Simple Baked Apple

While in Italy in February I came across this Italian version of a baked apple. It was on the buffet at the Hotel Lungarno in Florence

The hotel served both apples and pears prepared in this manner. 

4 Apples

4 Tablespoons of sugar

Water

Place apples in a baking pan. Pierce each apple 3 or 4 times with a paring knife. Pour boiling water up 1/3 up the sides of the apples. Sprinkle each apple with one tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 3 or 4 hours at 250 degrees  until soft. 

That is the basic recipe to which I added the following:

Reduce the liquid and float a few cardamon seeds in the liquid. Place the apples in a storage container and pour the liquid over the fruit. Cover and cool in the refrigerator.

This is recipe works for apples or pears. Perhaps it would also work for peaches, and any other reasonably hard fruit. You can vary the amounts of water or sugar, as well as the types of sugar and the spices used to flavor the water/syrup.

This keeps well in the refrigerator and is a nice way to begin the day. You can also add flavored yogurt or flavored vanilla custard sauce for an interesting dessert.  

Note: I have used fat free sugar free jello pudding with more skim milk than is called for to make pudding and flavored it to cover over the artificial flavors. It works pretty well for a faux custard sauce.

Crisp and Fluffy Quinoa-Millet Pancakes

I have always thought that using the "healthy grains" would result in inferior baked goods..ie: rubber..

But on a diet that shuns wheat, sugar and fat,  I thought I would try an experiment.

Here  is the result ..gluten free, fat free, high protein pancakes that are every bit as good as the "real" deal! No kidding!



Sift together dry ingredients:

5 Tablespoon powdered buttermilk..I used Organic Valley buttermilk blend which is a blend of buttermilk and skim milk 3T =110 calories and 1 gm of fat. Powdered low fat buttermilk will work too

1/2 Cup Organic whole grain quinoa flour from Bob's Red Mill

1/2 Cup Organic millet flour Arrowhead Mills

2 teaspoon Baking powder

1teaspoon salt



Mix together wet ingredients:

 2 large egg whites

one Cup of cooked Quinoa

1/2 Cup Applesauce
  I used Organic applesauce by Eden

1Tablespoon of agave syrup or not


Alternate adding the dry mixture to the wet. Sometimes it comes out perfect but sometimes you may want to add a bit of water..I used 1/4 cup water total  for the cakes you see, but you need to look at it and see if you need a bit more or a bit less..you want a thickish batter..experiment..if it is really thick it will rise up to make a fluffy pancake and if thin it will be more crepe-like

Place a cast iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium high heat Drizzle in a thin coating of oil..I actually use a tasteless olive oil for this..

Spread batter and wait until it is nicely browned before attempting to flip the cake..go gingerly on this til you get the knack as these cakes are a bit more delicate than wheat cakes but they will definitely hold together well.  Using a metal spatula and just a modicum of care will do the trick.

And Voila!! You have a fat free gluten free delicious pancake

This recipe is a starting point..you could add fruit or nuts to the batter..or serve with fruit on the side..also you could add flavorings..cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg.. Use agave syrup instead of maple if you are watching your glycemic levels. Try changing out the applesauce for pureed banana.

 

Be Creative!

Spicy Lentils with peppers and Tomatoes

This recipe by Martha Rose Shulman from her book Mediterranean Light is a favorite of mine. I used french lentils and watched the cooking time so they would not overcook

Makes 6 to 8 servings

1/4 pound (2 cups) brown or green lentils, washed and picked over
6 cups water
1 bay leaf
salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves, minced or put through a press
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped...I used a red one
2 hot chili peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds ripe fresh or canned tomatoes (without juice), peeled and sliced
freshly ground pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro (to taste)
juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

Combine the lentils, water and bayleaf in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Add salt to taste. Drain and retain some of the cooking liquid.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet or casserole and add the onion and garlic. Saute' over medium-low heat until the onion is tender and beginning to color. Add the green pepper and chili peppers and saute' another 5 to 10 minutes, until the pepper is tender, and add the tomatoes and drained lentils.

Add a little bit of the cooking liquid from the lentils if the mixture seems dry. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, stir in the cilantro and lemon juice if desired, and serve, or allow to cool and serve chilled.

This dish will keep for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

I am now using a vacuum packaging machine which allows me to keep things longer. I also freeze some of them in the bag and re-heat by boiling the bag..make sure to label and date the bags if you do this!

Per Portion

Calories 189
Fat      2G
Sodium 12 MG
Protein   13G
Carbohydrate  31G
Cholesterol     0G

Easy Low Fat Meringue Cookies

These cookies use a store-bought product and I simply dipped them  in glazes to improve them.


I found Vanilla Meringue cookies called Spaans at Whole foods. These are tiny meringues that taste mostly like sugar. the nutritional content says that 15 cookies equal 100 calories and have no fat.

Using two seperate recipes I was able to make them easily into a company worthy dessert.

Glaze #1 is from Jacques Pepin and is the chocolate sauce he suggests for his angel food cake..already on the blog it is one part unsweetened cocoa, one part water, one part cane sugar. Mix the cocoa and sugar till fine and has no lumps. Mix in water thoroughly..heat til boil constantly mixing to prevent burning. Let the glaze dry for an hour or so or it will remain soft.

The other recipe comes from the Tassajara Recipe Cookbook by Edward Espe Brown. It is a lemon glaze with walnuts. Sift confectioners sugar. Measure one cup. Add to it 3-4 Tablespoons lemon juice..Theoretically you could substitute orange or grapefruit juice. Then mix until it is consistency of cream. I altered the 1/2 cup of walnuts which appears in the original recipe to keep the recipe lowest fat..I take one full walnut and mince it.


Dip the cookies one at a time..for the chocolate sauce just dip and place on a plate. When you have as many chocolate ones as you want start dipping in the lemon dip and press each cookie into the minced walnuts..you should get to use one walnut to 16-20 cookies and then you will need another walnut to mince.

When dipping shake off excess glaze before you set cookies to dry in one layer on a plate.

To serve let dry then place on a clean plate..if any stick to the original plate use a metal spatula to loosen.

The cookies with the chocolate have roughly the same amount of fat added as the ones with walnuts so a serving of 16 cookies contains about 3 grams of fat. These can be served with fruit or sorbet or alone.