Tzatziki done Light

There really wasn't much need to lighten this, since Tzatziki is a relatively light food, but I did it anyway thinking "every little bit helps", and the results were so tasty I just had to share!!  Besides, I had the ingredients on hand, and it was simple enough… why run to the store to buy something I can make!!

Ingredients:
  1 cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt
  1/2 medium Cucumber
  2 cloves Garlic
  2 tsp Lemon Juice
  1 tsp chopped Fresh Dill
  Salt & Pepper to taste

Peel & seed the Cucumber, discard peel & seeds, chop remaining meat very fine.  Peel and crush/press the Garlic.  Mix all ingredients together, I used a pint-sized sealable container, refrigerate for at least a couple hours before using (allows the spice flavors to develop). This makes about 3/4 of a pint, more than Jeff & I used in one meal, but not so much that it won't get used up before it "expires".

Last night we cooked up some Lamb Sausages we'd picked up at a local Eastern European deli (Kramarczuk's in Minneapolis), and put the sausages on warmed Pita with some of this Tzatziki sauce… Major Yum Factor!!

An experiment in Leftovers...

… Sweet & Spicy Chicken Salad

It was hot today, 99 degrees & humid, so I didn't want to heat up the house by cooking…

I took some leftover chicken from a get-together last friday, diced it up…

Added in some spices…

Some Mango Chutney…  this brand is Fair Trade & is available through SERRV, or if you're in the St Paul area you can get it at our local Ten Thousand Villages store.

A little Honey Dijon salad dressing, this one is Calorie Free & available at many stores…

I mixed in some Grapes, Onion, Celery… then I served it on a bed of lettuce…. Yum!


Ingredients:
  8 oz diced cooked Chicken
  1/2 tsp Salt
  1/2 tsp Ancho Chili powder
  1 tsp Sweet Curry powder
  1/2 cup Mango Chutney
  1/2 cup Honey Dijon salad dressing
  1/2 cup diced Onion
  1/2 cup diced Celery
  1 cup Grapes cut in quarters


It is on the sweet side, with just a little bite of spice… my hubby loved it (he has a bit of a sweet tooth)… I loved the flavor, but think I might cut back on the salad dressing (1/4 cup) and add in some fat free yogurt (1/4 cup)… but honestly, it was great as is, I'm just more of a Spice girl & hubby is a Sweet boy… definitely an experiment gone right & a nice cool dinner on a hot day.  This would also be good on bread, I see an open-faced sandwich for lunch in my future :)

Another Fruity Lavash...

This is simply another variation on my initial "Loony Lavash"… I made a small modification and liked it so much I decided to share.

This time on my Lavash I put both Chèvre and my Low Sugar Strawberry Freezer Jam….

Pineapple on top...

Roll it, wrap it in a paper towel...

Microwave for just a bit (30-60 seconds)… Yum Again!!  


I'm liking these fruity Lavash… lunch or snack, it works for me!!

Super Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread

I'm finally happy with this method… it took a few tries, but it works great!!


I had been reading about No-Knead methods of making bread, and I'd tried it with my Sour Dough with mixed results… many times with very "flat" loaves… (not happy with that)…


The problem was that Sour Dough is a much more wet/tender dough than traditional doughs, but I still felt the method could work if I could just figure out a way to not "wreck" the dough after its first rise… 


Here's what I've done, and the results, try it out yourselves, its so simple its crazy!!


First, you don't need any special kind of baking pan, a simple glass loaf pan works great…  You will need something to put the loaf pan in - a large piece of plasticware, or a large bowl you can cover with plastic wrap… you might even be able to use a large casserole dish with a lid...


Carefully shape a piece of parchment paper to fit your loaf pan - think Origami & fold neatly to keep from having lots of creases in the final product.

Mix the following ingredients together in a large bowl, and place directly in the parchment lined loaf pan:
  1 cup Levian (a.k.a. sourdough starter - I use the equal-measure method)
  1 pound, by weight, Bread Flour
  2 tsp Salt
  1 cup Warm Water (not hot, just warm)

Placing un-risen loaf in container...

Seal the loaf pan up and wait 6-12 hours, I've done both lengths of time & they've worked well… you can also choose (after this period) to refrigerate overnight to allow the sour flavor to develop, just remember to bring it up to room temp (a few hours on the counter) before baking.

Risen loaf 6 hours later...

Preheat oven to 375F, once preheated place loaf pan in oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Carefully remove pan from oven, the bread can be pulled out by the parchment paper immediately and placed on a rack.  After a few minutes (just long enough for things to be able to be handled) remove the parchment paper, leave bread covered with a cloth on a cooling rack until cool enough to store…

I love the soft nature of this bread!!  And cleanup is easy… the loaf pan & sealing container have never been touched by dough, they are already clean - Yes!!

Mmmm!!  Jeff loves this bread!!

Strawberry Yogurt Coffee Cake

Out in the fields

I've been out to the Strawberry fields again - Mmm!!


As long as the weather is nice going to the Strawberry fields is fun… now it may not sound like fun, because you're crawling along on the ground, pushing leaves aside to discover these tasty morsels, but before long (an hour) I had 9+ pounds of Strawberries… and they cost me less than $18… and they are so much tastier than what we've been getting at the store!!

Berries waiting to be picked

Add to that the adventure of meeting complete strangers who are like-minded, hearing the parents & grandparents interact with the kids they've brought along, sampling a few along the way… and you've got a very tasty & enjoyable morning!!


What to do with all the Strawberries???  I made another batch & a half of my Low Sugar Strawberry Freezer Jam, but I still had lots of berries…

I saved quite a few (a quart or two) for just snacking - Jeff & I love our strawberries.

I also cut up another pint & mixed them with just a tiny bit of sugar for Jeff to have on Ice Cream.

But what to do with the rest??  


I decided to try to make a cake, using my own crazy experimental method of doing things, and this recipe was the result… a very tasty result if I do say so myself!!

It smelled so good we dug right in, it wasn't until the
next morning that I thought to get a picture (oops!)

Ingredients:
  1 1/2 cups Flour
  1 cup Sugar
  1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  1/2 tsp salt
  1/4 cup Egg Beaters
  1 tsp Vanilla
  1 cup Fat Free Plain
        Greek Yogurt
  2 cups cut up Strawberries

It makes a very moist & dense cake

Directions:
  Preheat oven to 350 F, spray an 8x8 glass pan (or equivalent) with some Spray Crisco or Baker's Joy.
  Throw all ingredients in a bowl and mix it up, it will be a thick batter & will turn pink from the berries.  Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean (center of cake should not "jiggle" when moved).
  It can be eaten warm, its not a super-sweet cake so when warm its best with a dab of Fat Free Cool Whip (or the like).  I actually liked it better once it had chilled overnight, then it doesn't need anything else on it & is great with a cup of coffee - I confess I've had it for breakfast twice this week :)


I'm looking forward to Raspberry & Blueberry picking seasons coming up a bit later this Summer… I'll have to try this again with those berry types.


Update on 7/12/12 - I tried with Blueberries… Yum!!
Update on 7/30/12 - I've also done Mixed Berries… as well as Nectarine (not posted), Peach (not posted) and Cherry (not posted).  For the Nectarine adding in a bit of Ground Cloves (1/8 - 1/4 tsp) can be nice, but is not necessary. For the Peach adding in a bit of both Ginger and Cinnamon (1/2 tsp each) adds nice spice.