Saturday, February 18, 2006

Fake!

I decided to try a recipe from EW that had been reviewed by others on the CL board. It's a recipe that is meant to be like a Philly Cheese Steak, but uses portobello mushrooms instead of the steak part. I've never had a cheese steak, so my review may be suspect, but I like this recipe. The portobello mushroom cooks down nicely to give a good texture. The flavor of the filling also reminds me of a sandwich that I used to get from the lunch hall at college - which is a good thing, because I used to love that sandwich. It's a slightly soy sauce, slightly salty flavor, with neither flavor overwhelming the other. The only issue I had with the recipe is that the servings are so large, that it's hard to keep it all on the bun. Keep a fork with you when eating this, to pick up the wonderful stuff that falls out of the bun!


* Exported from MasterCook *

Portobello "Philly Cheese Steak" Sandwiches

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion -- sliced
4 large Portobello mushroom caps -- stems and gills removed, sliced
1 large red bell pepper -- thinly sliced
2 teaspoons dried oregano -- or 2 tablespoons fresh
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon unbleached flour
1/4 cup vegetable broth -- or chicken broth
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
3 ounces provolone cheese
1/2 Whole Wheat Burger Buns

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until soft and beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, oregano and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are wilted and soft, about 7 minutes.

Reduce heat to low; sprinkle the vegetables with flour and stir to coat. Stir in broth and soy sauce; bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, lay cheese slices on top of the vegetables, cover and let stand until melted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Divide the mixture into 4 portions with a spatula, leaving the melted cheese layer on top. Scoop a portion onto each toasted bun and serve immediately.

Source:
"EW 12-01/05-06"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 386 Calories; 12g Fat (26.9% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 56g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 43mg Cholesterol; 737mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


* Exported from MasterCook *

Whole Wheat Burger Buns

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/3 cup water -- lukewarm
1 package active dry yeast
1 large egg -- at room temperature, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
cornmeal -- for sprinkling

Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until the surface shimmers. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool to body temperature, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour water into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast over the water, stir, then let stand for 5 to 10 minutes to dissolve.

Add egg to the milk; whisk well. Whisk in sugar, salt, oil and the yeast. Stir in whole-wheat flour. Using a heavy wooden spoon, beat vigorously by hand for 100 strokes. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Start adding white flour to the dough, about 1/3 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough is somewhat firm and no longer too sticky to handle, turn it out onto a floured surface. With floured hands, knead the dough for 7 to 8 minutes, using additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray. Add the dough and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Using a dough cutter or chef’s knife, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 5 minutes.

Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray and dust it with cornmeal. Shape the dough into tight balls and place them about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Coat a large sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it over the buns, sprayed side down.

Set the buns in a warm, draft-free spot until they have risen by about half, 25 to 30 minutes. Gently press down on the buns, pressing right on the plastic, to flatten them a little. Let them rise for another 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Bake the buns on the center rack until golden and crusty, about 25 minutes. The bottoms should sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Source:
"http://www.eatingwell.com/articles_recipes/recipes/web_bonus_jj05.htm"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 220 Calories; 3g Fat (12.6% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 28mg Cholesterol; 293mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Friday, February 10, 2006

More muffin-y goodness - and a new favorite pork dish!

I've been swapping around my breakfasts recently; been moving towards high fiber cereals. I love the cereals made by Nature's Path. Anyway, since I've been eating them for breakfast, I haven't been eating muffins. Doesn't stop me from wanting to bake them, though - so I just have to find main dish recipes that work well with muffins. I've been mostly sticking with soups, but this time, I decided to go with a ragout.

I've had limited success working with pork tenderloin. I tried roasting it a few times, but it ended up dry - most likely because I was doing it before I had an accurate oven thermometer, and didn't know my oven was underheating for the temperature it said it was hitting. Anyway, the last recipe I tried with pork (Sweet & Sour), turned out nicely, so I decided to give a CL recipe a try. Advantages - made in the microwave, and it includes sweet potatoes, which is a vegetable I love but rarely make. This recipe came together simply, but I do warn - keep an eye on the microwave. My microwave tends to heat high, so it was done (and over-flowing slightly) earlier than the recipe said. I definitely like this recipe. It was soupy the first night, but not as much in leftovers. The spice mix was good, vegetables were tender, and the pork was beautifully cooked.

As for the muffin, it was a recipe from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe, which is one of those cookbooks that I just love to look at. I had to make a last minute sub - the buttermilk that I defrosted in the freezer sprung a leak, and I only caught 3/4 of a cup of it. Luckily, I had some non-fat vanilla yogurt to fill in the rest. The candied ginger was easier to cut up than the recipe seems to infer. I also used bosc pear for the first time, and they held up well. The result was a moist, tender muffin with a more cake-like crumb, although it definitely wasn't sugar-y sweet enough to be a muffin. The name does not really reflect the flavor of the muffin, however; the dominant flavor was definitely lemon. Not a disadvantage, certainly, and definitely not disappointing, but a surprise given it wasn't in the muffin name.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Ragout of Pork with Sweet Potatoes

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 5 Preparation Time :0:10
Categories : Dec '96 Main Dish
Pork

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 garlic cloves -- minced
1 (10 1/2-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
1 pound lean, boned pork loin -- cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup frozen green peas

Place onion in a 2-quart casserole. Cover and microwave at HIGH 2 minutes. Add potato and next 7 ingredients (potato through broth), and stir well. Cover and microwave at HIGH 10 minutes. Add pork; cover and microwave at HIGH 10 minutes or until potato is tender. Add peas; cover and microwave at HIGH 2 minutes.

Serving Size: 1 cup.

Source:
"Cooking Light, December 1996, p.155"
Copyright:
"© Cooking Light"
T(Cooking Time):
"0:24"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 264 Calories; 9g Fat (29.7% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 32mg Cholesterol; 1009mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 5212 0 0 0 0 0 620 327 887 0


* Exported from MasterCook *

Ginger-Pear Muffins

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 11 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Muffins

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
vegetable oil spray
1 cup pear -- peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/3 cup crystallized ginger -- finely minced
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 large egg
3 teaspoons grated ginger root
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter -- melted

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray 8 standard (2 1/2-inch-diameter) muffin cups with nonstick spray.

Place the chopped pear in a shallow dish, drizzle with the lemon juice, and set aside.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and lemon zest in a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the minced crystallized ginger, then comb through the mixture with your fingers to seek out any larger pieces. Cut them into even smaller pieces with scissors. (This is far easier to do when they are coated in flour. Ideally, each bit of ginger should end up about the size of a rolled oat flake).

Measure the 1 cup buttermilk into a 2-cup liquid measure. Add the egg, fresh ginger, and vanilla, and beat gently with a fork or a small whisk until smooth.

Slowly pour this mixture, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients. Using a spoon or rubber spatula, stir from the bottom of the bowl until the dry ingredients are all moistened. Don't overmix; a few lumps are okay.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. For smaller muffins, fill the cups about 4/5 full. For larger muffins, fill them up to the top. If you have extra batter, spray one or two additional muffin cups with nonstick spray and fill with the remaining batter.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven, then remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a rack to cool. Wait at least 30 minutes before serving.

Source:
"Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe, p. 82"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 189 Calories; 5g Fat (22.9% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 33g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 31mg Cholesterol; 197mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

A different approach to Grannys

I've never been one to cook with Granny Smith apples. Maybe because I've always associated them with apple pies; I think they are supposed to be good for that because they hold up well. I saw that they were one of the top 20 ARF from the list on Sweetnick's, so I decided to do a little more investigating. I knew I didn't want to make a pie. I did find a couple recipes that used them in main dish cooking. Unusually, both combined the Granny Smith with sauerkraut - an interesting combination, but might be better than it sounds if at least two recipes use it. I bought the apples to make the recipe I found from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, but didn't end up buying the sauerkraut, so they got ate out of hand. Not my favorite apple, but okay.

I did give Grannys another shot. In The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, there is also a recipe for Curried Apple Soup. So - Curried Apple Soup, and to go with it, Blueberry-Lemon Muffins from CL. Two, two, two ARF in one meal! Anyway, the soup turned out okay - but a little too strong on the spices. That can be an advantage, though. It forces me to eat slowly, which is better for you because it helps your body realize that you are full faster. The blueberry muffins are okay. They have an unusual texture to them - the cornmeal is not exactly grainy, but there is definitely an unusual feeling to it. So, two new recipes - not bad, but not a repeat.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Curried Apple Soup

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 cups chopped onion
3 large garlic clove -- minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
5 cups chopped apples -- tart,peeled and chopped
4 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and salt, and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.

Add the spices, and saute another 5 minutes over medium heat.

Add apples, water, cinnamon sticks, and lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, mostly cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the apples are very tender. Remove from heat.

Take out the cinnamon sticks, and puree in a blender or food processor - bit by bit, so as not to splash yourself. Return the puree to the pot.

Taste to adjust salt. Serve hot or cold.

Source:
"The Enchanted Broccoli Forest"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 144 Calories; 5g Fat (30.7% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 542mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1 Fruit; 1 Fat.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


* Exported from MasterCook *

Blueberry-Lemon Muffins

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3/4 cup unbleached flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup frozen blueberries -- patted to remove ice crystals
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup skim milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter -- melted
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 large egg -- lightly beaten
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium bowl. Stir in blueberries; make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, butter, rind, and egg; stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.



Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.


Source:
"CL Recipe Search"

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 154 Calories; 4g Fat (20.8% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 26mg Cholesterol; 175mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0