Quick and Healthy Dinner

I know, I know. I've been there. It's been a long day--you are tired, busy, poor, a bad cook...any combination of these things. Yet when you deny yourself wholesome, healthy dinners, you are even more tired and less motivated. Here's the healthiest dinner I can whip up in 10 minutes.


1. I buy frozen salmon individually wrapped. Alaskan salmon. A package of them is around $10--it's cheaper than 6 quarter pounders...just remember that. When I get home from the gym I take one out of the freezer and throw it in a pan of cold water so it can defrost. Then I put it in the George Foreman grill for 3-3.5 minutes. Olive oil, pepper, sometimes montreal steak seasoning.


2. 1 handful (about a cup) of frozen veggies in the microwave for 1 minute. Being only one person, it's hard to buy/process/eat fresh produce before it goes bad. I know frozen veggies are not best practice but they are better than no veggies and they are less processed and have less sodium than canned. Again, buy a big bag and just use a handful or two--it's cheaper than buying the "serving size" packages. I like Trader Joe's Organic Foresome...delicious AND funny.


3. Brown rice. On this day I have Minute Rice that I found in my cupboard so it only took a minute. For it to take you just a minute, whip up a batch of it and keep it in the fridge. It will reheat ok. Again, this is just pennies a serving.


4. Low-fat milk. I have recently made the switch from skim to low-fat. I blame a few things for this. A few months ago I offered milk to a friend who said, "as long as it isn't skim. Skim milk is blue." Ever since then, I have noticed it too (isn't the power of suggestion a bugger sometimes?). Then I read about what they do to skim milk to make it "appear more white," along with articles like this, so now I'm drinking 1%. Who knows what is really best for you...anyway. Milk has vitamins and is filling--drink it with dinner.

Sometimes I switch this up with a skinless chicken breast. I can also get these for a good price at my local wholesale club. Would I rather have a cheeseburger and a shake? Of course! But sometimes you have to do healthy and easy. And this is probably cheaper.

Healthy lunches!

This is uncooked, pearled barley. It doesn't look so pretty, I agree. It does look healthy though. Isn't that always the way? The things that are the best for you aren't nearly as pretty as a decorated cake or cotton candy. And those things are fun to have, sometimes, but usually you should fill your body with stuff like this.


This barley is a bit of a commitment--it takes 4 hours to cook. The way I look at it, it's all natural, not processed, so it can cook and I will wait. It's probably better for me than anything that is "quick." When you're dealing with whole grains, "quick" usually equals more processed. More processed equals less nutritious. I like to simplify the chemistry. That's just how I roll.


When I know I'm going to have a typical, routine week, I make all my lunches for the week on Sunday. This saves money as well as ensuring that I am only eating healthy food at lunch. If the decision is made ahead of time, I will make better choices. That's just the way I am. And usually, the healthy choice starts with a whole grain like this barley or quinoa. Both are super healthy and are a great base for any flavor combo you like. 


On a typical week I will saute an onion and a red pepper in a frying pan, add some frozen veggies at the end, pour in some cooked grains, and voila--lunch for the week! The week I cooked this barley, I had a squash fresh from someone's garden.

I put a little Smart Balance inside the squash and baked it on 400 for about an hour. Then I scooped it out and put it into the cooked barley. 

I also browned some chicken sausage and threw some frozen peas in this dish. I did NOT add any salt. Here is why; I didn't need it. Not because the dish didn't need salt; it surely does. I cooked the barley in low sodium chicken broth, which gives the barley some flavor and the entire dish all the salt it needs (especially considering the sausage has salt in it, too). I did put a lot of pepper on it--somehow, pepper and veggies go together in my mind.


So this "recipe" changes every week that I make it. It is usually a whole grain, always an onion. Because quinoa is a complete protein I don't always add meat when I use quinoa.


Filling, yes--a little work, but it's a make-your-own superdish that is not too expensive, makes a lot of food, and you will feel so proud of yourself for cooking something that is so good for you! Eat this for lunch for a week then treat yourself to that beautiful cake on the weekend! :-)

A Rare Bread Success

A while ago, a no-knead bread recipe floated through the internet. I saw it everywhere but I think I originally got it from my sister via this story in the New York Times (are they going to charge for their recipe content, too, or just their news?)


This appealed to me because I LOVE fresh bread but I do not make it enough to be good at it. I need simple recipes: fool-proof, no-fail, easy-to-do recipes. And this was just that.

No way was this a substitute for my mom's rolls but it did satisfy that craving for fresh, hot, homemade bread when I was living far away. 


Try it yourself, it's delicious!


By the way, if you're reading, why aren't you commenting? I'd love to hear from you!

Chocolate Cream Pie

I am told that when I was a child, one of my favorite foods was Gerber chocolate pudding. And really, what baby wouldn't be happy to eat that? I vaguely recall loving it long after I was out of the puree stage; I think my cousin Cheryl once bought me a few jars of it for Christmas and I didn't even know Cheryl until I was 5 or 6.


Chocolate pudding is rich, comforting, hearty, and fantastic. I happen to think I make the best chocolate pudding in the world and I am about to share all my secrets with you.


Let me preface this by saying that last weekend my sister and I made a chocolate cream pie; I say my sister and I because I cannot make pie crust. I am determined to master it someday but I am not there yet. My sister used this recipe and we all agree that it was nearly the best pie crust we've ever had. So make this crust, bake it off, and then use my chocolate pudding to fill it; add real whipped cream and you will have yourself a slice of heaven.


For more than a few years in a row, my sisters and I made 50+ pies in a span of 3 days for a July 4 celebration. We are all pie masters. As a result of this, I have memorized the pudding recipe and can make it anywhere on a moment's notice. It's not fool-proof, easy, or quick. It is worth it. You'll thank me later.


Ingredients:
1/3 Cup cornstarch
3 Cups milk
2/3 Cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt


4 beaten egg yolks


2 oz excellent quality chocolate, melted
1 tsp vanilla


You need to do some prep work here. Melt your chocolate in a bowl and set aside (or use 3tbsp cocoa and 1 tbsp light oil per oz if you don't have chocolate. I always end up using more than 2 tbsp oil total to make the chocolate very easy to pour and therefore easier to mix into the pudding later).  Put your egg yolks into a medium size bowl and give them a good whisk.


In your best pot (something that will heat evenly and hold heat well), put in the first 4 ingredients. I use whole milk if I am really indulging, organic skim milk if I am trying to be a little better. Regular skim milk is too watery and your pudding won't have the silky rich feeling to it. I have used soy milk; if you choose to, reduce the sugar by 1/3 cup. You now have 3 bowls of "stuff".

Put the pot on medium or medium low heat and start stirring. Stir gently; you're not beating up your food here, you're preventing any milk from sticking and making sure everything heats evenly and all the solids dissolve. I use a wooden spoon and make a very slow figure 8 in the pot, rotating the top of the 8 occasionally so I get the entire bottom of the pot. You have to do this until the whole mixture comes to a boil for 1 minute. It doesn't come to a rolling boil, just a steady glug-glug, one bubble at a time. How long does it take? It depends on the pot, the stove, etc. Anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. You'll know you're close when the milk takes on a foamy translucence, then it will thicken quickly. It will get VERY thick when it's boiling.

After the mixture has boiled for one minute, take it off the heat (but don't turn the stove off). take a few spoonfuls of the milk mixture and slowly pour it into the yolks, stirring the yolks as you do this (it helps to have a buddy for this part). This is tempering the yolks to heat them a little so they don't turn into scrambled eggs in your pudding.  When the yolks are hot, add the whole thing back into the pudding pot, stir well, and bring to another boil on the stove. Glug-glug for 30 seconds. Keep stirring the pot constantly and a little more vigorously this time; this is when pudding will burn on very easily.


NOW you can turn the heat off and take the pot off the stove. Add the chocolate and the vanilla and stir stir stir.

Pour it into whatever you want (crust, serving bowl, etc.) and put a layer of plastic wrap directly on the top of the pudding, eliminating any air pockets you see (to prevent pudding skin; I'm not a fan). If you are making a pie, make sure the crust is cool before you pour the pudding in, otherwise the crust will get very mushy.


I think it was Martha Stewart who said that she pushes her pudding through a sieve when it is hot to remove the lumps--and yes, sometimes lumps happen. I don't bother. It's homemade pudding and just like homemade potatoes, sometimes they are lumpy. It's ok. This particular time, I didn't have a single lump (one near catastrophe I will never admit to but not lumps).

A piece of heaven. You're welcome!

Pasta Pasta Pasta!

I do not love pasta. I have lived in this state for nearly four years and I still have one of the first boxes of pasta I bought when I moved here. Dried pasta for me is usually a waste--a waste of stomach room, carbs, calories--all those things I normally don't give a second thought to. The exception to this pasta snub is fresh pasta. I love fresh pasta. Again, I don't eat it very often (it's not easy to find here and the grocery store kind does NOT count) but when I do I enjoy it tremendously.


Last weekend I happened to be in Boston. I usually go to Boston for one reason--Logan Airport. I am either on a bus or being driven to or from. Rush, rush, hurry, hurry. This spring I think I will have the opportunity to see a little more of the city (or the "big town" as one of my friends calls it).


After wandering around a little bit last Sunday, my sister and I happened into the Mission Hill section of town on Tremont St. We were hungry and had no idea what was around us. Not knowing a good spot for lunch, I made the arbitrary decision that we go to Lilly's Gourmet Pasta Express, a decision we were more than thrilled with.


I completely understand why real Italian folk might be offended by the concept of fast and easy design your own pasta dishes; however, let me tell you, my sister and I had a delicious lunch! 


My sister had ziti with meatballs.

This was fresh ziti. Light and tender, rich and cooked perfectly. The sauce reminded me of the Italian places in Portland back in the late 80s-early 90s, simple and fresh. 

I had tortellini with chicken, peas, onions, and pink sauce (marinara with a little cream).

As fresh as the pasta and sauce were, as caramelized as the onions were, as juicy as the chicken was, the peas were AMAZING. Do not ask me how a Boston chain rest has fresh peas in February. They couldn't possibly be fresh but they tasted like the were just picked and they were not mushy or overcooked at all. SO GOOD.

Both of these dishes were served with hunks of warm Italian bread. They were so big that we couldn't finish either of them, so, for around $25 we got 4 great meals. The guy running the place obviously had at least partial ownership. He was a friendly cute guy who was very helpful, made lots of suggestions to customers, and went out of his way to make sure everyone was happy. Yummy food and good service, what more can anyone ask for?

I was on Chowhound today and came across the following comment in regards to Snow's Chowder being sold to Bumble Bee, and BB changing the recipe for their chowder. It cracked me up so I thought if you used to like Snow's Chowder, it would crack you up, too:

"I sent the following message to Snow's: "I am extremely upset at your company. I have been buying Snow's condensed clam chowder for 40+ years. You changed the recipe!!! The new stuff is awful, truly awful. Didn't you learn anything from the New Coke disaster? Even worse you did it quietly behind everyone's back without admitting it. Don't think people haven't noticed. My entire family both in California and Massachusetts hate the new stuff. And don't insult my intelligence by telling me no changes were made. I have a can of the old, good chowder. I compared them side by side. The new concoction smells different. It it thinner. The clams and potatoes are smaller. It's crap. Even my cat didn't want it. Did Bumble Bee do this to you? What a crime! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. You ruined a time honored fantastic product. Well, I'll never buy another product from any company associated with you again. " They have not replied."

Ode to Brunch, #1

My life is a study in conflicts. Not two weeks after I wrote a blog about not liking things too salty I made a banana bread that ended up bland (I put as much salt as the recipe called for, fyi). I love to sleep late on the weekends but I love, love, LOVE breakfast.


This is why I am so happy that brunch exists. One thing I love is a great brunch. There are so many good things about brunch; you can have breakfast OR lunch, you can have it almost anytime during the day, after you have brunch with friends you still have the day ahead of you to do whatever you like, and you can take a nap after it if you want.


Brunch alone is just eating; brunch with friends or family is an event. And I have had some fun, amazing, great brunches. I'm sure future blogs will discuss other brunches in more detail; here are a few highlights.

Ok, so donuts right out of the fryer are decidedly NOT brunch but look at these golden orbs of yumminess with the sun shining right on them...seriously, would you turn these down if someone showed up at brunch with them? My dad and sisters made them and they are just as delicious as they look. Sometime there will be a detailed donut blog.

A few years ago we had Easter brunch at my cousin's house. My cousin and his partner are great hosts and great cooks. This brunch was poached eggs on english muffins, bacon, trifle, fruit salad, croissants, and cake. Beautiful and fun! By the looks of the glassware, we also had mimosas. Plural, I'm guessing.

The Front Room in Portland, ME is one of my favorite places to get brunch. The lines are insane on the weekend, the service isn't great. The noise is atrocious, the tables are packed together. This restaurant makes a perfectly runny poached egg and they make their own brown bread--and that is all that matters. 

Another great poached egg; made even better with short rib hash. This was my birthday brunch a few months ago. I had two really strong drinks that had rum AND vodka in them before this meal so it's hard to say if it was truly good or not but I did have a very happy birthday!