Oranges...

I have learned a lot about orange growing the last few days. For instance, if your orange tree is producing sour oranges all you need to do is spread Epsom's salts on the ground around the tree base. The minerals in the Epsom's salts are minerals the tree is lacking and thus why your oranges are sour. I guess in principle it is the same reason why you put salt in sweet baked products liked cookies - to enhance flavor and bring out sweetness.

When you pick a honeybell orange from the tree, the small ones are full of juice and thus the best for squeezing. The larger ones that have a shape more like that of an anjou pear are better for eating. The small ones have a very thin skin and are heavy with their juice-filled flesh, while the larger ones have a much thicker skin with larger pores and a sweeter flesh (that is still super juicy - don't be fooled - you might have to eat it with a lobster bib!) Honeybells aren't seedless (at least the ones off the 'rents tree aren't), but the seeds are probably a welcome blessing which keeps you from inhaling the whole orange at once - it is that good!

Gone is my need to travel to the grocery store and pick out the most perfectly round, perfectly orange, orange I can find. I have realized that just like most of the other home grown fruit/food, what comes out of the garden hardly resembles what is purchased from the store. Oranges are a fantastic example. Picked right from the tree, the ripe orange can be any shade of color from a dark lemon yellow to rich orange, or a wash of all those colors in between (picture an apple washed from every tone between lime green and maroon). They may or may not be round and they may or may not have little sand marks from the wind blowing on them. All these things give each orange a character all its own which allows you to realize that each piece of fruit is unique just like each different human who consumes them.

Go ahead - enjoy an orange - preferably one right from someone's tree - picked around 3pm when the flesh and juice will be warm! YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go ahead - mash it up!!

During the holiday season there are lots of root vegetables in the market on special. But what do you do with them? Roast em and mash em of course! You can be creative with your spice cabinet but here are some flavoring ideas.

First off pick up sweet potatoes, turnips, carrots, butternut squash, acorn squash, cauliflower from the store - then lets have some fun!!

You can either peel and cut up items and steam or boil them or slice in half, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast face down on a baking sheet at 400 degrees until tender. Then scoop flesh from skin and mix with flavors.

Sweet potatoes: 100% pure maple syrup and cinnamon, nutmeg
Turnips: Romano cheese, thyme
Carrots: curry and sage
Butternut Squash: allspice, coconut milk, cumin
Acorn Squash: ginger and cranberry juice
Cauliflower: rosemary, Asiago cheese, garlic, salt and pepper

That is one cool place

Last night I ventured into Charlestown to go the holiday party at my best friend's company. It was at Tavern on the Water (www.tavernonthewater.com). I had never been to the place before but had heard of it. Charlestown has recently become famous due to the movie 'The Town' and I couldn't help but recite some of the movie lines when I crossed the Charlestown bridge about 7pm on my way there. "Close the goddam bridge!!"

To get to Tavern on the Water you come down Chelsea St and take a right onto 5th street. 5th street, however, does not look like a public road at all - you pass through an archway with set of gates and start down a small incline into what looks like a whole separate ecosystem from the rest of Charlestown. It looks like a charming New England version of those Florida developments that are completely self sufficient with their own gas station, grocer and school system! Anyway, you wind your way back towards the water (duh) and then hit a dead end with only two ways to go - back the way you came or out onto what looks like a deserted concrete slab that could break off into the harbor at any moment. Being the brain surgeon that I am, I chose to drive the mustang right out onto the concrete slab, which, it turns out, happens to the be the dimly lit, piss poor excuse for a parking lot. But hey - they HAVE a parking lot, so this place is already the bomb in my eyes. The tavern itself is a stand alone building - almost looking like a pontoon boat raised two stories above the pier. When you get up in there, the view is fantastic of Boston across the bay and it is very homey inside with lots of dark stained wood and resonance lighting from the city coming in through the glass walls. They have a deck, where summer patrons can sit out and have a drink. Actually, the whole dining room/bar area opens up to create a space open to the sea breezes on a summer evening. I can picture myself coming back over the summer for a glass of wine and sitting on the deck with friends. In the fall it would be an awesome spot for some raw oysters and a bottle of champagne!

It is hard to get an idea for the menu but the quality of the catered food was excellent. The stuffies (well that is Rhode Islanders call them and we were sure to let the waitress know that!) were excellent. Personally, I think it is sacrilege to cook an oyster but these were not chewy at all, and they tasted mainly of cheese and bacon with a kick of Cayenne. The beef satay was banging - though I had been craving beef all day so I might have been biased :) They also did coconut shrimp, lobster rolls, chicken satay, kielbasa, egg rolls and tuna tartare. I definitely think this place is worth the trip back to see it in action on a regular night!

Forget the Tomato sauce....

Lasagna is a favorite winter dish for many people. It is warm, with gooey melted cheese and it fills you right up after a long day of shoveling out your life post-winter storm in the great state of Taxachussets. This veggie lasagna has been quite a hit recently. Forget the typical spinach and broccoli, this one has a new twist on the vegetable component. Leave the tomato sauce behind too, it does nothing but stain your clothes anyway. Creating a pesto-ricotta mix as a filling layer gives this lasagna a memorable flavor profile.

Give it a shot! Cut up what remains and freeze in Tupperware for an easy nuke-to-table lunch or dinner!

1 - 16 oz box lasagna noodles
1 pint part-skim ricotta
1 pint fat free cottage cheese
1 pound part skim mozzarella cheese, sliced (set aside 6 slices for top)
1 medium butter nut squash
1 cup pesto sauce
4 portabella mushroom caps + stems
2 large cloves garlic
1 cup fine diced red onion
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 cup fat free chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Boil water. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Add noodles to water and stir. Cook about 8 minutes until tender. Strain and rinse with cold water. Lay noodles out in a checker board fashion so they don't stick together.
2. Peel and deseed the butternut squash. Cut up squash and place in pan with steamer lift on bottom. Fill bottom of pot with water, cover with lid. Place on stove and turn onto high. When water boils turn heat down to med-low and let steam until squash is soft. When squash is soft, remove steamer lift from pot and dump squash into food processor. Puree - add salt and pepper and mix again. Then set aside in a bowl.
3. Chop up garlic and onions.
4. Heat oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Drop garlic and onions into oil and let sweat until translucent. Meanwhile chop up mushrooms. When onions are translucent add mushrooms and stir. Sprinkle with ground black pepper and salt and sage - mix. Cook until mushrooms have released most of their moisture and turned deep brown on all sides (volume will be reduced by at least 1/2).
5. In the food processor, mix the ricotta, pesto, and cottage cheese together. Set aside.
6. Get an 11x13 Pyrex baking dish. Spray with Pam. Sprinkle the chicken broth over the bottom. Lay 3 noodles down, side by side, across the bottom. Top with pesto cheese mixture, then some squash puree, then some of the mushroom mixture. Lay down another three noodles like before. Layer pesto-cheese, squash and mushrooms like before. Then add mozzarella slices. Top with noodles - continue until you have filled the pan. The last layer of noodles should only be topped with pesto-cheese mix and then with 6 slices of mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes.
ENJOY!!!!

Be open...

As my second class of nursing students finishes up their 10 weeks in the classroom with me, we start discussing life, careers, and what it takes to really be a health care professional. It takes commitment, emotion, drive, desire, heart, all the things it takes to be good at any profession, but most of all it takes understanding. It takes understanding to know when people are happy, sad, scared, angry, desperate; to know when to push a patient during therapy or back away and let them enjoy their last few days with their families. You have to be less afraid and more positive then the patient even when you might be more concerned about the outcome.

I don't care how many family members or friends have passed away in your life, how many funerals or wakes you have attended, nothing will affect you more then the first patient who dies in front of your eyes. Was there something more you could have done? Probably not, but you understand exactly what happened and why the person died and that makes you feel responsible and to see the family broken down, hysterical with tears because they could not do more and will live without the person for the rest of their lives, will rip you apart. These are not the things teachers typically tell you. They tell you the war stories of people shooting themselves, coding on the table etc - the stories that make it seem like a thrilling job. They tell you the miracle stories that warm your heart and force you to remember you are doing something to help people - but no one tells you what to expect when someone doesn't make it, or when a doctor puts you down in front of the whole floor during rounds or some other demoralizing occurance.

Most people have an idea of exactly what patient population they would like to treat or which specialized trade they would like to be in. My advice to my students is always, "Figure out what you would love to do and figure out what you dislike so much it almost makes you nauseous. Your first job should be doing what makes you nauseous." This is a field where you can't just skim by doing the least amount of work because you don't like it, you still have to do your job and do it well every hour of every day. Being immersed in that situation day in and day out may or may not give you more of an appreciation for it, but it will for sure bring out the emotions and skills in you which were buried so deep you didn't even know they existed. If after 1 year you feel it is time to move on, by all means do it, but you will have far more skills at that point which would have never surfaced had you started your career in a 'safe' place. Be open, to yourself, to your career, to the world and let it open itself to you as well.

"Please sir - I want some more"

Ahhh yes the classic, Oliver Twist - it was Oliver Twist who said that right? Anyway, Orphan Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. Aside from a turkey brine spill at 8am Wednesday morning all over the basement floor - the whole cooking adventure was relatively uneventful. There was a turkey, which was brined for approximately 18 hours (I will get in trouble if I say exactly how many hours because I was specifically told "Definitely no more then 18 hours for a bird that size!"). Well you lose track of time right - but it came out perfectly none the less. I digress as usual. So turkey, we had the dried cherry with goat cheese and hazelnut stuffing listed previously, the cranberry-pear-pomegranate sauce, also listed previously, mashed potatoes, maple cinnamon mashed sweet potatoes, and roasted asparagus and apples with mint. My friends were kind enough to bring dessert which consisted of the staple yum-yum apple pie and also pecan pies (notice the plural haha), my brother's favorite!


We started the night off with wine and cheese (a staple for me!), some hummos and crackers and veggies, and also a brie baked with rose petal jam. G$$ did a great time fending off the housewives at the Wellesley cheese shop to taste test probably everything they had and bring back a cave-aged gruyere, maria's goat and an English stilton. He was brave to walk in there the day before a holiday feast but he brought home the goodies which went perfectly with homemade, freshly baked honey oat bread and Challah! Shipyard Pumpkin ale is always a favorite this time of year and 2010 was no different! Lucky for us the RI pecan pie team brought lots of pumpkin ale which actually pairs fabulously with turkey AND pie :)

Jenga tournament finished out the night. The thing about Jenga is that you never win - you only lose, which gives cause for making complete fun of the poor person who knocks that tower of blocks over!


What's better then all the food fresh out of the oven? The left over sandwiches the next day. G$$ put a couple of them together, which then had to be taken apart to be eaten! That is the beauty of a great sandwich - you can't put your mouth around it!

Thoughts on a female issue

I few days ago I was chatting with a friend who was recently diagnosed with Endometriosis. Quite frankly, I didn't even know what that was - I could figure out by breaking down the word into its Latin/Greek parts but that didn't help me. So I did what every respectable health care professional does - googled it! Naw - I'm just playing but I did head strait to my books to look it up.

It occurs when endometrial tissue ends up in other parts of the body either due to a surgical intervention for something else (ie a c-section) or from menstrual back flow up the Fallopian tubes into the ovaries. For the most part it only effects women of childbearing age, before puberty or after menopause, women usually will not suffer from symptoms.

Typically, estrogen is given to counteract symptoms such as mood swings, terrible cramping, and heavy and/or irregular flows, but nutrition can play a role as well with daily vigorous exercise for alleviation of symptoms.

Alcohol, beef and ham can worsen symptoms. Women who follow a mainly vegetarian diet usually see the biggest reduction in symptoms either with or without the help of pharmacotherapy as well. 14 servings each of fruit and vegetables per week is recommended. That's 28 servings per week or 4 servings per day. A serving of vegetable is 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked. For fruit 4oz of whole fruit or approx 1/4 cup dried fruit. (Now that you know the serving size that doesn't seem like so much food now does it!) Alcohol, beef and ham should be avoided. Women who switch to a mainly vegetable diet should take an iron supplement or get a multivitamin that contains iron. While iron is available in produce and grains it is a non-heme (not from blood) source and is not as well absorbed, so an iron supplement will be necessary. Also take a Calcium (500mg) with Vit D 2x/day to keep bones from demineralizing. If you discontinue all animal protein you should also take a B12 supplement 2x/wk.

Just north of the border...

If you're looking for something to do on a weekend day, get in your car and jump on 95N. Go past two state liquor stores, the toll booth at Hampton Beach and then you will arrive at Portsmouth, NH, just before the Maine border. I knew nothing about this destination before heading there with my roommates for a girls' weekend. The town was old and cute. There were brick buildings with wooden signs, curving streets brimming with people, bakeries, cafes, and one of kind shopping, which all made this destination a great get away place about 1 hour away from Boston.

We found a small place for dinner, down the backside of a more-then-less main street, the Oar house, had colonial New England written all over it. Wooden floors, exposed brick and wooden beams, low ceilings, stone facing around the window - you could tell the place had been there for decades if not for hundreds of years.

Lucky for us, it was restaurant week in Portsmouth. Bacon wrapped maple scallops, weren't on the restaurant week menu but we ordered them anyway to start us off and they did not disappoint. Maple syrup wafted across our table and the slightest hint of wasabi tickled the tongue without punching it. The scallops were soft and juicy. I was nervous that they would be overcooked and chewy but there was no trace of that! The bacon was thoroughly cooked but not crispy. An old vine Semillion did a fabulous job of cutting the bacon fat, clearing the palate for the next bite.

For the first course I had a duck terrine with cranberries and nuts. It came with a grain mustard, tomatoes, onions, capers and toast rounds. It was nice, not as fat-ridden as I thought it would be, nor was it as creamy as other terrines I have had. The flavor was mostly of smoked duck and I could not detect the cranberries. The other girls had the mushroom ragout over gnocchi which was spectacular. The gnocchi were beautifully seared with a crisp outer bite. The mushroom ragout was mixed mushrooms with onions in a lemon-butter-garlic sauce with grated cheese. The portion was large enough for a meal and I would have eated that dish 2x over, 1 plate for each course!

I had lobster mac & cheese for dinner which tasted good but the presentation was slightly awkward. The mac & cheese had clearly been baked but then when it came to the table it had a few steamed asparagus tips just laid on top of it. The asparagus was al dente with a few grains of sea salt but it just looked thrown together and messy. There were large chunks of lobster claws, which were meaty and plump not grainy as if they had been frozen - leading me to believe that they were indeed fresh from the harbor.

The chocolate pate cake with Oreo ice cream and raspberry sauce was very rich and fudgy. The layers of chocolate were divided with hard white chocolate which made it hard for your fork to cut through the cake slice. I found that I had to stab these white chocolate bits with my fork to eat them - then I just gave up and picked them up with my fingers! The raspberry sauce worked well but the Oreo ice cream, though it tasted fine, did not fit the profile of the dessert. Plain vanilla would have been or a lemon sorbet maybe but not Oreo.
All in all - I would definitely go back to the Oar House for the food - the service was lacking. Our waitress apparently could only count to three because she brought us three of everything even though there four girls sitting at the table - so that was quite frustrating.

(please forgive my photos!!)

Onto the sauce...Cranberry Sauce that is!

You obviously have to have some cranberry sauce at your Thanksgiving. I actually make this one just to have around the house normally but it appears fancy enough for a holiday gathering!! No added sugar and lots of great fruit fiber!

1 cup pomegranate juice
1 package Splenda
3 cups chopped peeled firm but ripe Bartlett or Bosch pears (1/3-inch pieces)
1 12-ounce package cranberries
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 tablespoons yellow raisins
1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Combine all ingredients in sauce pan.
2. Simmer until pears are tender and cranberries burst, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
3. Remove from heat. Cool completely. Chill thoroughly.
You can be prepared 1-2 days ahead just cover and keep refrigerated.

ENJOY!!!!!

Time for Turkey

Most everyone loves the stuffing on Thanksgiving day - so we will start there. Baking the stuffing in the turkey always makes the stuffing taste better from the turkey juices but can result in a longer cooking time sometimes drying out the turkey. This is my adapted recipe from one that appeared many moons ago in Bon Appetit and has directions for pan baking not turkey baking. However you want to bake the stuffing make sure there is plenty to go around :)

1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1 (1-pound) loaf crusty country-style white bread
1/4 cup olive oil
4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 large garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped shallots
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery
1 1/4 cups diced pancetta or a high quality apple wood smoked bacon
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup toasted husked hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1 3/4 cups low-salt chicken broth or turkey stock, heated
4 ounces chilled fresh goat cheese, crumbled into 1/2-inch pieces

DO AHEAD Bread cubes and vegetable mixture can be made 1 day ahead.Cover separately. Store bread at room temperature.
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut bread with crust into 1-inch cubes (10 cups loosely packed). Place in large bowl. Add oil, thyme, and garlic; toss. Spread out on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and slightly crunchy, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Return to same large bowl.
2. Place cherries in bowl; cover with boiling water. Let stand until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain.

3. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Add pancetta and brown, then add shallots and celery, sauté until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
5. Mix in parsley and cherries. Chill vegetables.

DAY OF:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish.
3. Stir vegetables and nuts into bread cubes.
4. Add hot broth, tossing to coat. Mix in cheese. Transfer to dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down.
5. Bake until heated through, about 25 minutes.
6. Uncover and bake until top is brown, about 25 minutes longer, and serve.
ENJOY!!

Another look at Oatmeal

Normally I get pretty tired of oatmeal but this small concoction, courtesy of Papa Suna, had me coming back for more at dinner time. The soymilk makes the oatmeal creamy and it is a nice cold version of the normally hot breakfast cereal.

1 serving

1 cup dry, old fashion oats
1 cup fat free/light soy milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon honey (you could could 1 packet of Splenda as well)
1/2 cup mixed berries (stawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or whatever other kind of fruit you like!)

1. Mix oatmeal, milk, cinnamon, honey in a bowl. Let sit in refrigerator overnight or for at least 20 minutes.
2. Mix in fruit when ready to eat. Enjoy cold!

Yum :)

Oatmeal - Banana Split Style

As winter approaches and we all begin to pick up the hot cereals again, the annoyance of their approaching boredom at the breakfast table begins to set in. The key to keeping hot cereals interesting and a staple to our winter diet, is to think about all the different things you like and put them together - just like you would on an ice cream sundae. Whether its cream of wheat, cream of rice, oatmeal, farina, or multigrain gruel the same principal applies. Try this one on for size!

1/2 cup Old fashion oats
1 cup water
1/2 banana, sliced
1 tablespoon walnuts/pecans/almonds, chopped
2 tablespoons dried cherries or 1/4 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1/4 cup almond milk

1. In microwave safe bowl, nuke the water and oatmeal on high for 1 minute. Stir. Nuke again for 1 minute. Stir. (continue this process until oatmeal is at your desired thickness).
2. Top with nuts, banana slices, and cherries/strawberries. Pour almond milk over the whole thing - maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar if you so desire - dive in!
ENJOY!

[Blank] Chip Cookies

The [Blank] in this is that you can use what ever you want - raisins, chocolate, white chocolate, carob (vegan chocolate chips), crasins, cherries, nuts - whatever! They are lower in fat and higher in protein then most cookies - I hope they come out great for you!

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup non-fat plain or Greek plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chip/nut/fruit of your choice

1. Heat oven to 375
2. In large bowl combine sugar, brown sugar, margarine/butter - beat until well mixed and creamy.
3. Add yogurt and vanilla - blend well again. Stir in flours and baking soda - mix well - blend in chips.
4. Grease a cookie sheet. Drop teaspoon-tablespoon sized balls on cookie sheet a couple of inches apart. Bake ~ 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
5. Remove from cookie sheet and ....
ENJOY!!!

Carrot Cookies

Carrot + Cookie? Really? Does this equation add up to = delicious? Actually it does! (Or I wouldn't bother to put it here right!) These cookies are an easy-to-transport substitute for carrot cake (especially if you put a little swipe of fat free cream cheese and sprinkle a few walnuts bits on top!)

1/2 cup soft margarine
1/4 cup honey
2/3 cups Splenda
1 tablespoon water
1 cup raw carrots, grated
2 egg whites, beaten
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups raw oatmeal, quick oats
1 cup raisins (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees

1. In large bowl cream together margarine, honey, water, Splenda. Add in egg whites and carrots.
2. Mix together rest of ingredients and gradually stir into wet ingredients. Be sure all flour is mixed in but do not over stir.
3. Drop teaspoon-tablespoon sized balls of dough onto greased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly. Bake for approximately 10 minutes until lightly browned.
ENJOY!!

Perhaps you aren't as twisted as the carver of this pumpkin - but this time of year always sends people to the fields in search of the perfect pumpkin for carving. Many people forget that pumpkin is a great food item - baked, roasted, mashed, sweetened for pie or bread. People staulk Starbucks or DD for pumpkin spiced lattes and the pumpkin ice cream limited edition goes on the market too. Here is an easy, low cost pumpkin treat you can eat as is with a spoon or used graham crackers, apples or celery as your utensil! ENJOY!

Pumpkin Dip

1 - 8oz package light or fat free cream cheese
1 cup plain, fat free yogurt (Dannon has a good one)
1 - 15 oz can pumpkin (just plain pumpkin - not the pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar or Splenda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Fat free cool whip

Beat cream cheese, yogurt and pumpkin in large bowl until smooth.
Add sugar and spices - mix well.
Top with cool whip, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour
Serve with graham crackers, apple slices or celery sticks!

Shrimp on the barbie...the Asian barbie that is

I guess that would mean it was shrimp on the habachi? Or we could just pretend that the one of the Asian cultures invaded Australia and threw their own twist onto the 'shrimp on the barbie' theme. Anyway you want to look at it or whatever stories you want to tell about it while cooking, it comes out about the same way ->

A) These are shrimp - cook them quickly over high heat, just until they turn pink - if they curl up to much they are well done and will be rubbery
B) Total time from fridge to table including lighting the grill and letting it heat up will be 30-35 minutes - plan accordingly shrimp don't have much patience they are terrible waiters especially when they are near heat.
C) Feel free, as always, to hate my idea and substitute your own - whatever you do be sure to ENJOY! :)

1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon wasabi powder
1/8 teaspoon dried, ginger powder
1/8 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup olive oil
2 pounds extra large shrimp (~21 count/pound)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (white or black), toasted

1. Whisk honey, oil and spices together in bowl. Drop shrimp in, toss to coat, set aside while prepping the fire.
2. Heat your grill to medium high heat (we use a charcoal grill so this process takes about 15-20 minutes)
3. Lightly toast sesame seeds on a sheet in the toaster over.
4. When fire is ready, skewer the shrimp. Spray some Pam on the grill. Place skewers on the grill. Cook about 2 minutes. Using tongs AND an oven mitt flip skewers and cook 1 minute more. The flesh should be all pink but you don't want the shrimp to curl to tightly then they are over done. When shrimp is pink all over remove skewers from fire.
5. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top and serve!

These shrimp go great on top of a salad, inside a sandwich, as a topping on a homemade pizza or even grill up some corn on the cob and serve them together. Grilled pineapple rings would also be a perfect accompaniment or dessert afterwards!

Hike away!

This morning as I was going on my piddly run and thinking about my good friend Suswa, who would be starting the Chicago marathon 24 hours from that time, I realized that to do exercise you have enjoy the exercise the you are doing. I like a quick, short run in the AM, it wakes me up, makes me feel better and gives me a little more self confidence. Sus on the other hand likes running for hours at a time. My brother leaps on his bicycle at 8am Saturday and Sundays and rides for 5 hours. In my case, I am not sure I would have enough to think about when running 15 miles or biking for 5 hours. In all honesty, the farthest I have ever run is 6 miles, on a treadmill with my eyes glued to Good Morning America, or a 12 mile round trip bike ride to the store during one of my 'green' moments when I didn't want to pull the car out of the garage (or didn't maybe have enough gas in it to think I could get there and back!).

Hiking is a prolonged activity though that I do enjoy, and one which makes a ton of sense. If you think about it, most hiking is done on the side of a mountain, and you always go UP the mountain first and come back down when you are tired. Makes perfect sense to me - use all your energy during the first half working out your quads and calves, and then walk down in almost a sitting for the return trip to sore up your gluts (butt) and your abs. You will end up back at your car a sweaty, exhausted mess but you will feel great and your spirits will be soaring due to the time spent outside in the sunlight. This is the perfect time of year for hiking. You get in a great exercise push before it gets to cold you leave your house, the leaves are changing colors beautifully and the air is free from humidity and at a crisp temperature most days. Find a buddy or two to go hiking with and you will have quite the afternoon! Pack water bottles and a couple pieces of fruit to quench hunger and thirst so that you can stay on the trail longer and enjoy the great fall days!

Pie Mania

Apple picking was quite a time. It really brings out the child in you! We drove about 30 minutes west of Waltham, MA to Bolton, MA to the Bolton Spring Farm for some apple picking and of course warm cider donuts! First stop on arrival, donut booth. I had never had cider donuts. They come warm, covered with cinnamon and sugar and completely melt on contact with the tongue and roof of the mouth. I was pretty hungry, hadn't eaten lunch and it was about 12:30 at this point. So that was a good short term fix and it was quite delicious as well!

Off to the orchard we go across the street. We buy a 1/2 bushel sack (about 25 pounds) for $20. (I want to say right now - 25 pounds is A LOT of apples!) Anyway, so off we go - there is a mountain covered with apple trees in front of us. I dart off with one of my friends as we decide to race each other up the side of this apple tree mountain (like this is a good idea), we got half way up and ran out of gas - literally. I grabbed an apple off the ground and started munching. It was crisp and juicy, and almost exploded when I bit into it. There was not a hint of the mealiness which plagues store bought apples. The flesh was so white and the skin so red with a small spot of green making it look quite fabulous! Spam won the prize for the most perfect apple right off the tree, with a leaf and it was shiny right off the tree!!

The five of us ladies roamed the orchards for about one hour, picking apples, discussing Halloween costumes, restaurants, an upcoming wedding and high school drama until that 1/2 buschel sack got to be to much of a pain to carry. We started back to the car with 25 pounds of apples and one very bruised nose. You see, the toddler in me needed to get the perfect apple from WAYYY high up in the tree. In my effort to reach it, I shook another apple loose and it plummeted to the ground, only my upwards facing face was in the way of it hitting the Earth. Instead, it smacked my sunglasses right into the bridge of my nose and that doesn't feel to nice - I assure you of that!

Then after a picnic and the purchasing of more cider donuts, we headed home to commence the pie baking. Spam brought a recipe for hybrid between a pie and a crumble. That recipe only got used for one of the 6 pies though. The rest were termed 'experiments' which lacked precise measuring and even any realm of thought at all. We filled some with pecans or walnuts, cinnamon, sugar, butter, nutmeg, cloves, apple cider and obviously apples! Some had pie crust tops, some the crumble/streusel topping - one even had both! The "purse" pie was deemed best looking, due to folded appearance on top, but all of them tasted fantastic. We even got the three boys up from the basement (with very little coaxing - they kept coming up to check on the status of the pies under the pretense that they needed more beer). We conned one into going to Shaw's to buy ice cream and then sat them down to help us consume these fresh fruit wonders. It really is amazing how different a frozen pie tastes from a homemade one with store bought apples to a homemade one with hand picked apples. There is just no comparison. The fresh apples melt down slightly with the heat, their sweet nectar fills the pie and spreads the sugar and spices throughout, covering each apple slice perfectly. As the crust browns up the smells of browning butter fill the house and relax your mind and body - taking you back to childhood winter holidays! I could do that at least one day per week - how relaxing - especially with great friends!

O is for October apple picking!

So apple picking season has come sooner then later this year and I am so excited to be going tomorrow with the girls to enjoy an afternoon in the Bolton (MA) orchard plucking delicious fresh fruit from the tree. I am pretty excited. We are going to get a gallon of fresh cider at the orchard and have a picnic lunch (and obviously some apple donuts) before we head out into the fields to get the goods for some fabulous pie making in the afternoon.

As I embark on only my second apple picking adventure ever (ahh yes, I am aware of my age and that I have lived in New England my whole life and how terrible this statisic is), I am excited to scavange for a couple apples of EVERY kind they grow and then try to remember when I get home which ones are which! haha! I imagine what the perfect apple looks like. This is a memory of my first apple picking experience. It was the first apple I pulled off the tree and it was perfect with a perfect leaf too! Looked like something right out the of Bible perhaps :) I am sure I won't be so lucky the second time around, but I will keep you all posted on how the picking and pie making turns out, and maybe supply you with the fabulous pie recipe that Ms. Spam-a-lot is bringing!

So the demo went ok! The Hommus was nice and garlicky and even lentil-frowners tried the Ahka Di Josh. We chatted through issues with protein intake and laughed about episodes of Julia Child. It was more like I was cooking for my family (minus the wine) then for a group a random people who were also my patients. Some people liked the food, some didn't. Every one's tastes are different, I know that, I understand that but luckily the people who didn't like it, didn't say so and those that did let me know that they appreciated the suggestions :) hehehe

When all was said and eaten, and after Jocelyn had cleaned all the dishes I was still left with about 3 pounds of cooked lentils. I ate leftovers for lunch and dinner for two days before I said "I call it quits - I have to do something with all these lentils!" So this morning I jumped out of bed - it was too windy to run, so I thought, I'll make soup! Why not! If you can't exercise, you should cook right? I rummaged around the refrigerator and this is what I came up with. The smokey-garlic aroma rising up from the pot almost made me want to dive in at 8am and start my day with a bowl of Lentil-Sausage soup (however I refrained and had a bowl of granola cereal with raisins)!

I hope you enjoy!

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium sized carrots, sliced
1/2 cup diced red onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 package turkey kielbasa, diced
6 cups pre-cooked green/brown lentils
6 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 tsp dried mint
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme

1. Heat olive oil in a stock pot. Add carrots, garlic, onion. Season with salt and pepper - let sweat and saute for about 8 minutes.
2. Add diced kielbasa and saute another 6 minutes until fragrant.
3. Add 2 cups chicken broth and deglaze pan (scraping up all broth bits in bottom/sides of pan)
4. Add rest of chicken broth and dried herbs and bring to a boil.
5. Add couscous, cook 12 minutes. Stir in precooked lentils and heat through if eating immediately or just stir in the lentils and then divide soup into containers and freeze for a ready made lunch or dinner!

So I got a photo from the previous dinner outting. This is the Coq Au Vin from the Foundry. My camera loves to add the orange hue to things so I must appologize for that.

I did make it back to the Yard House again last week. Tis the season of the Oktoberfest and Pumkin Ale beers but alas in honor of my father Big Lar, I tried the Wachusett Larry IPA. I actually thought it better then the Racer IPA - I might have a new favorite - even though it was not the same level of bitterness as Big Lar himself (sorry Dad, I love you!).

Tonight, I'm getting myself ready for a cooking demo at my bariatric support group tomorrow night. I am making hommus and Ahka Di Josh (the lentil recipe on this site from many moons ago). Cooking 3 pounds of lentils at one time without a pot larger then 1 gallon is a challenge (but I did not let it boil over!!) Hopefully all goes well during the demos. I haven't dont group cooking in a while, but I am going all out - cheffy hat and coat and everything! I believe my knife is sharp so there is a good chance I won't cut my finger off. The group should be fun though! :) I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow night!

OOOOO my goodness! I have been a terrible blogger! Almost a whole week and nothing! I have been busy in the food sector though don't you worry!

Tuesday night I busted into Davis Square in Sommerville, MA with a great group of high school friends, to the new hot spot, The Foundry. The front window-walls were down, and hipsters and businessmen alike sit at benches facing the street for people watching and a great breeze or at a communal table in the center of the bar. We sat in a booth in the restaurant portion. Tuesday is Coq au Vin night. I ordered it, and it did not disappoint. The chicken was so moist and it just fell off the bone, onto a heaping portion of homemade spaetzle. I have to admit there is nothing quite like spaetzle hanging out in the bottom of a boal, soaking up Coq au Vin braising juice. Carrots, potatoes and pearl onions made you feel better that you at least got a few good vitamins in you :)

Wednesday night I enjoyed a beer on the patio of the sort-of new Yard House in the Dedham Legacy Place Shopping Center. I had a Racer IPA, which might be one of the best IPAs I have tasted. It was bitter and it was hoppy, but it was rich yet light on the tongue at the same time. It was not the first time I had tried this beer. It wowed me the first time and this time I gained much appreciation for it.

Thursday it was off to Fiorella's in Newtonville, MA. I pulled up along side this establishment, with out my windows down, and before I even opened the car door all I could smell was garlic. This was either going to be 'cliche bad Italian' or a little slice of Heaven. Thank goodness it was the later. All the food is made in the entry way to the restaurant and when I say 'in the entry way' I am not exaggerating. You really feel as if you were in someones home at this place. You can hear the saute pans sizzling, and if you listen closely and can recognize it, the drone in the background is boiling water amongst the clanking wine glasses. Tables at this local hot spot are hard to come by after 6pm and if you got the scallops over risotto you would know why. Perfectly browned on the top and bottom, yet not a hint of over-cooked rubberiness in these delicate morsels from the sea. The risotto was not creamy like I was expecting, by more like a flavorful sticky rice with a kick from crushed red pepper. I quite enjoyed this change of pace from the usual risotto consistency which sometimes resembles a breakfast mush. Sauteed asparagus and tomatoes rounded out the gut stuffing dish.

Curried Shrimp Veracruz

Shrimp is an excellent source of protein but buying shrimp can be confusing. Shrimp is usually sold by the number needed to make one pound. For example, “21-25 count” means there will be 21 to 25 shrimp in a pound. Size names, such as “large” or “extra large,” are not standardized units of measurement so you can never be sure how big the shrimp actually are unless you order them by the number per pound. Any kind of farm-raised seafood can damage the surrounding ecosystems if the 'farm' not managed properly. It is possible to buy shrimp that have been raised or caught (even wild caught practices can harm the environment) with sound environmental practices. Look for shrimp certified by an independent agency, such as Wild American Shrimp or Marine Stewardship Council. If you can’t find certified shrimp, choose wild-caught shrimp from North America (as opposed to China) —it’s more likely to be sustainably caught.

·2 teaspoons of olive oil
·1 bay leaf
·1 medium onion , halved and thinly sliced
·2 jalapeño peppers , seeded and very thinly sliced, or to taste
·4 cloves of garlic , minced
·1 pound of peeled, deveined raw shrimp (16-20/pound; see Shopping Tip)
·3 medium tomatoes , diced
·1/4 cup of thinly sliced pitted green olives
·½ teaspoon curry powder
·½ teaspoon dried mint
·1 lime , cut into 4 wedges

1.Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bay leaf and cook for 1 minute. Add onion, jalapeños, curry powder, mint and garlic - cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.
2.Stir in shrimp, tomatoes and olives. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, cook 3 to 4 minutes (until shrimp are pink – don’t overcook the shrimp they will get rubbery).
3.Remove the bay leaf. Serve with lime wedges
ENJOY!!!

Help curb the vending machine runs and 'out to lunch' occurances

If you are lucky enough to have a desk (yes I say lucky because up until about 3 weeks ago I had to use a patient tray table for a desk, while one was being 'located' for me - I'm not bitter anymore don't worry! :)), try to stock it with some items for snacking and/or for lunch to keep you from running to the vending machine for a sweet or salty fix or out to the drive through for lunch.

Some suggestions to keep in your drawer:

*Mixed dried fruit or plain raisins - Trader Joe's has just about any kind of dried fruit you can imagine! Banana, apple, prunes, peaches, apricot, dragon fruit, cherries, figs, papaya, pineapple, ginger (ok that's not really a fruit!), strawberries, mango, blueberries, strawberries etc etc - if you don't have a Trader Joe's near you, you can always get dried fruit at the regular supermarket they just won't have aa big a selection
*Nuts - what ever kind you like! Help yourself out and pre-portion them at home if you have time, that way hopefully you won't down the whole canister in one sitting - that would be bad!
*Peanut Butter and Jelly, and Whole wheat crackers - keep a jar of each and a sleeve of crackers - you can make an open faced treat or grab some bread from home in the am and make your lunch at work - now that would give you an extra 5 minutes to sleep in!
*Cereal and Parmalot - keep a box of your favorite cereal and a 6-pack of the juice box sized Parmalot milk (you find it in the baking section) it has been ultra pasteurized so that it does not need refrigeration until after it is opened - so if you get the 6-pack, I think each box is 6oz you will probably use the whole thing in one sitting - no need for a fridge!
*Pouches of tuna - hey you already have crackers and if you get the flavored tunas you have the easiest lunch ever - rip open the pouch, dab on the cracker and chew!
*Variety of granola and/or protein bars (see previous post for a list of ones which are low fat and low sugar - these will be better options then ones loaded with either nutrient)

Stocking up your desk can save you a lot of calories in a day and a lot of cash! Good LUCK!!!

I realized something this week after a patient came into clinic very depressed that she wasn't doing well enough, that she didn't feel like she was getting the support she needed, but, most forefront in her mind, she was depressed about the person she had left behind after her surgery.

We all go through some point in our life when we want to make oneself better - better at our job, as a parent, as a friend, better about taking care of oneself. We get so excited about what lies ahead - the prospects, the thought of dreams accomplished, that it is hard to believe that we would miss the part of oneself that was so unhappy with life and looking for a better shot at it. We anticipate how great life will be with a promotion or when we lose 50 pounds, but just because we worked hard for the promotion or the weight loss doesn't mean that the effort stops there. We must continue to work hard so that we continue to climb the ladder or just so that we don't get knocked off it. If you lose 60 pounds, you will feel great, you will be happier with the way you look, but you will have to monitor yourself hard and work to keep that weight off.

Yesterday, the patient discussed missing that person who didn't have to analyze food, and didn't have to think about exercise. She missed the person who could just eat and eat. This is an common stressor among post-op bariatric patients and/or in the human population in general, mostly because it is not something expected to happen to us when we set out to make a life altering decision. My patient described it as 'burying a friend'. That can be exactly what it feels like - that you have buried your best friend, but I challenged her to look at it a different way. Your best friend is always going to want what is in your best interest. Use that best friend to keep you focused on the journey ahead and pushing forward, the farther you get and more you keep going, the prouder your best friend is going to be of you. Don't let that buried best friend turn you around and head back down the path you just came up on - you can't bring that buried friend back to life, you can only sit at the grave site and mourn the time away.

For your sanity allow yourself to think about where you started, it will only help you to appreciate how far you have come. You made a life altering decision for a reason, don't let yourself get sideswiped into revoking a promise you made to yourself!

Home-made Popsicles

You can make them any flavor you want to - this one sounded fabulous in the Globe Magazine.

Peach, Chamomile & Honey Popsicles

4 ripe yellow/orange peaches
2 ripe white peaches
2 chamomile tea bags
1/4 cup honey
juice from 1/2 a lemon
pinch of Kosher salt

1. Clean, halve, and pit 4 of the peaches (3 yellow and 1 white). Blend (with skin) in a blender until very smooth.
2. Open tea bags. Removed 2 tablespoons of tea and mix with honey and lemon juice.
3. Coarsely chop up remaining peaches and stir into puree.
4. Mix in as little or as much of the honey mixture as you like. Make it a little sweeter then you would like - it will lose some sweetness in the freezer.
5. Pour into popsicle molds or 3 oz Dixie cups. Insert sticks. Freeze.
ENJOY!

For my bariatric patients...

While on a family field trip to Shaw's today, I started snooping around the 'Wild Harvest' isle that they have. I found a few new ideas for protein bars and crackers that fit the less then 5 grams of sugar, less then 5 grams of fat rule post-op.

Hopefully you can find them in your supermarket or closest Shaw's and add them to your repertoire for a little variety!

Bars:
*Larabar (I have had these and they are very sweet! Lots of natural sugar, no added sugar)
*Raw Revolution
*Pure, organic

Crackers:
*Kashi Heart to Heart Whole grain crackers
*Kashi TLC Cheddar Cheese Crackers
*Wild Harvest Organic Stone Ground Wheat Crackers
*Healthy Valley Amaranth Graham Crackers

“Mac” and Cheese

I introduced this veggie to my roommate in WI and it is her favorite thing now! It is great way to get your spaghetti and sauce fix without all the calories of real pasta!

1 large spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise
16 oz of your favorite marinara sauce
1 cup broccoli florets or peas or sautéed mushrooms or mixed vegetables (or all!)
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
½ cup grated Romano cheese or grated Asiago cheese

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake squash, cut side down in a baking dish until fork pierces skin easily, about 35-40 minutes. (or you could nuke it on high for 15 or so minutes)
2. Heat sauce and vegetables in saucepan
3. When squash is cooked, use a fork to scrap out the flesh. It should string out in spaghetti like strands. Mix with sauce. If sauce becomes watery from the squash, simmer for 5-7 minutes until some water evaporates.
4. Mix in ricotta. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Spoon onto plates and top with Romano or Asiago cheese
ENJOY!!!

Strawberry-Almond Smoothie

10 large frozen strawberries (or 1 cup frozen blueberries or mixed berries)
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup silken tofu or fat free plain yogurt
1 teaspoon sugar or Splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla extra

feel free to add some protein powder :)

1. Throw everything in the blender, turn it on - presto!

Enjoy!!

Zucchini & Eggplant "Lasagna"

2 egg whites
1 medium zucchini
1 medium Italian eggplant
1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
salt & pepper
8 oz low fat, shredded, mozzarella cheese
48 oz jar, fat free, low sodium pasta sauce

1. Slice zucchini and eggplant into ¼ inch thick rounds
2. Beat egg whites in one bowl
3. Mix together bread crumbs and onion, garlic, basil, oregano with a sprinkle of salt and pepper in bowl
4. Set aside ½ cup of cheese.
5. Take one slice of eggplant and dip in egg then dip in bread crumbs.
6. Place in baking dish or slow cooker.
7. Continue with the rest of the eggplant, creating a layering in the bottom of the cooking vessel.
8. Pour ½ the jar of sauce over the rounds, spread evenly and top with ½ of the remaining cheese.
9. Repeat with zucchini slices. Top with remaining sauce and cheese.
10. Cover and cook in slow cooker on low for 5-6 hours or bake in oven at 325 for 1 hour.
11. During the last 15 minutes in the slow cooker top with reserved ½ cup cheese or after 1 hour in the oven top with cheese and bake uncovered until bubbling.
ENJOY!!!

Give the Corn a hand!

Its corn season now too! Sweet corn is definitely a memory of childhood. Whether it was from a weekend bbq, clam bake or picking in the field, corn is usually one vegetable kids will love. Here is a zesty grown up thing to do with your childhood summer treat!

Corn, Mango & Edamame Salad

2 cups, shelled edamame
1 ½ cups corn kernels
1 ½ cups mango, cubed
1 cup chopped tomato
½ cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
coarse salt & pepper

1. If edamame is frozen, prepare per package directions.
2. Transfer to large bowl, combine with all other ingredients. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Toss to combine.
ENJOY!! As a side dish or with unsalted corn chips and smooth pale ale!

Tomatoes Stuffed with Shrimp Salad

Tomatoes are in their prime right now! Sweet and juicy, they are for sure my favorite vegetable! Get good ones for this recipe from a local farm stand or farmers' market if you aren't lucky enough to grow your own!

¾ pound, peeled, shrimp, cooked and cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cup watercress, washed
8 leaves Bibb lettuce, shredded
juice from ½ lemon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil
coarse salt & black pepper
4 large tomatoes

1. In a bowl combine shrimp, watercress, lettuce, lemon, mustard, olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
2. Hollow out the tomatoes from the stem end. You can mix any of the juice from the tomatoes into the bowl with shrimp.
3. Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture. Serve.
ENJOY!!!

Zucchini, Avocado & "Small, Round Fruit of your Choice" Salad

While I am baking up a batch of granola, I thought it would definitely be the perfect time to post another recipe! I made this one for a cocktail party once and it seemed to be a big hit - I hope you enjoy it too!

1 pound zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon (approx) olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup red onion, fine chopped
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds or 1 cup fresh blueberries/raspberries/sliced strawberries
1 avocado, halved, pitted and cut into 1/4 inch dice (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon dried mint
coarse salt (sea or kosher) & black pepper

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil, spray with cooking spray. Toss zucchini with oil, oregano, salt and pepper - spread on baking sheet and roast (stirring once) about 15-20 minutes. Then remove from oven and let cool.
2. Once cool, transfer zucchini to bowl, add onion, avocado, fruit, feta, lime juice, mint, and a little more salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Refrigerate about 30 minutes before serving.
ENJOY!!

Serve with pita chips or grilled bread and maybe a crisp glass of Chardonnay!

Substitutions

Some of our favorite recipes we shy away from because of their salt, sugar, or fat content. Here are some suggestions of replacement ingredients to help lighten the load of your favorite recipes!

Recipe calls for-> You should add instead:
Butter - Olive oil if sauting, apple sauce if baking
Vegetable Oil - apple sauce, mashed ripe bananas, fig paste/jam
Milk chocolate - 85% or more dark chocolate
Eggs - egg whites
Sour cream - non-fat, plain yogurt
Reg. Ricotta cheese - part-skim ricotta+non-fat cottage cheese (for lasagna or cheese cake)
Bottled salad dressing - olive or safflower oil + vinegar + dijon mustard
Sugar (in a sauce/soup) - raisins (then strain/sift them out)
Sugar (in baked goods) - Splenda, agave, Stevia
Buttermilk - skim milk (1 cup)+1 tablespoon vinegar/lemon juice
Mayo - low fat mayo/miracle whip, hummos on sandwich, balsamic+mustard for salad

So apparently the previous recipe is supposed to be called "String Beans and Eggs" not Green Beans - my apologies Grandma :)

Kind of sounds like a Dr. Seuss book....

Green Beans & Eggs

This is an old Armenian dish, one of my Grandmother's favorites. Traditionally it is served as a side dish, but my father used to make it for dinner on nights when got home late from the airport or a sports game. It is super simple and really fast to make!

I have lighten up the original Green Beans and Eggs recipe to make it a little more artery friendly :)

For 2 people as dinner:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
8 oz green beans, fresh or frozen (thawed), cut into 1 inch pieces or French cut
1 small Vidala onion, cut in half and sliced thin
6 whole eggs
6 egg whites (save the yolks you can use them to make Challah bread!)
Salt & Pepper
Two large slices, thick cut, sourdough - grilled or toasted
2 oz feta cheese (or grated sheep's milk cheese)

1. Saute onions in butter and oil over low-medium heat, until soft and translucent (8 min), season with a little salt and pepper
2. Add green beans and saute 1 minute more
3. Whisk together eggs with egg whites and pour over bean & onion mix
4. Stir into vegetables as if you were making scrambled eggs - continue to stir through the cooking process about 3 minutes.
5. Divide egg mix over toast. Top with cheese. (Serve with garden fresh tomato wedges - optional)
ENJOY!!!

(Would be great with an IPA or or good Amber beer - though traditional Armenians don't drink beer ;))

Spinach Salad

One of my patients asked for a spinach salad recipe so here goes!

1 bag of baby spinach
1 cup sliced strawberries (or 1/3 cup dried cranberries)
1 shallot, sliced
1/2 cup celery sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2 oz goat cheese, crumbled
2 strips, thick cut bacon (or 1 oz pancetta cut into little cubes)


Dressing:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried mint
1 small clove garlic, minced

1. Cook bacon or pancetta cubes until very crispy. Remove from pan and let drain on towel.
2. Arrange all other salad ingredients in bowl.
3. Whisk together dressing ingredients.
4. Crumble bacon or pancetta over greens. Drizzle dressing over salad and using tongs toss to combine.
ENJOY!!!

I might be a dietitian, but I can't lie - my new favorite thing is Ben & Jerry's Phish Food Frozen Yogurt - OBSESSED!!!! w/those little dark chocolate fishie goodness!

Artic Char with Lemon-Garlic Greens

Artic Char is a pink flesh fish, of the same texture as salmon. It is an oily fish with about the same omega profile as salmon is but it is not farmed. You can find it in fish markets like Captain Marden's in Wellesley or at Whole Foods. (Legal Sea Foods is one of the only restaurants I have seen serve it.) The taste is not as strong as salmon so it is a good alternative for salmon-frowners.

olive oil
1 large shallot, sliced thin
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
8 oz Frisse (green-white greens which look somewhat like frizzy hair)
1 pound of arctic char (or salmon if you can't find artic char)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram (herb)
1 lemon, quartered

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in saute pan. Saute shallot and garlic until soft and fragrant - pour oil, shallots and garlic into a bowl
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in same saute pan, place fish flesh side down, sear fish about 3 minutes. Flip, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let cook, skin side down, an addition 5-7 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk mustard, juice of one lemon wedge and an additional 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil together. Poor dressing over washed frisse and toss to coat.
3. Enjoy with a glass of Pinot Gris!

WOW all! It has been almost a whole week since the last post! I have been traveling the northeast in search of knowledge and fun! I spent 2+ days in NYC at the Allergan conference for Lap Band Instruction and then 2 days in VT with the ponies.

The Lap Band conference was mighty interesting. It was definitely geared more for the surgeons, but I certainly picked up some good info for teaching patients about food/eating etc. I also gained much insight into how the band actually works (for some reason, where the band is placed causes signals to be sent to the brain which tell it that the body is not hungry. As soon the band is loosened, the patient is ravenously hungry again!) as well as getting to see a live surgery! All good info to take back to the hospital with me - now I just need to have some more band patients come through so that I can test out all this new stuff on them!

Creamy Fettuccine with Sea Scallops

You want the scallops good and seared on the outside like the ones in this photo. Done under very high heat the inside will stay moist and they will crisp up outside quickly!

8 oz spaghetti (Barilla Plus has good flavor and lots of fiber and protein)
1 pound, large sea scallops
salt & pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 8oz bottle of vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup skim milk
3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
3 cups asparagus (cut into 1" pieces)
3/4 cup finely shredded manchengo cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1. Cook pasta as normal in boiling water. When there is about 1 min left until pasta is done, drop asparagus into water to blanch. Drain when done.
2. Meanwhile, pat scallops dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in saute pan over high heat - you want the pretty darn hot.
4. Whisk flour, milk and some salt and pepper in a bowl until smooth.
5. Heat stock in a sauce pan. Whisk milk mixture into warm stock, continue stirring constantly at a simmer for 1-2 minutes until thickened.
6. Oil should be hot, place scallops into hot oil (be careful oil will splatter) flat side down. Let cook 1-2 min, flip cook 1 min more.
7. Mix pasta, sauce, and scallops together with lemon juice, lemon zest, cheese and thyme. Toss to combine.
ENJOY!1

Did you know that a gram of alcohol has 7 calories? That's nearly twice the amount of a carbohydrate (4kcal/g) or protein (4kcal/g). Fat has 9kcal/g. Those 7 empty calories offer zero nutrition benefit in addition to its interference with the body's ability to use fat, sabotaging even the best weight loss plans.

Studies are always describing the cardiac health benefits of a glass of wine. The latest breaking news is about the benefits to bone density from a pint of IPA. Whether or not the health benefits of these are accurate in the real word (outside the parameters of a controlled study) is somewhat unknown. We do know somethings. Most people do not have just one drink. After one drink you are more likely to eat more and thus to over consume. The over consumption out weights any benefit from the alcohol.

And no - if the study says 1 drink a day is good for you, you can't save them all up and drink 7 on Saturday night! Ha!

How do I know what I should weigh?

An American's image of what a body should look like is ballooning out of control. Frequently, when I tell patients what their 'ideal' body weight would be they look at me like I have a green face. "No way! I will be skin and bones if I weigh that!" is usually their response.

With ever enlarging bodies and ever increasing feelings of needing to be thinner for women (or fitter for men), clothing designers have also modified their sizing charts. They have more sizes and have inflated the sizing so that women think they are smaller then they are. Today's size 2 would have been a size 6 forty years ago, and if you were a size 2 you were so sick and emaciated it was saddening.

So how do you know what size you should be? There a couple of equations we use in the health care setting to give us a round about figure.

Women: 100 pounds + 5 pounds x # of inches over 5' you are
Men: 106 pounds + 6 pounds x # of inches over 5' you are

example:
5'6" W: 100 + 5x6 = 130 pounds
6' M: 106 + 6x12 = 178 pounds

The BMI can be slightly more accurate because if your BMI falls between 18.5 and 24.9 then you are considered to be a 'healthy' weight. So it gives more of a range for a healthy weight. The only problem with BMI is that it does not account for muscle mass on men, which, on some, can be a major percent of his body weight. Thus, a very fit and trim male can have a BMI which indicates that he is overweight when in fact his body fat percent might only be 6 or 8 percent.

A lesson in protein needs...

It no secret that the amount of protein Americans consume on a daily basis is somewhat exorbitant. We eat egg sandwiches for breakfast, double quarter pounders for lunch, and roasted chicken or a steak for dinner. Meat is just the obvious place to find protein, but it is everywhere: dairy, breads, fish, meats, beans, grains, soy, nuts, and all the packaged items in between. While protein is a very useful food tool for weight loss, because it fills you up and keeps your feeling of satiety (or fullness) longer then carbohydrates, most people have no idea how much protein they need for their individual body.

In the hospital/health care setting we calculate grams of protein needed by a patient's body weight in kg.(Here is where you can feel free to play along) To find you weight in kg:

Take your weight in pounds/2.2 = weight in kg

For all healthy adults (read: healthy/normal weight, no kidney or liver disease, nervous system disorders, pregnant/lactating women or recent major surgery/trauma) the body needs 0.8 grams of protein per kg.

take weight in kg x 0.8 = grams of protein needed per day

Now how much protein are you eating? General rule of thumb is that 1 oz of meat has 7 grams of protein, so the 12 oz steak from the restaurant has 84 grams of protein (read: more then a full days protein for most people)

Comsuming more protein then your daily need is not detrimental to your health, unless you are eating 2-3grams of protein/kg per day on a regular basis. At that point it can start to be hard on your kidneys. Good news is - most people, especially women don't that point :)

to figure out daily intake: log what and how much you are eating - add up the grams of total protein for the day / your weight in kg = grams of protein/kg body weight eaten!

Penne with Bok Choy and Spicy Sausage

Bok Choy, or Asian Cabbage, is high in potassium and Vitamins A & C and it tastes pretty darn good too (with out the super gaseous effects of regular cabbage)!!

1 pound Bok Chok (baby Bok Choy preferred)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
8 oz penne pasta (I like Barilla Plus-it has good flavor and more protein & fiber!!)
2 spicy Italian chicken sausages or high quality andouille sausage
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper
1 cup reserved pasta water

1. In small sauce pan cover sausages with water and boil until cooked - about 7 minutes - remove from pan and let cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile bring water to boil for pasta. Once water is boiling, drop bok choy in to cook for 1 minute. Remove Bok Choy from pot, rinse in cold water to preserve color, and then dump pasta in to cook.
3. Heat oil in saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic, red pepper, salt and pepper. Let cook until fragrant - tops of 5 minutes - you don't want garlic to burn!
4. While garlic is sauteing, roughly chop up sausages and bok choy into large chunks.
5. When pasta is almost cooked, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
6. Mix vinegar, sausage and bok choy in with the garlic oil.
7. Drain pasta and combine with bok choy in saute pan. Add about 1/2 cup of the reserved water. Toss to coat pasta and mix well with other ingredients.
ENJOY!!

Chocolate Pancakes

Who doesn't like chocolate in the morning, especially when it is brunch time in the late morning-early afternoon. Pancakes are my favorite treat from childhood, chocolate pancakes, make this treat seem almost sinful!





1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
2 egg whites (or equivalent liquid egg white)
2 cups low fat buttermilk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon walnut oil (can use canola or safflower if you like)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon peanut butter powder
1/4 cup Splenda (or white sugar)

1. Preheat skillet on stove top to medium-high heat.
2. In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients together until batter is very smooth and all lumps are gone.
3. Melt some butter in bottom of skillet. Spoon batter into pan. It will take about 3 minutes to cook one side. Watch the batter. It will talk to you! When you start to see bubbles forming you are getting close, when the bubbles start to pop, you are ready! FLIP! Be sure to flip it before all the bubbles pop - this is what creates fluffy pancakes, trapping the bubbles and air in that dough when you flip it over.
4. Cook another 2 minutes and it is ready!

Enjoy with pure maple syrup and/or fresh peach or raspberry preserves!

Challah!

While the rap revolution may have popularized the word (written in the slang "HOLLA!") not much has changed in the way of making this ancient holy Jewish bread. It doesn't do all that well sitting around, so it really is best enjoyed fresh from the oven or later the same day you bake it.


1 teaspoon yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 stick of butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups, unbleached white flour (you will need more then this most likely)

1. In a large bowl combine water, sugar, yeast - let sit 2-3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, crack eggs into a smaller bowl, and whisk to break up yolks and combine with whites.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan on the stove.
4. Combine butter and eggs into the yeast/water bowl. Add 4 cups flour and the salt.
5. Keeping one hand 'wet' (in bowl), and one hand 'dry' (holding onto bowl), swirl your hand in a circular motion to start combining the ingredients. As the dough begins to form a ball you can start to kneed it with the one hand in the bowl. Add more flour as your need it if the dough becomes to sticky to work with. Continue to knead until dough is soft and smooth - maybe 5-7 minutes.
6. Remove dough from bowl, drizzle bowl with olive oil, replace dough in bowl and roll in oil to completely coat.
7. Place kitchen towel over bowl and let rise 45 minutes - 1 hour.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet with PAM cooking spray.
9. Divide dough into 3 sections. (Technically it should be six, and at one point I was taught how to properly braid the Challah with its 6 sections but I can't lie, I don't remember how to do it in the slightest!)
10. Taking each each section by itself, place both your hands side-by-side on top of the piece of dough. Roll your hands simultaneously back and forth over dough moving the hands outward to the edges as the dough starts to roll out into a rod formation. Lengthen the dough to about 1 foot. Repeat with remaining two pieces of dough.
11. Place the three rods of dough next to each other. pinch the top end together, then start braiding it as you would hair. When you get to the bottom, pinch the three ends together again to form a seal so that the braid doesn't unwind in the oven. Transfer to baking sheet and put into oven.
12. Bake for 30 minutes. It will be slightly browned and will have risen to almost double in size.
13. ENJOY!!!

Serve with traditional accompaniments of honey and Kosher salt or butter if you like or just enjoy piping hot from the oven with lunch or dinner!

Couscous with Chard, Cherries and Feta

Chard is a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium, Iron, Calcium and Fiber

Serves 4


2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 whole shallot bulb, sliced thin
1 1/4 cups Israeli couscous (larger sized balls)
14 oz fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried mint
2/3 cup dried sweet cherries
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped
1 15oz can of chick peas, drained
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
salt & pepper

1. Heat oil in large skillet. Add garlic and shallots. Saute until soft.
2. Meanwhile, bring broth to a boil in sauce pan. Add couscous and dried mint. Stir. Cook mostly covered until soft, stirring periodically.
3. When garlic and shallots are soft, add swiss chard. Cover and let chard steam for 3 minutes. Flip chard over, steam 3 more minutes.
4. Uncover, add chickpeas to skillet, season with salt and pepper and saute 1 minute.
5. When couscous is done, stir in cherries.
6. Spoon couscous in bowls.
7. Spoon chard mix over couscous.
8. Top with feta.
ENJOY!!

A nice chilled Praire Fume would go fabulously with this. If you can find Wollersheim Winery Praire Fume, I would highly suggest that one!

The bounties of a Vermont Lake

I hope that everyone was fortunate enough to spend the fourth of July weekend with friends and family, laughing and playing and enjoying wonderful food. After two days in the village of Lake Placid, New York, riding, shopping, and eating - I headed East, across Lake Champlain by ferry to visit a college roommate on Lake Dunmore. It is a beautiful, scenic spot, and the cabin was occupied by a family rooted with VT pride, growing a vegetable garden, brewing their own IPA beer, recycling and buying local, fantastic food.

My first taste was of bacon from a local butcher. Each strip was 2/3 fat and 1/3 meat - a nutritional nightmare perhaps, but that fat means flavor and if you cook it all off you are left with strips of delicious, crunchy meat. The right balance of smoke and salt, gave the tender meat a great flavor, perfect for a BLT dinner! The bacon was so good, I had to indulge again the next morning, but this time it would be inside a breakfast sandwich (egg, Cabot cheddar, tomato, spicy brown mustard) on a multi grain English Muffin (you knew something healthy would its way into the equation).

As soon as I got breakfast down the hatch, I began to be tormented by the wafting smells from the smoker of lamb and a Cajun crusted brisket slow cooking away. To keep my mind off food, I enlisted the help of the girls with preparing a large pitcher of Sangria, (and then refilling it countless times). We first used a Gewurztraminer with strawberries, peaches, oranges and an apple. The subsequent refills were with a Barbara di Alba (red) with apples and strawberries. The perfect thirst quencher after water skiing and for sitting on Paradise Island - a jumbo inner tube anchored near shore for a group floatation session.

About 7 hours later our first course arrived on the table for picking. Local cheeses (pepper jack, sun dried tomato cheddar, and brie), homemade pickles, rustic bread, salumi, olives and the fabulous lamb. I told the Vermonters their lamb was going to have a vigorous Armenian inspection, and though no Armenian would have dared to give the meat a little pepper kick, I did enjoy the different perspective on the preparation. Even after 7 hours in the smoker, the meat was cooked rare, it was juicy and tender with a crisp skin on the outside.

Later, the brisket came out with coleslaw, potato salad, and grilled aspargus. The grill master was sorely disappointed with his brisket (the Cajun-chili peeper rub gave excellent flavor and created a nice thick crust around the meat which kept it moist) mainly due to its lack of tenderness. He had the attitude of a champ though stating that he would not be had by the brisket - it was only his second attempt at cooking one and he was going to figure it out! The night was finished off by a superb homemade blueberry pie with real, creamy vanilla ice cream (more to come on the pie later!)

It really is quite amazing, how wonderful foods are when they are grown and sold right in your back yard. The flavors are so much warmer then foods bought at a conventional grocer. The added plus is that you get to have something to eat that your friends 200 miles away don't have access too, and for me, that makes it even more special and perhaps maybe even more tasty!