Tag Archives: Olive oil

A Fat-Releasing Salad That’s Good and Good for You

24 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by in Food for Thought, The Healthy Life

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Dressed with the Digest Diet Vinaigrette, this salad is worthy of any menu

It’s Day Fifteen of the Digest Diet, with six days to go. The needle has hovered at 203 for the last few days. (In a manner of speaking. I have a digital scale so of course there’s no needle; some visual memories just die hard.) I’m pleased to report, however, that this morning I dropped another half-pound, and have decided that even if I don’t meet my 15-pound weight loss goal, I’ll be satisfied to welcome a poundage report that does not begin with the number “2.” Can’t remember the last time I clocked in at under 200.

And now I would like to say a word about fat. There are, as I’ve learned on this diet, good fats and bad fats. Examples of foods containing good fats are coconut milk, olive oil, salmon, and nuts, seeds, and nut butters—especially flax, walnut, and sunflower. There are also bad fats, and I love cooking and baking with one of them—namely, butter. I must admit that for the past 16 days, I haven’t missed butter at all. I will welcome its return (I’m an epicurean gourmet, after all), but I will be mindful of my intake. That’s one fat lesson learned.

(And while we’re on the topic, stay away from margarine. That’s me telling you, not Reader’s Digest. I don’t think there’s anything real in margarine, and your body simply does not know what to do with that stuff.)

Now here’s another nugget from the Reader’s Digest Diet: Some foods are actually “fat releasers.” That is, they are rich in certain micro- and macronutrients that encourage weight loss. Vitamin C, calcium (including dairy sources of calcium), protein, reservatrol (found in red wine, red grapes, and peanuts), fiber, vinegar, quinoa, honey, and cocoa are all beneficial—and natural—elements in a weight-loss program. The salad I made the other evening and pictured above is a great example of a fat-releasing dish. I served this with broiled cod and steamed green beans and quite frankly it was all so filling that I couldn’t finish my allotted portions.

I’m sharing the recipe for the salad and its accompanying vinaigrette here because it shocked me. How? Because its main ingredient is a green I previously disliked: arugula. I’ve never been a fan of bitter foods, and arugula is notorious for the bitter snap it leaves on the tongue. Something about the combination of watercress with the arugula, however, softened its bitterness. The fat releasers in this salad are the watercress, arugula, red onion, olive oil, lemon, Parmesan cheese, almonds, black pepper; in the vinaigrette, the troopers are the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper. (By the way, I use freshly ground pepper. Forever and always.) I really liked this salad and will be glad to serve it long after I’ve passed the final day of the Digest Diet. I hope you’ll enjoy it, too!

Watercress-Arugula Salad with Parmesan “Crackers”
—Makes 4 servings

1 bunch watercress (6 ounces), tough stems trimmed, coarsely chopped
4 cups packed baby arugula (about 4 ounces)
1/2 small red onion, very thinly slivered
3 tablespoons Digest Diet Vinaigrette (below), made with lemon juice and no herbs*
8 Parmesan “Crackers” (below)

In a large salad bowl, toss together the watercress, arugula, and onion. Add the vinaigrette and toss again to coat. Serve each salad with 2 Parmesan “crackers.”

Parmesan “Crackers”
—Makes 8 crackers

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I used freshly grated Parmigianno-Reggiano)
2 tablespoons almond meal (As permitted, I substituted ground up pistachios)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick liner.

In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, almond meal, and pepper. Spoon 1-tablespoon mounds of the mixture onto the baking sheet, 4 inches apart. With the back of the measuring spoon (I found that using the heel of my hand worked better), gently press each into a round about 2-1/2 inches across (make sure there are no gaps in the mixture).

Bake until turning golden all over, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer (they’re fragile) to a wire rack to cool.

Digest Diet Vinaigrette
—Makes 1 cup

1 clove garlic
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (or fresh lime juice, or vinegar—red-wine, white-wine, sherry, rice, red balsamic, white balsamic)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, oregano, mint, or dill (optional)*
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1. Grate the garlic on a citrus zester into a small screw-top jar or any tight-sealing container. Add the juice or vinegar, mustard, herb (if using), and pepper. Shake well to combine.

2. Add the oil and shake to emulsify. If you have the time, let the dressing sit for a while so the garlic can flavor the oil. Store in the refrigerator.

*I prepared this vinaigrette the first time it was a component of the diet, and I still have a fair amount left. Because I hate to waste food (and in order to save time), I used this version for the salad, herbs and all (I believe I added French tarragon), rather than make a new batch without herbs. Had I not already prepared this with lemon juice, however, I would have made a new batch.

Copyright © 2012 The Reader’s Digest Association. Used with permission.

Other than providing me with a copy of The Digest Diet, Readers’ Digest is not paying me to blog about my experience on the program. (If I lose the weight I hope to lose, that will be compensation enough.)

 

You Say Tomato, I Say Tabouli …

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Food for Thought

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… or Tabooley. Or Tabbouleh. No matter how you spell it, this Middle Eastern salad is an incredibly delicious and refreshing addition to any summer meal. Vine-ripened tomatoes are abundant in Central Virginia now, and I’m looking forward to making my first tabouli of the season to accompany baked kibbee, the recipe for which I’ve already published on the blog. I took this photo last summer, before I had any idea I’d be a blogger. I suppose I could postpone this until I make it again and can take new pictures, but I hate to keep you waiting. So, as I’ve been known to say in my kitchen, “please pardon the mess.”

This recipe is a hybrid of what I could decipher from my Lebanese grandmother’s handwriting and an old community cookbook from Ohio. My best advice to you as you plan your shopping list is to make sure you’re buying fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes. If you can get them from a local farm stand or farmer’s market, that’s even better. In my list of culinary sins, nothing is worse than serving up a bland, pale, pithy tomato that traveled thousands of miles to land on your plate. And that’s today’s sermonette from the MSW. Now go, shop, prepare, and enjoy!

Tabouli

2 cups bulgur wheat
3 cups boiling water
3 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup lemon juice (approximately 4 lemons)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 bunches (2 cups) fresh mint leaves, chopped (I prefer using spearmint)
3 bunches fresh, curly parsley, chopped
2 bunches green onions, including tops, chopped
8 large tomatoes, cut into chunks
additional salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Pour boiling water over bulgur wheat, cover, and let rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, using a food processor, chop mint leaves. Remove from processor bowl with a scraper and place in a large bowl. Add parsley to the food processor and repeat the procedure, scraping the chopped parsley into the bowl with the mint. Using either the processor or a sharp knive, chop the green onions with tops and add them to the mint and parsley mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

After the bulgur wheat has been soaking in the water for 30 minutes, squeeze handfuls of it over an empty bowl, until all the excess water has drained away. Next,  add the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt, stir well, and refrigerate the wheat/dressing mixture for two to three hours.

Once the wheat mixture has chilled, add—in batches—the mint, parsley, and green onions. Cut up the tomatoes and add those to the mix. By this point I’ve abandoned all decorum and use my bare (very clean) hands to mix the salad. Adjust the flavor to your taste—additional salt, some freshly ground pepper, and perhaps more lemon juice.

One Skillet, Three Power Foods (Hint: One of Them is Spinach)

15 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in Food for Thought, The Healthy Life

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Before …

While there are certain vegetables that leave me cold no matter how they’re prepared (can you say Brussels sprouts?), I have always loved spinach. I’ve gone on the record before about the excellence of my mother’s cooking and baking. Nevertheless, the cooking going on in her kitchen circa 1950s and 1960s often gave preference to the convenience factor; her method of preparing spinach, for example, consisted of thawing a block of Birdseye. To her credit, she did spritz the cooked green mush with fresh lemon. How many nutrients we ended up with I cannot say.

When I began to cook, I reached back a generation for my Sicilian grandmother’s approach to cooking the leafy green vegetable: sautéed with garlic in olive oil.

This recipe—such a nice, bright accompaniment to grilled fish or meat—is so simple and swift as to be laughable. And exactly how good is it for you? Let’s take the three ingredients one by one, shall we?

Spinach

  • Rich in minerals such as potassium, manganese, zinc, magnesium,  iron, and calcium
  • Source of such vitamins as folate, niacin, Vitamin A, B6, and C
  • Packed with thiamine and riboflavin, and such beta carotene and lutein
  • Low in fat

Translated, this means that spinach is good for your eyesight, as it protects you from age-related macular degeneration and cataracts; it’s good for your blood pressure and helps prevent atherosclerosis and heart attack; it strengthens your muscles and helps with bone mineralization; and it includes other neurological, antiulcerative, and anti-cancerous benefits.

Garlic

  • Boosts our natural supply of hydrogen sulfide, which acts as an antioxidant, relaxing blood vessels and increasing blood flow
  • A garlic rich diet appears to protect against various cancers, including breast, prostate, and colon cancer

Olive Oil

Yes, olive oil is a fat. But it’s a good fat, just like Glinda in The Wizard of Oz is a good witch. The reason the fat in olive oil is healthy is because it is a monounsaturated fatty acid, which helps to lower your total cholesterol.

… and After

As for simple and swift, you’ll have this prepared in under 10 minutes. Don’t believe me? Go ahead, time it.

Sicilian Sautéed Spinach

—Serves 4

1 bunch of fresh (preferably organic) spinach
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt to taste

Wash and rinse spinach, remove stems, and tear into medium-size pieces

Preheat your non-stick skillet over medium heat for about 30 seconds, then add olive oil. Increase the heat to medium-high and heat the oil for about 30 seconds more.

Add garlic to hot oil, stirring quickly. Don’t let it burn or brown.

When garlic looks translucent, add a handful or two of spinach, stirring quickly with tongs. The spinach will cook down quickly; add the rest in batches until it’s all cooked down and bright green. Sprinkle kosher salt, to taste, to bring out the flavors. Serve.

A Musical Postscript to Grandma Monia’s Breaded Eggplant

22 Saturday Oct 2011

Posted by in Food for Thought, The Musical Life

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Happy Saturday, everyone! I typically try not to work on the weekend, but I just had to share this with you. It’s a cozy day at home, and John is puttering around listening to his favorite Pandora station—Kenny Rankin. He came up to have me listen to a song by Michael Franks. “This is your song,” he said. When I heard it, I knew I had to add it to the post with Grandma Monia’s recipe for breaded eggplant. The name of the song is—say it along with me—”Eggplant.” According to JRFMRadio’s posting on YouTube, this was recorded live at La Cigale in Paris on October 7, 2010. And since I’ve been wanting to add a department for the arts, I herewith inaugurate “The Musical Life” section of the blog with this entry. Enjoy!

Serves 4, with ample leftovers. Kept in a tightly sealed plastic container or on a plate covered tightly with plastic wrap, these should keep for about a week refrigerated.

One medium-size eggplant
Salt
Four eggs
Seasoned Italian bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
Good olive oil

A word before you begin: It’s always a good idea to read through a recipe a couple of times before you launch into things. That said, please don’t let the length of this recipe scare you away—it’s an easy dish to prepare! I tried to be as detailed as I could  because for this dish, it’s all about preparation and process. Have all of your ingredients at hand and ready before you start, and give yourself ample time for working on this, because once you begin frying the eggplant you really need to remain at the stove until you’re finished. But trust me: the reward will be delicious!

Fill a pot with cold, salted water and set aside. (I find the plastic tub from my salad spinner is perfect for this.)

With a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the eggplant. Using a sharp knife, trim off the ends. Using the same knife or a mandoline slicer, carefully slice the eggplant into large discs, approximately ¼ -inch thick, placing each slice immediately into the waiting tub of salted water.

Let the eggplant slices soak for about ten minutes. Drain the water and rinse the eggplant slices with cold water, then refill the tub with cold salted water and repeat the soaking process.

(Why go to all of this bother? Because you’ll notice the water from the first rinse, and even the second, will be a yucky brown. The salted water is drawing the bitterness out of the eggplant. Trust me.

Drain and rinse well, then pat the slices dry with paper towels.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl large enough to hold several eggplant slices.

Now set up your preparation area:

Using a breading pan, place about two cups of breadcrumbs and one cup Parmesan cheese in one of its sections; mix well with a fork. (If you don’t have a breading pan, use two baking sheets with sides—I use two old pizza pans. Don’t do anything with the other section or the second baking sheet or pizza pan yet; you will use it to hold the breaded slices.

Line a third baking sheet with paper towels. Set aside. (You’ll use this to drain the fried eggplant.)

Place the sliced eggplant, three to four slices at a time, in the egg wash and making sure to coat each side thoroughly.

Then, one at a time, place an egg-washed slice of eggplant in the crumb-and-cheese mixture, pressing firmly enough to ensure a good, even coat of crumbs on each side. Set the breaded eggplant slice on the extra pan you have set aside. Continue this process until all of the slices have been breaded.

Over medium heat, warm a large sauté pan for about 30 seconds, then add enough good quality olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high. Once the oil is hot, place several eggplant slices in the pan, taking care not to crowd them. Brown for about five minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown, then turn them over and brown the other side. When the first batch is complete, remove from the pan and drain on the large, paper-towel-lined pan you had set aside. Then place a layer of paper towels on top of the fried eggplant slices, ready to receive the next fried batch. (You’ll end up with paper towels between each layer of eggplant.)

Complete this process until all of the eggplant has been fried. Note that after about two fryings, you’ll need to carefully drain the hot oil from the pan and replenish it with fresh oil, repeating this process as needed. (An empty coffee can works great for this.) You don’t want the oil to get black and smoky; this will burn the eggplant and ruin the taste. What you are looking for is nicely golden-brown slices.

Serve warm, or prepare ahead and refrigerate. These are delicious cold; I’ve never tried to reheat them. You can eat them plain. (I dare you to have enough left over to serve guests!) Although I’ve never felt the urge to reheat them, John suggests doing so and serving them with a warm marinara dipping sauce.)

Incidentally, this is also a great first-step in making Eggplant Parmesan—something that I’ve never attempted, for some inexplicable reason. As someone who is half-Sicilian and thinks her Italian cooking skills are pretty sharp, I’m embarrassed to admit this to you. Now I’ll have to hunt for a good recipe. If you have a great recipe for Eggplant Parmesan that you’d like to share, please post it in the comment section following this recipe!

Peppery Pasta Parmigiano

12 Wednesday Oct 2011

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John and I love spending lazy Saturday mornings at the South-of-the-James, our favorite local Farmers’ Market. One recent, early-autumn day, we saw these beautiful peppers. I couldn’t resist photographing them, and of course I wondered how I might prepare them. I asked the vendor if they were sweet peppers or hot.

“Oh, they’re very mild,” she said. “I like to pop them right in my mouth.”

With that disclaimer in hand, John and I circled back to Cavanna’s, a fresh, handmade pasta stand, where we bought tagliolini, a sort of secondo cugino to fettuccine. We also picked up a zucchini, and—back in our neighborhood—bought some sweet Italian sausage to give the dish some heft.

Reader, if by writing this blog I can impart one lesson and one lesson only, let it be this: Whenever a farm vendor tells you that a pepper is mild, question it. Doubt it with every fiber of your being. Bring all of your skepticism to bear and, above all, never ever roast a pan of them in a hot oven and breathe in the fumes when you open the door. That said, use—at most—one-half of two of the smallest peppers for your dish. And only after removing their seeds. You must trust me on this. As for the remainder, give them to your husband’s colleague from India, who is as passionate about spontaneously combustible spices as mares are to oats or lambs are to ivy.

The recipe I concocted ended up being incredibly delicious. And, not counting the inhalation of hot-pepper fumes, no husbands or wives were injured during the preparation of this dish.
MiseEnPlace for Peppery Pasta_0743CAREFUL! Roasted Hot Peppers_0745The Sauté_0746Peppery Pasta Parmigiano_0748

Peppery Pasta Parmigiano, a set on Flickr.

Gallery of images for Peppery Pasta Parmigiano Recipe

Peppery Pasta Parmigiano

Makes four to six servings

1 pound of fresh tagliolini pasta
1/4 cup of good olive oil, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 zucchini, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed and sausage crumbled
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1-2 small, colorful peppers (refer to above disclaimer), seeds removed,
cut in half, and then cut in ribbons. Use one-half of each pepper.
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Heat 1/8-cup olive oil in a sauté pan and brown the sausage until it is done and no longer pink. Set aside. In a second sauté pan, heat remaining olive oil and add onion, garlic, zucchini, and the browned sausage. Cook at medium heat for five minutes, or until onion is transparent.

Add wine and reduce at high heat for five minutes. Lower heat to medium, and add parsley and peppers. Season with pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and cook for five minutes.

With the pot of salted water at a roiling boil, add the fresh pasta. Take care to cook according to the package directions, noting that fresh pasta typically only takes two to three minutes to cook.

Drain the cooked pasta and rinse with cold water. Place about half in a large serving bowl and toss with the pepper/sausage concoction. Add remaining pasta and continue to toss. Top with cheese and serve.

Grandma Monia’s Breaded Eggplant

14 Wednesday Sep 2011

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Serves 4, with ample leftovers. Kept in a tightly sealed plastic container or on a plate covered tightly with plastic wrap, these should keep for about a week refrigerated.

One medium-size eggplant
Salt
Four eggs
Seasoned Italian bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
Good olive oil

A word before you begin: It’s always a good idea to read through a recipe a couple of times before you launch into things. That said, please don’t let the length of this recipe scare you away—it’s an easy dish to prepare! I tried to be as detailed as I could  because for this dish, it’s all about preparation and process. Have all of your ingredients at hand and ready before you start, and give yourself ample time for working on this, because once you begin frying the eggplant you really need to remain at the stove until you’re finished. But trust me: the reward will be delicious!

Fill a pot with cold, salted water and set aside. (I find the plastic tub from my salad spinner is perfect for this.)

With a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the eggplant. Using a sharp knife, trim off the ends. Using the same knife or a mandoline slicer, carefully slice the eggplant into large discs, approximately ¼ -inch thick, placing each slice immediately into the waiting tub of salted water.

Let the eggplant slices soak for about ten minutes. Drain the water and rinse the eggplant slices with cold water, then refill the tub with cold salted water and repeat the soaking process.

(Why go to all of this bother? Because you’ll notice the water from the first rinse, and even the second, will be a yucky brown. The salted water is drawing the bitterness out of the eggplant. Trust me.

Drain and rinse well, then pat the slices dry with paper towels.

Whisk the eggs in a bowl large enough to hold several eggplant slices.

Now set up your preparation area:

Using a breading pan, place about two cups of breadcrumbs and one cup Parmesan cheese in one of its sections; mix well with a fork. (If you don’t have a breading pan, use two baking sheets with sides—I use two old pizza pans. Don’t do anything with the other section or the second baking sheet or pizza pan yet; you will use it to hold the breaded slices.

Line a third baking sheet with paper towels. Set aside. (You’ll use this to drain the fried eggplant.)

Place the sliced eggplant, three to four slices at a time, in the egg wash and making sure to coat each side thoroughly.

Then, one at a time, place an egg-washed slice of eggplant in the crumb-and-cheese mixture, pressing firmly enough to ensure a good, even coat of crumbs on each side. Set the breaded eggplant slice on the extra pan you have set aside. Continue this process until all of the slices have been breaded.

Over medium heat, warm a large sauté pan for about 30 seconds, then add enough good quality olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high. Once the oil is hot, place several eggplant slices in the pan, taking care not to crowd them. Brown for about five minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown, then turn them over and brown the other side. When the first batch is complete, remove from the pan and drain on the large, paper-towel-lined pan you had set aside. Then place a layer of paper towels on top of the fried eggplant slices, ready to receive the next fried batch. (You’ll end up with paper towels between each layer of eggplant.)

Complete this process until all of the eggplant has been fried. Note that after about two fryings, you’ll need to carefully drain the hot oil from the pan and replenish it with fresh oil, repeating this process as needed. (An empty coffee can works great for this.) You don’t want the oil to get black and smoky; this will burn the eggplant and ruin the taste. What you are looking for is nicely golden-brown slices.

Serve warm, or prepare ahead and refrigerate. These are delicious cold; I’ve never tried to reheat them. You can eat them plain. (I dare you to have enough left over to serve guests!) Although I’ve never felt the urge to reheat them, John suggests doing so and serving them with a warm marinara dipping sauce.)

Incidentally, this is also a great first-step in making Eggplant Parmesan—something that I’ve never attempted, for some inexplicable reason. As someone who is half-Sicilian and thinks her Italian cooking skills are pretty sharp, I’m embarrassed to admit this to you. Now I’ll have to hunt for a good recipe. If you have a great recipe for Eggplant Parmesan that you’d like to share, please post it in the comment section following this recipe!