Eat THIS White Food - It is Delicious!

Food Snob met a gentleman a few years ago that told her he had just succeeded in losing 25 pounds. She asked him how he did it. His doctor had told him "not to eat any food that was white." In carrying out the doctor's orders, this man had avoided foods like white bread, potatoes, white rice, pasta, and sugar in favor of more complex carbohydrates (think whole grains), vegetables, and fruits. Many foods that are "white" are high on the glycemic index. They metabolize quickly, have little nutritional value, and spike your insulin level, causing you to lack energy and be hungry shortly after eating them.

Food Snob has since read many articles about the impact of "white" foods on health and nutrition. Avoiding "white" food is an easy trick that folks can use to avoid foods that are high in calories or fat and low in nutritional value without having to spend a lot of time thinking or analyzing what they are eating. But, not all "white" food is bad for you. Fish and eggs, for example, can be part of a healthy diet.

Cauliflower is one of those "white" foods that is not only good for you, but is wonderfully delicious. It is low in fat and calories and high in Vitamin C and fiber. Okay, Food Snob knows you have just stopped reading this because you have hated cauliflower all of your life and as you recall, cauliflower was a soggy, mushy vegetable smothered in some kind of cheese sauce (Food Snob only hopes it was not Velveeta). Your mom insisted that you eat it because it was good for you, and somehow you managed to choke it down (or did you try to feed it to your dog when your mom wasn't looking?).   

If you are still reading this - Food Snob wants you to know that cauliflower, along with most of the members of the cruciferous vegetable family (such as cabbage and broccoli), can be incredibly delicious when caramelized either by roasting in the oven or by sautéing over high heat on top of the stove. Preparing cauliflower this way requires almost no fat and brings out the vegetable's nutty, sweet flavor. Food Snob has success sautéing frozen cauliflower on top of the stove, but when cauliflower is fresh, she likes to roast it in the oven. Roasting takes about 15 minutes (depending on your oven) and very little attention, so the rest of the meal can be prepared while the cauliflower is roasting. As you know by now, Food Snob does not like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen after a long day of work, so roasting vegetables is a wonderful way to add style and flavor to your dinner entree with minimal effort and time.

This recipe for roasted cauliflower, below, is enhanced by the addition of toasted pine nuts, which add a nice crunch. You can toast the pine nuts in your toaster oven in about 2 minutes while the cauliflower is roasting and you are preparing the rest of your meal. Food Snob admits that she like roasted cauliflower so much that she will eat the leftovers - cold from the refrigerator - for a snack the next morning. Irresistible!

Roasted Cauliflower with Toasted Pine Nuts (serves 4)

hands on time about 5 minutes; total time 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 head fresh cauliflower, cut into 1-inch flowerets or pieces
kosher salt
1 or 2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup raw pine nuts, toasted in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 2 minutes


Preparation:


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a large rimmed pan (such as an 11 x 15 x 1 inch jelly roll pan) with foil.  Spray the foil-lined pan with cooking spray. Place the cauliflower pieces into the pan; drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt (try about 1/2 teaspoon). Spray the cauliflower lightly with cooking spray or with olive oil from an olive oil mister. Use your clean hands to distribute the oil and salt so that the cauliflower is evenly coated.

Roast in the oven for about 7 to 8 minutes. Using a metal spatula, flip the cauliflower over (usually the side touching the foil has started to brown). Check one piece for doneness and seasoning.  If cauliflower is starting to soften, reduce the remaining cooking time. Otherwise, roast for another 6 to 7 minutes.  Remove from oven; cauliflower should be just tender, but not mushy. Toss with pine nuts and serve.

Food Snob served her roasted cauliflower recently with stuffed red peppers, mashed sweet potatoes, and a green salad tossed with walnut vinaigrette (see Food Snob's January 19, 2012 posting for the recipe for walnut vinaigrette). And yes, Food Snob ate the leftover cauliflower cold from the refrigerator at 10 a.m. the next day! Really!  

Recovering From My 5280 Coma

Food Snob is in culinary heaven right now.  For the past two weeks or so (ending this Friday), she has been indulging in Denver's annual Restaurant Week celebration.  For two wonderful weeks, locals can dine on a three-course meal at some of Denver's best restaurants for only $52.80 for two people; or $26.40 for one.  Restaurant week menus usually include a selection of appetizers; at least one meat, one fish, and one meatless entree; and one or more dessert selections.  It's a great time to try out new places, new dishes, and new trends and see if you can replicate some of the "winners" at home.

Food Snob rarely eats an appetizer AND an entree AND a dessert by herself. The portions are too large, and Food Snob has a rule that she ALWAYS takes half the entree home for lunch the next day. Not during Restaurant Week, however. The portions are a little smaller--too small to split--so she just gives up and eats the whole thing.

What to eat the rest of the week, then?  Time for something incredibly nutritious, low in calories, and delicious (it's Restaurant Week, after all - we must at least TRY to keep up with the competition). Food Snob found the perfect antidote - Chicken Barley Soup.

The inspiration for this delicious soup came from the March edition of Food and Wine magazine, given to me by my friend, MaryAnn. The ingredients in this month's Chicken and Barley Stew with Dill and Lemon were the starting point for Food Snob's version of this soup.

Although the ingredients are mostly the same, the dish is quite different for several reasons:  First, I wanted to reduce the fat in the recipe; second, I wanted soup, not stew; and third, since the recipe calls for chicken breast, I wanted to "poach" the chicken rather than "stew" the chicken.  Chicken breast, it turns out, is one of the most difficult parts of poultry to cook properly.  If it cooks one minute beyond "just done," it becomes dry and stringy.  Hence the source of the annual discussion on how to cook the Thanksgiving turkey so that the dark thigh meat is done and tender (requires more cooking) and the breast meat is not overdone (requires less cooking).  Volumes have been written on the subject.

Food Snob learned the secret to poaching chicken breast and making perfect chicken soup when she attended cooking classes at Cook Street last summer.  Chicken breast is poached in stock (at a temperature just below simmering) only until just done (the meat is no longer transparent, but still very juicy).  Then the chicken breast is immediately removed from the stock and allowed to rest, wrapped in foil, so it doesn't cook any more.  When the soup is finished, cut the chicken breast into 3/4 inch cubes, divide among your soup bowls, and then ladle the soup on top.  The difference between stewing and poaching is absolutely amazing, in terms of quality and flavor!

For best results, use good quality, organic chicken breasts or chicken tenders (chicken tenders will cook more quickly).  Food Snob tried the same recipe with chicken breasts she had purchased at the supermarket and previously frozen and there was no comparison.

In the recipe that follows, cooking the pearled barley takes the longest time (about 40 to 45 minutes), so that is why you should start with that step.  The rest of the recipe comes together quickly.  The recipe makes six big servings, so if you aren't planning on eating it all at once, add the rest of the chicken to the broth once it has cooled and then reheat only what you plan to eat, and only until just hot, or the chicken will overcook and become dry and stringy.  Food Snob has been eating this soup for lunch all week.  Here is the recipe:

Chicken and Barley Soup with Dill and Lemon (serves 6 to 8)
Preparation time:  about 45 minutes

Spray a medium saucepan with cooking spray, and add about a teaspoon of olive oil.  Heat over medium heat.  When hot, add:

1 and 1/2 cup pearled barley

Stir the barley and allow it to toast lightly for about one minute (watch carefully).  Remove from heat and add:

2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup water


Stir; reduce heat and allow to simmer until done - about 35 minutes.  Meanwhile, spray a large, heavy bottom stock pot with cooking spray and add about a teaspoon of olive oil.  Place over medium heat and when hot, add:

3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium onion, peeled and diced

Stir the vegetables and "sweat them" for about 10 minutes, until soft (see Food Snob's blog dated January 5 to learn how to "sweat" vegetables).  Stir in:

2 cloves garlic, minced


Stir garlic for about a minute, and then add:

4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups dry white wine
4 sprigs fresh tarragon, 4 sprigs fresh italian parley, and one bay leaf, tied together in a bundle
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders, washed and patted dry with paper towels
1 two-inch square piece of rind from hard cheese (if you have some)


Turn heat down, allow stock to heat to just barely below a simmer.  Cook chicken until just done - about 10 minutes for chicken breasts and less for chicken tenders. Test for doneness by removing one piece and cutting into it - the meat should be opaque and juicy.  Remove chicken immediately, cut into 3/4 inch cubes, and cover with foil to keep warm.

Allow the stock to continue simmering until the barley is tender.  Remove the herb bundle and add the cooked barley to the soup.  To finish the soup, add:

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons port wine or sherry
2 Tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
fresh ground pepper

Do not skip these last five ingredients - they are essential.  Taste for seasoning; add sea salt or kosher salt if needed.  Divide chicken between 6 or 8 serving bowls; stir the soup and ladle over the chicken.  Garnish with fresh parley or dill and serve with a delicious piece of whole-grain bread.  Food for the soul!

Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies Calm Your Sugar Craving!

Have you been wondering what happened to Food Snob?  Well, she is trying to recover from the news, just in time for Valentine's Day, that sugar is so addictive that the government is considering whether it should be regulated.  This news, untimely as it was, hit a hot button for her.  How sad that our restaurants, bakeries, and food manufacturers have capitalized on the "high" we get from eating sweets by loading our foods with unnecessary sugar and other unhealthy substances (think high-fructose corn syrup and trans fats) to keep us coming back for more.  We have been told that the U.S. now faces an obesity epidemic and sugar, which we once ate in moderation, is now so prevalent in food that some folks believe sugar should be a controlled substance!

Food Snob, along with many other people smarter than she is, thinks we can change our sugar addiction by changing the way we think about sugar and its role in our diet.  First of all, sugar (dessert) is a treat!  Since it is a treat, desserts should be served in small portions, savored (eat it slowly!), be homemade and fabulously delicious, be eaten after a meal, and eaten, if you wish, every day.  After all, we all deserve treats every day, right?  We might not gorge ourselves on that huge, average-tasting cookie from the average bakery if we know that we have an incredibly delicious, homemade cookie in our lunchbox that we can have, after we eat our lunch, instead.

Desserts, even when made as healthy as possible, are loaded with calories and fat.  If you are going to spend part of your daily calorie allotment on anything with sugar in it, it had better be worth it!  An average piece of candy, a store-bought cookie, a cake from a bakery--these are not worth it!  You don't even know what is in them!  If you make them yourself, you know what is in them and you know they are delicious.  Homemade desserts, made with care and concern about what is in them, are WORTH IT!

Come to Food Snob's house on any day and she will likely have a homemade dessert (cookie, brownie, cake) in her refrigerator or freezer.  Ask her kids - they know where to look in the freezer to find the homemade cookies.  Visit Food Snob's mom, and you are likely to go home with three or four types of homemade cookies and piece of cake or pie, all made without trans fat or extra sugar. There is always more than one type of cookie at HER house.

Have you ever purchased "slice and bake cookies?"  Food Snob confesses she has NEVER purchased slice and bake cookies and she refuses to make any cakes or brownies from a purchased mix.  It is far too easy to make better cookies and other baked goods yourself, in very little time.  Here are the basic secrets for baking great cookies, brownies, and cakes with less sugar, no trans fats, more whole grains, and fewer calories:

Sugar - Reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe by one-fourth to one-third (25 to 33 percent) EVERY SINGLE TIME.  There is ALWAYS too much sugar in every cookie, cake, or brownie recipe.   You won't even notice the difference; in fact, the dessert will taste better because it won't be tooth-achingly sweet!

Butter - Replace the butter with half canola oil and half trans fat free/heart healthy spread suitable for baking, such as Smart Balance.  Now, I'll be honest, nothing beats baking with butter.  However, baking with butter is not worth the saturated fat.  Substituting butter with canola oil and heart healthy spread sacrifices minimally on the taste.  If you must use butter, use only a tablespoon or two for flavor and substitute one-half canola oil, one-half heart healthy spread for the remainder.  Save the all-butter baking for a special occasion and share it with lots of other people so you only eat one piece!

Flour - Buy a bag of whole wheat pastry flour (available at a reasonable price at Vitamin Cottage) and use it for one-half or more of the flour required in the recipe.  Whole wheat pastry flour boosts the fiber in the recipe and the results are delicious.

Leavening - Now, leavening may not have much to do with reducing sugar or fat, but it has a lot to do with successful baking at high altitude.  Generally, I have found that my cookies do not spread and my cake does not fall if I reduce the amount of baking powder and baking soda in the recipe by 25 percent.  Try this - and let me know if works for you!

One of Food Snob's most requested recipes is her Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, below.  This recipe contains whole grains and no trans fat.  I have never had a better-tasting, more delicious chocolate chip cookie.  You will need a food processor or a blender, in addition to a mixer, to make these cookies.  If you make them about 2 inches big (and why would you make them bigger if you plan to eat one after lunch and one after dinner?) the recipe makes about 9 dozen cookies.  Compare the nutrition results of Food Snob's chocolate chip cookies to the traditional Toll House Cookie recipe.  Food Snob's Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Cookies have 85 calories and less than 2 grams of saturated fat each; Toll House Cookies have 107 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat each.  And, Food Snob's cookies taste better!

Bittersweet (Dark) Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes about 9 dozen two-inch cookies)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Arrange two oven racks so that one is at the bottom one-third of the oven and the other is at the top one-third of the oven.  In a glass, microwavable measuring cup (a two cup measuring cup works great) measure out:

1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup trans fat free spread for baking, such as Smart Balance

(NOTE:  It is easier to measure the spread if you put the oil in the measuring cup first, and then spoon in the trans fat free spread until the oil rises up to the 1 cup line.)

Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on about 50 percent power until melted.  Pour the oil mixture into a large mixing bowl and add:

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar


Cream mixture with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add:

2 organic, high omega eggs
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
2 T low fat buttermilk


Continue mixing until ingredients are incorporated and mixture is smooth and light.  Add:

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon baking power (use 1 teaspoon if you are at sea level)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda (use 1 teaspoon if you are at sea level)


Meanwhile, in your food processor, measure out:

 2 and 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal

Process until it is a fine powder.  Add the oatmeal to the cookie batter, but don't rinse out the food processor.  Now measure into the food processor:


1/2 cup milk chocolate chips


Process until fine; add to cookie batter.  Don't rinse out the food processor yet - you will need it to chop the walnuts in a minute.  Also add to the cookie batter:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached flour

Mix ingredients well with the electric mixer.  Now fold into the batter:

3 and 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli's 60 percent bittersweet chocolate chips)
1 and 1/2 cups walnuts (chop these in the food processor, using the pulse button)

Mix well with a wooden spoon.  Coat four cookie sheets with cooking spray.  Drop cookies onto the first cookie sheet by rounded teaspoonful, leaving at least 2 inches between cookies.  Bake on lowest oven rack for 4 minutes.  While the first cookie sheet is baking, fill up the next cookie sheet.

When the first cookie sheet is done, transfer it to the top rack in the oven and put the second cookie sheet on the bottom rack.  Bake for another 4 minutes, until set but still light in color and just brown around the edges.  While baking, fill up the third cookie sheet.

Remove the first cookie sheet from the oven and allow it to cool for 4 minutes (don't remove the cookies yet).  Meanwhile, move the second cookie sheet to the top rack and put the third cookie sheet on the bottom rack and bake for four minutes.  Fill up the fourth cookie sheet with cookies.

When the second cookie sheet is done, remove from the oven, and allow cookies to cool.  Transfer the third cookie sheet to the top rack and put the fourth cookie sheet on the bottom rack, bake for four minutes.  While these cookies are baking, carefully remove the cookies from the first cookie sheet with a metal spatula and allow them to cool completely on paper towels.  The first cookie sheet is now ready to fill again.

Continue filling, transferring, cooling, and removing cookies from each rack, as before, allowing 4 minutes of baking time on each rack (for 8 minutes total) and 4 minutes of cooling time before removing from cookie sheets to paper towels.  When all cookies have baked and cooled completely, the cookies are ready to be packaged and frozen.  When wrapped tightly and frozen, these cookies keep well for about 4 to 6 weeks (if they last that long!).