Cook (Recipes) – Page 4 – Off White Living

Mc Make-overs

September 15, 2010offwhiteliving

This past Monday, in the name of science, I chomped on a sausage egg McMuffin with cheese for breakfast. Did I mention I got $20 and a free blood draw? Score! Hey, I’m a starving student…cut me some slack.

The whole experience got me thinking about why people go to Micky-D’s for B-fast anyway? The line was long when I arrived at 7:30 Am, and I’m sure some folk’s were getting more than $.99 coffee. So I decided to put my Off-White skills to the test and see whether I could improve on this drive-thru staple. Let’s see…

The challenger: Sausage Egg McMuffin

Ingredients: Muffin, egg, cheese, sausage, and probably some added sodium.

Nutrition facts:
45cal, 27g Sat fat, 42g total fat, 0g fiber, 285 mg cholesterol…all this for on sale for $1.50, but usually somewhere around $2 – yee-HAW.

My challenge: to do this at home for the same price and BETTER nutrition. Bring it on!

OFf-White version:

1 dozen cage-free, Omega 3- fat fortified eggs: $4, or $.33/egg
1 package of Sprouted 100% Whole Grain English muffins: $3.60, or $.60/muffin
1 oz of mozzarella cheese $6/lb = $.38
1 standard turkey sausage patty: $.50/each (based on what I find on the web)
Total: $1.86

Nutrition:
Estimated Calories: about 430
Total fat: about 21g
Total sat. fat: 9g
Total cholesterol: 215mg
Fiber: about 6 g
Other added benefits: omega-3 fats from eggs, an array of vitamins and minerals from the english muffin, and the satisfaction of knowing where your food comes from.

Am I lovin’ it…oh YEAH!!

Would love to hear what your McMakeovers for breakfast are!

Choco-holic

September 7, 2010offwhiteliving

L1040842 — A spoonful of chocolate delciousness

What can I say…I love chocolate. But not just any chocolate. In fact, the list of chocolate items I DON’T like is much longer that the list of chocolate faves…oh but how I do LOVE those faves.

Cooking with cocoa powder is definitely a top choice for me. It’s a way to capture the flavor of cocoa without all the sugar. Don’t get me wrong – a hershey bar is good for Smores (but not as good as dark chocolate), but otherwise it’s way too sugary for me.

I tell my clients that if they are really craving chocolate, than a rich, cocoa flavored treat will hit the spot, but if it’s sugar they want they will likely go for the Hershey bar or chocolate ice cream, as those are lots of sugar and very little chocolate (less than 20% cacao!).

Oh, back to the cookies…..these are a modification from the Bob’s Redmill Double Chocolate Cookies. I think Bob should start paying me kickbacks for all the time I tout his products and recipes. He can pay me in chocolate… 🙂

1.5 sticks softened butter (room temp)
3/4 cups unrefined sugart (turbinado is great – adds a crunch)
2 eggs, room temp
1 tps vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1.5 cups whole wheat or spelt flour
.5 cups oat bran
1/2 cup unsweetened Cocoa powder. I’m currently using Trader Joe’s.
.5 tsp each: baking soda, salt, and baking powder
6 oz white chocolate chips (Ghiradelli) – this keeps the hubby happy!
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Cream butter with sugar and eggs. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside. Whisk or sift dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Fold into butter mixture. Add white chox chips and coconut. Spoon onto a Silpat or greased baking sheet.

bake for 8 min @ 350.
Try not to eat them all at once.

PS: kids love them and don’t even care that they are healthy!

Delicious

August 17, 2010offwhiteliving

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Moving, teaching summer school and research demands have taken my time lately. Nonetheless, right now I would describe life as “delicious”. I absolutely love my new place, and it comes with a 22 minute commute each way to school along a scenic bike path – love it!! We wake up to the sound of birds rather than cars and urban noise (as was the case in our other place), and we even have a giant pine tree in our little backyard that serves as a reminder of how much we love the mountains and the Northwest.

Speaking of delicious, I whipped up this new cobbler last week when last minute dessert needs arose and I had extra fruit scraps from dehydrating lots of pears and nectarines. You could add any fruit you like.

Delicious summer cobbler

1 cube butter, softened
3/4 cup unrefined sugar
2 cups whole wheat flour (or spelt)
1/2 cup oatmeal or oatbran
1/2 tsp: Salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup rice/almond milk or you could add 1/4 cup more of butter

Cream butter and sugar and milk. Add the cinnamon. Set aside. Mix the remaining dry ingredients and fold into the butter/sugar mix. It won’t be super moist but should stick when you press it with your fingers.
Press half the dough into a deep dish pie dish or med sized baking dish. Fill with 2 cups of chopped fruit (I used a mix of nectarine, pear and banana). Press the other half of the dough on top. Add more cinnamon if you’d like.
bake at 350 for about 35 minutes, depending on how deep your dish is. Top will be slightly crisp when done. Makes a good dessert or even breakfast treat. It’s pretty dense so it serves many if you cut small slices.

better buns

June 17, 2010offwhiteliving

L1040711 — whole grain italian bun dough

Recently my love affair with baking bread has spread into a personal challenge. Steak buns. Yes, you heard me! I don’t really eat a lot of steak sandwiches, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity presented by Jen Scall, on her Kitchen Bootcamp. Oh, how I love a cooking challenge.

The deal was sweetened when she mentioned that this month’s challenge involves yeast (bread) and that she’s been inspired by her challenges from the book Professional Chef, from the Culinary Institute of America. Lucky for me, my brother-in-law (a CIA graduate) gave me that book for Christmas a couple years ago. Excellent!

My recipe is a unique blend of inspiration from Emeril’s Sourdough recipe and the bread start that I’ve been fermenting from the Amish frirendship bread I was gifted a few months ago.

I use rye and whole wheat bread flour for my mix, and 2% milk when I feed my start. Today I learned (from my handy Prof. Chef book) that a yeast starter fed with sugar, milk and flour (mine) is an ‘enriched’ start, compared with those made with water, yeast , and flour (a lean start). No wonder my breads come out dense and cake-like, which I find really pleasant. So far no complaints from others either.

One thing I do to mediate the sweetness is I feed the start on day 6 and then bake on day 10, so the sugar and milk have been fermented. Otherwise I’m to feed again on day 10 and THEN bake. Delish for sweet breads, but not quite part of my off-white lifestyle.

Today, for creativity, I added some mediterranean spices during the kneading process because I hope to make these steakbuns to go with a mediterranean-inspired steak (recipe TBA). mmmmm…….

L1040709 — spices to add flavor and flair

So now it’s a waiting game. I rise the dough for a few hrs and then knead again, separate and form into cute little buns and bake. I’ll keep ya posted on how it all goes.

breakfast of champions

June 3, 2010offwhiteliving2 Comments

Maybe its becauses I miss Oregon, or maybe it’s because blueberries are just delicious… or maybe its because I can sneak a load of spinach into my blueberry smoothie and not taste it.

Either way, I’m digging the blueberry-spinach-flaxmeal smoothies I whip up for breakfast. They take about 3 minutes to make and they are full of protein, fiber, anti-oxidants, vitamin K, omega 3 fats and a bunch of other good stuff.

Having a tasty breakfast sets me up to not crave sugar, especially if it is a protein-rich breakfast. Adding a serving of rice protein (or whatever you like) does the trick for me. I add about 3/4 cup frozen Oregon berries from Costco with a scoop of Rainbowlight rice protein, a generous handfull of spinach, a tbsp of flaxmeal, and water. Blend for 1 minute and you’re good to go.

PS: this is a Vegan recipe, but you could add yogurt or whey protein or whatever for a lacto-ovo experience!

No time for breakfast? Bologna – this takes less than 5 minutes and the recipe is very forgiving. You can put it in your reusable coffee mug and drink it on the way to work or whatever. It seems to hold me for about 3 hrs, or 3.5 if I push it.

Caution: it may turn your lips purple, so look in the mirror before you leave the house!

vegan sushi

May 15, 2010offwhiteliving

Even omnivores will like this:

Vegan Sushi
This recipe is adapted from the Vegan Fusion World Cuisine cookbook

4 large collard green (or Swiss Chard) leaves, washed. Cut off the long stem extending past the leaf.

1 cup of carrot almond paste (below)
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced Julienne style
½ cup sprouts of your choice
Carrot almond paste:

1 cup almonds, soaked for 20 minutes and drained.
1 cup carrots, chopped
2 tbsp water
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp each: ginger, turmeric, dill
pinch: cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste.

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Add salt/pepper to taste as you go.

Cut each collard leaf in half, so each leaf is approx 4” tall and as wide as the leaf naturally is. Spread about 2 tbsp of your carrot almond past onto each leaf. Place 1/8 of an avocado (or more if you want!) on top of the past, spreading it out a bit. Add 1/8 of your bell pepper and your sprouts as well. Roll the leave around the ‘insides’ until it’s fully rolled and then place the rolls on a plate with the free end tucked under the roll so it stays. Serve with tamari, soy sauce or any other dipping sauce you like.

Variations: Julienne any veggies you like, including jicima, asparagus, zucchini, etc.

I made it for dinner this week and had leftover paste to to add as a salad topper or dip for my jicima. Yum.

Kickin’ culinary butt and taking names…

April 22, 2010offwhiteliving

I was lucky enough to partake in the UC Davis Food Science Food Olympics. Think foodies and science geeks all crowded together in a giant cooking kitchen and lecture battling it out to be the next Food Olympics champion. We had our hands on so many wonderful ingredients, and the cooking portion (only 1/3 of the event) was like being a kid in a candy store.

Part of the cooking event is incorporating ‘secret’ ingredients into your meal. Ours included lavender, matzo, celery root and a few others. You have 15 minutes to come up with the menu and 1.5 hrs to cook 3 courses.

It was fabulous – a fury of ideas, food, frantic foodies running around…just like you see on TV. Our team worked awesome together and came up with 3 stellar dishes:

Veggie pancake with lemon yogurt sauce
Lamb/turkey mini-pies over a bed of rice pilaf and mixed veggie salad
beet cobbler (SOOOO good!).

I’m bragging here, but the meat dish, which I headed up, got a perfect score. Yeah!

The pic is me having a proud moment with the mini ‘pies’ as I took them from the oven. Try this at home:
In a large skillet, sautee in EVOO:
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh dried rosemary, crushed
salt, pepper to taste
2 tsp dried lavendar, crushed
Sautee for 2 minutes…

Meanwhile mix 1/3 lb lamb + 1/3 lb turkey (wanted to use all lamb, but there was only 1/3 lb left) . Mix in one egg.

Add the meat to the sautee’d shallots/spices and mix. Mix in about 1/4 lb of really strong blue cheese. The stinkier the better! Cook until meat is just under done.
Place equal amounts into greased muffin tins and bake at 375 for about 10 min, DON”T OVER COOK!

While that is cooking, whip up some brown basmati rice, adding 1/4 cup of raisins, some bay leaf, and a touch of rosemary to the broth.

Serve the mini-muffins over rice and garnish with shredded veggies or a side salad.

Almond Sunrise

April 6, 2010offwhiteliving

Divine. Absolutely divine. I may have found something that rivals my love of hot chocolate. Serendepitiously, I discovered this drink when I reluctantly cracked open the box of Almond Sunset tea that mom gave me for Christmas this year. Tired of the same old Chai and definitely ‘over it’ with the detox/liver cleansing teas I often drink, it was time for a change.

And boy was this a good idea…..The tea has a rich creamy flavor and really doesn’t need much sweetening at all (if any). How fabulous? The drink I put together is low in calories/fat/sugar but tastes decadant. Funny thing was, as good as it tasted, I kept the secret all to myself this weekend because I just didn’t want to share my Almond tea. Suddenly this tea that I’ve been passing over for 4 months is my secret stash. Hmm, something to work on there but I will share this recipe with you because I know you’re not going to steal my tea bags ;).

Almond Sunrise:

1 bag of Almond Sunset tea, steeped in 12 oz almost boiling water (5 min)
1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk, room tem
1 tsp molasses or honey
mix and enjoy…..

Kasha – it’s not just for breakfast anymore

March 29, 2010March 29, 2010offwhiteliving

Kasha,

not to be confused with the cereal Kashi, are toasted buckwheat groats. They have a light texture, cook quickly and have a very nutty flavor. They are also high in fiber and gluten free. I heart Kasha. Usually it’s a breakfast option in my house, but as I get ready for the next week (school again), I wanted to do something different.

Thankfully, I turned to a favorite recipe book: Vegan Fusion World Cuisine for a little inspiration. I pretty much took this recipe right out of the book, minus the bowtie pasta, which I don’t eat. Had a bit for dinner- wonderful, especially with the fresh parsley I sprinkled in after it cooked. You could probably replace quinoa in this recipe, or rice if you added 1/2 cup more water and cooked it longer.

Kasha Pilaf and fresh squeezed juice (totally unrelated but I cooked them together)

1 med onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp sea salt
1.5 cups kasha (roasted buckwheat groats)
2.5 cups water or stock
1 veggie boullon cube (if not using stock)
2 tbsp flaxmeal
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp regular pepper
1 cup chopped parsley (optional)

In a large skillet, heat oil and sautee onions/salt/garlic for 3 min. Add kasha and stir regularly for 2-3 minutes.

Add flaxmeal and stir 1 minute. Add water and boullon. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook @ simmer for 15 minutes, until water is 95% absorbed

Add cayenne and regular pepper. Keep cooking for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in chopped parsley. Eat warm or cold.

Juicing…in the meantime, get out your juicer (I know you have one!!!). Juice 1.5 cucumbers, 3 meyer lemons, 3 beets, and 1 tangerine. Delicious. I used the juice later to make some pulp muffins, as usual. They turned out a hot pink color, which inspires me to use them in making Easter cookies later this week.

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