August 21, 2006

Entrees

Vegan Gyros

Cucumber Dressing:
1/2 cup lite silken tofu (firm), crumbled
1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber (peel if waxed; remove seeds if they are large or tough)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of ground black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon rosemary, crushed, or 1/8 teaspoon ground rosemary
1/2 teaspoon garlic granules

1 cup thinly sliced seitan
1 cup romaine lettuce leaves, torn into bite size pieces
1 small, ripe tomato, chopped
thinly sliced onion, to taste

2 whole wheat pita breads

1. To make the dressing, place the tofu, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor fitted with a metal blade or in a blender, and process into a moderately chunky sauce. Set the dressing aside.

2. In a small bowl place the soy sauce, water, oregano, rosemary, and garlic granules. Stir them together, set aside.

3.) Mist a 9-inch or 10-inch skillet with nonstick cooking spray, or coat the skillet with a thin layer of canola oil. Place the skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the seitan strips in a single layer, and brown them lightly on both sides, turning them once with a fork.

4. Pour the soy sauce mixture over the seitan. Bring the mixture to a boil, tossing the seitan for one full minute. Immediately remove the skillet from the heat.

5. To assemble the sandwiches, place one whole pita bread on each of two plates. Divide the seitan between them. Then top the seitan equally with the lettuce, tomato and onion. Spoon some of the cucumber dressing over each sandwich. To eat, fold the pita bread over, and pick up and eat the sandwich burrito style. Alternatively, pick up and eat the sandwich unfolded, taco style.

Yield: 2 servings

Nutrition information for "Vegan Gyros"

More Entrees

Posted by carcharhinid at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)

July 21, 2006

Desserts

Pumpkin-Maple Trifle

Custard:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk, divided
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pears:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 firm Bosc pears, cored and each cut into 16 wedges (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon butter
6 tablespoons Frangelico (hazelnut-flavored liqueur), divided
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Remaining ingredients:
6 ounces frozen low-fat pound cake, thawed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (such as Sara Lee), divided
1 cup frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To prepare custard, combine first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in 1 1/2 cups milk; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Combine remaining 1/4 cup milk and egg in a small bowl. Stir one-fourth of hot milk mixture into egg mixture. Add egg mixture to remaining milk mixture in pan, stirring well. Cook over medium heat 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in pumpkin and vanilla. Pour mixture into a bowl; cover surface with plastic wrap. Chill completely.

To prepare pears, combine lemon juice and pears. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pear mixture; cook 4 minutes. Drizzle 3 tablespoons liqueur over pears; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until tender. Remove pears from pan with a slotted spoon, reserving liquid in pan. Add syrup to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Pour syrup mixture into a small bowl; stir in remaining 3 tablespoons liqueur. Cover and chill.

Line the bottom of a 2-quart trifle bowl with half of cake slices (cut slices to fit bowl, if necessary); drizzle with half of liqueur mixture. Top with half of the pear mixture and any accumulated juices. Spoon half of chilled custard over pears. Repeat procedure with remaining cake, liqueur mixture, pear mixture, and custard. Spread 1 cup whipped topping over custard, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Cover and chill for 3 hours.


Yield: 10 servings

Nutrition information for "Pumpkin-Maple Trifle"

More Desserts

Posted by carcharhinid at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)

Desserts

Pecan Pie Coffee Cake

Cake:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 ounces fat-free cream cheese
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
Cooking spray

Topping:
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1 large egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, place granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add egg and egg white, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Pour batter into a 9-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cake from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

To prepare topping, combine syrup, brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons butter in a 4-cup glass measure. Microwave at high 1 minute. Stir with a whisk until butter melts. Whisk in pecans and beaten egg.

Using a wooden skewer, poke holes in top of warm cake. Pour pecan mixture over top of cake. Return cake to oven; bake at 325° for 10 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.


Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Nutrition information for "Pecan Pie Coffee Cake"

More Desserts

Posted by carcharhinid at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)

Breads

White Cheddar and Black Pepper Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded extrasharp white cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup fat-free buttermilk
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a food processor; pulse 5 times or until well combined. Add cheese and butter; pulse 5 times or until well combined.

Place mixture in a large bowl. Add buttermilk; stir just until moist.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead lightly 5 times. Roll dough out to a 1/2-inch thickness; cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter into 24 biscuits. Place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden.


Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 2 biscuits)

Nutrition information for "White Cheddar and Black Pepper Biscuits"

More Breads

Posted by carcharhinid at 08:51 PM | Comments (0)

Desserts

Popcorn Brittle

Cooking spray
5 1/2 cups popcorn, popped without salt or fat
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Line a baking sheet with foil; coat foil with cooking spray. Set aside.

Place popcorn in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Crush popcorn using a meat mallet or rolling pin; set aside.

Combine sugar, syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Cook, without stirring, until candy thermometer registers 270° (about 8 minutes). Stir in molasses and butter; cook until thermometer registers 290° (about 5 minutes). Stir in baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Stir popcorn into boiling syrup mixture. Working quickly, pour popcorn mixture onto prepared pan; spread to 1/4-inch thickness using a wooden spoon coated with cooking spray. Cool completely; break into large pieces.

Note: Store brittle in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days.


Yield: 12 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 ounces)

Nutrition information for "Popcorn Brittle"

More Desserts

Posted by carcharhinid at 08:49 PM | Comments (0)