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!