Monday Recipes

Enjoy!

CRUNCHY BERRY ALMOND CRUMBLE

This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “The paradox of a fruit crisp is that it's usually not crisp, nor is a fruit crumble necessarily crumbly. Here, however, the crumbs are as crisp as cookies, offering a textural contrast to the puddinglike berries. This delicious treat is at once crispy, crumbly and profoundly fruity.” Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes.

This was featured in “A GOOD APPETITE; A Crisp, Made Truly Crisp” and can also be found online here.

Ingredients

For the Filling:

8 cups mixed berries, such as raspberries, blueberries, strawberries (halved or quartered) and blackberries

2 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar, depending upon sweetness of berries

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca (optional)

For the Crumble Topping:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup sliced almonds, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup/8 tablespoons melted butter (1 stick)

Vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees. To prepare filling, toss berries with sugar, lemon zest and tapioca (if using). Set aside.

To make topping, in a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, almonds, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt. Stir in butter. Coarse crumbs will form.

Pour filling into a 2-quart gratin dish or 10-inch round cake pan (do not grease first). Using your fingers, form topping mixture into 3/4-inch to 1-inch crumbs and spread over cake.

Bake until filling bubbles and topping is light golden, about 55 minutes. Let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream if you like. Crisp can be made up to 8 hours ahead and kept at room temperature, or warmed up briefly in a 350 degree oven.

BASIC CORN CHOWDER

This is from Mark Bittman, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Mark wrote, “This is chowder at its simplest: corn, onion, potatoes and milk, with a couple of chopped tomatoes and a handful of parsley to add flavor and color. Starting with bacon and finishing with cream makes a richer version of the dish. But you could easily expand its borders by adding curry powder and ginger, sour cream and cilantro. Or when the potato is replaced by rice and the cream with coconut milk, Southeast Asian seasonings can be added to make a chowder that has little in common with the original, save for its intense corn flavor.” Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes.

This was featured in “THE MINIMALIST; Don't Toss Out the Cobs” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

4 to 6 ears of corn

1 tablespoon butter or neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped (optional)

1 cup whole or low-fat milk

1/2 cup chopped parsley (optional)

Preparation

Shuck corn, and use a paring knife to strip kernels into a bowl. Put cobs in a pot with 4 cups water; bring to a boil, cover and simmer while you continue.

Put butter or oil in a saucepan, and turn heat to medium-high. When butter melts or oil is hot, add onion and potatoes, along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 5 minutes; add tomatoes and cook, stirring, for another minute or two.

After corncobs have cooked at least 10 minutes, strain liquid into onion-potato mixture; bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. When potatoes are tender, add corn kernels and milk, and heat through. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Garnish with the parsley, and serve.

Tip

Curried corn chowder: In Step 2, use oil, and add 1 tablespoon each curry powder and peeled and minced ginger to the onions. In Step 3, use sour cream in place of milk; garnish with cilantro in place of parsley.

ICED MOCHA SHERBET

Yield: 4 servings

Source: Light and Easy Diabetes Cuisine

Book Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/24.shtml

View online: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/576.shtml

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups evaporated non-fat milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons carob powder

1 tablespoon crystalline fructose

2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

1 tablespoon part-skim ricotta cheese

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in blender and turn into metal trays.

Place in freezer and stir with fork from time to time to break up ice crystals.

When ready to serve, process again so the sherbet is soft.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 121; Protein: 8g; Sodium: 117mg; Cholesterol: 5mg; Fat: 0.5g; Carbohydrates: 22g

CHIPOTLE ASPARAGUS QUESADILLAS

This comes from the April/May 2014 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 34. It begins, “Canned chipotles in adobo sauce lend mellow, smoky heat to quesadillas. Leftover chipotles (there are usually four or five in a can) can be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for future use.” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

Quesadillas

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces (2 cups)

1 red bell pepper, sliced (1 cup)

1 medium onion, sliced (1 cup)

1 1/2 tsp. olive oil or vegetable oil

1 tsp. dried oregano

4 8-inch sprouted-grain tortillas

Chipotle Spread

3 Tbs. vegan mayonnaise

2 tsp. minced, drained chipotles in adobo sauce

1 Tbs. lime or lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425°F.

To make Quesadillas: Toss together asparagus, bell pepper, onion, oil, and oregano in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread on large baking sheet, and roast 10 to 12 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, stirring once or twice.

Meanwhile, to make Chipotle Spread: blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth.

Spread 1 1/2 tsp. Chipotle Spread on one side of each tortilla, spreading all the way out to edges. Top with 2/3 cup filling on one half of each tortilla, then fold over tortillas, pressing edges together to enclose filling and form half-moons.

Coat large skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Cook each quesadilla in skillet 2 to 3 minutes, turning once.

nutritional information Per Quesadilla: Calories: 273; Protein: 8 g; Total Fat: 13 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 32 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 235 mg; Fiber: 8 g; Sugar: 3 g; Vegan

PUTTANESCA SAUCE WITH FRIED CAPERS OVER LINGUINE

This comes from the June 2014 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 27, and begins, “This versatile sauce also works great spread on crostini, spooned over soft polenta, or served with poached eggs.” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 Tbs. capers, drained and patted dry with paper towels

1 red onion, chopped (1 cup)

3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 lb. cherry tomatoes, halved (3 1/2 cups)

1 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced, divided

1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped

12 oz. linguine

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add capers, and fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until many capers have split. Remove capers with slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Add onion to skillet, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, then stir in garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook 1 minute more. Stir in tomatoes, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until tomatoes begin to break down. Stir in 1/2 cup basil and olives, and remove pan from heat.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Add drained pasta to skillet, and toss to combine with sauce, adding some pasta water if mixture seems too thick. Serve garnished with remaining 1/2 cup basil and capers.

nutritional information Per 1 1/2-cup serving: Calories: 395; Protein: 14 g; Total Fat: 7 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 74 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 254 mg; Fiber: 5 g; Sugar: 8 g; Vegan

HONEY PISTACHIO ICE CREAM

This comes from Anita Schecter, About.com’s Middle Eastern Food expert. Anita wrote, “As much as I love all desserts, nothing quite makes me swoon as much as the combination of sweet and salty. It's why chocolate covered salty pretzels and I are old friends and caramel sauce only interests me if it's got a good hit of sea salt. Candied or chocolate covered nuts are good but way more awesome if the nuts are salted.

“And so, as fond as I am of pistachios, pistachio ice cream and, basically all things pistachio, store bought pistachio ice cream is usually too sweet and one note for me. I'm missing the balance of the salt.

“Fortunately, I can easily remedy this situation by making my own and by using roasted and salted pistachios. You can make this with sugar only and omit the honey, if you like, but honey vanilla is another favorite flavor of mine so I decided to combine the two.

“When it comes to homemade ice cream, you can use a cooked custard base, which contains eggs. Or you can go for a straight dairy only option which doesn't require cooking. Because I wanted little bits and pieces of pistachios in my finished ice cream, I went with a no-cook method. If I wanted to strain them out, I would have cooked them with the base mix.

“I should also note that the color of pistachios, while definitely green, is nowhere near the deep green shade you find in store bought pistachio or even mint ice cream. You can certainly add some green food color to your ice cream if you really want that bright green shade. But I prefer to keep it all natural so my ice cream is still mostly beige but with green flecks from the bits of pistachios.

“This recipe is easy and simple and results in the perfect hit of sweet, salty and creamy. A perfect treat for a hot summer day. Enjoy!”

Prep Time: 12 minutes; Cook Time: 40 minutes; Freeze: 240 minutes; Total Time: 292 minutes; Yield: 8 (1/2 Cup) Servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 Cup whole milk

2 Cups heavy cream

1/2 Cup honey

1/4 Cup sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla (vanilla paste is best, if you have it)

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup shelled roasted and salted pistachios

Preparation

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, honey, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse a few times until the nuts are very broken down but not powder or paste. Add to the bowl.

Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions for use. Churn for 40 minutes and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.