An Informative Article on Inflammatory and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Foods

The day after Thanksgiving my tiny bit of arthritis in my thumb joint was painful for the first time in months. Could it have been the inflammatory nature of the foods? Maybe..but either way this article was quite informative.

http://nutrition.about.com/od/dietsformedicaldisorders/a/antiinflamfood.htm

Turkey Stew from Leftovers

If you have a lot of things in the frig and some meat or poultry this is a method to re-use all those leftovers.
Seasoning it depends on what you have and is often best as a trial and error process.

Here is what I started with. Left overs in my refrigerator were: carrot and celery sticks from an open house at the shop. a small amount of sauteed onions, sauteed leeks and sauteed bell peppers, turkey. So here is what I did. Chopped the carrots and celery and added chopped onion, added salt and pepper. Sauteed all in a bit of olive oil. When softened I added a chopped red bell pepper. (if I had some mushrooms I would have added them too) Then I added in the leeks, onions and red peppers that were previously sauteed. As it browned a bit I tossed in some WhiteVermouth to deglaze the pot, ( could have used water wine or chicken broth). Next I added the turkey that I had cut into cubes, then a small amount of tomato paste from the refrigerator and a can of peeled italian plum tomatoes, crushed. I put in some parsley from the terrace and a bit of tarragon. After tasting and thinking it needed something I added a bit of ground cloves. Finally at the end I added a bag of frozen peas from the freezer. At this point It is a turkey stew, which could be covered with an number of crusts or bisquit dough. I made a corn bread to accompany and took it to a pot luck supper with my high school friends. There was enough left over to package into individual tupperware containers that I froze for future meals. If you have left over steak or pot roast this can work too. I dont thicken with flour as it is less fattening to use a bit of tomato paste or nothing at all and just reduce the liquid a bit. You could also add cubed potatoes or cooked dried beans to this and even some wilted dark leafy greens for a different version.

Chicoria or Dandelion Greens

Cicoria is found throughout Italy. It is sometimes dandelion greens and sometimes a type of chickory I can't seem to source here in New York. It is Delicious!! It is also good for you loaded with vitamin A.  Best of all it is simple to cook. I buy it at whole foods.

Plunge in a sink of cold water pumping up and down to rid it of sand. Then boil two large bunches of dandelion greens and when softened..maybe 5 or 10 minutes dump into a colander and spray with a bit of cold water to stop it from cooking.

When it is handleable take small hand fulls at a time and squeeze out all the water you can.

Take the little lumps of greens and chop roughly. Dress with tasty olive oil and sprinkle with lemon. Salt and pepper, I like red pepper flakes instead of black pepper with this. Serve

..Should yield about 4 or 5 good servings.

Here is the link to its nutrional content:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2442/2


Another version of cooked dandelion greens can be found at the following link http://italicious.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/cicoria-saltata-in-padella/

Sauteed Peppers and Sauteed Onions for Strategic Cooking

While you are finishing your morning coffee in the am you can prepare some sauteed vegetables for later use. This prepping will speed up your cooking during the week. In the next few posts I will show what I did with these.

Sauteed Peppers
Slice one red, one green, one yellow pepper.

Heat over medium high heat a T of olive oil in a large cast iron pan and toss in  the peppers. Mix occasionally and after it begins to soften, lower heat, cover and cook till softened. If it starts to dry drizzle in a little water and toss. Cool then place in containers in the frig for later use.

Follow the above recipe for onions. Take four medium or two large..slice thinly.. cook til golden but not burned..keep heat a bit higher than for the peppers and cook uncovered adding water if needed to keep it from sticking. Keep in frig for future use.

If I am making braised leeks I always use the greens. I clean the leeks as Julia Child instructs..you make a vertical slice through the greens down to the white, turn the leek a quarter turn and slice again..then under running water, hold the leek parallel to the floor of the sink not vertical to the running water which would press the sand further into the leek. Carefully open the slice, leaf by leaf, and sift out the sand under the water, turn and do again til all the grit is gone.
Then I cut across the leek a little into the green part near where it meets the white. What remains is the white with a small amount of green at the end and the green.

Simply cut the green into pieces and saute as you did the peppers and onions.

I can use this in soups or as a part of something else. I used the leek greens in egg white omelettes as a quick filling. With the rest of the leek I made braised leeks.

Store each sauteed vegetable for use later on in covered containers in the refrigerator.

nutritional content of peppers:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2537/2

nutritional content of onions:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2502/2

nutrional content of leeks:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2471/2

Cooking while I was too busy

I've just completed our exhibition at an antiques show..Modernism at the Park Avenue Armory. I've been doing well on my re-newed commitment to eat well and I wanted to continue. I already had rabbit stew in the freezer. So out it came into the frig. Then I made sure I made extra Quinoa so I could pair it as well as use it for hot cereal in the mornings. Next I sauteed bell pepper and did the same for onions. This allowed me to have the makings of a lot of stuff already made in my frig. Watch the blog for what I cooked while I did the show.

Baby Eggplant with Dill

Baby eggplants are delicious and easy to cook. You often find them at the beginning and the end of the growing season. If they are not available just cut up big ones into 2 inch by one inch pieces.

Slice tiny eggplants in half or bigger babies into quarters. Fill a baking dish with them. drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper..make sure there is enough oil so they don't stick to the pan and they are nicely covered but not so much that they are swimming. Chop a red onion and sprinkle on top. Chop up a bunch of dill and sprinkle over and mix all together with your hands. There should be a thin veil of oil but not soupy with oil!

Cover and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven until it is cooked through, soft and collapsed. This takes varying times as the older eggplants cook more slowly  younger  more quickly Just make sure It looks like it does in the picture below. If you have no cover for the baking dish use aluminum foil sealed around the edges to prevent drying and burning. If it seems to be drying up and possibly sticking to the pan add small amounts of water to renew the moisture and keep it from sticking and burning..also it can be cooked at a lower temp for a longer time..say 300 degrees.

When it is cooked through leave out of the oven..covered until it is just warm ..Sprinkle with sherry or wine vinegar to taste, toss through and taste. Add a little at a time as you can't take it back!

Can be served with brown rice, meats, veggies cold or hot. It is shown here with Heritage Tomato Bruschetta. It was a yummy lunch!

Strained Greek Yogurt Dessert and Adora

Fage makes an awesome strained zero fat yogurt. It is rich and creamy and not going to clog your arteries or make you fat.

Here are some of the ways I make it into dessert:

I sweeten it with either calorie less stevia..go easy..its very sweet! or agave syrup which I like the taste of a bit better but it is 30 calories a teaspoonful. One spoonful is usually enough for a teacup of yogurt.

I have a great selection of extracts which include raspberry, lemon..both by Green Mountain and maple, vanilla, almond, rum. cruise the supermarket or specialty shops for your own flavorings

I also keep frozen blueberries..anti-oxidant and raspberries in the freezer.
If you leave them frozen when you add them in, they also provide crunchiness

I also keep sliced almonds and pignolias and walnuts in the cupboard.

Chocolate..if I have a terrific yen..I chop up an Adora chocolate and add it to my yogurt..they make dark or milk chocolate and they are actually a calcium supplement! It tastes like real dark or milk chocolate and the texture is just like real chocolate too..so even though there is a little sugar in it iyou are also getting 500 mg of Calcium plus D3 and you can chop it up into a dessert and feel righteous at the same time. At 30 calories each they are pretty terrific.

Here are some quick desserts I've made:

lemon yogurt ..add lemon extract, lemon zest, lemon juice and sweeten. sprinkle with a few sliced almonds
maple walnut..add maple extract sweetener and crumble a few walnuts in
raspberry yogurt..add raspberry extract and frozen raspberries.
vanilla yogurt add vanilla sweetener and pignolias
or add some whole grain cheerios for the crunch..just watch your portions
or make up your own mixtures..
yogurt sweetened with almond flavoring with Adore
Let me know your favorites!

Quick Stewed Chicken Breast with Cilantro

Here is an easy way to have nice stewed chicken around for lunches or dinners. Using chicken breasts that are on the bone will give deeper chickeny flavor to this quick dish.

Buy 4 chicken breasts and take the skin off..skin is mostly fat..and with a cleaver chop each piece in half. This will give you 8 pieces each between 3 and 4 ounces a piece..which is about a proper portion if you are watching your intake.
Salt and pepper each piece. Using a Tablespoon of olive oil brown the pieces over med-high heat..just so the red outsides turn white and lightly golden. Remove from the pan lower the heat to medium and add a medium chopped onion and minced clove of garlic. Cook til softened. add chopped stems of a half bunch of cilantro cook briefly. Then add 2/3 cup of either white wine or dry vermouth and the same amount of chicken broth..bring to boil and scrape the pan a bit to de-glaze it. Then add the chicken pieces back in, cover and cook low turning every once in a while until the pieces are tender. Make sure you continue to have a nice sauce..if it starts to dry add more liquid or even water ..you want to have some to spoon over the chicken and rice after it is cooked. To serve garnish chicken with cilantro leafs and serve with either cooked quinoa or wild rice. A simple salad or cooked green vegetable will make this a well rounded healthy meal.

The Very Best Site for Nutritional Information I Have Ever Seen

I look at a lot of sites on the internet re: food and of course twentieth century furniture..after all that is my day job!
This site on nutrition gives all kinds of useful information including calories and content as well as where that food is on the glycemic index and the inflammatory index..Don't have a clue as to what I am talking about??? Then its time to get to this site and read a little!

http://nutritiondata.self.com/

It's called Self Nutrition Data and it will aid and abet whatever goals you have as regards cooking and eating healthfully.

Rabbit Stufada

Rabbit is full of flavor and low fat! It is easy to prepare and found in many places..around here Citarella always has it as do Stew Leonards.
The recipe I use is from a cook in Crete.
It is very easy and I freeze extra for later.
Cut up the rabbit or have the butcher do that for you. You want 6-8 pieces.
Dry the pieces ..salt and pepper
Brown in a tablespoon or two of olive oil
Once browned add
a can of tomato sauce
a bunch of peeled pearl onions..red ones are really good..
Half a bottle of red wine
a cinnamon stick
a bay leaf
Slowly cook til tender falling off the bone
This goes nicely with a little boiled quinoa

A salad might be made of wild baby arugula 4 or 5 broken walnuts and dressed in oil and vinegar salt and pepper

nutritional content of rabbit
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2442/2

Quinoa Chocolate Pancakes! found on the internet

So I am researching using Quinoa to make pancakes and I came across this striking recipe on a blog from Equador..check it out!

http://www.ecuadorliving.com/2010/07/17/ecuador-quinoa-chocolate-pancakes.html

I might substitute agave syup for the honey as it doesn't spike your gycemic levels. Also I would ditch the egg yolks to keep it low cholesterol..you might then need to add a mashed banana as those yolks add texture..but my guess is between the chocolate and the yolks this is not a recipe that is good for those with cholesterol or diet  issues. Making my subsitutions if they work..This is trial and error..will keep it healthy for dieters..If bananas don't worktry low fat buttermilk w can be purchased fresh or powdered.