Catalina chicken salad July 24, 2007

A good salad idea using Catalina chicken. I based this on a really good salad I had at a local restaurant.

1 diced grilled chicken breasts marinated in catalina dressing

5 slices cucumber

6 slices of mandarin orange (I just used the canned ones)

handful of sunflower seeds or walnuts

handful of orange flavored dried cranberries

generous amount of feta cheese (a few spoonfuls)

iceberg lettuce

Catalina dressing

Using the iceberg lettuce as the base, top with the first 6 ingredients and drizzle with catalina dressing.

Soup’s on! July 17, 2007

 

Summer Squash soup with toasted pita bread..

 

 

Just be sure to save room for dessert…

Chicken and pineapple…ooh lala… July 9, 2007

Today was grill day, and I fixed up all kinds of wonderful things…

First was two different kinds of chicken. Though the usual fare is to marinate in Italian dressing (which I also did), this time I took some advice from a local bar and grill. So, in place of italian I used Catalina dressing….

This isn’t the best photo, but I wanted to show an example. This beautiful red-orange glow is, in fact, the fully cooked chicken. When I saw chicken fixed this way for the first time, my reaction was..’is it raw?’ Nope..I assure you it isn’t. Its flavor is simply amazing: a mix of charcoal smokiness and candy sweetness….

Next on the grill was pineapple, at the peak of ripeness. Recipe is included below…

Grilled Pineapple

 

Recipe from The Mayo Clinic…

 

Ingredients

For the marinade:

2 tablespoons dark honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

 

1 firm yet ripe pineapple

8 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes, or metal skewers

1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

 

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

 

Directions

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill or broiler (grill). Away from the heat source, lightly coat the grill rack or broiler pan with cooking spray. Position the cooking rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.

To make the marinade, in a small bowl, combine the honey, olive oil, lime juice, cinnamon and cloves and whisk to blend. Set aside.

Cut off the crown of leaves and the base of the pineapple. Stand the pineapple upright and, using a large, sharp knife, pare off the skin, cutting downward just below the surface in long, vertical strips and leaving the small brown “eyes” on the fruit. Lay the pineapple on its side. Aligning the knife blade with the diagonal rows of eyes, cut a shallow furrow, following a spiral pattern around the pineapple, to remove all the eyes. Stand the peeled pineapple upright and cut it in half lengthwise. Place each pineapple half cut-side down and cut it lengthwise into four long wedges; slice away the core. Cut each wedge crosswise into three pieces. Thread the three pineapple pieces onto each skewer.

Lightly brush the pineapple with the marinade. Grill or broil, turning once and basting once or twice with the remaining marinade, until tender and golden, about 5 minutes on each side.

Remove the pineapple from the skewers and place on a platter or individual serving plates. Brush with the rum, if using, and sprinkle with the lime zest. Serve hot or warm.

Bon Appetit!

Artificial Sweeteners: A sweet deal? July 7, 2007

Years ago, I remember sitting in science class while my science teacher warned the class about the dangers of developing cancer from artificial sweeteners .Since that time I’ve been very cautious about the amount of chemical alternatives I consume. In spite of this claim, however, chemical sweeteners are still very popular on the shelves of American markets. Is the notion that a chemical sweetener causes cancer just an urban myth? If these products really ARE harmful, why should these companies continue to be allowed to endorse them?
According to the Food and Drug Administration, there are currently five approved artificial sweeteners on the market: aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-K, neotame, and sucralose. Aspartame (Equal) and saccharin (Sweet’n’Low) are probably the most common as they are usually found in soft drinks. These two alternatives are followed closely by the increasingly popular sucralose (Splenda). Acesulfame-K is usually found in sugar free types of breath mints and gum. Neotame has only recently been added to the list as it was approved by the FDA in 2002.Now that we have identified the suspects, time to answer the lingering question: just how safe are these products to humans?
Repeated studies by the National Cancer Institute have found that while there may be links between certain sweeteners and bladder cancer in lab rats, there is no clear evidence to suggest this occurrence in humans.
The Mayo Clinic, however, appears to acknowledge that the chemicals may possibly pose health hazards. They recommend the following safety guidelines, or ADIs (acceptable daily intake) for artificial sweeteners
 

:

Artificial sweetener	ADI*	Estimated ADI equivalent**	OK for cooking?
Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal)	50 milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg)	18 to 19 cans of diet cola	No
Saccharin (Sweet’N Low, SugarTwin)	5 mg per kg	9 to 12 packets of sweetener	Yes
Acesulfame K (Sunett, Sweet One)	15 mg per kg	30 to 32 cans of diet lemon-lime soda***	Yes
Sucralose (Splenda)	5 mg per kg	6 cans of diet cola***	Yes
Neotame	18 mg a day	No consumer products available yet in the U.S.	Yes

The amounts presented here are fairly conservative. Clearly, the data suggests that one must be a heavy consumer of these products in order to be concerned.
So what’s the verdict?
For now, it’s clearly the case of buyer’s choice: are natural sweeteners such as brown sugar, honey, and stevia extract preferable to chemical alternatives? 
One other thing to consider using soft drinks as an example: the amount of sugar found in popular soft drinks is an average of 30 grams per serving (8 fluid oz.). That’s roughly 9% of your total daily sugar intake based on a 2,000 calorie diet. That doesn’t sound so bad until you consider that the average bottled drink contains 20 fluid oz. or more. If you consume 2 20 oz. bottles a day, that’s a whopping 54% of your total daily value! Obviously, eliminating those types of drinks from your diet would drastically decrease the amount of your total sugar intake.
Chemically doctored products do not sound like the best options for cutting sugar and calories from your diet. If consumed in moderation, however, they certainly provide a better alternative for hardcore soft drink consumers.If instead you want to bust them from your diet all together, I would suggest doing what I did: start with diet drinks and avoid the original versions containing sugar. Then find alternatives, such as water, tea, seltzers, and fruit juice. The more you start to choose these, the less you will crave the soft drinks. Eventually, you won’t even miss them. Of course, not unlike an alcoholic, if you start drinking soft drinks of any kind again, it’s difficult to stop.

Tomato-Basil Sauce July 5, 2007

Simple Tomato-Basil Sauce

Robin Miller’s recipe, Lisa style…

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with sauce

1 8 oz can tomato paste with garlic

Dried basil, to taste (about 1 tsp. or a palmful)

garlic salt or 1 garlic clove (or more, if you love garlic..)

black pepper or crushed red pepper (I use both)

Dried oregano, to taste (about 1 tsp. or a palmful)

Dried parsley, to taste (about 1 tsp. or a palmful)

1 tsp. sugar

handful of fresh basil, chopped

handful of fresh parsley, chopped

In a pan over medium heat, combine both cans of diced tomatoes, can of tomato paste, dried basil, dried parsley, dried oregano, garlic salt (or garlic cloves), black pepper, and sugar. Cover and let simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When sauce is finished simmering, remove from heat. Add fresh parsley, fresh basil, and crushed red pepper, if desired. (I also like to add a little extra garlic salt). Stir together and serve over hot pasta.

Mouse-capades.. July 4, 2007

I do love having a mouse in the kitchen. No, I’m not referring to the furry little cuddly type for which people set traps. This is a mouse of a different sort. I’m excited to introduce my first gadget review item: the Animal House Mouse Cheese Grater.

I first saw this in a magazine a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, according to this magazine it was only available from Kitchen Kapers and they wanted $6 shipping and handling on top of $9.99 for the product. I wanted one but not that badly! A couple of days later, however, my friend and I were at a kitchen store when lo and behold the store has one remaining grater on the shelf.

Needless to say, that puppy was mine!

What is so special about this particular grater? The top half of the mouse is meant as a serving bowl. Once you grate the cheese, simply turn the bowl over and voila!…cheddar is served…

After much deliberation and some testing, here’s the verdict:

Pros:

1.) The hand holding the grater is never in danger of being injured. Instead, the grater is held from the top of the mouse-bowl, out of the grater’s evil reach. This also makes for safer storage since the grater part can be turned down to face the bottom of the drawer.

2.) The cheese does not make a mess because the mouse-bowl catches it.

3.) The bowl contains a lid so any unused cheese can be easily sealed in the bowl and stored for later use.

Cons:

1.) The grater teeth are a little smaller than I’d prefer. I was hoping to be able to use it for other items besides cheese (such as carrots,etc..)

2.) The ‘mouse’ part is meant as a serving dish. The bowl is a little small, though, so I’m not sure who would actually use this to serve shredded cheese.

3.) The tab to lift the storage lid from the bowl is already starting to come off..:-(

Was this gadget worth the $10 I paid for it? Yes, I definitely think so.

Bittersweet Obsessions.. July 4, 2007

 I’ve been trying to find out a little more about studies like these since they began. Today I saw this in the local online newspaper and got excited all over again..

If you’re a dark chocolate fan, this may brighten your day a little:

Evidence that chocolate is good for you

From 14.wfie.com…

If you’re worried about high blood pressure,

you may want to add dark chocolate to your diet.

According to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, eating a daily piece of dark chocolate, about a quarter of an ounce, could help to lower your systolic blood pressure, the upper number, by almost three units, and the diastolic blood pressure, or bottom number by almost two units.

Dirk Taubert, M.D., Ph.D./University Hospital of Cologne says, “We were indeed surprised that such a low amount of chocolate could efficiently reduce the blood pressure.”  

Forty four otherwise healthy people with high blood pressure were studied for 18 weeks. Half the people got daily dark chocolate, the other half got daily white chocolate. No one gained weight, but only the dark chocolate eaters saw their blood pressure come down a bit.

Sunday is Strawberries… July 2, 2007

….in all of their glory…

In the summer when fruit’s sweetness is at its peak, it seems a beautiful bowl like this makes more sense for dessert than cakes, pies, cookies, or any of that stuff.. wouldn’t you agree?

Ratatouille July 1, 2007

Just a quick note…I saw Ratatouille tonight. If you haven’t seen this yet, you should definitely check it out. Not only is this movie absolutely adorable, but it definitely taps into the spirit of the artistry of being a chef. Gotta love Remy the rat…

Robin Miller’s ‘Quick Fix Meals’ June 29, 2007

 Overview:

A few weeks ago I picked up a copy of ‘Quick Fix Meals’ by Robin Miller. Being unfamiliar with Miller’s program on Food Network, I was nevertheless interested in her approach to quick, healthy meals from the moment I leafed through the pages of the book. It is comparable to Rachael Ray’s 30 minute meals, only a little more detailed with better ideas for saving money. It also boasts over 200 recipes including a section for revamping leftover meals.

In a nutshell, here’s the rundown:

Pros:

1.) She gives you recipes to transform leftovers (usually about 3 or 4 different modified meals per each leftover batch), so there is little to no waste. This also cuts the amount of groceries one would have to purchase.

2.) This book is designed for busy people with very little time to spend in the kitchen. This can work for both single people and families. She suggests taking one hour out of the weekend to do all of your prepwork (chopping, boiling, marinades, etc..) so that it’s already done when you get home from work during the week. This ensures as little time in the kitchen as possible on short evenings that you want to spend catching up on projects or with your family.

3.) The recipes are simple and usually designed to cook in 30 minutes or less.

4.) As Miller says in her book, she is a nutritionist. Therefore, she makes a conscious effort to make sure meals include lowfat alternatives. Most of the meals are made with lean meats such as chicken, fish, and pork, and tons of fresh vegetables.

5.) You don’t have to be a chef or a top notch cook to benefit from this book. In fact, it’s made for normal, everday people looking for simple meal ideas. You just need to know a few basic steps, which are outlined very clearly in the book.

Cons:

1.) Miller consistently advocates that the freezer should be your best friend. In fact, many of her recipes and prepwork are designed for this. This is a good idea but could be inconvenient if you live in a small house or apartment with limited freezer space.

2.) Prepwork is a good idea but the food quality may suffer when it finally hits the table. Since there are several things she prepares in advance, some of the meals or ingredients must be microwaved. In some cases, the flavors could be consistent with leftovers.

3.) Prepwork still takes a good deal of time. This plan sort of assumes that you have an hour or two to spare each weekend towards cooking and prepping.

4.) Some of the ingredients may not necessarily be things you would keep in the kitchen. They would be special purchases towards making certain meals only.

Overall, I would consider this a fantastic collection of recipes and an incredibly strong approach to quick easy meals. It’s not really a gourmet cookbook — more like a much more well-balanced fast food alternative. If you are looking to bust fast food from you diet but don’t have a strong culinary aptitude or a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, this book is definitely a must-have.