Banana-Stuffed French Toast

Hello from Bridgeport, California, stop # 2 on our summer trip up through California, into Oregon, and back. You can get pictures and details on my travel blog, Wanderlust.

A couple of mornings ago, Don mentioned we still had 2 bananas left, and that they were at the perfect stage of ripeness. He was just going to eat one with breakfast, but I decided to use them IN breakfast. I forgot to take a picture, but trust me, this was wonderful.

Take some eggs and milk and mix them together in a shallow bowl.
Spread slices of bread (I used whole wheat) with some cream cheese. I used brown sugar-cinnamon flavored, but plain would work just fine.
Make sandwiches of the cream cheese-slathered bread with the bananas as a filling (keeping the cream cheese on the inside, of course).
Dunk several times, coating well, in the egg-milk mixture.
Fry on a buttered griddle until browned on both sides.
Serve with some maple syrup. Or not.

Spinach and strawberries on the menu tonight

Since we got fresh spinach in our distribution Saturday I looked through my recipes for something to make that was different from the usual sautéed spinach. This recipe is from Cooking Light, though instead of using the egg substitute I used real eggs. We liked the flavor - but I felt the egg-flour part was a little dense. I was hoping for something along the Bisquick-type casseroles I've made in the past. I think I'll experiment in the future and try Trader Joe's Bisquick-type baking mix. It's whole grain and makes great pancakes, so it might be good for a dish like this.

Spinach-Cheese Casserole
from Cooking Light

1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 6 oz. packages fresh baby spinach
1 ¼ cups shredded lowfat cheddar cheese
¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups fat free milk
1 cup egg substitute (I used 4 eggs)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground red pepper

Preheat oven to 350˚. Pour the butter into the bottom of a 13 x 9" baking dish coated with cooking spray; tilt dish to coat. Place spinach evenly in bottom of dish; sprinkle evenly with cheeses.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk until blended. Pour milk mixture over cheese. Bake 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve immediately.



I also had some fresh strawberries, and after seeing this recipe on Kalyn's Kitchen, tried it using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. It was FABULOUS!

Strawberries Romanof
from Kalyn Denny


1 pound fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sour cream (I used Fage 0% Greek yogurt)
1 T Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, or 2 T brown sugar (or to taste, depending on how sweet you like it)

Be sure to buy the reddest and ripest strawberries you can find for best flavor. Wash strawberries and cut off stems. Cut each strawberry into fourths. Mix sour cream and brown sugar and spoon over strawberries, or stir to coat strawberries. Makes 4 small servings.

I'll try anything once - roasted radishes?

Yes! Roasted radishes. I saw that Kalyn had tried roasting radishes, using some soy sauce and sesame seeds to finish them, and have planned on trying them if I got radishes in my produce share. Today I got my chance. My share included a bunch of HUGE radishes - several of them were as large as golf balls. Don is eating the smaller ones raw, since he really enjoys them, but I used the larger ones for dinner tonight - along with some of the carrots and onions we received in the share.

Roasted Radishes, Carrots, and Onions

to serve two:
3 medium carrots, cut in 3-4" lengths, then sliced lengthwise
4-5 Mexican green onions, trimmed about 2" from bulb, then split lengthwise
4-5 large radishes, quartered
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450˚. Toss vegetables in a bowl with olive oil and garlic. Spread in a single layer on a metal cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and then LIGHTLY with cayenne pepper. Roast in oven approx. 30 minutes (watch for burning). Serve immediately.

While the vegetables were roasting, Don did his thing at the grill - since I, being female, am utterly incapable of cooking anything on the grill. I'd marinated the chicken breasts all day and they maintained the flavor through the grilling.


Asian Grilled Chicken Breasts

1 6-oz. can pineapple juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and red pepper flakes in a gallon-size ziploc bag. Shake/squeeze to mix. Add chicken, press out the air, seal, and marinate 4-8 hours in the refrigerator. Remove from bag, discard the marinade, and grill until cooked through.


Dessert was a low-sugar peach crumble, made a tad healthier by the addition of oats, oat bran, and pecans to the crumble mixture on top. We received 5 peaches in our share, and my volunteer share included an additional 5, so I had 10 peaches to use for this dish. I used a larger tart pan than a regular pie plate, so it turned out perfect.

Peach Crumble
adapted from a recipe from Nicole of Baking Bites
5 large, ripe peaches (white or yellow) (I used 10 small ones)
½ cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup oat bran
3 tablespoons Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
3 ½ tablespoons butter, cold

Bring a small but deep saucepan of water to a simmer on the stovetop. Set a bowl of cool water next to it. Cut a shallow X in the bottom of each peach and submerge 3 or 4 at a time in simmering water for about 30 seconds. Dunk in cold water, then peel off skin. Repeat with all peaches. Slice peeled peaches into about 10-12 pieces each. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Cut butter into 6 or 8 pieces and rub in to flour mixture to create coarse crumbs.
Place peach slices in a pie dish and distribute crumble topping over the top.
Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes, until the crumble browns at the edges and the peaches are tender. Let cool for at least 20-30 minutes before serving.





Our produce share yesterday included:

1 bunch large radishes
1 bunch Mexican green onions (the ones with large bulbs)
1 bunch carrots
5 peaches
5 bananas
2 cucumbers
5 lbs. russet potatoes
1 bunch mint
2 green bell peppers
1 head cauliflower
1 bunch spinach
2 mangoes
1 bunch chives

Cookbook Giveaway - A Winner!

I had my husband draw a name from the 3 who commented, and the winner is.....Adrienne!
I'll be contacting you soon for a mailing address. I hope you enjoy the goodies in the book.

Grilled Pear and Cheddar Stuffed Pork Tenderloins

I subscribe to dozens and dozens of food blogs on Google Reader. One that I have discovered lately is by Heather, a Canadian living in Bangkok, Thailand. She has some fabulous recipes on The Culinary Chase, and I tried this one tonight. I prepared it the night before, my first time to
butterfly a pork tenderloin. I almost totally messed this up, because I noticed one spot where the cheese was oozing through while it was grilling. It was nice to come home and throw it on the grill without having to do all the cutting, filling and wrapping up.

Grilled Pear and Cheddar Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

from Heather of The Culinary Chase

1 tablespoon (15mL) fresh rosemary leaves
3 tablespoon (45mL) extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 small pork tenderloins
1 Bartlett or Anjou pear, sliced thin
4 ounces (120g) 1-year-old cheddar cheese, sliced
6 slices prosciutto

Purée rosemary and oil in the blender and season. Cut tenderloins open lengthwise and brush inside with rosemary purée. Cover with overlapping slices of pear and cheddar. Close up tenderloins and brush outside with rosemary purée. Roll each tenderloin up in 3 slices of prosciutto, tie or close with big toothpicks that have been soaked in water. Season.

Oil the grill and preheat barbecue to medium-high. Cook tenderloins 4 to 5 minutes per side for meat with a hint of pink. Remove from heat, tent with foil and let stand about 5 minutes before serving. Slice and serve with grilled vegetables and herbed noodles.

Notes:
The Culinary Chase's Note: I stuffed the tenderloin with the prosciutto and the flavors coming from the pear and cheddar make this tenderloin absolutely delicious! Instead of making the purée, finely chop the rosemary and mix in a bowl. Use a pastry brush to slather this on the pork and enjoy a more rustic taste.

Cyndi's Note: I used ham, since I didn't have prosciutto, and served this with roasted potatoes (for Don) and turnip greens.

Thanks, Heather, for a great dish!

Mocha Budino di Ricotta (Cream Cheese Custard)

This is nice low-carb dessert, as long as you eat a small serving at a time!

½ lb. ricotta cheese
2 packets Splenda
2 teaspoons espresso powder
¼ cup grated milk chocolate
¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoon heavy cream, (more, if needed)
Cream the ricotta with the Splenda and espresso powder. Add chocolate and nuts and blend thoroughly. Add cream as needed for desired consistency. Serve in sherbet glasses. Good topped with strawberries or raspberries.

The hills were on fire

Luckily, only about 5 acres were burned in the Crafton Hills, but it was pretty scary at first. The flames came down to the back yards of the homes in Chapman Heights.

Take-Along Breakfasts for Work Days

I used to be such a morning person - I'd get up at 5 for coffee and a light (carb-filled) breakfast before I'd go to my classroom. I'd also go to bed before 9 almost every night, so I have little knowledge of popular television shows during the 1990s and early 2000s. Now that I'm president, my day lasts longer, and I enjoy evening sports and television shows. So I stay up later and get up at 6 or 6:30. I don't make time to cook breakfast, so I like to find breakfast that I can either eat in the car during the drive down the mountain, or eat when I first get to the office.

These waffles are made to be eaten cold and without syrup. They're whole grain, high protein and high fiber, and are 160 calories apiece (with 21 g of carbs). I've packaged them in little bags of 2, so I can have a nice meal to eat while I drive to work.

Grab & Go Pumpkin Waffles

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend (or 1/2 cup brown sugar)

2 eggs
1/4 cup flax seeds, ground
2 1/2 cups buttermilk or sour milk
1 15-oz. can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup oat bran
1 cup raisins

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and Splenda or brown sugar. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, flax seeds, buttermilk, pumpkin, oil, and syrup. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until blended. Add pecans, sunflower seeds, oat bran, and raisins. Heat a waffle iron, and spray with nonstick cooking spray before adding batter. Grill waffles until browned and cooked through. Makes 24 4-inch waffles.



Our actual breakfast this morning was a pizza inspired by Jeff of Culinary in the Country. A couple of weeks ago he posted a recipe for Egg and Bacon Bread that looked really enticing. I told him I was going to give a try, using Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough, but when I started to gather everything together this morning, I realized I didn't have the hard-boiled eggs or the time to make them - we were hungry! So I took most of the ingredients from Joe's recipe, substituted Jimmy Dean sausage for the bacon, and made a pizza.

Breakfast Pizza

adapted from a recipe by Joe of Culinary in the Country


1 package Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough
5-6 oz. Jimmy Dean hot breakfast sausage (I use 1/3 of a 1-lb. package)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons diced onion
1 Tablespoon olive oil
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
5 eggs
2 teaspoons mustard
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375˚. Spray a rectangular pizza stone with nonstick cooking spray. Remove dough from package and place on stone for 20 minutes. While dough is resting, prepare the toppings. In a medium skillet, cook the sausage, garlic, and onion, crumbling the meat with a spoon or spatula as it cooks. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Add olive oil and mushrooms to pan and cook until mushrooms are tender but not overcooked, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms to sausage mixture. Add eggs to skillet, and scramble until eggs are cooked. Turn off heat. Spread the pizza dough in the pan from edge to edge. Spread with mustard and sprinkle evenly with cayenne pepper. Distribute sausage and mushrooms over dough, then top with the cheeses. Bake 12-15 minutes until dough is done. You might have to check after about 8 minutes and top loosely with some foil to prevent the cheese from overbrowning. If you cut it into 8 slices, each slice has 385 calories, 25 g of carbs, and 2 g of fiber.

Cookbook Giveaway!

Just post a comment below, making sure that you give me your email, or have your email within your profile. I'll draw a name on Wednesday, May 13, at 8:00 pm Pacific time.

This is Hershey's 100th Anniversary cookbook, with 230 pages of recipes for brownies, cakes, cookies, pies, breads, candies, and other treats. There's even a section on "Light and Luscious."

Triple C Steak

No picture - it's all gone. You want a picture and a description of how to make it? Go to Jennifer's blog, Last Night's Dinner. It's got cocoa, chili powder, and coffee, along with lemon zest and salt - things I have in my pantry and freezer (the zest). Jennifer says you can sear it in a pan-so that's exactly what I did. Sorry about not having a picture, but hers is mouth-watering!

Chicken Marsala Casserole

I recently started subscribing to Rachael Ray's Every Day magazine - I like the various ideas I see as well as the non-cooking-related articles. In the April issue was a "non-recipe" for a casserole that had many of these ingredients in it. I love Chicken Marsala - Don doesn't - but I thought I'd try this to see if he'd like it. He wanted pasta, so in his half of the casserole pan I used orzo. In my half, I used Uncle Ben's Converted Rice, which has a low gycemic index. You could use 1 cup of either one and it would turn out just fine.

Chicken Marsala Casserole
adapted from a recipe by Rachael Ray

8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, diced
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Marsala
2 cups water
1 cup long-grain converted rice or orzo
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350˚. In a large skillet, sauté the mushrooms and shallot in the butter until tender. Sprinkle with the flour and toss. Add milk and Marsala, and cook over medium heat until thickened. Add the water. (Yes, it seems weird to add the water, but you need it for the rice/orzo.) Sprinkle the rice or orzo evenly over the bottom of a 13 x 9" pan. Add the chicken, and top all with mushroom gravy mixture. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 35 minutes until bubbly. Remove foil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer. Serves 4-6

Anaheim Scramble

I like eggs, fixed almost every way you can imagine. Last fall, I had breakfast at a Corner Bakery in Orange County, and they had this dish on their menu. I fell in love with it, and have made it several times here at home. This time I had avocados and tomatoes still left from the produce distribution two weeks ago. Two weeks, and they're still good.

I'm sure you could make this a little healthier by using turkey bacon, but I prefer the regular pork bacon.

Anaheim Scramble

3-4 pieces of bacon
5 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
1/2 of a large tomato, diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced

Cook the bacon in a nonstick skillet until crispy; drain on paper towels. Chop coarsely. Drain the bacon grease from the skillet, and return to heat. Add eggs and cheese, and scramble until nearly done. Fold in chopped bacon, avocado, and tomatoes, and stir lightly to heat through.

Serves 2

This is what happens...

...when you don't let the brownies cool completely before you turn the pan over.

I was baking a big batch of brownies to send to my son - who is on deployment in the middle of the Indian Ocean. (It was also so I could get the brownie mix out of the kitchen!) I let them cool for a while, loosened them all around the edges, and tried to turn them over on a board.

I was able to salvage 2 dozen pieces to send to Kenny, and Don is happy that he gets the rest!

Simple but delicious Hot and Sour Soup

I love a good hot and sour soup. The best that I've ever had is from the little Chinese fast food place next to my office - and it's HOT. Theirs is truly authentic, with the wood ears, shiitakes, and other exotic ingredients. I like a bowl of that for lunch once in a while, and it's a bargain for less than a buck fifty. The worst that I've ever had is from Pick Up Stix - which usually makes great food (House Special Chicken, Lemon Chicken, and their fabulous cream cheese wontons, for example). I was so disappointed with the container I brought home last week, and then angrily surprised that it had shrimp in it. You see, Don's allergic to shrimp. I never thought to ask if their soup had shrimp in it, and he ended up having to leave the table and take some Benadryl.

After that episode, I decided to try making some hot and sour soup myself. I found a recipe from Cooking Light, made a few additions and changes, and we enjoyed it for dinner tonight. It's not authentic - but it's tasty and much better than Pick Up Stix's version.

Hot and Sour Soup
adapted from Cooking Light

1 boneless chicken breast
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 32-oz. carton vegetable broth
2 1/4 cups water, divided
2 teaspoons grated ginger (from the jar) or 1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
1/2 pound firm or extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
Chili oil for drizzling

In a small saucepan, cook the chicken breast in about a cup of water, covered, 15 minutes or until done. Cool; shred. Combine vegetable broth, 2 cups water, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Add mushrooms. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add vinegar, soy sauce, pepper, chicken, and tofu; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Combine remaining 1/4 cup water and cornstarch, stirring with a whisk. Stir cornstarch mixture into broth mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 3 minutes or until soup thickens slightly, stirring frequently. Slowly pour eggs into soup in a steady stream, stirring constantly but gently with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat; stir in onions and sesame oil. Drizzle each serving with a small amount of chili oil. Serves 4.

This soup has approximately 200 calories in a serving since I used chicken and whole eggs, but only 20 carbs! I don't know much about vegan cooking, but you could omit the chicken and eggs and make it vegan, right? So Bridget, let me know if this sounds good!

This post is for Debbie's Souper Sunday event. Go there tomorrow and see the roundup. Remember when I used to do Thursday Soup or Stew night? Now I have someone else I can send my soups to!

So, the monitoring begins

I picked up my glucose monitor today. I've decided that the world is not going to end - I will accept this as a challenge, and look forward to getting rid of the monitor. I only have to check twice a week, unless things get worse - which I hope they don't - and if I can get the numbers back down I can stop. You see, while I've lost 35 pounds the last 2 years, and 11 the last 5 months, my blood sugar has gone up. It's because I have such a bad weakness for sugar and potatoes - especially fried ones - and while I was able to lose weight, I ate too many sweets and fries. That has stopped. I've had several good days - including today, even with the fried eggplant I'll be describing in the next post. Today I had a total of 104 carbs, spread out over all 3 meals, and I had good protein, fresh vegetables, fiber, and good fats. I figure if I write about this in my blog, it'll be hard to make excuses, and maybe I'll even have some support and advice.

And I thought I didn't like eggplant...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I received an eggplant in my most recent produce pickup. The last time I ate eggplant had to be 28 years ago, right after Don and I were married. I saw a cooking show (yes, there were cooking shows 28 years ago!) where the host breaded and fried the eggplant, and then placed it in a jar in some sort of marinade. It was pressed down, and refrigerated for a day or so before it was brought back out and eaten. It sounded wonderful. It wasn't. I don't remember exactly what was in the marinade, but it turned me off eggplant. I've believed ever since then that I didn't like it. WRONG!

I like it even better than zucchini!

All these wasted years.

I decided I really needed to use the eggplant, and not let it go to waste. I figured the easiest and "safest" way was to fry it. I did the 3-step process (flour, egg/milk bath, panko) and it came out light and crispy. When Don and I tasted the first piece that had cooled enough to eat it, both of us were surprised. His only experience with eggplant was in Eggplant Parmesan - and he didn't like that much at all. Both of us decided this tasted a lot like fried zucchini - only better - and the texture was lighter than zucchini.

Fried Eggplant


1 medium eggplant (aubergine)
salt
flour (I used white whole wheat because that's all I have, but all-purpose would be fine)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup panko crumbs
olive and/or canola oil for frying (to fill skillet about 1/4")

Peel the eggplant and slice into 1/2" thick slices. Sprinkle both sides with salt and let stand for about 20 minutes. Use paper towels to blot the water that is forced out by the salt. Lay out 3 shallow bowls: flour, beaten egg mixed with milk, and panko. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Dredge each piece of eggplant in the flour, then dip in the egg bath, and the in the panko so each piece is evenly coated on each side. Fry in oil until browned on each side. Drain on paper towels.


The eggplant was our side dish for some chicken thighs. I got the recipe out of Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious magazine, and will make some adjustments before I make it again. Here's the original recipe:

Applesauce Barbecue Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I used thighs)
½ t pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
⅔ cup chunky applesauce
⅔ cup spicy barbecue sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar (I used 1 tablespoon of Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
1 teaspoon chili powder

Sprinkle chicken with pepper. In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil on both sides. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over chicken. Cover and cook 7-10 minutes longer or until juices run clear when cut with knife.

The verdict: too sweet. Next time I'll use unsweetened applesauce (the chunky was pretty sweet), add a little cayenne for spice, and omit the brown sugar. Since we use KC Masterpiece or Bullseye, the barbecue sauce is sweet enough. But overall, the flavor was nice.

Milk-Braised Pork Chops

When I first saw this recipe on Kalyn's website, I though it sounded like pork chops with milk gravy. The ingredients are the same - sautéed pork chops, milk, flour. But since the dish is cooked for a long period of time, covered, and over low heat, the results are completely different. The chops come out extremely tender, and instead of a thick, milk gravy, the liquid is translucent with separated milk solids in it (sounds weird but tastes great).

Milk-Braised Pork Chops
from Kalyn Denny of Kalyn's Kitchen

4 boneless pork loin chops, about 1 inch thick
2 tablespoons flour or 100% whole wheat pastry flour (use whole wheat flour for South Beach)
½ teaspoon salt (or less if using Pork Chop Seasoning)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon Penzeys Pork Chop Seasoning (I used Spike seasoning)
1 ½ cups milk
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Trim all fat from pork chops. Use meat mallet or something heavy to pound pork chops slightly until they are an even thickness and about 3/4 inch thick. Combine flour, salt, pepper, and pork chop seasoning in shallow bowl. One at a time, lightly dredge pork chops in the mixture, shaking off any extra. Wisk 1/2 cup milk into the flour left in the bowl. Heat oil and melt butter in heavy frying pan big enough to hold all the pork chops. Add pork and brown well, about 3 minutes per side. Pour out most of the pan drippings, add 1/2 cup milk mixed with flour, reduce heat to low and simmer covered 30 minutes, stirring a few times. Turn pork chops over, and add the remaining one cup milk, wisking to combine if needed. Cover and cook for 30 minutes more, again, stirring a few times. Uncover skillet and if there is a lot of liquid, cook a few minutes more until reduced to about 1/4 cup. (This will depend on how tightly your pan lid fits.) Serve hot, spooning the milk gravy over the pork.

We had this with brown rice - something I'll be eating more of as I wean myself off potatoes. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Kale and Egg Breakfast "Muffins"

If anyone who reads my blog is NOT familiar with Kalyn's Kitchen, you need to visit her blog for a while. Not only is she a fabulous cook, and the queen of South Beach Diet recipes, SHE'S A TEACHER! And for a while, she was president of her local, just like I am. Any time I need inspiration for healthy recipes, and to use the produce I get from the IEOPBC, I go visit Kalyn's site.

I had some kale again from the last distribution, and have had the urge to make some portable breakfast "muffins." Kalyn's recipe called for red kale, since that's what she had in her garden, but she said you could use regular kale. I also changed the cheese to add some zing - I added blue cheese crumbles and used cheddar instead of the Italian mix she used.

Kale and Egg Breakfast "Muffins"

adapted from a recipe by Kalyn Denny

1 bunch kale
½ red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (1/2 tsp. teaspoon minced garlic)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 cup grated cheese (I used a mixture of cheddar and blue cheese crumbles)
6 eggs, beaten well
½ teaspoon Spike Seasoning (I finally found some!)

Preheat oven to 350˚. Cut off kale stems and discard, then wash kale leaves and dry well. (I used a salad spinner.) Pile kale leaves up on top of each other and chop, turning them sideways to get smaller pieces.
Heat olive oil in large heavy frying pan, then add onions and sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute about 2 more minutes, then add kale, turning over as it wilts and sautéing about 5 minutes, or until kale is significantly wilted.

Put kale and onion into large bowl and add soy sauce, cheese, beaten eggs, and Spike seasoning. Stir gently until ingredients are well distributed. Spray 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray (I use silicone ones) and fill with egg mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes until eggs are well set and the top is lightly browned. Serve hot.

Kalyn suggests eating these with salsa or sour cream - so that's how I'll try them in the morning when I reheat a couple for breakfast. Tonight I just wanted to try one and ate it plain. Yum!

Sunday Cooking

While we were on vacation last week, and Don was out fishing, I sat at my sewing machine and spent the day happily sewing and watching FoodTV. I watch it in cycles - depending on what else is on and whether I'm into the detective shows that week or not. This time, Bobby Flay was doing a great grilled chicken dish that I had to try at home. It called for tangerine juice. I couldn't find any, after searching 4 different grocery stores. So, since I had bought a tangerine for the zest, I used the juice from it along with some orange juice to make the required 2 cups.
I also decided to use boneless chicken thighs instead of thighs with bones. I quit buying bone-in chicken a while back - just decided I liked boneless breasts and thighs more.

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Tangerine-Maple Glaze
adapted from a recipe by Bobby Flay

1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon oil
juice of one tangerine, plus orange juice to make 2 cups
zest of one tangerine
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
4-6 boneless chicken thighs

In a medium saucepan, sauté the onion in the oil until soft. Add juice, zest, and thyme; bring to a boil. Lower the heat a little, but keep it boiling, and cook until reduced to about 1/4 cup of liquid is left (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat; whisk in the soy sauce and maple syrup. Cool. Grill chicken until almost done, then baste well with juice mixture.

Since I have a penchant for spicy glazes and sauces, I think that if i made this again, I would add some heat - perhaps some crushed red pepper? But we really liked the orange flavor in this dish.

I mentioned in the post below that we received cabbage leaves in our produce shares. But then I remembered one of the organizers mentioning that she was able to get some spinach. As I was going through these greens, I realized that about 2/3 of them were spinach leaves, and the rest were cabbage-like greens - I'm not sure what they were, but I think they were cabbage leaves. But I cooked them all together, anyway. This is a dish I learned in Germany and haven't made for years. Now that we've had it again, we remembered how yummy it really is.

Uberbackener Spinat mit Kase (Baked Spinach with Cheese)

1 large bunch (1 pound) spinach, trimmed of thicker stems and rinsed
2 Tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons minced onion
1/2 teaspoon paprika
dash nutmeg
salt and pepper
1 cup grated Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350˚. In a large saucepan, boil some water. Plunge the spinach into it and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, dry, and coarsely chop the spinach. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Fry the onion and garlic until the onion is soft and transparent. Add the spinach and sauté lightly until most of the moisture has evaporated. Season and add nutmeg and paprika. Grease an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the bottom and sides with half the cheese. Place the spinach in the dish, level the top, and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the cheese melts. Serve hot. Serves 4.

I still have tons of vegetables to use up - as for the fruit, I made Sangria Fruit Salad - and have enough left over to take with my lunch for tomorrow's hearing. The remaining strawberries have been flash-frozen, and are now ready to grab whenever I want them. The apples will be enjoyed in many ways, and I think I'll freeze the bananas that Don doesn't eat. (Since I got a volunteer's share, I came home with about 20 bananas!)

Does anyone know how to cook an eggplant for a non-eggplant eater? About the only way I could eat it would be fried, and I don't want the grease. Do you think I could do it in the oven like I do Crispy Oven -Fried Fish or the Zucchini Oven Chips?

Produce Distribution Day

I volunteered to help distribute again, so in addition to my regular share, I got a LOT of extra goodies today. The regular share consisted of:

5 lbs. russet potatoes
5 lbs. Fuji apples
1 bunch celery
1 head butter lettuce
1 bunch mint
1 large eggplant
1 bunch cabbage leaves
3 beets with greens
1 bunch kale
4 zucchini
1 cucumber
1 bunch green onions
2 tomatoes
1 basket alfalfa sprouts
1 lb. strawberries
7 bananas

I have lot of extra, too, so we're going to be eating healthily, and I get to try some new dishes. Already today I made a batch of Kale Chips, I roasted the beets, and put 2 loaf pans of Zucchini Gingerbread in the oven.

If you have zucchini or banana recipes you think I should try, let me know - I have lots of extra of both. I know that banana bread will be next, but there will be more bananas after that is made.

First out of the oven were the Kale Chips. I found a recipe on recipezaar, which called for apple cider vinegar. Among the reviews was a comment that recommended trying it with balsamic vinegar to add a little sweetness - so that's what I did.

Kale Chips


1 bunch kale
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 350˚. Wash kale, and remove the leaves from the stems. Spin in salad spinner or dry as best as you can with paper towels. Whisk together the salt, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in a large bowl. Add kale, and toss by hand until it is evenly coated. Place on a large baking sheet and bake about 20 minutes, or until crispy.

While the kale was cooking, I used my little toaster oven to roast the beets. I like roasting vegetables in my toaster oven because it's a convection oven - they come out nicely cooked on the inside and browned well on the outside. You need to know that I refuse to eat pickled beets. Hate 'em with a passion. And I've never, ever had fresh beets of any kind - red, yellow or whatever. So when we received beets in our produce share, I decided I was not going to be squeamish, and was determined to give them a try. I wanted them roasted - I love roasted red potatoes, so I figured that beets done that way might be all right. All of the recipes I found for roasted beets called for either roasting them in their skins, or peeling them and putting them in foil. I wanted the texture I get with roasted red potatoes, so I did them that way.

Roasted Beets

beets (however many you want - I used the 3 small ones we received today)
olive oil
Kosher salt

Preheat oven, preferably a convection oven, to 400˚. Peel the beets, and cut into uniform chunks no larger than 1 inch. Toss in a bowl with a little olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through (test tenderness with a sharp knife).


Some of the zucchini from this morning went into some zucchini bread. I knew that I'd be making banana bread tomorrow, so I made a zucchini bread that was a bit different than the basic kind. This one really tastes like gingerbread, and the texture came out perfect. I made two loaves, so one's going into the freezer so we can have it some other time.

Zucchini Gingerbread

2 c whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
2 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
3 c grated zucchini
3 eggs
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c oil
3/4 c brown sugar (I used 1/4 c brown sugar and 1/4 c Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
3/4 c molasses

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare two loaf pans by spraying with non-stick spray. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients including zucchini in a smaller bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined. Pour mixture into loaf pans. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.