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)

Hosting Vegans: Roasted Kale and Lentils

Preparing dishes fit for a friend with preferences for vegan cuisine can be tricky-- no products from animals of any kind, oftentimes we forget about butter, chicken stock, and also milk and eggs. Literally, from start to finish, and regardless of the method of cooking, we are real carnivores! (And honestly, I like it!) But being so accustomed to cooking with animal products, it becomes a lot of fun and educational for me to make a completely vegan meal.

My vegan arsenal of ingredients couldn't get more colorful!

So the question becomes how to serve a hearty, soothing dish for the fall weather without adding all these hidden enhancements? Well let me show you and you'll see: I will fill your stomach with hearty legumes, satisfy your senses with an amalgam of complimentary spices, and hopefully make you love me with a little extra lemon!

Kale and Lentils cooked with Moroccan Preserved Lemons

Ingredients:

• 1c brown lentils, rinsed
• 2c vegetable stock
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2c kale, finely chopped
• sea salt
• 1/4 tsp sumac
• 1 tsp fresh winter savory leaves
• 1 tsp Seven Spice
• 2 TB tomato paste
• 1 tsp chile paste
• rind from 1/4 preserved lemon

Directions:

1. Boil lentils for 20 minutes in a vegetable stock on medium heat
2. Meanwhile, in a frying pan over medium heat cook the onions, stirring frequently for about 15 minutes or until browned. Add garlic, and continue to cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes more.
3. Add kale, spices, rind from 1/4 preserved lemon, and sea salt.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover frying pan and let kale cook until softened and wilted (about 7 minutes more).
5. When lentils are cooked , drain any excess water, and mix the lentils with the onions and kale. You'll know they are cooked when you can easily squash one when you pinch it between 2 fingers).
6. Garnish with fresh lemon wedges and mint to serve.

Nutrition Facts for 1 cup of this dish:
260 total calories, 28gm total carbohydrate, 10gm fiber, 16gm protein, 2gm fat
(2 Carbohydrate (1 NET carb), 0.5 Fat, and 2 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.

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)

Muhallabiyeh ( Middle Eastern milk pudding)

Muhallabiyeh is a milk pudding made from thickening cow's milk with corn starch. Seems simple? It is!
At first thought it sounds like child's play, taking only 10-15 minutes to prepare... But it is a dessert that is popular throughout the Middle East, and quite delicious depending on with what it accompanies.

Some variations for vegans would be to use coconut milk (I prefer half coconut milk mixed with water), or to use rice milk. Sadly, the recipe does not work as well with soy due to the complexity of its amino acid ratio.
Alternatively, you may use fat free or 1% milk for a nearly fat free option.

For serving, I sometimes cool my finished pudding in a slightly oiled mold or bowl, then invert it onto a platter and decorate. I've also made it in individual serving clear cups, layering the hot thickened milk with a thickened fruit purée, to present the dessert chilled, in parfait form.
Toppings can either be fruits, edible flowers, condensed fruit puree, toasted coconut or ground nuts.
As usual, I'll top my dessert with  atayr (a simple syrup flavored with orange blossom or rose water, recipe here)

See my recipe below!

MUHALLABIYEH
Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 cups milk
• 1/3c corn starch
• 2 tb granulated sugar
• 1 tsp orange blossom or rose water
• 1 simple syrup recipe

Directions:

1. Mix 1/2 c milk with the corn starch and beat until smooth and without lumps.
2. Warm the remaining 4 cups milk to a simmer, approx 5-7 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.
3. Add the corn starch mixture and continue stirring about 5 minutes more until thick.
4. Remove from heat and pour into desired jello mold or serve-wear.
5. When chilled, garnish as desired and top with simple syrup.

Example of garnish:
5 sliced strawberries
1/4c ground pistachio
Orange blossom or jasmine flowers

Nutrition Facts Information:

Serving size 1 c including syrup and fruits

Total calories:220, Total Fat: 2g, Total Carbohydrate: 35g, Sugar: 27g, Protein: 10g

(2 Carb, 1 Protein Diabetic Exchanges, or 1 Carb, 1 protein Exchange without syrup)

Cucumber and Yogurt Salad

Cucumber and Yogurt Salad
Serves 6
Ingredients:

• 1 Pint plain, fat free greek yogurt, or homemade yogurt (get my yogurt-making guide here)
• 10 leaves of mint, sliced into thin strips (about 1/2 cup), may use 2TB dried mint instead.
• 4 cucumbers, lightly peeled
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 leaves of mint unsliced for garnish

Directions:
Mix the yogurt, salt and garlic in a salad bowl.
Dice the peeled cucumbers into very fine cubes and mix them with the yogurt.
Chop the mint and add it to the yogurt mixture just before serving to prevent the mint from discoloring.
Mix well and serve



Nutrition facts for 1 cup of cucumber/yogurt salad:
90 total calories, 12gm total carbohydrate, 2 gm fiber, 8oz protein, 0gm fat
(1 Carbohydrate (1 NET carb), 0 Fat, and 1 protein exchanges)