Lizard Food

My Popovers are Popping!

2007-03-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

See, last January, I made good popovers. Then, they stopped popping. Humidity? Oven? What?

Well, I don't know what. But I tried a recipe with more liquid and cranked my oven all the way up to 500 ... and put the pan to the very back of the oven, and now they're better than ever. Completely hollow, huge popovers.

I live in a humid area and use an electric oven.

Popovers
adapted from a recipe from Food Network Kitchens
1 cup bread flour
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup whole or non-fat milk, warmed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or oil, melted
3 large eggs
2 to 3 teaspoons canola oil

Serving suggestions: Butter and jam

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, and eggs. Make a well in the flour, pour in the milk mixture, and whisk to make a smooth batter. Set batter aside for 10 minutes.

Put a small sploosh of canola inside a non-stick 6-cup popover pan and heat in the oven for 5 minutes. Ladle the batter into the cups and bake for 15 minutes, without opening the oven. (Do not open the oven during baking.)

Drop the temp to 400 for 5 -10 minutes.

Lower the heat to 350 degrees F. and continue to bake the popovers for 15-20 minutes, at this point they will be golden brown. Right after removing the popovers from the oven, poke each one with a paring knife to release steam. Turn popovers from the pan and serve immediately with butter and jam.

Seeduction Bread Recipe!

2007-03-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, I need to go to Whole Foods and get another loaf of their's to compare, but I and my friends call this FINE indeed:

Note: I use a big honking KitchenAid mixer.

Lizard Eater's Seeduction Bread Recipe

The Sponge
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 cup whole wheat flour

Mix together

The Dough
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I use white whole wheat flour, King Arthur)
1/2 cup gluten flour
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil*
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup millet
¼ cup sesame seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup poppy seeds
½ cup pumpkin seeds

When your sponge is ready, uncover the bowl and add the 1 1/2 cups of warm water and the 2 cups of bread flour. Stir this in very well.

Now add the 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten, 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, honey, molasses and 1 tablespoon salt. Mix these in well. Next, the seeds. Then, start adding the remaining flour about 1/2 cup at a time. Depending on your humidity, flour, and whether your aura demands it (kidding), you may need to add more than 2 ½ cups of whole wheat flour, maybe less. Because of the amount of sweetener, it will be a bit sticky. But not too sticky.

Up to now, I’ve been using the regular blade mixer attachment. Now, I switch to the dough hook. (I’ve also done this is a super-powered KitchenAid food processor with good results.)
I let it knead on speed 2 for about 8-10 minutes, but your mileage may vary. If you start smelling something sweetish, it’s not jam. It’s the machine oil in your mixer. Stop.

First Rise: because of the seeds and whole wheat, it’s going to take a while to rise. For me, it takes about 3 hours, and that’s with doing tricks like putting it on top of my dryer or even in my dryer with warm clothes. (Tell spouse to please not turn the dryer on.)

You can go ahead and make it into loaves at this point, or give it a second rise. Better flavor, the latter.

For the loaves, the rising goes faster. About an hour or so.

Bake at 350 til the internal temperature of the loaves is 205 to 210 degrees F. If you can tell if a loaf is done by thumping it on the bottom, well, bully for you.

I should tell you to wait about 30 minutes for it to cool, but that would be “do as I say, not as I do.” But try to hold out at least 10 minutes. Eat plain. Or with butter that you conveniently keep in a butter bell. Or the best … smeared with butter and sprinkled with some Vietnamese cinnamon. No sugar required.

Great for sandwiches, too. And it’s FABULOUS grilled for panini.

Eureka, It's Working!

2007-03-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Lizard Eater got on her scale this morning and received the happy surprise of a 2 lb loss, bringing the recent weight loss total to 8 lbs. Considering I'm getting very little exercise, and not dieting in any way, this is fabulous.

Whole Foods. Vegetables. Little trans-fats or high fructose corn syrup.

Whoo-hoo.

Oh, one of my latest things is trying to eat more oats, because they say oatmeal is so veddy veddy good for you. Problem: I can't stand oatmeal. Slimy soft stuff. Bleaugh.

Here's a way to get your oatmeal and some egg protein too. And it tastes great:

Oatmeal Pancakes

Ingredients:
1/3 cup regular oats (not instant or steel cut)
2 egg whites
1 tbsp. nonfat milk
1 tbsp. fat-free cottage cheese
1 tbsp. flour (I used whole wheat)
2 tbsp. water
Dash of cinnamon

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and hit it with your stick blender til smooth. In a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray, drop batter into pan to form 3 pancakes (or 1 big pancake). Once pancakes begin to look solid (about 3 minutes), gently flip (if possible, re-spritz the pan with nonstick spray as you flip 'em to prevent sticking). Cook for approximately 3 additional minutes, or until both sides are lightly browned and insides are cooked through.

Serving Size: Entire recipe
Calories: 177
Fat: 2g
Carbs: 27g
Protein: 12g

Not only is this filling, but it kept me full all morning.

Random Thought

2007-03-03T22:15:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for my body. It has been "pleasingly plump" for a few years, and it has given 4 fetuses a healthy place to grow inside, and for 4 babies, it has given them lots of rich sweet milk to grow upon. For my last child, that milk helped her weather 6 months of chemotherapy. During that entire time, her blood counts never dropped. If you were to read her immune reports, you would never guess that Vincristine and Dactinomycin were coursing through her veins. Perhaps it is coincidence. Or maybe, it was the mommy milk.

In any case, on my journey of weight loss, I salute and honor my own body. It gave gifts to my husband, it gave gifts to my children.

Now, there is no need for the extra weight. I can let the pounds go freely; they will not be missed. They served their purpose. But now, the need for a sleeker body, a body full of energy, that is not carrying around excess fat stores, is what is current. A body that can run, that can fly.

I let go of the weight we no longer need.

Vanilla Bean Yogurt Cheese Chocolate Chip dip

2007-02-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

Really, you don't need the chocolate chips.

I recently jumped at the chance to buy vanilla beans, 7 for 7.95, shipping included. And they're soft, fresh beans, too. Just amble over to amazon.com. They have a seller called J and R Mushroom that is apparently a lovely company, according to everything I've heard and read.

Going to a party tonight, what to take, what to take. Already had drained some yogurt to make yogurt cheese. Mixed that with the seeds from one vanilla bean (putting the pod into some sugar, mais oui), and some agave nectar. You could use honey; I didn't have any. Added some mini chocolate chips, but really, that's gilding the lily.

You could be healthful and serve it with some fruit dippers, but we are Girl Scout central here, so I'm taking a box of plain shortbread.

Good stuff, Maynard.

Seeduction v 2

2007-02-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

More experimenting, trying to crack the "Seeduction Bread" code. Did 1/2 and 1/2 whole wheat flour and bread flour. Used a 2 hr sponge.

Next time:

First sponge: overnight in fridge for slow rise
Needs to be sweeter -- go get molasses, LE!
Needs a little more salt.
Used 1 cup combined seeds to 5-6 cups combined flour. Needs more, especially millet and poppy.
May add a little extra gluten to help with raising those seeds.

Seeductive Bread

2007-02-09T06:37:00.000-08:00

I am trying to break the code for Whole Foods' Seeduction Bread. Last night's loaf, while still edible, was emphatically Not It.

Things learned:

Even with added gluten, the texture doesn't work. They don't use 100% whole wheat, and I can't either. Next try will be part whole wheat, part "bread flour."

Need a lot of sweetener. Must buy some molasses.

This first time, I made it with a sponge, but I think it also needs a slow rise in the fridge.

And I need to let its second rise go until the ultimate point. Those of you who have made bread know what I mean. The "it can't rise any more and is in danger of overrising."

More details with each experiment.

Magic Vegetables

2007-01-26T11:19:00.000-08:00

Okay, so that whole 5 vegetables a day isn't just government propaganda. (please know I'm being tongue-in-cheek.) I am convinced vegetables are magic when it comes to weight loss. And not just in terms of straight calories. I think they eat up some of your other calories, too.

(Keep in mind, I still think that electricity works by magic, too.)

I am losing weight, without really trying. I'm still eating cream, butter, chocolate, etc. But on the days when I eat vegetables -- in addition to whatever else I eat -- I lose weight.

Magic vegetables.

I made chicken and dumplings last night -- fabulous. Not low-fat, and pretty low-vegetables. But I'd had veggies earlier in the day.

Hmm ... what a concept. If I eat 5 servings of vegetables/fruit* a day, maybe I can eat whatever else I want to? Within reason, of course.

*I'm weird. I don't like fruit. Raw apples. That's it.

Homemade Yogurt and Homemade chocolate syrup

2007-01-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

This is funny. What my two older daughters LOVE ... for breakfast or for dessert, is homemade PLAIN yogurt, topped with a little chocolate syrup. I started making my own of the latter when I read the ingredient list on the back of Hershey's. I use Alton Brown's "Cocoa syrup" recipe. You can find it at FoodTV. It calls for a little corn syrup, to keep from crystallizing. Next time, I'm going to experiment with agave and sugar. Not sure agave will have the same effect.

Anyway, I'm amazed by this. It's just plain, unsweetened yogurt, with just a swizzle of chocolate syrup. But they love it.

Come to think of it, I should have said all three daughters. Little Warrior has been eating it the last two mornings.

As for me: generic grapenuts, topped with a spoon of wheat germ and a spoon of ground flax seed. Skim milk and a drizzle of agave nectar. Surprisingly satisfying. Oh, and I was going to top it with some toasted walnuts this morning, to up the protein ... but I forgot about them til I smelled their aroma and the cereal was already gone. Good snack, though.

Double Chocolate Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins (cupcakes)

2007-01-23T12:03:00.000-08:00

My kids fuss at me when I call these muffins. "They're cupcakes!" Well, whatever they are, they're healthy and my kids scarf them up. So do I.

The muffin itself is not very sweet, but the chocolate chips add the sweetness. Sprinkle them on top -- more bang for your buck.

Makes 2 dozen muffins

* 1/2 cup yogurt
* 1/4 cup melted virgin coconut oil
* ¾ cup agave nectar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1/4 cup buttermilk or milk soured with 1 teaspoon vinegar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 Tablespoon flax seed, ground
* 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
* 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 cups finely diced, peeled zucchini
* 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Optional: teaspoon ground cinnamon

Stir yogurt and oil with nectar, then add eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk. (Coconut oil will stiffen up – just break it up a bit with a fork.) Sift together flour, flax seed, cocoa, baking powder, salt and soda. Add liquid mixture. Stir in zucchini and turn into 2 greased and floured muffin tins. . Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or til done.

Virgin Coconut Oil -- fine in baked goods

2007-01-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

Made my zucchini chocolate muffins with the coconut oil last night. Tasted fine. So I'll use it for cooking, just not straight-up.

Vegetable Curry

2007-01-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

Just made this for lunch. Fabbbbulous. Would have been much better eaten over some brown rice, but was fine just by itself.

Curry
1/4 cup vegetable oil ( or canola oil)
1 medium onion , sliced thin
4 large cloves garlic , pureed in a minichopper with 1 tablespoon water (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon ginger paste
2 Tablespoons Homemade Curry Powder (see below)
Table salt
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
2 cups water
1 jalapeño chile , stemmed and cut in half through the stem end
5 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Splash cream

1. Heat oil in large deep skillet or soup kettle, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. simply add onion to skillet; sauté until softened, 3 to 4 minutes, or browned, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Stir in garlic, ginger, ground spices, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and yogurt; cook, stirring almost constantly, until liquid evaporates, oil separates and turns orange, and spices begin to fry, 5 to 7 minutes, depending on skillet or kettle size. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until spices smell cooked, about 30 seconds longer.

3. Stir in cilantro. Add the water and jalapeño and season with salt; bring to simmer. Reduce heat; simmer about 15 minutes.

4. Add vegetables, cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Serve.

Homemade Curry Powder
object2=">3 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
object2=">2 teaspoons ground cumin
object2=">2 teaspoons ground fennel seed
object2=">2 teaspoons ground yellow or brown mustard
object2=">2 teaspoons ground red pepper
object2=">1 tablespoon ground coriander
object2=">1 tablespoon ground turmeric
object2=">1 teaspoon ground cardamom
object2=">1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
object2=">1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Combine all of the ingredients.

Virgin Coconut Oil -- eww!

2007-01-22T17:33:00.001-08:00

Well, I've been using some expeller-pressed coconut oil, but I've been reading about how "great" virgin coconut oil is. Bought some at my local health food store. The smell was wonderful -- I love coconut -- but the taste! Sharp and kind of acidic. I used it to make my "fudge" and it was inedible. To be blunt, it tasted like vomit.

Am trying it out in my zucchini muffins right now. If that doesn't work, I'll just use it on my feet and hair. :P

I'm pretty sure it's not rancid, since a) the date is in 2008, b) it's hard for coconut oil to go rancid and c) it doesn't smell rancid. I'm a cook -- I know from rancid.

Product Review and Lunch

2007-01-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

For breakfast, I tried a new bar: Zoe's Peanut Butter Bliss. I know that there are healthier ways to have breakfast than eating a bar, but I wanted to find a decent one for those 'can't stop to eat' mornings.

I'm pleased with it. The taste isn't quite as good as a Luna Bar, but I didn't feel hungry by 10 am, either, which I do with the Lunas.

Lunch: sauteed some garlic in a little olive oil, added in some fresh spinach leaves and a spoonful of capers. Tossed, covered, turned off heat. Let sit about 5 minutes. Squeezed a bit of Meyer lemon over it, decided that grating a little Parmiagiano Reggiano over the top would be gilding the lily. Personally, I like gilded lilies. Put the Parm on.

Absolutely delicious lunch.

For dessert: a spoonful of Coconut Oil fudge. Ingredients: coconut oil, cocoa powder, smidge of agave nectar. Melt, mix, refrigerate. Tastes delicious and is -- oddly -- satisfying. I say "oddly" because anything chocolate, I'd be having seconds or thirds. No desire to, even though it tasted great.

I don't know if I believe all the hype about virgin coconut oil. But see, I don't entirely trust anything. My journey is to eat things and see how my body responds.

So far, so good.

Dinner Tonight

2007-01-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

Well, first, I made some veggie-marinara earlier in the day, in an attempt to get more vegetables in all of us. Cooked up some canned tomatoes, tomato paste, fresh broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, parsley, carrot, onion and garlic. (Had to add the tomato paste to get more of the traditional tomato sauce in there ... it tasted a little too "vegetal" for marinara.) And spices, of course. Whizzed it through the blender, added some leftover champagne. I prefer red in a marinara, but white is fine, too.

Okay, so dinner: Whole wheat calzones with aforementioned marinara, dab of skim-milk ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and turkey pepperoni. They were good, but they burst a tad bit, leaking sauce and cheese. Hmm. And they needed more sauce. Maybe will try cutting them on top and see if venting helps.

Dessert: chocolate pudding made of silken tofu, cocoa powder, splash of Frangelico and sweetened with agave nectar. YUM.

I just received the agave nectar today. Calorie-wise, it's the same as sugar. The main benefit is supposed to be that it's sweeter than sugar, so you can use less. And it's less processed. And of course, it's not High Fructose Corn Syrup.

It is very sweet, but not cloyingly-so, and has little taste. Much less than maple syrup or honey. I'll try it in my coffee tomorrow.