Pickle me spicy!

I'm on a spicy kick around here and I like it! Pickled jalapenos can be kinda lame and dead looking in a jar... or you can make them yourself and have crisp delicious perfectly flavored heat! The more time they marinate the softer they will become, so if you like them crisp eat them up faster. I left all the seeds in with these... next time I'll leave some out so I get more flavor with less intensity :) Not that I'm saying I cried or anything...

This was my first try at pickling, have you pickled things or are you more of a sweet lover?

Pickled Jalapeños Recipe
recipe by Purple Foodie (check out her blog to learn the perfect pickling ratio)

330g jalapenos, whole or sliced
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 tbsp peppercorns
2 bay leaves
3 cloves of garlic, lightly pounded
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 tbsp sugar

Pack the jalapeños in a glass jar.
In a saucepan, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Pour the hot pickling liquid over the jalapeños and let it rest for a few hours. Shake it up a little so that the peppercorns are evenly distributed.
For a crunchy bite, you can start nibbling on them within a few hours. As for softer texture, let this sit for 4-5 days.
Keep refrigerated for upto two months or can it according to jar manufacturer’s instructions.

Tweet

Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :) Oh and make sure you type in your blog link so I can click over to you! There is a spot you can type it in.

Bruschetta

This weekend we had bitter cold weather. Waking up to 17 degrees outside does not make me want to go out and run errands, how about you? Weather like this also doesn't make me think of cooking things with fresh tomatoes, but I did have a crazy craving for bruschetta after receiving an email from a friend that used canned tomatoes to make them.

Canned diced tomato bruschetta? I can just hear some of you running away, but trust me, they tasted delicious.

Tuscan Tomato Bruschetta
Servings: 12

Ingredients
1 whole wheat baguette, sliced 1 inch thick
Extra virgin olive oil
1 (14.5 ounce) can Redpack Diced Tomatoes in Juice, drained or 1 (14.5 ounce) can Redpack Petite Diced Tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil (the store was out for some reason, :( so I used 1 tsp dried)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese ( I sprinkled on part skim mozzarella and some parmesan onto each one- I used less than a cup)

Directions
- Brush extra virgin olive oil onto both sides of bread slices. Grill or toast under the broiler until golden on both sides.
- In a bowl combine remaining ingredients, except cheese, stir to combine. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the toasted bread.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and broil for 1 minute to melt the cheese. Serve immediately.

Tweet

Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :) Oh and make sure you type in your blog link so I can click over to you! There is a spot you can type it in.

Vermont Adventures - no smooching allowed

A few friends and I skipped work on Friday to head up to VT for a long weekend. It's been a bi-annual tradition for me the last few years and each time I go I seem to pull along a new friend making it doubly as fun! Maybe one of these times all my prior "dates" will make it back with me for a big old reunion party!

The last few visits have started two new traditions, the first being a yankee swap which always ends in fits of giggle (seriously who brought the woman's bust vase this year???), the second being an appetizer potluck for Friday night. This time around I brought a VERY garlicky hummus, while Val and Brian brought along a loaf of my rosemary bread (she subbed 3 tbs of fresh rosemary for the dried) for dipping in the hummus. Since there were so many rave reviews for both I had to get them up here to share.

Since I didn't take any shots of the hummus you'll just have to be entertained with these other pictures from the weekend... including one of me with my Sunday morning job... making the famous Blueberry Hill Inn chocolate chip cookies!! These things are to die for... and NOT healthy... kinda ironic it was my job to make them huh? The good news is they came out just as good as when the inn keeper makes them. Score one for me! ;)


Ever been to VT? Do you love it? I LOVE IT THERE! Do you like garlic? Does your significant other like it or do they say no smooching allowed when you eat some?

"Don't expect anyone to kiss you tonight" garlic hummus
1 can chick peas (drained but save the liquid)
1/3 cup drained liquid from chick peas (maybe a little more if you need it)
3 large cloves fresh garlic
1-2 Tbs tahinni
2 Tbs olive oil
4 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt

Place everything in a food processor and whirl for 3-5 minutes. That's it. Amazing right?

Tweet

Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :) Oh and make sure you type in your blog link so I can click over to you! There is a spot you can type it in.

Stuffin'

Here in the US we'll be celebrating Turkey Day tomorrow! To start celebrating early John made some healthy delicious stuffing to have with dinner. He's a fly by the seat of his pants cook so nothing here is measured exactly, but it will give you a good basis to recreate it!

How will you be celebrating Thanksgiving (if you are celebrating that is)? We're meeting up with my side of the family and we get to meet our new niece for the first time!!! Pictures to come!


John's Stuffin'
recipe by steph chows better half

12 slices whole wheat bread (toasted, cooled, then cubed)
1 white onion chopped
2 chicken sausages (cooked and chopped)
4 stalks celery chopped
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic
3 carrots chopped
sun dried tomatoes
drizzle olive oil
few glugs red hot
poultry seasoning to taste
chicken stock - 2-3 cups

Saute onions, garlic, and other veggies in a pan with olive oil until tender. Throw cooked veggies and everything else into a gigantic bowl and stir. Leave your wife a note next to said bowl for her to find when she gets home from work asking her to bake it for you while you are at the gym, making sure to say please and thank you. Bake at 325 for about an hour or until browned on top. This is totally a test to see if any of you read the recipe... and yes this is exactly how it went down last night! :)

Tweet

Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :) Oh and make sure you type in your blog link so I can click over to you! There is a spot you can type it in.

Thanksgiving Side Ideas

A healthy Thanksgiving is impossible you say? Not if you ask me or Cathy from What Would Cathy Eat? She's actually hosting a Healthy Thanksgiving Challenge and asking fellow bloggers to chime in with their healthy ideas! You can check out her tips here.

For my contribution I went back to two of my favorite standbys... roasted brussels sprouts and fiesta dip... not together though... that would be kinda nasty...

First off fiesta dip is the perfect appetizer, serve it with whole wheat pita chips or with bite sized raw veggies (celery is perfect for scooping). Or serve it as a first course over a bed of spinach, no dressing required! You'll be amazed at how many people inhale this stuff.


Now onto the main course. Roasted sprouts! Never fear these are not the boiled horrible smelling bland kind of your childhood. These are brought to a new tasty level with a very simple ingredients and a quick pop in the oven. If you try one new thing before the year is over, make it these, I promise you will be presently surprised.

Your turn what healthy things are you making for thanksgiving??

Tweet

Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :) Oh and make sure you type in your blog link so I can click over to you! There is a spot you can type it in.

Bruschetta

John makes wicked good bruschetta. He made this at some point this summer and said he would write a post about it... since it's been a good 2 months and he hasn't posted yet... I'm going to. Because this is just too tasty looking not to post!

Whole wheat baguette, fresh tomatoes from a friend's garden, basil from a pot out on our porch, fresh mozzarella, and a drizzle of olive oil. Toss it in the oven to broil and toast up for a bit... heaven.

What's your favorite way to make bruschetta?

Fig and Camembert Cheese Pizzelle Sandwich

Long title right? I had some pumpkin pizzelles left over from my luxury dinner party (today is the last day to vote so go vote!!) and was looking around to see what I could have as a snack. After spotting the also leftover figs and Camembert (compliments of Ile De France) I couldn't resist making a little sandwich.

Grossed out by the combination? Don't be, I was a little worried it would be weird... but it was simply delicious. I think these will have to be on the menu for the next dinner party :)


What do you think? Like it? Grossed out? Running to the store to buy some Camembert??

What you'll need:
Pumpkin pizzelles
Camembert Cheese
Dried Figs - sliced

YUM!

Salmon With Warm Lentil Salad

I'm always looking for quick dinner ideas for John and I. I read this one Wednesday night and it's what we had for dinner Thursday, yup it looked that good :) The warm lentil salad calls for arugula... for some reason Wegmans was out, so I picked up a bunch of asparagus, steamed them up, and cut them into 1 inch pieces to toss in the salad... wicked good!! I'd say skip the arugula and make it with asparagus if I were you :D

Oh and since John likes more flavor with his salmon I did a quick hot wing marinade on his piece, mine was just a little sea salt and pepper. I cooked it up on the G.Forman grill (with skin on - I take it off after it's done cooking) instead of skinless and in a pan like the recipe calls for. Quick and oh so tasty!


Salmon With Warm Lentil Salad
recipe from Real Simple
serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup green lentils, rinsed
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 1/4 pounds skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 bunch arugula, torn (about 4 cups) (my substitution: 1 bunch asparagus steamed and cut it into 1 inch pieces )
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add the lentils and 1 teaspoon salt and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender, 20 to 25 minutes; drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season the salmon with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook until opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
3. In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, mustard, onion, parsley, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
4. Add the lentils and arugula (or asparagus) to the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Serve with the salmon and lemon wedges.

Goat cheese appetizer

Sometimes you need a quick and easy appetizer for a get together, enter in these stacks. Beautiful, simple, clean flavors, and easy to assemble! Enter in Ile de France goat cheese. They are having a recipe contest for a delicious appetizer involving their cheese.


I know some of you will recognize this recipe from a previous post, but it's just so darn good I couldn't pass up making it again! Ile de France mailed me a log of their goat cheese and I knew straight away that I would be making these with in... I think I'm going to try a pumpkin goat cheese cheesecake with the rest of the log... mmm cheesecake :)

Tomato, Spinach, and Goat cheese stacks
Take a big juicy tomato and slice it up.
Place some baby spinach leaves on top of the tomatoes.
Top off with the fried goat cheese and drizzle with some balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, crack some fresh pepper on top for good measure.

To make the cheese
Slice a log of goat cheese into medallions, dunk into a bowl with a beaten egg white, then dunk into a bowl with whole wheat bread crumbs/salt/pepper. Dip back into the egg white and then back into the breadcrumbs. Place in a frying pan with a spray of olive oil. Cook one side until browned, flip and brown the other side.

Fiesta Dip

For those of you who have been around for a long time, you know I love LOVE this "salsa" "dip" "salad topper" whatever! It has become my hands down go to recipe for any type of gathering. I have yet to meet a person who hasn't loved it.

It's amusing at least one person at every event comes up to me and says "I don't like (raw onions/ beans/ peppers) but I love this stuff!!"

As I mentioned yesterday, it was Walton's 1st birthday!! I was able to grab a last minute crazy flight deal down to DC to take part in the festivities!! It was wonderful to see my family and how much Walton has grown since I last saw him. I also got to tag along with my sister and Stockton to a photoshoot friends of theirs gifted them.


These image were taken by Cynthia Sambro-Rier Photography. She was a pleasure to work with, if you live in the DC area and want pictures of your kids... give her a call :) (images taken from her blog and facebook page).

How cute is that little boy!!!

OK back to the Fiesta Dip!


Seriously, make this the day before any gathering, let it marinate over night, drain the morning of, and you are good to go! We normally serve it with Tostitos scoops, but it can work with any kind of chip or it is delicious over a salad.

Fiesta Dip
1 can black eyed peas
1 can shoe peg corn
1 red pepper diced (I used 1/2 a red and 1/2 an orange since we had it on hand)
1 green pepper diced
1 red onion diced

Rinse and drain peas corn

Add: 2 tbs Tiger Sauce (secret ingredient) a MUST (it's near the ketchup in Wegmans... if you have Wegmans near you)
3/4 cup white sugar (I used a little less)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 veg oil (I used about 3 Tbs instead of 4 Tbs also I've used olive oil when I didn't have vegetable oil on hand)

Mix and let stand (refrigerated) overnight.

Drain liquid before serving.
Serve with tostito scoops or other veggies or cucumber slices for dipping.
This also works great as a salad topper/dressing. Delicious!

Beautiful personalized plates, a giveaway, and a recipe

I have the most talented 11 month old nephew. He went on etsy and sent me this beautiful plate with "chow" written on it! How smart is that kid! He knows me so well!


Walton did have some help though, Janet at Custom Sepia did an amazing job. So amazing in fact, I wanted you all to meet her and check out her shop! She has a great selection of plates and platters that she will happily personalize for you. Having a hard time thinking up a good gift for someone? Do they like to cook and entertain? Bingo, Custom Sepia all the way! I mean how classy is this thing?? I LOVE IT!!


Janet has agreed to give a winner something from her shop (prize to be announced). How do you enter you ask? Head on over to her shop and take a look around. Then come back here and tell us what your favorite thing is on her site. What would you have your plate say? Simple as that! If you want to gain another chance, write about this giveaway on your blog or tweet about it, then come back here and leave me a comment with a link.
You have until Sunday the 20th to leave a comment.
PS. Sorry to the international folks, since ceramics are so heavy and $ to ship, it's limited to US contestants (sorry all my international readers!!)

Now onto the recipe that I made to celebrate this beautiful plate.

Tomato, Spinach, and Goat cheese stacks
Take a big juicy tomato and slice it up.
Place some baby spinach leaves on top of the tomatoes.
Top off with the fried goat cheese and drizzle with some balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, crack some fresh pepper on top for good measure.

To make the cheese
Slice a log of goat cheese into medallions, dunk into a bowl with a beaten egg white, then dunk into a bowl with whole wheat bread crumbs/salt/pepper. Dip back into the egg white and then back into the breadcrumbs. Place in a frying pan with a spray of olive oil. Cook one side until browned, flip and brown the other side.

CHOW!!!

OK lets face it, the stacks are pretty... but I'm here eating these alone... so why bother with the formality... toss a bunch more on the plate and chow down!


Done and Done

Saucy Mama - recipe

OK I finally figured out what I wanted to make for the saucy mama recipe contest!! The wing sauce was calling my name from the moment I pulled it out of the box, so I knew I had to use it. Plus with my new fancy grill John bought me, I knew it had to be cooked outside on it! This meal is super easy to pull together. Even if you worked all day, this would be so wuick to toss together in time for dinner!

Healthy "chicken wing" breasts, hot sauce grilled corn, and lime chipotle coleslaw!

You know you're drooling, admit it.

OK first the chicken

Healthy "chicken wing" breasts
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
1/4 cup Saucy Mama Hot Wing Sauce

Trim breasts of fat and lay out flat in a large bowl, pour sauce over top and using your hands coat all sides of the chicken. Let marinate in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

On a preheated grill, cook breasts until cooked through (time will vary on grill/thickness of breasts) Mine took about 5 minutes each side.

Next the corn!
Hot sauce grilled corn
4 ears of corn
4 light drizzles of Saucy Mama hot sauce

Using your hands rub the wing sauce over the naked corn on the cob (husks removed). Place on a preheated grill, cook for about 10 minutes, rotating to lightly cook all sides.

Finally.. the coleslaw, it doesn't get any easier than this!

Lime chipotle coleslaw!
1/4 head of green cabbage rough chopped
3 carrots sliced thin using a vegetable peeler lengthwise
(or the super easy method, grab a bag of the ready to go chopped coleslaw mix from your grocery store)
1/4 cup Saucy Mama lime chipotle marinade

Chop up the cabbage and carrots, or dump the bag of premade veggies into a bowl.
Top with marinade and toss to coat.
Chill until ready to serve.

Seriously that's it! And it's so good! I love the kick of the wing sauce with the kick of the lime chipotle dressing. Make them all together or with other family favorites :)

Chow!

And the best part... I still have 2 more bottles of the lime chipotle to give away!! So leave a comment for another chance to win!

Ever eat a flower?

So my awesome friend Maria came to visit from San Fransisco!


We both went to RIT for undergrad and graduate work, however, once we graduated she headed back to the west coast while I stuck around good old Rochester (much to my mom's chagrin) It was great having her back and we enjoyed MANY meals out and about (Abyssinia, Aladdin's, Dino BBQ, Abbots custard, Phillips European...) Come on we had to visit all our old stomping grounds!! One of the other places Maria wanted to hit up was the public market. While we were there we stumbled upon some zucchini flowers.


Maria spotted them and snatched them up, saying she'd give her mom a ring to get her recipe for deep frying them... although we already knew we were going to make them healthier one way or another :) I had never had them before so I was wicked excited to try up a new recipe!

A quick dip in a whole wheat flour, egg, and milk concoction. Her mom's recipe called for club soda... we didn't have any... so we went with the milk option :) Basically we made a batter similar to a crepe and tossed them in.

Then into a super hot pan with a little drizzle of olive oil.

Our first batch was just the dipped flowers. You could totally taste the zucchini flavor in them... next came a "mozzarella stick" version packed with shredded cheese (AMAZING). Next came cheese with some lightly sauteed garlic and spinach stuffed in... EVEN BETTER!


We also tried a version with cornmeal instead of the flour... the verdict...

NASTY! hahahah oh well, we tried :) It did look pretty!

Cucumber Salad

There are a lot of things that remind me of summers during my childhood, the smell of chlorine (we lived... seriously lived in the pool, this followed me into my teen years, first job, lifeguard/swim instructor) other smells... suntan lotion, anything cooking on the grill, fresh cut grass, other things in general... bare feet, not having to wear pants (see above pool comment), the list can go on and on... but we are here to talk about cucumber salad... which = summer.

Nana (my mom's mom) would make this, and so would my mom, when the cucumbers were the best, during the summer. It's a very easy recipe but is super delicious.

The first step is to slice the cucumbers with a mandolin... don't have one? That's ok, just slice them as thin as you can. Next in a colander placed over a bowl, layer the cucumbers and sprinkle a generous amount of salt over them. Walk away for an hour and let them sit at room temperature and release all their liquids.

After an hour come on back and rinse them really well, once rinsed, squeeze them with your hands to get as much water out of them as you can. Place in a bowl and top with equal parts seasoned rice wine vinegar(mom uses white vinegar so that works too) and water. Then sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper and paprika and stir, chill for an hour or overnight. Serve cold.


I told you, wicked simple :) My Mom and Nana always made this with white vinegar, but I wanted to give it a try this way since I received some Nakano Rice Wine Vinegar through Foodbuzz and wanted to try it out in something that would showcase its flavors. The verdict.... I'm totally making this with the seasoned rice wine vinegar again! White vinegar tastes good in this, but the rice wine gave it a little extra kick that I really enjoyed :)

Bread is my mistress

a double batch after rising for an hour

OK what's the male version of mistress? Well that's what good home made bread is to me :) Sorry John... I'm cheating on you with home made bread... and I'm not even guilty about it!

Let me digress for a minute... I've been taking an intro to wheel throwing pottery class this summer (wicked fun). I've never done pottery before (unless you count painting random already made pottery when I was a kid). Let me tell you, throwing pottery is seriously fun!!! I'm still finishing glazing some pots and bowls but once I'm all done I will have made 19 of them! Woo Woo! Here's an example of my expert *cough cough* work :)



We had a big potluck dinner for our final class the other night, can you guess what I volunteered to bring?

I knew one loaf wouldn't be enough, so I made a double batch of the following recipe. This recipe is like bread for beginners. You don't have to proof the yeast or anything... just toss all the dry ingredients (including the yeast) into a bowl, mix, add the warm water and oil, kneed, let it rise for an hour... bake for 30 minutes... and you are DONE AND DONE!!! See isn't the easy? Don't' you want to go run home and make some up right now??


Sorry I don't have any inside shots, but trust me, this is some seriously tender bread with a wonderful crust, and the little bit of sea salt on top... MMMMM! MMMMMM!!!! Man I wish I had some right now... I think I need to go bake some... right now :D

The second loaf was a bit bigger than the first one... whoops! Haha, they both tasted the same though. My classmates were wicked impressed I made the bread, and also very excited that I took off work so I could make the bread fresh right before class started. Hot bread out of the oven?? Yes please! My friend Beth who is also taking the class made some of my hummus to go along with the bread. Delicious!

So don't be afraid, go try this! And you can really add any seasoning in that you have, this batch I used thyme and some red pepper flakes for a little kick!

Thyme/Rosemary Bread
I have no clue where I got this recipe... but I LOVE IT!
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme or rosemary
2 1/2 cups bread flour (i used king arthur bread flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (one package)
1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
dash of large grain sea salt to top the loaf (optional)

Add dry ingredients (salt through yeast) to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and combine. (You can do this all by hand too if you don't have a mixer, it will just take a little longer)

Warm water to 100-130 degrees. (30 seconds in the microwave works perfectly)

Create a well in the dry ingredients and add oil and warm water.

Mix dough until it cleans the sides of the bowl. Allow dough to knead on the hook in the bowl for 1-2 minutes. (If using your hands just kneed until it comes away from the counter top and is no longer sticking to your hands- it should feel a little elastic)

Coat a clean bowl with olive oil. Add dough to bowl, turn to coat, and allow to rise in covered bowl for 1 hour.

Shape dough into square or round loaf (your choice). Brush top of dough with oil and top with sea salt or any other seasonings you like.

Heat oven to 375 and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with olive oil seasoned with herbs or cracked black pepper, or hummus, or ANYTHING really

yum yum yum yum yum!!!!

AND don't forget to sign up for the jam exchange if you haven't already :)

NTTC: Leafy Greens

OK I'm getting this posted right under the wire!! Gel's Kitchen has a wicked fun event each month and here is my contribution to June's Leafy Green No Time To Cook!!

I love going out for sushi and I love the seaweed salad that comes with it sometimes. They have seaweed salad in the "take it" section of Wegmans and it's delicious... but $$$. I knew I had to give this a try at home to save both time and money! It's really simple, crazy healthy and super flavorful.

Here are some of the health benefits of wakame (seaweed)

• Low in saturated fat
• No cholesterol
• Very high in calcium
• Very high in iron
• Very high in manganese
• Very high in magnesium
• High in niacin
• High in pantothenic acid
• High in phosphorus
• Very high in riboflavin
• High in vitamin A
• High in vitamin C

Don't be scared off by the prospects of eating something that floats around the ocean, it doesn't taste like the ocean... if it does... the place who made it isn't very good :)

Seaweed Salad (serves 2- or 1 stephchows)
recipe from http://www.diy-sushi-recipes.com

Checklist :
3/8 oz dried dried wakame
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar (without seasoning)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoons sesame oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
1/4 of a small cucumber sliced very thin
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Task:
Soak dried wakame in warm water for about 5-8 minutes
Drain and place in a bowl of water. Quickly remove and plunge into cold water
Mix vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and ginger in a bowl until sugar is dissolved.
Mix wakame, cucumber and dressing.
Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and scallions
Chill in fridge prior to serving

I found the wakame in an Asian Grocery Store in town (it's crazy cheep there), if you don't have a specialty store near by try the ethnic aisle of your local grocery store!

Almost fat free corn bread...

...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!

Baba Ga-what?

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.