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Archive for February, 2009

Blueberry-Lemon Bundt Cake

Published February 24, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: blueberry, cake, lemon

This moist cake, originally from Cooking Light, was already pretty low in fat – only 7.8 grams of fat/serving. But I wasn’t really thinking about a nice dessert. I wanted a cake that I could slice slabs off to pack in my lunch, or to eat as a snack when I get home from work. I also, as usual, had an excess of produce – blueberries – and an aging lemon. This is very tasty, although not very lemony cake. It actually tasted better the second day.

Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake

Cooking spray
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 large egg
¾ cup egg substitute
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) container non-fat sour cream
2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and dried

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Place the 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, butter, and rind in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add applesauce, beating for one minute. Add egg and egg substitute i1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 4 minutes total). Beat in vanilla and sour cream. Add flour mixture; beat at medium speed just until combined. Gently fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle over cooled cake.

blueberry-bundt-cake

Confession: I wasn’t very satisfied with the texture of this cake at first. I expected it to be lighter, but it began to brown at the end, and even though the wooden pick wasn’t entirely clean, I took the cake out of the oven. At first I thought it was under done, or that maybe my baking soda had gotten old. But after a day, it seemed ok, and wa moist, not pasty.

blueberry-bundt-cake-slice1

Buffalo Bone Soup

Published February 22, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: barley, buffalo, soup

I have been having some odd experiences. On at least 4 occasions, people I have known for a long time, but perhaps not seen for a while have stared at me with a puzzled expression, not seeming to recognize me. One person came up to me after a committee meeting and told me that she didn’t know who I was until I said my name in the introductions. Now this seems strange to me, because when I look in the mirror, particularly when I am in the buff, I feel like I look exactly like I always have – pale, pink and flabby. My face looks the same, although I have more neck, and I am still a short, somewhat plump redhead. I know empirically that I must be different – the scale says so and my pants are too big – but unrecognizable? It’s disquieting.

This recipe is really a variation on my mother’s soup with flanken. Flanken are very fatty little bits of short ribs which are too fatty to use in most dishes. I haven’t seen buffalo bones, except for T-bone and other steaks. But this week there were buffalo ribs in the meat case along with the usual cuts. The butcher and I agreed that these might not make good barbecue, so I decided on soup. Really, you need bones to make a rich meat soup.

This is an imprecise recipe, because you can add a bit of whatever you want. My mother always used this soup mix as the base of her soup. This makes a thick, porridge-like soup.

soup-mix

Buffalo Bone Soup

2 pounds of buffalo bones
7 cups of water
soup mix
¼ cup barley
½ of a large onion, chopped
other things to add if you like
1 cup of dried shitake mushroom (small pieces)
a carrot, chopped
a stalk of celery, chopped
chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Trim as much fat as you can off the meat – really, if they are ribs you are not going to be able to get most of the fat off. Place in a large pot and cover with 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove meat from pot and set aside, pour liquid into a large container and chill overnight. Remove from refrigerator. Great gobs of fat will have solidified on the surface of the soup. Remove them all, using a strainer if necessary. Measure the soup liquid into a pot and add water or broth until you again have 7 cups of liquid. Add contents of the soup mix plus ¼ cup of barley, and shitake mushrooms if you are using them. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 ½ hours. Add onion and other vegetables if you are using them and cook for another ½ hour. Add salt and pepper to taste. I had intended to chop up the rib meat and add it to the soup, but even after long cooking they were too fatty. This makes about 5 servings of soup, at about 4 grams of fat/serving. This soup went right into the freezer to take for lunches.

buffalo-soup

Gadjar Kari (Carrot Curry)

Published February 19, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: carrot, curry, India, potluck

Carrots are a sweet vegetable that can be used in many ways – think carrot cake. In India, they make a candy called gadjar halwah, which is soft and sweet, and often studded with pistachios, topped with edible silver foil, and served for special occasions. Because of their sweetness, carrots combine well with other sweet ingredients, even if the end result is not a dessert. This curry is a little unusual because one of the sweet ingredients is a banana.

For potlucks I often like to bring a vegetarian dish, since everyone can usually eat it. This curry, adapted from The World of Jewish Cooking, came out unexpectedly spicier than I thought it would, but the people at the potluck thought it was just right. In the picture below, I tempered it by serving it with yogurt – a fairly common accompaniment for my Mumbai neighbors. Milk products cut the heat of overly spicy foods – I can’t remember the chemistry of this, but a glass of milk works better than a glass of water to wash down a fiery dish. You certainly can reduce the amount of cayenne pepper if you’d like.

Carrot Curry

1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
1 ½ teaspoons yellow mustard seed
1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cardomom
1 teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 pound carrots, sliced, or 1 pound baby carrots
1 medium banana, peeled and sliced
¼ cup golden raisins
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add the spices (cumin seed through cayenne) and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. I mixed the spices in a little bowl beforehand so that I could add them all at once, and they wouldn’t burn while I measured out the other spices. Add the carrots and sauté until lightly colored, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the banana and raisins. Add the water, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the carrots are tender, not mushy, about 20 minutes, Uncover, increase the heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently until most of the liquid is evaporated and the carrots and raisins are glazed, about 5-10 minutes. Serve with rice. Makes 4 servings at about 4 grams of fat/serving.

carrot-curry

Buffalo Shepherd’s Pie

Published February 16, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: buffalo, hint, potato

This recipe makes me giggle. Imagine a buffalo shepherd. What would you use for the shepherd’s staff – a 2 x 4 board with a bow on it? And do they come home, like Bo Peep’s sheep, waging their big shaggy tails behind them?

Shepherd’s Pie is a savory meat pie topped with a mashed potato crust. Instead of spooning the meat stew over mashed potatoes, you put the mashed potatoes over the meat and bake it. It dates from the late 18th century, and was a means of using up – and stretching – leftover roasted meat. Now it typically is made with lamb or mutton, with the suggested origin being that shepherds are concerned with sheep and not cattle (and certainly not buffalo), however this is probably folklore. There are probably as many recipes for it as there are cooks – a close friend makes it with ground beef and onion soup mix and puts a layer of peas under the potato topping, another makes it with leftover pot roast.

At any rate, someone passed me this recipe because they knew I liked to cook. The original had beef and lamb mixed. Naturally, I thought buffalo. I think it may be a British recipe, because they refer to the meat as being “minced”. I took a number of liberties with the recipe to make a shepherd’s pie that is very tasty and filling – and still low in fat. An added benefit to this dish is that it can be made ahead, or in stages. I made the meat filling one day, and put it in the refrigerator in the baking pan. When I had more time the next day, I made the potato crust and baked it. I expect you could assemble it completely and refrigerate it to be baked the next day, but you might have to bake it a few minutes longer.

Buffalo Shepherd’s Pie

Cooking spray
1 ½ pounds buffalo roast trimmed of all visible fat and gristle, ground (do not use purchased ground buffalo – it is much higher in fat)
2 medium onions, diced fine – I use the food processor
3 carrots, peeled and diced fine
½ pound cremini or button mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup red wine
1 can of low sodium, reduced fat beef broth
Salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds Yukon gold or red potatoes
2 Tablespoons light butter
1 cup green onions, finely chopped

If you are making the entire dish to serve immediately, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Otherwise, preheat it to 400 when you reheat the pie.

To make the filling: Spray a large Dutch oven or non-stick pan with cooking spray. Brown the ground meat over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove meat from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onions and carrots to the pan and sauté until they are limp and just beginning to color – about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Add mushrooms and sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, thyme, parsley and cinnamon. Stir and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour, and then add the wine and beef broth. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Return the meat to the pan, bring to a boil, cover and turn down the heat to low, simmering for about 30 minutes. Remove the filling from the heat, and spread in a 9 x 13 pan coated with cooking spray, smoothing it until even.

To make the crust: Peel the potatoes and cut them into large, even pieces. Place in a pot of water and cook until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes thoroughly, add the 2 tablespoons of light butter, and mash until smooth. Mash the green onions into the potatoes. Spoon the potatoes over the filling and spread evenly to cover the meat. Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes, until the crust begins to brown. This makes 8 hearty servings at 4 grams of fat/serving.

Variation: If you wanted to substitute ½ pound of very lean ground lamb for ½ pound of the buffalo, it would have a more “British” feel, and would be about 6 grams of fat/serving.
shepherds-pie-2

Hint: I grind my own meat so that I know how much fat is in it. Store-purchased ground meat tends to be fatty, even the beef that is labeled “extra lean” has almost 5 grams/ounce. I used to grind eye of round – 1.2 grams/ounce, and now I grind buffalo – .6 grams/ounce. I usually grind a large amount of meat using the electric grinder on my KitchenAid. It is a big, all-morning production. I just discovered that it is possible to grind a pound of so of meat by cutting it into medium sized chunks and pulsing it in the food processor. This has interesting implications for ground chicken and pork, to be experimented with soon.

Hint: Tomato Paste is one of those annoying ingredients that you tend to need a spoonful of, but it doesn’t come in single spoon packages. I have been freezing the leftover tomato paste in a plastic zip-top bag, and then I can defrost slightly it when I need a bit and refreeze it.

Warning: this pie is very filling. Every time I eat a slab, I have the overwhelming desire to curl up under a down blanket and take a nap. Maybe it’s the weather.

Fennel a la Grecque

Published February 14, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: fennel, principle

I have always been fascinated by fennel (the green plant, not the tasty little seeds) – its delicate fronds and licorice perfume – but I never could figure out what to do with it except for slicing a bit of the bulb into a salad, and running around tickling people with the fronds. Then a couple of year ago I saw this recipe in Cooking Light. It had all the characteristics I like in a buffet dish: low fat, make ahead, serve at room temperature, and a bit unusual (have to keep your guests on their toes). These are my basic principles for choosing buffet dishes for a crowd.

It is a la grecque, French for in the manner of the Greeks, which basically means that the vegetables are braised in a mixture of herbs, spices, and lemon. It seems fussy, because you need to make it in two batches, but it’s actually a very straightforward recipe. You also make a bag for your herbs and spices, so they are easy to remove from the fennel, a useful technique.

Fennel a la grecque

¼ cup whole coriander seeds
1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns
4 large sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 large sprigs fresh parsley
3 bay leaves
2 cups non-fat reduced sodium chicken stock
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup tomato paste
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
6 large bulbs fennel, trimmed and cut into wedges
2 Tablespoons chopped fennel fronds to garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Tie coriander seeds, peppercorns, thyme, parsley and bay leaves tightly in a piece of cheesecloth. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together chicken stock, wine, lemon, juice, tomato paste and 1 cup of water. Heat ½ tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add half of the onions and half of the fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to change color, about 10 minutes. Pour in ½ of the chicken stock mixture, tuck the spice bag into the vegetables, and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is tender and the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper, and transfer the mixture to a large bowl, reserving the spice bag.

Wipe out the skillet, pour in the remaining half tablespoon of oil, and repeat the above steps with the remaining ingredients. Allow to cool, discarding the spice bag. Serve at room temperature garnished with the chopped fennel fronds. This dish can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving. Makes 12 servings at 1 gram of fat/serving.

roasted-fennel1

Mumbai Green Sauce

Published February 11, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: cilantro, India, sauce

I lived in Mumbai for a year, back when we Westerners called it Bombay. I recently acquired My Bombay Kitchen, which describes itself as Parsi home cooking. (Parsis are the descendants of Zoroastrians who fled Persia in about 937 A.D. and settled on the west Coast of India, finally concentrating in Mumbai.) The recipes in the book are very much like the ones my Hindu neighbors prepared regularly, as much Mumbai as Parsi, and each time I prepare one I am brought back to a flood of memories of my time there and the neighbors who taught me about India and everyday life.

This green sauce, more properly a chutney, smells like my neighbors’ kitchens – coriander (cilantro), mint, coconut, garlic – being ground almost daily as an accompaniment to ordinary meals or to become the base of the rich curries and snacks that came from every kitchen. Serve it on a thali (a metal tray on which many meals are served) beside other savory curries; add besan (chick pea) flour to it to make a batter for shrimp. My neighbors would grind the ingredients on a masala stone, a thick granite slab with a roughened surface. Squatting beside the stone in their saris, women would roll over the ingredients with a granite “rolling pin” until the ingredients made a fine paste, filling the room with an aroma that bespoke India to me.

The granite slab was far too heavy to bring home. Now I grind in a food processor, although it doesn’t create the same paste-like texture it has that unmistakable fragrance. I may someday get a wet-dry grinder that, I understand, creates chutneys with the same texture as the beloved granite slab. And I use the chutney in all sorts of ways that my neighbors wouldn’t have dreamed of.

Mumbai Green Sauce

½ cup grated fresh or frozen unsweetened coconut, or 1/3 cup unsweetened dry coconut (see Note)
1 cup (packed) fresh coriander, both stems and leaves
¼ teaspoon ground cumin seed
12 fresh mint leaves
1-3 green chilies, seeded – depending on your taste
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped.
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Juice of 1 lime
1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar

If you are using dry coconut, soak it in warm water for ½ hour. Drain coconut, saving soaking liquid. Put all ingredients in food processor (or wet dry grinder if you are so lucky) and pulse until it is as smooth as possible. Add a little of the soaking liquid or water if you need to. But don’t add too much, you want this to be a little stiff, not a gravy. This chutney makes 9 tablespoons, at 1.5 grams of fat/tablespoon. It keeps well in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator for about a week.

NOTE: I grew up in Miami, where coconuts grew on trees and fresh coconuts were easy to find. But in the frigid northwest, nary a coconut palm can be seen. I have difficulty finding fresh coconut – when I buy them they tend to be sour or moldy. Dry coconut is not ideal, but it works.

bombay-green-sauce

And how did I use this divine chutney (which I now make almost weekly)?

I put it on some plain pan-seared steelhead trout and boiled potatoes to dress them up.

green-sauce-and-fish

I jazzed up poached eggs on toast (with a little light butter).

green-sauce-and-poached-eggs

I used it on sandwiches, from roast beef (where it didn’t work so well) to veggie (where it knocked my socks off. ) I added it to non-fat yogurt to make the dressing for a tomato and cucumber salad I took for lunch.

green-sauce-salad

And I put it in an egg substitute omelet with a bit of goat cheese.

green-sauce-in-omlet

Big Red Buffalo Chili

Published February 4, 2009 Uncategorized 1 Comment
Tags: buffalo, chili, hint

Chili is a dish that has regional variations, and aficionados that advocate for the right way to make this satisfying dish. Traditionally, chili is a spicy stew made from chili peppers, meat, garlic, onions, and cumin. In some places they add macaroni, beans, or other stuff. Sacrilege. This is a Texas chili, with a deep red color created by the ancho chilies.

ancho-chilis

Texas-style chili contains no beans, tomatoes, or other vegetables besides chili peppers. By the way, chili con carne is the official dish of the state of Texas.

Big Red Buffalo Chili

2 dried red ancho chilies
2 pounds of buffalo roast, cut into quarter inch pieces
1 Tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin, or more to taste
1 teaspoon oregano
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt to tase
2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)

Preparing the ancho chilies: Remove the stems and seeds from the pods. I did this by cutting them in half with a scissors (see hint) and shaking the seeds out. Simmer the pods over low hear in water until they are tender. Allow to cool. Press the simmered peppers through a sieve or strainer to separate the pulp from the skins. I found this hard to do, but I may have used a strainer with too small of a mesh. Discard the skins, which tend to be bitter.

Heat the canola oil in a large pot. Saute the meat in the oil until it turns grey (you don’t have to really brown it.). Add the ancho chili puree to the meat, and cover with 2 inches of water. Don’t put in too much water, like I did, or you will have to cook it down forever. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add the cumin, oregano, garlic, salt, and brown sugar if you’re using it. Cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if the meat starts to stick. This is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day when the flavors blend. It makes 6 servings at 6 grams of fat/serving. Top with onions and/or 1/2 ounce shredded reduced fat cheese/serving (adding 3 grams of fat/serving).

buffalo-chili

Variation: add beans if you must.

Hint: When you handle chili peppers, wear protective gloves. Otherwise, the volatile chemical capsaicin will get on your skin. It is very difficult to wash off. The capsaicin will burn whatever it touches – your eyes (this is the voice of experience), lips, other sensitive areas, and even your baby or dog.

Hint and warning: Cayenne pepper is potent stuff. Add it gradually until you have the right heat for your taste. I got carried away and made it too spicy

Sweet Potato Salad

Published February 3, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: potluck, salad, yam

I usually don’t think of sweet potatoes and salad in the same line of thought. Sweet potatoes (or yams) are a hot side dish, often served at holiday dinners. Salads are cold. Of course, this isn’t really true, think of potato salad. I was looking for something dramatic to take to a potluck when I came upon this brightly colored salad. It got some funny looks at first, but people liked it. It’s also a good make ahead dish.

Sweet Potato Salad

1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes or yams, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into ¼ inch slices
½ pound green beans, trimmed and cut in half
3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced diagonally
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 garlic cove, finely chopped
black pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons coarsely chopped dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts

Steam sweet potatoes over boiling water in a steamer until they are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a large bowl and set aside. Steam the beans until they are cooked but still crisp – about 4 minutes. (You can use the same steamer.) Refresh the beans under cold water so they keep their color and add to the sweet potatoes. Add the sliced scallions. Mix the dressing ingredients – rice vinegar through black pepper – in a small bowl. Pour over sweet potato mixture and toss. Chill the vegetables for at least one hour. I made this the night before I served it and it kept well. When ready to serve, toss again and sprinkle with the chopped peanuts. This makes 8 servings with about 4 grams of fat/serving.

sweet-potato-salad

Quick Thai Party Shrimp

Published February 1, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: salad, shrimp

Cold marinated shrimp are a terrific food to serve at a party. Almost everyone likes shrimp, it seems like they are a big splurge, and you can make them ahead. You can make them fancier by arraying them on a platter with toothpicks in them as cocktail snacks, or, as I usually do, put them in a big bowl where people can scoop them out.

Now, I usually take the easy way out when I make party shrimp. I take 2 pounds of cooked, peeled, tail off shrimp (yes, I’m too lazy to cook and peel), put them in a bowl. Pour about ½ bottle of interesting lower fat salad dressing – like Miso or ginger sesame – over them and toss. Refrigerate overnight. Before you serve, sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of chopped cilantro and maybe 2 tablespoons of finely chopped green onion over the shrimp so that people think it is home-made, and toss again. The fat grams are the number of grams in the salad dressing divided by 8.

This time I decided to make a more interesting dressing and combine the shrimp with a few other ingredients..

Quick Thai Party Shrimp

2 tart green apples, peeled, cored, and cut in thin strips
6 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6Tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
4 teaspoons fish sauce or low sodium soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon red pepper or to taste
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 pounds cooked, peeled, tail off medium shrimp, defrosted if frozen

In a large bowl, mix together lemon and lime juices, shallot, cilantro, mint, fish or soy sauce, garlic, red pepper, and scallions. Toss sliced apples in dressing. Add cooked shrimp and toss again. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the shrimp for at least 30 minutes. Toss again right before serving to redistribute dressing. Makes 8 large servings at 1 gram of fat/serving.

lemon-lime-shrimp-salad1

The shrimp are packed to be taken to a pot luck.

ABOUT KAREN

I have lost 200 pounds. I did not do it through surgery – I don’t like knives and needles – or by joining a club, vigorous exercise, or rigorous dieting. I did it by gourmet cooking. To be precise, by cooking low fat, really delicious food. I love to cook as much as I love to eat. Food magazines are some of my favorite reading. I would feel deprived if I couldn’t have the sensuous experience of good food crossing my lips. This blog is about my perpetual feast, my passionate love of food, with recipes, photos, and occasional advice and principles that I have learned along the way.

More about me.

The Perpetual Feast

Archive for February, 2009

Blueberry-Lemon Bundt Cake

Buffalo Bone Soup

Gadjar Kari (Carrot Curry)

Buffalo Shepherd’s Pie

Fennel a la Grecque

Mumbai Green Sauce

Big Red Buffalo Chili

Sweet Potato Salad

Quick Thai Party Shrimp

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