Two-ingredient pancake with a two-ingredient variation

I had seen this recipe through FB a few times and decided to give it a try.  It's pretty dog-gone quick and easy to whip up, thus great when you're pressed for time.  It calls for one banana and two eggs.  I read one post that added baking powder and cinnamon.  Thinking that sounded good I went ahead and added 1/4 teaspoon of each.

The banana getting started.

This is how much I mashed the banana.

                 

In go the eggs, cinnamon, and baking powder.

It cooks up pretty thin.

Lightly drizzled with maple syrup and friended with 3 slices of bacon along with 2 eggs fried in the bacon grease.  Talk about YUM!!

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Cakes with Black Beans

1 T. coconut oil, plus 2 T. reserved for frying croquettes
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, grated, and rinsed in cold water - then patted dry
1/2 c. minced red bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 c. minced yellow onion
2 t. whole cumin seeds
1 T. ground coriander
1/2 t. salt
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup red quinoa, cooked
Salsa and sour cream for serving

Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a large skillet and saute the grated sweet potato, red bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, and yellow onion for about three to five minutes. Add the cumin and coriander.  Continue to saute vegetables until they are just cooked.  Season with salt. Add the black beans and cooked quinoa, then blend a third of this mixture in a food processor until smooth.  Stir the blended mixture back into the remaining vegetables in the skillet.  Shape 1/4 cup of the mixture at a time into patties about 1/2-inch thick and 2 inches across.  Heat the reserved coconut oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and pan fry the croquettes for about two minutes on each side.  Keep croquettes warm in the oven until all are ready to serve.  

Spiced Apple and Butternut Squash Soup

1/4 cup butter
2 large onions
2 large Granny Smith apples
     peeled, cored, and diced
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 large butternut squashes
     peeled, halved lengthwise and seeds removed,
     diced into 1-inch cubes 
(recipe called for 4 squashes but once I had two prepped it was obvious I was using larger ones than they called for)
3 qts. chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the diced onions and apples and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the spices and cook for 1 minute.  Then add the squash and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until the squash is tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Puree and serve.  Add additional stock if necessary to desired thickness.  

Three recipes using carrots

The magazine I get from Lifetime Fitness has been publishing some real yummy recipes in the last few issues.  This month they focus on carrots.  I'm going to be passing the magazine on to my friend Donna so posting these here will assure that I have them on hand when I need them.  


This first one is for carrot soup which I just finished making and can say that it tastes wonderful.  The nutmeg is my addition; tasting it after it was done left my taste buds yearning for something to tie all the flavors together and nutmeg is what it called for.  I will say - it makes the soup perfect!


I used bagged organic carrots because I wasn't at Whole Foods to be able to get organic bunched carrots with the greens still attached.  I'm looking forward to making this soup again with carrots I get from the farmer's market, grown locally, organic, and different varieties.

Curried Carrot Soup


1 T. ghee or coconut oil (I used a bit more)
1 yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 stalks celery, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
3 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped
2 T. minced gingerroot
2 T. curry powder
(1/4 t. nutmeg - my addition)
1 can coconut milk (about 14 oz.)
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 t. salt, or to taste
Dash of cayenne pepper
Chopped fresh cilantro
Freshly ground black pepper


Heat the ghee in a heavy saucepan and saute the onion, celery, and carrots until just tender.  Add the gingerroot, curry powder, and nutmeg and saute for another five minutes until aromatic.  Add coconut milk and vegetable stock, simmer until vegetables are tender.  Blend the soup with a stick blender or in small batches in a regular blender until smooth.  Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.  Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and freshly cracked black pepper.


This next recipe is one I will try out soon.  Sounds equally yummy!




Shredded Carrot and Currant Salad


4 cups carrots, peeled, shredded with a grater and packed
¼ cup dried currants
½ tsp. orange flower water (available at a Middle Eastern or gourmet market, as well as online)
2 oranges, juiced and zested
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Toss the grated carrots with the currants in a medium salad bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange flower water (omit if it’s not readily available), orange juice and zest, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and extra-virgin olive oil. Toss dressing with the currants and carrots. Store salad in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Keeps well for two to three days.

Side note: for those living in the Royal Oak, MI area - you can find orange blossom water at Holiday Market on Main St. near I696. For those not living around my area, look for a Middle East store.


And here is one more carrot recipe.


Carrot Fritters

Makes about 16 small fritters; serves four

4 cups grated carrots, packed
¼ cup rice flour, coconut flour, or whole-wheat flour
½ tsp. baking powder
4 eggs, beaten
1 tbs. grated fresh gingerroot
½ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup olive oil for frying

Toss the carrots with the flour and baking powder. Mix in beaten eggs, gingerroot, salt and pepper. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Shape about a tablespoon of the carrot mixture into flat patties and carefully lower into the hot oil. After one to two minutes, gently turn each latke over to brown the other side (about another minute). Keep the latkes on a baking sheet in a warm oven while you fry the remaining carrot mixture. Garnish with chopped fresh chives and Greek yogurt or sour cream, if you’d like.


Happy carrot-cooking!

I tried this recipe from Lifetime Fitness magazine because I thought it fit perfectly with my new way of eating. I'm trying to eat more like a 'hunter/gatherer' with much more kale, spinach, collard greens, cauliflower, and broccoli in my diet along with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and protein. Basically, it's as little grain as possible with NO white: no white flour products, no sugar (I may cheat a little here because there's always sugar in chocolate, even the dark chocolate I limit myself to), no regular pasta, no white rice, etc. When I do eat grains I try to keep it to whole grains.

It is extremely hard to make the change because there is 'enriched wheat flour' (translation: white flour) in so many products that call themselves 'whole grain.' If a loaf of bread, for example, doesn't say '100% Whole Grain' then it most likely has white flour in it. And sugar is a tough one to stay away from in bread. It makes the yeast happy with great, yummy results but it's just so bad for you!

New research has shown that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease and that without inflammation in the artery wall there is no way for cholesterol to accumulate. With repeated injury to our arteries by eating the wrong food, food that our bodies were never intended to process, the result is chronic inflammation. According to an article by Dr. Dwight Lundell: "What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods."

If you are interested in reading the full article, you can find it here. It will be an eye-opener for you because it poo-poos the common thought that fats are our problem.

Back to the soup. It tastes good and healthy! I added tomato as you will read below.

Italian Wedding Soup

With Chicken Meatballs and Parsley

For the soup base:

1 T. olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion

2 carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)

2 stalks celery, chopped

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

8 cups chicken stock

1 bunch broccoli rabe (also called rapini)(about 4 cups)

1 1/2 cups fresh parsley, chopped

1 15-oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese, to garnish

For the meatballs:

1/2 pound ground chicken (I used ground thigh meat)

1 egg

1/4 cup whole-grain breadcrumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 t. salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil (I used more than 1 T.) and saute the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until al dente. Add chicken stock and simmer until vegetables are tender.

While stock is simmering, make the meatballs by mixing the ground chicken with the egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, and parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Shape into small balls with a teaspoon or a small scoop and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through. Add to the simmering soup.

Add the broccoli rabe, parsley and cannellini beans and simmer five minutes to heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a fresh grating of Parmesan cheese.

A few hints: along with using more olive oil than what they call for, I added a can of diced tomatoes. And I also cooked the soup longer than five minutes so that the broccoli rabe stalks would soften more. When I make this soup again in the future, I won't use the bottom, thicker stalks of the rabe; I will use the leaves and little broccoli flowers from the tops of the plants.

Stuffed chicken recipe

I made a yummy stuffed chicken dish yesterday. Here it is:

Skinless boneless chicken parts, your choice (I used one breast and four thighs)

Flour

Italian dressing, your choice (I used creamy Italian from Jets Pizza)

Bread crumbs (I put toasted multigrain French baguette in a food processor)

Ham ribbons

Swiss cheese

After rinsing the chicken, I sliced the chicken breast through the center lengthwise to form a pocket. For the thighs, I just rinsed them. After letting the water drip from the piece, I dredged them in flour. For the thighs I just dredged the outer side of 2 of them to start. Next I dipped the dredged pieces into the dressing, both sides for the breast and just the flour side for the thighs. They were then coated with the bread crumbs, again both sides for the breast and the flour side for the thighs. I placed them into a glass baking dish that was sprayed with olive oil spray, breadcrumb side down for the thighs. Then I took the ham and tucked it into the pocket of the breast and over the unbreaded side of the thighs. The cheese was placed over the ham. For the breast I just closed the pocket. For the thighs I took the remaining two thighs and coated the one side with flour, dressing, and crumbs just as I did the first two. I placed the uncoated side over the ham and cheese stuffing on the first two thighs.

Bake at 350 for 45 min

Donna's back in town!

Donna and I have known each other since about 1979. She is one of my dearest friends, if not THE dearest. She lives in San Luis Obispo, California, and was back in Michigan for two weeks on vacation. We were lucky that she could take time out of her busy schedule to visit with us. Richard told me that he loves when Donna visits because I'm so happy. "You guys giggle a lot when she's here and you don't even need alcohol to do that!" I told him that's a sign of a good, true friend.

While she was here we went to see a performance of "Gypsy" starring another really good friend of mine, Rose Randall Warner after having dinner with the family (minus Chelsea :-(( ). Here are some pictures before dinner. Chelsea WAS able to join us before dinner and it just happened to be her birthday.
Above picture, from left: Donna, Chelsea, Sarah, Hannah, Courtney, and moi!!
On Sunday evening we fired up the brick oven for home-made pizza. Yum! Here's Jonah putting together his creation and firing it, minus any hint of a 'wiggle.'

And Donna concocting something vegan.Donna was a good sport and agreed to learn a new game, Settlers of Catan.

My beautiful orchid as it charms us on my dining room table. It has an incredible amount of blooms.

Polish pickle soup

November 9, 2008
Yesterday I made pickle soup for the first time and, boy, was it good! The whole pot was gone in one day so I'm making another pot today.
I first tried pickle soup about a year or so ago in a Polish restaurant in Hamtramck, MI. My mother is Polish but she never made pickle soup when we were growing up. She makes fantastic stuffed cabbage (also called pigs-in-a-blanket or golabki) and her mother made the best Polish sausage anyone ever tasted. Her spices were perfectly combined for a taste explosion!
I remember watching my grandma once as she stuffed the sausage meat into the casing with her special machine. Back then I thought it was pretty strange but what I wouldn't give to watch her again! The very last batch she ever made showed her age, though, as she forgot to add the spices.
I'm going to include the pickle soup recipe here so that I have something to refer to next time I make it and also to share with all of you. I took two recipes and used them to come up with my own.

6 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup pickle juice from the jar
4 fairly large potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 large pickles, cut into small pieces (used a whole 24 oz jar of
   organic pickles and it was good!)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk or cream

Boil the chicken broth, pickle juice, potatoes, onion, and pickles until the potatoes are tender. (Edit: 12/27/08 - I'm making this soup again and adding carrots. I'll leave them in during the blending.)
Remove about a cup of the soup broth and blend the flour into it until all the lumps are gone. It should be thick.
While stirring, add the milk or cream and the thickened broth to the soup.
Take out some of the potatoes and then blend the soup in the pot. I use a stick blender but you could put the soup in a regular blender if that is all you have. Add the potatoes back to the soup after blending. Viola! Pickle soup! Easy as 1-2-3. Enjoy.

DECEMBER 12, 2009:
I made this soup again and counted the calories and fat grams of the ingredients. For the whole pot of soup, using 1/2 c. cream and 1/2 c. fat-free milk, and also using fat-free chicken broth:

Total calories: 1,375
Total fat grams: 41.35

I figure the pot made about 8 bowls of soup. That's 172 calories and 5 fat grams per bowl. That's a healthy soup, I would say!