Posole Stew

Chimayo, New Mexico

Since I'm posting recipes with a Hispanic influence, I thought I'd repost this wonderful, wintertime stew.  

I discovered how to make posole stew while living in Medanales, NM, in the summer of 2011.  Posole or pozole is the Spanish word for hominy.  In New Mexico posole stew is traditionally prepared at New Years with the leftover Christmas ham.  In Lexington, KY, Mexican restaurants usually serve pozole only on weekends, and it consists of a similar but much spicier soup made with pork and ground red chile paste rather than with green chiles.  This is my favorite soup.

• 1 Tsp oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 can hominy, drained
• 1 large can chopped green chiles (or better fresh roasted chiles)
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1 Tsp oregano
• 1 clove garlic

Sauté the onion in the oil in a large pan.  

When the onions are caramelized or translucent (depending upon your taste), add the broth, hominy, chiles, ham, oregano, and garlic.  Bring to boil.  

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  

This dish often tastes better the next day after it has set and seasoned a bit in the refrigerator.

A small bowl of posole -especially if with limited amounts of hominy- can make for a 200 calorie lunch or dinner.  One cup of hominy has 119 calories by itself.  

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (but only if you leave out the green chiles)
Paleo:  yes* (but only if you leave out the main ingredient, hominy)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Vegetarian:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Gezunt Latkes

Photo courtesy of Elena's Pantry

A few years ago my friends Mark, Nancy, Rachel, and Ben had me over to share Hanukkah with their family.  Hanukkah is a relatively minor Jewish holiday, but it tends to fall near Christmas.  So, it has been elevated to more prominence as a parallel Jewish winter holiday.  What's not to love about a holiday that requires you to drink several glasses of wine with family and friends?!

One Hanukkah tradition is the preparation of latkes, or potato pancakes, with most everyone taking their turn at the fryer.

Latke derives from Russian via Yiddish according to Wikipedia, and my healthy take on latkes I've named Gezunt Latkes, or healthy latkes, in Yiddish.  If gezunt sounds familiar, it is because Yiddish evolved out of German, and we get our American sneezing word Gesundheit (German for health) also from German.  No sneezing around the frying pan though!

• Start with my earlier recipe for Mashed Potatoes for Mo, a delicious faux mashed potato dish made from mashed cannellini beans, You'll need 2 cups of Mashed Potatoes for Mo.
• One of these three options:  
• 3 tablespoons wheat or almond flour
• 2 slices of white bread
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Oil
• Salt
• OPTIONS:  sauteed minced onion, sauteed zucchini, or sauteed carrot slivers

This dish has a lot of optional ways of cooking it:

Method 1:  To the basic mashed beans add 3 tablespoons wheat or almond flour.  Mix together.

Method 2:  To the basic mashed beans add two slices of bread and puree in a blender.

Method 3:  To the basic mashed beans add 2 beaten eggs.  Mix together.

Once you have your chosen pancake batter from above, you can make your basic latke by frying in oil with a dash of salt.  The oil in the pan should be high enough to come up to about halfway up the height of the latke.  Too little oil and your latke will stick.  Alternatively, just toss that latke in your Fry Daddy and fry daddy fry.

To this basic latke you can add a variety of additions:

• sauteed onions
• minced raw onions
• raw green onions
• matchsticks of julienned and sauteed zucchini
• sauteed (or raw if you like more of a crunch) carrot slivers

After cooking to a golden brown (usually about 4 minutes on each side on medium heat), put the latke on a paper towel on a napkin to cool slightly and to soak up some of the excess oil.  Then serve as is or with a side of sour cream, applesauce or apple butter.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes*  (especially if you use Method 3 rather than flour or bread)
Gluten Free:  yes* (if you use Method 3)
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no (has beans)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes* (if you use Method 3)
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Wedding Cookies

One of the best Christmas gifts I have ever received -and one I use at least every few months- is a cookbook my aunt Susie created using recipes from family and friends.  She collected and printed these recipes.  Then she put them in a 3-ring binder.

Today that binder is filled with other bits of paper with recipes from my mother and own friends.  It is my go-to cookbook when I want to make one of the delicious recipes my mom, aunt, or maternal grandmother would make.  I know this cookbook is a work of love, but it also took a great deal of time to make and copy.  Yet, what a wonderful gift this makes for any family of cooks.

Here is a recipe from my aunt Susie's cookbook courtesy of her friend Gus L. Liveakos.  Mr. Liveakos was a famous local cook and these wedding cookies were his specialty.

Gus L. Liveakos' Wedding Cookies

2 cups sifted all purpose flour
2 sticks (1 cup) margarine, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 (1 pound) box confectioners sugar
1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped

Sift flour and 7 tablespoons of confectioners sugar together into a large bowl.

Blend in the margarine one spoonful at a time.

Add vanilla and mix well.

Add pecans and mix well.

Cover and chill dough for up to a week.

When ready to use, grease a cookie sheet with oil spray and wipe off.  Take a 1/4 of the mixture and form balls about the size of the end of a thumb.  Each 1/4 of the mixture should make around 30 balls.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Do not overcook.

Cool the baked cookies slightly.

Fill a paper bag with the remaining confectioners sugar.  Put the warm cookies in the bag and gently roll from side to side.  Do not shake or the delicate cookies will shake.  Coat the cookies with the confectioners/powdered sugar.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes* (only if you use vegetable shortening instead of lard)
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Christmas with an Indian Twist for Mistletoe-Minded Munchies

Photo courtesy of elstro_88 via Compfight cc

Nathan and I have a near addiction to mukhwas, an Indian sweet and breath freshener.  Specifically, we love the mukhwas consisting of fennel seeds coated in sugar.  These delicious little things come in many colors and can be found at most Indian and many Middle Eastern grocery stores.  They may remind you of Jordan almonds because they are basically the same technique applied to fennel seeds instead of almonds:  dip and re-dep a seed or nut in a colored sugar coating until it reaches the size you want.








Fennel mukhwas give a nice fennel/anise/licorice flavor and satisfying crunch to Christmas cookies.  Once you have cut your cookies and have them on your baking sheet, brush them with a little water or a water/egg wash.  This provides a stickier surface to catch and hold the mukhwas to the cookie.  (It also is a useful trick when applying colored sugar to cookies).

Then just back as usual to transform the flavor, look, and feel of a simple sugar cookie into a real delicacy.  Plus, the fennel will do a nice job on your breath for later under the mistletoe.

Here are some of this year's Mukhwa Cookies and Linzer Cookies.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

The Forbidden Cookie

I seriously love desserts decorated with dragees.  I love dragees nibbled by themselves.  And I loved them before I knew they were called dragees.  Before that I thought of the little balls of sugar coated in silver as cake BBs. ;)

I love them even more since I learned makers will not ship dragees to California.  Now my cookies decorated with dragees take on the air of that most delicious of ingredients....the forbidden!

As with apparently any metal used in food such as gold or silver, there are tiny trace amounts of other elements toxic to humans in large quantities.  In 49 states and the rest of the world, people take the obvious solution of not downing quarts of gold leaf or silver dragees.  But America being America and California being California, someone in California sued.  I'm not exactly sure of the outcome of the lawsuit, but to be safe dragee makers ship to all 50 states -minus one. Yep.  Dragees are not illegal in California, but if a baker wants to make her/his cupcakes golden in the Golden State, he/she will need to have the dragees shipped across the state line and go pick them up.

Silver dragees make beautiful cookies.  Here are some tips though:

a. Order online.  Dragees are hard to find in many places and often are $12 or more for a small plastic bottle.  Online you can find more sizes, both gold and silver dragees, and cheaper prices.  I tend to order mine from Golda's Kitchen.

b. If you are using the tiny dragees, be aware they often melt in the oven over 8-10 minutes at 350 F.  The resulting pattern can be used in artistic ways but usually does not make for a pretty Christmas cookie. Instead, use larger dragees when baking them.

c. Or, you can use the tiny dragees or any dragee to decorate Christmas cookies after baking.  I use two methods:

I make a Linzer cookie, coat the bottom cookie with a bit of icing, place the second cookie on top of the bottom one, and then fill the hole with tiny dragees.  These cookies tend to look really fancy and rather fit for a wedding.

The second method I use is to put dabs of white icing on a cookie.  Then on each bit of icing press a silver dragee on top.  The results really are spectacular -really- and also double as a nice cookie for anyone into leather studs or Metallica. ;) 

Finally, I thought I'd reminisce a bit about one of the most elegant Christmas desserts I have ever seen.  In 2011 I used a bunch of frequent flier miles to go to Vienna, Austria, before Christmas.  At the Demel Bakery they made merengues coated with silver dragees.  Frankly, they were a little too crunchy to eat comfortably, but they were gorgeous.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Sugar Cookies Cinderella Transformation

Photo courtesy of neonzu1 via Compfight cc

Sugar cookies use a fairly simple recipe.  With a few little tricks, however, you can take this little simple cookie make it quite the elegant Cinderella.  "Dress to impress" extends to cookies too. Today I'm going to describe how to make a Linzer cookie that is easy to make but makes a big impression.






 The Linzer Cookie:  Named for Linz, the 3rd largest city in Austria, this little cookie can be made from a sugar cookie recipe or a butter shortbread recipe.  A Linzer cookie consists of a bottom cookie topped by another cookie whose center has been cut out in a decorative shape before baking.  After baking and cooling, you assemble a Linzer by:

a. Sprinkle the top cookie with powdered sugar.

b. Put a dab of a high quality jam or preserves in the middle of the bottom cookie.

c. Put the top cookie over the bottom cookie so that the jam shows through.

The result is beautiful and delicious.  Raspberry jam is often used with these cookies because the sharp, tart flavor goes well with the sweet dough.  The key is rolling out your dough to a thin sheet so that your cookies are not too tall.

Tip:  Dip your cookie cutter between cookies in a bowl of flour.  This keeps the dough from sticking to the cookie cutter.

Here is a picture of this year's Christmas Linzer cookies made with raspberry jam in the shape of a star.

If you need a good sugar cookie recipe, here is my family's sugar cookie recipe.  The nutmeg adds a great yet subtle flavor:


Hirschmann Family Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1- 1.5 teaspoons of freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 rounded teaspoon baking soda
6-7 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Mix all the ingredients together by hand, hand mixer, or mixer (I use my Kitchenaid mixer).  Add enough flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll out and cut.

Flour a rolling pin and your rolling surface (table, counter, cutting board, etc.).  The flour is key to keeping this and most doughs from sticking.

Roll out to your desired thickness.  Decorate with sprinkled sugar, etc.

Place on parchment paper or a Silpat...or a lightly greased...cooking sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes.


DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

A Special Sugar Cookie

Christmas 2013

It's time for some Christmas cookies, and this recipe is very special to me.  It comes with a story intertwined with my family's history:

Over the years my aunt Susie and I have shared our hobby of doing family genealogy.  To my surprise, thus far most of my ancestors arrived in North America in the 1600s and 1700s during the British colonial period.

The last bunch of immigrant ancestors to arrive, however, were a German branch of my family, the Hirschmanns.  My great-great-great-grandparents Hirschmann and their family left Upper Franconia (in English) or Oberfranken (in German) -now part of Bavaria- and made their way to Iowa around 1840. My great-grandmother Clara Hirschmann Williams used to tell my aunt Susie that her father -who was born in Germany and who worked as a baker in Iowa- would make these cookies and keep them in wooden barrels to sell to people passing through in covered wagons.

My aunt Susie remembers her grandmother Clara baking these same, simple sugar cookies for her and the other grandchildren generations later.  I share this sixth generation cookie recipe from my family to yours.

Hirschmann Family Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1- 1.5 teaspoons of freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 rounded teaspoon baking soda
6-7 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Mix all the ingredients together by hand, hand mixer, or mixer (I use my Kitchenaid mixer).  Add enough flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll out and cut.

Flour a rolling pin and your rolling surface (table, counter, cutting board, etc.).  The flour is key to keeping this and most doughs from sticking.

Roll out to your desired thickness.  Decorate with sprinkled sugar, etc.

Place on parchment paper or a Silpat...or a lightly greased...cooking sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes.


DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Bizcochitos

Photo Courtesy of Renee

Here is a trivia question for you: What state was first to have an official state cookie?

If you guessed New Mexico, you would be correct!  

I love New Mexico and was fortunate to live there for a month in 2011. Early Spanish-speaking settlers from Mexico created the bizcochito.  It is a shortbread type cookie made with lard or shortening instead of butter and flavored with cinnamon and anise.  

My friend Renee has lived all over the United States and is a serious foodie and cook.  She shared her friend Yolanda's family recipe and her 2013 Christmas batch that she made for a community bake sale.  Many thanks to Renee -and Yolanda and her aunts- for this yummy recipe.

Bizcochitos

Ingredients:

1 cup of lard or shortening. (I've used shortening and it's okay, lard is traditional.)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon anise seed

3 tablespoons of sweet wine (I've used white German wine.)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Method:

1.   Cream lard and sugar until very creamy. Add egg and beat until very fluffy.

2.   Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Stir in wine and anise seed.

3.   Roll out dough on a floured board until 1/4 inch thick. Cut into fancy shapes. I used a snowflake cookie cutter and small Christmas tree cutter, but my aunts used to cut them in hearts, diamonds, spades, and clovers like playing cards suits.

4.   Combine 1/4 cup sugar and the tablespoon of cinnamon and sprinkle on top of the cut cookies.

5.   Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Put them out on your Christmas Even buffet with your tamales. Don't forget the hot chocolate! You can freeze these cookies.

 

Source: Yolanda via Renee

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes* (only if you use vegetable shortening instead of lard)
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Diana's Cranberry Salad -Diabetic Friendly Version

Photo by Muffet

No Thanksgiving or Christmas are complete for me without my mom's Cranberry Salad.  Folks often rave about this holiday side dish both for its taste and for how well it presents on the table.

I'm posting my own diabetic take on how to make this dish a bit healthier for those avoiding sugar.

• 1 bag of fresh cranberries
• 1 3/4 cup Splenda or equivalent stevia or other sugar substitute
• 1 small box of sugar free strawberry gelatin
• 1 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 small can of unsweetened pineapple

Remove a handful of cranberries from the bag and reserve for later.

Cut up the remaining cranberries in a blender until a rough chop but not a puree.

In a bowl mix the chopped cranberries, the Splenda, and the handful of reserved whole cranberries.  Cover and let rest in the refrigerator overnight. 

The next day mix the gelatin, hot water, pecans and pineapple.  When the gelatin has dissolved, pour the cranberry-sugar mixture and gelatin mixtures together into a clear serving dish.  

Let the salad congeal in the refrigerator -usually overnight.  The resulting dish has the brilliant reds of Christmas and a tart, sweet crunchiness that leaves that other cranberry sauce where it should remain -in a can on a far, back shelf.

OPTIONS:  My aunt Susie prefers to make her cranberry salad with cherry gelatin.  

My mother's original recipe calls for 1 3/4 sugar instead of Splenda and has 1 cup small marshmallows and about 1 cup coconut generously sprinkled on top of the gelatin to create a red and white layer effect.  Marshmallows are pure sugar, and most baking coconut is sweetened with sugar.  You may, however, add unsweetened coconut on top.  

In full disclosure, I also am not a fan of nuts in food so I usually leave out the pecans.  The nuts also are rather high in calories if you are trying to slim down the caloric punch of your Thanksgiving.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes* (if you allow yourself to have Splenda or similar)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes*  (if you can find a gelatin made without animal products)
Vegetarian:  yes*  (if you can find a gelatin made without animal products)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes* (if you leave out the pecans)

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Cebollas Encurtidas (Pickled Onions)

Photo courtesy of Belly of Ecuador

Cebollas Encurtidas are a wonderful Latin American side dish used as a condiment with pork and other dishes.  They add both color and a sweet, tangy addition to many different meals.

It is surprising I like these wonderful morsels of onion.  While I love caramelized and other thoroughly cooked onions, I pretty much hate raw onions.  Cebollas Encurtidas, however, are more like an onion pickle.  

These onions are a common side dish in many Mexican and other Latin American restaurants.  I began making my own when I found it difficult to find any commercial brands in local Latino groceries.  I believe most people just make this dish at home.  They are easy to make, and you can find a number of different recipes online.  After some experimentation, here is my own variety that I have come to love:

• 3 red onions
• 1 c lime juice
• 1 c water
• 1 c red wine vinegar
• ¼ tsp cloves, ground
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Slice the onions horizontally into rings.  Put into a bowl and salt.  

Bring the water and vinegar mixture to a boil.  

While the vinegar is heating, move the salted onions to a bowl with the lime juice.  Add the cloves and pepper.  

Pour the vinegar/water mixture over the onions.  Let them set for 2-3 hours until they turn pink.  

Refrigerate and eat within 2 weeks or so.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Black Bean Soup

The other night Nathan had a dish at a new Latin fusion restaurant served over a thick, delicious black bean soup.  I've craved it since and decided to try to create my own.  The result is quite tasty if I say so myself:

• 2 cans black beans (I used Goya brand.)
• 2 pints of chicken stock (I used Costco brand.)
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 small red onions
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Saute the onions and garlic in the oil until the onions are nicely translucent and cooked.

Drain the black beans and rinse with cold water.  

Add the beans, chicken stock, and cumin.

Cook on medium for about 20 minutes to reduce the liquid by about a third.  

Either mash some of the beans into a soupier texture in the pot or remove a portion of the mixture and puree with a blender.  Then put the puree back in the pot.  Simmer on low until you are ready to taste the deliciousness!

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock)
Vegetarian:  yes* (substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes* (up to a cup of soup)

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Posole Stew

Chimayo, New Mexico

I discovered how to make posole stew while living in Medanales, NM, in the summer of 2011.  Posole or pozole is the Spanish word for hominy.  In New Mexico posole stew is traditionally prepared at New Years with the leftover Christmas ham.  In Lexington, KY, Mexican restaurants usually serve pozole only on weekends, and it consists of a similar but much spicier soup made with pork and ground red chile paste rather than with green chiles.  This is my favorite soup.

• 1 Tsp oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 can hominy, drained
• 1 large can chopped green chiles (or better fresh roasted chiles)
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1 Tsp oregano
• 1 clove garlic

Sauté the onion in the oil in a large pan.  

When the onions are caramelized or translucent (depending upon your taste), add the broth, hominy, chiles, ham, oregano, and garlic.  Bring to boil.  

Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  

This dish often tastes better the next day after it has set and seasoned a bit in the refrigerator.

A small bowl of posole -especially if with limited amounts of hominy- can make for a 200 calorie lunch or dinner.  One cup of hominy has 119 calories by itself.  

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes* (but only if you leave out the green chiles)
Paleo:  yes* (but only if you leave out the main ingredient, hominy)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Vegetarian:  yes* (but only if you use vegetable broth and leave out the ham)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Ode to the Pumpkin Seed

Photo courtesy of BradBeattie

One of my latest food obsessions are pumpkin seeds.  This obsession began at a recent pumpkin carving party at my friends Bernadette and Anna's house.  They roasted the fresh seeds from the pumpkins for about an hour with a splash of soy sauce on them.  Delicious, salty, and crunchy!

I had never realized you can eat the entire green, inner seed and outer white casing.  They offer a very satisfying texture and crunch.




Semillas tostada de calabaza, or roasted pumpkin seeds, are a popular Mexican snack.  If you want to try some pumpkin seeds and your regular grocery store does not carry them, check out your local Mexican specialty grocery store.

• Fresh, clean, raw pumpkin seeds
• Soy sauce or Bragg's Amino Acids
• Some oil (in a bottle or spray oil)

Pre-heat your oven to 300 F.

Spread out your pumpkin seeds as a single layer on a shallow baking sheet pan.  Coat with oil.  Add a light coating of soy sauce, Bragg's Amino Acids or simply salt.

Bake for 45 minutes to one hour while stirring the seeds occasionally.  

Enjoy!

Options:  You can also add other seasonings when roasting such as cayenne pepper, black pepper, or rosemary.

Caution:  1/3 cup of roasted, salted pumpkin seeds have 160 calories, so they are nutritious but fairly high calorie.  The  commercially roasted, salted version in grocery stores also is high in salt (about 49% of your recommended daily salt intake in only 1/3 cup).  Pumpkin seeds, however, are a rich source of manganese, zinc, magnesium, and tryptophan.  Folk medicine also says they kill and expel intestinal parasites so grab a bag and say goodbye to those tapeworms! ;)

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes...actually some nutritionists recommend for diabetics for the mineral content
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes...pumpkin is in the gourd family, not Nightshade
Paleo:  yes
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Less:  yes...but no more than 1/3 cup

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Dulce de Leche

Photo Courtesy of Audinou

What better than a sweet treat whose preparation can cause bodily harm?  Now there is an incentive for the adventurous risk-taker.  ;)  Seriously, this is an interesting recipe my late friend Michael told me about. Michael once worked at a popular 1970s Lexington restaurant and bar called the Bungalow.  The chef and owner, John, was largely self-taught and this technique was one he used in the restaurant.

Dulce de Leche translates from Spanish as milk candy.  This recipe basically creates a delicious caramel.

• Take a can of sweetened condensed milk
• Remove the label and poke two holes in the top with a can opener
• Place the can in a pot and fill to near the top of the can with water
• Bring the water to a simmer
• Simmer the can for three hours being careful to make sure the water is kept filled to near the top of the can

After three hours of simmering, the sugar and milk in the sweetened condensed milk with transform into a thick caramel.  Longer simmering will make the dulce de leche firmer.

CAUTION:  Without the holes on the top of the can and care to keep the pot filled with water, the stove's heat can cause the can to explode!  Be careful.

Option:  You can also make dulce de leche the old fashioned way by slowly simmering milk and sugar for hours on the stove in a double boiler.  This technique require careful monitoring and stirring to keep the mixture from scalding, but the advantage is that you can add vanilla, cinnamon, or other flavors.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Less:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Autumn Salmon

This delicious dish is super simple and gives a big bang in terms of taste and presentation.  It's also a great -and healthy- way to celebrate autumn and the flavors of the season.

• 3 oz. salmon fillet  (177 calories)
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce (9 calories)...you won't use it all
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup (52 calories)...you won't use it all
• 1/2 cup whole, fresh cranberries (25 calories)
• Spray of cooking oil (I use coconut or canola.)  (4 calories)

TOTAL Calories:  less than 263 calories (This dish has about 200 calories more than likely.  When cooking I end up using only a coating of the soy sauce and maple syrup.

Put the soy sauce and maple syrup in a bowl.  Place the salmon in the sauce bowl and coat the fish with the sauce.

Coat a non-stick pan with a quick spray of cooking oil and heat the pan to medium-high.

Place the salmon in the pan and toss in the whole cranberries.

Cook the salmon for one minute.  Flip.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Flip.  Cook for another 3 minutes.

Serve the salmon with the colorful and tangy sauteed cranberries.  It makes for quite an impressive and colorful presentation.

OPTIONS:  Use walnut oil rather than the cooking spray.  Frankly, I don't taste the difference when the fish is done, but the walnut oil at least sounds more autumn-like.  I also often substitute Bragg's Amino Acids for soy sauce.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes* (does contain some maple syrup)
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  yes* (if you allow yourself to have maple syrup)
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  no
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  no (fatty salmon has 400 calories in a 200g half fillet)

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Lexington Avenue Hipster Bacon Pizza

Bacon-deprived Hipster

Let's face it:  bacon is hip right now.  It's up there with kale and Brussel sprouts as the new trendy food among discriminating hipsters.  And since I love all three, I say more power to this foodie trend.

Recently Nathan and I went to Asheville, America's new Beer City.  Asheville's 50+ breweries recently stole the title of Beer City from Portland, Oregon.  I grew up for awhile outside of Asheville and remember its downtown as largely empty except for a great bookstore (Malaprop's), a shoe store my mom loved (Tops), a gay bar (O'Henry's) and a few law offices.  Today the downtown is among the most fun in the United States.  It is chock full of coffeehouses, brewhouses, great locavore restaurants, tourists, hipsters, retirees, bookstores, etc.

While in Asheville a few months ago, we went to LAB (Lexington Avenue Brewery).  They apparently switch up their menus every season, but we were fortunate to have a late night bacon pizza there.  We have since tried at other pizzerias but none have come close.  Here is a duplicate I've found works well:

• Make a thin or medium crush pizza.  If you haven't mastered the art of pizza-making (I haven't!), you can also buy a good frozen cheese pizza.
• Try to find some thick cut bacon from a local butcher.  Dice into small cubes.  The cubes work MUCH better sprinkled over the pizza than strips of bacon.  Alternatively, cut up strips to sprinkle.  
• You'll have to experiment some.  I found thick cut bacon needs to be partially cooked.  Then it will finish cooking as you bake the pizza.  Thinner cut strips may cook sufficiently but you want a fairly nice, crisp bacon when the pizza is done.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  yes*  (depends on crust used)
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes*  (depends on if you use a white sauce rather than tomato sauce)
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  no
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Tasses de Porc

Tasses de Porc is just another of my fancy-fied French names for a dish.  The name means "pork cups".

Anyhow, these are an interesting breakfast or brunch novelty consisting of an edible cup made of ham, Canadian bacon, or even bacon.



The basic recipe is to spray some non-stick oil/spray onto a muffin pan.  Then place a thin slice of ham, Canadian bacon, or bacon into each dish to form a cup.  Because this dish has a short baking time, you will either need a very thin cut of meat or use cooked meat.  You really don't want to be eating undercooked pork! Then you add a filling and bake at 350 F until the egg filling has cooked to the consistency you seek for your eggs.

The fillings can vary:

A. One approach layers the bottom of the pork cup with cheese followed by whisked eggs mixed with herbs, peppers, diced onion, chives, diced tomatoes, etc.  Make sure whatever additions to you add to your eggs are finely chopped.

B. I don't like eggs with a runny yolk, but this dish is often made with cheese, a sauce, or a slice of tomato topped with a whole egg that will bake to a sunnyside up texture.

C. I've only made this a few times.  The ham cup can dry out, so be sure to fill to the top.  I've had the best success with a basic quiche recipe of 1/2 cup cream, 1 egg, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a pinch of red pepper.  Others add nutmeg instead of the peppers to give a subtle, sweet flavor to the eggs.

D. I have also experimented with a take on eggs Benedict:  toast and trim an English muffin to fit in the bottom of the pork cup made with some type of cooked pork (nothing raw).  Place a poached egg on top of the muffin.  Pour Hollandaise sauce over the egg and muffin.  Sprinkle on some red pepper or paprika.  Bake for 5-10 minutes to warm the entire dish but not so long as to dry out the sauce or pork.

This dish is as versatile as its big sister, quiche.  Feta and spinach, mushrooms and ham, basil and tomatoes...the combinations are endless.  This dish can also be made ahead of time and served a few hours later as a room temperature picnic item similar to quiche.  Depending on the filling this dish can be refrigerated and warmed up for a yummy, quick breakfast.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  yes*  (depends on filling)
Mediterranean:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes*  (depends on filling)
Paleo:  yes*  (depends on filling)
SugarBusters:  yes*  (depends on filling)
Sugar Free:  yes*  (depends on filling)
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  no
Wheat Free:  yes*  (depends on filling)
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Carrie Mae's Banana Pudding

Godbabymama loves some Suthun coookin'!

The mother of my godson "Waffle" -AKA Godbabymama- shared this delicious recipe.  She in turn learned this recipe from her sassy mother, Carrie Mae. Many thanks to both Carrie and Carole/Godbabymama for sharing this yummy Southern delight!

• 1 cup sugar plus 2 teaspoons extra sugar
• 4 Tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk
• 3 egg yolks (save whites)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 bananas
• 1 handful vanilla wafer cookies

Heat oven to 350 F.

Mix the sugar and flour together.  

Add the milk to the sugar-flour mixture.

Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract.

Mix and stir together the mixture over medium heat.

Arrange the bananas and vanilla wafers in a baking dish.  

Beat the reserved egg whites and two teaspoons sugar into a meringue.  (The addition of a small pinch of Cream of Tartar can help the egg whites to stiffen.)

Pour the heated mixture over the bananas.  Spoon the meringue onto the bananas, wafers, and pudding mixture.  Bake at 350F until the meringue is nicely browned.

Serve warm or cool.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Mediterranean:  no
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  no
Sugar Free:  no
Vegan:  no
Vegetarian:  yes* (if you eat eggs)
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  not a chance!

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Pain d'Épi

Pain d'Épi translates from French as Wheat Head/Spike Bread.  Its shape is supposed to look like the head of a piece of wheat.

It looks fancy.  It's fun.  And it makes nice, individual loafs/rolls connected as one piece.  I haven't tried this with kids, but I suspect children would enjoy tearing off their own individual 'grain' from the loaf.




Use the Basic Bread Recipe.  When you shape your dough for the final 20 minute rise, roll the original ball with your hands into a longer cylinder.  Then using a pair of clean kitchen scissors, cut into the roll at about a 45 degree angle.  Cut down into the roll until you are leaving only a 1/4" piece of dough under the tip of your scissors.  You will now have a flap of dough.  Gently push it to one side of the roll.

Repeat the cutting with the scissors.  On the next cut though, push the flap of dough to the opposite side from the first.  Repeat this until you have cut the entire roll into flaps -or 'grains'- of dough on your 'wheat stalk'.

Let the bread rise for 20 minutes on a surface coated with a generous portion of whole wheat flour.

Preheat your oven to 450 F.

When ready to bake, put one cookie sheet of hot water on the lowest rack in your oven.  Then slide the risen dough to another cookie sheet.  Place the bread and sheet on a higher rack.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Cool for at least 5 minutes.  Then tear each delicious 'grain' from your Pain d'Épi to eat with your favorite butter, preserves, molasses, or honey!

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  yes* (if you use 100% whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour)
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (unless you do not consume yeast)
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.  

Bread-a-rama

Bread has taken some hard knocks in the last decade or so as Americans' burgeoning waistlines have led to a move away from carbs.  Yet, most people love breads in all their varieties.  They are cultural statements. Imagine Indian food without naan, English tea with no crumpets, or French cheese without the baguette.  You're probably going to have some carbs with your breakfast or dinner.  Why not take a lesson from the French and make small, delicious additions to your meals count.  One slice of a really good homemade bread versus eating a bag of noxious baked potato chips:  which would you choose?

Plus, you can bake your own higher quality breads at home for a fraction of the cost of bread bought from a store.

When I was younger, I always associated a happy home with making your own bread.  So these recipes have a special emotional resonance with me.

Bread also does not have to be that complicated.  Each one is something of an experiment.  I've undercooked bread.  I've overcooked bread.  I've used old yeast that didn't rise.  I've used small bowls and had rising, raw dough spill over into my oven.  Experiment.  Learn.  Return to the flour to fight another day.

Here though is a basic recipe you'll find on a number of sites.  I forget exactly where I first found it.  I've since played and adapted it to my own kitchen.  I now share it with you:

Basic Crusty Bread

3 cups all purpose flour (Use bread flour or a mix depending on how chewy you want your bread.  The more bread flour with its higher protein content will result in a chewier bread.)

1.5 cups warm water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon yeast

Take a large bowl.  Mix these four ingredients together.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit overnight. While you sleep, the yeast will be working their magic.  No need to proof your yeast or to add sugar.  The key is time.

If you want to make larger batches, you can refrigerate or freeze the dough after the initial overnight rise.  Then just pull off enough for a future loaf.

Preparing the Dough:

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450 F.

Coat your hands in flour.  Either use the entire dough or tear/cut off a grapefruit-sized piece of dough to make smaller loaves.  Pulling from the top of the ball of dough, pull the top down to the bottom of the ball. Rotate the ball a quarter of a turn.  Pull the top of the ball down to the bottom.  Do this a total of four times.

Place the ball of dough in a clean dish towel, piece of cheesecloth, rising basket, cookie sheet, or pizza peel (the flat wooden thing you see at pizzerias) after generously putting down corn meal, whole wheat flour, or regular flour to create a cushion to prevent sticking.  Also, this is the time when you shape your dough, cut the top into patterns, or top with seeds.  If you wish to cut your dough into decorate patterns, generously top the dough with flour to prevent the blade from sticking in the dough.  Alternatively, you can wet the dough and knife to keep them from sticking.

Allow to rise from 20 minutes to 2 hours depending on your schedule and preference.

Cooking Methods:

Professional bakeries use steam-injected ovens that produce a crisp crust.  There are at least two ways to get a similar outcome at home:

A. If you have a Le Creuset or Lodge Dutch oven made of enameled cast iron, you can place the bread in the Dutch oven.  (Be careful:  the Lodge brand's top knob has been known to melt at 450 F in the past.)  The bread's own moisture content will steam the bread.  Bake for 30 minutes covered.  Then bake another 15 minutes uncovered.

B. If you don't have a cast iron Dutch oven, no worries.  Put a cookie sheet on the lowest rack in your oven.  Fill with hot water.  Then on the higher rack put another cookie sheet with your dough.  Bake for 25 minutes.

Cooling:
Most recipes also need to be properly cooled for the inside of the bread to finish cooking.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  no
Gluten Free:  no
Mediterranean:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no
SugarBusters:  yes* (if you use 100% whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour)
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (unless you do not consume yeast)
Vegetarian:  yes
Wheat Free:  no
200 Calories or Under:  no

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.