Meatless Monday: 2 Ingredient French Toast (2 Ways)

Mott's Strawberry Applesauce French Toast

And, no, one of those ingredients is not eggs. Or egg substitute.

This is a perfect recipe for days when you wake up wanting a real breakfast but the fact it is snowing in April makes you so adverse to the thought of doing anything that you cannot scrounge up the energy to find more than two ingredients–i.e. yesterday.

Or really just any day.

Yogurt French Toast
makes 1 toast

• 1/2 6oz. container of yogurt (any flavor)
• 1 slice bread old bread (or lightly toasted bread)

Applesauce French Toast
makes 1 toast

• 1/4-1/2c. unsweetened applesauce (any flavor)
• Spices or seasonings of choice
• 1 slice bread old bread (or lightly toasted bread)

→Put the yogurt or applesauce in a shallow container that is wide enough to hold your bread. If your yogurt or applesauce is thick, mix it with enough water to make it the consistency of pancake batter. Add in any spices or seasonings you want.

Put the bread in the yogurt (or applesauce) and let it soak a little. Flip it over to get the other side.

Bread soaking in Cherry Vanilla yogurt

Spray a small/medium saute pan with nonstick spray. Let it sit on medium heat for a minute (just enough to preheat it).

Take the bread out of the yogurt or applesauce mixture and put it in the pan. Top with more yogurt (or applesauce). Flip it after about a minute (or when the bottom is brown). If there’s any left, top with some more of the “batter”.

Admittedly, a little too much yogurt on top...

Once both sides are brown, take it off the pan and eat it while contemplating whether April snow showers will bring May flowers.

Chicken Little’s Waffles

Cinnamon Waffles

I’ve been researching the feeling I talked about yesterday (WebMD…we all do it). Apparently, it’s called “derealization” and is (or can be) associated with extreme anxiety. God forbid I should just feel “anxious” like everyone else. I skip past panic and go straight to delusional.

This got me thinking, which probably wasn’t the best idea. When I couldn’t give my stress a concrete name, I began to panic. What if I’m missing something? My mind was racing with the myriad of things I might be forgetting. It felt as if I might be forgetting that someone had told me the world was going to end and I had to save it. Needless to say, I only became more stressed. (The world was ending, people! And I forgot I had to save it!)

For future reference, if you’re stressed and don’t really know why, it’s probably best to just leave it a mystery for the time being.

After a several minutes spent hyperventilating, pacing, and panicking, I grabbed a few towels and (being now properly armed for the coming apocalypse) decided to have some waffles.

And, yes, I have completely lost it. Not quite sure what “it” is, but if there ever was an “it” (or several “its” for that matter), I am now officially without.

It.

Chocolate waffles with strawberries

“The World’s Ending so I May as Well Eat Waffles” Waffles
serves 1 (this is no time to diet! where are your priorities?!)

• 3T. mashed Fiber One Original Bran (mash it till it has the consistency of flour)
• 2T. cocoa powder (version 1) or pudding mix (version 2)
• 1/4 t. + a few pinches baking POWDER
• 3/8c. TOTAL applesauce + cottage cheese or 3 oz./half a small container yogurt (version 2)
• Water or milk or soymilk as needed to make it pourable
• Pinches of seasonings/extracts
• Sugar or sugar substitute, to taste

→Mix all the wet ingredients together in a small container/bowl/dish/cup.

In a different bowl (etc), whisk the fiber one, other flour, baking powder and sugar substitute/seasonings.

Version 2 after mixing

Add the contents of the second bowl to the contents of the first (or the first to the contents of the second) and mix well.

Cook in a WELL-GREASED waffle iron. Top with fruit or other topping of choice.

Making a mess

Don’t bother cleaning. The world’s about to end.

Cinnamon waffles with apple pie filling

Mix ‘n Match Cake (Healthy AND Low-Calorie)

This site has moved. Please click on the following link to read this post:

http://measuredinpinches.com/2011/03/11/mix-n-match-cake-healthy-and-low-calorie/

Breakfast of Champions: Lemon-Raspberry Parfait

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I have a confession to make: I’ve been eating a lot of cake/brownies/cookies lately. It makes me feel incredibly guilty, which, from a logical standpoint, doesn’t make much sense. If one were to take into account all the ingredients, they wouldn’t find a single guilt-worthy one. After all, what makes a plate of steamed broccoli “healthier” than pureed steamed broccoli in a cake?

I suppose it’s more about the psychological connections we have with certain foods. I remember my friend telling me once that, every time he ate something “unhealthy,” he would follow it up with something “healthy” like “broccoli”. Of course, being the kind of person that puts broccoli in my cake, my first question was what he would do if the cake was made out of something “healthy” (like broccoli). Not being one to obsess over every bite of food, he shrugged and let the issue pass, but I haven’t been able to let go of it since.

Whenever I eat a “healthy” version of a typically “unhealthy” food, my id and superego begin to battle it out in a dialogue reminiscent of the 1930s comedy sketch, “Who’s on First?” It seems neither one can understand the other and neither one cares to try. As a result, I am left guilty and confused about whether or not I should consider my baked goods “unhealthy” or “healthy”.

I guess the only question that really needs to be answered is why I care so much.

Things to think about:

1. How do you define healthy? Is it macronutrient composition? Raw food? Calories? Is it more a “feeling” based on what you associate the food with?
2. Based on your definition, how do you (or how don’t you) moderate unhealthy vs. healthy foods?
3. Where would you put a cake made out of broccoli on the spectrum?

For the parfait:

• Lemon Cake: Sponge cake seasoned with lemon zest
• Whipped Cream: Try my version made with sugar-free, fat-free pudding
• Raspberry Sauce: Mix low-calorie raspberry yogurt with water until it forms a saucy consistency

Adventures in Molecular Gastronomy: Vegan, Low-Calorie Sponge Cake

This site has moved. Please click on the following link to read this post:

http://measuredinpinches.com/2011/03/06/adventures-in-molecular-gastronomy-vegan-low-calorie-sponge-cake/

Saturday Breakfasts with Friends: Spaghetti Pancakes

I’m going to start by saying that these are not the typical spaghetti pancakes with strings of spaghetti in them. These are actual pancakes with actual pancake consistency that taste like actual pancakes. Well, that taste like actual pancakes would if you added cinnamon to them.

You might be wondering how I came about these pancakes. I, after all, don’t normally eat things like spaghetti, much less try to find creative uses for such things. Well, it just so happened that my friend and I had spent Friday night cooking, eating and talking. What did we make, you ask?

Why, spaghetti, of course!

Unfortunately, the amount of spaghetti we ended up making was a little bit past our appetite. I’m going to blame it on the vinegar-laden basil pesto that my friend talked me into trying. Although she did say that was quite good so one never can tell.

I’m sure you’ve all been in this situation before: waking up in the morning to leftovers with which to contend; you don’t want to throw them away but, let’s be honest, who REALLY wants spaghetti for breakfast? I know I don’t, but then again I don’t really eat breakfast…

Either way, we ended up making these little dollars of spaghetti laden joy. One bowl of leftover spaghetti salvaged; one friend enjoying pancakes; one new recipe created. I think it was a very productive morning.

Is it just me or does it look like mickey mouse?

Leftover Spaghetti Pancakes
makes 3-4 pancakes

• Leftover spaghetti
• Baking powder
• Pasteurized egg or well-beaten eggs
• Cinnamon, sugar and/or any other flavorings
• Skim milk

→Puree the spaghetti (I used a hand blender).

For every cup (roughly) of pureed spaghetti, add about one egg (1/4 c. egg substitute) and 1/4 t. baking powder. Add spices and enough skim milk (or water) to make it the consistency of pancake batter.

Drop by spoonfuls on hot pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Check for doneness by carefully lifting up the side of the pancake. When pancakes look done (lightly browned), very carefully flip them over. I, for one, have not yet even come close to mastering the subtle art of pancake flipping.

Serve with desired toppings.

Side note: I just went back over this post and realized how much the 2nd picture looks like a face. I don’t know what it is but, every time I eat something with this particular friend, something ends up looking like a face. In case you don’t believe me, here’s another example:

Soft-serve ice cream in the dining hall topped with Reese's pieces that were not purposely arranged in any way

Memories of food: Vegan Chocolate Crepes

As a general rule, I try to avoid cooking things that remind me of my past. The few times I did, I gained nothing more than nostalgia or a strange variety of metaphorical heartburn that stretched from my leg to my chest. Sometimes, though, I can’t stop myself. This, like the Gulab Jamuns I made awhile back, was one of those times.

As much as I would like to blame it on the very old container of fat-free cottage cheese sitting in my fridge, I can’t. Yes, I wanted to find a use for it, but, as most dieters know, cottage cheese has a myriad of uses (the least of which is crepes). And I never even liked crepes (even though I ate them quite a bit over the years).

Of the few things that have lasted through the ups and downs in my weight (and corresponding eating disorder), crepes is one. They, like the Guess watch I so adamantly refuse to give up, have seen me through my childhood obesity, my high school emaciation, my “regaining” of lost weight, and every little ounce that came between.

I still vaguely remember that first day of the third grade. I had just started a brand new school whose only foreign language option was French, which, thinking back, I find slightly surprising considering foreign language was required.

To welcome the students to her class on this first day, our French teacher decided to make a traditional French food: crepes. I watched her, barely interested, while she dipped the electric crepe maker into the eggy sort of batter; she flipped the appliance, checking the crepe for doneness; when a certain point was reached, she grabbed a white paper plate from her stack and shook the crepe maker, causing the strange looking thing to flop on to the plate.

“Who wants to try one?” she yelled. I, for one, did not. There was something about the way they hit the plate, something about the texture of the batter, something about the the white-ish yellowish color that resembled old white underwear desperate for some bleach. Yes, there was something very wrong with these.

Then she started laying out the toppings. Strawberries were first with their mouthwatering almost blood red color and dotted texture. Then bananas-creamy, sunshine yellow flecked with dots of brown like birds in the sky. Then light, airy whipped cream for clouds. And, then, there was…

chocolate: sweet, sensual, creamy heaven. Nutella, to be exact, which, at the time, I didn’t know was a mix of chocolate and hazelnut. The moment I read the words “nut” and “chocolate” on the package, I was sold. Our French teacher, wanting us to experience the culture of her county, forbade any eating of toppings without crepes.

Lured by the possibility of chocolate, nuts AND strawberries, I forced myself to try one. As I suspected from its appearance, the crepes tasted rubbery-like skin or, at least, as one would imagine skin to taste. I didn’t care though. I was a kid; I didn’t have to worry about budgeting calories…if even part of something was good, I ate it. Oh how did I eat it!

Crepe after crepe, year after year, pound after pound, I ate it. Until I was so big, so miserable, my mom felt the need to resort to such negative reinforcement as calling me a fat bitch. So it went for a few years…crepe after crepe until all I wanted was to be thin.

And, well, it’s all downhill from there.

Chocolate Version

Vegan Crepes #1: Chocolate
makes 2-3 crepes

• 1/2 T. mashed fiber one (4 grams)
• 1 T. cocoa powder
• 1 T. all purpose flour
• 1/4 t. guar gum
• 1/4 c. milk

Vegan Crepes #2: Banana (Microwave-friendly)
makes 2-3 crepes

• 1/2 T. mashed fiber one (4 grams)
• 1 T. banana flavored protein powder
• 1 T. all purpose flour
• 1/4 t. guar gum
• 1/4 c. milk

→Mix all the ingredients together, beating well. Make sure it is a uniform liquid.

Allow to stand for a minute or so, until mixture is like very thin-cake batter. If it becomes too thick, you might need to add a little warm water.

On a non-stick skillet sprayed very well with cooking spray, pour the batter. Quickly shake the pan or move it around in circles. You want the crepe VERY thin. Using a large skillet pan, this mixture should make at least 2 crepes.

When the edges look dry, flip it over. (This is a feat indeed).

Alternatively, spread the batter very thinly on parchment paper. Place a few paper towels underneath and nuke until done (4-5 minutes). The microwave method is a lot messier, a lot more time consuming and a lot more prone to over/undercooking. But you don’t have to worry about the flip.

Top with desired topping. If you want, you can puree some cottage cheese with sweetner and make a “blintz”.

 

For Those Who Stare at Fudge Brownies

Fudgy Brownies

Time seems to slur together, day and night becoming the same. I suppose this is the price we pay for electric lighting. I wake up half asleep and lay in bed fully awake, always trapped in a world where there are ladders without sides. It’s as if everything is occurring in this dream world and I can no longer distinguish what is real and what is in my mind. Is my face really that bloated or was that in another world?

A world full of ladders without sides.

I used a circular bowl so I had to "make" a brownie shape

Decadent 5-minute 75-calorie Brownie (Microwave)
makes 2 brownies (3″ X 3″)

• 1/4 c. mashed Fiber One Original Bran (mash it till it has the consistency of flour)
• 1 T. cocoa powder OR chocolate coffee
• 1/2 t. baking POWDER OR 1/4 t. baking POWDER + 1/8 t. baking soda
• 2T. sugar or sugar substitute
• 1/8 t. guar gum OR 1/4 c. natural applesauce
• a little extract (almond, raspberry, coconut, hazelnut, strawberry, mint or good old vanilla)
• 1 T. light butter, melted (I used Bestlife Buttery Baking Sticks which are made out of oils, not dairy) OR 1 T. peanut butter for a peanut butter chocolate brownie

→Mix the butter, applesauce and extract in a small-medium microwave-bowl.

In a different bowl, whisk the fiber one, cocoa, baking powder (and soda) and sugar substitute. Add this mixture to the ingredients in the first step.

Add a little water and spread it around with a spoon to make the top even. You want it to be the consistency of drop cookie batter. (SEE NOTE)

Cover with plastic wrap (My tree-hugger instincts won’t let me buy plastic wrap so I use old cut up cereal bags and popcorn wrappers. I don’t really know why I’m mentioning this peculiarity, but, well, there it is). If you do use the plastic, make sure to allow a way for it to vent (a slit, a hole, a few holes….whatever).

Microwave for 2-3 minutes, turning halfway through. I find varies depending on how much water I add.

After about 2.5 minutes (when the brownie is still a little soft on top), remove the plastic wrap and cook for about another 30 seconds. You don’t have to do this, but I find it gives it a little extra chewiness and makes it an “eat out of hand” brownie instead of a “eat with a spoon” one.

After this, it will still look a little undercooked. That’s ok. DO NOT MICROWAVE IT ANYMORE OR YOU WILL HAVE A ROCK BROWNIE. Take the brownie out of the microwave and let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute. This will help dry out the top a bit and firm it up.

Feel free to stare. You know who you are. Oh, and, by the way, this just happens to be vegan too.

*NOTES: If you choose to use the guar gum, you’ll need to add about 3 T. of water and use only baking powder. The guar gum version has fewer calories and cooks a little quicker so you’ll need to watch it more carefully.

If you choose to use the applesauce, you’ll need to add a little less water (about 1-2T.) and use the baking powder/soda mix. To keep the butter from clumping up again, make sure the applesauce is room temperature before adding it.

I would recommend the applesauce version only because it is easier to get it right. The guar gum version tends to dry out around the edges very easily and become hard if left out for even five minutes. I’ve gotten it right a few times, where it stayed moist and tasted great, but those were pure chance. If you really want to mix it up, do half of each, using 1/4 t. plus a pinch baking powder and a pinch or two of baking soda.

Also, I am still learning more about guar gum, so I don’t have a lot of information. For the wikipedia article, click here. Hopefully I’ll be able to add a page on it under the “unique ingredients” in the near future.

Curried Lentil Loaf with Chatpata Butternut Sabzi

It’s been so long since I’ve written. I wish I could say it’s because I haven’t felt much like cooking; because I haven’t been able to find the words; because I’m lost in other (more fascinating) endeavors. If only that were the case.

If only…

I actually made this loaf awhile ago but its posting has been overcome by the myriad of cookie recipes I am so in love with. In some sense, I am glad I waited for this particular recipe takes the contradictions I hate about myself and makes it delicious. The comforting heaviness of the lentils, the plain-ness of the tomatoes, and the sweetness of the squash are all perfectly complimented by the bite of chat masala, the fire of garam masala and the wit of meyer lemon.

If only such qualities were appreciated in a person as well as in a food.

Indian-Spiced Lentil Loaf
makes 1 loaf

• 3/4 c. mashed Fiber One Original Bran (mash it till it has the consistency of breadcrumbs)
• 1/4 c. toasted wheat germ (or bran, if you prefer)
• 2 c. cooked lentils
• 1/4 c. egg or egg substitute
• 1-15 oz. can of tomato sauce
• 2 T. light butter, melted
• spoonful of minced (or chopped) garlic
• handful of frozen chopped onion (or fresh, doesn’t matter)
• a few pinches of the following: turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, cinnamon
• a small pinch or two garam masala
• salt and pepper to taste

→Preheat the oven to 350*F. Grease a standard loaf pan.

Mash the lentils with a spoon. You can puree them if you want but I decided to leave some chunks. Mix in the fiber one, wheat germ and egg. Add the tomatoes. (See note for a vegan option)

Saute the onion and garlic in some cooking spray until they are fragrant and onion is lightly browned. Add to the lentil mix.

Add in spices and mix well. At this point, mine looked something like this:

Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, checking with a toothpick for doneness. This loaf comes out a little wet at first but, after a day in the fridge, it REALLY firms up to normal meatloaf consistency.

NOTE: For a vegan twist, leave out the butter (or swap it with any mild-flavored oil) and swap the eggs with 3T. lentils + 2t. baking powder + a little water.

Sweet, Sour and Spicy Butternut Squash Sabzi
makes as much as you want

• Butternut squash (I used the bag I had left from the freezer clean-out)
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1/2 bag frozen 3 pepper and onion blend
• a teaspoonful of minced/chopped/mashed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoonful grated ginger
• 1-3 packets sugar or sugar substitute
• Juice of 1-1.5 meyer lemons
• a few good pinches of the following: turmeric, garam masala
• a small pinch or two of: cumin and cinnamon
• 1-2 palmfuls (or large pinches) chat masala, which lends this sabzi its tangy punch
• salt and pepper to taste

→Saute the frozen pepper and onion blend, garlic and ginger in some cooking spray. You can do it in the same pot you mixed the lentil loaf in.

Add butternut squash, tomato and spices. Stir well.

Cook until squash is soft, stirring continuously (or almost continuously). Mash the squash till it’s almost a paste.

Cover and leave on low-medium heat so the sabzi can absorb the spices. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn. It should take about 10 minutes for the spices to meld together.

Serve with loaf.

If you’re careful, you can do the entire thing using only one pot. You’ll have to use a few bowls/other dishes to hold the lentil mix while you’re sauteing, etc but it’ll still only be one pot.

The Ultimate “Like-Substance”: Chocolate Cake

In a vain effort to increase my readership, I went a-googling for “tips on getting more blog followers”. Now, I consider myself quite a good “googler” and am my family’s (non-resident) google-queen. My obsession with search-engine driven answers has reached to such an extent that I am known to google such phrases as, “help i ate 4000 calories last night” and “gray’s anatomy full-color heart diagram”. So far, I think I’ve saved quite a bit on textbooks and shrink appointments.

This particular google, however, left me with more questions than answers. Perhaps it was just a failure of my googling skills. Or the information I seeked sought just isn’t out there. Either way, the best result I could find was Seth Godin’s List of 56 Tips, which, among other exorbitant ideas, suggested I write in Chinese, write short posts that are at the same time long, and write about Google.

While I did just spit out an entire eulogy’s worth to my love of Google, I suppose, if Seth Godin’s advice is true, my blog is doomed nonetheless. I will, however, persevere, because that is something that even I, princess of Google (yes, I demoted myself), don’t need the internet to tell me.

While I work on learning Chinese, try these variations on Patricia Green’s and Carolyn Hemming’s Chocolate Quinoa Cake from their book, Quinoa 365, the Everyday Superfood. Adapted from “The Family Kitchen”.

Version 1: Chocolate Pistachio Cake
makes 1 8″ round cake

• 1 c. cooked quinoa
• 1/6 c. milk
• 1/2c. egg substitute or 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 c. applesauce
• 2 T. light stick butter, melted
• 8 tsp. (14 grams) sugar-free, fat-free pistachio pudding mix
• 1/4 t. baking SODA
• 3/4 t. baking POWDER
• 7 T. sugar substitute/sugar
• 1/4 c. cocoa powder
• pinch salt

Chocolate Orange Cake Layered with Angel Food Cake

Version 2: Chocolate Orange Cake
makes 1 8″ round cake

• 1 c. cooked quinoa
• 1/6 c. milk
• 1/2c. egg substitute or 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. orange extract
• 1/4 c. applesauce
• 2 T. light stick butter, melted
• 1/4 t. baking SODA
• 3/4 t. baking POWDER
• 1/4 c. sugar substitute/sugar
• 6 T. cocoa powder
• 2 t. (6 grams) sugar-free orange Jello mix
• pinch salt

→Preheat the oven to 350*F and grease an 8″-inch round pan. (This cake is super “pan-philic” = loves the pan, so, if you have it, you might want to line the pan with parchment paper).

Combine the wet ingredients (quinoa, eggs milk, applesauce, butter, and extract) and blend (with a blender) until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flavoring powder, cocoa, sugar substitute, baking powder, baking soda and salt).

Add the wet to the dry and mix well. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40-50 minutes (the orange one took a little longer for me).

Note: The only thing that changes between version 1 and 2 is the sugar substitute, the cocoa powder, the extract and the orange Jello vs. pudding mix powder.

The orange one came out a little dense for my liking (I guess I’m not used to rich cake anymore) so I layered it with some store-bought sugar-free angel food cake and topped it with orange-yogurt icing (greek yogurt mixed with a VERY small amount of sugar-free orange Jello powder).

It was hard to resist long enough to take the picture!

Let’s just say this cake came out so good it left me googling “desserts with cooked quinoa”. 😉
Any suggestions?

Quinoa