1. The time when my little brother got scared by a possum on the porch and had my dad shoot it in the balls with a BB gun.
2. The time my sister threw all of her ex-husband’s belongings off the balcony and locked him out of the house.
3. The time when my Nana and great-uncle Lowell were forced to eat rhubarb pie at the Cabot family home when she was a little girl.

So you are probably humming to yourself ♫One of these things is not like the other♫. While the first two stories evoke a certain, ahem, Texas-ness, the story of my grandmother dining with the Boston Brahmins though different in local color still enjoys at least one revival a year. In a nutshell, my great-grandmother, who worked for the Cabots, was invited to an employee lunch at their home. My Nana and great-uncle were under strict orders to eat every bite of every dish they put on their plates, or else. So of course when they saw the lovely pink rhubarb pie they each got a huge slice and dug in, only to be assaulted by a bitter, sour goop that they had to choke down until it was gone, lest the incite my great-grandma’s ire. You should see my Nana’s face when she tells this story, it’s like she’s still trying to swallow it. This story has been told so many times and with such theatrics that it has left an indelible mark on my culinary sensibilities: rhubarb is the most vile thing you could put in a pie crust.

Pretty in Pink

Rhubarb has made several recent appearances at the farmers market and realizing that there must be some redeeming quality to it, I decided to give it a try. Further encouragement arrived in the June Food411 newsletter “Romancing Rhubarb“. While I’m only interested in friendship [giggles nervously], this article is a great intro for those of us who have never cooked with the vegetable before.

The easiest thing you can do with rhubarb is make a compote, which is basically simmering it in sweet liquid until it breaks down to the consistency you desire. Rhubarb is fantastic for compote because it takes about 10-15 minutes to render a chunky compote, and roughly 30 minutes to get a smooth applesauce texture. BTW, check out cookthink.com if you fancy yourself a food nerd. I ♥ it.

The basic recipe for compote is simple enough: chopped rhubarb, water, sugar. I wanted to make it a little more special so added an herb that has been finding its way into many of my dishes lately: tarragon. You have to go easy with the T, man, or it will kick your dishes’ ass. But when done with subtlety it lends a sweet anise flavor that is hard to match with any other herb. Of course you could leave it out of this recipe altogether and it would still be delicious.

You read that correctly, it said “DELICIOUS”. Mixed with some greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey, this rhubarb compote makes an elegant and refreshing dessert perfect for completing a summertime meal. I feel that I have vindicated this vegetable to my family…if only I can undo the years of conditioning and get them to try this recipe.

This recipe really couldn’t be easier. I even hesitate to call it a recipe.

Quinoa Qurispies

Adapted (barely) from this recipe
Makes 4 servings
Cost: pennies per serving
Total time: 10 minutes tops

1 cup uncooked quinoa (find it in the bulk bins at Whole Foods or boxed in the health food or pasta aisle)
1 Tablespoon agave nectar, syrup or honey
1 Tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and spread the mixture on a cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the quinoa starts to turn golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.
3. Add the qurispies to your morning cereal or yogurt. I especially love the extra crunch and sweetness they give to yogurt.

I may experiment with the sweetener and use molasses for an even bigger dose of iron. I told y’all, I’m not messin’ around.

Photo Credit SweetBeetAndGreenBean

When I first started shooting pro, I was told “get down close and shoot it like porn”…and natural light is best.

Check out Laura’s tasty food photos here.

She was right. Is this too much? It is, isn’t it.

Figs are said to be an aphrodisiac

Fig and Chile Pasta

Adapted from this recipe on Culinate.com. You should check out Culinate, it’s all about being healthy and conscientious while not totally depriving yourself.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

12 dried figs
2 lemons
1- 6 oz container plain fat-free yogurt
12 oz whole-wheat fettuccine
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 fresh chile, seeded and finely chopped (don’t do what I did and dose yourself with too much chile. Ouch!)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
2. Cut figs in halves or quarters and place cut-side up on a plate. I chose to use dried figs because the fresh ones at Whole Foods looked manky that day.
3. Grate the zest from the lemons and squeeze the juice of one lemon into the yogurt. Stir in the lemon zest.
4. Once you have achieved a righteous boil on the water, add the pasta and cook according to the package.
5. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. I cut the amount from the original recipe in half, just cuz. Add the figs and chile and cook for a couple of minutes. When the mixture looks softened remove it from the heat.
6. Drain the fettuccine, return it to the pot and stir in the lemon yogurt, the Parmesan and the fig and chile mixture. Serve immediately.

Plain yogurt makes a quick and healthy pasta sauce a la alfredo…stop laughing. OK, it’s not exactly alfredo, but it IS tasty. Is there anything yogurt can’t do? The final product is pictured below, next to the Heirloom Tomato Salad I wrote about on Houstonist.

“I started eating breakfast.”

Me, “That’s it?!?”

“Yep.”

This guy has the right idea

So what are your best choices? Anything with low calorie density, which means you get a lot of bulk (yay fiber!) for fewer calories. Here are a few of my favorite kick-ass-cheap-and-easy breakfast ideas:

• Oatmeal with low fat milk and prunes (aka Colon Blow)
• A slice of whole wheat bread with peanut butter and banana
• Low fat yogurt and a piece of fruit, whatever is in season
• Whole wheat tortilla, a few slices of smoked turkey and some low fat cheese rolled up

The idea is to combine something with fiber with a low fat protein. I confess that when I’m regularly exercising I need two small “breakfast snacks” before noon. I usually start with yogurt and save the high fiber snack for when I get to my desk. Spreading it out like that helps keep my hunger at bay until lunch.

Will you accept a breakfast challenge? Try to eat breakfast at least five days a week for the next four weeks. I’d love to know if you see any difference in your health, whether it’s weight loss, more energy, or a reduction in snacking, binging and cravings.

Photo credit Elston

While most nutritionists say whole grains are best, it’s just not practical for us busybodies to sit down with a bowl of cereal before we race out the door. My favorite get-in-my-belly-quick breakfast snack is yogurt, which I’m sure comes as a huge shock to you. I can slurp it down in a minute or eat spoonfuls while I’m doing some other task (usually my makeup). I have a pretty gnarly commute, so if I don’t eat my yogurt by the time I get to my desk I’m ready to bite into my own hand. If you don’t like yogurt, no problem. A hard boiled egg, whole grain toast, even one of those cereal bars is better than nothing. Just go easy on the pastries and donuts.

I want to be clear, I’m not advocating that you ONLY eat a container of yogurt for breakfast. Once you get settled into work you should try to eat another small meal, or “second breakfast” as the Hobbits like to call it. After about an hour of email and the usual morning catch up, I heat up some oatmeal or some other more substantial breakfast treat. This is the part of the day that I shoot for a FIBER BLAST. Oatmeal, flax seeds and prunes are a favorite combo of mine. Let’s just say it keeps things moving.

TMI?

Just to prove to you that you can start eating breakfast, even if you ONLY eat a container of yogurt, I do something kind of gross in the video below. I’m no video expert, so I apologize for the half-assed, half-headed offering. In the interest of not making myself puke, I only had one shot at this today.

My challenge to you is this: if your habit is skipping breakfast, start with a small snack every morning for a week. See how it affects your routine, and better yet, how it makes you feel.

My camera is on the fritz, so I had to use the BlackBerry to take this

Hummus Sandwich and Non-Authentic-But-Still-Delicious Tzatziki

Total time: 10 minutes tops
Total cost per serving: a couple of bucks?

2 cups plain non-fat yogurt
1 small cucumber
1 large tomato
1 small garlic clove
a handful of pita chips
1 piece of whole grain bread (I use Whole Foods Seeduction Loaf here)
about 2 tablespoons of prepared hummus
1-2 tablespoons prepared pico de gallo
a handful of spinach leaves
1-2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
a handful of cherries
1 kiwi fruit

1. Grate the cucumber on the small holes of a box grater, or if you don’t have a grater then chop the buh-jesus out of it. You want small pieces. Chop the tomato and mince the garlic fine. Mix all of that in a bowl with the yogurt. This is the tzatziki, or at least my version. You can sprinkle a little salt in there if you want, but I don’t think it needs that.
2. Cut the piece of bread in half. I am only making a halvsies sandwich here, you could go for a whole one. I just know that with the tzatziki and the fruit I won’t need a whole sandwich for dinner. Spread the hummus on one piece, then spread the pico de gallo and feta on top. Is it weird to put pico on a sandwich? I think it tastes delicious, and it’s so easy. Top with the spinach and the other piece of bread.
3. Serve the tzatziki with some pita chips, with the cherries and kiwi for dessert. I leave the peel on kiwi fruit and just eat it for the extra vitamins and fiber. Also possibly weird, but that’s how people from New Zealand eat it…or so I heard.
   ]]> http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/06/09/quick-and-cheap-dinner-hummus-sandwich-and-tzatziki/feed/ 1 http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/05/20/diy-greek-yogurt/ http://www.drmiggy.com/2009/05/20/diy-greek-yogurt/#comments Thu, 21 May 2009 02:42:58 +0000 drmiggy http://drmiggy.com/?p=391 I know, I’m beating this dead horse mercilessly. Since one of the goals of this blog is to give tips on how to be healthy on the cheap, I thought I’d show you how to make your own Greek style yogurt for half of what you spend on the little 5.3 ounce cups. It’s really easy and requires little culinary skill.

   You will need:

   A fine mesh strainer
   coffee filters
   a bowl
   a big ol’ container of your favorite yogurt
   a rubber spatula

   Step 1: Set the strainer over the bowl and line with a coffee filter

   

   Step 2: Scrape the yogurt into the filter and place the whole thing in the fridge.

   

   Step 3: After about 15 minutes lift up the strainer. See all that liquid? That’s the whey from the yogurt, the stuff you are straining out to get the yogurt all thick and Greeky. Dump the whey out of the bowl, place the strainer back on the bowl, and gently stir the yogurt with a rubber spatula, careful not to rip the coffee filter. Put back in the fridge for another 15-30 minutes.

   

   Step 4: Repeat the whey dumping process a few times until it gets to the consistency you like. It usually takes me about 4 times. Once it’s thick enough the yogurt will pretty much just slide off the filter into whatever storage container you choose. I then divide the yogurt up into these cute half cup tupperware containers, et voila! I have my own super cheap stash of 4 single serving portions of Greek yogurt. My favorite every day yogurt is Stonyfield Farms Organic lowfat vanilla flavor. It’s neither overly tangy nor saccharine sweet and you can get a 32 ounce bucket of it for about $3. If you divvy it up into four servings then you’ve just saved about 3 bucks, and you don’t create all the waste from the little cups of single serving yogurt. Bonus to the earth.

   It does take a little more time and some planning ahead, but it tastes just like the more expensive single serving Greek style yogurts, at least to me it does. Plus you can add your own mix-ins like local honey or fresh fruit. Try it and let me know if you like it in the comments.

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