Category Archives: Recipes

August 29, 2013 · 6:48 pm

Honey, I shrunk the calories!

Cool cake on a rack for 30-60 minutes.

Cool cake on a rack for 30-60 minutes.

Sometimes I want a dessert, and I don’t want something “diet” or “lite.” I want real flavor. While watching an old episode of Good Eats (Alton Brown) called “Comb Alone,” I wrote down one of his recipes for orange cake that used honey instead of refined sugar. I modified it a bit (Don’t I always?) and liked the results. So with apologies to AB, here is my version of his orange cake. Because he uses honey, it has less sugar and no fat (no sugar creamed butter with this cake recipe). I generously butter my Bundt pan because that’s the only fat added to this recipe. Finally, I use egg substitute to lower the calories from the 4 whole eggs he uses. It didn’t seem to hurt the cake, and it’s a sneaky way to lower the calories and cholesterol a bit more. But feel free to make this using 4 eggs.

This cake recipe qualifies as hasty tasty because combining the equivalent of 4 eggs with honey is faster than creaming sugar with butter then adding the eggs one at a time until each is incorporated. Before this cake finished baking, I had the kitchen cleaned and glaze ready and refrigerated.

RECIPE

HONEY ORANGE CAKE
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together 1 cup raw honey (I used orange blossom), 2 whole eggs and 1/2 cup Egg Beaters®.
Measure out 1½ cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon baking soda. Zest one orange (just the orange part. Avoid the white). Set aside.
Using unsalted butter or coconut oil, generously grease a loaf pan or small Bundt pan.
Gradually add the dry mixture to the eggs and honey. Stir in the zest of one orange. Do not overwork the batter.
Pour batter into pan and bake 30 minutes.
Check for doneness. If toothpick doesn’t release clean, bake another 5 minutes and check again.
Cool cake on a rack for at least 30 minutes. An hour is better.

Optional glaze:
Juice the orange and mix it with 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar to make a glaze. Pour the glaze over the cake when cake is cooled completely.

Yield: 8 servings.

Top cooled cake with optional glaze

Top cooled cake with optional glaze

CAUTION: Do not try this cake if you dislike the taste of honey. We happen to love it. Next time I plan to bake a lemon version. ☺

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August 20, 2013 · 12:43 pm

Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli

Not only is pasta e fagioli hasty and tasty, it’s inexpensive and healthful.  Also known as pasta fazool, this dish provides plenty of protein and fiber because it contains beans, vegetables, and whole wheat pasta. The tomatoes and Italian seasonings give it great flavor. Try this dish for your next meat-free meal.

RECIPE

PASTA E FAGIOLI
Ingredients:

  • 1 14 oz. can chicken broth
  • 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning spice
  • 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 15½ oz. can cannellini or navy beans, rinsed and drained
  • ½ cup frozen seasoning blend (Chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, parsley)
  • ½ cup whole wheat elbow macaroni
  • ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
  • (Optional: ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn, for garnish)

Directions:
In a 2 quart saucepan, heat the broth over medium heat. Stir in garlic, seasoning blend, Italian spices, tomato sauce and paste. Bring to a low boil.
Add beans, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add macaroni, cover and simmer for 7 additional minutes.
Remove pan from heat, stir, and check macaroni. Should be cooked al dente.
Sprinkle each serving generously with the Parmesan cheese and garnish with fresh basil, if desired.

Yield: 3 servings

©2011 Cheryl Norman, Recipes for Recovery

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Filed under Basil, beans, Healthful Eating, pasta, Soups & Stews, tomatoes, Vegetables, whole wheat

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July 16, 2013 · 12:03 pm

REVISITING THE GRAVY TRAIN

Encore of my low fat gravy method post:

Several have asked me about my fat-free roux method for making gravy or sauce. Traditional roux is made from browning equal amounts of fat (typically butter) and flour. Although my gravy isn’t fat-free (I finish it with a Tbsp. of butter for flavor and gloss), mine is a lot lower in fat calories. I recently made a batch of this gravy to reheat leftover cooked turkey. The turkey flavored the gravy while the gravy gently warmed the turkey. That’s a win-win!

Start by preheating a quality, heavy-duty skillet. To make one cup of gravy, add two tablespoons flour to the dry skillet over medium heat. Whisk often to cook the flour. Season the flour as desired. When the flour turns light brown and emits an aroma indicating it’s cooked, remove the skillet from the heat.

Add flour to dry, preheated skillet

Add flour to dry, preheated skillet

Whisk flour often to keep it from burning.

Whisk flour often to keep it from burning.

Carefully add about a pint of broth or stock, whisking into the roux. Stand back as the hot skillet may steam from the cold liquid (as an additional step, preheat your broth or stock before adding it to the roux). After roux is incorporated into the liquid, return the skillet to medium heat. Whisk occasionally.

Remove from heat and whisk in broth or stock.

Remove from heat and whisk in broth or stock.

Continue to whisk over medium heat to blend together roux and broth.

Continue to whisk over medium heat to blend together roux and broth.

Allow the gravy to thicken and reduce, then lower the heat. If using the gravy to reheat cooked food such as leftover turkey, place the food in the gravy and let it cook gently until warmed.

Optional: Use gravy to gently reheat cooked meat or poultry.

Optional: Use gravy to gently reheat cooked meat or poultry.

To serve, remove all food from the gravy and plate for serving. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in one pat (approx. 1 Tbsp.) butter to finish the gravy. Pour into gravy bowl to serve.

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July 1, 2013 · 9:43 am

Daily Fruit

By now you know I’m a fan of the Vitamix. I use it at least once a day and consider it worth the investment (yes, it’s a bit expensive). I make whole fruit juice every morning to ensure we get our daily serving of fruit. To keep from getting in a rut, I vary the “recipe” or fruit combinations. I now have a new favorite: Cherry Pineapple. Yum!

Here’s how I make it. In the container of my Vitamix I add ¼ cup water, ¼ of a fresh pineapple (include the core), 2 prunes (for sweetness–you don’t taste them), and 10 frozen cherries. Process on Variable Speed from 1 to 10 then switch to High speed. It takes less than a minute and yields 1 eight-ounce glass or 2 four-ounce glasses of juice. Try it!Fruit Juice

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Filed under berries, fruit, Healthful Eating, Smoothies

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