Best Chows Tips

Gardanne Winner!

2009-07-29T04:22:00.001-07:00

Hey guys! We are back from our trip to DC to see the family and the sites! We had a great time and I'm sure you'll be hearing all about it soon enough... but as for today, I'm sure all you want to know is who the winner of our awesome Gardanne giveaway is (and about the next giveaway)!??

First off go check out Anne's store again, she's updated it with a ton of new beautiful pieces!! GO CHECK IT OUT!

Secondly... the winner was chosen using random.org and that lucky lady is....

Natalie of Natalie's killer cuisine!

Here is what Natalie says about herself in her blogger profile:

"Hello, I'm Natalie and I write Natalie's Killer Cuisine. I live in Dallas, TX with my boyfriend Kyle and we are slowly starting our own catering company. I bake a lot so you will see that on my blog, along with healthy meals for myself, gluttonous meals for Kyle, and some catering food. Before starting my blog I went to culinary school and have worked in restaurant back of house and front of house. "

Congrats Natalie! Drop me an email at stephchows (at) gmail (dot) com with your address so I can pass it along to Anne!

No fret if you didn't win... because if you remember, I mentioned this was the first of two giveaways.... Want a sneak peak of what the next giveaway will be...

Slow Cooker Lamb Chops Recipe

2009-07-28T22:03:00.001-07:00

Day 5.

We are housebound due to the crazy storm outside.
It's so cold and stormy we had to resort to making a real fire in the real fireplace with a real Duraflame.

But, no worries. We have frostbitten lambchops at our disposal. This is my favorite way to use my slow cooker. I find a piece of forgotten, pretty much unedible meat and plop it in to cook all day long with either some bottled sauce, or with a spice rub. Since lamb is flavorful all on it's own, I used a bottle of spice rub purchased over the summer for barbequing. It contains salt, garlic, cracked black peppercorns, rosemary and crushed red pepper.

Directions:

Coat all sides of the chops with seasoning rub and place into the bottom of a stoneware insert that has 1 tablespoon of olive oil smeared around.

Add a 1/2 cup of water, close it up, and push the low button.

Sing Baa Baa Black Sheep (optional).

That's it! I plugged it in at 7:20am, and cooked the meat until 5pm, flipping once at about 1:30.

I served it with some leftover stir-fried rice and drizzled the broth from the crock over the top.

The lamb was tender and very flavorful. The kids each had 2 bites before requesting Macaroni and Cheese---which means it was a very successful meal.

Slow Cooker Apple Crisp Recipe

2009-07-28T22:02:00.001-07:00

Day 4.
It was stormy and icky outside today. We're all still sick and were stuck inside---I had a bunch of work I was trying to get done and the kids seemed fine playing with cardboard and tape. So much for the thousands of dollars worth of Christmas toys.

When I emerged from my computer fog, I started poking around the kitchen. After last night's cooking disaster, I was determined to make something that everyone would like. Or at least eat.

I scoured the fridge and cabinets and came up with enough ingredients to make an apple crisp. I also hoped the smell would put us in good spirits and warm the kitchen a bit.

Ingredients used:

--9 smallish apples

--1/4 cup butter

--1/3 cup brown sugar plus another 2 tablespoons for crumb topping
--1/4 cup orange juice

--2 tablespoons vanilla extract

--1 cup crumb topping:

since we're gluten-free, I used GF gingersnap crumbs mixed with crushed Perky-O's. You could use anything that you normally use for a crumb topping---smashed cereal, graham crackers, oats, cookies--whatever.

Preheat your crock on high, and butter the inside of the stoneware. Chop up the apples and plop them in the bottom and cover with the remaining ingredients. Cube your butter.

Toss the orange juice, cubed butter, brown sugar, vanilla and apples together.

Smash up your topping of choice and add 2T of brown sugar. Layer on top of apple concoction.

Cover and cook on high for approximately 3 hours, or until apples are sufficiently tender.

If you like your crumb topping crunchy (I do!) broil the uncovered stoneware on the lowest rack of your oven for 4-7 minutes.

huh. I need to clean the oven.

Serve with vanilla icecream.

Amazingly good.

I look forward to eating the leftovers for breakfast before anyone else wakes up.

more yummy stuff:

Slow Cooker Apple Crisp Recipe

2009-07-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

When I emerged from my computer fog, I started poking around the kitchen. After last night's cooking disaster, I was determined to make something that everyone would like. Or at least eat.

I scoured the fridge and cabinets and came up with enough ingredients to make an apple crisp. I also hoped the smell would put us in good spirits and warm the kitchen a bit.

Ingredients used:

--9 smallish apples

--1/4 cup butter

--1/3 cup brown sugar plus another 2 tablespoons for crumb topping
--1/4 cup orange juice

--2 tablespoons vanilla extract

--1 cup crumb topping:

Preheat your crock on high, and butter the inside of the stoneware. Chop up the apples and plop them in the bottom and cover with the remaining ingredients. Cube your butter.

Toss the orange juice, cubed butter, brown sugar, vanilla and apples together.

Smash up your topping of choice and add 2T of brown sugar. Layer on top of apple concoction.

Cover and cook on high for approximately 3 hours, or until apples are sufficiently tender.

If you like your crumb topping crunchy (I do!) broil the uncovered stoneware on the lowest rack of your oven for 4-7 minutes.

huh. I need to clean the oven.

Serve with vanilla icecream.

Amazingly good.

I look forward to eating the leftovers for breakfast before anyone else wakes up.

more yummy stuff:

Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry Recipe

2009-07-28T22:01:00.004-07:00

Day 3.

I love Indian Food. A lot. If money were no object (and it really shouldn't be, so it sucks that it is) I'd order Indian delivery a few times a week.

While cleaning out the pantry (ok, I was looking for Ruffles) I found a can of light coconut milk I bought eons ago and decided I should try to recreate our favorite coconut curry dish. I found a slow cooker recipe in a grocery store cookbook magazine from 2002 that my mom gave me. It seemed overly complicated and I didn't have all the listed ingredients, so I made up my own.

I used:

--8 frozen chicken breast tenders

--1 14 oz can Light Coconut Milk

--large handful baby carrots

--1 cup chicken broth

--1 cinnamon stick

--1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

--1 1/2 tsp curry powder

--a lid of onion flakes (you could use a real onion but I didn't have one and I hate chopping them anyhow)

--half package of sad looking sliced mushrooms

See how there is a bag of sweet potato spears in the picture? They would have tasted really good in there-- I'm thinking-- but they were completely slimy and disgusting when I opened the bag. I think they were purchased 3 weeks ago. Oops. At least now the mystery ooze in the bottom of the produce drawer has been accounted for.

I plopped everything in together. I didn't thaw or brown or do anything with the chicken. It has never seemed necessary to me and I don't particularily like extra work.

Or any, for that matter.

I am oh-so-fancy, so I used a bag of frozen homemade chicken broth that I made way back in 2007 in the slow cooker. Don't worry. I'll show you how. Any chicken broth would do, however. And it would probably have that awesome salty taste that I miss when using my own chicken broth.

mmmmm. salt.

Here's a visual of how many onion flakes I used (just in case.)

(because I don't want you to be lost.)

(because I care.)

so there you go---everything all in at the same time all together. Frozen solid chicken along with frozen solid chicken broth.

frozen salmonella stew

It was a.m.

I thought we'd eat at about 6, so I put it on high and left it alone.

Sort of.

I have issues with peeking and can't seem to follow directions well, so I checked. And stirred. Often.

I even left the lid ajar to try and thicken the sauce.

it didn't really work. but it made the house smell awesome. and lightly humidified the air. with coconut juice. my skin is now soft and supple.

Then! All of a sudden!

I thought we should have quinoa. I got out the rice cooker and plugged it in.

brotherly love

and dumped a 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli right on top.

I don't really know why. I must have been bored.

Even with my poking and prodding, dinner was done early.

The kids set the table and we sat down for a fantastic, healthy meal and shared enchanting tidbits of our day.

Yeah. Except, not any of that.

The kids refused to eat anything, and instead ate bananas and peanut butter. Adam and I tried to like it, but thought the whole thing was bland and soupy.

So there you go.

Take out is definitely better.

Sundried Tomato Slow Cooker Dip

2009-07-28T22:01:00.003-07:00

Day 2.

We were home sick for New Year's Eve. Instead of feeling horribly sorry for ourselves, we bunkered down with a Victoria Mars dvd and ate New Years Food. Oh! And there was Boggle!

Try to contain your jealousy.

New Years Food is food that you are eating only because you know that you are going to start dieting and exercising the very next day.

We happened to have a jar of sundried tomatoes and a new block of cream cheese in the fridge. I thought to myself: "hey, I like sundried tomatoes. I like cream cheese," (I'm a big thinker). So I compiled the two into the very bestest dip ever.

I preheated our little 1.5 quart slow cooker that I scored for $4.95 at Walmart on Black Friday a few years ago.

I chopped up the jar of sundried tomatoes
the vitamix. not just for kick-ass margaritas

and plunked them on top of the cream cheese and kept it on high for 2 hours. After a quick stir, the dip was done.

It was amazing. Even better than you would imagine. I should patent this or something and sell it for bazillions.

We ate it with tortilla chips because we happen to be a gluten-free family, but I imagine it would taste amazing on some sourdough.

It was so good that when the kids asked "How long 'till New Years?" at 7:15, Adam and I both replied without thinking, "10 minutes," and set the clocks ahead.

Just so we could eat it all ourselves.

New Years Black Eyed Peas Slow Cooker Recipe

2009-07-28T22:01:00.001-07:00

Day 1.

I have never cooked or eaten black eyed peas (well, before today). But, I watch a lot of Food TV and the last few days these little beans have been featured a lot, as a symbol of prosperity in the New Year.

I'm a sucker for both symbolism and prosperity.

After digging through the internet for a while, I discovered that Black Eyed Peas are typically soaked overnight and simmered with a ham hock. The idea of soaking something overnight sounds like entirely too much work, and I'm pretty sure a ham hock is a pig's foot and that is just disgusting. I've seen pigs. I know where their feet have been.

We did have these in the freezer though:

I figured I could do this. I gathered my ingredients:

2 bags of dried black eyed peas, frozen Trader Joe's Chicken and Apple Sausage, a head of garlic and some apple cider vinegar.

After rinsing the beans in warm water, and sorting---which I have never done before---(I assumed it meant picking out the few undesirables).

sorry little guys! you didn't make the cut.

I got my sous chef started on peeling the head of garlic,

while I boiled a kettle of water.

I dumped the beans into the crock, and covered them with just enough boiling water to fully cover the beans. I added the sausage and garlic cloves and turned the slow cooker on high.

I added a tablespoon of the apple cider vinegar for flavoring because we seem to have two large unopened bottles for no good reason and I guessed that the vinegary acid would help soften the beans.

It was 8:07 am so I figured if the different recipes I perused were correct, we should be munching on some soft beany goodness for dinner.

Dude. The slow cooker rocks. Rocks, I tell you!

The whole thing was done in less than 3 1/2 hours. Totally cool.

All in all, I definitely think that I will cook dried beans in the slow cooker again. But I don't think I'll be making black eyed peas any time soon.

Black eyed peas are gross.

A Slow Cooker Resolution

2009-07-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

I will use my slow cooker everyday in 2008.

And I will post the recipes and pictures.

Everyday.

seriously.

stop laughing.

This is huge for me, because I usually give up my New Year's Resolutions on about the 4th. But, I've started working for these people and so I'm thinking that I best be making a blog.

So here it is.

2008. The Year of the Slow Cooker.

it's actually the year of the rat.

I don't have a rat.

But I do have these little guys:
Daisy and Turtle taking one for the team...

no guinea pigs were harmed in the making of this tasteless attempt at humor.

Just Because You Are Vegetarian Doesn't Mean You're Healthy!!

2009-07-28T21:57:00.001-07:00

To many of us, Vegetarianism is a mystery. Becoming a vegetarian is usually a choice that people make for health reasons, ethical reasons or environmental reasons. But most vegetarians and not particularly healthy, per se.

Being a vegetarian takes work. It takes commitment. It takes dedication and it also takes creativity and knowledge. It's easy to be an unhealthy vegetarian, but most people have no idea that they are being unhealthy. The reason is usually due to lack of knowledge. If you go to any grocery store today, there is an array of supposedly "healthy" vegetarian foods, but most of these foods are over processed and contain high amounts of soy, gluten, sodium and other ingredients that wreak havoc on our digestive system.

There are many types of vegetarians according to today's society. But I believe that a true & healthy vegetarian is a person who eats a diet consisting of unprocssed whole foods. Whole foods are fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, healthy fats and the occasional egg. If you think you are doing your body good by becoming a vegetarian while still eating cheese, yogurt, any kind of dairy, white flour, white sugar and processed "vegetarian" foods, you aren't. You might as well still eat meat and chicken for that matter. Those choices are better than most of the heart clogging, high cholesterol cheeses and yogurts or the acidifying processed foods that will cause heart disease and a whole other ilk of health problems down the line.

If it's an ethical issue to you, and you don't care about health, than so be it. Yet anyone who does not care about their health and what they put in their mouth is looking for trouble in the long term. Your body is a temple and the only one you have while you are here. It's important that you treat it with respect so that it works optimally to assist you in a long, happy and healthy life.

Ok, let's talk about the different kinds of "vegetarians" (remember, a true vegetarian does not eat any animal flesh at all). A vegan on the other hand, eats absolutely NO animal products including eggs, honey, white sugar & dairy.

Vegetarian: Eats a plant based diet and does not eat red meat, chicken, pork or any other meat from an animal
Pescetarian: A vegetarian who eats fish
Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian: A vegetarian who eats dairy & eggs
Flexitarian (this is a newer type of Vegetarian): one who is a vegetarian but will occasionally eat fish or chicken
Total Vegetarian: does not eat any animal products including eggs, dairy, honey and sometime white sugar (some white sugar is processed with the ash of cow bones so it is not considered vegetarian)
Vegan: Eliminates all animal products from their life even clothing & shoes made from leather, wool or silk.

As I said earlier, many vegetarians can be extremely unhealthy and sometimes it takes a lot of planning to have this type of lifestyle. Eating pizza, nachos, or any other greasy foods that don't contain meat is not the path to being a healthy vegetarian. Yes, sometimes those foods are easy to grab on the go, but these foods will leave you feeling bloated & tired, along with an array of other possible health problems. And, you will not get the necessary nutrients you need for your body as you would from eating whole foods.

If you are thinking about becoming a vegetarian or already are one, please remember that what you put into your mouth is the most important thing you can do for your body other than exercise. Be mindful of your choices. Eat lots of fresh veggies and fruit. Eat minimal amounts of processed foods. Take baby steps. Cut out one unhealthy food per week and add in a healthy one. If you are used to the Soy chicken nuggets or the frozen pizza from the freezer section, I urge you to rethink those choices and choose foods that are minimally processed. Make time each week to plan your meals.

Remember, having a healthy lifestyle takes work. It's an investment in your health. You are worth the effort and commitment it takes to be healthy. Before you know it, it will become old hat and you will be feeling and looking better than you ever have in your life! The key to your success is Baby Steps! Have fun!!!

Who Cares How You Look or What You Do ~ Are you HAPPY??

2009-07-28T21:56:00.005-07:00

So many of us live a life that is filled with work, errands, to-do’s, emails, etc. The list goes on and on. Sometimes I wonder if there is ever enough time to get it all done. Why is there always something to do? A list of “things” that seem to keep us from enjoying our daily lives?

Is there time to be happy with all these things that we have to do on a day-to-day basis?? Will our To-Do Lists ever be fully crossed off? And if they are, will we finally be happy & fulfilled?? Or we will look for more things to do and keep us distracted from the present moment?? To fill up the empty space inside that is unhappiness.

We exercise hard so we can look & feel good. We eat healthy or check out the latest diet craze to help us lose weight so that we can feel better and look better. We think we’ll be happier when we reach some future goal, lose that final 10 pounds or get some better job, better computer, car or phone.

But, the question is, do all these things really make us happy?

There are millions of ways to distract ourselves from life, real life ~ the present moment. When I say real life, what I mean is our passion & our purpose. What we are here to do. Why we are here living on this Earth in human form. I don’t mean to make mockery of a life filled of to-do lists and emails, but I want you to think for a second if you are happy. Are you really happy? Do you feel joyous inside? Do you feel like you have a purpose and a mission? What would you do and how far would you push yourself to find that purpose or fulfill that mission? Would you quit your day job to pursue a life of creativity, philanthropy or writing?

Over the years as I struggled to find my calling, I dipped my toes into many different small ponds. The pond of the Hospitality industry, the pond of TV commercials, the pond of teaching yoga, the pond of… well, you get the picture…but after time, I realized that all these different ponds just didn’t make me happy. What I also realized was, that each one I didn’t enjoy brought me closer to the big ocean that was my calling and passion. I knew that I was passionate about health, fitness, food, teaching people how to be better and feel better, but I didn’t know how to bring it all together in a way that would fulfill my soul. I always thought these were just “things” in my life that I enjoyed but had to keep to myself.

I was tired of working for other people. Tired of building other people’s businesses, when all I wanted to do was work for myself. I wanted the flexibility of having my own business. To work when I wanted, not when I was told. I wanted more quality time with my friends and loved ones. I didn’t want to have my head buried at a desk behind a computer while life was happening outside. I wanted to participate. To be part of the solution, to feel my heart sing, to teach others how to feel better, eat better, make positive changes for themselves so they could get closer to their dreams and goals; their happy place.

I’m not saying that I feel happy everyday, but I am truly happy doing what I love and knowing that I am helping others to be better in their life. I feel a sense of freedom, a sense of belonging in a world that can feel so alone and empty at times. I get to connect with amazing people every day and help them to become better.

So, what is it that makes you happy? What is the message you want to spread? Isn’t it time you found out? Isn’t it about time you follow your passion? Find your calling? Maybe your calling is to be the best parent to your children, or the best friend to your friends. It doesn’t mean that your calling is what you do for work, or your career. Your calling is the thing that you feel most passionate about that truly lights you up inside and makes you want to share it with the world!

Remember, life is too short to sell out on yourself and not experience the true happiness that comes from doing what you love! Make a difference for YOU first, and all else will fall in place! Write a list of the things you love to do. Figure out ways you can do them. Take Baby Steps. Remember that small steps toward a greater goal are the key to success. Have your purpose, make your plan and put it into action!!

If you are following your dreams, your to-do lists will feel like a walk in the park. You will jump at the chance to cross things off your list. You will feel success in your accomplishments and joy in your heart. And that is true happiness!

Raw Food ~ Fad or Fantastic?

2009-07-28T21:56:00.003-07:00

Eating Raw? What’s it all about? Is this some crazy fad or is it here to stay? Raw Foodists around the country believe that Raw food is the way; the way to healing, health, happiness, vitality and a long life. Can this really be true? Or are they pulling our celery stalks??

Many studies have been done over the years on the raw food way of life and it’s benefits. Most recently, a documentary was made called Raw for 30 Days. This film documents the lives of 6 participants with “incurable” Diabetes who go away to a Raw Food “camp” for 30 days to change their health and their life. Many of these participants are grossly overweight and in turn, have contracted diabetes and many other illnesses that prevent them from living their best life. At the end of these 30 days mostly all the participants diabetes was reversed and many were able to stop their insulin shots. All this from eating Raw food?? YES! It’s not to say that it was easy, but did it work? The results prove that it does.

Raw foods are ALIVE! These foods still contain all the live enzymes that your body needs to digest your food properly and use it optimally. When you are ingesting raw vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruits, beans, etc. your body is receiving peak nutritional value from your food. All the nutrients from these foods are still alive, because they haven’t been cooked away by heat or fire. In turn, your body uses this food as energy instead of storing it away as fat. You will feel lighter, lose weight and your skin will be clear and vibrant.

I know that this all sounds great, but is it easy? In my experience, the raw food way of eating can sometimes be a challenge. It does take time, thought & energy to eat this way. Eating cooked food is certainly the “norm” in our society and not many restaurants you go to have raw food choices. But that’s not to say that you can’t find them. This type of lifestyle is a choice that many make when they are ready, or if they have a severe health problem that needs addressing.

My school of thought is everything in moderation. I have gone 100% raw before, and I’ve felt the best I have ever felt in my life, but I realized that 100% raw does not work for me. I love HOT food. I love soup on a cold winters night, I love hot tea while sitting in front of a fire. My body is made up in such a way that it needs warmth and comfort from cooked whole foods, such as grains, steamed veggies, hearty vegetable stews, etc. So, I decided to adapt a diet with a combination of raw and cooked foods. I eat about 40-50% raw depending on the time of year and the season. In the spring and summer, I find it much easier to eat raw due to the abundance of fresh fruits (which I LOVE) and veggies that I can find at the Farmer’s markets.

Ultimately, this type of eating is up to you. I say give it a try, but know that it’s a choice and an investment in your health. Take baby steps. Introduce new, raw foods into your diet every week, and see how you feel. You don’t want to set yourself up for failure by giving up all cooked food and going 100% raw to start. Your body will also probably rebel by giving you digestive problems, flatulence, etc until you can adjust to this lifestyle. Every time you change your way of eating, your body will react, so it’s best to go slow, do what works for you, but most importantly know that you are making a positive choice for your health and happiness.

CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE YOUR BODY, CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

2009-07-28T21:56:00.001-07:00

I shared this blog in my most recent newsletter, but for those of you who don't get the newsletter, you can read it here!

ENJOY!

Change Your Mind, Change Your Body, Change Your Life:

This powerful phrase, quoted by my favorite spin teacher and friend, John Scarangello, owner of Kinetic Cycling, during a spin class I was in last Friday really hit home for me. It's 9 simple words, but the power behind these words were paramount.

For years I have suffered from a mild eating disorder, in that whenever I ate something I would think, "This is going to make me fat". Even if it was a piece of fruit. This thought process came to me a child after seeing all the perfect models and their perfect bodies on the pages of glossy magazines. I thought I needed to look like them for people to like me. I thought I needed to be super skinny for people to like me. Luckly due to good genetics and being active consistently, I have never been overweight in all my life, but the way I thought about my weight made me feel like I was 400 pounds.I was never happy with the way I looked or the way I felt in my body. I would say negative things to myself and starve myself in hopes that someone would notice that I had the perfect body.

Now that I am 40, I have come to a place of acceptance. Yes, there are still times when I think that I am fat or I could tone up here and there, but these thoughts do not occupy my mind like they once did. Guess why? I made a choice to change my mind about how I thought about myself! I made a choice to talk nice to myself. I made a choice to exercise and eat right which makes me feel better about myself!!

Think about the power of our mind and how strong it is. What we think can literally come to fruition if we focus on it enough. Maybe I would have become severely overweight if I hadn't decided to change my mind about food and how I felt about myself. All it takes is a choice..a choice you get to make!!! Once you change your mind, everything else changes.

Another one of my favorite quotes by inspirational author and speaker, Wayne Dyer; "Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change" has the same meaning. If we all just made a decision to eat right, exercise 5-6 days a week and think positively instead of negatively, our lives would be different, our lives would change. We would feel better, look better and be happier.

If you struggle with putting healthy food in your mouth, or exercising on a consistent basis, know that you are the one that has the power to change it. Make the decision today to take a baby step toward change. Choose it, Make it happen and enroll people to help you! You will start to notice that your whole world looks and feels different and that is the power of 9 little words!

Thanks John!!!

Pill Popping Problem Solvers....NOT!

2009-07-28T21:55:00.002-07:00

For many years I lived without a TV…and I loved it! I found myself reading more, writing more and spending more time doing active things that kept me healthy & happy. Now that I live in a place with a TV, I find myself sitting in front of it when I feel overwhelmed or if I need to “check out” and not think for a while.

But, as I sit there, I quickly realize that I am not really enjoying what I am watching, and all I see is ad after ad that claims, “Take this pill, or that pill and all your problems will go away”. TV is filled with these commercials that affirm to “fix” any & every health issue we may have from arthritis, to heartburn to high blood pressure to headaches. It is truly disheartening.

Why has our society become so obsessed with the “quick fix”? Masking the problem, instead of solving it. When did we become so lazy and stop caring about ourselves and our wellbeing? Doctors are paid to sell drugs to us. Pharmaceutical companies are the biggest profit generators of today. Most of the time, Doctors’ just prescribe a pill to get us out of the office so that they can quickly move on to the next patient. But, are we really healing the problem?? NO!!!! Do they really want to cure us at the deepest level?? Not sure!! Are we coming back to health, or just making ourselves dependent on some substance that is making us worse instead of better??

Our bodies can become breeding grounds for disease if we don’t take care of them. The typical American Diet is high in processed foods, thereby creating an acidic environment where illness and disease can flourish!

As a Health Educator & Wellness Coach, I feel it is my duty to offer you knowledge and suggestions on how to return your body to health without popping a pill. If you are one of those people who think that taking over the counter drugs is the answer, I am here to help you return to health and wellness in a natural way.

Remember, Food is MEDICINE (thank you Socrates)! We need to use the food we eat to cure our “problems” and get healthy!! What we put in our mouth determines how we will feel from the inside out! We need to make smarter choices about what we eat, and how much we eat, to keep our bodies operating at their optimal state. Adopt a healthy eating lifestyle! Eat plenty of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, lean proteins and healthy fats!! And Exercise…move…do something!!!

Below is a list of a few common ailments and my suggestions to help heal them without popping those pills:

Heartburn/Indigestion: If you suffer from heartburn and/or indigestion, you most likely have low stomach acid. HCL, also known as Hydrochloric Acid, is the acid in your stomach that is responsible for breaking down proteins. If you are low in HCL, you will not be able to break down meats and other proteins, in turn causing heartburn, indigestion, acid reflux and many other digestive problems. You will also suffer from these ailments if you eat a lot of meat and other highly acidic foods like dairy & wheat. Also, low HCL prevents yoru body from absorbing B12 and other nutrients. You can re-build the HCL in your stomach by taking HCL pills (available at health food stores) or taking a Tablespoon of Raw Apple Cider Vinegar before every meal in a small amount of water. Over time, your HCL will rebuild and you will be able to digest your proteins without any help.

Gas & Bloating: Again, a digestive issue. Most likely you have a hard time digesting carbs, sugar, proteins and even vegetables. I highly recommend taking digestive enzymes before every meal to help your body break down your foods properly. Also, cut back on refined flour, sugar & diet soda!!! Food combining is another way you can prevent gas & bloating and keep your digestive system working properly. For more information on food combining, check out http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/foodcombining.html

High Blood Pressure: Exercise, Exercise, Exercise (for at least 30 minutes a day) and lower your sodium intake. If you need to use salt, switch to Sea Salt or use Gomasio, which is a combination of sesame seeds and sea salt. Sea Salt will give your body the necessary minerals it needs and the rest will be flushed out. You will not retain water when you use sea salt, but please keep in mind that it is still sodium, so use it moderately.

Headaches: Most likely an allergy to certain foods, or too much stress. If you suffer from headaches, cut out caffeine, cheese, alcohol, refined sugar, and any food or drink that contains sulfites. See how you feel in 2 weeks. Also, spend some time practicing deep breathing exercises, light stretching or sitting quietly for 10 minutes a day.

Muscle Aches & Pains: Instead of taking that painkiller (which can stress the liver) do some stretching, see a massage therapist, take a hot bath using Epsom salts or find a local acupuncturist. Usually muscular pain in the body is created by an imbalance or energy blockage. Eat magnesium rich foods such as sea vegetables. Too much sugar or caffeine can sap your body of minerals and cause imbalances as well.

PMS/Menstrual Issues: Most likely a hormonal imbalance in the body, which can be caused by processed & fried foods, caffeine, smoking, stress, etc. First step is to cut out caffeine and sugar. Add Magnesium & Calcium rich foods to your diet. Eat plenty of leafy greens and sea vegetables. If you suffer from severe PMS, consider having a complete hormonal screen done by a Naturopath or Holistic hormone specialist. Have your Thyroid Checked!

IBS: Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a very common digestive problem affecting many Americans. I suffered from IBS as a young adult and realized that I needed to do something to help myself since every doctor I went to had no answer. I started to slowly change my diet and cut out eating certain foods that would upset my system, as well as meditating and practicing deep breathing exercises. To help yourself, cut out one highly allergenic food per week such as dairy, corn, wheat or soy and see if anything changes. You can then add each food back in slowly to determine where the problem is.

Sinus Problems: If you constantly have a runny nose, a stuffed up nose, or need to clear your throat, dairy could be your culprit. Cut out dairy for a week and see what happens! Stay away from the poison that you shoot up your nose to clear it out. It actually becomes addicting and you will need to use it more and more.

As you begin to adopt a healthier way of eating, you will notice many changes in your body and how you feel overall. You will begin to drop weight. Your skin will clear up. Your allergies will subside. You will have more energy. Forego running to the drug store to get that pill and start to take charge or your well being by making positive choices. This is the only body you have, so take care of it while you are here! Do you want to feel healthy, full of energy and vibrant? Or do you want to be filled with synthetic drugs that are sapping your body of energy, nutrients and life? You choose!!! It’s in your hands!!!

The Abundance Diet

2009-07-28T21:55:00.001-07:00

If you are a living, breathing human being, then chances are you’ve been on a diet once, twice or maybe multiple times in your life. The word diet, as described in Webster’s dictionary means; “fare; what is eaten or drunk habitually”. If you think about it, this means any food that we eat on a daily basis. So, according to Webster, we are on a diet every day of our life, just by eating habitually. Unfortunately in today’s times, the word diet has been described as a way to lose weight. It almost has a negative connotation to it. When most people hear the word diet, they think “lack, or deprivation”, which is usually true. But

Human beings are as different from one another as any snowflake that falls from the sky. There are no two of us alike, anywhere in the world. We all have our own distinct genetic make up, we differ in the way our body burns calories, absorbs nutrients and so on. Most of these diets are based on some sort of deprivation and are very unbalanced. The abundance diet is just the opposite.

If you want to lose excess pounds, maintain a healthy and fit body weight, burn calories, feel good inside and out and keep away disease and illness, then you will need to adapt a whole foods eating lifestyle. Or as I like to call it, the Abundance Diet! A whole food eating lifestyle is a way of eating where you do not deprive yourself. This way of eating allows you to have an abundance of whole foods; veggies, leafy greens, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, lean proteins and healthy fats. You can eat as much as you want, as long as you are eating a whole foods diet, without gaining weight. You will actually even drop weight.

Of course, as with any change in your eating habits, you will want to take baby steps, so that you do not set yourself up for failure. Below are some simple steps you can take to help change your eating habits for lasting results.

1. Adapt the 80/20 Rule: Eat a whole foods healthy diet 80% of the time and allow yourself to splurge the other 20% of the time. This allows the mind to believe that it is not deprived. Sounds pretty abundant to me!
2. Upgrade one food per week: switch out white rice for brown rice, white flour for whole grain flour, white sugar for natural sweeteners such as honey or brown rice syrup.
3. Cut out one processed food/drink per week – give up your twinkies, this week, and see how you feel. Cut out your diet soda…just for a week. YOU CAN decide after one week if you want to continue to drink this over processed, chemical ridden beverage or if you want to be committed to your health. (for more on the effects of artificial sweeteners visit http://www.newliving.com/issues/jan_07/articles/sweeteners.html)
4. Add one new whole food per week: if you’ve never had kale before, give it a try. Eat something you’ve never thought of eating. Having trouble knowing how to prepare it? Just email me missy@karmachow.com or go online for tasty recipes at www.wholefoodsmarket.com
5. Have a piece of fruit and a handful of nuts for a snack instead of those greasy, salty chips. The fiber in fruit, and the protein & fat in the nuts will help to keep you feeling full longer and will regulate your blood sugar.
6. Drink plenty of water: forego that afternoon soda and have water instead. . Drinking plenty of water keeps our appetite at bay and our body well hydrated. Sometimes we may mistake thirst for hunger. Drink an 8-oz glass of water and see how you feel after 15 minutes.
7. Cut back on caffeine: if you drink coffee, try cutting back by drinking half decaf with half regular. Or switch to heart healthy green tea! But remember, for every cup of caffeine you drink, you will need to drink extra water to hydrate!

These are just a few ideas for ways you can begin to eat healthy and abundantly. Once you start to make changes and adapt this healthy whole foods lifestyle, your cravings will subside and your body will no longer want the junk food. This will result in a natural weight loss, clearer skin, better digestion, less mood swings and so on. The list of benefits is endless.

Remember, allow yourself that 20% cushion so that you wont’ binge. Reward yourself with a treat after dinner, or an afternoon snack. Also be mindful that the healthier you eat, the healthier you will be, feel & look. We all know that old adage, “you are what you eat”. Well, it couldn’t be further from the truth. You are worth it, so take charge of your health and your weight and never say DIET again!!!

Match Your Food to Your Parts!

2009-07-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

We all know that eating healthy, unprocessed, whole foods is good for us, but do we really know why? Well, Mother Nature is indeed a miracle worker, because she created some food to look just like our body parts, therefore enhancing and nourishing those specific parts, the more we eat them.

Below is a list of some foods that are great for your parts...eat them as much as you like! It's a bit like playing Match Game, if any of you remember that TV show!

Walnuts: Shaped like a brain, good for the brain! High in Omega 3's which help the brain cells communicate with each other. Omega's are also essential for cognitive performance & memory.

Carrots: As kids we all heard the tried and true wives tale "Carrots are good for your eyesight", well that couldn't be more true. Not only are they good for eyesight, but Carrots are high in Beta Carotene, which converts to Vitamin A when ingested. Vitamin A maintains the health of your eye and helps to protect your eye from germs, inflammation and infection. Slice one open and check out the iris staring right back at you!

Sweet Potatoes: Shaped like your pancreas, and good for it! Sweet Potatoes or Yams slowly release sugars into the blood-stream so that your pancreas won't get stressed!

Kidney Beans: They aren't called Gall-Bladder beans! These red beauties are great for nourishing and healing your kidneys.

Tomatoes: Cut them open and notice the 4 chambers that mimic the heart..even the color coincides. This delicious fruit, filled with Lycopine, is great for the heart and the blood!

Grapes: Red or Purple grapes are high in flavonoids, which help to protect against heart disease as well as aging and cancer. These heart shaped clusters, that resemble a cluster of blood cells, may also help you control your blood pressure. Best to eat the real thing..but if you must, have that glass of organic, sulfite-free red wine!

Rhubarb, Celery & Bok Choy: Shaped a bit like a fibia, tibula, or ulna these veggies are high in calcium and Vitamin K which is excellent for keeping your bones healthy and strong. Vitamin K assists in activating three proteins involved in bone health as well as increasing bone mineral density. Also a good source of sodium, which your body will pull from your bones if you don't have enough!

FOR THE LADIES:
Melons & Citrus fruits: Ladies..read on! Melons are rich in Vitamin C, which boost our immune system and helps to prevent breast cancer! Oranges are great too!

Olives: Yes, great for the Ovaries! A diet rich in Olive Oil has been shown to lower the risk of Ovarian Cancer.

Avocado, Pear & Eggplant: These three beauties target the cervix and womb! Oddly enough, Avocados take exactly 9-months to grow. They are great for helping to lose weight after childbirth, balancing hormones, and providing essential healthy fats.

FOR THE MEN:
Figs: Hanging in clusters of two, these delicious fruits help increase sperm count & mobility! Gents, go get your figs!!! But make sure you buy this delicate fruit organic!

Remember, eating a whole foods diet will keep your immune system strong and help you to manage stress in your life. Your body uses whole foods as fuel, thereby resulting in more energy and less weight gain!

So..next time you're in the market...match that food to your part! Have FUN!!!

No really it's like a potato chip...

2009-06-17T11:00:00.001-07:00

...a potato chip made out of brussel sprout leaves...

I love roasted Brussels sprouts. They really don't taste like those nasty things most parents try to feed kids when they are young, they are really rather good and not bitter. The roasting brings out the sweetness. But the best part is when you have the outer leaves that fall off and they crisp up like little potato chips, crunch and all! They are glorious I tell you.

You can find my recipe for roasting them here. The trick with the chips is you have to pull out the pan after 10 minutes and rescue all the little leaves that got jostled off. If you let them go the whole time they will burn and it will be oh so sad. So after 10 minutes take the pan out, don't burn your fingers, and grab all the abandoned leaves off the pan. Toss the rest of the intact sprouts around and stick it back in the oven.

I really just need to pluck all the leaves off and make a full batch of chips one of these days... because I eat these things in seconds!

MMMMMM Brussels sprout chips... mmmmmmm

Recipe format question...

2009-06-17T10:59:00.004-07:00

So are you sick of banana recipes yet? I know I know... but I buy a lot of bananas each week, some weeks I get through them all... and other weeks... well I'll let the picture say it...

I just learned a fellow reader is actually allergic to bananas!?? No way! Sorry Sarah this recipe is OFF limits to you! I know these images will be tempting but just say no! I don't want to get blamed for getting you back in the ER. :)

I've tried a slew of banana bread recipes and have been pretty happy with my tinkering to make them healthy versions... yet I still feel the need to try and tinker with new recipes... and this one is my new favorite! It does have a little white flour in it (horrors) but I may give it a go with 100% whole wheat next time (I'll let you know how it goes and update a link to it from here).

I truthfully can't remember where I found my starting point recipe... but I changed a bunch anyway (butter, heavy cream...and so on) here is my version...

bOnana bread (yup I know I put an o there... read below to find out why)
recipe by stephchows

Beat the following together in a bowl
1 Tbs ground flax seeds + 3 Tbs water (do this first then add the rest of the stuff)
2 cups bOnanans
1/3 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup white sugar (I used splenda granulated)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk the following in another bowl
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
dash sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Then slowly add the dry mixture to the wet, alternating in the following
1/2 cup skim milk + 2 Tbs nonfat milk solids (powdered milk)

Pour into a 9x9" greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

OK Question for you... what did you think of the recipe format above? Weird? Fun? Easy to follow? Annoying and not easy to follow? This is the style I normally write in as I scribble things down and think it's super easier this way... but maybe it's just me... what do you think?

Now onto the "O"... My fellow Rochestarians may know already why I'm calling this bOnana bread... if they have ever been to the public market that is. The public market is a HUGE year round farmers market, but they also sell random household things and other things that aren't local... like bOnanans. There is this one vendor who sells bananas... but he can't seem to say the word right... so all you hear is this guys screaming out "BOOOOONANANAS, come get your bonanans here, only 30 cents a pound... BOOOONANANAS!!" Neva I know you know who I'm talking about right?? So John and I have started calling all bananas (whether we get them from him or the grocery store) bonanans.... so it's not a misspelling... it's on purpose. Hope you like this bonana bread :D

I'm a carboholic

2009-06-17T10:59:00.003-07:00

Hello my name is Stephanie... and yes, I am a carboholic. Really now, how do you say no to a nice hot, right of the oven, slice of bread??? I'd like to see you try!!

This is the recipe I mentioned last week that I saw and made all in the same day. Full day of work, hour long spinning class with Brian the beast (seriously he's insane, I LOVE the class, and if he catches you talking to your neighbor he starts yelling about how if you have enough energy to talk... you aint working hard enough... ahh Brian love it), then it was home to make this bread... it just sounded so good! I couldn't resist.

I have one of the big kitchen aids, the 5 quart "heavy duty" kind... and this recipe made it jump around a bit... it's a BEAST of a ball of dough.

I mean look at it once it was done, it's about to jump ship!!

The recipe comes from Sugarlaws and there were a few questions I had while following her recipe... my comments in red italics.

mmmmm Perfect hot out of the oven, or toasted with a little butter the next day. This bread has a dense but not too heavy crumb. Even my boss who normally shys away from my healthy cooking I bring in liked it :)

Oatmeal Wheat Bread
recipe from Sugarlaws

3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
2 cups warm water (i'm assuming you use 1/4 cup for the proof and then the remaining 1 3/4 for the actual dough part....)
1 packet yeast (2 1/4 tsp if you are using a jar of yeast, or 1 cake fresh yeast)
1/2 cup instant oats, plus additional oatmeal for sprinkling on the loaf (I used whole oats instead of instant)
1/2 cup water (use this to make the oatmeal... I used a little more eyeballing it)
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt (I used 1.5 tsp)

Proof the yeast in 1/4 cup of water (I warmed the water to 110 degrees first) with 1 tsp of sugar. At the same time, microwave the oatmeal grains and water until oatmeal has absorbed the water, about 30 seconds to 1 minute (since I used whole rolled oats, I microwaved mine with a little more water for 3 minutes). When the yeast and water turns milky/creamy, mix it with the flour, the oatmeal, the rest of the water and salt and knead for about 10 minutes (took less time with the kitchen aid). If dough is too sticky, add a little bit of flour to make it easier to knead. Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow it to rise for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size. Punch down the dough, knead it again briefly, and place it in a greased pan for baking (she didn't mention what size pan, I used a normal size loaf pan and then a smaller loaf pan since there was too much for one loaf).

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and allow the dough to rise for an additional 45 minutes, or until it rises to the size you want. Sprinkle some additional oats on the top of the loaf. Bake for 25 minutes, allow to cool, and slice.

Can't you just smell the yeast proofing? Question for you. Do you LIKE or DISLIKE the smell of proofing yeast? I love it!! Which is ironic in a way since it reminds me of beer and I'm not a huge beer fan...

Epheriell Giveaway!

2009-06-17T10:59:00.001-07:00

Now that I've been back from DC for the week I wanted to tell you about another wonderful etsy shop I stumbled upon! Jessica lives in Australia and is the owner of Epheriell which is an amazing shop selling beautiful contemporary jewelry! Go and check her out! You can read her blog too, just click here!

I fell in love with these square earrings and had to order them straight away! They reminded me of the shape of my engagement ring, which is totally fun and non-traditional, LOVE IT! Jessica has agreed to give two readers a chance to win a pair of these same earrings (hand forged by her!)

Aren't these beautiful?? I like wearing them on an angle like the picture on the right :)

Here's how to enter (and everyone is welcome to enter!! Hooray for the international readers!):

Go to Epheriell etsy shop and then come back here and comment on what piece you like best (I seriously keep finding more and more of her pieces that I love!! Seriously this one.... and this one... AMAZING!)
Become a follower of this blog (it's in the left hand column) and then comment to let me know you did (if you already follow me just comment saying you already do)
Become a follower on Jessica's blog (it's in the right hand column) then comment back here to let me know you did (if you already follow just comment saying you already follow her)

You have until midnight EST next Friday (June 19th) to comment to win! Good luck everyone!! And thank you all so much for your continued enthusiasm for all my random chow adventures!!

Whole wheat biscotti

2009-06-17T10:58:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I see a recipe, add it to my goggle notebook... and it sits there for months before I make it. Other times I see a recipe, add it, and then make it that same night. This was the case with TWO recipes this week. Monday night was a mad dash home from the gym to make whole wheat oatmeal bread (more on that later) and then Tuesday night was a dash to make these whole wheat biscotti that my mom sent me a link to.

Here's the funny thing. I'm not a huge biscotti fan, and I've never made them before... yet for some reason I was compelled to go and make these ASAP! Maybe it was because my mom sent me the link... maybe it was something in the air...

maybe I'm just a big weirdo...

yup probably the last one :)

I sent this picture to my sister and mom after making them declaring them YUM!

My sister promptly wrote back:

"Don't take this the wrong way, but that biscotti looks as dry as a brick! My teeth hurt just looking at it ;)"

Ahh sisterly love! Thanks Jen :D Biscotti are supposed to be dry right?? I mean you bake them twice... and they are meant for dipping in coffee right???

I called John later that night and told him I made some without raisins for him (remember the muffin incident... yeah didn't want that happening again LOL). He then asked if they were dipped in chocolate...
nope no chocolate...
then why are you asking if I want to try them?
because I made half the batch without raisins for YOU so you sir will be trying them
oh, in that case, yes I'd love to try some

Here's the recipe! You can easily add in whatever you like (I'm going to toss some coconut in next time) and hey if you want to dip these in chocolate once they are done baking... go for it! John will certainly be your friend if you do :)

Whole Wheat Biscotti
recipe from Martha Stewart

* vegetable oil, for baking sheet (I used pam spray)
* 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for work surface
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup walnut halves ( I used sunflower seeds)
* 1/4 cup golden raisins (I used normal raisins)
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a baking sheet with oil; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; stir in walnuts and raisins. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla. Add to flour mixture; stir just until combined.
3. On a lightly floured surface, with floured hands, pat dough into a loaf about 1 inch thick, 2 1/2 inches wide (and about 7 inches long); transfer to baking sheet. Bake until risen and firm, 20 to 25 minutes; cool completely on sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
4. Place loaf on a cutting board, and using a serrated knife, cut diagonally into 1/4 inch-thick slices; place slices in a single layer on sheet. Bake, turning once, until dried and slightly golden, 25 to 30 minutes; cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 month.

What recipe have you made recently that you saw and made all in the same day? Or is it just me who does that :D

MORE pizza and a teaser

2009-06-10T07:42:00.001-07:00

I'm waiting on the images I took with my dad's kick-butt camera... so the remainder of the DC trip write up will have to wait until then. In the mean time I give you some amazingly delicious pizza.

Tons of mushrooms, fresh parsley, mozzarella. You can find the quick and easy dough recipe here. And the no cook sauce here. This dough was from a batch I made a month or so ago and froze half of. I just took it out to thaw in the fridge the night before. Even after freezing and thawing the dough rolls out well... it does get a little more crisp though... so if you don't like thin crispy crust... don't freeze it... just make it fresh! Oh come on, it's not like it takes a long time :)

Oh right did I mention a teaser?

It's going down right here on FRIDAY of this week! So come on back and comment for your chance to win! Aren't prizes fun?? I sure think they are :)

The Dairy Godmother

2009-06-10T07:41:00.002-07:00

DC was awesome!! Thanks everyone for the well wishes and all the welcome backs! You guys rock! Seriously reading through all the comments was so much fun, love it!! I totally missed reading all your blogs last week, I'm working on catching up on all the great chow and new events I want to participate in!

We went all over the place around VA and in DC. John and I walked all over the place. (which is good since John and I didn't work out at ALL while there... no joke the 6 day a week work out fiends didn't work out... CRAZY!)

My Dad dropped us off one day by the Jefferson monument and we proceeded to walk to FRD, WWI, WWII, white house (even though Obama wasn't home that day... I think he was avoiding me), Vietnam, Lincoln, Washington... I think a few others I'm forgetting... we also saw Arlington cemetery another day... the capitol, library of congress, union station... we got around! And of course we saw the declaration of independence at the archives... along with a bunch of Smithsonian's (julia child's kitchen to come in another entry!) Did you know there is a postal museum... yup went there too! We also went to a few art museums... two are connected by an underground walkway that has moving crazy trippy lights...

That's me and my mom... a bit blurry, but you can see all the crazy lights, they move in all different patterns... and make you dizzy, they have a little airport like moving walkway so you can just ride along and watch the lights... I think if I tried to walk and watch the lights I would have tipped over.

John and I are in an underground tunnel in the above picture... there was this cool waterfall that made you feel like you weren't underground, totally fun. sorry for the total blown out background... whooops! man I'm not coming up with too many great pictures am I... that's because all the good pics are on my dad's awesome new camera!! I'm so jealous of it, he got the brand spankin new canon SLR... it's seriously AMAZING!!!!

OK, I need to tell you about an adorable custard shop. First off this picture is horrible of me but it's the only one I have of said custard so please ignore me! LOL It's called the Dairy Godmother (how cute is that name??) And they have a web cam so you can see how long the line is... seriously! Fabulous idea if you ask me :) Every day is a different flavor and you can plan out your month depending on what flavors you want to try. I mean who doesn't plan their month around custard flavors??? :D It's in Alexandria VA and if you are in the area, totally check it out! But beware, there is almost ALWAYS a line :) (hence the web cam to check before you go!)

UPDATE: they also have a selections of sorbets that are nut and dairy free! So hooray for all the vegans, you aren't left out!

Gardanne Winner!

2009-06-10T07:41:00.001-07:00

Natalie of Natalie's killer cuisine!

Here is what Natalie says about herself in her blogger profile:

Hazelnut Macaroons

2009-06-10T07:40:00.001-07:00

First off don't forget about the fabulous giveaway going on in my last post!!! Go enter now! You have until midnight on June 5th to enter :)

--------

Secondly, I know it's saturday and I never post on the weekends... but this recipe had a deadline!! And I was determined to meet it!

OK now onto the post! I've been a cookie carnival slacker as of late... but not this month!! I made it with 1 whole day to spare! Kate of The Clean Plate Club hosts it each month and for May she picked Hazelnut Macaroon sandwich cookies. You can download the PDF recipe on her blog here.

Want to know a shocker? I followed the cookie part of the directions!! I know I know... pretty crazy... since you know me and messing with recipes!

Oh, important side note, USE the parchment paper like the recipe tells you, silicon baking mats... they don't work as well... whoops! Lesson learned :)

I did however change the filling... You see I had just made my homemade nutella... how could I NOT use it for the filling? Read about the seriously easy recipe here.

If you make these I HIGHLY recommend making the nutella like filling instead of the plain chocolate ganache... seriously fantastic... I am not lying... no really... go make them now :D

OH and don't try to make these by hand... a kitchen aid or other type of mixer is your best friend... because in order to get stiff peaks...

you need some kitchen aid love :D Unless you want to have some beastly huge muscle arms by the end of making these... in that case, hand beat away!!

Another important note... these are super light, which makes them easy to just pop in your mouth and chow a ton without realizing it... not that I did that or anything....

CHOW!

OK off to catch our plane to DC!! Looking forward to seeing the family, relaxing, chowing, and exploring DC!

Giveaway to celebrate 20,000 in a month

2009-06-10T07:39:00.002-07:00

OK ladies and gents... in the month of April we had almost 20,000 hits!! 19,979 to be exact, but seriously close! How crazy is that!!! To celebrate this I think it's about time for another giveaway! Actually there will be TWO giveaways coming up in the near future!

I'm all about helping spread the word when I find a handmade product that I love, especially when the person selling said product is wicked nice! With all these hits, what better way to help them spread the word! And in return, you loyal readers get some booty! Seriously thank you guys for coming and reading and commenting!! I LOVE IT!

Let me introduce you to Anne of Gardanne. She lives here in Rochester NY and designs and makes glass beads.

You can purchase her beads at her etsy shop here.

After making all of these beautiful beads she decided to start creating jewelry with them!

You can take a look at more of her beautiful necklaces earrings and bracelets at her other etsy shop here. I purchased a pair of her earrings a few months ago and LOVE wearing them!! They are such a great statement and I'm always getting compliments on them. Check them out:

Here is the best part! Anne has graciously agreed to give away a pair of earring to you dear readers!! Here is a sneak peak:

I totally want to go use my cool old cookbooks as jewelery holders now!!

These glass beads are handmade (by Anne!), they have glass enamel, and real gold foil and silver on them. The beads are a half inch in diameter and from the top of the ear wire they are 1 3/4 inches long. All of the finding used in these earrings are sterling silver.

Anne doesn't mess around, these are 100% handmade, no parts from the jewelry aisle at Micheal's Crafts.... these things are the real deal!

The winner will be chosen using random.com OH and good news all of my international readers, you are included too!!! So everyone can try and win!

There are a bunch of ways to enter (the more entries you have the better your chances of winning... but you already knew that), here is how to enter:

Go to Gardanne's etsy shop and then comment here on which piece is you favorite.
Become a follower of this blog (it's in the left hand column) and then comment to let me know you did (if you already follow me just comment saying you already do)
Become a follower on Anne's blog (it's in the right hand column) then comment back here to let me know you did (if you already follow just comment saying you already follow her)

FYI on the following since multiple people have asked. It's different then having the blog in your google reader, you can find the link on the left column under the Dancing Flamingos Ad :)

You can comment up to three times if you do all of the above things. If you only want to do one of the above and leave it at that, no worries that's fine too!

You have until midnight EST on Friday June 5th to do any of the above and comment to let me know (think I said that enough). Good luck!!

I'm out of town next week traveling to DC to visit my family but I'll be back next weekend just in time to pick the winner and let you know first thing Monday the 8th! So check on back to see who the winner is, and then stay tuned for ANOTHER giveaway!!

Depending on my access to a computer I will hopefully still be updating with posts next week about all the yum chow in DC John and I are enjoying!

See you guys in a bit!
:: steph chows ::

No time to cook - chocolate edition

2009-06-10T07:39:00.001-07:00

So I read about this NTTC (no time to cook) challenge over at Gel's Kitchen. It sounded like fun so I figured I'd give it a whirl!

Of course I needed to use some of the hazelnut spread I posted about yesterday! So with that as my inspiration I came up with this quick single serving dessert!

Chocolate hazelnut cake with strawberries in a hurry [Serves 1]

Checklist : small Pyrex bowl / 3 Tbs low sugar chocolate cake mix / 2 Tbs water / hazelnut spread / strawberries

Task : Mix cake mix and water in your small Pyrex bowl until smooth without lumps, microwave for about 30-45 seconds (may be more/less in different microwaves) top with a dab of hazelnut spread and a strawberry.

CHOW!

And don't forget about the giveaway... TOMORROW!!!! So come back and see!

Homemade nutella and giveaway teaser

2009-06-10T07:38:00.004-07:00

Nutella, oh how I love you... I'm assuming you all know what Nutella is right?? Seriously if you don't know... I am so so sad for you, and you MUST go make some now, because it is the best thing. Recently I started seeing commercials on TV for Nutella toting it as a healthy breakfast... wait what?? Are we talking about the same product? It's hazelnuts... and chocolate... in a spreadable form... you're telling me if I put this on toast it's a well balanced breakfast... OK whoever the marketing team was on this one... nice job LOL...

Ingredient list for commercial nutella: "sugar, modified palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals whey (from milk), soy lecithin: an emulsifier, vanillin: an artificial flavor."

You know it's a good breakfast staple when the first ingredient is sugar! How about we make it my way and have it taste delicious AND be better for you?? Hey and this way is vegan to boot!

As you might have guessed, this recipe starts with roasting some hazelnuts (350 degrees for about 10 minutes). Once they are roasted and slightly cooled it's time to remove their skin... I discovered hazelnuts don't all like to get naked... some hold onto their little frail pieces of clothing for dear life!! For those little guys, I said fine you can keep your dignity... into the blender with all of you!

This really is a quick and easy recipe that doesn't involve many ingredients. The batch I made fit perfectly into a small 1/2 pint mason jar. Feel free to double the recipe, since it WILL go fast.

Nutella ::steph chows:: style
1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts
2 Tbs cocoa powder
3 Tbs maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract

Roast hazelnuts whole in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Let cool a bit and remove skins by rubbing them between a dish towel or your hands. Grind nuts in a food processor until they form into a thick butter. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

Spoon into a jar with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate.

There are so many ways to enjoy nutella... I'll tell you about a few of my favorite ways later on :)

OK now onto the really fun stuff! I just wanted to tip you off to a fabulous giveaway that will be happening here later this week! Here's a little teaser :)

go ahead... click on it, you know you want to...

Wicked easy home made granola

2009-06-10T07:38:00.003-07:00

Granola is one of those "health foods" that can be really high in fat, sugar, and calories depending on the brand. SO you go to buy the organic all natural stuff and realize you have to sell your first born in order to buy some... So why not make some delicious and nutritious granola at home for cheep?! It really is easy. Mix together your favorite ingredients with a little maple syrup and a little juice of your choice, into the oven to brown and DONE!

(as we like to say... those easy recipes sure do get around!)
Low-Fat Granola
Here is my version that was inspired by Mise en Place who was inspired by Everybody Likes Sandwiches who was inspired by Mark Bittman

6 cups oats, not quick cook
1/2 cup regular, uncooked quinoa
1 cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup almond chunks
1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup POM juice
(just realized I didn't type in that I added raisins and dried dates to the granola once it cooled off... SO GOOD!!)

1. Heat oven to 300F.

2. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add the maple syrup and POM and stir well with a wooden spoon to get everything coated. If you feel that it needs more liquid, add a bit more maple syrup or POM.

3. Spread the mix out into a large baking dish (I needed 2) and bake for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure that nothing burns. When the granola appears “golden”, remove from the oven and let cool. Store in an air-tight container.

Looking back I didn't really taste the POM at all, so save it to drink and use another type of cheaper juice instead... It was the only juice I had on hand so that's why I used it.

Memorial Day Pizza

2009-06-10T07:38:00.001-07:00

Happy Memorial Day everyone! I hope you are all having a beautiful work free day filled with ice cold drinks and lots of time to relax! I leave you today with a nice home made pizza. You can find the quick and easy dough recipe here. And the no cook sauce here. I covered this bad boy in roasted red peppers, turkey pepperoni, part skim cheese, mushrooms, and fresh parsley.

Chow!!

So what are your Memorial Day plans??

B is for Brakes and Brownies

2009-06-10T07:37:00.003-07:00

Do you name your car? I never did until my current car, her name is ice skate, in case you were wondering. Why ice skate you ask? Well she's got all wheel drive (since it's snowy half the year here). And the first time I drove her in the snow she did a fun little maneuver where I found myself traveling down the road sideways, thankfully I pulled out of it... but yeah she was riding more like an ice skate than an all wheel drive car... I soon figured out the issue, it wasn't ice skates fault, it was her shoes... she had high heels on and needed her winter boots. So a set of snow tires later and she's been doing just fine ever since :)

Ice skate is getting a little old, she'll be 10 at the end of the year, and I plan on driving her for as long as possible... although as the mechanic bills add up... it gets a little frustrating. She went in for and oil change last week and with a list of a few weird issues I'd been having... new brakes/rotors & a battery later I was all set ... until the check engine light went off 2 days later... I was not too pleased. The guys took care of her and cut me some slack on the labor/diagnostic charges, so I had to thank them in someway... you guessed it, baked goods!

When I dropped these off at the garage Brad and Wally were all smiles, thanks again guys!! I hope they enjoyed them... little did they know they contained some whole wheat flour and the recipe came from cooking light... although if you look at the ingredient list... they really aren't that light, 1 1/3 cups of sugar?? I followed the recipe except for a few things... Kahlua anyone?? They came out super chewy and moist with an amazingly crisp thin layer on top... mmmmm

Fudgy Mocha-Toffee Brownies (with Kahlua!)
recipe by Cooking Light, slightly adapted by me

Cooking spray
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules (I used 1/4 strong brewed senseo coffee)
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (plus 2 Tbs dark chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 whole wheat 1/3 AP flour)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (I only had 1/4 cup in the house... hence the addition of extra chocolate chips above)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used less)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
glug or 2 Kahlua :) (my addition)
1/4 cup toffee chips

Preheat oven to 350°.

Coat bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine coffee granules and 1/4 cup hot water, stirring until the coffee granules dissolve.

Combine butter and semisweet chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH for 1 minute or until butter melts; stir until chocolate is smooth.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine coffee mixture, butter mixture, vanilla extract, (Kahlua if using) and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add coffee mixture to flour mixture; stir just until combined. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with toffee chips. Bake at 350° for 22 minutes (mine took about 35 minutes). Cool on a wire rack.

PS: this leaves your house smelling so amazingly intoxicating... YUM!!!

Ravioli, I love ravioli...

2009-06-10T07:37:00.001-07:00

...ravioli, it's so good for me! Anyone else remember that song from when you were a kid?

I've been blogging about a lot of baked goods lately so I figured it was time to tell you something to have for dinner. I had received a package of Buitoni fresh not frozen ravioli through Foodbuzz awhile ago. I had great plans on making something with them and never got around to it... until the other night. I arrived home from the gym and had no clue what I was having for dinner. A quick look in the fridge and I noticed the pack of ravioli still hanging out (don't worry it hadn't reached its expiration date yet!). I looked around to see what else I had to put with it, because lord knows if I had made just the ravioli I would have eaten the entire package by myself no questions asked :)

My veggie drawer was looking a little sparse... collard greens... eggplant...random... these will have to do.

I must say I'm pretty picky about my ravioli, my mom dad and I make a seriously mean ravioli from scratch, super thin pasta, amazing filling... so I don't eat ravioli other than home made very often... they tend to be too thick and doughy for my taste. These Butoni were pretty good though I must say, good flavor mix inside, and the dough wasn't too too thick (it wasn't crazy thin though).

Here's what I did to make a quick dinner!

Ravioli with eggplant and crispy collard greens
serves 2

1 package Butoni wild mushroom ravioli
4 leaves collard greens
1 small eggplant cut into medallions
olive oil
salt pepper to taste
couple glugs of white wine (plus more for drinking with your meal... I know I used good wine to cook with... but I didn't have any crap cooking white wine on hand. plus it added a seriously nice flavor... ok don't use crap wine, mom made a great point in the comments... use the good stuff!)

Put water on to boil for ravioli (they only take 4-6 minutes to cook so that makes this a super quick meal). Rinse collards and tear into small pieces. Place in a pan with a little olive oil and toss until wilted. Add eggplant and let brown on both sides. Ok now season with salt and pepper and glug in the wine! They will steam up a bit and the longer you cook them the crisper the collards will get. I took some of mine out early and left some in to get them to a potato chip crisp quality. YUM. Once ravioli are done cooking toss them with a little olive oil and pepper and top with collards and eggplant. CHOW!

Eat your veggies... in a muffin

2009-06-10T07:36:00.002-07:00

As you may have guessed, I try to eat healthy, whole grains, veggies, lean protein... although if you talk to John he says all I eat are carbs, a very normal conversation about dinner is him asking "Where's the protein?" Anyway I'm always trying to get John to eat more veggies so I like to stick them in where you might not expect them... like muffins. YUM! Maybe I should change this blog name to steph chows muffins :) My coworker makes a seriously mean delicious zucchini bread that I love, and I've been wanting to try to make a version without all the olive oil... then I found this recipe on Fat Free Vegan. Perfect! I couldn't wait to try it out so I ran over to the farmers market to get some fresh zucchini to use.

The results:

Delicious! Although eat these ASAP, after maybe 3 days... they get pretty dry. But as long as you don't wait that long they are great!

I did however forget one thing while making these... John HATES... wait is there a stronger word... DESPISES raisins... I love them, and wasn't thinking about his distaste for them while I was mixing these up... so he got a little surprise when I dropped some off with him at work one day.

*phone rings at my desk*
Hello Stephanie speaking
BLEHHHHHHH why do these have raisins in them?? Are you trying to kill me??
HAHAHAHA whoops! Sorry sweets!
I don't make you eat quiche, why you trying to get me to eat raisins... that's not very nice. And why are there green specks in this????
It's true I'm purposfully trying to get you to eat raisins :) That is grated zucchini. It's yum.
Maybe when you blog about these you should call them barf muffins with raisins...
Oh yeah I'm sure the readers will want to click to read about that :)

So I present to you John's barf muffins with raisins... hopefully you enjoy these more than John did :) I sure liked them!

Click over to Fat free Vegan for the recipe. Amazingly I followed it!!! Although I did add a little sprinkle of coconut on top of half my muffins... totally a good idea :)

I was inspired to make this recipe to be part of Tried and Tested over at Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen! So much fun :)

Mother's Day Quiche

2009-06-10T07:36:00.001-07:00

I know, I know, Mother's day was a good two weeks ago... but I'm just getting to post this... and hey I posted the cinnamon muffins I served along with this quiche and fruit salad yesterday :) So I'm not thaaat behind... wait yes, yes I am.

I title this picture, "Did you take a picture of the quiche... nope... better hurry because it's about to be gone"

This crustless quiche doesn't have an exact recipe... and that is why you should love it. Beat eggs together with some skim milk and a little powdered milk (to make it creamier). In a pan saute things like spinach, garlic, tomatoes, onions. Let veggies cool a bit, fold into egg mixture along with some cheese of choice. Pour it all into a greased baking pan and toss it in the oven for 40 minutes at 400 degrees. Yup that's it. Then chow... or in my case eat lots of muffins and fruit salad because quiche makes me want to *bleh*. Everyone else really enjoyed it though so woohoo!

strawberries, cantaloupe, banana, a little lemon juice to keep it from browning, and a little dash of cinnamon. YUM

I'd take muffins and fruit salad over quiche ANY DAY!

Cinnamon Roll MUFFINS

2009-06-10T07:35:00.004-07:00

Shall I continue the muffin obsession? Yes I think I shall... And since you asked so nicely on Friday for these... Here you go!

The recipe comes via Fat Free Vegan (awesome site, go check it out!). I adapted it slightly... so the one below is my version of it. I made a batch of these for Mothers Day brunch, between John myself and his parents... they were all gone by the end of brunch... so I made up another batch later in the day :) In that batch I subbed a ripe banana for the pumpkin (since I had no pumpkin left...) and had a really good banana-y cinnamon roll muffin YUM!

Cinnamon Swirl Muffins
(adapted from Fat Free Vegan)

1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (also made a version with a medium mashed ripe banana)
1 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup splenda granulated (or use 1/2 cup agave nectar like she does)

4 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray muffin tin with non-stick spray. (I find it best not to use paper liners--the muffins will stick to them.)

Mix together dry ingredients (flour through flax seeds) in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix wet ingredients (pumpkin through splenda). In an even smaller bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon.

Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until thoroughly moistened. Do not beat or overmix. Spoon about 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle each half-full muffin with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar and fill with remaining batter. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar over each muffin. Take a toothpick or thin knife, insert it into the batter and swirl gently.

Bake for 17-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes before serving.

If you make them this way here are the stats:

A little strawberry with your muffin?

2009-06-10T07:35:00.003-07:00

Where did this week go?? I have so many more things I made that I need to post about... like the mother's day quiche, fruit salad, and cinnamon roll muffins I made... and then there are the strawberry muffin adaptation... and the zucchini muffins I just made the other night!

Is it just me or am I on a COMPLETE muffin kick... alright... I guess I'll tell you about those strawberry muffins first, since I have the picture off of my camera already... and the rest are still stuck on my camera... and I'm lazy and don't feel like bending over to find the cord and plug it all in :) Aren't I a sweetie? :)

These were made out of necessity... yes muffin necessity. John asked if I'd make some of those blueberry yogurt muffins... (side note: john rarely asks me to make something, I'm constantly bugging and asking him what I should make and he always says "whatever you want" so him asking is AWESOME and highly recommended and preferred!! you hear that john... keep the requests coming! yezzir!) Unfortunately I had no lemon yogurt and a trip to the grocery had already been made... what's a girl to do... that's easy, substitute the 2 containers of lemon yogurt for strawberry and toss some chopped up strawberries in with the blueberries.

Result = YUM! Totally making them again :)

Grilled Cheese and Asparagus

2009-06-10T07:35:00.001-07:00

Grilled cheese, what's not to like... carbs, cheese, butter... yeah, not so much health food, but still tasty!

So what to do to health this one up...

Whole wheat bread
Shred your cheese (taste goes WAY farther this way without using as much)
Add a condiment to kick up the flavor (my choice: mustard!! and I don't mean the crap neon yellow stuff)
Add a heaping side of grilled veggies
Grill it in a pan with a tiny tiny bit of butter, or a light spray of olive oil

So I introduce you to mr grilled cheese:

Why hello there good looking...how are you today.... ok enough small talk, lets chow!

Can't you just smell them?

2009-06-10T07:34:00.002-07:00

How awesome are friends? Pretty awesome. How awesome are friends who roast their own coffee beans and then share them with you?? WICKED AWESOME!!!

I worked with Tim a few years back, but then he went off and moved away! How dare he :) Thankfully due to this wonderful thing call the internet, we stay in touch. Tim was in town for a concert a few weeks back and we met up for coffee and he came bearing gifts!!

Description of his coffee:

Sweet Maria's: Guatemala San Jose Pinula - La Trinidad
Full City ro FC+: A classic Central profile, great body, bittersweet chocolate, intense, tangy roast notes and a twist of lemon rind.

I seriously think he should start selling the stuff. TIM START SELLING THIS!! You'll make $$$!!! Thank you so much for the coffee and let me know when you want to start selling!! I'll design your logo in exchange for beans ;)

Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes

2009-06-10T07:34:00.001-07:00

I fell in love with quinoa before I even knew how to pronounce its name... but now I do!! Even though I prefer my original pronunciation better ;) OK time to fess up... who knows how to pronounce it for real??

This recipe comes from vegan with a vengeance... who's pad thai recipe I wasn't a fan of... but these tiny pucks are tasty little buggers! She says to bake them... for 40 minutes... who has 40 minutes?? I want to chow NOW. So I just sprayed a pan with olive oil and cooked them that way, just a few minutes each side to brown and warm them up... it's vegan, so there isn't anything that needs to get cooked up like raw eggs... although they do need some pan time... I wouldn't eat these straight up raw.

Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa Croquettes
from Vegan with A Vengeance

For the Croquettes:

1 1/2 cup of cooked black-eyed peas
1 generous tablespoon of olive oil (totally forgot to put this in... they still came out good!)
1 generous tablespoon of tamari or soy sauce
1 cup of cooked quinoa (I used the red kind this time)
1 red or green chili, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of paprika

For the Coating:
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup of cornmeal
pinch of sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of grated lemon zest

In a medium-large bowl, mash the black-eyed peas with a fork or potato masher. Mix in the olive oil, tamari and hot chili. Add the quinoa to the bowl, along with the spices and herbs and stir until well combined.

Combine the ingredients for the coating in a small bowl.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease the sheet.

Shape the bean and quinoa mixture into small patties, roll in the crumb mixture and transfer to the baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Turn them after 20 minutes have elapsed. (Ok I didn't feel like waiting 40 minutes, so I packed them in 1/4 cup measuring cup to shape them, rolled them in the crumbs and pan fried them with a spray of olive oil... tasty!)

Serves 4. (HA more like 2.5 peeps)

Korean House

2009-06-10T07:33:00.004-07:00

You know a Korean restaurant is authentic when you are the only person seated in the place that isn't Korean.

Korean House, now called Sodam is not easy to find... lets face it, if someone didn't tell you in a very detailed matter of how to get there... you'd never find it. Take the entrance off of Jefferson road (in Henrietta) into the Genesee Valley Regional Market. You will be in the middle of a random industrial park. To the left you will see Lori's Natural Foods, turn down this alley and keep going... all the way at the end on the left you will see a small metal door and a small sign for Sodam... park and go on in... don't be scared, it doesn't look like an entrance... but it is :)

Sodam is a treat. A fellow grad student from Korea first told me of this place and I've been hooked ever since. The service can be on the slow side, and they aren't the best at refilling your water glass, but don't let that bother you, because the food is AMAZING. And very authentic (so tells my Korean born friend... who sadly is back in Korea and not here anymore).

Each meal starts with a traditional assortment of kim chi (the offerings have changed over the years):

John loves the different types of sprouts, and the seaweed salad best. I love the spicy fish cakes best.

Don't be afraid of mispronouncing things when you are there. The waitresses are very understanding, unlike my friend who gained much amusement at trying to get me to pronounce all types of Korean words... ahhh good times. John and I both love the chicken bulgogi, it's super spicy but can be a little heavy on the oil (we always ask for light oil and it's perfect that way!). So also don't be afraid to ask for light oil, or lighter spice if you aren't crazy into spice :) Depending on the waitress they will ask you if you want it Korean spicy, or American spicy... just a note to you... Korean spicy is VERY spicy :)

Chicken bulgogi, served sizzling hot with white rice on the side. Seriously good chow!

Sodam is a great place to try something new, if you are in the area, make sure to try it out!

French Toast

2009-06-10T07:33:00.003-07:00

Just in time for mothers day (it's sunday... don't forget!) I'm a sucker when it comes to breakfast for dinner (or lunch, or brunch). I could happily chow down on all types of breakfast carbs every night... but I'd probably be rather large if I did! I had some delicious whole wheat bread left over from a few weekends ago. As you might guess, it was pretty darn stale by this point, so what does one do with stale bread?? No, don't give it to the birds! You make french toast!

I grew up topping my french toast with a little butter, sugar, and cinnamon... no maple syrup here (not that I don't love maple syrup). French toast is strictly a cinnamon and sugar thing for me :)

How do you top your french toast?

French toast is one of those things that I never measure anything out for, toss together some eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, good to go! I did learn something interesting though the other day... it's a heavy cream substitute, that's darn creamy!! Want to know the secret? Dry non-fat milk solids. You can find them in the baking aisle, but here's the deal.

1 cup milk + 1/4 cup dry nonfat milk solids = 1 cup heavy cream

So if you have a great french toast recipe that uses heavy cream (tasty) but want to skinny it up (bikini season is coming) without getting rid of the cream factor, TRY THIS. Did it last night... and am SO happy I did. I mean look at that stack in the picture above, totally creamy!!

Brie cheesecake with fig and tahini

2009-06-10T07:33:00.001-07:00

Man sometimes I wonder how my kitchen mojo gets messed up... maybe I should hit up a yoga class??? This was a total fail... I had this beautiful thing of brie. Remember I talked about it back here. And you all gave me fantastic ideas to use it! Well I only ruined half of the wheel... I still have the other half... well most of it, I chowed some and it's wicked tasty!

Anyway I wanted to be crazy creative so I started thinking about silken tofu cheesecakes... and thought to myself, "self, why not a silken tofu brie cheesecake!" a quick search and I couldn't find anything... ok cool, something new! I'm IN lets do this!!

I then started thinking about other flavors that I love paired... graham cracker crust sans butter... use honey instead to make it stick (seriously good idea!! the crust was AWESOME!!!) so at least something good came out of this. Next pie you make... use graham cracker crumbs and honey!! SO GOOD!!

Another thing I learned... tahini and fig jam are freaking tasty paired together! Seriously go have a fancy PB&J with them. AMAZING. So I guess two good things actually came out of this fail...

But this cheesecake...

silken tofu brie cheese cake... with fig jam and tahini...

Oh yeah it was a fail for sure. LOL. I had issues with beating the brie so there weren't chunks left in the batter...
Anyone have any suggestions for the future??

Once the batter was mixed it actually had a really nice flavor to it, the tahini and fig jam tasted wonderful with the brie/tofu mixture... (i was hopeful at this point!) but once it was baked... I don't know WHAT happened in that oven but all the fig/ tahini flavor flew out the window and I was left with some sweet cheese with random surprise brie chunks... not pretty... not pretty at all. Oh and I used a small heart shaped spring form pan... that's why the shape of the cake looks totally busted. :D

Hope everyone is having a nice week... now go and make yourself a tahini and fig jam sandwich :)

I'm an Alfafa Sprout Farmer!!

2009-06-10T07:32:00.003-07:00

I mentioned trying to grow alfalfa back in my mung bean post. Well the time is here, it's official... I'm an alfalfa sprout farmer!

Awww look at all those little babies... so cute.

I learned something since growing my mung beans... sprouts need good air circulation. Cheese cloth although easy and cheep, doesn't allow for as much air flow as needed. A few days into growing I realized my sprouts weren't growing as fast as I thought they would. I opened the lid and moved the cheese cloth down so about 1/2 inch was open to the air... no joke, the next morning, DOUBLED in size!! So just remember, air flow = good... but don't go with no lid... you'll let too much moisture out! Or you can also buy sprouting jar lids if you don't want to have to mess around with the cheesecloth, those will allow for better ventilation too!

this is 1.5 Tbs of seeds... that cost pennies... amazing!

OK here's how you sprout your own! Place 1-2 Tbs of alfalfa seeds into the mason jar and cover with water, cover top with cheese cloth and place jar ring on to hold the cloth in place. Let soak for 4 hours. Once they are done soaking drain the water (it's full of great nutrients so use it to water your indoor plants or something) then fill the jar to the top with new water let it sit 1 minute, swirl them around and drain it again. (When you put the cheese cloth back on at this point leave 1/2 inch open on one side) Place the mason jar in a bowl so it's tipped on its side somewhat (jar mouth facing downward) and place in a warm partially sunlit place. Rinse them again at night and repeat each night and morning for 3-4 days. Your sprouts will be around 1/2 - 1 inch when they are full gown. The hulls of the seeds will fall off at some point, you can toss them out. The only thing to watch for is mold, if you keep them to moist they may grow mold (GROSS) so keep an eye out!

Pretty to look into... just don't leave your sprouts totally open to the air, they will dry out and not grow.

OK now that you have your sprouts, what should you use them in??

Kitchen Sink Muffins

2009-06-10T07:32:00.001-07:00

As other food bloggers know, us food bloggers think about chow 24/7 (well at least I do...). If I'm not cooking or writing up blogs in my free time, I'm reading others' blogs, looking for new ideas, or just drooling all over my keyboard. I came across a kitchen sink muffin recipe on Bake and Destroy the other day and knew it sounded tasty :) Since you all seem to be fueling my obsession of baking muffins with positive comments I figured I'd reward you all with another new fun muffin! And don't worry it's healthy - VEGAN even if you like it that way :) No butter, no oil!

The basics behind a kitchen sink muffin is all about imrovisation! So use whatever you have on hand and have fun with it! I had some cherrios laying around, so in they went! I bet they would be fun with other random cereal you have around too... ooo cocopuffs could be a fun idea... The recipe uses flax seed meal to replace an egg... so if you don't want them vegan... or don't have flax seeds on hand, use 1 egg in place of the flaxseeds and water. As for the soy milk, skim milk works just as good... but again then they aren't vegan. So do it up and have fun!! Let me know if you make these and what you did to change it up with what you had on hand!

and yes... that IS a Cheerio stuck on top there...

stephchow's version of Kitchen Sink Muffins
original found on Bake and Destroy (this girl rocks check her out, love it!)
makes 12 muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup splenda granulated (or use 1/2 cup white sugar) if you like things sweet you may want a little more sugar/splenda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup apple sauce (I use all natural unsweetened)
2 1/2 Tbs flax seed meal plus 3 Tbs water (or 1 egg)
1/3 cup light/fat free soy milk (or skim milk)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup cheerios
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup sweetened coconut

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12 cup muffin pan. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl.

In a small bowl, beat together the flax seed meal and water- it will get thick and gooey. Mix this with the milk, vanilla applesauce and mashed bananas. Then add it to the flour mixture. Mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl - do not over mix. If it's looking a little dry, add a splash more of milk. (I needed to do this)

Fold the cherrios and coconut into the batter. Spoon batter into muffin pan. Sprinkle tops with additional cherrios or coconut if desired. Bake 20-25 minuted or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly and remove from pan.

As for the nutrition facts... if you make them with splenda granulated and the flax seeds, here they are for 1 muffin:
Depending of brand/type of milk along with what kind of stuff you toss in will change up the stats. You can figure out your own version here. Just a note, sometimes it thinks it knows what you are talking about... but it's wrong. So once it tells you the stats you can click on each of your ingredients and see if it's linking to the right information. When I first inputed these I just said Splenda and it thought I meant the splenda for baking... which has a TON more calories then the straight up splenda I used... Also if one of your ingredients has a red flag next to it... that means it doesn't know what it is, so those calories aren't calculated into the equation... so make sure you don't have any red flags to make it accurate :)

restaurant week - Pane Vino

2009-06-10T07:31:00.001-07:00

It's restaurant week!! I'm always so jealous of the DC restaurant week that my family gets to go to each year... but finally Rochester has one! Although not well advertised John heard about it and promptly sent me the website last week. After scanning the different options Beth and I decided to hit up Pane Vino for their restaurant week lunch special.

Set Price: $20.09 for two
plus tax and tip

Includes choice of Salad or Soup / Panini or Pizza / and a glass of wine (or soda if you are like me and can't drink wine at lunch because you wont be productive at work the rest of the day... lol... yup I'm a lightweight).

How amazing is that deal?? There are a bunch of places participating. Some deals are amazing, others... not so great. Make sure to check out all the details before you decide where to go :)

As for the atmosphere... It has a high class feel to it, but at least at lunch time didn't seem overly pretentious. There is a well stocked bar when you first walk in with plenty of space if there is a wait for dinner (which it sounds like there normally is). The floors are this really cool old old super wide wood with rope linning the cracks between the boards. Large windows line one full wall of the eating area looking out onto the river, lending a nice view and good light. The crowd leans to the older side, when we arrived we were the only ladies in the entire place (male server, and all older business men dining). By the time we left it was mostly business men in their late 40's early 50's and a table of salt and pepper ladies with one older gentleman (what's going on there??). Beth and I (both in our 20's) were a bit out of place, but the server sure seemed to be happy to see us :D

OK onto the chow!
Beth started with the Pane Vino Salad, it had an amazing Balsamic Vinaigrette and was HUGE. I went with the Lentil Soup which unfortunately (for Beth) was not vegetarian so she couldn't try any. Turns out it was spiked with bacon - YUM, the chef was a bit heavy handed with the salt, but otherwise the flavors were amazing.

For our main dishes we both chose pizza. Beth went with the Vegetable pizza (minus the cheese) Roasted peppers, broccoli, artichokes, & mozzarella. I went for the Chef Special of the day: Feta cheese, a garlic oil sauce, artichokes, tomatoes and spinach. It was heavy on the garlic (totally a good thing in my mind) but also a bit heavy on the salt (not so good)... but otherwise very flavorful. The crust was a grilled pita which made for a wonderfully crisp crust.

The specials go through Sunday so if you live in Rochester make sure to check out somewhere new!

Mac and Cheese... with tofu?

2009-06-10T07:30:00.001-07:00

You can find the recipe here, but you want to know a secret?

I still like the stuff in the box with the fake powder better.... what's wrong with me????

Any other foodies out there that love love the gourmet... but also have a spot in their heart for a totally un-foodie food? What's your poison?

Tomato Scallion Quiche with Spaghetti Squash Crust

2009-06-10T07:27:00.000-07:00

Another recipe from the Foodbuzz 24 24 24 event! This one is brought to you by Gretchen and Mike who I think are celebrating their 1 year wedding anniversary this week?? HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GUYS!!!! Gretchen has been doing the organic thing and I knew she'd come to the plate swinging and she didn't disappoint! John has been asking if I got the recipe yet for this because he wants to make it again already. He LOVED it. The flavors paired so well together, and it was cooked perfectly! Great job Gretchen and Mike!! And I must admit I'm not a baked egg kind of girl (bad experience at a bed and breakfast turned me off to them years ago) but I put that to the side and tried this because it just looked so good... and you know what... I LIKED IT!!! Seriously the fact that I ate it... it's damn good!

Tomato Scallion Quiche with Spaghetti Squash Crust

3 cups of baked spaghetti squash
2-½ cups mozzarella
6 organic eggs
2 cups chopped tomatoes
½ cup chopped scallions
1 cup organic heavy cream
½ teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground fresh pepper

Bake Spaghetti Squash:
Cut squash length-wise. Remove pulp/seeds and place face down in baking dish ¼ full of water. Place in oven 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, use a fork to pull cooked squash from the shell into a dish and cool. Use paper towels to remove excess water from the squash before preparing crust.

Preparing crust:
Beat 2 organic eggs. Mix eggs, 1 ½ cup mozzarella and 3 cups baked squash. Line pie dish with mixture and bake 400 degrees until the mixture solidifies into a crust. The squash mixture tends to slide down the sides of the quiche dish, so watch throughout and drawn squash back up the sides using a fork if necessary. Let cool before adding quiche mixture.

Preparing quiche:
Cut up 2 cups of tomatoes and ½ cup of scallions. Place tomatoes into spaghetti squash shell and season with basil, sea salt and ground fresh pepper. Add scallions and remaining 1 cup of mozzarella into pie shell. Beat remaining 4 organic eggs with organic heavy cream, then pour over top of tomatoes and scallions. Bake 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Garnish with tomatoes and enjoy!

Mystery Butter?

2009-06-10T07:26:00.000-07:00

If you saw a gigantic tub in the bulk section of your local organic co-op labeled mystery butter $1.69 lb... would you by some??

you should know me better by now... of course I bought some!

Let me give you a little frame of reference... it's next to the gigantic bulk tubs of peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter... you get the point. Just grab a container (or bring your own) and with a big ladle, fill up on as much as you like... well maybe not as much as you want.... more on that later.

I did just that and very excitedly headed back to work where I toasted up some nice whole wheat bread and slathered on the mystery!!

Mystery butter is apparently very popular since there is a sign next to it saying "Limit of two 5 lb buckets per customer" Last time I was in the co-op they were sold out of the stuff... But seriously 10 lbs of mystery butter??? How large are these people who are buying this stuff in that huge of a quantity?? And they are limiting you to TWO 5 POUND container... how many containers were people trying to by??? How much mystery butter can one eat in a day?? Does anyone else find this 10 lb limit scary??

So what is mystery butter you ask? My guess is at the end of the week whatever scraps are left from all the other nut butters get plopped together to make the "mystery butter". Fun idea though right? My batch of mystery tasted heavy to the cashew with a little bit of almond and sunflower as well.

Either way... I'm totally picking up some more... it's darn tasty, and organic to boot! :)

Vegetable Salsa... Fail

2009-06-10T07:25:00.002-07:00

So as you all read about already, I got to participate in an amazing Foodbuzz event on saturday!! Read all about it here. Now I also promised you more recipes to go along with said post... here is the first one!!

John and I each cooked our own thing for the event. I decided to go with a super fresh veggie salsa based on roasted veggies! I found the recipe on Whole Living for veggie salsa... It had such promise... roasted eggplant, squash, tomatoes!!! MMMMM so wonderful... The veggies after being roasted and cooled smelled so fragrant and tasted AMAZING... but then came the tumeric... I'd never cooked with it, and I didn't like the way it smelled... but I used it anayway... and the result... a bitter bitter salsa... it was seriously depressing... Thankfully I had my sausage sliders I told you about yestserday as a fall back but this beautiful salsa...

...tasted, as I like to say, moose. What does moose mean you ask... I don't mean it actually tasted like a moose, moose meat is actually rather tasty... When I say moose...well let's just leave it at, it tasted really bad :D

I would make this again minus the tumeric and add a few more spices perhaps... but this recipe can be put under the fail category for sure :)

I'm going to let John write up about his recipe... so depending on when he has a chance to write it up... hopefully you'll hear from him by weeks end :D And as soon as everyone else at the party sends me their recipes I'll post them ASAP!

Here's a picture of some of the party goers! Not sure how I didn't take many pics of the people... must have been too distracted by all the great chow :)

Foodbuzz 24 24 24: Operation Public Market

2009-06-10T07:25:00.001-07:00

Imagine... hundreds of local farmers and vendors, all showing up no matter what time of year it is, no matter what the weather, to this open air place:

Rochester NY's 103 year old Public Market is thriving like crazy in these tough economic times. Found in the heart of the city, thousands show up every week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday looking to find the best, freshest, local veggies, among other not so local fair (mango anyone?). Vendors' offerings range from fresh fruits and veggies, meats, cheese, bread, honey, clothing and other household goods... and the occasional live chicken (it's legal to raise chickens for eggs in your backyard in the city! No roosters allowed though):

I'm thankful for being picked again to participate in this months 24 24 24 by Foodbuzz. I proposed a task in cooking for a group with only $20 to spend at the local public market... Each person's task was easy... or maybe not so easy for some. Roam the market, $20 in hand, and buy up ingredients to make a delicious meal to feed 8 adults and 1 kid later in the day. Each person came up with creative ways of spending their money and brought amazing dishes to the party last night. (no one bought a live chicken though... I totally should have!)

Let me tell you a little more about the market... It is not for the claustrophobic, you tend to feel like cattle being herded through the lines of tightly packed vendors... it's rather easy to loose your friends, I've definitely lost John more than once there (thankfully he's tall and easy to locate!) I mean just look at all those people!

And that's just one aisle of the market!! This place is huge. And let me tell you, it will try your patience... after almost two hours of being trapped behind slow moving people and numerous sets of parents attempting to fit a double wide stroller full of kids and veggies down a crammed isle... you may end up looking like this:

Yeah I was reaching my point of wanting some people free time here... Thanks for making sure to capture the Kodak moment John! :D But the payoff of fresh local veggies...

totally makes it worth it!

To give you an idea of what I bought... I got this huge thing of tomatoes, eggplants, yellow and green squash for a total of $5. Impressive huh!

I also picked up dessert for us, a large marble angel food cake $1.50. A mini chocolate cake $2. And some cannoli for $1.25 each. Delicious!

Once everyone got home from the market the cooking began! Not everyone has sent me their recipes yet, so I'm going to do posts all week about the specific recipes everyone made as they send them to me! Then I'll link them back to this post so everyone can see all the recipes! So check back for an update link at the end of this each day this week!

For now though here's a little taste of what we had. Starting with an appetizer I made, simple and seriously delicious!

I bought some chicken andouille sausage from a butcher for $3 a pound. Pairing this with some extra sharp cheddar ($2 for 1/2 lb) from an Amish run stand and a loaf of honey wheat bread ($3) from a local baker... made for an irresistible appetizer!

Andouille & Cheddar Slider
1 lb chicken andouille sausage (or other VERY spicy sausage)
1/2 lb extra sharp aged cheddar cheese
1/2 loaf honey wheat bread

Cook the sausage on the stove or a grill until an internal temperature of 160 is reached. Slice into bite size pieces. Slice bread into small chunks, top with cheese and sausage. CHOW!

Totally easy and amazingly flavorful!

We had an amazing time and THANK YOU FOODBUZZ for making it possible! A glass of wine to you in thanks!

Check back for the recipe links to all these great dishes... which one looks the best to you??

Muffin Mania

2009-06-10T07:24:00.003-07:00

I know I know I'm on a total muffin kick lately! I just love them though, so portable, and a great snack! This is a recipe for a more traditional blueberry muffin that I made up using lemon fat free or low fat yogurt as the base. Totally love how moist these muffins are! I added a crumble topping from the Recipe Round Robin I participated in, and I now dub these my new favorite traditional blueberry muffin! Hands down baby! It's got it all, moist tender center packed with blueberries, and a delicious crumble for some added sweetness on top!

Don't they just look delicious??

healthy AND tasty... that's how I roll

Blueberry Muffins
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup splenda granulated (or 1/4 cup white sugar)
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1/2 cup apple sauce (I use unsweetened)
2, 6 oz containers fat free or low fat lemon yogurt (so 12 oz total) I used stonyfield farms low fat lemon this time SO GOOD
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
1.5 - 2 cups blueberries, rinsed and patted dry

topping
1 tbsp slivered almonds
2 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoons whole wheat flour
3/4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup uncooked regular oats

Pulse almonds 2 or 3 times in a blender or food processor until chopped. Add brown sugar and 1 tablespoon flour; process 5 seconds. Add butter; pulse 5 or 6 times or until mixture is crumbly. Stir in oats; set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray 12 muffin cups with pam.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl blend apple sauce, yogurt, egg and vanilla thoroughly. Stir the wet mixture into the flour mixture just until combined. The batter will be very thick.

Add the blueberries and stir gently. Divide the batter between the 12 cups (they will be very full cups) sprinkle with topping, and bake for 6 minutes at 425, reduce heat to 350 and continue cooking for 12-14 minutes, or until tester inserted into center comes out mostly clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

Nutritional Facts: via Caloriecount
Calories 119
Calories from Fat 19
Total Fat 2.1g
Saturated Fat 0.9g
Cholesterol 21mg
Sodium 57mg
Total Carbohydrates 21.2g
Dietary Fiber 1.2g
Sugars 6.2g
Protein 4.0g

Wheat pizza dough in 30 minutes flat

2009-06-10T07:24:00.001-07:00

I like the idea of being able to get home at night and have a nice pizza with home made dough... and I REALLY like the idea when it doesn't take 2 hours for the dough to rise!! I found the recipe on What's cooking in the orange kitchen yesterday and HAD to make this for dinner.

Having a kitchen aid mixer makes this stupidly easy, but if you don't have one no worries just use your hands :) (bonus you get a little arm workout).

I made broccoli and mushroom stuffed calazones. My roomie and I gave them a thumbs up! And the crust recipe is a keeper for sure! Filling recipe is below the dough recipe.

Jessica says the 12 ounce dough recipe made 2 good size calzones, but they are on the thin side so if you like yours thicker (crustier) go for the 1 pound recipe.

Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
(Source: Originally from EatingWell.com As found on Amber's Delectable Delights I found it linked there from What's cooking in the orange kitchen) man this recipe gets around!

To make 12 ounces dough:
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as Fleischmann's RapidRise
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2-2/3 cup hot water (120-130°F)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

To make 1 pound dough:
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as Fleischmann's RapidRise
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup hot water (120-130°F)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the motor running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Process until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes before rolling.
3. Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet on the lowest oven rack;preheat oven to 450°F or highest setting. Roll and top the pizza as desired(we suggest a 13-inch circle) and bake the pizza until the bottom is crisp and golden, 10 to 14 minutes.

*For calzones split the dough in half and roll them out into 2 flat circles. Put the filling on half of one of the dough circles and then folded the other half over. Pinch the edges all the way around. Keep an eye on the baking time. Mine took 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately

Calazone filling
recipe by me

1 tsp chopped garlic
spray of olive oil for pan
1/2 cup chopped brocolli
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup pasta sauce of choice
1/4 tsp dried basil (or 1 Tbs chopped fresh if you have it on hand)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup part skim mozzerella
1 Tbs parmasaian cheese

Saute garlic until fragrant then add everything but the cheeses in a pan until cooked through, roll out half the dough from the recipe above and pile mixture on half of the circle. I used all of this filling for 1 calazone (half the dough recipe). Sprinkle with cheeses. Fold dough over and pinch to seal. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes. CHOW!

Call me Opus: the return of the guest blogger

2009-06-10T07:23:00.002-07:00

"I gotta make some changes. I'm not a woman. I'm a child. What kind of life is this?"
- Elaine Benes, Seinfeld, 1995

My thoughts mirrored Elaine's (substitute 'man' for 'woman' please) as I scooped mint chocolate chip ice cream into the middle of a split choc chip cupcake (recipe found here) in order to make a pseudo-ice cream sandwich. Are you kidding me? Doesn't this amount to playing with my food?! What's next, I'm gonna borrow an Easy Bake Oven?! Compounding my confliction was the fact that exactly one night previous, Steph and I both had already partaken in this same activity. But now, alone, deep in the shadows and still of the night, I found myself carving out delicate blades of minty green, gently layering onto cushions of chocolately goodness. Alas, in a matter of seconds, all that remained (after my final bit of self respect evaporated) was a longing for, to quote Billy Idol’s ‘Rebel Yell’, "more, more, more"...

I decided to distract myself with another ponderous point: is mint chocolate chip supposed to be white or green? As a rather husky youngster, I recall summer trips to the ice cream stand; but depending on which place we patronized, the color of said ice cream varied. It seemed the name changed too, the 'mint' alternately jumping (like Frogger) from the beginning to the end of the posted moniker, and back again… Does any of this even matter? Probably not (I am a realist), but interestingly, my rant is justified (albeit creepily) by IceCream.com: "as a Mint Chocolate Chip lover, you tend to be ambitious and confident… yet a little skeptical about life." Hmmmm… (By the way, to find out your Ice Cream Flavorology (is that a word?) check out this)

In the 80's (I have heard), a hilarious politically- and socially-minded cartoon strip named 'Bloom County' by Berkeley Breathed featured, among an array of motley characters, Opus the penguin. A gentle soul, Opus often found solace from the less-than-ideal world we inhabit by plopping himself into nature’s womb to refresh and renew his spirit. Maybe these ice cream sammies were just my version of Opus' 'dandelion break', seeing how it's never going to get warm enough here in Western NY for dandelions...

P.S. Maybe next time I'll actually cook… if you’re good!

Free Cone Day

2009-06-10T07:23:00.001-07:00

image from Ben and Jerry's

I feel compelled to share information when it comes to free chow...

It's my favorite time of year boys and girls... it's FREE CONE DAY at Ben and Jerry's (between noon and 8pm at participating location) !!! Woohooo! So hopefully you have a shop near you! We have one on the RIT campus here, and I'm an alumni member at the RIT gym... so guess what I'm doing after my workout tonight?? You got it! Work out hard... go chow some ice cream! Too much fat and badness for you? Try a lighter side of Ben and Jerry's

Ben & Jerry's - You might think the guys who invented some of the craziest flavors in history would have nothing guilt-free to offer. Guess again! Here's the rundown on the stuff at their "Scoop Shop". (Nutritionals are for half-cup servings.) Most of their sorbets have just 100 fat-free calories and 1g fiber (POINTS® value 2*). The Jamaican Me Crazy one has a bit more calories -- 140 total -- and that's also fat-free with a gram of fiber (POINTS® value 3*). The frozen yogurts have 130 - 160 calories, 1.5 - 2.5g fat, and 0 - 1g fiber (POINTS® value 3*). HG Warning! Their No Sugar Added Vanilla Fudge Chip ice cream may be sweetened with Splenda, but it's loaded with fat -- it tips the scales at 180 calories, 13g fat, and 3g fiber (POINTS® value 4*). Info from HungryGirl

If you don't have a Ben and Jerry's near you go grab a 50 cent iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts today instead! Click for details.

mmmmm DnD iced coffee! Just ran out at lunch time :)

side note: as you can see graphic designers don't have to dress up to go to work... love my job!

Thank you!!

2009-06-10T07:22:00.002-07:00

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful comments you all left me on Friday :D Mom and I had a wonderful time, lots of eating, trying dresses on, and relaxing!

I'm a low key, no makeup kind of girl... so trying on wedding dresses was a bit scary for me lol. I didn't think I'd want a train, or a veil. I found two dresses that were AMAZING... the second one may be it... but I can't say I'm committed yet. (plus I'm having some serious issues justifying the price tags on these things... I mean I know it's all about the quality and the lace and silks are top notch... but man they are $$$$) The second dress also looked amazing with this cute little side of the head small flower thing... no veil, and totally cute! Love it.

OK for all you food lovers out there (yes you!), this is going to crack you up... so one dress had these pleat things on the top and the woman called it a "crumb catcher" LOL!!! Seriously that's what she called it!! And it's so true! All the crumbs would totally go right into these pleats and get stuck! Needless to say I moved onto the next dress ;) Because we all know I will be CHOWING at my wedding :D

Mom and I spent most of the weekend eating amazing foods. If you are in the Rochester NY area I highly suggest Lento. The menu changes every day and everything is made from scratch, nothing comes from a can, even the mixed drinks were made with fresh squeezed fruit. Apple martini = amazingly fresh, not neon green mix *gross*. They start the meal with in house made foccacia bread that was warm and perfectly baked. For an appetizer we had the Verdura Mista, chickpea battered local vegetables, lightly fried with Asian sesame sauce. AMAZING, not at all greasy, totally light and flavorful. Mom had a lamb stew that was so tender, while I opted for the duck confit served over a bed of lentils spiked with applewood smoked bacon... to die for! I wish we had taken pictures... you'll just have to go and see for yourself!

OK that's all I've got for now... sorry for the serious lack of picture today!

Setting a date!

2009-06-10T07:22:00.001-07:00

Sorry guys no recipe today. My mom is in town and I took off work so we could go do girly things like have me try on possible wedding dresses AHHH. And sign the papers to officially set a date in 2010 for the wedding (John Mom and I do it at 2pm today!!!!) WOOOHOOOO!!! Totally exciting :) The big day will be taking place here:

Ceremony in the chapel, cocktail hour outside, reception in the building across the courtyard! Totally excited!

Garlicky black-eyed peas n greens

2009-06-10T07:21:00.000-07:00

So I've never actually made collard greens before... eaten them plenty... my favorite way to have them is in a dish called gomen, it's Ethiopian and delicious!!! I need to figure out how to make some at home for sure... so good!

As for these "garlicky" greens... they have over 7 cloves in it... and in all truth, they didn't taste very garlicky at ALL, it was kinda sad. So if you make these add more garlic for sure... and maybe some other things to jazz things up. After scooping some onto our plates John and I both were under-enthused. So the self described "concoction king" John went back into the kitchen and did some majic on them to make them taste better... what he did... I have no clue, and he wont tell me LOL! So here's a base recipe for you... and good luck getting John to fess up to what he added in :)

GARLICKY BLACK-EYED PEAS 'N' GREENS
recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

2 c dried black-eyed peas
4 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 lb collared greens (which is what I used), kale, or mustard
greens, rinsed and chopped (about 6 c loosely packed)
1 T olive oil
2 to 4 T minced garlic (I used 3-4)
1 t dried thyme
salt and ground black pepper to taste

cooked rice
chopped scallions or red onions
lemon wedges or hot pepper vinegar

Rinse the black-eyed peas. Place them in a soup pot with garlic cloves and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and cook for 45 minutes, until tender, adding water occasionally as needed. The beans should be moist but not soupy, so it is ideal when most of the water has been absorbed at the end of cooking. When the beans are tender, if most of the water has not been absorbed, lightly drain them. Cover and set aside.

Rinse the greens and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil and saute the minced garlic and thyme for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the damp green and continue to stir until they are wilted but still bright green. Stir the greens into the beans and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

What a jerk

2009-06-10T07:20:00.002-07:00

So I went to the library the other day to grab a cookbook a coworker said was amazing... the computer said the library had the book... but it was NOT where it was supposed to be on the shelf, and no where to be found (I even asked at the reference desk)! Totally frustrating. I mean what kind of miscreant moves cookbooks in the library... jerk... anyway I took a look at some other cookbooks by the same author and found one that looked good and somewhat familiar... I later realized I OWN the cookbook but haven't looked at it for years... whoops! Well now I'm super excited that I own it because there are a TON of recipes I want to make from it!

I guess I should be happy with the jerk though, since it made me rediscover Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals. The only thing I wished this book had was pictures... I mean it should really be a requirement for a cookbook! Don't you agree?? Maybe that's why I love food blogs so much, pretty much all of them come with pictures :) If you are even in the Ithaca NY area, totally stop in to this restaurant, it's amazing!! John and I had a mini vacation in Ithaca last summer and seriously enjoyed our trip to Moosewood.

So in honor of the jerk who made me find this cookbook... I made the Jerk Tofu recipe... except John didn't feel like tofu... so I used chicken instead.

Jerk chicken, with almost fat free cornbread, and garlicky collards (recipe to come tomorrow)

Jerk Tofu
recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites
Serves 8

Pressing tofu time: 30 minutes
Preparation time" 10 minutes
Baking time: 1 hour

Jerk Sauce
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (about ½ cup)
3 fresh green chiles, seeds removed for a milder "hot"
2 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Place the cakes of tofu between tow flat plates or baking pans. weight the top with a heavy object, such as a book or a can, so that the sides of the tofu bulge slightly but don't split. Let stand for a least 30 minutes. While the tofu is pressing, combine the jerk sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400º. Drain the pressed tofu. Cut each cake into three slices. Stack the slices and then cut through all three layers on the two diagonals, making an X. This will make 12 triangular pieces from each block of tofu. Gently toss the tofu triangles in the jerk marinade and place them in an unoiled 8 x 12-inch nonreactive baking dish. Bake for 1 hour, carefully turning the tofu about every 20 minutes.

The jerk sauce was wicked flavorful, although the clove is a bit overpowering so go easy on it if you aren't a fan of cloves. You can find more great Moosewood recipes here!

Almost fat free corn bread...

2009-06-10T07:20:00.001-07:00

...that tastes good :) No seriously it does! This isn't the sticky sweet kind, so if that's your poison of choice... you may not like this version. Oh and it's not made in a cast iron pan... so if you're from the south... please don't hurt me :) I'm just a silly northerner making low fat corn bread... so don't be hating on me :D

OK so now you are thinking... eww this is going to be nasty dry cornbread... NOPE! It's moist due to two reasons that help this thing be almost fat free... let's talk about ways to make things fat free... sub out the butter with healthier better for you things like: pureed fruit, pureed veggies, fat free yogurt... ok let's talk about that last one there. Stonyfield Farms contacted me and sent me some great coupons so I could try out and experiment with their wide range of products. They also sent a super cute spatula! Perfect for getting every last drop of yogurt out of the containers. LOVE IT!

I started out with their Greek yogurt (YUM). I've always just eaten my Greek yogurt with a little added honey and never cooked with it, so this was something new. I'm in the works of a tasty lemon poppy seed muffin using it as a base... it's not perfect yet though... so I'll have to share it with you a little down the road :)

Next I used some low fat lemon yogurt to make some AMAZING lemon blueberry muffins... but I think I've muffin overloaded you... so maybe I'll write about them later this week??

So back to that almost fat free corn bread! I used the fat free french vanilla yogurt to sub out the butter in this recipe. I also used pumpkin puree (don't worry you don't taste it... just adds the moisture and awesome texture). I also used whole wheat flour to make this thing even healthier! So why isn't this bad boy fat free? Well I used an egg... so that yolk is the tiny bit of fat in this guy. Even without the fat this thing has a really nice crumb and texture to it. I may have eaten 1/4 of the pan when I made this the other night.

mmmm cornbread!

Almost Fat free corn bread
adapted from from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites
wet
2 Tbs brown sugar (packed)
1 egg plus 1 egg white
3/4 cup stonyfield french vanilla fat free yogurt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (you don't taste it... just adds awesome moist texture)

dry
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup corn meal
1 Tbs baking powder

Heat oven to 350 and lightly spray an 8" stoneware baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil
Beat together wet ingredients and set aside.
Whisk together dry.
Add dry to wet and stir until just barley incorporated (don't over mix/beat).
Pour into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

CHOW!

I'm a sprout farmer!

2009-06-10T07:19:00.001-07:00

It's true, and seriously fun and easy! My coworker Beth recently introduced me to the art of growing your own sprouts at home. I love sprouts but they can be so expensive at the store... problem no more! I grew this big quart size mason jar full for under 25 cents!

All it takes is a mason jar, a piece of cheese cloth, some seeds to sprout, and water! Easy cheesy. I had an extra wide mouth quart size mason jar laying around, and also had some cheese cloth on hand. All I needed were some seeds to get sprouting! I chose to sprout mung beans (bean sprouts) for my first try, I love the big crunchy texture and will totally be making pad thai with these!

Here's how you do it for mung beans (bean sprouts!) (I bought mine in the bulk section by the grains in an organic grocery store)

Place 3 Tbs of mung beans into the mason jar and cover with 6 Tbs water, cover top with cheese cloth and place jar ring on to hold the cloth in place. Let soak in a dark warm place overnight. In the morning drain the water (it's full of great nutrients so use it to water your indoor plants or something) then fill the jar to the top with new water let it sit 1 minute, swirl them around and drain it again. Place the mason jar in a bowl so it's tipped on it's side somewhat (jar mouth facing downward) and place back in a warm dark place (mung beans are eaten white, hence the dark place, if you are growing something like alfalfa, you keep them out in the sun so that they can turn green). Rinse them again at night and repeat each night and morning for 3-4 days. Your sprouts will be around 2 inches when they are full gown. The hulls of the seeds will fall off at some point, you can toss them out. The only thing to watch for is mold, if you keep them to moist they may grow mold (GROSS) so keep an eye out!

I think I'm going to grow some alfalpha next!

CHOW!!!

Another muffin? Yes, yes it is.

2009-06-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

I know this week has already been full of muffins and cinnamon rolls... but I have to tell you about some more muffins!!! Because they kick some serious butt. No really! These things are going to hop out of the pan and beat up all the annoying people in your life. :)

I had a growing pile of brown bananas (sorry Clara I know you aren't a banana fan)... and I asked John how he'd like his banana's baked... chocolate banana cake? roasted banana muffins perhaps?? His response, "what about some kind of banana oat muffin, with lots of oats?" Now my roasted banana muffins have some oats in them, but not a ton... so off I went mixing and a mashing until I had these:

How seriously tasty does that look?? Damn tasty if you ask me! And baby they are GOOD! So tender! I'm totally making more this weekend, they are a great portable snack, and as always super healthy :) The milled flax seeds really seemed to help with the puffing/binding factor (I recently learned you can use milled flax mixed with water to replace eggs! You can learn about it here)... not that these don't have an egg in them... but still! Here's the recipe!

Banana Oat Muffins
recipe by stephchows
makes 12 muffins

dry
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1 cup rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbs milled flax seeds
1 tsp cinnamon

wet
3 very ripe bananas (about 1.5 cups)
1/4 cup splenda granulated (or 1/4 cup white sugar)
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

to add at the end
1/2 cup skim milk

Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl
Beat together wet ingredients in a large bowl.
Slowly add dry to wet, alternating in the 1/2 cup of skim milk.
Scoop into 12 muffin tins, bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

CHOW!!!!

Pasta Pandemonium

2009-06-10T07:17:00.002-07:00

Oh the trials and tribulations of making homemade pasta... I made some a little while back and it went totally smooth... I got cocky... and decided to make some spinach pasta...

oooo pretty

no biggie right? Yeahhhh except when you don't chop the spinach up fine enough... and then you go to pass it through the pasta cutting part... and the spinach doesn't get cut... so it becomes a HUGE mess! HAHAHAAH John came out into the kitchen to find me cutting the pasta with this...

Pretty resourceful huh!? It worked out seriously well actually :) although the pasta was ALL types of different widths... Makes it more fun right? Oh you want to see the mess I made on the counter of all the pasta??

It's all good, I cleaned it all up in due time ;) The pasta wasn't the prettiest, but it was darn tasty! Go ahead you know you want to make a big mess like I did :)

Whole Wheat Spinach Pasta
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs
6 oz frozen spinach, defrosted and chopped VERY fine

Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Beat the eggs and spinach and slowly start incorporating the flour. Once all incorporated knead for about 3 minutes. The dough should been elastic in texture. Keep kneading another 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and VERY elastic. Wrap it up and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into little portions and work through a pasta machine until you reach your desired thickness (or roll it out on a table using a rolling pin) Next either use a pizza cutter to slice or pass through the pasta machine cutting part. (I'm so specific aren't I?)

Boil a large pot of water and add freshly cut pasta. Boil about 6 minutes. Serve with your favorite pasta sauce.

RRR Recipe Round Robin

2009-06-10T07:17:00.001-07:00

So I participated in a totally fun event. It's a recipe round robin (RRR). It was hosted by Aleta over at Omnomicon. Basically everyone was given 2 recipes to try side by side and vote on which one they liked better. There were at least 5 recipes, I had B and E to try. In the end neither of the ones I taste tested won but you can read about the one that did here.

But now you want to know which one of the two I made won right??? Well here is the deal with the two I taste tested, they were both on the healthy side! Aleta you rock for giving me these two to try! So who won??

Was it recipe B?

Or was it recipe E?

I'll tell you, it was a close call. B was like a corn muffin with a blueberry surprise. E was more traditional with a healthy crumb topping... mmm crumbs.... In the end the crumbs won me over! The only changes I made to the original recipes was using whole wheat flour instead of all purpose. The recipes below each make a half batch (6 muffins) so double it to make a full batch :)

OK here are the recipes!

RECIPE B!!
1/2 C flour (i used whole wheat)
1/2 C corn meal
3 tbsp Brown sugar
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t salt
3/4 C blueberries, I use frozen
1/4 c + 3 tbsp buttermilk
1 T vegetable oil
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 egg (~2 tbsp)

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the blueberries and next 4 ingredients, stirring until just moistened. Drop the batter into a muffin tin. I use paper cup liners, if you don't have them make sure you've greased your muffin tin!

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Makes 6 muffins.

RECIPE E!!!!
(Makes 6, 250 cals per serving)

Dry ingredients
3/4 cups all-purpose flour (i used whole wheat)
1 tbsp milled flax-seed
2 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
pinch teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients
1/2 cup soymilk
1/2 tbsp lemon peel
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 large egg (about 2 tbsp)
2 tbsp honey
3/4 cups fresh blueberries (you can also use thawed frozen blueberries)

For the streusel topping (optional)
1 tbsp slivered almonds
2 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
1.5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
3/4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup uncooked regular oats

1. Pulse almonds 2 or 3 times in a blender or food processor until chopped. Add brown sugar and 1 tablespoon flour; process 5 seconds. Add butter; pulse 5 or 6 times or until mixture is crumbly. Stir in oats; set aside.

2. Combine and dry ingredients in a large bowl then create a well in the center.

3. Whisk together soymilk, lemon juice, oil, applesauce and egg; add to well in the flour mixture, stir and combine and just moistened. The trick is to stir about 20 times, do NOT overstir.

4. Wash, drain and toss blueberries with 1.5 tablespoons flour and 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar in a colander. Fold in to flour mix, stirring to coat.

4. Spoon batter into muffin pans lined with paper cups till about 3/4 full.

To make streusel topping:
5. Pulse all streusel ingredients in a food processor until crumbly.

6. Sprinkle top of muffin batter generously with the topping, about 1/2 tablespoon for each muffin.

7. Bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, the muffins are done when you insert a skewer in the middle, and no crumbs stick on the skewers when you remove it.

8. Remove immediately from pans, and cool on wire racks.

Pumpkin with a Passion

2009-06-10T07:16:00.000-07:00

Can one really ever have too many pumpkin cinnamon rolls? Yes, probably... oh well, I made these again, and they are just too darn tasty and pretty not to talk about :) This time I added hazelnuts to the filling and sprinkled some on top... Totally a good idea :)

Monday

2009-06-10T07:15:00.001-07:00

It's Monday... might as well start it with a monster leaning tower of egg mcmuffin :)

Two eggs, turkey slices, turkey bacon, turkey pepperoni, fat free cheddar cheese, whole wheat muffin... that's how John rolls ;)

Who eats pepperoni in the morning... that isn't on leftover pizza?? I'll eat it if it's on leftover pizza... but with eggs??? no thanks!

Sesame Chicken

2009-06-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of Chinese food, and although most places have brown rice now, and will steam your food instead of deep frying it... the sauces can still be killer. I had an amazing sesame tofu last week while celebrating my friend sugar's birthday. It was delicious! I had them steam the tofu and veggies and they came out so tender, and the sauce... oh the sauce! I needed to figure out how to recreate it!

So this brings us to the internet search for sesame chicken sauce recipes. I came across a ton of different version (all requiring a trip into a deep fryer first). Many recipes later I came to the combination of this one.

It looked beautiful and was wicked tasty! But did it taste like the sesame chicken sauce of my favorite local Chinese joint... not so much... That's ok though, at least it was good! So make this if you want a healthy alternative to your normal take out :) We served it over "boil in the bag" brown rice, quick and easy.

Sesame Chicken
sauce from Kitchen Snippets

1 lb chicken cut into inch cubes
1 large head broccoli, cut into little chunks and steamed
1 Tbs whole wheat flour
salt and pepper to taste

sauce
3 tbsp of sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp of tomato ketchup
1- 2 tbsp of honey (depend on how sweet you want)
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tbsp of light soy sauce
1/4 cup of water
some toasted sesame seed

1. Dredge chicken in flour and salt and pepper. Shake off excess and set aside. In batches in a olive oil spray covered frying pan, lightly cook chicken a few minutes each side. Remove from pan and place in a large bowl
2. Place broccoli in a steamer basket over hot water and cover, cook until bright in color but not soggy. Once cooked toss in with cooked chicken
3. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and pour into a pan. Bring it up to a boil and let the sauce thicken a bit.
4. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and toss it gently until evenly coated with the sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with warm brown rice.

Inside out carrot cake

2009-06-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

Easter is on its way in two weekends. Easter makes me think of bunnies, which make me think of carrots... and carrot cake... it's one of those cakes that seems like it's going to be healthy... I mean it has vegetables in it right?? Oh and a STICK of butter? Really a whole stick? Is that really necessary??

No no it's not.

It's Cookie Carnival time again, and yes I'm a day late... the roundup happened yesterday... booo. Seriously when did April show up?? Oh right... yesterday. Well this is my contribution, better late than never! Because seriously if you like carrot cake... you need to make these. Totally guilt free, and they taste like heaven... no exaggeration! My roomie (who is a fan of her baked goods) ate one and said this was the best yet of all my alteration creations! NO WAY?? BEST EVER?? Yes it's true! These are super moist, delicious, spiked with raisins... and the cream cheese filling... marvalous my dear!

I mean look at this bad boy?

Yup not a drop of butter or oil... and d@mn tasty! So if you can have a cookie that TASTES just as good as the bad... minus the stick of butter (800 calories, 92 grams of fat) replace it with a little carrot baby food and a little unsweetened apple sauce (I KID YOU NOT!) wouldn't you rather have the healthy one? BAM you have a tasty tasty guilt free treat.

I must admit while I was spooning the carrot baby food out of its little container, I had my doubts... I was thinking, man this smells nasty... well the birds get a treat if these suck... Guess what little birdies! You aint getting any of these! Cause I'm going to eat them all! :)

I made mine with fresh homegrown carrots from the public market here. I think it totally added to the flavor of these. Now for the recipe, print it out and go make some! You wont be sorry :)

these tasted great even without the cream cheese filling

Inside out carrot cake
adapted by stephchows, original from Gourmet | April 2004

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (3.5 oz) container of Gerber baby food, pureed carrots
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbs splenda baking blend plus 2 Tbs splenda granulated (or you can use 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coarsely grated carrots (2 medium)
1/2 cup raisins (2 1/2 ounces)
8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1/4 cup honey (good local stuff tastes the best!)

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 baking sheets. (I used silicon baking mats)

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together carrot puree, apple sauce, sugars, egg, and vanilla in a bowl until combined. Mix in carrots, and raisins, then add flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Drop 1 1/2 tablespoons batter per cookie 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake,
switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are lightly browned and
springy to the touch, 12 to 16 minutes total.

Cool cookies on sheets on racks 1 minute, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, blend cream cheese and honey in a food processor until smooth.

Sandwich flat sides of cookies together with a generous tablespoon of cream cheese filling in between.

how seriously moist and delicious does that look!?

Chow!

Oh and check this out....
my nutritional stats for one sandwich cookie vrs making them by the original recipe...

Ile De France

2009-06-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

What's better then a nice hunk of brie? How about a free hunk of brie! The wonderful people over at Ile De France sent me an adorable wheel of brie to sample. Take a look!

They also wrote about a recipe contest they are having. So I need to come up with an idea of what to use this lovely brie in. Any suggestions??? I want to do something totally original... so no ham and brie sandwiches, or a simple baked brie... although those are SUPER tasty! Hmmm what to do what to do...

What would you lovely ladies and gents make?

Banana Oat Cookies

2009-06-09T10:32:00.002-07:00

I made these banana cookies this weekend and it was love at first bite. I'm already planning on making them again one night this week and shaping them into bars! SO FREAKIN GOOD! As per my usual, there is no oil or butter. These things are all about healthy, so moist, decadent, can't stop eating, I really wish I had some with me right now... ok you get the point! I can't believe how sweet these actually tasted considering the only sweet added is the bananas and the coconut, no added sugar here. Bring on the all natural baby!!

Did I mention there are flax seeds in these too? I'm currently having a love affair with flax seeds, I know it doesn't sound glamorous, but they are just so nutty and happy :) Neva can you eat flax seeds or are those an allergy too? Although I just realized these have both almonds and coconut in them :( I really am a bad friend constantly tormenting you with nuts galore! Sorry my dear :(

Go buy bananas now and stick them in a brown bag so they are super brown and happy by the weekend so you can make these!

Banana Oat Cookies or Bars
These are adapted from 101 cookbooks Nikki's cookies.

3 large, ripe bananas (the browner the better!), well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup almond meal (almond slices + food processor for a few pulses)
1/3 cup flax seeds
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & sweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup dried cherries or other dried fruit of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.

In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and apple sauce. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, flax seeds, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and dried fruit. Drop Tablespoon-fulls, onto a Silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes.

Makes about 2.5 dozen bite-sized cookies. I'll let you know how many bars once I make these again.

you know you want to chow me ... go buy some bananas!

UPDATE: So I made these in bar form last night! I put them into a 9" stoneware pan and cooked them for about 30 minutes. I cut them into 12 bars and brought them to the office. The results: "delicious" "these are sooo goood" "mmmmm" I like those kind of reactions! Sounds good to me!

Sisterhood Award!

2009-06-09T10:32:00.001-07:00

So I'm a total slacker and haven't blogged about an awesome award I was given by the Diva on a Diet over at Beach Eats!!

Diva has some amazing recipes and a fantastic sense of humor! I totally enjoy her posts and have a ton bookmarked ready to be made!

So the rules say I'm supposed to tag 10 people with this award... and in reality there are totally more than 10 amazing ladies out there to give this too... here are the rules.

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 people whose blogs you enjoy.
3. Link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blogs.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person who has nominated you for the award.

So I'm going to just post the blog list of the peeps I make sure to check every day! Feel free to join in, or if not, I totally understand. But all you readers out there, check out these links!! I'm sorry if I forgot anyone!!

Chow!

Chocolate Banana Muffins

2009-06-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I made some fudgy roasted banana cake with walnuts... And it was seriously tasty, gone in one day kind of tasty. I made the recipe again except this time I made them into muffins. :) I feel like when I make stuff like this in a pan... I tend to chow more of it. If it's in pre-portioned pieces (muffins) I feel bad going back for seconds and thirds. With a cake it's easy to just say... oh just a little inch wide piece... and another inch wide piece... (come on now I know you've done it!) Then next thing you know half the cake is gone and for some reason your belly seems to be a little larger... ;) So this is the version for the portion control lovers out there.

Fudgy roasted banana cake with walnuts and chocolate chips
created by stephchows

4 roasted bananas (see below for how to)
1/4 cup splenda blend for baking (or 1/2 cup white sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips (i used semi-sweet chips)
1/2 cup walnuts (optional for those of you with nut alergies... yes Neva that's you :) )

ROAST whole bananas (yellow with a few black spots, they don't have to be totally overripe) by placing on a cookie sheet, roast in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes (until they are black), cool until you are able to handle them without burning yourself.

WHISK flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl.

PEEL bananas and place into a large bowl along with any liquid that pours out with them, stir in sugar, beat in egg.

ADD dry ingredients a little at a time to wet.

POUR into greased muffin pan (makes 12) and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

TVP stands for tasty

2009-06-09T10:30:00.004-07:00

Every heard of TVP? It stands for textured vegetable protein.

Sounds kinda weird and maybe gross right? But give it a chance! In this economy a seriously cheep high protein substitute is a good thing right?? It's under $3 a bag, and the bag could feed a large family for at least 2 full dinners if not more. Plus it's tasty!

It looks like some kind of dehydrated grain... then when you hydrate it... it looks like light tan ground beef... I'm making you want to try it right? Hmmm marketing skills not kicking in... Ok how about a picture of it in action?

whole wheat gnochi with TVP red sauce and portobellos

Hmmm that's not the best picture I took... is it? Darn, guess it is... well, you'll just have to believe me on this one... It's super tasty. Crazy healthy. Protein packed. Low fat. And when mixed with red sauce and pasta... you'd think you were having ground meet... not TVP. We made this up last friday (it's Lent, so no meat). Gnocchi cooks in 4 minutes so this whole thing was ready to go in about 15 minutes. Seriously I know! I love fast food don't you?

Portobello Pasta with "meat" TVP sauce
recipe by me. (Feeds John and me, that means three normal people, with sauce left over)

1 package whole wheat gnocchi
1 bottle (1 lb 8 oz) Diavola Red Sauce from Wegmans (or your favorite go to sauce)
1 cup TVP (I use Bob's Red Mill TVP)
1 cup boiling water (to hydrate TVP)
3 large portobello mushrooms sliced
2 tsp chopped garlic
olive oil spray
cottage cheese (if you are John or if you like to mix it into your pasta too)

Boil water for gnocchi.

Microwave 1 cup water in a medium size bowl or large pyrex cup for 2-3 minutes. Remove and add 1 cup TVP, let soak for 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Set aside.

Spray a wok, or large sauce pan, with olive oil, saute garlic until brown. Add mushrooms and cook through, flipping after a minute or two to cook the other side. Add jar of sauce and TVP. Simmer until heated through.

Once water boils, add gnocchi and cook according to package directions (4 minutes). Drain, and immediatly divide between 2 or 3 bowls, top with sauce, stir in cottage cheese if desired. Serve.

Chow!

New & Improved

2009-06-09T10:30:00.003-07:00

Ahh the infamous poose cookie. What's poose you ask? Well, it's me, a nickname that is. What started as Cookiepuss (the lovable carvel ice cream cake) morphed into Cookiepoose and was then shortened to just poose... among other iterations. The name was bestowed upon me by my good friend John, who we now all know as fiance John! I'd go into all the iterations of his nicknames that I've bestowed upon him... but something tells me that wouldn't make him to happy :D

Anyway, Poose cookies, like my nickname, have morphed over time, and now I bring to you the NEW and IMPROVED PROTEIN POOSE COOKIE!!!

*ta daaaa*

let the drooling begin! It's a healthy cookie, packed with whole wheat flour, oats, protein powder... eat them as a snack, eat them as a meal, just eat them! I'm in love with these cookies and so is John... I have no clue how many I've made for him to date... but I make a batch every weekend. Yeah that's right, I know how to treat my man :) Onto the recipe!

Protein Poose Cookies!
recipe by me, stephchows AKA poose

ingredients
1 cup King Arthur whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whey based chocolate protein powder
1 cup Quaker oats (not the quick cook kind)
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbs Splenda sugar blend (or 1/4 cup white sugar)
1 package (7 ounces) Gerber Prunes with Apples baby food (NOT plums and apples) (contains 2 – 3.5oz containers)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chips!)
.25 cup walnuts (optional)
pam cooking spray

instructions
preheat oven to 350
In a small bowl whisk together flour, oats, protein powder and baking soda. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Set aside.
In a large bowl stir together splenda sugar blend, applesauce, and prunes with apples containers.
Beat in egg.
Stir in vanilla. (if you want add a little more, mom always said a little extra vanilla never hurt anyone!)
Gradually stir flour mixture into wet mixture. Adding 1/2 cup at a time and stirring until incorporated.
Drop tablespoon fulls onto a silicon baking pad on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Will vary with oven used.

Serve warm or for a summer treat transfer into the freezer and eat frozen a few hours later!

(to make these even healthier, take out some of the chocolate chips and sub in dried fruit and nuts - delicious)

Baba Ga-what?

2009-06-09T10:30:00.001-07:00

Baba Ga-what? It's Baba Ghanoush! And it's as fun to say as it is to eat :) You can serve it as a dip with chips or toasted pita, use it as a spread on a sandwich, or plop some ontop of a salad. So many uses :) Mine kept for about two weeks in the refridgerator without any adverse taste or effects to my belly ;) although I'm not how it lasted so long without me chowing it all! I actually roasted the eggplants on my lunch hour at work haha. We have a full kitchen here so I figured I'd save myself some time that night at home. In doing so I had this stuff along with the hummus made up and ready to chow within 30 minutes of walking in the door from the gym. Which is a good thing because when I get hungry I get a bit testy...

Anyone else out there get crabby when they aren't fed on time? Or is that just crabby me :D

Baba Ghanoush
recipe found on A Pot of Tea and a Biscuit

3 medium aubergines (eggplants)
2 tbsp tahini
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 210C/425F/Gas 7.

Place the aubergines in the oven and roast for 45-60 minutes. The skin should be brown and they should be soft to the touch.

When done, cut them in half and scoop the flesh into a sieve. Squeeze out any of the excess moisture.

Place everything into a blender and puree until smooth.

Taste and add more lemon juice if needed.

If you want an extra creamy dip stir in about 1/3 cup of yoghurt.

Why spend $$ on store bought hummus

2009-06-09T10:29:00.001-07:00

Ok, it's finally here! I know I promised this last week, sorry for the delay! But let me tell you, homemade humus and baba ganoush is totally worth it. They are both super easy to make, and paired with some fresh veggies and a toasted pita... delicious.

One thing you need his tahini, I've tried making hummus without it before and it came out ok... but with it... better then the store bought stuff for sure. It really is so simple, and once you make it you'll be wonding why you spent so much on it at the store.

garlicy hummus
inspired by cooks illustrated
my version

3 garlic cloves
1 16oz can chickpeas, drained, a 1/4 cup of chickpeas set to the side
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 Tbs tahini (sesame paste)
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil - plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

parsley for garnish (optional)

Turn on the food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop the garlic down the feed tube; process until it's minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Place in a bowl and top with reserved handful of non chopped chickpeas, parsley, and a little olive oil drizzle.

Come back tomorrow for theBaba Ghanoush... Baba Ga-what?

A Rainbow of Brown

2009-06-09T10:28:00.002-07:00

You do know brown is my favorite color right? No seriously it is!

Last weekend I went skiing with my coworker Beth. We had a blast! 50 degree weather, not a cloud in the sky! It was beautiful! On our way out to the mountain we passed a small country house with a little sign reading "Brown Eggs for Sale" we made a mental note so I could pick some up on the way home. I, of course, forgot all about it, darn my goldfish memory, but Beth (who is 95% vegan and doesn't eat eggs) was sweet enough to remind me and stop! Thank you Beth!!

We pulled in and after a few minutes noticed an old style bell with a string to pull by the door. The man was wicked nice and I picked up a dozen large eggs, grand total $1.75. More than a dozen eggs at Wegmans... and worth every penny! I mean look at how beautiful these are! Look at the range of colors!

So far I've eaten a few over easy with some freshly toasted bread with a little butter. Now that's good eating! I haven't decided what else I'll make with them :) Any suggestions?

What about you guys, do you prefer brown farm eggs over the normal white kind? Can't taste a difference? Don't care? :)

UPDATE: Svaha left an awesome comment with tons of info, thank you Svaha!!!!

Svaha said...: My family owns an egg farm in Western Mass. Here are a few more tidbits for you:

~ brown eggs come from brown/red chickens, white eggs from white chickens

~ the darker birds tend to be a little heartier, thus the local/smaller farmers raising these birds and having the brown eggs. The big agri-farms down south have the millions of white birds (cheeper maybe? ;) that raise the store bought white eggs.

~ eggs need a few hours to 'set'. An egg right out of the chicken is almost like water when cracked open. So there is such a thing as too fresh.

~ when the young birds first start laying they'll lay small, almost toy like eggs with no yolks.

~ then the first few months they'll often lay what we call double-yolkers. They're 2-3 times the size of a normal egg and actually have two yolks in them. They can't even fit in an egg carton so we'll just rubber band the lid closed. These are a huge hit at the farm. Little kids flip when their egg has two yolks in it.

~ every now and then we'll also get eggs with no shells. A regular egg on the inside of a slightly thicker membrane with absolutely no shell at all (another hit with the kids on farm tours).

Whole Wheat Yeastless Focaccia = Happiness

2009-06-09T10:28:00.001-07:00

This stuff is amazing. It's SO GOOD!! Seriously 45 min from when you start you have hot fresh bread and it makes the house smell delicious! Make it for someone special tonight and they will think you were slaving away all day :) I found it over at Food for Laughter. Go check her out, she ROCKS, tons of good chow :)

So this makes a good amount of bread, and I know what you are thinking... If you live alone or with others and just can't be trusted with a bunch of hot bread (yup that's me... can't trust me, I'll eat it all), you can easily half this recipe, just put half the beer in and drink the other half (no losers here!). I made the whole recipe, shared some with my house mate, then brought a bunch into work. Sharing is a good thing :)

OH and this is the bread for you if you are scared of making bread. All it takes is a little stirring, spread it in a pan, and toss in the oven. My sister loves making things that involve stirring, it's her favorite part! Jen do you hear me?? ALL it takes is stirring! Seriously... stirring!!! That's your favorite :D So go make some!

Whole Wheat Yeastless Focaccia
recipe by: Food for Laughter slightly adapted by me

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
2 T raw sugar ( I used 1Tbs splenda blend)
1 tsp salt (I used a little less of Kosher salt)
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano and thyme leaves I bet red pepper flakes would be good too! (I added this in my version)
1 (12 oz) bottle dark beer (I used Yuengling Black and Tan)
1/4 cup water
2-3 T olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp dried oregano (I also added thyme leaves)
1/4 tsp salt (I used large grain sea salt)

~ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 8X8 baking pan with cooking spray. (Next time I'm going to use a bigger pan and spread it thinner, the top crust was my favorite part... I want more of it next time :) )
~ Stir together the flours, raw sugar, 1 tsp salt, baking powder, and spices.
~ Pour in the beer and the water, and stir until just combined.
~ Spread the dough into the baking pan.
~ Drizzle the olive oil across the top of the dough.
~ Sprinkle the dough with the oregano and 1/4 tsp salt.
~ Bake for 30 minutes - until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean.
~ Serve warm, sliced from the pan, and dipped in olive oil and herbs...

Be prepared to have to hide this so you don't eat the whole thing.

PS... I know I was supposed to post about humus and baba this week... but between phillips and this bread... it got bumped! Don't worry it will be here next week :D

Phillips European

2009-06-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Today I figured I'd let you all drool a bit over some tortes from Phillips European. Phillips is one of those places that is tucked behind a hotel in a mini strip mall... It looks like nothing at all, until you walk through the doors. Once inside you realize you are in a very high end gourmet restaurant. You wouldn't think these were recessionary times with how packed this place always is. John and I wandered in on the late side Saturday night to grab some slices of cake for take out, and the place was packed! They have a wonderful pastry display case as soon as you enter. The take out option is perfect when you don't feel like waiting 30 minutes to be seated before you can dig into something like this!

John picked the black and white mousse torte. I know what you are thinking "John doesn't eat bad for him desserts" I know I know It's true, but I twisted his arm and he agreed :) Want a closer look at this bad boy?... here you go

This thing was decadent without being overly rich and overpowering... unlike mine...

The peanut butter torte. Layers of peanut butter and chocolate fudge between moist chocolate cake... It's heavy, rich, beautiful, amazingness (yes it's a word... I say so), this thing is a belly bomb. I'm pretty good at chowin, but even I was unable to finish this slice in one sitting. What's that you want a closer look of this one too?

Chow baby chow :)

Quinoa POM Wonderful Muffins

2009-06-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

And they have blueberries in them too! These things are an antioxidant powerhouse, they are also chocked full of protein and all types of good for you things! OK I see all you anti-health food people trying to sneak away! Get on back here! Because these things are crazy good! Taste tested on a variety of guinea pigs (house mates, fiances, coworkers) everyone really enjoyed them! The inspiration and original recipe came from Bitter Sweet. If you haven't visited her blog she makes AMAZING vegan treats and delicacies, and even if you are a serious meat eater, I'm sure you'll find something you'll love over there.

She originally just posted the image since she wasn't totally happy with how the recipe came out. But due to so many people harassing her for the recipe (me included), she gave in and posted it! Thank you so much again!!!

I gave it a whirl and changed a few things, and I'm definitely happy with how this came out. Let me know what you guys think! These are still vegan, but I did use splenda.... but totally give it a try with the agave like she says ( I added in subs for the splenda in the recipe).

I've been eating these as a mid morning snack every day for the past week. Totally powers me through until I eat lunch at 1. :)

Quinoa POM Wonderful Blueberry Muffins - vegan friendly!
Original version of recipe by Bitter Sweet, this version is my adaptation

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Rolled Oats
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Fine grain sea salt
1 Tablespoon Flaxseeds (I didn't have any on hand, but want to try these with this included next time)
1.5 Cups Fresh or Frozen Blueberries (or 1/2 blueberries and 1/2 pomegranate seeds)
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
2 Cups Cooked Quinoa
1/2 unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 Cup Splenda Granulated (or use 1/2 cup Amber Agave Syrup or 1/2 cup white sugar)
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Packed
1/2 Cup Pom Wonderful Juice
Turbino Sugar (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease 12 muffin tins.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, and salt. Grind the flaxseeds to a fine powder using a coffee or spice grinder, and mix them in as well. Add in the blueberries and walnuts, and toss them to coat.

Separately, combine the cooked quinoa, apple sauce, splenda/sugar/agave, brown sugar, and POM Wonderful juice. Once the mixture is well-mixed, pour these wet ingredients into the bowl of dry, and use a wide spatula to combine. Stir only enough to bring the batter together, leaving any small lumps that form in favor of mixing it as little as possible. Distribute the mixture evenly between your prepared tins, and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon turbinado sugar per muffin, if desired.

Bake for 18 - 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Whole wheat soft pretzels

2009-06-09T10:24:00.001-07:00

I made these pretzels awhile back and instantly fell in love with them. The original recipe comes from Katy of Sugarlaws and this is the second time I've made them. The first time I added a little whole wheat flour (her's call for all APF), this time I upped it more and still achieved an amazing texture and flavor! Next time... I'm going to try adding even more whole wheat and less bread flour... so stay tuned and I'll let you know how it goes!!

My original post equated these to crack... that is still the case. The recipe makes 6 medium sized pretzels, which in both occasions have not lasted the night... the recipe easily double, triples, quadrupled.... but do so at risk to your waistline, because although they aren't bad for you... eating anything in large quantities really isn't the best ;) moderation people!! and I have none with these in the house... I WILL eat them all if left alone...

Whole Wheat Soft Pretzels
INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 cup bread flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp splenda blend (2 Tbs white sugar)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp baking soda
1 cup hot water (as hot as your tap can get)
Sea salt or whatever other toppings you want

DIRECTIONS:
Dissolve yeast into water with a pinch of sugar, let stand 10 minutes, until the mixture is creamy colored. Mix the yeast mixture with flour, sugar, salt and canola oil, and knead until combined (a few minutes, not even 5). Let the dough rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (We keep our place kinda cold (65) so I normally turn the oven on for a minute then turn it off and stick the bread in there to rise... otherwise it would take foreeeeeeeever to rise)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the dough has risen, pinch off a handful and roll it out into a long strand. Set aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough, about 6 times. Once all the strands are rolled out, pick up the first one and stretch it out again (the gluten will have relaxed and it should stretch further now). Twist it into a pretzel shape and place it on a baking sheet lined with silipat or cooking spray. Repeat with the rest of the strands.

Dissolve baking soda into hot water and stir until dissolved. Quickly dip each rolled pretzel into the mixture and place it back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle all the pretzels with sea salt, to your preference. Bake for about 8 minutes, until pretzels have browned. (Mine took 8 minutes then I dropped the temperature to 350 for an additional 4-5 minutes)

CHOW!

BBC... yeah you know me!

2009-06-09T10:23:00.001-07:00

Oh wait that's OPP yeah you know me!

BBC... that's the british channel... ehh same thing right! whooops!
And Sean and John I'm not talking about your version of the BBC!

Anyway my friend Travis sent me this recipe the other day and I told him I'd give him a little shout out and put 'er up first thing this week! Travis was one of my "kids". By kids I mean the 40 freshman (who were only a year younger than me shhh don't tell them) who I had to watch over as an RA (residence adviser) Ohhhh the stories... any other RA's out there? We had a good time, and there are way too many stories I could tell, and since my Mom is reading this "hi mom!" lets just move right along to the recipe :D

BBC Smoothie
by Travis
I'm calling it the BBC because of the main three ingredients, blueberries, blackberries, and cranberries, in about equal portions. I added Santa Cruz organic limeade and blended, and it turned out delicious.

Thanks for the smoothie Travis!! And due to popular demand the whole wheat soft pretzels will be posting tomorrow!!

3.14 happy pi day!

2009-06-09T10:22:00.002-07:00

Yup all of us celebrating... we be nerds! I didn't make a pie today... just some cookies so far, and perhaps muffins next.... but you can check out pies I've previously made here.

Enjoy!

Colorful Coleslaw

2009-06-09T10:22:00.001-07:00

This recipe makes a TON of coleslaw... so be prepared to eat this everyday for a week... or have a party of people coming over to help you eat it all :) I used some with the Buffalo Chicken I posted yesterday, and then spent the rest of the week putting it on top of whatever I had for lunch. Coleslaw and sharp cheddar sandwich anyone?? Tasty!

This is super easy and wicked flavorful. I'll totally be using this as a stand in to the normal fat filled variety. This stuff made me feel like it was summer, crisp, light... why can't spring get here already??

Colorful Coleslaw
1/3 cup light mayo
1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs fat free milk
2 tsp sugar
4 cups packed shredded green cabbage
3.5 cups packed shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup red onion slivers
1/4 cup chopped whole green onion
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
black pepper
I added in some celery seeds

Stir mayo through sugar together, toss in veggies, then season with salt and pepper. Stir till combined, cover and refrigerate.

Have a great weekend everyone!!! Tomorrow is national Pi day... yes yes I'm a NERD... So we'll see if I get around to baking a pie for pi day :)

Other things to come next week... a smoothie named after a TV station... some baba ghanoush! come on it's just fun to say. Garlic hummus... AND muffins made with quinoa!!!! So come on back for some more chow and fun :) OH and I almost forgot, some amazing whole wheat soft pretzels!!

Skinny Buffalo Wing Sammies

2009-06-09T10:21:00.002-07:00

John and I both love buffalo wings, but rarely eat them. He will basically only eat chicken breast meat, sans the skin... so I've tried making a bunch of "healthy buffalo wing" recipes. They have gone by well, but nothing amazing. My version is adapted from The Most Decadent Diet EVER! (page 78) and it is a keeper. We wrapped the tenders up along with the colorful coleslaw also found in the same book (recipe to come tomorrow).

Boneless buffalo strips
1.5 Tbs whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 lb chicken tenders
1/4 cup Anchor Bar Wing Sauce (you know the place where buffalo wings were invented!!)
3-4 glugs Franks Red Hot

Mix dry ingredients and one at a time dredge tenders, shake off excess and place on a baking sheet edges not touching. In a large non-stick pan sprayed with olive oil, cook tenders 2-3 minutes per side. Work in batches so tenders aren't touching. Place cooked wings into a bowl and toss to coat with Anchor Wing Sauce and Franks Red Hot.

We wrapped these bad boys up in whole wheat Flat Out wraps cut in half, along with some tasty low-cal coleslaw!! Come back tomorrow for the colorful coleslaw recipe!

Microwaved eggs?

2009-06-09T10:21:00.001-07:00

I'm not a fast food eater. I think the last time I was at a McDonalds or something to that effect was a good 6 years ago ... and that time was because I had no other option, a friend's mom brought us out to eat and that's where she brought us. So it would have been rude to refuse. Before that one day (oh the belly pains) I hadn't had fast food probably 3 years prior. Not to say I didn't have my love afair with big macs when I was a kid. I was a swimmer, and I ate me weight in food most days haha. What's that you say two big macs and a large fry? Bring it on. Oh but not anymore, I think it would kill me hehe.

Back to the microwaved eggs. Egg mcmuffins were another tasty thing the old fast food eating me liked. Even though fast food and I broke up all those years ago, I still think about those egg mcmuffins sometimes... so what's a girl to do? Make her own! I mean it's not rocket science!

AND if you have a handy dandy egg microwaver from the 60's or 70's that you found in the attick of your parents house... you're in luck! Actually you're all in luck, Amazon seems to sell them here. Mine looks more old school, but same concept.

Whole wheat english muffins toasted up. Some Jennie-O lean turkey bacon. Fat free cheddar slices (or part skim, or full fat) this is an occasioin that the fat free kind doesn't weird me out. Wegmans has a fat free cheddar slice that actually melts and tastes pretty darn good! Plus we all know mcdonalds cheese isn't real... or is it?? It can't be...

Anyway you can just crack an egg into each side, or in my case scramble up one whole egg with an egg white and dump half into each side. Microwave it up, and you have authentic circular eggs just like your favorite fast food place. Much healthier, and in my opinion tastier!

CHOW!!!!

Boston Cream Pie - lightened up

2009-06-09T10:20:00.003-07:00

John's favorite dessert is Boston Cream Pie...
*bleh*

Sorry to all of you who like this pie, everyone who had a slice loved it, I just chose not to partake... I don't know, it's something about vanilla custardy pudding stuff, totally skeeves me out! Anyone else out there like me?? Or am I just the weirdo of the bunch?

*crickets*

Alright then! Last weekend was John's birthday (thanks everyone for all the well wishes!!). We were supposed to have a birthday dinner with some peeps, but said peeps were a bit under the weather... hence the postponing making the cake until this weekend. I'm not sure if it was me, or what the recipe was supposed to look like... (this is WHY all recipes should be required to have pictures!), but my cake came out... how do I say... WICKED THIN! I mean yes it's a lightened up cake, but that doesn't mean IT has to be skinny along with the eaters!! The recipe has you make 1 9" cake and slice it in half. I have a 8.5" spring form pan so used that... and let me tell you, I'm so happy I didn't have a 9" because it would have been even THINNER!!!

John came out to the kitchen while the cake was cooling, took one look and said, "so... where's the other layer?"
"that's it, I have to cut it in half"
"seriously?? It kinda looks like a big cookie, not a cake"
"oh thanks! what should I do?? Should I make another cake so it's thicker?"
"you could just cut this one in half across and then pile it ontop... so we'll just have half a somewhat tall cake"
"we can not show up with half a cake"
This went back and forth for awhile haha and in the end I said screw it! I'm going to try to slice it in half and make it like the recipe says!

So here it is...

My very thin, kinda sad looking cake. It really is more of a large sandwich cookie with frosting than anything else. I was told it tasted delicious though so that's at least good :) The cake was a bit dry, but the custard helped that out, and the frosting was wicked good. Ahhh chocolate how I love you!

The cake and custard recipe came from Cooking Light. The only thing I changes was I took half the cake batter and added some cocoa and then swirled that back into the white cake. John couldn't decide if he wanted a chocoalte or vanilla cake. So swirl it was! The other change was I used whole wheat pastry flour, which I know had some to do with the lack of big thick cake... but seriously it shouldn't have been THIS THIN!

As for the "frosting" It's melted milk chocolate with a little honey and milk mixed in.

Chow!

POM Wonderful!

2009-06-09T10:20:00.001-07:00

A week ago I got a comment from Janny asking me to contact her, little did I know it was to see if I was interested in taste testing some POM Wonderful!! I jumped on the chance! I've eaten the fruit before but never the juice. If you've never had the fruit, it's an experience for sure haha. It's a very unique looking fruit with tons of little pockets of the delicious juice. Some people aren't fans of the texture, if that's your case, totally try the juice from POM!! It's the only 100% pomagranit juice out there (says their site) and it's super good for you. All the delisiousness without the seeds or weird texture!

And for all you health nuts out there (yes I'm talking about myself) this stuff is a powerhouse when it comes to antioxidants! I'm a huge green tea drinker and this stuffs kicks green teas bottom!

If you go to the POM site, you'll also find a ton of recipes. I may give one of their cookie recipes a try (after I chop the butter out of course :) ) I'll keep you updated once I make something!

A special thanks again to POM, and totally give them a try, super tasty AND healthy :)

Friday, March 6, 2009

King Cake

I mentioned awhile back that we celebrated Epiphany with our friends Paul, Kim, and their daughter (John's God daughter) Nina. The Epiphany celebration is a very big thing in Columbia, and Paul and Kim want to teach Nina about where she was born.

Part of the celebration revolves around King Cake! I'd never had it before but am all about any celebration that revolves around chow :) I totally fell in love with this cake. It's light and the yeast base adds so much depth to its flavors. If you've never made it or tried it, you should! Not the healthiest thing around (what's that you say??? how many sticks of butter??), but hey, as long as you don't eat the whole thing... ;)

Nina and her buddy Gabe decorated the cake. I think they did a marvelous job!

King Cake recipe from Emeril

Attempt at gingerbread bagels

2009-06-09T10:19:00.004-07:00

So this was my first attempt at reproducing the glorious Panera Gingerbread bagel... It went decently enough... but I still don't have it down exactly...

I added crystallized ginger when I balled them up... they smelled wonderfully like gingerbread at this point!

10 more minutes to rise after shaping with a hole... why must this take so long!

Hot out of the oven

crusty on the outside, chewy in the middle...

but the gingerbread kick... not totally there :( That's ok, another reason to try again! Once I have it right I'll let you guys know how I did it! Wish me luck :D

From Bland to BAM!

2009-06-09T10:19:00.003-07:00

So I made these quinoa bean burgers... they sounded good in theory... but they seriously had no flavor... thankfully I only cooked two before realizing this... after some red hot and some garlic added to the mix, plus some of that dijon mayo from the fries added on top... we were good to go :)

Quinoa Burgers
recipe adapted from Whole Living

Serves 4.
* 1/2 cup rinsed quinoa
* 1 medium carrot, cut in large chunks
* 3 scallions, thinly sliced
* 15 ounces great northern beans, drained and rinsed
* 1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs (I used panko)
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* Coarse salt
* Ground pepper
* 2 tsp chopped garlic
* red hot (to taste)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 pitas (each 6 inches) We used Flat Out Wraps cut in half
* 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced diagonally
* tomato and lettuce to top
* dijon mayo

Directions
1. In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil; add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until liquid is absorbed, 12 to 14 minutes; set aside.
2. In a food processor, pulse carrot until finely chopped. Add cooked quinoa, garlic, scallions, beans, breadcrumbs, egg, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; pulse until combined but still slightly chunky.
3. Form mixture into four 3/4-inch-thick paties (dip hands in water to prevent sticking). If too soft, refrigerate 10 minutes to firm. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium; cook burgers until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes per side.
4. Serve burgers in pita topped with cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.