This should "catch me up" to Valentine's Day

If it’s not chocolate, why bother???

Next up on the list of Valentine’s Day treats are Chocolate-Almond-Coconut Macaroons. I’m not bothering to run the recipe through MasterCook because I really don’t want to know the fat content. Rarely do I make a conscious decision to do this, but I adore macaroons and for this one-time-a-year treat, I don’t want to know anything that may diminish my joy while eating them!

I cannot locate the original source of this recipe, although I’ve seen it in a couple of newspapers, so to whomever thought this recipe up—thank you!!! These were excellent. Moist, chewy, coconut-ey, and the almond paste added a sublime undertone of almond flavor.

I followed the recipe exactly as shown below except that I couldn’t figure out how to grate the almond paste. It was soft and didn’t perform well in either my rotary or my box grater. So I tore it into little pieces and, using my smaller food processor, blended the almond paste and egg white together until smooth, then I added the sweetened condensed milk slowly, while the machine was running, until it was all blended. Then I dumped this into a large bowl and added the rest of the ingredients through the semisweet mini-morsels. I used a 1 tablespoon size cookie scoop, which made these a high, nicely rounded cookie.

The baking time listed may be off, or maybe my oven thermometer isn’t accurate, but I baked each sheet for 7 minutes, turned the sheet 180˚, baked another 7 minutes or so until the bottom was a light brown, then removed them from the oven. After allowing the macaroons to rest on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes, I carefully transferred them to a cooling rack.

As you can see by the photo, I didn’t sprinkle them with the sliced almonds. It was getting late and I was in a hurry to clean up the kitchen to start dinner. Next time, though, I will take that extra step. I think that the crunch of the almonds will contrast nicely with the chew of the coconut, and what’s not to like about some additional almond flavor?

Chocolate-Almond-Coconut Macaroons

1 (14 oz.) pkg. sweetened, flaked coconut

3/4 c. sweetened condensed milk

1/2 of 7 oz. pkg. almond paste, grated

2 T. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1/2 tsp. grated orange rind

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. semisweet chocolate mini morsels

1 egg white

1/2 c. semisweet chocolate morsels

1 T. shortening

1/4 c. sliced almonds

Combine coconut and sweetened condensed milk in a large bowl. Add almond paste and next 5 ingredients. Stir in mini morsels.

Beat egg white at high speed of mixer until stiff peaks form; fold into coconut mixture.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 325 for 20-21 mins. or until edges are golden and tops are lightly browned. Cool completely on baking sheets.

Melt chocolate morsels and shortening in a 1-cup glass measuring cup on HIGH 1 minute, or until melted, stirring once.

Pour melted chocolate into small bag. Snip a small hole in the corner of bag; drizzle chocolate over macaroons; sprinkle with almonds, if desired. Let stand until chocolate is firm.

Yield: 2 dozen

Next on my list was to bake brownies. Jenni had sent a wonderful-sounding recipe for Raspberry Truffle Brownies, but I was running out of steam. So I dug into the pantry and came up with a box of Ghirardelli Chocolate Syrup Brownie Mix. Long ago I realized that mixes can give me better results than making from scratch for two things, angel food cake and brownies.

Feeling a bit guilty about my extravagance with the macaroons, I decided to lighten this recipe a bit.

To the mix, I added 2 tablespoons of canola oil, 3 tablespoons of pureed pears, 2 egg whites, and ¼ cup of water. I spread ½ of that batter into a greased 8”x8” pan, spread ½ cup of raspberry preserves over and swirled it in a bit. I then mixed ½ cup of milk chocolate chips in the remaining batter and spread that evenly over the raspberry layer. I baked the brownies per the package directions.

Oh my. These were heavenly. Intensely chocolate with a bright tang of raspberry flavor—and only 4g total fat (1g saturated) per 2” square. I should have made more….

Sorry-- no photo. These were eaten (or shared) before that could happen!!!

And before I forget to mention, pureed pears.

I buy cans of pears (in juice) and, when drained and pureed until smooth, they make a wonderful substitute for half of the oil called for in baked good recipes. And sometimes I can get away with replacing up to ¾ of the oil with the puree (in muffins, particularly). Each 15 ounce can will yield 2/3 – ¾ cup of puree.

And last, cupcakes. FoodFit.com sent me several cupcake recipes and, having bought heart-motif cupcake papers, I decided to make a half batch of chocolate buttermilk cupcakes.

These were low in fat for a cupcake, and didn’t use butter or eggs, so I decided to keep the recipe amount of canola oil. My notes follow the recipe. These were very, very good. I didn’t realize that it was possible to make a cupcake with such a good flavor and nice crumb, without using butter or eggs! I added some dark chocolate chips to the center, and “frosted” them with the chips as well. My notes follow the recipe.

Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Glaze
makes 12

12 paper cupcake liners
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk, low-fat
plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, low-fat
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces semisweet chocolate



1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Add the sugar, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and stir to combine (do not overmix).

3. Fill each baking cup 2/3 full. Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan.

4. When the cupcakes are cool, melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Let the chocolate cool until it thickens slightly. Using a spoon, drizzle the cupcakes with the melted chocolate.

Makes 12 standard size cupcakes or 24 miniature cupcakes.

Serving Size: 1 cupcake

Number of Servings: 12

Per Serving
Calories	192	Carbohydrate	30 g
Fat	8 g	Fiber	1 g
Protein	3 g	Saturated Fat	2 g
Sodium	147 mg

I placed a heaping tablespoon of batter in each cupcake paper, then arranged 4 dark chocolate chips in the center, then divided the remaining batter on top of the chips.

After taking the cupcakes from the oven, I placed 4 dark chocolate chips on the top of each cupcake and placed the pan back in the oven for 30 seconds. After removing it from the oven, I allowed the chips to soften for another minute or so, then swirled the melted chocolate on the top of each muffin. After they cooled a bit, I sprinkled on coarse red sugar and white candy snowflakes.

The best way to enjoy this cupcake is to eat it slightly warm, so the center chips are soft (although eating the cupcakes cold are pretty good too!). I microwaved each cupcake for 8 seconds on “high” to achieve this.

Well, that was my Valentine's Day baking extravaganza.

I have to note that I was able to scrape the milk chocolate and almonds off of the burnt toffee, and it is in the refrigerator awaiting use. I’m thinking, maybe biscotti? But we have a lot of other goodies to eat in the meantime.

Hmmm, Easter baking is only about 5 weeks away!

The waistline, it's expanding!

During the past several days, I have been trying some Valentine's Day- friendly recipes. I have a horrible sweet-tooth, and I try not to have too many sweets around the house, but the weather is very cold and my kitchen is unheated, so what better way to make it warmer than to use the oven?!


First was a try at a lower-fat chocolate chip cookie. Jack had asked for these and most of the recipes I found called for an ungodly amount of butter. So I took the best of those recipes, cut the butter in half, used canola oil I(which doesn't do a lot for the total fat content, but it does cut the saturated fat numbers significantly), and added some milk. I also used my now-favorite flour. Bought at Sam's Club, it is produced by Eagle Mills and a blend of all-purpose and "ultragrain" flours. It has more fiber than all-purpose flour, though not quite as much as King Arthur's White Whole Wheat (previously, my flour of choice). The Eagle Mills flour, however, doesn't have a grainey taste and is lighter in color so it's practically indistinguishable from all-purpose.

Flour details:

http://www.ultragrain.com/index.jsp

Anyway, I came up with the following recipe. These chocolate-chip cookies are thin and chewy, and taste wonderful. One caveat, however, they are lowfat, so will get stale quickly. I kept them in an airtight plastic container for a day, then transferred what was left to a plastic freezer bag and stored them in the freezer.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Lower-fat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe By : Vicci
Servings : 36
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 tablespoons butter -- softened
1/4 cup canola oil
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375F.

With an electric mixer, beat butter, oil, and sugars until light, about 3 minutes. Beat in milk, extract, egg, and egg white. Beat for another minute. Set aside. Sift together flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Add dry ingredients to wet, blending well. Add chips.

Place heaping tablespoons of dough on parchment-covered baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 8-1/2 minutes until set around the edges but a little soft in the middle, remove from oven, allow to remain on cookie sheet for another minute (no more) and carefully transfer to a cooling rack.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per serving: 125 Calories (kcal); 5g Total Fat (2g saturated); (34% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 9mg Cholesterol; 53mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates

Next up was my attempt at a chocolate cookie. Really, really chocolate. Intensely chocolate. I found a recipe for Chocolava cookies and, although they were already a relatively lowfat cookie, I played around with the recipe and was able to reduce the fat content even further with some additions and subtractions. The result was a dense, fudgy cookie that we couldn’t stop eating (big surprise). I rolled the dough in powdered sugar prior to baking but since Jack doesn’t like added sprinkles or sugars on his cookies, I left half of the batch plain.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Intensely Chocolate Cookies

Recipe By : Vicci

Servings: 84

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

2 2/3 cups eagle Mills All-Purpopse Unbleached Flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teas salt

1/4 cup butter -- softened

5 tablespoons canola oil

3 large eggs

1 large egg white

3 tablespoons skim milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Sift together the flour through salt into a large bowl. Form a "well" in the center. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and canola oil until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the milk and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, mixing well with a wooden spoon. The dough will be stiff and you may want to use your hands.

Form the dough into tablespoonfuls. The dough will be sticky and you can either coat your hands with canola oil or dab with water to moisten before rolling. Roll dough-balls in powdered sugar. Place on a parchment-lined sheet. Bake for 11 to 11-1/2 minutes, until they are just set around the edges but still soft in the middle. Remove from oven, allow to rest on the cookie sheet for a minute (no longer) and transfer to a cooling rack. Do not overbake.

Makes about 84 2" cookies.

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Per serving: 63 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (24% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 8mg Cholesterol; 34mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates

Okay, the chocolate chip and intensely chocolate cookies were just a prelude to the Valentine’s Day baking extravaganza which was planned. My friend Jenni and I had compiled a list of Valentine’s Day-inspired goodies to make, pared it down to 6 recipes, and divided the list between us. She was due to arrive on Monday morning and, as at Christmastime, we would bake the day away and end up with piles of wonderful treats to eat and give away. On Sunday I prepared the filling for the Raspberry Cream Cheese Braid, the Berry Marshmallows to dip in dark chocolate, chopped almonds for the toffee, and made a pot of Italian Wedding Soup and a loaf of no-knead bread for our lunch. Unfortunately, her daughter became ill the night before and she cancelled. So I ended up making a few of the recipes which we wanted to try, but on Tuesday instead.

The flop of the week was my attempt at candy. I have never really had success at candy-making and this was no exception. The recipe was deceptively easy. Boil sugar, butter, and water to 300-310˚F, add vanilla, pour in pan, sprinkle milk chocolate chips over, spread when softened, sprinkle with chopped almonds. Sounds easy! At about 270˚ the sugar mixture was bubbly and golden, but quite soon after it started to turn brown around the edges of the pot. Since it was still not near 300˚, I let it go. By the time it reached temperature, it was a dark, dark brown and smelled burnt. I knew what had happened, but I was hoping that it would still be salvageable. I continued with the recipe, allowed it to cool, and broke off a piece. Yuck! Burnt sugar with milk chocolate and almonds. And the burnt sugar aftertaste obliterated any good chocolate-and-nut taste, as well. Unfortunately, almost a week later this pan of toffee is still in the refrigerator. I can’t bring myself to throw it away! I need someone to come over, break it into pieces, and toss it into the garbage disposal. I keep thinking that I will be baking something, place the pan in the oven for a few minutes, then scrape off the chocolate and almonds and do something with them. I have no idea what. I just hate to waste!

Here's the Evil Toffee Recipe

The berry-flavored marshmallows frightened me a bit because of all of the preparation notes about how sticky it was and to coat everything with cooking spray lest the mixture adhere to the pan, knife, spatula, etc. But, in the end, they turned out quite well. They were very sticky, but I used copious amounts of powdered sugar and cooking spray to keep everything from sticking together. I’ve never made marshmallows before and these had the same taste as the ones we buy for hot chocolate and s’mores, but the raspberry flavor really made them stand out as something special.

Following is the recipe, from Eating Well. How

ever, I must admit that I haven’t dipped them in chocolate yet. I have eaten some, and used a lot in hot chocolate (heavenly!), but I’m keeping about half of the batch in the freezer for now. Jack thinks that they are too sweet and doesn’t like them, so I will have to wait and “dip” before I visit a friend or my parents or something so I can have someone to share with. Or else I will eat them all.

Update!!!

I am meeting my friend Meridee for the ballet this evening, so I thought that I would dip some marshmallows to give to her. I've never dipped chocolate before, so I had to set aside some "unacceptable" candies (for me to eat!) but I slowly got the hang of it. Finally, I came upon using a pair of seafood forks to do the dipping-- who would have thought? Anyway, they are soooo good. Dark chocolate shell covering creamy berry-flavored marshmallow. I couldn't resist. Now, my quandry-- do I use the marshmallows in hot chocolate or dip a few a day for me?

Eating Well's Chocolate-Covered Berry Marshmallows

The Raspberry Cream Cheese Braid, from King Arthur Flour website, was heavenly. And the
photo looks pretty great, no?! It really was easy. I used the Holiday Sweet Bread recipe from their website as the “base” dough, added the raspberry preserves and cream-cheese filling (made with neufachtel cheese), braided per the instructions, shot with a spritz of “Quick Shine”, and baked. Very impressive, a little time consuming, but definitely worth it. Unfortunately, I was planning to share this bread, and the other items I baked, but we had a big snow and ice storm and are now housebound. So we have to eat it ALL!!!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Braid

Next post, Chocolate Almond Macaroons.

Yes, we didn’t have enough to eat in the house.

Lost Recipes-- and a new one, too

Well, I found the recipes which I mentioned in yesterday's post.

Chicken Biryani

Servings : 2

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2/3 cup basmati rice -- may use half white and half brown, if desired (adjust
cooking times)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 whole cardamom -- pods

2 whole cloves

1/2 whole cinnamon stick

1 pinch saffron threads

1 1/3 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 small onion -- thinly sliced

1 small carrot -- finely chopped

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 teaspoon minced garlic

10 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast -- cut in 1/2" strips

1 teaspoon sweet curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt -- at room temperature

• To prepare rice, heat oil in a heavy 2 quart saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger and let sizzle for 20-30 seconds. Stir in rice, turmeric, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, and saffron and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until water is absorbed and rice is almost tender (about 15 minutes for white, 25 for brown). Turn off heat and hold to finish cooking (about 10 minutes) until ready to use.
  
• Turn oven on to 350F.
• To prepare chicken, heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and sauté until onion is golden brown (about 4 minutes). Stir in ginger and garlic and stir for one minute. Add chicken and stir for one minute. Add curry powder and mix well. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
• In a small bowl whisk yogurt until smooth. Stir into chicken mixture.
• Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Remove whole spices from rice (they will usually be on top of the rice). Layer half of the rice mixture into the dish and smooth until even. Add chicken mixture in an even layer on rice, then top with the remaining rice.
• Bake, covered tightly, for 20 minutes or until heated through
  

Per serving: 515 Calories (kcal); 10g Total Fat; (17% calories from fat); 43g Protein; 63g Carbohydrate; 86mg Cholesterol; 731mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 4 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Spiced Cauliflower

Servings: 2

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

2 cups cauliflower flowerets

1 teaspoon canola oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

salt -- to taste

• Place cauliflower in a steamer basket and steam until barely tender. Plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain, then turn out onto a towel to dry for about a half-hour (pat florets with another towel, if necessary)
• Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin and mustard seeds. When the popping sound stops (about a minute, being careful not to burn them), add the cauliflower and stir fry until the cauliflower is crisp-tender.
• Remove from heat, then sprinkle with lemon juice, cilantro and salt (if desired).

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per serving: 60 Calories (kcal); 3g Total Fat; (35% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 45mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

And on to another recipe. Yet another very cold day (will it end? Ever?) and another desire for a warming bowl of soup for lunch. Jack was asking for something Mexican, so I made this. Thickened with crumbled corn tortillas, this very tomatoey, spicy soup is just the ticket for lunch on a chilly winter day. I can't understand why this happened but I didn't have any canned or frozen black beans, so those were omitted. I also left out the chicken because I didn't think of making this in time to defrost and cook a chicken breast.

I served the soup with grilled jalapeno cheese-and-avocado sandwiches.

Tortilla Soup

Servings : 2

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 small onion -- finely chopped

2 large garlic cloves -- minced

4 whole corn tortillas -- roughly chopped into 1/2" pieces

15 ounces diced tomatoes in juice -- canned, undrained

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 Tablespoon chili powder

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup water

1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper

8 ounces skinless boneless chicken breasts -- cooked and shredded

5 ounces canned black beans -- drained and rinsed (about 1/2 of a 15-ounce can)

1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

garnishes:

2 whole corn tortillas

1 tablespoon light sour cream -- thinned with 1 teaspoon milk

1/2 small tomato -- chopped

1/2 small avocado -- diced

• Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add garlic and chopped tortillas. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add spices and chicken broth. Return to a boil, reduce heat, stir in cayenne, simmer for 20 minutes.
• Add chicken, black beans, and cilantro and cook for 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375F. Using scissors, cut the remaining two tortillas in half, then each of those pieces lengthwise in 1/2" wide strips. Cut those strips across their width into 1/4" wide "matchsticks". On a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray, arrange the matchsticks in a single layer. Apply a coating of cooking spray to the top surface. Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Divide half of the tortilla strips in each of two bowls. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with remaining tortilla strips, drizzle sour cream, then sprinkle on the chopped tomato, avocado

-----------------------------------------------------

Per serving: 500 Calories (kcal); 18g Total Fat (3 saturated); (31% calories from fat); 39g Protein; 46g Carbohydrate; 66mg Cholesterol; 1164mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 4 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

NOTES : Can make a vegetarian soup by using vegetable broth; adding one small carrot, chopped, along with the onion; 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels with the cilantro; and garnishing each serving with 1/2 ounce shredded cheese (Monterey Jack, jalapeno Jack, cheddar, etc.)

The missing recipes

Since I’m new to blogging, I thought that there may be a way to “link” the recipes I’ve mentioned in previous posts. Somehow. But I can’t figure it out so I guess I’ll just have to post them here.

Five days ago I mentioned Pasta Roma soup. My friend Jan sent it to me with her notes, and I added some as well. I hope that it's not too confusing, but I'll try to locate a different format in the future.

OLIVE GARDEN’S PASTA ROMA SOUP (Recipe Tried)

Excellent. Quick. Colorful. Tasty/Special enough for Company.

This soup recipe has been archived on the net for a long time (1997?), and thought I would give it a try. The original source is listed as The Olive Garden, so thought I couldn’t go wrong. I served the soup with Avocado, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwiches for a light dinner and ate it alone for a light lunch. Those Olive Garden soft Breadsticks would also be great alongside; but the Olive Garden already figured that out. Here goes….

Janet’s additions/changes in blue
Vicci’s additions/changes in red

2 (16 oz) cans garbanzo beans, drained

6 slices bacon, cooked, drained, and chopped (turkey bacon!)

1/3 cup olive oil (1 tablespoon, used with a nonstick saucepot)

¾ cup diced onions

1 cup diced celery (approx. 2 ribs) (or ½ teaspoon ground celery seed)

¼ tspn. minced garlic (2 cloves, minced)

1 cup julienned carrots (make certain finished lengths of carrots are no longer than 2” so they fit onto a soup spoon when eating. I made the carrots into 2” matchsticks) (I cut mine into 1” lengths)

1½ cups drained diced canned tomatoes (I used Hunt’s Diced in Sauce (1)14.5 oz. can)

1 qt. chicken broth (I used (1) Swanson’s 99% fat-free)

½ tspn. freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tspn. ground rosemary (I used 1/8 tspn. fresh; also have subbed minced fresh basil)

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

½ cup miniature pasta dry bowties, cooked (I could not find miniature pasta anything, so I used ¾ cup regular-sized Farfalle; I’ve also subbed regular sized Rotini) (I used acini de pepe, or however you spell it! Ditalini would be a good choice, or orzo, or tiny shells.)

Add beans to food processor and process using on/off pulse until beans are well mashed. Scrape down sides as necessary. Reserve. (I had to puree my garbanzos with a cup of chicken broth to make smooth)

Heat oil in a Dutch oven. Add carrots, onions, celery, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes on medium heat.

The original recipe never says, but somewhere in here, cook the pasta al dente, drain, and hold aside until ready to use.

Not me! I added the pasta (*) and cooked in the soup.

Add remaining ingredients except pasta and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer (* add pasta) and cook stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Keep warm. Add pasta to finished soup and serve immediately.

Optional: Grated Parmegiano Reggiano as garnish on top.

Yields. 4 servings. (6)

Cooks Notes:

1. I initially thought the chicken broth made the soup too salty (990 mg), and I was going to try to water it down; but once the soup stayed overnight and the flavors married, it was fine.

Cooks Notes:

I added 2/3 cup frozen chopped spinach during the last 5 minutes of cooking (did not need to thaw)

Original Source: Olive Garden

Archived at: http://www.recipegoldmine.com/ccoOLI/o54.html

(also @ recipelink.com)

version 1, 2/3/07

Next, the pizza sauce mentioned on 2/5:

* Exported from MasterCook *

Pizza Sauce
Servings: 8

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 large garlic cloves -- minced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano -- crumbled
1 teaspoon dried basil -- crumbled
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste

In olive oil, saute garlic and onion over low-medium heat until tender. Add dried oregano through black pepper and stir for another minute. Add tomato sauce and tomato paste, mix well, and cook at a simmer, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Cool before using.

Yield:
"1 cup"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per serving: 26 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (38% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 269mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Now, I was certain that the biryani recipe was here somewhere! Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow.

Can it get any colder?!

When I walked downstairs this morning, the indoor/outdoor thermometer read -2.2˚. Happy Monday!

I immediately checked to make certain the pipes in the kitchen had not frozen (they were fine), then I went to the basement to see if the water line into the house had frozen (nope). Life is good. :)

Having mixed the dry ingredients for Banana-Oat Bran muffins the night before, I turned on the oven and left for a bit while it (and the room) came to temperature.

I didn’t do as much baking over the past weekend as I had planned. It was just too cold in that kitchen to stand around, kneading dough and measuring out ingredients.

On Saturday I made Chili, using ground turkey and “burger crumbles” (Morningstar Farms brand). It was very good. Served alongside was light sour cream, shredded Cabot 50% Less Fat Jalapeno Cheddar, and diced avocado. I decided not to make the cornbread, so I steamed corn tortillas to eat with the chili.

The windows in the kitchen were rattling as arctic winds blew, but we ate our dinner in our warm, cozy dining room. It’s a nice room, but we hardly ever use it since there’s a table in the kitchen and the dining room table is a huge 7’ long thing. However, there is a gas fireplace there and I just can’t resist turning it on while we eat. Unfortunately, the thermostat is also in that room, and when the gas stove is on, the furnace isn’t. The second floor, where the bedrooms and bathroom are, was a nippy 55˚ when we retired that evening… I love my new flannel sheets!

On Sunday I ventured outside to fill the birdfeeder and melt a hole in the ice for the goldfish. The ice was very thick, and this took a long time, and I really didn’t enjoy being out there in the single-digit wind chills. For some reason, Spooky wanted out twice, and I just can’t no to the cat, so I also went out with him. It actually took more time to put on all of my outdoor clothing layers than it took for us to go out for a romp around the back patio/ yard. So I spent the rest of the day in the living room, gas fireplace blasting. Dinner was pizza, which required a half-hour preheat of the oven. Yay! Warm kitchen! I had made pizza dough last week and froze half, then actually remembered to remove it from the freezer on Saturday evening. Yesterday’s Pizza DuJour was more traditional than usual (Thai pizza, etc.). I found a good recipe for pizza sauce and “tweaked” it a little, then piled on lowfat cheddar, diced Boca Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, chopped sautéed spinach, and orange bell peppers. The some grated Parmesan on top.

The pizza sauce recipe is really simple and quick. When I started to read ingredient labels at the grocery store (sometimes I really do believe that “ignorance is bliss”—now I hardly buy any prepared food items because of what the ingredient list reveals!), I found that commercial pizza sauces contained corn syrup, lots of salt, and some unpronounceable things. Not what I want to be eating. So this pizza sauce tasted better than anything else I have bought, and it’s a snap to put together.

Which brings us to today. To keep the oven cranking out heat, I made a couple of loaves of 5-Grain bread, and a loaf of Black Bread. That recipe has been hanging around in my “to try” file for months. However, I will have to find something to eat it with as it’s a type of bread with which I am unfamiliar. On vacation last year I had a wonderful sandwich with featured grilled shrimp and a wonderfully nutty Swiss cheese on black bread, but I am having difficulty in remembering the rest of the ingredients. I’ll have to improvise. ;)

I had a craving for chicken biryani , so I made that for dinner. It's a Madhur Jaffrey recipe that I tweaked a little.

I served the biryani with stir-fried cauliflower with black mustard seed and cumin seed. Very good, a nice dinner for a cold night.

So, did you ever see an unlabelled container of something in your freezer, which has been there for months, and realize that you no longer knew what was in it? I really do try to label things, but sometimes I think “well, I don’t have to because I’ll remember this”. Right. I found a few of those containers while searching for my bag of caraway seeds today. One, I am certain, is coconut milk. The other, maybe crushed pineapple? I should thaw them all and create a meal from them!

Mid-Winter Crazies...

Yesterday I realized just how the mid-winter crazies can affect me. Here is a photo of our Groundhog Day dinner:

Look! Little ground-turkey groundhogs in mashed potato “snow”! This year, the official little rodent did not see his shadow, so no gravy was required… I made the mistake of splitting the broccoli crowns. I should have steamed them whole so that they would have stood upright. Live and learn. Jack is so patient with his budding lunatic!

Yesterday, before I began sculpting in ground turkey, we took a walk through our woods. It was gorgeous! The snow had been coming down all day and about 5” had settled in. The snowflakes were huge and wet and stuck to even the smallest branches. If I had not been concerned about taking my new camera out in the weather, I would have been able to snap some beautiful photos. I did, earlier in the day, take a few photos around the house when I walked down the driveway to get the mail.

Forward one day.

With the weather forecast to be the coldest we have seen in many years, this is my weekend to cook some hearty comfort food. Since our wonderful 142-year-old farmhouse lacks a heated kitchen (I wonder just what was going through the previous owners’ minds when they did this), I also like to keep the stove going just to maintain a comfortable temperature in that room as I cook.

The first thing to come to mind is chili. And cornbread, too. Also soup. What else for the oven? chocolate-chip banana bread, oven-fried chicken. I am going to make up for those 3 months in the summer when I do not turn the oven on at all (and that reason is lack of air conditioning).

The sky is clear blue with only a few wispy little clouds scattered around, and when I walked outside to fill the birdfeeder this morning the air temperature didn’t feel too bad, but then the wind blew and the frigid air took my breath away. The thermometer says 21˚, but that’s not including the wind chill. Even so, the high for the next few days are forecasted to be in the mid-teens, so I cleaned our cross country skis and boots, and wiped the cobwebs off of the poles, so we will head out after lunch.

To pre-warm us, and provide energy for skiing, I have made soup. My friend Jan sent me a recipe for a copycat version of Olive Garden’s Pasta Roma soup. I love it when she sends me recipes that she has tried because she goes to the trouble to clarify otherwise vague directions, make suggestions, and critique the recipe. The only thing that I did differently was to thicken the soup with arrowroot. Jack (strongly) prefers thicker soups. Along with a couple of slices of that wonderful No-Knead Bread, it makes for a sustaining lunch.

later that afternoon

Well, it was a nice thought. After cleaning the lunch dishes I decided to take a quick trip to the mailbox before we got ourselves outfitted for skiing. If I thought it was cold out earlier, then this was a real shock. So I became the weenie. I decided that nobody should have to venture out into this, and to make my point, I put together a couple of mugs of hot chocolate and asked Jack which he would prefer-- cross-country skiing in a 4F windchill or the more civilized option, hot chocolate inside. The smart man, he came over to my way of thinking!

‘Twas a really, really cold day both outside and inside the old farmhouse! Actually, the afternoon temperatures reached “up” into the low 20’s but I just felt chilled. I had to venture outdoors to fill the birdfeeder, dump used teabags and last nights’ dinner veggie scraps into the compost bin, melt a hole in the goldfish pond, and walk to the mailbox for today’s bills and junk mail. It was snowing and windy so after I returned indoors I decided to make a nice, hearty, spicy stew for lunch.

I make this often, using bits of whatever vegetables I had in the freezer or the refrigerator. Today we ate it with naan (thawed and crisped under the broiler), but usually I thicken it a bit with cornstarch and serve over brown basmati rice.

Curried Chickpeas and Vegetables

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 medium red bell pepper, ¼” dice

1 medium carrot, ¼” dice

1 medium onion, ¼” dice

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot

1 tablespoon sweet curry powder (+ some hot, if desired)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 large Roma tomato, ¼” dice

8 ounces light coconut milk

¼ cup vegetable broth

9 ounces cooked chickpeas (or one 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed)

¼ cup frozen peas, thawed

1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice

Drizzle the oil in a large nonstick sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and carrot. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes. Add onion, cook for another minute, then add garlic, and cook for another minute. Reduce the heat to medium and add gingerroot and curry powder; stir constantly for two minutes. Add salt, tomato, coconut milk, and vegetable broth and heat until almost boiling. Lower heat a bit and add chickpeas and green peas. Simmer for 10 minutes.

This recipe makes two generous servings as a stew, but served over rice would serve 3.

Depending on what’s available, I have made this with spinach (fresh or frozen), cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, etc. And it can be made into a heartier meal by adding chicken.

Today, instead of fresh gingerroot, I used the “prepared ginger” which I found in a tube in the produce section of the grocery store. I like having the tubed ginger, cilantro, and lemongrass on hand. If I know I will need large quantities of those herbs, I’ll buy fresh, but for day-to-day I keep these in the refrigerator. Once the expiration date has passed, I keep them in the freezer. It really takes only about 15 minutes at room temperature to thaw the tube enough to extract what I need.

I want to note, also, that I use only half of the amount of light coconut milk that is called for in a recipe. The other 4 ounces is either lowfat half & half (which is what I used today) or skim milk. I then mix in ½ teaspoon of coconut extract just before serving. Even light coconut milk contains too much saturated fat for me, and any extra remaining in the can I freeze in ice cube trays then pop into labeled plastic freezer bags for storage.

And, finally, curry. I use Penzey’s Sweet Curry, the flavor of which I love, but I also add a shake or two of their Hot Curry. And, baby, is it ever hot!!! One or two short little shakes will up the spiciness of any curry recipe. You gotta know your limits, and I found mine out quickly!

I need to dig up more oven-prepared dinner recipes. I got caught up in work this afternoon and didn't even think of dinner until 6:30. The kitchen (unheated) was quite "nippy". I cooked some whole wheat penne, soaked dried tomatoes in boiling water, and used onions, garlic, mushrooms, thawed spinach, red wine, canned diced tomatoes, hot red pepper flakes, ricotta, and parmesan to make a "skillet pasta" dish.

It was pretty good for a "thrown together" dish... :) High temperatures for the coming weekend are supposed to be in the teens, so it looks as though I'll be baking. Must make a plan, and a grocery list!