A COOKING CHALLENGE

I have gone back on Weight Watchers to lose between 5 and 10 pounds whatever feels better.
The dilemma I face is coming up with healthy and pleasing to the palate dishes.
About four years ago I lost 37 pounds on Weight Watchers the pounds had slowly crept up on me and I was accustomed to eating what I wanted for years. So in fact it was the first diet I had ever been on. I did it online and ended up paying for the whole thing when I was asked to do a focus group on the Weight Watcher website. But in hind site I lost a lot of it eating way too eating many Lean Cuisines which
are great point value but quite high in sodium. I did learn to really love vegetables, yogurt, fruits, veggie burgers, but will always have a battle with late night snacking-I just can not have cookies etc. in the house I can not just eat one cookie I always end up eating at least half a box.
This time I am determined to find new and interesting recipes and just in time I received a email the other day telling me about this new website YUMMELY,I love this site it culls together other web recipes like Epicurious and Recipezaar which is a plus but what is truly terrific it they list calories, fat and fiber content(which is all important in the Weight Watcher diet). They also list by cuisine, time and money. Another truly nifty thing is you can change the serving sizes and presto they change the proportions for you-and you can add or leave out whatever you want from the recipe and save it and place it in your favorites. I made this Cod Dish and it was very good. . I also made a excellent Pasta Dish
Tonight I also made a really delicious and really good looking salad-the recipe is from Self Magazine it is called Vegetable Spaghetti
So all in all I have not been suffering it is actually fun to rise to the challenge of making food healthy, low calorie, and most important tasting good, because If it is not tasty there are a lot of fattening alternatives out there.
I have lost about 5 pounds and will continue on for about 4 more until all my clothes fit like they are suppose to.
I have been also going to the gym but recently my back has been hurting I think I may have pulled something on the rowing machine and pairing that with two very "pully" dogs I have been laying low and just stretching daily, but I am headed back next week.

BIRTHDAY DINNER

Last week I had a birthday and for the last few years Lars and I have a tradition of going out for our Birthdays to a restaurant we have not yet tried.
So this year I chose Chestnut on Smith Street right in the neighborhood I have heard very good things about it and they were all true.
I started out with a Buckwheat Crepe that was filled with farro and had a little pillbox of gravlox with a creme fraiche sauce. Lars had the sardines grilled on a bed of pickled veggies.
For my main course I chose Smoked Porkchop with a rhubarb sauce/salsa on a bed of bok choy
Lars had the Hangar Steak, with fingerlings, Valdeon and Red Wine.
For desert we shared lemon cheesecake served on a pink peppercorn shortbread w rhubarb sorbet,and Goat cheese caramel ice cream and a scoop of strawberry(I think they ran out of caramel)with a side of shortbread.
It was all delicious,and we did not leave stuffed but hoping to return soon.
I got some really cool things for my birthday but in regards to coking I received a new Mandoline, so I looking forward to new adventures with very thin veggies!!!

MORE RHUBARB

Still experimenting with Rhubarb and since our last batch of jam is gone decided to make a Rhubarb-Ginger Jam which both Lars and I agree is better than the first.
We very much enjoyed the Vanilla Rhubarb-but the vanilla was a bit overpowering
This jam allows for a more Rhubarb taste and though it is sweet (3 cups of sugar) the candied ginger cuts though most of that.
It tasted terrific on "Loretta's"(our new fave cafe across the street) croissants which are fresh out of the oven. I used no red food coloring it comes out a reddish color from the rhubarb. I also did not do the traditional hot bath-I boiled water and put the two jars I was using as well as their lids into the large pot and let them float in the boiling water for 5 minuets. I then poured in the finished somewhat cooled jam, let it cool some more in the jars, I then put the lids on and when I saw that the lids had created a dip (this info comes with canning jars) I put them in the frig. I used Bormioli Rocco canning glass jars. I got a medium size and a small size jar out of this recipe.

An old recipe for rhubarb jam with no added pectin.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups diced fresh rhubarb
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• red food coloring, if desired, for color

Preparation:

Combine rhubarb, sugar, ginger, and lemon juice in a large saucepan; let stand until sugar is moistened by juices, about 20 minutes. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring often, until thick and clear, about 15 minutes.

Skim off foam and add red food coloring if using. Ladle into hot sterilized canning jars and seal immediately. Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes; adjust seals.
Makes about 3 half-pints of rhubarb jam.

UGLY BREAD

I made a very ugly but oh so delicious rye caraway bread.
I got the recipe from "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger.
I have had the bread machine for quite a few years it was handed down to us by our family, and we have made bread from time to time, but it always the same shape and not always a success.
I saw a recipe that looked great after trying and failing to make another bread with just the dough cycle-I am going to give this recipe another try with just the dough cycle and see if I can bake it in the oven-and just let the bread machine do the time consuming part.
I am posting a pic of "Mr Ugly" but it tasted terrific so I will report back after I have done more experimenting with the dough cycle.

RHUBARB SEASON

Rhubarb season has just started here in the Northeast, I am trying to make a assortment of things using the very pretty deep pink stalks.
Last week I made Rhubarb and Strawberry jam a old standby. This week I made a very nice Rhubarb and Ginger Chutney. Both recipes I got from "The Nordic Diet"
by Trina Hahnemann

Both recipes are very simple and both came out really well. The jam has a surprise of vanilla that at first was a little bit jolting but I am now quite pleased with the taste,but I think for my next batch I will experiment with using 1/2 of a vanilla bean.
Doing some digging around I found out that you can freeze rhubarb just wash chop into smallish pieces and freeze in a container or freezer bag, and you can also freeze it already cooked down, that way you will have it all year round. You can buy rhubarb at local grocery stores-but thinking of your "footprint" getting it at the Greenmarket and freezing it seems like a good idea.

Here are the two recipes:

RHUBARB AND STRAWBERRY JAM

1 whole vanilla bean
300g fresh or frozen organic strawberries
300g rhubarb, cut into small pieces
100g raw organic sugar

I have a small scale so I just weigh in grams but 300 grams is approx 10.58 ounces.
100 grams equals approx 3.52 ounces.

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and place in a pan with the strawberries, rhubarb and sugar. Bring to a boil and let boil for 15 minutes. if it dries out a bit add a little water. Pour the hot jam into sterilized jars and seal tightly. Store in the refrigerator.
I boil water in a big pot and put in my jars and tops-it is easy. I have read recently that you can also take them out of a just finished batch from your dishwasher and you will be ok. I like to do it the old fashioned way. I use tongs to remove the jars.


RHUBARB-GINGER CHUTNEY

300g rhubarb cut into small pieces
100g grated ginger (I used 50g and it was very "gingeree")
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
100g sugar
1 tbsp while wine vinegar

The conversions can be found in the recipe above.
Place all ingredients for the chutney in a saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes. Season and add more sugar to taste, if necessary(I did not). Let it cool down and place in sterilized jars.

I served the chutney with a pork loin roast that had a fennel seed, garlic and rosemary paste that I placed into small slits in the meat. I also made roasted potatoes. It was a great meal!