Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Baked Sweet Potato with Cinnamon Butter

2-4 sweet potatoes

Scrub the potatoes well; prick them with a fork. Bake on rack 55 min
at 400 degrees. The skins may loosen off; if storing in Tupperware
to eat later it may be good to go ahead and peel them at this point.

1/2 stick butter, softened
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp sugar

Blend together; form into log using plastic wrap; refrigerate. Serve
potatoes with a coin or two of butter (or mix curry powder and olive
oil).

Monday, October 22, 2007

Pepparkakor

* 8 ounces butter
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
* 1 egg
* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 2 teaspoons ground cloves
* 1/4 cup orange juice
* 2 teaspoons orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Stir in egg, corn
syrup, orange juice, and orange zest. Sift together the flour, baking
soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; stir into the creamed mixture
until combined.
3. Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness, and cut into shapes with
cookie cutters. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool
cookies on wire racks.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

The new frontier in laziness

Fresh fruit, vegetables, oatmeal and snacks. I've been putting lots of effort into cooking three entrees (divided into 10 meals), with sides, per week. But I also want to increase my "raw" food intake -- and that shouldn't require cooking. Plus I want to start eating breakfast, and in fact grazing more often; a food diary revealed that I will eat something every three hours, even if all that's available to me is walking to the Coke machine for another soft drink (did I mention I'm trying to cut way back on soft drinks?) Also, I recently learned steel-cut oats can be prepared in the microwave -- I don't know why, but I assumed the healthier oatmeal would not also be quick.

In this new world order, I'd like to see what I can get done with two ten-minute entrees, possibly a side dish that requires prep, and various healthy "raw" sides. I'll require four each of two veggie sides and two fruit sides each week (bananas and minisalads being popular enough to stay on constantly); four of one breakfast item plus four oatmeals. Does this add up to 24? Yes it does!

Let's see if I can put together two week-plans, to alternate:

WEEK ONE
Lemon-herb chicken with carrots; beef ravioli (3 servings each)
Veggie sides: 4 salads and 4 carrots-with-yogurt cheese
Fruit sides: 4 bananas, 2 raspberry/cream cups, 1 apple/cheese (= 2 srv)
Breakfasts: 4 yogurt cups with blueberries, 2 oatmeals + 2 snack oatmeals

WEEK TWO
Berry potstickers; orange stirfry beef
Veggie sides: 4 minisalads and 4 carrots-with-yogurt cheese
Fruit sides: 4 bananas, 2 peach cups, 1 apple/cheese (= 2 srv)
Breakfasts: 4 yogurt cups with blueberries, 2 oatmeals + 2 snack oatmeals

WEEK THREE
Brown sugar chicken; red beans/rice with chicken
Veggie sides: 4 minisalads and 4 srv green beans with almonds
Fruit sides: 4 bananas, 2 peach cups, 1 apple/cheese (= 2 srv)
Breakfasts: 4 yogurt cups with blueberries, 2 oatmeals + 2 snack oatmeals

Tasty Pecan Breading

The tasty coating I am currently chowing down on contains:

Crushed pecans
Breadcrumbs
Sugar
Black pepper
Kosher salt
Onion powder
Garlic powder or garlic salt

(Keep it refrigerated)