This is a super healthy, warm, tasty and filling breakfast, that's super easy to do in the morning before work.
(serves 1)
1/3 cup instant oats
1/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup water
1 tsp milled flax seed
1 banana, sliced
Sprinkling of ground cinnamon
Mix together the oats, milk, water and flax seed in a microwavable bowl. Slice in the banana, stir again, sprinkle with cinnamon, and microwave for 1-2 minutes, depending on your microwave oven. Stir again, and serve! Yum!
16 November 2008
15 November 2008
Cinnamon Espresso Ice Cream
Well, now that Winter is fast approaching, why not post an ice cream recipe? I assure you, if you make this for your friends, they will brag about you to strangers.
Cinnamon Espresso Ice Cream (makes 1 1/2 quarts)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 TB Instant Espresso Powder
1/2 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon (get the good stuff)
1 Cup Milk (I use lactose free milk, and then I have lactose-free ice cream! Woo!)
2 Cups Cream (again if you use heavy whipping cream= no lactose and you get lactose-free ice cream)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract (again- live it up and get the good stuff. ALSO- you can sub with pure almond extract, and it's super extra wonderful tasty)
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the sugar, espresso powder, and cinnamon. I like to mix it up with a whisk, because I like to say "whisk." Sounds exciting, no?
Then add the 1 cup milk, and whisk together the ingredients until the sugar is completely dissolved. It'll take a little while.
After the sugar is completely dissolved, add the 2 cups cream and the vanilla extract.
Freeze in your ice cream maker for about 30 minutes. (It will be about the consistency of soft-serve at this point)
Transfer to an airtight freezer container and allow to "ripen" overnight. (AKA harden to regular ice cream consistency)
Enjoy! And don't forget that it does contain espresso, so if you eat a whole bunch of it, and then try to go to bed, there may be some difficulty...
Cinnamon Espresso Ice Cream (makes 1 1/2 quarts)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 TB Instant Espresso Powder
1/2 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon (get the good stuff)
1 Cup Milk (I use lactose free milk, and then I have lactose-free ice cream! Woo!)
2 Cups Cream (again if you use heavy whipping cream= no lactose and you get lactose-free ice cream)
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract (again- live it up and get the good stuff. ALSO- you can sub with pure almond extract, and it's super extra wonderful tasty)
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the sugar, espresso powder, and cinnamon. I like to mix it up with a whisk, because I like to say "whisk." Sounds exciting, no?
Then add the 1 cup milk, and whisk together the ingredients until the sugar is completely dissolved. It'll take a little while.
After the sugar is completely dissolved, add the 2 cups cream and the vanilla extract.
Freeze in your ice cream maker for about 30 minutes. (It will be about the consistency of soft-serve at this point)
Transfer to an airtight freezer container and allow to "ripen" overnight. (AKA harden to regular ice cream consistency)
Enjoy! And don't forget that it does contain espresso, so if you eat a whole bunch of it, and then try to go to bed, there may be some difficulty...
Halloween Brain and Eyeball Cupcakes!
Hurrah for confections shaped like body parts!
I made these pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting using the recipes from Krystina Castella's EXCELLENT book, Crazy About Cupcakes, the best cupcake book I've found. The idea for the brains came from Martha Stewart Living, but the blood was all my friend Jason's idea.
The brains were pretty easy to do- I just divided the cupcake into two halves, and piped a big pile of squiggles of frosting onto each half, using a round pastry tip, until the heaps looked suitably brainy. Then I just drizzled a little red frosting on top for blood, as red cake decorating gel is rarer than hen's teeth in Brooklyn grocery stores.
The eyeballs were super easy, as well. I just frosted the cupcakes as smoothly as possible with the plain cream cheese icing. Then I piped a big dollop of blue frosting in the center of each cupcake, and inverted a dark chocolate chip into the center of the "eye" for the pupil. Then I piped red blood vessels out in squiggly lines from the center, and voila! Bloodshot eyeballs!
07 September 2008
Super Tasty Baked Macaroni and Cheese
I love this recipe, as do all of my friends. Definitely a rich and tasty treat.
Macaroni and Cheese
1/2 Pound whole wheat pasta, cooked al dente ( macaroni elbows and fusilli seem to work best, but other smallish pastas are fine, shells, bowties, etc.)
1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups milk
3 TB Butter
3 TB Flour
1/2 Tsp. sea salt (more or less to taste)
a generous amount of fresh ground pepper
1/2 TB Coleman's mustard powder mixed with 1/2 TB water
1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs
2 TB butter, melted.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare the pasta according to its package directions, drain and put aside.
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt the 3 TB butter, and mix in the 3 TB flour. Cook and mix until the flour is all bubbly and a beige-y color. Congratulations, you've just made a roux!
OK, now mix in the milk, a bit at a time, whisking and letting the sauce thicken as you add it. Now stir in the salt, pepper, and prepared mustard. Once the white sauce is lovely and thick and hot, add 2/3 of the shedded cheddar cheese to the sauce, and cook on a low flame until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is well mixed.
Now, dump the pasta and the cheese sauce into an appropriately sized casserole dish.
In a small bowl, mix the 2 TB melted butter, 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs, and the remainder of the shredded cheddar cheese.
Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the macaroni and cheese in the casserole dish, and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
Enjoy! :)
Variation-- Jalapeno Macaroni & Cheese-- Substitute the cheddar cheese with pepper jack cheese and leave out the mustard. Spicy!
Macaroni and Cheese
1/2 Pound whole wheat pasta, cooked al dente ( macaroni elbows and fusilli seem to work best, but other smallish pastas are fine, shells, bowties, etc.)
1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups milk
3 TB Butter
3 TB Flour
1/2 Tsp. sea salt (more or less to taste)
a generous amount of fresh ground pepper
1/2 TB Coleman's mustard powder mixed with 1/2 TB water
1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs
2 TB butter, melted.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare the pasta according to its package directions, drain and put aside.
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt the 3 TB butter, and mix in the 3 TB flour. Cook and mix until the flour is all bubbly and a beige-y color. Congratulations, you've just made a roux!
OK, now mix in the milk, a bit at a time, whisking and letting the sauce thicken as you add it. Now stir in the salt, pepper, and prepared mustard. Once the white sauce is lovely and thick and hot, add 2/3 of the shedded cheddar cheese to the sauce, and cook on a low flame until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is well mixed.
Now, dump the pasta and the cheese sauce into an appropriately sized casserole dish.
In a small bowl, mix the 2 TB melted butter, 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs, and the remainder of the shredded cheddar cheese.
Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the macaroni and cheese in the casserole dish, and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
Enjoy! :)
Variation-- Jalapeno Macaroni & Cheese-- Substitute the cheddar cheese with pepper jack cheese and leave out the mustard. Spicy!
03 September 2008
Pasta Salad- perfect to bring to BBQs!
La's famous pasta salad
Dressing (OK I have NO measurements for this, I just sort of eyeball it)
equal parts Balsalmic vinegar & Olive oil, maybe like 3/4 cup each??
a few shakes mixed Mediterranean herbs ( I use the stuff from whole foods that's meant for fish)
lots of black pepper
a few shakes sea salt
a whole bunch of shakes of crushed red pepper
maybe about 1/2 teaspoon chopped basil (fresh, dried, from a jar, whatevs)
In a little bowl, mix the above ingredients together, let the dressing sit while you prep the salad ingredients below
Salad Ingredients
1 pound whole wheat fusilli, cooked and cooled
1 package grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes, halved)
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella (I like to use the marinaded braid one, if the store has it) cut into 1/2" cubes
1 little can sliced black olives, drained
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and cut into little pieces
Sliced sauteed zucchini is good to put in there, too.
In a big bowl, mix together the salad ingredients and toss with the dressing. This tends to taste better the longer the pasta and stuff have to absorb the flavors from the dressing, so you might want to make it the night before, or earlier in the day. Do taste it, though, and make sure it doesn't need more salt or vinegar. I'm always adding more of those two things...
05 April 2008
Lazy Girl Lo Mein
This is a healthy, yet quick and easy weeknight supper for 1. It's easily doubled for 2. :)
1 serving (2 oz) whole wheat spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 1/2 cups frozen stir fry vegetables
3 oz. soy stir fry faux meat strips
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (Thai peanut sauce is very good, too)
Spray canola oil
Prepare the spaghetti.
Lightly coat a medium fry pan with spray oil. Stir fry the frozen vegetables and faux meat strips until the vegetables are nearly cooked. Add the teriyaki sauce and heat through. Add spaghetti, mix thoroughly, and serve.
1 serving (2 oz) whole wheat spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 1/2 cups frozen stir fry vegetables
3 oz. soy stir fry faux meat strips
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (Thai peanut sauce is very good, too)
Spray canola oil
Prepare the spaghetti.
Lightly coat a medium fry pan with spray oil. Stir fry the frozen vegetables and faux meat strips until the vegetables are nearly cooked. Add the teriyaki sauce and heat through. Add spaghetti, mix thoroughly, and serve.
27 January 2008
Curried Whole Wheat Couscous with Chickpeas
1 box whole wheat couscous (1 and 2/3 cups)
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained
2 1/4 cups vegetable or other broth (bullion works, too)
1 TB olive oil
2 TB Jamaican curry powder
Mix the broth, curry powder and olive oil in a medium to large saucepan. Add the chickpeas. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the couscous, stir, and cover. Let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and serve.
This makes 5 servings. For an individual serving, use 1/2 cup of broth, 1 tsp. of olive oil, 1/3 cup couscous, and 1/3 cup chickpeas.
I love this recipe because it's cheap and easy to make, super healthy, has loads of protein and tastes yummy. And the yellow color is very cheerful. :)
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained
2 1/4 cups vegetable or other broth (bullion works, too)
1 TB olive oil
2 TB Jamaican curry powder
Mix the broth, curry powder and olive oil in a medium to large saucepan. Add the chickpeas. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the couscous, stir, and cover. Let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and serve.
This makes 5 servings. For an individual serving, use 1/2 cup of broth, 1 tsp. of olive oil, 1/3 cup couscous, and 1/3 cup chickpeas.
I love this recipe because it's cheap and easy to make, super healthy, has loads of protein and tastes yummy. And the yellow color is very cheerful. :)
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