Spaghetti and Spaghetti Squash with Lemon Garlic Sauce and Ricotta...Eat.Live.Be. For a Better 2011!

So long as we're being honest here.

(And really, you've seen the things that I write.  I am thoroughly incapable of keeping any secrets from you. Or I have no shame. Or both.  Hmm.)

I have two things I need to tell you.

The first is kind of related to this week's Eat.Live.Be. theme, which is portion size.  And how to control it.



And so what I'm going to tell you is that sometimes.  When I go out to eat.  I order a dish partially based on how much food comes with it.  (And partially based on whether it has sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or ricotta cheese.  My holy trinity of food.)

I just have no patience for a twenty dollar dish that comes with two ounces of chicken a tablespoon of rice and some meager looking vegetable added on as a garnish. No matter how much truffle oil is sprinkled over it.  If I'm going out to eat and spending money on a meal, I'd like to feel full and satisfied.

And while we're still being honest. I'm going to tell you that not only do I feel this way when I go out to eat.  But I also feel this way when I cook for myself.

I'm a bulk eater.  Always have been, always will be.

And so instead of telling you how to trim your portions down to size.  I'm going to tell you how to bulk them up.  In the healthiest possible way.



Which brings me to my second admission of the day.

I've never really been sold on this whole spaghetti squash thing.  Yeah, I know.  Me.  The girl who did the 12 weeks of winter squash around Christmas time.  The girl who built up her deltoid muscles solely by carrying ten pounds of squash home from the farmer's market every week this fall.

I know a lot of people, like my good friend Cara of Cara's Cravings, who are always extolling its virtues and using it as a spaghetti replacement.  But to me.  It just doesn't cut it.  Spaghetti is spaghetti and nothing can ever replace it in my heart of hearts.

So here's what I did.  I compromised.  (Although that's not really a good word to use because this dish was so good that "compromise" is truly not the best way to describe it.  But bear with my lexicographical deficiencies for the moment.)  Half spaghetti.  Half spaghetti squash.  Topped with ricotta.

Equals one huge plate of lemony garlicky cheesy heaven.  You won't even miss that half pound of spaghetti that you omitted.  I pinky swear.  With a cherry on top.



Moral of the story is that if you want to cut portions, the easiest way to do it (at least in my mind) is to bulk up food you already love with tons of veggies.  This way, you'll still get the taste that you want and that feeling of being full, but with fewer calories.  Gotta love it.

What do you do to keep your portion size in check?  Blog about it and link up here or write about it in the comments!



And be sure to check out the posts by these other Eat.Live.Be-ers!

• Sarah Caron - www.sarahscucinabella.com
• Cate O’Malley - www.sweetnicks.com
• Maris Callahan - www.ingoodtasteblog.net
• Chris Arpante - www.melecotte.com
• Faith - www.clickblogappetit.com/
• Kristen - www.dineanddish.net
• Emily - http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/
• Jenna - FireMom - http://stopdropandblog.com/
• Casey - http://www.thestarnesfam.com - e-mail
• Patsy - http://familyfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/
• Tri-Fit Mom - http://trifitmom.blogspot.com/
• Claire - http://cookiedoc.blogspot.com/
• Allison - http://sweetflours.blogspot.com/
• Jen - http://njepicurean.blogspot.com/
• Leslie - www.thehungryhousewife.com.
• Rivki Locker - http://www.healthyeatingforordinarypeople.com/
• Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook
• Jennifer Schulz - http://lick-a-plate.blogspot.com/
• Sarah Rogers - http://sarahssweetcreations.blogspot.com
• Denise and Lenny - http://www.chezus.com
• Gwen of Simply Healthy Family
  

Spaghetti and Spaghetti Squash with Lemon Garlic Sauce and Ricotta
Serves 4, adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

1 spaghetti squash, about 4 lb
8 oz whole wheat spaghetti
4 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp lemon peel
1/3 cup lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 cup freshly made ricotta
parmesan, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Slice the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place cut side down on a baking sheet.  Fill halfway with water.  Roast for 45 minutes to an hour or until squash is fork tender.  Set aside and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

2. In the meantime, set a pot of water to boil for the spaghetti.

3. Saute the garlic in a tbsp of olive oil over low heat until tender and fragrant.  Add the lemon peel and saute for a minute or two.  Add olive oil, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk and bring to a simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Add butter and bring back up to a simmer.  Remove from heat.  Whisk in basil.  Taste and re-season.

4. When the squash is done, turn it cut side up on a cutting board and run a fork through its flesh to create spaghetti strands.  Use a spoon to scoop out the strands into a large bowl.  Cook the spaghetti.  Toss with the spaghetti squash.  Pour the lemon sauce over the spaghetti/squash mixture and toss to coat.  Mix in about 2 tbsp parmesan cheese.  Season to taste.

5. Scoop into four plates and top each with 1/4 cup dollop of ricotta.

I am submitting this to:
Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast
Meatless Mondays hosted by Chaya of My Sweet and Savory
Maniac Meatless Mondays hosted by Rebecca Jean of Midnight Maniac
Hearth and Soul Blog Hop

Wasabi and Crystallized Ginger Dark Chocolate Brownies - Dessert Wars!

I occasionally yell at the television at the gym.

It's the only opportunity I have to watch television, seeing as how I don't own one.  And so I like to abuse it to maximal proportions.

Sometimes this means telling Paula to get her cholesterol checked.

Or yelling at Giada to eat a cannoli, for god's sake, and get herself some child-bearing hips.

Mostly it's saying, "Oh no she didn't!" to my favorite real housewives of "insert random city here".  (I am an equal opportunist, except when it comes to Atlanta, in which case I can't stand the show.)



On the particular occasion that I'm thinking of, however, the show in question was some Food Network Challenge that was based around cookies.  In each round, the contestants were given a new set of ingredients and/or a theme and they had to formulate a cookie that either used the ingredients, fit the theme, or both.

All of which was fine and dandy until, in one of the final rounds, one of the contestants was given a whole slew of Asian ingredients, out of which he had to choose two or three to incorporate into his cookie. There was really was nothing too difficult in this, as both crystallized ginger and fresh ginger were numbered among his options.  Now, I guess it's possible that he had never heard of gingerbread cookies before, which might in fact explain the temper tantrum he proceeded to throw. Really. He hemmed and hawed about those ingredients as if someone had given him raw chicken and told him to spin it into gold.

So now you see why I had to start screaming at the screen.



And also why, somewhere in the middle of the spectacle that I was making of myself.  It dawned on me that somehow.  Someday.  I should make a wasabi ginger chocolate chip cookie.

And somehow.  Someday.  Maybe I will.

In case you haven't noticed, this is not a post about chocolate chip cookies.  But about brownies.  Dark chocolate brownies.  Truly addictively beautiful dark chocolate brownies.

Oh, my thighs.



You see, this month's theme for Dessert Wars was dark chocolate.  But you couldn't do just anything with dark chocolate. You had to think outside the dark chocolate box.

So I thought my way to the sushi joint across the street from my apartment, which honestly is where my thoughts reside most of the time anyway because damn I do love sushi.  And that's how a miracle was born.

I should warn you that these don't really carry the wasabi punch that you're expecting, probably because I used powder rather than paste.  (And I wouldn't try using paste if I were you, because I don't think that it will incorporate evenly into the batter and so someone will end up with a huge clump of wasabi and a subsequent trip to the ER after burning a hole in his tongue.)

But there are undertones.  Really nice undertones.

Undertones that keep you up at night and make you wish that you hadn't brought the better part of the fudgy delicious batch into school and given most of them away to anyone who would take them.  Because you ate too many to list here the day before anyway.

Not that any of that really matters.  Because it is your birthday today.  And we all know the rules about calories and birthdays.  (Plus maybe your birthday wishes will finally be answered and all of the brownie weight will go to your boobs.  Maybe.  Hopefully.  We'll see.)  So celebrate for me and with me and make these.  Even if you leave out the wasabi and the ginger (wuss), there is still a perfectly wonderful dark chocolate brownie at the heart of it all.  And I think we can all get behind that, now can't we.


Wasabi and Crystallized Ginger Dark Chocolate Brownies
 Makes 24, brownie base adapted from Joy the Baker

NOTE - Since the star of these brownies is the chocolate, you need to use really good stuff.  Normally I go for Scharffenberger but for these I tried Callebaut and now I am sold.  Possibly for life.  Do it.

8 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used callebaut!)
12 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp wasabi powder
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant espresso powder
9 oz crystallized ginger, chopped (plus or minus a few pieces for snacking!)

1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350.  Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease, either with butter or cooking spray.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and wasabi powder.

3. Place butter and chopped chocolate in a medium sized heat proof bowl.  Place over a pot of boiling water, making sure that no part of the bowl touches the water.  Stir until the chocolate and butter are melted.  Set aside and let sit for a few minutes.

4. In another medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and espresso powder until pale and thick.  Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and whisk until combined.  Add the flour mixture all at once and whisk to incorporate.  Stir in the crystallized ginger chunks.

5. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.  A skewer in the center might not turn out clean, but the top will feel like it is set.  Cool on a wire rack before cutting.

This is my submission to Dessert Wars!

The prizes for this month are:

Whisk  and cupcake necklace from Moon & Star Designs

The Smartshopper Electronic Grocery List Organizer

Beanilla  Sampler Pack of Vanilla Beans

Lenox Personalized Musical Cupcake

1,000 ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cookies & Cakes

Endless Vanilla and Cinnamon Extract

Unlimited Layers: A Recipe for Turning Your Passion into Profits

Organic Valley $50 Gift Certificate

Organic Prairie $50 Gift Certificate

Theme Kitchen $50 Gift Certificate

BEKA Cookware Crepe Pan

Oven-Fried Tepin Chile Chicken and Waffles with a Juniper-Infused Pomegranate Maple Syrup

The people are going to be up in arms after they see this.

I might have to hide from every born and bred southerner that I know.

In fact, I wouldn't even be surprised if Emeril and Paula Deen come a-knocking.  And demand to know what's what.

I won't have any idea what to say.

I'll probably have to offer them some tea mixed with Ambien.  It will be my only recourse.




People can be very protective of their fried chicken and waffles, you see.  And here I am.

A Yankee, of all people, who has never in her life had real serious fried chicken and waffles.

Doing all sorts of disastrous things to them.


For example.  I baked the chicken.  And spiced it up.  With some tepin chiles.  Those little red balls down there.  That's them.  Ain't they cute and innocuous looking.  Don't be fooled.

They're hot baby.  Damn hot.



And then I smothered it.  Neither in gravy nor tried and true maple syrup.  But in a juniper-infused pomegranate maple syrup.

I know you have no idea what juniper is.  I didn't either until it arrived on my doorstep last week.

It's a berry.  It tastes kind of like pine.  It's beautiful when simmered with pomegranate juice for an hour and then mixed with maple syrup.  And that's all you really need to know.



Okay so at this point you are asking yourself whether, during birthday week, I have drank so much tequila that I am now speaking in tongues.  Not so.

Here's what happened.

MarxFoods invited me to participate in their Ridiculously Delicious challenge.  I said hands down absolutely yes.

So they sent me 8 random ingredients.  Most of which had weird unpronounceable names.

Lies.

I could pronounce all of them.  Except for maybe the "szechuan" in szechuan peppercorns.  I've never really done well with that one even though every other Chinese take-out place in this city uses it in it's name.  And that, my friends, is why I don't eat Chinese take-out.  Excessive, I know.  But that's how I roll.

My point is that they're not the kind of ingredients that you find in your local supermarket.  Iranian saffron.  Coconut sugar.  Grains of paradise.  Dill pollen.

Those kinds of things.

And so when I saw this list of eight things.  I singled out the tepin chiles and juniper berries.  And thought to myself that I should make fried chicken and waffles.  No rhyme or reason other than that it just seemed like a good idea.  I didn't even own a waffle iron before this.

But I followed my dreams.  And they led me here.  I now own a waffle iron and shall be eating these fried chicken and waffles for the next four days.  And damn.  I couldn't be happier.



Oven-Fried Tepin Chile Chicken
Serves 4, inspired by Amy of Very Culinary 

2 cups cornflakes
1 tsp thyme
2 tsp paprika
1/2 - 1 tbsp tepin chiles (1 tbsp makes for a VERY hot piece of chicken)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 lb chicken thighs
1 can evaporated milk

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  In a food processor, process the cornflakes, thyme, paprika, chiles and salt until cornflakes and chiles are ground well.

2. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Pour the evaporated milk into a shallow bowl.  Pour the cornflake mix on to a plate and spread it out so that it's even.  Dip each chicken thigh, first in the milk, and then in the cornflake mix, pressing it on so that it sticks to the entire thigh. Place on the baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining chicken.

3. Put the baking sheet with all of the chicken on it in the oven.Bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Juniper-Infused Pomegranate Maple Syrup
Makes about 1 cup

2 cups pomegranate juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp crushed juniper berries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1. In a small nonreactive pan, combine the pomegranate juice, sugar, juniper berries and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Simmer until mixture has thickened to the consistency of a thick syrup, about 30-40 minutes.  Pour into a bowl through a slotted spoon, removing the juniper berries.  Allow to cool.  Mix with maple syrup.  Syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

Waffles
Makes 5 Belgian waffles, adapted from Emeril

2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs, separated
2 tbsp sugar
2 cups almond milk
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a bowl, sift together the AP flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved and the eggs are a light yellow. Add the milk, butter, and vanilla and stir to combine.  Add the flour to the egg-yolk mixture and whisk to combine.  Make sure not to overblend.

3. In a third bowl, beat the egg whites using a hand mixer until they are stiff enough to form soft peaks.  Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the waffle mix.  Be sure not to overmix.

4. Preheat your waffle iron per manufacturer's instructions.  Spray with cooking spray.  Pour in as much batter as the instructions recommend, I used the full measuring cup that came with the waffle iron.  Using a spatula, spread the batter out over the waffle grid.  Close the waffle iron and cook per the manufacturer's isntructions for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.  Repeat with remaining batter.

Top waffle with a piece of oven-fried chicken and smother it in juniper-infused pomegranate maple syrup.

This is my entry to the MarxFoods Ridiculously Delicious competition!  Please remember to vote for me from March 1 through March 4!

I am also submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging, which is being hosted by Simona of Briciole.

African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas {VEGAN}...Eat.Live.Be. for a Better 2011!

I have a roommate who is nocturnal.

We've sent her DNA for testing to try to figure out what exactly is going on in those Circadian rhythms of hers.  To no avail.

Completely normal.

We were shocked.  On many levels.

When you're a medical student, unfortunately, you can't really just sleep all day, especially on days when other people are completely dictating every move that you make, demanding that you be in a certain place at a certain time (and sometimes even in two places at a certain time).  And so a few weeks back, we tried to get her to transition to a normal human schedule.

That lasted about four days.  After which she said to me, "When I stay awake all day, all I think about is food.  The only thing that excites me is the idea of what I'm going to eat next."

My response.  Yup.  Sounds about right.

When you're sitting in front of a computer all day, studying dermatology or staring at ovarian biopsies or listening to various abnormal heart sounds over and over (and still not being able to tell a systolic murmur from a normal S1/S2).  Standing in the kitchen and eating ice cream out of the freezer seems much more appealing.  I promise.  And it seems more appealing approximately every 20 minutes, or however long it takes you to lose your focus.\

Not good.  Especially for those of us on this eating healthy bandwagon.

So.  What to do.  My solution is usually to force myself to sit in my chair and not move because as soon as I get up and walk into that kitchen, who knows what I'll eat.  However, there are occasions in which I really do feel hungry.  And in those situations it's always a good idea to have some healthy snack food on hand.

In case you couldn't guess, this week at Eat.Live.Be. we are talking about what healthy snacks we like to "indulge" in whenever the craving hits.  I usually go for fruit - grapes, apples, oranges, strawberries, cherries...whatever's in season.  Sometimes veggies - those super sweet cherry tomatoes or carrots (the ones from the farmer's market are seriously the sweetest things I've ever tasted!).  On rare occasions, processed snack food - those wasabi peas, greek yogurt with a touch of honey, a spoonful of peanut butter (although who can stop at one?), ONE serving of some kind of trail mix (Trader Joe's has SUCH a great variety!), half of a Larabar. 

So tell me, what healthy snacks do you keep around?  Write about it and link up here or leave a comment letting us know!



And be sure to check out the posts by the other fabulous Eat.Live.Be. bloggers:

• Sarah Caron - www.sarahscucinabella.com
• Cate O’Malley - www.sweetnicks.com
• Maris Callahan - www.ingoodtasteblog.net
• Chris Arpante - www.melecotte.com
• Faith - www.clickblogappetit.com/
• Kristen - www.dineanddish.net
• Emily - http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/
• Jenna - FireMom - http://stopdropandblog.com/
• Casey - http://www.thestarnesfam.com - e-mail
• Patsy - http://familyfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/
• Tri-Fit Mom - http://trifitmom.blogspot.com/
• Claire - http://cookiedoc.blogspot.com/
• Allison - http://sweetflours.blogspot.com/
• Jen - http://njepicurean.blogspot.com/
• Leslie - www.thehungryhousewife.com.
• Rivki Locker - http://www.healthyeatingforordinarypeople.com/
• Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook
• Jennifer Schulz - http://lick-a-plate.blogspot.com/
• Sarah Rogers - http://sarahssweetcreations.blogspot.com
• Denise and Lenny - http://www.chezus.com

Now. Soup.

This soup has nothing to do with anything other than the fact that this here is my birthday week. And on your birthday week, you get to indulge in every craving you want.  Unless those cravings involve chocolate, ice cream, or eating almond butter straight out of the jar.  You reserve those indulgences for the actual day of your birth.  Unless on the day of your birth (Feb 25!) you're trying to be careful about what you eat so that you won't feel sick when running 16 miles the next day.  Yeah.  We'll see how that goes.

Anyway.  I found that I was craving curry.  Shocking because I'm always craving curry.  So I flipped through my copy of the Tropical Vegan Kitchen and somehow became enraptured by this curry coconut soup with chickpeas.  And then when I looked it up on epicurious and found that it had gotten five stars and was loved by the better part of a hundred commenters, I was sold.  I should warn you that I didn't make the recipe as is.  It was a little meager, especially for those of us who had to run 14 miles the morning after eating it, so I bulked it up a bit with some extra beans, millet in place of brown rice, and a whole lot of greens.  End result - craving satisfied.  For the next five to six days, at least.  At which point, I've got some Indian cookbooks that I really should break out.  One of these days.


African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas
Serves 5-6, adapted from the Tropical Vegan Kitchen

1 1/2 cups raw chickpeas, black-eyed peas or a mix, soaked overnight
1 cup millet, quinoa, or brown rice (I used millet!)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno chili, seeded and finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder (I used a medium hot blend that I got from my local Indian market)
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb mixed greens - kale, collards, mustard greens, swiss chard
1 (14 oz) can light coconut milk

1. Drain the beans that you've soaked overnight.  (I find that the longer you soak them, the less time they take to cook so I let them soak for about...16 hours.)  Put in a pot and cover with water until the water is about an inch higher than the beans.  Add about 1 tbsp salt to the water.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until beans are tender.  Drain and set aside.

2. Put the millet in a pan and cover with 3 cups water.  Cover, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 20-25 minutes or until water has evaporated.  Set aside.

3. In the meantime, heat the oil in a medium stockpot over medium heat.  Add the onion, bell pepper, and chili and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.

4. Add the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, salt and black pepper.  Brint to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.  Add the greens and stir until wilted.

5. Add the coconut milk and millet and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 4 minutes.  Add salt, pepper, and curry powder to taste.  Serve warm.

I am submitting this to:
Souper Sundays hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen
Maniac Meatless Mondays hosted by Rebecca Jean of Midnight Maniac
Meatless Mondays hosted by Chaya of My Sweet and Savory
The Hearth and Soul Blog Hop

Red Velvet Black and White Cookies

Eating a black and white cookie is a science. Or an art.  Or one of those things that requires technique and skill and maybe even a bachelor's degree in cookie eating.

Man, I wish I had one of those.




Some people eat them haphazardly, not really noticing whether they're eating the vanilla or the chocolate side.  Sometimes getting a little of both at once.


I don't know how you guys feel about this. But to me.  That just seems wrong.


See, here's what I do.  First, I eat the chocolate side.  Because I like it less.  Don't get me wrong.  It's chocolate-y and beautiful and if you're more of a chocolate person than a vanilla person, you probably want to do the opposite because, really, it's glorious.  But I am who I am. 

And who I am is a girl who really loves her vanilla glaze.


So then when I have eaten every last bit of chocolate, even nibbling up to the line in the middle while still doing my best not to cross any vanilla-filled boundaries,.  (Yeah, I have issues.  Apparently black-and-white cookies bring them out in me.  I'm sure my mother has something to do with this.) 


I can sit back, relax, and enjoy.  Life. Is. Good.


(Now I know you're looking at that bitten cookie up there, with that bite that includes both vanilla and chocolate. And thinking.  Sacrilege!  Heresy!  Off with her head! And well.  Look, there are just some things that we, as food bloggers, need to do for aesthetic and political reasons.  You can rest assured that I never let it happen again and that all of the cookies I ate afterward were ingested using the true and proper method described above.  Amen.)




With all of this red velvet in the mix, you may be thinking that these are a week late and a dollar short.

Well, I am here to alert you that this is not true.  Especially not here in NYC where, not only does no one ever sleep, but we also never tire of eating black and white cookies (and we were also kind of a little scared that Amy would disown us if we posted anything red and cutesy on V-Day).  They are staples, my friend.  Staples. 

Some of you may never have had them before.  Some of you may have only had those little mini versions from Costco.  (And you're calling me the heretic?  Sheesh.)  Those do not hold a candle to the real deal.  So just, you know.  Don't judge a cookie by it's Costco counterpart. 

Deal?



Red Velvet Black and White Cookies
Makes 10-12, adapted from Rachael Ray

1 1/4 cup AP flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 tbsp butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
a pinch of red food gel coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or grease and flour them REALLY WELL so that the cookies don't stick.  These are super cake-y so they will stick.  Every chance they get.  Be wary.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.

3. Using a mixer, cream 5 tbsp butter with the sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Beat in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk until smooth.  Dip the back of a spoon into your red food gel and then dip it into your batter.  Mix until evenly distributed.  Add more until you get the red color that you desire.

4. Place 1/4 cup scoops of batter about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Using a butter knife, spread the batter so that they are still quite thick but are flat on top.  THIS IS CRUCIAL.  If these are too thin, they will fall apart when you are trying to put icing on them.  Because they are cake-y they are ONLY sturdy if they are thick and they will spread quite a bit, I promise.  So just be careful.  Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out dry, about 12-15 minutes.  Let sit for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Vanilla Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp hot water

Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, and hot water until smooth.  When the cookies are cool, face them bottom side up and spread half of the cookie with vanilla glaze.  You can do this with a butter knife.

Chocolate Glaze
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (use Hershey's.  I used really good chocolate and it just tasted too good, if you know what I mean)
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp light corn syrup

In a bowl, melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave for about 1 minute or until melted.  Add the corn syrup and stir until smooth.

Spread this over the second half of the cookies (use a spoon).  Refrigerate/freeze for 20 minutes to set. 

I am submitting this to Saturdays with Rachael Ray, hosted by Deborah over at Taste and Tell!

Lizzie's Roasted Chicken with Salsa Verde and Whipped Parsnips and Cauliflower with Goat Cheese

If you happened to be in the Trader Joe's on 21st street and 6th Ave last Friday.  And noticed a girl whipping around the store as if she totally absolutely knew what she was doing.  The one who bee-lined for the whole roasted chickens.  Picked up every free-range organic bird she could find.  Shook, smelled and pinched each and every one.  For good measure.  Until ultimately choosing one for no apparent reason other than that it just felt right in her hands.

And then proceeded to name it and talk to it in the obscenely long lines that had developed while she was pinching and shaking and ruminating.

Well.  That was me.

I'd never cooked a whole roasted chicken before.

You probably saw right through me.



So then I brought the damn thing home and set it down on my kitchen table and said to it, "Funky.  You stay right there and don't move one muscle.  I'll be back."

(I really had to pee.) 

(And yes.  I named my chicken "Funky".  Funky the chicken.  After the dance.)



And then.  Somewhere in between the bathroom and the kitchen.  Probably in my dimly lit hallway, which is the only thing standing in-between the bathroom and the kitchen.

I got cold feet.

I felt like the entire weight of the world was resting on my shoulders.  (Or at least the weight of the chicken.  What?  Four pounds is no laughing matter!)

I couldn't handle the responsibility.  Or the commitment.

And so I shoved that chicken as far back into my fridge as possible, slammed the door, and walked away.  Sorry Funky.  I had to do it. 



It wasn't until late Saturday night that I felt strong and capable enough to really tackle the task at hand.

So I pulled off the plastic wrap.  And wouldn't you know, there is no graceful way to hold a chicken?  You either feel like you're pulling apart it's legs and exposing it to the entire world or that you're holding a baby and feel oddly compelled to hug it to your chest and sing it lullabies.  Neither of which is a sane rational thing to do. 

After slipping and sliding it around my entire kitchen, I finally got it rinsed and salted.  Threw it back in the fridge and went to bed.  How exhausting.



And then it was Sunday.  Sunday, which is supposedly the day of rest, and thus is the perfect day for doing things like throwing a chicken in an oven and letting it do it's thing for an hour while you lay in bed and dawdle the afternoon away! I felt like the odds were in my favor that everything was going to turn out okay.

So I stuffed it and smothered it with lemon, as per the recipe's instructions.  Pierced it's thigh with my candy thermometer (look, some of us can't afford to buy a meat thermometer, mmk?).  You know, after I figured out where it's thigh was.  (This is what I mean when I say that medical school hasn't taught me a single useful thing.)  And walked away.

Approximately an hour and 160 degrees later.  I had a perfectly cooked chicken on my hands.  It was lemony and moist and just wonderful.  And the drippings. Oh the drippings.  Let's not talk about the fact that I stood in front of the pan and dipped the chicken into the drippings while I ate it.  And then forced Sophie to do the same.

We are so unladylike that it scares me.

 



The salsa verde for this chicken is not your typical Mexican salsa verde, but instead is an Italian version that is chock full of mint, parsley, capers, and lemon.  Basically, all that is good in this world.  And it just happens to go marvelously atop the whipped parsnips and cauliflower with goat cheese that I made to go with it.  I love when things turn out for the best.

Lizzie's Roasted Chicken with Salsa Verde
Serves 4, adapted from Symon's Live To Cook

1 3-4 lb chicken
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded
2 fresh bay leaves
1 small onion, peeled
3 garlic cloves
1 small bunch fresh thyme
Salsa Verde (recipe below)

1. A day before cooking, rinse the chicken inside and out under cold water and pat dry.  Salt liberally, cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. Remove the chicken from the fridge an hour before cooking it.  Preheat the oven to 425.

3. Lift the skin off each chicken breast and wedge 3 lemon slices and a bay leaf between the skin of each breast. Put the onion, garlic, thyme, and remaining lemon in the cavity of the chicken.  Rub or spray the entire chicken with olive oil.  Put the chicken in an ovenproof saute pan or in a roasting pan breast side up.  Slide it into the oven and roast it until the thigh reaches 160 or until the cavity juices run clear, about 1 hour.

4. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10-20 minutes.  Cut the chicken into 8 pieces and serve with the salsa verde.

Salsa Verde
Makes 1 1/4 cups, adapted from Symon's Live to Cook

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
2 salt-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, minced
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp salt-packed capers, rinsed and chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine the parsley, mint, anchovies, garlic, shallot, lemon zest and juice, capers, red pepper flakes and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Whipped Parsnips and Cauliflower with Goat Cheese
Serves 4, adapted from Veggie by Season

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
5 parsnips, peeled and sliced
2 cups veggie broth
2.5 oz goat cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Place the cauliflower and parsnips into a stockpot with the veggie broth.  Bring to a boil and then simmer until all of the broth has evaporated.

2. Using an immersion blender, blend the cauliflower and parsnips together into a mash.  Alternatively, you can put them in a blender or food processor.  Mash in the goat cheese.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Feta and Arugula...Eat.Live.Be. for a Better 2011!

Here's what keeps me up at night.

You know all of those commercials for weight loss regimens, diet pills, exercise programs.  Etcetera.

You know how at the end, they all tell you to "consult your doctor before making any significant dietary or lifestyle changes"?

The fine print.  Black box warning.  FDA-mandated disclaimer.

Well.  Someday.  Someone will stroll into my office and ask me whether they can join Weight Watchers or run a marathon or go on a soup diet.

Or my mother will call me and tell me about this itchy rash that she has on her neck and ask me whether or not, in my professional opinion, I think it's cancer.  Or she could be thoroughly impatient and not even wait until I know anything about medicine to ask me this.  In fact, she could have asked me on Saturday.  Just a hypothesis.

(And for the record.  Cancer is not itchy.  That sounds to me like a mosquito bite.  Put some toothpaste on it and call it a day.  Yes.  Toothpaste.)



My point being that someday.  Someone is going to call me wanting answers.

Answers about nutrition and diet and exercise.  And, based on the medical training I am going to have had, which includes barely any nutrition and nothing about exercise.  I'm kind of afraid that I'm not going to be able to answer them.

And this is the source of the gray hairs that I'm currently sprouting.  Although those might be due to the fact that I'll be one year older in approximately eleven days.  Hard to say.

So while I'm still an amateur at this whole medicine thing.  I plan on deferring to a real expert.

This week at Eat.Live.Be. we are "asking the expert" and so my friend Nicole, writer of the blog Prevention, RD who is, in fact, a registered dietitian, was sweet enough to share with us five tips on how we can be healthier.  Take it away:

Eat Well, Be Well: 5 Tips to a Healthier You

These 5 simple tricks will help improve your nutrition status, and quite possibly your waistline.

1. Snack on fruits or vegetables. Eating low-calorie, high-fiber snacks between meals can help curb hunger and increase your nutrition each day. Also, this allows for a bit more flexibility in choices at meal times. Remember, try to get in 5-9 fruits a vegetables a day!

2. Switch to whole grain. Most any carbohydrate favorite is available in a whole grain version -- brown rice for white rice, whole wheat pasta for white pasta, and so on. Grains are a great way to meet your daily vitamin, mineral, and fiber needs without giving up the foods you love and crave.

3. Don't drink your calories. While juice with breakfast, a soda at lunch, and a glass of wine with dinner are certainly pleasureable, they add little to no nutritional value while providing a shocking number of calories. Save caloric and alcoholic beverages for special occasions, in moderation, to trim loads of calories from your diet.

4. Dine-in. It doesn't matter where you go to eat, chances are you will eat more calories (plus fat and sodium!) than if you were to dine-in. Or, offer to host a get-together in your home so that you can control the menu while still being social.

5. Don't get bored, try new foods and recipes. Spend time at the grocery store checking out new products and make it a goal to try a new, healthy recipe on a regular basis. There are free, healthy recipes littered all over the internet. Planning weekly menus and meals can be a huge help, as well.

Thanks so much, Nicole!  Love you girl!

And be sure to check out the other Eat.Live.Be. bloggers for some more tips from the experts:

• Sarah Caron - www.sarahscucinabella.com
• Cate O’Malley - www.sweetnicks.com
• Maris Callahan - www.ingoodtasteblog.net
• Chris Arpante - www.melecotte.com
• Faith - www.clickblogappetit.com/
• Kristen - www.dineanddish.net
• Emily - http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/
• Jenna - FireMom - http://stopdropandblog.com/
• Casey - http://www.thestarnesfam.com - e-mail
• Patsy - http://familyfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/
• Tri-Fit Mom - http://trifitmom.blogspot.com/
• Claire - http://cookiedoc.blogspot.com/
• Allison - http://sweetflours.blogspot.com/
• Jen - http://njepicurean.blogspot.com/
• Leslie - www.thehungryhousewife.com.
• Rivki Locker - http://www.healthyeatingforordinarypeople.com/
• Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook
• Jennifer Schulz - http://lick-a-plate.blogspot.com/
• Sarah Rogers - http://sarahssweetcreations.blogspot.com
• Denise and Lenny - http://www.chezus.com

That being said, I am not a total dimwit when it comes to nutrition.  And so the one thing I plan to recommend to all of my future patients.  Is to eat sweet potatoes.

For they are the most nutritionally dense vegetable out there.  They are loaded with vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and vitamin A, are full of fiber, and are low on the glycemic index.

Thus, I am sharing with you today a meal that has been nutritionally optimized (especially for those of us in marathon training gear, who need our carbs as well as every possible vitamin imaginable in order to get our muscles to where we need them to be).  Sweet potatoes, arugula, leeks, whole wheat pasta.  And, of course, some feta cheese which has just enough fat to let us absorb all of the fat-soluble vitamins that sweet potatoes has to order, but not so much that our arteries will be clogged by it.  Hot damn.

Plus it tastes damn good.  In my most authoritative and professional opinion.

Happy Valentine's Day!



Pasta with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Feta and Arugula
Serves 4-6, adapted from Donna Hay via Sidewalk Shoes

1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
4 leeks, chopped
1 tbsp rosemary, chopped
1 lb whole wheat pasta
6 oz feta cheese (I used Trader Joe's Mediterranean herb blend)
8 oz arugula
cracked black pepper

1. Toss the sweet potatoes with 1 tbsp oil, salt and pepper.  Spread on a baking sheet and roast at 400 for 30 minutes or until soft and browned.

2. Place 1 tbsp oil in a small skillet.  Add the leeks and rosemary and cook for 7 minutes, or until soft and golden.

3. Cook pasta in boiling, salted water.  Drain and place in a large bowl.  Toss with sweet potatoes, arugula, leeks and feta.

I am submitting this to this week's Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Pia of Cook Healthy, Meatless Mondays hosted by Chaya of My Sweet and Savory, Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays hosted by Rebecca Jean of Midnight Maniac, and the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.