty." Lots of help, thanks.

So while in WF, I checked out the butcher shop (what I wouldn't give for a local butcher). Anyway, as I walked back and forth in front of the case, one of the butchers asked me, "Can I help you?" I replied, that I was just looking for inspiration and I'd let them know when I was ready. Then I spotted them, lamb shanks. I had never prepared lamb shanks but figured they couldn't be much different than veal shanks. I also had vague recollections of some sort of braised lamb shanks with Moroccan spices that I thought might be good (crossing my fingers that Chris would be able to fill in on whatever other ingredients I needed when he did our regular shopping on Saturday).

So tilapia, lamb shanks (and assorted other goodies in hand), I checked out and headed home.

Upon arrival, I logged on to Cooking Light and did a search on lamb shanks where I found this recipe. It wasn't the Moroccan preparation I had envisioned but it was easy, slow-cooking, and mighty tasty. Chris said it rivaled my rendition of Osso Bucco and I have to say it was so much easier to prepare. The lamb was tender and delicious when done, the polenta and roasted Brussel sprouts were great accompaniments. Not to mention, the Due Mile Sei wine from Castoro that we drank with it. Nice wine - good to taste it when I'm totally sober - it was smooth with flavors that reminded me of chocolate and raspberry - yum.

Anyway, I will definitely make this dish again and definitely wouldn't have qualms for serving it to company. Added bonus, the lamb shanks were so much cheaper than veal shanks. Oh, for you Weight Watchers, this came in at 9 points (not too bad for a Saturday night meal and that included the polenta).

Last week I needed a quick easy weeknight meal. My friend, Lisa, gave me the Weight Watchers Turnaround book a few months ago (she ended up with two), so having just rediscovered it I decided to give it a try.

Using the already cooked chicken (Perdue short cuts) this came together pretty easily. It was tasty too. Becky had hers as indicated (i.e., in the taco shells), but I had mine over a big bowl of mixed greens which was good too.

We had our first snow day on Friday and I promised Chris, if it snowed, I'd make him Cinnamon Biscotti. And I kept my promise. This recipe originally came from Cooking Light but I modified it with the addition of Cinnamon chips and because I don't use margarine and didn't feel like melting butter, I used canola oil.

Something about winter Sundays makes me want to eat stew. Well, at least something that's cooked slowly all afternoon while I slovenly sit on the couch, in this case, watching Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. So for yesterday's meal, I returned to the photocopies a friend made me from the Weight Watchers In One Pot cookbook.

But let me digress one moment. I have to say, there are two things that irk me about the Weight Watcher cookbooks. 1) They only offer them for a limited time and then they're gone. Unless you want to way overpay on E-bay, you snooze, you lose. 2) They repeat recipes. Well, yes, maybe they're not exactly the same but I don't call changing macaroni from regular to whole wheat and low fat cheese to fat free cheese in order to make something core, a new recipe. I guess because of these two bugaboos, I have no compunction about reprinting their recipes.

Anyway, so back to my lazy Sunday - for yesterday, I decided to make a Beef Burgundy, which while it wasn't entirely in one pot, came close enough. I assembled all the ingredients about 10:00am because the recipe said it needed 8 to 10 hours on low. It was easy peasy, and then it sat and cooked away all day, making the house smell pretty good.

There are no pictures though because I have this thing with slow cooker foods - I don't know if it's me, or if it's because the recipe cooked too long (as I said, the recipe said 8 - 10 hours, but my crockpot cooks hot and it probably was done in more like 5.5 to 6 hours) or if it's just a function of crock pot cookery, but other than the parsley sprinkled on at the end, all the colors just melt, into a sort of brown. It tasted good though and Becky and Chris both said I could make it again. There's a lot of extra gravy, so make sure you have an nice crusty loaf for mopping.

Another Weight Watcher recipe, this time from Turnaround Program Cookbook. I love Chinese food so anything that resembles that, and satisfies a craving, I'm in. This one did that and came together quick. I'm usually concerned that there's not enough sauce in these recipes but this one had enough to coat all the chicken and broccoli nicely. Becky doesn't like broccoli but picked out the chicken and gave it a thumbs up. I will make it again.

Last year, No Knead Bread swept through the Internet - there were huge discussions about it everywhere. It was based upon a column by Mark Bittman published in the New York Times (I'll dig out my recipe and post it another time). But since then, Amy let us know about a second version of this bread, or "Soon the Bread Will be Baking Itself." My fellow Slow Travelers have been doing it for months and yesterday, I thought I'd finally give it a try.

You basically mix a batch that's good for four small loaves (maybe just under 16oz each). I did my first one yesterday:

which we enjoyed with dinner last night (by the way, those are some of those almond fingers in the background). Then I put the remaining dough in the fridge, and tonight, just baked another loaf:

It's cooling now. This is so easy (especially once it's in the fridge), I can't imagine buying bread again! Shoot - Chris has a bread knife in hand - have to go!

Much updates to the blog must occur (for example, getting rid of the March Madness bloggers - bye friends and replacing them with our new group, Sunday Slow Bakers (we're really not slow, we're just all affiliated with SlowTrav in some way and like to bake). I throw the links up shortly but basically, there's a group of us, who each week will bake the same recipe from a specific source, and post our results on Sunday. For the first round, our source will be Dolce Italiano, Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen - each person selecting a recipe from there. Next go around, a different source - can't wait to see how long we can keep this going for.

Krista initiated the Sunday Slow Bakers and had the honor of choosing the first recipe, Italian Crumbly Cake. I baked it yesterday and here are some results and observations.

This week for our Sunday Slow Bakers, Deborah chose Sicilian Pistachio Bars. Like the other recipes, this one came from Gina DePalma's Dolce Italiano.

Normally, with pistachios, the hardest part of the recipe for me, is finding unsalted, shelled pistachios but I lucked out and found them at Whole Foods last week. The second hardest part is not eating them before I actually use them in the recipe. While I made it to the recipe with pistachios in tact, I can't say as much for the leftovers.

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.

Jerry picked Biscotti di Limone e Semolino for this week's challenge Sunday Slow Baker's Challenge, initiated by Krista. I'm cheating this week, since I made them before, when I first got the book, Dolce Italiano, you can check out my previous entry: Lemony Semolina Cookies.

So this week I got to choose what our Sunday Slow Bakers made. I wanted something slightly challenging, different, and with produce I knew I could easily find this time of year. I would have chosen the zucchini cake but I was hoping to do it this summer (with the glut of zucchini I get from the farm - though now I think it's what we're making next week, but I need to check). Gelato was another definite possibility, but we're supposed to be baking, so I ignored those too. There was also an apple tart - but again, to me, a fall dish, which is how I ended up with grapes (nine weeks out of ten I can find decent grapes at the market).

First off, I got these big, sweet black grapes from Whole Foods, so that part was easy. I had some left over hazelnuts from when I made the chocolate hazelnut cookies, no grappa (for soaking the grapes), so I substituted some Frangelico and the rest of the ingredients were pretty straightforward (e.g., butter, flour, cream, eggs, sugar).

I had already made two tarts using the Sweet Pastry Crust, a Fresh Fig Tart and the cover recipe, Pine Nut Tart, so I didn't have any nerves about assembling it this third time. I still love this crust recipe. It comes together easily, isn't delicate, so if it breaks while I'm rolling, or moving to the tart shell, it's easily repairable, and this time, if someone doesn't forget to close the freezer drawer and defrost my freezer, I should hopefully have some crust left for another tart real soon.

Likewise, the filling was pretty easy too - though it did require three different bowls, one on the food processor for chopping the nuts, one for the egg yolks and one for the egg whites. The recipe suggests using the same bowl for the yolks and whites, and just cleaning between, but since I needed a bowl to mix the hazelnuts and egg yolks together in, I didn't do that. I just used my hand mixer for the egg yolks, added the hazelnuts, and my stand mixer to beat the egg whites.

Leave plenty of time for this recipe though, both active and inactive. Inactive because the tart dough requires an hour or two of chilling before rolling, and then another hour once it's rolled out and in the shell. Active because slicing and then placing those grapes could be a bit time consuming.

It baked up fine in the specified time and looked pretty puffy when it first came out of the oven but then settled nicely. The grapes did spread some, so don't be afraid to place them close together.

I made this cake on Sunday afternoon since we were having friends over for dinner Sunday evening. Some comments from memory, it said to grate the zucchini but I've always shredded it in the past when making zucchini cakes (using my Cuisinart), so I wasn't sure how to approach this. I did end up using my box grater, and used the second to smallest hole to grate the zucchini which came out a bit pulpy and watery but I'm happy to say I actually liked it that way in the cake. You didn't have "strings" of zucchini as you ate the cake - it just sort of blended into the background.

The other think I loved about this recipe (and from the Grappa cakes), is the suggestion/direction to brush the glaze on. In the past, whenever using this type of glaze, the recipes I've used have always said to drizzle the glaze on - which usually ends up with a mess on my counter (if it's still on the cooking rack), or puddles on my plate (if I've plated it). Plus, you don't get "complete coverage" of the icing around the cake. By brushing this on, it really does create a crunchy coating all around the inside and outside of the cake.

My last observation, the use of the spice combination of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, made the flavor of this cake more reminiscent of fall desserts to us - so while I won't make it again during July or August - I absolutely know what I'll be doing with the September, and October bumper crop of zucchini we always get at the end of the harvest.

Chris loved this cake and definitely proclaimed it a make again. Becky too - Sammi, not so much, but I think if she didn't know there was zucchini in it, she would have loved it too.

Anyway, we're so pathetic, and this went so quickly that here's my picture!

Oh - I still need to figure out the WW points but will report back shortly with that information.

And we're back with the Sunday Slow Bakers. This week, MarciaB made the selection and a good one she did. We made the Chocolate Polenta Tart. All I can say is yum and yummier!

First it calls for the Polenta Tart Crust, which while I found easy to assemble, I had problems transferring to my tart pan. It kept crumbling. No worries though, I just transferred it in pieces and did a combination of pressing and using my little Pampered Chef roller to get proper coverage. I think this resulted in a thicker crust but we didn't mind (as a matter of fact, Becky asked me to just make the crust next time).

The chocolate filling was totally easy to put together and tasted like warm, fudgy brownie when it came out of the oven. We didn't have ice cream to serve it with, so just dusted on some powdered sugar.

This is a definite make again (as a matter of fact, it will probably be made very often). Next time, I may cut down on the butter in the polenta crust - just to see what happens. Oh and we wrapped it and put it in the refrigerator because we were going away on Saturday (I made the tart on Friday). Sunday night, when we got home, still good, good at room temperature, good cold, and good when Becky nuked it (it's hers and Sammi's new favorite). Oh and for those who are keeping track, at a sliver of 16 servings (as opposed to 10 in the recipe), this comes in at a whopping 7 points a slice.

Many of you know that I belong to a CSA, which means every week from June through November, I get a box off localy, organically grown goodies. Each week you don't know what you get until you arrive, but after you've been doing this a while, you get a feel for what will come and when.

Lately though, it seems we're getting Swiss chard out the wazoo. I mean really - how many times can you eat sauteed Swiss chard? And while I like it in my lentil soup, I hate that when I freeze my soup, the chard gets kind of a nasty green as opposed to the vibrant green it has if I cook it just right.

So last week I went searching for a new Swiss Chard recipe and found:

Swiss Chard Spanakopita Casserole

Cooking spray
2 1/4 cups minced white onion
3/4 cup minced green onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
9 cups chopped trimmed Swiss chard (about 1 1/2 pounds)
6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh mint
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 large egg whites
10 (18 x 14-inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add white onion; sauté 7 minutes or until golden. Add green onions and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in chard; cook 2 minutes or until chard wilts. Stir in parsley and mint, and cook 1 minute. Place in a large bowl; cool slightly. Stir in cheeses, salt, pepper, and egg whites.

Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board (cover remaining phyllo to prevent drying), and coat with cooking spray. Top with 1 phyllo sheet, and coat with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with 3 additional sheets.

Cut phyllo stack into a 14-inch square. Place square in center of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, allowing phyllo to extend up long sides of dish. Cut 14 x 4-inch piece into 2 (7 x 4-inch) rectangles. Fold each rectangle in half lengthwise. Place a rectangle against each short side of dish. Spread the chard mixture evenly over phyllo.

Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board (cover remaining phyllo to prevent drying), and coat with cooking spray. Top with 1 phyllo sheet, and coat with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining phyllo sheets. Place 18 x 14-inch phyllo stack over chard mixture. Fold phyllo edges into center. Coat with cooking spray. Score phyllo by making 2 lengthwise cuts and 3 crosswise cuts to form 12 rectangles. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until golden.

Note: Cut the phyllo stacks so they fit in and up the long side of the baking dish. Arrange folded section against short edges of dish to encase filling.

Yield: 12 servings

CALORIES 121 (35% from fat); FAT 4.7g (sat 2.8g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.3g); IRON 1.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 14mg; CALCIUM 134mg; CARBOHYDRATE 13.6g; SODIUM 449mg; PROTEIN 6.1g; FIBER 1.6g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2003

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Now Phylo is one of those ingredients that scare me - it's brittle, it sticks together, you know the drill but this wasn't bad. Because you're making it into a casserole, you can easily hide your mistakes (sort of like lasagna). The instructions weren't so clear, and I meant to take more pictures (will do next time), but here's one from my camera phone of the casserole before I placed the top layer on.

Basically, you're cutting up the bottom layer of phyllo into three pieces so you have enough to line the edges of the casserole dish, all the way around. Then you cover it with the top layer, tucking the edges in towards the center.

Again, sorry for the lack of pictures, but I made this after riding 100K that morning, and while we were expecting company that night but trust me, it looked and tasted delicious. Oh, and can you believe I actually didn't have enough Swiss Chard, so supplemented with a little baby spinach too.

Definitely a make again and for you WW fans out there, it has 3 points per decent-size serving.

Well, here it is the first week of our Sunday Slow Scoopers! And unlike our bakers, where I fell by the wayside as the weather warmed, and we migrated to the shore, I figured I could follow through with this one, as moving my ice cream maker was a lot easier than all my baking accessories/ingredients. Hopefully it pans out.

So for the first week, we started with Butterscotch Pecan Ice Cream. The first step in this process I did at home, whilst I had about an hour to kill on Thursday morning before my Weight Watcher meeting (ironic, no?). I melted some the butter, stirred in the nuts and tossed with salt before baking. I let them cool during the day (while we did crazy things, including dealing with car issues and getting my daughters pierced on various parts of their bodies), packed them up and brought them to the beach with me.

On Friday, after everyone cleared out of the kitchen at lunch time, I began making the custard with the help of my trusted assistant, and photographic documentor, Becky.

Okay - first to start, I really do love Tiramisu. But every time I think of the name, I'm reminded of that scene in Sleepless in Seattle with Rob Reiner and Tom Hanks:

Rob Reiner's character, "Tiramisu."

"You'll love it."

Well, I'm here to tell you, they weren't talking about ice cream in that scene but maybe they should have been.

Pina Colada Sherbet w/ MintBleary, bleary, bleary - Chris woke up at 4:00 to catch a 6:00 flight to Atlanta this morning and he was a bit noisier than usual. Not to mention he woke up at 3:00 to take some Advil (as we found out yesterday, Chris has shingles - which is another entry in itself - the topper to a banner week health-wise for the Riemanns, but I digress). So we have a brave house guest (brave b/c she's not only dealing with Chris's sudden diagnosis but the return of two stinky teen girls, also recovering from illnesses at sleep away camp) but because we have that brave house guest, I pushed off making this week's Sunday Slow Scoopers dish until yesterday, so we could all enjoy it for dessert last night.

As I've mentioned before, our CSA seems to be OD-ing on Swiss Chard this year. I don' t think a week has gone by where we haven't gotten some to cook, many weeks at least 10 leaves. Normally, I just do a quick saute of it, or throw it in some soup, but I've been unable to cook soup this summer and I grew tried of my version of the quick saute, so I started looking for some alternative methods.

You may remember from a few weeks ago the Swiss Chard Spanakopita, which while delicious, is a bit labor intensive. So on Friday night, I went in search of something simple and found it on Cooking Light. This recipe was so flipping easy and so flipping good, I don't think I'll be making Swiss chard any other way for a good long while.

Spicey Swiss Chard with Lemon

Spicy Swiss Chard with Lemon
From

Although 16 cups seems like a large amount of chard, it will cook down. Three simple ingredients--crushed red pepper, garlic, and fresh lemon juice--round out the flavor.

2 teaspoons olive oil
16 cups trimmed Swiss chard (about 2 pounds)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chard; saute 1 minute or until slightly wilted. Stir in pepper and garlic. Cover and cook 4 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Stir in juice and salt.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

CALORIES 43 (38% from fat); FAT 1.8g (sat 0.3g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.2g); IRON 2.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 74mg; CARBOHYDRATE 6g; SODIUM 345mg; PROTEIN 2.6g; FIBER 2.3g

Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2002

Grilling ribs has been something I've always wanted to try and something I've always been intimidated to do. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was memories of my mom making spare ribs as a child, I seem to recall a lot of work, boiling, grilling, you name it. Maybe it was the fear of eating them (I don't even want to think about the Weight Watcher points involved) but whatever it was, I never made them ... until last Friday.

The Setting for Rib Night

Chris has been hankering for them too. At first, he had the bright idea for us to invite some friends over to join us in this culinary endeavor but I quickly talked him down from that (i.e., "What are you crazy?" and "Uh, no!" seemed to do the trick). But he wouldn't be detered from the overall pursuit of the ribs so we decided to visit Whole Foods on Thursday night, buy the best ribs money could buy (well, we think at least better than Shop Rite), and picked a recipe.

The other Sunday Slow Scoopers were making Lavender Honey ice cream this week but I just knew I didn't have it in me to do something that required lavender flowers, and custard, and whatever else, over the Labor Day weekend. So instead, I branched out on my own, and went for one of the simplest (and best tasting Blueberry Pie) ice creams I could think of, Vanilla.

Now, normally, Vanilla, like all the others requires the custard step. But Dave provides some recipes for "Philadelphia Style" ice cream, where while you cook the ingredients the day before, no egg is involved, therefore, no custard, and for me, no worries.

I forgot to take a picture the first night we enjoyed it atop apple pie (Dad didn't get blueberry), but here it is from last night, with a little chocolate sauce and sprinkles. And yes, I know, I really need to practice this food photography. I think it's the night lighting, yeah, let's blame that.

Philadelphia Vanilla

Chris says it's the best Vanilla he's ever had. Mom liked it too "even though I'm not usually a Vanilla fan." But if you're looking for something quick, easy and tasty, go with this one.

Vanilla Ice Cream, Philadelphia-Style

3 cups heavy cream (or 2 cups heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk - I used this variation)
3/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Pour 1 cup of the cream into a medium saucepan and add the sugar and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan and add the pod to the pot. Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove from heat and add the remaining cream (or milk and cream combination, is using) and the vanilla extract.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

It's that time of year again, the time of year when zucchini comes out of everyone's ears! We are no exceptions. Well, at least this year we didn't even bother growing our own. I've tried several zucchini bread recipes including an orange zucchini bread that I think I forgot to blog about (I'll go see if I can find pictures). So in addition to Becky's favorite, the lemony zucchini muffins I made last summer, this morning I tried a new recipe from Cooking Light.

Zucchini Bread

I have two disconnected memories of Peach Ice Cream from my childhood. One, I'm not sure is real but I remember visiting cousins of my mom, at their house on a lake, and having peach ice cream. Another time, I remember our neighbors, across the street, making it in this big wooden thing you had to crank. Not much came out in the end (at least I thought for what you put into it) but what came out (considering I wasn't a peach ice cream fan - I mean c'mon peach when you can have chocolate?), was pretty darn good.

So other than those two memories, since childhood, I hadn't really given much thought to eating and/or making peach ice cream.

Of course, that was until the Sunday Slow Scoopers stepped in.

Now let me start off by stating, if you don't get good peaches, don't bother with this. Your peaches taste bland, your ice cream tastes bland - there's no way around that axiom.

So while I'm on the subject of good peaches. Let's take a moment to educate the masses on how to choose a peach. Never, ever, ever squeeze a peach. I hate to tell people, but odds are most of the peaches in the bins (especially at the supermarkets) aren't ripe. Squeezing a hard peach, only leaves bruises that won't appear until the peach actually does ripen - so that perfect peach you bought at the market, a day or two later, will be completely bruised from where you poked and prodded it (or worse yet, my perfect peach will be because some shmo before me squeezed the crap out of it - can you tell I'm passionate about my peaches?). To choose a peach, simply pick it up, gently cupping it in the palm of your hand, and sniff it around the stem. If it smells like peach, even if it's hard, it will taste like peach. When you get home, stick it in a paper bag on your counter for a day or too and voila, good peach.

So now, once you have your perfect peaches, and they've ripened, you can make the ice cream (you need four good size peaches for this recipe, 600 grams or 1 1/3 pounds).

First you peel them. Does anyone have a good method for peeling peaches? Because I gotta tell you, those suckers get slippery as your working your way around them and almost lost a couple to the sink. Once peeled, slice all the way around the peach, dividing it in half and basically pry it apart to get the pit out. Now chunk it and throw it into a non-reactive medium-sized pot, with a half a cup of water and 3/4 cup of sugar. Cook that on the stove for 10 minutes, covered, on a medium flame stirring once or twice during the process. Let it cool to room temp.

Peach Mixture After Blending
Now take your peach mixture and in a blender or food processor (I used a blender), puree that with 1/2 cup of sour cream (I used full fat but may try light or no fat next time to see how it changes the consistency), 1 cup heavy cream, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla and a couple of drops of fresh-squeezed lemon juice. You want some chunks in this sucker, so don't puree too long. I think I did mine for a few seconds at most.

Chill the mixture in the fridge - I've taken to chilling mine overnight. Stick it in your ice cream machine and let it do it's thing. That's it - easy peasy. Oh and Dave says you can do this with nectarines too (follow guidelines above for choosing peaches), but you don't need to peel them because they soften enough during the cooking process.

Peach Ice Cream w/ Blackberries from the CSA

So here's my question though: can I make that sugar-syrup peach step and can or freeze it during the summer, then use those all winter long to make fresh peach ice cream? We didn't go peach picking this summer, but if we do next summer, it may be a good way to use all those peaches!

Update: A 1/3 cup serving is 3 weight watchers points. A 1/2 cup serving is 5 WW points.

So the eggplants keep rolling in from my CSA. And while I'm getting sick of caponata (look for a recipe for Eggplant Parm Lasagna real soon), I tried one at a farmers market in the Whole Foods parking lot a few weeks ago that was different than mine and delicious, so I made it last week. Sorry forgot the pictures but here's the recipe. It's sweeter than mine, and I like the addition of the red pepper, I think it's probably a better topping for crostini or bruschcetta than mine too. So anyway, here's the recipe:

1 large eggplant - cut into 1 inch cubes; I used a bunch of smaller ones - maybe a pound
1 large onion - diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic (I inadvertently minced these but it still came out fine - I just added them towards the end of the saute so they wouldn't burn)
2T tomato paste
1/4c raisins (I didn't have raisins, so I used currants)
2T chopped green olives
2T chopped black olives
1/2 dried basil
1t oregano
1 - 2T Balsamic vinegar (pretty sure I used two)
1T sugar
1t crushed red pepper
1/4 cup water

Fry the eggplant in olive oil until dark golden brown. Okay so the recipe didn't say how much olive oil and b/c I'm weight conscious I used 1t for each batch and did it in two batches - you could probably use more. Drain on paper towels (didn't bother with this). Empty skillet of oil (didn't bother with this). In 3T olive oil (I used less, maybe 1T), saute onion, pepper and garlic (remember if it's minced add it to the end). I sauteed until they were softened. Add remaining ingredients and eggplant. Simmer about 15 - 20 minutes, serve warm or cold.

As I've mentioned before, our CSA has totally gone overboard this year on Eggplants and I'm darn tired of making caponata. So I've started scouring Cooking Light, looking for other eggplant dishes. Although, not fall yet, and really not cool outside, I decided to fire up the oven Saturday night and make something rich and gooey - Eggplant Parm Lasagna.

Baked Eggplant SlicesThis isn't an easy dish from the standpoint that there are lots of steps, but in the end, it's a one casserole meal, so after dinner (assuming you've cleaned up along the way), you're pretty good to go. It also has a really decent serving size - dividing that 9x13 casserole dish into 9 makes for a good-sized portion at 9 Weight Watcher points each. Also, I was concerned about baking the eggplant as opposed to frying it but man, it worked great! This is a definite make again, a good vegetarian option, and I wouldn't hesitate to make it for company.

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

The eggplant glut continues (I think I have two left in the refrigerator). I also had a bunch of tomatoes left (we got to take 20 last week at the CSA). So I decided to make this dish last night. It takes a little prep time only because you have to roast the eggplant for 15 minutes (so figure in preheat time, roasting, and chopping of vegies), but once that's done, it comes together easily for decent pasta sauce. Heck, even Becky liked it (though she didn't actually eat it - opting for plain pasta, and just a taste of the sauce).

We love Indian food. But I've always been intimidated to make it at home. Not to mention the caloric count on many dishes. You can imagine my surprise though when my sil recommended a Chicken Tikka Masala recipe on the Weight Watchers site. I had to give it a shot, and I have to say, it was pretty darn good. I can't say whether or not it's "authentic" but it sure takes good. I've made it twice now and both times we enjoyed it.

Have you gotten the idea yet? We're getting lots of eggplants this summer from our CSA. Don't get me wrong, I really like eggplant. But sometimes, too much of a good thing ... In an effort to help me, Tourmama over on Slow Travel Talk, even started a discussion on eggplant recipes. She posted a link to this San Francisco chronicle article, Meet the eggplant's extended family which has a couple of interesting recipes.

But last night, after another CSA pickup with three more eggplants in it, and still having some eggplants left from last week's pickup, I decided I need something quick and easy to do as a "side-dish" for last night's dinner of Chicken Tikka Masala and that's where the Quick Eggplant and Tomato Sauté came into play.

It was a good choice too because not only did it use up a bunch of the smaller eggplants, but it also used up the red onions and peppers I received from the farm. Once all the dicing was done, it came together quickly and made a tasty side dish. I have a ton left over so we'll see how it is re-heated with lunch today.

Now it says it's a 1/2 cup serving at 1 point but a 1 cup serving also has 1 point - in case you want to double up.

This week's choice was actually my pick! So, there's no doubt it would be Chris's favorite, and it was. Sammi chose it as her favorite so far too but Becky still prefers the peach. I think even Fala liked it best.

Crazy though, I didn't even get to serve this with apple crisp, or cobbler or pie, as it was gone before I had a chance to do any baking. I did get to serve it with a baked apple though on Saturday night.

I'm going to make it again this week and serve it on Rosh Hashanah I think with the cliche apple cake. Should be good.

I made this for dessert for Rosh Hashanah this year and it was really good. I left out the nuts in my version, only because I forgot but still no issues. I'd definitely make this lightened version of my normal recipe in the future.

Sorry, no pictures. And for you Weight Watchers, this comes in at 6 points.

For a side dish for Rosh Hashanah, you should have something sweet (well, the entire meal should be sweet, for the sweet New Year). Often we go for something with honey in it but I wanted something a little different and opted for these instead. This dish came together easy (once all the carrot peeling and slicing was done), tasted good and I made it the day before and simply re-heated in the microwave. I doubled the recipe but was still surprised by how much it cooked down. I'll still make it again though.

For Weight Watchers this has 1 point per serving. Again, sorry no pictures.

This is an old standard recipe that I've lightened a bit using fat free sour cream and egg beaters. Though I think I'm going to go back to either light sour cream and/or real eggs - I just think the consistency is better. I may cut down the sugar instead - consider the lightened version a work in process.

Noodle Pudding (5 points), serves 16 with other side dishes, 12 (and 7 points) solo

16 ounces no yolk egg noodles -- medium
1 1/2 cups sugar
15 ounces applesauce
1 cup egg beaters, Fat Free
2 cups sour cream, no fat
1/4 cup light butter, unsalted
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup raisins

1. Boil noodles and drain put back into the pot
2. Add all ingredients except cinnamon
3. Pour into greased 13 x 9 pan
4. Sprinkle w/ cinnamon
5. Bake 90 minutes at 350 or bake 45 minutes and freeze then bake one hour from the freezer

I got this recipe many years ago from an old friend. She made this Challah for Rosh Hashanah because it's especially sweet but you can use it whenever. Suse taught me how to bake and how cooking for your friends and loved ones is a way to show them you love them. Every time I bake this bread, I think of her.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Suse's Challah (3 points)
1 cup hot water
2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup honey
5 cups flour
1/4 cup oil (I use canola)
1/2 cup raisins
2 eggs

1. Add oil to water
2. Add honey, stir until dissolved
3. Sprinkle yeast over mixture
4. Stir once to moisten
5. Let rise (5 to 10 minutes)
6. Add 2 cups flour to mixture
7. Add egg, raisins and rest of flour
8. Knead until smooth and elastic
9. Let rise 1 hour
10. Make challah (2 small round ones can also be made haven't tried braided yet - see pictures below)
11. Put on cookie sheet
12. Let rise until double in size (about 1 hour)
13. Brush w/ beaten egg yolk
14. Bake until golden brown (about 30 - 40 minutes at 350)

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 153 Calories; 3g Fat (17.4% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 18mg Cholesterol; 8mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

I have one daughter who is raisin intolerant (like her father), so in addition to Suse's Challah, I also make this recipe from my friend Lisa. What I like (love) about this recipe, is that it starts out in the bread machine, so you only do the final baking in the oven and no mixing or anything. It's great for starting on a Friday afternoon so you can have fresh Challah for shabbat dinner. Lisa has another challah recipe that's a little sweeter, if I recall, but I never got it from her.

I guess I stopped writing just after my birthday, so I missed filling you all in on my Rosh Hashana menu. I wanted to get inspired, early on, and try some new dishes but as usual, I got side-tracked and went with many tried and true but did manage a new one.

For starters, we went with a Mediterranean theme:

• hummus
  
• Babba Ghanoush
  
• stuffed grape leaves
  
• olives
  
• pickled vegetables

For dinner we had:

• Matzo Ball Soup (aunt Sheila made the pea soup)
  
• Mixed Greens salad with Everyday Vinaigrette, glazed pecans (store-bought), and Gorgonzola (on the side b/c half the family doesn't like cheese on their salad)
  
• Then I stole Chicken with Leeks and Figs from Amy. I was worried about making a new dish without taste-testing it first and so I was also going to make the Eggplant Parm Lasagna but my oven went on the Fritz on Saturday and I didn't want to push my luck with its use. As it turned out, with the oven, I "trick" it into warming up and once it gets to the proper temp, it maintains it but I just never knew when it would die, so didn't push it.

  Anyway, back to the Chicken, mine was a bit different than Amy's because I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts (most of my family are white meat eaters; cooking for my extended family, by the way, can be problematic at best). So what I did was to keep the chicken breasts out of the concoction, after the initial browning, until the last 15 minutes when I added the figs, since I figured the thin breasts would cook quicker (oh yeah, I used the chicken breast cutlets). Anyway, this worked well. I also made it on Sunday and let it sit in the fridge until Monday, when I reheated it in the broken oven for about 30 minutes, covered, at 350-375 (hard to tell w/ the broken oven).



• Carrot Coins with Maple-Balsamic Browned Butter
  
• Standard Noodle Kugel (I had a craving)
  
• Raisin and Plain Challahs

Everything came out great, and there was plenty of food and no worries with the busted oven.

It's pretty warm here right now - in the seventies - but the calendar says October, the leaves are changing and starting to fall, and for me that means fall. Along with that, it means fall flavors. Nothing says fall like apples, so this hit on all cylendars.

I was going to make this dish last night because I needed something that I could cook based upon what I had in the house (I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer, apples in the fridge and the first apple cider of the season too) because I didn't know if Chris was going to get the food shopping done before dinner or not. Then it turned out that Sammi's friend was sleeping over, and Chris could get to the market, so we opted for something safe last night (hamburgers) and to make this tonight, with the now defrosted pork tenderloin.

As far as the Sweet Potatoes, well, I bought a whole bunch at the farm market Friday afternoon (they scream fall to me too) and we always have maple syrup around, so that was a no brainer.

Pork Medalions with Double Apple Sauce and Maple Sweet Potatoes

This week Chris brought home lemongrass from our CSA. Of couse, I had no idea what to do with it but luckily they provided several recipes and this is the one I decided to make.

A 1.5C serving comes in at two points. This is a really refreshing soup, I think due to the inclusion of the lemongrass. Definitely refreshing enough to enjoy as a summer soup too.

Ingredients

1 fresh lemongrass stalk, root end trimmed and 1 or 2 outer layers discarded
1 large onion, chopped
1T olive oil (originally called for 2T butter and 2T olive oil)
1 3/4 pounds kabocha or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1- inch pieces ( 4 cups)
2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen com kernels (10 ounces; from 2 to 3 ears)
5 cups water (I used 4C chicken broth and 1C water to give a little richness)
Garnish: cilantro leaves (I forgot this but it would have been good)

Preparation
Cut off and discard top of lemongrass, leaving a 6-inch stalk, then smash stalk with side of a large heavy knife.
Cook lemongrass, onion and 1t salt in oil in a heavy medium pot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 10 minutes. Add squash, com, water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and discard lemongrass.

Puree soup in 3 or batches in a blender until very smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), straining each batch as blended through a fine-mesh sieve into a large heatproof bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids. Season with salt and pepper and reheat if necessary.

For this week's Sunday Slow Scoopers, Chris chose any flavor of chocolate from the Perfect Scoop. At first I thought I'd keep it simple and go with the Philadelphia Style Chocolate Ice Cream - basic and simple. But then I saw the chocolate peanut butter, which is one of my favorite flavors and it was way simple, meeting the second requirement, so that's I went with.

And Lisa, if you're reading this, just come over for some before it's all gone.

Oh, and for weight watchers, a 1/3 cup serving is 5 points.

Wednesday night (for reasons I will discuss in some future post), I wanted something quick and easy for dinner and yet comforting. Of course, when I planned our weekly menu (yes I plan a menu on the weekend and then Chris food shops based upon that menu), I had no idea that's what I would want, so this one worked out really well.

The soup comes together in a few minutes, and cooks for maybe 15-20 minutes before you eat it. I didn't bother with the salad, but we had some left over ciabatta that Chris toasted up, rubbed with garlic, sprinkled with salt and drizzled olive oil over to make a nice accompaniment.

No pictures (maybe I'll get one at lunch today) but it's soup; it's easy and it's good. Oh and for you Weight Watchers out there not necessarily good value (7 points in a 1C serving) but it is pretty darn filling and with a salad, makes a good meal.

Pasta e Fagioli
From

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage
1 1/2 tablespoons bottled minced garlic
1 cup water
1 (16-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 cup uncooked small seashell pasta (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, drained
Minced fresh parsley (optional)
Crushed red pepper (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage and garlic; sauté 2 minutes or until browned, stir-ring to crumble. Add water, broth, and tomato sauce; bring to a boil. Stir in pasta, 1/4 cup cheese, oregano, salt, pepper, and beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 8 minutes or until pasta is done. Let stand 5 minutes; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Garnish each serving with parsley and red pepper, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

CALORIES 353 (26% from fat); FAT 10.2g (sat 3.1g,mono 4.1g,poly 2.3g); IRON 4.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 34mg; CALCIUM 177mg; CARBOHYDRATE 45.6g; SODIUM 742mg; PROTEIN 20.5g; FIBER 4.5g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2000

Lest you think I've been wallowing in self-pity, I decided to throw some recipes up too. Friday and Saturday night we've enjoyed some really good dinners, so as time allows, I'm going to throw the recipes up here.

First, last night's dessert, Oatmeal Cranberry Classics. I got these from Weight Watchers Best Ever Desserts cookbook, which I believe they sold only in meetings, not in bookstores, and as is their way, took out of print within the year. What attracted me to these suckers (besides I'm a huge oatmeal cookie lover) is that I had all the ingredients in the house. I even had dried cranberries, which I didn't use though, becasue no one but me and Mom like them. Instead, I subbed Cinnamon Chips which just give a little burst of flavor. If you want to stay within "protocol" you could have subbed dried cherries, blueberries or chopped dried apricots (and I imagine the ubiquitous raisin) but I wanted a little indulgence.

I used my smallest scooper (about 1T) and got 36 cookies (as opposed to the 30 they said) and the best part, each of these little suckers comes in at only 1 point (high fiber). Oh and I found Whole Wheat Pastry flour at Whole Foods but if you use that cinnamon chip link above, you can also get it from King Arthur Flour.

On Sundays in the winter, I love dishes that sit and simmer on the stove or in the oven for a long period of time. They make the house smell wonderful and if I get them going early enough, cooking dinner doesn't interfere with Sunday football!

I found this recipe on, where else, Cooking Light and made it for dinner this past Sunday. Everyone loved it. Along with a tossed salad and some fresh bread it made for a great meal and I finally got to use two acorn squash that I got from the CSA a few weeks ago.

Well, the Slow Travelers are back in the kitchen but now we're simmering soups! We're four weeks in, and while I made the Mexican Turkey Soup, I've missed two others so far but I'm jumping back in with Teaberry's selection. For other Slow Soupers and their take on this delicious soup, click on the links to the right, under Sunday Slow Soupers. The spices mixed into the meatballs give them, and the entire soup an interesting flavor, almost middle eastern as opposed to Italian. For me, I'm looking forward to lunch tomorrow as dinner tonight was delish!

Italian Wedding Soup

Meatballs:

2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound ground turkey (or ground meat of choice - I used 96% lean ground beef)
2 tablespoons olive oil
spices: 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt

Mix everything together, and roll into 1″ balls. Saute in the olive oil until lightly browned on the outside (I baked them at 350 instead until they were brown; next time I may try poaching them in the soup). Set aside.

Soup ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 cloves minced garlic
3 diced strips of turkey bacon (or regular bacon - I used center cut regular)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Marsala wine
2 quarts of chicken stock
1 cup orzo
1 tablespoon dried oregano

4 fresh leaves of basil, chopped
3 cups of arugula
1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano for garnish

Saute the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in large soup pot for 5 - 6 minutes. Add the bacon and the balsamic vinegar, and let all the flavors mix and blend.

Add the Marsala and let this cook down a little. When it is almost evaporated, add the chicken stock, orzo, meatballs, and oregano. Simmer this for about 15 minutes, til the orzo is soft.

Add the basil and arugula and cook for about 1 more minute. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmigiano for garnish.

Well, I'm probably not eating today but that doesn't mean you all can't. I got this recipe years ago, I think from the New York Times, but now I pretty much wing it and thought I'd share it with you. It's a great pantry meal (i.e., I keep everything in my pantry and can make it in the time it takes to boil water), hope you like it too.

1 16oz box of spaghetti (or really whatever pasta you like)
1 28oz can Whole Italian tomatoes (or a good brand of crushed - like Muir Glen, or heck, even diced would probably work too)
1 can anchovies (or maybe 5 fillets from a jar if you can find)
1 - 2T capers (rinsed and drained)
pitted kalamata olives (I prefer fresh from the olive bar but keep a jar in the pantry just in case; I've also used green and plain bland black ones in a pinch - I use a good handful - adjust based upon how much you like olives).
1 medium onion
parsley (decent amount of fresh, or a couple of tablespoons of dried)
basil (1 -2 T dried - Chris likes a lot of herbs)
oregano (1T dried)
crushed red pepper - a dash

Dice the onion and saute with the anchovy in olive oil in a large fry/saute pan. Break down the anchovy with the back of a wooden spoon. When onions are a bit soft, toss in pretty much everything else (if using whole tomatoes, break up with back of same spoon). When it boils, bring it down to a simmer.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. When it's boiling, add some salt to the pot, and give it a minute to return to a boil before tossing the pasta in (it's quicker to do it this way than salt the water from the beginning - it takes longer for salted water to come to a boil). Once the pasta is done, toss it with sauce and serve with some parmigiano reggiano atop if you like.

Reading Diana's, Creative Structures, I saw the entry on the coconut cake her niece baked from the Barefoot Contessa and that got me hankering for some too, only going through Ina's cookbook, it wasn't the coconut cake that caught my eye but the coconut cupcake. And before we go any further, let me tell you, cooking light, this is not!

A good friend called this morning to touch base, talk about the inauguration, and ask if I put the recipe for the lamb stew I made two weeks ago on my "website." To which of course, I replied, "Doh, totally forgot." So I'm glad she called, among other reasons, because it reminded me I had to do this and gave me a topic for today.

This dish originally came from Barb of Follow my Bliss after she posted it on the Slow Travel Talk Food Forum (which by the way is still open to the public through January 2009).

We found it hearty and delicious, the perfect meal to have on a cold winter night. It freezes well too, so we'll be able to have it again soon.

Yesterday, David Lebovitz posted a recipe for Creamy Feta-Red Wine Dressing, which sounded easy and delicious. And since miraculously I had all the ingredients in the house, and I had been craving a "Greek" salad for weeks, I decided to whip up a big salad for lunch.

Mine contains mixed spring greens, sliced red onion, grape tomatoes, pignoli nuts and dried blueberries (antioxidants and all). His picture, of course, came out better than mine (hey, what do you expect using a cell phone camera) but here's yesterday's lunch.

Chris found this recipe recently, in the copy of At Home with Michael Chiarello that he bought me a few years ago. We've made it twice and when he gets home from taking Becky to her first Semi-Formal (well, not her first, but her first with a date), we're going to make it a third time. You can find the recipe on the Napastyle website, and here's a direct link: Grilled Gaucho Steak with Chimichurri Sauce but it's not exactly the same as in the cookbook, which I'm going to give you now.

Grilled Gaucho Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Berry and Brown Sugar Muffins

Diana over at Creative Structures posted this recipe the other day and it sounded intriguing, especially because I always have frozen berries in my freezer (though we're out of raspberries that the recipe called for, I used blueberries and blackberries). Diana's version came from Bianca at White Living, who I believe posted the recipe in German, which Diana translated. Diana, in turn, posted the recipe in metric, which I've now converted below using my Weight Watchers scale (yes, you should appreciate the irony in that as these are not for the weight conscious but rather a bit indulgent).

Berry and Brown Sugar Muffins

3/4cup plus 1.5t butter or margerine
5.2 ounces brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
4 eggs
11.4 ounces of flour
3 teaspoons (aka 1T) baking powder
5 tablespoons of milk
6.1 ounces of frozen raspberries or mixed berries (I used about 4oz blueberries and the rest blackberries)

Beat the butter (by the way, I softened this as much as my impatient soul would allow), vanilla, sugar and salt in a mixer fitted with the paddle until it is light and airy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue mixing (I also scraped down the sides). Mix the flour with the baking powder. Add spoonfuls of the flour to the egg mixture, alternating with teaspoons of the milk (this was an exercise in patience as 5 tablespoons of milk equals 15 teaspoons!).

Mix a tablespoon of flour into the frozen berries. Then mix the berries into the batter carefully.

Pour into a muffin tin outfitted with parchment paper (i.e., for those in the states, I just used muffin paper cups). Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes.

These were good, but something in my conversion perhaps was off. I think next time, I will add a tad more brown sugar, not a lot. I will let you know how it goes.

I get a few days where I can cook every couple of weeks, and boy is my family glad I made this recipe during this time. I don't know why but I've been craving Jambalaya lately, and just this week, discovered I could eat spicy food again, so all systems were good to go.

Oh, and don't let that biscuit fool you. I wasn't that ambitious; those were Pillsbury. And it's not too Weight Watcher friendly at 9 points for a 1.5 cup serving. I'm going to make it again, next time using chicken andouille sausage and see what I come up with instead.

Pasta Amatriciana

Okay - let's get past the debates of what is and what isn't an authentic amatriciana sauce. This is the standard in our home and pretty much a "go to" recipe in our house. It takes about as long to prepare as it does to boil the water and, keeping the pancetta in the freezer, is pretty much a pantry meal. Hope you enjoy.

Pasta Amatriciana

• 3 T olive oil (honestly, I don't normally use this much, maybe 1T maybe cooking spray when I'm really counting points)
• 4 oz pancetta finely chopped (btw - I know a "standard" substitution in this country for pancetta has been bacon but I find bacon too smokey. While following Weight Watchers, I've actually subbed Canadian Bacon and found that worked well)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1T garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2t dried oregano
• 1 28 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped (I just break them in the pan with the back of a wooden spoon)
• 1/2t red pepper flakes (I use 1/4t when the kids will eat otherwise it's too spicy for them)
• 1T fresh basil leaves, finely slivered (if I don't have fresh basil, I use 1t dried and it when I add the oregano)
• 8C cooked pasta (I've used spaghetti, rigatoni, whatever)

1. Heat olive oil and add the pancetta in a heavy skillet.
2. When the pancetta starts to brown, add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until the onion is soft.
3. Stir in the oregano (and basil if using dry), tomatoes and hot red pepper flakes.
4. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sauce has thickened about 30 minutes.
5. Stir in the basil and season to taste w/ salt and pepper (you know, rarely do I add salt and pepper).
6. Toss with the cooked pasta.

At six servings, this comes in at 7 Weight Watchers points per serving. At four servings, 10 points (and that's a hefty serving)

I've tried many recipes for Beef Wellington over the years, some with great results and some disasters. Once you get the whole puff pastry concept down, it's really not that hard to do and this one is one of our favorites. As a matter of fact, last night's was so good, we realized after we finished, we forgot to save a "taste" for Fala!

I don't make this often, usually about once a year, but it's also a great make-ahead if you're having company and who doesn't love puff pastry?

Mini Beef Wellington w/ Gorgonzola

As life returns to "normal" I've started to cook again. Though, with the expectation that I'll be tired by the end of the day, I'm selecting recipes that are labeled either quick and easy or under 30 minutes. Last night, I snagged Gnocchi with Broccoli Rabe, Caramelized Garlic, and Parmesan from Cooking Light as it was tagged Quick and Easy, and it was.

Gnocchi with Broccoli Rabe, Caramelized Garlic, and Parmesan.

We totally enjoyed this dish, and the only thing I may do differently next time is up the crushed red pepper a tad (or perhaps buy some fresh crushed red pepper). I may also bulk up the boccoli rabe because I love it, and that will increase my vegies and portion size while also increasing the number of vegie servigs I get in a day.

Cooked again last night and this time I tapped into some of Cooking Light's Pasta Presto recipes from 2003 (must remember to bookmark these puppies for the next few weeks). This was another delicious dish that will take you as long to make as it takes you to cook the orecchiette (plus two minutes).

Orecchiette with Sausage, Peppers and Feta

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

This has been a big deal on the Slow Travel Talk Food forum for a while now but I've never made it... until now. Since Becky is keeping kosher for Passover (which is another story), I wanted to get some decent snacks for her (as that blueberry muffin mix that was kosher for Passover was quite gross). Anyway, while she was away, I did a test batch (and brought them to my cousin's much to their delight), which came out great and will make another batch today. In the mean time I thought I'd share it with you.

Chocolate Caramel Matzoh Crunch

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

Well, the folks from the Slow Travel Talk Food Forum are back at it again. This time though, to go along with the spring/summer heat, we're doing salads! So welcome to the first edition of the Sunday Salad Samplers.

Today's edition is brought to you by Eden of Wanderings and Wonderings and she's titled her salad Foraging the City Salad (aka Palma and Jerry salad, named for the two individuals who inspired this creation). I believe the Foraging came from the search for blood oranges.

Foraging the City Salad

This week I got to choose but because I was late to pick, many types of salad had already been taken. I went with this recipe, that I made a few years ago, and then forgot about. I'm glad I resurrected it because everyone loved it, Beck even more so than my go-to Chicken Caesar Salad recipe. So this will be on the menu often this summer.

Fajita Salad

Did I mention that the Slow Travel Group is back in the kitchen? This time, in honor of the warm weather, and the overwhelming desire to not heat up our kitchens, we're making salads (yes, while last summer's ice cream recipes were great fun, some of us are still working them off).

Anyway, I'm way behind in my salad making - yes, even salads an take time to prep. So now I need to catch up. I did make this one relatively close to the original date (05/03/09), but just haven't gotten around to posting it until now.

Black Bean Salad

Sorry about the picture quality, you think by now I'd make sure my camera battery is charged instead of relying on my phone's camera...

Here's another one I'm playing catch-up with. I was a little leery of the raw asparagus thing but they tasted great. Just don't make the mistake that Chris did (though I warned him not to) and buy thin asparagus. They're very hard to peel. This was quite the refreshing/tasty salad and in the future, I'm thinking this would be a great Passover Seder addition, with all the flavors of spring.

Asparagus, Pea and Arugula Salad

Again, apologies on the picture quality.

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

In my effort to continue playing catch up with the salad samplers, for dinner Monday night, I made Jerry's, Thai Chicken Salad. Both Chris and I enjoyed it though Becky wasn't 100% thrilled. I'd make it again though.

I've got many notes here because I skipped some "exotic" ingredients and blew preparation a bit.

Thai Chicken Salad

Thai Chicken Salad

For the chicken:

4 roasted chicken breasts (I bought chicken breasts on bone w/ skin, seasoned w/ salt and pepper and roasted them in a 425 degree oven until they were done)
½ tsp chopped galangal (can substitute with ginger and I did)
Juice of two limes
1 ½ tsp minced bird’s eye chilies (or 1 tsp chili paste such as sambel oelek - I opted for the chili paste)
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 kaffir lime laves – centre rib removed, cut in a chiffonade (I didn't have these so grated the zest of a lime)
¾ tsp fish sauce

Shred the chicken breast. Mix all of the dressing ingredients. Toss the shredded chicken with the dressing. Adjust the seasonings – there should be a balance of hot, sour, and salt. To adjust seasonings in Thai food follow these rough guidelines . . . if it is too sweet add more fish sauce . . . too salty add more sugar . . . not tangy enough - add more lime juice . . . not hot enough - add more chili or some sambel oelek

For the salad base:

2 T fish sauce
2 T palm sugar – (can substitute with regular or brown sugar - I used brown)
¼ cup lime juice
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 bird’s eye chilies, minced (I, again used chili paste - too lazy to mince, and very little because I thought it would be too spicy for Becky).
1 bunch watercress, trimmed
8 Napa cabbage leaves cut in a chiffonade (I stole Amy's idea and used a bag of pre-shredded cole slaw because I didn't think Chris could handle finding/buying Napa cabbage)
16 cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 cup blanched green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths
½ bunch cilantro, leaves trimmed and coarsely chopped
½ bunch mint, leaves trimmed and cut in a chiffonade (I used more cilantro and a little basil because I'm not a big fan of mint)

½ cup roasted peanuts (non-salted) or cashews, chopped

Mix the fish sauce through to chilies in a jar. Stir/shake well to dissolve sugar. Taste for seasonings). Store it in the refrigerator overnight so the flavors come together. I forgot to do this the night before, so they had very little marinating - also I mixed everything in my blender.

Mix together the watercress through mint in a large bowl. Toss with dressing.

To serve:

Divide the vegetable mixture amongst 4 plates (I just put everything in one big bowl). Add the chicken on top of the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with chopped, roasted nuts. You can also add some cilantro to garnish.

Deborah, of Old Shoes New Trip provided this week's recipe. It sounded like a great side salad to our barbecue dinner last night (gaucho steak sandwiches) so I made it yesterday evening, not realizing the flavors were supposed to blend overnight. Oh well! It was still darn good, and am looking forward to having it again this evening with our Greek-Style Burgers.

Roasted Corn & Wild Rice Salad

Roasted Corn & Wild Rice Salad

The recipe is very easy. It keeps well and freezes well. You can serve it both chilled or at room temperature. Great for picnics where you don't want to worry about spoilage.

1 package - uncooked wild rice. (the original recipe called for wild rice blend, but I prefer the stronger flavors of only wild rice.)
2 cups - frozen roasted corn nibblets (Deborah uses Trader Joes. I don't know if our local shop rite carries such a thing, so I bought frozen corn kernels and then sauteed them in a non-stick pan until they were caramelized a bit).
1 cup - finely chopped celery
3/4 cup - shredded carrot
3/4 cup - Craisins
2/3 cup - toasted sunflower seeds
1/2 cup - finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup - raspberry vinegar
1 tbs - olive oil
1 tbs - low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp - grated orange peel
1/2 tsp - pepper

Cook rice according to package directions: omit salt and fat. Cool.
Combine rice, corn and all other ingredients in a bowl; stir well; chill overnight to blend flavors.
Serve cold from fridge or bring to room temp if you prefer. (I like room temp., Dan likes cold)

This makes a pretty big batch, so you might want to halve it.

I have to say I was a bit leery on the orange zest addition but it really gives the salad a nice, refreshing flavor.

Oh, and for Weight Watchers out there figure 12 servings, serving size 2/3 cup and 3 points per serving.

I'm always on the lookout for one point cookie recipes. I'm also always on the lookout for snickerdoodle recipes. So Gold! Found both on Cooking Light (aka MyRecipes.com). Now my friend, Lisa, has been nagging for this recipe, as she wants to make them for her Sukkah open house, so I figured I'd finally post it.

Snickerdoodles

A couple of weeks ago I received a bunch of delicata squash from our CSA. I didn't know what to do with them until I did some research and found that they're similar to a butternut squash. Still, not having any meals with which I'd consider cooking them, and a chill in the air today, I decided to bake with them, converting a chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe to use the delicata squash instead.

"Delicata" Bread

Those SlowTrav cooks have been working on these small bites based upon different ingredients for weeks now. I had intended to participate from the beginning but well, you know what they say about the road to hell...

Anyway, last week's ingredient was pumpkin. And, basically, each cook is challenged to make something small (most thing appetizer but I guess it can be a dessert too), which utilizes that weekly ingredient. Some are pulling out tried and true recipes, some are finding new recipes to try and others are creating things on the fly.

For this week's challenge, I decided to sort of join the last group. I was inspired by a pumpkin-sausage quiche recipe that Barbara (of Barb and Art fame) posted for me when I inquired what to do with a cheese pumpkin I received from our CSA. Instead, I changed it into something that I could use for the small bites.

Okay, I'm a little late, but at least I did it. This week we had to make something with mushrooms. At first I thought I'd do some sort of strudel-type dish with phyllo dough and a mushroom cheese insert (I thought this because let's face it, many dishes made with mushroom look like poo or barf and I figured with the shrooms inside, it would look good). But then I got lazy and I found the Godfather on AMC, so I needed something quick and easy.

I settled on a poo-looking but delicious tasting and easy to make stuffed mushroom recipe instead. I had this recipe in my files for almost 20 years, since I took my first cooking class at Dierberg's in St. Louis, but don't think I've made it since then. I figure the points using my lightening (hey all that oil was left in the bowl), they come in at one point each as opposed to the two points in the original recipe. Again, don't let the images dissuade you.

Shrimp Stuffed Mushrooms