Monday, August 31, 2009

Canto 6 Baking Class: Sweet & Savory Galettes

Last week I joined some dietitians at Canto 6 bakery in Jamaica Plain for a baking class where we were to learn how to make sweet and savory galettes. I went in not even knowing what a galette is. A galette is essentially a free form pie that doesn’t require any special equipment to make, just a few bowls and a cookie sheet.

Our instructors Rebecca and Alexandra at Canto 6 were fantastic – so casual and informative. They stressed how simple it is to make galettes, and how you can fill them with just about any combination of ingredients. You can’t go wrong!

We spent the evening making a sweet galette and a savory galette. In the sweet galette we used fresh blueberries and peaches. In the savory galette, butternut squash, red onion, apples and sage (an ideal combo of ingredients for fall!). We all got to roll, fill, and pinch our dough to make individual galettes. While we waited for them to bake, we snacked on some pre-made galettes. Holy cow, so good! I brought my own sweet and savory galettes home and Funk enjoyed the sweet one for dessert and absolutely loved it. And I love the fact that I already have dinner and dessert ready for this evening: savory galette to start followed by a sweet galette for dessert.

Here are the recipes for galettes at Canto 6:

Pate Briee (basic pie dough or short crust)
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) cold cubed unsalted butter
¼ to ½ cup ice cold water

Technique:
Step 1: Mise en place. This is a fancy term that simply means get everything you need ready to go. It is especially important for Pate brisee because you want to work quickly so all your ingredients stay cold.
Step 2: Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the cubed butter and pulse briefly. Do not overmix!!! Over-mixing the dough will yield a tough crust. You want several large pieces of butter still visible in the flour mixture. This step can also be done by hand in a large bowl. Simply use two knives or your fingers to break the butter into the flour.
Step 3: Take the mixture out of the food processor and place it in a large bowl. Add the water slowly 2 tablespoons at a time and mix with your hands until the dough comes together.
Step 4: Divide the dough in 2 equal pieces, shape them into patties, wrap tightly in saran wrap, and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
Step 5: Roll the dough! Place a chilled patty on a flat lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, gently roll the dough about 1/8 inch thick. Rotate the dough as you roll to achieve a rough circle. Once rolled out, set the dough aside in the refrigerator until you are ready to shape the galettes.

Crumb topping:
This is a versatile recipe for a basic sweet crumb topping you can use to top any fruit galette, or as a topping for summer fruit crisps. Makes enough for 3-4 galettes.

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 ½ cups brown sugar
½ tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup (2 sticks) cold cubed unsalted butter

Technique:
Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands to break the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks crumbly.

Peach berry filling:
2 cups berries
4 cups sliced fresh peaches
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup all purpose flour
pinch of salt

Technique: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently.

Butternut squash, apple, sage and blue cheese filling:
2/5 peeled and thinly sliced butternut squash
1 cup peeled and roughly chopped apples
1 small onion peeled and roughly chopped
¼ cup olive oil
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
Crumbled blue cheese for topping

Technique: combine squash, onion, olive oil, and salt and pepper on a cookie sheet or oven safe dish and toss lightly. Roast at 350 degrees 40-45 minutes until veggies are just tender. When cool, toss with apples and sage and set aside.




Assembling and baking the galettes:
Place a rolled out piece of pate brisse on a flat baking pan lined with parchment paper. Generously mound the fruit or vegetable filling in the center of the dough. Fold the dough around the filling pinching it on top of itself. Once the galette is shaped, top the fruit galettes generously with crumb topping. Top the vegetable galettes with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F (325 degrees F if you have a convection oven) for 45-55 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Other ideas and inspiration:

Sweet:
Pear, slivered almond, honey
Classic apple
Plum nectarine
Strawberry rhubarb

Savory:
Potato, radicchio, tallegio
Zucchini, leek, ricotta
Fennel, roasted tomatoes, goat cheese
Asparagus, roasted garlic, feta

Friday, August 28, 2009

Great Gazpacho


When I was at Ward’s Berry Farm recently, I picked up some farm-fresh ingredients to make a great gazpacho. I love cold soup in the summer, and can’t believe it took me this long to blend up a quick gazpacho! The great thing about soups, in my opinion, is that you really don’t need to follow a recipe. A little bit of this, some leftovers of that, and voila! Soup is done. Here is what I used in my gazpacho:

3 large tomatoes, diced
1 medium white onion, diced (I used about ¾)
¾ container of sprouts – I just needed to use these up. In they went!
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
about 3 Tbsp olive oil
fresh thyme (not a typical gazpacho ingredient, but I had some about to go bad in my fridge so I tossed it in and love the flavor it added)
fresh parsley from mom’s porch garden
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp hot sauce – this just barely added a kick

With a few pulses of my hand-held immersion blender, I blended up this gazpacho in no time, keeping some veggies in tact for a little texture. I like my gazpacho slightly chunky.

I let it sit overnight for the flavors to meld. It was so tasty! Funk even ate a bowl, and he has a strong aversion to cold soups. I thought he was just being polite, but he did eat a whole bowl.

We paired the soup with a crusty onion baguette and some corn on the cob. It was a perfect summer dinner.

Every gazpacho is different – what’s in yours?

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Jamming...as in jelly, not dancing

This weekend was a full out foodie weekend for me, beginning with berry picking and ending with a baking class alongside a bakery full of dietitians. I’m feeling very well fed!

Saturday started out with me heading to Ward’s Berry Farm in Sharon, MA where I organized a group of dietitians through the Massachusetts Dietetic Association to get together for a day of picking, networking, and socializing. We picked big batches of blueberries, raspberries, and peaches. I think this was my first time ever picking raspberries and peaches! We survived the intense heat and all went home with lots of fruit from our pickings, as well as some groceries from the fantastic market at Ward’s.

I have wanted to try my hand at jam-making and this was the perfect opportunity, as I already had a box of Pomona Pectin on hand. My experienced jam-making friend Nicole recommended this brand, as it doesn’t require you to use outrageous amounts of sugar in your jams or jellies. I spoke to my grandma before I began jamming and it went something like this:

Me: Hi Grandma, I’m about to start jamming!
Grandma: What?
Me: Jamming.
Grandma: Canning?
Me: No no no, jamming.
Grandma: Jamming? You mean dancing? In my day jamming meant dancing!

Ha! I did no such dancing while I was jamming, but it might have made the experience even more fun.

I decided to use peaches, blueberries and raspberries in my jam, and mashed up four cups of these fruits to jam. I made sure to follow the jamming instructions to a T, which included boiling the lids of the jars, carefully adding pectin and a calcium solution to the boiling fruit, and tightly sealing the finished jars. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous my jams wouldn’t turn out right and I would have wasted all of that good fruit. I even called the Jam Hotline listed on the pectin package because I had an emergency jam question!, but sadly nobody answered and I was asked to leave a message. What is the point of a jam hotline if nobody answers the phone!? And clearly a jam hotline exists because there are others out there who are halfway through jamming and don't know what to do. Maybe next time I need to jam during business hours...I was afraid my jam was a little too runny, so I googled “runny jam” and found out my batch was likely fine. I did a quick freezer test to be sure and my jam jelled up right away. And it tasted delicious.

Anyway, I finished my jamming by boiling all of my filled jars, and waited to hear the lids pop!, which indicated they were sealed and complete.

I felt like a proud mama looking at all of my little jam jars in a row. Aren’t they cute?! My very own homemade peach-raspberry-blueberry jam.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Openfaced Apple & Cheese Sandwich with Spicy Cucumber Salad

The recipes for last night's dinner were ones I randomly put together in my head, not having a clue how all of my ingredients combined would actually turn out. Sometimes these are the best meals to make, if you like getting creative in the kitchen. Last night's concoction was a delicious success.

I'll call these dishes Open-faced Apple & Cheese Sandwich and Spicy Sesame Cucumber Salad.

Open-faced Apple & Cheese Sandwich:

On a piece of whole wheat Naan bread, I spread on some spicy Dijon mustard. Then I layered thin slices of green apple with two slices of soy Cheddar cheese. I toasted these in the toaster oven until the cheese was melted and Naan toasted. The combination of spicy mustard, with tart crunchy apples, and gooey cheese was amazing! And I think anything tastes good on Naan bread, but you could try this on whole wheat pita pockets, English muffins, or even rolled up in a tortilla! It's a fancy take on a traditional cheese sandwich.





Spicy Sesame Cucumber Salad:

Plain and simple, this salad was 1 cucumber, sliced thinly, a few shakes of sea salt and freshly ground pepper, a drizzle of sesame oil, and a dash of red pepper flakes. I recently purchased sesame oil for the first time and it has completely changed the flavor of some of my meals.

Typically I'd use olive or canola oil in a recipe that called for sesame, but never again! It has such a strong, unique flavor (in a very good way) that it cannot be substituted. It gave this salad such a great taste, it seemed much more complex than it really was.

Have you ever used sesame oil? If so, I'd love to gather some recipes to make use of my new favorite ingredient!




Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Superb Smoothies with Nasoya


This is a simple post about simple smoothies we made this week using Nasoya's Silken Style Creations Tofu in Vanilla. I've been wanting to use this product for a while and finally got around to picking some up.

We froze some cantaloupe recently because we weren't able to eat it fast enough before heading out of town. So I blended the melon (about 2 cups) with 1/2 of a container of the Nasoya using my immersion blender and poof! I had the best smoothie ever.

Last night we used the rest of the tofu and blended it with frozen wild blueberries. It was smoothie heaven and tasted like a blueberry pie smoothie!

Go out and get yourself some Nasoya Silken Vanilla Tofu to blend your own smoothie creation. It comes in chocolate or vanilla and can be used in a variety of different recipes, from smoothies to cakes! And nope, I'm not being paid to promote Nasoya. I just couldn't keep the info about this great product to myself!

Monday, August 24, 2009

New Saigon Spring Rolls



A few years ago I was in grad school at the Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy, nestled in the heart of China Town in Boston. One day each week I'd stop at the local Asian sandwich shop called New Saigon Sandwich to pick up a box of three tofu spring rolls with dipping sauce for only $3.25. Not only was this a fabulous price for students, but it was my weekly lunch treat that typically made sitting through a grueling class on epidemiology or antioxidants bearable. Whenever I'm in the area now, I make sure to pick up some spring rolls, but I've also learned how to make them myself. I think I'm getting closer and closer to the perfected recipe.

Ingredients to make 6 rolls:

Rice paper wrappers (found in Asian grocery stores or the Asian aisle of major grocery stores)
Firm tofu, drained
1 T Olive oil
1 T Sesame Oil
3 T Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 Cup Sprouts
1 Cup Shredded Carrots
1 Cup Lettuce
1-2 Cups Cooked Rice Noodles
6-8 Fresh Mint Leaves

Preparation:
Press the tofu between two plates (with a weight on the top of one plate - I used a tea kettle) to drain out excess water. Then Cut into strips. One thing I wish I did was pre-freeze and defrost the tofu, since I love the texture of tofu when you prepare it this way.

Mix oils and soy sauce together. I also added in a few dashes of a sesame seed blend I have. Marinade the tofu slices in this sauce for at least 30 minutes.

Cook the rice noodles, drain them, and rinse with cold water. I then poured some of the extra soy sauce/oil mixture on the noodles to give them a little flavor and refrigerated them until ready to make my rolls.
Directions:

Rice paper wrappers need to be soaked in hot water (from the tap is fine) until they're soft - no cooking necessary! I fill a pie plate with hot water and soak one rice paper at a time for a few minutes until soft. I then put the wrapper flat on a plate and top it with a piece of tofu, some noodles, sprouts, lettuce (which I actually forgot to add to my rolls this time), carrots, and mint.

The mint is essential. I realized that this was my missing ingredient all along and it completely makes the meal!

Then gently roll up the rice wrapper, tucking over the sides first, and rolling like a burrito.
We dipped these rolls into some teriyaki style sauce and enjoyed with a side salad. My recipe isn't quite there yet but it did taste fabulous. I might have to go back to that little sandwich shop for some taste testing "research!"

Friday, August 21, 2009

Great Grilled Breakfast


Summer is synonymous with grilling, but in our Boston apartment, we can only manage a stove-top grill pan and not a nice big outdoor grill. While I adore my little grill pan, which makes the best grilled sandwiches ever, you can’t beat the flavor of freshly grilled food from an outdoor grill. While Funk and I were vacationing on the Cape, we took full advantage of the house’s grill one morning and decided to grill up breakfast.


We bought frozen whole grain cinnamon waffles, peaches and bananas and placed them all (with fruit sliced thinly) on the grill until they all had browned nicely. The waffles toasted, the peaches softened, and the bananas got ooey gooey and caramelized.

We topped our waffles with the grilled fruit and some maple syrup and enjoyed a great grilled start to our day.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Sip on Summer Sangria

I recently escaped to the Cape with Funk and his family where we had a wonderful time and THE most perfect vacation weather ever. The hot summer sun made us crave one thing: sangria. So we set out to the grocery store for a marathon shopping session and spent a long time in the produce aisle stocking up for some fruity sangria. Looks like some cocktails can be healthy – our sangria was filled to the brim with fruit.


In a big pot we poured in two bottles of chardonnay, two bottles of pinot grigio, and a bottle of diet ginger ale. Then we got slicing and dicing with the following fruits:

Apples
Oranges
Limes
Blueberries
Strawberries
Pineapple
Peaches

After a few hours of the sangria chilling in the fridge, we enjoyed our refreshing treat along with a night of grilling. It was probably the best sangria I have ever had! And we had plenty of leftover “fruit salad” to snack on, which had a little kick to it. We definitely got our fruit servings in that day!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

RD is the Real Deal Registered Dietitian


As dietitians, we seem to be fighting a never ending battle. No, not a food fight, but a struggle with making sure Registered Dietitians are seen as THE food and nutrition experts. There are plenty of Nutritionists out there, as well as foodies and health-gurus who may know a thing or two (or more) about food and nutrition. But when it comes to sound, practical, nutrition advice, Registered Dietitians are the Real Deal.

I was catching up on fellow dietitian Jessica's blog, A Fete For Food, and felt like she took the words right out of my mouth with her recent post "RD Does Not Stand For Really Dumb." With her permission, I decided to step right on the soap box with her to share her well-written post. Thanks Jessica!



Recently, I was standing in line behind a woman who was outwardly bragging of her status as a certified nutrition counselor and how she didn’t believe the RD credential was worth it. She said she thinks that the food guide pyramid is a joke, and then proceeded to turn around and look straight at me.What would you do?I politely smiled and thought to myself…

“A certified nutrition counselor, certified through a program like the Institute for Integrative Nutrition offers a program, one weekend per month, from January to July. Conversely, dietitians are required to complete multiple semesters of chemistry, biology, biochemistry, community nutrition, classes on vitamins and minerals, medical nutrition therapy, counseling, nutritional research, food service, meal management, etc. You can’t even think of sitting to take the exam unless you also complete an intense, accredited dietetic internship of 900 hours of supervised practice. Then, you must pass a rigorous exam in which you must know everything from what a #10 can is to the medical nutrition therapy for a person with chronic kidney disease. Once you do that, most states require you to apply for a license in order to practice in that state.”

I have no qualms about health-minded individuals looking to advance their careers, and potentially even making a career out of becoming a nutritionist, but discounting the work that dietitians must complete is unprofessional. I commend anyone who has completed non-RD nutrition programs and believe the more people we have highlighting the needs of healthful eating and living is better for us all, but when all is said and done, the RD, due to her extensive training, is the nutrition expert.

Registered Dietitians are required to promote evidence-based recommendations. This means that I cannot recommend that individuals drink 15 cups of chamomile tea every day because I think it will improve health; rather, I practice by making recommendations and guiding clients based on sound scientific research completed by dietitians, physicians, research PhDs, exercise physiologists and other experts in their own fields who devote their entire careers to finding answers about, say, vitamin D, the outcomes of a vegetarian diet, or risk factors for cardiovascular disease. I will agree the scientific research process is not perfect, and often time is muddled by the fact that the research is done in a hard-to-observe group (humans!) or influenced by industry. Still, I rest well at night knowing that what I do as a professional is based on the influence of hundreds of thousands of hours worth of professional work and collaboration on a particular vitamin, diet pattern, or disease.

Would you visit a “doctor” who completed 8 weekend trainings in New York City and wanted to prescribe something to you? The field of nutrition and diet is open to anyone who has an opinion, and can cause consumers much confusion. Often, consumers look to others (instead of the RD) for nutrition advice, probably due to savvy marketing and, sometime, celebrity status. Look at how popular diet books not written by RDs or MDs are! Nutrition is the cornerstone of health and disease prevention, and as a society, consumers should be looking to the RD as the expert.

Often, opponents of the field of dietetics and nutrition believe that their holistic view of nutrition outweighs what a dietitian can do for you. Have you ever heard of a dietitian NOT touting the benefits of holistic nutrition? Successful dietitians encourage their clients and patients (through motivational interviewing and a series of other counseling techniques learned in rigorous programs and internships) to view their nutrition as a part of a healthful lifestyle, and always work with clients to individualize their nutrition plans to ensure success, incorporate physical activity, and employ effective stress management skills.

(stepping off soapbox now)

All I ask is that clients, patients, and consumers do their research to determine if a State-licensed and credentialed Registered Dietitian - or a nutritionist - is a better fit for their goals and needs. When seeking the counsel of an RD, clients, patients, and consumers can be confident that they are meeting with a practioner who has completed extensive training and experience and, subsequently, will be receiving evidence-based recommendations and counseling based in science.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Celery Salad


The other night, Funk and I were too pooped to cook dinner, so we threw a frozen Kashi pizza in the oven. Has anyone had one of these? All of the frozen Kashi products I've had lately taste like the plastic wrap they come in! C'mon Kashi, you're one of my favorite brands. And yes, I've already contacted customer service.

Anywho, I needed a side of veggies to have with the pizza, and didn't have much to cook up. But I did have some cherry tomatoes and stalks of celery. I like both of these vegetables raw better than cooked, so I used them to create a simple salad:

1+ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
5-6 stalks celery, cut into bite sized pieces
1T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

I also grated some fontina cheese on top. I bought this cheese specifically for a sandwich recipe I planned on making, which is rare, since I typically stick to soy cheese. But the fontina was a nice touch, though it's not really a grate-able cheese since it's soft like mozzarella. Parmesan (soy or regular) sprinkled on top would have been a nice touch, or no cheese at all!

I loved the soft tomatoes and crunchy celery all in one bite. It was a super summer salad.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Easy Bean Spreads

My family had a BBQ over the weekend for my Dad's birthday, and I offered to make some spreads to snack on. I always have a container of hummus or black bean spread in my fridge, but every once in a while its nice to blend your own spread with your favorite flavors, herbs, spices, and veggies to mix in. And it's so easy! For the BBQ I made a Black Bean & Lemon Spread and a Chickpea, Caper & Roasted Red Pepper Spread. I forgot to take pictures of these - whoops!

Black Bean & Lemon Spread:
1 can black beans, rinsed
2-4 Tablespoons lemon juice
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Throw all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Chickpea, Caper & Roasted Red Pepper Spread:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
2 Tablespoons capers
Jarred roasted red peppers (to taste, I guess, because I didn't measure the amount!)
1 Teaspoon olive oil

Throw all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

I had both of these spreads prepared in under 10 minutes, and fortunately, they were gobbled up that fast too! These spreads are hearty enough to make a great sandwich filler or cracker spread.

Monday, August 10, 2009

The Only Hamburger Post You'll Ever See Here

That's right, I did it. I made a hamburger. But this hamburger didn't sway from my plant-based diet. Nope, this hamburger was actually a birthday cake for my Dad's birthday BBQ! I saw pictures of burger cakes and cupcakes on food blogs and recipe sites and was waiting for the opportunity to make my own. My dad's BBQ was the perfect event.

I have three round cake pans, one a little bigger than the other two, which was perfect for the "meat" part of my cake. I used Trader Joes vanilla cake mix for the "bun" but instead of mixing it with eggs and oil, I combined a can of pumpkin with the boxed mix and baked according to the directions. This is my favorite healthy way to use cake mixes: you eliminate fat by replacing the eggs and oil with pumpkin, and you give the cake a nutrient boost by adding all of the fiber, vitamin A and other great properties of pumpkin. And your cake won't taste like pumpkin one bit! I sprinkled some flax seeds on my bun to look like sesame seeds.

For my burger, I baked No Pudge brownies using soy yogurt. These brownies are nice and fudgy, and just brownie mix + yogurt = the easiest brownies ever. Once my burger and bun were baked, I let them cool overnight.

To finish off my burger with some lettuce and tomato (of course, gotta get those veggies in), I used red and green frosting. When all was said and done, I laughed hysterically seeing my final burger cake. Baking usually leaves me frustrated - not this time! The cake was a crowd pleaser, and actually tasted good! I was going for visual effect, but hey, if it tastes good too, I'll take it.

Happy 60th Birthday Dad! There, I announced your age to the blog world. But when you can pass as 40, who cares what your real age is!? Enjoy your new decade. Love, Nell

Friday, August 7, 2009

Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad from Fat Free Vegan


This recipe for Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad from Fat Free Vegan caught my eye (and stomach) recently. I've never made my own pesto before, and liked that this one had an asparagus base to it. And pasta salad in the summer? Yes please. Anything to eat with less heat is more appealing to me right now. I made this dish over the course of the day so it'd be ready when I got home from spin class, ravenous as usual. I also wanted to allow the flavors to mesh in this dish, since the creator, Susan, actually notes the salad's flavors improve overnight. I started by cooking the asparagus and pasta in the morning. After work I blended the pesto and added it to my pasta. By 8pm I had a nice bowl of Asparagus Pesto Pasta salad waiting for me.

I used about 5 servings of pasta instead of 8, and a little less than 2 pounds of asparagus. I slightly lowered the other ingredients as well (for example 2 garlic cloves instead of 3), but otherwise I followed the recipe to a T and it came out great. I love that Susan instructs us to cook the pasta in the same water you boiled the asparagus. Since vitamins and minerals are leached into the water when you boil veggies, this is a great way to absorb them right back into your food - in this case, the pasta. Otherwise, the nutrients go right down the drain when you toss out the water. I also like recipes that call for nutritional yeast, since this is a great source of vitamin B12, especially for vegans. And the tomatoes were a nice touch - I'd opt to keep them in if I were you!

This pasta salad would be good to serve to asparagus-lovers and even not-so-much-asparagus lovers. You really couldn't tell there was asparagus blended into the pesto, even though it is a main ingredient. Funk thought the pasta salad was fab, and I do too. Don't worry, my asparagus-loving mom. I have extra asparagus pesto to bring to you this weekend!

Asparagus Pesto Pasta Salad

2 pounds asparagus
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts (lightly toasted - whoops forgot to do that)
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
OPTIONAL: 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound whole wheat or gluten-free spiral pasta
2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add the asparagus spears. Cook until just tender, about 4 minutes.

Without emptying the water from the pot, lift out the asparagus spears and place them in a colander. Rinse with cool water.Bring the water back to a boil. Add salt, if needed, and add pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente.

Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, and drain and rinse the pasta with cool water. Put into a serving bowl.Place the asparagus on a cutting board. Trim off the top 3 inches of the asparagus spears, and put the tips into the bowl with the pasta. Cut the bottoms into several pieces, and set aside to use in the pesto sauce.

Use a food processor to make the pesto:
With the processor running, drop in the garlic cloves and allow them to chop. Add 2 tablespoons of the pine nuts, and pulse to chop. Add the lemon juice, basil, salt, nutritional yeast, and the asparagus pieces (not the tips!) along with 3-6 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water and optional olive oil. (Start with 3 tbsp. water and add more as needed.) Puree until smooth.

Toss the pasta, asparagus tips, and tomatoes (if using) with the pesto, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Time for Tabouli


I’ve had a hankering for some fresh tabouli lately, since it uses two of summer’s best veggies: tomatoes and cucumbers. I’ve used an easy boxed tabouli kit before, and all you have to do is add lemon juice, olive oil, parsley or mint, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes. It’s sold in most grocery stores, except Trader Joe’s. So when I was grocery shopping this weekend at Stop & Shop I planned on buying a box. Did I? Nope. I managed to get everything else on my list, and other things that were nowhere close to being on my list, but no tabouli kit.

When I got home I wondered if I could create a makeshift tabouli with couscous or brown rice. But then I saw I had just enough dry bulgur in my pantry to make tabouli as planned! And the best part? You don’t have to cook bulgur - just soak it in water for at least an hour. How did I not know this before!? Nothing could be easier than soaking a grain, instead of boiling a big pot of water.

I soaked my bulgur overnight and the next day, mixed in some lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, along with two diced tomatoes and a diced cucumber. I didn’t have the parsley or mint that is usually in tabouli, but the simple ingredients of the veggies with the lemon juice were enough to give this salad fresh flavor. Looking back, I realized I also forgot to add olive oil, but I have enough leftovers to add some, along with a diced white onion and maybe even some dry parsley, to tonight’s dinner.

Making this tabouli reminded me that I don’t need a kit or meal starter to make the dish I desire, but rather a well-stocked pantry and some quick thinking creativity to make homemade meals.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Speaking at the Healthy Living Summit


I've been reading the Carrots n' Cake blog ever since I met Tina at the WBUR Boston Food Bloggers Event with Public Radio Kitchen a few months ago, so I was thrilled when she contacted me to ask if I'd speak at her Healthy Living Summit this Summer on August 15th. The summit is a chance for food bloggers and readers alike to gather for a weekend of healthy activities, networking, and listening to health-professionals. Including myself!

As the guest dietitian, I'll be talking about overall healthy eating with a focus on women (since all 125 attendees happen to be women). I'm looking forward to being surrounded by and inspired by a room full of food bloggers and health-minded people.

The Healthy Living Summit was organized by some fabulous food bloggers . I can't wait to see what Tina (http://www.carrotsncake.com/), Heather (http://www.hangrypants.com/), Caitlin (http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/), Jenna (http://www.eatliverun.com/), Kath (http://www.katheats.com/), and Meghann (http://www.graduatemeghann.com/) have in store for the summit.

Will I be seeing you there? Let me know! If you can't make it, rumor has it the summit will be streaming live so you won't miss out.

What would you like to learn in a dietitian's session about overall healthy eating? Send me your questions and I'll try to answer them during my talk!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Curried Tofu Salad with Grapes and Celery

I've had this tofu salad recipe posted on a small sticky on my fridge for almost a year now. I finally thought to make it and wish I didn't wait so long. I got the recipe from a friend's cookbook, so I can't take credit and can't remember the cookbook or exact measurements, however it is nothing really new, and similar to a chicken salad or any other tofu salad recipe. It is good enough to blog about, though, especially since it is another great no-cook dish.

Ingredients:
1 block firm tofu, drained and fork mashed
1/4 cup almonds, crushed
1 big bunch of grapes, sliced in half (maybe 30 grapes)
6 stalkes of celery, sliced and diced
1/4 cup reduced fat canola oil mayo
generous shakes of curry powder (to your liking)
salt to taste
Before making this recipe I tried to come up with an ingredient to use in place of mayonnaise. I really dislike mayo, and so does Funk, so we've never bought it. Trader Joe's has a reduced fat, canola oil based mayonaise that happens to be vegan. But the jar is massive with 64 servings (yikes!). I bought it anyway, vowing to tuck it in the back corner of my fridge because I don't even like the sight of mayo. Well, mayo won me over because it held this dish together perfectly, and I didn't really have to see it in the salad since it's the same color as the tofu. Funk doesn't even know there was mayo in the dish (unless of course he's reading this right now).
The salad is a perfect blend of sweet, savory, soft, and crunchy. You could make so many variations of this salad, too, using raisins, diced apples or pears in place of grapes. Try chili powder or garlic powder instead of curry, and use crushed walnuts in place of almonds for the same heart healthy fat benefits.
I scooped a serving into a bowl and enjoyed it with some broccoli slaw and a crusty dinner roll. Tomorrow I'll roll it into a wrap for lunch. And if the summer heat sticks around, I'll be making this no-cook dish again, well before next year rolls around.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

How To Eat Breakfast

"Breakfast comes at a terrible time of day to make a rational decision. We're rushed. We're groggy. And we're famished," says Julie Deardoff, Health and Fitness writer for the Chicago Tribune.

I can't tell you how many clients I've had who used to skip breakfast all-together, despite countless studies that show breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that it actually helps you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. And really, if you're anything like me, you don't even need another good excuse to eat a meal! Oh, I should eat within an hour of waking up!? Sure thing! Bonus points that it's actually highly beneficial and healthy too, when you choose the right breakfast.

I was quoted in Julie's great Chicago Tribune article today, How To Eat Breakfast. So even if you're already a breakfast eater (hooray!), this article will help make sure you're eating the best breakfast. Take a sneak peek:

A daily cup of coffee or tea can gives you some hydration and a jolt of caffeine. Research has also linked both drinks to a variety of health benefits. But while it might hold you over until lunch, "it's only the hot liquid that is filling your stomach, tricking you into feeling satisfied," said Janel Ovrut, a Boston-based registered dietitian. "You likely wind up overeating come lunch, when you're famished." To jump start your metabolism, add a piece of fruit, suggested Ovrut.

To read the rest of the article, click here.
 
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