Do you ever just go on a tear when you’re shopping, whether it be at the mall or at the grocery store, and you start buying things you don’t need, but at that instant, you’re convinced life would be so much better if you bought it?  Well, this happens to me quite often and especially when I’m at the grocery store (cough, cough, Trader Joe’s).  I see things that look interesting and if they’re reasonably priced, I convince myself that I must buy them.  And then I come home, unload my bags and stare at my new products with delight, envisioning what I can make with them.

The hands on the clock go flying around and the pages on the calendar turn…(do you like the drama?)

Image Credit - guardian.co.uk

About a few months go by and my excitement for the new products dwindles.  For whatever reason, these products get pushed to the back of the fridge and the cupboard (to make room for more new products) and the expiration dates that seemed to be light years away, are now just around the corner.  All of the sudden, it becomes a do or die situation – meaning I either eat the food or I dump it.  Sound familiar?

The other day, I was faced with the aforementioned situation (no, not that ‘Situation’.  Just a regular situation).  I looked in my fridge and I saw that I had a package of Trader Joe’s Organic 3-Grain Tempeh that expired was about to expire and a bag of Shirataki fettuccine noodles that had about a week of life left.  I knew I wanted to have some sort of pasta dish (I guess I really had no choice) and wanted the tempeh to accompany it (again, I wasn’t left with much of a choice).  But they really don’t go together and the thought of combining them didn’t sound too appetizing.  And then it hit me!  The light bulb went off.  I started rummaging online for some tips and in a short time, dinner was served!

Meatless Meatballs and Fake Fettuccine
Inspired by Soap and Chocolate

For the meatballs (makes 12 meatballs):

• 1 8 oz. package of tempeh (I used Trader Joe’s Organic 3-Grain Tempeh)
• 1 TBSP of grated parmesan cheese
• 2 TBSP of ground flax in 3 TBSP of water (I used Trader Joe’s Golden Roasted Flax Seed, ground)
• 1 1/2 TBSP of pesto (I used Classico brand, but your own homemade version would be even better)
• 7 oz. can of mushrooms, chopped (yeah, I’m not sure why I had these in my kitchen, but they’re gone now!)
• 1/4 cup of onion, minced
• few shakes of garlic powder
• few shakes of dried oregano
• few shakes of dried basil
• few shakes of dried parsley
• s&p

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a small cup, add your flax to your water and let it sit for about five minutes.

3) Crumble your block of tempeh into a small bowl.  I steamed mine for about 6 minutes on each side in the microwave to soften before crumbling.

4) When your tempeh is the consistency of chunky rice, add your parmesan cheese and flax mixture.  Give it a little mix.  Then add your mushrooms, onions, pesto and seasonings.  Mix everything around until it all gets sticky.

5) On a foil lined rimmed baking sheet covered with cooking spray, shape the tempeh mixture into about 12 balls.

6) Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes, until beginning to brown.

For the fettuccine:

• 1 8 oz. bag of Shirataki fettuccine noodles
• 1 TSP of pesto
• few shakes of parmesan cheese

1) In a colander, wash your Shirataki noodles thoroughly (rinse for a few minutes).  If you can still smell them, keep rinsing!

2) Microwave the noodles in a bowl for about 1 minute.  Drain the water from the bowl.  Microwave for another minute or so.  If the noodles are still wet, microwave again or pat dry with some paper towels.  You want dry noodles.

3) Once dry and hot, add the pesto.  Stir until the pesto is well-blended into the noodles.

4) Serve with a few of the ‘meatballs’.  Top with parmesan cheese and eat!

WOW!  These meatballs weren’t missing the meat (TWSS…it’s been awhile!) and neither was I (tee hee).  The distinct tempeh flavor that most know and not everyone is a fan of, totally disappeared in this recipe.  With the parmesan cheese, onions, mushrooms, pesto and seasonings, these meatballs tasted just like traditional meatballs.  The only thing that was a tad different was the consistency.  I think the initial steaming of the tempeh made the ‘meat’ in the meatballs too wet and adding the canned mushrooms contributed to the wetness.  Thus, the meatballs crumbled a little too easily.  Next time, I am going to add more flax, use fresh mushrooms and not steam the tempeh.  Hopefully, the meatballs will hold their shape better.  However, the taste of this recipe more than made up for the crumbliness (a word?).  In addition, eating these meatless wonders with my ‘not-so’ noodles, made me think I was having a real Italian-inspired meal.  I would have never guessed in a million years that I was really eating soybeans in cake-like form along with more soybeans combined with some yam flour.  HA!

So, I’m still not sure why I decided to wait so long to use these grocery goodies.  It’s not that I all of the sudden have a change in heart and in taste buds.  I just seem to forget that I bought these foods.  Not good. I guess the lesson here is to be happy with what you have (or at least make use of what you have) before deciding that you need more.  This is a lesson that doesn’t have an expiration date and is something I going to try my hardest to keep fresh in my mind.

Have you ever had your ‘15 minutes’ of fame?  If so, what was it?  My sister and I were in the play, The King and I, with Yul Brynner when we were eight years old.  That was my 15 minutes.  Do you ever wish you were famous?

Namasté,
Nicole

***Happy Veterans Day to all of our troops and veterans.  Thank you for keeping us safe and for preserving our nation.***

***Thank you all for your well wishes and emails.  I’m feeling a little bit better today and thankfully, it wasn’t the flu of a pig-like nature.  I’m pretty sure it’s just the common cold.  But thank you so much for caring about Healthy Chow!***

Bet you’d never thought you’d hear those four words together, huh?  Well, I didn’t either until I decided after my previous posts on the kabocha/buttercup squash that my desire to cook more with this little blogosphere famous gourd just wasn’t satisfied yet.  And thus began my hunt for another recipe.  I saw many online for soups, purées and roasting and stuffing, which all sounded delicious, but didn’t really knock my socks off.  Finally, I stumbled upon a recipe for kabocha pie.  It looked just like a pumpkin pie (I guess it really is a pumpkin pie), but instead of it being sweet, it was savory.  I just had to give this a try.  I love quiches and pies, I love any kind of pumpkin and I love eating, so what other reason did I need to make this little yummy recipe? None.

That said, I began studying the recipe to see how I could ‘Healthy Chow-ify’ it.  When I say, ‘Healthy Chow-ify’, I mean make any substitutions that I’d prefer, do anything that would make the recipe simpler and use any ingredient that I have on hand versus having to buy new ones.  Why?  Because that’s how this girl rolls…

The kabocha pie recipe I found online called for a traditional pie crust.  Being that I’ve never made a real pie crust and those frozen ready-to-use ones sorta freak me out, I decided to make my own healthier version.  I figured since the kabocha would be pretty sturdy and not really watery/liquidy, the crust didn’t need to be too thick or ‘crusty’.  It just had to have some sort of a crunch and serve as a base for my beloved kabocha.  Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it was and it was actually one of the tastiest and easiest recipes I’ve made in quite some time.

Kabocha Tofu Zucchini Pie
Adapted from TheKitchn.com
Serves 6

For the crust:
From Bitsys Kitchen

• 1 3/4 cups of cooked brown rice (I used Lundberg’s Short Grain Brown Rice)
• 2 egg whites (or 1/3 cup of liquid egg whites)

1) Preheat the over to 350 degrees.

2) In a bowl, mix the cooked brown rice with the egg whites.  Then press the brown rice mixture into a pie plate that has been coated with cooking spray.

3) Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the rice starts getting crispy at the edges.

For the filling:

• 2 lbs. of kabocha, peeled, seeded, and cubed (about 4 cups)
• 1 TSP olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 TBSP of garlic, minced
• 12 oz. of  firm tofu, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 small-medium zucchini, sliced into half moon shapes
• 1 TBSP of fresh or 2 TSP of dried rosemary leaves, finely chopped
• few dashes of salt
• few dashes of white pepper
• few dashes of adobo powder
• few dashes of dried parsley
• 2 TBSP of cornstarch or arrowroot powder dissolved in 1 TBSP water (if necessary – I omitted this)
• 2 TBSP of agave nectar mixed with 1 TBSP of water (optional – I omitted this)

1) Keep the oven at 350 degrees after you’ve finished baking the crust.

2) Steam the squash until soft (about 15 minutes, you can do this while the crust is baking) and mash with a fork until you get the consistency of mashed potatoes.

3) In a large saucepan, begin heating the olive oil.  Add the onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes or until the onion has softened and is translucent.

4) Add the steamed squash, tofu, zucchini, rosemary, adobo powder, dried parsley, salt, and white pepper and cook until heated through.  If you want your filling to be thicker, you can now add the dissolved arrowroot or cornstarch.

5) If you want a smoother texture for your filling, feel free to add the filling to a food processor or blender and purée.  I preferred a more rustic feel to my pie, so I left it as is.

6) Pour the filling into the pie crust.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the pie starts to brown.  Optional: after 15 minutes in the oven, brush agave nectar and water mixture over the top of the pie to glaze.

7) Serve hot or warm.  But right out of the fridge isn’t so bad either!

Holy yum! This was ah.may.zing!  While this was supposed to be a savory dish, the kabocha kept this pie sweet, but definitely in a favorable way.  The tofu added some heft (and protein) to the recipe without adding any grease or an excess amount of fat.  I added the sliced zucchini because I wanted to add some vegetables to this recipe and because I thought it would taste and look good…and I was right on! However, the highlight of this dish had to be the rosemary.  While I used dried rosemary, the flavor was still quite apparent and paired ever so wonderfully with the kabocha.  It truly made the recipe!  I also used white pepper because I like the unique spice it brings to food and also because I didn’t want black specs in my pie (hey, presentation is key, right?).  The brown rice pie crust was a great complement to the kabocha tofu filling.  While a traditional pie crust would have been thicker and flakier and would have given the pie a more buttery taste, I liked the brown rice because it was heartier and gave the recipe an earthier feel.  And of course the brown rice was a healthier and lighter option.  The brown rice crust also held up quite well in the oven and didn’t break when I sliced the cooked pie.  Now that I know a brown rice crust is a great substitute for a savory pie, I can’t wait to do some more experimenting.  *Hint – look for more recipes like this on my blog in the near future

I’m so glad I decided to give another kabocha recipe a try.  This surely was a winner and came together quite easily.  The flavors from the various ingredients and seasonings played together so well and resulted in a great comfort food meal.  In addition, this pie was even better as a leftover as the flavors seemed to sink deeper into the kabocha overnight.  I almost forgot to mention that one slice was pretty filling (no pun intended) and was a nice quick dinner paired with a side salad.  Can you tell that I’m really digging this recipe?  Whenever I can find a recipe that’s healthy, inexpensive to make, delicious and unique, it’s truly a keeper. Now that’s truly a slice o’ heaven!

What’s your favorite spice or seasoning?  And how do you store your fresh herbs?  I love them but I can’t seem to use them fast enough before they go bad – any suggestions?

Namasté,
Nicole

If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll know I met a new orange gourd, fell in love and now we are running off and having a gang of gorgeous gourd-y babies.  Hehehe, I don’t know, but sometimes I think Healthy Chow is losing her mind! Anyway, I recently prepped and baked a kabocha and with the cooked and well-seasoned pieces, I made some meals that were reminiscent of these posts.  If convenience is king (or queen), then I’m a huge fan of the Royal Family.  You really can’t beat whipping up a fantastic tasting and healthy meal in under 30 minutes.  Hey, no wonder that Rachael Ray is so dang popular (I promise I won’t say ‘ee-vee-oh-oh’ or ‘into the hot tub these kiddies go’ in this post)!

OK, so let’s recap what I already made with my first ever kabocha.  After baking the cubed kabocha in olive oil and a ton of spices and seasonings, I made a simple whole wheat pasta dish with baby spinach, cannellini beans and ricotta cheese.  And, with almost the same ingredients I used in the pasta dish, I converted the recipe into omelet form.  But what else can one do with a squash? Hold onto your socks and I will show you…

Wrapped Up with Kabocha

If you like pressed sammies, paninis, wraps or toasty burritos, then this little delight is for you.  On a Joseph’s Flax, Oatbran and Whole Wheat Flour Tortilla, I spread 2 tablespoons of Cedar’s Roasted Red Pepper Hummus along with a Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese wedge.  Then, I layered a handful of baby spinach and a few cubes of my cooked kabocha.  I rolled it up in a burrito-style fashion and toasted it on my panini press for a few minutes until the top started getting all roasty toasty.  Once the cheese starts oozing out and sizzling on the panini press (actually, don’t wait for that!), remove your wrap and cut in half to allow some of the heat to escape.  Once cooled, it’s time to devour! Oh me, oh my!  The warmed kabocha against the creamy hummus and swiss cheese was sensational.  I didn’t think a wrap as simple as this could taste so extraordinary.  Plus, how can you not love those colors together?

Everything in the Pot Kabocha Stir-Fry

With my last remaining pieces of kabocha (sniff, sniff), I decided to not only polish off my orange fibrous gourd, but I also decided to use up the remnants of anything else I could find in my fridge, freezer and cupboards.  That said, I began my hunt for anything that would taste good (fingers crossed) with my kabocha in a stir-fry.  I found about 4 oz. of Trader Joe’s firm tofu, about a cup and a half of Trader Joe’s frozen broccoli (thawed), some sliced white mushrooms, some raisins and a macoun apple.  In a large frying pan, I heated up 2 teaspoons of Smart Balance Light.  Once melted, I added my macoun apple, which I chopped into bite-sized pieces.  I then added some more spices and seasonings (it couldn’t hurt, right?): ground ginger, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, white pepper, curry powder and dried cilantro.  Once the apple pieces began softening and drowning browning in the pool of spices and seasonings, I added the mushrooms.  Once those cooked up a bit, I added the rest of my ingredients.  After everything has been stirred together and warmed, it’s done.  If you could have only smelled the cooked apple with cinnamon, nutmeg and curry – to.die.for.  And was this ‘everything-but-the-kitchen-sink’ stir-fry a success?  Uh, hell to the yeah! It was everything I could ask for in my final kabocha dish.  What a way to go out!  Gangstah!

Roasty Toasty Kabocha Seeds

And finally, do you remember the mess of kabocha seeds and pulp I had from my prepping experience?  Well, those teeny babies did not go to waste.  Healthy Chow has issues with wasting food (sound familiar, Allie? ) and thus, decided to make use of every bit of her kabocha.  You should see what I did with the green peel…I made a really groovy hat.  Just kidding, folks! But let’s get back to biz’nis, shall we? After rinsing the seeds and getting rid of all the stringy pulp, I used the same tray (and aluminum foil) that my kabocha pieces were cooked on and spread out my seeds in a single layer.  I sprayed the seeds with some cooking spray (you could use olive oil) and sprinkled them with salt.  Then, since the oven was still hot, I turned down the temperature to 325 degrees and cooked my kabocha seeds for 10 minutes.  And if you forget to take your seeds out of the oven (like me), have no fear because they start popping like popcorn kernels and will scare the bejeezus out of you.  Once they are cooled, you are free to eat.  They are great as is or feel free to use them as a topping for your oatmeal, soup or yogurt.  Just store them in an air-tight container and they should keep for quite some time, if they make it that long!

I know that from one kabocha I was able to make quite a few meals.  However, I was actually wishing there was more once my last bite of this delicious squash was gone.  The tender texture and sweet taste of my new found love was more than mildly addicting (OK, that sounded weird).  I’m just so happy that I took the time needed to properly prepare and cook my gourd.  After reading some of the instructions online, I was worried that this krazy little thing called kabocha was not going to be worth the trouble.  Boy, was I wrong! I guess if you just take the time to learn about something and are patient during the learning process, good things will come your way.  But the first step is to try.  Besides, I think when you make something on your own, it has the tendency to taste better – even if you aren’t a Food Network star.

What’s the biggest disaster you’ve ever had in your kitchen?  How did you react?  What did you do to recover?

Namasté,
Nicole

Remember that scary moment a few weeks ago when there was that pumpkin shortage?  Well, thankfully, that rough patch is over and Libby is back!  Life can now resume, as well as fall baking.

However, when the shortage was still going on in full force, I became desperate and decided I was going to look for another gourd to gussy up my gastrointestinal goings-on (how’d you like that one, Sarah?).  I had read so much about the kabocha squash in the blogoshere like here, here, here and here, that I knew I just had to try it.  I love me some gourd and orange fiber, so I knew this was going to be right up my alley.  Plus, if I didn’t end up eating it, it was a super cute fall decoration for my home.  Resourceful (or ‘ree-zource-full’ as I heard someone saying the other day), eh?

But just finding this darn thang was a project in itself!  I looked at various grocery stores, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Russo’s and I could not find this squash.  I saw some things that resembled the kabocha, but none were actually called ‘kabocha’.  Then, I was enlightened by the ever so lovely and intelligent, Katharina, who mentioned to me that kabocha is also referred to as ‘buttercup’ squash and that if I was having trouble finding kabocha, the buttercup is a very close cousin and tastes pretty much the same.  DUH!  I think I’ve seen the buttercup at just about every store I visited and never once did I think they were the same.  Jeezums.

After purchasing my squash-y and bringing it home, I realized that I had to cut it before I could have the chance to savor its sweetness.  But just how do you cut into this tough skin?  I mean, I have some good knives (OK, they probably could be better), but I’m not sure if they could handle cutting through this harder-than-diamonds outer shell.  Armed with the help of my friend (aka Google), I believe I found the easiest way to tackle a kabocha.  You can read about it here.  Or watch it live (not really) here:

Kutting and Kleaning a Kabocha:

1) Wash the green guy thoroughly.  I used my trusty Veggie Wash and sprayed it generously all over the kabocha.  Then, I massaged the kabocha and gave it a good rub down for about 30 seconds.  Once cleaned, I gave it a good rinse and dried it off.

2) Using the tip of a sharp knife or a large and sharp fork, begin making several cuts/stabs/pricks all over the kabocha.  This will help to allow steam out of the kabocha while cooking and will help to avoid an explosion in your microwave.

3) Once covered in small punctures, place the kabocha in the microwave and microwave on high in increments of two minutes.  I cooked mine for a total time of six minutes.  It’s ready when the skin can be easily pierced with the tip of a knife.

4) Be careful when you take the kabocha out of the microwave.  It’s going to be very hot!  I put on my oven mitts after trying to be a hero and grabbing the kabocha bare-handed and failing miserably.  Or, you could be patient and wait for the kabocha to cool down before handling it.

5) Once cooled, cut the kabocha.  You can cut it in half or be like me, and cut it into thirds (I’m not quite sure why I did this).

6) With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and the fibrous stringy pulp.  You can toss the seeds if you want, but they are divine in their own right and can be a scrumptious snack.  Start cutting the now softened green skin off from the lovely orange flesh (imagine what you’d do with a butterNUT squash).  Or, you could leave the skin on, as some like to eat the skin as it is highly nutritious.

7) You can then slice your kabocha into whatever shape you would like.  I chose to cube mine since I wanted small, bite-sized pieces.  You could also cut it into crescent moon shapes (think cantaloupe smiles).

8 ) You are now free to do whatever you want with your kabocha.  Imagine that?  To see what I did with my kabocha, keep reading…

Spiced and Roasted Kabocha

1) After my kabocha was kut, kleaned and kubed (did you see what I did just there?), I coated all the pieces in about a tablespoon of olive oil.

2) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a big bowl, I mixed together a million few spices and seasonings.  I used a generous amount (lotsa shakes) of the following: cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, dried cilantro, ground ginger, onion powder, paprika and ground black pepper.  And a pinch of brown sugar and sea salt.

3) Mix the olive oil coated kabocha pieces in your spice/season mixture.  Make sure the pieces are evenly coated with the mixture.  Then, on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil (spray the foil with cooking spray), spread out your kabocha in a single layer.

4) Bake your kabocha for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through the cooking time, or until your kabocha starts browning at the edges.  Enjoy the orange goodness!

The baked kabocha comes out sweet and soft, quite similar to a butternut squash, but has a more earthy, nutty taste.  It also seems to hold its shape better than a butternut during the baking process and has a less fibrous (stringy) texture.  I absolutely loved it!  While I had a hard time stopping myself from munching on the cooked pieces straight off the baking sheet, I managed to save some for some future meals and dishes.  BTW, cooked kabocha tastes great cold right out of the fridge.  It’s almost like a dessert…a healthy and low calorie dessert!  In addition to it being a cold and sweet treat, I used my cooked kabocha in a series of fast and convenient dishes.  Wanna know how?  Keep reading…

Kreamy Kabocha Pasta

After cooking and draining about 2 cups of whole wheat pasta (and reserving a cup of the pasta water), I added a big handful of baby spinach to the pot with my cooked pasta.  Once the spinach cooked down, I mixed in about a 1/3 of a cup of nonfat ricotta cheese.  Because the pasta seemed a bit dry, I added a few splashes of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up.  Then, I added a 1/2 of a cup of cannellini beans, salt, cracked black pepper, garlic powder and dried parsley.  I mixed that together until well-blended and then added some of my cooked kabocha.  Since the kabocha is already cooked, it just needs to be warmed.  Once everything has been warmed together, serve immediately and top with parmesan cheese.  Hmmm, hmmm, good!

‘Omelet’ the Kabocha Take Over

If you liked the pasta dish but don’t want to be weighed down with all those extra carbs, why not try making the same dish in omelet form?  I made my omelet by pouring a 1/2 of a cup of egg whites onto a small heated frying pan.  Once the egg whites started bubbling, I added a few dashes of salt, cracked black pepper and adobo powder.  Then, I dropped down a handful of baby spinach and a few of tablespoons of nonfat ricotta cheese.  As soon as the spinach started wilting down, I added a few cubes of my cooked kabocha.  Once everything was heated through, I folded over my egg whites.  After another few minutes of cooking, the omelet is done.  Transfer to a plate and top with some salsa.  Ta dah! Kabocha with some added protein, minus the extra carbs.  This is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  I loved it!

Hooray! I finally did it!  I am so glad that I finally tried the kabocha squash and was successful at prepping it and cooking it.  I have a tendency to shy away from the things people rave about and the things that seem to be the latest trend (remember this post?).  However, kabocha was just too good to resist (sorta like Justin Timberlake IMHO).  I love the versatility of this squash and the fact that with or without the seasonings and spices, it still is wonderful (just like Justin).  Perhaps opening up a can of Libby’s is a bit more konvenient than kleaning, kutting and kooking up your own gourd, but then again who wants konvenience when you can have kabocha?!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post when I show you part II of My Little Buttercup, the Kabocha…

Have you tried kabocha squash yet?  If so, what is your favorite way to prepare it?

Namasté,
Nicole

I’m a sucker for a sale.  And this is especially the case if that sale is happening at the grocery store.  It’s like the stores know I am coming and know what to advertise or promote in order for me to buy (it’s not like it’s that difficult).  I walk in and immediately, I’m tempted by their ‘buy one, get one free’ or their ‘10 for $10′. I try to hide my eyes, but I just can’t deny it.  I want in on that sale!

A couple of weeks ago, because it was a day that ended in the letter ‘Y’, I was at the grocery store.  As I was breezing through the produce aisle (I was actually in a rush that afternoon and had only a few minutes to grab a few items), I saw one of my favorite snack foods, baby carrots.  And of course, those crunchy little orange delights had to be on sale and naturally, I had a 85% full bag just sitting in my fridge.  Immediately, I was caught in a big conundrum.  Should I buy the carrots?  If I buy one bag, I obviously have to get another since it’s free.  But then again, I know I won’t be able to eat that many baby carrots before they start getting all slimy slimerson (you know what I mean) and smelling less than good.  But then again, it’s such a good buy, how could I pass it up?  Then all of the sudden, a light bulb went off (it doesn’t happen too often, kiddies, but when it does, look out!).  I realized I could buy the carrots and keep them both in the freezer until I needed them.  I could get my great bargain and I could escape the slime factor.  Problem solved.

Image Credits – WiseGeek.com

Not so fast.  When I finally finished the 85% full bag of baby carrots that was sitting in my fridge, I dove into the freezer to find my frozen babies and then quickly tossed them into the fridge to defrost.  I’m not quite sure what I thought the carrots would be like once they thawed.  I guess I assumed (you know what that means) that they would be like the snappy mini veggies I normally bought and dipped into hummus.  To my disbelief, the usual crisp and hard baby carrots had now been reduced to a limp and lifeless mess (I’m not even going to say it…).  What was I going to do? Not only did I have one bag of orange mush, but I had two.  Not good.

Then, another light bulb went off.  Can you believe it? If I wasn’t going to eat the thawed baby carrots in their mushy state, then why not enjoy them in a ‘mushy-er’ state?  Why not mash them up so much that they no longer resemble carrots and no longer remind me of the silly goof-up I made?  That said, I salvaged my purchase and turned it into what I consider a stroke of luck.

Carrot Ginger Potato Soup
Adapted from AndreasRecipes.com
Serves 6

• 1 1/2 TBSP Smart Balance Light (feel free to use butter or your choice of buttery substitute)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup peeled grated fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (I used a heaping tablespoon of minced jarred garlic)
• 4 cups chicken stock (I used Trader Joe’s Organic Low Sodium Chicken Stock – you could use vegetable stock)
• 1/2 chicken bouillon cube (I only had one carton of TJ’s chicken stock on hand, I probably needed 2 more cups)
• 1 cup cooking wine (I used Goya Dry White Cooking Wine)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (mine were mushy, but feel free to use non-mushy)
• 3 small white potatoes, cubed
• 1 TSP cornstarch
• 2 TBSP of honey
• dashes of curry powder
• dashes of cinnamon
• dashes of nutmeg
• dashes of dried parsley
• juice of half a lemon juice
• s&p
• chopped chives for garnish (optional)
• Greek yogurt for garnish (optional, but highly recommended)

1) In a large pot, melt the Smart Balance Light on medium heat.  Once warmed, add the onion, ginger and garlic and cook until the onion starts getting translucent and your kitchen smells unbelievable (about 5 minutes).

2) Then add the chicken stock, wine, carrots and potatoes to the pot.  Turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Stir.  Add the bouillon cube.  Stir again.

3) Reduce the heat back down to medium and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes or until the vegetables are very tender and can be easily broken up with a spoon.

4) If you are lucky enough to have an immersion blender (I am not), this is the time to purée the mixture in your pot.  If you are using a regular blender, be sure to let the mixture cool down a bit first before dumping the mixture in batches into the blender (you don’t want to overfill your blender).  Blending hot items can be dangerous; take precaution! I blended my cooled down mixture in three different batches.

5) Once all of the mixture has been puréed, add it back to the pot.  Turn the heat back on to medium/medium-high and let the mixture get hot.  In a small cup, mix the corn starch in a tablespoon of warm water until well dissolved.  Add the corn starch mixture to the pot.  Stir the mixture.

6) Add the curry powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, parsley, salt and pepper to the pot and season to taste.  Give it a good stir.  Then add your honey and lemon juice and give your soup a thorough stirring as it heats up.

7) Once hot, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish (if you wish) with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of dried parsley or chives.   Voilà!  Soup’s on!

Not only did my kitchen smell heavenly with the scent of warmed onion, ginger and garlic, but my belly was pretty much on cloud nine, too.  Not only is this quite the hefty soup (it’s actually more like babyfood consistency), but the curry, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon warmed me from the inside out.  And while a cup of a regular broth-like soup would not normally fill up Healthy Chow, this one kept me from raiding the kitchen cupboards for at least three hours.  The Greek yogurt may have also helped to fill the usual insatiable hole that is my stomach.  I also like being able to swirl the yogurt into my soup.  The color of the stark white Greekness against the vibrant orange of the carrot was like having art in my bowl.  And the sprinkling of the green parsley just made me want to take pictures (hey wait, I always take pictures of my food ).

I was so pleased with this recipe.  It was easy to make, I pretty much had all the ingredients on hand and I managed to save my carrots on clearance from going into the trash.  Ahhh, what’s there to complain about?  When life hands you lemons, you need to make lemonade.  And when your weakness for produce bargains hands you mushy carrots, make carrot soup!

Are you a sucker like me for bargains?  What’s your favorite thing to stockpile?

Namasté,
Nicole

***Awesome Giveaway Alert! – Shannon at Tri to Cook is celebrating her blogiversary by giving away a Cuisinart ice cream maker!  If you’re interested, go to Shannon’s blog for further details…***

***It’s week two of Project Feed Me!  Please go to Natalie’s blog to see what to buy for this week.  And if you haven’t signed-up yet, you can still do so by going here.  And if you want to see how photogenic canned chili can be, please go here.***

I have so many apples in my house and have eaten so many apples that I think I’m going bananas (hehehe – sorry, I couldn’t resist that one).  Remember my adventure at the apple farm?  Well, I’m a complete slacker! Just check out Lauren’s amazing apple creations here, here, here and here, as well as Shannon’s sweet and savory apple pie.  Those fab ladies are making great use of their fresh crop and me?  Not so much.

Well, to be honest with you, I had all these recipes containing apples lined up and ready to go but for some reason, I just can’t seem to execute! I want to make something hot, cinnamon-y, nutmeg-y and buttery, but I keep coming up short (I am only 5′1!).  Maybe it’s just that I want to save my apples for the ‘ultimate’ recipe.  But just what is the ultimate recipe?  After all, I have about 6-8 recipes bookmarked and I keep finding more every time I surf online, which is pretty much 50% of my day.  Perhaps I’m just afraid my apple cooking/baking won’t live up to my expectations? Or maybe I’m just lazy (Hey! Nobody’s perfect!)?  Whichever the case may be, I decided to finally bite the bullet (or apple) this past Saturday and whip out an apple dish that I just conjured up in my head.  And if I don’t say so myself, it came out pretty dang good!

Apple, Sausage & Broccoli Frittata

Serves 6-8

• 5 eggs (I used Trader Joe’s Organic Cage Free eggs, large sized)
• 2 egg whites (I used 1/3 of a cup of carton egg whites)
• 1/4 cup of reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup of nonfat cottage cheese
• 2 roasted garlic chicken sausage, chopped into bite-sized pieces ( I used Trader Joe’s brand, feel free to use any flavor)
• 1 small-medium apple, skin on (any kind, I used McIntosh), chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 1/2 cups of frozen broccoli florets
• 1/4 cup of chopped onion
• 1/2 cup of lowfat milk
• few dashes of adobo powder
• few dashes of dried rosemary
• few dashes of dried parsley
• few dashes of garlic powder
• s&p

The members of the cast

Easily the star of the show…

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Crack eggs into a mixing bowl, add egg whites, milk, adobo powder, parsley, salt and pepper.  Then add the cheddar cheese and the cottage cheese.  Mix with fork to get everything well-blended but be careful to not over mix.  Set aside.

All in the mix…

Eggy…

2) Coat a medium-sized frying pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Heat on medium-high.  Add the onions and apples to the frying pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions and apples begin to soften.

Apples + onions sitting in a tree…

3) Add the broccoli and sausage to the frying pan.  Then add the rosemary and garlic powder.  Cook for another 5 minutes until the sausage has browned and everything has been well-blended.

Everyone get in!

4) Pour the apple and sausage mixture into a greased (I used cooking spray) 11 x 7 baking dish.

All warm and toasty…

5) Then pour the egg mixture over the apple and sausage mixture.

Getting a nice soak…

6) Place in oven for 20-25 minutes or until the edges turn crispy and brown and the eggs are firm to the touch.

7) Serve immediately and enjoy!

This was the ‘ultimate’ brunch dish this weekend.  It was fast and easy (NOT like me ) and tasted wonderful.  I chose the roasted garlic flavored chicken sausage over the apple flavored chicken sausage because I didn’t want the apple flavoring in the frittata to be overpowering.  It was perfect! There was just enough sweetness from the McIntosh apple to take on the savory from the sausage, cheddar and seasoned eggs.  The soft pillows of melted cottage cheese gave the dish a richer taste and texture, without having to add too many extra calories or fat.  I also really enjoyed the dried rosemary against the eggs and chicken sausage; it certainly kicked up the taste of the frittata.

While most recipes I have seen online for frittatas use only whole eggs, I decided to reduce the amount and substitute with a couple of egg whites.  While the number of whole eggs were cut down, the taste definitely was not.  In fact, the egg whites gave the frittata a ‘lighter’ and ‘airier’ texture.  Plus, there wasn’t a whole lot of grease and you didn’t feel as if there was a brick sitting at the bottom of your stomach once you were done eating.  Also, the apple pieces seemed to freshen up the dish and eliminate the heavy taste that one often gets with eggs.

The sole drawback to this dish was that I only used one apple.  I really wish I could have added another, but one was plenty.  While my first instinct was to make a sweet recipe with my apple crop, I decided to mix it up a bit by seeing if I could incorporate the fruit into a savory dish.  It was the perfect combination! Patrick seemed to agree as he had about 2.5 pieces that early afternoon.  He said my frittata tasted so good, it didn’t even need ketchup! Now that’s saying a lot! I guess that’s why he’s the apple of my eye…

This picture was taken inside my homemade lightbox…

And this picture was taken by the window…
Which one do you like better?

What is your favorite dish to make for brunch?

Namasté,
Nicole

OK, three down and three more to go!  If you read last Friday’s post, you’ll know that I created six different meals made from the ginormous vat of grilled chicken I brought home from my sister Michelle’s house.  I featured the first three meals I whipped up in last Friday’s post and in this post, I am going to show you the remaining three.  Are you ready? Is your tummy ready to grumble?!

So, let’s recap.  I did an easy-peasy grilled chicken with salad greens.  I ‘Greek-ified’ my would-be ordinary pita pocket by adding my version of cool and creamy tzatziki sauce.  And finally, I made my idea of comfort food by combining the grilled chicken with jazzed up tomato sauce, melted mozzarella and whole wheat ravioli.  What could I possibly do with the rest?  Let’s have a look…

1) Grilled Chicken Quesadilla – Very much like Healthy Chow, my husband, Patrick, likes to eat.  And when he’s hungry, his window for going from mildly hungry to starving (remember this post?) is quite the small one, very much like Healthy Chow’s.  So when Patrick needed lunch in a hurry one afternoon, I decided I would make him a healthy version of a quesadilla.  To make the quesadilla, I took a whole wheat pita and sliced it horizontally, resulting in two pita discs.  On top of one of the pita discs, I layered:

• grilled chicken, which I cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/4 cup of red kidney beans
• 2 TBSP of reduced fat cheddar cheese

I then took the other pita disc and layered that over the pita with the chicken, bean and cheese mixture.  Carefully, I placed that in my George Foreman grill and grilled it until the cheese started oozing and the top of the quesadilla started getting toasty.

As one of the sides for the quesadilla, I whipped up a quick guacamole by mixing the following:

• 1/2 of a small avocado
• few dashes of dried cilantro
• few dashes of adobo powder
• few dashes of garlic powder
• few dashes of onion powder
• few dashes of cayenne pepper

For the other sides, I used Trader Joe’s European Style Plain Nonfat Yogurt (a healthier substitute for sour cream) and organic salsa.  The result was much better than what you’d find at a place that rhymes with ‘Paco Hell’.

¿Qué Pasa? Quesadilla

Look at those awesome grill marks…

Amazing avocado

All together now…

Any one in the mood for a margarita?

2) Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Grilled Marinated Portobello Mushrooms, Goat cheese, Dried Figs and Spinach – This sandwich was my favorite.  I loved the combination of the sweet dried figs and creamy goat cheese.  It was definitely what you would call a sandwich! For this meal, I took the grilled chicken breasts and sliced them lengthwise. Then, I began making the marinade for my portobello mushrooms.  I used:

• 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 2 TBSP of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic
• few dashes of garlic powder
• s&p

Once my marinade was made, I dropped my two already washed portobello mushroom caps into the mixture.  I let them marinate in the fridge for about 15 minutes.  While the shrooms were marinating, I started chopping up 1 1/2 dried figs (I used Trader Joe’s Turkish Smyrna dried figs).  Then, I sliced a whole wheat ciabatta loaf in half lengthwise and cut each half into fourths (thus, making four small sandwiches).  I then spread about 1.6 oz. of goat cheese (I used Trader Joe’s brand, about a 1/3 of the 5 oz. tube) onto the sliced ciabatta.  Next I layered the chicken pieces, the baby spinach and the dried figs.  While these were resting, I began grilling my portobellos on my George Foreman grill.  It took about 3-5 minutes for my mushrooms to be grilled.  Once grilled, I sliced them into tiny slivers and placed a few pieces on each sandwich half.  Finally, I sandwiched the two pieces of ciabatta together and placed the sandwich onto the Foreman and grilled for a few minutes until the bread started getting toasty (it’s a pretty thick sandwich, so it may take a few extra minutes).

This sandwich made my mouth sing! I loved the warm creamy goat cheese against the crunchy ciabatta with the sweetness of the dried figs, the mellow tasting portobellos and the garlicky chicken.  There was so much flavor in this sandwich and everything blended so exceptionally!

My favorite sandwich

Mushroom madness…

Grilling…

Grilled.

Sliced.

Almost done…

I wish I had one to eat right now…

3) Grilled Chicken with Couscous, Grilled Marinated Portobello Mushrooms, Cucumber, Tomato, Capers and Feta – For my final dish, I decided to go with one of my favorite grains, couscous.  I love how fast couscous cooks up and how it tastes great with just about anything.  That said, here is what I used to make my couscous salad:

• grilled chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups of cooked and chilled couscous (about 1 cup uncooked)
• leftover sliced grilled marinated portobello mushrooms (how do you like that one, Robin?),
• 1/3 cup of peeled chopped cucumber
• 1/3 cup of chopped tomato (with the guts removed)
• 1/2 of a small chopped onion
• 2 TSP of capers
• few dashes of dried dill
• few dashes of dried parsley
• 2 TBSP of roasted red pepper salad dressing (I used Kraft’s, but any vinegarette salad dressing will do)
• feta cheese (I used Trader Joe’s brand, fat free)
• s&p

Combine all your ingredients in a large bowl, except the salad dressing.  Blend well.  Once everything is blended well, add your salad dressing and mix again until everything is coated.  Cover your couscous salad and let it sit in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.  Once it’s chilled, it’s ready to eat!

Picture time again…

Getting in the mix…

Time for a stir…

The dressing

Suddenly salad…

Phew!  That was six meals made from cooking just once.  Can you believe it?  I really did enjoy putting my energy into the creativity of coming up with a new recipe versus putting my energy into cooking the chicken.  Having the step of already having cooked chicken was quite convenient.  That said, it’s always best to think and plan ahead.  Cooking more of a certain ingredient or prepping in advance really helps to make cooking more fun and less time consuming.  When you know you already have the majority of the work done for you, it’s easier to make a home cooked meal versus running to get take-out.  It also helps to take the stress out of figuring out what to make for dinner and/or lunch, which leaves you with more time to lounge and hang out in your backyard.  Or in my case, more time for me to hang out at Fenway Park.

What’s your favorite way to make meals in advance?  How do you save time in the kitchen?

Namasté,
Nicole