Wednesday Recipes

Here are today's six recipes to help you through the day. Enjoy!

BUCKWHEAT BERRY STRIPED CAKE

This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “A combination of buckwheat and whole wheat flour gives this deeply buttery cake a character that is nutty, rich and complex, while a little almond flour adds tenderness. Baking it in a shallow tart pan instead of a cake pan allows the colorful berries to rest on top of the batter rather than sink to the bottom. It’s prettiest in a 10-inch tart pan, where the pattern will be at its most striking. But if you don’t have one, a 9-inch pan also works. We arranged the berries into stripes here, but feel free to create any design you like. Serve this on the same day as you bake it, preferably within 6 hours of baking. It doesn’t keep well overnight.” Yield: 10 servings; Time: 45 minutes.

This was featured in “The Trick to Keeping Berry Cake Beautiful” and can be viewed by clicking here.

Ingredients

1/3 cup almond flour

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 stick butter, softened, more for buttering pan

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/4 cup buttermilk, sour cream or whole milk yogurt

1 cup mixed berries, such as strawberries, blueberries or raspberries, more as needed

1 tablespoon turbinado (or use granulated sugar)

Confectioners’ sugar, for serving

Whipped cream or crème fraîche (optional)

Preparation

Heat oven to 375 degrees and butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Line the bottom with a round of parchment, and butter that as well.

In a large bowl, whisk together almond, all-purpose, whole wheat and buckwheat flours, baking powder and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat together butter, sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in buttermilk. (The mixture will look curdled, and that’s O.K.) Stir in flour mixture until just combined.

Scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing and leveling the top. Place berries on top of batter and sprinkle with turbinado or granulated sugar.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack and unmold. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve, with whipped cream if you like.

KOREAN MEATBALLS AND NOODLES

This comes from Florence Fabricant, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Florence wrote, “This kalbi meatball recipe, adapted from the cookbook “Koreatown,” is easy and quick enough to consider for midweek dinner. It offers the sweetly peppered, slightly funky flavors typical of many Korean dishes, and gives new personality to everyday spaghetti and meatballs. My favorite utensil for making ground meat mixtures, by the way, is an old-fashioned potato masher. The book suggests wrapping the meatballs in lettuce, but I tossed them with noodles in a sauce that exploited the brown bits left in the cooking of the meatballs.” Yield: 4 servings; Time: 45 minutes.

This was featured in “A Second Look at Washington Syrah” and can be viewed online by clicking here.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef, preferably short rib and chuck

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/3 cup chopped peeled Bosc or Asian pear

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 tablespoon grated ginger

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large egg, beaten

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs, preferably whole wheat

6 ounces udon noodles or linguine

2 tablespoons gochujang, or ketchup seasoned with 1 teaspoon hot sauce

3 scallions, trimmed and slant-cut

Preparation

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place beef in a bowl.

Combine honey, black pepper, sesame oil, vinegar, pear, onion, ginger, soy sauce and half the garlic in a food processor or blender and whirl until well blended. Mix with beef. Add egg and bread crumbs and mix again. Form into 1 1/2-inch balls and arrange on the baking sheet with a bit of space between them. Place in the oven and bake 20 minutes.

While meatballs bake, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and boil 5 minutes for udon, about 8 minutes for linguine. Reserve 2/3 cup of the pasta water, then drain pasta.

When meatballs are done, transfer them to a bowl and scrape pan juices into a sauté pan. Heat on medium, add remaining garlic and cook briefly until it starts to color. Whisk in gochujang, then pasta water. Simmer about 3 minutes, until sauce reduces and starts to thicken. Reduce heat to low, add noodles and toss in sauce. Add meatballs and mix gently. Transfer to a warm serving dish or individual bowls, scatter with scallions and serve.

BISTRO ONION BURGERS

This comes from FamilyTime, and starts off, “Are you looking for a quick and easy dinner that everyone will love? Try these burgers that use dry onion soup mix to add a savory touch.” Serves: 6; Prep Time: 5 minutes; Cook Time: 10 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1 envelope (about 1 oz.) dry onion soup & recipe mix

3 Tbsp. water

6 Pepperidge Farm® Farmhouse™ Premium White Rolls with Sesame Seeds, split and toasted

lettuce leaves

tomato slices

Directions

Thoroughly mix the beef, soup mix and water. Shape the beef mixture into 6 (1/2-inch thick) burgers.

Cook the burgers in batches in a 10-inch skillett over medium-high heat until well browned on both sides, 10 minutes for medium or to desired doneness.

Serve the burgers on the rolls. Top with the lettuce and tomato.

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

Kathy Kingsley is About.com's American Food guide. She writes, “This luscious chocolate layer cake with dark chocolate frosting is an irresistible temptation. It's the perfect cake to make for a birthday celebration or dinner party. The cake layers can be made ahead, wrapped well and refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months.”

Prep Time: 45 minutes; Cook Time: 35 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes; Yield: Serves 8 to 10

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups all-purpose flour

Chocolate Frosting

3 cups confectioners sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature

3 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.

In a small bowl, mix the cocoa and boiling water until blended and smooth.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time and beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and salt.

Stir the baking soda into the buttermilk. Alternately add the buttermilk and flour to the batter, beating well after each addition until all is combined. Beat in the cocoa mixture until blended. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of bowl and beater a few times. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and spread evenly.

Bake until the cakes pull away from the sides of the pans and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Set the cakes in the pans on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the racks. Turn right side up and cool to room temperature.

Make the frosting: In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and cocoa until blended. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add 1 cup of the cocoa mixture and 1 tablespoon of the cream until blended. Repeat adding the cocoa mixture and cream until all is combined, and frosting is smooth and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and additional cream if necessary for desired consistency.

To assemble the cake: Trim the top of the cake layers with a long serrated knife, cutting off any raised areas. Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Spread with 1 cup of frosting. Top with a second cake layer. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting.

Store the cake at cool room temperature until serving time; then refrigerate loosely covered up to 2 days.

RISOTTO

Yield: 4 side-dish servings

Source: "Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine" by Betty Marks

Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/24.shtml

Ingredients

2 teaspoons virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup Italian Arborio rice

2 cups Vegetable stock

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

In a medium-size non-stick saucepan, heat oil and saute onion until tender. Add rice and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add stock and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Turn rice into a warm dish and season with pepper. Garnish with cheese.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe): Calories: 136, Cholesterol: 1 mg, Carbohydrate: 26 g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 107 mg, Fat: 2 g; Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Starch/Bread

GRILLED EGGPLANT INVOLTINI

This is from the March 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 52. It begins, “Grilled eggplant slices have a cutlet texture that’s sturdy enough to stand up to sauces, toppings, and fillings. Here, they are rolled around a tomato-and-olive filling for a veg version of a classic Italian beef recipe.” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

2 large eggplant, 1 peeled and diced (3 cups), 1 cut into 8 slices, divided

3 tomatoes, halved and seeded

1 medium onion, diced (1 1/2 cups)

6 Tbs. olive oil, divided

4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp.)

1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained

1/4 cup chopped basil leaves, plus more for garnish

1/4 cup kalamata olives

3 Tbs. capers, drained

2 Tbs. chopped parsley

2 Tbs. nutritional yeast

2 cups prepared tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375°F. Toss together diced eggplant, tomatoes, onion, 3 Tbs. olive oil, and garlic in bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread on baking sheet, and roast 25 minutes, or until vegetables are browned and tender. Transfer to food processor, and add sun-dried tomatoes, basil, olives, capers, parsley, and nutritional yeast; process until chunky-smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Heat remaining 3 Tbs. oil in grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook eggplant slices on grill pan 3 minutes per side, or until tender. Cool.

Coat 13- x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon 1/4 cup roasted vegetables onto edge of each grilled eggplant slice. Roll eggplant slices into logs, and place seam-side-down in prepared baking dish. Spoon tomato sauce over eggplant rolls in dish. Bake 10 minutes, or until tomato sauce is hot and bubbly. Garnish with basil leaves.

nutritional information Per 2 rolls: Calories: 380; Protein: 9 g; Total Fat: 25 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 39 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 990 mg; Fiber: 16 g; Sugar: 17 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

Diabetic Thursday

Thursday's yummy diabetic recipes are ready. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

A cookie that is quite simply - heavenly!

Yield: 24 servings

Serving size: 1 cookie

View online with photo: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/1156.shtml

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet or jellyroll pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Place the butter, Splenda Granulated Sweetener, sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Mix, using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer until the mixture is light and creamy (approx. 1-1 1/2 minutes). Add cocoa powder and all the flour. Mix until just blended.

Remove dough from bowl and form into a ball. Place the ball of dough on the parchment lined pan. Roll the dough into a rectangle approx. 6 1/2 inches wide by 11 inches long and 1/4 inch thick. Pierce the surface of the dough with a fork all over. This allows the air to escape during baking preventing air pockets from forming.

Bake in preheated 375 degrees F oven 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes of baking. Remove shortbread from oven after 20-25 minutes and immediately cut into 24 fingers or rectangles while the shortbread is still warm. If allowed to cool, shortbread will not slice well.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 120; Calories from Fat: 5; Protein: 1 g; Fat: 8 g; Sodium: 25 mg; Cholesterol: 20 mg; Saturated Fat: 5 g; Dietary Fiber: 1 g ; Sugars: 2 g ; Carbohydrates: 10 g

APPLE CINNAMON MUFFINS

Servings: 12

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/170.shtml

Ingredients

1-1/4 cup oat bran cereal; uncooked

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup apple, peeled, cored, diced

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

Coat 12 medium-size cups with vegetables oil or line with paper baking cups.

In a medium bowl combine oat bran cereal, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, soda, and salt.

In large bowl combine applesauce, honey, oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients; mix well. Stir in apple.

Fill prepared muffin cup almost full. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 160 ; Protein: 3 g ; Fat: 7 g; Carbohydrates: 22 g; Exchanges: 1 Starch/Bread; 1 Fat; 1/2 Fruit

RISOTTO

Yield: 4 side-dish servings

Source: "Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine" by Betty Marks

Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/24.shtml

Ingredients

2 teaspoons virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup Italian Arborio rice

2 cups Vegetable stock

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

In a medium-size non-stick saucepan, heat oil and saute onion until tender. Add rice and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add stock and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Turn rice into a warm dish and season with pepper. Garnish with cheese.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe): Calories: 136, Cholesterol: 1 mg, Carbohydrate: 26 g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 107 mg, Fat: 2 g; Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Starch/Bread

RASPBERRY-ALMOND COOKIES

A bar-style cookie that's easy to make. Filled with rich, flavorful raspberry spreadable fruit, this is sure to become a favorite.

Yield: 24 servings

View with photo: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/1127.shtml

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Equal Spoonful or Granulated*

1/8 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons cold stick butter or margarine, cut into pieces

1 egg

2 tabespoons water

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 jar (10 ounces) seedless raspberry spreadable fruit

3 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds

* May substitute 12 packets Equal sweetener

Directions

Combine flour, Equal and salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in egg, water and lemon peel. Mixture will be crumbly.

Press mixture evenly onto bottom of well-sprayed 8 x 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in preheated 350F oven 12 to 15 minutes or until edges of crust are lightly browned.

Remove pan from oven and spread raspberry fruit over top. Sprinkle with almonds. Return to oven, and bake an additional 10 to 12 minutes or until raspberry fruit is bubbly. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Store in airtight containers at room temperature.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 86; Protein: 2 g; Fat: 4 g; Sodium: 16 mg; Cholesterol: 19 mg; Carbohydrates: 12 g; Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 fat

FRESH ASPARAGUS TOPPED WITH SUNNY-SIDE UP EGGS

Yield: 2 servings

View online with photo: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/1309.shtml

Ingredients

1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed

Cooking spray

2 Eggland's Best large eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)

1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese (optional)

1 teaspoon breadcrumbs (optional)

1/4 cup chopped red peppers (optional)

Directions

Fill medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Submerge asparagus and cook for approximately 2 minutes, maintaining a bright green color and slight crunch. Immediately remove asparagus and shock it in a bowl of ice water. Reserve.

Coat medium size skillet with cooking spray. Crack two Eggland's Best eggs into pan and cook over medium heat until the whites set and the edges of the eggs are cooked.

Place asparagus on plate, making an even layer. Remove eggs from the pan using a slotted spatula and place on top of asparagus. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and garnish with Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs or red peppers, if desired. Can also be served on two pieces of whole wheat toast.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 135; Protein: 7 g; Fat: 11 g; Sodium: 86 mg; Cholesterol: 176 mg; Saturated Fat: 5 g; Dietary Fiber: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 2 g

VEGGIE PATCH SOUP

Yield: 10 servings

Source: "Mr. Food Every Day's a Holiday Diabetic Cookbook"

Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/89.shtml

Ingredients

6 cups water

2 medium-sized white potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

4 large tomatoes, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks

4 medium-sized carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

3 medium-sized zucchini, cut into 1-inch chunks

2 medium-sized green bell peppers, coarsely chopped

2 medium-sized onions, coarsely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

In a soup pot, combine all the ingredients; mix well and bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 1 hour, or until the vegetables are tender.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1 cup): Calories: 84, Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Sodium: 383 mg, Carbohydrate: 20 g, Dietary Fiber: 4 g, Sugars: 7 g, Protein: 2 g, Diabetic Exchanges: 1/2 Starch, 2 Vegetable

Weekend Recipes

Finally, Friday! Don't know about you, but I'm ready for the weekend. Here are today's recipes. Enjoy!

BLUEBERRY-BANANA CREAM PIE

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list.

Ingredients

9” baked pie crust

2-3 bananas

1 cup sugar

1 (21 oz.) can blueberry pie filling

8 oz. cream cheese

2 tbsp. lemon juice

8 oz. Cool Whip topping

1/3 cup sugar

Directions

Cream 1 cup sugar, cream cheese and cool whip. Slice bananas over bottom and sides of baked pie shell. Spread creamed mixture over bananas. Mix pie filling, lemon juice and 1/3 cup sugar. Spoon on top of creamed mixture, leaving an edge of cream showing around the outside. Chill several hours. Keep refrigerated.

RISOTTO

Yield: 4 side-dish servings

Source: "Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine" by Betty Marks

Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/24.shtml

Ingredients

2 teaspoons virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup Italian Arborio rice

2 cups Vegetable stock

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

In a medium-size non-stick saucepan, heat oil and saute onion until tender. Add rice and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add stock and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Turn rice into a warm dish and season with pepper. Garnish with cheese.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe): Calories: 136, Cholesterol: 1 mg, Carbohydrate: 26 g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 107 mg, Fat: 2 g; Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Starch/Bread

CARROT AND ZUCCHINI SOUP

This is from Fiona Haynes, who runs About.com's Low Fat Cooking blog. I've substituted vegetarian broth for the chicken broth that the original recipe lists.

Fiona writes, "Why settle for canned soup when you make your own heartier fresh-tasting soup without all those additives? This carrot and zucchini soup is pureed to make a deliciously filling soup to warm you on cool Autumn days. Enjoy with a slice of crusty whole-grain bread."

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced

1 lb zucchini, unpeeled and sliced

2 tsp curry powder

3 1/2 cups fat-free, low-sodium vegetable broth

1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley

Preparation:

Sauté onions in a soup pot for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add carrots and zucchini, followed by curry powder. Stir for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add chopped parsley. Transfer soup to a blender and blend until smooth, working in two batches.

Makes 6 servings.

Per Serving: Calories 81, Calories from Fat 16, Total Fat 1.8g (sat 0.2g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 65mg, Carbohydrate 13.4g, Fiber 4g, Protein 2.8g

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

Another from a long-since-forgotten emailing list. The would have been good for St. Patrick's Day, though it would be good any time. Serves 4, in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 ounce Butter

1 Finely chopped Onion

1 pound Cooked and mashed Potatoes

8 ounces Cabbage

6 slices Beef, cooked and finely chopped (optional)

Directions:

Melt the Butter in a large frying pan Add the Onion and fry for a few minutes until softened, stirring frequently Add the potatoes and Cabbage, if you are including the beef, add this as well Fry over a medium heat for 15 minutes until brown then serve.

This classic dish originally contained beef along with the left over cooked potatoes and cabbage, though today people don't generally bother with the meat. The name is apparently due to the sounds that are emitted during cooking, the vegetables bubble as they are boiled and then squeak in the frying pan.

ALL-IN-ONE CASSEROLE

From another long-since-forgotten emailing list. Quick, easy, yummy...And, if, like me, you're a vegetarian, there are great veggie crumbles to use in place of the meat.

1-2 lbs chopped meat, browned and drained

2-4 servings of either fresh or instant mashed potatoes, prepared ahead of time

1 large can green beans

1 large can creamed corn

1-2 cups shredded cheese for topping, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown and drain meat. Place on bottom of 4-qt casserole dish. Add can of green beans on top of meat, then add creamed corned on top of green beans. Add potatoes on top and smooth over entire area. If desired, add cheese on top of the potatoes. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

CHALLAH

Years ago, right after getting hooked up to cable, I was channel surfing and discovered a show on the Food Network titled Breaking Bread With Father Dominic. The show is no longer on the Food Network (hey, Food Network people: how about bringing Father Dominic's show back!), but Fr. Dominic still has a website. Yield: 1 large loaf; about 20 to 25 slices

Ingredients:

2 packages Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

6 to 7 1/2 cups bread flour, divided

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten, for glaze

Directions:

Combine yeast, 1 cup lukewarm water and 1 tablespoon sugar in medium bowl; stir to mix. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy. Stir in 2 cups of the flour; let stand about 30 minutes to let the yeast develop.

Combine 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, oil and 3 eggs in a large bowl; mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Add the yeast mixture; mix well.

Add the remaining flour, about 1 cup at a time, until you get slightly firm dough. It will be a bit softer than ordinary bread dough because of the eggs. Knead in bowl about 5 minutes. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.

Punch down dough. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead briefly to work out the larger air pockets. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope, about 24 inches long. Braid ropes to form a loaf, tucking the ends underneath. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until nearly doubled in bulk. The loaf will be quite large.

About 15 minutes before loaf has finished rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush loaf all over with beaten egg. Bake in 375-degree oven about 45 minutes, or until golden brown. If your oven doesn't bake evenly, be sure to turn the pan every 10 minutes or so. Remove loaf from pan and let cool on a rack.

Note:

A large, braided loaf is one of the traditional forms of challah. One also finds it shaped as a large braid with a smaller braid on top. I generally prefer to make two smaller single braids, as may be necessary if you have a smaller oven.

New Year's Resolutions

Most of us go into the last week of the old year making New Year's resolutions. These usually entail something like losing weight, exercising more, saving more money, and other worth-while things.

The problem, of course, is that we lose sight of our resolutions fairly quickly. While the following recipes won't help you keep your resolutions (or help me with mine), they might help in the following way: the turkey pot pie (a Campbell's recipe) will help you use up any holiday turkey (hopefully not left over on the counter from Thanksgiving!), the risotto (from Diabetic Gourmet) shows that if you're diabetic or cooking for a diabetic, the food can still taste good while being good for you, the spinach omelet (from Weight Watchers) is healthy and light. The apple & cranberry crisp? I don't know about you, but if I don't have something a little snacky once in a while, I'm going to have problems keeping to any kind of diet.

Enjoy the following. Oh, and one other thing: Happy New Year's!

CAMPBELL'S® EASY TURKEY POT PIE

Prep. time: 10 min. Cooking time: 30 min.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Cream of Chicken Soup OR 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup

1 pkg. (about 9 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

1 cup cubed cooked turkey OR chicken

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose baking mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Mix soup, vegetables and turkey in 9" pie plate.

Mix milk, egg and baking mix. Pour over turkey mixture. Bake 30 min. or until golden.

Tips

*Or use Campbell's® Cream of Chicken with Herbs Soup.

Serve with a tossed green salad. For dessert serve pineapple tidbits.

APPLE & CRANBERRY CRISP

Filling:

12 apples

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Juice of one lemon

Topping:

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Filling: Peel and core apples. Cut into bite-size chunks. Combine with all other filling ingredients. Spoon into generously buttered ramekins.

Topping: Combine all ingredients. Using fingers, crumble butter until mixture resembles peas. Spoon generous 2 tablespoons on top of each apple-filled ramekin.

Place ramekins on baking sheet. bake for 35-45 minutes, until browned on top.

Makes 10 generous servings.

RISOTTO

Yield: 4 side-dish servings

Source: "Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine" by Betty Marks

Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/24.shtml

Ingredients

2 teaspoons virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup Italian Arborio rice

2 cups Vegetable stock

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

In a medium-size non-stick saucepan, heat oil and saute onion until tender. Add rice and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add stock and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Turn rice into a warm dish and season with pepper. Garnish with cheese.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe):

Calories: 136, Cholesterol: 1 mg, Carbohydrate: 26 g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 107 mg, Fat: 2 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Starch/Bread

SPANISH OMELET

POINTS® value | 5

Servings | 1

Preparation Time | 8 min

Cooking Time | 10 min

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup spinach, coarsely chopped (do not dry)

2 large egg(s)

2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp olive oil

Directions

In a medium saucepan, cook spinach with just the water that clings to it until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain well, squeezing out all liquid. Cool, then chop finely.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon water.

In a small nonstick skillet, heat oil. Pour egg mixture into pan; reduce heat and cook until base is set and top is still a little creamy, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle spinach over one half of eggs; fold omelet in half and cook until eggs are completely set, about 1 minute longer. Serve at once.