One, Two, Three …

If you ask 10 people “what constitutes healthy cooking and eating?” you may get 10 answers. I have dear friends who’ve adopted the South Beach diet, various renditions of Atkins, raw food only consumption (I sooo cannot go there), a cancer prevention diet that doesn’t allow any oil (not even cold pressed) and more. My own thoughts are less rule oriented and based more on moderation with a heavy dose of fresh veggies, fruits, whole grains and few processed foods.

 However, I’m as busy as the next person and I do sometimes rely on canned and packaged ingredients. If I think it’s basically healthy, do I include it in the Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent  blog hop? Right now, I’ll go with a yes although a specification is the recipe does not rely much on packaged foods. Edward de Bono, author 6 Thinking Hats, cautions “If you never change your mind, why have one?”

The LA Times Top 10 underappreciated superfoods highlighted:  “Did you know that a can of tomatoes is loaded with vitamin C, fiber, potassium and iron? What makes these ruby gems even more special is their rich load of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that becomes more available to your body when it is cooked. Lycopene has a host of benefits, including inactivating free radicals, protecting against cancer and slowing the development of atherosclerosis which leads to heart disease. Stir canned tomatoes into pasta dishes, soups, stews, curries, casseroles, Mexican dishes and side dishes for delicious, nutritious comfort.” So, without more ado, canned tomatoes plus two ingredients is going to get you a great sauce.

Now, I do take a detour from the original Marcela Hazan’s Essentials of Italian Cooking recipe. A friend who moved to London was always stopping at Costco when in the states to pick up her box of tomatoes stewed with Oregano and Basil because that’s how she liked to make this recipe. It’s the way I roll as well.

• Two 14.5 or one 28-ounce can Stewed Italian recipe tomatoes with their juice    <If you are lucky enough to have your own tomatoes, then skip the cans and use 2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes (skin and simmer 10 minutes OR simmer and run through food mill) to make the original Marcella recipe>
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter – this is KEY, do not substitute oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half (so you see the layers like rings of a tree)

Place this all in a saucepan and simmer about 45 minutes. Then remove the onion (either toss, or if you’re a fan, cut and munch it up while doing other tasks).  I like to take out the stick blender after I’ve removed the onion and blend up about half the sauce, leaving some good bits. That’s it – you have a light tomato sauce that tastes like something your favorite restaurant might have pulled together from garden fresh tomatoes. This is not a thick sauce and certainly nothing like what you get in a jar from the store. Serve over your favorite pasta with a dose of fresh grated cheese. Once you’ve tried it – your mind will soar with its possibilities; I’m debating on doing a batch without the herbs and blending it simply as a luscious tomato soup.

If you search Google on this recipe, you will find oodles of food bloggers and experts over the years extolling the virtues and varieties of this sauce. I am not the first. Butter is what makes it roll over your tongue and satisfy your taste more than any ingredient. Marcella was brilliant when she added it to this sauce. 

Cold slithering through you? Have some Carrot Cardamom Soup

When that cold damp sensation starts slithering through my bones so that I feel chilled from the inside out – there is only one thing to do. Put on a pot of soup. Well, two things, light a fire and put on a pot of soup. But, for this post it’s all about the soup. This superior low fat, low sodium recipe is adapted from one by the California Culinary Academy. I swap out their chicken stock for vegetable stock and decrease the amount of stock substantially so that I have a much thicker soup. Doubling the recipe increases the cooking time (I generally cook up a recipe and a half). The main thing about the cooking time is that you do want your carrots to be cooked well through. Otherwise, unless you use a juicer strength blender, your cream soup would be a tad gritty. No “al dente” carrots. A light crunch is good when they’re a side dish, not so much if you want a creamy soup. I also always start with the regular size carrots as I find them more flavorful – the mini peeled ones always taste a bit watery to me. Depending on my mood, I may also increase the amount orange rind for that fresh flavor it brings. As you’re adding the sherry at the beginning of cooking, the alcohol will burn off (kiddies won’t notice the flavor, for them I’d watch amount of cardamom). The sherry allows you to sauté the onions and carrots with much less oil. This soup has about 83 calories per cup, yet tastes so rich and hearty.

Carrot Cardamom Soup with Sherry

Adapted from the California Culinary Academy recipe

1 1/2 Cup chopped onion

1 1/2 TBL garlic (smooshed with back of knife or minced)

2 tsp oil

2/3 cup dry sherry

4 Cups sliced carrots

4 Cups low sodium stock (veggie or chicken)

2/3 Cup water

2 tsp cardamom

1 Cup lowfat or nonfat plain yogurt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp grated orange peel

In your stockpot, sauté onion and garlic in oil and sherry until the onion is transparent (about 10 minutes, do not brown). Add the carrots, stir, put a lid on and cook about 8 minutes, periodically stirring. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes (again stir occasionally).  This is where you want to be sure to test your carrot slices – no crunch! I slice mine thinly in my 4 Cup Cuisinart. If you hand slice, your slices will be thicker and take more time to cook. Add cardamom, nutmeg, yogurt and orange rind. Puree (stick blender or do in batches in counter style blender). Taste. If you like add more orange rind or cardamom. Warm through and serve. If you want to be fancy, place a tablespoon of yogurt in the center of the bowl and grate some fresh nutmeg just over that area. This soup is good both warm for these wintry nights and cold for your summer entertaining. This recipe makes ~6 two cup servings (as an appetizer to a large meal, you’d use just one cup and it’ll go further).

Kitchen tip – if you’re using a Cuisinart to slice your carrots – run your onion through first and the thin slices will cook pretty quickly.  Then, slice some extra carrots while you’re doing them. Store in a tightly covered bowl and sprinkle them over your salads or, my favorite, toss in with boiling pasta in those last 5 minutes of cooking so you get a bit of extra veggie in your pasta dish, no hassle.

Clouds and Light for Sunday

The rain’s been sniveling all day after screaming with passion throughout the night. Nature’s begun her unimaginative winter rut of rain, rain, rain, tiny glimpse of sun, more rain in Northern California. We’re not allowed to really complain with the threat of drought always on our horizon. For those of us lower than snow levels, the end of December through March means cold damp rain (as opposed to May through November – then we might not see a drop). When the sun does peek out, we all understand Shakespeare’s analogy “Love Comforteth like Sunshine after Rain” (Henry VI). Those glimpses of sunshine are coveted and seem to warm to the bone. Above you see some folks are not yet blessed with the cessation of rain for the evening.

Love the play of light on clouds. My meager efforts were able to capture a few visions I’ll keep. Composition may not be perfect as I’m working with the limited venues available from the back deck.

The touch of light on the trees lets you know dusk is near.

Still playing with light.

So yes it’s clichéd, and yes regardless I lit a nice fire and have been humming about the house “Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful”. What can I say – I like a good fire, I like to sing while I work. It’s a perfect day for having the oven on and staying inside – in honor of my “more good grains in 2011” resolution, I threw together a batch of my favorite cornbread muffins (blogged with recipe here– note in the large muffin tins it only makes 6) and curled up with a my fav bev – halfway between a latte and cappuccino (more milk than one and less than the other). Once this is posted, it’s off to a corner with a blankie and a good book.