Double-Post Thursday

Yes, besides being Diabetic Thursday, it's also Double-Post Thursday. Here are six yummy recipes to help you through the day, including Red Velvet Cake and Pasta Primavera. Enjoy!

RED VELVET CAKE

We lived in Connecticut for several years while I was growing up. During this time, a lady called the local radio station and said she’d recently returned from a trip. During a stay in a fancy hotel with her husband, she had this cake in their restaurant. Returning home, she wrote to the hotel and requested a copy of the recipe, saying she’d pay for it. She received a copy of the recipe, along with a bill for $300. (This was during the mid-1960s.) Furious over the bill, she proceeded to read the recipe over the air.

This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking.

1/2 C butter (see note)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 C sugar

1 C buttermilk

2 eggs, well beaten

1 T vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

2 T cocoa

2 1/4 C flour (sifted)

2 oz. red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour two 8” round pans.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs.

Make paste of food coloring and cocoa. Add to first mix.

Add salt and buttermilk alternately with flour. Add vanilla.

Dissolve soda in vinegar and add this last. Blend all ingredients, as little as possible. Pour into pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. When cool, split each layer horizontally.

Frosting For Red Velvet Cake

1 C butter (see note)

1 C milk

1 C sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

5 T unbleached flour

Cream butter with sugar. Cook flour and milk in saucepan until very thick, stirring the whole time. Cool. Combine 2 mixes and add vanilla, using electric mixer. Spread on cake.

NOTE: Butter must be used in the frosting, otherwise the frosting will liquefy and refuse to harden. In the cake itself, though, margarine may be used. Also, if two 9” round pans are used, layers don’t need to be cut in half.

SCOTTISH SCONES

Servings: 16

Source: Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/156.shtml

Ingredients

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp whipped butter

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup golden raisins
Directions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add the butter and mix it into the flour with your fingers. Add buttermilk and knead into a soft dough. Knead in the raisins.

On a floured board, roll out the dough until 1/2" thick.

Cut dough into 16 rounds. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden in color.

Serve warm or let cool and store in an airtight container.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 97; Protein: 3 g; Fat: 3 g; Sodium: 115 mg; Cholesterol: 7 mg; Carbohydrates: 16 g; Exchanges: 1 Starch/Bread

SIMPLEST ROAST CHICKEN

This is from Mark Bittman, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Mark wrote, “With an ingredient list just four items long (chicken, olive oil, salt, pepper), the genius of this bare-bones roast chicken is in its technique. To make it, thoroughly preheat a cast-iron skillet before sliding into it a seasoned bird, breast side up. In under an hour you’ll get a stunner of a chicken, with moist, tender white meat, crisp, salty chicken skin, and juicy dark meat all done to a turn. If you don’t already have a cast-iron skillet large enough to hold a whole chicken, this recipe is a good enough reason to invest in one.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 50 to 60 minutes.

This was featured in “The Minimalist: Simplest Roast Chicken”, and can be viewed online here.

Note: Check out Melissa Clark’s guide, “How to Roast Chicken”.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, trimmed of excess fat

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Put a cast-iron skillet on a low rack in the oven and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Rub the chicken all over with the oil and sprinkle it generously with salt and pepper.

When the oven and skillet are hot, carefully put the chicken in the skillet, breast side up. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Continue to roast until the bird is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of the thigh reads 155 to 165 degrees.

Tip the pan to let the juices flow from the chicken’s cavity into the pan. Transfer the chicken to a platter and let it rest for at least 5 minutes. Carve and serve.

PASTA PRIMAVERA

This comes from Publix. Makes 4 servings.

12 ounces of dried linguine, ziti, or penne pasta

2 Tbl olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 green onions, sliced

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 medium red sweet pepper, sliced

1 medium yellow sweet pepper, sliced

1 small zucchini, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 C chicken or veggie broth

1 C snipped fresh basil

1/4 C finely shredded Parmesan cheese

2 Tbls pine nuts, toasted

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Return pasta to saucepan; cover & keep warm.

Meanwhile, in large skillet, heat olive oil. Add garlic & onions; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in carrots & sweet peppers. Cook & stir for 3 minutes. Add zucchini, salt, & pepper. Stir in chicken or veggie broth. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 minute or until vegetables are just tender.

Stir vegetable mixture & basil into pasta & toss. Transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with cheese & pine nuts. Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: Calories: 443; fat: 20 g (9 g sat. fat); chol: 38 mg; sodium: 328 mg; carbs: 51 g; fiber: 6 g; protein: 14 g.

CURRIED LENTILS WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH

This is from the October 2007 issue of Runner’s World.

1 C dry lentils

1 small butternut squash

1 Tbls olive oil

1 Tbls curry powder

1 tsp grated gingerroot

1 tsp chili powder

Salt & pepper to taste

1/4 C shredded coconut (optional)

Spray 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray & set aside. Pour lentils into deep pot & cover with cold water. Bring water to boil, reduce heat, & add raw chunks of the squash (leave skin on to add nutrients & texture to dish). Simmer until squash is soft (about 1 hour). Remove pot from heat, drain, & set aside. With tongs, pull out chunks of squash & mash roughly, skins & all, with a fork, ricer, or potato masher.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In large bowl, mix drained cooked lentils & mashed squash with olive oil & all the spices (including salt & pepper). Spoon mixture into baking dish. At this point, you can cover the dish & refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. When you’re ready, bake until piping hot, about 20 minutes if you’re putting it into the oven right after mixing, or 25-30 minutes if it’s been refrigerated. Serve warm garnished with shredded coconut if you like and with a serving of wild greens, such as blanched chard. Serves two as a hearty main dish or four as a side dish.

Calories: 530; Protein: 32 g; carbs: 94 g; Fat: 8 g.

ALIGOT (MASHED POTATOES WITH CHEESE)

This is from Tejal Rao in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Tejal wrote, “Somewhere between buttery mashed potatoes and pure melted cheese lies aligot, the comforting, cheese-enhanced mashed-potato dish from central France. The key to getting a smooth, airy texture is to rice the potatoes while they're still hot, then incorporate cold butter, hot milk and grated cheese over low heat. To build up the stringiness of that melting cheese, Ham el-Waylly, a chef at the Brooklyn restaurant Hail Mary, suggests whipping it with confidence, speed and vigor. This is what will create aligot's characteristic cheese strings: long and sheer, with some elasticity. ‘They should fight with you,’ Waylly says. While fresh tomme or Cantal is traditional, Gruyère or Comté work well, too.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.

This was featured in “Cheesy Mashed Potatoes for the Soul”, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

1/4 pound cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup cream, heated

1/2 pound Comté or Gruyère cheese, grated

Salt to taste

Preparation

Simmer the potatoes in water until very tender to the point of a knife, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes, and tip out any remaining water from the pot. Push the hot potatoes through a ricer back into the pot. Over low heat, use a heatproof spatula to move the potatoes around the pot for a minute so that any excess water can evaporate.

Add butter to the potatoes, half at a time, stirring until completely incorporated. Add hot cream, half at a time, stirring until incorporated. Add cheese a little bit at a time, stirring vigorously, until all the cheese is evenly melted and the spoon makes cheesy strings as you pull it away from the potatoes. If necessary, turn the heat up a little. Taste, and season with salt. Serve.

Dishing Up the Side Dishes

There are days when it's easier to pick when the main dish for dinner, but thinking up a side makes us a draw a blank. Burgers and fries are an easy combo. But then there's meatloaf and..., or chicken and...Well, you get the idea. (And yes, vegetarians do occasionally have that problem, too.)

Here are six side dishes to help you through the day, including Curried Potatoes and Sweet Potato Souffle. Enjoy!

STIR-FRIED VEGETABLES

This was from an old Weight Watchers email; 1 point/serving (old value). Serves 4.

1 spray cooking spray

2 tsp sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 C sugar snap peas or pea pods, trimmed (*)

2 C carrots, thinly diagonally sliced (*)

2 scallions, chopped (*)

1 1/2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)

Coat wok or large nonstick skillet with cooking spray & set over medium-high heat. Add oil & heat. Add garlic & stir-fry 1 minute. Add sugar snap peas, carrots & scallions; stir-fry 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add soy sauce & cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Remove from heat & stir in cilantro. Yields about 1/2 C per serving.

Note:

Adding 1 C each of baby corn & water chestnuts changes recipe to 2 points/serving. (*) foods are filling foods.

SWEET POTATO SOUFFLE

This is my mom’s recipe. Really good with ham. There were never any left-overs.

This can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

4 – 5 sweet potatoes

1 egg

1 small can pineapple

1 C nuts

2 T orange juice concentrate

1/2 tsp. salt

Cinnamon

dash pepper

1/2 C brown sugar

9 large marshmallows

Peel & dice sweet potatoes, place in pan of water, and cook until tender. Mash & add other ingredients except marshmallows. Put in square pan, cut in 9 squares & place 1 marshmallow in each square. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

AU GRATIN POTATOES

This was in a Weight Watchers' email years ago. The recipe begins, “Our cheesy potato dish is the perfect crowd pleaser: rich enough for your spouse and kids, yet light enough to keep your waistline slim.”

The POINTS® Value at that time listed this as 3 points.

Servings: 8; Preparation Time: 20 min; Cooking Time: 90 min; Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Ingredients

1 sprays cooking spray

1 Tbsp butter

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cup fat-free skim milk

2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 2-quart covered baking dish with cooking spray.

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour; add milk slowly, stirring. Add potatoes and stir to mix. Bring to a boil. Stir in 3/4 cup of cheese, salt and pepper. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and level out surface. Bake for 1 hour, uncovered. Cover and bake until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes more.

Change oven temperature to broil. Sprinkle remaining cheese over potatoes. Broil 6 inches from the heating element until the cheese is golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing into 8 pieces.

CURRIED LENTILS WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH

This is from the October 2007 issue of Runner’s World.

1 C dry lentils

1 small butternut squash

1 Tbls olive oil

1 Tbls curry powder

1 tsp grated gingerroot

1 tsp chili powder

Salt & pepper to taste

1/4 C shredded coconut (optional)

Spray 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray & set aside. Pour lentils into deep pot & cover with cold water. Bring water to boil, reduce heat, & add raw chunks of the squash (leave skin on to add nutrients & texture to dish). Simmer until squash is soft (about 1 hour). Remove pot from heat, drain, & set aside. With tongs, pull out chunks of squash & mash roughly, skins & all, with a fork, ricer, or potato masher.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In large bowl, mix drained cooked lentils & mashed squash with olive oil & all the spices (including salt & pepper). Spoon mixture into baking dish. At this point, you can cover the dish & refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. When you’re ready, bake until piping hot, about 20 minutes if you’re putting it into the oven right after mixing, or 25-30 minutes if it’s been refrigerated. Serve warm garnished with shredded coconut if you like and with a serving of wild greens, such as blanched chard. Serves two as a hearty main dish or four as a side dish.

Calories: 530; Protein: 32 g; carbs: 94 g; Fat: 8 g.

TUSCAN-STYLE QUINOA

This is from the November 2005 issue of Runner’s World.

1 1/2 C quinoa

3 C water

2 Tbls olive oil

3 coves garlic, minced

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

6 C shredded Swiss chard

1 large tomato, diced

1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

1/3 C Parmesan cheese

Place one tablespoon of the olive oil in saucepan, heat to medium-high, pour in quinoa to toast for four minutes. Cover with water, turn down to simmer, cook for 15 minutes until tender. Heat nonstick skillet with remaining olive oil & sauté garlic & onion until golden, about 5 minutes. Add chard & sauté until wilted. Add tomato & heat through. Fold in cooked quinoa, season with salt, pepper, & chili flakes to taste, & top with Parmesan cheese. Let stand 3-5 minutes to blend flavors.

CURRIED POTOATOES

This is from the June 2008 Vegetarian Times, page 80. The recipe begins, “Serve this dish on its own or with steamed rice.”

1 1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 medium onions, diced (3 cups)

3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)

4 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks

3 carrots, peeled & cut into 2-inch pieces (1 cup)

3 Tbs. Madras curry powder

1 15-oz. can black beans

3 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped (1 1/2 cups)

1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and finely chopped (1/4 cup)

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic & cook 5 – 7 minutes, or until onions are soft and translucent. Stir in potatoes, carrots and curry powder and cook 4 minutes.

Add beans and their liquid, tomatoes, broth, jalapeno chiles, vinegar an 1 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 45 minutes or until potatoes are flaky amd carrots are cooked through, stirring occasionally.

Per serving: 282 cal; 9 g protein; 4 g total fat (0.5 g sat. fat); 55 g carb; 0 mg cholesterol; 499 mg sodium; 10 g fiber; 9 g sugars; vegan