The result of our movie viewing?  I now have a vegetarian daughter, and a son (meat hound that he is) that now takes pause before eating a bite of chicken or a burger.  It makes me not want to ever buy a Purdue or Tyson chicken pack or any meat, for that matter, that is not organic and grass fed.  The documentary was certainly an eye opener, and the representation that it makes of how our agriculture culture caters to a low cost mass production food system doesn’t bode well for our health, or the health of the animals that we eat.  The conditions that these animals are raised under are horrific.

So with that, I think I have the push to buy those more expensive organic meat brands, but probably less often.  Plus, I need to consider this whole new world of vegetarianism.  Nothing would suit me more than turning my entire backyard into a vegetable garden; I just know that is too big a task for me to undertake at the moment.  Last Sunday evening I prepared a meal of Butternut squash and Kale risotto (very delicious – and I will share the recipe, but thought given that it is more of a fall type dish that I would wait until then), black beans, and grilled maple sweet potatoes.  My daughter was in heaven, and remarked that she wanted every meal to be this way.

So, I will share a very simple Bobby Flay recipe that my kids love, and if you have any good vegetarian recipes, please share!

Maple – Glazed Grilled Sweet Potatoes

4 large sweet potatoes (do not peel)

3/4 cup pure maple syrup (I didn’t use this much)

1 T ancho powder (I also used chipolte pepper powder)

salt

1/4 cup mild vegetable oil, such as canola

1.  Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes until soft but not mushy (you should still feel resistance when you stick a small knife through the center), 25 to 35 minutes.

2.  Have ready a bowl of cold water.  Drain the potatoes, put them in the cold water, and set aside until cool enough to handle.  Peel the potatoes and quarter each one lengthwise.  (The potatoes can be cooked a few hours in advance, covered and set aside at room temperature.  Don’t cut them until you’re ready to grill).

3.  Heat your grill to high.

4.  Whisk together the maple syrup, ancho powder, and salt to taste in a small bowl.  Brush the potatoes with oil.  Grill until golden, about 3 minutes.  Brush with the maple glaze and continue grilling, brushing often with the glaze, until the potatoes are glazed, lightly charred, and heated through, about 3 minutes more.

Serves 4, From Bobby Flay’s Boy Gets Grill

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2 cups steel cut oats (not instant)

6-8 cups of water, depending on how long the oatmeal will cook

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar (I think 1/4 cup would be fine)

1 tsp vanilla

2 apples, peeled and diced

1 cup raisins

1 cup sliced bananas

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray.  If you’re planning to cook the oatmeal less than 8 hours, use 6 cups of water.

Put first seven ingredients (through raisins) in slow cooker and cook on low.  Just before serving, stir in bananas and walnuts.

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So for those of you who don’t have this book on your shelves, here’s the recipe. (For those who do, p.133).  It’s a great wintry pasta sauce to drink with a robust red wine in front of a fire!  And it was a nice little discovery for me, as I hadn’t picked up this cookbook in at least a couple of years.

Here it is:

Puttanesca Sauce

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 can (2 ounces) anchovy fillets, undrained

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 can (35 ounces) plum tomatoes, drained

1 jar (2.5 ounces) capers, drained

1 1/2 cups pitted imported black olives, coarsely chopped

Coarsley ground black pepper, to taste

1.  Place the oil, anchovies, and garlic in a heavy medium size saucepan.  Mash thoroughly to form a paste

2.  Add the tomatoes, capers, and olives.  Stir, and heat to simmering over medium heat.  Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Season with pepper.

2 portions (I think you can stretch it to 4); enough for 8 ounces capellini (I think you can stretch to 16 ounces)

Enjoy!

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1 garlic clove

2 lbs (or more) russet potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced (I do all of the potatoes first and then put them in a large bowl with cold water.  When ready to use, drain them and dry on kitchen towels before layering into dish)

1 cup freshly grated French or Swiss Gruyere cheese

1 cup heavy cream

Salt (I used Kosher salt)

Preheat oven to 350.

Thoroughly rub a shallow 6 cup porcelain gratin dish with the garlic.  Rub about 1 T. butter in the bottom and up the sides of dish.

Layer half of the potatoes into dish.  Sprinkle with half of the cheese and then half of the cream and sprinkle with salt. (I actually did three layers, and sprinkled about ½ cup cheese and ½ cup cream with each layer) Add another layer using rest of the ingredients.

Bake, uncovered, until the gratin is crisp and golden on top, from 50 to 60 minutes.

I’m willing to give it a try!

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Anyhow, here is the recipe.  My brother-in-law, who works for McCormick Spice Company, will be happy with this plug:

Spiced Pumpkin Cake (from McCormick)

1 package yellow cake mix

1 package vanilla instant pudding mix

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

3 eggs

1.5 tsp. McCormick ground Cinnamon

1 tsp McCormick ground Cloves

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oen to 350.  Beat all ingredients, except Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting, in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened, scraping side of bowl frequently.  Beat on medium speed 2 minutes or until well blended.

2. Pour into greased and floured 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

3.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on wire race.  Spread with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting.

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting:  Beat 1 package (80z) cream cheese, softened, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened, 1 tsp McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract, anad 1/4 tsp McCormick Ground Cloves in large bowl until well blended.  Gradually add 1 package (16oz) confectioner’s sugar (about 4 cups), beating until well blended after each addition.  NOTE:  The cake I tasted just had confectioners sugar spread on top.  Certainly cuts down on the calories!

Calories per serving:  379

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Thus, it’s a bit ironic that, when I think of the First Thanksgiving, my mind goes to the first Thanksgiving dinner I prepared all by myself. For most women, the first time we are responsible for the guest of honor – the turkey – and the delivery of hot and timely side dishes to the dinner table  is an important milestone, evidence of our crossing the threshold into “real” adulthood.

My First Thanksgiving occurred when I was 25 and cooked for my husband’s family at their home while my mother-in-law recuperated from gall bladder surgery. Although the meal turned out fine, I learned that Thanksgiving is a very tradition-bound celebration and families vary greatly in their traditions.

In my zeal to impress, I prepared homemade stuffing with lots of yummy ingredients. Their family tradition was Stove Top stuffing, and they looked suspiciously at the unusual-looking stuffing sitting on their plates. I put out cranberry sauce, a must for a girl who grew up around cranberry bogs. They didn’t know how (or why) anyone would eat it.  The veggies served in assorted bowls were fresh and steamed; they were used to soft (i.e., over-cooked) veggies cooked in the microwave.

Now, don’t get me wrong – they were all very appreciative of the meal and my efforts. They, particularly my mother-in-law, thanked me up and down. Yet, we all knew something was missing that year – the comfort of familiar food, tradition, and long-established roles.

Do you remember preparing your first Thanksgiving feast? Ever have the experience of introducing something “new?” How did that go over? Share the good, the bad, and the ugly and help distract us as we frantically prepare for Thursday.

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But first, it’s a morning for a pancake treat.  My neighbor at the bus stop always raves about the South Beach pancakes made with oatmeal.  I did finally make them.  For those of you who love pancakes but don’t want all the carbs, this is a great alternative.  The vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg flavors really dominate – so if you like those flavors, I’m sure you’ll like this recipe.  The recipe calls for egg whites (4) , so I ended up using Liquid Egg Whites.  The first time I made it – I believe I used too many egg whites.  Following the equivalency directions on the side of the carton – I followed the rule that 3T equals one whole egg.  Problem was, I didn’t take into account that I probably should have cut this in half – since I was only  supposed to be using the white part of the egg.

Anyhow, it made for very thin pancakes (similar to Swedish pancakes).  But I really thought they were delicious – and I loved the thinness of them – so thin that using a small frying pan with edges is probably best.  This morning my husband made the pancakes – more true to the original recipe – and turned out thicker, more normal looking pancakes.  Because he used less egg whites than I did, the spice flavors were more prominent as well.  Honestly, I think next time I will stick to making it the way I did – more egg whites and very thin pancakes.

Bottomline, give these a try.  With some fresh strawberries and a light maple syrup drizzle, they really are delicious:

South Beach Oatmeal Pancakes

1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal

1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese (I used no fat)

4 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add the batter and cook over medium heat until both sides are lightly browned.

Note:  The first time I made this – which produced the VERY THIN pancakes – I used 3/4 cup plus 3 T of egg whites.  This is the equivalency of using 4 whole eggs – so more than the recipe called for – but I did like the thinness.  I think next time I would stick to doing the recipe this way.  Of course, maybe some day I’ll also try using real egg whites (when I’m overloaded with eggs from my chickens!)

Anyhow, stay warm and have a great weekend!

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Blueberry Muffin Cake Recipe

1 pkg plain yellow or white cake mix (I used yellow)
1 pkg (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding mix 
1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt (I used Dannon light)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
4 large eggs 
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed & drained 
2 teaspoons confectioners sugar, for dusting, optional 

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 10″ tube pan with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. 

2. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the cake mix & reserve it. Place the remaining cake mix, pudding mix, yogurt, oil, water, cinnamon and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. 

3. Toss the blueberries with the reserved cake mix. 

4. Pour two thirds of the batter into the prepared pan. Scatter the blueberries over the batter. Spread the remaining batter over the blueberries so that it covers the fruit. Place the pan in the oven. 

5. Bake the cake until it is golden brown on top and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 45-50 min. Remove the pan from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it on a rack, then onto another rack so that the cake is right side up. Allow it to cool completely 30 minutes more. 

6. Place the cake on a serving platter & sust with confectioners sugar, if desired.

Source:  The Cake Doctor

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I must admit I am proud of what I have.  We braided it up, and it’s hanging in our kitchen now. When harvesting, pull gently.  I did break a few of the greens off  and had to go digging with a trowel to find the head.  After I pulled them up, I dipped them gently in a bucket of water to clean the dirt off of the bulb and the roots.  I then put them in the sun to dry.  I later read that I should have not put them in the sun, but a dry place out of direct sunlight.

Depending on the rate at which I use garlic, this should last me at least through the winter.  So time to find some good garlic recipes.  This one for pan-fried garlic shrimp looks like it’s worth a try (and it’s a video!).

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“Did you know that P.F. Chang’s Pork Lo Mein is considered the worst Chinese entree? It has more than 1,800 calories and 127 grams of fat. Or, Chipotle’s chicken burrito? It has 1,107 calories, 113 carb grams and 2,656 milligrams of sodium,” says Jackson with a mixture of awe, disgust and worry in his voice.

“Hmmm,” I think. “Better come up with a different plan for dinner.” (Yes, we eat out WAY too much at our house.)

While I applaud Jackson’s burgeoning interest in healthy eating, tonight he crossed the line: He started to recite the nutritional facts about ice cream. At the next stop light, I turned around in the driver’s seat and glared.

“Jackson, there are certain things I DO NOT want to know. Like how bad ice cream is. Especially at the start of summer.”

Of course, my pronouncement was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. He immediately began to rattle off the depressing stats:

Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Money (in a waffle cone) has 659 calories and 24 grams of fat (19 grams saturated)

A strawberry shake at Baskin-Robbins weighs in at 650 calories and 98 grams of sugar

Dairy Queen’s chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard (the SMALL size, for goodness sakes!) contains 720 calories and 28 grams of fat

Not surprisingly, sorbet and frozen yogurt generally got good marks from Zinczenko and Goulding. But, somehow, the cry of “I scream. You scream. We all scream for … sorbet!” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

My favorite indulgence is a Friendly’s black raspberry ice cream cone with chocolate jimmies (aka sprinkles, for those of you who grew up outside of New England). What kind of ice cream do you crave during the summer?

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