Diet, Dessert and Dogs

This month’s SOS (Sweet or Savory) Kitchen Challenge asked readers to whip up dishes with spinach, and wow, did you ever take on this challenge with gusto! We received a dozen fantastic, creative recipes to try that all highlight the super-healthy leafy green.  And yes, a few desserts are included as well!

Thanks to everyone who entered the challenge this month.  As always, if you’ve submitted a recipe and I forgot to include it here, please let me know asap so I can add it to the list.

Here’s what’s on the menu with spinach:

THE SAVORY CONTRIBUTIONS:

Our very first entry was from Janet at Taste Space (Toronto) –a colorful and delicious Quinoa and Butternut Squash Spinach Salad with Cranberry and Pear. Well, I think the title tells you everything you need to know–doesn’t that just sound delectable? This savory salad is also a bit sweet with the pear and cranberries. Suitable for gluten free, vegan, sugar free, egg free and dairy free diets.

Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes (Dundee, Scotland) offers up a great recipe for Spicy Spinach and Potato Curry adapted from a recipe she found in one huge tome of a cookbook.  Her pics look great (and check out the gratuitious cuteness of her new baby, Cooper!) This recipe is suitable for gluten free, soy-free, vegan, and ACD diets (contains coconut milk).

Kiersten from Full of Beans (Charlotte, NC )’s vegan Coconut Curried Chickpeas and Spinach looks like the perfect quick weekday dinner.  I love a good curry, and with chickpeas AND spinach, you can’t go wrong with this one! Vegan, soy-free, gluten free, ACD-friendly and otherwise nut-free.

A double savory whammy comes to us from Lisa of Vegan Cookbook Critic (Toronto).  First up, Lisa created a quick and easy savory Avocado-Spinach Spread–just look at the deep emerald color of that dip!

She also “uncooked” some gorgeously green Spinach-Hemp Flatbreads on which to spread it. Unlike many other dehydrated flatbreads, these remain soft, perfect for sandwiches. These both are vegan, dairy free, gluten free, raw, and sugar free.

Mom at the Gluten-Free Edge (Georgetown, Texas) decided that her Spinach Mushroom Pie should undergo a vegan revamp for this month’s entry! This is her remake of a long-time favorite recipe, and it worked out beautifully. The recipe is gluten free and vegan.

Donna from Fab Frugal Food (Provo, Utah) turned to Thai inspiration for her Wilted Spinach Salad with Thai Peanut Vinaigrette.  Using all natural peanut butter was the key to this delectable looking salad.  It’s gluten free, vegan and sugar free. 

Chaya from The Comfy Cook is back this month with a fabulous Oriental Rice Pizza.  This savory dish is filled with veggies and is a snap to make with its rice-based crust. It’s gluten free, sugar free and dairy free.

Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe (Melbourne, Australia) offers a cheezy spinach-based soup this month with her Pumpkin, Bean and Spinach Soup. While the recipe itself looks delicious, half the fun of the recipe is Johanna’s recounting of the experimentation that led her to it.  And doesn’t the concept of tofu croutons just sound fabulous?

Valerie of City Life Eats (Washington, DC) has created a Lemony Spinach Pepita Pesto. With a unique combination of ingredients, this pesto would be delicious on more than just pasta. It’s gluten free, vegan, nut free, sugar free and ACD-friendly.

Aubree Cherie, who blogs at Living Free (Kennett Square, PA), decided to move out of her usual spinach zone with these Almond Spinach Biscuits.  A great savory biscuit with a hint of sweet (dried cranberries), these treats were gobbled up by her significant other in no time.  Definitely a fun (and delicious) recipe.  Gluten free, sugar free, vegan and ACD-friendly.

My event partner, Kim at Affairs of Living, cooked up a fabulous Creamy Spinach and Celeriac Soup for those days when you crave something rich and healthy at the same time.  The recipe is vegan, gluten free, sugar free, ACD friendly, soy free and nut free.

My savory contribution this month is a Classic Tofu Quiche recipe that I’ve had for years but never thought to post.  The millet crust helps to make it quick, easy, and delicious! It’s gluten free, sugar free and vegan.

THE SWEET CONTRIBUTIONS (Yes, even spinach has a sweet side!):

Rachel from My Munchable Musings (WA) treated us to two sweet recipes this month! First up are these Spring Picnic Cupcakes, her take on the classic Strawberry and Spinach Salad–in a sweet mini confection! She’s also included a great bit of additional history and nutritional information about spinach here.  These are wheat free, sugar free and vegan.

Rachel also created these adorable Green Thumb Print Cookies, that are gluten free!  I love how the strawberry sits perfectly in the thumb print–seriously yummy looking.  These are gluten free, sugar free and vegan.

Kim’s second contribution this month is her Invisible Spinach Smoothie.  While you may have enjoyed smoothies with spinach before, this quick and easy recipe contains another veggie that you might not expect.  Vegan, ACD-friendly, gluten free.

Finally, my sweet contribution is this Green Monster Muffin.  Based on the concept of green smoothies, these muffins offer up spinach in a slightly sweet, hearty breakfast baked good.  I’ve used chopped apples, but you could add in raisins or even chocolate chips to the mix if you like.  Vegan, sugar free, gluten free.

Thanks again to everyone who played along this month.  Enjoy these recipes until next month, when Kim–our hostess for June’s Challenge–will announce the new SOS ingredient.

Last Year at this Time: The Ultimate Slow Food: Lupini Beans with Garlic and Olive Oil

Two Years Ago: When Cheesecake is Love (GF filling; spelt crust)

© 2010 Diet, Dessert and Dogs

[Potato-Kale Curry]

First, and most importantly: Happy 2009, everyone!  Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments and good wishes for the new year.  I can’t even begin to express how much I appreciate them all and how much blogging has brought into my life.  But by far, the best part is you–readers and other bloggers.  Thank you for sharing 2008 with me, and I look forward to 2009!

The HH and I (sans The Girls, unfortunately, as our Elsie Girl refuses to play nice with the other five dogs who live there) spent another lovely, bucolic New Year’s Eve with my friends Gemini I and II and their broods up at Gemini I’s palatial country “cottage.”  We ate, we drank, and Gemini II’s hubby lit fireworks just before midnight, when we toasted in 2009.  The rest of the time, we chillaxed to the max, reading in front of the fireplace, watching ice fishers huddled by their hut atop the lake, taking photos of indigenous birds perched at the feeder outside the window, or working as a group on the massive, 2-page annual crossword puzzle  that’s printed in The Globe and Mail.  I didn’t even mind the snow and ice (a New Year’s Eve miracle!).

And now, back to reality. . . and back to business.

 Although I more or less threw resolutions out the window many years ago (really, don’t I already know I’ll want to lose weight after the holidays?), I do update a list I call my “Five Year Plan.”  In it, I write down goals for the following six months, the following year, two years, and five years.  I try to arrange them so that the earlier goals might naturally precede the later goals (eg., six months:  take a course in html; one year: design own web page). 

Okay, so maybe it’s just another version of resolutions after all. . .but this long-term view has worked well for me in the past: one of the most unusual “goals” that came to fruition was “work with a business coach–for free”; and so far, the best one (way back before I met the HH) was “own my own home,” something I’m adding back to the list this year, now that we’ve been renting for. . . well, far too long.

I’ve decided that this list works best when it’s kept private, as last year’s list, while not that different from the ones I wrote before it, was a total bust.  Instead of losing 50 pounds over the past 50 weeks or so, I’ve gained about four (definitely more than the “1.5 pound” holiday average. My parents always encouraged me to try to be above average, so I guess I can say I’ve accomplished that now).

Still, I believe the concept is a great one and one that most people should try at least once.  As the famous Harvard study  demonstrated, those who write down their goals (as opposed to simply thinking of them) tend to concretize them, and the goals are more apt to come true.  For whatever reason, putting something down on paper triggers a mechanism in the brain that impels you to action.  I will share the easiest goal on my list, though:  remain part of the blogging world, and keep blogging regularly.  That one, at least, I know will be pure pleasure to enact!

Before I bid 2008 adieu permanently, however, I wanted to share the amazing Indian feast we had when the CFO visited at Christmas time.  Although our meal on December 25th was relatively traditional, it was this one (the following night) that became the high point of holiday meals for us. 

[Peas in a Creamy Curry Sauce]

I first discovered Indian cuisine about 10 years ago, after having to change my diet dramatically and seek out foods that met my dietary challenges.  At the time, being both a meat eater and a wheat eater, those challenges were plentiful.

Then I began to frequent Indian restaurants.  Most dishes were not only wheat-free, but gluten-free as well!  And the vegetarian/vegan options seemed endless.  Here in Toronto, many Indian restaurants operate as all-you-can-eat buffets.  These ostensibly boundless displays of vegetable- and legume-based dishes were dazzling and even a bit overwhelming at first, as I was determined to try every dish in my new culinary repertoire. (Eventually, I realized, many of those dishes had been sitting out under warming lights for hours, or were thrown together from leftovers of two or more of the previous day’s dishes; I began to opt for sit-down restaurants instead).

It seemed natural to attempt to re-create those spicy, saucy, succulent meals at home. I  bought a couple of Indian cookbooks and went to work.  In those days, I cooked a lot of chicken and meat dishes, some of which I’ve converted over the years.  Perhaps it was curry overload; perhaps I assumed I’d never achieve a comparable result without the meat.  For whatever reason, I hadn’t cooked a full Indian meal in some time.

Then I remembered that the CFO was also a fan of the cuisine and had an idea to whip up our own little Indian buffet as a post-Christmas dinner.  The results were stellar, and made me wonder why I’ve neglected those recipes for so long.

[Three-Lentil Dal]

Our meal included a fabulous multi-lentil dal based on Lisa’s recipe (my only change to the original recipe was using three types of lentil instead of lentils and moong beans); peas in a creamy sauce; curried potatoes and kale; and cheela (chickpea pancakes) along with basmati rice.  While the potato dish was pretty much a haphazard combination of leftover tomato sauce, chopped kale, and chunks of spud, I did take note of the other recipes and can share them here.

Each of these dishes on its own would make a warming, satisfying light meal; put them together, and you’ve got a memorable finale to an eventful year. 

One definite item in my next 5-Year Plan:  Cook Indian more often.

Peas in a Creamy Curry Sauce

Super quick and easy, this side dish provides a lovely visual contrast to the mostly dull colors of long-simmered curries.  The vibrant green and sweet flavor of the peas is perfect as an accompaniment to the intense spice of the other dishes. From  an unidentified cookbook–sorry!

1/4 tsp. (1 ml.) Sucanat or other unrefined evaporated cane juice

1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml.) ground cumin

1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml.) garam masala

3/4 tsp. (7.5 ml.) fine sea salt

1/4-1/2 tsp. (1-2.5 ml.) chili powder, to your taste

1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) tomato purée (I used organic ketchup and omitted the Sucanat, above)

3/4 cup (180 ml.) unsweetened almond or soymilk

1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 Tbsp. (10 ml.) chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 fresh green chili, chopped (optional–I omitted it as all the other dishes were very spicy)

3 Tbsp. (45 ml.) extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml.) cumin seeds

1/2 tsp. (2. 5 ml.) black or yellow mustard seeds (I used black)

2-10 ounce (285 g.) bags frozen peas, defrosted under lukewarm water and drained

1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) organic cornstarch or arrowroot powder, if needed

Combine the Sucanat, ground cumin, garam masala, salt, chili powder and tomato purée in the bottom of a medium-sized bowl.  Slowly stir in 2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) water and mix well.  Add the soymilk gradually and mix; then add the lemon juice, cilantro and optional green chili.  Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large frypan over medium-high heat.  Once hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds and fry until the seeds begin to pop (about 20-30 seconds).  Add the peas and fry for 30 more seconds before adding the sauce to the pan.  Cook on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.  For a thicker sauce, ladle out about 1/2 cup of the sauce into a small bowl and blend with the 1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) cornstarch.  Add this mixture back to the frypan and stir until thickened. 

Serve over rice or with cheela.  Makes about 6 servings.

Cheela* (Chickpea Pancakes)

adapted from Meena Pathak’s Indian Cooking for Family and Friends

*From what I can tell, these are also sometimes called pudla. Whatever you call them, they were so remarkably good that we consumed them all before I realized I’d not taken a photo. But other versions abound on the net; for photos, check out the blog posts by Johanna, Lisa, Pikelet and Pie  (with zucchini) or (for an Italian twist) Kalyn.

9 ounces (250 g.) chickpea flour (besan)

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml.) ground turmeric

1/4 tsp. (1 ml.) baking soda

1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml.) ground cumin

1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) soy or coconut milk

1 onion, finely chopped

1/2-1 green chili, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) chopped fresh cilantro

olive oil cooking spray (I use an atomizer)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, turmeric, baking soda, cumin, soymilk, and enough water to make a slightly thick, yet still flowing, batter. Stir in the chopped onion, green chili, tomato and cilantro.

Heat a nonstick (5 inch or 12 cm.) pancake pan [I just used a regular frypan] and spray with olive oil spray.  Pour in about 1/3 cup batter, spreading it around to cover the bottom of the pan in a thin pancake.  Spray the top of the pancake with oil as well.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook the pancake for about 2-3 minutes, until the top begins to dry and the bottom of browned in spots. Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes until the other side is browned as well. Remove and keep warm while you make another 7 or so pancakes. Serve hot.  Makes about 8 pancakes.  Best eaten immediately (they do dry out if kept till the next day).

Last Year at this Time: Pear and Ginger Mini Loaves or Muffins

© 2009 Diet, Dessert and Dogs

A few of you asked for the Pumpkin Bread Pudding recipe about which I posted yesterday. Since I wasn’t entirely thrilled with the pumpkin bread on its own, and I was most assuredly dissatisfied with the sweetened condensed milk (the base for the caramel sauce) on its own, I hadn’t intended to post the recipe.

But you know what they say about the sum of individual parts. . . despite the haphazard way the dish came together, it ended up being a winner, so I’ll try to reconstruct the recipe here.  It was a huge hit and would make a spectacular New Year’s Eve dessert served in wine or martini glasses.

[BIG caveat:  I didn't take notes while making this, so you may have to play with proportions a bit, particularly with the caramel sauce. Results may vary.]

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Warm Caramel Sauce (GF option)

With pumpkin in both the bread and the “custard” in which it bakes, this pudding is definitely rich in pumpkin.  Lightly spiced, this moist bread pudding is highlighted with a rum-infused caramel sauce. 

For the Bread Pudding:

1 pre-baked pumpkin quick bread, such as the one in Simple Treats or this or this  (for GF) or this (not vegan) or this (I didn’t add raisins or nuts to mine, however)

1/4 cup (60 ml.) old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick or instant)

2  cups (480 ml.) vanilla rice , soy or almond milk

1/2 cup (120 ml.) packed pumpkin purée (not pie filling)

1 tsp. (5 ml.) pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (120 ml.) agave nectar, light or dark

1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) organic cornstarch or arrowroot powder

1/8 tsp. fine sea salt

For the Caramel Sauce:

1 recipe of condensed milk (I used agave instead of sugar and almond milk instead of soy)**

about 1/4 cup brown rice syrup

about 1/4 cup coconut oil

2-4 Tbsp. (30-60 ml.) rum, if desired

pinch fine sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).  Lightly grease a nonreactive (glass or ceramic) 9-inch (22.5 cm.) square pan or soufflé dish.

Slice the bread into thick slices, about 2 inches (5 cm.) thick.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes on each side to dry out the bread somewhat (alternately, if you’ve already got stale bread–great!).  Cool the bread and break it into bite-sized chunks; place in a large bowl.

In a blender, grind the oats until they are the consistency of a coarse meal.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  Pour the mixture over the bread in the bowl, pushing the bread down with the back of a spoon so that all pieces are submerged.  Allow to sit 20-30 minutes, pressing the bread back down occasionally, until the bread is completely soaked through (there may still be liquid left in the bottom of the bowl; this is fine).

When the bread is all soaked, spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, and smooth the top as best you can.  

Bake in preheated oven 40-50 minutes, until puffed and browned on top and a knife inserted in the centre comes out wet but clean.  Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.  Serve warm with caramel sauce, at room temperature, or cold.  Makes 8-12 servings. 

Caramel Sauce:

Follow directions for sweetened condensed milk, cooking until the milk is reduced to 1 cup.  Add remaining ingredients and heat over medium-low heat until the mixture starts to bubble; then continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thick and has darkened.  To test if it’s ready, pour about a teaspoon of the sauce into a small, chilled bowl.  If it thickens to the desired consistency, it’s ready; if it’s still too thin, cook and stir another 5-10 minutes.  Pour over warm pumpkin bread pudding.

**Note: I used the condensed milk as the base for caramel sauce because I’d already made it for another purpose, and wasn’t happy with the result for that recipe. . . so decided to turn it into caramel sauce.  Of course, you could just use ready-made sauce, or any other recipe for caramel sauce if you prefer. [UPDATE, November 2011: it appears that the original recipe I linked to is no longer available, so I've linked to a recent recipe I found on the internet. Worth a try!].

Last year at this time:  Encomium to the Soap Star Bloggers

[There's just nothing like a homemade gift for the holidays.  This year, with the purse strings a little tighter than usual, I'm determined to make at least a few in my kitchen--and thought I'd share my ideas in case you'd like to partake, too.  Here's the last post in the series.]

Can it be possible that there are only TWO DAYS LEFT before Christmas??  The last few months seem to have flashed by–faster than the scenery outside a train window. Or  your waiter at a busy New York bistro. Or the chaps on a Chippendale dancer. Or even Taylor Hicks’s 15 seconds of fame. Where have the langorous, sunny days of summer gone? Whence the flip-flops, the frayed T-shirts, the cutoffs, the rain-stained Keds? To what secret destination have all the squirrels sequestered themselves (to the great dismay of The Girls)?  How did I miss entirely the red and gold and sepia-emblazoned maple trees of autumn? 

Instead, we’re suddenly faced with pummeling snow, jarring, backward-beeping snowplows outside our bedroom window at 5:47 AM, innumerable layers of socks, long underwear, undershirts, turtlenecks, polar fleece, scarves, hats, earmuffs (yes, those last two at the same time), mini-gloves inside bigger gloves, boots, cleats on boots–basically, about 14 extra pounds to lug around on our bodies between December and March.  (And that’s not even taking into account any of the chocolate I’ve eaten.)

Well, as promised, here’s the final Gastronomic Gift that, like the days just passed, can be completed in a flash.  These are not ornate, sugar-coated  or piped with brightly colored icing for the holidays, but nevertheless, they were so good that I felt it would be Scrooge-like to withold these gems.

I don’t know why, but macaroons spell “holiday” to me (maybe somebody should lend me a dictionary).  This recipe for amazingly chewy, chocolatey, irresistible macaroon-like cookies is taken (almost) verbatim from the brilliant Ellen Abraham’s Simple Treats, and it is a defnite winner.  At a recent pot luck supper at my place (post to come anon), all eight of the women present raved over these and the cookies were gone, well, in a flash.

Properly named Chocolate Coconut Cookies by their creator, these yummy bites came together easily and quickly with the aid of my trusty food processor (which, I’ve discovered as I transcribe the final recipes for the cookbook,  has become quite the fixture in my baking these days). Once baked and cooled, the cookies can be stored and packaged without worry, as they are fairly sturdy as well. 

Since the CFO is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, I’ll be taking a break from blogging between now and some time after Christmas (except for an already pre-scheduled post on the 25th).

Our celebration this year will be quiet and intimate, but special nonetheless.  And, for the first time, with just more than a year of blogging under my belt (and see? without even leaping on that opportunity for a fat-belt joke), I feel very lucky to be sharing this first holiday season with all of you, my readers and other bloggers I’ve “met” in the past 13 months.  I couldn’t have imagined how much I’d come to love and appreciate this amazing community back in November 2007, when I started this blog.

So thank you, all, for reading, for commenting, for offering your own blog posts, recipes, and ideas on a regular basis.  Here’s wishing you all a peaceful, restful, joyful holiday season.  I hope you are able to spend time with those you love, those you care about, and those who make you laugh.  And throw in some great food and gifts while you’re at it, too.

* * *   Happy Holidays!  * * *

“Um, Mum, did we hear you correctly?  Did you just mention that Auntie CFO is coming to visit–?? All-RIGHT!  New Nylabones!”

[And don't forget: There's still one day left to bid on any of the fabulous prizes for Menu for Hope.  Just go to the main donation page and pick something you like, for only $10 per ticket--proceeds go to the UN World Food Programme.  My prize is a year's subscription to Martha Stewart Living magazine, plus a one kilo (2 lb.) jar of Omega Nutrtion organic coconut oil.  Prize code: CA 05.]

Chewy Chocolate Macaroons

adapted from Simple Treats

These spectacular treats are deceptively simple to make, and totally addictive. If you manage to save enough to give away, be sure to print a warning on the package.

1/2 cup (60 g.) cocoa powder

1/4 cup (30 g.) barley flour

1/4 tsp. (1 ml.) baking soda

1/4 tsp. (1 ml.) baking powder

1/4 tsp. (1 ml.) fine sea salt

2-1/2 cups (190 g.) shredded, unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted [I didn't bother to toast it and it was still fine!]

1/3 cup (about 100 g.) date purée OR 8 pitted, dried unsweetened dates

1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) water, if using date purée; OR 5 Tbsp. (75 ml.) water, if using dried dates

1 cup (180 g.) Sucanat

1 tsp. (5 ml.) pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F (180C).  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.

Place the cocoa, flour, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt into the bowl of a food processor (no need to sift, as the processor will do that work). Add the coconut and pulse once or twice to combine.  Add the dates or date purée, either 1 Tbsp./15 ml.  water (for purée) or 5 Tbsp. /75 ml. water (for dry dates), and Sucanat to the flour mixture. Pulse repeatedly until the dates are incorporated (for dry dates, they should be chopped very fine), and the mixture comes together in a moist dough.

With a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, measure out balls of dough and place about 2 inches (5 cm.) apart on cookie sheets. Flatten cookies slightly with your palm or the bottom of a glass. (For a more decorative cookie, you can dip a fork in water and then press around the edges with the fork, as in the edges of the Jam-Filled Turnovers). 

Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating pans once about halfway through, until cookies are dry on top and lightly browned on the bottom (use a spatula to lift a cookie and peek underneath).  Let cool on cookie sheets for 5 to 6 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.  Makes 18-20 cookies. May be frozen.

Other Gastronomic Gifts:

GG I: Fudge Two Ways

GG II:  Brandied Apricot-Ginger Spread

GG III: Marzipan-Topped Shortbread **Note: the original recipe was somehow transcribed incorrectly–please use the current version with the correct amount of flour!!

GG IV: Jam-Filled Turnovers

GG V: Tutti Fruiti Christmas Cookies

GG VI: Pumpkin Butter

Last Year at this Time: Brussels Sprouts even My Honey Will Eat

© 2008 Diet, Dessert and Dogs