400-calorie dinners (ii)

Two more all-star recipes to add to the 400-calorie dinner collection this week:

Falafel-Stuffed Eggplant:

I bookmarked this recipe ages ago . . . what took me so long to try this?  Light yet filling, with a welcome burst of summery flavors to brighten up the bitterest of cold winter days.  (I can imagine how much tastier this would be when everything was actually in season!)  I did modify the recipe slightly, adding the eggplant pulp to the filling, instead of "reserving for another use."  (Huh?  What on earth would anyone do with just around a cup of eggplant goo?  Hm.)  352 calories, loaded with fiber, protein, A, C, calcium, and impressively high in iron.  John claimed he wasn't all that hungry prior to dinner this evening, but managed to gobble up his portion just fine.  Must have been good!

Sauerkraut & Sausage Casserole:

This dish is as warm and cozy as the previous was bright and summery.  (Hey . . . I crave variety!)  After making my own vegetarian kielbasa, this dish was a snap to prepare, and I love the combination of tangy, salty kraut, (homegrown, home-cultured, and home-canned at our house!), savory faux sausage, sweet onions and apples, and tender-crispy potatoes.  A bargain dinner at 297 calories, packed with protein and loaded with vitamin C, there's definitely room for a chunk of dark rye with butter alongside this entree, or alternately . . .

Dessert!

German Honey Cookies:

If you enjoy simple yet surprising sweets, this is a cookie you MUST try.  There is enough honey in the dough to be clearly present in the baked cookie, yet the copious amount of vanilla and ground ginger sneak in and hang out in the background.  The cookies are sweet but not cloyingly so, buttery without being overly rich, and friendly to the healthy eating plan at 97 calories each.  I made a few modifications to the original recipe, following a more traditional method of creaming the butter and sugar together by hand, then stirring in the honey, egg, and vanilla, before finally adding the dry ingredients, and I also subbed in half whole-wheat pastry flour for some of the all-purpose.  This is only the second time I've made these, but I much prefer this batch -- my first attempt (years ago) was soft, pillowy, and almost cake-like using the technique in the recipe; this batch is soft, toothsomely chewy, and dense -- a perfect cookie texture, in my opinion.  (P.S. watch 'em like hawks, and pull them out of the oven JUST as they begin to brown and are completely set -- over-baking these beauties turns them tooth-breakingly crispy in a heartbeat.  Or, if you like crispy cookies, by all means, over-bake away!  I bet they would make great dunkers, in that case.)  Someday, I'll try these with fresh ginger in lieu of the ground, and likely achieve cookie nirvana.  :)

a decadent day!

Today was absolutely a day of treats . . . both food and non-food treats! Even though I'm really watching the budget lately, given my recent layoff, sometimes you've just gotta buy a few things, eh?

My morning started with a quick trip to the Farmer's Market with Courtney. I spent $10, and picked up the following . . .

Non-local, non-organic, but Dan's favorite, BLACKBERRIES!

(This carton of berries was ONLY A DOLLAR! What a deal! Courtney bought three packages.)

Local fall wildflower honey:


And, the hugest bag of local spinach:


After the Farmer's Market, Courney and I unloaded bags and bags of stuff at the Goodwill, then went over to Half Price Books, where I earned $17 by selling CDs and a few books of piano music that I haven't opened in YEARS. (Sometimes I fear I will never play the piano again. Boo!) I then turned around and spent that $17 (and an extra 6 cents) on TWO new cookbooks: The Moosewood Cookbook, and Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa. (You may or may not remember the feast I prepared for our New Year's Eve dinner this past year, but the recipes all came from that second cookbook -- so glad to add it to my collection!)

After our morning adventures, Courtney dropped me off and I made lunch for Dan and myself:

Egg salad, lettuce, and sprouts on 100% whole wheat, with Greek salad on the side (tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, feta, and hearts of palm. Yum!) I had a cupcake for dessert. (Dan had, ahem, TWO cupcakes for breakfast???)

After lunch, Dan and I headed out -- we made a quick stop at the library to return some books, and then had a nice hike at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. After our hike, we headed over to REI to take advantage of their anniversary sale and the 20% off coupon I received as a member. I bought a new bike helmet, Dan bought a MN atlas (which we, lamely, used the coupon for,) and we also bought a rubber tent stake mallet. Woo.

After REI, we picked our way through AWFUL traffic, (hate the suburbs and road construction!), and headed over to Midwest Mountaineering, because I had my eye on a new daypack. (I've been using a Timbuk2 bag for years, but it's not really working for bike commuting -- there's not enough room, and it tends to slide around more than I'd like.) REI carried the same daypack, but not in the color I wanted, and for $22 more! Sheesh! I was glad I got the better deal AND was able to support a local business at the same time. (And the best part? I mentioned the whole REI thing to the cashier, and he offered me 20% off my daypack if I signed up for their email list! Sweet!)

I have to tell you about the daypack that I bought -- it's an Osprey, from their ReSource series. The pack is made from 76% recycled materials! How amazing is that?!? Plus, it was freakin' affordable, and has just the right number of pockets -- enough, but not too many. The waist strap was detatchable, which I liked, since I hate extra straps and buckles flapping about. Roomy enough for my lunch, rain layer, water, and planner, even. The pack even accomodates a hydration "bladder" (like a CamelBak,) so it will be great for summer day hikes, too!

Ok. I love my new backpack -- I think that's well-established. :)

Anyhow, we made a quick stop at the Seward Co-op for ice cream, (Dan was wanting some,) and then finally headed home.

All of that running around made us hungry! I made dinner:

I was debating artichokes vs. asparagus with dinner, then asked Dan, "would it be too decadent to have artichokes AND asparagus?" His reply, in a very straightforward tone, was, "there's nothing wrong with decadence." So, artichokes AND asparagus it was! Frozen ravioli and jarred sauce to round out the meal.

Damn. I think artichokes and asparagus might be tied for my favorite vegetables of all time. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!

Hope you all enjoyed your Saturdays -- I'm off to clean up the kitchen, flip through my new cookbooks, and watch a movie with Dan. Happy weekend!

vegetables galore!

I seem to have a little, ahem, problem with the Farmer's Market . . . I tend to go twice in one weekend, buy a ton of stuff, and then wonder what to do with all of it! This past weekend was no exception.

Oliver wants you to see Dan's and my haul Saturday morning:

We were lured into purchasing not one, but TWO different kinds of honey -- I chose a jar of creamy, pale yellow pure raw honey, and Dan was drawn to a jar of thick, dark "Blue Earth Buckwheat" honey by Ames Farm. (Also raw.) I also picked up a beautiful bunch of radishes, a huge bunch of mint, and a gigantic bag of lettuce! After washing and roughly chopping all of the lettuce today, I am realizing I am in for a LOT of big salads this week. :) I've made big salads already for dinner Friday night and lunch Saturday, and am loving my veggies!

Dan and I also stopped at Shuang Hur and the Wedge after our errands Saturday afternoon, to pick up a few essentials for dinners this weekend:

I love the Asian grocery stores for their prices and otherwise unknown to me ingredients, but I DON'T love that they package all of their produce on styrofoam trays, wrapped in plastic wrap! Sigh. Anyhow, we picked up Japanese eggplant, a red pepper, some snap peas, broccoli, limes, green onions, ginger, and tofu for our planned stir-fry dinner, and some lychees!! Lychees, if you've never had them, have the texture of a grape, and are very sweet with slightly coconutty, slightly floral, slightly melon-y flavors. Go buy lychees! Pictured on the right are bulk chickpeas and yellow split peas from the coop, to use later in the weekend.

Basic stir-fry, over udon noodles:

I learned my lesson with Hmong Family sweet soy sauce -- it is SWEET. This was good, but I wouldn't make it again this way -- I'd use regular tamari next time!

Courtney and I went to the Farmer's Market again this morning:

Courtney kindly gifted me a bag of large lima beans, strongly encouraging me to make the baked lima bean dish from VCON. (She's so subtle! Do you think she feels strongly about this recipe???) ;-) Thanks, Courtney! I purchased spinach, beets, dill, a green pepper, and just over a pound of large pickling cucumbers at the market.

I was pretty hungry when I got home, so I made a green smoothie snack/second breakfast:

Pineapple, peaches, banana, spinach, a squirt of agave, and some orange juice. Dan enjoyed his own serving for breakfast, and was pleasantly surprised by the sweet, fruity, slightly grassy flavor. Dan doesn't eat as healthfully as he could during the week, so I'm happy to pack him full of vitamins over the weekends. :)

Give you two chances to guess what I made with the pickling cucumbers and dill . . .

Yes, that's right, pickles! Shocker. I made up a recipe that didn't require any cooking, and that didn't use any sugar -- I like my pickles cold, crisp, salty, and vinegary, and that's about it. Garlic, dill, salt, and peppercorns went in with the cucumber spears, covered with equal parts white vinegar and water. Give 'em a week, and we'll see what I've created!

OH! Forgot to show you two frozen treats I made earlier this week. Pineapple-Coconut Popsicles:

Simple recipe, yielding an amazing treat! One can of light coconut milk, one bag of frozen pineapple, 1/4 cup agave nectar . . . blend, fill the molds, and freeze. SOOOOOOO delicious!

I also attempted peach ice cream:

I used a basic ice cream recipe, lightening it up a little bit by using half and half instead of a mixture of heavy cream and whole milk, but made the mistake of choosing frozen peaches. I think I should have used fresh peaches instead, because this ice cream has NO peachy flavor whatsoever. It's still good, it just tastes like vanilla!

I decided to roast my beets this afternoon, and while I had the oven on I also made another batch of granola:

Dan's sister, Sarah, raved about my granola last weekend -- I should really email her the recipe!!

And last, dinner tonight:

I used the jalapenos Dan grew in his garden and the mint I picked up at the Farmer's Market yesterday, along with a whole host of other ingredients, to make Paraati Chana from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. This has to be one of my most favorite chickpea dishes EVER. (Plus, it's the closest thing I've made to authentic Indian food in my very own kitchen.) I served it atop brown rice flavored with a pinch of saffron, and a side of mixed greens -- kale from last week's trip to the market, and the beet greens from this week's trip.

I sent Dan home with the leftover dill and some of the mint, three lychees, leftover stir-fry, leftover greens, leftover paraati chana, and a jar of granola. As he was getting ready to leave tonight, I said out loud, "why is it that you always seem to leave with a goody bag?" He replied, "because I have a nice Jewish momma who takes good care of me." We both laughed -- I'm neither Jewish nor a momma, but I guess I do take pretty good care of him!