Watching What I Eat: April 2014

Trina's Homemade Strawberry Jam Secrets

Photo courtesy of Trina Schneider Photography

My friend, Trina, recently shared a mouth watering picture of her homemade strawberry jam, bubbling away on her stove... as well as her secret for perfect strawberry jam. "The secret to great strawberry jam - Oxnard strawberries and a tablespoon of butter in the mix."

Too bad we all don't have access to fresh-picked, California roadside farm stand, still-warm-from-the-field, strawberries. No worries, it'll just take a little extra effort to find our own 'local picked' strawberries. Maybe we'll have to search for local strawberries at a Farmers Market... or maybe, we'll just head out to our home garden and harvest them from the strawberry patch... or maybe, even go to a local 'pick your own' strawberry patch. Whichever way we go, local berries always taste so much sweeter, and I think they're worth the bit of extra effort to search them out.

Trina, thanks so much for sharing your strawberry jam tips. I just love hearing about other people's little kitchen secrets!

Curried Tempeh Waldorf Salad ~ Meatless Monday

I was in the mood for some Indian food when I made this salad. I had no plan in mind when I started creating this meal, but pretty quick an idea emerged, and I came up with what I'm calling my ~ Curried Tempeh Waldorf Salad. I hit the fruit/veggie bin hard, chopping up ~ an apple, a celery stalk, a bit of sweet yellow bell pepper, walnuts and then crumbled in some tempeh. I stirred in some low fat mayo, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, salt/pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. It tasted sorta like the classic Waldorf Salad...but, a Waldorf Salad with an Indian curry attitude. This salad was so easy to throw together. My little impromptu lunch was full of fresh flavors, crunchy textures and was really satisfying. This time I ate it straight out of the bowl, but next time I think I might add it to...a pita pocket...or, maybe I'll roll it up in a wheat wrap...or, maybe it'll be stuffed into a tomato...or, maybe nestled into half an avocado...or... :)

BBQ Glazed Sweet Apple Chicken Sausages with Veggies

I didn't have a clue for what to make for dinner the night I threw together this tasty meal. So, I dug around the fridge and found a pack of my favorite Trader Joe's chicken sausages...but only the Sweet Apple flavor, not the Sun-Dried Tomato that I usually use. Hmmm... I'd never used that flavor for dinner before, only at breakfast since the Sweet Apple is a bit, well, sweet (in a maple/apple-flavored breakfast-y sort of way). I decided to try them since they're fully-cooked and just need to be heated through. I rummaged around a bit more and came up with the rest of the ingredients, for this meal-on-the-fly.

So, into my hot wok went some ~ EVOO, chopped apple, onions and bell peppers. When they were getting nice and caramelized, I threw in the large chunks of sliced sausage, and I cooked it all together until the sausages started to get a nice, golden brown caramel color too. Then I drizzled in a little of my favorite Bull's-Eye BBQ Sauce and gave it a good toss, just until it was all nicely glazed with the sauce. Then I plonked it on a plate with a variety of steamed veggies...and dinner was served. Dinner on the table in about 15 minutes...not too bad for not having a mealtime game plan when I walked into the kitchen that night. When you can find enough stuff to throw a meal together quick, forget about takeout. :)

Hamburger Patty Salad Deluxe

When I crave a hamburger, but don't want all the carbs, I'll have it...but, without the bun. I'll put the burger on top of a chopped iceburg lettuce salad, and then smother it with ~ sliced fresh onions, dill pickle chips, chopped tomatoes, a little ranch dressing, mustard & ketchup. Is it the same as a traditional, juicy burger? Nope, but my ~ Hamburger Patty Salad Deluxe ~ sure is tasty, and it hits the spot!

Happy Easter ~ 2014

Zoom, Zoom! ~ Our neighbors, Bill & Cheryl, sent these cute little bunny racers speeding over to our house on Easter morning. J was thrilled! Peeps, Twinkies, marshmallows and pretzels never looked so good!

We've just finished our Easter weekend, one filled with lots of friends, lots of food and lots of fun-filled conversations. In the Food Dept., spiral cut ham took top billing ~ first as the star of a hot dinner on Saturday night; then as the main attraction of the cold ham dinner/salad buffet on Sunday evening. The dessert I made on Saturday also did double-duty both nights ~ the ambrosia pudding that was Saturday's dessert was transformed (with a few extra ingredients) into a delightful ice box cake for Sunday. It was easy entertaining, and that made the sun filled weekend seem to fly-by. Hope everyone had a fun and joyful Easter too!

Happy Easter!

Italian Baked Tuna

When I made this ~ Italian Baked Tuna ~ I didn't actually have a recipe, I just kept digging through the fridge/pantry, looking for toppings that sounded good, and kept layering ingredients until I felt like it was complete. I started with the tuna on the bottom, and then added some ~ crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, capers, dried basil/oregano/garlic, chopped onion, sliced celery/green olives. Once it was all finished, I realized I'd created an Italian-flavored 'sauce'...cool! I baked the tuna steak according to the package directions and in about 10 minutes it was done. I nuked a variety veggies while the fish was cooking. It was a really tasty, low carb, Fat Flush Plan-friendly meal, all without any fuss. I just love happy accidents!

Dutch Caramel Wafers ~ aka Stroopwafels

Dutch Caramel Wafers (aka Stroopwafels) ~ These are now one of my favorite cookies. My friend L, shared them with us last fall, when we visited her in SC...and now I'm hooked!! If you ever run across these classic Dutch treats, give 'em a try. I found my bag over at Cost Plus/World Market. Just let me say, with a cup of tea or coffee, these cookies/wafers are absolutely sublime. ~ L, Thanks so much for expanding my culinary teatime horizons. :)

Steamed Superfood Veggies & Over Easy Eggs ~ Meatless Monday

To make this super simple breakfast/brunch/lunch/light dinner, I just steam a bunch of ~ chopped kale, baby bok choy, sliced onion, and bell peppers. When they're done, I toss them with some ~ Bragg's, crushed red pepper flakes, minced ginger and cracked black pepper. To complete my masterpiece I crown it with ~ an over easy egg, cooked to crispy-on-the-outside-and-runny-on-the-inside perfection, cut so the yolk runs down into the veggies, then misted with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray and a slash of sriracha sauce. To me, it's a perfect way to make an outstanding low fat, low cal meal, Fat Flush Plan friendly meal ~ just the way I like it!

Mango Cake Bites

When I was shopping at Whole Foods the other day, I picked up one of their free monthly recipe cards. The one that caught my eye was for a ~ Mango Cake Bites ~ cookie recipe. It's gluten-free, has no added sugar (it relies on mango puree for sweetening), and it's vegan. It sounded interesting, I had some almond meal in the fridge, some frozen mangoes in the freezer, and just enough cornmeal in the pantry to make a batch... so, I decided to give it a try when I got home.

The combo of almond meal and cornmeal makes for an interesting texture, almost 'cake-like' (guess that's how they came up with that name), in a non-wheat flour sort of way. Since I was using frozen mangoes I skipped adding the little diced mango on top, like the recipe called for. Even though the mangoes were sweet, the mango puree didn't give the cookies enough sweetness for my liking, so I added a white chocolate chip to help them out...but, it was still lacking. I just think the recipe really needs some type of sweetener to give it a better taste/flavor. Maybe some honey (if you don't care if it's no longer vegan), brown rice syrup, or some other type of sweetener replacing some of the mango puree. My guys didn't really care for them (no big surprise there), so if I ever try them again, they will need some tinkering. All-in-all, I am glad I tried making them...it's always fun to try new recipes, even it they're not a hit.

Avocado & Pink Grapefruit Salad with Spinach

My dear friend, Annie, gave me a wonderful book ~ The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook ~ for my birthday. It's full of beautiful photos, farm fresh produce info and lots of creative recipes for using all the seasonal fresh bounty found at farmers' markets. It's perfect reading for this cookbook and travel lovin' foodie gal!

The other night I was looking through my new cookbook again, and I decided I just had to make something from it...immediately. So, I went through my pantry and fridge, and was able to come up with most of the ingredients, on-the-fly, for the recipe for ~ Avocado & Grapefruit Salad with Frisée. It just took a bit of creative license to get it to come together, as you will see...

Since I didn't have any frisée, I used spinach. Since I didn't have scallions, I used white onion. Since I didn't have fresh pink grapefruit, I used canned (sooo much easier since it's already segmented for you). I did have a fresh avocado, balsamic vinegar, fresh cracked black pepper, sea salt and EVOO... so, for being made spur of the moment, I think I did pretty darn good. Not having all the exact ingredients called for in a recipe, will never stop this girl when the urge to cook strikes.

Thanks so much for my new cookbook, Annie!! Now, when I get homesick for Cali, I'll know where to turn for inspiration! :)

Quick Sautéed Tempeh & Sweet Potato ~ Meatless Monday

I wanted a quick meal, so I turned to both the microwave and the stove...and to both the pantry and the fridge. Out of the pantry came the canned green beans and the gravy mix. Out of the fridge came the tempeh and the sweet potato. The sweet potato got nuked and the gravy got hot water. On the stove, the green beans got heated and the tempeh got sliced into thin-ish planks, then sautéed in a little EVOO.

A little cinnamon was sprinkled on the sweet potato. One of my favorite spice blends was added to the tempeh as it was turning all golden brown. Then the tempeh got the gravy treatment and a few French's fried onions added on top ~ just for good measure. It took less than 10 minutes to throw it all together...and it turned out really tasty and satisfying. When I say I want a quick meal, I mean it! Sometimes, mixing fresh and canned items helps me out in the quick meal department...and that's always a good thing. :)

Oven-Poached Chicken Breasts

Making poached chicken breasts is pretty easy to do and it's a low fat way to cook this kitchen staple. I usually poach them on the stove top, but here is another method/recipe that is done in the oven. Cooking it this way comes in handy if you want to free up some space on your stove top. Roy likes his mashed potatoes and Bisto gravy, I like my broccoli and the low fat way of preparing the chicken, so we're both happy. :)

Blueberry-Coconut Protein Smoothie

If I'm not eating my fresh blueberries straight out of the container, here is one way I like to enjoy them. They always make a very pretty, and happy looking, smoothie. It's such a nice way to start my day!

Blueberry-Coconut Protein Smoothie
serves 1