Side Dishes

A Recipe for Roasting Vegetables

June 24, 2011 By Fran 5 Comments

Just as the the summer sun glows like the yolk of an egg and the kernels on an ear of corn deliver the golden hue of a piece of fine gold jewelry, this roasted cauliflower with annatto-infused olive oil can bring summer into your kitchen on the gloomiest of days.

This is the first week of summer. This steamy mid-June, too early for the dog days with their three H’s — Hazy, Hot and Humid — sucks all the desire to spend hours in the kitchen after a long day at work out of me, but there’s enough of me left to roast vegetables and quickly sauté a chicken breast.

To make this cauliflower special, I finally cracked open a jar of Annatto seeds that I’ve had in my kitchen since October. I was going to use saffron, but I only have a few threads left from my last purchase and while I would have liked to have had that field of crocuses flavor, these red seeds from the achiote pod not only lend an earthy flavor to the dish, but the color is simply beautiful. It glows.

Now, if you believe everything that comes from the pages of Wikipedia you might be tempted to stay far away from these color-inducing Annatto seeds because they may well induce more than color on your cauliflower. But who wants to be scared away from the potential to break out in hives, or worse? Not me. I’m a risk-taker and these seeds are no match for me.

In the end, the cauliflower was tasty and colorful and a great accompaniment to my dinner of grilled chicken tortillas with more of that lip-puckering Aji Verde. You know, the other day, a friend suggested I bottle the stuff. I think she’s got the right idea! And don’t think I won’t try.

Annatto Infused Cauliflower Steaks

Recipe Type: Side

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 8

These cauliflower steaks can be made with Saffron to give it that sunny hue, but I opted for the less expensive Annatto seed

Ingredients

1 large, firm head of Cauliflower rinsed and cut into “steaks” by slicing vertically through the core
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Vinegar
1 teaspoon Annatto Seeds
2 teaspoons ground Sea Salt

Instructions

Preheat an oven to 425º
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper
Combine all ingredients except the cauliflower in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a paper towel
Heat in a microwave for 30 seconds
Carefully place the cauliflower steaks on the baking sheet, taking care not to break the florets
Using a pastry brush, spread 1/2 of the infused oil mixture on the cauliflower
Transfer to the oven and cook for 20 minutes
Turn and brush the other side of the cauliflower with the remaining oil and roast for an additional 15 minutes or until the cauliflower begins to brown
Remove to a plate and serve

Serving size: 1 slice Calories: 56.1 Fat: 3.6 Carbohydrates: 5.5 Fiber: 2.6 Protein: 2.1

Notes

This sunny side dish has a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 2 and is just 56.1 calories.

Filed Under: All Posts, From the Ground, Side Dishes Tagged With: Aji Verde, Cauliflower, Recipe, Roasting, Summer, Vegetables

A Thin Recipe Week in Review with a Video

June 20, 2011 By Fran 7 Comments

This was a colorful week. In many respects. It started with a bit of an experiment. An egg poached in a plastic bag dropped into a pot of water. Good idea. Poor execution. You’ll see in the video below that I had to do a bit of trim work to try to make the egg look like, well … an egg rather than a white tube with a yellow spot. I prefer the texture of an egg poached the traditional way — in a pot of boiling water.

Mid week, a spectacular double rainbow accompanied me on the way to work and while friends tell me it marks an auspicious occasion, I’m still waiting for that propitious event. I’ll let you know when it happens. I hope you plan to follow me for a while — I have a feeling it might be a while.

In other news, I had a date with the scale this morning, as I do every Sunday morning and I decided I’d better go light for dinner the night before.

Another crack at a quinoa cake with a poached egg and my new favorite condiment — Peruvian Aji Verde (recipe below) hit the spot, although I’m still not in love with the quinoa cake thing. I think I’m hoping it will have the taste and texture of a potato pancake, but it’s missing a fairly important component… frying in oil!

After the weigh-in breakfast ensued. It wasn’t a heavy Sunday brunch affair. Those meals are a thing of the past, but somewhere in the week I apparently overdid it because I managed to put on 4/10ths of a pound. ACK! Stop that now! It could be worse. To date, I’ve lost an average of 1.1 lbs. a we ek! Sure, more would be great — better even, but I’m still smiling and feeling so much better.

I decided to continue on the lean eating after the weigh-in and during my usual trip to Trader Joe’s after the meeting I picked up an interesting Vegetable-Rice Bento Box from the frozen food department. It wasn’t the best Japanese food I’d ever had … ok, maybe it was among the worst Japanese food I’d ever tested, but it satisfied my hunger. I’d finally broken down and eaten at the Sushi carousel at the mall the day before and while it is a cool idea, it was obviously mall food and while not great, like the bento box, my 4 small plates satisfied me without an overabundance of food. I’d forgotten to take a look at the rate sheet and had no idea how much I was paying for each plate. The waitstaff tallies the number of plates in each color category to come up with your total and I didn’t want to spend a ton on lunch in either points or dollars since I was a big points-spender at breakfast before heading to the mall.

A home made waffle and a bit of maple syrup accompanied by a couple of rashers of turkey bacon added up to a whopping 11 point breakfast. That left me with just 18 points for the rest of the day. Not a killer. Just something to keep in mind and I guess it was just too much for the day before a weigh-in, although really … does a gain happen in real time? Right, I don’t think so either. That waffle and syrup may yet find their way to the scale.

I’d say it was a deliciously colorful week and I’m looking forward to what next week will bring.

Have you had Aji Verde? How about Peruvian food? It’s my current favorite cuisine!

Peruvian Aji Verde

Recipe Type: Condiment

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 2 mins

Total time: 12 mins

This tangy, slightly spicy sauce is great with just about anything.

Ingredients

1 large bunch fresh Cilantro
1/4 cup Flat Leaf Parsley
1/2 small Onion
3 fresh Jalapeño Peppers, ribs and seeds removed
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Cider Vinegar
Zest of 1 Lime
Juice of 1 Lime
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 clove Garlic
2 tablespoons Water

Instructions

Blend all ingredients in a blender, food processor or mortar and pestle until smooth. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time if necessary.
Refrigerate unused sauce.

Serving size: 2 tablespoons Calories: 14.2 Fat: 1.4g Carbohydrates: 0.8g Fiber: 0.1g Protein: 0.2g

Notes

This sauce is so versatile, you’ll find yourself using it on almost everything once you’ve gotten a taste of it.

This condiment has a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 1. Be careful, you’ll find yourself wanting to drink it!

For added body, add 2 tablespoons mayonnaise. Surprisingly, the addition of mayo will not increase the points value. The calories will just about double, however to 32.2.

Filed Under: All Posts, Breakfast, From Asia, From the Sea, Internationally Inspired, Side Dishes, Totally American Tagged With: Aji Verde, Breakfast, Cook, Dinner, Food, Lunch, Peru, Recipe, Video, Weight Watchers

Crazy Kitchen Carnage and a Recipe

June 4, 2011 By Fran 7 Comments

Brilliant Beets

How about that headline for some great alliteration? I’ll bet it scared you for a minute seeing all that red beet juice splayed all over the cutting board, didn’t it? Well, now that you’ve calmed down, it’s time to talk bright red beets.

I’ve mentioned beets in the past. I’ve said that beets are not my thing. I’ve said that beets were one vegetable I don’t remember having as a kid. And I mentioned how, in just about every salad I had in Argentina, chunks of bright red beets were never left out and although they were beautiful, I’d avoid them because beets, to me were not far from Papaya. I found them mushy and lacking in flavor.

I expect a brilliant splash of tropical flavor with every piece of papaya I’ve bitten into and am always disappointed and the same goes for ruby-red jewel toned beets. With a vegetable so brilliant in color, I expect a brilliant flavor and yet, have never found it — until now, that is.

As I mentioned, or I meant to mention in my post on FRANtasticFood when I wrote about my recent Spring Break tour of the south, one of the delicious dishes I had (a couple of times) was Beet Salad and, get this … I LOVED it!

The salads were both done with a vinaigrette which was the perfect way to add flavor to the vegetable. I don’t know exactly how the recipes were done, but I knew I tasted citrus and wanted to be sure to capture that flavor in my salad. I added shallots and pine nuts and it was delicious! So much so that I have had this salad four — or is it FIVE — times since I got home 2 weeks ago.

And now for the fun part. My sister told me she often adds shape to her beets with a cookie cutter! Yes. She cuts her beets into shapes and not to get kids to eat them, but just to add fun and to take the salad one step further.

What a great idea! I headed to the closet, pulled out my boxes of cookie cutters, picked a couple that were just the right size and Voilà! Beets in the shapes of hearts and stars. Pretty and delicious, what more could I ask for? Even the cut out parts are fun and don’t go to waste.

So, if you love beets, but have never had them in a salad with a citrus vinaigrette, try this. I’m sure you’ll be won over. And if you’ve avoided beets all your life, I implore you — try this! Really, you’ll be happy you did. Either way, let me know what you think.

Oh, and one warning — BE CAREFUL with those red beets. They will stain. I mean really. STAIN! I was very careful, but if you’re not, beware of the beautiful red color of anything they touch.

Hearts ‘n Stars Beet Salad Recipe

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 75 mins

Total time: 1 hour 25 mins

Serves: 4

Pairing beets with citrus, oil and vinegar makes for a bright and vibrant salad that is really refreshing

Ingredients

2 bunches beets — any color
Olive Oil spray
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground Pepper
1 large shallot — sliced thinly
1 tablespoon extra virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon red wine Vinegar
1 Orange
2 tablespoon Pine Nuts, toasted

Instructions

Pre-heat an oven to 400º
Cut the tops off the beets and rinse to remove any dirt.
Line a baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and place the whole, un-peeled beets on the pan. Hit the beets with the olive oil spray until they’ve all been coated. About 1 or 2 pumps a piece on each side.
Roll the beets around. Run to the sink to wash your hands so that you don’t end up scaring yourself when you wake up with red fingers the next morning.
Cover with foil and roast for 40 – 45 minutes or until fork tender.
Remove from the oven and let steam for 10 minutes.
While the beets are resting, make the vinaigrette.
In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar and orange juice.
Using your fingers, remove the skin.
Slice or cut into wedges or chunks. If you’re going to cut into shapes, slice thinly, about 1/4 – 1/2 inch wide or it will be rather difficult to cut. I used a paper towel on top of the cookie cutter to make it easier.
Put the beets in a bowl.
Add the Shallot slices.
Pour the dressing on top.
Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.
Let sit for 30 minutes.
Plate and sprinkle toasted pine nuts and toss.
Serve

Serving size: 1/2 cup Fat: 6.6 Carbohydrates: 19.9 Fiber: 5.3 Protein: 3.6

Notes

Weight Watchers Points Plus Value — 4 per serving

NOTE: When using golden and white beets, please note that they will also turn a reddish color.

Filed Under: All Posts, From the Ground, Side Dishes Tagged With: Beets, Cook, Kitchen, Orange, Recipe

Sweet Mango Salad and Bagoong

June 3, 2011 By Fran 3 Comments

I Want to Be Your Mango Mentor!

Let’s talk mangoes. I found out today that I am a finalist inthe Mango Mentor competition that was launched at BlogHerFood a couple of weeks ago. I’m not confident I’ll win, but it was worth a whole lot of belly laughs at the office this morning and any morning that begins with a rip-roaring bout of laughter is money in my book. If you take a moment and watch my “How to Cut a Mango” video and can peel yourself away and back to the keyboard after a sidesplitting laugh, can you please vote for me? Yes, even though it appears I think the only thing worthy of children after cutting a mango is the skin. What I meant to say was that they could go to town sucking out the remaining flesh in the skin of the fruit, and that they could gnaw on the seed, but it appears I handed over the skin and left it at that.

There are some things we just don’t hear about in mainstream grocery stores in the US. Take Bagoong for instance. Bagoong is an acquired taste for some, an everyday condiment for others and for some, something to run from.

Just as Beets and Lima Beans are often regarded with fear and disdain, bagoong alamang is frowned upon by the uninitiated. Why? Well, the fact that it’s fermented shrimp paste may have something to do with it. WHAT?! Fermented and Shrimp on the same sentence? Sure. If you’ve ever fallen in love with a Thai or Vietnamese dish, I’ll bet you’ve had fish sauce.

Click the arrow and it will take you to the Facebook page where you can view the video!

I’m no expert, but there’s not much about fish sauce (nam pla) that’s different than this jar of shrimp paste you’ll see if you scroll down just a bit. Fish sauce is what rises to the top in a barrel of fermenting anchovies.

I became acquainted with bagoong when I moved to the Philippines and was introduced to green mangoes. My first Philippine mango experience was mango juice.

Ohhhh, I thought! “I can’t wait for a nice, tall glass of mango juice,” I said to my new landlords as the tropical sun was baring down on the nipa hut we were relaxing in as the husband and wife team were getting to know the woman from America that was going to be spending a hell of a lot of money to live in their brand-spanking new house in Angeles City. Ok, so I wasn’t shelling out the dough for rent, my employer was, but that was a concept that may not have been quite understood — until the first rent check arrived from AOL’s corporate account, that is.

Nevertheless, I was there to prove that I would be a great tenant and wanted to show that I was appreciative of their hospitality and and the cooling beverage they were offering.

So, with glass to mouth and a fear of unfiltered water weighing heavily on my newly in-country stomach, I took a swig of an icy cold gulp of mango juice.

Ack! My lips puckered in revolt! What was this? It was tart! It was bitter! This was not the sweet, fragrant mango juice I had imagined. When my hosts saw the look on my face they chuckled and with a knowing look, told me that mango juice is most often served using green mangoes rather than sweet mangoes.

“Green mangoes? What does that mean,” I asked? And that’s when I became an informed expat. A green mango is an unripe mango. It’s known more as a savory fruit and while I never really warmed up to green mango juice, my friends Benji and Carina showed just how delicious a green mango can be. I took a ride to their home in Antipolo and we went out for a fun lunch with other expats to a restaurant that served local fare and it was there that they helped me find a new love — Green Mangoes with Tomatoes, Onions and Bagoong.

I liked mangoes well enough, but always found them rather stringy and not very juicy. That all changed when I moved to the Philippines and discovered the bright yellow little “diamond mangoes” that were hanging from trees all around the call center in season. It was at that point I realized I had never had a really good mango experience. When I moved back to the US I was sad. Sad that we didn’t have these small, packed with flavor mangoes available to us.

And then A year later I relocated to Bangalore, India where the sweet little fruit was abundant once again and the debate over which mango was better — the Philippine or the Indian mango. I have to say, although I fought for the Philippine mango … being my first expat experience I was loyal to my Philippine “heritage,” but in reality, they were both so similar that if you did a blind taste test I probably couldn’t tell the difference.

I had many food experiences in the Philippines that will not only live with me forever, but which make up most of the fond memories I have of my life there and some I have brought home with me. This Sweet Mango Salad with Bagoong is one of them.

It’s got a very low Weight Watchers Points Plus value is quick and easy to put together and makes a sweet side salad which pairs well with so many dishes, but is an especially delicious accompaniment to a grilled dinner. If you’re serving other vegetables you can cut the salad in half or serve 2 – 4 people as a condiment.

So … let’s eat! Masarap!

Sweet Mango Salad

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 2

A sweet mango pairs well with tomatoes, onions and a fresh vinaigrette

Ingredients

1 small, sweet (ripe) Mango
2 tablespoons minced Onion
1 cup sliced or chopped Tomatoes
1/2 small jalapeño pepper minced
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste (omit the salt if serving with Bagoong)

Instructions

Cut the mango into large or small dice (watch my Mango Mentor video to see the technique for doing this)
Add the onions, tomatoes, and pepper
In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper together
Pour over the mango mixture, let sit for 10 – 30 minutes and serve

Serving size: 1/2 Cup Calories: 127 Fat: 7.0 Carbohydrates: 17.6 Fiber: 1.9 Protein: 0.5

Notes

This small salad (or condiment) has a Weight Watchers Points Plus Value of 4. A tablespoon of Bagoong Alamang is worth 1 point. Serve the dish with hard boiled eggs for a more substantial salad and add 2 points for each egg.

Filed Under: All Posts, From the Ground, Side Dishes Tagged With: Bagoong, Mango, Shrimp Paste

Thin Recipes and a BlogHer Food Conference; The Ultimate Oxymoron?

May 29, 2011 By Fran 8 Comments

As you know, I was on vacation recently. As a result, I missed two Weight Watchers Weigh-ins. Was I worried. No, not really. I knew I hadn’t gone crazy and that once I got home, a week ago, I’d get right on track and back to my usual routine, but what I wasn’t looking forward to was either a gain or no loss at all. And I did just that. Got right back to it and this toasted tortilla is just one of the things I did this week to cut back a little bit more. Toasting my favorite vehicle for pork or shrimp and cheese and veggies is one way to make things even more Weight Watchers Points Plus friendly.

So, it’s time to ‘fess up. I GAINED ONE QUARTER OF A POUND. Why am I shouting and why no exclamation marks after that blast? Because after 9 days of being away from home, without my usual 7 point breakfast, container of fruit, salad bar for lunch and inspired dinners during most of the trip, and being exposed to food all day, every day from Tuesday through late Saturday night, at the conference, I ONLY GAINED ONE QUARTER OF A POUND!

And that’s good news. Very, very good news, so I shouldn’t complain.

But it has to be noted — I have lost weight EVERY SINGLE WEEK, without fail, since I began this journey on February 2 this past winter. Through thick and thin, rain, sleet or snow, I’ve made it to the coveted weigh-ins with my friend Kerri. I’ve had success written all over my face and in my cherished Weight Record each week. So, this week I got up, showered, dressed and took a deep breath when I walked up to the scale. But really, I knew how things were going to turn out. I get on the scale every day in the privacy of my own bathroom and I smile and fist pump the air when no one’s looking. Really, I do and I’ll be fort those of you that come here for help and support in your own weight loss efforts, you do very same thing in your own way. I’ll bet you do and I’d love to hear about it — I have to know I’m not alone, ya know.

View from the room and from the table

We need to chat about what went on during the weekend I spent in Atlanta at BlogHerFood ’11. What is BlogHerFood, you ask? That’s a good question. BlogHer is a community of bloggers from all across the globe that write about all kinds of topics and I’m involved with the food community.

I learned about the BlogHer organization during my first-ever food blogging event; Food Blogger Camp, Club Med in January, 2010. The experience was so incredible I went back in January of this year, but that’s old news by now with words, photos and videos for you to look at if you want to see just how much fun camp, as an adult can be. The fun is not much different than 8 weeks at sleep away camp in the Adirondacks was when I was growing up and that’s probably why I enjoy these trips so much. What’s not old news is that the friends I’ve made at each of these events have carried over to the next. People I met at Club Med have attended other get togethers and conferences and it’s so much fun to see each other again in person, rather than just catching up with what’s going on in their lives through their blogs.

But back to the real purpose of this post… being on a weight loss journey and attending a food conference. Would it be possible, or was attending a food conference with a focus on ThinRecipes the Ultimate Oxymoron?

Maybe it was the fact that the conference was held in an enormous hotel with over 60 floors and long, wide hallways with colossal ballrooms to navigate, or that my mom is, and has always been, a proponent of healthy eating and the fact that I began my vacation at my parent’s house where the food is extraordinary, but lean that contributed to such a small gain, but I think it was something different.

It was all of this plus the fact that I have a fabulous family and amazing friends combined with the fact that I am laser focused on the goal. I’ve said this all along when people have tried to push me to eat something that I know I shouldn’t — “I’m not going to sacrifice all the good I’ve done for a momentary taste experience.” And I didn’t. Sure, I had some food that was far from plan, but I expected that.

Watch for upcoming giveaways for the Tongs and Knives by subscribing to the feed or following ThinRecipes on Twitter!

Hell, when Sharfenberger and Masterbuilt, Barilla and Pom Wonderful are sponsors with Quaker and Starkist, Oxo and more, it’s ridiculous to think all will be well in the 29 Weight Watchers points a day category. But I didn’t have to eat it all. As a matter of fact, I found myself gravitating to the Bog’s Red Mill stand to pick up a little cup of Moroccan Couscous and to gawk at the little sample bags of quinoa.

I took just one packet home and probably should have gone back for more. When I landed and made it home I unpacked, threw my clothes in the washing machine and immediately ran to the kitchen to cook up that sample of quinoa with a little chicken for a quick dinner.

Sure, the lovely Sharfenberger rep (oh dear, I can’t remember her name!) offered dark chocolate tarts with graham cracker crust and a smile each time we stopped by, but I didn’t date take one in my hand. I had two bites and that was it. I knew there would be other food opportunities during the weekend and I didn’t want to pass up any unknown opportunities because the vendors, especially Sharfenberger are all very generous with their samples and I have plans for all of it starting with either a molé or chili using one of those packets of chocolate. Be on the lookout for a recipe soon.

A few of us went to Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s upscale Spice Market at the W Hotel for dinner on Saturday and with all the incredible things on offer, more than half of us decided to order the tasting menu — 5 courses of 10 flavors for just $48, I was in heaven. Southeast Asian food is another one of my addictions and while some people were not as thrilled I, everything I tasted, even the shrimp that could have used more pop, hit the spot and was just what I wanted to hit my Asian food cravings. The food and the conversation with “old” and new friends like Rebecca from Kitchen Preserve and Cindy from Land O’ Lakes made me happy.

Click on the photo for the post with the recipe, but be warned, they're addictive!

Was it all low in fat, carbs and calories? Ummm… NO! But it was worth passing on multiple chocolate tarts. I know I can have something chocolaty again, whenever I want because I was sent home with almost THREE POUNDS of chocolate and some secrets which I swore I wouldn’t divulge. And I came home with a jar of organic peanut butter. Just think of the possibilities! I am putting the Buckeye thought waaaay to the back of my mind right now.

And when I got home, aside from quinoa and salads of all kinds, I dove right into my tortilla addiction. And this is really what I wanted to talk to you about today … the corn tortilla.

You’ve seen me eat them soft and pliable from the microwave and most often, heated in a pan with a few pumps of Beroli Olive Oil Spray, but I decided to knock out any of the added fat, no matter now negligible, and heat them to a crispy crunch over the flame of my gas stove.

Call me crazy, but I like the charred bits. I suppose with my crazy imagination I see myself squatting over a portable fire, hand forming tortillas and holding them over the flame for dinner with other women who are doing the same for their families each day somewhere in the interior of Mexico.

And that’s how I got back on track. Getting back to the things I like best and know how to fit into my 29 Weight Watchers Points Plus values each day. And that’s how I managed to go on a food-centric vacation and get on the scale and register only a quarter of a pound weight gain.

Tacos I made with toasted tortillas

So, there you have it. The answer to the question is a resounding NO! BlogHerFood and Weight Watchers are NOT an oxymoron. It’s all about planning and focus and a few tricks I had up my sleeve: Before we got on the highway and headed from Augusta to Atlanta, I asked that we stop at a supermarket. I picked up a container of chunked pineapple and a box of grapes along with a bag of deli flats and packages of salami and provolone, just like I have at home for my 7 point breakfast so I could avoid the dismal conference breakfasts. Last but not least was the bag of Weight Watchers Mini Bar dessert snacks I carried from home.

This, and the fact that throughout the 9 days I spent away from home, not one single person pushed me to eat food I was visibly attempting to avoid. From my mom, who planned for my needs to Maggie who thought of me when planning our welcome snack, and dinner and the extraordinary 8 hour food crawl, to my room mate and friends at the conference who politely offered treats, but quietly backed away when I politely declined, I had unending and unspoken support. And back at home was a Weight Watchers community who continued on their journey and was there when I returned this morning.

All in all, this has been a rewarding and fun weight loss journey and although I may not be a svelte celebrity on TV, I am an active Weight Watchers participant.

So, what about you? Do you have vacation plans? Are you concerned about the food situation? Or have you planned and gotten yourself all ready and you’re confident it will be no big deal? Let me know. I’d love to hear how you plan to handle it as I scribble plans for my next vacation — a VERY food oriented Culinary Expedition to the Philippines. I can’t wait to tell you more!!

Filed Under: All Posts, Side Dishes Tagged With: Cook, Corn Tortillas, Flame, Food, Gas Range, Grill, Pernil, Pork Butt, Weight Watchers

Colorful Red Quinoa Salad

May 28, 2011 By Fran 8 Comments

Quinoa is my current habit. Well, that and beets, but we’ll talk about beets in a future post. I’ve tried quinoa before, but struggled to find the culinary attraction in this strange looking grain with the little whilte curlycue tail. I’m happy to report that I’ve crossed over to the “gotta have it often” side of the ancient grains camp.

I’ve made it ~~three~~ FOUR times this week and always serve it as a cool salad. It’s quick and easy and oh so healthy and fits well into a weight loss program! The texture is tender while crunchy, satisfying that need for something to chew on.

People I know that struggle with diabetes find it’s a grain they can process with little to no negative effects and I find it cures the carbohydrate cravings I have at mealtime. It’s like rice, but with a satisfying crunch.

The inspiration for this dish came from a whole wheat couscous sample provided by Bob’s Red Mill, at BlogHerFood this past weekend and liked how they served it — as a salad. I went back twice, although I prefer regular couscous to the whole wheat verison. With that inspiration I made my own version using quinoa. In my research to find a link to Bob’s Red Mill I found a link for the Moroccan Whole Wheat Couscous recipe they used at the demo table, but it was for a quinoa recipe that looks great as well, although not quite what they sampled.

I had a package of red quinoa in the pantry and while I find it has a bit more earthy flavor than golden quinoa, I needed to use it. I love the color, especially with the contrast of cucumber and parsley.

No matter the recipe, quinoa is wonderfully versatile. Give Quinoa a try. I’ll be surprised if you don’t find you love it and I hope you let me know. I’d love to hear from you!

Quinoa Salad

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 2

The ancient grain makes a great side dish at any meal

Ingredients

1/2 cup quinoa (red or golden)
1 cup water
1/2 cup diced cucumbers
1 small shallot, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon smoked sea salt (or regular sea salt if not available)
a few grinds fresh black pepper
1 tablespoon roasted, salted peanuts

Instructions

Bring the water to a boil on high heat.
When the water is boiling, stir in the quinoa and bring back to the boil.
Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let rest, covered for 15 minutes.
While the quinoa is resting, whisk the oil and vinegar in a small bowl.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir unti combined.
When quinoa has rested, let cool until it’s just warm to the touch, or put in the refrigerator to chill. I like to stir the oil and vinegar into the quinoa when it’s warm to the touch. The result is creamy quinoa.
When cooled, add cucumber, shallot and dressing and stir to thoroughly combine.
Sprinkle nuts on top and stir.
Serve

Serving size: 1/2 cup Calories: 272 Fat: 11.2g Carbohydrates: 35.9g Fiber: 4.1g Protein: 8.8g

Notes

This delicious side dish will cost a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 7 points.

Feel free to add your favorite vegetables and herbs. I’ve made the dish with fresh, thinly sliced radishes and a tablespoon of fresh baby peas. Cilantro, cumin and minced jalapeño peppers give the dish a South of the Border flavor.

If you’ve got vegetable broth in the house, use it to boil the quinoa. If you’ve got the points to spend, chicken broth would be delicious. Take a chance, use your imagination, you really can’t go wrong.

Filed Under: All Posts, From the Ground, Side Dishes Tagged With: Beets, Bob's Red Mill, Points Plus, Quinoa, Recipe, Salad, Weight Watchers

A Right Recipe for Palak Paneer

April 29, 2011 By Fran 2 Comments

The Spinach Shines

Can you imagine spinach so creamy without a hint of cream? Take a look at this and you’ll see the creamiest, smoothest, greenest spinach you’ll ever put your eyes on — at least today. This is the Indian dish called Palak Paneer.

I made the Paneer (Indian Cheese) last night, cut it up and posted the photos and information here and knew that I was going to dine on the spinach goodness of Palak Paneer tonight.

I used Manisha, of Indian Food Rocks’ recipe for tonight’s dish. I used 1 tablespoon of oil for the spinach and pan fried the cheese with a few pumps of olive oil spray until golden brown. I’m linking to the recipe here because I want to give credit where credit’s due. I chose the recipe because of how vibrant and verdant it looked and I really can’t claim to have adapted this simple recipe.

It was the first time I made it, so I decided to follow it to the letter. Manisha says it’s not about adding flavors, that it’s about the ginger and lemon and while I was yearning for onion and garlic, I decided to stay true to the recipe — a feat for me. I’m happy I did. The ginger shone through and I added a little more lemon because my cheese wasn’t quite tart enough, but it’s one of those things you can taste as you go.

Key to the recipe for me was taking it off the stove as soon as the spinach was wilted and letting it whirl around in the VitaMix until it was silky smooth. I considered shocking the spinach in an ice water bath, but the recipe didn’t direct me to take that step and as you can see, it wasn’t necessary. Often, I’ll shock a green vegetable like green beans after cooking to retain that incredible green color, but that wasn’t an issue here. It took less than a minute to get to this consistency and while I could have let it spin in the blender until it became serving hot again, I put it back in the pot to simmer for just a few mintes before adding a few cubes of Paneer and serving as the recipe directed.

I can’t wait to hear what my Bangalore friends have to say about this effort. I’m sure it’s a surprise to all that I have this thing about cooking. In a year in India, I never allowed my cooking habit show. and that if I added up all the posts in my various blogs these past 4 years, Indian food appears most often. I’m happy to add another untried dish to my repertoire.

This Palak Paneer will cost you a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 9 with the following breakdown:

Fat 27 g
Protein 21 g
Fiber 4 g
Carbs 7 g

Filed Under: All Posts, From India, From the Cow, From the Ground, Internationally Inspired, Side Dishes Tagged With: Cheese, India, Palak Paneer, Spinach, Vegetable

Indian Paneer Recipe

April 28, 2011 By Fran 3 Comments

MAKING PANEER

Making Paneer is so easy you can make it before heading to bed. I had 4 cups of whole milk in the fridge, knew I’d never drink it and had it in my mind that I wanted to make cheese. I’m just not the milk-drinking type and I couldn’t let it go, so that Paneer recipe I’ve been thinking about making turned into reality about an hour before bed time.

I love that I can create something from start to finish in my own kitchen and in such a short period of time.

I found countless paneer recipes online and while the results are good, it’s not knock your socks off. I’d like it to be more tart, like Queso Fresco or Queso Blanco. Next time I am going to either up the yogurt or the lemon or possibly both. And it definitely needs more salt — and that’s coming from someone who usually under salts everything.

I’m going to make it again and will post the recipe for you so that you know how to make it with just the right flavor profile. But this isn’t the last you’ll see of this first edition Paneer from my kitchen.

My love of Indian food usually results in very basic offerings from my kitchen, some of which you’ve seen on my other blog — FRANtasticFood — Butter Chicken, Rogan Josh, Dosa, Peas Pilau and Chicken Tikka Masala, to name a few. I am going to step outside of that comfort zone and make Palak Paneer tomorrow night and show you just what this cheese can do. Thanks to a wonderful blogger I’ve been following for a very long time — Manisha of Indian Food Rocks — I’m going to try her Palak Paneer recipe. Have you ever seen anything so green and slurp-worthy come to your table? I can’t wait to dive into the recipe.

In the meantime, take a look at these photos of my last minute, late night foray into cheese-making below:

Bring the milk to a boil, stirring constantly

Add yogurt and lemon and stir until the curds and whey separate

Rinse and drain for 20 minutes and then wring and drain for 30

When it’s been drained twice, press under a heavy cast iron pan or other heavy object and then unwrap and refrigerate or — eat!

Next up … Palak Paneer. I’ll post the nutritional details with the recipe, but for now, know that Paneer will cost you a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 3 points per ounce. I used whole milk, but some make it with skim, so you can count on me trying a reduced fat version next. Why waste points or calories if you don’t have to, right?

Have you ever made cheese?

Filed Under: From India, From the Cow, Internationally Inspired, Side Dishes Tagged With: Cheese, Indian, Paneer, Recipe

A Surprising Polenta and Marinara Sauce Recipe

April 21, 2011 By Fran 4 Comments

Pan Fried Polenta and Marinara Sauce

Polenta and Marinara sauce are like an Italian marriage made in the kitchen and it usually requires a lot of watching and stirring and, oh yeah, tasting!

And here’s the surprising part … in the interest of time and temptation, I veered off the totally made from scratch, no packaged or jarred food routine I usually adhere to and bought a tube of polenta and a jar of marinara sauce. ::::::GASP:::::: !!

Ok, I’ll admit it, I always keep a small jar of Rao’s Marinara in the fridge. It’s my emergency stash. I often make Rao’s Marinara Sauce using this recipe, but scaling it back. I’m not feeding the neighborhood, after all, but I am not wonder woman and sometimes need help during the week.

This meal takes no more than 10 minutes to get from package to table and while you spend those 10 minutes hovering over a hot stove, it’s easy work and the results are well worth it for your 3 points, the effort is minimal and the taste and texture are just what you desire. Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

Polenta Cakes with Marinara Recipe

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Prep time: 2 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 12 mins

Serves: 1

Crispy pan fried polenta cakes are a delicious Italian side dish with marinara sauce

Ingredients

6 pumps of Olive Oil spray
2 Polenta slices cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons Marinara Sauce
Grated fresh Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

Heat 6 pumps of olive oil spray in a skillet over medium heat.
While oil is heating, slice polenta into 1/2-inch pieces.
Place the polenta slices in the pan and cook over medium high heat.
In the meantime, spoon the marinara sauce into a microwave proof bowl and heat to take the chill off, about 45 seconds or heat in the other side of the skillet on top of the stove.
When brown and crispy, using a flexible spatula, turn and cook on the other side until also brown and crispy.
Remove to a plate and serve.

Serving size: 1 Calories: 71 Fat: 0 Saturated fat: 0 Unsaturated fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 15 Sugar: 0 Fiber: 1 Protein: 2

Notes

This is a quick and easy side dish that can be cooked and on the table in 10 minutes. I don’t make a habit of using prepared food, but there are times when products like these — Polenta Tubes and a Jar of Marinara Sauce are the perfect answer to a weeknight dinner.

I use the tube of polenta found in the vegetable aisle of my local grocery store. It’s quick and while I sometimes make it from scratch, for a last minute pan-fried polenta treat, I find the tube works well.

Remove to a plate and spoon a tablespoon of marinara sauce over each cake.

Grate cheese over and serve.

This side dish is worth 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus Values

Filed Under: All Posts, From Italy, From the Ground, Internationally Inspired, Side Dishes Tagged With: Italian, Marinara, Polenta

Black Truffle Potato Gratin Recipe

April 12, 2011 By Fran 7 Comments

This Potato Gratin has a decadent twist — Black Truffles! While you can use a variety of semi-hard “melty” cheeses, the Italian Truffle Cheese sold at Trader Joe’s adds a luxurious element to a simple side dish.

Truffle-Potato Gratin works very well with poultry, fish or beef and only one quarter of a 6″ gratin pan is a satisfying addition to your meal. The dish is easy to prepare, but does take time to cook, It will reheat well so if you don’t have time to make it after work, prepare it, put it in the oven for 90 minutes, let it cool and put it in the fridge for dinner the following night. Return it to the oven for 15 minutes to reheat, but watch it to ensure the cheese doesn’t burn.

Who said putting fresh, healthy food on the table has to be bland and boring? This decadent dish has just 206 calories and if you’re counting Weight Watchers Points Plus values, you’ll use 5 for this gratin. Enjoy!

Truffle-Potato Gratin Recipe

Recipe Type: Side Dish

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 90 mins

Total time: 1 hour 45 mins

Serves: 4

Black Truffle Cheese adds a luxurious twist to a traditional potato gratin making this a special side dish.

Ingredients

Cooking Spray
1 tablespoon Butter
1/2 small Onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup skim milk
1 large potato, thinly sliced
2 ounces Italian Black Truffle Cheese, grated
2 ounces Colby/Cheddar mix, shredded
4 grinds of fresh Black Pepper or 1/4 teaspoon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375º. Spray a shallow gratin pan with 6 pumps.
In a small bowl, mix the cheese to combine and set aside.
In a saucepan large enough to hold the sliced potatoes, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until onions just begin to brown. Do not overcook or they will become bitter.
Stir in the flour, stirring constantly for 2 minutes, taking care not to burn it. You are creating a thickening agent (roux) for a béchamel sauce.
While the roux is cooking, heat the milk in a microwave or in a small pan on the stovetop to take the chill off. Do not let it boil. Remove from the microwave or turn off the heat.
Slowly pour the milk into the onion mixture, stirring constantly. The milk should begin to thicken. Continue to cook and stir until the milk mixture coats the back of a spoon. If it begins to thicken too much, add a bit more milk.
Add the potatoes and stir in 3 ounces of the cheese. Stir to combine, taking care not to break the potato slices.
Spread the mixture evenly in a gratin pan. Bake for 90 minutes. Check the potatoes at 60 minutes and cover with foil if they begin to darken too much. You want them to brown, but not burn.
At 90 minutes, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and continue cooking for 2 minutes, just until the cheese is melted.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut into quarters and serve.
I have not added salt to this dish. The cheese adds the right balance of salt for me, but feel free to add as needed.

Serving size: 1/4 of a 6″ pan Calories: 206.2 Fat: 7.3g Carbohydrates: 19.5g Fiber: 2.1g Protein: 8.5g

Notes

You can use any melting cheese you choose. I like the truffle cheese because of the hint of decadent flavor it adds.

While the points value for this side dish is a reasonable 5 points, it’s a rich dish, so take care not to make this a routine addition to your meals.

*5 Weight Watchers Points Plus

Filed Under: Side Dishes Tagged With: Cook, Food, Gratin, Potatoes, Recipe, Truffles

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