Vegetarian Chik'n Tikka Pizzas

I found the original recipe for this leafing through a Cooking Light magazine during our recent trip to my bf's parents' lake home in Minnesota. One of bf's favorite things to eat is pizza and mine is Indian food so it seemed like the perfect thing to satisfy both of our needs - and of course I took my own steps to reduce the calories in it. The result was an extremely happy boy and girl. This can be made vegetarian or not, take your pick!

Vegetarian Chik'n Tikka Pizzas

Serves: 2 hungry people

Ingredients

• 2 Joseph's multi-grain flatbread* or 4 whole wheat pitas
• 1 12 oz. package Quorn Chik'n Tenders [12 oz. diced chicken breast can also be used**]
• 1/4 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
• 3 tsp garam masala***, divided
• Cooking spray
• 1 tsp finely minced fresh, peeled ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 2 10-oz. cans Rotel diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup fat free sour cream
• 3/4 to 1 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese [We also sprinkled crumbled gorgonzola cheese on top]
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 2 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Give In to the Asian Persuasion + Lotus Root Chips

I cook a lot of Asian dishes - they're easy to make vegetarian and the varieties and options are endless. And, as the "foodie" culture has grown, so has the availability of ethnic ingredients at your standard grocery store. If you're really into cooking authentic dishes however, you're going to reach a point where certain ingredients become hard to find. That's when you make your first trip to an Asian or other ethnic market.

Vinh an Oriental Market in North Miami Beach

In Miami there isn't a huge Asian population so you won't find as many markets as you would say, the West coast, where there seems to be one on every block. In fact only 1.5% of the population in Miami-Dade is Asian (compare that to Seattle with 13% of the population). Either way there are several great markets in the area.

[Indian] Homemade Paneer

Whenever I ordered a paneer dish at an Indian restaurant (that tofu-like cheese curd) I always imagined it was made by some mysterious complicated process. That was until I asked my Indian coworker who exclaimed that it was in fact one of the easiest things to make. She explained it to me like this: boil milk, add lemon juice, allow to curdle and press in a cheese cloth. Now doesn't that sound easy?

Ingredients:

• Half gallon milk (whole or 2% reduced fat will give the best flavor)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Dried spices of your choice (you can get creative here, I used parsley)
• Cheesecloth & strainer

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Just about every recipe for roasted brussels sprouts uses oil so I decided to try out half of the recipe using just a little non-stick spray and a non-stick pan and the other half with olive oil. The result was very little or no difference in taste or texture so save yourself the calories and nix the oil altogether.  In short: You don't ALWAYS have to use oil when you cook as recipes would have you believe.

Based on a recipe from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• salt
• pepper
• Balsamic vinegar

Recent Culinary Explorations - 6/2012

Enchiladas

In this post: Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas - Low Carb Cauliflower Pizza Crust - Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas - Adapted From Penzy's Spice Catalog

The first time I made this I stuck to the recipe (which was horribly written & hard to follow - I'm surprised they actually published it that way in the catalog). The second time I changed it up a little by using butternut squash instead of potatoes and I made half with baked tofu and the other half with ground beef for the non-veggie head. I also used 2 minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and some canned enchilada sauce. Unique and tasty, it can be a very healthy meal. Cook the squash/potato chunks in the microwave to save time.

Carrot & Apple Soup

Served with Sun Dried Tomato Cream Pasta

This soup was light, sweet and savory and incredibly simple to make. I reduced the amount of butter called for but I would imagine replacing it with a quick spray of non-stick cooking spray would do just fine as well. Using sweet potatoes or butternut squash in place of the carrots would probably be an excellent variation of this soup.

 

 

 

Carrot & Apple Soup 

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 large golden delicious apples, peeled and chopped into 1" chunks
• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2" chunks
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp sweetener such as Splenda (or sugar, agave nectar, etc.)
• 1 tsp peeled and minced or grated fresh ginger
• 2 cups water
• chives, chopped for garnish, optional
• half & half or creamer for garnish, optional, I used one of the individual half & half tubs compliments of my office :)

Sunday Dinner: Tomato & Cheese Pie with Bean & Corn Chowder

I swear my bf thinks I'm a nut but I can't help myself. I love holidays, special occasions and festivals and everything themed that goes along with them. I was completely unprepared for Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby this year but who says you can't celebrate after the fact? And pardon me for bragging but I did call the winning horse so even more reason to make a feast. The menu: Bean & Corn Chowder, Tomato & Cheese Pie and a Coconut Ambrosia Salad for dessert. The Tomato & Cheese pie was the biggest hit, but I really liked all three. I would normally make a lot healthier, lower cal versions of these, but I went with what was on hand and we made this our lunch/dinner for the day.

Bean & Corn Chowder

A dairy free "chowder" that's very healthy and excellent as leftovers!

Servings: 8

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 3 carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/4" pieces
• 1 large celery rib, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/4" pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large can pink beans, drained and rinsed (Rinsing canned beans reduces the sodium content by up to 40%)
• 2 packages frozen corn
• 2 cups water
• 32-oz. container vegetable broth (approx. 4 cups)
• 2 tsp no-calorie sweetener
• 1 1/2 tsp seafood seasoning such as Old Bay
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper 
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, if desired

Peanut Butter & Jelly Parfaits

Amazingly tasty and healthy dessert. Made with fat free Greek yogurt.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Parfaits

Yield: 2 servings

• 1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp strawberry jam
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces
• 3 mini dark chocolate bars (optional)

1. Heat peanut butter in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
2. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, peanut butter, jam and vanilla. Whisk together until well combined.
3. Divide chopped up strawberries into two bowls, top with yogurt mixture and shavings from one chocolate bar. Top each bowl with one chocolate bar each.

Nutrition facts per serving (makes 2): 232 cals, 24g carbs, 8g fat, 17g protein (not including the chocolate)

Quinoa Mac & Cheese Muffins

Vegetarian comfort food made light (and with more protein). The soy bacon really gives this recipe a rich flavor & baking them in the muffin tins portions them perfectly.

Quinoa Mac & Cheese Muffins

Yield: about 20 Muffins

• 2 cups dry quinoa
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups 2% milk shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 egg whites
• 6 slices Morningstar Farms bacon strips, chopped
• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 3 Tbsp chipotle chilies in adobo, minced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp whole wheat panko bread crumbs
• Dried ground chipotle and garlic powder for panko dusting (optional)

Vietnamese Sweet & Sour Soup

"Holy sh*t!"

Pardon my French but that was my honest reaction when I tasted this. I was dying to have the vegetable soup from World Resource Cafe on Lincoln Road, which closed down over a year ago & I couldn't seem to find any other restaurant that had a vegetarian soup with that exact taste. On this occasion I set out to recreate it myself. The sweet, sour and hot flavors are incredibly satisfying. The best part about this recipe is that it took hardly any time at all. Whether or not this soup would be considered Vietnamese, Thai or whatever, I'm really not sure, but the most similar recipe I found called it Vietnamese.

Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Soup

Yield: 6-8 servings

• 1 1/4 quarts (5 cups) water
• 1 quart (4 cups) vegetable broth                                   
• 1 tsp ground peppercorn
• 2 tsp sea salt                                   
• 7 tsp Thai Tom Yum powdered soup mix (found at an Asian grocery store, although you may be able to find in the ethnic food section of a regular grocery store, I haven't looked)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp lemon grass paste (found in a tube  next to the fresh herbs in the produce section) 
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 20-oz can pineapple chunks, with syrup
• 1 8-oz package bean sprouts
• 1/2 large sweet onion, chopped into about 1" square pieces
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced 
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tsp tamarind paste concentrate* (My mom picked it up for me at an Indian grocery store. Can likely be found at an Asian grocery store as well; if you use the powder I believe you are supposed to triple the amount, but do some trial and error)
  

[Indian] Potato & Seitan Curry with Peas and Carrots

Indian food really is not the most attractive to look at but this recipe turned out surprisingly pretty. I took a lot of liberties with the original recipe trying to find the right flavor while stripping it down into a lower calorie meal.

 Mis en Place: to "put in place." Probably the most important lesson I've learned about cooking.

Potato & Seitan Curry

Yield: 6 servings

• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 package seitan chunks, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced  
• 2 large onions, chopped 
  
• 8 oz. carrots, thinly sliced  
• 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1" chunks  (leave skin on for added nutrients)
  
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
• 1 1/4 cups frozen peas  
• 1 1/2 Tbsp curry powder 
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper  
  
• 1 tsp ground coriander  
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger  
• 1/4 tsp garam masala *not required, but I thought it added a nice, more complete flavor
• 1 14-oz. can coconut milk  (used Iberia brand - 300 cals per can)
• 1 cup (or more as needed) water