Archive for February, 2006
Can ice cream every really be healthy? Or at least, not quite as bad for you?
I have concluded that this can only really be done if you take out what is truly (health-wise) objectionable about the dish: the cream. Skipping over any debate about whether something that contains no cream can legitimately be labeled as ice cream, this was one fine frozen dessert. It was smooth, creamy and rich tasting and – best of all – it doesn’t taste anything like tofu! It looked and tasted like ice cream. I daresay that it would hold up to some fairly stiff competition in the flavor department. The only giveaway is that it does not have that sticky, unctuous mouth-coating that “real” ice cream leaves behind.
Bananas and tofu have a similar thick, creamy consistency and seem to work well together. I thinned the mixture with vanilla soymilk and sweetened it with brown rice syrup. Brown rice syrup is a corn syrup-like natural sweetener that seems to be called for in quite a few vegetarian recipes and is available in natural foods stores. I debated about whether to add it or not, since the banana/tofu mixture tasted quite nice without it. Freezing foods dampens their flavors, though, so I knew that it would not taste as sweet after I froze it if I did not add some sweetener. Corn syrup would be a good substitute here. I considered using maple syrup, but I honestly don’t know how well the flavors would work with that substitution. The lemon juice doesn’t give a flavor to the final product, it just helps to prevent discoloration.
The miniature chocolate chips give you many more pieces of chocolate per serving than regular-sized chips and have the added benefit of being unlikely to jam up your ice cream maker, which is why I tend to use them in ice creams as opposed to chunks of chocolate. Coarsely chop up some normal chips to mimic the effect, or simply stir in full-sized chips at the end of the mixing. Chocolate and banana always make a great pair, so feel free to add a generous pour of chocolate sauce over each scoop before serving.
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This is one of my favorite bakingsheet photos of all time, I think. Just looking at the photo reminds me of how delicious these pancakes were and how I wouldn’t mind having another plate-full right now.
Going for something healthy for breakfast, I used whole wheat flour and wheat bran in these. I was hoping for something hearty, but not expecting a whole lot in the flavor department. These far exceeded my expectations. Not only were they hearty and satisfying, but they were delicious! I had a packet of freeze dried strawberries that I didn’t know what to do with, so I threw them in. The berries, as it turns out, are nice because they keep virtually forever, but are really only good in cold cereal and pancakes. I liked them better than fresh fruit in pancakes because they were easier to incorporate into the batter and didn’t stick to the griddle. The berries will rehydrate once they’re mixed in, so don’t worry about getting dry, powdery fruit in your pancakes. The strawberries gave the pancakes a lovely boost of flavor.
The maple syrup gave the pancakes a nice, natural sweetness and I think that the flavor works excellently with whole wheat. Oil is a fine substitution for the butter in these, though butter will probably give them the best flavor. You don’t need more syrup if you are sensivite to sweetness in the morning or if you choose to use fresh berries in the pancakes instead of dried, but I felt no need to hold back and ate them with more syrup anyway. What is a pancake if not a maple syrup delivery device?
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Daim are Swedish candies that have pieces of crunchy caramel enrobed in creamy milk chocolate. Though firm at room temperature, when you heat them the caramel becomes soft and chewy. I bought them at the Swedish market at Ikea, though some specialty foods stores will carry them in the states. If you can find them, it is worth picking up a package because they have a unique flavor, in addition to being incredibly delicious. A Heath or Skor bar is the closest thing you can come to Daim most of the time in these (Southern California) parts.
When I bought the Daim, I had it in mind to make a batch of cookies with them. I’ve had Samantha’s Chocolate Walnut Daim Cookies before, but her delicious variation has walnuts, which I needed to excluse here due to allergies (not mine). Her cookies are fantastic, but since I don’t have the recipe I was forced to make up my own. Of course, for inspiration, I had to eat a few bit-sized pieces of Daim while I waited.
The cookies are really perfect: buttery, sweet, crisp on the edges with a slight chew in the center. They are absolutely best right out of the oven – but what cookie isn’t? When they’re warm from the oven, the candies are soft and chewy, but after the cookies have fully cooled, the Daim manage to remain fairly delicate, not crunchy. The cookies will lose a bit of their crispness over the next few days when they are stored in an airtight container, but they do keep quite well. The Daim melt slightly into the cookies and are a fantastic addition. The combination of chocolate and caramel is addictive and somehow the ratio produced by crushing Daim bars seems to be ideal. These cookies are on the flatter side, but that just means that they are easier to pack up and send fo a friend. And I highly recommend sharing a batch of these with at least one other person, since you’ll definately be in danger of eating the whole batch if left alone with them.
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I went back to a Paul Hollywood recipe for this week’s Cooking School. I’ve mentioned before how much I admire him and love his recipes, so often I’ll turn to his book, 100 Great Breads, when I’m looking for inspiration. This week I chose to make a favorite flatbread of mine: naan.
Naan is a traditional Central and south-East Asian bread that is baked in a special oven, called a tandoor. It is typically made with flour, water, yeast and yogurt, which gives it its traditionally soft texture. It is a bit similar to pita bread, if you have never had naan and are looking for something to compare it to.
Paul Hollywood’s recipe is different from most because he calls for pan frying the bread instead of baking it. He also doesn’t specify the exact amount of water needed for the recipe, so I made sure to measure as I went along to help any of you (readers) along. Paul includes cumin and carraway for seasoning, which contribute a hint of flavor that makes this bread perfect for pairing with savory dishes. Normally, I would recommend some sort of curry or saucy dish to dip the bread in, but it also functions as an excellent dipper for soups. This naan is fluffy on the inside wiith a nice chew to the outside.
hough it was not quite as light as some oven-baked naan I’ve had, it was still excellent. The fact that it was incredibly easy is just an added bonus.
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As much as Valentine’s Day is know for its decadent and indulgent desserts, I still like something light after a delicious meal. Heck, I’m not averse to a light dessert at any time, since I am much more likely to have room to fit it in. Panna cotta is often regarded as a light dessert, in the sense that it is incredibly delicate and really melts away in your mouth, leaving you without feeling overly full or as though you have eaten something heavy. It is a lightly cooked cream, sometimes with added flavorings, that is set with gelatin. As you might imagine, this literally light-weight dessert is not very “light” on fat or calories. A good panna cotta is definitely worth the indulgence from time to time, but the dessert is so simple to make that it seems a shame to have to limit its appearance at the table.
I have tried a few times before to make yogurt panna cottas with only limited success. I like to use the thick, Greek-style yogurt and while every effort was tasty, they did not always have the light mouth feel and delicate consistency of the cream version. Adding buttermilk to thin the yogurt kept a delicious tang in the panna cotta even after sweetening it slightly with sugar. The resulting panna cotta was smooth, slightly tangy and incredibly good. It was still a bit thicker than an ordinary panna cotta, but that isn’t surprising since I was working with a thicker medium. I really loved this dessert.My panna cotta is pictured with a blood orange sauce that came about after experimenting with different types of fruit curds. Since it was actually a mistake, I don’t really have a recipe for it. I recommend serving the panna cotta with a raspberry puree or simply with some fresh fruit. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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