My Abilene Health : Healthy Recipes
Recipe for Garlic Soup
Next time you have a cold, beat back the sniffles with this Cuban take on soup for what ails you. When whisking in the eggs at the end be sure to use a rapid motion to prevent the eggs from cooking into one thick chunk.
Recipe for Rice-lentil Porridge
The green lentils in this recipe actually are dried, split mung beans that are quick-cooking and an excellent source of protein. The optional curry leaves have a flavor a bit like mild curry powder with hints of pepper and citrus. Look for them in Indian and Asian food markets.
Recipes for shrimp and wild salmon
Shop carefully for seafood that's been harvested in a responsible manner, then make the most of it by giving it star billing in boldly flavored dishes such as these from Paul Johnson's "Fish Forever" (Wiley, 2007, $34.95).
Cooking for two
For the parents of younger children, this is the time of year when the calendar once again becomes inked with school schedules, sports practices, music lessons, PTNO meetings and on and on. But for parents of older children off to college, it can mean the proverbial "empty nest," which translates at dinnertime into "table for two."
Recipes for making the most of honey
Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is an opporunity to let your sweet tooth reign. Honey is considered symbolic of wishes for a sweet year to come. Here it is used in a braise for beef and as the dominant flavor in a moist cake.
Recipes for preserving fresh herbs
Have a freezer full of preserved herbs? Here's a couple simple recipes for putting them to good use.
THE HEALTHY PLATE: Bulk up your burger for flavor and healthy eating
When it comes to ground beef, the flavor is all in the fat.
Which can be a problem is you're trying to stick with a healthy diet. Yet eating right doesn't have to condemn you to a dry, flavorless burger.
ON THE TABLE: Recipe for Pesto Baba Ghanoush
Make use of the grill and prepared pesto to create an effortless baba ghanoush, an eggplant puree popular in the Middle East. Any eggplant variety works, but be sure to reduce cooking time if using slender Asian varieties.
Enjoy garden-fresh zucchini all year long
I'm in mourning. For the first time in many years, I have no zucchini squash in my garden.
On a roll with sushi
You see them in markets -- colorful, tidy little rolls of rice, seafood and vegetables. They make for perfect hot-weather eating, being light, healthful, cold and tasty. But they tend to be a bit pricey and hard to afford for a crowd.
ON THE TABLE: Short recipes that are easy to swallow
Seasonal radishes, such as the multicolored Easter egg variety, are wonderfully sweet and more tender than the more common red radishes sold year round at the grocer. But any variety will shine in this salad.
Toward more rapturous wraps and sublime salads
Can you stomach one more flatbread wrapped around raw veggies or yet another heaping pile of mesclun?
THE HEALTHY PLATE: Have your fried foods and a healthy diet, too
Fish tacos are extremely popular in coastal areas of Mexico, and it's no wonder.
Bagged or Bunched, Baby Spinach Makes for Quick and Simple Meals
Whether you buy it bagged or bunched, baby spinach is a simple and speedy way to add greens to your meal.
Recipe for Grilled Thai Chicken Breasts
he intense, dry heat of the grill can be a chicken breast's worst enemy.
Update traditions for the Fourth of July
When it comes to July 4 celebrations, we are, as a nation, all over the map.
Recipes for seafood on the grill
Not ready to tackle a side of beef or spit-roasted pig? Start with something a little easier, a salmon steak marinated in saffron-infused vodka and citrus juice, then drizzled with basil olive oil.
THE HEALTHY PLATE: Pork tenderloin _ good and good for you
Though its name is practically synonymous with bad health, pork doesn't have to be banished from a good-for-you diet.
Western griller? Ranch steak? Meet the new meat cuts
It's no secret that grocery stores are adding coffee bars, mouthwatering boulangeries, even sushi bars in hopes of wooing increasingly discerning consumers who want high-quality food without hours of preparation.
THE HEALTHY PLATE: Tricks for working with tofu
Once relegated to the crunchy and ethnic fringe, tofu has moved solidly into the mainstream.
THE HEALTHY PLATE: Salad dressings you'll love
Take your dressing on the side? Never!
At least, there's never a need when you make your own healthy versions.
Easier than you think to make delightful, deli-quality bagels rat home
It's easy to dismiss bagels as a why-bother sort of baking project.
After all, it has been many years since the best bagel outside New York was frozen and bagged. The proliferation of excellent bagel shops has left few corners of this country starved for quality specimens.
ON THE TABLE: Banana Martini
These days just about anything sipped from a conical glass can be called a martini. This sweet version combines banana nectar, vodka and vanilla liqueur for a refreshing take on this popular cocktail.
THE HEALTHY PLATE: How to cut fat in meat, but not flavor
Let's face it, when it comes to ground meat, fat adds flavor. But cutting fat doesn't have to condemn a dish to tastelessness.
Kabob? Kebab? Food on a stick spells weeknight fun
It's hard not to love food on sticks. We're talking kabobs (also kebab, kabob, kebbab, kebap or kabab), as in pieces of meat, fish, poultry and/or vegetables skewered and grilled.
THE HEALTHY PLATE: Upside-down pear gingerbread makeover for Easter brunch
Celebrate without a cake? Never.
Cakes have been central to celebrations throughout history, from the obvious birthdays and weddings to the equally worthy anniversaries and festivals. So why leave out Easter, especially when the right cake can make the perfect brunch.
THE HEALTHY PLATE: For a simple side dish this spring, think asparagus
When spring weather is just right, an asparagus stalk can grow as much as 10 inches a day.
Fight food fatigue: Asian-inspired wrap offers new life for the omnipresent chicken breast
The boneless, skinless chicken breast is suffering some serious food fatigue.
Sure, it has a well-earned reputation as the go-to ingredient for healthy, speedy eating. And for good reason. Chicken breasts cook quickly and easily, do well with just about any flavor or seasoning, and are virtually fat-free.
A sweet _ and still healthy _ touch to barbecue sauce
The most important thing to remember about healthful cooking _ if it doesn't taste great, it doesn't get eaten.
Black-eyed peas create a healthy spread rich with vegetables
You've got to love beans.
First, they are delicious, filling and go well with just about any flavoring. Second, most beans are low in fat and brimming with nutrients, providing an excellent source of protein, folic acid, magnesium and iron, as well as numerous good-for-you phytochemicals.
Smoked mackerel and light cream cheese provide rich base for light veggie wrap
Some fat-free foods just aren't worth eating. Cream cheese is among them.
Which isn't to say a food has to be brimming with saturated fats (or any other kind) to be good. But some ingredients lose so much in the transition to fat-free that maybe going all the way isn't such a good idea.
Spring lamb can be a healthy way to welcome the season
Lamb, long considered a harbinger of spring, too often gets a bad rap.
Pittsburgh suburban schools put 'mystery fat' in ranch dressing _ and the kids like it
It isn't mystery meat _ it's more like mystery fat. And the kids in the Plum Borough School District have been eating it and liking it.