Sunday, April 26, 2009

Vegetable Fajitas

Last night I had veggie fajitas at a Mexican restaurant. It's always impressive when the sizzling hot plate comes to your table, but I was less impressed with the fajitas themselves- they were pretty good, but I think I'm so in love with my way of making fajitas that nothing else compares. Now, if you've had fajitas in a restaurant but never make them at home, you might think they would be pretty hard to replicate, but actually they're pretty easy. Fajitas are something I like to make for a casual dinner with friends, because you put all the different toppings out on the table and everyone can roll their own...fajitas.
I'm not a big fan of seasoning mixes, but the Old El Paso No-Fuss Fajita kit kicks butt. Actually, I love it for the seasoning, but they don't sell it separately so you have to buy the kit, which is fine because all it contains is seasoning, a pouch of salsa, and some tortillas. The cool part about the fajita seasoning is that it sort of caramelizes and burns (in a good way) in the pan, so you get that authentic flavor of restaurant fajitas at home.
My fajita recipe contains the veggies that I like, and none that I don't. The ones at the restaurant had mushrooms but no corn or black beans. I wish restaurants would have a bean option to their fajitas, so those of us opting out of steak or chicken would still have some protein to our meals. Anyway, enough vegetarian griping, here's the recipe:

Serves 4 very hungry or 6 somewhat hungry adults):
1 Old El Paso No-Fuss Fajita kit
1 can of corn, (preferably no salt added b/c there is lots of salt in the seasoning) drained and rinsed
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large or 2 small onions
3 or 4 bell peppers, mix red, green, and/or yellow
jar of salsa
shredded cheddar cheese
guacamole (I will give you my friend Suzanne's recipe later, she makes the best guac!)
extra tortillas (you can now get these make with whole wheat)

Heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat with a tablespoon of oil. You want to cut the onions and peppers into strips- all the better to assemble your fajitas with, my dear. Stir-fry the onions and peppers for about 5 minutes or until they start to soften. Then dump in the corn and beans, mix, and then sprinkle the seasoning mix in. If you're sensitive to things being too salty or seasoned, start with half the packet, taste it, and then add more if it's not flavorful enough. Stir the seasoning powder into the veggies until it's well mixed and you start to get yummy sticky pieces of seasoning on the spoon. Turn off the heat, but you can leave the pan on the hot burner to keep everything warm.
On the table you have put bowls of shredded cheese, salsa, and guacamole. (I guess you could put sour cream, but I hate it so never think of it). Don't forget to stick a spoon in each bowl. Put the tortillas on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 30 seconds or so to warm them up. When the tortillas are warm, transfer the fajitas to a large bowl and serve them with tongs or a big serving spoon. Everyone takes turns passing around all the different ingredients, like some sort of Mexican Thanksgiving dinner, or Mexican dim sum, or some other lovely meal that gets passed around and shared.
Serve with ice-cold Corona or Coca-Cola. Enjoy the leftovers the next day.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Oatmeal, old-school

Breakfast: It's the most important meal of the day. There is a mind-blowing variety of convenient breakfast options available today. You can have your cereal in cereal form, as a bar, in a little packet to funnel directly in your mouth, or even as a straw itself. With so many choices, it's easy to forget about humble oatmeal.
In my house, oatmeal comes in one form: plain, in the big cardboard cylinder that most people buy only when they're making a boatload of oatmeal raisin cookies (which I have a great recipe for and will post soon!). However, don't think that I rise at the break of dawn every morning to slave over a boiling vat of oatmeal for an hour. That's not how I roll (my oats). My oatmeal cooking method is fast, convenient, and nutritious. I don't have oatmeal for breakfast every morning, but my six year old daughter does. She has had oatmeal for breakfast pretty much every day since she was about 8 months old, and miraculously still likes it.
So, here's the deal: First off, make sure you buy quick cooking oats, not steel cut, Irish, or even regular. For a quick breakfast, 1 minute oats is where it's at. Put a good handful into a microwave-safe bowl. (I used to use plastic bowls adorned with Elmo for the oatmeal, until my mother, convinced that the plastic in the microwave was slowly poisoning my child, guilted me into switching to Corelle.)
Now here's the trick: I use MILK in my oatmeal instead of water. It makes it creamier, yummier, and healthier. I don't measure the milk, but rather pour it on until the oatmeal is saturated with milk but not floating in milk. It's better to put too little milk rather than too much, because you can easily add more milk after the cooking time, but you it's harder to add more oatmeal and cook it all over again.
Pop the oatmeal in the microwave for one minute, and then flavor as you like. I put in a tablespoon or so of brown sugar and a good sprinkle of cinnamon. There is evidence that cinnamon suppresses blood sugar spikes, so in addition to tasting good, I figure it balances out the brown sugar. I keep both the brown sugar and the cinnamon on my countertop, so they're easy to get to every morning. If I'm feeling particularly virtuous, I will also add a sprinkle of ground flaxseed and a sprinkle of wheat germ. I got this idea from the book Super Baby Food, which has a whole chapter about fortifying your child's oatmeal with everything from flax and wheat germ to avocado, egg yolk, and (ewww) dessicated liver. I wouldn't try to sneak egg yolk in oatmeal past my kid, but when the flax and wheat germ is mixed it, she doesn't notice, especially when she is shoveling her oatmeal down, glassy-eyed and half awake, in front of Spongebob.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Black Bean Brownies

One thing you'll need to know about me up front is that I have a serious sweet tooth. I always snicker with disbelief when dieting articles in magazines like Cosmo suggest that you limit your dessert consumption to once a week. I should try limiting my dessert consumption to once a day. Sometimes I have dessert after breakfast.
However, with the exception of cakes (which will be the topic of another post), I often like to try to sneak some nutrition into my baked goods. I try to use whole-wheat flour. I'll add some wheat germ, use egg whites instead of whole eggs. I might even use pumpkin puree to make chocolate cupcakes.
But black bean brownies takes sneaky dessert nutrition to a whole new level.
When my friend Jenny first told me about black bean brownies, my first reaction was 'eww'! I imagined that they would be dry, have a funny aftertaste, or smell like beans.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong!
I just made them for the third time tonight, and I swear that the beans are undetectable. This batch was the best yet. I took them out of the oven at just the right time, and they were practically fudge-like, just the way I like my brownies to be.
Now, what is so good about beans that we should sneak them in our brownies? I'll tell you what's so good about beans!
One serving of black beans (1/2 cup) has only 90 calories and a half gram of fat, yet packs in 7 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber (which is 24% of your daily needs), and 10% of your iron needs. You won't get all that in one brownie, but every little bit of extra protein, fiber, and iron helps!
At this time I'd like to give a shout-out to Goya brand black beans (that's frijoles negros in Spanish, FYI), because their can features a pull-top lid. Anytime I can avoid wrestling with a can opener is a plus.
Here is the recipe:
1 box of brownie mix. Today I used Duncan Hines, but it really doesn't matter.
1 can black beans. Make sure they are UNseasoned or you could have an UNpleasant surprise.
1 teaspoon vanilla (I use fake vanilla. Sue me, food snobs!)
about 1/2 cup of water
Handful of chocolate chips (0ptional, but I'm decadent that way)

Using a small chopper, food processor, blender, or a fork, mash the bejeezus out of your beans, adding water a tablespoon at a time, until beans are a nice smooth puree but not watery. Dump bean puree into brownie mix, add vanilla and chocolate chips, and stir. The mix will be thicker than regular brownie batter, but if it seems really dry you can add more water a tablespoon at a time. Bake the regular way for the regular time. Let cool a little, then give out to your unsuspecting children, who think you are cool for letting them eat brownies for an after school snack.

Laura's famous spinach lasagna!

This is a recipe that I have given out many, many times. It is so easy to make, I don' t even consider it cooking- it's more like throwing things together. Everyone loves it, vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. The other great thing about it is that most of the ingredients are things that are easy to have on hand at all times, either in the freezer or in the pantry. Even the cheeses in the recipe usually have a sell-by date several months down the road.
Funny story about this recipe: Several years ago I went on a weekend getaway with some friends to a remote village in France. I was told that the organizers were planning on grilling meat all weekend, and that meat would be the only thing available to eat, so I brought a large tray of this lasagna for myself so I wouldn't starve. The first night, as the carnivores enjoyed their meat, one person asked me if she could sample a tiny bit of my lasagna. Flattered, I gave her a piece. She wanted seconds. Soon everyone wanted to try it, and wanted seconds, and after that first night my lasagna was gone. I ate bread for the rest of the weekend!
So, without further ado, the recipe:

1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
2 large jars of your favorite marinara sauce
2 small containers of part-skim ricotta cheese, OR one ricotta and one container of firm tofu
1 box frozen chopped spinach
1 egg
1 cup Parmesan cheese (any kind will do. Personally I would not waste expensive Parmesan cheese in this kind of recipe, where it adds flavor but is not a main ingredient)
1 bag of shredded cheese. (I prefer a mozzarella-provolone mix, or the 'five cheese Italian blend' that my supermarket has, but you can use plain mozzarella. When I lived in France, I actually used to use Swiss ! )
2 cloves garlic
salt, pepper, dried oregano, dried basil

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 F.

Step 2: Assemble filling in a large bowl: If using tofu, mash tofu until it resembles ricotta cheese. Then add ricotta cheese, egg, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and the spinach, which has been thawed and squeezed dry. (you can either squeeze the liquid out through your hands, or in a fine-mesh strainer). Crush the garlic and throw it in. Add salt and pepper to taste (about a teaspoon of salt and a few turns of the pepper mill- you do have a fresh pepper mill, right?) and a tablespoon each of basil and oregano, which you will put in the palm of your hand and smoosh with the heel of your other hand to release the flavor. Mix everything together.

Step 3: Spoon a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of your lasagna dish. Lay down as many strips of lasagna fit in your dish. Then use a spoon to put large dollops of the spinach mixture all over the noodles until you have used up half the mixture. Use the back of the spoon to spread the mixture evenly over the noodles. Next add a layer of sauce, then sprinkle the sauce with your shredded cheese and a bit of your other 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Now start over: noodles, rest of spinach mixture, sauce, shredded cheese. Finish with a third layer of noodles, then sauce, then shredded cheese.
Bake at 375 for about 35-40 minutes or until cheese on top is browned to your liking.

variations:
-Sometimes I make a white sauce or bechamel sauce (or, truth be told, buy a packet of Knorr alfredo sauce mix) and add that to the tomato sauce for a creamier lasagna.
-Sometimes I add fake meat crumbles, either beef flavor or sausage flavor, to the sauce. This always surprises people, who think I have given up my misguided vegetarian ways when they taste the sausage. Ha! Fooled you, carnivores!
-Don't worry if you don't have any garlic. You can add garlic powder, or just leave it out.
Bon appetit!

Welcome to Yummy and Healthy!

Welcome to my blog, Yummy and Healthy!
One of my passions in life is cooking, and another is nutrition. I have always been a healthy eater, and for the past 20 years or so have been a vegetarian. (a lacto-ovo vegetarian, meaning that I don't eat any animals, but do eat dairy products and eggs). One of the great misconceptions of vegetarianism is that because we don't eat meat, that we don't love eating great food, or that we only eat salads.
NOT TRUE!
I love food, all kinds of food, except the dead animal kind. :) I especially love food made with healthy ingredients, the kind of food that I can feel good about eating on a daily basis. Don't get me wrong, I love a good junk meal every now and then, but I can't eat poorly too often or I don't feel good.
Over the years, many friends and co-workers have looked at the meals I create with great interest and ask me to share recipes with them. I decided to create this blog to share my recipes with the world and show the world how EASILY and QUICKLY you can make delicious, healthy meals at home.