Make Healthy Meals

Nope, not especially healthy, although not too dreadful if you can keep your consumption of these moderate. Depending on how much you adore them, this can be quite challenging. The raspberry chocolate I make is a particular weakness of mine now.

We’ll start with the Orangettes. I decided to make these after reading about them at Plate Tectonics. I just made a few because I hadn’t tried them before.

Orangettes

Cut off the top and bottom of an orange. Slice through peel to make it easier to peel, and to prepare for the rest of the recipe. Slice into strips no more than 1/2 inch thick.

Blanch in boiling water for several minutes. Repeat at least two more times, changing the water each time. This helps to remove the bitterness.

In a pot make simple syrup, using a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water. Add blanched peels, bring to boil, then simmer for one hour. Drain and allow to cool for an hour or more. Since I was doing the peels from just one orange, I used my strainer rather than a drying rack.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or very carefully in the microwave. If you use the microwave, stop and stir often to keep the chocolate from burning.

Dip peels in chocolate. Sprinkle cocoa powder on it if you like for an added touch of chocolate. This step reminded me that putting some in a shaker would have been much easier. Dry on wax paper.

Raspberry Chocolate

good quality dark chocolate (I use Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chips as they are very available in my area)
Just Raspberries (dried raspberries)
candy molds

Melt chocolate in double boiler or cautiously in microwave. Be very, very careful when trying to melt chocolate in the microwave.

Pour some of the raspberries into a baggie, and use the back of a spoon to break up the larger pieces.

Mix the two together, and spoon into candy molds. Refrigerate or allow to cool on counter.

These are really good, and proportions depend on what you want from it. I love it pretty heavy on the raspberry, but others may want it lighter.

Either of these recipes is good for an easy, homemade gift for the holidays. I get my Just Raspberries at Henry’s, and I would guess that other Whole Foods type stores would be the best guess in other areas. Amazon also carries them in much larger tubs than I get locally. Mine was a 2 oz tub, while the one I see on Amazon is 8 oz. For the quantity, the Amazon price is not bad, as the 2 oz size runs $7-8.

Candy molds are available at many craft stores, such as Michaels.

Technorati Tags: orangettes, raspberry chocolate, chocolate

Thanksgiving is a day many people overeat, and a lot of the popular recipes are not terribly healthy, even when they do involve vegetables. There are some very healthy things you can add to your Thanksgiving feast to make things a little bit healthier.

Start by looking at what you have made. Do you really need mashed potatoes, rice and yams? Cutting just one out can really help.

Consider switching from creamy sauces to using herbs. This is especially good for vegetables such as green beans that are often drenched in creamy sauce at this time of year. You could also try my Green Beans with Tomatoes and Capers recipe.

Do you serve a salad? If you don’t, add one!

What about rolls and stuffing? You could try switching to whole grain breads to improve these.

Do you serve appetizers for your guests while waiting for dinner? Try adding a veggie tray. These are easy to buy if you don’t want to add to the chopping you’re already doing.

A fruit salad can also be a nice addition. It can be served with dinner or be an option for dessert.

Ah yes, dessert. Is there anything to be done for it?

In a lot of ways, I’d say… do you really have to worry about eating perfectly healthy every day of the year? If the answer for you is no, than indulging in a dessert is not so bad a thing. Just don’t overindulge.

On the other hand, if you really feel that you need to keep it healthy, that fruit salad might sound awfully good. I also love making my Chocolate Chip Meringue Drops for a low calorie dessert. They’re just delightful.

Technorati Tags: healthy thanksgiving, healthy eating, thanksgiving, healthy food

Here comes Christmas! It’s time to start thinking about what to buy for the people on your list.

Just about every family has someone who loves to cook. This person is sometimes easy to shop for, but sometimes hard. It’s easy if they’re still building up their kitchen gear, more challenging if it seems like they have every gadget, tool, etc. that you can think of, and are content with it all.

For the new chef

This is the person in the family who is discovering a love of cooking, but doesn’t have it all yet. In fact, they may not have much at all of what they like.

Cast iron pans are a great alternative to nonstick, for example. They can be bought through eBay whether you want new or used/antique, or you can go to Amazon for a good selection. I love my cast iron far more than I ever did my nonstick, and the beauty of it is that they can be handed down for generations if cared for properly.

In fact, Amazon has a Thanksgiving sale going through November 26, 2007 in the Kitchen and Home department that might help to inspire you.

A good quality mixer can be very welcome if it’s in your budget, but even an assortment of small, useful and interesting kitchen tools can do well too.

Also consider gourmet ingredients. Unusual spices, expensive ingredients and so forth can be a lot of fun for new chefs. Organize into a gift basket for a nice presentation if you like.

Chefs who seem to have it all

Many people who love to cook and have been doing so for years can be a bit harder to shop for. The gourmet ingredients mentioned above may work for these people as well as for newer chefs, of course.

Beyond that, listen and watch them in the kitchen if you can, and see if there’s something they want. You do have to be careful about replacing tools if the current ones were carefully chosen, as some people who love to cook can be pretty picky.

Remember they may have other interests

Especially if they sometimes get touchy about having to do ALL the cooking, despite loving it, think about their other interests too. Some people would love to get a blender for Christmas. Others would probably hit you over the head with it for being so insensitive. Anything to do with housewares should be chosen very, very carefully.

Technorati Tags: cooking gifts, christmas gifts, holiday shopping, christmas shopping

2 lb. green beans, trimmed
1 small white onion, chopped
2 cups grape tomatoes, sliced in half
4 tsp. minced fresh oregano
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2-3 tbsp capers

Boil green beans in water until just slightly tender, no more than a couple minutes. Drain. Immerse in cold water to stop the cooking.

In a frying pan, combine olive oil, capers, tomatoes and onions. Cook for about one minute.

When ready to serve, reheat green beans, and combine with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper.

Doesn’t that just sound wonderful? I’m seeing a lot of it in stores. Ginseng added to energy drinks. Vitamins added to high sugar sweets. You know the routine.

Honestly, if you buy premade and processed foods for most of your meals, there’s only so much you can do to make unhealthy foods healthy. But there’s more you can do if you choose to make your meals and snacks at home from scratch.

Yes, that is a challenge for many a busy family. But the added control is quite worthwhile.

Let’s take a basic, not that bad for you but really doesn’t have much going for it meal like spaghetti. It’s good, but the pasta may not have that much nutrition in it, and cheap sauces may have high fructose corn syrup and other unhealthy ingredients in them.

But if you switch it up a little, using whole grain pasta and better pasta sauces (or even making your own!), the nutritional value climbs. If you’re a fair cook, the taste will likely improve too. There is nothing like homemade sauce, and the truly ambitious will consider pureeing other vegetables to add still more vegetables.

Or you could just have a salad on the side.

How you cook the food also matters. Much of why french fries are so unhealthy has to do with how they are cooked. You won’t get that exact same taste with other cooking methods, but you can still enjoy potatoes in ways that are healthier for you.

Flavorings used can also cause many of these issues. Too much butter and oil make many foods unhealthy. If you get smart about how you flavor foods, they can be healthier. Use herbs and spices instead of high fat additions.

Even if you aren’t a child, you may be able to help yourself with some of your less healthy eating habits using the tips in books like Deceptively Delicious to improve the nutrition in the meals you cook. Not everything will be to your taste, but it’s a way to make your food healthier, whether for yourself or your entire family.

Technorati Tags: healthy eating, food, cooking, healthy meals, deceptively delicious

1 package dry pasta
1 can sliced black olives, drained
1 (6.5 ounce) jar artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 red bell pepper, diced
salt, ground black pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and place in large bowl.

Toss pasta with olive oil, vinegar, pepper and salt. Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to toss. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Editor’s Note:

You can make this a bit fancier by adding in kalmata olives, either whole or sliced.

1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1-2 diced tomatoes
1/2 cucumber, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the broth to a boil. Add the couscous and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Combine the olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar and cumin in a bowl large enough for all the other ingredients to eventually be added.

Drain, then rinse the black beans thoroughly.

Add the black beans, tomatoes, red bell peppers, cucumbers, cilantro and garlic to the oil mixture. Stir with a spoon until all ingredients are coated.

Fluff the couscous with a fork, then add to the other bowl. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This dish can be served immediately or sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors mingle.

Editor’s Note:

If you want to add meat to this, chicken goes very well, but it’s quite excellent as a vegetarian dish. Washing the black beans ensures that they don’t turn the entire dish gray, which many find unappealing. Feta cheese crumbled over this is also a good addition.

You can also switch which beans you use, depending on what you have on hand.

Technorati Tags: couscous, black beans