Weekend Meals

Finally! You've waited all week for Friday and the weekend! Here it is, along with yummy meals for the weekend. Enjoy!

RED, RED SALAD

From the June 2004 issue of Vegetarian Times. The recipe, which serves 8 and is ready in 30 minutes or less, begins, “Reminiscent of the '50s favorite chopped salad, this dish indulges your whim for something red and colorful for spring and summer eating. You can dress this with an oil-and-balsamic vinegar mixture or any other preferred dressing. Because this is a focal point for lunch or supper, accompany the salad with grilled cheese squares and wrap the meal up with a tempting sweet, such as a wedge of berry pie. Toast the meal with icy lemonade. This makes about 8 1- to 1 1/2-cup servings.”

1 bunch radishes, greens removed, trimmed and quartered

1/2 head red cabbage, cored and chopped

1 cup grape tomatoes

2 1/2 cups red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1/2 large red onion, diced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Salad dressing to taste

Put all vegetables and beans in a large salad bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Dress with salad dressing, toss and serve.

nutritional information Per SERVING: Calories: 100; Protein: 6 g; Carbohydrates: 20 g; Sodium: 200 mg; Fiber: 6 g; Sugar: 3 g; Vegan

COOL, COOL GAZPACHO

This recipe comes from FamilyTime. Check this recipe out online here.

The recipe starts off, “Vegetable juice adds a burst of great flavor to this zesty gazpacho, bursting with diced fresh vegetables. It's a refreshing dish for a hot summer's day...but it's so easy to make, you can enjoy it any time.” Prep. Time: 30 minutes; serves 6 (about 1 1/4 cups each)

Ingredients

6 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (about 6 cups)

1 1/2 cups V8® 100% Vegetable Juice

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced (about 1 1/3 cups)

1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 small green pepper, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

hot pepper sauce, to taste

Directions

Stir the tomatoes, vegetable juice, cucumber, onion, green pepper, garlic, oil, vinegar, black pepper and hot pepper sauce in a large mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.

ALMOND CAKE WITH RASPBERRIES & CHOCOLATE GANACHE

From Seattle's Macrina Bakery. The recipe states, “This combination of toasted almonds in a buttery cake, accompanied by fresh raspberries and bittersweet chocolate ganache is our best-selling wedding cake. It satisfies everyone's taste with nuts, fruit, and of course, chocolate. This recipe makes individually sized cakes that are baked in a jumbo muffin pan. Once they've cooled, you remove the paper liner, invert the cakes so the tapered side is up, fill with sweetened cream and raspberries, and top with chocolate ganache.” Makes 8 Jumbo cupcakes.

For the batter:

1/2 cup raw almonds (skins on), toasted

1-1/2 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons low-fat plain yogurt, divided

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

For the whipped cream filling:

1 pint fresh raspberries (about 24 berries)

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

For the chocolate ganache:

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Lightly grease the top of a jumbo muffin pan with canola oil to prevent any stray batter from sticking, and line 8 cups with jumbo cupcake liners.

To make the batter, first grind the toasted almonds in a food processor until they are very fine and powdery. (Alternatively, grind them by hand: chop the nuts as finely as you can with a chef's knife, then use the flat side of the knife to crush the chopped nuts into a powder.) Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Add the almonds and toss with your hands to evenly distribute. Set aside.

Whisk 2 tablespoons of the yogurt, eggs, and almond and vanilla extracts in a small bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar; start on low speed and increase to medium, stopping to scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed to fully incorporate the ingredients. The mixture will be light, fluffy, and pale. Add the flour mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup yogurt, slowly mixing for 1 minute. Once the flour is incorporated, increase to medium speed and mix for 1 minute more, then scrape down the bowl again. Add the egg mixture in 3 additions, mixing for 20 seconds after each addition, then scraping down the bowl.

Using a large spoon or #30 ice cream scoop, fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full with batter. Smooth the tops for even baking. Place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until the cupcakes are deep golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. (Note that these cupcakes will rise only to the top of the muffin pan as they bake.) Cool them in the pan for 45 minutes, then remove them and peel off the cupcake liners. Invert the cakes onto a plate, so the bottoms are up and using a teaspoon, scoop out a 1-1/2 inch ball from the center of each cake and discard (or eat!) the cake.

To make the filling, pick through the raspberries, reserving 8 beauties for garnish. Whisk the heavy cream and sugar in a small bowl, whipping until they form medium-firm peaks, then fold in the raspberries. You want the berries to break up a bit—but don't let them get soupy. Spoon the raspberry whipped cream into the hole in the cakes, piling in as much as you can and leveling the top.

To make the ganache, pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan. Over medium heat bring the cream to a froth just before it boils. Turn off the heat and add the semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips. Using a rubber spatula, stir until the chocolate completely melts, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. The ganache will thicken as it cools.

To assemble, top each cake with 1 tablespoon of the ganache; spread it evenly, but leave a little of the golden cake showing around the edges. Garnish with a raspberry.

These cakes taste best the day they are made. You can prepare them up to the point of making the filling and store, covered, at room temperature for 2 days.

FIESTA SLAW

Makes 10 servings. Find online here.

Ingredients

5 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

3 Tbsp. reduced-fat mayonnaise

5 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 tsp. canned chipotle chilies, rinsed, drained and chopped

1 Tbsp. honey

1 large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 large green bell pepper, cut into thin

1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips

12 oz. jicama, peeled, cut into thin strips

1/3 cup (packed) fresh cilantro leaves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Puree first 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor until dressing is smooth.

Place peppers, jicama and cilantro in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to mix and coat well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until the vegetables soften a little but remain crunchy. (About 4 hours.)

Serve at room temperature.

Nutritional Information (Per Serving): Calories: 42; Protein: 1 g; Sodium: 42 mg; Fat: under 1 g; Carbohydrates: 9 g; Exchanges: 2 Vegetable

BLUEBERRY SORBET

Fiona Haynes is About.com's Low Fat Cooking guide. She writes, “Sorbet is a refreshing, low calorie, virtually fat free summertime treat. Blueberries make for a gorgeous, intensely purple sorbet. If, like me, you don't have an ice cream maker, the second stint in the blender or food processor improves the texture of the sorbet, to make it smoother. If you do have an ice cream maker, simply place the chilled syrup and pureed blueberries into the can and follow the manufacturer's instructions.” Serves 8.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

2 lbs/1 quart fresh blueberries

2 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation:

Stir sugar and water together in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Bring sugar and water syrup to a boil, then remove from heat. Allow to cool in pan for a 1/2 hour (the syrup is extremely hot) before transferring to a 1 cup container and chilling it for an hour in the refrigerator.

While the syrup is cooling, place blueberries in a food processor or blender (you may need to do this in two batches). Blend blueberries to a puree, then pour through a sieve into a medium size bowl. Add lemon juice, and stir well.

Refrigerate puree until syrup has chilled – about 1 hour.

Combine chilled syrup and blueberry puree, then transfer to an 8-inch metal baking pan (stainless steel is best).

Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours. Remove sorbet from freezer and puree once more in a food processor or blender. Return blueberry puree mixture to metal pan, cover and freeze for 3-4 more hours. Remove from freezer about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Per Serving: Calories 112, Calories from Fat 2, Total Fat 0.3g, (Sat 0g), Cholesterol 0g, Sodium 4mg, Carbohydrate 27.1, Fiber 2g, Protein 0.5g

BROWN SUGAR & ALMOND COFFEECAKE

Another yummy recipe from Macrina Bakery. The emailed recipe started off, “NOTE: We've updated the recipe to include the bake time for the perfect Brown Sugar & Almond Coffeecake. This coffeecake is a stand-out favorite among our brunch customers. I like to use fresh berries whenever possible, but frozen fruit will also work well in this recipe.” All I know is that it's good. Makes 1 (9-inch square) cake.

4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

2-1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

10 ounces (2-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1-3/4 cups light brown sugar

5 eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

2 tsp pure almond extract

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk


2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

1 cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325° F. Oil a 9" square pan

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Toss with your hands and set aside.
Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 5 to 8 minutes to cream the butter. The mixture should be smooth and pale in color.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, and almond and vanilla extracts. Mix with a whisk. Add a small amount of egg mixture to the bowl of creamed butter and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated. Continue adding small amounts until all of the egg mixture is mixed into the butter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix for another 30 seconds.

Remove the bowl from your stand mixer. Alternately add small amounts of the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the bowl, mixing with a wooden spoon just until all the ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the raspberries taking care not to smash the fruit. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle chopped almonds over the top.

Bake on center rack of oven for about 1 hour, or until glolden brown. Test center of cake with a skewer. It will come out clean when the cake is finished. Let cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack, then dust with powdered sugar and cut into pieces. This coffeecake will be fragile until it has completely cooled, so remove the warm pieces carefully, using a pie server to lift the pieces out of the pan.