Archive for March, 2009

Honey Roasted Chicken with Grapes

Published March 30, 2009 Uncategorized 1 Comment
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You won’t believe it. After getting up to 50 degrees for about an hour last week, it is now snowing again – 4 inches at my house so far.  And it is in the 30’s, so it’s not melting all that fast.  We are now within .1 inch of the all time snow record, causing the weather people to be mildly hysterical.

Roast chicken is a comforting dish, although the snow wasn’t the reason I made the chicken.  I roast a chicken probably every other week. I use the chicken in several ways – two drumsticks get taken for lunch, half the chicken breast is for dinner the first night, the thighs another night.  And I usually use the other half of the white meat for some other dish – this week it will be chicken and feta tabbouleh, which I will make tomorrow or the next day. Usually the roast chicken is nothing fancy, just some garlic powder and onion powder sprinkled on it. I have even been known to microwave the chicken. Microwaving actually makes a very juicy chicken, with a disgusting-looking skin.  But since you are going to remove the skin before eating it, it really doesn’t matter how it looks.

But back to properly roasted chicken.  This time I decided to try some fancier techniques: rubbing seasoning under the skin of the chicken so the flavor is there when the skin is removed; cooking at a high temperature and then reducing the heat.  I also had too many black grapes, so I decided to use them in the chicken.

Honey Roasted Chicken with Grapes

1 (4- to 5-lb.) whole chicken
1/3 cup honey
½ teaspoon garlic powder (or a clove of fresh garlic, crushed)
1 teaspoon dried chervil, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
about 1 cup of seedless grapes, halved – I used black grapes

Preheat oven to 450°. In a small bowl, stir together the honey, garlic or garlic powder, chervil, salt, and pepper.  Add a tablespoon of hot water if the honey is very thick.

Remove giblets from chicken, and reserve for another use (or feed them to your happy dogs). Rinse chicken, and pat dry. Gently loosen and lift skin from breast, thighs, and drumsticks with fingers, being careful not to tear skin. (Do not totally detach skin.) Rub honey mixture evenly underneath skin. Carefully replace skin. Place chicken, breast side up in a shallow roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Pour any remaining honey mixture into the chicken’s cavity.  Place grapes into chicken’s cavity.  Tie drumsticks together. (The strange blue thing on the chicken is a food tie. My daughter gave me a sack of these for Christmas – sort of poultry bondage equipment.  They are a bit hard to use if your hands are greasy; they slip more than string).

honey-roast-chicken

Bake at 450° for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°, and bake 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 180°, covering loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Let chicken stand, covered, 10 minutes before slicing. Remove skin before serving.  Makes 4-6 servings at about 5 grams of fat/serving.

My analysis of this experimental chicken technique is that the honey and herbs under the skin were great.  They gave a wonderful flavor to the meat. The high temperature to low temperature roasting was mixed.  The meat was very juicy, but the skin got too brown. It really didn’t matter for flavor, since I took the skin off to serve it.  But if you want to make a nice presentation of the chicken on a platter, it might be better to cover the chicken loosely with foil earlier in the cooking process.  I also put chopped onions in with the grapes (you can see them in the picture below), but the flavor didn’t work at all, so I left them out of the recipe. Finally, I left the grapes whole, but they really should be halved, so I put them in the recipe as halved.

hony-roast-chicken-on-plate

Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Soup

Published March 29, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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This is soup for two people. It is quite garlicky, so if there are two of you, both of you should eat it.  It is not a soup I would take to the office to reheat, lest my co-workers keel over either from the smell of reheating or my breath. That being said, it’s actually a pretty good and warming soup

I confess that when I first tasted it, I didn’t really like it.  But I added some ground sea salt, and that perked up the flavor.  The original recipe came from Cooking Light. If I make it again, I might put in more pepper and vinegar.  I ate this for dinner with a side of sliced tomatoes and a couple of slices of olive bread and a Laughing Cow cheese wedge.

Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Soup

1 (1-pound) eggplant, cut in half lengthwise
Cooking spray
10 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 teaspoon  coriander seeds
½ teaspoon  cumin seeds
2 teaspoons  olive oil
1 cup  chopped onion
¼ teaspoon  black pepper (or to taste
1½  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
¼ cup  water
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon  balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
Salt to taste
2  Tablespoons  plain non-fat yogurt or sour cream

Preheat oven to 450°.

Place eggplant, cut sides down, in a baking pan coated with cooking spray; add garlic. Bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until eggplant is tender; cool. Scrape pulp from eggplant skins; discard skins. Squeeze cloves to extract garlic pulp; discard skins.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add coriander, cumin, onion, and pepper; cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. Add flour; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add water and vegetable broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cool 5 minutes.

Combine eggplant pulp, garlic pulp, and broth mixture in a blender, and process until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in balsamic vinegar and salt. Ladle soup into  2 bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon yogurt or sour cream.  Makes 2 servings with about 6 grams of fat/serving.

roasted-eggplant-and-garlic-soup

Madrasi Shrimp Curry in Black Pepper Sauce

Published March 27, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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My “alternate daughter” came over to help me with an upholstery project. Actually, she mostly did the project while I refinished window sills. She loves curry, so I made this fairly quick shrimp curry from Cooking Light in between coats of stain and finish.  The curry is not too spicy, just pleasantly warm.  Since Madras is in South India where food can sometimes be rather incendiary, I was pleasantly surprised.

Madrasi Shrimp Curry in Black Pepper Sauce

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 cup finely chopped onion
1½ Tablespoons  ground coriander seeds
1½ Tablespoons  grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (or more if you want more heat)
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 garlic cloves, minced
½  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds; cover pan, and cook 2 minutes or until seeds stop popping. Uncover pan. Stir in the onion and the next 5 ingredients (onion through garlic), and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion is golden, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat, and stir in broth, tomato paste, juice, and salt. Cook until thick (about 1 minute), stirring constantly. This is important.  It can burn easily. Add shrimp; cook 4 minutes stirring occasionally or until shrimp are done. Sprinkle with cilantro. Makes 4 servings at 5.4 grams of fat/serving.

madrasi-shrimp

Irish Whiskey Bread Pudding

Published March 24, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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The much prophesied 50 degree weather has not materialized.  It is still quite cold. And there is a hellish new form of precipitation pouring from the sky – grauple.  At least that’s what the weather people called it. Grauple is small, hard, icy snow pellets that can fall in a “shower” – it is snowflakes that have partially melted and refrozen. It hurts when it hits you, if you happen to have been innocently going to the bank when it began to grauple.

So there is a need for yet more comfort food.  I also needed to use up more leftovers, namely the Irish Soda Bread, which is now quite stale but still has almost half a bread left.

Irish Whiskey Bread Pudding

5 cups stale (or toasted) Irish soda bread or raisin bread
1  cup fat free milk
1 cup fat free half and half (or use 2 cups of fat free milk if you don’t have fat free half and half)
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup Irish whiskey
1½ teaspoons  vanilla extract
½ cup egg substitute
1/3 cup regular or golden raisins (optional)
Cooking spray

Cut bread into ½ inch squares. Combine skim milk, fat free half and half, brown sugar, whiskey, vanilla extract, and egg substitute in a large bowl; stir well. Add bread cubes and raisins; toss gently. Cover and chill 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Spoon mixture into a 9-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes or until pudding is set.  Makes 6 servings with about 2.3 grams of fat/serving. This bread pudding was actually better than the bread.  It made me want to snuggle under the down blanket and forget about the weather, which I did.

irish-bread-pudding

And yes, that’s whipped cream on the bread pudding.  Remember, you can have whipped cream if you weigh it to count the fat grams.

Spicy Noodles with Chicken

Published March 23, 2009 Uncategorized 4 Comments
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Tonight is a use up the leftovers before they spoil night.  The chief leftover was chicken breast remaining from a roast chicken earlier in the week.  I thought I would use it for sandwiches to take for lunch, but it didn’t happen. The other main leftover was cilantro, which I used earlier in the pasta salad.  One of the things that annoys me about fresh herbs is that you usually only need a tablespoon or a quarter of a cup of them, but you have to buy the whole bunch. And then the rest of the bunch rots in the refrigerator.  One way to save them is to chop the herb up, measure it out by the tablespoon into ice cube trays, add water to the tray, and freeze the herb.  This is ok if you plan to use the herb for flavor, but not very useful if you want to sprinkle it on as an accent.  So I now have this lovely herb keeper.

food-herb-holder

The herb keeper has cilantro and mint in it.  The funny thing is, I bought this same herb keeper for my daughter for Christmas, and because it seemed so useful, I bought one for myself. My daughter came across the same herb keeper, and bought me one for Christmas – so now I have two of them.  I guess you can’t have too many of a good thing.

The original recipe for this dish came from Cooking Light, and seems to have been intended as a cold dish.  It is still too nasty out for a cold dinner, so I made it into a hot dish.  It is reminiscent of Pad Thai, but with a little more of a sour taste.  The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of chopped dry roasted peanuts to be added at the end, but this brought the total fat gram count up to 8 grams/serving. Since I want to take it for lunch that was a little too high.  Besides, I am suffering from peanut paranoia at the moment.  You can add them if you want.

Spicy Noodles with Chicken

1  (6.75-ounce) package thin rice sticks (rice-flour noodles)
1 Tablespoon  dark sesame oil, divided
1  Tablespoon  grated peeled fresh ginger
2  garlic cloves, minced
3  Tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce
2  Tablespoons  rice vinegar
2  Tablespoons  hoisin sauce
1-2  teaspoons  chili paste with garlic (or to taste)
¼ cup fat free chicken broth
2  cups  chopped cooked skinless, boneless chicken breast
½ cup  chopped green onions
¼ cup  chopped fresh cilantro

Cook noodles according to package directions (mine just needed to soak in boiling water). Drain the noodles and rinse under cold water; drain. Cut noodles into smaller pieces.  I used a kitchen scissors for this. Set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil in a large pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic to pan; cook 45 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat.  Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon oil, and next 5 ingredients (through broth). Lower heat to medium low, return pan to heat, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add chicken and noodles, toss to mix.  Cook 3-4 minutes or until heated through.  Makes 4 servings with 5.7 grams of fat/serving.

asian-chicken-noodles

Variation: I think that you could easily add some chopped cooked vegetables to this, if you have more leftovers to use up.  I’ll probably do this when I take it for lunch. I also might add a little more vinegar.

Gauranga Potatoes

Published March 20, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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This recipe came from the co-worker of a good friend of mine.  The best way I can describe it is Bengali Scalloped Potatoes.  They are delicious and absolutely addictive.  The original recipe called for ghee, which is clarified butter.  Ghee is used widely in India because it keeps well without refrigeration.  It also has religious uses.  In Mumbai, the area of India where I lived, both  butter and ghee were made from soured milk, although some places make it from sweet milk. Prepared ghee can be purchased at Asian groceries.  I didn’t have ghee, so I used unsalted butter and it worked.  If you want to make ghee at home, it isn’t too difficult. Simmer unsalted butter in a large pot on very low heat until all the water has boiled off and the protein has settled to the bottom. Gently spoon off the cooked and clarified butter that is on the top, avoiding disturbing the milk solids on the bottom of the pan.

The recipe also uses asofoetida, a spice that is less familiar in western kitchens. Asofoetida, which was called hing by my Mumbai neighbors, is a staple in much Indian cooking, especially vegetarian cooking.  Asofoetida is made from a resin-like gum which comes from the dried sap extracted from the stem and roots of the perennial Ferula Assafoetida.  It has a strong, and some would say unpleasant odor, which when heated in oil or ghee becomes milder and more pleasant, acquiring a taste and aroma reminiscent of sautéed onion and garlic. Asofoetida’s odor is so strong that it must be stored in airtight containers; otherwise the aroma will contaminate other spices stored nearby. It can be purchased in Asian markets, but those who are allergic to gluten should be aware that some companies blend pulverized asafoetida with wheat flour, so check the label.

Gauranga Potatoes

8 medium potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold, but red potatoes will work
1 Tablespoon butter or ghee
1 teaspoon ground asofoetida
¾ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
¾ teaspoon turmeric
3 cups non-fat sour cream
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Salt to taste
½ cup water
1 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Peel the potatoes and slice into ¼ inch pieces. Boil them in a large pan until they’re cooked but still firm. Drain off the water and set the potatoes aside. In the same pan, over medium low heat, heat the first tablespoon of butter (or ghee if you have it),with the asofoetida, rosemary and turmeric. Lightly brown, remove from heat, and add the sour cream, melted butter, salt, black pepper, and ½ cup water. Gently fold in the potato slices. Place in a 9 x 13 baking pan and sprinkle with the paprika. Bake for 30 or 40 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, until top is golden brown. Makes 8 servings at 3 grams of fat/serving.

gauranga-potatoes

NOTE: You can also make this in a Dutch oven or other stove-top and oven-proof dish, eliminating the need to spoon it into a baking pan.  This reheated very well, and I took it for lunch for several days after I had it for dinner. On the last day, I added a couple of handfuls of frozen green beans to the leftovers, and the combination was great.

gauranga-potatoes-on-plate

Irish Soda Bread

Published March 17, 2009 Uncategorized 3 Comments
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Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, we have Irish soda bread.  It’s an easy bread – no yeast, no rising.  And it even tastes good without butter. I don’t know how well it goes with green beer.  The original recipe came from Have Your Cake and Eat It Too.

Irish Soda Bread

Butter flavor (or regular) cooking spray
4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2½  Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup seedless raisins (I used golden raisins)
½ cup dried currants
1 large egg (I used egg substitute)
1 ½ cups plus 2 Tablespoons non-fat buttermilk (I used low fat buttermilk)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Dust with flour and tap out excess flour.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and use your fingertips to work it into the flour until it is in very small flakes and no large lumps remain.  Be patient. Stir in raisins and currants. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Reserve one tablespoon. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk and remaining beaten egg. Blend ingredients thoroughly with a wooden spoon; do not over beat. Dough will be sticky.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead with floured hands for 2-3 minutes. The dough will be neither wet nor dry to the touch.  The surface will be bumpy. Add a little more flour if necessary.  Form the dough into a ball about 8 inches in diameter.  Set the dough on the prepared cookie sheet.  Use a sharp knife to cut a cross about ½ inch deep in the top of the bread. I forgot to do this, and I think it made the bread heavier.  Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the loaf with reserved egg.  Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes until the bread is well-risen and golden brown on top, and a long skewer inserted in the center comes out dry.  Cool on a wire rack, and wrap in an airtight bag to store.  Cut in wedges to serve.  Makes 16 servings at 2 grams of fat/serving

irish-soda-bread1

Blueberry Brunch Casserole

Published March 15, 2009 Uncategorized 1 Comment
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The weather folks predicted temperatures in the 50’s by the end of last week, with breathless commentary on the coming of Spring .  Within a few days they had revised that to the 40’s, with some nights dropping into the teens.  Now it is snowing quite vigorously – giant fluffy flakes that are, in theory, pretty.  The weather folks are hyperventilating about beating the all time local winter snow record, which is only 4 inches away. Whoopee!! I am hyperventilating about the need to drive and walk on icy roads.

This Blueberry Brunch Casserole appeared in American Profile, one of those magazine inserts that come in your local paper.  It is very good, warm, and filling.  It is, however, mediocre at being reheated at half speed in the microwave.  I think it is best eaten mostly the same day, although I am reheating leftovers for breakfast, which are ok but not as good as the same day.  The advantage of this dish is that you can make it the night before (or several hours before), refrigerate it, and bake it in the morning when you need it.  The original recipe called for 2 cups of blueberries, with one incorporated and one cup sprinkled over it after baking.  I really didn’t need the garnish effect, so I increased the blueberries that were incorporated to 1½ cups. It also called for serving it with fat free whipped topping, but in my mind that makes it a dessert (blueberry bread pudding?), which might be ok.  Besides, I never eat whipped topping, although I have been thinking about measuring out some real whipped cream to top it one evening.

Blueberry Brunch Casserole

Cooking spray
1 cup egg substitute (or 6 egg whites)
2 eggs
1 cup non-fat milk
1 cup fat-free half and half (see note)
2 (6-ounce) containers nonfat lemon yogurt
¼ cup sugar
8 ounces day-old French bread (Mine was considerably more than a day old, but it worked), cut into ½ -inch cubes
1 (8-ounce) package fat-free cream cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes
1½ cups fresh blueberries

Coat a 13 x 9-inch glass baking pan with cooking spray (I used my ceramic pan – I don’t have a glass pan of that size.).   Whisk egg substitute (or whites) and eggs in a large bowl until well beaten. Add milk, yogurt and sugar; mix well. Add bread cubes and toss to coat completely. Add cream cheese and blueberries and toss to blend. Pour egg mixture into pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350F. Remove plastic wrap and bake 50 to 55 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes. Makes 8 servings at 3 grams of fat/serving.  Does not appear to make it stop snowing.

HINT:  If you’re using frozen blueberries (which I did), rinse and drain well on paper towels before adding to egg mixture.

blueberry-brunch-casserole
NOTE: The original recipe called for 2 cups of 2% milk, but the only milk I ever have in the house is non-fat milk. Whenever a recipe calls for something other than non-fat milk, I mix the milk with fat free half and half and it seems to work. You can use 2 cups  of 2% milk; it adds about .5 grams of fat/serving.

Chicken and Dumplings

Published March 13, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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It is still “unseasonably,” or perhaps unreasonably, cold.  It was 8 degrees last night, weather not fit for woman or beast.  Even the dogs are starting to complain, although not as vociferously as when there was 6 feet of snow and they couldn’t go outside for, as we used to call it “nature”.

So, more comfort food for dinner.  I have never made chicken and dumplings, but they sounded good…and I had aging veggies to use up.  I doctored this recipe from Cooking Light a bit.  The original called for 8 ounces of chicken thighs, but there were none in the freezer, and for fresh parsley – which I wasn’t willing to venture out into the cold to purchase.

Chicken and Dumplings

Cooking spray
2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1  cup  (1/4-inch) diagonally cut celery
1/2  cup  (1/4-inch) diagonally cut carrot
1/2  cup  chopped onion
1/8  teaspoon  dried thyme (I used a large pinch of each of the herbs)
1/8 teaspoon dried savory
1/8 teaspoon dried chervil
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
1  bay leaf
3  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

Dumplings
½ cup  all-purpose flour
1  teaspoon  dried parsley
1/4  teaspoon  baking powder
1/4  teaspoon  salt
1/4  cup  fat-free milk

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook about 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add next 8 ingredients (celery through bay leaf) to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute. Add broth to pan; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

To make the dumplings, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, parsley, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk, stirring just until moist. Spoon by heaping teaspoonfuls into broth mixture; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until dumplings are done. Discard bay leaf.  This makes 2 tummy-warming servings at about 5 grams of fat/serving.

chicken-and-dumplings

COMMENT:  This was very tasty, but I expected the gravy to be thicker.  I think the next time I make this I will thicken the sauce a bit with cornstarch before I add the dumplings.  I also might double the amount of dumplings, since they seemed skimpy. I’d like to make it next time with the chicken thighs, since I think they would have a richer flavor and the same amount of fat.

Pasta Salad with Sweet Lime Chili Sauce

Published March 12, 2009 Uncategorized 1 Comment
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Another potluck.  This time they said bring a salad or side dish that is “dairy” – contains no meat.  To complicate things, I had to run errands before the gathering, and was going to a jazz concert after, so It couldn’t be a hot dish, and leftovers would have to be able to survive in the car for a couple of hours.  Since it is very cold, I wasn’t really worried about spoilage.   And of course, it had to meet my standard potluck principle of being something I could eat at the potluck to avoid the fatty dishes others brought, and the leftovers would be ok to eat without being too high fat.

I decided on a pasta salad with a Thai flavor so it would be a little different, but easy to transport. This was also good as a leftover for lunch, when I added little cooked shrimp to it one day, and tuna the next.

Pasta Salad with Sweet Lime Chili Sauce

1 pound small pasta (see Note)
4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 green onions, sliced thinly
1 colored pepper, chopped coarsely
2 Tablespoons dried flaked onions
¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Dressing

1/3  cup  fresh lime juice
2  tablespoons  Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce
2  Tablespoons  sugar
1/4  cup  finely shredded peeled carrot
1/2  teaspoon  Thai-style chili paste
1  tablespoon  chopped fresh mint
1  tablespoon  chopped fresh cilantro

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Rinse under cold water and allow to drain completely.   Toss pasta with remaining salad ingredients (tomatoes through cilantro). To make dressing, whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl.  Pour over pasta and toss thoroughly. Makes 8 1½  cup servings at about 2 grams of fat/serving.

NOTE: You can use any kind of small pasta you’d like – orzo, little shells, small macaroni, etc.  I was originally planning to use small shells until I found adorable mini farfalle (bow ties), which I thought gave the salad an interesting look.

VARIATION: I made this salad milder and sweeter than I might have if I wasn’t taking it to a potluck.  If you want to give it a real Thai kick, reduce the sugar to 2 teaspoons, and increase the chili paste to 1 teaspoon – or more to taste.

thai-pasta

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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.

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