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COOKING & ENTERTAINING: Bytes, A Blog________________________________
Get-Into-That-Bikini-for-Spring Break Salad
At the other end of the spectrum from the aforementioned German Chocolate Cake (see entry below), is a recipe I’d like to share for Super Protein Veggie Salad. Inspired by a tired new year’s resolution to lose weight, this salad is vegetarian, but gets its protein from cannellini beans, wheatberries, nuts and the yogurt/cottage cheese salad dressing. The dressing stays low in calories and fat because it contains no oil, but it satisfies thanks to the creaminess of the dairy products involved. The recipe is based on a salad in the Moosewood Cookbook.
I use good quality canned beans for convenience. Use this recipe as a guide, season to taste and add and subtract as you go along. If I am in a hurry and don’t have the dressing made, I’ll add a sectioned orange and toss the salad with a bit of olive oil. This is a great salad for lunch or quick, light dinner because the bean mixture stays so well in the fridge and it can be assembled quickly.
Super Protein Veggie Salad
Serves 6
½ cup wheatberries, cooked
1 (19 oz.) can good quality canellini beans, rinsed
1 bulb fennel, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
red wine vinegar and olive oil, to taste
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 handfuls baby spinach
¼ cup roasted and unsalted almonds, chopped
Dressing:
½ cup cottage cheese
½ cup plain yogurt
1-2 Tblsp Dijon mustard
2 Tblsp Red wine vinegar
Juice of ½ lemon
½ cup cilantro
salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a Gladware container, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and refrigerate. Combine the dressing ingredients and blend with an immersion blender or in a blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
In a salad bowl combine the spinach, top with the bean and wheatberry mixture and toss with the dressing. Top with the chopped almonds and freshly ground black pepper. Toss and enjoy.
-alyce eyster 2/29/08 *****
Rethinking German Chocolate Cake
I’d never made a German Chocolate Cake before, so when my sister requested one in response to my offer to bake her birthday cake, I hit my cookbooks and the Internet in the name of research. Admittedly, it had never been a favorite. Not that I don’t like it, I just prefer a darker chocolate cake. I found the original Baker’s Chocolate recipe, which looked doable, but not that inspiring.
Then I found a more interesting recipe on David Lebovitz's website. Lebovitz, an alum of Chez Panisse and author of several cookbooks, lives in Paris. (After perusing his site, I’ll be returning to investigate his recommendations for my next trip!) Anyway, this cake turned out beautifully in an easy-to-follow recipe. (He credits the recipe to his friend Mary Jo Thoresen of Jojo in Oakland, with slight variation.) What makes this cake better than the traditional is the addition of unsweetened chocolate, making for a deeper, darker flavor. The filling is custardy and the toasted coconut and pecans give it depth. Plus, there’s also a bittersweet chocolate icing.
I followed the cake recipe with a few changes: I omitted the rum syrup step and iced the sides and top with the chocolate icing. The results were delicious, a hit with the family. We’ll be making this cake again. Find the recipe here http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2005/09/german_chocolat_1.html
-alyce eyster 2/8/08 *****
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