I can tell you the exact moment I learned about ZERO calorie noodles.

Yes, this moment is right up there with JFK’s murder and September 11, 2001 for me. One of those moments that makes your heart skip a beat, never to be forgotten. I mean, seriously: zero calorie pasta? Could it be true?

I got an email entitled “Miracle Noodles,” a.k.a. Shirataki noodles. You can buy these miracles-in-a-bag in Asian specialty markets, or many enlightened mega marts. The noodles come in two forms:  Zero calorie version, made entirely from fiber from a yam, or add just 20 calories per serving and you can buy noodles made from yam fiber plus a little tofu, which gives them more of the taste and texture of traditional pasta.

After some research, I can’t find a single downside to these noodles. Zero calories. Zero carbs. Gluten free. High fiber. Vegetarian. Vegan. Pretty much the best food a dieter can eat.

Either way, I love these noodles. They don’t have much flavor on their own, but I make them with Asian flavors and veggies, and the whole plateful is about 120 calories, and very VERY low carbs.

I like the House brand, a company which makes fabulous tofu. Some folks complain about a fishy smell to their noodles when they opened up the bag, but the House brand at least does not have any “off” smell.

So, if you’re like me and still have some holiday pounds to lose, put these miracles on your menu!

ZERO CALORIE NOODLES, Asian Style

Serves 2

1/2 medium onion, cut in thin julienne strips
1/2 each red bell pepper and green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon hot chile (Siracha) sauce
1/2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 package (8 ounces) shirataki noodles
Cilantro leaves for garnish

Heat a large skillet to medium high heat and then lightly spray with oil. Saute the onion slices for about 3 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add peppers and cook another 2 or 3 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook another minute, until fragrant.

Mix together soy sauce, ginger, chile sauce and peanut butter. Add sauce to skillet and cook one minute.

Rinse well, drain and press noodles in a fine mesh strainer, removing as much water as possible. Stir noodles into skillet mixture and cook for about 3 minutes.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with cilantro leaves as desired.

Check out other food bloggers shirataki adventures:
Guilty Kitchen, Szechuan Noodle Salad
MIso Shirataki Noodles, The Well Seasoned Kitchen
Shirataki Noodles with Veggies and Peanut Sauce, Kalyn’s Kitchen
Zero Calorie Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Healthy Delicious
Shirataki Noodles with Shrimp and Grapefruit, Choosy Beggars

Also, see the discussion at The Kitchn. People either love them or hate them!

Burgerville's Pumpkin Smoothie, even healthier!

One of the most wonderful things about moving to Portland is the local chain called Burgerville, beloved to all. Yes, I’m seriously speaking positively of what is essentially a fast food joint: They have all the treats and trappings of fast food, yet manage to turn many of the negatives about fast food completely inside out. When you throw out your trash, every restaurant has it divided into three bins: Recyclables, Landfill, and Compost. You read that right: COMPOST. They reuse all of their cooking oil as biodiesel. They offer, among many healthy yet seriously delicious choices, three different kinds of veggie burgers. They source their food locally, and they also include a rotating seasonal menu. So every fall, Portland residents look forward to sweet potato fries, salmon sandwiches, and pumpkin shakes and smoothies (all locally sourced, of course).

Those shakes and smoothies, are every bit as delectable as you can imagine. The ice cream shake is like an extra-custardy pumpkin pie in a glass, while the yogurt-based smoothie is a little tangy and a bit lighter overall.  But what about vegans, or those who are intolerant or sensitive to dairy? I thought I’d try making a dairy-free version at home.

And lo, it worked! I tried it first with silken tofu, which was just okay, then with hemp milk, which (although I love hemp milk in some things) didn’t work so well with the aftertaste factor; it was also a bit thin. Finally I tried coconut milk, and that was the ticket. Coconut milk is becoming my favorite cow’s milk subsititute for many reasons, including the health benefits of its good fat (I do recommend going with normal, not “light” coconut milk here, but do what you need to do).

So if you’ve got some extra pumpkin from your jack o’lanterns, or you’re craving pumpkin pie yet want something healthier, give this recipe a whirl. It would make a great leftover recipe after Thanksgiving, or even be a great addition to a turkey day breakfast!

Did I mention the EASY? It’s easy.

PUMPKIN SMOOTHIE A LA BURGERVILLE, MADE VEGAN

1 cup pumpkin
1 14 ounce can coconut milk
1 banana
1/3 to 1/2 cup brown sugar or maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6-8 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender and – take a guess  . . . that’s right, blend until smooth. That’s IT!

Note that you could, instead of the individual spices, use a pumpkin pie spice blend, approximately 1 tablespoon’s worth (you’ll have to taste test as you go). You could also freeze the banana in advance (I recommend doing do in pieces, rather than whole), and reduce the number of ice cubes a bit – see how icy you personally prefer.

– posted by Anne

Hummus meets hen.

Hummus: So delicious, so open to endless variation, so healthy . . .  SO annoying to photograph. It is beige mush. Blah in color and devoid of shape. It takes a truly gifted food stylist/photographer to really make it look good, aesthetically speaking.

So although the hummus in the picture above looks TERRIBLE, aesthetically speaking, I decided to share this shot because of the honest-to-gods spontaneous chicken photobomb. I was trying my dangdest to get a decent angle and utilize some good natural light, moving around the backyard. I added the dry chickpeas to get some shape and texture in the mix, and, this being a Portland backyard, it has chickens. These happened, also, to be hungry chickens, who thought I was bringing them a fabulous treat. In the above shot, girlfriend is actually pecking at the jar.

On to today’s recipe: This was shared by a friend in a Facebook mom’s group, and I liked her hummus history and recipe testing so much that I decided I just had to share it here, with her permission, as a guest post.

So I hereby happily present Hedy Bartleson’s Hummus, hen not included:

A few weeks ago, one of the ladies in my co-op group was talking about how she would shell garbanzo beans with her grandmother. And I thought to myself… “Wow. I was right about that. That MUST be what they do in the restaurants to get the right texture.” See, I really have no frame of reference, and have never bothered to look up a recipe for this stuff. I’m lazy that way sometimes, and I don’t fully trust recipes I find online.

I suppose that is a bit on the ironic side, and OK, it’s only happened once, but the chocolate disaster cake I made years ago (which was supposed to be this beautiful mix between fudge and cake, but ended up a crumbly, disgusting mess that I threw away before anyone saw it,) was enough to make me question things, and try to figure them out myself.

Yes.

If you know me, you know this. I’m the type who will go to a city she has never been to and purposely get lost so I can learn my way around. That always works, and then I can go back when I want to and find things again.

My method is uncertain. It’s a mess, but it’s workin’. (Stole that from a song, but you get the point.) So, this now comes to you from my YEARS of tinkering and trying to guess with my own palette the inner workings and nuances of really great hummus.

I can take you through my evolutionary trail from when I first tried to make it for a party about 10 years ago with my sister-in-law. We REALLY knew not what we were doing at the time, and we bought a can of garbanzos, threw it in the food processor with some cumin and called it hummus. It was dry, and completely hideously bad.

How bad was it?

So bad we laughed about it, along with EVERYONE else who came to that party. Yes. I believe, if I remember correctly, it had to do with my own stupidity, and my inability to bring the correct blade. That’s right. We attempted to make hummus with the slicer/shredder blade, not the other pulverizing one that would have been oh so much more appropriate.

Not only did I try to make hummus that night, but I also made a very poor attempt at salsa that resulted in a bizarre bowl full of sliced peppers, tomatoes, and onion. I still ate it, though no one else did, hence the longish slices of hot peppers… and we laughed about that as well.

Live and learn. That is what culinary evolution is all about, ‘non?

For a couple of years after that I bought that awful hummus mix, and actually thought it was good. Then I decided to get serious about it, and found out that tahini and oil helped the texture out a bit, but something was still… well? Slightly amiss.

One day, I made cannelini in the crock pot. They ended up so very very tender, that I decided to try honing my hummus skills once again. Well? It was better, but still not quite there. Still… just slightly grainy.

So, finally I decided to try sprouting, cooking, then shelling the beans. Sprouting is actually kind of important, as it helps to make the beans more digestible as well as adding more of a nutritional component than boiling alone, or even soaking overnight. This works best in a good sized jar, with a screen on top. First you soak them for 8-12 hours. Then, you add them to a sprouting jar, where you rinse and drain them, cycling once every 8-12 hours for 3 cycles. Yes. Rinse and drain. Wait. Rinse and Drain. Wait. Rinse and drain.

So… give yourself time to prepare. Couple days.

You of course, don’t have to sprout them. Soaking them overnight is enough if you are pressed for time. Or… if you are REALLY pressed for time, you can always boil them off for 1 minute, remove from heat, cover and let sit for one hour before cooking. Any of these methods will suffice.

I also switched the brand of tahini I was using from Maranatha to Arrowhead Mills. What is the difference between these two tahinis? A whole world. Truly. AM is slightly more expensive, but it’s much smoother, and not settled like Maranatha. That isn’t to say that it’s hydrogenated. It just has a higher oil content, and seems to be better pulverized. Not grainy. Not at all. The price difference is about $2, but well worth it. Seriously, what a difference! I think I can finally say with some confidence that it’s there! After 10 years of tinkering. And all you have to do is read the recipe and make it once. I promise. This time it’s the real deal, people! Yes. This time it is.

A few weeks ago our friends Kyle and Chrissy came over. I saw an opportunity to try it out on someone, and took it. And… I just have to say… yes! That was the missing link! Now, it really is just like the stuff you can get at Hoda’s.

So, without further adieu, I give you:

HUMMUS

2 cups dried garbanzo beans
8 ounces tahini
4 medium cloves garlic
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 c olive oil (or more, depending . . . )
1/4 c water
1/4 cup lemon juice (or more, depending. I used three lemons this last time)
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon red sumac powder

Soak then sprout the garbanzos. (See above in body of post.)

Once sprouted, rinse thoroughly, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn them down to a high simmer, and simmer for about 2 hours, until tender. Allow to cool enough to be handled.

Once ready to be handled, rinse them well, then place into a bowl, set this next to the food processor. Set another bowl on the other side of the food processor. Shell the beans into the food processor, dumping the shells into the empty bowl adjacent to the food processor until done.

Add the garlic cloves, and start the processor. When you get a somewhat smooth consistency, turn off the processor, remove the lid, and add the tahini paste.

Next, replace the lid, start the processor again, and stream in the water. This will emulsify beautifully, and start to make the hummus creamy. It’s important to do this AFTER the tahini paste, so this happens. Once the water is fully incorporated, stream in the olive oil until you have a somewhat loose, smooth consistency.

Next, the cumin powder and the salt. You should be able to place a butter knife in shallowly to taste at this point, so you won’t have to stop the processing. Just be careful!

Let it go for another minute, and voila!

Chill for at least 2 hours, stir in lemon juice, and place into a pretty bowl. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of red sumac powder on top.

I wait until the hummus is cold to add the lemon juice so it doesn’t fade into the background, and actually remains one of the main flavor components.

This recipe does make a LOT of hummus. It freezes well, but due to its popularity, this may not be necessary.

-H

One last attempt to present hummus appetizingly, using Trader Joe's Cilantro-Jalapeno in the middle there.

]]> http://www.apronstringsblog.com/appetizers/hedys-hummus/feed/ 6 http://www.apronstringsblog.com/entrees/gazpachos-the-classic-and-the-remake/ http://www.apronstringsblog.com/entrees/gazpachos-the-classic-and-the-remake/#comments Fri, 24 Jun 2011 00:15:34 +0000 Anne http://www.apronstringsblog.com/?p=3678

Gazpacho with a kick!

You guys might remember me talking about my upbringing with my beloved adoptive mom, who, God bless her . .  was just not a foodie. She wasn’t TERRIBLE, mind you – I didn’t have to worry about her giving dinner guests food poisoning the way Ruth Reichl described in her memoir “Tender at the Bone”, but she simply wasn’t a food lover the way I was, and the way Donna also was, I was later thrilled to discover.

But that doesn’t mean she didn’t have a few delicious things up her sleeve – and one of them was gazpacho. This cold tomato soup from Spain isn’t something you’d think your average American kid would like, but I absolutely devoured it. Mom made it by the vat every summer, and thus, every summer I look forward to making it myself.

We called it “liquid salad”, and though that makes it sound a bit less appetizing than it actually is, it’s a fair description of the raw veggie content. I can’t think of a more healthy recipe, for the life of me, and it’s one that can be dressed up with any number of garnishes. Also? Easy. SO EASY. This is my own definitive version, having tweaked it for literally decades now.

CLASSIC GAZPACHO

6 cups tomato juice, divided
2 tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 medium onion, quartered
1/2 green and 1/2 red bell peppers (or just one of either)
1/2 cup cilantro
2 cloves garlic, chopped
juice and zest of 1 lime
dash or two (or three) hot pepper sauce (to taste)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine about 2 cups of the juice in the food processor with all the vegetables and the cilantro. Blitz until smooth! You could do this in the blender, and indeed I have, but I actually like it to have a bit of ‘texture’. Don’t get me wrong – it should not be chunky or anything even near it, but I like being able to see and feel a bit of the fiber, if that makes sense. Anyway, pour contents into a large bowl, and add remaining juice and the rest of the ingredients. Stir well, making sure oil has been well-incorporated. Chill for at least 2-3 hours, if not more.

Then it’s ALL about the garnishes. I prefer a combination of finely diced cucumbers, peppers, and carrots, but many other things are great. Scallions, chives, more cilantro leaves, additional diced tomato  or halved grape tomatoes – all fabulous and still uberhealthy. We always used to add croutons when I was a kid, also an option.

(Okay, in all honesty: early on, the gazpacho was really a crouton-delivery mechanism; I would basically have a bowl of crouton-cereal with gazpacho-milk poured over the top. But I came to appreciate the soup itself more and more.)

In recent years I’ve been adding carefully diced avocado, too, which adds a wonderful creaminess. All in all, a cooling yet zesty addition to any summer grillfest, picnic, or ordinary dinner.

*****

And now for Donna’s updated twist! The photograph above is of her variation. I absolutely love her way of making it “creamy”.

Anne’s gazpacho looked so yummy I decided to try making it with a southwest twist. Anne called her gazpacho “liquid salad,” and  likewise mine could be labeled “liquid salsa.”

I decided to throw in an avocado to try for a creamy texture. It worked great and tasted smooth and delicious, but the color was very muddy. I added a small can of tomato paste for color. Result: creaminess with a deep red color! Perfecto!

CREAMY SOUTHWEST GAZPACHO

4 large ripe tomatoes, core removed
2 large cucumbers, peeled
1 jalapeno pepper, or more to taste
3 green onions, sliced
Juice and zest of one lime
2 tablespoons diced cilantro
1 large ripe Haas avocado, peeled
1 can (4 ounces) tomato paste
A few dashes tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut tomatoes in half and squeeze out seeds and gel. Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise and remove seeds with a spoon  by scraping down the center. Cut jalapeno in half lengthwise. If you want more heat, leave seeds and pulp in, but for flavor without heat remove seeds and pulp by scraping with a spoon down the center.

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Garnish with chunks of avocado, cilantro or sliced green onions.

Other intriguing gazpachos ’round our favorite blogs:

Watermelon Gazpacho from The Perfect Pantry
Confetti Gazpacho from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Gazpacho with Roasted Tomatoes and Peppers from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
White Gazpacho from Becks and Posh

– posted by Anne

The New York Goodwich: A Nutrition-Packed Veggie Wrap

We set out to start blogging more authentically, and, specifically, focusing on how food and cooking became a form of bonding for us as we got to know each other as a birthmother and daughter. Most mothers and daughters don’t have to “get to know each other” as a deliberate act – it unfolds over the course of a lifetime, and much of that unfolding involves nurturing and literally nourishing one’s child. And naturally, much of that takes place in the kitchen. So for Donna and I, it was (and still is) a  template for the way we’ve been making up for lost time.

And really, sometimes, we’re just going to share some recipes because they’re just plain good, no backstory required.

But here’s the thing: if we’re going to be talking about authentic writing + food, there’s more to that equation than just the love and nurturing and connecting. Yes, we all absolutely do connect with one another through food, and we all have emotional connections with food because of that. And most of the time, in most ways, this is a beautiful thing. But emotional connections are imperfect, as is anything in this imperfect world, and therefore, our relationship with food itself is not always going to be healthy.

This is a part of my (Anne’s) story that I haven’t talked about much publicly, let alone in a food blog platform. What? Talking about eating disorders on a food blog? Aren’t food blogs supposed to be about the awesome FOOD, along with fabulous photography and engaging writing? Why bring up such an uncomfortable topic?

Well, I bring it up because it underscores what a revelation it was to me, truly, to be connected with someone who loves food and relates to it in much the same way I do, as it was when I met my birthmother. To have that love for food be transformed into something not shameful, greedy, indulgent in the worst kind of pejorative (because the latter was the way I felt for decades), well, it has been nothing less than life-changing.

I will give you the Cliffs Notes version, rather than the Lifetime Movie of the Week version, but in a nutshell: My early adult professional life was spent as a dancer, which in turn meant that my formative years were spent in a dance studio, which in turn meant that the odds of developing an eating disorder were relatively high. I did not beat those odds. I spent years struggling with food, primarily as a bulimic but with an aggressive bout of anorexia at the very beginning. My adolescence was consumed, in many ways, by my obsession with weight and food. It took well into my twenties for me to start to attain some equilibrium, though, to be honest, neurotic tendencies still pop up from time to time. In the intervening years, eating disorders started being discussed more openly and now aren’t nearly as stigmatized, thankfully, which has also been a help.

The strongest influence in my disorder was certainly the competitiveness of the dance world, but there were familial factors as well. I was raised by a family I love very much – and no one in my adoptive family could be considered a food lover. My mom (my wonderful adoptive mom) was interested in food only insofar as it was necessary for survival, for the most part. She wasn’t a terrible cook, it just wasn’t something she particularly cared about; it was no different than cleaning or doing the laundry. It was a chore to complete.  And in contrast, my love of food and my naturally voracious appetite always carried with it some sense of shame, especially once my fixation on weight loss entered the picture. So, years later, to find that there was possibly something innate in all this, and to find someone who reflected my own passion – it was the kind of validation I never thought I would ever receive.

You might be wondering, at this point, “Yeah, yeah, very touching. What the heck does any of this have to do with the tasty-looking wrap in the picture?”

So it was about 1987. For months, I had been living on 600 calories a day, painstakingly recorded in a notebook down to the last packet of Equal (4 calories, by the way), along with the rigors of daily dance classes and rehearsals. I had dropped down to about 103 pounds, which, on my mesomorphic frame, was a pretty perilous place. People were starting to whisper and worry, especially my mother, who felt very concerned but had no idea where to even begin to address it.

One weekend, my mother, sister and I went skiiing – one of the perks of living in Colorado was growing up on skis, so I can ski as casually as most can jump on a bike for a ride. Anyway, after only a couple of runs, I was so cold that it was actually painful, excruciatingly so. It wasn’t any sort of unusual temperature – no one else was bothered at all. My fat stores had just dropped so low that I had next to no insulation. I felt like I was on the verge of frostbite, and was in tears by the time we got off the chairlift for the third time.

Somehow I made it to the bottom, and Mom accompanied me down to the lodge, where I would wait for her and Amy to finish out the day.  While I got situated with some coffee (black, of course) near a fireplace, She ran down to the gift shop to see if she could find me something to read, and returned with a diet book called “Fit For Life”. Remember that food-combining fad from the 80′s? This version was by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, and I was engrossed immediately.

It may seem ironic that a diet book would rescue me from sliding into much more severe anorexia, and the science behind food combining was admittedly iffy, but the book’s overall focus on nutrition, on vegetables and on organic ingredients was exactly what I needed at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, this was far from the end of my struggle – in fact, it was really the beginning. But it got me back to a generally healthy state, crucial at the moment, and it also got me cooking for myself in earnest for the first time. No one else in the family was going to be subject to these wacky combinations, so it was up to me.

There were, of course, a number of recipes in the book, some better than others, but one was by far my favorite. The Diamonds called it a Goodwich, specifically a New York Goodwich due to their popularity at a Manhattan health expo of some kind. I made it long after I had abandoned the Fit For Life principles, and though I forgot about it for a few years, I’ve been making it again recently. It’s kind of addictive – the steamed veggies with the barbecued onions, a touch of mayo, the creamy avocado and crunchy sprouts – it all comes together so well. Satisfying food that really does your body good – what more could you want from a wrap?

I’ve tweaked it a little, as per always, and I now use gluten-free wraps like Trader Joe’s brown rice wraps or La Tortilla Factory’s Ivory Teff Wraps, but the concept is definitely pure Fit For Life. Try it and see if it just might be added to your favorite lunch items!

NEW YORK GOODWICHES

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons barbecue sauce (preferably one without corn syrup)
2 cups broccoli florets, sliced
1 cup cauliflower florets, sliced
2 large wraps or 3-4 smaller ones
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 cup lettuce, roughly chopped
1/2 cup zucchini, grated
1/2 cup carrot, grated
1 dill pickle, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sprouts (alfalfa or otherwise)
1 avocado, sliced

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft and translucent, just starting to brown. Stir in barbecue sauce and cook a few more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Steam broccoli and cauliflower for 5 minutes (I like a steamer basket in a regular pot, a friend has an electric steamer she swears by, whatever works for you), making sure not to overcook.

There’s no exact science to assembling these, dividing the filling ingredients evenly as you go but a rough order would be: Spread each wrap with a thin layer of mayo, then spread the broccoli and cauliflower over them. Then the lettuce,  zucchini, carrots, and sprouts; and finally the dill pickle and avocado slices, topped with a few spoons of the barbecued onions. Wrap ‘er up.

These are great to eat right away or, if you wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate them, they’ll keep for a future meal and be even better.

Donna & Anne showing off their henna on a Colorado trip

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, Donna, for being a kindred spirit, and for accepting me as I am, appetite and all.

– posted by Anne

P.S. I promise, readers, it’s so not ALL going to be this heavy. We’ll talk more about our reunion, our relationship over the years, and, as stated upstream, sometimes just post some dang good recipes.

Yam-a-licious Tater Tots, a Sweet Potato Version of the Potato Classic

Us kids of the 70′s looked forward to one thing in the school cafeteria: Tater Tots. They were invented in the 50′s, and by the 70′s they were a staple at school and at home. Seriously, who doesn’t love the crispy crunchy little nuggets with pillowy soft insides? If anyone says they don’t like Tater Tots, only two things are possible 1) they are lying, or 2) they have never eaten Tater Tots. We are all Napoleon Dynomite when it comes to Tots.

We decided to update this American classic, giving this recipe a sweet orange makeover for a bloggers-only contest. If you like sweet potato fries, these tots may just become your new addiction!

This new enlightened version is even more delicious than the original – same crispy outsides, but sweeter, more flavorful insides. Sweet potatoes are about a million per cent more flavorful than regular spuds, and pack a real nutritional bang for your buck. Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are an incredibly nutrient-dense food.

To make the interior light and fluffy I grated the tubers and then baked the shreds to take out excess water. Then, I tossed them with a little cornstarch and flour for binders. They hold together perfectly and the bath in hot oil gives them that perfect crunch.

Well worth the effort – for kids and for the kid in all of us.

YAM-A-LICIOUS TATER TOTS

Makes about 16 tots

1 pound sweet potatoes or yams (1 large potato or 2 small potatoes)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (or cayenne pepper)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Canola oil for frying
Cinnamon sugar if desired for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel the skin off the potato. Grate the peeled potato on the large holes of a box grater. Place a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on a baking sheet (11 by 17 inches). Spread the grated  potato on the baking sheet, distributing evenly. Sprinkle salt on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to warm. Place potatoes in a large mixing bowl.

In a small bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except oil. Stir this dry mixture into the grated potatoes until it is fully integrated with potatoes and you can no longer see it.

Heat oil to 375 degrees in a deep fryer or a medium skillet filled about 1 inch deep with oil.

Pour a little oil into a small bowl. Dip a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon  into oil and then fill the spoon with potato mixture. Dump out the tablespoon into your hands and pat out mixture into small discs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Deep fry in batches, leaving plenty of room in oil so that discs don’t stick together. Cook for about 80 to 90 seconds, until outsides are browned. Remove and place on paper towels. Blot tops of discs gently with another paper towel. Sprinkle with either a little more salt or cinnamon sugar, as desired. Serve immediately.

Other amazing tots by bloggers:

Home made Tater Tots, The Urban Baker
Oven Baked Tater Tots, The Kitchn
Tater Tots for Adults, Al Dente
Crab Tater Tots, Living in the Kitchen with Puppies

– posted by Donna

There is something about the smell and taste of baked apples that give you that “AAaaaahhhh” feeling. Love! Comfort! Joy! Baked apples!

This time of year, there is another reason I eat apples: weight loss. New research out there says ”An apple a Day Keeps the Doctor AND THE POUNDS Away.” You just can’t beat low in carbs, high in fiber plus YUM! As proof positive, I cite my favorite low-glycemic food blogger Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen: check out her Low Sugar Apple Crisp, for starters!

I decided to come up with a quicker, simpler enlightened apple recipe with all the soft luscious comforting quality of the slow baked version.

Turns out apples “bake” just as well in a covered skillet! Who knew? All I did was sprinkle the cut sides of the apple halves with cinnamon and then put them in a skillet cut side down with a little water. I cooked them covered over medium heat for 5 minutes, and they turned out just as yummy as the slow baked version. Minus the time and hassle. AND minus the sugar!

Don’t make the mistakes I did the first few times using the wrong varieties of apples. Granny Smiths = firm but too tart. Red Delicious = sweet but bland and mushy. Golden Delicious, Braeburn and Jonagold = perfect sweet/tart balance and great soft and creamy but firm texture. Yes, I know. A bit excessive to try 5 different varieties. But worth the effort.

Visually, here’s the progression:

SUGAR-FREE PAN-ROASTED APPLES with PECAN STUFFING

Serves 6; Total time: 20 minutes

2 teaspoons cinnamon
Water for steaming
1/2 cup diced dried fruit (I used Medjool dates)
3 large Golden Delicious,  Braeburn or Jonagold apples
1 teaspoon molasses
1 1/2 teaspoons (one packet) stevia (or other favorite sweetener)
1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup finely diced pecans

Cut apples in half lengthwise and then remove cores by cutting apples with two slanted cuts down the center.  Sprinkle cut sides of apple halves with cinnamon. Place apples in pan cut-side down. Sprinkle dried fruit in pan around apples in water. Add water to pan to 1/4 inch up the side of the pan.

Cover pan and then bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until apples are fork tender.

Remove apples and place on a serving platter cut-side up.

Mix together in a small bowl the molasses, stevia and vanilla. Stir in pecans until coated. Spoon coated pecans into center of apples, pressing down with a spoon to make filling stay put.

Drizzle with dried fruit and cinnamon water in skillet. Serve warm.

Maple Apple Pie Oat Bars, Family Fresh Cooking
Vegan Apple Caramel Sauce, Healthy Happy Life
Apple Upside Down Cake, Fun Food
Sugar Free Apple Crisp, The Perfect Pantry
Coconut Sugar Apple Crisp, Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen
Apple Pumpkin Crumb Bars, Diet Dessert and Dogs
Apple Gallette, Pinch My Salt
Alice Waters’ Free Form Apple Tart, Kate and Neil’s Awesome Website

– posted by Donna

Beet and Carrot Soup with Queso Fresco and Cilantro Garnish

My name is Donna and I am a soup-aholic.

I absolutely LOVE soup. Especially this time of year where I live in the snowy Rocky Mountains. What’s better on a snowy evening than a bowl of steamy spicy soup with some crusty bread dippers or toasted tortillas? I can’t think of one single thing!

So imagine how thrilled I was to learn of National Soup Swap Day coming up on January 22, 2011. What a great concept – sort of a Cookie Exchange Party, only healthy and comfort food-y. Real simple. You just invite some friends who like to cook to bring soup to your house in labeled quart-sized containers and then you exchange them just like you would at a cookie party. If you invite, say, a total of 8 friends, you have them all bring 8 quarts and each person takes home 8 different quarts of soup. This is the best idea since, well, cookie exchange parties.

Make our uber-healthy and colorful Carrot Beet Soup (above) or some of our other favorite fab frugal cold-weather soups (below).

Gluten Free Gumbo

Oprah’s Famous Vegan Celery Root Soup

African Peanut Soup

Weeknight Chicken Posole

Cheers to all you ‘Soupies’ out there!

Some great How-To help out there:

Downloadable jar tags by Paper Crave
How-To tips on hosting your own party
Betty Crocker herself weighs in on soup swaps
Blogher soup swap Countdown

Bloggers write about their soup swap successes:

Soup Chick and her soupie friends host a swap every year
Claudine even gave out door prizes!
Portland, Oregon has a city-wide swap

Here’s a healthy, colorful, flavorful southwest style soup to add to the party:

CARROT BEET SOUP with Southwest Garnish

12 ounces baby carrots
4 medium beets
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce
Queso fresco, crumbled, as a garnish
Chopped cilantro, as a garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel beets and dice into 1/4 inch cubes. Toss beets and carrots with 2 tablespoons of oil. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until fork tender.

In a large stockpot, saute onion in remaining tablespoon of oil over medium high heat for 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute another minute or so, until garlic becomes fragrant.

Add in beets, carrots, and chicken or vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lightly thickened. Stir in vinegar and hot sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Blend with an immersion blender or blend in small batches in a blender until very smooth. If soup is too think, then add in water as you are blending to reach desired thickness.

Serve warm with cheese and cilantro garnishes.

– posted by Donna

If you think these look like classic ground beef tacos, I have done my job. (( Smiles smugly to self. ))

This recipe was originally created for the book that Anne and I wrote “101 Things to do with Tofu,” and I share it here with you updated just a bit. (( Hey! I add Frank’s cayenne pepper sauce to most every recipe now. ))

Lauren, a fabulous young food blogger, emailed me recently and asked if I had some suggestions for her to incorporate tofu into everyday dishes. Boy Oh Boy – kind of like asking Paula Deen if she has any recommendations for fried foods. (( Let us count the ways . . .)) So, Lauren, thanks for the email and for getting me craving these delicious veggie tacos once again! I decided a Meatless Monday post was in order!

This filling is fabulously flavorful and has a texture similar to classic ground beef taco filling, but is 100 per cent vegetarian, in fact – it’s even vegan! If you are like me and are making resolutions for the New Year to eat less meat, this is a perfect recipe to start with. I like it even BETTER than the traditional spiced hamburger taco filling. It is softer and has less of that ground beef “gristle” taste. I promise: Even the most dedicated carnivores will love this healthy substitute for ground cow! Try it out on your favorite carnivore and go ahead and TRY to prove me wrong!

There are countless benefits, say the Mayo Clinic researchers, to eating less meat.  But let’s just all admit right now that Americans eat much more meat than they need to. Enough said. With fab and frugal ways to cut back on meat like this taco filling, why would you not cut back? Amen! to the Meatless Monday folks, who point out that less meat consumption reduces heart disease, lowers risk of cancer and helps fight obesity. ((HOLY COW! **Pun intended!**))

The combination of soy sauce, peanut butter and spices, mostly chile powder and cumin, turns crumbled tofu into one of those “I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-Meat” kind of recipes. It is a magical concoction.

This is a great thing to have on hand to make a quick Desperation Dinner – so I like to keep some small zip lock baggies of this magical stuff in my freezer. This stuff makes great sloppy joes and last-minute spaghetti sauce!

Happy Less-Meaty New Year to all!

GROUND TOFU TACO FILLING

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce (I use Frank’s)
16 ounces frozen and then thawed extra-firm tofu
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix first seven ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Drain water from tofu block. Wrap tofu in a thin kitchen towel or several layers of paper towels. Place wrapped tofu between two plates. Press gently and evenly with hands to remove water from tofu. (You can also place a wieght on top of the top plate and let tofu sit for 20 minutes or so.) Unwrap tofu and crumble into small bits into mixing bowl. Toss with sauce in mixing bowl.

Spread oil on a 12 by 18 inch baking sheet. Sprinkle crumbled tofu on top of oil in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir tofu. Return to oven and cook for about 20 mor minutes, until tofu is crispy.

Use as you would any spicy ground beef filling.

Other food bloggers use tofu in fabulous ways:
Red Curry Tofu, The Perfect Pantry
Tofu and Green Bean Stir Fry, The Perfect Pantry
Tofu Scramble, Healthy Happy Life
Soy and Sesame Baked Tofu, Kalyn’s Kitchen
Crispy Rice and Tofu Balls, Just Bento
Tofu Tacos, Former Chef
Tofu Celery Salad, Use Real Butter
Grilled Tofu and Peppers Tacos, Herbivoracious

And, check out some of FFF’s other tofu-licious recipes:
Babymoon Bake
Mango Avocado Crispy Tofu Salad
Sun-dried Tomato Tofu Spread
Anne’s Food-Network Worthy Veggie Chili!
Tofu Mac-’n'-Cheese

– posted by Donna

I must have been asleep at the whisk. How did I miss Oprah’s Green Smoothie Revolution?

Sure, I like to think that I keep up with food trends. Eat healthier. Eat more veggies. Green is good. All of these feel right to me. So  a few days ago when I discovered Oprah’s green smoothie invented by Dr. Oz and its all-green ingredient list, I knew it had to be good for you. But. Could it also be just plain good tasting?

So, it was experiment night at Donna’s Test Kitchen. With the New Year and those holiday pounds upon me, anything low-cal and healthy sounds fabulous to me. This time of year I am craving celery, grapefruit and egg white omelettes. Isn’t everyone?

There are dozens of versions of this smoothie out there – but this is the most basic version. It is surprisingly refreshing and delicious. And, you just can’t put anything more healthy in your mouth. Some people claim they felt better within 24 hours of drinking this magical concoction. Something about the blending action breaking down the cell walls of the plants and making the nutrients more accessible.

In a few later versions, I added a spoonful of Greek yogurt – you can even try our make-at-home version. I found that if you chill all the ingredients first, you don’t need to add ice. Also, it work best to put the cucumbers in the blender first, making the mixture liquefy much more quickly. DON”T remove seeds or skins from any ingredient (even the apples) because these have tons of nutrients in them.

Healthy New Year, Everyone!

OPRAH’S GREEN SMOOTHIE

2 cups spinach
2 cups diced cucumbers
2 ribs celery
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 handful parsley leaves
2 apples, cored but not peeled
Juice of 1 lime

1 spoonful Greek yoghurt (optional)

Blend all ingredients until very smooth, about 90 seconds. Enjoy!

– posted by Donna