More Muffins

These are more fruity muffins but follow the same guidelines of the Poppy Seed in terms of mixing.

Ingredients

'Dry'
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
A couple shakes of Nutmeg

'Wet'

3/4 cup nonfat yogurt

2-3 cups fruit (I use blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. If frozen thaw first and add juice as well)

1-2 tsp Lime Juice
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (You could also substitute 6 tbs. canola oil if you want a lower fat recipe, or even try a half stick butter, or part shortening and part butter)

Mix it up!
Preheat oven to 400 and put muffin cups in muffin tins (or grease muffin tins with butter or canola oil).

Mix all dry ingredients in bowl. Mix all wet ingredients, except yogurt, in another bowl. Add wet to dry and stir until just mixed. Add yogurt, first half and then a bit at a time. The goal here is not to make the batter too runny and stop if it gets too close to pancake batter. You want it lumpy in a way that falls off a spoon slowly. The X factor here is the fruit; if it is not too juicy, then more yogurt may be needed, if frozen, then less.

Add to muffin tins/cups until about just below the top.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Meatballs (Cheapballs)

These are some pretty easy meatballs, inspired by Bittman, and I made both meat and veggie versions. Measurements are approximate.

Whatcha need...

Parmesan/Romano Cheese - 1/2 cup

Bread crumbs (or chopped bread) - 1/2 cup

Parsley, chopped fine - 1/2 cup

Egg - 1

Halloumi cheese - 3/4 cup

Chives (or scallions) - 1/4 cup

Ground Pepper - 1 tsp

Oil for frying

Meat version

Ground Meat (I used Turkey) - 3/4 lb

Veggie version

Hummus - 2 tbs

Baba Ghannoush - 2 tbsp

Now what?

Chop fine all of first set of ingredients and mix well in a bowl. If you are making both veggie and meat, then mix some of mixture with the meat and some with the hummus and baba. Form into small balls and fry in oil until well-browned. You can throw them in a 350 oven if you have too many for just one batch.

Eat with cous cous, salad, polenta, or other vehicle. They would also be good in a wrap or pita.

Pretty Good 'Fall' Soup

I got the idea for this from a American Institute for Cancer Research email. It is pretty straightforward and keeps well. Add a little less of the herbs if dry, a little more if fresh.

What you need

Rice (wild, brown, white in order of tastiness) 1/2 cup

Stock or broth (Chicken, vegetable, and mushroom all worked) 2 Qts

Leeks - 3

Garlic - 2 cloves

Onion - 1 small

Celery - 3 stalks

Potatoes - 2 medium sized

Carrots - 2-3 medium

Rosemary - 1 tbs

Dill - 1/2 tbs

Sage - 1/2 tbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil - 1 tbs

Start Cookin'

Chop all vegetables into soup sized pieces. Start sauteing all vegetables in oil in a pot that will hold everything. Cook for a few minutes and then add broth. Bring to a boil and then add rice. Turn to simmer. Stir every few minutes and when rice is done, add all spices, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 5 more minutes. Enjoy with fresh bread and salad.

Baked Chicken/Tempeh with Almonds

This was a tasty main dish that was pretty straight forward. A marinade ahead of time and a quick bake & broil. It went well with rice, but would also be good with pilaf or potatoes.

Ingredients

Chicken, breast or thighs, sliced in thick strips OR

Tempeh, sliced in same

Marinade (for 2-3 breasts/12 oz. tempeh)

Juice of 1 lemon

Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Oregano - tsp or tbsp fresh

Thyme - ditto

Basil - ditto

Salt - 1 tsp

Pepper - 1 tsp

Ground Hot pepper - 1/2 tsp

Topping

Ground almonds - 1/4 cup

Corn meal - 1/4 cup

Flour - 2 tbsp

Paprika - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp

On with the show...

Prepare chix or tempeh and place in bag with all marinade ingredients. Squish around to coat. Let sit in fridge for 1 to 12 hours.

Preheat oven to 375. Mix topping ingredients in small bowl. Put a little olive oil in a baking pan. Place tempeh/chix in single layer in pan and add marinade. Coat with 1/2 of the topping. Turn over strips gently and coat with the other 1/2. This is a bit messy.

Bake for about 25 minutes to 1/2 hour. Then broil to brown for 2-3 minutes.

Carfoutis

This is a slightly lower fat riff on a Bittman riff from NYT magazine Sept/11.

Ingredients

Fresh soft fruit - 4-6 cups (I used pluots, but he suggested cherries, or peaches)

1/2 & 1/2 - 1/2 cup

Rice milk (or milk) - 2/3 cup

(Yogurt or sour cream optional: 1/3 cup)

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Flour - 1/3 to 1/2 cup

Corn starch - 1 tbsp

Eggs - 3

Vanilla extract (he suggested almond extract) - 1 tsp

Topping

Almonds, or other nuts, chopped or ground - 1/4 cup

Whipped cream - As desired!

To make...

Preheat oven to 350. Slice fruit and place in buttered 8x8 baking dish. Mix all other ingredients in blender until smooth. Pour slowly over the fruit. Top with nut mixture. Bake for 40 minutes. Top with whipped cream.

Chai

What could be more soothing, more warming for the soul than a cup of chai. Here is one recipe that works pretty well. As usual, there are infinite variations! Use tea that is not flavored, Irish Breakfast, Red Rose, etc. unless it is Chai flavored ;)

Ingredients
Water by the quart
Black Tea 2-3 bags or equivalent per quart
Sugar 1/4 to 1/3 cup per quart
Cardamom 1/2 tsp per quart
Allspice 1/2 tsp per quart
Black Pepper 1/4 tsp per quart
Milk 1 cup per quart

What to Do
Toss all ingredients EXCEPT milk into pot, stir, and bring to a boil. Add 1/3 of the milk and bring to a boil again. Add 1/3 of the milk and bring to a boil again. Add the last 1/3 milk and bring to a boil for a final time. Remove from heat.

Enjoy!

Save the extra in the fridge to drink later.