A Pretty Meal

Brunch with my girls before we went to see "Wicked":



That's Melon Soup with Sour Cream in the glass, and the plate holds a summer salad with Butter Lettuce, Raspberries, and Walnuts (I forgot the crumbled goat cheese). We also had Salmon en croute, which didn't make it into the picture, but was a delicious golden brown.

And: a Peach Dutch Baby. So good!

Summer Treats

I just finished a morning snack: Spicy Melon Soup. The recipe was in the newspaper, but it couldn't be simpler: just cut up the melon of your choice (cantaloupe, honeydew, or any of the myriad variations), and blend it up with a teaspoon of tobasco sauce.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

I'm going to eat all my melons this way, from NOW ON.

It's about 54 calories for a half cup, and that includes a teaspoon of sour cream.

Now I'm going to experiment with Paletas (fruit or veggie ice treats).

Food for the Environment

From the Onion:



Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

Summer Food

I've had a busy two weeks helping my daughter during the birth of her first child:

But now I'm home, and life returns to normal, including going back to losing weight. In that regard, I found the greatest recipe in the newspaper.

Peachy Tacos with Peach, Jicama, and Tomato Salsa

Oh yeah, these were good. Half a pound each of ground beef and ground pork, cooked with half a peach, a little jalapeno, red onion, jicama, and paprika. Served on a soft corn tortilla, each taco is only 180 calories. I thought the meat needed more flavor - next time, I'll add garlic and use more jalapeno, and maybe some oregano.

But the salsa... wow, what flavor.

Two peaches chopped up with 1/2 cup jicama, half a jalapeno, a little red onion, garlic, and paprika. Oh and the corn from one ear, and one small tomato. A little salt. So, so good.

45 calories for 1/4 cup. With the taco and a little lettuce, this was a complete meal.

Great Baked Beans

I'm wrestling with my weight, logging my food intake quite faithfully. So I know I'm keeping calories under 1400, most days, under 1200.

Haven't lost a pound. I exercising a bit too, mostly by dancing aroud the family room to Irish music.

You're forgiven if you don't want that image hanging around.

This has all led me to search diligently for interesting, low-cal recipes, that are - wait for it - made with Real Food. So I'm delighted to report on this great recipe for Baked Beans, from www.veggiemealplans.com. I tweaked it a bit, and cooked it in the slow cooker, but these are great - and only 232 calories for a whole cup!

Stove-Top Sweet and Spicy Beer "Baked" Beans

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 sweet bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves
4 cups cooked navy beans, drained
1 bottle of your favorite beer
4 tbsp cider vinegar
4 tbsp light molasses
4 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 heaping tbsp mustard, any kind (I used Dijon)
1 chipotle pepper, diced
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp allspice

Heat oil in a pot and saute the onions, bell pepper, and garlic until softened. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until thickened to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 5 cups

Borrowing from Others

After weeks of not making an entry, I should be ashamed to just give you a link to someone else's blog, but Rebekah Teal over at Rumor Has It, has a great idea for using scapes.

Don't know what scapes are? Neither did I. Go see.

http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/MJFBlog/default.asp?Display=215

Win Some... Lose Some

My poor husband. He's very good about eating whatever I fix, and generally liking most of it. But the other night he was reduced to complimenting just specific parts: "Great pizza dough..." "Good anchovies..."

His mother must have taught him to not say anything, if you can't find something nice to say. So he pointedly said nothing about the pizza topping (except for the anchovies).

What can I say? I had to use up my veggies, didn't I? And it really wasn't that bad - just different.

First, I sprinkled some grated Manchego cheese on the bread. Then I sauteed the following and spread it on top of the cheese:

2 spring onions
2 green garlic stalks
About 2 cups of sugar snap peas, chopped

I added a little salt, pepper, and thyme. I threw the anchovies on top, 'cause I know DH really likes 'em. I knew he'd need some encouragement.

I thought it tasted pretty good. But yeah. It was a little strange.