Tag Archives: food

Don’t Throw Out Your Broccoli Stems! Delicious Broccoli Potato Soup

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Creamy, delicious and packed with flavor, this soup puts to tasty use something people tend to throw out – broccoli stems! 

In our kitchen, we try to get the most out of everything. We roast whole chickens and crack the bones for chicken stock. The fish we catch get picked clean to the bones. The vegetable odds and ends a lot of cooking show hosts scrape off cutting boards into into the trash end up in soups and other dishes. Having read that banana peels are edible, we gave them a go last summer. (Edible, perhaps; palatable, not.) For some reason, I grew up thinking that the only part of broccoli that people are supposed to eat are the florets. When I began to cook as an adult, a friend introduced me to a recipe with stir-fried broccoli stems. Delicious. Even before we met, Jack had been combining stems, garlic and chicken stock to make a tasty, nutritious soup as well as slicing the stems thin and adding them to stir-fries.

With a sunny high of 5° F here in Ulaanbaatar, this day called for a hot bowl of homemade soup. The tough outer layer of the broccoli stems do have to be peeled away, but it’s worth the effort. (I use a vegetable peeler for this.) Once you’ve removed this fibrous outer layer, you’re left with a tender, flavorful vegetable that can be sautéed and added to pasta dishes or puréed and served in soup, as is the case here.

Broccoli Stem Potato Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 cups chopped potatoes
  • 3 cups peeled and chopped broccoli stems
  • generous pinch dried thyme
  • generous pinch salt
  • 4 cups broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • toppings – Cholula hot sauce, parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Sauté onions for a couple of minutes until they begin to be translucent.
  2. Add garlic to onions and continue to sauté for a couple of more minutes.
  3. Add potatoes, broccoli, thyme, salt, and broth.
  4. Bring mixture to a simmer. Continue to simmer until broccoli and potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes.
  5. Purée soup with a stick blender, or in batches in a regular blender.
  6. Serve hot topped with splashes of Cholula hot sauce and some shavings of parmesan cheese.

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

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Crunchy chocolate biscotti speckled with delightfully tasty green pistachios. Where’s my latte?

I am a huge fan of the soft cookie with the slightly crunchy exterior. You know, that perfect chocolate chip cookie with an almost melty interior and an exterior that holds it perfectly together? This biscotti recipe is worth momentarily turning away from my favorite cookie texture. One thing I like about this biscotti recipe is the expected crispy biscotti-like texture without the hard crunch. You can have this biscotti with tea and still hear your conversation. Then there’s the flavor. There is the bang of chocolately cocoa followed by zips of salty toasted pistachios. Yum! The intent with the smaller batch is that we would have a few cookies around to enjoy at the end of the day with tea. The reality is… I’ve already made a second batch.

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup shelled, roasted and salted pistachios

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
  3. In a small bowl whisk together the sugar and the egg until light and creamy.
  4. Add melted butter to egg mixture. Whisk.
  5. Add flour mixture to egg mixture. Stir until until stiff dough forms.
  6. Shape into a flattened log, about 2 inches wide.
  7. Cut the log in half so you can sprinkle the pistachios in the middle, like a sandwich. Put the log back together and smooth out the cut with your hands. This will ensure each biscotti has an even amount of nuts.
  8. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes. Cookie should be slightly firm. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
  9. Using a serrated knife, cut log into pieces about 1 inch thick. Place each cookie on the cut side. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F (145 degrees C). Bake cut cookies for an additional 8 minutes.
  10. Flip cookies over and continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Homemade Rye Crackers with Chickpea and White Bean Hummus

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rye crackers and hummus n

We can’t wait for lunch this week! Creamy and smooth garlicky hummus smeared on homemade savory rye crackers. Hurry up, Monday!

Instead of making bread to go with our lunches this week, I opted for homemade crackers. My last attempts at cheese crackers (see this link) were highly successful and ridiculously addictive. Maybe that’s why I’ve stayed away from them for awhile. I had some rye flour left from my Swiss Farmer’s bread recipe. The mix of rye flour and caraway seeds are always a winning combination. These crackers are also flavored with garlic, onion, and a bit of salt.

To go with these delicious crackers, I made a hummus with the ingredients I had on hand. I find that the canned white beans add a nice smooth texture like tahini, but do not have the sharp flavor of tahini. What I like best about this hummus is the zing of the cumin and garlic.

Join me for lunch this week? Here are the recipes for both the crackers and the hummus.

Homemade Rye Crackers

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rye flour
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp caraway seeds
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 2/3 cup water (as needed)

Directions

  1. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Combine first six ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
  3. With a fork, stir in canola oil.
  4. Continue to stir with fork and add water by tablespoons. Dough will come together into ball.
  5. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  7. Divide dough into 4 pieces.
  8. Roll out dough, one piece at a time, until it is about 1/8 inch thick (3 cm).
  9. Cut rolled dough into serving-sized pieces. Prick each cracker several times with a fork.
  10. Place crackers on parchment-covered baking sheet.
  11. Bake crackers for 12 minutes. They will be lightly browned on edges when done.
  12. Allow to cool completely on wire racks.

 

Chickpea and White Bean Hummus

Ingredients

  • 1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
  • 1 15 oz. can white beans
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • a few dashes hot sauce, we like Cholula
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • pepper

Directions

  1. Rinse and drain beans.
  2. Combine beans, lemon, cumin, garlic, hot sauce, salt and half of the olive oil. Place combination in bowl of a food processor in a regular bowl with stick blender at the ready.
  3.  Process mixture until smooth, adding more olive oil in order to reach desired consistency.
  4. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a crack of black pepper.

Chocolate Chip Strawberry Oat Bran Nutty Muffins

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These moist and flavorful muffins packed with beautiful strawberries and speckles of chocolate will start your day off with a guiltless smile and maybe even a happy dance.

Every now and again, I come across a product that I love. I’ve become a huge fan of Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour. If you follow this blog, you’ll know we love cooking. But you’ve probably noticed that we are obsessed with baking. Ok, the obsessed baker is actually Barbra. In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, finding unique and interesting products to cook and bake with is kind of a scavenger hunt. A couple of weeks ago, I checked the “specialty” food section at one of our stops on our regular shopping rounds. I noticed a bag of Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour. The packaging boasted that it is “America’s best baking flour.” The words “biscuits, muffins, pie crusts, and pancakes” were in large print to catch the’ attention of bakers. Nice job, marketing department. Hooked me!

I purchased a three-pound bag and began experimenting. Increasingly, I’ve been reading about replacing all-purpose flour with whole wheat – or at least replacing some of the white flour with whole wheat. What I’ve noticed with Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour is that it is very light – not even making a noticeable difference when I tried out recipes with half wheat and half white flour. I wanted the wheat benefits without the heavy “wheat” feeling in my baked goods. Today I tried substituting all the white flour called for in my muffin recipe with the whole wheat pastry flour. The results? Delicious! There was definitely a wheat flavor which was nicely balanced with the oat bran.

This recipe is a great base. The fruits and nuts could be substituted with any kind of fruits and nuts. If you don’t want the chocolate chips, simply omit them. These muffins are not overly sweet. In this case, I liked the little bits of chocolate which complemented the unsweetened frozen strawberries.

Chocolate Chip Strawberry Oat Bran Nutty Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups oat bran
  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups applesauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions

  1. Grease 16 regular-sized muffin cups. I used a 12-muffin tin and a 6-muffin tin and only greased 4 of the 6 in the smaller tin.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together oat bran, pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
  4. Stir chocolate chips into flour mixture. Set aside.
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until well blended.
  6. Mix applesauce and vanilla into egg mixture.
  7. Mix egg mixture into flour mixture.
  8. Fold pecans into dough.
  9. Fold strawberries into dough.
  10. Using an ice cream scoop, place scoopfuls of dough into each muffin section of the muffin tins.
  11. Bake muffins for 15 minutes. An inserted toothpick should come out clean when muffins are done.
  12. Let cool in tin on wire rack for about 5 minutes before removing from tin.

Lemon Tart for Two (or One)

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gluten free lemon tart n

Tart and sweet, just like a lemon tart is supposed to be. Bites to remind of us of Spring in the middle of Winter.

I’ve noticed that lemon tart recipes are showing up on some of my feeds. Deep in the heart of Winter (a low of negative 30-something Fahrenheit in Ulaanbaatar today) , I think many of us are longing for Spring. The bright yellow zest and the taste of fresh lemon does seem to bring the feeling of Spring into the house, even if only momentarily.

Last summer, I found some four-inch baking dishes that are the perfect size for the two of us to share. And if I happen to eat the whole thing (ahem), I shouldn’t feel too guilty. Tiny tart – tiny guilt. As a nod to my friends who can’t eat gluten, or eggs, or milk, I created this recipe without any animal products or wheat. I really wanted to see if I could make a tasty crust with a nut and oat combination. The tart filling turned out nice and custard-like with a lovely sweet and tart lemony flavor. The crust had a nice nutty crunch to it which paired perfectly with the filling. This dessert turned out delicious!

Lemon Tart for Two

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 1/2 tbsp oats
  • 1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped pecans
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • tiny pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tbsp applesauce

Filling

  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • tiny pinch salt
  • ¼ cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
  • 2 tbsp water
  • juice of one lemon juice (about 3 tbsp)
  • zest of one lemon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190C). Grease a 4-inch tart pan.
  2. Put the oats, pecans, and sugar into a food processor or blender and process until finely ground.
  3. Add the remaining dry ingredients and blend well. Transfer to a bowl and add the vanilla and apple sauce. Stir well until completely combined.
  4. Put the mixture into the tart pan. Press mixture with moistened fingers until it evenly covers the bottom and extends up the sides of the pan as far as possible.
  5. Put it in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, until it is crisp but not overdone. Set aside to cool before filling.
  6. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small saucepan.
  7. Stir in the soy milk and water until completely combined.
  8. Heat until thickens over medium heat stirring constantly.
  9. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and zest (reserve a tiny amount of zest for garnish).
  10. Return to heat and continue whisking over heat for 2-3 minutes. Mixture should be smooth and lump-free.
  11. Pour mixture into the tart crust. Sprinkle reserved lemon zest on top of tart. Chill until set, about an hour.

 

 

Low Fat Cinnamon Almond Cookies

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One cinnamon almond cookie to satisfy your sweet tooth coming up!

I admit it. I have a sweet tooth. I am a bonafide sugar addict. Jack claims he is not (although he seems to find my baked goods irresistible). With a renewed interest on putting a healthier twist to our recipes, but still keeping them tasty, I set out to transform a cookie recipe in my recipe box. It doesn’t even matter what this recipe was to begin with because it no longer resembles that recipe. The underlying premise of the recipe was that the cookie it created should satisfy my sweet tooth without being laden with bad fats. It also should add some protein and fiber to my day. I used yogurt cheese and applesauce to replace fats and add moisture. I swapped out some of the all purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour. The result of this experiment was successful enough to warrant its addition to our blog collection.  Of course, the serving size is one cookie. I cannot be held responsible if you like these cookies so much that you eat the whole batch to satisfy your secret inner cookie monster.

Low Fat Cinnamon Almond Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup low fat plain yogurt cheese*
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons smooth almond butter
1/2 tsp powdered lemon peel (or 1 tsp fresh lemon zest)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Top with mixture of 1 tbsp granulated sugar and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, yogurt cheese, applesauce, almond butter, lemon vanilla and eggs.
  3. In a medium bowl, sift together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture.
  5. Scoop tablespoon-sized amounts of dough and place on prepared baking sheet.
  6. Slightly flatten cookies and sprinkle with topping made of sugar and cinnamon mixture.
  7. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes. Cookies should be puffy and lightly browned on edges and bottom.

Makes 20 cookies

*To make your own yogurt cheese, suspend cheese cloth in a plastic storage container. I use a rubber band around the mouth of a narrow storage container to hold the cheese cloth in place. Pour plain low fat yogurt onto the suspended cheese cloth. Set in refrigerator overnight. The next day, you will see the extra liquid will be at the bottom of the container leaving a nice thick spreadable product in the cheese cloth to be used in place of cream cheese.

Going Nuts! Two Ways to Do It

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2 ways Roasted Almonds n

Sweet or salty? Or a little bit of both. Two quick recipes to satisfy your sweet or salty tooth.

When we’re tired of nice crisp apples or sweet Satsuma tangerines as an between meals snack, or when we need a quick protein pick-me-up after a workout, we’ve been snacking on nuts. Almonds in particular are noted for healthy oils, vitamins, minerals, and fiber content. They are tasty raw. But they are even better when glammed up with salty or sweet accouterments. Both recipes, for cinnamon almonds and garlic almonds, are delicious snacks by themselves. These tasty morsels can also be added to breakfast cereals, salads, or vegetable side dishes to add a flavor and a nutritional boost. Today I give you the salty – Garlic Salt Almonds, and the sweet – Cinnamon Sugared Almonds.

Garlic Salt Almonds

Ingredients

  • 3 cups almonds
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely grated

Directions

  1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (145 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Whisk egg white and water until they are nice and foamy.
  3. Whisk in salt and grated garlic.
  4. Stir almonds into egg mixture ensuring all almonds are covered in the mixture.
  5. Spread the mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet. Make sure almonds are in one layer.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven.
  7. Stir almonds, breaking up any clumps.
  8. Bake for another 15 minutes.
  9. Let cool and store in airtight container.

 

Cinnamon Sugared Almonds

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 cups whole raw almonds

Directions

  1. Combine water, sugar and cinnamon in medium pan over medium heat.
  2. Bring mixture to a boil.
  3. Stir in almonds.
  4. Continue stirring mixture until liquid evaporates. Almonds will have a sand-like coating.
  5. Pour almonds onto parchment paper. Spread almonds out, breaking apart large chunks. Allow to cool.
  6. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
  7. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

 

Slaw with Spicy Almond Ginger Dressing

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slaw with spicy almond ginger dressing n

Crunchy, tangy, spicy and packed with flavor. If this is eating right, we’ll take more!

With a renewed focus on taking good care of ourselves, we’ve been analyzing our fruit and vegetable intake. It is recommended by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention that adults our age consume two to three cups of vegetables a day. Our daily intake was not making the cut. We love flavor. We were not about to sit in front of cups of raw vegetables mindlessly eating in order to make the numbers. So we worked up a flavor-packed dressing and had a hard time putting the fork down.

Slaw with Spicy Almond Ginger Dressing

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp hot sauce (we like Cholula)
  • 1 tsp powdered ginger
  • 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1/2 tsp spicy garlic sauce (in the Asian food section)
  • 5 cups chopped vegetables (Cabbage and carrots should be the base. Add other vegetables to your liking. Bell peppers, edamame, broccoli… anything crunchy would work.)
  • Sliced almonds or other nuts as garnish

Directions

  1. Whisk together honey, oils, vinegar, soy sauce, almond butter, salt, hot sauce, ginger, garlic and spicy garlic sauce to make dressing.
  2. Pour dressing over chopped vegetables. Toss.
  3. Serve slaw garnished with sliced almonds or other nuts.

 

Heart Healthier Tangerine Dark Chocolate Scones

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Slightly sweet and packed with chocolately flavor. Our “bakery” turned out delicious, satisfying scones to start our day.

Scones are delicious. We like their slightly crunchy exterior and dense buttery interior. I’ve made them without cream, with local berries, and have even stuffed them with chocolate chips.  On my current quest to amp up the health factor, I swapped out some of the usual ingredients with others that are more heart healthy. This recipe used only one egg white as a binder. The cocoa powder boasts healthful antioxidants. Part of the white flour has been substituted with whole wheat to add more fiber. How did the recipe come out? Delicious! These scones are just sweet enough and are full of flavor. If you wanted more sweetness, you could sprinkle another tablespoon of sugar on top or even fold in some dark chocolate chips, but I really don’t think it’s necessary.  This turned out to be a good base recipe which could be tweaked by adding dried fruit and other spices. Definitely a keeper.

Tangerine Dark Chocolate Scones

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 5 tbsp unsalted butter, frozen
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup tangerine juice
  • 1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • zest from one tangerine
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar and chopped nuts for topping

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  3. Using a cheese grater, grate frozen butter into flour mixture. Gently mix with your hands making sure butter is coated in flour mixture. Set aside.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together egg white, tangerine juice, yogurt, vanilla and tangerine zest.
  5. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix with rubber spatula.
  6. Gather dough into a ball and pat into a 10″ circle on the prepared baking sheet. Cut dough into 8 wedges, but do not separate.
  7. Sprinkle top of scones with granulated sugar and chopped nuts.
  8. Bake for 25 minutes. Let scones cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet atop a wire rack before cutting.

Honey Apple Cider Vinaigrette on a New Leaf

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apple cider vinegret n

This tangy and sweet salad dressing will encourage you to eat lots of healthy veggies. It’s working in our home.

‘Tis the season to begin replacing the overload of holiday sweets with heathful fruits and vegetables. I can’t say all the sweets are gone, but Jack and I are certainly shifting the balance away from the cookies and pastries. Ok, we admit it. Our diet was entirely too rich. It was only a matter of time before the decadent butter, hedonistic heavy cream, fabulously fatty fried chicken thighs and all the rest of it were going to get us. We’ve been pretty good about not going crazy with portions over the years, but we realize it’s time for a more realistic and healthful change.

I’ve been researching recipes and recipe books which earn the description “healthy.” I’m not too excited about what I’m finding thus far. I was looking for gourmet recipes which meet my standards and also will pass our would-you-be-happy-if-you-got-this-in-a-restaurant test. So, it looks like I have a new quest – the showcasing and creation of healthful gourmet recipes. Sounds like fun to me!

We love salads – especially those big, fill-a-dinner-plate mixes crowded with a variety of color and lots of tasty ingredients. This salad dressing recipe is not fat free, salt free or taste free. It was borne out the desire to use apple cider vinegar as opposed to my favorite, balsamic vinegar. Quality balsamic is expensive and elusive in Ulaanbaatar. Apple cider vinegar is abundant. I mixed onion, freshly cracked pepper and a pinch of salt into the standard oil and vinegar dressing ratio. I then added Dijon mustard to emulsify the dressing and mixed in honey to balance the acid in the vinegar. Voila, a delicious dressing. Tonight it is going on a layered salad stacked with romaine lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, English cucumbers, and spring squash. It’s topped with Jack’s roasted skinless chicken thighs, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes and a few flavorful shaves of parmesan cheese. Served with a mellow glass of wine and a slice of French bread, and we have ourselves a heart-healthy meal that passes the would-you-be-happy-if-you-got-this-in-a-restaurant test.

Honey Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tbsp dried onions
  • pinch salt

Directions

  1. Put all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously.
  2. Store unused dressing in a glass container with a tight fitting lid in the refrigerator.