Sweet Potato Fries-- Just like the South, but not!

So I don't have a working heater in my house, and the space heaters are sold out. Thankfully, this gives me an excuse turn on the oven to warm myself up.

And there's nothing better on a cold winter weekend than warming up with some good, old fashioned comfort food like sweet potato fries. The difference? These fries are not fried, but baked. They also have a touch of added protein, and are nearly fat free. And they are absolutely delicious as a guilt-free comfort food!
For the savory option: I also make these with 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp dried oregano instead of the sugar and cinnamon.

Step 1: Cut the sweet potato into thin slices.

Step 2: Dip the sweet potato slices in egg white mixed with cinnamon and sugar. Then bake.
Now I only need to learn self-control. *wink* 

So... Now you want to know how to make it? Here's the recipe. Munch, munch, munch...

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Makes two servings per sweet potato.
Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato, sliced into sticks or wedges
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp sugar (optional, but if sugar is wanted, splenda also works well as a calorie-free replacement)
• enough oil to coat the baking sheet

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil and spray lightly with oil.
2. Place sweet potato sticks on a microwave-safe plate and cook for 1-2 minutes or until they’re flexible.
3. In a shallow bowl or container, whisk egg whites cinnamon and sugar together. Toss sweet potato sticks in mixture but drain off drips before placing them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip pieces and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes more.

Nutrition Facts for 1/2-cup of sweet potato fries:
80 total calories, 15g total carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 1 g protein, 1g fat
(1 Carbohydrate, 0 Fat, and 0 protein exchanges)

Apple Chips

When your parents go to a farming community known for its apple orchards, and they get awed and excited by wall-to-wall apples, the results might sometimes be overwhelming. In my case, the situation is alarming.

My parents returned from Apple Hill in Northern California with two cases (approximately 18 lbs) of apples mixed between Fuji and Granny Smith varieties. I've had two apples every day for the last 2 weeks, and I'm really getting sick of them. Meanwhile, I am bringing home persimmons from friends that want me to make them into persimmon chips for a healthy snack, so I decided last night to try making chips from a few of the apples I've got.
I use usually the mandoline attachment for my food processor to slice the apples horizontally. But you can also purchase a small mandoline slicer for cheap.

Here's my Cuisinart food processor, with the regular blade removed and the mandoline slicer blade attached.

The horizontal cross section of the apple makes a cute little star shape where the seeds would be, and the slicer can slice directly through the seeds, so you only need to shake off any seeds and bake the slices for a couple hours. These apple chips are a great treat for little kids because of the rewarding little star in the center. :-) One small apple makes approximately 15 chips.

Soon I'll post another nice snack with baked apples (and an elegant appetizer with white wine or sparkling cider) involves roasting them with honey, cheese and fresh sprig of spice.

So here's the recipe for apple chips

Ingredients:

• 4 small granny smith or fuji apples

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees, or 200 degrees on convection if your oven is capable.
2. Thinly slice off the top and bottom of the apple, and peel the skin off with a potato peeler.
3. Using a mandolin or food processor attachment, slice the apples into thin 1/16 inch thickness (you can use a knife for this process, but for me it takes some time, and I have trouble getting my slices a uniform thickness, so I prefer to use the machine)
4. Place them on trays with holes for adequate ventilation, my version looks like flimsy aluminum chicken wire, but it works. Dry them in the oven for around 1 hour and 45 minutes, rotating the trays after the first 45-60 minutes of drying so they all cook evenly(if you use a convection setting on the oven, rotating is unnecessary).

You can buy grilling trays/pans for drying food or making chips in the oven here (I waited until spring for grillling season and found some at the dollar store).

Nutrition facts for a serving size of around 12 chips:
60 calories, 15gm net carbs, 4gm fiber, 0g fat, 0g protein (1 diabetic carbohydrate exchange, 0 fat and 0 protein exchanges)

Persimmon Overload?

I guess it's obvious what fruits are in season at the moment! We're starting to get colder, in need of some warming up, so I felt the need to make use of my persimmons in a healthful, non-traditional dessert format. I'm getting tired of pie, cake, cookies and pudding. So I started by pureeing persimmons, and eating some before the idea of a nice, hot baked treat popped up in my head-- in a 6oz ramekin, just the right size for my little belly. I hoped to enhance the flavor of my persimmons and cut their sweetness with a little spice, and imagined that the ginger would give it just the right kick! Cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla are all too common this time of year, so I'll pass on those for now! If you are looking for other non-traditional healthy uses for your fruit desserts this season, try Spiced Poached Pears, apple chips, apples baked with cheese and honey, or a sorbet using your fall and winter fruits.

Persimmon-Ginger Soufflé with homemade persimmon chips!!

• 1 1/2 cups low fat 2% milk
• 1 tablespoon minced, peeled fresh ginger
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 small persimmons, diced
• 8 large egg whites

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. In medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to boiling.
• Place the ginger in a cheese cloth or a tea strainer. Add ginger to the milk, remove pan from heat, cover, and let steep 30 minutes.

• 

  Milk should become foamy while whisking over the heat.

• Discard the ginger from the milk, and set aside.
• To purée the persimmons, dice them into small cubes so they are small enough for the blender to handle. Add 2 tbsp water, and purée on high until they are smooth.
• In large nonreactive bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 4 tablespoons of sugar.
• Whisk in flour until well combined. Gradually add hot milk, whisking constantly to prevent it from curdling.
• Return yolk mixture to saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until custard boils and thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, around 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer to large bowl, whisk in the puréed persimmon, and set aside.
• Beat egg whites until foamy and slightly opaque. With mixer running, add remaining 4 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat until stiff but not dry.

I buy egg whites, and they work perfectly well.

• Fold 1/3 of egg whites into persimmon mixture to lighten, then add mixture to remaining whites, folding in gently but thoroughly.
• Butter 8 6-ounce ramekins. 
• Spoon batter into ramekins, filling almost to the top, and lightly run finger around inside rim to create a "moat." Place ramekins in large baking pan, and arrange the baking pan on the middle oven rack and add hot water around ramekins as deep as you can make it.

Before cooking!

After cooking!

• Bake until soufflés have risen well above the rim and tops are golden brown, about 45 minutes.
• Garnish with sifted powdered sugar and a persimmon chip for a zazzy little dish to make you and your guests giggle with delight!

Happy Fall!
Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts for one 6-oz ramekin:
137 total calories, 13gm total carbohydrate, 2gm fiber, 10gm protein, 5gm fat
(1 Carbohydrate (1 NET carb), 01 Fat, and 1.5 protein exchanges)

Make your own yogurt

Like most things homemade, yogurt you make yourself is better for so many reasons:

• It's better for you (no preservatives, sugar or chemicals added) 
• The bacteria are active, so you can be sure that your yogurt has active probiotics 
• It's less expensive 
• It tastes amazing 
• There's no packaging to waste (or to try to find ways to save and reuse) 

Plus, you only need a cooking thermometer and a container with a tightly fitting lid. There's no need to buy any special equipment.

Ingredients:

• 1 Half gallon of milk 
• 2-3 Tbs of plain yogurt (as a starter) 
• 1 8-10 Qt stock pot 
• 1 4-5 Qt pot with lid 
• 1 Metal or plastic spoon (so you can sterilize it) 
• 1 Dial thermometer (it should have a range of at least 100°-185°F, and ideally, a clip for your pot's rim) 

Notes:
However much milk you use, is how much yogurt you will get in return: using 1/2 gal milk gives you 1/2 gal yogurt. You can use regular, reduced or non fat milk, but with nonfat milk, your yogurt will likeky turn out too watery. My sister adds whey protein powder to thicken the fat free milk during cooking and add extra protein.
For your first batch, you will need to purchase plain yogurt with active cultures, like Dannon, Pavels, or Stoneyfield (all future batches you will use your own). Alternatively, you may use freeze-dried yogurt starter cultures.

Step 1-- Make a Double Boiler:
You can skip this step and boil the milk directly in a pot-- but if you do, you have much higher chances to burn the milk on the bottom before it has the chance to heat fully.

1. Create a double boiler by putting the smaller 4-Qt pot inside the larger 8-qt one, and fill the larger one about halfway with water to create a water-jacket effect. 
2. Put a lid on the smaller pot, and heat the water in the big pot (surrounding the smaller pot) until boiling. 
3. Sterilize your thermometer and a tablespoon by putting them in the boiling water for about 15 seconds and removing them. 

Step 2-- Sterilize Your Milk:

• Fill the small pot with milk. Make sure the level of water is at about the same line as the level of milk in the smaller pot. This will ensure the milk is heated evenly. 
• Clip your thermometer to the inside of the milk pot, stir frequently, and wait until the temperature reaches 185F. 
• Once the temperature reaches 185F, remove it from the double boiler and let it cool. 
• Note: The milk will naturally create a type of skin on the top of the milk as its heating and cooling. Try to leave the skin as intact as possible (this skin is like a natural barrier against airborne bacteria from getting inside the milk, so if you don't have a lid on the pot as its heating or while it cools, this layer becomes super helpful)

Step 3-- Cool Your Milk:

• While the milk is heating, you can prepare a cold water bath in your sink using another 8-qt pot or extra large bowl. You may want to add ice to help the cooling process. 
• After the milk has reached 185F, remove it from the boiling water, turn off the heat, and transfer the hot milk to the ice water bath. 
• Keep the thermometer inside, and continue stirring the milk until the temperature reduces to 110F. At this temperature, the bacterial cultures will be able to consume the lactose and grow. 
• Remove the sterile milk from the ice water bath. 

Step 4: Prepare and Add Your Yogurt Culture:

• Prepare your yogurt culture by removing some of your warm, sterile milk and adding it to your yogurt starter to dilute it. This makes the yogurt more watery so it disperses better in the milk. 
• Add your diluted yogurt culture to the pot of 110-degree milk. 
• Stir the yogurt culture and warm milk with your sanitized spoon. 

Step 5: Incubate it and Give it Time:

• Place the lid on the pot, making sure it fits tightly so heat will not escape. 
• Wrap the pot in warm towels to help ensure that the mixture stays a more constant temperature or decreases in temperature more slowly. 
• Place your newly cultured milk in a warm, consistant-temperature area (I use the oven when off and barely warm as the incubator in my house). 
• Hold the pot in this situation for 6-8 hours, or overnight. Refrigerate your finished yogurt for use! 

* to make a second batch, just reserve a small amount of yogurt from this successful batch so you don't need to buy yogurt cultures again from the store.

Persimmon Chips

So persimmon season is upon us, and as a result, a friend gave me bucketfuls of Fuyu persimmons from their tree. Having not tried persimmons before, I was gleefully filling bags of persimmons to take home. Because you can't go wrong with free food, am I right? 
Wrong! My family protested strongly when my heavy sack of persimmons was brought in-- apparently, not one of my family members enjoys the flavor of persimmons.  I was feeling helpless at that point-- the sudden fright of knowing that I selfishly hoarded pounds of persimmons without having a plan of what I'd do with them, brought on my guilty thoughts: I have struck a beautiful fruit useless. Given my scale-able sadness, I decided to try to eat one myself. Disappointingly, there is no fruit that I adore less than persimmons. 

I paced about the house for a couple days, wondering what I'd do with them, given that nobody really likes them. I pondered the idea of pureeing them and making a persimmon custard or pie, or even a persimmon souffle as I've done with yams in previous years. All, however seemed trite, and in addition, my family protested. After making apple chips a week before with apples that we bought in bulk and found going bad, it struck me to try Fuyu persimmon chips! To the dismay and outcries from the naysayers in my family, I replied, 'Yes, darn it! Chips!' 
Using the mandolin attachment that came with our food processor, the beauty of the persimmon chip was born. The novelty I discovered was that when the persimmon is sliced vertically, it appears to have a lightly colored line down the center. But when cut laterally, however, the light line transforms into the shape of a star/sand dollar! 
I placed the slices in the oven on a wire mesh grilling tray my parents had found at the dollar store many months before. This tray I've found very valuable in drying many of my excess fruits in the oven, and also in making chips of other types. 

I left them in the oven for around 1 hour and 15 minutes. The result was a crisp, sweet sand dollar chip! 
My friends liked them so much, one of my very good friends brought her own persimmons over to make more chips. 

Before last year, I had not known that there are two kinds of persimmons: the Fuyu, the kind you can eat right away, and the Hachiya, the horribly bitter kind you can't eat until they are very mushy. To tell the difference between them without being traumatized by the astringency, its easiest to note that the Fuyu are flatter, more pancake shaped, and the Hachiya are more oblong, similar in shape to a Roma tomato.  In any case, to make these persimmon chips, I found it easiest to use the Fuyu persimmons, because they are more firm when ripe, and they ripen sooner. I tried slicing the Hachiya persimmons when ripe and it became just a mushy mess! 



By the way, I believe I've found the only way my family will eat persimmons (aside from the souffle)!


The recipe is as follows:

Persimmon Chips
Ingredients: 

5 fuyu persimmons, washed with leafy tops removed


Directions: 

1. Slice persimmons laterally (across the fattest width of the persimmon) to 1/8 inch thickness
2. Place chips on a wire mesh tray, like a grilling tray or metal cooling rack that breathes. 
3. Bake in the oven at 200F for 2 hours and 15 minutes, or to the firmness that you desire.  

Some notes: 

• Thinner persimmon slices should be separated and baked on a separate tray because they require less cooking time (say 45 minutes for 1/16 inch thickness)
• There may be no need to oil the baking tray. The trays I used were aluminum, not nonstick, but the chips were easy to remove from the trays.
• After arranging my persimmons on the tray, I also tried sprinkling them with cinnamon and sugar, and a variant with cinnamon and Splenda (sucralose), both with wonderful results after baking. 
• These chips I've found taste wonderful with desserts containing nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon, but also pair well with other flavors like orange, ginger, and anise. 

For now I've exhausted my supply of persimmons, but I have great plans of a persimmon chip comeback, maybe using them as a garnish over pudding with a orange zest and ginger, or with a spice cake! For more unique ways to use persimmons, see my persimmon ginger souffle!


Meanwhile, you can take home the recipe, here!

Poached D'Anjou Pears with Spice Glaze

A quick dessert that I often fall back on uses simply pears and whole spices that I usually have on hand and rarely use. The preparation takes around 10 minutes to cut the pears, cooking requires around 20 minutes of simply ignoring it, and to serve, arrange these on a platter and garnish. Instead of using D'Anjou pears, you can use a smaller, skinnier, more brown-skinned pear called the Bosc pear. I like to use the bosc pear because of its darker color and better contrast for a fancier dessert presentation. But in a more laid-back setting, D'Anjou pears are great, and also easy to find!

Sometimes I get myself confused with the type of pear to use in cooking, but of the more common types, the Bosc and the d'Anjou pears are easier to cook. Here is a fabulous article describing some of the more common types of pears and their uses.

Poached D'Anjou Pears with Spice Glaze
Serves 8 (where one serving is 1/2 pear)

Ingredients:

• 1/2c sugar
• 4c water
• 4 pieces Star anise
• 1 TB peppercorns
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, opened, with seeds scraped out
• vanilla bean seeds (approx 1/2tsp)
• 2 TB fresh ginger root, sliced thinly
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2c honey
• 1 tsp whole green cardamom pods
• 4 d'anjou pears
• 1 TB corn starch
• Vanilla ice cream, or berry sorbet, and ground nutmeg for garnish

Directions

1. Wash and slice pears in half vertically down the length of the stem.  
2. Using a melon baller, grapefruit spoon or shrimp fork, scoop out seeds.

1. Mix water, sugar and spices together in a 8qt pot. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling.
2. Once the water begins to boil, add the pear halves. Cover the pot and let simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Gently scoop the pears out of the boiling water. Place them on a serving tray, cut-side up.
4. For your spiced glaze, reduce heat to medium and continue simmering.  Remove 1/2c of the boiling sauce and cool to the touch by placing it in a freezer for 5 minutes. 
5. Add the cornstarch to this reserved spice mixture, and mix well until no cornstarch lumps remain. 
6. Add this to your simmering spice sauce, and stir constantly until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.
7. Garnish pears by placing a teaspoonful of goat cheese in each pear and topping it with first the hot spice sauce and then some freshly ground nutmeg.

Nutrition Facts for one half pear with 1 TB glaze:
89 total calories, 22 gm total carbohydrate, 2gm fiber, 0 gm protein, 1gm fat
(1 Carbohydrate (1 NET carb), 0 Fat, and 0 protein exchanges)

Moroccan Braised Lamb Shanks

When I get the itch to pamper myself, and a sincere itch to cook, I'll do something with lamb.  Its not easy to find fresh lamb meat, usually its frozen, and not often halal. But when an opportunity arises to get good, grass-fed fresh lamb meat, I definitely suggest you do it quickly. Lamb has a slight game-like flavor, similar to goat and deer meat, but it is a few degrees milder, but also lamb that is farm-raised is degrees less gamey than its grass-fed counterpart. I prefer to use lamb over beef in most dishes, including those with ground meat.

I love lamb because it has a heavy, warm flavor, that even after a bite I feel pampered when I need it most. It is rich and delicious.  But be forewarned, lamb is a very fatty type of meat. 

Lamb shanks as they begin to boil with water, browned onions, garlic, and spices. 

With my family's history of a lemon surplus, I even had to preserve a lot of my extra lemons. I adapted a method that I got from the whole foods store, and made my own recipe for preserved lemons here.
Combining my love of lamb with an overabundance of and passion for lemons, I made a beautiful braised lamb shank. This dish involves a lot of time and nursing. You can be passively revisiting your pot every 30 minutes or so, but you should be nearby. After starting my dish, I ran a few errands at the post office, came back to turn my lamb, responded to a couple emails, returned to turn the lamb, cut my vegetables, returned to turn the lamb, etc. If you start at 3pm, you'll have dinner by around 7-7:30. Do this on your days off from work! Otherwise, you'll eat dinner at 10pm and die from exhaustion! I paired the lamb with sauteed fingerling potatoes and my recipe for roasted beets.

This dish pairs well with rice flavored with saffron and turmeric(not pictured) or some pan-fried potatoes seasoned with allspice and roasted beets. 

Hang in there, if you don't like lamb but love lemon, I'll give you other recipes to make with the preserved lemons, like one with chicken & olives, or I'll have more on my post about preserved lemons.

Moroccan Lamb shank with Vegetables and Preserved Lemons
Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp saffron threads
• 1 tsp allspice
• 3 lamb shanks
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Preserved Lemon, thinly sliced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into coin shape.
• 2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-circles

Directions:

1. Use a wide, ideally shallow pot for this dish. Lamb shanks are large and they should ideally sit flat on the bottom of the pot. For this dish I use a wok or large, 4"deep pot or skillet that has a lid.
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring constantly, until they become soft and slightly clear, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 2 minutes longer until garlic has browned slightly.
3. Stir in the four spices and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
4. Add lamb shanks, arranging in a layer on top of the onions. 
5. Add enough water to cover the lamb about halfway, then season with salt and pepper (alternatively, I use beef or lamb stock with black pepper and leave out the salt for a boost of flavor).
6. Bring to a boil, uncovered over high heat. Reduce heat to low, partially cover the pot, and simmer for 3 hours, turning your shanks about every 30 minutes to keep them moist. 
7. Scatter preserved lemon slices over meat and top with vegetables. Cover pot and cook until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
8. Arrange meat and vegetables on a large serving platter. Skim and discard fat from sauce, pour a little sauce over meat and vegetables, and serve remaining sauce on the side. 

Nutrition Facts for 1/2 lamb shank and 1c carrots and zucchini:
460 total calories, 7gm total carbohydrate, 5gm fiber, 27gm protein, 16gm fat
(1 Carbohydrate (1 NET carb), 3 Fat, and 4 protein exchanges

Shishbarak (meat dumplings in cooked yogurt sauce)

Shishbarak is originally a Turkish dish. It was named after the meat dumplings which looked like the large dresses of traditional Turkish female dancers when they twirl and sit down, allowing their dress to puff up behind them. Oh how pretty!
But to make these little dumplings is such a headache. I start cursing that the dough becomes too dry because I'm so slow, screaming if my dough breaks as I'm trying to stretch it over the filling, and playing loud music to drown out my sorrows of the yogurt beginning to separate because I stopped stirring it for just a moment. As I walk out of the house, scissors in hand, to go pick some cilantro from the front yard, the neighbors all give me shifty glances-- 'there goes that insane neighbor again, thrashing at her herbs.' (This just shows you how much they really know about making shishbarak)

Women usualy gather together to make this, creating a large amount of shishbarak dumplings quickly, making enough for 3 families. To make it by oneself is surely a task! A woman may devote an entire day to making it, preparing enough to have leftovers for her family for a few days because its so delicious but so time consuming. When its gone, its gone. The family may not get another batch for 6 or 12 more months because of its laborious process.

The meat is usually ground lamb, but a leaner meet like 97% fat free beef, ground turkey, or ground bison can also be used. Vegetarians may also use dried soy 'meat' for the filling, I find this dried in clear bags from the Mexican market nearby (they call it 'carne de soya'). The filling is made by browning pine nuts, sauteeing onions and meat together, then mixing the pine nuts with the meat mixture.

The dumpling dough is made from semolina flour (a type of grain used in pasta dough). We usually use the opening of a turkish coffee cup to cut circles from the dough that are correctly sized and uniform for our dumplings. I usually pre-cook the dumplings in dry heat like the oven so they don't become mushy jelly when I put them in the yogurt sauce.

This dough recipe can be used for making ravioli, cut into thin strips for pasta, or wide strips for lasagna. 

The glory of making one's own pasta is seriously unparalleled. But once I realized I could do it, the novelty of making non-unique forms of pasta wore off, and I continued to buy my spaghetti and lasagna in a box. From the store.  The specialty items like ravioli and dumplings I prefer to still make myself. I really don't like all the salt and fat and preservatives from the purchased ones. Plus, after baking them lightly to make the dough firm, you can always freeze the extra for another time.


You can also easily use fat free yogurt, though I use my 2% fat homemade yogurt, instead. I really don't think there's a comparable taste to the amazing cool, sourness of homemade yogurt.  The yogurt is cooked with corn starch to thicken, the dumplings are added, then sauteed cilantro and garlic are added to flavor the dish before serving it hot.

The recipe, as expected: 

Shishbarak: 

Makes 8 servings

The dough: 

• 2c semolina flour
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2c water

1. Mix the flour together in a bowl with some salt. Gradually add the water and knead together to form a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let set for 30 minutes. 
2. Prepare your dough-rolling surface by dusting it with semolina flour. 
3. Roll out dough into a large, 1/8-inch thick sheet. 
4. Cut out small circles using a 1.25-inch diameter circle (I used the opening of a turkish coffee cup).

The filling: 

• 1/2c pine nuts
• 1/4tsp olive oil
• 1lb ground meat
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp seven spices
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Brown the pine nuts first in olive oil, stirring constantly over medium heat. This takes about 3-5 minutes. Be careful, they can burn in the blink of an eye!
2. Remove them from the pan, and in the same pan sautee the meat. 
3. Then add onions and spices and continue cooking until the onions become translucent. 
4. Remove from the heat and add the browned pine nuts, stirring to combine.
5. Place half a teaspoon of filling into each round circle of dough, making sure that the filling stays in the center of the dough. 
6. Fold the dough in half, making a half-circle around the filling, and pinch the edges to seal the half-circle.
7. Bring the endpoints of the half circle around to touch each other and pinch them together. 
8. Repeat this until you run out of dough and filling.
9. Dust a baking sheet lightly with semolina flour, and place the dumplings here. 
10. Bake the dumplings in the oven at 250 degrees F for about 20 minutes, or until they are firmer and slightly dry to the touch.

The yogurt sauce:

• 2 quarts fat free yogurt, or homemade yogurt, recipe here
• 2 TB corn starch
• 1 tsp butter
• 1c finely chopped cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic

1. Sautee the cilantro with the butter and garlic for about 10 minutes on medium heat until the garlic browns slightly. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Mix the corn starch into the yogurt, beating with a whisk or an electric mixer. Heat this in a large sauce pot until it thickens, stirring constantly so the yogurt won't separate.
3. Once the yogurt begins to bubble, add the slightly dried dumplings. Continue stirring constantly for about 5 minutes more. 
4. Add the cooked cilantro/garlic and continue to stir on low heat for about 5 minutes more, then remove from the heat.
5. Serve in bowls, garnished with a sprig of fresh cilantro or mint.

Nutrition facts for 1.5 cups of shishbarak containing ~6 dumplings:
370 total calories, 45gm total carbohydrate, 4 gm fiber, 28 gm protein, 8gm fat
(3 Carbohydrates (3 NET carbs), 2 Fat, and 4 protein exchanges)