Muffins Matter

There is nothing like a homemade muffin in the morning. I once worked at a coffee shop that claimed to sell them, and guess what? The mix came out of a big CAN. Yeah. Plastic tub. Sorry, but no thanks. Besides being a dough ball, they are loaded with oil and sugar.

WHY?It doesn't have to be that way. Muffins are meant to be light and aromatic - very satisfying when paired with coffee or tea. They can even, dare I say it, be halfway healthy with the right ingredients!

Sunflower Seed kernels top this healthy muffin...



I am including recipes for my favorites, besides the healthy carrot sunflower seed, a lemon poppyseed and a banana streusel muffin. My carrot muffin has grated carrots and zucchini in them (from local gardens when available) with whole wheat flour for fiber and applesauce to cut back on the fat without compromising the taste or texture of the muffin. The sprinkling of toasted sunflower seeds gives the muffin a nice crunch - while adding nutty nutrition. It only takes 10 minutes to whip up a batch of muffins, with an extra 20 in the oven. So when you get the craving for a store-made muffin, grab some veggies or fruit and make your own.

1 c toasted sunflower seed kernels

1/4 c canola oil 

1/3 c brown sugar 

1/4 c molasses

1 egg 

3/4 c applesauce 

1 c grated carrots 

1 c grated zucchini 

1 c whole wheat flour

3/4 c unbleached flour 

2 t baking powder 

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t salt

1/2 t fresh ground nutmeg 

1/2 t cardamom 

Preheat oven to 400. Pour raw sunflower seeds, no shells peeps - the kernels, and brown for about 6 minutes giving the pan a shake halfway through. Watch the seeds to make sure they don't brown too much as they will brown even more once their atop the muffins. Whisk together oil and sugar in a large bowl. Beat in egg, then applesauce, followed by the HAND grated carrots and zucchini. Measure flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, whisking together before stirring in until just combined. Spoon into sprayed, paper lined muffin tin, top with seeds and bake for 18 minutes, inserting toothpick to make sure center is done (and not gooey). These have 160 calories, 5 grams of fat, 180 g of sodium, 3 g of protein and 2 grams of fiber - so don't feel an ounce of guilt when eating one!

Green Chile season

With September's chill in the air comes the harvest of my favorite pepper, green chiles! In the Southwest, there are festivals and cookoffs that center around these babies, which range from mild to screaming hot. Trust me when I say, if you are lucky enough to pick up a fresh bushel from the scraggly looking guy outside Walmart, the farmers market or along the side of the road who roasts them on the spot, do yourself a favor and nab them. Chile peeling is good medicine best shared with friends and family. After transfering the chiles into a brown paper bag that is sealed for about 10 minutes to loosen their skins, put them, a dozen at a time, in a bowl of water. Sitting around a table, peel off the charred skin, remove most of the seeds (they make it hot) and put five or six into a plastic bag, occasionally slipping a rogue one inside a hot, homemade tortilla to munch if you can. Freeze most of the bags immediately, holding back some of the fresh, steamy peppers for green chile cheeseburgers and cheesy green chile casserole. If you can't get fresh, get the frozen kind in a plastic tub, Bueno is good.

I was first introduced to cheesy green chile casserole at a work potluck. As soon as I tasted the hot, cheesy, melty spiciness, I cornered the guy who brought it until he told me his wife's recipe. It's deceptively easy. It is slightly different everytime depending on the mood of the chiles and what cheese you choose. But it is ALWAYS good. You can't screw it up - in short, it's the perfect recipe for featuring fresh green chile. Enjoy!

First make some rice - brown, basmati, long or short grain - whatever. I usually throw 2 cups in a rice cooker with 4 cups of water or chicken broth and a chile (if I have fresh) and go from there. After the rice is cooked, stir in the rest of the ingredients and spread the mixture into a 9 x 13 pan. That simple.

Cheesy Green Chile Casserole
4 cups cooked rice
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese, I like a mixture of colby and pepper jack
1 can cream of celery soup
1 1/2 cups chopped, fresh green chile
A dash of salt
1 cup of sharp cheddar, for topping

Mix and pour into pan. Top with sharp cheddar cheese, about a cup and bake at 350 until the cheese bubbles around the edges and is melted through, about 40 minutes, but check after 30. This casserole is even better the next day, but serve it hot for the full effect. It's a perfect side dish, especially with a green chile cheeseburger, tacos or chicken.

Get to Gratin' - Zucchini Bar time!

So, you've decided you're in the mood to grate. Maybe you just returned from the Farmers Market with way too many veggies, or you have your own garden full of zucchinis. Maybe there are a dozen of the green monsters mocking you from the breakroom and you're wondering what in the world people make out of those things - that actually tastes good. Or maybe you just picked up one of those cute new graters in the shape of an animal and you just need to get some aggression out.
When I think about grating I think of grandma's zucchinis bars...Two cups worth of grating yield a pan of zucchini bars so moist, light and fresh they melt in your mouth. Their thin layer of cream cheese frosting complements the spongey green-flecked goodness of the zucchini bar - the zucchini is never peeled or food processed. Nope, get out the hand grater like grandma does or don't even try this recipe. And for God's sakes, if you use one of those gi-normous zucchinis, please scrape out the seeds first! Two medium zucchinis should do the trick. Preheat a 350 degree oven and use a sprayed or buttered 11.5x17x1 inch pan.
Cream:
2/3 cup of oil (I used canola)
1 1/2 cup of sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
Mix together and add until just combined:
2 1/2 cups of flour
2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
Fold in:
2 cups of grated zucchini
3/4 cup raisons
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and springs back to touch.
Let cool and frost with cream cheese frosting:
Beat:
1/2 stick melted butter
1 t vaniila
1 8-oz package of cream cheese (organic).
Beat in powdered sugar - about 2 cups, adding more if needed, until it's a creamy consistency.
Spread on bars. It should be a thin, creamy layer.

falafel me!

Sometimes, usually after a long day at work, the last thing I want to do is come home and start washing, slicing and dicing vegetables, make a casserole, or bake a chicken. Nope. I want to do nothing. That's when I turn to the easily "assemblebles"...Like falafel! It's healthy, delicious and qualifies as a comfort food.

Now I'm not one of those to sing the praises of a product because I'm secretly hoping to get endorsed by Fat-free Cool Whip or some other disgusting wanna-be food. But I do contend there are handy, healthy and yummy foods that can be heated and served in minutes; one brand I recognized because I worked at their original store on Pearl St. in Boulder, CO while home from school in Oregon. Like the dedicated college student that I was, I still found time to party into the wee hours of the morning despite working four summer jobs. One particularly long night - dropping acid tends to do that - after watching the sunrise from a perch on the Flat Irons above Boulder, I went directly to my first job at 5 a.m. prepping 500 pounds of vegetables for Falafel King. Imagine my surprise when I recently saw their name emblazoned on a bag of - yep, you guessed it - pre-made falafels. Remembering how delectable these bad boys were, I snatched them up. They take about 10 minutes baked in the oven, which I recommend over the microwave because it gives them a crisp outer shell that gives way into moist and fragrant yumminess that is the falafel itself - ground up chickpeas with Indian spices like cumin and coriander. Find them in a healthfood store. They're cheap and good for you. While they bake, dice half a cucumber, a clove of garlic and half a tomato (and quit your bitching because that is the only knife you will touch all night). Add these to a cup of plain yogurt - I like the creaminess and tang of Greek Yogurt - along with a squeeze of half lemon and about a 1/2 t of cumin, salt and pepper to taste.

Ok - product endorsement alert! Sorry, but if you want fast, then yes, you can't make the pita shell from scratch. I actually love this brand - Tandoor Chef - everything I've tried from them so far is divine - their veggie and chicken samosas, their chicken pad thai, and last but not least, their fluffy, flavorful naan, which I pile with stuff, fold and use as the shell for the falafel.

Naan is just softer than store-bought pitas - even if you do the trick where a sprinkle the pita with water and saute them in nonstick pan with a lid over the pita a minute or two to slightly steam them till they are soft and puffed up: something you should do to pita shells if you go that route.

After you bake the naan in the oven for two minutes, arrange four to six balls, a big dollop of the  yogurt cucumber sauce, tomato and some feta and wha-la! A quick and easy - and most importantly of all - TASTY dinner! I like to add a little hummus on the side as well, pictured above is red pepper hummus. This meal is surprisingly low in calories, high in fiber, is filling but not painfully so. Enjoy!

Bernadette's Brown Rice Noodles w Asparagus, Snow Peas and Cashews

Bernadette's Brown Rice Noodles w Asparagus, Snow Peas and Cashews
Serves: 4

8 ounce package brown rice noodles
. 1 tablespoon olive oil
. 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
. 1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
.1 I/2 pounds slender asparagus, bottoms trimmed and cut  into 1-inch pieces
. 1 cup snow peas, trimmed
. 2 tablespoons dry sherry or wine (optional)
. 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce, or Braggs Aminos
. 1/4 cup chopped cashew pieces (or walnuts, pecans)

Cook the noodles in rapidly simmering water until al dente, then drain and transfer to a covered serving casserole. ln the meantime, heat the two oils in a stir-fry pan or large skillet Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Add the asparagus along with two tablespoons and sauté until bright green. Add the snow peas sherry, and soy sauce. Continue to stir-fry until the snowpeas and asparagus are tender-crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with nuts nutritional yeast and toss well. Server at once.

Pad Thai and fresh spring rolls

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Spring Cleanse

When it comes to spring cleaning, the house is not the only thing that should be put in order. The body, too, can use a good scrub down and clearing out. In order to do that, foods are avoided or cut out altogether, to give the liver a chance to rest and replenish itself. In the spring cleanse I chose to try (emphasis on try), we were not allowed dairy, eggs, wheat, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, corn, soy, potatoes and - pretty much nothing besides veggies, fruits, molasses and rice products (there are a surprising amount of rice-based foods like elbow macaroni, crackers, noodles - and well, rice - thank God). While I started out with the obvious dinners of beans (allowed!) and brown rice, veggie stir fry and pad thai dishes (all nuts except peanuts are also allowed), when I joined a food swap I discovered a whole other level to spring cleanse recipes. Five of us cooked dinner for each other on a designated night, then delivered the meals (we all live in Mancos, CO, so a drive across town takes three minutes). The following are some of those recipes, with photos. I know they helped me stick to the cleanse - for the most part - ahem.
Happy eating!