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Posts tagged ‘low carb’

Mar 26

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Think Thin Tuesday: Better get the Parsley started

Welcome to the first part of my Virtual Seder!  I hope you learn, I hope you feast and more than anything I hope you are entertained.  I will do my best to be both reverent and irreverent over the course of these posts. Traditionally the story of Passover is told near the beginning of your Passover Seder.  First it is preceded by blessings and the drinking of a cup of wine.  After the wine everyone washes their hands and moves on to the first element of the Seder plate.  Now the Seder plate is a literal plate that has been set with 7 symbolic foods for the telling and remembering of Passover.  These foods are consumed in a specific order.  Tonight we feature the first – the Karpas.  This is the first food eaten of the night after the washing of hands.

The Karpas is a vegetable, usually something bitter like parsley, and it is dipped in salt water before consuming.  This is meant to symbolize the bitterness and tears of slavery for the Jews of Egypt.  This action, dipping of vegetables in salt water, is meant to prompt curiosity of the children and lead them to ask the question: Ma nishtana ha lyla ha zeh mikkol hallaylot?
Why is this night different from all other nights?

SO why do Jews celebrate Passover?  What prompted this holiday in the first place?  Well it’s a line from Exodus in the Old Testament that provides the basis for the entire ritual:  You shall tell your child on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what Adonai did for me when I came out of Egypt.’” (Exodus 13:8)

The Story of Passover – as overly-simplified and wryly told by Olivia.

Once again those people with the funny looking sideburns were the target for some genocidal lunatic.  They ran away, survived and now to remember the fact that we once again managed to avoid extinction spend by spending 8 days eating, drinking and praying.

Haha very funny Olivia.  So what is it…really?

Well the story that most people who are familiar with is the Biblical narrative of Moses.  Many many years ago the Jewish people were enslaved in Egypt.  Some crazy Pharoah decided that all male Hebrew babies should be put to death.  One mother managed to hide her child for a while and eventually, in a desperate attempt to save his life, set him adrift on the nile in a basket to avoid the soldiers that had come to kill him.  The child was discovered by the Pharoah’s daughter and raised as a member of the family.  Many years later the boy, who was named Moses, intervened when an Egyptian was beating a Hebrew slave.  Intervened as in he killed the slaver.  Whoops.  Papa Pharoah not so happy about that so Moses flees, winds up saving some more Jews, marries one and hey look you’re actually one of us.  Who knew? Oh Moses did okay cool.  Anyway.

Eventually after having what some might argue was a pyromania fueled schizophrenic talk with some shrubbery, Moses believes he has the command of G-d to return to Egypt and set his people free.  Moses commands the Pharaoh release the Hebrews and when he doesn’t, 10 plagues descend upon Egypt.  Water to blood, frogs and lice as afflictions of the land followed by flies, diseased livestock, disfiguring boils, hailstorms, locusts and days of darkness all followed as the Pharaoh refused again and again to free the Jews.  Finally the tenth plague was death of all the first born sons of Egypt.  Ah the story has come round from the beginning, clever narrative or a just G-d depending on your personal religious leanings.  The Hebrews marked their homes with the blood of the lamb so that death would know that Jewish people lived in this house and pass over their doors, sparing the Hebrew children.

And that is where the term Passover comes from.  Isn’t the Old Testament so much more fun than the New?  By fun I mean just the kind of radical and violent story we love to read.   It may be a bloody and horrific tale but it’s certainly a captivating one.  There’s a lot of “Blood of Lamb” references to Jesus but the original use of this term to denote the favor of God upon the innocent, his “children”, began with some other Jews in Egypt.  I say other because as Avenue Q loves to remind us “Hey guys, Jesus was Jewish….”

Moving on…seeing children die, including his own son, apparently gets to Pharaoh.  Finally he relents, frees the Jews only he changes his mind.  Actually the exact wording is that G-d hardens his heart…what a dick.  Apparently he set up the Pharoah to fail?  I never understood that bit.  Anyway for whatever reason he changes his mind and sends his soldiers against the fleeing Israelites.  There’s a whole chase scene involving water being parted in the Red Sea thanks to Moses and his big stick.  The Jews hustle through like there’s a sale at Loehmann’s on the other side.  Once safely across the parted ocean waters, the waves collapse back down drowning the pursuing Egyptians.  (Then there’s the whole Ten Comandments and getting lost in the desert thing but that’s a whole other story and holiday for another time.)

Endeth the story.  Onto the Karpas!

I’ve almost always seen Parsley used as the vegetable for the Karpas and it’s probably the only time (other than some out-of-date 90′s restaurant plate styling) that you ever see curly parsley on a table.  Thus I always think of Passover when I see curly parsley at the store.  Typically the Italian Flat-leaf variety beats out this cousin because it’s a little less bitter but with much more flavor due to a higher volume of oils in the leaves.  For my recipe today I used both varieties.  I wanted to really showcase the flavor of the parsley.  The result?  Broiled Tilapia with a parsley-vegetable pistou.  Tilapia is a fantastic fish to use when you want something with a mild flavor so I knew it would be just the thing to let my main star shine through.  It’s so easy to cook if you have a broiler on your oven.  If you need something simple and Kosher for the middle of the week, this is just the ticket.  The whole meal can come together in 30 minutes.  Plus this is a great Think Thin Tuesday post since Pistou is similar to Pesto but lower in fat and calories since it omits cheese and pine nuts.  Traditional pistou is just basil, oil and salt.  Mine has considerably less basil and a lot more vegetables to bulk it up.

Tilapia with Parsley Pistou

An Olivia Original Read more

Nov 6

Think Thin Tuesday: Vote! Chick off your Salad

Happy Election Day folks!  Did you vote yet?  I “chicked off my salad” and sent it out earlier on but there should still be time to get to the polls when this post goes up.   If nothing else it gets you out of work right?  So I’m about to embark on my first “political” post.  I wish I weren’t writing this in the middle of the night, half exhausted but you get what you get.  I hope it makes some sense and no one turns on me after the fact.  I promise to resume my personal boring ramblings if you hate it.  The recipe I’ve got today is beyond fast and simple to snap together.  Seriously it was easier to put together than making a decision on Prop 37 (which I discuss below) so try it out!

“Vote or Die Motherfrakkers”  No, not because I think the Presidential election matters.  That’s not really where you are going to make a difference.  It’ll either be the Demopublican or the Republocrat in office.  I cast my mail in vote for Gary Johnson because I can at least consol myself that I chose to vote for someone rather than against someone.  I usually don’t get into poli-ticks on here because my goal is not to offend anyone but if you must know I am more or less a small-l libertarian.  What does that mean?  Well the oft quoted summation is that it means I’m a liberal on social issues and a conservative on fiscal ones.  What it really means is that I’m opposed to large scale, government intervention as a rule and prefer smaller and smaller government whenever possible.  Even though I know that a third party candidate isn’t primed for a chance, and Johnson (who is actually a candidate I’m very enthusiastically in support of) won’t win, I despise this concept of “voting for the lesser evil” and choosing between the two big parties.

You know what you still end up with when you “vote for the lesser evil”?  Evil.  Did you know that more Americans identify themselves as independents than aligning with either party?  Can you imagine what could happen if we STOPPED this mentality of thinking the only way to make your vote matter is to choose between a turd sandwich or a giant douche?  It CAN happen, hell it could happen today if people en masse stopped being afraid of “the other guy” and started focusing on the guy who might actually get the job done.  I get told by folks that this is a pipe dream and that I should do my best to keep Obamney out of office because at least Romama is better on issue X.  And we wonder why nothing really changes or gets better?  How can it when every election season votes are motivated out of fear and single issue voting?  The founding fathers feared this but it’s been running our nation pretty much since the beginning.  I hope it will stop in my lifetime, I know it probably won’t, but I can at least live with myself for not being intellectually dishonest.

So why am I encouraging you to vote?  Well the Presidential election may be little more than a Watchmen-Comedian-esque joke to me, but your statewide propositions ARE a place where you have a chance to make a difference.  I hope that you, my dear readers, try to make the best informed decision on matters of smaller local government.  It’s in fact why I’m a small-l libertarian.  Smaller scale government decisions mean more visibility, oversight, transparency and direct impact by voters on their own lives.  A really big proposition here in California that I get asked for my opinion about frequently is prop 37.  I guess because I’m “foodie” girl with a degree in biotechnology I have a unique view on this matter.  Not familiar with the proposition?  It’s a measure to label California foods that are Genetically Modified.  At least on paper that’s what it claims to do.  After much examination, reading the bill and a dozen blogs on the issue, I decided to vote No.  This shocks a lot of people since I care quite a bit about consumer rights and encourage everyone to pay attention to what they eat.

Yes Monsanto, known for being eeeeeeevil, opposes the bill and so many kneejerk to thinking if Monsanto is against it, then it must be a good thing. I think it’s a little disingenuous to focus so much on who opposes the bill without looking at who wrote it: an ambulance chasing group that has used California voter passed legislation to pursue millions of dollars in cases in the past. That triggered a worry for me far more than Monsanto opposing the bill would. (now if this were a bill that Monsanto had written then I would say focus on them) I mean if you’re going to take that route let’s look at another issue: gun control. You know who was a big proponent of gun control in his own country? Adolf Hitler. Now I’m not trying to draw some ridiculous allegory here I just mean this: just because one person you hate likes chocolate, doesn’t mean chocolate is something you now have to hate.

So why is it a NO from me?  Well I think I would have to write you a term paper to properly discuss the matter.  Let me explain, no there is too much, let me sum up.  I am O.K. with genetically modified foods but I do believe they need to be labeled.  Not because the foods themselves pose a risk of giving you tentacles (which pro-37 ads would lead to you believe) but for some more boring, science reasons around protein allergens.  I probably will write up a post in the future about this because I find it unbelievably depressing how little people know about genetic modification and what it really is.

No my problem with the bill is how poorly it is written.  Loopholes for special exemptions aside, it also lets imported foods skirt the issue altogether.  So you can buy imported, unlabeled GMO products and many people probably will out of fear over local GMO labeled products.  Local NON-GMO products?  Forget it.  The prices won’t be able to compete with China.  Yuppie hipsters will buy local, foraged non GMO blah blah blah but your average family will get the apples from China instead.  Well what good does THAT do?  Nothing.  In fact it’s worse because now consumers will buy food that might be GMO, but from nations further away meaning we’re trucking in food globally and doing more damage to the environment.  Additionally, simply labeling something as GM is not enough for reasons I’ll explain in another post but the short of it is this: GM foods have unique proteins present.  These are potentially allergens.  If you ARE going to label GM food it should be to make consumers aware that a protein from say, brazil nuts, is present and may be a potential allergen for those with a nut allergy.  Right now all labeling foods as GM will do is inspire fear in those who don’t understand it.  Making it law makes it that much harder to undo.  It will actually cause more problems than it will fix.  A poorly written bill is a bad thing to support, even if I agree with the basic premise, because it takes more money and time to undo, often causing a great deal of harm in the meantime, than to wait and pass a better one in the future.  I’ve heard it said that the bill would be good because it gets the conversation going…well putting it on the ballot gets the conversation going.  Look at us right now, we are conversing.  Well more like I’m taking at an imaginary person and imagining your responses but you get the idea.  I swear being a blogger sometimes makes me think I’m crazy.  Anyway that’s the brief sum up.  There’s a lot more that pertains to the issue of GMO in general but I’ll save that for another day….

Anyway recipe time!  This is a very light chicken salad with Vietnamese flavors that is very loosely based off an old 2008 recipe from the now defunct Gourmet magazine.  It’s a fantastic chicken salad with TONS of flavor and very few calories.  Serve it up on some cabbage slices if you are watching carbs or splurge a little and put it on some French roll for a delicious, but still under 500 calorie, sandwich.  I hate that gourmet sandwiches prepared anywhere outside the home usually run the gamut at 750-1450!!  Chicken salad doesn’t have to be a gloopy, mayo mess.  This one is salty, sweet and oh so satisfying and good for your waistline. You don’t have to choose between eating well or eating tasty in my kitchen—this candidate for your stomach will give you the impossible.  High flavor at a low caloric cost.  Too bad American politics can’t do that too.

Vietnamese Chicken Salad
Adapted from August “Gourmet” 2008 Read more

Nov 2

SciFriday: Tell Tale Heart( Beets)

Mary Shelley is often considered the British mother of science fiction for her gothic horror story Frankenstein – the first published work more or less acknowledged as SF.  A bit more overlooked I’d wager is the gothic American counterpart who began to publish works related to the genre a decade or so later.  Admittedly it would not be fair to give this person much credit for the genre as he is most well-known for straight horror/ghost tales with nothing related to science at all.  You may have heard of him, just a little known author by the name of Edgar Allen Poe.

It was interesting to me when I realized in writing this post just how science fiction has its roots so firmly entrenched in the pre-existing horror genre.  It certainly makes sense that the two are intertwined—I’d guess the earliest impressions from the literary community, historically slow to warming up to the whirs and beeps of progressive science, would be wary at best.  Thus the origins of science fiction are really in anti-science fiction.  Shelley’s classic is a perfect example of this: it highlights the creator abandoning his scientific bastardization of nature to devastating results.  Long standing has been the tradition ever since of authors being the voice of caution, and quite often fantastical in scope and misunderstanding the science they write of, but voices worth listening to all the same. 

Poe is probably best known for his poem The Raven and that masterful piece of suspense, insanity and obsession The Tell Tale Heart.  Oh how that story thrilled me as a child—hands down my favorite.  Not familiar with this short?  Okay let me sum up: it’s about an insane young man who lives with an elderly ward.  I don’t think it’s ever clearly distinguished what their relationship is.  I always imagined an uncle or apprenticeship of some sort.  Anyway.  This young, insane man becomes gripped in the monomaniacal obsession with the elder’s “vulture” eye—and kills him for it. 

“He had the eye of a vulture –a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees –very gradually –I made up my mind to take the life of the old man.”

Poor old man!  Killed for something as simple as a cataract!  So yes the narrator does eventually kill him, after much obseessive dwelling upon it and I know  I’m giving away the ending a bit here but shame on you for having gone this long without reading it!  Anyway the real crux of the tale follows when the man begins to hear the pounding of the dead heart in the floor where the body has been stashed.  It’s beautifully written and permeates popular culture.   I’m fairly certain the Simpsons used this story both in a Treehouse of Terror episode and a Lisa centric episode that is one of my favorites.   She experiences jealousy over meeting a girl smarter than herself for the first time and there’s a whole scene with a diaroma that made me want to build diaromas for a year after that as a child.  I don’t know how many shoeboxes I demolished.  So you see?  POPULAR and shame shame shame if you haven’t read it.  Erm.  Sorry about that.  Cookie?

The narrative of this man who is clearly insane is haunting; he is suffering from intense paranoiawhich he self-diagnoses as hypersensitivity of the senses.  The threepeating, anxious prose in Tell Tale was always read so theatrically by my grandfather.  There are several lines where the madman raves in triplicates “It grew louder –louder –louder!” and so would my grandfather’s voice.  I have very few good memories of my maternal grandfather.  Ever the megalomaniac, he is, in my mind, the root that spawned many a rotten branch on our family tree.  In fact, if I tax myself, I can only think of three positive memories/moments/things in my life to him: 1) encouragement of my creative writing efforts – 2) getting my first computer – 3) introduction to the world of Edgar Allen Poe.  My grandfather’s voice is forever tied to the meter of many poems writ by Poe; Lenore especially has a particularly mesmerizing memory tied to it. 

So what of Poe’s more scientifically driven works?  This is SCIFRIDAY after all.  Sonnet to Science which is the first related work, follows the anti-science fiction footsteps with lines like: Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart/Vulture, whose wings are dull realities.   Poe later wrote a short story, possibly the first story ever of space exploration, titled The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall which highlights a voyage in hot air balloon to the moon.  Jules Verne is said to have been inspired by this for his own similar tale.  Another work The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion relates a story about the end of the world at the hands of a comet smashing us all out of existence in a fiery explosion…. so I’m guessing that he came around to appreciate the imaginative potential inherent in science fusing with literature. 

 To honor the American Science Fiction father I am sharing with you a recipe for some Healthy Heart Beets.  God but I do love a good pun.  Beets seemed especially fitting for this story because of their unique phytonutrient and pigment makeup.  They contain a very rare pigment called betalain which has exceptional anti-oxidant, anti-flammatory properties that support the nervous system and specifically your eyes.  Gotta avoid those cataracts folks—you don’t want to get murdered in your sleep for having a bad case of vulture eye do you?    The anti-inflammatory properties inherent to beets also show great promise in treating several types of heart disease like atherosclerosis.  I designed this recipe to use oils with a reduce saturated fat load to make it a little more “heart” friendly.  Butter calorically stands in the same and would make it taste that much better of course so feel free to substitute if desired.  This recipe utilizes the whole beet too so you’re getting all the inherent benefits not only from the red, heart of the thing but the fiber and nutrient rich, green leaves as well.

 Healthy Heart Beets

An Olivia Original 

Read more

Oct 16

2 Comments

Think Thin Tuesday: Spasms & Skyr

Well it appears I spoke too soon.  You know my post from yesterday?  Well really I wrote that back on Friday of last week and lo and behold, I found the bottom drop out from under my feet this past weekend.  Sunday I was laid up in bed all day in the most miserable pain imaginable from an inflamed trapezius muscle.  As far as I can gather I injured my shoulder doing some weight exercises Friday.  Just a minor pinch and I didn’t think anything of it since 99% of the time those go away.  Saturday morning I went to Bikram.  Now what I have learned is that for tendonitis you need to avoid heat for the first 24-48 hours after the injury.  The heat inflames the tissue and causes swelling to get worse.  Bikram Yoga is 105 degrees and all about stretching.  Whoops.  Again I felt fine most of Saturday and just a little sore.  I spent the night in the kitchen whisking up some cranberry curd (delicious delicious delicious by the way) and that probably didn’t help my injury either.  Then Sunday night, giving my body a chance to “Catch up” to itself lead to widespread inflamation and pain.  To the point that I literally could not lift myself out of bed for a portion of the day.

The experience of this has been terrifying.  I’ve now discovered my ultimate fear, yes even greater than nomophobia, the fear of getting injured and winding up paraplegic.   After spending almost my entire Sunday in bed, frozen unable to move so much as my fingers without pain shooting through my body, I have regained appreciation for my otherwise normally healthy body.  I do not know how people manage to face life so well without the use of their legs, much less so those who can do nothing from below the neck.  Sure the pain I was/am in is awful and debilitating, but the mental torture of being unable to do anything?  That was the worst part.  That was the part that set me off into tears all morning.  I have become such an active person and this?  This was the worst kind of torture anyone could imagine up for a person like me.  I know this is going to  sound melodramatic but I came to a realization throughout this: if I ever wind up paralyzed, I mean fully from the neck down paralyzed, I would want the ability to end my life.  I don’t know that I could be strong enough mentally to handle that kind of reality.  I am in awe of the people who do but it’s not something I think I could handle.  I’m weak. 

I also revealed to my friends just how much of a baby I am when I’m sick.  I called my friend Dallas in tears at one point in the middle of a total panic attack and he calmed me down.  I don’t know why I have such kind, patient friends but I’m grateful that I do.  I’m also grateful that on a normal day I have a healthy, strong body.  I learned my lesson universe okay?  I’ll stop whining when good things happen.  Please just take this pain away and let me get back into the kitchen so I can make things. 

In the meantime obviously I can’t get cooking when I’m laid up in bed.  So today for Think Thin Tuesday I’m going to do another product share with you.  I’ve been wanting to write about this yogurt for a while now but figured I’d save a non-recipe post for a day when my kitchen blows up or something to that effect.

Siggi’s Yogurts are hands down now my favorite, best brand of yogurt and the only one I will eat.  Why?  It’s insanely good for you and yet incredibly delicious and as thick as ice cream.  Seriously look at how my spoon, my metal and heavy spoon, can stick straight up out of a container of the stuff!

Siggi’s yogurts are an Icelandic style yogurt known as skyr.  It’s strained several times to really concentrate out the whey.  How strained?  You use 4 times the amount of milk to make this stuff than you do a traditional yogurt.  As a result you also get 3-4 times the amount of protein.

15 grams in a single serving to be exact versus an average 4-9 grams in major brands of competing yogurts; lower fat yogurts are similarly concentrated and that’s where you find the upwards of 9 grams a serving.  Still 15 versus 9 in a 6 ounce cup?  That’s a huge difference and it’s one that you can taste as Siggi’s yogurt coats and clings to your tongue like a rich cream but without any fat.

I prefer the plain Siggi’s which comes to about 80 calories in a single container.  I really don’t think it needs any sugar to sweeten it though on occasion I sprinkle in some stevia or a few raspberries.  Milk sugars are sweet enough to satisfy me when I eat something so rich and seemingly decadent as this stuff.

If you absolutely need flavor the line has a huge array of options.  My favorite is grapefruit because it has a pleasant tang to it but there’s also: vanilla, orange ginger, pomengranate passion fruit, acai mixed berry, blueberry, peach and strawberry.

Did I mention live cultures?  A LOT of live cultures.  You know those fancy things all the yogurt companies, an health food folks are peddling at you these days?  Well they aren’t lying to you on this account.  Getting healthy, helpful symbiotic bacteria (probiotics) and food that can feed them (prebiotics) really are good for you.  This is the Siggi lineup which boasts more strains than I’ve typically seen and with the highly concentrated nature of this yogurt, I suspect you get even more than you normally would from others.  Greek yoghurts (h intentional) feature a number of cultures too but one complaint I always hear is that greek yoghurt is too tangy.  Siggi’s is much sweeter and not quite so…lip puckering.  So if you find that you dislike the Greek variety, give this one a try.

CULTURES:
B. Lactis, L. Acidophilus,
L. Delbrueckiee Subsp. Bulgaricus,
L. Delbrueckiee Subsp. Lactis,
S. Thermophilus

 Not only are these a great skinny snack that taste like you are eating something completely indulgent, you are flooding your body with helpful bacteria to ward off infections and maintain a healthy body.

Aaaand finally the coup de grace that really cemented my love of this company?  The source of the milk are small-scale farmed cattle raised on GRASS not grain and entirely hormone/antibiotic free.

Siggi’s is widely available on the east coast and to a lesser extent in California.  If you are intrigued and a Californian your best bet to locate these will be Whole Foods or Raley’s markets.  Nugget might carry them as well.

Aug 7

5 Comments

Think Thin Tuesday: Peachy Guy but the [Cheese]cake is a lie!

“Dear Mario:
Please come to the castle. I’ve baked a cake for you.
Yours truly–
Princess Toadstool – Peach.”

Words that forever haunted my childhood. Super Mario for Nintendo 64 was the greatest game and I definitely spent far too many hours securing every star in the castle after the greatest caketease of all time. Oh wasted youth.

Why did I think of that today when writing up my blog post? This post is actually a convergence of a number of topics. It’s a Think Thin Tuesday, it’s my good friend Dallas’ birthday and a recipe for a Skinny Peach Cheesecake. As it turns out Cheesecake is Dallas’ favorite dessert so this all wraps up nicely in a big, pink bow. Except that the cake is a lie and Bowser is lying in wait for your tastebuds. I know that’s not where the meme comes from but I definitely think of that damn letter luring Mario into yet another quest to save the damsel whenever I hear it.

Dallas kind of reminds me of the Italian Plumber–not because he is Italian or a plumber.  Nor does he have a mustache and certainly is not a short, squat man in red overalls.   No her reminds me of Mario because no matter how many times the girl is in trouble, Mario comes to her rescue. Dallas has been a good friend to me like that. The guy is always willing to listen to me when I’m upset, even at 3AM, and while I’m lucky enough to have a lot of friends who would do that…well this post is about Dallas OK?! Geeze. I guess he gets a little more attention from me because I feel like the guy doesn’t sing his own praises enough. I’ve got quite a few more friends like that too come to think of it. God damn it you guys, you know who you are, would you give yourselves some credit once in awhile??

Anyway here’s an example of a great story about Dallas and how ridiculously awesome he is. A few posts back I wrote about how I wanted to get Peter Beagle’s autograph at SDCC this year. Beagle wrote a book called “The Last Unicorn” a beautiful and sad (funny how those things always go together) story that was adapted into a film in the 1980’s. I grew up with the movie and read the book as a young adult. The story follows a Unicorn who overhears some men commenting that there are no more Unicorns left in the world. She sets out on a quest to discover why this has happened. Simplistic in scope and yet really a very adult, sad story that is anything but Disney at the end. As I’ve said many times before I have a real love for fairy tales, especially the sad ones.  So much so that I often read them as an adult as lessons in cultural psychology, sociology and comparative lit…i.e. I find reasons to justify why a 24 year old girl owns tomes of fairy tale lore.

I had been planning on going to get Beagle’s autograph on Sunday but every time I left the hall where I was staked out waiting for the Buffy panel, something came up and I constantly had to run back to the room to keep my spot without ever getting to Autograph Alley. Finally 4PM rolls around and I’m debating if I should stay through for the Buffy Musical Sing-a-long or if Mr. Beagle would still be present at his booth. The hall was going to close at 5PM so I really could not do both things. I didn’t want to leave the musical if my author had taken to walking Man’s Road and abandoned his post. Dallas was out on the floor and so I texted him asking if he wouldn’t mind checking the booth to see if Beagle was still there. The response I got back was “This is Peter Beagle. I am waiting for you.” and then a photo that Mr. Beagle had taken of himself and texted to me.

Yeah. I shot up with a squeal and ran out of the room, with “Walk Through the Fire” playing as my background music. It was pretty awesome actually to have a theme song blaring and people singing in chorus around me while I ran XD Apparently it took a little cajoling to get Beagle to actually use Dallas’ phone and message me, but it had the desired effect. I was there faster than I thought possible to move on the con floor during the last hour of nerdvana. I got my signature…sadly on a paperback copy of the book as the hardback is out of print. I’ve been looking everywhere! Only modified/abridged copies and the graphic novel are being printed. Very upsetting. I want a hardback version damn it! I own the graphic novel too….

So that was how I got to end my con and it was all thanks to Dallas. I’m really blessed to know him and so I wanted to dedicate a blog post on his birthday, with a treat that he loves and since I know he is also trying to get healthy it makes this even more personally relevant. Unfortunately it’s not the greatest cheesecake recipe on the planet. Frankly I don’t know how that is possible to do while cutting back on fat. I’m working on at least developing a purely carb free one for another friend of mine but baking with artificial sweeteners is tricky. Sadly that’s the only way to cut out carbs so it’s still in process.

As for the peaches? Well isn’t it obvious? That all comes back to Princess Peach, forever being rescued by a patient man who clearly loves himself some (cheese)cake.

Happy Birthday Dallas! Next time I visit we’ll have to bake up a real cheesecake and splurge on the calories. In the meantime this one is made with Farmer’s Cheese (half the fat, half the calories) and served in bite sized portions. The farmer’s cheese isn’t as creamy as traditional cream cheese and so the texture of these guys was not quite right.  An alternative to this would be to use a reduced fat cream cheese but while that cuts back on fat it adds in more sugar so your overall caloric reduction isn’t nearly as significant. They did taste good though and I think that was the benefit of the peaches and cream combo. Can’t go wrong with a classic like that.

Kind of like Dallas. Classic good guy.

Look at that flirty peach poking through!

Reduced Fat Mini-Peach CheesecakesAn Olivia…experiment.  Yield 24 mini cheesecakes. Read more

Jun 12

Think Thin Tuesday – Brown Butter Radishes

Initially I really wanted this recipe to be a “Think Thin Tuesday” alternative but considering that almost all the calories come from fat — butterfat no less — I just can’t bring myself to call in a thin Tuesday.

That doesn’t matter though because these radishes are delicious.  Absolutely delicious and at 100 calories – 10 grams of fat – per serving they definitely can be party of a healthy, wholesome dinner.  Serve alongside a nice filet of roast fish, pork chop or chicken breast with something green and you’ve easily got a meal under 500 calories with plenty of flavor.

Okay you know what?  They count after all.  THINK THIN TUESDAY say howdy!

See the reason I consider these a good alternative is that the equivalent serving as potatoes, the more traditional American side dish, would up each serving by about 80 calories of starch.  Radishes are by contrast almost all fiber and non-digestible starches.  Keep in mind that the equivalent order of potatoes, while high in starch and therefore the bane of low carb dieters have a higher dose of manganese, potassium and B6.  Radishes aren’t completely outdone on the nutrition front however with 5% more vitamin C in a serving than your traditional russet potato.  Like the green tops?  You’ve just added a great source of calcium to your meal!

Radishes also have one big advantage over potatoes: pesticide use.  If you are trying to avoid foods overloaded with sprays, russet potatoes are not the way to go.  They have tested for exposure to over 35 different chemicals and while a little bit of pesticide isn’t going to kill you potatoes are pernicious in the American diet.  We eat a LOT of them and accumulated toxicity is no joke.  Radishes, especially raw radishes, are much more naturally resistant to buggy predation and therefore require less pesticide from farmers.

Don’t be alarmed by that statement.  The brown butter mellows the spicy, horseradish nature of the radish making for some radical root vegetables.  Radishes are also great for digestive aids due to their extremely high fiber content and contain micronutrients great for cleaning out your liver.  Maybe you’ll want to puree a roasted radish or two next time you need a Sunday morning Bloody Mary hangover cure.

Roasted Radishes with Brown Butter
from Bon Appétit April 2011

  • 2 bunches medium radishes (such as red, pink, and purple; about 200 grams)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Coarse kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush large heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Cut off all but 1/2 inch of green radish tops; reserve trimmed tops and rinse them well, checking for grit.

Coarsely chop radish tops and set aside. Cut radishes lengthwise in half and place in medium bowl. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and toss thoroughly to coat. Place radishes, cut side down, on prepared baking sheet; sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Roast until radishes are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally, about 18 minutes. Season to taste with more coarse kosher salt, if desired.
Heat a small saucepan containing your butter over medium-high heat. Add pinch of coarse kosher salt to skillet and cook until butter browns, swirling skillet frequently to keep butter solids from burning, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in fresh lemon juice.

Transfer roasted radishes to warmed shallow serving bowl and drizzle brown butter over. Sprinkle with chopped radish tops and serve.

4 servings – Per serving: 101 calories, 11 g fat, 0.4 g fiber

Jan 3

Think Thin Tuesday: Resolution #1 I am no Turkey

I’m writing this on the second day of the new year and the sun isn’t even up yet.  I won’t be posting it until tomorrow.  For some reason that seemed important.

2011 was a very strange year.  I started it feeling kind of lost and I ended it still feeling kind of lost but in a whole different forest.  There are some very interesting paths in front of me and right now I’m doing my best to straddle all of them because I hate missing opportunities.  I was in a tunnel for too much of college and I’m doing my best to counter that now.  New Years has that kind of infectious nature to it–it’s like starting a fresh journal in your own life and with that fresh start comes infinite possibility.

I had two major resolutions for 2011: No Relationships and No Buying TShirts.  (I own a lot of geeky shirts)  Well obviously the first resolution didn’t last, though I did make it 5 months exactly which is still the longest I’ve ever managed to stay single.  I am glad to say I managed to resist buying a plethora of geeky and adorable shirts no thanks to teefury and shirt.woot.  Evil temptresses!  2012 Resolutions?  I’m still formulating those.  There are a lot of things I want to do.  So much so that I am realizing now that my list of 101 in 1001 has reached its expiration date.  I might just write up a new one.  In the meantime here is my biggest resolution for 2012: No Fear.

For most though the new year resolution always brings with it the allure of getting fit.  So to help those of you on your “get healthy” journey I provide a delicious and healthy recipe for an Osso Bucco styled dish made with Turkey and very little fat.  It isn’t my original recipe but I love it for days when you want to be good on your diet plan.  You can indulge in this without an ounce of guilt.  Save that for the 78-88% (yup that’s the statistic) of failed resolutions.  Or better yet suck it up so you don’t have to suck it in and beat the odds.  With recipes like these, dieting will be easy.  Exercise…that I can’t help you with.  Best part is it’s under 200 calories a serving so if you want to double up and make this the entire meal, go ahead.  Indulge and feel absolutely amazing about doing it.

Turkey Osso Bucco

from Bon Apetit Magazine

  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 whole turkey legs (about 31/4 pounds total), cut at  joints into drumsticks and thighs, skin removed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced, divided
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine
  • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice

Gremolata

  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Rub thyme over turkey; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Transfer to 6-quart slow cooker. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over  medium-high heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; sauté 8 minutes. Stir in 4  minced garlic cloves. Transfer vegetables to  slow cooker. Add wine to skillet;  boil until reduced by 1/3, about 1 minute. Pour wine and tomatoes with juice  over turkey. Cover; cook on high until turkey is very tender and falls off bone,  about 5 1/2 hours.

Mix parsley, peel, and  remaining garlic in bowl for gremolata. Using slotted spoon, remove turkey from  pot. Pull meat from bones; divide meat among 6 bowls. Season sauce with salt and  pepper; spoon over turkey. Sprinkle with gremolata.

6 servings. Per serving: calories, 198; total fat, 5 g; saturated fat, 1 g; cholesterol,  89 mg; fiber, 4 g

Nov 8

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Think Thin Tuesday: Faux-tatoes

The weather is turning, thanksgiving is only a few short weeks away and all I want to eat is comfort food.  The problem with comfort food is it turns you into a giant comfy pillow of fat.  It is much harder to be motivated to get out and exercise when the weather is cold and brisk and a big bowl of clam chowder with some salty crackers in front of the tv sounds so much more appealing.  Pile up the blankets, make a cup of hot chocolate and…. Okay I’m back.  If like me you want to find ways of enjoying some of these foods without the added pounds you are going to LOVE this recipe.

Mashed Potatoes.  Probably one of the best comfort foods and the most dangerous.  While a single russet potato on it’s own is fat free and on average between 80-120 calories, it gets far more complicated when you add butter, gravy and modify the starch structure to make it easy to scarf down 3-4 potatoes in all.  The worst part is that the basic russet potato really doesn’t have much nutritional value compared to those pesky vegetables.
Enter the savior of this piece: Cauliflower.  An equivalent serving, by grams, of cauliflower to potato cuts your calorie consumption by over 60%.  One cup of cauliflower also has over 90% of your daily dose of vitamin C.  There is also a significant amount of Vitamin K, Folate, and B6 along with a bunch of fiber.  Now it’s not nearly as heavy on phytonutrients as green bitter vegetables like Brussel Sprouts or Broccoli, but it’s nothing to scoff at.  Plus you can transform Cauliflower into FAUXTATOES.  When I served these to my boyfriend he had no idea they weren’t actual potatoes and told me that in the future, I shouldn’t let him know otherwise because they only started to taste “different” when he was aware that it was a vegetable in disguise.  So here’s my advice: got a picky eater, especially one under the age of 12, who needs more nutrients?  Do NOT tell them these are good for you and just let them believe it’s a big bowl of empty carbohydrates.  They will never know otherwise.

Olivia’s Stealthy Healthy Fauxtatoes

  • 2 heads Cauliflower, florets chopped up stems discarded
  • 2 cups fat-free chicken or beef broth
  • 2-3 cloves roasted garlic
  • 1 Tbsp chopped, fresh sage
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Optional: 1 Tbsp butter or trans-fat free substitute (I like heart healthy)

First you want to roast a head of garlic.  This can be done days ahead of time and you can use a garlic paste for tons of other recipes.  If you don’t want to spend an hour roasting a head of garlic in the oven ahead of time, just use a tablespoon of garlic powder.  It’s not as good but still delicious.
To roast garlic: chop off the top of the head and drizzle one tablespoon olive oil over.  Cover the garlic in aluminum foil and roast in an oven at 400 degrees for 40-60 minutes.  The garlic should get soft, tender and caramelized.  The flavor is unparalleled.

Heat the cauliflower and broth over medium high heat in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil and them reduce to a slight simmer for about 20 minutes.  The cauliflower will get soft for mashing and the broth adds a lot of flavor.  Once you can easily pierce the florets with a fork, get to mashing!  Add in two cloves of the roasted garlic and the chopped fresh sage.

Salt and pepper the mixture to taste.  If you want to add a little bit of that butter flavor go ahead and toss in half a tablespoon of butter or a transfat free substitute.  Whatever you do, don’t but something made with ANYTHING hydrogenated or you’re just wasting your time trying to eat healthy.

Enjoy :-)

Oct 25

Think Thin Tuesday: Eggs Benedict Salad

I love Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine.  It’s a delicious and decadent breakfast, especially for a Sunday Brunch accompanied by a tall mimosa and me in sunglasses because I’m still a wee bit hungover.  Not that I ever get hungover mind you.  No, really.  I haven’t even had a proper night out with the girls in months.  Someone save me from Saturday night laundry PLEASE.

Anyway the thing I don’t like about these dishes is the huge calorie count.  It depends on the chef but an order out can range from 600 to 1000 calories.  It’s because a restaurant has no reason to worry about your waistband.  They worry about your wallet and fatty/sweet foods satisfy us more so we’re prone to return if it’s delicious.  I mean it’s only two slices of ham, a poached egg, a muffin and a little sauce right?  Hell it doesn’t even look like much and while very rich, might not fill up a hungry stomach.

So I present to you a modified recipe from an old Bon Appetit that gives you the joy of Eggs Benedict in the form of a Salad…for 360 calories a serving.  It’s not low fat mind you so if you are on a low fat diet out of concern for cholesterol you probably shouldn’t touch this; but if you are watching calories, carbohydrates or looking to get flavor without feeling disgusting then this is the recipe for you.  The best part is that at 360 calories, if you **aren’t** dieting and can afford a bit more in your diet you can help yourself to an extra poached egg or a little bit more sauce and still be healthier.

Eggs Benedict Salad Read more

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