Guest Post: Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

Today's guest post comes from Ali, who lives in Vancou... you'll see.

Hi everyone.

My name is Ali, and I live in Vancouver, Canada with my boyfriend J. We are both graduate students, so we eat on the cheap, and we're both pretty active - I'm training up for a half marathon - so we're a couple of hungry buggers. The recipe below is a great way to use up pumpkin, if you've got it, and cranberries.

This muffin is one of our faves: It's cheap and healthy and good (what a coincidence!), and also portable, freezable, and toastable. CHGPFT! Also, let's compare this nutritional info with the info for a "Lowfat raspberry muffin" from a large international coffee chain that shall remain nameless. Their muffin (according to their online nutrition info): 340 calories, 6g fat, 2g fibre, 7g protein. This is their healthy muffin, people. And let's not even talk about the price...I'm not sure what they are charging for their muffins, but it sure as heck isn't $0.53. Yikes. So, save your money! Save your calories! Give the muffins below a try....you won't regret it. Promise.

A couple of notes:

1) The inspiration for this recipe comes from a fantastic cook book called Re:Bar, but we've made loads of adaptations to it so I'm not sure you could call it the same recipe. Nevertheless, the idea of putting millet and pumpkin together in muffin form comes from those guys and their yummy restaurant.

2) Did you know that there is as much protein is 1/2 cup millet as there is in 2 eggs (11g)? I didn't. And the millet is a third the price. So there's that.

3) For the pumpkin: we bought a huge (10 pound) pumpkin from a farmers' market, cooked the sucker, mashed up its insides, and froze the resulting mush in 2-cup ziplock bags. I admit I do not remember the exact price of the pumpkin, but it was cheap. So what you have here is my best guess for price. I'm guessing that the pumpkin cost about $10, and we got about 7 frozen cups of mush from it, plus a cup or two of pumpkin seeds.

~~~

If this looks good, you'll surely love:

• Banana Oatmeal Muffins
• Blueberry Muffins
• Egg McMuffins

~~~

Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins

1/2 cup millet (uncooked)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1.25 cups pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
1 cup flour (all white, or 1/2 white 1/2 whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1) Preheat oven to 375 degress. Grease a muffin tray, or line with muffin papers.

2) Toast millet in a hot dry skillet until it's lightly browned and starts to smell toasty. Set aside.

3) Beat together eggs, sugar, and vanilla until well mixed. Then add in yogurt pumpkin, and vegetable oil. Mix.

4) In a different bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and millet.

5) Combine wet and dry, and stir in cranberries. Don't overmix, or muffins will be tough - use minimal stirrage.

6) Bake at 375 for 20-25 mins or until a knife comes out clean.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fibre, Protein, and Price Per Serving
155 calories, 3.8g fat, 3.1g fibre, 4g protein, $0.53

NOTE: Calculations are in Canadian dollars. Just add about 10% to convert to USD.

Calculations
1/2 cup millet: 378 calories, 4.2g fat, 8.5 g fibre, 11g protein, $0.50
2 eggs (we used happy-organic-free-range-type, hence the price): 126 calories, 8.7g fat, 0g fibre, 11.1 g protein, $1.75
1/2 cup sugar: 387 calories, 0g fat, 0g fibre, 0g protein, $0.25
1 teaspoon vanilla: 12 calories, 0g fat, 0g fibre, 0g protein, $0.10
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt: 77 calories, 1.9g fat, 0g fibre, 6.4 g protein, $0.64
1/8 cup vegetable oil (we used grapeseed): 241 calories, 27 g fat, 0g fibre, 0g, protein, $0.20
1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree: 104 calories, 1g fat, 9g fibre, 3.4g protein, $0.75*
1/2 cup whole wheat flour: 203 calories, 1.1g fat, 7.3g fibre, 8.2g protein, $.0.18
1/2 cup white flour: 228 calories, .5 g fat, 1.7g fibre, 6.5g protein, $0.15
1 teaspoon baking soda: 0g everything, $0.05
1 teaspoon cinnamon: 6 calories, 0g fat, 1.2g fibre, 0g protein, $0.10
2 teaspoons fresh ginger: 12 calories, 0g fat, .5g fibre, .3g protein, $0.35
2 cups cranberries: 87 calories, 0g fat, 8.7g fibre, 0.7g protein, $1.35
TOTALS: 1862 calories, 45.5g fat, 36.6g fibre, 47.5g protein, $6.37
PER SERVING (Totals/12): 155 calories, 3.8g fat, 3.1g fibre, 4g protein, $0.53

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Posted in: Breads,Breakfast,Desserts and Snacks,Vegetarian

Veggie Might: The Battle of Pumpkin Spice Biscuits

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.

Do you ever have an idea that you're convinced is the Best Idea Ever? Do you then have the utmost confidence that this idea will be Really Easy to Execute?

Last month, CB and I ventured north where I bought a farm stand's worth of squash. I have since made soup, a pie, and frozen the rest for Thanksgiving.

Then I had the Best Idea Ever. I should make pumpkin biscuits for Thanksgiving dinner. Doesn't that sound amazing?! I pictured them: light, flaky, fragrant with clove and nutmeg, steamy and dripping with butter.

But I decided I should not look in any of my cookbooks or on the Internet for recipes. I would make this happen on my own, armed only with my family's biscuit mix recipe and my own ingenuity.

Between batches three and four, my tiny Hells Kitchen galley looked like the aftermath of a battle between the Swedish Chef and the Pumpkin King.

A heavy dusting of flour blanketed the room like snow. Blobs of dough stuck to the floor and table. Orange puree splattered the walls and my face. My little dog cowered in the far corner of the living room, knowing well enough to stay out of the line of fire.

The first batch was too dry and didn't have enough pumpkin flavor. The second was the right consistency, but it needed more spices. The third and fourth batches were too wet and sticky to be called dough, but the spices were right.

Finally, late in the evening, the oven timer dinged. Batch five was ready. Battleweary and a little queasy, I peeled myself from the couch where the flicker of Veronica Mars, Season 2 kept me tethered to 2006.

The scent of pumpkin pie wafted through the battlefield kitchen. The puffy, pumpkin biscuits looked delicious as I relieved them from heat of the oven, but I had been deceived before. I forked one open, smothered it with vegan butter, and, with a single bite, sent up a cry of victory.

The texture was light and airy and, though savory, essence of pumpkin and warm pie spices came through. I collapsed from joy and fatigue, too full to eat more than one. But my roommate came through, eating biscuit after biscuit, declaring the battle won.

Pumpkin Spice Biscuits taught me a few valuable lessons about recipe development: it is both challenging and worth the effort. And between batches 3 and 4, there are some things even a dog won't eat off the floor.

~~~~

If this recipe floats your boat, paddle on over to:

• Whole Wheat Scones with Corn, Tomato, and Basil
• Oatmeal Apple Muffins
• Pumpkin Bread

~~~

Pumpkin Spice Biscuits
Makes 10-12 three-inch biscuits

2 cups biscuit mix*
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove

*Biscuit Mix
8 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
4 tsp salt
1/2 cup baking powder
1 cup shortening, chilled and cut into pieces

Instructions
Note: Dough may be a little fluffier than typical biscuit dough. A well floured work surface and hands, as well as kneading in a little extra flour, should take care of any stickiness issues. If you like tall, thick biscuits, roll your dough a little thicker than 1/2" and add a couple more minutes to the baking time. Also, a mesh strainer works great as a flour sifter.

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly coat baking sheet with oil or nonstick cooking spray.

2) Sift flour into a large mixing bowl, then measure out 8 level cups into food processor/stand mixer bowl or another large mixing bowl. Add baking soda, salt, and chilled shortening pieces.

3) If using mixer or food processor, pulse in short bursts until shortening is cut evenly and dry ingredients are combined. If using a pastry cutter or fork, cut shortening evenly throughout dry ingredients. Mix should look like bread crumbs.

4) Measure out 2 cups of biscuit mix into a medium mixing bowl and refrigerate the rest. (Now you're ready the next time you want to make biscuits!**) Add pumpkin puree and spices. Mix with a fork until just combined.

5) Sprinkle extra flour onto clean work surface and turn out dough. Powder hands and rolling pin with flour. Knead in a little flour if dough is too sticky to work with. Form dough into ball and pat down into a disk. Roll out dough into a 1/2-inch thick disk. Cut out biscuits with a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter (a juice glass works great in a pinch). Reflour your hands and repeat using scraps until all dough is used.

6) Place biscuits closely together on prepared baking sheet. Make sure the biscuits are touching; it helps them rise. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

7) When lightly golden, remove from oven and wait a couple of minutes before moving to a towel-lined basket or bowl to keep warm. Serve at breakfast with vegan butter or dipped in veggie gravy with your Thanksgiving meal.

**For regular biscuits, just add 1/2 cup of your favorite milk to 2 cups of mix and follow directions 5-7.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price per Serving
117.5 calories, 4.5g fat, .8g fiber, 2.3g protein, $.12

Calculations
Biscuit Mix
8 cups sifted all-purpose flour: 3640 calories, 8g fat, 24g fiber, 104g protein, $1.68
4 tsp salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.08
1/2 cup baking powder: 48 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.48
1 cup shortening: 1760 calories, 208g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $2.24
TOTALS: 5448 calories, 216g fat, 24g fiber, 104g protein, $4.48
PER SERVING (TOTALS/4): 1,362 calories, 54g fat, 6g fiber, 26g protein, $1.12

Pumpkin Spice Biscuits
2 cups biscuit mix: 1,362 calories, 54g fat, 6g fiber, 26g protein, $1.12
1 cup pumpkin: 49 calories, 0g fat, 3g fiber, 2g protein, $0.25
1 tsp cinnamon: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
1 tsp nutmeg: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
1 tsp clove: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
1 tsp star anise: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
TOTALS: 1411 calories, 54g fat, 9g fiber, 28g protein, $1.41
PER SERVING (TOTALS/12): 117.5 calories, 4.5g fat, .8g fiber, 2.3g protein, $.12

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Posted in: Breads,Vegan,Vegetarian,Veggie Might

Whole Wheat Scones with Corn, Tomato, and Basil

Today on Serious Eats: Mexican Potato Soup. This soup is so fast, easy, and out-of-this-world delicious, it’ll make you believe in time travel, Nostradamus, and Yeti.

Summer is winding down, and a fall nip is in the air. It’s still warm enough to find ripe, juicy tomatoes and sweet corn at the market and cool enough to turn on the oven. There is no better time to whip up a batch of savory scones.

Scones are my Charming Boyfriend’s favorite breakfast bread, and turns out, they’re incredibly easy to make. CB prefers the classic raisin version, but I like something a little more savory. I’ve been tweaking and fine-tuning this scone recipe, from Vegan with a Vengence by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, for a few months now.

We’ve had such a gorgeous bounty of corn and tomatoes this season, I couldn’t resist stuffing a batch of scones with gold and red, inspired by the chewy, speckled corn breads I grew up with.

To stand up to the filling, I subbed in whole wheat flour and went with a nonhydrogenated shortening instead of oil to give the scones a flakier texture. I compensated with a little extra almond milk to make up for the moisture loss.

Another little trick of this recipe is to combine the almond (or soy or rice) milk with vinegar: the classic vegan method for substituting buttermilk. The vinegar curdles the nondairy milk, giving it a similar sour flavor to buttermilk. The real deal would work fine in place of the vegan version.

The fragrance of basil will fill your kitchen (or whole apartment) when these come out of the oven. Moist and flaky, a touch sweet from the corn, and tangy with tomatoes, these scones are the perfect complement to a weekend brunch. And with the more substantial whole wheat flour and veggies, they make an ideal grab-and-go breakfast bread.

Give these scones a try while the fruits and veggies of summer are still with us. But hurry! The corn is going fast. (Oh Eve Arden, that made me so sad.) Maybe scones will become your favorite breakfast bread too.

~~~

If you dug this recipe, point your divining rod to
Vegan Bran Muffins
Zucchini Bread
Tofu Veggie Scramble

~~~

Whole Wheat Scones with Corn and Tomatoes

Adapted from Vegan with a Vengence by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Makes 16 scones

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
1 1/2 cup almond milk + 2 tsp apple cider vinegar (vegan buttermilk!)
1 cup cooked corn (fresh from the cob or frozen)
1 cup tomatoes, fresh diced
2 tbsp basil, fresh chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease a cookie sheet.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and into a large mixing bowl.

3. With a fork, cut shortening into flour mixture. Leaving pea-sized bits of shortening will make a flakier scone.

4. In a measuring cup, combine 1 1/2 cup almond milk and 2 tsp apple cider vinegar. Stir until milk coagulates. Fold in milk-vinegar combo, corn, tomatoes, and basil. Mix until just combined, taking care not to overwork the dough.

5. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface and shape into a circular mound, about 12” in diameter.

6. With a sharp knife, cut the mound in half, then the halves into quarters, and so on, pizza-style, until you have 16 pieces.

7. Transfer dough to cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Enjoy with a fabulous breakfast or as a midnight snack.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price per Serving
127.25 calories, 4.2g fat, 3.15g fiber, 3.15g protein, $0.24

Calculations
3 cups whole wheat flour: 1221 calories, 6g fat, 48g fiber, 48g protein, $1.08
2 tbsp baking powder: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $0.04
1 tsp salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $0.02
2 tbsp sugar: 52 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.04
1/3 cup nonhydrogenated shortening: 500 calories, 55g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.60
1 1/2 cup almond milk:: 60 calories, 4.5g fat, 1.5g fiber, 1.5g protein, $0.75
2 tsp apple cider vinegar: 2 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.01
1 cup cooked corn: 177 calories, 2g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.75
1 cup tomatoes: 22 calories, 0g fat, 1g fiber, 1g protein, $0.50
2 tbsp basil: 2 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.08
Totals: 2036 calories, 67.5g fat, 50.5g fiber, 50.5g protein, $3.87
Per serving (Totals/16): 127.25 calories, 4.2g fat, 3.15g fiber, 3.15g protein, $0.24

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Posted in: Breads,Breakfast,Vegan,Vegetarian

Veggie Might: Baking with Stevia--Vegan Oatmeal Apple Muffins

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.

While I’ve been using stevia in my tea for nigh on 12 years, I’ve never used it for anything else, maintaining a steadfast whole foods philosophy when it comes to cooking and baking. But a recent conversation with a couple of close friends, who are in various stages of giving up sugar, prompted me to give stevia baking a try.

Some consider stevia to be a whole food. And if you just use stevia leaves for your sweetening needs, it is. But most people use stevia extract, which removes the sweet stevioside from the leaf and processes it into a liquid tincture or dry powder.

Where to start? Stevia is sooo much sweeter than sugar that you only need a tiny pinch of powder to equal the sweetness in a teaspoon of sugar. The brand I buy comes with a little scoop that equals 45mg; a teaspoon of sugar weighs 4 grams. I started to do the math, when I remembered that I had an Internet connection.

When I found the article How to Substitute Stevia for Sugar in Baking at eHow.com, I got super excited. They breakdown the stevia/sugar conversion thusly:

1 tsp stevia (powered) = 1 cup sugar
1 tsp stevia (liquid) = 1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp stevia= 1 tbsp sugar
6 drops liquid stevia = 1 tbsp sugar
A pinch of stevia = 1 tsp sugar
2 drops liquid stevia = 1 tsp sugar

But I’m not quite sure how 1 tsp of stevia can equal 1 cup sugar at the same time that 1/2 tsp stevia can equal 1 tbsp sugar. So I looked elsewhere.

Cooking with Stevia offers a more in-depth and likely accurate chart, which I’ve modified for our purposes:

But that conversion is not the only concern when replacing stevia with sugar. There is a mass/consistency issue to deal with when baking. Here’s where eHow came through: “The bulk or consistency that sugar normally would add can be replaced with applesauce, fruit puree, canned pumpkin, fruit juice, yogurt, or any ingredient that will taste right with your recipe and add moisture. For everyone cup of sugar that is replaced by stevia 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of the bulk should be added.”

Thanks Internet. Let’s bake.

I whipped up the Apple Oatmeal Muffins from the Mother Earth News article I referenced in yesterday’s post, replacing the egg with flax seeds, subbing in almond milk, and swapping the raisins for walnuts. Go Omega-3!

Note: If you’d like to try an alternative egg replacement method, check out this great vegan baking tute at the Post-Punk Kitchen.

The muffins came out pretty well, though CB’s first comment was, “They look more like scones.” True dat, CB. I used my cute little silicone muffin cups instead of traditional paper cups, and the thick batter didn’t really take the shape of the cup.

The texture was primo: moist and bursting with walnuts. You could cut back if you’re worried about fat content. I could detect a subtle stevia aftertaste, but CB said he didn’t notice. I was suddenly kicking myself for not doing a blind taste test. Ah, well. We’ll save science for another time.

The muffins were not overly sweet, even with the 1 1/2 tsp stevia: 1 cup sugar ratio and the apple, though I could have used more apple flavor. Next time, I think I would knock a 1/2 a teaspoon off the stevia and add a second piece of fruit.

The verdict: I don’t think stevia will replace sugar in my baking repertoire. Though I love it in my tea--mostly because I don’t like the way sugar coats my tongue after a glass of iced Earl Grey--it still feels weird to bake with it. Perhaps if I had a medical reason to do so, I’d sing a different song.

For now, I’ll stick with sugar and keep experimenting with other natural sweeteners, because, hey, I like science.

~~~
If you like this recipe, you may dig:
The Sweet Stuff: A New Color in the Packet Rainbow
Vegan Bran Muffins
Chai-Spiced Oatmeal Muffins

~~~

Stevia Oatmeal Apple Muffins

adapted from Mother Earth News
yields 12 muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp stevia powder
1 tbsp flax seeds +3 tbsp warm water
3/4 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice)
1/4 cup coconut oil (or oil of your choice)
1 medium apple, cored and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a food processor, whirl 2 ounces of flax seeds with 2 ounces of warm water until you have a gooey mess. That replaces the egg. Add milk and oil and give it another spin to mix with the flaxseed.

3. Combine dry ingredients--flour, oats, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, stevia powder, and walnuts--in a large mixing bowl.

4. Slowly stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Fold in the chopped apple.

5. Fill muffin cups 1/2-3/4 full with batter. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

6. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

7. Enjoy the delicious Omega-3 delivery system you’ve created!

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price per Serving
143.8 calories, 9g fat, 2.2g fiber, 2.9g protein, $.31

Calculations
1 cup whole wheat flour: 420 calories, 2g fat, 16g fiber, 16g protein, $0.36
1 cup rolled oats: 304.5 calories, 4.5g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.12
1/2 tsp salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
1 tbsp baking powder: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
1/2 tsp nutmeg: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
2 tsp cinnamon: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.02
1 1/2 tsp stevia powder: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $.16
1 tbsp flax seeds: 45 calories, 3.6g fat, 2.4g fiber, 1.5g protein, $0.20
3/4 cup almond milk: 30 calories, 2.25g fat, 0.75g fiber, 0.75g protein, $0.38
1/4 cup coconut oil: 480 calories, 56g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.92
1 medium apple: 77 calories, 0g fat, 2g fiber, 0g protein, $0.50
1/2 cup walnuts: 382.5 calories, 38g fat, 4g fiber, 9g protein, $0.94
Totals: 1726 calories, 108.35g fat, 25.3g fiber, 26.25g protein, $3.66
Price per serving (totals/12): 143.8 calories, 9g fat, 2.2g fiber, 2.9g protein, $.31

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Posted in: Breads,Vegan,Vegetarian,Veggie Might

Hush Puppy Corncakes … I Think

Have you ever seen a recipe, and wanted to make it, but didn’t want it to be very heavy, so you made a few changes, and then when you cooked it, it turned out really different than you thought, but it still tasted good?

That happened to me once.

Food & Wine had a great-looking recipe for hush puppies in their June issue, and I was itchin’ to try it out. Sadly, like 99.5% of hush puppy recipes, it required frying, which is not so great for the cheap/healthy/good thing we attempt here. So, in an effort to reduce the fat, I decided to brown the puppies in a sauté pan, and then finish them in the oven.

Only, that didn’t happen.

Instead, as soon as the batter hit the skillet, it began to expand and bubble. Five minutes later, I had six mini-corncakes that flipped like flapjacks and looked like arepas, but tasted like hush puppies. I narrowed these unexpected results down to two factors:

A) I used 1% milk, which created a thinner batter, and,

B) Deep-frying cooks the outside of food simultaneously and instantaneously, freezing it in position. Pan-browning cooks slowly and doesn’t cover nearly as much surface area, giving everything time to spread out. If I had dropped the batter in hot oil, all would have been well. But I did that other thing, so … flapjacks. Or corncakes. Or something.

Still, they were very tasty. We ate them with a little bit of honey butter, though we suspect they would have also been nice with mozzarella cheese and/or shrimp with bay seasoning. They came out to under 60 calories and only 2.1 grams of fat per serving and … get this … nine cents each. Seriously.

So, people! Go eat these … things. They’re sincerely very good, even if I can’t quite identify what they are.

P.S. I’ve started using crazy/pricey farmer’s market eggs, so odds are your corn cakes will come in about $0.75 less, or $2 total. That’s 7 cents per cake. Wow.

Hush Puppy Corncakes
Makes about 28 or 30 1-1/2” cakes
Inspired by the July 2009 issue of Food & Wine.

1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano or Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup 1% milk
2 scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1) In a large bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients, through black pepper. Whisk 'em together.

2) In a separate medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, scallions, and 1 tablespoons veggie oil. Pour this mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until everything is barely moistened. Cover. Stick in the fridge for 60 minutes.

3) Heat 1/2 tablespoon veggie oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it's really hot/shimmering, drop rounded tablespoons of batter into the pan, like you would pancakes. Cook until bubbles appear on the side facing you, then flip over and continue cooking until golden brown.

4) Repeat until batter is finished, replenishing the pan with ½ tablespoon of olive oil with every new batch. Adjust heat as needed.

5) Serve with shrimp, honey butter, mozzarella, or anything else you can think of.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
59 calories, 2.1 g fat, $0.09

Calculations
1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal: 505 calories, 2.3 g fat, $0.45
1 cup all-purpose flour: 455 calories, 1.3 g fat, $0.09
2 tablespoons sugar: 93 calories, 0 g fat, $0.05
1 tablespoon baking soda: negligible calories and fat, $0.03
2 teaspoons kosher salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.04
2 teaspoons dried oregano or Italian seasoning: 18 calories, 0.5 g fat, $0.21
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper: negligible calories and fat, $0.03
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper: 2 calories, 0.5 g fat, $0.02
3 large eggs, lightly beaten: 221 calories, 14.9 g fat, $1.13
¾ cup 1% milk: 79 calories, 1.8 g fat, $0.18
2 scallions, finely chopped: 16 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.22
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided: 371 calories, 41.9 g fat, $0.27
TOTAL: 1760 calories, 63.3 g fat, $2.72
PER SERVING (TOTAL/30): 59 calories, 2.1 g fat, $0.09

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Posted in: Breads,Desserts and Snacks,Sides,Vegetarian

Vanilla-Buttermilk Pound Cake: Weather or Not

New York summers rarely afford the opportunity for baking, but it’s been a cool June here in the city, with frequent storms and temperatures that have only seldomly risen above 80°F. Usually, Brooklyn kitchens feel like bamboo steamers this time of year. Instead, our greenery is growing like gangbusters, and we’ve managed to postpone our yearly descent into Air Conditioning Bill Hell for a few blessed weeks. Except for mistaking 3am thunderclaps for shotgun rounds, life’s been pretty sweet.

Life’s also been full of cake. Late last week, my roommate C whipped up a batch of Strawberry-Banana Muffins while I triumphed with a lovely Lemon concoction, and yesterday yielded 24 servings of Vanilla-Buttermilk Pound Cake from Cooking Light. It’s Cake City, and we are its cake-izens. Later, we will draw up a Cakestitution and elect people to Cakegress, where they'll be sworn in by the Cake Justice of the Supreme Cake. (That's how government works, right?)

But back to the Pound Cake. All in all, it’s a subtly flavored treat with a consistency somewhere between pound cake and angel food cake. Light, moist, and fluffy, it’d pair well with fruit and/or last Friday’s lemon icing (which, by the way, I have adopted as my first child). Best of all, it’s $0.14 per serving, which should provide you, your family, your neighbors, and your neighbors’ family with dessert well into 2010. And when July and August hit, you’ll be happy you don’t have to touch the oven.

Have a happy weekend, my sweets. Go forth and cake it up. You just might cake your cake.

P.S. Calories and fat were calculated by Cooking Light, so only the price per serving numbers are shown below.

Vanilla-Buttermilk Pound Cake
Makes 5 mini-loaves, 2 large loaves, or 24 muffins (or, about 24 servings in whichever form).
Adapted from Cooking Light.

13.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
11/3 cups low-fat buttermilk
Cooking spray

1) Preheat oven to 350°F.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3) In a separate large bowl, combine sugar, butter, and vanilla with a hand mixer set to medium speed. It should be "light and fluffy" when you're done. Add one egg. Keep beating. Add another egg. Keep beating. Add the final egg. Keep beating.

4) Alternate adding a little flour mixture and a little buttermilk into the sugar/butter mixture, "beginning and ending with flour mixture." Continue beating the whole time.

5) IF MAKING CUPCAKES: coat 2 12-cup cupcake pans with cooking spray. Distribute batter evenly among them. Bake 18 to 23 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test.
IF MAKING REGULAR-SIZED LOAVES: coat 2 8-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Distribute batter evenly between them. Bake 45 to 60 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test.
IF MAKING MINI-LOAVES: coat 5 6-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Distribute batter evenly among them. Bake 40 minutes, or until they pass the toothpick test.

6) Remove pans from oven and let them cool a few minutes on a wire rack. Pry the cakes out of the pans, and let them cool all the way on the rack. Serve

Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
24 servings: 180 calories, 6.4 g fat, $0.14

Calculations
13.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 cups): $0.32
1 teaspoon baking powder: $0.03
1/2 teaspoon baking soda: $0.01
1/2 teaspoon salt: $0.01
2 cups sugar: $0.64
3/4 cup butter, softened: $0.75
1 teaspoon vanilla extract: $0.12
3 large eggs: $0.39
11/3 cups low-fat buttermilk: $0.87
Cooking spray: $0.10
TOTAL: $3.24
PER SERVING (TOTAL/24): $0.14

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Posted in: Breads,Desserts and Snacks,Vegetarian

Semi-Southern-Style Cornbread: Ringin’ in the New Year

“The North thinks it know how to make corn bread, but this is a gross superstition. Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern corn bread, and perhaps no bread in the world is quite as bad as the Northern imitation of it.” – Mark Twain

Happy New Year, sweet readers! Hope you all had a lovely break, and enjoyed the downtime with tons of Zima and old Bon Jovi videos. (Note: in other words, exactly how I spent New Year 1994.) In accordance with my nap schedule, posting’s been sparse here lately, but that’ll change starting today. See, we’re kicking off a flurry of 2009 posts with a bang. A sweet, corny bang.

Namely, cornbread.

Despite hailing from New York, I consider myself a cornbread enthusiast. (Or, in English, I loves me some cornbread.) In the bread pantheon, it ranks just above banana bread, but slightly below my beloved garlic bread. In fact, when I worked in Times Square, I’d often hit up the Columbus Circle Whole Foods and buy a hunk of the stuff to chomp on, oblivious to the number of crumbs I dropped into my bra. (Man, I liked having my own office.)

Anyway, as a Big Apple-ite, I’m pretty used to Northern-style cornbread, which is moist and puffy, like a cake or a muffin. Sadly, it tends to be full of fat and calories, which is somewhat of a downer.

Enter (per usual) Cook’s Illustrated. For a somewhat healthier snack, their Best Light Recipe Book suggests opting for a Southern-style cornbread. This variety tends to be drier and crumbier than its Northern cousin, and subsequently, less brutal on your thighs. To test it out, I made two batches this weekend.

My first batch (which came straight from the book) was decent, but could have used more moisture and sweetness. So, for Round #2, I doubled the sugar and added two more tablespoons of buttermilk. Then, I dumped in 1/3 cup of frozen kernels for kicks. Admittedly, the kernels themselves didn’t do much – maybe added a little more corn flavor, but that’s about it. On the other hand, the extra sugar and buttermilk were solid improvements. My second batch was a clear winner.

Should you try it yourself, hear this: this is definitely a low-calorie cornbread. But as those go, it’s pretty dang good, and will pair splendidly with (coming soon) today’s Serious Eats column on Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Herbs. (Which? Is one of the greatest soups in the history of time and space. Susan at FatFree Vegan Kitchen knows the score.)

That said, welcome back, everybody. Let’s make this the best CHG year yet. (And as there’ve only been 1-1/2 so far, it should be easy.)

Semi-Southern Style Cornbread
Makes 10 pieces of cornbread
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Best Light Recipe.

1 cup yellow cornmeal (Quaker suggested), divided
1/3 cup boiling water
3 or 4 teaspoons of granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
7/8 cup low-fat buttermilk (3/4 cup plus two tablespoons)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
½ tablespoon flour
1/3 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
Cooking spray

1) Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan or 8-inch square brownie pan with cooking spray.

2) To a medium bowl, add 1/3 cup cornmeal. Set aside.

3) In a small bowl, combine remaining 2/3 cup cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk it all together. Set aside.

4) Go back to the first bowl, with the 1/3 cup cornmeal. Pour water into it. Stir until it's thoroughly combined and stiff. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk until the mixture is lump-less. Whisk in egg and butter. Pour the flour mixture into the cornmeal mixture and stir until everything is barely moist. (If desired, before adding batter to the pan, stir corn kernels with flour in a small bowl until just covered. Then, add corn to the batter, stirring lightly until just mixed.)

5) Pour batter into pan. Bake 20 minutes or so, until it's risen slightly and top is golden brown. Remove from oven. Remove bread from pan. Cool on wire rack at least 5 minutes. Serve.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
96 calories, 2.6 g fat, $0.14

Calculations
1 cup yellow cornmeal: 533 calories, 5.3 g fat, $0.45
1/3 cup boiling water: negligible calories and fat, free
3 or 4 teaspoons of granulated white sugar: 65 calories, 0 g fat, $0.02
1 teaspoon baking powder: 2 calories, 0 g fat, $0.03
¼ teaspoon baking soda: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
½ teaspoon salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
7/8 cup low-fat buttermilk (3/4 cup plus two tablespoons): 105 calories, 3.5 g fat, $0.44
1 large egg: 74 calories, 5 g fat, $0.18
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled: 102 calories, 11.5 g fat, $0.08
½ tablespoon flour: 25 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.01
1/3 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen): 51 calories, 0.4 g fat, $0.17
Cooking spray: 3 calories, 0 g fat, $0.02
TOTAL: 960 calories, 25.8 g fat, $1.42
PER SERVING (TOTAL/10): 96 calories, 2.6 g fat, $0.14

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Posted in: Breads,Sides,Vegetarian

K.I.S.S.: Light Garlic Bread

Don’t you love when a recipe is simple enough for a first grader, takes ten seconds to make, and still comes out like you’d been consulting with a cadre of Iron Chefs for 12 years? I do. It's kind of my reason for existence, besides The Office, schlocky horror novels, and clever Evite responses.

The Ridiculously Good Yet Stupefyingly Uncomplicated thing's occured a few times over the course of the blog. First there was Nigella Lawson’s Easy Pea Soup, which made me crave peas for the first time in over three decades of life. Then, there were the lassis, which I prefer to any milkshake in existence (even McDonald’s Egg Nog variety, which is the pinnacle of fast food cuisine). Finally, there was Polenta Pudding with Blueberry Topping, which was so embarrassingly facile, I almost didn’t post it.

Now, it’s Eating Well’s Light Garlic Bread. Essentially, you boil four garlic cloves, mash them in a paste with a little salt and olive oil, spread it on some bread, and bake for five minutes. The results are … well, not astounding (I like to save that word for miracles and mid-air rescues), but really, really dang good. The bread is moist where it should be, crisp where it’s not moist, and crazy-garlicky without being overwhelming. And honestly, there’s something eminently satisfying about pulverizing things with a fork. Like, “You’re no match for ME, garlic! Now, off to save some kittens from a tree! (*flies away*)”

The kicker? It costs $0.80 to make, total. I don’t know why anyone would buy frozen garlic bread in the first place, but I’m pretty sure that’s a 300% savings. It makes it all the more satisfying.

So, I encourage you to embark on this mission. But if you do, a few notes:

1) Eating Well provided the nutrition data, so only the price is calculated here.

2) If you’re using a loaf of Italian bread, go with a third of it instead of half. They tend to be much larger than baguettes.

3) Seriously, a monkey could make this. You barely need thumbs.

Happy eating, folks.

Light Garlic Bread
Serves 4
Adapted from EatingWell.com

4 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 baguette or 1/3rd loaf Italian bread, cut in half lengthwise

1) Preheat oven to 450°F.

2) In very small pot or saucepan, combine garlic and juuuust enough cold water to cover it. Turn heat to low. Once water starts simmering, cook for about 3 minutes. Kill the water and drain the pot. making sure to keep the garlic.

3) In a small bowl, combine garlic, oil, and salt. Mash 'em into a paste using a fork or spoon. (This might take a few minutes.) Spread the paste on the bread, as you would butter.

4) Bake 5 minutes. Serve.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
113 calories, 2 g fat, $0.20

Calculations
4 large cloves garlic: $0.16
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil: $0.04
1/4 teaspoon salt: $0.01
1/2 baguette or 1/3rd loaf Italian bread, cut in half lengthwise: $0.60
TOTAL: $0.81
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): $0.20

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Posted in: 15 Minutes or Less,Breads,Vegan,Vegetarian

The SATs of Cranberry Zinger Muffins

For the following quiz, use a No. 2 pencil and a soft eraser. Do not use a pen or mechanical pencil. An essay written in pen will not scan and receives a score of zero. Cell phone use is prohibited.

SECTION 1
Sentence Completion

Boy, I’ve been on a _____ kick lately. They’re ____ to make and the cost is ____.

A) baby … fun … a bottle of wine and a Barry White CD
B) muffin … simple … nominal
C) pants … sew easy (har har) … $19
D) magic mushroom … trippy … I’m not sure because the walls are melting

If you’re looking to serve a ___ of something for ____ breakfast, you could do worse than ____.

A) billion … your mom’s … many bowls of rice
B) gram … Boxing Day … hard drugs
C) butt … Butt Day … butts
D) basket … Thanksgiving … Cranberry Zinger Muffins from Cooking With Amy

In this recipe, _______ are largely replaced by ______ juice, making the ____ very light.

A) puppy hearts … cat knees … evil
B) oil and eggs … lemon and orange … muffins
C) Maxwell House coffees … another brand … beatings
D) Tom Cruise’s armpits … Hugh Jackman eyeball … Zac Efron gaze


SECTION 2
Passage-based Reading

In her description of Cranberry Zinger Muffins, Amy writes, “It's Spring and I am craving mouth-watering tangy flavors. I find most muffins are too sweet for breakfast. This muffin recipe combines lots of tangy flavors that I love, especially lemon but also orange, cranberries and ginger. You can leave out the ginger if it's too zingy for you or your family.”

The “flavors” Amy refers to are:

A) sweet
B) tangy
C) the embodiment of all that is wrong with the world
D) What flavors? Where the hell am I?

What is the difference between Cranberry Zinger Muffins and most other muffins?

A) They are rainbow-colored and filled with bison meat.
B) They aren’t too sweet.
C) They won’t make you pregnant.
D) They won’t try to hit on your dad.

In this context, Amy’s use of “zingy” means:

A) punchliney
B) tart
C) pseudoantidisestablishmentarianism
D) the adorable hilarity of Paul Rudd mixed with the testosterone-fueled machismo of Vin Diesel, with a little smattering of Phyllis Diller on the side


SECTION 3
Math

If one muffin costs $0.34, how much will it take to ultimately bail out insurance giant AIG?

A) $0.34
B) A trillion dollars.
C) More money than I can possibly conceive of, paid off exclusively by future generations.
D) No money, but a lot of crystal meth.

If each muffin has 177 calories and less than five grams of fat, what is the probability George Clooney will show up at my house tomorrow and make me breakfast?

A) 1/2
B) 3/4000000000000
C) Π
D) Trick question. This is obviously an imaginary number.

If the recipe makes 12 muffins, and you eat nine of them in two days, what should you never, ever do again?

A) Weigh yourself.
B) Pretend to write a blog about healthy eating.
C) Try to brush your teeth with mint toothpaste the morning after drinking eight shots of Rumpleminze on your roommate’s 19th birthday. (Um … this was possibly a leftover answer from another SAT question.)
D) Eat the remaining three muffins.

Thank you for completing this test. The answer to every question was B.


Cranberry Zinger Muffins
12 muffins
Adapted from Cooking With Amy.

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Rind of one lemon grated
Rind of one orange, grated
3/4 cup citrus juice (combined juice of 2 lemons and 2 oranges)
1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tablespoon sugar

1) Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk it all together. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, cream the sugar and butter together. (You can use the stand mixer paddle, a hand mixer, a pastry cutter, or if you're a little masochistic, two forks.) Add egg. Stir in. Add ginger, lemon zest, orange zest, and citrus juice. Stir. Slowly add the flour mixture, mixing until the batter is just moist. Gently stir in cranberries.

4) Split batter among the muffin tins. Top every one with a little sugar. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Muffins should be golden brown and pass the toothpick test when finished. (Stick toothpick in center. If it comes out clean, you're good to go.) Remove pans from oven and let muffins cool in tin for a few minutes. Then, pry the muffins out and eat immediately, or let them come all the way down to room temperature.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
177 calories, 4.5 g fat, $0.34

Calculations
2 c flour: 910 calories, 2.5 g fat, $0.18
1 T baking powder: 7 calories, 0 g fat, $0.10
1/2 t baking soda: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
1/4 t salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
1 large egg: 74 calories, 5 g fat, $0.17
3/4 c sugar: 581 calories, 0 g fat, $0.24
1/4 c unsalted butter, softened but not melted: 407 calories, 46.1 g fat, $0.25
1/2 t grated fresh ginger: 1 calorie, 0 g fat, $0.07
Rind of one lemon grated: 1 calorie, 0 g fat, Free
Rind of one orange, grated: 1 calorie, 0 g fat, Free
3/4 c citrus juice (combined juice of 2 lemon and 2 orange): 85 calories, 0 g fat, $2.00
1 1/4 c fresh or frozen cranberries: 55 calories, 0.2 g fat, $1.04
2 T sugar: 93 calories, 0 g fat, $0.04
TOTAL: 2122 calories, 53.8 g fat, $4.11
PER SERVING (TOTAL/12): 177 calories, 4.5 g fat, $0.34

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Posted in: Breads,Breakfast,Desserts and Snacks,Vegetarian

Light Banana Bread: I Think I Got It

Cooking Light Magazine has been a consistent, usually reliable resource for the recipes on this site. With a few flagrant exceptions, their dishes have ranged from edible to outstanding – especially the desserts, the flavors of which are oases of indulgence in the arid, dusty landscape of my (many) diet(s).

Here’s the thing, though: CL’s portion sizes? Can be pretty ridiculous sometimes. In order to make a dish seem lighter, they’ll often increase the number of cake wedges, lemon bars, and cobbler scoops one can pull from a standard-issue baking pan. In other words, instead of eight medium-sized, 333-calorie slices of pumpkin pie, you get 12 tiny, 222-calorie slices. It’s kind of cheating.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand part of healthy eating is portion control. We (especially us Americans) have to learn to identify human-appropriate slabs of food, as opposed to those large enough to feed a sperm whale. But still - it’s unreasonable to ask for 16 individual brownies out of an 8x8 dish. Dieters won’t be pleased, and non-dieters will burn you for sacrilege.

Take Mom’s Banana Bread f’r instance. According to 132 reviewers, there’s no arguing with the taste. They claim it’s moist, banana-y, and delicious, and even better with spices and walnuts. Here’s the catch, though: CL tells us to cut a 9-inch loaf into 20 pieces. Sure, the calories will be reduced, but each slice will be less than 1/2-inch thick - barely enough to keep it from falling apart.

Still, the reviews for the MBB are so glowing, I wanted to see if I could lighten it further without sacrificing the flavor. And you know what? I think I got it. With these revisions, each loaf can be cut into 12 pieces at 164 calories and 2.7 grams of fat each (or, for you WW folks out there, 3 points). And? AND? It will still taste like normal, unaltered banana bread. Whee!

Ultimately, I dig Cooking Light and won’t stop frequenting the website, but’d love to see them address the portion issue. It’d attract more viewers, I think, or at least be less frustrating for their current ones. Readers? Opinions?

P.S. Here’re the changes, just in case you wanna compare. To bring down the calorie count, I:

• reduced the sugar from 1 cup to 2/3rds of a cup, saving about 260 calories.
• reduced the butter from ¼ cup to 2-1/2 tablespoons, saving about 150 calories and 17 grams of fat
• reduced the sour cream by a tablespoon, and switched it from low-fat to non-fat, saving 45 calories and 6 grams of fat
• reduced the skim milk by a tablespoon, saving … okay, only about 8 calories.
• added cinnamon, nutmeg, and a dash of vanilla extract.

Banana Bread
Makes 12 servings
Adapted from Cooking Light.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
2-1/2 T butter, softened
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 4 bananas)
3 T skim milk
3 T fat-free sour cream or vanilla yogurt
2 large egg whites
½ t vanilla extract
Cooking spray

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat loaf pan with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

3) In a different large mixing bowl OR stand mixer bowl, combine sugar and butter. "Beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended." Stop beater. Add banana, milk, sour cream, and egg whites. Resume beating until well combined.

4) Pour flour mixture into banana mixture and beat until everything is well-blended.

5) Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake 60 or 70 minutes, or until loaf passes the toothpick test. (Insert a toothpick in the middle of the bread. If it comes out clean, you're golden.) Remove from oven. Let sit for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Pry bread from pan and let it cool totally on that same wire rack. For best flavor, wrap in tin foil and let sit overnight.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
164 calories, 2.7 g fat, $0.17

Calculations
2/3 cup sugar: 515 calories, 0 g fat, $0.21
2-1/2 T butter, softened: 255 calories, 28.8 g fat, $0.15
1 2/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 4 bananas): 200 calories, 0.7 g fat, $0.96
3 T skim milk: 18 calories, 0.2 g fat, $0.05
3 T fat-free sour cream or vanilla yogurt: 31 calories, 0 g fat, $0.14
2 large egg whites: 34 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.22
½ t vanilla extract: 1 calorie, 0 g fat, $0.06
2 cups all-purpose flour: 910 calories, 2.5 g fat, $0.18
1 teaspoon baking soda: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
1/2 teaspoon salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
½ teaspoon cinnamon: 3 calories, 0 g fat, $0.02
¼ teaspoon nutmeg: 3 calories, 0.2 g fat, $0.01
TOTAL: 1970 calories, 32.5 g fat, $2.02
PER SERVING (TOTAL/12): 164 calories, 2.7 g fat, $0.17

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Posted in: Breads,Breakfast,Desserts and Snacks,Vegetarian

Mo’ Better Blueberry Muffins: A Recipe

(Hey folks – before we get into today’s post, be sure to check out this week’s Festival of Frugality, hosted by On Financial Success. There’s a ton of apropos personal finance and savings information, along with some nifty food posts like How Shopping for Groceries Online Can Save You Money as Well as Time by the Personal Financier, Living Almost Large’s meditation on Hillbilly Housewife’s $70/week Menu, and CHG's own 20 Cheap, Healthy Dishes Made From 10 Pantry Staples. Now, on to today's recipe.)

Between months of ovenless meals and this weekend’s no-cook/wallpaper debacle, I desperately needed to get my gourmet on last night. So, I hit the supermarkets, whipped out my power mixer, and started my own mini-cookoff. (Oh, I also jacked the stove to 425°F in our breezeless, already-90°F kitchen. My roommates loved that.)

For dinner, it was Better Homes and Gardens’ South-of-the-Border Pie. Quick cooking and relatively inexpensive, the dish ultimately didn’t prove to be anything special. Edible, yes. Special, nuh-unh. Kids might like it more than we (me and The Boyfriend) did, especially if they’re big fans of the musical fruit.
Verdict: Three stars out of five, unless you’ve not yet hit puberty.

For dessert/breakfast-the-next-day, I tried Cooking Light’s Spiced Blueberry Muffins, and was pleasantly surprised. Though they didn’t quite measure up to regular ol’ cake-type dealies, they were moister (Hate. That. Word.) than most light muffins and had a good blueberry-to-batter ratio. Delicious when warmed, I popped one in my bag for this morning’s meal, and it substituted nicely for my regular Honey Nut Cheerios. (Which I love like a lover.)
Verdict: Four out of five stars, with a possibility of the full five after some alterations.

I was all set to attempt Noodle Salad with Shrimp and Mint or Couscous and Feta Stuffed Peppers, but risked driving my badly-perspiring roommates to the brink of insanity (and/or homicide). So … yeah, that’ll happen later in the week. In the meantime, should you try the muffins yourself, here’s what you might wanna know:

1) If I made these again, I’d sprinkle larger sugar crystals on top and double the spices. My cinnamon’s shamefully old, and the muffins weren’t as pungent as they should have been.

2) The muffins are the size of a really big cupcake, and you don’t need CL’s “muffin cups” to make ‘em – a standard muffin pan will do. Also, they’ll look curiously pale when they’re finished, but will be cooked through just the same. Don’t panic.

3) These babies are pretty cheap, but you could probably cut the price a full 33% by buying the cream cheese on sale. It’s by far the most expensive ingredient.

4) Blueberries are peaking right now in the Northeast. I nabbed three pints for $1.50 each at Key Food, and that’s unheard of any other part of the year. And? They’re big, beautiful, juicy, and blue - not those crappy, still-unripe little green ones that look like Smurf poop. So – run! Getcher blues!

5) My picture is terrible. It appears to warn other bloggers of the dangers/idiocy of taking food photos with a camera phone. Ansel Adams has nothing to fear.

Coming tomorrow: The Booze of Summer! Stay tuned!

Spiced Blueberry Muffins
Makes 14 muffins
Adapted from Cooking Light.
About that picture: see?

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a muffin pan with cooking spray.

2) In a small bowl, combine blueberries and 1 tablespoon flour, tossing gently.

3) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. In the middle of the mixture, make a deep indentation/well.

4) In a medium bowl, blend butter and cream cheese with a mixer on high speed. This should take about 1 minute. Pour in milk, eggs, and vanilla. "Beat to combine." Pour mixture into the flour bowl indentation. Stir together until dry ingredients are barely moistened. Add blueberries. Stir them in gently.

5) Divide batter amongst 14 muffin cups. "Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar evenly over batter." Bake 15 minutes. Muffins should "spring back when touched lightly in center. " Remove from oven. After 5 minutes, scoop muffins out of pans and let them cool on a wire rack. 

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
192 calories, 5.5 g fat, $0.41
(Nutrition info provided by Cooking Light.)

Calculations
2 cups all-purpose flour: $0.19
3/4 cup sugar: $0.24
1 tablespoon baking powder: $0.10
1/2 teaspoon salt: $0.01
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon: $0.01
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg: $0.01
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves: $0.01
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries: $1.13
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour: $0.01
1/3 cup butter, softened: $0.31
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened: $2.99
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk: $0.15
2 large eggs: $0.38
1 teaspoon vanilla extract: $0.12
Cooking spray: $0.05
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar: $0.03
TOTAL: $5.74
PER SERVING (TOTAL/14): $0.41

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Posted in: Breads,Breakfast,Desserts and Snacks,Vegetarian

Popovers and Out

There comes a time in every former dieter’s life when she takes a good, long look in her boyfriend’s full-size IKEA mirror and comes to the realization that her thighs are slightly thicker than they were a year ago, her arms a tad flabbier, and her butt, while not quite epically proportioned, is definitely nearing a novella.

It is not a fun realization.

Ask any Weight Watcher, South Beach devotee, or heaven forbid, Slim Fast quaffer, and they’ll tell you straight up: the problem with dropping pounds isn’t necessarily doing it in the first place. Rather, it’s keeping them off. Maintaining that level of discipline over the long run is, for lack of a better term, really, really hard. Some ridiculous percentage of dieters pack the bulk back on within a couple of years, and I hoped that between the blog, the cooking, and my ever-burgeoning awareness of food, I could avoid that pitfall. Alas, a few too many beers and nachos later, and I’m at a delicate crossroads. Namely, do I address this minor gain now (before it gets worse), or do I hope a future of healthy eating and raised consciousness will right my nutritional wrongs?

This isn’t the first time this has happened, either. My body’s oscillated in heft since the mid-‘90s, a 40-pound swing I’ve strived mightily to halt. In 11 years, I’ve donned everything from an itty-bitty cocktail dress to a what I’m pretty sure was a burlap sack once worn by the Incredible Hulk. And I know it’s not good. The dietary see-saw is bad for my heart, my self-esteem, and womankind in general. I don’t want to care as much as I do. But I do. For all kinds of reasons.

Which brings us to popovers? (How’s that for a segue?) I remember Ma making these for my siblings and I when we were little, and being totally stoked at how huge and puffy they grew in the oven. Soft and chewy and warm, I didn’t know until yesterday that they’re also pretty healthy for a baked good. (Thanks, Betty Crocker!) You can eat ‘em anytime, and what’s more, at $0.14 a pop(over), they’re one of the cheapest foods ever to be featured on this here blog. Sweet.

I expect I’ll be eating a lot of popovers the next few months, but I’m not sure. I’ll keep y’all updated on my gluteal magnitude, though (lucky you), and hopefully we can make some sense of it together. Whee!

Popovers
Makes 6 popovers.
Adapted from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook.

1 teaspoon shortening
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 cup skim milk
1 cup all-purpose flour (Do not use self-rising flour)
½ teaspoon salt

1) Preheat oven to 450ºF. Grease 6-cup popover pan or 6-cup muffin pan with shortening.

3) In a medium bowl, beat eggs a little. Then, add rest of ingredients and beat until smooth. (Don't go crazy - overbeating is not so good.) Split batter among pan cups. Each should be about 1/2 to 3/4 full.

3) Bake 20 minutes.

4) Drop oven to 350ºF and bake 15-20 more minutes. Popovers should be brown and puffy when finished. Remove from oven and get popovers out of pan a.s.a.p. Serve immediately.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
115 calories, 2 g fat, $0.14

Calculations
1 teaspoon shortening: 37 calories, 4 g fat, $0.02
1 egg: 74 calories, 5 g fat, $0.17
2 egg whites: 34 calories, 0.1. g fat, $0.33
1 cup skim milk: 91 calories, 0.6 g fat, $0.25
1 cup all-purpose flour: 455 calories, 1.2 g fat, $0.05
½ teaspoon salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
TOTAL: 691 calories, 10.9 g fat, $0.83
PER SERVING: 115 calories, 2 g fat, $0.14

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Posted in: Breads,Breakfast,Vegetarian

Lollappleooza Postgame: Chai-Spiced Apple Oatmeal Bread and the Quest for Cardamom

Ladies and gentlemen, please unbuckle your safety harnesses and exit to the right: we have officially, finally come to the end of our apple-y journey. Thank god, too, because I am appled OUT. It took about two weeks, but The Boyfriend and I chomped, spread, and spooned our way through (almost) each and every one of those 69 delicious suckers. Here’s how:

• 24 apples eaten individually
• 10 apples for All Night Apple Butter
• 10 apples for Cooking Light’s Maple-Walnut Apple Crisp
• 9 apples for Ma’s Chunky Applesauce
• 8 apples for Weight Watchers Apple Strudel (unlisted)
• 4 (very small) apples for Chai-Spiced Apple Oatmeal Bread (listed below)
• 2 apples gone bad prematurely (punks)
• 2 apples left TBE (to be eaten)

I made the final recipe, Chai-Spiced Apple Oatmeal Bread, this weekend after being tempted by a sweet little blog called Everybody Likes Sandwiches. The loaf came out pretty well. Crumbly and delectably-scented, it’ll make a spiffy breakfast bread for the office. ELS has a bit more, and the CHG nutritional/price breakdown is attached below, but I wanted to take the rest of this entry to discuss something far more pressing: cardamom.

I live in Brooklyn, in an area where grocery stores and bodegas (small, largely Hispanic-owned delis) dot the landscape like dandelions. 20 of them are within walking distance of my apartment. Two stock cardamom. One of them, for $10.49 per bottle. The other, for $0.50.

And this, friends and neighbors, is why everyone should shop in ethnic markets.

Ideally, obtaining the warm-flavored spice shouldn’t have been that much of a pain in the tuchus. It’s pretty prominent in Indian, Mid-Eastern, and Asian cooking, and my neighborhood is one of the most diverse on Earth. One would think the streets would be lined with it. Nope. It took a special trip to the Turkish grocers to procure a baggie of the damned stuff.

On the upside, besides the 2000% savings, that store has a new #1 fan – and not the stalky, weird kind, either. The good kind. The kind that will use the Turkish folks' spices exclusively from now on. On the downside, it's kind of a haul. And I get lost very, very easily. (Very easily.) But, no matter. A $10 savings is totally worth it.

Anyway - yeah, eat the bread. But more than that, support your local ethnic market. Everybody wins. (But mostly you.)

Chai-Spiced Apple Oatmeal Bread
12 slices
Adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches.

1 cup oats (Quaker Old-fashioned good, but not instant)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
4 small Cortland or 2 Jonamac apples, diced (or any tart apple)

1) Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a standard-sized loaf pan. Cooking spray works, too.

2) In a medium mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

3) In a large bowl, mix milk, honey, oil, and egg. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ones, and stir until everything is just combined. Gently stir in the diced apples.

4) Pour batter into prepped loaf pan. Bake for about 45 or 50 minutes. Top should be pleasantly brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread should come out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
189 calories, 7.6 g fat, $0.28

Calculations
1 cup oats (not instant): 607 calories, 10.8 g fat, $0.27
1 cup flour: 455 calories, 1.2 g fat, $0.06
1 teaspoon baking soda: negligible fat and calories, $0.02
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom: negligible fat and calories, $0.08
1 teaspoon cinnamon: negligible fat and calories, $0.08
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves: negligible fat and calories, $0.02
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg: negligible fat and calories, $0.02
1/3 cup canola oil: 636 calories, 74.2 g fat, $0.20
1/3 cup skim milk: 30 calories, 0.2 g fat, $0.10
1/3 cup honey: 343 calories, 0 g fat, $1.11
1 egg: 74 calories, 5 g fat, $0.26
4 small Cortland or 2 Jonamac apples: 123 calories, 0.3 g fat, $1.16
TOTAL: 2268 calories, 91.7 g fat, $3.38
PER SERVING: (TOTAL/12): 189 calories, 7.6 g fat, $0.28

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Posted in: Breads,Breakfast,Vegetarian

It's the Great Light Pumpkin Bread, Charlie Brown!

New York Septembers are a tease. Football season’s commenced, the leaves are turning ever-so-slightly, and officially it’s autumn, but the summery temperatures and lingering humidity don’t want to jump the train to Miami yet. It leaves us panting in anxious anticipation, mostly for less-sweaty subway stations, but also for warmer, hardier foods like chili, roasted root vegetables, and pumpkin bread.

While pumpkin-flavored anything catches my fancy, pumpkin bread is a special breed. It has all the benefits of cake (moist, chewy, filling) with none of the drawbacks (sugary over-sweetness, cheap raspberry filling, misspelled “congradulashuns” wishes). Paired with a cup of hazelnut coffee (breakfast), a cold banana (lunch) or a tablespoon of marshmallow fluff (snack time!), each slice is an October aficionado’s dream food. If The Boyfriend would let me, I’d replace the counters with it, and bite off hunks all autumn long. (Please, Honey?)

This recipe comes from Words to Eat By, hands down, one of the best food blogs out there (featuring, of course, THE CUTEST BABY EVER). A Weight Watchers veteran, Debbie modified the original three-cups-of-vegetable-oil recipe to include six egg whites, a 20-oz can of pumpkin and only ½ cup of Wesson. It’s not very sweet, but that’s not the point. Instead, it’s the warmest-flavored, moist-est, most soothing bread I’ve ever had. It’s Norah Jones in loaf form.

Please note that pecans, the nuts of the gods (hee), are fatty and prohibitively expensive in my ‘hood, so I cut them out. If neither factor matters to you, go ahead and slug ‘em back in, and add a cup of Craisins for good measure.

(P.S. I forgot to upload my pumpkin bread picture, so this lovely University of Arizona photo is a placeholder 'til then.)

Low-Fat Pumpkin Bread
Makes 2 loaves – 12 slices each
Adapted from Words to Eat By.

Butter or cooking spray, for greasing pans
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
6 egg whites
20 oz pumpkin puree (not pie mix)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup water

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 9x5 loaf pans with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves together.

3) In a separate large mixing bowl (or using a stand mixer), cream oil and sugars. Pour in egg whites, pumpkin puree, and vanilla and mix. "Add to pumpkin mixture alternately with water, mixing well after each addition."

4) Pour mix into loaf pans and bake for around 60 to 75 minutes (55-65 minutes if you're doing one at a time), switching pan placement in the oven about halfway through. Loaves are fully baked when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
181 calories, 5 g fat, $0.24

Calculations
Cooking Spray: negligible fat and calories, $0.09
1 cup sugar: 774 calories, 0 g fat, $0.29
1 cup dark brown sugar: 688 calories, 0 g fat, $0.38
½ cup vegetable oil: 990 calories, 112 g fat, $0.34
6 egg whites: 103 calories, 0.3 g fat, $1.54
20 oz pumpkin: 193 calories, 1.6 g fat, $1.89
1 t. vanilla: 12 calories, 0 g fat, $0.13
3 ½ cups flour: 1593 calories, 4.3 g fat, $0.20
2 t. baking soda: negligible fat and calories, $0.04
1 t. baking powder: negligible fat and calories, $0.03
2 t. salt: negligible fat and calories, $0.03
1 t. nutmeg: negligible fat and calories, $0.12
1 t. allspice: negligible fat and calories, $0.71
1 t. cinnamon: negligible fat and calories, $0.03
½ t. cloves: negligible fat and calories, $0.05
2/3 cup water: negligible fat and calories, free
TOTAL: 4353 calories, 118.2 g fat, $5.87
PER SERVING (TOTAL/24): 181 calories, 5 g fat, $0.24

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Posted in: Breads,Vegetarian

Behold! The Great Zucchini (Bread)!

Oh, sweet September. As the days grow shorter and humidity takes a nosedive, we look forward to your month-long bacchanalia of pre-playoff baseball, meteorological schizophrenia, and heaping gobs of use-or-it-goes-bad-tomorrow zucchini.

So – yeah. What to do with all these green things? Beyond pretending they’re lightsabers and dueling it out Kenobi-style, ratatouille comes to mind, as do mounds of squashed-up pasta. But mostly, I’m thinking zucchini bread, which, like its banana and pumpkin kin, tends to be heavy on sugar and nuts.

Enter Cooking Light. Of their five different recipes, this one looked the most promising. And for the most part, it came out pretty darn good, especially when toasted. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. Maybe a dash of ginger, a kick of cloves, or a half cup of dried cranberries would have given the bread some chutzpah, some moxy, some joie de vivre. It wouldn’t have affected the price or calorie content too terribly, either. Barring that missing ingredient, though, I’d make it again.

Working off of user reviews, I did add ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Also, since I only had a 9x5 bread pan, I made one loaf and poured the rest of the batter into a cupcake tin. Six mini-muffins took 30 minutes, while the big mama went for 50 or so.

Cooking Light was kind enough to provide nutritional information (150 calories, 4.3 g fat per slice), so only the price calculations are shown below.

Lighter Zucchini Bread
2 loaves, 12 servings per loaf (serving size: 1 slice)
Adapted from Cooking Light.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups shredded zucchini (12 ounces)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
Cooking spray

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 2 (8x4-inch) loaf pans with cooking spray.

2) Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.

3) In a separate bowl, mix egg substitute, canola oil, lemon rind, vanilla extract, and egg. Stir in sugar. Stir in zucchini. Everything should be well combined. Dump in flour mixture and stir until barely combined. Add walnuts and stir lightly.

4) Dump batter into 2 (8x4-inch) loaf pans, taking care to split it evenly. Bake at 350° for 60 minutes or until the loaves pass the toothpick test. Remove from oven and let cool in pans for about 10 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Approximate Calorie, Fat, and Price Per Serving
150 calories, 4.3 g fat, $0.18

Calculations
3 cups all-purpose flour: $0.16
1 teaspoon baking powder: $0.03
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon: $0.03
¼ teaspoon nutmeg: $0.03
1/2 teaspoon salt: $0.01
1/4 teaspoon baking soda: $0.01
1/2 cup egg substitute: $1.09
1/3 cup canola oil: $0.25
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind: $0.34
2 teaspoons vanilla extract: $0.25
1 large egg, lightly beaten: $0.17
1 1/2 cups sugar: $0.44
3 cups shredded zucchini (12 ounces): $0.98
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted: $0.40
Cooking spray: $0.09
TOTAL: $4.28
PER SERVING (TOTAL/24): $0.18

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Posted in: Breads,Vegetarian