Saturday, February 22, 2014

Luscious Vegetable Curry

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
One onion diced
One green bell pepper seeded cored and diced 1/4 inch
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 cups chopped canned Italian tomatoes, drained
2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons mango chutney
4 carrots halved lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Idaho potatoes, 8 ounces each, peeled and diced one half inch
One cauliflower trimmed and cut into small florets
2 tablespoons honey
One cinnamon stick
One can chickpeas rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons currants
Salt and pepper to taste
Quarter cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley for garnish
Cooked white rice

Directions
1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over low heat; add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent - about 10 minutes.
2. Sprinkle with the curry powder and cook, stirring, for the flavor to mellow. about one minute.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, broth, chutney, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, honey, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
4. Stir the chickpeas, currants, salt, and pepper, then cook for five minutes longer.
5. Just before serving, remove the cinnamon stick and stir in parsley. Serve in shallow bowls over rice.

Serves eight. Per serving, without the rice: 290 cal, 49 g carbohydrate, 9 g protein, 8 g fat, no cholesterol.

Lamb and Chicken Couscous

From Rebecca Hertzman

Ingredients
1 pound stewing lamb or beef
One chicken cut up
To chopped onions
One can chickpeas drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt-and-pepper to taste
Quarter teaspoon ground ginger
Quarter cup or more raisins
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
Two tomatoes cut up (optional)
Ground cayenne pepper
Ground Paprika
Three or four sliced carrots

Directions
Put all ingredients except chicken, raisins, chickpeas, paprika, and cayenne in pot and cover with water
Bring to a boil and simmer slowly for one and a half hours
Add chicken and bring to boil, cook until chicken is really done, about 45 minutes
And raisins and chickpeas for the last five minutes
Remove some liquid and add a dash of pep Rica and about a quarter teaspoon of cayenne
Make couscous according to package during the last 5 minutes or so
Served with "hot sauce "to taste

Chicken Baked in Coconut Curry Sauce

Ingredients
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon red curry paste
4 6-ounce skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly cut, about 2 cups
One cup thinly sliced yellow squash, about two small
1 cup 1/4 inch thick red bell pepper strips
1/2 cup diagonally cut green onions
4 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
Lime wedges or lime juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 425.
Combine first four ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk.
Place chicken breast halves between two sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap; pound each piece to an even thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over both sides of chicken.
Tear off four sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil into 16 X 12-inch sizes
Fold each sheet of aluminum foil in half crosswise. Open foil; layer 1/2 cup zucchini, 1/4 cup squash, 1/4 cup bell pepper, 2 tablespoons green onions, and one chicken breast half on each sheet of aluminum foil. Spoon 3 tablespoons of coconut milk mixture over each serving. Fold foil over chicken and vegetables; tightly seal edges.
Place packets on a baking sheet. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes.* Remove from oven; let stand five minutes. Place on plates. Unfold packets carefully, and sprinkle each serving with 1 teaspoon cilantro. Garnish with lime wedges. Serve immediately.

*Original recipe said 22 min. When made with larger chicken breasts, they were underdone. Either pound the chicken thinner, or cook the packets longer.

Yield: four servings.
278 cal; 8.4 g fat; 41.7 g protein; 8.4 g carbohydrates; 2.3 g fiber; 99 mg cholesterol; 2.8 mg iron; 523 mg sodium; 57 mg calcium

Grasshopper Ice Cream

(for hand-held soccer ball ice cream maker)

4 tablespoons crème de menthe
8 Oreos, 1/2 cup
1 quart cream or fat free half-and-half
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup sugar +2 tablespoons
Ice and 3/4 cup rocksalt

Place ice and rock salt into ice cream maker
Makes other ingredients and placed into food container of ice cream maker
Seal well. Shake can 15 minutes then mix ice cream with wooden spoon. Empty water from ice, add more ice and 1/3 cup salt. Close and shake 5 to 10 more minutes.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Forgotten Cookies aka Chocolate Chip Meringues

Adapted from recipes by Emeril Lagasse and Rebecca Hertzman

Ingredients

2 large egg whites, at room temperature (3 Tbsp egg white)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3 cup superfine granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
{ EITHER 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips and 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
{ OR 1.5 cup semisweet chocolate chips (if not using nuts)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In the small bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy (should be about 5 minutes). Add the cream of tartar and beat until fluffy but not at all dry. (Be careful not to over beat.)

Add the sugar gradually, about 3 tablespoons at a time. When 1/2 of the sugar has been added, add the vanilla extract.

Continue beating and adding remaining sugar in batches, until all of the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is very shiny and tight.

Gently fold in the chocolate chips (and chopped nuts).

Working one teaspoon at a time, push a teaspoonful of meringue from the tip of 1 teaspoon with the back of another teaspoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving 1 inch of space between cookies.

Place baking sheets in the preheated oven and turn the oven off. Leave the cookies (undisturbed) in the oven for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, or until cookies are crisp and dry.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Per cookie: Calories: 44; Total Fat: 2.5 grams; Saturated Fat:0.5 grams; Protein: 1 gram; Total carbohydrates: 5 grams; Sugar: 5 grams; Fiber: 0 grams; Cholesterol: 0 milligrams; Sodium: 3 milligrams