10 calories per serving--guiltless decadence!

As part of being a blogger for Foodbuzz  Tastemaker program, I received a large package of  Ghirardelli’s new “Intense Dark” line of chocolate. Now, if you know me well you know I do not like chocolate very much at all. Dark chocolate is the epitome of chocolate. They even included a bar of chocolate that was 86% cacao. What? This is not bakers chocolate either?! Gross–I accept the challenge!!

Wow--now if only I liked chocolate!

I have plenty of eggs at home–no thanks to the chickens! I also had some new instant espresso I had just gotten that I wanted to try.  So–adding all those ingredients together along with once serving size of Ghirardelli’s “Sea Salt Soiree”   I came up with a great idea for a treat! Sometimes we all need a little treat, intense with flavor, to stave off any cravings we are worried about succumbing to, right?  Like that “night-cap” we look for before we settle in for the night or those pesky afternoon grazing urges we get. These cookies are so perfect for this, at only 10 calories a pop–(yeah 10 calories!!) . You will so enjoy the depth of this 72% dark chocolate with the savory pairing of the sea salt and the sweetness of the roasted almonds in a chewy bite sized cookie!

Dark Chocolate Espresso Meringue Bites
2 egg whites at room temperature
1 serving size dark chocolate (3 squares)
3 pinches cream of tartar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 rounded teaspoon instant espresso
1 teaspoon cinnamon

See that one stubborn piece? I ate it.

Preheat oven to 215 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. ( I used miniature cupcake papers) Take your squares of the “Sea Salt Sioree” and added them to my coffee grinder. (the chocolate works best if you freeze it for a few hours first) Grind it all finely–you want it to fold it into the egg whites and let it blend fully instead of leaving chocolate chunks in the bite sized morsels.

Looks good enough to eat already!

Add egg whites to mixer and beat on high until soft peaks form then add the 3 pinches of cream of tartar.  Continue beating adding in the espresso and sugar slowly as the egg whites thicken. Stay of whipping the whites until they  are shiny and hold very stiff peaks.

I see sea salt.

Add the finely ground chocolate to the egg whites and gently fold in–you are not mixing it with any sort of effort here. Don’t go crazy thinking about all the chocolate and ruin the fluffy egg whites. I know how crazy you people can get about chocolates. Remain calm until you may eat them.

My makeshift decorator bag and zero skills.

Once the chocolate has been fully incorporated into the you can add the meringue to a large plastic freezer bag with the tip cut out. I used a frosting tip thinking I had some sort of mad skill with decorating with egg whites–turns out I posses no such skill.

40 servings equals 400 calories

Once each cup is filled and you have used all the meringue you can place the cookies on the middle shelf of the preheated oven. back for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Once they are firm to the touch you can turn off the oven and open the door and allow the cookies to sit in there for about an hour longer.

Once the cookies have fully cooled sprinkle with cinnamon and store in an airtight container in the freezer.

The cookies actually improved in texture and in taste after storing in the freezer for a few days. the texture is divine, really. It is firm like a meringue cookie when you first put it in your mouth but soon it softens into a caramel like texture as the rich flavors of the cookie grab your taste buds and give them a firm slap. So–these are time-consuming because they do take a while to bake–however, these are perfect to keep in your freezer when you may be looking for a snack, a treat–just that “something” that you keep wandering into the kitchen looking for. This is healthy eaters MUST HAVE!

Sunshine and Lemon Pops

Yay for summer! There are lazy days, trips to the beach, and kickball in the backyard. My kids love
summer and they love flavored ice pops. They also love gardening. We live in the city in an apartment
building. We have no backyard space for our dream garden. So we work with our little 12 foot by 3
foot patch of earth we can plant in. A few years ago we found Lemon Balm Herb at a local nursery and
couldn’t wait to plant it. After 3 years of having it grace our garden, this year I wanted to find a way to
actually use it other than to rub between my fingers for the incredible soothing smell. I knew you could
make tea with Lemon Balm leaves so I decided to try to make some ice pops for the kids to enjoy since
lemons, ice and summer go so well together.

It’s a simple, easy recipe that even your kids can help you with. Not to mention that there are
no artificial colors, preservatives or sweeteners like the many ice pops you get from the store. (And
these are lower in sugar too!) Start by cutting some lemon balm from your plant. Enough to fill two 20
ounce Mason canning glass jars (I just use the glass jars I save from when I buy store bought Classico
marinara sauce) Don’t be stingy-stuff that lemon balm in!

More Lemon Balm!

Fill each jar with boiling water. Let it seep for 20 minutes. Drain using a colander and/or cheesecloth (if
you have tiny pieces of leaves)

Add one teaspoon (or more to taste) of Agave syrup. You could also use honey. Stir well.

Now comes the fun part. Pick some fresh berries to add. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries are our
favorite. Using ice pop molds pour in liquid and add some berries. We also used ice trays so we can
add some of the ice cubes to our summer iced tea. Freeze and enjoy!!

The kids like it more when they get to help!

I had heard rumors on a few fitness forums about a magic noodle–no carbohydrates, all fiber resulting in no net calories. Lies–it is to laugh! Some people had tried them and had said the texture was different but they enjoyed them. I looked in Asian markets for something  resembling what these people were rumoring about and never found them. Until recently when I went to a local market and there in the gluten free section sat a package called “NoOodle” and it boasts right on the label they are gluten free, calorie free, sent from the gods of pasta to save the world etc. Naturally I purchased 2 packages so I could mess around with a few different ideas.

Devil Noodle Soup

When I looked up what they use for these noodles I saw that it was made from “Devil’s Tongue Yam” so I thought I would prepare them with some spice to it. The result was a very ethnic dish with a lot of heat and flavor and from what I can research–ZERO calories as well!

Simmering Devil tongue soup

Devil Tongue Soup
serves anyone who dares try it

1 8 ounce package Japanese Noodles
4 or 5 large mushrooms
1 clove garlic
1 cup Pico De Gallo
1 tbls vegetable bouillon paste
1 cup water
1 splash fish sauce
1 tsp green curry
3 toothpicks full ghost chili

Add all the ingredients aside from the ghost chili to a large sauce pan. Once the mushrooms are tender but before they are mushy remove from heat and stir in the ghost chili, a tooth pick at a time, until it has reached your desired level of heat!  The flavor in this from the fish sauce and curry as well the vegetables add such an ethnic flare to the dish, coupling that fact with the spice sensation of the ghost chili. The noodles had the perfect texture as well–no they are not spaghetti noodles but they are noodles! Think of it like Ramen has been given a second chance to redeem itself!

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yeah--that's right--chicken balls!

Ok this is more of an idea than a recipe for all you people who are still–STILL–wondering what to do with all that chicken breast you have in the fridge. You will need a food processor,magic bullet or just ask your favorite neighborhood butcher to grind it for you.

Here is what I did with my ground up chicken breast: I added some red curry paste, garlic powder, turmeric, onion powder, cumin, fish sauce and sea salt. I mixed it all up and let it sit and marinate in the spices for about a half hour. Then I took an egg and cracked it open in a bowl and beat it up *flex flex* in another bowl I added some potato starch. I then removed all my bling rings from my fingers, washed my hands and formed meat balls with the chicken mix–then rolled the ball in the egg and next the potato flour. Let those sit for a few minutes to really have the egg and potato flour introduce themselves to one another.

raw poultry balls

Here they are getting acquainted while the skillet warmed up on medium high heat. I sprayed the pan with some olive oil cooking spray, enough to just prevent them from sticking–and as the can says–add a trivial amount of fat to the dish. Trivial!~

I put about 8 balls in the pan at a time, making sure not to crowd them or cool down the skillet at all. I then covered the pan and let them cook like that for about 5 minutes–then i turned them and let them brown on all sides–uncovered–for about another 5-7 minutes.  the key with this is to get them potato starch to brown up and give it a crisp outer shell to make us think it is fried food. Pretty tricky, Sis!

These passed the taste test with all the kids and the husband, and this is straight up strict diet food here!
See , they look like cheat food and they taste wonderful!  You can add any seasoning mix you would like, garlic, onion and some smoke flavor would be excellent as well!

If you are opposed to chicken balls you can do the same batter and omit the coating. Fit the chicken with your hand onto skewers and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Chicken on a stick! I used the same seasoning and then squeezed lemon juice on them when done. Also super delicious! So–once again rethink your chicken breasts!  These would be great to have as party foods, too!

Everything tastes better on a stick!

Warm the body and cleanse the soul!

Well–finally the holiday season is over. Can we get a collective sigh of relief as we loosen the belt and adjust to our expanded waistlines? I ate, laughed, drank, ate, danced, ate, celebrated family and ate–and ate–did I mention I ate a lot? We had prime rib roasts, gourmet once a year chocolates and wine, mixed drinks–oh man the foods we had!  What did you have? Leave a comment telling us all what your favorite holiday eats were.

Now that they are over–oh my the clean up I have to do with my body. Yeah, the house too but mostly the body. I like to just eat what i want during the winter break and then clean myself up after. I like to think it is the way we are designed to eat–feast or famine, right? No, I am not in a famine state–forbid someone in a profession of health and wellness to advocate famine–I can just imagine the emails on that mention alone! I just like to return to a healthier meal plan of fruits, nuts, legumes and veggies veggies veggies! Oh and hot lemon water–yes please! I am lucky enough to be the recipient of several cookbooks over the holidays as well–all catering to my healthy desires-WOOT! Last nights dinner was based off  a beautiful vegetarian cookbook given to me by a family friend (Thanks Christine!). The book is Good Housekeeping: Vegetarian Meals: Meatless Recipes Everyone Will Love (Good Housekeeping Cookbooks) and I adapted this recipe from the Vegetarian lentil Stew on page 22. I want to also mention WHAT A BORING NAME!?!? This was such a wonderful meal–I can’t wait to have the left overs today for lunch even! The cookbook calls for lentil soup in a can but I can’t find many soups in a can that do not contain gluten so I always make my own. It took all of maybe 2 hours to cook–hands off cooking. The taste was so fresh and alarming with the curry paste and squash. The apple added a subtle sweetness that was a perfect pair to the heat of the curry. The colors were beautiful and appetizing–you will really love this recipe!

Curried Lentil Stew
serves 8 generous bowls

1 1/2 cups yellow lentils
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups peeled and diced butternut squassh
3 large tbsl red curry paste (pick your own heat)
10 ounces raw spinach
1 large apple
2 teaspoons diced ginger ( I do not peel mine)
2 cloves diced garlic cloves

In a large soup pan add lentils,broth and curry paste–allow to cook for about 2 hours on medium heat. Add in the remaining ingredients except the spinach and cook for another 30 minutes or until the squash is tender–then add the fresh spinach and stir. Once the spinach has cooked down you can serve and eat.  Really–yes it was that simple–crazy I know.

Calories per serving- 190
Protein-9 grams
Carbohydrates- 34 grams
Fat-4 grams

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Can't you just feel the warm oven and smell the medley of vanilla and spices?

I have loved granolas ever since i was a little girl and my mom would buy those small boxes of thick cluster granola with dried up raisins and nuts in them. Old school granola, loaded in calories, sugars and wonderment! I think the caloric value was integral to the mountain climbing crowd that it was marketed towards–but i loved it–despite keeping my feet at sea level.  Love it!  For my own family I like to create a less saturated fat granola–you know one that is actually good for you.

Here is a great recipe that you can make and eat right away, or spoon over yogurt, pack into snack bags for school or even sprinkle onto a bowl of fruit.  It also makes great holiday gifts packed up for teachers or loved ones!

Cranberry Orange Granola

¾ c orange juice
1/3 c honey
2 T canola oil
2 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
2 t orange zest
2 c old fashioned oats
1 c dried cranberries
½ c coconut
½ c chopped almonds

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Combine juice and honey and stir until the honey dissolves.  Add all of the spices to the liquid and mix.  Combine all of the remaining ingredients in a large bowl then dump liquid and stir  to evenly coat mixture.  Let the mix stand for 10-15 minutes to absorb the liquid.  Place on a greased or foil lined cookie sheet with a lip around it and cook for approximately 25 minutes or until the oats have started to brown a little.  Stir every 5 minutes or so.

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A perfect warm dish on a cool fall day

I love a hearty stew in the fall. I love all the rich flavors of the fall harvest, too. Carrots, squashes–heck I want to curl up inside a cornucopia and marvel at the fall wonders.  When I think of winter squashes and hot stews I want to draw hearts on paper with the names of each dish they can create. Comfort, warmth, excitement of the seasons cool nights, crunching leaves–the bright open night sky with the stars spilling across the entire view like vibrant beacons of sparkling hope.  I love Autumn!  This dish is a great accompaniment for the mood of the season. Rich, soothing  velvety and crisp!

I used boneless skinless thigh meat in this recipe because, let’s face it, that is where the flavor is. Sure we run off and purchase chicken breast in bulk now for most recipes but in a hearty dish like this–use the thigh! The heavy cream–just a bit–ensures it will hold up with the vinegar and not curdle or do anything else in the stew you do not want it to do. Fully fat creams behave well in this recipe–and it is just a splash–or two.

Creamy Chicken Stew
(adapted from Eating Well October 2010)
serves 6
1 pound brushed clean mushroom caps
1/2 cup diced sweet onion like Vidalia or Wala
1 cup chopped white and orange carrots
1 cup fresh peas
1/4 cup water
3 cups chicken broth
2lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces
1 Large spring fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
4 tbls cider vinegar
2 tbls corn starch
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 tbls Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Combined mushrooms , onions , olive oil and 1/4 cup water to a 6 quart dutch oven. Cover and cook over high heat stirring often until the mushrooms are juicy –about 6 minutes. Remove cover and cook for another 10 minutes–browning the mushrooms. Add 2 cups broth, carrots, rosemary, and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Cover the entire soup with the chicken thighs and sprinkle the cider vinegar over the meat. Lower heat to simmer and cook for 45 more minutes. Mix the cornstarch with the remaining cup of chicken broth add in the cream. Pour the mixture into the cooking soup and stir until thickened, add the fresh peas and heat for another 20 minutes. Serve warm in large baked squash bowls.

Calories per 1 cup serving: 319
Fat: 15 grams
Carbohydrates: 17 grams
Protein:31 grams

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Cool off your summer days with Sorbet!

Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet

1.5 lbs fresh strawberries, trimmed
½ c lemon juice
¾ c water
½ c sugar- or less if your fruit is really sweet

Puree the berries and juice together in a food processor or blender.  Place the water and the sugar in a microwave safe dish and heat for a minute and a half and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Once the sugar is dissolved, cool the mix in the fridge or add a few ice cubes to it.  Now add the sugar syrup to the berries and blend well.  Chill.  Now you have to follow the directions for your ice cream maker.  I added my fruit mix to the maker, surrounded the container with ice, turned it on and had a luscious sorbet in 30 minutes.

Jamie Wilson

How easy is this? How much better for you is this as well?  Clean eating ROCKS!

Some Pizza pickings!

So, follow the basic cheesecake recipe from here: “Let Them Eat Cheesecake!” but omit the lemon and vanilla from the design.

My 6 yr old handles the sharp objects that I am not allowed to touch.

Have a helper chop finely a couple of cloves of garlic for you. This is all based on how you want your own pizza–so 2 cloves, 5 cloves–dare for more? You pick! Add that garlic to the cheese as well as a couple pinches of sea salt and a few dashes of pepper. Now,you can add all the seasoning your pallet can handled in this step of the process. We choose to add fresh oregano as well as fresh sage and sun dried tomatoes chopped fine.  Once the seasoning is added in I folded in the egg whites as well as a 1/2 cup Asiago cheese. This was going to be your crust and sauce all in one. Once this is done, pour into a well oiled spring form pan.

Once this was prepared we chopped fresh peppers, more oregano, sage, mushrooms, left over grilled pork cubed up–really–the question for you is how do you like your pizza?  You could add anything here–feta and basil with roasted pine nuts. Salami and shredded cheddar. Endless–the possibilities are ENDLESS!

Ready for some HEAT!

After we topped off the pie with what we (my 6 year old and I) deemed GENIUS  we added a bit more Asiago to the top. We put it in the oven which has been preheated to 350 degrees.  We then paced the floor for 60 minutes, checking it periodically for–pizza-ish-ness. the house was filled with the amazing aroma of a Pizzeria. We anticipated this pie to be wonderful based simply on the scent filling the air. We drifted around like cartoon characters floating along behind the smell in the air. My 6 year old would clap her hands and yell I CANNOT WAIT! After the 60 minute mark arrived I added about 2 ounces sliced fresh mozzarella and continued cooking for another 10 minutes.

Done! I wish you could inhale the aroma this was making!

Then the timer went off, we opened the oven and shook the pan to make sure it was “set” (wiggly a bit but not soupy or sloshing around in the pan) We giggled a bit as only mad scientists in the kitchen do as I took the pie from the oven to cool. I took more pictures of it, stared at it, closed my eyes over it and breathed deeply through my nose in hopes to taste the wonderful scents wafting from the pie.  Once it had cooled about an hour I placed it in the fridge. I was not sure if i could cut it that warm and wanted to see what it would be like 1) re-heated and 2) cold.

When I removed the outer ring of the pan there was a lot of run off from the vegetables so be ready for that–no need to make a mess and ruin the experience you are creating here! I set it in the fridge and took pictures of it there as well. It was like sending a friend off at the airport. Good bye, Pizza Pie, one last picture before I close the door. have a safe trip, see you soon!  I let it chill for about 2 hours then removed it and cut out a slice. It cut perfectly, held shape wonderfully and tasted exactly as i needed it to taste. See that brown crusty edge in the photos? That was made up of the Asiago inside the pie itself, it tasted like cheese crusted bread. it was wonderful! So, slice aside I returned the pie to the oven to reheat for 30 minutes. See what some of us do to create a recipe to share??

It reheated perfectly, held shape and flavor and was just perfect in every way I wanted it to be!

I served it reheated with a tossed salad in a mustard vinaigrette. The left over slice that I ate for breakfast this morning was even better–just so you know!

Ricotta Pizza Pie--low Carb--Gluten Free--Perfect!

Now, consider my garden, as I mentioned in previous posts–it is just a hodgepodge of plants all swirling around and under one another hoping for the best spot in the sun and in the earth.  Well, I have beans growing there! Right near my unnamed squash plant and behind the other mystery plant–I had green beans, wax beans and burgundy beans. The burgundy ones are beautiful  and not pictured here because small children and even smaller bugs also enjoy the flavor and color of this garden harvest!  I did manage to save a large amount of wax beans and decided to give them a toss in a pan to see if I can reasonably recreate the bean dish my sweet husband likes so much.

So, first thing I considered is the beans are crisp and not all flippy-flop when you eat them but they are cooked through so–they must be blanched I concluded in another kitchen genius moment. So, I set up the water to boil, snapped the tops and ends off the beans and prepared the ice bath for the heated yellow veggies.

If you have not blanched a bean–let me walk you through it because it is super easy and weird.

Set up a pan of boiling water and a separate pan filled with ice water.  Add the beans to the rapidly boiling water and boil for 3 minutes, set a timer stand by the stove and let your mind wander for 3 minutes.

Bean ice baths are not as controversial as they look

Once the timer goes off and you fade back into the kitchen activity and away from the daydream, use a large slotted spoon to toss the beans right into the ice bath. This will make them talk!  Let them sit in the ice bath for about 1-2 minutes–you want them to completely stop cooking.  While they were cooling off I set a cast iron skillet on medium high heat and added a slab of butter and let that melt, sizzle and turn slightly brown.  Drain your beans in a colander to completely remove the excess water on the outside of them. Prevents you being burned when you drop these babies into the hot pan.

In the now hot skillet I added a shaved garlic clove–this means I sliced it super thin, my garden does not grow hairy garlic–does yours? I want to see it!  Once the lovely scent of that garlic hits your nose add in the beans and toss to cover them in the butter and garlic.  I tossed them in this for another 3 minutes then removed from the heat, stirred in some sesame seeds and a generous pinch of sea salt and served them up.

Easy Summer meal

I paired the beans with a juicy turkey breast burger as shown.

So, the conclusion my husband had for the closeness or the Chinese restaurant hidden calorie beans and these were– “These almost taste like the ones at the Chinese food place!”   I win!

Really, this is such a simple recipe and so easy to do and was really super yummy. My son’s girlfriend was over when I was making them and I forced one on her as well and she really liked them. So, this garden to table dish is husband and teenager approved!

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