sneaking in fruit

It's my oldest boy's birthday. Twenty two years ago today, he came into this world, on his due date, changing my world forever. One thing he loves is strawberry cake. It started when he was little and every so often he tells me he wants a strawberry cake for his birthday. This year that worked for me too. I took a basic lemon cake mix and diced up a pint of strawberries to mix into the batter and baked it. For the frosting, I boiled down half a pint of strawberries, half a pint of raspberries and a handful or two of blueberries with the juice of a lemon and strained it through a tight mesh sieve. I then beat the fruit sauce into a can of overly sweet vanilla frosting to thin it out and take the sweetness down a few notches.

The result was nice. But it was a great way to sneak some fruit into something I knew I was going to be eating.

A slice of cake isn't a bad thing. A whole bundt cake... well, that's another story. But it was nice easing some of the guilt that could normally plague me in a situation like that. Also, it was nice to have things balance a bit better. It was a big hit too, my son loved it and I suspect someone may be raiding the fridge tonight for more after I go to bed.

So let that be a lesson, if you're thinking you need to get some fruit or veggies in your diet but don't know how, try sneaking them into other foods to sort of fool yourself. Even if you don't need to fool yourself, it's a nice way to add some extras in your life. :)

Lentil Tacos

My niece made these one night and I knew I needed to make them as well. So I asked for the recipe, then I tweaked it. :)

finely chopped 1/2 a large vidalia onion
finely chopped red, yellow and green pepper
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 package of Trader Joes prepared lentils
1 package chili seasoning mix
2-1/2 cups veggie broth (I used Nature's Promise 17 oz box)
1 small jar of salsa (about a cup or so)
12 hard taco shells




Sautee the veggies until soft. Add lentils and chili seasoning and stir, adding the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, stir in the salsa and you're good. Yep, it's that easy.




For those keeping score, the filling is 28 points plus and you can easily get 10-12 tacos out of that. Your final count will depend on your toppings and the tacos you use. Me, I like cheese and sour cream on my tacos so I need to account for that and, again depending on whether you go for low/no fat or substitutes, the final totals will vary. On average, each taco tends to be around 4 points plus... again, your mileage may vary.

Beer braised chicken thighs

OK... did I think to take pictures? No, I was too busy eating. :)

I wanted something different, so I did a quick search on the food network site and found Rachael Ray's "Beer Braised Chicken Thighs." One look at her list made me realize that her recipe was not in the offing; however, mine was.

Taking some chicken thighs, I browned them on both sides in a deep pan. I then took them out and sauteed chopped onions, celery and garlic before tossing in a cup of chicken broth, a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes and a 12 oz bottle of Guiness I found hiding in the back of the fridge. I also tossed in a few shots of hot sauce and a couple of tbs of Dr. Gonzo's Wild Beaver Rub to the mix. After letting it come to a boil, I threw the chicken thighs back in and turned the heat down to a simmer for 25 minutes or so.

The Dr. Gonzo's balanced the beer nicely and gave the dish a bit of a kick.

I did not work out the points... yeah, I wasn't in the mood. I do know the veggies are 0 points, a chicken thigh is 2 and the whole bottle of beer is 5 points. I'm guessing it was 3-4 points+ for a chicken thigh heaped with the veggies from the pan. Now if I can get the taco recipe from my niece, I think I know what I'm making next week.

Pizza!

Who doesn't love pizza? To be honest, it's one of those "ooo I shouldn't" foods for most of us. But the truth is nothing is further than the truth. Home made pizza is perhaps is so much in our control, it's not even funny.

I started with pre-baked crust. Mama Mary's thin and crispy crust is a great start:

Then it was just add 2-3 tablespoons of sauce. I used the Classico that was in the fridge:

For toppings I went veggie heavy. I started by heating a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick pan and wilting down a bag of spinach. Then I removed the spinach and carmelized a Vidalia onion and sliced mushrooms.

After removing the veggies, I sauteed up a couple of chicken breasts that I dressed with salt, pepper, lemon juice and Italian seasonings. I chopped it up and dropped it on top:

Finally I topped it with 1/2 a package (about 1 cup) of shredded low-fat cheese.

In the end, I had a healthy pizza for about 6 points+ a slice that was truly tasty. Had I just gone with veggies or left off some of the cheese, I could have dropped the points+ way down but somethings are worth it. :)

Berry Pie

mmmmmm.... berries!

Summer means berries and berries mean yumminess. So the other day when I saw a recipe for an ice box berry pie, you know I had to try it.

First comes the graham cracker crust. Now you can buy one (easy) or you can make one (also easy).

Graham crackers (about 8 ... a sleeve's worth) crushed into fine crumbs

1/2 stick (4 TBS) unsalted butter melted and cooled

3 TBS sugar

Mix the cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter together. Press into a pie dish along the bottom and sides and bake for about 15 min at 350* - until toasty brown. Set aside and cool.

Filling:

2 cups EACH: raspberries, blueberries and blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

3 TBS corn starch

1/8 tsp salt

1 TBS fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

2 TBS fruit jam or jelly... I used IKEA's mixed berry jam

Gently clean the berries and place in a big bowl gently mixing them together. Remove 2 1/2 cups of berries and puree in a food processor or blender. Press through a fine sieve into a sauce pan, using the back of a spoon, to get about 1 1/2 cups of puree. Discard seeds left in the sieve. Place pan on medium heat.

Whisk together the corn starch, sugar and salt and then whisk into puree. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until it's the consistency of pudding. Take off the heat and mix in the lemon juice.

Pour into the cooled crust.

Melt jam in the microwave and gently toss the remaining berries to coat. Pour on top of puree and push into the mixture a bit. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let set in the fridge for 3 hours or so. Serve at room temp or chilled.

Now a quick word about a favorite kitchen tool. When my sister was in Amsterdam, she saw a little spoon rest in a hardware store and brought it home for me.

I prefer the standing spoon rest - it takes up less real estate next to the stove when I'm cooking. The bright yellow enamel is easy to clean and brights up that little corner of the kitchen.

It resides with the tea towels from Sweeden and Italy my niece brought home from her travels for my kitchen. When I use my IKEA 365 pot for cooking, I truly feel like a world traveler. Even if just for the short time I standing by the stove making dinner.

Pearl Couscous

Right now I'm trying to cook without using salt to help figure out what I can do to help with my dad's new renal diet. So tonight I tried making some pearl couscous since he can't have potatoes. The proportions are the same - 1:2 couscous to liquid.

Tonight I sauteed up onions and garlic with some shaved carrots and tossed in some turkey breast towards the end to warm it up. In a pot, I browned a cup of couscous in some olive oil then poured in 2 cups of chicken broth. I also tossed in some ginger paste, fresh rosemary, sage and thyme. After the liquid boiled off, I tossed the veggies in for a last quick stir and voila, a one dish meal.

It was actually pretty tasty and something I would make for him at some point.

Learning to cook again

My dad just got out of the hospital and is back on a renal diet. So that means trying new foods on my end so I can teach my mom some creative approaches to food.

Last night, for his birthday I made some boneless chicken thighs tossed in olive oil with Mrs. Dash. I also roasted up some turnip, carrots and green peppers - again just tossed in some olive oil with Mrs. Dash. My mother kept saying, "This is just like how Rachael Ray cooks them!" I explained how she can take left over chicken, rice and veggies and toss it into some low-sodium chicken broth to make a chicken/rice soup.

Tonight, at home, I broiled a piece sockeye salmon brushed with olive oil, herbs de provence and the juice of a meyer lemon, roasted some more veggies and tried making mashed potatoes after soaking the potatoes and rinsing them to reduce the amount of potassium. I tried not to use salt, but it just felt like it was missing something. I did boil the potatoes with some garlic and added some pepper, thyme, oregano, mustard and a pinch of parmesan but it really felt like something was missing.

This week I'll try playing with some pearl/Israeli couscous and see if that's a good alternative to potatoes as it's low sodium. I'll get my camera sparked up and post some pictures again.