Challenge Ingredient Dinner May 15th, 2011

I picked up these ingredients while in New York at Chelsea Market last December. 
They were Spiced Fig Compote (dehydrated with spices), Thai Ginger Salt and Coconut White Balsamic Vinegar.

 

Chip created a lovely dinner. 
Shrimp splashed with the coconut vinegar over a salad of mixed greens, peas and peppers with a coconut-balsamic vinaigrette.  (Coconut Balsamic Vinegar, Olive oil, Salt and Pepper and Coarse Ground Mustard)
Grilled Chicken topped with Spiced Fig Compote and Feta Cheese

Green Beans and Pasta with olive oil, salt and pepper
Dinner was delicious, but the dessert knocked it out of the park on the creative aspect. 
Thai-ginger salt disolved in coconut-white balsamic, then stirred in to vanilla ice cream, served with Nilla wafers and a squeeze of fresh lime.  It was amazing!

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Here's how we do thin mints at our house.  Get the Andes Mint Chips (by the chocolate chips at the grocery store and a sleeve of round butter crackers (reduced fat or regular work fine).

Melt the Andes Chips in the microwave working at medium power and stirring about every 30 seconds until smooth.

Then dip the crackers into the melted mint chocolate and lay on a sheet of wax paper to cool. 

  Fingers or tongs work equally well.  You can use the back of a spoon to patch up any bare spots after you put them on the wax paper.

When they are completely cooled, put them in a ziplock bag and seal for 1-3 days (if you can wait that long!).  The cracker will pick up all the mint flavor and taste just like a cookie!

Glitter Girls

The words Glitter Girls remind me of some seedy place in Vegas, but how else can I describe my 7 year old and her best friend this weekend?  They had scalps and faces full of glitter and you can imagine how the bathroom and bedroom looked.  It's a good thing I love glitter!

Candy Cane Chocolate Pie

Start with 4 candy canes in a ziplock bag:

Crush with mallet or other object: 

In small bowl, bloom (mix) 2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin with 1/2 cup cold water. 

In 2 quart saucepan, mix 1/4 cup of crushed candy canes with 2 cups of whole milk, or other combination of dairy.  This is 1 cup half and half and 1 cup skim.  Stir till disolved, then stir in gelatin, 2 Tablespoons of white sugar and 1/4 tsp vanilla.  Cool this till it's room temperature, then pour into an oreo cookie crumb crust.

 

In a small glass bowl, melt 5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate in the microwave. (this should take about a minute, but stop and stir every 20 seconds till it's smooth) Gently stir into 8 ounces of light cool whip.  It makes a fabulous chocolate mousse.

Layer the chocolate mousse over the peppermint panne cotta layer (that's what you made with the milk and gelatin!) and cool in 'fridge about an hour.  I used a little of the melted chocolate to drizzle on top and the leftover crushed peppermint on top of that.

According to my calculations, this is right around 350 calories for an 1/8 piece of the pie.  Very reasonable for such a rich but refreshing dessert!

Diet Sabotage! Ginger Cookies

My poor husband.  He's trying to get in shape this year and has been doing so well.  And how do I help out?  By making his favorite soft ginger cookies.  I don't mean to be such a distraction, but my favorite things to create in the kitchen are cookies and candies, and I cleaned house all day long, so I had to unwind somehow.  See? I had no choice.
Sorry honey, I'll give them all away to the neighbors tomorrow.  I promise.


Soft Ginger Cookies

Cream well:
    3/4 cup butter flavor shortening
    1 cup sugar
Add and mix well:
    1/4 cup molasses
Mix with a fork in a small bowl first, then mix into butter/sugar mixture:
    1 egg and 2 Tablespoons water
Sift together, then add:
    2 cups flour (can be white, whole wheat or a combination)
    1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
    1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
    1 heaping teaspoon ground ginger
    1/4 teaspoon salt

Cover and refrigerate 20 minutes-24 hours.  This allows the flour to completely hydrate so you have a soft and beautiful cookie.  Shape into 1 inch balls, roll in sugar (this is optional), and bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes ('til set).  Let cool on the cookie sheet 5 minutes then remove to cooling rack.  Makes 40 cookies.

My Favorite Breakfast- and it's HEALTHY!!

I have been eating this nearly every morning for a year now and still look forward to it each morning.  Over the past year I've lost about 15 pounds, and this healthy breakfast has been an energizing start to the day.  When I was really trying to cut calories, I used egg beaters or egg white instead of the whole egg, but being in a weight maintenance mode, I use the whole egg and appreciate the nutrients it supplies.

Heat a medium frying pan over med-high heat, spray with non-stick spray and put down the egg.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.



When the egg is firm enough, flip it over and toss a cup or two of fresh spinach in the pan.

Give it about a minute to start wilting, then add some salsa.  Any type will do, but a good fresh salsa is certainly best.

I choose either to eat this with a piece of high fiber toast with spray butter, or add beans to the pan.  Either way offers 6-7 grams of fiber. The beans have lots of antioxidants too.

When it's all heated through, plate up and eat... or add some sour cream, avocado, and cilantro. If you've left the yolk a little runny, it creates a rich sauce for the dish. 

Delicious!

ps-make sure to have some vitamin C with this- either in the form of an orange, grapefruit or a pill.  It will help your body absorb all those nutrients!

Deliberate Memory Making

My Mom and Dad invited the grandkids only for day of Christmas fun at their home.
I got to stay for the first couple of hours, just to be a fly on the wall.
I was impressed with the agenda:


There were plenty of craft supplies:



The kids were from 4-15 years old and all had a great time:



There was also a few early gifts for unwrapping:


Listening to my Mom talk about how this day (it was the 23rd) put her in the right frame of mind for celebrating the holidays made me really appreciate how important it is to create the important holiday memories each year. We want to have them, and sometimes they happen spontaneously, but they are worthy of our time, effort and planning too.
Thanks Oma and Opa!