Food Lush

'Kay, So...Let's Talk Cheese

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last two years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

By Erica H.

(Post from the archives that I most wish I had written myself: Tara C.'s funny and informative write-up of Soul Cakes. Post from the archives that I am most pleased to have written: Granny's Lemon Pound Cake.)

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As you know by now, this is a series wrap for me here at Food Lush, which has engendered a certain sense of urgency that I impart the absolute most crucial food-related information to you while I have the chance. Down to the hungry depths of my soul have I searched! And what did I discover there (underneath the layers of garlic and yea, even eggs) but a vast pool of spicy liquid cheese: my molten core of queso.

 

In the interest of making sure that you all can fend for yourselves in my absence, I now present a very important recipe round-up.

Quick and dirty queso for when you only have ten minutes: the classic RoTel/Velveeta combo.

Oh, you have fifteen minutes? Q&D version, slightly enhanced.

Killer, real-deal queso for when you are feeling fancy enough to make a bechamel sauce.

Or just come visit me in Austin, where you can't throw a stick without it ending up in a bowl of the stuff. Seriously, come see me. I already miss you.

DIY Toddler Food: Fruit Leather

By Hillary

I hate spending money on individually-portioned snack food because I feel like I'm paying more for the wrapping than the food (and I end up feeling guilty about the pile of garbage I'm left with.) I especially hate spending money on snack food that is easy enough to make myself (don't even get me started on my husband who buys bags of popped popcorn that costs ten times more than buying kernels and popping it himself.)

All of this is to say that I cringe when I buy fruit leather for my kid so I tried to make my own.

Choose your fruit! I used four pears (skin on,) two apples (peeled,) and five carrots (not a fruit but I'm desperate to get my kid to eat vegetables and will try anything.)

Chop it all up and put in a pot over medium heat.

Add your spice / sweetener! I added the juice of a lemon and a couple tablespoons of apple juice (so the fruit wouldn't burn to the bottom of the pan before its juices were released.) You can add sugar, honey, cinammon, whatever you want.

Cook until your fruit and veg are soft and then puree until smooth.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the puree evenly over top.

My oven's lowest temperature is 175F on the convection setting so that's what I went with. It took about eight hours for my leather to be fully cooked. You want the top to be matte and not sticky.

Slice it up and store in the fridge.

Will I make it again? Probably. It tastes great. I like that I know exactly what went into it. It took a lot of time to make but it was mostly unattended so it wasn't time-consuming. Overall I'd call my fruit leather experiment a success.

(Photo from my overused Instagram account)

Gluten-Free Corner: Pre-Workout Snacks

by Slynnro

After years of having an internal debate about when to eat relative to my workout schedule, I've finally adopted a later dinner time. This was a HARD FOUGHT battle.I'm finally able to wait until 8:00pm, after my classes are done, to eat dinner. But at around 5:00pm, when I start to get a little hunger pang going, I'm always looking for something to take the edge off, but that won't make me feel overly full. I've found a few good gluten-free options (which I also often eat for breakfast) that make for great snacks. Also, I try to have a few good gluten-free items in my bag when I travel, or in my desk at work for harried trial days when I don't have time for a real meal.

My newest find is Orgain Energy Drinks:

I like these because they are not particularly thick in texture (more like skim milk) so they don't feel heavy, and they taste chocolatey but not too chocolately so that you don't feel like you've had a milkshake or something.

My hair lady was very concerned the other day when I told her I would be headed straight to the gym without eating anything and insisted I eat one of her Kind Bars. I mentioned Kind granola a while back, but I had not tried the bars because I typically don't like bars that are heavily nutty. These are great though, and the almond coconut is my favorite (and I don't even like coconut!):

Unlike those pesky regular Luna bars (MISS YOU GUYS!), Luna Protien bars are gluten-free and delicious! My favorite is the chocolate peanut butter, but they are all delicious. And they are relatively low in calories for a bar, 190 calories compared to 250 for my beloved Think! Thin bars:

So what are you guys (gluten-free or otherwise) eating as a pre-workout snack? This is always a conundrum for me because I don't want to eat more calories than I would burn in the workout, but I also don't want to PASS OUT.

In other gluten-free news, I posted my recipe for the perfect gluten-free pizza english muffin on my blog. Check it out!

School Snack: Chewy Fruit and Nut Squares

By Erica H.

I believe most experts agree that cookies, generally speaking, are not an especially healthy snack option for children (I have not done the research re: adults). But somewhere along the line I became convinced that if you pack indentical ingredients into a bar-shaped package, an aura of wholesomeness will surround the entire enterprise. Bars are healthy! (I blame Big Granola for this particular line of brainwashing.)

Of course, along comes Lorraine Bodger to call me out on this point by titling her cookbook "The Four-Sided Cookie: 55 Recipes for Delicious Squares and Bars." Yes, well. I appreciate your opinion, Ms. Bodger. That will never change the fact that while I would feel a bit irresponsible sending my daughter to school with a bag of Chewy Fruit and Nut Cookies for her classmates, I feel just fine and dandy sending her bearing Chewy Fruit and Nut Squares, thank you very much.

The fact is, it takes only the most superfical analysis of this recipe to see that she has started with a chocolate-chip cookie dough base, added a touch of orange flavor, and mixed in dried fruit and nuts instead of chocolate. It's a bit genius, frankly. You can put anything you want into chocolate chip cookie dough! It's just dough! Sorry, it seems I'm still processing this breakthrough.

At any rate, these are tasty, not too sweet, and will keep you off the list of tragically indulgent cookie-pushers.

Chewy Fruit and Nut Squares from The Four-Sided Cookie by Lorraine Bodger

• 2 1/4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. light or dark raisins
• 1 c. chopped dried fruit (I used a combination of apricots, prunes, and apples)
• 3/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. grated orange rind
• 1/4 c. orange juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in the fruit and nuts.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the egg, orange rind, orange juice, and vanilla and beat well. Add the flour mixture and blend well.

Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the edges are browned and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

And don't worry--the kids will eat them. They are cookies, after all.

Roasted Chickpeas

by Jess M

Like many people (most? it seems), now that January is here, I am trying to eat better, healthier, and exercise more. And as I've mentioned in other posts, I have a bad habit of eating terrible, convenient things during the day. It's very filling and super easy.

Roasted Chickpeas

1 can of chickpeas
1 T olive oil
1 t soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Mix olive oil, soy sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper, then toss with the chickpeas. Spread onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until crispy on the outside, still tender on the inside. (You may have to taste test a couple)

I first used this recipe for roasted chickpeas and here on Tasty Kitchen there are several different variations. 

You should probably share these; they make a great happy hour snack with a beer. They are also a really great alternative to plain chickpeas on top of a salad. However, I sometimes just eat them all for lunch. And if you eat a whole can of chickpeas for lunch you likely won't be hungry the rest of the afternoon.

(Photos: me)

Gluten Free Corner: Late July Green Mojo, and a Bonus Snack Idea.

by Slynnro

I've waxed poetically before on my blog about my obsession with Late July chips, and Caitlin has blogged about their ranch chips on Food Lush as well (confession: I'm the only sorority girl on earth that hates Ranch things). I have quietly been inhaling bag after bag of Sea Salt by the Sea Shore chips. And, lo, they are delicious. But then....I bought a bag of Mild Green Mojo and my life totally changed.  

I've been trying to come up with a way to describe the flavor of these chips, but honestly I cannot. Except to say my obsession with them is such that I have to MEASURE OUT SERVINGS and put them in bags so that I don't accidentally eat the entire bag in one sitting. We are in serious love, Mild Green Mojo and Me, and will be personally offended if you don't go buy some of these chips posthaste. I usually get mine at Whole Foods, but I actually did see them recently at Albertson's, so hopefully they will be available at more average grocery stores at a more reasonable price. Regular price is around $4.99 for a bag, but I am having good luck spotting them on sale for $2.99. Not only are these chips perfect on their own, I have been enjoying scooping up my Chipotle salad with them lately as well.

Beyond my obsession with these chips, I have a new dirty little snacking secret. I have always loved Annie's Graham Bunnies, and there is always a box in my bag when I travel. My favorite of the lot is most definitely the Ginger Snap variety:

Now, I AM a sorority girl in that I am always trying to find myself some kind of low cal sweet snack, and I have eaten an embarrassing number of tubs of Cool Whip with a spoon. I spotted some Tru Whip at Whole Foods and decided to give it a try. This stuff is leaps and bounds better that Cool Whip -- it has a very ice-creamy consistency. And in a moment of inspiration, I combined my Annie's Bunnies with my Tru Whip and my own little low calorie McFlurry was born. After discovering the deliciousness of this combination, I took my snack ambitions a step further and stirred a (large) amount of Bunnies into a Tru Whip container and put it back in the freezer.  

OH WOW.

This snack is not something to tell your nutritionist about, but its something to enjoy on occasion without any guilt. It's addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Holiday Staple: Chex Mix

by Jess M

Every Christmas pretty much my entire life has included Chex Mix. We have always made it from a recipe my mom cut out of a magazine sometimes in the 80s. I'm pretty sure that piece of paper still exists, in the green metal recipe card tin my mom kept in the cabinet. For my bridal shower, my sister included a copy of that recipe for my own collection. Over the years the recipe on the boxes has changed but I stick very closely to my own version of the snack.

For reference: "The Original Chex Mix" recipe from Chex.com (picture those quotation marks as air quotes from me because it's not *actually* the original from the 1950s).

Also the Wikipedia article, with a link to the original ad for Chex Mix which appeared in Life Magazine in 1952.

Jess's version of Chex Mix (based on a circa 1980s magazine cutout, with my own modifications)

1/2 c melted butter

3 T Worchestershire sauce

2 t Season All seasoned salt

8 c any Chex cereal (I prefer corn and rice)

1 c pretzels

1 c peanuts

Measure out cereal, pretzels and nuts in a gallon ziploc bag. Melt butter, mix with the worchestershire and seasoned salt, and pour over the cereal mixture. Seal the bag and shake it until all the pieces are evenly coated.

Microwave: Pour contents into a large microwaveable bowl, cook on high 5-6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. 

Oven: Heat oven to 250 degrees. Spread the mix onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Cook for 40-50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Cool on paper towels.

It freezes well, so if you can make a whole bunch at a time, you can put it away for later, but it doesn't really last all that long in my house.

~~~

 Last year, Caitlin's dad shared their family's recipe for Cereal Mix.

Gluten-Free Corner: Kind Granola

by Slynnro

Even prior to going GF, I generally avoided granola (not granola bars, I love those, but Granola GRANOLA) because holy crap, one second you're enjoying a delicious healthy snack and then two minutes later, you have just inhaled 750 calories and 50 grams of fat. However, over Thanksgiving I was at a recently GF relative's house (she's GF because of migraines and has had great success, if that's something you're dealing with now!) and I was advising her on various gluten-free goodies. She was showing me what was in her pantry and one of the things she had tried and liked was Kind Healthy Grains in Dark Chocolate and Cranberry cluster. Now, as a fruit hater (yes, I hate all fruit, and yes, even strawberries) I don't normally taste such things, but I was starving and downed a handful. And my lord, was this stuff delicious. Not fruity-tasting at all.

 

It comes in a variety of flavors, and the nutrition facts are surprisingly reasonable. There are 130 calories and 3 grams of fat in 1/3 cup. Much to my shock, I was actually able to consume a reasonable serving and be satisfied. Which is good, because at around $5/bag, this stuff isn't cheap. I picked mine up at Whole Foods, but I have seen it at regular chain grocery stores as well.  

Kind makes a variety of other bars and granola flavors, and I eager to get to tasting!

Gluten Free Corner: Plentils Lentil Chips

by Slynnro

Well, after a brief work-induced hiatus, I'm back and from now on I will be bringing you my favorite gluten-free finds (and anything I find that is NOT worth the investment). Hopefully, the finds I bring here will be delicious enough for the non-gluten intolerant amongst us, as well!  

So this week's featured product is Plentils, delicious lentil chips!

 

These chips are made by Enjoy Life, and well, I haven't always enjoyed their wares. But these chips are awesome. They have a lightness in texture that for some reason reminds me of FunYuns (do those still exist? Are they gluten free? FunYuns taste like my childhood), without the horrific onion breath after.

I've had a lot of luck with products that are lentil-based when gluten-free goodies hunting, and these were no exception. They'd make a great sandwich side, and I've also crushed them into tomato soup and put them on top of a salad in lieu of croutons. These are also definitely yummy enough that I'd serve them to someone without gluten issues without my typical "gluten-free good" warning -- gluten-free good meaning, they're good . . . for being gluten free. These are just straight-up good. I picked them up at my local Whole Foods. They are also available through the Enjoy Life website for $3.74/bag, which is about what I paid in store. They also sell a small indiviudal serving bag online, and I haven't been able to find that in store.

31 chips has 130 calories, and 6 grams of fat, which is a bonus -- gluten-free chips and especially pretzels tend to have pretty high calorie and fat content. They are also dairy free.

Stovetop Popcorn: Simple, Easy Snack

by Jess M

Not to brag, but my children have said that I make the SECOND-best popcorn ever. First place will always go to movie theater popcorn with it’s layers and layers of drippy butter-like topping served in enormous cardboard buckets. But at home I make (almost as good) popcorn for an easy after-school or movie night snack.

And, really, popping it on the stove is not that hard. I know! I used a microwave and those folded popcorn packets for years too, but this is surprisingly easy (as our mothers and grandmothers roll their eyes at me/us).

Popcorn on the Stove

1-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1⁄2 cup popcorn kernels

Use a medium to large sized pot; I use a 4 quart stainless saucepan. Add the vegetable oil, enough to thinly cover the bottom. Put a few kernels in the pot while the oil heats up over medium-high heat. Cover the pot with a piece of foil with a few vents cut into it.
When the oil heats up and those first couple of kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn kernels and cover back up with the foil.

As it cooks, shake the pot a little bit so that the kernels and popcorn on the bottom don’t burn. After a few minutes you’ll hear the popcorn pop, and when the popping slows down you know it’s about done. Pull it off the stove quickly so you don’t burn it.

Dump the popcorn in a large bowl, drizzle with melted butter and salt and serve! 

(Photos from: me)