Salad of Randomness

Yes ... we've all made a Salad of Randomness before.  And I'm sure we can all agree they are always good, right?  :)  Nobody really needs a recipe for Salad of Randomness ... why blog about it, you ask?  Well, I think we foodies need to remember that sometimes it's okay to just throw a bunch of food in a bowl and call it supper.  (I know I need that reminder from time to time!)

Salad of Randomness

Ingredients:
Greens (mesclun, mixed leaf lettuces, romaine, spinach, arugula, finely shredded kale, etc.)
Vegetables (anything raw or lightly steamed that you have on hand -- clean out the crisper!)
Fruits (fresh or dried, if you like a little sweet with your salty)
Protein (beans, tofu, tempeh, seitan, hard-boiled egg, cheese, mock meats -- again, clean out your fridge!)
Dressing (oil and vinegar, something deliciously homemade, or whatever bottled dressing you like)
Crunchy toppings (nuts, seeds, coconut bacon, croutons, etc.)
Other good stuff (olives, capers, etc.)

Directions:
Throw all of your salad ingredients in a bowl.  (Or artfully arrange them.  You choose.)  Eat!

For supper tonight, I enjoyed a Salad of Randomness containing mixed red and green lettuces (from the farmer's market,) radishes (also from the farmer's market,) cucumber, carrot, leftover steamed asparagus (FM again,) Craisins, toasted sliced almonds, half a breaded mock-chicken patty, a drizzle of poppyseed dressing, a little coconut bacon, and a few croutons.  Colorful, healthy, filling, and delicious!

If you were to make a Salad of Randomness right now, what would be in it?

Crepes with Asparagus and Cheese

I began learning the French language in 6th grade, and continued all the way up through college, declaring a minor in French.  I learned how to make crepes in high school, and often brought them to French class parties, separated between layers of waxed paper, layered in one of my mom's large Tupperware containers.  We would smother our crepes in strawberry jam and Nutella, or fill them with chocolate mousse, and finish them off with whipped cream and powdered sugar.  French club would sell crepes at the school's winter carnival, cooking them "to order" with our teachers' electric crepe pans.  (I still kind of want one of those ... I loved flipping the domed griddle over, dipping it in the cake pan full of batter, and turning it back over just in time to flip the paper-thin, expertly browned crepe, ready to be cooked on its second side.)

I have long since lost my ability to read, write, or really even speak the French language, (tragedy, I realize ... a skill I could one day regain, if I so chose -- right up there with my ability to read bass clef,) but my love for crepes remains.  Strange that I have a tendency to forget about crepes, isn't it?  However, last night I remembered these beauties work just as well in savory pairings as in sweet.  I had picked up a bunch of asparagus at the farmer's market, we always seem to have some cheese, butter, and eggs hanging around, and there was some milk lingering in the back of the fridge for too long, about to expire.  Sounds like the makings of an excellent dinner!

Crepes with Asparagus and Cheese
yield: 12 to 16 crepes, depending on size

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1/2 cup butter (1 stick,) melted, plus more for the pan
2 cups + 2 tbsp milk
pinch salt
steamed asparagus, sautéed mushrooms, and/or sautéed spinach
shredded cheese (Gruyere would have been amazing, but cheddar was what we had on hand)

Directions:
1. Make the crepe batter.  You can whisk all of the ingredients together vigorously in a large mixing bowl, or alternately, blend the ingredients using an electric mixer or blender.  (I used my blender -- this works really well.  You will get a beautifully light, bubbly, perfectly blended batter.  I had to pause a couple times in the blending and scrape down the sides -- sometimes lumps of flour get stuck.)

2. Preheat a nonstick frying pan or crepe pan over medium to medium-high heat.  You want the pan hot enough to brown butter on contact, but not so hot that it burns.

3. Make yourself a butter "crayon" with an extra half-stick of butter --

(Yes, that's a technical term.  Ha.)

4. Use your butter crayon to lightly butter your preheated pan.

(If it's especially hot in your kitchen, which it was in mine last night, you may need to stick your butter crayon on a plate in the fridge in-between uses, or you'll end up with a puddle.)

5. Pour in 1/4 to 1/3 cup of crepe batter, depending on the size of your pan.  Pick up the pan, tilt and swirl, until you get a thin, even layer of batter covering the pan.

6. When the first side of the crepe begins to brown and look "lacey," flip and cook the second side.  (I find a long silicone spatula works well for me; use whatever works best for you!)

7. After the second side browns in spots, flip it back over and sprinkle cheese down the middle.  Allow the crepe to cook for just a few more seconds, to help melt the cheese.

8. Transfer the crepe to a plate, fill with asparagus, and fold!

You can choose to garnish with more cheese, sautéed mushrooms in their juices, a sprinkling of chopped fresh chives, or if you are feeling really indulgent, hollandaise.  :)  (Wouldn't that be tasty!?!)

9. Continue cooking until you have used up all of your crepe batter, re-buttering the pan before adding more batter each time.  (Or, if you are feeding only one or two people for dinner, cook all of the crepes and fill only the last four.)  Pile up the crepes on a plate in-between layers of parchment or waxed paper (otherwise the butter you cooked them in will solidify in storage, glueing your crepes together forever,) cool, then cover and refrigerate.  Crepes reheat beautifully in a warmed skillet or even the microwave!  (I have also had good success freezing them -- just get them wrapped really well in plastic wrap and sealed tightly in a Ziploc bag, otherwise you'll end up with dry, crispy edges upon thawing and reheating.)

What are your favorite crepe fillings?  Although I love them savory, as we enjoyed them for dinner last night, I love them more leftover the next day, cold from the fridge, smeared with homemade strawberry jam, folded into quarters, and dusted with powdered sugar.  (Ahem ... second breakfast, anyone?)

Vegetarian Cobb Salad

At the social service agency I work for, we have monthly all-staff potlucks.  It's an opportunity for the 100 or so of us who work together to come together for a meal and listen to some agency-wide announcements.  I'm on the committee that organizes the potlucks, and we've come to realize, (I think,) that the potlucks are better attended when there's some type of "theme."  We have had comfort food themes, chili cook-offs, and most recently, to usher in spring, a "salad" theme.  As interim chair of this committee, I penned a haiku, celebrating salads, that went something like this:

Veggies, fruit, pasta,

Beans, grains, Jell-O or Snickers,

Tossed in a bowl.  Yum!

(Yes, there is such a thing as "Snickers Salad."  I'm scared of it.  Has anyone ever tried this?  Is it a Midwestern thing?  A Minnesota thing?  I had never heard of this edible food-like substance until moving to Minnesota.)

Anyhow, I digress.  :)

Personally, I think of salads as something . . . healthier, produce-packed, downright nutritious!  However, my husband is very much an "eggs-n-cheese" vegetarian -- he prefers his food heavy, comfy, and filling.  What's a veggie-loving wife to do?

Enter: Vegetarian Cobb Salad

Ingredients for one salad:

Salad greens (mixed baby greens, romaine, leaf lettuces, whatever you prefer)

Hard-boiled egg

Avocado, cubed

Tomato, chopped

Blue cheese, crumbled

Vegetarian mock chicken patty, cooked and cubed

Coconut bacon

Red wine vinaigrette (I made my own and added plenty of chives, as most of the traditional Cobb salads call for them)

This salad achieves that perfect balance -- plenty of nutritious greens, healthy fats, and quality vegetarian protein, yet heavy, rich, and substantial enough for even the heartiest eaters.

What are your favorite "pleases everyone" meals?

Whole-Wheat Banana-Buttermilk Pancakes

It's been so long since I've had a chance to make a weekend breakfast!  (John's been working some crazy hours lately . . . resulting in a wacky sleep schedule for him, and little time for a leisurely breakfast on the weekend for either of us.)  This past Saturday, however, I managed to whip up a quick batch of pancakes!

We were out of eggs (!) so I quickly whisked 2 tbsp ground flax seeds into 1/4 cup of warm water and let that sit for a few minutes to thicken.  However, in my opinion, flax seeds can impart a strong flavor to what would otherwise be a delicate baked good.  Bananas and whole wheat flour to the rescue!  Pairing the flax seeds with other assertive flavors definitely masked their strong flavor; John noted that he couldn't tell there were flax seeds in the pancakes.  Score!

Whole-Wheat Banana-Buttermilk Pancakes
Makes 8 to 12 pancakes, depending on size

Ingredients:
1/4 c warm water
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 c whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large, very ripe banana
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp oil (canola, sunflower, coconut . . . any light, neutral-tasting oil will do)
1 c buttermilk
chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, and/or blueberries (optional)

Directions:
1. Combine the water and ground flax seeds, stirring well with a whisk or fork.  Let stand at least 5 minutes, or until thick and gelled.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Peel and mash the banana.  Whisk in the sugar, oil, buttermilk, and flax mixture.  Whisk in the dry ingredients until well-blended.
4. Pour batter onto preheated, lightly-greased griddle.  Sprinkle tops of pancakes with chocolate chips, walnuts, or blueberries.  Cook until dry around the edges and bubbles pop all over the surface of the pancake.  Flip, and cook the second side.  Keep warm on a baking sheet in a warm oven until ready to serve.
5. Serve with your favorite pancake toppings!  (I added chocolate chips to the batch I made last weekend, and topped my share with peanut butter and sliced bananas . . . a delicious, healthy, protein-packed breakfast!)

What do you like on your pancakes?

Apple-Fennel Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette

It's spring!  Well, not really . . . it's still sort of winterish in Minnesota.  Truthfully, I feel like I need to qualify this time of year as "early spring" -- the days are getting longer and the weather is slightly warmer, but you still need to check the weather every single day to figure out how to dress.  Some days, you need your wool coat, some days you need a fleece, some days you need an umbrella, most days you still need a hat and mittens.  It snowed last week, today it's going to be 60 degrees outside.  You know . . . THAT time of year.  :)

Regardless of the weather, the increased sunlight makes me feel lighter -- and consequently, I want to eat a lot lighter, too!  Planning for big lunch-sized salads a few times per week helps ease the transition, and this week's salad was beautiful and light, but still hearty enough to get me through my afternoon.

Apple-Fennel Salad with Walnut Vinaigrette

Serves 1, with plenty of leftover dressing

For the Vinaigrette:
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
1/2 small shallot
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 tbsp white-wine -or- champagne vinegar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c walnut oil
2-4 tbsp fennel fronds (optional)

For the Salad:
your favorite lettuces/salad greens (about 2 cups)
1/2 c thinly-sliced fennel
1/4 c sliced celery
1/2 an apple, chopped or sliced
1 oz walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 oz blue cheese, crumbled

Directions:
1. Make the vinaigrette: combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a wide-mouthed pint mason jar, (or really any wide-mouthed jar -- old salsa and peanut butter jars work fabulously for dressings,) and whiz with a stick blender until creamy.  Alternately, you could use a regular blender and transfer to a jar or bottle after blending, or finely mince the garlic and shallot by hand, then whisk the ingredients together in a bowl until emulsified.
2. Assemble the salad: layer your greens, fennel, celery, and apple on a plate or in a large salad bowl. Drizzle about 1 tbsp of the vinaigrette over your salad, or more or less to taste.  (I find that a little goes a long way with most dressings!)  Top with walnuts and blue cheese.

I love the crispy, crunchy, creamy, nutty, sweet, sour, and bitter balance happening in this salad -- there's a LOT of flavor going on, but the flavors all compliment each other beautifully.  This is also pretty filling, given the protein in the walnuts and cheese, all of the fiber-rich veggies, and the healthy fats in the walnuts and dressing.  Definitely a lunch to look forward to!

What is your favorite meal-sized salad flavor combination?

400-calorie dinners (vii)

Two more 400-calorie dinners we've enjoyed this week . . . 

Stir Fry:

So far, the "tricks" I've discovered to making a delicious, 400-calorie stir fry are these:

1. Use only a little oil (or cooking spray) to brown your tofu and cook up your veggies
(Let's face it . . . most stir-fries can end up a little greasy, can't they?)

2. Keep an eye on your rice portion
(I find 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup is plenty for me.)

3. Make your own sauce!
(Most commercial stir-fry sauces are loaded with salt and sugar, and probably some GMOs or other not-too-desirable ingredients.)
Here's my default stir-fry sauce recipe, in case you're curious:
2 tbsp low-sodium tamari
2 tbsp water
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp chili-garlic sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Combine all of the ingredients and whisk until smooth.  Add the sauce just as your veggies finish cooking, and boil/cook the stir fry until the sauce thickens and clears.  (This should just take a minute or two.)

Biryani:

I followed the recipe for "Neelam's Festive Rice Pilaf," from Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen, nearly as written, making a few substitutions based on what I had on hand, (swapping in currants and dried apricots for the raisins and dried blueberries, and edamame for the frozen peas.)  I also gussied up some fat-free Greek yogurt with a pinch of salt, plenty of minced fresh ginger, chopped mint, and minced cilantro, and served the yogurt with the rice, as the recipe suggested.  Delicious!  The rice is fantastic on its own, (I love the sweet-salty-spicy-savory balance,) but the yogurt really makes the dish.  (Plus, most of us can always use a bit more calcium and protein on a daily basis, right?)

What are your favorite stir-fry ingredients?  I have a tendency to overload my stir-fries (and curries) with every vegetable under the sun, but really showed restraint this week.  :)  I loved the simplicity of using just red onion, broccoli, and shiitake mushrooms!

mac and cheese interruption

I interrupt this regularly-scheduled blogging about healthy meals to bring you . . .

Mac and Cheese!  Homemade mac and cheese and I were at odds for years -- every recipe I had ever tried turned out greasy, stringy, lumpy, or otherwise unappetizing.  Cook's Illustrated, THANK YOU!  (Here is an approximation of the recipe . . . I wouldn't recommend making the changes the blogger made, though, as the evaporated milk and American cheese are both kind of crucial to keeping the sauce creamy and smooth.)  I followed the printed recipe nearly to a T, including the buttery, parmesan-rich crumb topping, (which the blogger did not add . . .) and added about 3/4 lb baby spinach to the pasta water at the end of cooking for an attempt at adding some nutrition to what I would otherwise consider to be homemade junk food. :)  (I also forgot to add the pasta water to the sauce, because I forgot to reserve any.  Does anyone else have this "problem" remembering to reserve pasta water?)  John has already requested this (sans spinach) for part of his birthday dinner . . . must be good!  ;)

I think my favorite part about this recipe, however, is that it's reasonably simple, especially for a Cook's Illustrated version.  (I often find their recipes unnecessarily complex, and only a little bit better than a much simpler version.  Not so with this one!)  The breadcrumb topping is whizzed up in a food processor, and the sauce is made in the same pot in which the noodles were boiled -- after draining, of course.  :)  No knife or cutting board required!  I love the meditative effects of veggie-chopping just as much as the next healthy eater, but sometimes, it's nice to throw a few things together and call it done, ya know?

This recipe makes a HUGE amount, (I believe the printed recipe says it serves 8, but we get more like 10 to 12 servings at our house,) and holds well as leftovers.  (Another flaw with most macaroni and cheese recipes . . . they are often awful leftover, but not this one!  Stays creamy and delicious all week long.)  I believe this would also be delicious after freezing, then thawing and baking -- score!

Enjoy!

400-calorie dinners (vi)

Full disclosure: I've kind of fallen off the calorie-counting bandwagon this past week.  Why?  Well, I've had a number of meals involving guests, (either at my house or out,) parties, and other fun things to attend, and calorie-counting is a little bit tedious in front of others.  :)  I've still been trying to eat healthfully and keep portions reasonable, I just haven't been weighing or measuring things.

However, I did manage two "properly" counted 400-calorie meals this past week:

Biscuits and Gravy:

Really, there's nothing even remotely healthy about this meal, except for a hefty protein dose -- fat and white flour smothered with more fat, white flour, and a bit o' tempeh.  :)  Just goes to show that even when counting calories, there's room for an occasional indulgence, right?  (Plus, this is one of John's all-time favorite breakfasts, and I had a package of tempeh in the freezer . . . hard to say no to that, right?)  I used the buttermilk biscuit recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook,  make a batch of "Tempeh Sausage Crumbles" from Vegan with a Vengeance, (using extra olive oil,) then finish the mess off with a sprinkling of all-purpose flour, and half vegetable broth/half milk.  Cook until thick, and breakfast is served!  This week, I happened to be out of regular milk, and subbed in buttermilk with excellent results.  (I did omit the lemon juice called for in the tempeh sausage crumbles, as I didn't want things to get too weirdly tangy, and John is also sensitive to sour tastes in food.)  John declared this my best batch of biscuits and gravy to date!  Woot!

Bibimbap:

Why on Earth has it never occurred to me to make bibimbap at home before?  Hands-down my favorite order at any Korean restaurant, ("no beef, tofu please!"), and a cinch to make at home.  3/4 cup brown rice tossed with 1 tsp each toasted sesame oil and rice vinegar, topped with shredded carrot, diced red onion, shelled edamame, tofu, nori, sesame seeds, a sunny-side-up egg, and a dribble of sriracha.  Heaven!  Protein-packed, too, which is guaranteed to keep me full well into the evening. A great use of whatever veggie odds and ends we have on hand, I can see this becoming a frequent repeat at our house, especially with beautiful, in-season summer produce!  (Plus, anything involving eggs is always a hit with John.)

Have you had Korean food before?  What's your favorite order?  (As an aside, the syrupy-starchy-sweet-potato bite is my favorite of those little side dish ban-chan salads!)

400-calorie dinners (v)

I had the opportunity to travel to Seattle last week for training for work -- so much fun!  I had a chance to eat at Veggie Grill three times, (it was a block away from my hotel, and well, there were so many things on the menu I wanted to try!) at Chaco Canyon with Victoria and Brent, (isn't meeting fellow bloggers you've "known" for years so much fun!), and at Chutney's Bistro with my friend Christine!  Add on the hotel breakfast daily, and a "Snowball" from Trophy Cupcakes and well, it was a tasty trip.  :)

(Victoria, what was the name of the ice cream place we went to after dinner?)

Needless to say, I wasn't counting calories while I was away.  I rarely travel, so I figured I'd give myself a vacation from that, too!  I could see how hard it would be to eat healthfully for frequent travelers, though!

Now that I'm home, I'm back at it!  Three more 400-calorie dinners for you today . . .

MORE pizza:

Half whole-wheat Artisan Bread in 5 crust, topped with olive oil, minced garlic, an entire 10-oz package of frozen spinach, dried tomatoes from last summer's garden, part-skim mozzarella, and feta.   Popeye would be jealous, vampires would run screaming.  :)  216 calories per slice!

The classic soup-n-sandwich:

Creamy Tomato-Basil Bisque, with a half grilled-cheese on the side.  332 calories as-is, (sandwich made using one slice of whole-wheat bread and an ounce of sharp cheddar, cooked in cooking spray,) or you could increase your sandwich portion to a full-size if you were looking for a larger meal.

And, my new favorite meal:

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Leeks and Sausage.  I used two links of leftover homemade kielbasa instead of the suggested Italian pork sausage; super-delicious!  I had a feeling these stuffed sweets were going to be delicious, but I had no idea they would be quite so . . . incredible.  Creamy, sweet, savory, cheesy, hearty, and filling, but still a calorie bargain at 265 calories per potato half.  Add a huge side salad for a light supper, or enjoy two potato halves for a heartier supper.

~~~~~~~~~~

Do you try to eat healthfully when you travel, or do you indulge more?

400-calorie dinners (iv)

Life is uncertain . . . dessert first!

I know I've read a bunch in the blogosphere over the past few years about "sugar addiction" -- what are your thoughts?  I like to believe that I have a much healthier relationship with sugar these days than in years past, but honestly, I don't see myself ever giving up sugar in its entirety.  Treats are just too special a part of my life, and I love to bake!  For example . . . 

John's Valentine's Day present, which he actually finished off before Valentine's Day.  (Whoops.  Next time, I'll know better!  Bake closer to the actual holiday.)  Husband has a weakness for chocolate and peanut butter, and I thought these cookies would be the perfect way to use up some of the Hershey's Kisses that Santa left for me in my Christmas stocking.  (Confession: I really don't much care for chocolate, especially milk chocolate!  Weird, I know.)  Natural peanut butter gave these cookies a rich, crumbly, sandy texture that was . . . incredible.  At 117 calories each, these still fit nicely into my healthy eating plan!

Since the peanut butter-chocolate kiss cookies didn't last that long, I baked another batch of cookies this weekend . . .
















I'm typically not a huge fan of "light" desserts -- I feel like flavor and texture are often sacrificed, and I'd rather eat less of the "real" thing.  However, I tried swapping in a half-cup applesauce for half a cup of butter in my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, (I did leave one stick of butter in tact,) because I believe oatmeal cookies are best when soft and slightly cakey.  HUGE success.  I also used all whole-wheat pastry flour instead of AP, which I believed also paired well with the applesauce -- whole-grain treats can get a little dry and "wheaty," in my opinion, but the extra moisture from the applesauce is a big help.  At only 86 calories apiece, they certainly don't taste "light" or lacking in anything!

And now, more 400-calorie meals we've enjoyed this past week:

Cream of Wild Rice Soup:

A Minnesota classic, which we served at our wedding just under a year ago, vegetized by doubling the mushrooms and adding a little cubed seitan instead of chicken.  (Does anyone besides me find too much seitan to be overpowering?)  The result is a nutritious, warm, comforting, and filling supper, perfect for a bitter cold evening.  (Of which we've had many this winter!  Sigh.)

Breakfast Burrito:

Fill a whole-wheat tortilla with 2 oz refried beans, 1/2 oz cheese, 4 oz shredded Yukon gold potato (hashbrowned-up using a little olive oil cooking spray in a cast-iron skillet,) one egg over-easy, home-canned salsa, and a little sour cream ... perfect for a weekend brunch or a speedy weeknight supper!

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas:

Ok, so, one "light" food I REALLY don't believe in is reduced-fat cheese.  I mean, c'mon . . . cheese is fat!  What the heck is reduced-fat cheese anyway?  I slightly adapted this recipe, choosing to use 6 oz full-fat Monterey Jack instead of the 8 oz reduced-fat cheese called for.  This meal is relatively quick to prepare, given you're making your own homemade enchilada sauce, and even more delicious leftover.  (Somebody at work is always curious about what I have for lunch!)

Polenta and Roasted Veggies:

I threw this together one evening last week when John was working late, and boy, did he miss out!  (He was able to enjoy leftovers for lunch the next day.)  I decided to roast the veggies instead of pan-sauteeing, which freed up my attention to whip up the polenta.  Although the blue cheese does lend the polenta an unusual, slightly grayish color, this was one heck of a flavorful, colorful, healthy meal!

Stir Fry:

I find that most of the calories in stir-fry actually come from the rice . . . bummer.  Keeping my rice portion down to a 1/2 cup left room on my plate for loads of broccoli and tofu!  I had been wanting to try this recipe for "Chipotle-Orange Broccoli & Tofu" for some time.  It was . . . just okay.  The tofu and broccoli were delicious, but the sauce was nothing special.  Bummer!  I think my biggest complaint was that the citrus flavor wasn't at all present!  You'd think that something with "orange" in the recipe title would be citrusy . . . notsomuch.

Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms:

Like artichoke dip?  You will LOVE these.  Seriously, make them tonight!

And, Quiche:

I typically cut my quiche into six slices; eight slices makes for more sensible portions for me these days.  (If you still want to enjoy a heartier portion while keeping an eye on your calorie intake, I'd recommend a crustless version -- pastry is kind of a calorie-bomb, unfortunately.)  This meal was a cinch to prepare, thanks to a homemade pie crust stashed away in the freezer and some pre-roasted sweet potatoes.  John loves quiche 'cause he loves eggs, and will take care of these leftovers before I can blink an eye most weeks.

~~~~~~~~~~

Off to make a pizza!  :)

400-calorie dinners (iii)

As I continue to clean up my diet, watch my portion sizes, and focus on getting more exercise, I find the most indispensable tool in my kitchen, hands-down, is my scale.  (I have this model.  And no, Escali, doesn't know a thing about me, and if you click on that link, I won't earn any money.  I just really like this scale!)  It's easy to use, the batteries last a relatively long time, it's easy to store, (I keep it in its original box on end in one of my cupboards,) and it comes in a wide variety of colors if you enjoy having your kitchen be all matchy-matchy.  :)  (Or you just like orange, or whatever.)  The scale weighs in both grams and ounces, which has been invaluable for this whole calorie-counting thing, as sometimes it's easier to pull out the scale and weigh out 110 grams of cottage cheese, instead of digging the 1/2-cup measuring cup out of the dishwasher and hand-washing it . . . again.  Know what I mean?

I also use my scale often when preparing recipes, (specifically, I almost always weigh grated cheese . . . the cup measurements I find given with most recipes are often WAY off,) and to weigh oils and lye when making soap.  Moral of the story?  My scale gets more than daily use lately, and when I'm not counting calories, I still pull it out several times a week.

Do you have a kitchen scale?  What brand do you have?  Love it?  Wish you had another type?  Use it?  Gathers dust?  I'm curious.

Without further ado, here are a few more 400-calorie dinners we've enjoyed this week:

Spaghetti and beanballs:

First things first . . . there are more than 400 calories pictured above.  (I had a weird day, with little time for snacking, so I had a big dinner.)  I did learn an important and valuable fact this week, however: an ounce of dry pasta weighs about 2 1/2 ounces cooked.  (You can find anything on the internet . . . !!)  My pasta serving in the above meal was about twice what I'd normally eat, topped with a portion of homemade mushroom marinara, and a few Vegan Beanballs.  Delicious!  The beanballs were a cinch to prepare, and have kept beautifully as leftovers for lunches this week.

Burgers and fries:

I made a full batch of Melody's All-American Burgers, divided the base into 16 2-ounce burgers, and froze half.  These burgers are simple to prepare, inexpensive (I didn't have to purchase a single ingredient to make these!), and have classic veggie burger flavor.  I enjoyed my burger with a homemade half whole-wheat brioche bun, (divide the given recipe into 12 equal-sized pieces,) lettuce, tomato, and 2 tsp mayo.  Side of sweet potato waffle fries, some ketchup for dipping, and a pickle!  Yum.

Reubens:

(I must have been craving classic comfort foods this week, because I've made a lot of traditionally "meaty" dishes' vegetarian cousins . . . but I digress!)  You, too, can enjoy a reuben while attempting to clean up your diet.  How?  Homemade rye, (I use the recipe for "Deli-Style Rye" from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,) 2 tsp thousand island dressing, half an ounce of swiss cheese, 1/4-cup of home-grown-home-cultured-home-canned sauerkraut, and two strips of seasoned tempeh.  I cooked my sandwich using a spritz of olive-oil cooking spray, which probably saved the most calories when comparing to a traditional veggie reuben.  Verdict?  Delicious, and I'm not entirely sure John even noticed I didn't cook them in butter.  Only comment I received was, "Good night for a reuben."  :)

~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you are enjoying my 400-calorie dinner posts!  Let me know if there's a specific meal you'd like to see as part of this series -- I'm always looking for more meal ideas.

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.  :)

400-calorie dinners (i)

I'm still counting calories.  (Nice to know one can stick with something for longer than a couple of weeks, isn't it?)  What have I learned so far?

400 calories, or more specifically, 400 high-quality, nutritious calories, is a LOT of food.

Here are a few 400(ish) calorie dinners we've enjoyed these past few days:

Indonesian Sweet Potato and Cabbage Soup from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers.  What did this soup recipe teach me?  Sometimes soup for supper is enough.  (Especially when the soup is loaded with healthy veggies, filling sweet potatoes, pungent spices, and creamy peanut butter!)  I had a hard time finishing all 397 calories worth of this spicy, creamy goodness in one sitting!

In my opinion, there is definitely room for a slice (or two) of pizza even when you're eating healthfully!  How?  I've managed to keep my homemade pizzas around 200 calories a slice by making my own (half whole-wheat) crust, by limiting the amount of cheese I use to 8 ounces, and going heavy on the veggies as toppings.  Lately, I just cannot get enough green olives on pizza -- what's your favorite pizza topping?

The most filling 400ish calorie dinner I've made to date: Baked Barley Risotto with Butternut Squash!    Incredibly, I enjoyed this delicious risotto almost three hours ago, and I'm still comfortably full!  John adored this dish as well, since he loves butternut squash, greens, and cheese, the three main ingredients in this recipe, and the creamy, starchy, soft and comforting texture reminded him of one of his favorite meals, mac and cheese.

~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so, maybe this whole calorie-counting thing isn't as awful as I originally thought . . . I'm really enjoying the meal-planning aspect, and have been finding tons of new recipes to try!  What new recipes/techniques/ingredients have you tried recently?

On calorie-counting

I'm going to say this once, and then hopefully I can get over it: counting calories sucks.  It just does, at least in my opinion.  It's tedious, and I really hate thinking that hard about every bite I take, every meal I plan, but honestly?  I probably should.  I realize, after the past few weeks, that I have gotten into some bad eating habits this past year, (i.e., too much sugar, too much cheese, not enough protein or veggies, etc.), and this calorie-counting business has actually reminded me why it's so important to eat healthfully!  (Hello . . . I feel SO much better already, and it's only been a few weeks!)

I'm really not following any kind of "diet," per se; rather, I'm trying to eat a 300 calorie breakfast, 400 calorie lunches and dinners, and then having 200 to 250 calories worth of snacks or treats.  My new job is largely sedentary, and I also realized I was still eating the same quantity of food I had been when I was running around after small children all day long . . . not healthy.  Retraining my brain to see smaller portion sizes will help in the long run, I'm sure!

Two tools I have found helpful have been the "My Net Diary" app, and Calorie Count.  (Honestly, "Calorie Count" has an app, too, but since I already know how to use My Net Diary, I figured, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?)  I really enjoy being able to plug in my list of ingredients, number of servings, and calculate a nutrition label for my homemade meals and snacks.  I then enter those stats into "My Net Diary," and I can track my freshly-made dinners as well as my portioned-out leftover lunches.  :)

Meal planning has actually been more fun lately, too -- I've discovered a plethora of recipes I've bookmarked over the years, but never tried!  Things like Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion, and Spinach Lasagna, Creamy, Light Macaroni and Cheese, Sausage and Peppers Baked Ziti, Middle Eastern Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie, and Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Sausage and Kale.  (Swap in veggie sausages a couple of times, there.)  And this week, possibly the most delicious meal I've made in a long time:

"Greek Frittata," with a side of "Potatoes with Lemon and Capers," both from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers.  It has never occurred to me to add capers to roasted potatoes before, and it was sort of life-changing.  :)  Do it -- you'll thank me later.  The potatoes were simple enough, (roasted with olive oil, capers, salt, and pepper,) and then tossed with freshly-squeezed lemon juice and freshly-grated lemon zest hot from the oven.  Savory, lemony without being overly sour, and just massively flavorful in spite of the limited ingredient list.  I think I'll make them again this weekend for breakfast!  The frittata was also excellent, (and John's favorite part of the meal,) but the potatoes totally stole the show for me.

What do you enjoy adding to your roasted potatoes?

Lately I've Been . . .

Watching . . . 

Smallville.  Actually, John and I have been watching this, off and on, since the summer.  We started Season 10 tonight.  I wasn't sure about the series at first, but now I'm kinda hooked.  (Basically, the series just gets better as the seasons progress.  Better writing, better acting, etc.)  Have you seen it?  Any recommendations for what we should watch next?

Reading . . .

I just finished this book on my iPad's e-reader app.  The book was good, but I'm not sold on e-readers yet.  Everyone seems to rave about What Alice Forgot, by the same author.  Perhaps I should read that one, too?

Eating . . . 
I feel like a "bad" food blogger, because I've been cooking and eating beautifully lately, (largely due to the fact that I've started counting calories after the holidays, as I unfortunately jumped a pants size this fall, and just generally feel unhealthy and out of shape,) but haven't had the motivation to photograph our meals.  Blame it on my ancient camera, blame it on poor nighttime lighting, blame it on what you will.  Got any motivation for me in that department?  :)

Drinking . . . 

Tea.  Cups and cups of tea.  Mostly herbal.  Did I mention I quit coffee this fall?  And it stuck.  I have a cup every now and then, (usually when John makes it on the weekends and has a surplus half-cup,) but mostly stick to black tea.  I have about a half-box of black tea left, then I wean further off the caffeine onto green tea, where I think I will hold steady for quite a while.

(The fact that it's freezing in my office has only contributed to my increased tea consumption.)

(Did I mention I took a new job this fall?  I don't think I did -- I've been working at a nonprofit in Minneapolis as an "Early Childhood Specialist" since mid-August, and I love it!  I'm out of the classroom, but still using my training and education to benefit high-needs children and their families.  I largely do home visits, during which I work with parents to complete developmental screenings on their children, and I also facilitate parenting groups!  It's awesome.)

Listening to . . . 

Classical MPR, The Current, and the Saturday morning bluegrass show on Jazz 88.  I really enjoy classical music in the kitchen.  What do you like to listen to while you are cooking?

Planning . . . 

An upcoming trip to Seattle for work!  I will be in training the majority of the time I am there, but I will also have the opportunity to see a friend of mine who moved there a year and a half ago, and hopefully meet a long-time blog friend, too!  I haven't flown in years, and I'm kind of excited about this!  Woo-hoo!

Looking forward to . . . 

Feeling healthier in the coming months.  I have only been cleaning up my diet for a few weeks now, and I can already feel a difference.  I have also been making more of an effort to fit in exercise, and am thrilled that I found a low-cost yoga class across the street from my apartment twice a week!  Yoga is amazingly powerful for me, (strength training and flexibility in one, plus a healthy dose of meditation/spirituality,) but I have zero motivation towards a home practice.  I am also excited that a group of friends and I have returned to our weekly walk tradition.  Being an introvert who is a socially-motivated exerciser is kind of weird, but it works for me!  Anyone else need that buddy or class to exercise?

~~~~~~~~~~

So, what have you been up to?

"C" is for "cookies"

. . . AND "Christmas!"

Since I went all out and made a dozen different holiday cookies/bars/candies this year, I figured I better do a blog post review and recap, as I tried many new recipes!

Top row, L-R:

Cream Cheese Meltaways with Lemon Glaze

These have been a HUGE hit the past two years in a row -- there's never any left on the tray at the end of a party, and several people have asked me for the recipe.  If you like lemon even a little bit, make these -- you won't be sorry.  :)  (Plus, they are really pretty easy!)

Maple-Walnut Bars

A new recipe I tried this year, and although they are delicious, they are far from perfect.  :(  For starters, they were nearly impossible to cut without shattering the bars, (the crust largely crumbled into oblivion, and the topping frequently separated from the crust,) and personally, I don't think they have enough maple flavor to suit my tastes.  (The recipe called for 1/4 cup maple syrup in the topping, to which I added some maple extract, and it still wasn't "maple-y.")  I might ditch these next year in favor of the Maple-Walnut Spice Cookies I made last year.

Sugar Cookies
Even though these are far from "fancy," these are still one of my favorite cookies on the tray.  In fact, I may have one with my tea right now.  ;)

Chocolate Crinkles
I'm not a huge chocolate fan, although I do enjoy chocolate-mint things around the holidays.  I added some peppermint extract to these babies . . . delicious!  Beautiful!  Although, I have to confess, not great keepers -- after a few days, their texture has gone downhill and I'd now describe them as a little stale/dry.  :(  Definitely won't be one of the cookies I make in advance next year!

Potato Chip Cookies
Yeah . . . potato chip cookies.  Salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy, nutty, buttery . . . holy hell.  My only complaints were as follows: 1. wish I would have refrigerated the dough before rolling, as it was kind of a sloppy mess, 2. the recipe didn't call for nearly enough ounces of potato chips to meet the quantities of crushed chips called for, and 3. I baked them a couple of minutes too long, so they were on the crispier side.  Next year, I'll fix all of those things and we'll have cookie nirvana.  ;)

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
A new favorite, and a repeat for years to come, I'm certain.  These soft, chewy, pillowy cookies are topped with the most flavorful icing ever.  I didn't think I could like pumpkin cookies without cream cheese icing . . . I was wrong.  These have also been awesome keepers (in the fridge) -- soft and perfect for days.

Middle row, L-R:

Buckeyes
Yeah, you're right . . . those squares look nothing like buckeyes.  That's because the recipe as-is is an epic fail, (c'mon, Real Simple, you've never let me down before!)  After chatting with a friend of mine about this, I've determined the original recipe is missing at least 2 cups of powdered sugar in the peanut butter base, maybe as much as 4 cups.  So, what did I do to rescue this year's batch?  I dumped the peanut butter slop into the pan of melted chocolate, added a few splashes of cream, melted the whole shebang down, and cooled it in my silicone pan.  Ta-da!  Fudge?  Not really.  Truffle?  Not exactly.  But peanut-butter-chocolatey delicious, and flying off the cookie tray faster than you can say, "fail, rescued!"

Apricot Coconut Bars
These are another repeat that I have received many compliments on and requests for these past couple of years.  However, I'm not entirely pleased with them -- basically, the crust is a crumbly mess!  Boo!  I was convinced the problem was that I was using a 9-inch pan, (the recipe calls for an 8-inch,) and the crust was falling apart because it was too thin.  This year, I used an 8-inch pan as directed, but no . . . still a mess!  Next year, I'm going to try chilling the bars before cutting, and making sure I flip the bars and cut them upside-down.  Any other suggestions?

Ginger Bars
This recipe has been on my back burner for years of holiday baking, and I just got around to it this year.  Frankly, they are simple to prepare and delicious, (moist, chewy, and faintly spicy,) but nothing special.  I'd take a gingersnap or gingerbread person any day of the week!  (And one problem that I didn't anticipate is that many people think they are a brownie!  Oops!)  I'm definitely not going to delete the recipe from my bookmark list, but will likely return to making gingerbread people next Christmas.

Chewy Gingersnaps
A perfect, classic, simple gingersnap recipe -- nothing fancy, which is ok, in my opinion.  :)  I've made gingersnaps with candied ginger or fresh ginger in the past, and sometimes, all you want out of a gingersnap is a soft, chewy, spiced molasses cookie.  This recipe delivers.  (P.S. they've kept beautifully -- still soft and chewy days later!)

Fig and Cream Cheese Bars
This is another recipe that I have been eyeing for years, and finally got around to trying this year.  WHAT WAS I WAITING FOR????  :)  Totally a new favorite of mine, and a hit with all who love figs.  Moist, with a crunchy yet sturdy crust, chewy from the figs, with just enough tangy cream cheese layer on top to offset the sweet richness.  The crust has softened with refrigeration, but still has just enough "bite" to it.  Good thing these bars are out of sight, as otherwise they might already be gone!  (Additionally, these look impressive, but were actually pretty easy to prepare, as you don't have to pre-bake the crust -- just layer the three different components in the pan and bake!  Pretty simple, if you ask me!)

Bottom row:

Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels
I didn't make these last year, and everyone missed them.  These are moist, chewy, intensely flavorful caramels, (it's the golden syrup, I swear . . . the caramels have more depth and are less tooth-achingly sweet than most,) that are only improved by the addition of coarse salt at the very end.  Our friends' picky four-year-old snuck three of these in a row while the adults were chatting over coffee, if that gives you any indication as to their appeal.  :)

~~~~~~~~~~

Other highlights from this holiday season include returning to the church choir just in time to sing for Christmas Eve, (always a late night, but always magical,) having a chance to see "White Christmas" on the big screen at the Riverview, (we had so much fun, we're already planning on making time to see "It's A Wonderful Life" next year,) plenty of get-togethers with family and friends, and the gift of an iPad!  I feel a little extreme in the technology department right now, (iPhone, iPad, and MacBook all at my disposal . . . sheesh!), but I have a feeling the iPad will become my primary "device," especially when it comes to using bookmarked or other digital recipes in the kitchen.  (An expensive "cookbook," but an extremely useful one!)

Hope you are enjoying a lovely holiday season with your friends and family!

New traditions

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday on Thursday!  Even though the photo above is a little blurry and less than ideal, I had to share a few thoughts on our Thanksgiving dinner.  I realized that John and I are working on developing new holiday traditions this year, as we just celebrated our second full year together as a couple, (although we won't celebrate our one-year wedding anniversary until February.)

Know what I've realized about holiday traditions?  It's not important that they are perfect, it's not important that anybody else understands them . . . it's important that they are ours.  (Or in your case, yours!)  Take Thanksgiving, for example -- as a vegetarian, I've enjoyed time spent on the holiday with family or friends over the years, which has been delightful but exhausting, given the numbers of people and travel time involved, and also choked down a number of Thanksgiving dinners consisting solely of green beans, plain mashed potatoes, and buttered rolls.

What is Thanksgiving without turkey?  Well, this year, we enjoyed nut loaf, steamed green beans, caramelized onion stuffing, mushroom gravy, scalloped potatoes, creamy corn pudding, spiced sweet potatoes, apple pie, and pumpkin pie.  And Thanksgiving day was low-stress for me, since I made all of the side dishes (except for the beans) AND the nut loaf in advance, and froze everything.  All I did the day of was make pies, steam the beans, whip together a gravy, and bake everything off!  I skipped the cranberry sauce this year, as we always have WAY too much leftover, and I end up throwing it away a few weeks later.  Know what?  Didn't even miss it.  (We enjoyed sparkling water with a splash of cranberry juice instead!)  I also skipped mashed potatoes this year, in favor of scalloped potatoes.  I LOVE this new twist, (both more delicious, in my opinion, and easier to make ahead,) and John still gets to drown his nut loaf and stuffing in gravy.  :)

What is Thanksgiving without a table full of crowded relatives?  As an introvert, I have a much easier time counting my blessings at a quieter gathering at my own table.  Last couple of years, it's been just John and I.  And that's ok -- the holidays are busy, and we relish that day of quiet and rest.  This year, other than my small amount of kitchen prep, we did no work, save for a few dishes at the end of our meal.  We read, we watched movies, and we went for a walk.  I love our "calm before the storm" day, kicking off the busy and intense holiday season!

So, tell me -- what are your holiday traditions?  What are the unique things your family does to celebrate the holidays that you look forward to every year?

The one where I make a mashed potato pizza

Don't you just love it when you take pictures of something you've made, and then a week later, realize they are still on your phone or camera?  Yeah.  Right now, I'll use the excuse that we're moving, so my mind is elsewhere.  (I haven't yet come up with a good excuse for the rest of the time this happens, though!)

Anyhow, enter, garlic mashed potato pizza:

Inspired by one of our local pizza chains that offers this "specialty" pizza on their menu, I decided to try my hand at a homemade version.  Homemade whole-wheat crust, topped with garlic mashed potatoes, green onions, diced tomato, and feta.  Carb-tastic!  (Although not the healthiest vegetable around, I do have to remind myself that potatoes are still a vegetable!)

What are your favorite pizza toppings?  Lately, I'm loving garlic-stuffed green olives.  :)

back, with cake

Hah!  I'm returning to blogging.  I'm still not sure why I quit for a while, nor am I entirely sure that I want to get back into the habit of blogging about most of what I cook.  However, I know this -- I made a great cake a couple of weeks ago, and I have to share the recipe.  :)

Maple-Walnut Spice Cake
yield: one 8-inch pan, 9 to 16 pieces (depending on how you cut them!)

Cream together:
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar

Stir in:
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 tsp maple extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine, then fold into wet ingredients just until combined:
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Pour batter into greased 8-inch square baking pan, and bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.  Cool.  Prepare frosting:

Beat together:
2 1/2 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat in:
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp maple extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Top with additional toasted, chopped walnuts.  Store cake in fridge.