Toasts with ...

Toasts with ...

 

... Banana and Toasted Walnuts

Toasted 100% whole-grain bread; cut a medium-size ripe banana (4.3 ounces) into large chunks; slightly mash half of the banana chunks and spread on the toast first, then pile the rest of the banana chunks on top; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon organic unrefined coconut palm sugar OR organic maple sugar OR drizzle with 1 teaspoon of 100% pure maple syrup; and lastly, sprinkle 1 tablespoon toasted chopped walnuts on top (0.3 ounces).

(285 calories)

 

 ... Mashed Avocado

Toasted 100% whole-grain bread, spread mashed one-half of a medium-size avocado (2.0 ounces), sprinkle with salt and generous amount of coarsely ground pepper.

(210 calories)

 

 ... Havarti Cheese and Sauteed Mushrooms

Toasted 100% whole-grain bread, layer 1 ounce slice of Havarti cheese to fit nicely on top of the toast and top with sauteed cremini mushrooms. Toast in the toaster oven until cheese melts.

(300 calories) 

 

... Ricotta Cheese and Pistachios

(adapted from Cooking Light)

Recipe posted here.

Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives and Capers

Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives and Capers

 

I purchase some jarred oven baked tomatoes at Costco during the holidays. I was planning to use them as part of my antipasto platter on Christmas day, but I forgot I had them. The jarred oven baked tomatoes comes in a 3-pack at Costco. They tasted pretty good and I hope they will be a regular item at Costco. Along with some kalamata olives I had remaining from Christmas, I came up with this easy, healthy and delicious pasta dish. Not only is this a great weeknight dinner, this is also a great summertime pasta dish because there is very little cooking needed. You only need to cook the pasta.

10 ounces drained (reserve the oil) Sacla Italia brand Oven Baked Tomatoes with Garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup reserved oil from the jarred Oven Baked Tomatoes OR extra-virgin olive oil (3.4 ounces)
3.0 ounces pitted kalamata olives, rinsed and drained, coarsely chopped
2.0 ounces capers, rinsed and drained, coarsely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, finely minced (0.8 ounces)
1.0 ounce basil leaves, chiffonade
Taste before adding salt to taste (you may not need salt)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound 100% whole-grain spaghetti or linguine pasta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (2.0 ounces)

In a very large bowl, combined the tomatoes, reserved oil, kalamata olives, capers, garlic, basil, salt to taste, if using and pepper. Mix until combined and set aside. Can prepare up to this point 4 to 6 hours ahead and keep tomato-olive mixture refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap. Remove bowl from the refrigerator to sit out at room temperature 1 hour before cooking the pasta.

 

Cook the whole-grain pasta in salted boiling water for about 11 to 13 minutes or al dente. Drain pasta and immediately add the hot pasta to the tomato-olive mixture. Toss everything to thoroughly combine. Toss in the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese on top and pasta is ready to eat. You can also add some toasted pine nuts, if desired.

 

Mmmmm...SO DELICIOUS...SO HEALTHY...SO EASY TO MAKE! It is delicious eaten right away, but tastes even better the next day. I can eat it cold right out of the fridge.
ENJOY!
Yield 4 to 6 servings

Whole-Grain Toast with Ricotta and Pistachios

Whole-Grain Toast with Ricotta and Pistachios

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

  

 

I have to include my new breakfast obsession on my blog. I have been eating this toast every morning for the last five days. It starts out with a toasted whole-grain bread, then spread with ricotta cheese, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with roasted pistachio nuts, and season with salt and pepper. This toast is on page 96 of the January/February issue of Cooking Light magazine. Also shown on this page are four other types of toppings you can spread on your toast, but I haven't gotten pass the first one which is Ricotta-Pistachio Toast:

 

First, start out with 100% whole-grain bread. I'm obsessed with Dave's Killer Bread - Powerseed Bread (110 calories and 6 grams of fiber per slice). Toast the bread.



Spread 2 tablespoons of part-skim ricotta cheese (1.0 ounce) evenly on the toast.
 

 

Next, drizzle 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil (0.1 ounce) over the ricotta cheese.

 

 

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of roasted chopped or crushed pistachio nuts (0.3 ounce) evenly on the toast. I used Trader Joe's brand dry-roasted, salted pistachio halves and pieces. Then sprinkle with fine sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

 

Enjoy!

The extra-virgin olive oil on the ricotta imparts a nice fruity olive flavor that works well with the pistachios. The pistachios has a dense, meaty texture that give a satisfying crunch with every delicious bite and chew! And not to mention, pistachios are antioxidant powerhouses, which is great for helping to fight against free radicals.

 

I calculated 246 calories for this toast while Cooking Light calculated 176 calories. I guess it depends on the type of bread you toast or the brand of ricotta cheese you use?

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Adapted from Clean and Delicious with Dani Spies

 

 

4 cups cold water (32 ounces)

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oatmeal (6.0 ounces)

1 cup pumpkin puree (8.0 ounces)

2 tablespoons dried cranberries, cut or tear each piece in half  (0.6 ounce)

3 tablespoons 100% maple syrup (1.2 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

 

In a medium-size saucepan, bring water to a full boil. Stir in the oats. Reduce heat to medium heat (5.0 to 5.5 on induction cook top) and continue to cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 7 minutes.

 

Remove from heat and stir in the pumpkin puree, dried cranberries, maple syrup, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Let oatmeal sit for about 10 minutes, covered, before serving to thicken up. The longer the oatmeal sits, the thicker the oatmeal.

 

Serve with fresh unsweetened coconut milk (purchased from the dairy section of your grocer) or any type of milk of you desire. You can also drizzle more maple syrup to your taste and sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds or toasted sliced almonds.

 



 

You can also prepare the oatmeal in advance and refrigerate in portions. Let the oatmeal cool completely and divide oatmeal into five 8.0-ounce portions and refrigerate. In the morning, transfer one portion of the oatmeal to a small bowl. Heat in the microwave, covered with a paper towel, for about 1:45 minutes on high power. I ate one portion this morning so you only see four portions in the photos above.

Yield 5 servings (approximately 196 calories per serving. Calories does not include additional maple syrup, milk or nuts.)

Apple, Sage, and Turkey Meatloaf

Apple, Sage and Turkey Meatloaf
Adapted from Whole Foods Market

I have made this turkey meatloaf about three or four times already. Meatloaf is my favorite type of comfort food and the only type of meatloaf I make nowadays are with turkey or chicken so I am always searching for a good turkey or chicken meatloaf. This meatloaf recipe uses fresh apples which at first I didn't know whether I wanted to try this recipe because I'm not a fan of fresh fruit and meats cooked together. I recall eating Aidells Chicken and Apple Sausages and I do love these sausages, so why not try this meatloaf. I'm so glad I did because this meatloaf is really good. The apples are cooked down so you don't notice there are apples in your meatloaf, but the apples makes the meatloaf tender and moist and the sage is so aromatic. I tried the meatloaf with a combination of Granny Smith and Gala varieties. Another time I used entirely Pink Lady variety and another time I used entirely Gala variety. Each time, it turns out good.

I prefer using a food processor to grate the apples rather than a box grater. The box grater extracts a lot of juice which I didn't know whether to discard the juice or save the juice to add to the meatloaf. The juice turned brown sitting out for awhile which didn't look appetizing for me to save so I threw it out. Using a food processor gets the job done in seconds and there are no juice extracted from the apples. So if you have a food processor, use it. If you are using your box grater, I suggest grating your apples right when you are ready to use the grated apples so you can also use the juice.
 
For those who are not planning to roast a turkey for Thanksgiving, I'm thinking this will be a great alternative.
 
Apple, Sage and Turkey Meatloaf
 
2 large apples (about 1 to 1:3.0 pounds at purchase), peeled, cored and grated (12.8 to 14.1 ounces after grating) (See tip on coring apples posted at the end)
One-half of a large red or yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup or 7.0 ounces)
2/3 cup dry plain bread crumbs or homemade whole-grain breadcrumbs (posted at the end) (1.7 ounces)
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk (4.0 ounces)
2 pounds lean ground turkey
1 extra large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves, finely minced (0.4 ounce)
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard (0.5 ounce)
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasonings
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons tomato sauce (3.0 ounces)
2 teaspoons agave nectar (0.3 ounce)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven rack to the center of the oven. Lightly coat a large shallow-rimmed baking sheet with nonstick olive oil spray. Set aside.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the grated apples, onion, bread crumbs and milk. Toss to combine and let sit for about 5 minutes to soften the bread crumbs.

Add the ground turkey, egg, sage, mustard, poultry seasonings, salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix until thoroughly combined. Transfer mixture to the baking sheet and shape the mixture into a 10-inch by 5-inch size loaf.

In a small bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, agave nectar and salt. Spread the mixture over the meatloaf, leaving the top more heavily coated than the sides.

Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let sand for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Yields 3 to 4 servings

 

Served with mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and Microwave Steamed Spinach.

 

 

Homemade 100% whole-grain breadcrumbs: Use any 100% multi-grain, whole-grain or whole wheat bread of your choice, but make sure it is 100%. Toast bread slices in the toaster until toasty browned. Cool completely. Remove crust from each slice of toast, cut into cubes and place into the food processor. Process until fine crumbs: it may take several on/off pulses in the beginning and then let it run continuously until you achieve fine crumbs (about 2 to 3 minutes), depending on the type of bread you are using. Transfer bread crumbs to a shallow-rimmed baking sheet and spread the crumbs out evenly. Let the bread crumbs air-dry overnight to 1 to 2 days. Transfer bread crumbs to an airtight container and store in the freezer. Whenever you need bread crumbs, just scoop out a desired amount. Don't need to thaw, it can use right away.

 

Tip on coring your apples: I learn this from foodwishes.com. After peeling your apples, cut each apple into fourths. Lay each quarter on its side and trim away the core. It's so much easier to remove the core this way and you have less apples to waste. Thanks to Chef John for this tip.

Apple Bundt Cake

Apple Bundt Cake
Adapted from Design Sponge

I received a bag full of home grown golden delicious apples. I cannot seem to eat them fast enough and is taking up too much space in my refrigerator. I bookmarked an Apple Bundt Cake recipe from Design Sponge's website years ago. I finally gave this recipe a try and it turned out great. I'm dissappointed I didn't try this recipe sooner. The cake is not overly sweet and moist which is great to eat as a breakfast cake...or a great afternoon tea cake. This cake didn't exactly clear up the apples in my refrigerator, so I am planning to bake a second one this week because it's that delicious!
 
1 tablespoon organic natural cane sugar (0.3 ounce)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 cups diced peeled apples (about 1:3.9 to 1:6.4 pounds)*
3 cups unbleached WHITE whole wheat flour (12.3 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups organic natural cane sugar (13.2 ounces)
1  cup EXTRA LIGHT olive oil or expeller-pressed canola oil (7.0 ounces)
1/4 cup orange juice (2.0 ounces)
2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs (7.2 to 7.6 ounces)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted and cooled (3.5 ounces)
1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting

*Approximately 1.75 to 2.0 pounds at purchase weight. After apples are peeled, cored and diced, the weight will be anywhere from 1:3.9 to 1:6.4 pounds. I like to use Golden Delicious, Gala, Macintosh, or Pink Lady varieties.
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven rack to the center of the oven. Coat a 10-inch (12-cup) bundt pan or tube pan with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
 
In a tiny bowl, whisk together the 1 tablespoon sugar and the 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon with a tiny whisk or a fork until thoroughly combined. In a medium-size bowl, combine the apples and the cinnamon-sugar mixture and toss until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and salt into a separate medium-size bowl. Set aside.

In a large-size mixing bowl, combine the 2 cups sugar, oil, orange juice, vanilla and eggs. Using a whisk, whisk vigorously together until smooth (couple of minutes). Add the flour mixture and gently whisk together just until combined, but do not overmix. With a rubber spatula, fold in the chopped nuts.

Spread one-fourth of the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Evenly sprinkle in one-third of the apple mixture. Continue to alternate layers of cake batter and apple mixture ending with the cake batter. Do not need to worry whether all the apples get completely covered by cake batter. It will turn out during baking.

Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown and top springs back with lightly touched. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Unmold cake and continue to let cake COOL COMPLETELY on a wire rack (about 2-1/2+ hours). Make sure the bundt cake has cooled completely before dusting the powdered sugar. If cake is not completely cooled, the powdered sugar will melt.

 

Dust with powdered sugar and ready to slice and eat.

If cake is going to be left out for more than two days at room temperature, it's best to store cake in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container. This cake will become more moist with age.

Yield 8 to 16 slices, approximately 301 calories per 1/16 slice

Homemade Chicken Stock

Homemade Chicken Stock

 I LOVE soup. I can have soup even if the weather is 100 degrees outside. I crave for long-simmering soups. I don't categorize soup as soup unless it has been simmering over a stove for about 3 to 4 hours, or cooked in a slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours. The kind of soup I crave for from time to time is just rich homemade chicken stock. Homemade chicken stock is clean tasting and tastes just like...rich chicken stock. I only use two ingredients to make my rich chicken stock: just chicken and filtered water. I do not add any vegetables, herbs or spices...not even salt.  Since I like to consume the chicken meat with my stock, I use only chicken thighs. You can use chicken breast, but I find my chicken stock more flavorful using chicken thighs; plus after simmering the soup for 4 hours, the chicken thighs are still edible while the chicken breast will be very dry. So here is how I cook my two-ingredient rich chicken stock:

First remove all visible fats (or as much as you can as possible) from each chicken thighs before weighing. I purchased 3:3.5 pounds of skinless and boneless chicken thighs. After removing all the visible fats, my chicken thighs weighed 2:12.2 pounds. So 7.3 ounces of fat was removed. That is why I weigh my chicken AFTER removing all visible fats. For every pound of chicken thighs, I use 1 quart (4 cups) of filtered water. In this example, I had 2:12.2 pounds of chicken thighs and used 11 cups of filtered water.

I placed my filtered water in a large 6- or 8-quart stock pot. Bring this "soup" water to a boil.

In the meantime, I have a separate 3-quart pot filled with 3 inches of cold tap water. Bring the  tap water to a boil. When the tap water comes to a full boil, working with 2 to 3 chicken thighs at a time, add the chicken thighs to the water. Let it cook for about 10 seconds or just until the chicken thighs turns opaque in color (this is a cleaning process to remove all impurities and gunk from the chicken thighs so it will not end up in your soup). Immediately transfer the chicken to the soup water (big pot). Repeat this "cleaning" process with the remainder of the chicken thighs.

When all the chicken is added to the soup pot, wait for the soup to come to a full boil. When the soup comes to a full boil, lower heat to a simmer. Cover pot and let it cook for 4 hours, undisturbed. When 4 hours of simmering is done, remove pot from the stove and let it cool completely before transferring the pot to the refrigerator to refrigerate overnight. The next morning, remove all the cold fat that is floating on top (I had some fat floating, but hardly any). You now have rich chicken stock ready to consume. You can add salt to taste, but I prefer not to. Chicken stock that tastes this rich doesn't need it. Transfer soup to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week or place in the freezer for longer storage. This amount will last me the whole week.

NOTE: If you absolutely want to make this soup more filling, while you are reheating a portion of the soup, you can add cooked brown rice, cooked barley or quinoa, or cooked soba noodles or whole-grain pasta. At this point, you may want to add a little salt to taste. If anyone is familiar with Sweet Tomatoes Chunky Chicken Soup, this chicken broth tastes just as rich as Sweet Tomatoes (but less fat floating on top).