Escarole Bean Soup

Dear Friends and Family,

I love this soup. I'm so glad we tried it.

2 tbs olive oil (30 grams)
2 garlic cloves
1 pound escarole chopped
salt
4 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)
1 15 oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
black pepper
2 tbs olive oil (30 grams) (optional)
Italian sausage (optional)

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Sauté garlic 15 seconds.
2. Add escarole and salt. Sauté 2 minutes.
3. Add stock and beans. Cover. Simmer 5 minutes.
4. Salt and pepper to taste.
5. Garnish with drizzle of olive oil or sprinkle of sausage (optional).

Serves 4. (3 Weight Watchers points)

Obviously, the chicken stock and sausage aren't vegetarian. It all depends upon how you make it.

Key words: Italian, core, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, anti-inflammatory, protein


Cheers!
mouse

Rhubarb Crisp

Dear Friends and Family,

Normally, I don't care for rhubarb. It's too tart in most recipes. But, it's true. If you add enough butter and sugar, it all tastes good.

1 pound fresh rhubarb, cut into 3/4-inch pieces, about 4 cups
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup old-fashion rolled oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted but not hot

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine rhubarb, sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon.
3. Transfer to individual baking dishes. I like sixteen.
4. Combine flour, brown sugar, oats, butter. Mix well.
5. Sprinkle over rhubarb mixture.
6. Bake until golden brown. About 20-30 minutes.

Serves 16. (4 Weight Watchers points)

You can garnish with ice cream. I liked it plain.

Key words: vegetarian, dessert


Cheers!
mouse

Homemade Bulgur

Dear Friends and Family,

We first had bulgur in Turkey. And, I like it enough to make it regularly at home now. It's like couscous, but couscous is semolina wheat and bulgur is durum wheat.

2 tbs olive oil (30 grams)
1 3/4 cups bulgur
3 cups plus 2 tbs broth or water
salt

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan.
2. Sauté bulgur 3-5 minutes.
3. Add broth/water. Bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat to low. Cover.
5. Cook 15-20 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed.
6. Turn off heat. Put a paper towel between pot and lid.
7. Let stand 5-10 minutes.
8. Salt to taste

Serves 4. (4.5 Weight Watchers points)

Sometimes I garnish with a little chopped parsley. Sometimes I add paprika and/or cinnamon to the bulgur. It's flexible.

Key words: Middle Eastern, core, vegetarian, vegan, carbohydrate


Cheers!
mouse

Homemade Dal

Dear Friends and Family,

We made our own dal a couple of weeks ago, but the consistency was all wrong and it was too bland for my taste buds. Since I had some time today, I decided to try making another batch.

1 tbs olive oil (15 grams)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt (3 grams)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp turmeric (3 grams)
1 tsp cumin (6 grams)
1/2 tsp pepper (3 grams)
4 cups water (960 grams)
1 cup dry mung beans (230 grams)
salt

1. Rinse the mung beans, pick out any stones.
2. Heat olive oil. Sauté onions and salt until translucent.
3. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin and pepper.
4. Cook 2-3 minutes.
5. Add enough water to de-glaze pan.
6. Add lentils and rest of water.
7. Bring to boil. Simmer, partially covered, 30-35 minutes.
8. Salt to taste, about 1 tsp more.

Serves 4. (4 Weight Watchers points)

I'll warn you. It's got bite. If you want, reduce the turmeric, cumin, garlic and ginger by half.

Key words: Indian, core, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, anti-inflammatory, protein


Cheers!
mouse

Homemade Polenta

Dear Friends and Family,

We made our own polenta this week and it was SO easy, I was stunned. We had been buying packaged polenta forever under the assumption that polenta is like risotto, a ton of work measuring and stirring and everything. But, it isn't. And, the homemade stuff is all natural, no preservative, goodness. It's a great, low point alternative to pasta. And, for the gluten-free, it's got that going for it as well.

1 cup water (240 grams)
¼ cup cornmeal (50 grams)
salt

1. In a COVERED saucepan, heat water until boiling.
2. Pour in cornmeal, in a thin stream, whisking constantly.
3. Reduce to simmer, stir and cook to desired consistency.
4. Salt to taste.

Serves 1. (3 Weight Watchers points)

I cooked it for an additional 1 or 2 minutes. You can stir in olive oil, cheese, butter, etc. if you want, during the last couple of minutes of cooking. I think it tastes delicious without any additions. I drizzle a little olive oil on top and add whatever pasta topping sounds good. This week we had tilapia in tomato sauce.

Key words: Italian, core, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, carbohydrate


Cheers!
mouse