A Practical Guide To Healthy Living

I am such a fan of the frittata.  They’re quick, easy, and you can utilize whatever ingredients you happen have on hand . . . . potatoes, leftover ham, various greens, onions, leeks, salami, the kitchen sink.  Today’s recipe uses leeks from my CSA share, along with refrigerator staples in our house: baby spinach and egg-substitute.  Add to this some sun-dried tomatoes and a bit of cheese and voila!  A light, veggie-full dinner in 30 minutes.

Spinach & Leek Frittata

Preheat the broiler.

Put the tomatoes in a bowl and cover them with boiling water.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Drain and chop.

Heat the oil in a medium cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the leeks and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are lightly browned, 6-7 minutes.  Add the spinach and tomatoes; cook, sirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.  Distribute this mixture evenly in the skillet, and sprinkle the cheeses over the top.  Generously pepper the skillet, and sprinkle a little salt evenly over the top (the Romano is a bit salty, so watch it).  Drizzle the substitute over the whole lot; cook, without stirring, until the eggs are set, about 5-7  minutes.  Transfer the skillet to the broiler and broil until the top is lightly browned, about 3 minutes.  Let stand at least 5 minutes before cutting into 4 wedges and serving. 

Serves 4.

A few thoughts.  One, this would be delicious served with some crusty bread – we didn’t have any on hand (I often buy and freeze a small loaf from Iggy’s, but alas, I’d already used it for something else).  Next, you might not be a fan of egg-substitute – so please, sub in regular eggs, egg whites, or some combination of any of these, just make sure it’s equivalent to 5 eggs.  Last, you can make this ahead of time and put it in the fridge to eat cold, or at room temp.  It will make a lovely lunch paired with a salad, which is what I intend to eat today!

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This recipe is full-flavored, hearty, cheesy and satisfying.  Add a fresh green salad on the side, and you have a warm delicious winter weeknight meal.

Rustic Cod Casserole (adapted from Eating Well)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Heat 1 T. olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring often, until just starting to soften, about 5-7 minutes.  Add wine, increasing the heat to high, and cook stirring often until the wine is slightly reduced, about 2-4 minutes.

Place the cod on the onions and sprinkel with the thyme, salt and pepper.  Coer the pan tightly with foil and transfer to the oven and bake for 12 minutes.

Toss the bread with the remaining 1 T. of oil, paprika and garlic powder in a small bowl.  Spread the bread mixture over the fish and top with the cheese.  Bake, uncovered, until the fish is opaque in the center, about 10 more minutes.

Serves 4.

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We are in the final 2 weeks before Christmas.  Dunno about you, but we don’t even have our tree – D.’s insane travel schedule has kept us from our usual merry-making so far this year.  That’s on tap for this weekend – much to L.’s delight.  She is SO ANGRY that we don’t have any decorations up – especially since our new neighbors have not one, but TWO giant inflatables in their yard . . . .

All that’s to say that it’s busy, we’re drained, and the temptation is to go for fast food or takeout when the chips are down.  Today’s recipe uses all pre-prepared ingredients, even for the chicken, so that you can throw together a delicious, healthy meal with greens and protein (and some extra fiber too) in a snap.   It’s not local, it’s not fancy or ethnic, but it’ll fill you up and you’ll feel good after you eat it.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

White Bean & Chicken Salad

Place all of the above ingredients together in a large bowl and toss to combine.

Combine the above ingredients in a jar or small bowl, and drizzle over the salad, tossing gently to coat.  Add additional Kosher salt and black pepper to taste.

Divide the greens among 4 large salad bowls and divide the bean & chicken mixture amongst the bowls, placing it on top of the greens.

Serves 4.

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Back on the butter train, folks . . . if you’d like to find vegan cookie recipes with whole wheat pastry flour or flax meal . . . please point your browser elsewhere today.  ‘Cause for me, the real culinary spirit of Christmas is in a wide array of buttery, sugary treats.  But what do I always say?  Moderation in everything . . . so during this indulgent season, pick your battles.  Don’t eat a sweet roll for breakfast, a heavy mayo-laden sammie for lunch and a rich prime-rib dinner, OK?  If you’ve got a gathering in the evening, balance the apps, dinner and cookies with a light, fruit- and veggie-rich breakfast, a high fiber lunch that contains a bit of protein (think big green salad with some chicken, tofu or beans on top) and then have whatever you like later.  Consider, however, having only what really looks super delicious and special to you – blindly grazing on all the options is a bigger deal fat- and calorie-wise.  But here’s the thing – this is a once-a-year thing and you should ENJOY yourself, too . . . so if that means that if you really love indulging here and there, then I say, have at it.  Life is waaay too short to deny yourself all that pleasure.

Today’s recipe evokes warm memories in me.  My Grandma Helen’s walnut snowballs are a riff off Mexican Wedding Cakes, Russian/Swedish Tea Cakes, and a Lebanese cookie called mamoul.   And while I’ve tweaked her recipe a bit over the years, no one can touch my Grandma in the cookie-baking department.  Every Christmas, Grandma whipped up about 8 different kinds of cookies, placing them neatly in between sheets of waxed paper in Currier & Ives tins that she’d collected.  Before guests came over, or after a meal, we’d haul out the various tins of goodies and pick and choose our favorites.  Going to her house at Christmastime and eating all those different cookies is one of my top-ten childhood memories.

This recipe is my favorite of the lot.  Rich and crumbly and not over-the-top sweet, with a great toasty walnut flavor.  Best ever is that they also happen to be L.’s favorite Christmas cookie.  So the traditions of my Swedish-American grandmother, who married my Lebanese-American grandfather, are living on through her Chinese-American great-granddaughter.  Life is good.

Helen’s Walnut Snowballs

Beat the butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  Add 1/2 c. powdered sugar and the vanilla; beat until well blended.  Beat in the flour, then the walnuts.  Divide dough in half; form each half into a ball.  Wrap each ball separately in plastic wrap and chill until cold, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place the remaining 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar into a pie plate.  Set aside.

Working with half of the chilled dough, roll the dough by 2 teaspoonfuls between palms into balls.  Arrange the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment, about 1/2-inch apart.  Bake until golden brown on the bottom and just pale golden on the top, about 18 minutes.  Cool cookies 5 minutes on the sheet.  Gently toss each warm cookie in the powdered sugar to coat completely.  Transfer the coated cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat the same procedure with the other half of the dough.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Here’s a little tip – did you know that most Christmas cookies can be baked and then frozen?  It’s true!  So if you’re a compulsive over-achiever planning type like me, you can start cranking out the goods weeks in advance, then layer them in air-tight containers (parchment or waxed paper in between layers, please) and pop ‘em in there for later.  Cookies make welcome gifts and you’ll always have some on hand for company.

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I know it’s not local, but of all the citrus fruits, my favorite is grapefruit. Every winter, I look forward to seeing the first grapefruit at the market, and I eat a grapefruit every day.  I love it at breakfast time, for an afternoon snack or as dessert after dinner.  This girl cannot live by root vegetables alone.  Especially since I’m still makin’ my way through my all-local Moroccan Veggie Stew . . . .

Grapefruit has a lot of vitamins C and A. The pink and red kinds have more phytonutrients than the white – they’ve got lycopene, which may help to protect against certain forms of cancer (see also, tomatoes and watermelon).  Both blond and red grapefruit can reduce blood levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and a recent study showed that red grapefruit can lower triglycerides too.  And at about 50 calories per half grapefruit, it’s a great way to eat for your health.

Is there a downside to grapefruit?  Yes, grapefruit and/or its juice may interact with certain medications (statins among them), so if you eat the fruit or drink the juice regularly be sure to ask your doc if it could affect any medications you are taking.  And also concerning:  A 2007 study suggested a link between grapefruit consumption and breast cancer in post-menopausal women.  There’s conflicting evidence on this, though – in ’08, the Nurses’ Health Study found the opposite. 

Ways to eat your grapefruit:

• Plain
• With a sprinkle of granulated sugar or a drizzle of honey on top
• On a green or spinach salad
• Juice in a juicer
• Add a little to perk up your green monster smoothie – a green apple, a few handfuls of spinach, and some grapefruit is  really refreshing
• Dip it in melted dark chocolate
• Add it to fruit salads
• Squeeze a wedge into a glass of water for a refreshing hydrator
• Blend with olive oil, herbs and spices for a delicious salad dressing
• Combine with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper as a marinade for chicken
• Top grapefruit halves with a little cinnamon and honey and broil for a couple of minutes

For a regional citrus resource – check out this post from Eat Local, Boston about a winter citrus CSA share comin’ up the East Coast versus from overseas or the West Coast . . . . orders have to be in by the 14th of this month – and if you choose to partake, let me know what you think, will you?

I leave you with grapefruit trivia:  Do you why a grapefruit is called grapefruit?  I just learned this – maybe I’m the last to know!? 

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We’re all over the world this week, and it’s only Tuesday!?  As I mentioned, I got the second of my two winter CSA shares on Saturday, and I found myself with even more carrots and parsnips . . . now, I will admit to you that while I like carrots, upwards of 8 lbs. of carrots is a bit much for me.  And parsnips?  I really want to like parsnips, but I just don’t.  I’ll admit it.  They’re a little licorice-y or something on their own.  But as I have also said, I hate to waste food.  So I went looking for inspiration on the ‘net – and I came up with a flavorful way to use up a boatload of root vegetables (and a butternut squash . . . ’cause I now have 7 of them). 

Moroccan Vegetable Stew

Heat the oil in a very large, heavy pot over medium-high heat (I used my 7 1/4-in. Dutch oven).  Add onion to the pot and saute until golden, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.  Add the curry powder, cumin and cinnamon and stir for 30 seconds.  Add the squash, parsnips, carrots turnips, rutabaga, broth and currants.  Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Add tomatoes and beans to pot. Simmer until flavors blend, at least 10 minutes longer (but this can simmer for much longer and the flavors will deepen). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves an army.  In fact, I’m taking the rest of the week off from posting, ’cause this is what I’m going to be having for breakfast, lunch and dinner, there’s so much of it.  Just kidding.  But seriously, if you’re in the ‘hood with a Tupperware, stop by for a schmeck.  It’s good stuff.  You can fool around and add whatever veggies you have on hand – and sweet potatoes would be good in lieu of the squash.  If you like, you could serve this over whole wheat couscous and it’d be super.  But it’s great straight-up.

A note on butternut squash.  I officially conquered my fear of preparing a butternut squash on Sunday.  Mark it on your calendar.  Yes, you read correctly – survived cancer but freaked by a gourd.  And you’ll never guess who helped me through?  The oil-burner guy.  I wish I remembered his name, but he was here a couple weeks ago and he gave me great advice (he noticed my CSA stash in the basement, in case you’re wondering how the heck this subject came up).  Mr. Burner Guy said:  Cut a little off the top and bottom of the squash.  Then stand it up on its big end and cut it vertically down the middle.  Then cut each half into a few wide, horizontal slices.  Stand each slice on its widest end, and carefully cut the peel off the outside of each slice by running your knife between the peel and the squash – this is very similar to the method used to segment a citrus fruit. Then slice and/or cube the squash according to your recipe directions.  Looks beautiful, and no severed digits!  Works like a dream . . . as does my burner.

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In anticipation of picking up my last CSA distribution on Saturday, I was trying to clean out my stock of root and leafy veggies.  We got notice that because of the warm weather, there would actually be some green leafies in Saturday’s distribution – so I needed to clear the decks.  This sweet/spicy soup is colorful, nutritious and a nice departure from the ordinary.  Bright chunks of sweet potato swim with lovely purple kale in a milky bath of chicken broth and coconut milk.  And to top it off, I killed the last of my stock of sweet potatoes and a beautiful head of purple kale, making room for lots more goodies!

Caribbean Kale & Sweet Potato Soup

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over moderately low heat.  Add the onion and cook stirring occasionally until translucent about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the kale sweet potatoes broth and salt and bring to a boil.  Sprinkle the cayenne pepper to taste.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.  Add the coconut milk and just heat through.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, prepare your rice.  Put a mound of rice in the center of each of 4 bowls and ladle the soup around the rice.

Serves 4.

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I grew up in a ruthlessly frugal household.  My parents were the economizers-in-chief of all things, and food was no exception.  Apple 3/4 of the way rotten?  Still 1/4 left to eat!  Limp veggies? Perk ‘em up in ice water!  Don’t know what to make for dinner and don’t have much in the house?  Get take-out?  Nooo!  We’ll raid the fridge staples for green peppers and eggs (I’m sure that my almost pathological dislike of cooked green peppers comes from having been fed this meal one too many times).

I am admittedly far less of a tightwad, but I do hate to waste food.  Sometimes, I find that all it takes to whip up a quick, cheap meal is a moment or two of opening my mind and foraging in my pantry.

Case in point:  I had a lot of leftover cooked whole wheat linguine (I’d say around 4 cups), which L. spontaneously decided she “hates.”  I had frozen peas that were gettin’ a little iced-over.  I had some whole milk ricotta that didn’t get used for a recipe.  And I had some shredded Italian 4-cheese blend threatening to mold.  Here’s what I did.  [Read more →]

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