Food Lush

Trial by Pancake: Fluffy Coconut & Pumpkin Protein

by Sarah Anne

I love breakfast.

It is no secret that brunch is the best meal of the day and I wish every restaurant served it every day. It is probably also no surprise that I too fall prey to the age old question "Sweet or Savory"? Do I have the eggs benedict with chipotle hollandaise over black bean puree with aged gouda, or do I go with the stuffed pumpkin french toast with bruleed pecans and lemon scented whipped coconut milk? (And uhm, who is going to make me both of those right now?) I often wish I could have half of one dish and half of another, sweet and savory, so at home we do scrambled eggs with a side of sweet sometimes. I'd say 75% of the time, savory wins out, but I always have that hankering for delicious pancakes or maple syrup doused french toast.

Once I've decided that sweet is the way to go, I have another conundrum: How do I avoid the white-flour-and-sugar spike? Pancakes and french toast never seem to really stick with me like eggs and toast do, which is frustrating when you're trying to eat healthy. I have searched the web high and low for a good option and I never seem to make the same recipe twice, until now.

I've tried SO many kinds of protein pancakes, banana flourless pancakes, and everything in between. You name it. I've tried it. In my search of finding the right pancake recipe, I discovered two recipes that are high protein, white flour free and have proven to keep me satisfied for far longer than your usual pancake breakfast does! You'll have to pardon a lack of personal photos, these happen in the morning and I'm sure you all understand my normal morning 'state'.

Jamie Eason's Pumpkin Protein Pancakes (more alliteration!) have been in rotation for a few months now. They're high in fiber and vitamin A due to the pumpkin and if you use gluten-free oats, they are a great option for the Celiac in your family. I know you all may be sick of pumpkin spice by this point, but trust me and give these a try.

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More recently (read last week), these delicious, Fluffy Coconut Pancakes thanks to Nourishing Days have been the go-to. They are lighter and definitely more like your average pancake I think. They have great ingredients, delicious light flavour and pack a punch of protein thanks to the egg whites. These beauties are also grain free, and dairy free for those with allergies or intolerances. 

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They are both pretty easy recipes, and quick, which let's face it is important in the morning. I love mine topped with coconut oil and syrup, or even smothered with a bit of your favourite nut butter. For those of you that haven't tried many paleo-style recipes, please be aware that the coconut pancakes are a little eggy, but the author has updated her recipe with a few tip and tricks to try.

I'm not sure which is my favourite to be honest, but these recipes have certainly increased the 'sweet' breakfast options in my house. I have substituted banana for the pumpkin in the first recipe, but it just wasn't as tasty as the original. Lesson learned: Sarah, stick to the recipe.

Do you have a 'go-to' recipe for french toast, waffles or pancakes? What is your normal breakfast? Is weekend brunch your thing? I'd love to have some new recipes for my repetoire!

Oh, and folks? Please, do yourself and me a favour and use real maple syrup. It's the only way.

Source: My Dad's homemade, Maine maple syrup.

Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Berries Recipe

By Dani

Boy, oh boy, you guys, I love to cook fancy stuff at Christmastime. However, I'm a little short on time and long on stuff to do, you know? That's why I loved this recipe... it's a unique flavor (the combination of sweet, spicy, and savory is really nice) and so easy to make! Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves four):

• Two cornish game hens (thawed)
• Mixed berries (I used a frozen berry mix from Trader Joe's, about a 12-ounce bag)
• One tablespoon diced jalapenos (for less spice, use pickled, pre-chopped jalapenos rather than fresh)
• Olive oil to taste
• Raspberry or Champagne vinegar to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stuff hen cavities with berries and half the jalapenos each. Place hens breast-side up on a rack in a roasting pan, if you have any extra berries, toss them in the bottom of the pan to flavor the drippings.

Sprinkle hens with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil and vinegar. Then cook for 10 minutes at 400 to get a crispy glaze.

Brush hens with oil and vinegar again, then turn oven down to 350 and cook for about 50 minutes, or until juices run clear, basting with oil and vinegar every 15 minutes.

When they're ready, pull the hens from the oven and let them rest for 5-15 minutes under foil. While the hens rest, strain the pan drippings into a sauce pan, add a little butter and flour and heat until you have a thickened gravy.  Then slice hens down the middle and serve with gravy, polenta or rice for a lovely, easy holiday dinner!

(Photo credit: Me. - Adapted from a recipe in Pike Place Market Cookbook)

Pantry Staple: Canned (and Dried) Lentils

Editor's note: Welcome to the lovely Sarah Anne, who is joining Food Lush's ranks. You can learn more about her at Fear No Food and on Twitter, too. 

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by Sarah Anne

Hey folks! I'm Sarah, a new addition to Food Lush, and I'm pretty excited to be able to talk to yet MORE people about food. Consider yourself warned!

As someone really keyed into not only the enjoyment of food, but also true nourishment, I tend to be a bit obsessive about making sure that we eat a well-rounded diet with plenty of fiber, protein, and other nutrients. It helps that I am constantly looking up nutritional stats of most foods, but it also helps that I keep my pantry and freezer well-stocked. Out of the many foods I keep on hand, which hopefully I'll go through in time, one of my most favourite pantry staples is a can or bag of lentils.

They are a great source of cholesterol-reducing fiber, vegetarian protein along with a couple B vitamins, folate, iron, manganese and a host of other vitamins and minerals. Not to mention, lentils are low calorie and nearly free of fat. As a vegetarian, I'd say they're a pretty good staple to have on hand, and we eat them a few times a week. 

There are several different types of lentils – brown/green, french or puy lentils, split red lentils, each of which has their use; I use brown or green lentils most often, with split red lentils coming a close second in the wintertime.

Canned lentils can be a great quick fix, and are wonderful in the summertime when you don't want to heat up the kitchen, as I rarely do in my 500sq ft apartment. Toss the rinsed lentils with chopped veggies and prepared vinaigrette for a nutritious and filling salad. Add a whole grain for even more oomph. Do the same in the fall or winter, but saute the vegetables and add the rinsed lentils toward the end, toss with dressing or sauce and you have a hearty, belly-warming meal. Our favourite this past summer was to add quinoa and canned lentils to Greek salad for a complete and super easy meal.

A bag of dried lentils can be just as useful, and even less expensive, but requires a bit more planning and prep time just to rinse and cook. It's still worth the effort to me! Here are a few of my recent favourites that used dried lentils. I've made each of these and have LOVED them. As an aside – so has my husband who is usually the test of a good, people-pleasing recipe.

Dreena Burton's “No-Fu” Love Loaf

(Source: Hannah Kaminsky & Plant Powered Kitchen)

Veggie Balls from Huffington Post

(Source) 

 

French Lentils with Walnuts and Goat Cheese from Laura Calder, Food Network Canada

(Source)

Lentils are such a versatile ingredient and a great option for meat eaters and vegetarians alike and are cheap to boot! From lentil loaves to indian style curries, everyone can get on board with something about lentils. Do you cook with lentils often? What kind? Do you have a favourite recipe that uses them? I'd love to find some new ones!

Sweet and Spicy Salmon

by Maura

I wasn't exaggerating when I said we eat salmon a few times a month. Although I found a good recipe that Will and I both like, I won't rest until I find the PERFECT salmon recipe.

I'm kidding. I just get bored making the same things over and over.

This time I started looking for a spice rub for salmon. I came across this recipe from Ellie Krieger on the Food Network website and gave it a try. This recipe appealed to me because it had ingredients I already have in my pantry and included two of my favorite spices: chili and cumin. I am not a fan of sweet-savory combinations, but I thought that this might be okay since I have made spice rubs with brown sugar before.

[Imagine that there is a pretty picture of salmon with all the ingredients here. Pretend that I didn't accidentally delete it off my camera.]

I halved the recipe and still had plenty of spice, so I put it in a baggie with a little reminder of what it is.

Since I don't have a grill pan, I cooked the salmon, spice side down, for about 3-4 minutes in a teaspoon of olive oil. I flipped it when it started to look cooked, and finished it off on the other side for an additional minute, sort of like cooking an over-easy egg. I served with roasted broccoli (tossed with salt, pepper, EVOO and garlic powder) and corn on the cob.

We both enjoyed the salmon, although it was a little too sweet for me. Next time, I'll cut back the brown sugar (or add more cumin and chili to the leftover seasoning mix). In all, though, this is a recipe I see myself making again.

Kitchen Tip: An Easier Way to Drain Your Sautee Pan

by Caitlin

What I'm about to share with you is by no means revolutionary, and, hell, I didn't even think of it myself. It came to me as so many of my greatest food discoveries do: from my husband. It's just that it's so easy and so obvious I wonder why I didn't think of it before. I can't keep a tip like this to myself, even if I am the last person to know about it.

The thing is, I hate when a recipe instructs you to cook your sausage/ground beef/what have you and drain the liquid. It's messy, it's gross, and I don't want my drain clogged with grease. If I try to put a lid on the pan to hold the goods back while whatever undesirable liquid falls out, I inevitably end up with a facefull of beefy, greasy, steam (a beef facial! refreshing!) and/or a half a sink full of deciously browned sausage.

Over the weekend, my husband was making dinner. Which, can I just interject here for a minute (yes, I can) and say that after a Friday off of work filled with shopping and mani/pedis, my girlfriend and I (Hi Laur!) came back to the house and had dinner made for us and THAT is living, my friends. Marry a chef, if you can, and have a friend who also occasionally has Fridays in the summer off, and be sure you both enjoy doing wicked stereotypically girly things. That's my advice. You're welcome.

So Zach was making dinner, and dinner was some delicious, perfect, homemade Friday night pizza. As with Chinese food, there is a dearth of good pizza around us and Zach's perfected his from-scratch recipe. This particular time he was making pies with peppers, onions (for the love of god, sautee them both before you put them on your pizza!), and hot italian sausage. The sausage was crumbled in the pan out of the skins, and Zach was having me brown it while I drank my beer (hard work). He also wanted me to drain it and when I grumbled (because BEEF FACIAL) he showed me his trick.

Set a smallish colander over a smallish bowl, and let the colander do all the work. We do this for pasta, why didn't I think of it for everything else?

Sorry about that greasy spatula, but at least there are no beef facials. And aren't you glad we got all that grease out of there? Now your pizza is practically health food! An additional bonus is that it's also a lot easier to dispose of your grease by pouring it directly in your jar or can or whathaveyou, rather than trying to drain a full pan AND aim for a tiny little jar.

So there you have it! A trick I might be the last one to know about.

Also, I'm filing this under M for Mmmm Meat, but I love vegetarian fare (as I hope you know by now) and I think this would work well for a million other things, meat or not. COLANDERS FOR EVERYONE! (Oprah voice.)

Did you know this trick? Am I the last one?

Summer Dinner for the Grill-less

by Maura

Summer has always reminded me of cooking food on a grill, the smell of charcoal and the taste of a juicy cheeseburger. Unfortunately, living in New York City and Philadelphia for the past eleven years means I don't have easy access to the grill. While there are a million benefits to living in the city (walking to everything, public transportation, a ton of awesome restaurants), I still miss having a grill. Sometimes, you just want a juicy steak from the barbecue.

I've learned to live in this grill-less existence. I know where to get a good burger in the city and have embraced my broiler. The broiler is key, actually, since I am terrible at keeping cast iron pans in good condition. When I want a nice, juicy steak, the broiler is the way to go.

To cook a good steak, I have a few tips. First, bring your meat to room temperature and preheat your broiler. Season your steak with a little EVOO (I use a mister) and season generously with salt and pepper. To cook a steak that is between 3/4"-1", cook under the broiler for about 3 minutes. Flip and cook additional three minutes. Sprinkle some bleu cheese on top to hide the fact that there are no grill marks (bleu cheese makes up for that) and broil for an additional 1-2 minutes until the cheese starts to melt.

The second big tip is to let your steak rest on the cutting board for 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving. This allows the steak to suck back in (forgive the technical jargon) all of the delicious steaky juices. When you cut into the steak, they won't all run out onto the plate.

See how pretty it is?  A perfect medium.

To finish off this summer, grill-less dinner, steam some corn in a few inches of water and liberally apply butter, salt and pepper. Serve with a summer beer and then walk to the local ice cream place for dessert. You'll soon forget you're grill-less.

Any of you city-dwellers have tips for recreating summer in your kitchen?

Brined Chicken – Heaven on a Grill

By Julie

We eat a lot of chicken, and I am always on the lookout for new chicken recipes. My cut of choice is a skinless, boneless breast, due to its versatility and easy storage (yes, that’s important, just go with it). But we also grill a whole bunch as well, and the SBC just doesn’t hold up so well under that kind of cooking. I can only manage so many lemon pepper chicken breasts before I want to scream.

I will also admit that I am not terribly skilled with the grill, and very often, meat turned out dry and tasteless. I’m working on it, under the tutelage of Master Griller, er, my dad. He is truly fantastic, my friends, a grill savant. His barbecue is the best in the world, and I will happily ask him to work his magic if you come visit me. (Sadly, I can only seek to learn his technique as he will not share his sauce/glaze recipe with me, as I am a girl. Some traditions are concrete.)

Anyway. Some years back during a Food Network binge, I watched Sunny Anderson brine some bone-in chicken pieces before grilling, so I thought I’d give it a try. Her recipe consists of water, salt, sugar, and lemons, as seen here. I can tell you I’ve used this concept many times over, never exactly following the proportions, and it turned out great every single time. It’s juicy and flavorful and perfect.

This is the method to my madness. I fill my largest bowl with water (leaving room for the chicken), and mix in table salt about a half a cup at a time until the salt won’t dissolve anymore (approximately – go with your gut here). Then I add in a few tablespoons of sugar and pour in lemon juice (perhaps a half a cup or slightly more, depending on how much lemon flavor I want to come through). I dump in the chicken. I tend to use hind quarters, but any cut, particularly bone-in, will do. Then let it soak -the longer, the better.

The last trick to remember is to grill the chicken low and slow. This will reduce flame up and let the chicken cook evenly and thoroughly without the outside burning or drying out.

My whole family loves this chicken. And that’s saying something since my kids typically don’t eat chicken that isn’t in nugget form. This is truly a winner winner chicken dinner. (Yeah, I went there. But don’t let it stop you from trying the brine.)

(Photo from: Me. Apologies for the "well-seasoned" grill.)

Salmon for People Who Don't Love Salmon

Editor's note: Welcome Maura back to the Food Lush family! You might remember her from awesome Food Lush posts of the past, and we're thrilled to have her return. You can see her new bio on the staff page.

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by Maura

Hi Food Lush! I'm really excited to be back here writing about all things food. Last week I came across a fantastic recipe for a food I do not care for all that much: salmon. Now, you may ask yourself why I make food I do not like. That is a very reasonable question! I happen to be dating a man who loves his salmon. (He's from Michigan and I'm pretty sure loving salmon is in the state constitution.) Because I love him, and he loves salmon, I make salmon. (Awwwww.)

Salmon is also a healthy source of protein, vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids, and I often find frozen, wild-caught salmon filets on sale at my local grocery store. For all of these reasons, but mostly because of the compliments I get for making it, we eat salmon a few times a month. I've tried a variety of cooking methods, including broiling, poaching, marinating and making salmon burgers, but it still has that distinctively fishy taste that does not do much for me. Finally, I found a recipe that I like.

This is Ina Garten's Roasted Salmon with Green Herbs, which I found on the Food Network website. My favorite feature of this recipe is that the salmon is juicy, flavorful and very mild tasting. The herbs, lemon juice, olive oil and white wine make a delightful, delicate broth that infuses the salmon with flavor. The second reason I like this recipe is that the ingredients are usually something I have lying around. I pullled dill out of the freezer and picked up some fresh parsley at the store, but I usually have green onions, lemon, olive oil and white wine on hand.

Although the recipe calls for marinating the salmon for fifteen minutes, resulting in 47-minutes of total prep time, I marinated the salmon for just as long as it took me to prepare the other parts of the meal. Aside from some prep I did earlier in the day for the side dish, I had everything on the table in 30 minutes. A meal in 30 minutes is a winner for me.

Check back next week for the story behind those cute zucchini fritters that we ate with the salmon!

Cooking One Egg

Editor's note: Please welcome the hilarious and talented Erica to the Food Lush writing staff! We're thrilled to have her join us. You can read more about her on the staff page and visit her personal blog here.

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By Erica H.

If you've taken a peek at my bio (I'll wait) or if you are familiar with me in any capacity, it won't come as a surprise that my first post here is ovo-centric. I wouldn't say that I went for the "put an egg on it" trend so much as I devoted myself to it heart and soul. "She Put An Egg On All Of It," my headstone will read, if I am lucky.

But how do I accomplish this, day in and day out? The egg is a feisty bit of protein, and not the easiest to wrangle. No one loves a perfectly poached or perfectly scrambled little orb more than myself, but for the more quotidian desire--I need an egg, and I need it YESTERDAY--I've developed a rather slapdash technique, cobbled together from bouts of calorie-counting and a fascination with diner-style cooking. Long story short (too late), I steam it. Here's how it goes:

1. Barely cover the bottom of a small pan with water. Crank up the heat until it sizzles.

2. Crack the egg into the water, break the yolk with a spatula, hit it with some salt and pepper.

3. Turn the heat to medium low and cover for a couple of minutes, until it stops...you know...jiggling.

Total time: four minutes. End result: a slightly slippery, fairly shapeless, completely delicious egg.

Artisan Salami: Outdoorsy lunch that's better than a protein bar

By Dani

This time of year, my hubs and I start going on adventures. In the last month, we've gone on several day hikes, multiple afternoon trips to the beach, a couple of kayak trips and an overnight camping expedition, and this will continue until it rains or gets chilly or we are so tired of hoofing it all over the outdoors that I demand a night in a REAL bed, no honey, a Therm-A-Rest does not count. 

Anyway, all this adventuring means we need adventurous grub -- stuff that doesn't spoil easily, packs well and still tastes decent if it has spent the better part of weekend smashed in-between a kayak paddle and a Coleman lantern. Basically, protein bars are our best friend

Except that if you've ever tried to eat protein bars for multiple meals multiple times in one month, you realize that they really aren't very good, and whether they're supposed to be chocolate chip or peanut butter or cherry crisp, they kindof all taste the same.

Also, we've all seen the greasy packages of pepperoni and beef jerky on the end-aisle at Wal-Mart, and if that's going to be the alternative, one starts to wonder if we might be better off munching Non-Descript Dessert Flavor with Romantic Name Protein Bar instead.

To the rescue: Trader Joe's and their uneblievable artisan salami.

It doesn't have to be refrigerated, it actually does have a lovely wine-y taste, and it goes great with a fresh apple, a handful of crackers and any kind of adventure. It's also small enough to pack easily in a daypack or lunch sack for shorter treks. Best of all, it's only $3.99, or about the same as two terrible protein bars.