Saturday, June 29, 2013

Michael’s Relatively Low Fat Guacamole

The nutrition facts for this delicious guacamole were designed using the great tools at Calorie Count!

Michael’s Relatively Low Fat Guacamole

Ingredients:

1 med. to large avocado, well ripened
1 tsp. Tony Chachere's salt substitute
1 tsp. garlic powder or 1 large clove, peeled and minced (to taste)
1/3 cup finely diced onions
1 - 2 Tbsp. bottled or canned NM green chili (you choose the heat level; recommend Hatch)
1/8 tsp. "all purpose" seasoning herbs (McCormick's, for example)
1/8 tsp. cumin
1/4 cup fresh tomato, seeded and finely chopped
dash of black pepper
1 tsp. lime juice + zest of one or two limes
3 oz. plain, no fat Greek yogurt (Fage recommended)
1 Tbsp. plain sweetened almond milk

Directions:

Split the avocado length-wise and remove the pit. Scoop the avocado out of the peel and place into a small mixing bowl.  Mash it up thoroughly with a fork. Add all the other ingredients and mix well, using the almond milk to bring the mixture to the desired thickness/consistency.

Cover the container and chill for at least a half hour.  If you are going to be keeping the guacamole longer, return the pit to the mixture; this will keep it from turning dark.  This recipe should be enough for two people or four light nibblers as an appetizer.

Serve with GREAT chips!

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Corinn’s Katsu Curry

The nutrition facts for this delicious Japanese curry were made at Calorie Count!

Corinn’s Katsu Curry

Ingredients:

The Tonkatsu:
8 thin-cut pork chops, boneless
Panko bread crumbs
All-purpose flour
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp shichimi togarash (seven-flavor pepper powder) (you can sub cayenne pepper for this, but reduce to 1/2 tsp)
2 eggs diluted with milk or water

The Veggies:
8 red-skin potatoes or new potatoes (waxy potatoes work best), diced into large-ish cubes
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 small sweet onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced thinly on the bias
3 green onions, chopped finely
1 red hot chili pepper, sliced very thinly (optional if you like heat)
Splash of soy sauce (in the boiling water)

The Sauce:
3 tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin, just regular olive oil)
1 tbsp butter
All-purpose flour (to thicken, amount used varies based on desired thickness)
3 tbsp good-quality yellow curry powder (get this from an Indian grocer if you can, the quality difference is HUGE)
1 tbsp shichimi togarash
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
Water to your desired consistency

Directions to make the curry:

First, you want to get the veggies boiled off. Cut up the potatoes and carrots, since they need to be boiled first. Put them in a pot and boil them with a splash of soy sauce. While this is going on, you can start breading and frying your pork chops.

Set up a breading station with a dish of flour (seasoned with garlic powder, pepper, salt and shichimi togarash), a bowl with the egg and milk mixture and a dish with plain panko breadcrumbs. Bread the pork chops normally and fry off in vegetable oil until crisp and golden brown. Store these in the oven, wrapped in foil, to keep them warm.

By this time your veg should be done; remove from heat and strain off. Start making the sauce. In a large saucepan, add the olive oil and butter and melt it down. Add the onion and bell pepper (and chili peppers if you want it spicy) and cook them until the onions are translucent. Add curry powder, shichimi togarash,  garlic, ginger and (if necessary) more butter. Add the flour and cook it off to make a roux. Add cold water and whisk vigorously, cooking until thickened. Add boiled potatoes and carrots to the sauce; reduce heat to low and cook slowly for another five minutes.

Remove from heat and add finely chopped green onions.

To plate:

Slice two breaded pork chops into long, thin strips and arrange on a mound of white or brown rice in a shallow bowl. Ladle a few spoons of sauce over the top; garnish with pickled ginger and a sprinkling of shichimi togarash.  Serve immediately. Feeds four-six rather hungry individuals.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Dave’s Hidden Secret Dessert

Dave says not tell anyone there is tofu in here and they'll think its sherbet! The nutrition facts were designed at Calorie Count!

Hidden Secret Dessert

Ingredients:

10 oz tofu (firm or soft works just fine)
1 banana
3 T honey
1 cup berries
1 t vanilla
½ t salt

Directions:

Into a blender jar put 10 ounces of tofu, 1 banana, 3 Tablespoons honey and a cup of drained berries, peaches, plums or any other fairly strong fruit and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and a half teaspoon salt. Blend at high speed until smooth and frothy.

Ladle out into a pie dish and place in freezer for about 90 minutes.

Options:

Use any combination of fruits: berries, peaches, plums, limes, or other strongly flavored fruit.