Sesame Cole Slaw

This was the slaw that accompanied the corn dog muffins below. I adapted it from a recipe for Amish Slaw – making it faster and adding an Asian twist.

                                  

Sesame Cole Slaw

1 (16oz) bag of shredded cabbage and carrots

½ cup sugar

½ cup vinegar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp white sugar

1 tsp prepared mustard

1/3 cup sesame oil

1. In a medium bowl, mix ½ cup sugar with the shredded cabbage and carrots.  

2. In a small saucepan, mix the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and cool completely.

3. Pour vinegar mixture over cabbage and toss to coat.

4. Chill in the fridge for several hours before serving. 

Stewed Collard Greens and White Beans

Two things very Southern: greens; white beans. Combining them: genius. This recipe that I adapted from the geniuses at Living Simple magazine is an instant family favorite.

Stewed Collard Greens and White Beans
12 oz dry cannellini beans
2 tsp chili oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bunch collard greens (about 2 lbs) stems removed and leaves cut into 3 inch thick strips
1 3-4 inch piece Parmesan rind
7 cups water
coarse salt
2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1. Cover beans with 3 inches of water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover for one hour. Drain.
2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes until tender, about 4 minutes.
3. Add collard greens in batches, stirring until wilted. Add beans, Parmesan rind, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until beans and greens are tender, about 1 hr 20 minutes.
4. Season with salt and vinegar.
5. Yields 6 servings; each serving 350 calories

I am having a busy week getting my Avon business set up. Visiting your blogs is a great, relaxing, just for me activity in which I am about to indulge. Shannon mentioned that Avon sells great bubble bath - indeed they do. They even have Gourmand bubble bath just for us foodies; it comes in Berries and Cream, Chocolate Cherry Cake, and Caramel Truffle (click if you want to see for yourself:) As a disclaimer, I get to tell you that I am an independent Avon representative. 

Easy Sausage Muffins: Foods Made for Family and Friends

Another of my pre-surgery written posts. I am looking forward to getting around to your blogs and catching up. In recovery news, I am having my stitches out tomorrow - they have been rather a nuisance. Your good wishes have made this whole ordeal much, much easier.

I love making sausage bread - it is delicious and it is definitely a comfort food. Recently I was introduced to a very lovely woman who greeted me with, "You are the girl who makes the sausage bread!" The lady in question has gone through some troubles of late and as the days went by after meeting her, I kept thinking of her words. When I found out that she would be attending the same event I would be, I decided I had to make some sausage muffins for her. I didn't have time to make my usual recipe, with the bread from scratch, so I came up with this fast - but still fantastic - version. 

Easy Sausage Muffins
2 cans Pillsbury french bread
1 lb sausage

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, fry sausage until cooked through.
2. Empty French bread dough into a large bowl. Add sausage and, using hands, mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Divide dough into 12 muffin cups. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until browned.

Spicy Lentils - 3 points

Happy Father's Day! I hope that all of the great dads out there are enjoying a fantastic day and all of those lucky enough to have a great dad are celebrating him. I am one of the lucky ones who has an amazing father who came to every school event, read me stories, tried all of my experimental recipes, encouraged me to think for myself, and - when I was in high school - played cards with me almost every night before dinner. My dad loves Indian food - especially tandoori chicken - so here is a recipe is a spicy recipe in his honor.

Spicy Lentils - Betty Crocker's New Cookbook
3 cups water
3/4 dried split peas
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1 small onion, finely chopped

1. Heat water and peas to boiling in a large saucepan. Boil, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low; simmer 25 minutes or until peas are tender.
2. Spray a skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add onions and spices to the skillet, stirring occasionally until onions are tender. Stir in peas until evenly coated.
3. Yields 4, 3 point servings

There are many outstanding fathers, uncles, brothers, grandfathers, step-fathers, and friends I know who are working hard to be examples to the young people in their lives. I am very thankful for all of them and wish them a great day.

Spicy Sweet Potatoes - 6 points, Menu Plan

In my opinion, one of the most inspiring sites on the Internet is Sizing Down the Diva. One of the Diva's favorite dishes is a sweet potato recipe from the New York Times. Trusting in her good taste, I gave it a go. Yum, indeed! The combination of sweet and spice is a favorite of mine, and this is a vitamin rich example of that combo. You can see the original recipe by clicking here. Since I like my potatoes with some extra spice, I adjusted the recipe slightly.

Spicy Sweet Potatoes

1 tsp olive oil

2 medium onions, quartered

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp + 2 tsp paprika

2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 tbsp chipotle sauce

8 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cup white wine

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the paprika, cayenne and chipotle sauce, and cook, stirring, about one minute.

2. Add the sweet potatoes, and stir for about a minute until coated with the onion and spice mixture. Add the white wine, enough water to cover the sweet potatoes halfway (1 1/2 to 2 cups), and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the sauce thick. Taste and adjust salt.

Menu Plan

Monday

tempeh with sate sauce

Tuesday

out

Wednesday

tamale pie

Thursday

round steak in mushroom gravy

Friday

sweet and sour meatballs

Saturday

green rice casserole

I do hope to be a bit more active in my blogging this week. Hopefully, after 1 1/2 rounds of antibiotics and a rather painful shot in my hip, I am going to be back to normal soon. 

Whole Grain Corn Bread - 3 points, Menu Plan Monday

Thank you for your comments on my Jazz Fest post yesterday. I will continue to include my travel/event/ restaurant posts as part of this blog. Again, I continually appreciate your support.

For some reason, one of the Google searches that seems to send people to my site is "What to eat with scallops". One of the reasons that this puzzles me is that I have no posts on what to eat with scallops (I do have recipes for scallops, which you can see here.)

If you are looking for a seafood sidedish, the Southern answers are usually cornbread, hushpuppies, and cole slaw. Here is a cornbread recipe that is light on fat and full of healthy whole grains.

Whole Grain Corn Bread

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup light butter

3/4 cup light soymilk

1. Sift white and wheat flours, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Stir in cornmeal. 

2. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is the consistency of coarse meal. 

3. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Stir together until dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. 

4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 10 -12 times. Roll out until 1/2" thick. Cut rounds with a biscuit cutter (I used a heart shaped cookie cutter this time). 

5. Sprinkle an ungreased cookie sheet lightly with cornmeal. Arrange biscuits on a cookie sheet 1" apart and sprinkle with cornmeal. Bake 10-12 minutes. 

6. Yields 10, 3 point servings

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday

grated egg masala

Monday

stewed collard greens and white beans

white cake with whipped milk chocolate frosting for birthday at work

Tuesday

cabbage and mushroom curry

shaum torte

chicken Ceasar pizza for party with mentor

Wednesday

barbeque pork chops

Thursday

spicy marsala chicken

Friday

night out at the park

Saturday

chili cookoff: Angela vs. Stone

I mentioned on my Resolution Round Up that I was going to start a to-do list to check off. You can now see it by clicking on the "List" tab at the top of this blog. 

Methodist Bean Casserole - 9 points

A teacher asks each of his students to bring in an object that represents his/her spiritual beliefs and present that object to the class. On the day of the presentation, the first boy arises and says, "I am a Catholic. This is my crucifix." The second boy arises and says, "I am a Baptist. This is my Bible." The third boy arises and says, "I am a Methodist. This is my casserole dish."

All jokes aside, we Methodists are quite serious about our covered dish dinners (also known as dinner on the grounds or potluck). These gatherings are a chance for the church members to show off their culinary skills. Most people tend to make the same dish over and over again, knowing that it is their best. You can always count on Mary Ellen's barbecue brisket or Joe's sweet potato pie. There is always an elite group of members who make the best of the best dishes; they are the royalty of the covered dish dinner.

I don't have one dish that I always take - I am still looking for that signature dish. For my first covered dish dinner in Tennessee, I committed a terrible faux pas. I took banana cream pudding. Ms. Ethel Lee, you see, always brings her world famous, slap your mama, banana cream pudding. Not only did I bring the same dish...even worse....mine was better! That is because my banana cream pudding kicks butt; it is the best ever. It is untouchable. It contains enough fat and sugar to give you an immediate cardiac arrest/diabetic coma. It might have been okay, except that one of the male members loudly announced to his table that "whoever brought that banana pudding...it's even better than Ms. Ethel Lee's." I was persona non grata.

It is my desire to never, ever repeat that experience again. So, I try to play it safe and take something that is not earth shatteringly good. This last week, though, I really wanted to make my beans. I was not sure whether to be chuffed or irritated when I heard people start asking about them. "Who made these beans, was it (Insert the name of one of the elite of the covered dish)? No? Well, then who brought them?" Hmmm... a compliment that they like them, but a bit of an insult that they went through a phone book of people before someone pointed out it was me.

A great many folks asked for the recipe. I am sharing it with you first!

Methodist Bean Casserole
1 lb lean ground beef, browned and drained
1 lb bacon, browned, drained, and chopped
2 cans pork and beans
2 cans lima beans
2 cans kidney beans
1/2 cup ketchup
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp prepared yellow mustard
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup chopped onion

1. Combine all ingredients in a large casserole dish. Bake at 350F until bubbly.
2. 9 points per cup serving

They may not look pretty, but, believe me, they taste great. Just make sure someone else at the covered dish isn't famous for their baked beans. You wouldn't want to upstage them.

I failed to give you my menu plan last week in my tizzy of preparing for guests. Here is my plan for this week.

Sunday

pasta salad for church picnic

bread and butter pickles for church picnic

root beer sloppy joes

chocolate pie

Monday

hummus on toast

Tuesday

cheeseburger quiche

Wednesday

kailua monkey smoothie

zucchini muffins

French omelet

Thursday

minty yogurt chicken

Friday

night out

Saturday

stewed collard greens with white beans



Stir Fried Broccoli - 1 point

I promised you this recipe a few days ago, when I did my resolution round up! Here it is....

Stone and I went out to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Bo Bo Chinese, for Valentine's Day. This was thanks to his parents who slipped us some cash after finding out we had used our Valentine's money to take Simon out for reward pizza. (It is nice to be in love with someone who has lovely parents.)

While we were enjoying our meal, a couple walked in and asked the hostess, "Do ya'll have a buffet?"

"No," she replied, "We have a menu. Would you like to see it?"

"No thanks," said the man, "We really want a buffet." The couple turned and walked out. Stone and I looked at each other with eyebrows cocked.

I am not disparaging the buffet, but it was a bit of an eye opening moment. Stone and I used to go to buffets - whether it be pizza or Chinese or southern style food. We would load up plate after plate of food and leave feeling miserable. Now, I look back and wonder at the fat that I would consume in that one sitting. I have no problem with indulgence now and then, but this was a frequent occurrence.

My eating has changed so much - my whole lifestyle has changed. There is a part of me that misses the buffet - the multitude of dishes laid out for me so that I didn't have to make a choice about what I wanted. I could have it all. The bigger part of me is thankful that I am not doing that to myself anymore; I am healthier and happier.

Here is a lovely bowl of hot and sour soup that I enjoyed that day...

Here is a recipe for stir fried broccoli that will taste much better than the wilted stuff you would get off a buffet.

Stir Fry Broccoli
1 lb broccoli florets
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cubes chicken bouillon
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup onion, chopped

1. Combine soy sauce, water, and bouillon cubes. Set aside.
2. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add onions, saute until transparent.
3. Add broccoli and stir fry for three minutes.
4. Add sauce and reheat.
5. Yields 4, 1 point servings

Meanwhile, I am still enjoying smoothies.... Temporary crown goes on tomorrow!

Trio of Sauteed Peppers - 1 point

It was a rather gloomy day in Middle Tennessee - filled with clouds, rain, and tornado warnings. My students were quite brave and well behaved while cowering in the hall during the warning. Still, with all of the stormy spring weather, I was feeling quite anxious for summer. Here is a recipe with lovely summer colors that will make you feel as if warmer, calmer weather is just around the corner.

Trio of Sauteed Peppers from 1000 Vegetarian Recipes
1 tsp olive oil
2 small onions, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/4 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and peppers; saute three minutes.
2. Add seasoning and continue to saute for 2 more minutes, or until peppers begin to feel tender.
3. Yields 4, 1 point servings

I finished reading the book How to Raise a Reader by Elaine K. McEwan. It thought it was good for the most part. There were several sound suggestions for working with your children from birth through middle school; including suggestions for library trips, book lists, and the idea of reading as a family following dinner.  I shared some of the information with the parents of my students. There were parts of the book with which I disagree (she seems to imply that multiculturalism is dumbing down our curriculum - if that is, in fact, her opinion, I disagree completely.) However, it is still worth reading for the wonderful tips and research information. 

Only a few more hours left until the root canal. Thank goodness for all of the delicious smoothies people have been posting lately. I am talking about you in particular, Rebecca and Swathi. They will keep me from feeling too deprived, I'm sure.

If you get a chance, please visit my friend Deborah's blog to read about a chance to win four bags of coffee, a travel mug, and a bumper sticker. Not only that, you will be helping Deborah and her family raise money to bring their little boy home from China. Yesterday was his fourth birthday; they are determined it will be his last one without them! March Madness - Now's the Time to Buy Some Coffee

Pear Apple Sauce - 0 points

This did not start out intentionally. I had two anjou pears that were starting to get mushy and several red delicious apples that were bruised. I was feeling too lazy to do anything fancy, so I decided to just cook them down into a sauce.

I am not normally a big fan of the red delicious apple, as it tends to be mushy. In sauce, however, it turns out to be wonderful! As I was spooning this into my mouth, I kept thinking, "I didn't put sugar in this, right? Did I add cinnamon and forget about it? Was I sleep cooking?" But no. This is simple - just apples and pears cooked down into an completely indulgent mixture that will make you feel like you are sneaking some forbidden, fattening treat.

Pear Apple Sauce
2  very ripe anjou pears, peeled and chopped
4 very ripe red delicious apples, peeled and chopped

1. Heat a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place fruit into skillet; cover.
3. Simmer over low heat for 1hr+, until fruit is cooked to your liking. I like mine medium mushy- about 1 1/2 hrs.
4. Mash with a potato masher for a chunky sauce or run, in batches, through a food processor for a smooth sauce.
5. O points

While we are on wonderful fruit dishes, check out these biscuits with strawberries on top that Stone made. They were amazing! He still won't divulge his biscuit recipe. I am working on him.

Finished teaching the BFG by Roald Dahl. I have fond memories of my Standard Four teacher reading it to my class. My students seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. Do you have fond memories of a teacher reading to you?

Spaghetti Squash - 0 Points

I promised to share my Valentine's Day fare with you, but I have been a bit behind. Here is my first of four recipes from the day of love.

I have known Stone for a long time; we met when I was a senior and he was a junior in college. Over the years, I have heard him say a few times how much he likes the iconic scene from Lady and the Tramp where the Tramp gives the Lady the last meatball from their plate of spaghetti and meatballs. That is how I decided that spaghetti and meatballs would be the perfect meal for Valentine's Day.

Rather than make a traditional spaghetti and meatballs, I decided to use the much more diet friendly spaghetti squash and meatballs. I cooked squash, homemade chunky marinara sauce, and pork meatballs. Here is what the finished product looked like:

Lets start from the bottom up with the recipes. First, of course, the squash.

Simple Spaghetti Squash
1 spaghetti squash

1. Pierce the squash in several places with a fork. Place in a baking pan.
2. Bake at 375F for one hour, watching to make sure that the bottom doesn't burn.
3. Allow the squash to cool.
4. Slice the squash lengthwise. Removed the seeds (save for roasting, if you would like - recipe later). With a fork, remove the squash from the shell and place in a serving dish.
5. 0 points per serving regardless of how many servings

If you want to bake it faster, you can always cut it up first. I hate very few things, but I do indeed hate slicing raw spaghetti squash. So, I use the lazy way and cook it whole.

Here is the finished product:

Finally, a brief romantic book review. I finished Don't Look Down, by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. I read a lot of Crusie books; they are enjoyable mind candy. This one was not my favorites. I loved the parts about Wonder Woman. She is the best super hero ever! She can spin around in a circle and have on a whole new outfit - plus, she has bullet proof bling. Awesome. On the other hand, while I am all about suspension of disbelief, this one asked a lot of me. It was very unrealistic. It needed a little bit more irony to prove that it understood its own implausibility.  

Note: You may notice that I changed the title of my blog from "This is what I do..." to "This is what I eat...". I didn't originally intend for this to be a food blog. Since that it what it has become, I decided that "eat" was more accurate than "do".

Quick Mushrooms - 2 points

Here is another great recipe from 1000 Vegetarian Recipes. It was super fast, but very tasty. Instead of serving it on toast, I made some whole wheat sourdough muffins to accompany it.

Quick Mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 lb white mushrooms, quartered
1/4 tsp salt

1. In a medium skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add the onions and saute until brown, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring, 4 minutes or until soft.
3. Sprinkle with salt.
4. Yields 4, 2 point servings

I just finished re-reading a favorite book: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, but Sherman Alexie. I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Alexie speak at the Southern Festival of Books. He is every bit as funny and charming in person as he is in his wonderful books. This particular book is one of the most contentious in the academic world at the moment; it is being banned all over the country because of its - in my opinion - unflinching honesty.

What is a book that you have re-read?

Namibian Beans - 5 points

During my gap year, I had to spend some time in Johannesburg getting medical treatment. My parents were unable to travel with me for one of my many trips there, so a nurse generously let me stay in her house for a couple of weeks. I had a lovely time getting to know her, playing with her dog when she was away during the day, and eating her delicious cooking in the evenings.

Before moving to Jo’burg, the nurse had worked at a clinic in Namibia. The Namibian nurses had taught her many delicious vegetarian dishes, including a fabulous way to prepare beans. These Namibian beans became an instant favorite of mine. They are fabulous straight out of the pot – and possibly even better the next day, spread on a low carb tortilla with a little fat free sour cream. Mmmmm….

Namibian Beans

2 lb dried pinto beans

1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 ½ cups chopped onion

salt to taste

1. Follow package directions for soaking beans.
2. In a large pot, combine onions, tomatoes and beans. Pour in enough water to cover plus one inch.
3. Bring beans to a boil, remove any foam from the top of the water. Reduce heat and simmer for 4-5 hours.
4. Remove 1 cup of beans from the pot. In a medium bowl, mash beans into a paste. Return the paste to the pot and stir (this will thicken the beans).  Salt to taste.
5. Yields 16, 5 point servings

These can also be made in the crock-pot. Just leave the beans, tomatoes, water, and onions over high heat for 7-8 hours.

Steamed Corn on the Cob - 1 point

I know that this recipe is ridiculously easy - but some of the best recipes are. I love corn on the cob. I'm not going to lie and say that I don't like it dripping in butter - I do. Butter will cover up a multitude of sins from overcooking to bland corn. Now that I only use a few spritzes of spray butter, I need my corn to taste really, really good - perfectly cooked. I want those kernels to pop when I bite down on them, and I want the flavor to be left in the corn, not cooked out into the water.

Here is my favorite method for perfect corn on the cob.

Steamed Corn on the Cob
4 large cobs of corn, cleaned and cut into 3rds

1. Place the cobs into an 11x9 inch glass pan.
2. Pour water into the pan until depth reaches 1/2 inch. Cover the pan with foil.
3. Place the pan into a 400F oven for 30 minutes. Drain immediately upon removing from oven.
4. Yields 12, 1 point servings

Someday, I think I might add another blog or some posts focusing on literature. After all, I am a reading teacher and book nerd. I finished three books this week. Mr. Peanut, by Adam Ross. I read this because Mr. Ross is a friend of a friend. It was about men who want to kill their wives. It was well written, and I can see why it received so much praise. It was also quite depressing. There was not a single truly sympathetic character in the whole book.

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, by Paula Danzinger. I have read this one many times. If you are woman who has struggled with your weight, you should read this book. It is adolescent lit, and reading about how Marcy's friends and family influence her body image is very enlightening.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson, by Bette Bao Lord. This was another re-read. It is a semi-autobiographical book about a little girl who immigrates to New York from China. I love the stories about Shirley, the main character, attempting to embrace her new home without losing her cultural traditions. Jackie Robinson becomes her hero, in part because he is embarking on a frightening but exciting journey - playing on the newly integrated Dodgers - just as she is on her own journey of self discovery.  

I would love to know what you are reading:)

Sauted Mushrooms - 1 point

Sauted Mushrooms
1 lb fresh mushrooms, washed, halved
1 oz red wine
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients except mushrooms.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add mushrooms to skillet, pour sauce mix over mushrooms.
3. Once the sauce has heated through, cover the pan and reduce heat to low. Simmer 5-8 minutes, until parsley has wilted and mushrooms have darkened.
4. Yields 4, 1 point servings

Cream Cheese Corn - 5 points

This recipe is not exactly a low point side dish. I will explain more about that later....

Cream Cheese Corn
3 lbs fresh or frozen corn kernels
8 oz light cream cheese
1/2 cup light butter

1. Place all ingredients in a medium pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until cream cheese has melted and corn is tender (about 30 minutes, if starting from frozen).
2. Yields 12, 5 point servings

Sourdough Cornbread - 4 points

In an attempt to use my Amish sourdough starter in a non-traditional way, I decided to make cornbread pancakes with it. Because cereal was expensive where I was raised, I grew up eating a hot breakfast every morning and most mornings that meant cornbread pancakes. My dad would break them up in a glass of cold milk and eat them with a spoon. My mom preferred them with butter and syrup. I ate them buttered, and Alanna liked to top hers with cheese. However you eat them, they are a wonderful breakfast.

This time, I served them as a side dish for some fantastic fish that I will post later. I was really pleased with their consistency and flavor. They were sweet like a good Southern cornbread but also had a distinct sourdough tang. Well worth the effort of tending to a starter!

Sourdough Cornbread
1 cup Amish sourdough starter
3 egg whites
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp table salt
1 cup whole grain cornmeal
1 can corn (not vacuum packed)

1. In a medium bowl, gently stir starter, egg whites, canned corn, and butter until just combined.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients. If you are left with pieces of whole grain in your sifter when sifting the flours, just dump it into the bowl. The sifting is meant to separate the pieces, not keep out fiber!
3. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the starter mixture. Slowly mix the dry and wet ingredients together until just combined.
4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Fry cakes two at a time, using 1/4 cup batter each. Follow normal pancake frying protocol.
5. Yields 15, 4 point servings

I really, really want to tell you about that fish, but is already late, and I have to get some exercise if I am going to meet my goal for the year! Have a good night.

Fried Zucchini - 1 point

This is probably one of the easiest recipes in the world, but one should never underestimate the power of simplicity! My mom started making zucchini this way when I was in high school, and it is now one of my only non-carb comfort foods.

Fried Zucchini with Onions

1 large onion, sliced

1 1/5 lb zucchini, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray or kitchen spritzer. Add onions and garlic and sauté 3 minutes.
2. Add zucchini. Cook, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes or until zucchini is soft.
3. Yields 4, 1 point servings. 

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes - 3 points

Today was...well, kind of Monday. Except, on Tuesday. I had to keep detention after school today. I realize that the kids are the ones being detained, but being trapped in the room full of teenagers who are all unhappy to be there feels sort of like I am the one being punished. When I got home, I needed some comfort food.

I usually make this recipe with regular potatoes, but I decided to try it with sweet potatoes this time. Oh. My. Gosh. Why on earth did I not do this ages ago? They were so very, very good.

Note of caution: I like spicy food. So, if you are a person who prefers your fare mild, you will probably want to cut the spices in half and add a little seasoning salt instead.

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potatoes - 3 points
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 clove garlic, halved
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion salt

1. Rub sweet potatoes all over with garlic, cut side down.
2. In a small bowl, combine spices. Sprinkle over both sides of each potato.
3. Place sweet potatoes cut side down on a non-stick oven safe dish or one sprayed with non-stick spray. (I used my large pizza stone, so no need for spray). Spritz potatoes very lightly with a kitchen spritzer full of olive oil.
4. Roast potatoes in 375F oven for 45 minutes.
5. Yields 4, 3 point servings

Roasted Cauliflower - 2 points

Adapted from Superfoods for Women.


Roasted Cauliflower
1 large head cauliflower, separated into florets
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl, mix garlic and sesame oil.
2. Place cauliflower in a cake pan or stone. Pour oil over cauliflower and toss to coat.
3. Roast for 15 minutes in a 375F oven, turning every 5 minutes to ensure all sides are browned. Before serving, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Yields 4, 2 point servings