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It often feels really challenging to eat healthy on a budget. For the past 14 months I've kept very detailed track of where my money goes and that's really helped me bring down my food cost from as high as $200 a week to a much more reasonable $50-75. Even this price range may seem high since I'm cooking for one these days, and it is high -- much higher than if I didn't try and buy healthy and environmentally responsible foods and products. Budgeting requires a prioritization of desires, as does dieting, so these two projects actually go together well even if they often have an inverse relationship.

I don't diet in the traditional sense, but I really like the approach that's laid out in The Full Plate Diet. One of the first important things to know about this plan, is that the eBook is available for free from their website. They also have a pretty cool mailing list with recipes, short stories and ideas for success. I don't think their approach revolutionary, in fact why I like it is that it jives with most of the other ideas in which I believe. Eat mostly plants, some meat, but everything in moderation (note: Americans eat an average of 8oz of meat per day -- which is double the global average). Eat carbohydrates that are providing you with plenty of fiber (they recommend 40g per day) and not that much sugar. Never get hungry, never get full.

The best way for me to eat healthy AND cheap is to have a plan. As much as I love making elaborate meals they often require one-off ingredients and I'll eat more than I should since it's really challenging to make single portion meals from scratch. So I've settled into a routine the past few weeks that hasn't helped with my blogging goals, but will hopefully help with my health and budget goals!

One of my very favorite bloggers ever is Ms. Bitchcakes. I have learned so much more from her than I ever did from actually attending Weight Watchers. If you check her out, you'll see why I see her as partial inspiration for this style of post.

 

Breakfast

Kashi GOLEAN Crips! Toasted Berry Crumble  

I've really been able to embrace Kashi cereal since they introduced this one with some freaking sweetener. This cereal is actually a case where budgeting helps me be healthy. Kashi retails for $3.75 in Tampa and I only want to buy one box per week. Left to my own devices I would fill my cereal bowl to the point where I got 4 servings out of a box. But to keep to one box a week I make each bowl slightly smaller and tada! a week's worth of breakfast.

My Serving: 288 cal / 5.6g fat / 56g carbs / 12.8g dietary fiber / 14.4g protein

 

Publix Organic 2% Milk

While all private brand organic milk currently gets two cows from the Cornucopia Institute due to lack of survey response, Publix has my price point of $5.49/gal figure out. Plus, much like Google, Publix has totally suckered me into loving and trusting their brand.

My Serving: 130 cal / 5g fat / 13g carbs / 9g protein

 

The Fiber Splurge: In-season blueberries are two pints for $5, which comes out to about 3g fiber per $1. Sure, the Kashi is 17g per $1 but considering how sweet and crisp and delicious these little suckers are, it's totally a good value. Blueberries also come packed with lots of other health benefits. And did I mention delicious? With about 2oz of blueberries on top of my cereal I feel like I'm eating dessert for breakfast.

My Serving: 21 cal / 0g fat/ 5.25g carbs / 1g fiber / 0g protein

 

Total Breakfast Cost (per serving): $1.60

Nutritional Value (per serving): 440 cal / 10.6g fat / 75g carbs / 14 g fiber / 23 g protein

 

 

 

PoP: Look at me posting on the right day. Way to go, me! Sarah hasn't posted yet tonight, which hopefully means it was a full house at the lodge tonight. CiaoSlacker has a computer virus so I'll give her a slight pass, but she needs to get her butt in gear. PUBLISH OR PERISH!!!

Summer is here in its fruitful abundance and I am thouroughly taking advantage of stone fruit season right now. Plums have been my drug of choice lately, but when I got a King Arthur Flour email with a new recipe for cherry clafouti...well, let's just say there was no arm twisting involved. I first learned of clafoutis from Tartelette, but my favorite recipe comes from the Joy of Baking. Part of the allure of this dish is how delightfully simple it is, just ripe cherries baked in an a firm, eggy custard. Of course, leave it to me to make it complicated.

I wanted to make three slight variations, so I doubled the amount of cherries and made 1.5 of the recipe. It came out like this:

Ingredients

6 small-medium eggs (farm fresh, and thus smaller than grocery store eggs)

1.5 cups lukewarm milk

3 T unsalted melted butter

1.5 t vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract

1 1/4 t salt

1 cup sugar (oops, this should have been 3/4 cup)

3/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup KAF all-purpose flour

For chocolate variation:

1 T dutch process cocoa 

1/4 c milk chocolate chips

Variation One

Follow KAF instructions, except as noted above (cherry pits, almond flour mixed in)

Variation Two

Same as above, but I carmelized the cherries ahead of time. To do this, melt one tablespoon butter in a skillet or large saucepan and toss cherries in over low-medium heat. Stir frequently as the juices come out of the cherries. When carmelized, pour into bottom of baking pan.

Variation Three

What goes really, really well with cherries? Chocolate! It seems like kind of a bastardization, but I decided to venture out. I added 1 T cocoa powder to the last 1/3 of batter, and then poured it over the cherries. I also sprinkled a handful of milk chocolate chips over the whole thing so there would be little globs of chocolate in the mix.

The batter looks like something unfit for polite society, so instead I'll show you the clip I attached to the bag of chocolate chips. This little guy and a set of his friends came in a recent care package from my sister.

The Verdict? TBC....after breakfast!

PUBLISH OR PERISH: I have to applaud Sarah at Chef In The Sticks who has held down PoP summer while Cathy and I flagged a little. She's got a write-up on Asheville this week that I am looking forwards to reading (I wonder if she visited the cheesecake place that uses real cheeses like cheddar in their pies...eating there was a disturbing moment in my life). Cathy told me she was working on something this afternoon, but so far nothing new at CiaoCatherine. I'm already 30 minutes into Tuesday, so we'll see if she has a rabbit in her hat at some point. EDIT: Cathy pointed me to her review of Jimmy Gnecco's The Heart published on VenusZine. Pssh, like being published on a real media outlet is any excuse for missing PoP!

     

It's a Monday. The weekend was great, but I never made it to the store. Anything for breakfast? Nope, out of everything. So what's a girl to do?

Dining in the drive-through is a perilous task. If I'm eating breakfast on the run, but favorite is a bagel or smoothie shop, but these places rarely have a drive-through. I think slow(ish) food is great, but if I'm so pressed for time I can't make breakfast at home then I also can't wait 20 minutes with the parking and the queuing and the unparking.

I tried McDonalds this morning, since it's one of the closest things to my house, and only a slight detour on my way. Last time I was in a breakfast pinch I tried Starbucks' Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon with Egg Whites on English Muffin. It beat out water and tofu as blandest food on earth. At 340 calories it still packs quite the punch (10 g Fat, 47g Carbs [3g Fiber] and 22g Protein) but healthy or no I don't want to pay $5 for shoe leather.

After scanning the menu at MacDo I settled on the Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait as my best bet. I added it to a Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit (later to find this is the WORST thing on the menu...but I am a sucker for their biscuits!) and it was only a $1. That was a good start. I opened it up, sprinkled in the tiny packet of Nature's Valley granola and stirred. I did a double-take on the first bite. I usually buy vanilla yogurt, so I'm no stranger to sweet, but this stuff tasted like a thinned out version of canned cake frosting. Some of the berries in the mix tasted like pancake topping (meaning they'd been macerated in sugar syrup) though the blueberries felt fresh. Wow. No wonder they categorize it as a dessert option in their nutritional profile.

I wanted to take a look at see how this parfait stacks up against other commercial varieties, as well as against what you could make at home. Here is what I found:

My first question mark is why the Fruit 'n Yogurt is listed as 7oz but the serving size is 5.3oz. The McDonalds nutrition facts doesn't say how many servings per container...so which is it? 7 or 5.3? 5.3 ounces in a 7ounce container? It just doesn't make sense. Each parfait has different components, but if you're heading to Panera be aware that it looks like they're using full fat yogurt. The Dannon product comes in pretty trim, probably because people can eyeball the facts BEFORE they buy, unlike at most fast food establishments. The Kashi parfait (which is what I'm most likely to make at home) compares nicely but why so much sodium?!

It's hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison because the amounts on the labels get rounded up and down, or will increase in different proportions based on which part of the ingredients you add more of (more yogurt is more protein, but also more fat; more fruit is more fiber, but more sugar as well). With that caveat, here are the facts at the 1 oz level.

So it turns out that I probably made a good choice going to McDonalds for a parfait, rather than Starbucks. It actually compares rather favorably to the Kashi parfait as well. I get less fiber, but also fewer calories and lot less sodium. I still can't help feeling it wasn't a healthy breakfast though. There is something intuitive in my body that feels like real fresh fruit and more crunchy, fibrous bits would have made my breakfast more well-rounded. I'll hit the store after work tonight and try for better breakfasts the rest of this week.

SIMILAR ARTICLES:
Serious Eats: Fast-Food Yogurt Parfaits
The Tippy Toe Diet: Food Fight! Yogurt Parfaits

SOURCES:
http://www.kashi.com/recipes/192
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/starbucks/fruit-and-yogurt-parfait/
http://www.peertrainer.com/DFcaloriecounterB.aspx?id=8347
http://www.peertrainer.com/DFcaloriecounterB.aspx?id=6887
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fast-foods-generic/9407/2
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/food_quality/nutrition_choices.html
http://www.panerabread.com/pdf/nutr-guide.pdf

PUBLISH OR PERISH:
Sarah is probably in the car on the way back home, but she's been doing really well publishing on non-Mondays, so I think she deserves a slide. Or she might be her normal amazing self and pull it off before midnight. On the other hand, I think Catherine has probably forgotten it's Monday so I will need to be on her her to publish. OR PERISH!

Perhaps I should back-track a little bit and explain my history with red velvet. The first time I can remember trying it wasn't that long ago. I spent much of my early college years baking treats as a form of social currency, a way of ingratiating myself with the older boys I tended to have class with, and thus half-formed crushes on. My first three newspaper editors were all of the older and male variety, though the first was a schizophrenic and the second a compulsive liar. So when the third one was just mildly depressed and had good taste in music, he got a birthday cake. In what was possibly the only instance of reciprocal baking I've ever experienced, the week of my birthday he presented me with a 9x9 casserole pan, inside of which appeared to be some sort of cake-like food. A thick schmear of canned frosting topped the creation, obscuring any hint as to the innards. When I cut into the concoction little bubbles of a viscous red fluid oozed out onto the frosting, creating pink arterial trees. This was, of course, a red velvet cake. I worked my way through a piece, as did some of my more adventurous friends. Then it got put into the dorm fridge. And was never pulled out, because no one was ever that hungry. A week later and it migrated to the bathroom sink to receive last rights. Except the priest never showed up. There wasn't much about it that seemed likely to degrade, but still when time rolled around to go home for Thanksgiving I deemed it should go back into the fridge during my absence. I didn't want it attacking a hand towel.

Read the rest of this post »

I sign-up for all the marketing emails that I can as a form of research in my field. I like them to be targeted though, and so I end up with a lot of food and recipe based emails. One such email recently included a quick recipe for an apple melt sandwich (though I think they used an english muffin). I liked the idea, but they suggested jam which is kind of an unhealthy load of sugar in my book, so I came up with my own variation. I've had probably close to six in the past 10 days, and I converted Leo to them today. I even switched it up and used mango as my fruit, but apple remains champion. So without further ado, here are the ingredients and steps for an incredibly simple but delicious sandwich.

Ingredients:

 1 slice whole wheat bread
1 T stoneground/horseradish or other fancy mustard
1/3 apple, sliced thinly with core cut out where necessary
1-2 sliced turkey sandwich meat
6 thin slices White Cheddar (I used Cabot Seriously Sharp)

Directions:
Toast the bread by itself. Let cool slightly, then cover with thick layer of mustard. Layer first turkey, then apple slices, then cheese slices. Place on foil-covered tray on toaster oven and broil until the cheese is ripping and boiling and has caramelized over the entire top. Remain vigilant that it doesn't burn, but I recommend you let the cheese get good and toasty - it really adds another level of flavor.

Makes one sandwich. You'll probably want two.

PUBLISH OR PERISH BLOGROLL: Cathy seems to have taken the holiday seriously (I swear, it's Washington DC rubbing off on her) but Sarah has a comical post on white squirrels up today. I never knew such a creature existed.

   

What's In The Fridge:

• cream
• milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 sweet onion ("strawberry onion")
• nutmeg

Supplies from the Outside World:

• pie crust
• bag of frozen spinach
• 1/2 lb of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• very sharp white cheddar (cabot)

Quich is such an easy food. Pie crust + filling + custard. Stick in the oven until it bubbles and looks amazing. I've made many quiches, but I generally search until I find a recipe that matches the ingredients I wish to use. In my kitchen sink cooking I've been trying to go a little bit more freestyle, so I went looking for the best way to design my own quiche. I found the perfect inspiration at NPR where chef Michael Ruhlman talks about throwing away the recipe and learning the ratio. It's very thrilling to cook by intuition, and the results were superb. I had Leo, Heather, Erik and Catherine over the day after and we greedily ate the whole thing far faster than we should have. I've got a second pie crust with no purpose in life, and I'll likely use up some more spare eggs by making this again. I almost always use bacon in quiche, but I skipped it for economies sakes, and I barely even missed it.

This post is part of PUBLISH OR PERISH. Amazingly, it's on time. Cathy said she'd set a timer on her post, but I only see the one from yesterday. Sarah doesn't seem to have hers up yet, but I'm not going to give her a hard time because I forgot to say happy birthday over the weekend. My only excuse is that Marina had me pinned down watching Supermarket Sweep episodes on YouTube, and I was too traumatized to be useful after that.

I missed PUBLISH OR PERISH, but Cathy has been good about harassing me, and Sarah (virtuous as ever) actually posted on time.  However, instead of cooking anything on Monday I undertook another task. A task so herculean that it precluded eating anything. I cleaned out the fridge. It had been a year and things had started creeping into the crevices. Once I'd finished tossing out the rotting produce, assessed the condiments and bleached everything I got inspired to make meals out of what remained in my shiny new fridge. I picked through a bag of spinach and sorted out the leaves that had gotten slimy and gross smelling. Half went in a bowl, and the rest went in a green bag with some paper towel to keep it fresh. I always have a love/hate relationship with salad recipes; I'm interested in new, tasy combinations, but ultimately if you overplan a salad you'll end up with too many spare ingredients. I like the basic combination of: (1) a type of green, (2) a cheese, (3) crispy things and (4) sweet, fruity things. Classic topping for this is a truly good balsamic vinegar and olive oil, plus a dash of salt and pepper. Tune in later for more Kitchen Sink recipes...

Over Easter weekend I co-hosted my sister's baby shower. The first lesson I learned from this is not to host 60 person parties from across the country. The second lesson was to ALWAYS get the pre-cut fruit platter, even if it's cheaper to cut your own fruit.

I spent a lot of time running around finalizing things so I had to delegate food shots to someone with a disposable, but here's what I have plus a recipe roundup.

I made 60 plain vanilla cupcakes. I've tried Magnolia and I've tried Martha and neither really wow me, so I tried out Billy's. I still don't have a favorite. The only flavor request I could squeeze out of the Mom-to-be was something with mint, so I visited my (re-opened!!!) favorite for interesting flavors, Cupcake Bakeshop, and followed Chockylit's recipe for Mint Cream Filled Cupcakes with Raspberry Mousse Frosting. Once I reassured everyone that it was really ok to dig in, these were definitately the crowd favorite.

Also from Cupcake Bakeshop I made Lavendar Cream Filled Cupcake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting. Someone posited that people were intimidated by the purple frosting, but whatever the reason these came in second best. This often happens when I make two flavors. A cupcake that would have been enjoyed on a different day gets outshone by a really awesome flavor combo.

A little bit of backstory -- on my way out to California, knowing I would bite off more than I could chew (see: 2 recipes worth of homemade brioche, a Tomato & Onion Tart and a giant Jicama-Citrus Salad...also a huge crowd pleaser, plus shopping, decorations, setup etc. all in 36 hours) I baked the cupcakes ahead of time. I showed up in California with a single carry-on roller and a netbook case. The carry-on had all 60 cupcakes, frozen before leaving and wrapped thouroughly in plastic and foil and packed in some giant tupperware I own. I also got insulated grocery bags and wrapped those around the cases. Since it was snowing in Salt Lake as I connected through there, I felt pretty good about the cupcakes staying fresh.

So on the way back, I froze and packed up frosting! I had a huge amount of the raspberry mousse left over (4-5 cups?) and since it's one of the best frostings I'd ever had, I certainly didn't want to toss it. So I put it in a ziploc, froze it, wrapped it in foil, tossed it in the insulated bag and flew it back home. I had to check it because I'm pretty sure frosting counts as a gel, and I really didn't want to fight with TSA over the whole issue.

I attended a Preakness Party this evening. Usually I love events like this with a theme, and of course I volunteered to bring dessert. Smith Island Cake seemed obvious, but it doesn't really seem all the appealing to me and as tired as I am of cupcakes, it's hard to get people to dig into cake during a party setting. Lady Baltimore seemed too fussy for this party, and peaches haven't really come into season yet for a Baltimore Peach Cake. So I decided to go with something classic and easy, using stuff I had on hand...including the fabulous raspberry mousse!

I used Cook's Illustrated's Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling (sorry you'll need a membership to see the recipe, but it is SO worth the money -- I reference them for everything). I love "stuffed" cupcakes and usually follow the "cone" method but giving them ganache centers saves so much time because you just plop in a teaspoon of ganache before baking and it all works itself out in the oven. My only addition to their recipe was that I doubled it to make 24 (no problems) and I simmered some chopped mint in my cream before making the ganache, so that it would be mint chocolate. Oh, and because I'm old-fashioned I made my ganache on the oven instead of the microwave. I know it works (most of the time) but I really don't trust microwaves + chocolate. Then I topped the cupcakes with my raspberry mousse which was slightly less firm after being frozen (or maybe it's just being in 80 degree humid Florida instead of 60 degree dry California) but otherwise none the worse for the wear. These also dissapeared quickly, and I would make all parts of the recipe again - together and seperate.

I also re-used the cupcake stands you can see from the baby shower -- I broke them apart and packed them for the flight home, and then re-assembled them here. You can see a great tutorial on how to make you own here, and I highly recommend it. So much cheaper than traditional cake stands and you can personalize them for your occassion, style and needs.

I am calling this a draft recipe. It's not 100% Cathy style yet, and the green onion is something she added recently that i think I could live without. Or maybe I'm just looking for any good reason to make it again soon.

Ingredients

1 (~8oz) package pre-cooked chicken (or if you're feeling motivated, about 0.5 lbs cooked chicken)

1/3 cup red onion

1/3 cup walnuts

medium-large clump of grapes (25-30)

1/2 stem of green onion

1 T mayo

2 t spicy/dijon mustard

fresh cracked black pepper

box of Triscuits

Instructions

Oh, did I mention why this recipe is great? All you need is a bowl and a food processor. Process each item seperately, putting it into a medium mixing bowl once it's been minced. Go a little more gentle on the grapes, but don't be worried when it kind of turns into a squishy juicy slush. Mix all your ingredients (minus Triscuits) and taste. Like it? Great. Not so much? Well then, adjust to taste. It's a draft recipe! If you can stand it, let it all sit for 30 minutes -- it will be much better once the flavors meld. Served on triscuits it's a meal for two or an appetizer for as many people with whom you're willing to share.

Variations

• Squish a slice of ripe avacado on your cracker before topping with a dollop of salad
• Apples and/or craisins can be subbed or added to the grapes for the fruity taste. If you include apples, you're probably better off dicing by hand.

   

PUBLISH OR PERISH BLOGROLL: Sarah at Chef In The Sticks and the eponymous CiaoCatherine

Tonight wasn't really supposed to be a celebration of Leo's birthday, but homemade dinner, an Epsom salt bath, a massage and sex sure sounds like one hell of a date. For a lady. Or for Leo.

He spent the day helping his friend Julie get this week's produce ready. She just started up SunCoast Organics, an organic veggie delivery club for the greater Sarasota area. I'm out of their delivery range, but I get a similar service from Lancaster's Hydro Farm. Their focus is not on organic, but on local, though they persist in including apples, which I appreciate as a food but despair as not being local enough (some items being "USA-sourced" rather than "reasonable driving distance"). Long story short, he brought half of his weekly order up to my house and Tuesday is delivery day for me and thus dinner was born. It took less than 30 minutes and yet I felt really positive about incorporating so many veggies.

Too simple for recipes, but the ingredients were:
Pasta: Whole wheat rotini with mix of alfredo and mushroom marinara with steamed zucchini and squash.
Salad: Romaine lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, Easter radishes, apple, green onions and vinaigrette. Everything but the (organic) radishes came from our baskets!

It often feels really challenging to eat healthy on a budget. For the past 14 months I've kept very detailed track of where my money goes and that's really helped me bring down my food cost from as high as $200 a week to a much more reasonable $50-75. Even this price range may seem high since I'm cooking for one these days, and it is high -- much higher than if I didn't try and buy healthy and environmentally responsible foods and products. Budgeting requires a prioritization of desires, as does dieting, so these two projects actually go together well even if they often have an inverse relationship.

I don't diet in the traditional sense, but I really like the approach that's laid out in The Full Plate Diet. One of the first important things to know about this plan, is that the eBook is available for free from their website. They also have a pretty cool mailing list with recipes, short stories and ideas for success. I don't think their approach revolutionary, in fact why I like it is that it jives with most of the other ideas in which I believe. Eat mostly plants, some meat, but everything in moderation (note: Americans eat an average of 8oz of meat per day -- which is double the global average). Eat carbohydrates that are providing you with plenty of fiber (they recommend 40g per day) and not that much sugar. Never get hungry, never get full.

The best way for me to eat healthy AND cheap is to have a plan. As much as I love making elaborate meals they often require one-off ingredients and I'll eat more than I should since it's really challenging to make single portion meals from scratch. So I've settled into a routine the past few weeks that hasn't helped with my blogging goals, but will hopefully help with my health and budget goals!

One of my very favorite bloggers ever is Ms. Bitchcakes. I have learned so much more from her than I ever did from actually attending Weight Watchers. If you check her out, you'll see why I see her as partial inspiration for this style of post.

 

Breakfast

Kashi GOLEAN Crips! Toasted Berry Crumble  

I've really been able to embrace Kashi cereal since they introduced this one with some freaking sweetener. This cereal is actually a case where budgeting helps me be healthy. Kashi retails for $3.75 in Tampa and I only want to buy one box per week. Left to my own devices I would fill my cereal bowl to the point where I got 4 servings out of a box. But to keep to one box a week I make each bowl slightly smaller and tada! a week's worth of breakfast.

My Serving: 288 cal / 5.6g fat / 56g carbs / 12.8g dietary fiber / 14.4g protein

 

Publix Organic 2% Milk

While all private brand organic milk currently gets two cows from the Cornucopia Institute due to lack of survey response, Publix has my price point of $5.49/gal figure out. Plus, much like Google, Publix has totally suckered me into loving and trusting their brand.

My Serving: 130 cal / 5g fat / 13g carbs / 9g protein

 

The Fiber Splurge: In-season blueberries are two pints for $5, which comes out to about 3g fiber per $1. Sure, the Kashi is 17g per $1 but considering how sweet and crisp and delicious these little suckers are, it's totally a good value. Blueberries also come packed with lots of other health benefits. And did I mention delicious? With about 2oz of blueberries on top of my cereal I feel like I'm eating dessert for breakfast.

My Serving: 21 cal / 0g fat/ 5.25g carbs / 1g fiber / 0g protein

 

Total Breakfast Cost (per serving): $1.60

Nutritional Value (per serving): 440 cal / 10.6g fat / 75g carbs / 14 g fiber / 23 g protein

 

 

 

PoP: Look at me posting on the right day. Way to go, me! Sarah hasn't posted yet tonight, which hopefully means it was a full house at the lodge tonight. CiaoSlacker has a computer virus so I'll give her a slight pass, but she needs to get her butt in gear. PUBLISH OR PERISH!!!

Summer is here in its fruitful abundance and I am thouroughly taking advantage of stone fruit season right now. Plums have been my drug of choice lately, but when I got a King Arthur Flour email with a new recipe for cherry clafouti...well, let's just say there was no arm twisting involved. I first learned of clafoutis from Tartelette, but my favorite recipe comes from the Joy of Baking. Part of the allure of this dish is how delightfully simple it is, just ripe cherries baked in an a firm, eggy custard. Of course, leave it to me to make it complicated.

I wanted to make three slight variations, so I doubled the amount of cherries and made 1.5 of the recipe. It came out like this:

Ingredients

6 small-medium eggs (farm fresh, and thus smaller than grocery store eggs)

1.5 cups lukewarm milk

3 T unsalted melted butter

1.5 t vanilla extract

1/2 t almond extract

1 1/4 t salt

1 cup sugar (oops, this should have been 3/4 cup)

3/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup KAF all-purpose flour

For chocolate variation:

1 T dutch process cocoa 

1/4 c milk chocolate chips

Variation One

Follow KAF instructions, except as noted above (cherry pits, almond flour mixed in)

Variation Two

Same as above, but I carmelized the cherries ahead of time. To do this, melt one tablespoon butter in a skillet or large saucepan and toss cherries in over low-medium heat. Stir frequently as the juices come out of the cherries. When carmelized, pour into bottom of baking pan.

Variation Three

What goes really, really well with cherries? Chocolate! It seems like kind of a bastardization, but I decided to venture out. I added 1 T cocoa powder to the last 1/3 of batter, and then poured it over the cherries. I also sprinkled a handful of milk chocolate chips over the whole thing so there would be little globs of chocolate in the mix.

The batter looks like something unfit for polite society, so instead I'll show you the clip I attached to the bag of chocolate chips. This little guy and a set of his friends came in a recent care package from my sister.

The Verdict? TBC....after breakfast!

PUBLISH OR PERISH: I have to applaud Sarah at Chef In The Sticks who has held down PoP summer while Cathy and I flagged a little. She's got a write-up on Asheville this week that I am looking forwards to reading (I wonder if she visited the cheesecake place that uses real cheeses like cheddar in their pies...eating there was a disturbing moment in my life). Cathy told me she was working on something this afternoon, but so far nothing new at CiaoCatherine. I'm already 30 minutes into Tuesday, so we'll see if she has a rabbit in her hat at some point. EDIT: Cathy pointed me to her review of Jimmy Gnecco's The Heart published on VenusZine. Pssh, like being published on a real media outlet is any excuse for missing PoP!

     

It's a Monday. The weekend was great, but I never made it to the store. Anything for breakfast? Nope, out of everything. So what's a girl to do?

Dining in the drive-through is a perilous task. If I'm eating breakfast on the run, but favorite is a bagel or smoothie shop, but these places rarely have a drive-through. I think slow(ish) food is great, but if I'm so pressed for time I can't make breakfast at home then I also can't wait 20 minutes with the parking and the queuing and the unparking.

I tried McDonalds this morning, since it's one of the closest things to my house, and only a slight detour on my way. Last time I was in a breakfast pinch I tried Starbucks' Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon with Egg Whites on English Muffin. It beat out water and tofu as blandest food on earth. At 340 calories it still packs quite the punch (10 g Fat, 47g Carbs [3g Fiber] and 22g Protein) but healthy or no I don't want to pay $5 for shoe leather.

After scanning the menu at MacDo I settled on the Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait as my best bet. I added it to a Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit (later to find this is the WORST thing on the menu...but I am a sucker for their biscuits!) and it was only a $1. That was a good start. I opened it up, sprinkled in the tiny packet of Nature's Valley granola and stirred. I did a double-take on the first bite. I usually buy vanilla yogurt, so I'm no stranger to sweet, but this stuff tasted like a thinned out version of canned cake frosting. Some of the berries in the mix tasted like pancake topping (meaning they'd been macerated in sugar syrup) though the blueberries felt fresh. Wow. No wonder they categorize it as a dessert option in their nutritional profile.

I wanted to take a look at see how this parfait stacks up against other commercial varieties, as well as against what you could make at home. Here is what I found:

My first question mark is why the Fruit 'n Yogurt is listed as 7oz but the serving size is 5.3oz. The McDonalds nutrition facts doesn't say how many servings per container...so which is it? 7 or 5.3? 5.3 ounces in a 7ounce container? It just doesn't make sense. Each parfait has different components, but if you're heading to Panera be aware that it looks like they're using full fat yogurt. The Dannon product comes in pretty trim, probably because people can eyeball the facts BEFORE they buy, unlike at most fast food establishments. The Kashi parfait (which is what I'm most likely to make at home) compares nicely but why so much sodium?!

It's hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison because the amounts on the labels get rounded up and down, or will increase in different proportions based on which part of the ingredients you add more of (more yogurt is more protein, but also more fat; more fruit is more fiber, but more sugar as well). With that caveat, here are the facts at the 1 oz level.

So it turns out that I probably made a good choice going to McDonalds for a parfait, rather than Starbucks. It actually compares rather favorably to the Kashi parfait as well. I get less fiber, but also fewer calories and lot less sodium. I still can't help feeling it wasn't a healthy breakfast though. There is something intuitive in my body that feels like real fresh fruit and more crunchy, fibrous bits would have made my breakfast more well-rounded. I'll hit the store after work tonight and try for better breakfasts the rest of this week.

SIMILAR ARTICLES:
Serious Eats: Fast-Food Yogurt Parfaits
The Tippy Toe Diet: Food Fight! Yogurt Parfaits

SOURCES:
http://www.kashi.com/recipes/192
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/starbucks/fruit-and-yogurt-parfait/
http://www.peertrainer.com/DFcaloriecounterB.aspx?id=8347
http://www.peertrainer.com/DFcaloriecounterB.aspx?id=6887
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fast-foods-generic/9407/2
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/food_quality/nutrition_choices.html
http://www.panerabread.com/pdf/nutr-guide.pdf

PUBLISH OR PERISH:
Sarah is probably in the car on the way back home, but she's been doing really well publishing on non-Mondays, so I think she deserves a slide. Or she might be her normal amazing self and pull it off before midnight. On the other hand, I think Catherine has probably forgotten it's Monday so I will need to be on her her to publish. OR PERISH!

Perhaps I should back-track a little bit and explain my history with red velvet. The first time I can remember trying it wasn't that long ago. I spent much of my early college years baking treats as a form of social currency, a way of ingratiating myself with the older boys I tended to have class with, and thus half-formed crushes on. My first three newspaper editors were all of the older and male variety, though the first was a schizophrenic and the second a compulsive liar. So when the third one was just mildly depressed and had good taste in music, he got a birthday cake. In what was possibly the only instance of reciprocal baking I've ever experienced, the week of my birthday he presented me with a 9x9 casserole pan, inside of which appeared to be some sort of cake-like food. A thick schmear of canned frosting topped the creation, obscuring any hint as to the innards. When I cut into the concoction little bubbles of a viscous red fluid oozed out onto the frosting, creating pink arterial trees. This was, of course, a red velvet cake. I worked my way through a piece, as did some of my more adventurous friends. Then it got put into the dorm fridge. And was never pulled out, because no one was ever that hungry. A week later and it migrated to the bathroom sink to receive last rights. Except the priest never showed up. There wasn't much about it that seemed likely to degrade, but still when time rolled around to go home for Thanksgiving I deemed it should go back into the fridge during my absence. I didn't want it attacking a hand towel.

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I sign-up for all the marketing emails that I can as a form of research in my field. I like them to be targeted though, and so I end up with a lot of food and recipe based emails. One such email recently included a quick recipe for an apple melt sandwich (though I think they used an english muffin). I liked the idea, but they suggested jam which is kind of an unhealthy load of sugar in my book, so I came up with my own variation. I've had probably close to six in the past 10 days, and I converted Leo to them today. I even switched it up and used mango as my fruit, but apple remains champion. So without further ado, here are the ingredients and steps for an incredibly simple but delicious sandwich.

Ingredients:

 1 slice whole wheat bread
1 T stoneground/horseradish or other fancy mustard
1/3 apple, sliced thinly with core cut out where necessary
1-2 sliced turkey sandwich meat
6 thin slices White Cheddar (I used Cabot Seriously Sharp)

Directions:
Toast the bread by itself. Let cool slightly, then cover with thick layer of mustard. Layer first turkey, then apple slices, then cheese slices. Place on foil-covered tray on toaster oven and broil until the cheese is ripping and boiling and has caramelized over the entire top. Remain vigilant that it doesn't burn, but I recommend you let the cheese get good and toasty - it really adds another level of flavor.

Makes one sandwich. You'll probably want two.

PUBLISH OR PERISH BLOGROLL: Cathy seems to have taken the holiday seriously (I swear, it's Washington DC rubbing off on her) but Sarah has a comical post on white squirrels up today. I never knew such a creature existed.

   

What's In The Fridge:

• cream
• milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 sweet onion ("strawberry onion")
• nutmeg

Supplies from the Outside World:

• pie crust
• bag of frozen spinach
• 1/2 lb of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• very sharp white cheddar (cabot)

Quich is such an easy food. Pie crust + filling + custard. Stick in the oven until it bubbles and looks amazing. I've made many quiches, but I generally search until I find a recipe that matches the ingredients I wish to use. In my kitchen sink cooking I've been trying to go a little bit more freestyle, so I went looking for the best way to design my own quiche. I found the perfect inspiration at NPR where chef Michael Ruhlman talks about throwing away the recipe and learning the ratio. It's very thrilling to cook by intuition, and the results were superb. I had Leo, Heather, Erik and Catherine over the day after and we greedily ate the whole thing far faster than we should have. I've got a second pie crust with no purpose in life, and I'll likely use up some more spare eggs by making this again. I almost always use bacon in quiche, but I skipped it for economies sakes, and I barely even missed it.

This post is part of PUBLISH OR PERISH. Amazingly, it's on time. Cathy said she'd set a timer on her post, but I only see the one from yesterday. Sarah doesn't seem to have hers up yet, but I'm not going to give her a hard time because I forgot to say happy birthday over the weekend. My only excuse is that Marina had me pinned down watching Supermarket Sweep episodes on YouTube, and I was too traumatized to be useful after that.

I missed PUBLISH OR PERISH, but Cathy has been good about harassing me, and Sarah (virtuous as ever) actually posted on time.  However, instead of cooking anything on Monday I undertook another task. A task so herculean that it precluded eating anything. I cleaned out the fridge. It had been a year and things had started creeping into the crevices. Once I'd finished tossing out the rotting produce, assessed the condiments and bleached everything I got inspired to make meals out of what remained in my shiny new fridge. I picked through a bag of spinach and sorted out the leaves that had gotten slimy and gross smelling. Half went in a bowl, and the rest went in a green bag with some paper towel to keep it fresh. I always have a love/hate relationship with salad recipes; I'm interested in new, tasy combinations, but ultimately if you overplan a salad you'll end up with too many spare ingredients. I like the basic combination of: (1) a type of green, (2) a cheese, (3) crispy things and (4) sweet, fruity things. Classic topping for this is a truly good balsamic vinegar and olive oil, plus a dash of salt and pepper. Tune in later for more Kitchen Sink recipes...

Over Easter weekend I co-hosted my sister's baby shower. The first lesson I learned from this is not to host 60 person parties from across the country. The second lesson was to ALWAYS get the pre-cut fruit platter, even if it's cheaper to cut your own fruit.

I spent a lot of time running around finalizing things so I had to delegate food shots to someone with a disposable, but here's what I have plus a recipe roundup.

I made 60 plain vanilla cupcakes. I've tried Magnolia and I've tried Martha and neither really wow me, so I tried out Billy's. I still don't have a favorite. The only flavor request I could squeeze out of the Mom-to-be was something with mint, so I visited my (re-opened!!!) favorite for interesting flavors, Cupcake Bakeshop, and followed Chockylit's recipe for Mint Cream Filled Cupcakes with Raspberry Mousse Frosting. Once I reassured everyone that it was really ok to dig in, these were definitately the crowd favorite.

Also from Cupcake Bakeshop I made Lavendar Cream Filled Cupcake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting. Someone posited that people were intimidated by the purple frosting, but whatever the reason these came in second best. This often happens when I make two flavors. A cupcake that would have been enjoyed on a different day gets outshone by a really awesome flavor combo.

A little bit of backstory -- on my way out to California, knowing I would bite off more than I could chew (see: 2 recipes worth of homemade brioche, a Tomato & Onion Tart and a giant Jicama-Citrus Salad...also a huge crowd pleaser, plus shopping, decorations, setup etc. all in 36 hours) I baked the cupcakes ahead of time. I showed up in California with a single carry-on roller and a netbook case. The carry-on had all 60 cupcakes, frozen before leaving and wrapped thouroughly in plastic and foil and packed in some giant tupperware I own. I also got insulated grocery bags and wrapped those around the cases. Since it was snowing in Salt Lake as I connected through there, I felt pretty good about the cupcakes staying fresh.

So on the way back, I froze and packed up frosting! I had a huge amount of the raspberry mousse left over (4-5 cups?) and since it's one of the best frostings I'd ever had, I certainly didn't want to toss it. So I put it in a ziploc, froze it, wrapped it in foil, tossed it in the insulated bag and flew it back home. I had to check it because I'm pretty sure frosting counts as a gel, and I really didn't want to fight with TSA over the whole issue.

I attended a Preakness Party this evening. Usually I love events like this with a theme, and of course I volunteered to bring dessert. Smith Island Cake seemed obvious, but it doesn't really seem all the appealing to me and as tired as I am of cupcakes, it's hard to get people to dig into cake during a party setting. Lady Baltimore seemed too fussy for this party, and peaches haven't really come into season yet for a Baltimore Peach Cake. So I decided to go with something classic and easy, using stuff I had on hand...including the fabulous raspberry mousse!

I used Cook's Illustrated's Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling (sorry you'll need a membership to see the recipe, but it is SO worth the money -- I reference them for everything). I love "stuffed" cupcakes and usually follow the "cone" method but giving them ganache centers saves so much time because you just plop in a teaspoon of ganache before baking and it all works itself out in the oven. My only addition to their recipe was that I doubled it to make 24 (no problems) and I simmered some chopped mint in my cream before making the ganache, so that it would be mint chocolate. Oh, and because I'm old-fashioned I made my ganache on the oven instead of the microwave. I know it works (most of the time) but I really don't trust microwaves + chocolate. Then I topped the cupcakes with my raspberry mousse which was slightly less firm after being frozen (or maybe it's just being in 80 degree humid Florida instead of 60 degree dry California) but otherwise none the worse for the wear. These also dissapeared quickly, and I would make all parts of the recipe again - together and seperate.

I also re-used the cupcake stands you can see from the baby shower -- I broke them apart and packed them for the flight home, and then re-assembled them here. You can see a great tutorial on how to make you own here, and I highly recommend it. So much cheaper than traditional cake stands and you can personalize them for your occassion, style and needs.

I am calling this a draft recipe. It's not 100% Cathy style yet, and the green onion is something she added recently that i think I could live without. Or maybe I'm just looking for any good reason to make it again soon.

Ingredients

1 (~8oz) package pre-cooked chicken (or if you're feeling motivated, about 0.5 lbs cooked chicken)

1/3 cup red onion

1/3 cup walnuts

medium-large clump of grapes (25-30)

1/2 stem of green onion

1 T mayo

2 t spicy/dijon mustard

fresh cracked black pepper

box of Triscuits

Instructions

Oh, did I mention why this recipe is great? All you need is a bowl and a food processor. Process each item seperately, putting it into a medium mixing bowl once it's been minced. Go a little more gentle on the grapes, but don't be worried when it kind of turns into a squishy juicy slush. Mix all your ingredients (minus Triscuits) and taste. Like it? Great. Not so much? Well then, adjust to taste. It's a draft recipe! If you can stand it, let it all sit for 30 minutes -- it will be much better once the flavors meld. Served on triscuits it's a meal for two or an appetizer for as many people with whom you're willing to share.

Variations

• Squish a slice of ripe avacado on your cracker before topping with a dollop of salad
• Apples and/or craisins can be subbed or added to the grapes for the fruity taste. If you include apples, you're probably better off dicing by hand.

   

PUBLISH OR PERISH BLOGROLL: Sarah at Chef In The Sticks and the eponymous CiaoCatherine

Tonight wasn't really supposed to be a celebration of Leo's birthday, but homemade dinner, an Epsom salt bath, a massage and sex sure sounds like one hell of a date. For a lady. Or for Leo.

He spent the day helping his friend Julie get this week's produce ready. She just started up SunCoast Organics, an organic veggie delivery club for the greater Sarasota area. I'm out of their delivery range, but I get a similar service from Lancaster's Hydro Farm. Their focus is not on organic, but on local, though they persist in including apples, which I appreciate as a food but despair as not being local enough (some items being "USA-sourced" rather than "reasonable driving distance"). Long story short, he brought half of his weekly order up to my house and Tuesday is delivery day for me and thus dinner was born. It took less than 30 minutes and yet I felt really positive about incorporating so many veggies.

Too simple for recipes, but the ingredients were:
Pasta: Whole wheat rotini with mix of alfredo and mushroom marinara with steamed zucchini and squash.
Salad: Romaine lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, Easter radishes, apple, green onions and vinaigrette. Everything but the (organic) radishes came from our baskets!