Guest Writer: Nutrition Counselor Part II

I asked my dear friend Jessica, the nutritional health counselor, for another post as we begin to navigate this New Year. I, for one, have really indulged this holiday season. I'm not one for diets but I do recognize the need for clean eating after a few days, weeks or a whole SEASON of indulgences... So, with that in mind, enjoy Jessica's wisdom and advice:

It may sound simple, but...

As your eating habits get cleaner, you start to really enjoy the simplest foods - things with only three or four ingredients.
When shopping in a store, this should be a guideline for us. If you feel the ABSOLUTE NEED to buy prepackaged/prepared foods, try to limit it to foods that have no more than 5 ingredients. Your stomach, face, hair, skin, brain, emotional stability, etc. will thank you!
Continuing along the vein of Winter foods, as we hunker down for the serious bit of it, we keep tackling the challenge of satisfying our instinctive desires for higher carbohydrate foods. The stage is beautifully set for whole grains.
No, I don't mean brown Wonderbread...lol
I mean little pearls of goodness that can be found at your local natural market in the bulk bins. Things like quinoa, millet, barley, buckwheat, wild rice blends, and the like. There are hundreds, depending where in the country you are.
Today, I had some fun with millet. This little round golden grain has been cultivated in East Asia for the last 10,000 years. It is safe for those with gluten intolerance, such as Coeliac's, and provides about 11% protein by weight. It is rich in B vitamins, especially niacin, B6, folic acid, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. Millet does contain a mild thyroid peroxidase inhibitor, so should be eaten in moderation by people with thyroid problems.
Ok, got all that mumbo-jumbo out of the way, now this stuff tastes G-O-O-D!
As with most grains, millet should be soaked in an "acid bath" to remove the stomach irritating saponins (yes, naturally occuring soap). This is easy. Put your millet - a cup or so - in a small bowl and fill with water to about 1/2 inch above the grain. Then pour 2 tablespoons of either fresh lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar and mix in. Cover, place somewhere warm (top of stove does fine) for at leat 4 hours, if not overnight. You can leave this longer to open the grain up and some people go so far as to let it ferment a bit. Not I.
In the morning, run water through it a few times and throw water out. Then put in saucepan with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Simmer til tender - sometimes it absorbs all the water, sometimes you have to drain it off, but when it's done it'll have the consistency of slightly al-dente pasta.
Drain.
Then, the fun begins. First, you need to decide what kind of fat you want to add. Yes fat. Get over it. You need it for your skin, eyes, organs, and BRAIN! Also, the nutrients in whole grains are mostly fat-soluble, meaning they are ONLY bioavailable to your body when accompanied by wholesome fats.
I prefer to add some raw milk butter, but as that is hard to get in NY, olive oil does the trick.
Then, I like to add some aromatics - garlic and/or onion.
Then, some herbs and/or chopped tomato.
Eat warm. YUM!

Today, I did the following - to a 1/2 cup serving of warm millet, I added:
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons of VERY FINELY chopped raw red onion
note: I let the onion rest for a few minutes after chopping to let go of it's bitter bite before adding to bowl
about one teaspoon of fresh thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil (first cold pressed)
a pinch of pink himalayan sea salt
1 tablespoon of crumbled raw milk sharp cheddar

Another awesome thing about these grains is that the other half cup I made can be stored for later. You can make a sweet treat out of it by adding some cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and either maple syrup or agave nectar and it turns out like a yummy sort of rice-pudding-y concoction.

Go out and see what grains your local market has! Most can be prepared as above, with a preliminary acid soak. If you find something you don't know what to do with, feel free to email me with questions!
Happy Winter Eats!

jessica@732eattrue.com
www.732eattrue.com

Wisdom from my Mother-In-Law

Prof. Hubs and I just got back from a relaxing holiday visit with his family. We saw movies (Avatar in 3d is so wonderful!!! Young Victoria is a gem!) read, relaxed, went for walks, bonded, and feasted our way through the days...I think just about every meal we ate in the last seven days included pie of some kind... I'll really need to do some detoxing in the new year (and my posts will reflect this so keep checking in.)

In addition to being a brilliant professor, scholar and mother of four, my mother-in-law is a really good cook-the intuitive kind. No recipes used in her kitchen-she cooks based on her 'sense' of what will be delicious and beautiful. (And what can be combined in a a MAGIC BULLET...she loves her infomercial finds!) She really produced some delectable meals during our visit and the following recipe is one I asked her to make twice I liked it so much. And I also made it first thing upon arriving back in Midwestia. I learn so much from watching her cook and this quick and inexpensive meal is a new favorite.

Flank Steak (1-1.25 lbs.)

Worcestershire sauce (I used 1/3 of a bottle)

Soy sauce (again, I used 1/3 of a bottle)

Flour (for dredging)

White wine (Mother-in-law says the cheaper the better)

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

1 Onion

1/2 container of mushrooms, sliced

1 large Potato(optional)

White wine

sour cream (optional)

Rice (best with long grain white basmati, but we enjoy it with short grain brown rice.)

Start to cook rice.

Slice flank steak into very thin pieces. Put sliced beef in a bowl and add enough soy sauce and worcestershire sauce to cover (ratio of soy to worcestershire sauce is 1:1) Add a splash of dry white wine to marinade. Marinate for at least 20 minutes, up to one day.

(To my vegetarian friends, I apologize for the carnage in this post both in prose and in pictures!!!)

During marinating process prepare mushroom/onion mixture:

Slice onion into thin rings. Cook over med-high heat for 10 minutes, until soft and translucent. (you have the option here to add thinly sliced potatoes and cook until tender.) Add sliced mushrooms. Add salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes. Add 2-3 white wine splashes.

Cook until alcohol smell is gone and liquid is mostly reduced. Lower heat to low.

Remove meat from marinade and coat with flour.

Heat oil in large sautée pan over med-high heat. Cook steak in small batches, adding garlic cloves and splash of white wine to each batch.

(sorry this photo is so unappetizing...believe me, it looks so tasty when it's all assembled!)

Cook until browned and crispy.

Top cooked rice with beef, then with mushroom mixture. (Prof. Hubs prefers to mix in a large dollop of sour cream (of course) before eating.)

Enjoy!!!

Oatmeal at its Best

I've been on a breakfast food kick this Holiday season. So here's another favorite recipefrom the vault:

Several Summers ago I had the opportunity to sing with a wonderful little company in Indiana called THE WAGON WHEEL THEATRE. Located in the metropolis of Warsaw, (that is used ironically for those readers who are not familiar with Indiana's geography) the Wagon Wheel puts together an amazing season of performances. I highly recommend checking it out if you ever find yourself in Northern Indiana in Summer craving showtunes... or delicious breakfast foods. During my time in Warsaw my colleagues and I would pile in a car for almost an hour to eat a bowl of oatmeal-the very special Amish Baked Oatmeal at a little restaurant called the Corner Cafe in Nappanee, Indiana. In fact, this oatmeal was so special that one of us would call the restaurant at 6am to ask them to set aside some pieces of baked oatmeal so that the trip would be worthwhile.

It's been years since I had a bowl of that oatmeal-so rich and nutty, so tender and sweet... It haunts me. Or it did until I figured out an approximate recipe:

AMISH BAKED OATMEAL

(makes 6 servings...though I can eat 4 of them myself in one sitting...that's how good this is)

1.5 cups oats (I like the regular kind, not the slow cooking Irish or the quick cooking)

1/2 cup brown sugar (sometimes I use agave if I'm feeling particularly healthy)

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

(This recipe can be assembled the night before and baked in the morning... but it's not necessary)

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Pour into a greased 8X8 glass baking dish.

Bake for 25 minutes, until edges are golden brown.

Cool Slightly, then cut into squares. Serving suggestions:

top with brown sugar, milk, nuts, bananas, raisins, etc...

(my personal favorite is brown sugar, toasted walnuts, and milk)

Popovers

In my childhood home my Mom must have baked fresh popovers every Winter weekend. I fondly remember tearing into the warm, puffy crust and feeling enthralled as I watched the steam rush skyward before I took my first bite. Each of my two brothers must have eaten their weight in popovers during the 1980's... This is why whenever I see/smell/taste/even think of popovers I feel intense happy family nostalgia.

My friend Claire (of Claire's Limey Salad fame) recently prepared popovers at a dinner she hosted and I was instantly taken back to those childhood weekend breakfasts. With this in mind I decided to prepare a Desperate Housediva version of this family favorite. I added some magical White Whole Wheat flour in order to make it a bit healthier and included the melted butter in the batter itself to add a flaky/pastry component to the dish. They did not disappoint: not only do they live up to my popover nostalgia but they also feel healthier (and no less delicious) with the addition of the white whole wheat flour.

If you have never had the pleasure of enjoying a fresh popover (which was Prof. Hubs' situation before this morning) the only way I can describe them is to say they are something like a Yorkshire Pudding...if that doesn't help you, just taste them. Prof. Hubs said that they are like the best parts of bread combined with the bests part of eggs. This is a somewhat literal description for those who really have no previous popover/yorkshire pudding experience.

No matter what, you should make them...like NOW.

POPOVERS

(adapted from the Moosewood cookbook)

2 to 4 Tbsp melted butter

2 eggs

1 cup Milk

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

(NOTE: In the original recipe one can use up to 4 eggs depending on your egginess preferences. If using more than 2 eggs, add a 1/4 each of milk and all purpose flour.)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease muffin tin/popover tin.

In a large bowl combine all ingredients well. A few lumps are okay.

(NOTE: some people use the melted butter to grease the tin. Others add the melted butter to the batter. I do the latter and it creates a wonderfully flaky popover, but if you're looking for a silkier, less flaky popover omit the butter from the batter.)

Pour batter into muffin tins filling them 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes (Add 5 minutes

per egg if you added more than 2 to your batter.) DO NOT open oven while popovers are baking!!!!!

After the alotted cooking time has passed remove popovers immediately and prick the puffy part with a knife to allow steam to escape and to help them hold their unique shape.

Serve immediately. I like mine plain or with this...

The Ginger Cookies of life

Let me begin this post by stating that, thanks to my dear friend Jessica's post on winter cravings,

I am no longer craving sweets with the same voracity. Thus, I can now make Holiday cookies

without being a slave to them. With this new freedom in mind I share with you one of my favorite

cookie recipes.

Last Winter during one of my visits to Prof. Hubs in Boston, my friend Evelyn and I found ourselves in her kitchen craving Chrismas cookies. In the end, we couldn't agree on what kind of cookies to make so we decided there was no harm in making two recipes. The Russian Tea cakes were good enough, but it was this Ginger cookie recipe that was the great success of the afternoon. I must have made them 50 times since that fateful afternoon with Evelyn. They are the most perfect, chewy, ginger-y snaps... This week I have been invited to my first cookie swap (girlie night of gossip and cookie noshing? SIGN ME UP!) and I think I may bring these-it will be the second time in 3 days that I've made them...they're that good. I have passed the recipe on to many of my nearest and dearest and here I share it with you:

Ginger Cookies

thank you, thank you, Paula Deen...

xo, Desperate Housediva

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for rolling
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream the shortening and sugar until thoroughly combined. Add the egg and molasses and beat until completely incorporated. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt and add to the mixture. Stir until combined. Roll the dough into balls about 1-inch in diameter. Roll the balls in sugar.

Place 1/2-inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten the balls slightly with your fingertips. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (so far...)

The following is a recipe that came together after scouring other blogs that claim to have found a replica recipe for the famous

Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie. The truth is, after attempting each of the recipes I could find,

I can say with certainty that none of the replica recipes comes close to the taste of a real Levain cookie.

And yet each of them makes a pretty fantastic chocolate chip cookie in their own right.

After putting together this recipe, I had my dear friend and recipe tester, Ana, give them a try.

She gave them rave reviews and said they reminded of Mrs. Fields cookies.

So it's back to the drawing board in terms of Levain replicas... In the meantime,

Mrs. Fields still makes a mean cookie so the recipe's worth trying.

So far, this is the best Chocolate Chip cookie recipe I've come up with.

Don't forget these cookie baking tips:

-when you're ready to store any cookies: Put them in a sealed container atop a slice of soft bread.

It really keeps them moist and chewy (if, like me, you love a chewy cookie.)

-chilling the dough and the cookie sheet will make for less cookie spread (if you are looking for a thicker cookie)

-Chilling the dough overnight makes for the best chocolate chip cookies, no matter what recipe you're using

(that tip is from Maury of THE CITY BAKERY himself!)

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (so Far)

1 stick butter, cold and cubed

1 c. brown sugar

1 egg

In an electric mixer, or by hand cream all above ingredients

add:

3/4 c. all purpose flour (using only BLEACHED flour will result in less cookie spread)

3/4 c. white whole wheat flour

1/2 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 Tbsp. Cornstarch

Mix all ingredients with an electric beater until incorporated and a thick, creamy dough is created. Then mix in:

1/2 cups of crushed walnuts

1 cup of {good quality, small} semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat again with electric mixer.

please excuse my graphic design additions...I've been going a bit photoshop crazy these days...

If you have the time, do take the time to work these a bit by hand (knead) like a bread dough. It's not necessary, but they are a bit more Levain-y that way :)

Drop large balls of dough on cookie sheet covered in parchment or, my fave: silpat mat.

Bake 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes (depending on desired gooey-ness), or until the tips of the cookies have turned light brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool and ENJOY!!!!

Festival of Lights

It's that time of year again: Chanukah!
In my family Chanukah is synonymous with Latkes. Usually my Dad (though on occasion, my Mom) prepares them annually to celebrate this. As a child I used to invite a friend or two over (usually non-Jewish friends as there weren't a large number of other Jewish families in our town) to light the candles, eat latkes, exchange gifts, and play dreidel. One of these childhood friends wrote to me a couple of days ago requesting that I write a post divulging the secrets of my family's famous Latkes. It warmed my heart in the most wonderful way that she remembered: how amazing to think that the little Chanukkah dinner we shared as children stuck with her after all this time. In her honor I dedicate this:

The Famous Family Latkes

(From the complete American-Jewish cookbook, edited by Anne London and Bertha Kahn Bishov, 1971)

6 medium potatoes

1 small onion

2 eggs slightly beaten

3 Tbsp flour

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

Peel and grate potatoes and onion.

Let stand 10 minutes so liquid will rise to top. Remove liquid.

Stir in eggs.

Add other ingredients.

Drop by spoonfuls into hot, well-greased skillet. (my Dad uses canola oil)

Brown on both sides.

Drain on absorbent paper.

Serve hot with applesauce, or sour cream. (I like both)

Russian Feast, also known as how I spent my Thursday

In honor of semester's end at the College of Midwestia Prof. Hubs and I decided to throw a little party for the Russian students to celebrate all that they accomplished during the past few months...and mostly to bribe them into continuing their studies with the Russian program...

In my eagerness to prepare traditional Russian recipes I decided to (ambitiously) prepare not only a traditional borscht (beet soup,) but also pirozhki (little pies filled with a cabbage mixture,) Khatchapuri (the most delicious cheese bread known to humankind) and an apple cake... I was cooking for more than 10 hours, people (which is why I poached a borscht photo from some other website-I was too busy kneading fresh pirozhki dough to snap pics...) It was actually a lot of fun-though somewhat stressful (I needed Prof. Hubs to stage a Borscht intervention somewhere around 9pm on Thursday and he came to my rescue with more beets, etc.) and I haven't had such sore feet since my days working in the restaurant business. No wonder they require food service workers to wear those dansko clogs!

After all that cooking we finally got to enjoy the goodies-and they were wonderful. Even the actual Russians at the feast found them to be authentically delish (though, admittedly the whole wheat dough that I used for the cabbage pirozhki was not nearly as supple and light as the white dough I made for the cheese Khatchapuri...nor nearly as authentic.) I have included the Borscht recipe and the Khatchapuri recipe, because they were the most beloved (and I already shared the amazing Jewish apple cake recipe in a previous post.) Though the borscht has multiple parts it's worth the effort on a cold winter's day. And you can always do something else (like make Khatchapuri) while the various parts are cooking...

FUN WITH BORSCHT

based on several recipes, including on on SIMPLY RECIPES, one on EPICURIOUS and several featured on prominent Russian cooking websites

(note: this makes enough borscht to fill a large stockpot...or a lot of people.)

INGREDIENTS

vegetable oil

2lbs beef shortribs (the British cut, thick squares, on the bone, as opposed to the thin, long cuts)

1 onion, quartered

16 cups (4 containers) beef broth (low sodium)

8 beets

8 carrots, peeled, chopped into 1/2 inch bites

5 med potatoes, peeled, chopped into 1/2 inch bites

6 cups white cabbage chopped into 1/2 inch square shreds

1 cup dill, chopped

sour cream

s&p

PART I

In a large stockpot heat a bit of vegetable oil to med-hi. Add shortribs. Brown on all sides (total of about 8 minutes) then add onion. Then add one container (4 cups) broth. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover. Cook for 2.5 hours. After that time remove from heat. Transfer shortribs to plate. Trim of bone and fat, shred meat. Set aside shredded beef in fridge. Allow broth to cool (this takes at least 4 hours) and then skim fat from the top.

PART II

Boil beets in water for 25 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Allow to cool, then peel and chop into 1/2 inch bites.

Continue with all of the other vegetable chopping.

Bring skimmed back to stove. Add remaining stock and bring to a boil. Add all chopped vegetables (beets, carrots, potato.) Then lower heat to simmer soup, covered for at least an hour. Stir in meat.

Now you are FINALLY ready to enjoy the fruits of your labor-

Serve soup with a large dollop of sourcream, dill, and salt and pepper to taste.

KHATCHAPURI (Georgian cheese bread)

(note: I'm sure you could just use refrigerated pizza dough rolled very thin for this, but if you have the time, this dough is so silky and supple.)

DOUGH

(recipe by Gil Marks)

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water plus 2/3 cup warm water or milk

3 tsp sugar or honey

2 large eggs

1/4 cup butter melted

1.5 tsp salt

about 3.5 cups unbleached all purpose flour

In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of the warm water. Stir in 1 tsp of the sugar and let stand until foamy. Stir in the remaining water, the remaining 2 tsp sugar, the eggs, butter, salt,and 2 cups of the flour. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a workable dough.

Knead dough until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased large bowl, turning to coat. cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk, about 1.5 hours. Punch down and knead again before use or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

FILLING

1 cup ricotta cheese

1.5 blocks of feta cheese, crumbled

half a bag shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 egg

Combine all cheeses and egg.

ASSEMBLY:

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out dough to 1/2'' to 3/4'' thick. Cut into rounds (my rounds were about 6'' in diameter.) Fill the rounds with a layer of cheese mixture, leaving room at the edges. Cover with another round and pinch edges closed. (for extra pretty brown-ness, brush little pies with a mix of 1 egg and 1 tbsp water before baking.) Place on a greased baking sheet and bake until lightly browned (in my oven, about 10 minutes.)

I warn you-this is the tastiest cheesy bread product you will EVER EAT:

ENJOY WITH CAUTION-HIGHLY ADDICTIVE

The House Special

Early on in our relationship I took Prof. Hubs through the labyrinthine side streets of NYC's china town to one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants. It's called, iconically, PHO. (That was a joke-they're almost all called PHO, named after the hearty oxtail soup served for breakfast throughout Vietnam.) I think it's on Mulberry near Bayard, but I'm not even sure... I can only find it intuitively using my uncanny New York sense of inner North.

Before even opening the menu Prof. Hubs told me he was ordering 'the House Special.' I was not aware the restaurant even had a house special-nor was I aware that Prof. Hubs was a pro at ordering in Vietnamese restaurants. Surprisingly, Prof. Hubs was correct-they DID have a house special. According to him, every Vietnamese restaurant worldwide (or at least the ones he's patronized) offer it and it's always basically the same thing. Even more suprising was that it was, ironically, NOT Pho. It was, I have since learned, Bún, one of Prof. Hubs favorite dishes in the universe.

Though not actually a bread product at all, Bún is a deliciously refreshing rice vermicelli noodle dish. It's noodles, served room temperature, covered with a green mixture of shredded lettuce, carrot, basil, mint, cilantro, peanuts, lemongrass-marinated grilled meat, and a sweet dressing called Nuoc Cham, which is poured over all... It's sooooo good. It's a wonderful light dinner. Probably more suited for warm weather we balked at convention and made it tonight...and it was amazing. I was a bit intimidated by the long ingredient list and the amount of fish sauce involved (icky smell, no?) but it turned out to be a really simple meal to put together, with very little cooking involved, all coming together in under an hour. With a bit of practice one could probably make it in 30 minutes, which is always a bonus any time of year.

THE HOUSE SPECIAL (Vietnamese Bún)

NUOC CHAM DRESSING

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp sriracha or other chili sauce

2/3 cup hot water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

1 TBSP shredded carrot

Combine all ingredients, allow to cool.

VIETNAMESE LEMONGRASS-STYLE MARINATED CHICKEN

3 chicken breasts cut into strips

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

4 garlic cloves chopped

2 scallions, chopped

3 tsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

squirt o sriracha sauce

Combine all ingredients and allow chicken to marinate as the rest of the Bún recipe is assembled.

ASSEMBLING BÚN

1 package rice vermicelli (or if you live in Midwestia like i do-Pad Thai noodles)

1/2 cup julienned carrots

1 romaine lettuce heart, shredded

4 Tbsp bean sprouts

4 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped

4 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup chopped peanut

Nuoc Cham dressing

Lemongrass marinated Chicken

Cook noodles according to package directions, allow to cool as the rest of the recipe is assembled.

Shred/chop all veggie ingredients.

Cook chicken in grill pan or wok until cooked through. Allow to cool a bit, then chop into bite sized pieces.

Assembling salad: Noodles on plate topped with lettuce, carrots, beansprouts herbs, then chicken pieces, then peanuts, then dressing. mmmmm.....

Guest Writer: Nutrition Counselor

I wrote to my dear friend Jessica in a panic a few nights ago.

Ever since the weather turned cold here in Midwestia (and yes, I've seen flakes in the air-Winter is here!) I've been craving sweets CONSTANTLY- I really just want to eat cookies and cakes all day as I watch movies from the 80's (like Mannequin... Stop judging me...)

In fact, Prof. Hubs even commented that when I have cookies/cakes in the house he can see the hunger in my eyes. Apparently it's even clear to the outside world that I'm really thinking about eating sweets when I should be mentally present in other activities. Hence the reason I wrote to Jessica: She's a holistic nutritionist. I knew that her wisdom would clarify what was happening to me biologically and offer a solution that didn't involve my outgrowing all of my pants. And she did. Since her letter to me I made a few small changes to my meals (oatmeal in the morning, sweet potatoes in the evening) and I'm no longer a cookie monster out on a rampage: I can actually concentrate on other aspects of my life. I asked Jessica to do a guest post on Desperate Housediva about her tips for battling the bulge (or in my case, the cookies) when the weather outside is frosty:

As Winter creeps in, why do we crave sweets and carbs and what can we do about it?

It is totally normal to crave sweets and other calorie dense foods as the temperature drops. Our ancestors had these biological instincts for survival. Your body knows that the changes mean that (in olden days, anyway) Winter is coming and you need to gather some insulation about you to survive the period of darkness and less available foods.

It is normal to be hungrier and/or craving more sweet things at this time. Winter calls for always having root veggies in the house and making one or two DAILY. It doesn't have to be complicated. Squashes and root vegetables come in nature-made oven ready "packages". You can just put them on a baking sheet or wrap in foil and stick them in the oven at 400 for an hour and VOILA! Sweet, earthy, warm goodness that can be easily tweaked to suit a savory or sweet whim! They have the sweetness and carbs you need and crave without resorting to cookies every day. All hail the sweet potato! And squashes in their many shapes and sizes!

For the moments when ONLY a mouthfull of intense sweetness will do, have some Agave on hand (can be ordered off the internet). If you are experiencing a hardcore "jones" for sweets, go ahead and pour yourself a spoonful and savor it before you swallow. This is great for people who are real sugar addicts and trying to wean themselves. Agave does not affect your glycemic levels and is even safe for diabetics. It still does have calories, though, so take it easy. :) When you have a moderate need for sweetness, you can drizzle it over toast or even left over rice with some cinnamon to get a fix.

If you can get your hands on some different grains, too, that will help. Now's the time to have steel cut oats for breakfast and make sure you eat a generous amount of good fats (olive or peanut oils or even *gasp* some organic butter!) with the grains so that you make the minerals "bio-available" to you. Now is the time to explore all of the different kinds of grains, like Quinoa, Bulgur, Buckwheat, Teff, Amaranth, Kamut, Millet, and a whole bevy of others available. These are also readily available on the internet.

Another thing you can do to prevent your biological impulses to put on Winter weight for survival is to keep warm! So, long johns or flannel PJs can also help. The less you FEEL the cold, the less you may crave sweets. Warm teas also help regulate this - both temp and cravings. Just not too much caffeine so that it doesn't make your blood sugars dip or affect your sleep cycles.

If you live in the Northeast like I do, it is hard to get enough sunlight during the Winter. Most people living in the Northeast have Vitamin D defficiencies during the Winter, which has been proven to cause depression and negatively affect your metabolism. Do you have a room with big windows? It is important to get some sun on your skin to keep making Vitamin D. If you can't, then go get a supplement but make sure you look at ingredients and be smart about what else they're slipping you in the pil/liquid you take.

So.... Roots, tubers, and gourds plus warm PJs plus sunlight and you're all set!

Stay well and keep warm this Winter!

If you'd like a more personalized plan or more details, feel free to contact me at

http://websites.integrativenutrition.com/JSlatkoff/Index.aspx
or 732-EAT-TRUE

Initial Health Counseling Consultation is Complimentary

Kasha time

Growing up in a Jewish American household, Kasha was something we ate on Jewish holidays as a hearty side dish to brisket. What is Kasha, you ask? Kasha is whole grain buckwheat groats, toasted, then cooked like rice until it becomes a delicious and fluffy side-dish. It's technically not a grain-it's a fruit in the rhubarb family-seriously! So it's wonderful for people trying to avoid wheat. And it's a great source of amino acids (protein's building blocks,) second only to Quinoa in the pseudo-grain family. It's found in every Russian pantry and most Ashkenazi Jewish homes as well. Here's the thing though-it has a very 'idiosyncratic' flavor. Sort of a bitter, earthy taste that some uninitiated palates don't like. I love it, but that may be because I've eaten for as long as I can remember! Prof. Hubs would eat it for every meal and he claims that most people who try it don't have any idea how to eat it, what kind to buy, and how to prepare it which is why they think they don't like it. I think his hypothesis is true because it seems the only kinds we've been able to find at health food stores (the most accessible option) is the quick cooking kind, and if you try

that kind you will NOT like it. It's really worth trekking to a Russian food store (or to any number of Russian food stores online, our fave:

http://www.moscowonhudson.com ) to buy a bag and go through the whole process. One cooks it as one would cook rice: rinse the grains (like with rice) and cook it 1 part kasha to 2 parts water (also like rice,) starting out at a boil, then lowering heat to a simmer and covering for about 15 minutes. Kasha needs a savory, creamy addition: butter, sourcream, egg yolks, etc.. It's AMAZING with eggs sunny-side up, their yolks mixed into the brown grains. It sings with the gravy from a roast beef or chicken. And it is most delicious when mixed with any of the above AND with sour cream.

It was with Kasha in mind that I created this Chicken Paprikash recipe. I thought it would be a great showcase for this ultra-healthy and hearty side dish...and it really was...

Desperate Housediva's Chicken Paprikash

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 Tbsp butter + spl

ash of Olive oil

S&P

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper, cut into thin stips or bite sized pieces

3 cloves of garlic

2 Tbsp (Hungarian) paprika

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 cup sour cream

3 Tbsp flour

In a large dutch oven melt butter and olive oil over Med-High heat.

When melted, add onions, peppers and garlic. Stir and cook until onion is translucent. Push veggies to the outside of pan and add chicken pieces.

Salt and pepper the chicken pieces, stir and cook.

At this point you can reincorporate the veggies. When chicken is cooked through, add paprika. Stir to coat. Add bay leaf. Add chicken broth.

Lower heat to Med-low, cover and cook for 45-50 minutes. At this point, remove lid, stir in flour and sour cream until thickened.

Serve over noodles, rice, potato or buckwheat Kasha like we do :)

Enjoy!!!

It takes a village: Bibimbap

Prof. Hubs and I love Korean food. We especially love Kimchee (pickled cabbage,) Kalbi (beef shortribs,) and Bibimbap (rice and vegetables.) Since our move to Midwestia I have chronicled the lack of feasible ethnic food eateries in our area. And though this fact in itself is really, really inconvenient it actually has forced us to become more adventurous in our own kitchen so that we needn't go without our favorite dishes from around the world-we just have to cook them ourselves. Which is how I came to prepare bibimbap... Let me state that this recipe is the product of a collaborative effort-I must thank several of my Korean friends for their guidance in the production of this dish... Thanks to their tips plus some desperate housediva ingenuity the final product tasted just like my favorite bibimbap from K-town in NYC!!!

DESPERATE HOUSEDIVA BIBIMBAP (for 2)

1 cup short grain brown rice (note: traditional bibimbap uses white rice)

half a bag of washed baby spinach

10 mushrooms (preferably shitake, but white will do in a pinch) cut into slices

10 baby carrots cut into matchsticks or 3/4 cup shredded carrot

1 small zucchini cut into matchsticks or 3/4 cup shredded zucchini

handful of korean bean sprouts (I can't find these in midwestia so don't stress if you can't either)

2 eggs

Sriraicha sauce (or, if you can find it, Gochujang, Korean chili paste)

BULGOGI BEEF (optional..,and soooo delicious)

1 ribeye steak trimmed of fat and cut into little thin bites

3/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp honey

1 onion, diced

5 garlic cloves, diced

splash of sesame oil

splash of rice wine vinegar

About 40 minutes before serving begin to cook the brown rice...it takes about that long.

When rice is close to being done, or IS done it's time to cook the individual components of the dish. Blanche the spinach in boiling water for a minute or two, until wilted. Remove from boiling water, rinse in cold water and squeeze out excess. In a wok or sautée pan heat a bit of sesame oil and cook the carrots until just softened.

Remove carrots from pan, add a dash of sesame oil to pan and cook mushrooms (with a dash of salt) until soft and thin.

Remove mushrooms from pan and add a dash of oil and cook zucchini with a dash of salt until translucent.

Keep the cooked vegetables separate from one another on a plate.

If cooking bulgogi beef, now is the time to heat up a wok on high and add the beef, I just throw the whole thing in there (with marinade) and stir it around for a two minutes until the beef is cooked. In the pan you used to cook the veggies, heat a bit of oil (canola, peanut, etc.) and cook 2 eggs, over easy.

Assemble the plate: One cup of rice, covered with beef, veggies (separate, but next to each other) and fried egg. I like to top with a dollop of sriraicha sauce (because we can't get the special Korean bibimbap sauce here in Midwestia...) and then mix it ALL together and enjoy!!!

Healthy side dish idea for Holiday feasts and beyond!!!

In general, I don't like cauliflower. I think it goes back to the years of boring veggie trays at various school events (I also don't like that plastic-tasting ranch dressing that comes in tubs that often accompanies those trays.) In my entire life thus far I may have only enjoyed this pale cousin of the broccoli prepared 2 ways-the first is a roasted preparation with salt and pepper (because I believe that just about every vegetable is delicious when tossed in olive oil, salted, peppered and roasted...) and the other preparation is as a flavorful substitute for mashed potatoes which appears at the end of this post.

I am always looking for ways to incorporate different vegetables into my diet which is what drove me to give cauliflower a whirl in Midwestia. I also love comfort foods and I'm constantly on the lookout for ways to enjoy lighter versions in a healthy way. (It is due to the latter that I often substitute whole wheat flour for white or agave nectar for honey/sugar. I don't cook with fake sugars like splenda: I don't like the taste and I mentally feel less satisfied if I know that I am not eating actual calories-Although I am guilty of hypocrisy in this matter because I have been known to use butter-flavored crisco sticks to make my famous ginger cookies...and I really can't think of anything LESS natural than butter-flavored crisco stick) With that in mind, here is an all-natural recipe for delicious cauliflower mash:

Rich & Creamy (and garlicky) parmesan mashed cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1 head garlic

handful parmesan

2 large dollops sour cream

S&P

Remove papery outer shell of garlic head. Wrap garlic in foil. Roast head of garlic in foil in oven at 400 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, squeeze out yummy roasted garlic from clove.

Wash and cut cauliflower into florets

Boil cauliflower in large pot of water until tender (about 10 minutes)

Drain really, really well. While still hot, combine with sour cream, parmesan, roasted garlic, and s&p. Puree mixture in Food Processor, Blender, etc. until the texture resembles that of mashed potatoes.

Enjoy as a low-carb, starch free, veggie side dish!

Capery-mustardy fish

It's amazing how quickly a favorite dish can become tiresome. I often find myself making the same dishes ad nauseum because of their prep time, no matter how sick I am of the dish itself. That's one of the reasons I discovered this next recipe. Prof. Hubs and I like to eat fish a few times a week but we seem to grow tired of them faster and faster these days! I wanted to find a new, fast, tasty recipe for white flaky fish filets and this one fit the bill-and after making it a few times we're not sick of it...yet. Thanks to Ina Garten who's classic take on good food made this recipe possible. And thanks to Prof. Hubs who is always willing to try a new recipe, especially if it presents him with the opportunity to eat sour cream.

YUMMY NEW CAPERY-MUSTARDY FISH

based on a recipe by Ina Garten

• 4 (8-ounce) fish fillets (we used cod)
• s&p
• 8 ounces sour cream
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 2 teaspoons capers

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Lightly oil a baking dish. Salt and pepper the cleaned fish filets and place in dish.

Combine sour cream, 2 mustards, shallots, capers in a small bowl. Spoon the sauce evenly over the fish fillets, making sure the fish is completely covered. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until it's barely done. (The fish will flake easily at the thickest part when it's done.)

Bon appetit!!!