Comfort food made healthier

It seems to be a constant struggle, how do you make the foods you loved as a kid and the foods you indulge in, healthier? My philosophy is to cut back on the fat where you can, but to also try to fit more vegetables into the dish to bulk it up and cut back on the fat per serving. The other way I look at it is, always trying to make foods that somehow contribute to your daily servings of fiber, vegetables, protein, whatever it may be, make it count- no empty calories. Granted there will be some here and there, but I believe if you take this approach daily, you can still eat foods you enjoy but create a healthier diet for yourself. This dish would be a classic example. The sloppy joes are loaded with veggies and the bun has whole wheat flour and lot's of flaxseed. I used ground flax and found that it created a really nice and chewy texture in the bread.

Sloppy Joes (serves about 6)

1 lb lean ground beef (or turkey, chicken or even crumbled tofu)
1 medium onion diced
1 green bell pepper diced
2 medium cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 cups grated butternut squash (either using a cheese grater or food processor)
1 1/4 cups tomato juice (this is flexible- tomato puree or v-8 or reg tomato juice)
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 TBS Worcestershire
1 TBS brown sugar

Brown the meat in a large saute pan. Cook through and set aside to drain on a paper towel. Drain all of the fat except about 1 TBS(if your meat is very lean you may have to add some oil. Saute all of your vegetables and garlic just beginning to get tender. Add the tomato juice and cook down until it has reduced by about half then add the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, and Worcestershire) and cook until for about 15 minutes and then add the beef back in. You want to make sure you cook it until the sauce is fairly thick adding the ground beef towards the end. This freezes well.

Flax Seed Rolls or Hamburger Buns (Makes 12 medium size rolls)

8 oz all purpose flour
10 oz whole wheat flour
2.5 oz rye flour
2 oz flax seed (about 1/2 cup)
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 TBS honey
14.6 oz water
2 tsp salt

Mix all the dough except the salt. Mix until all the flour has been mixed in but don't start kneeding the dough yet. Cover and let this sit for twenty minutes. After the 20 minutes are up mix in the salt. This gives the yeast a head start and gets it working it also gives the flour a chance to absorb all the liquid, making it a lot easier to handle. Sprinkle the salt on top and either by hand or machine, mix for 5 minutes or so, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let it rise until double (in a warm place) this will take about 1 hour assuming the room is 70 degrees or so (if it's colder it will just take longer. Gently deflate the dough and let it double again (this should only take about 20 minutes or so). **Alternatively you can mix the dough and then just put covered bowl in the refrigerator overnight and let it proof slowly. The next day take it out and let it sit at room temperature for a few hours to give the dough a chance to warm up and then continue as normal** After the dough has doubled for the second time turn it out onto a very lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 3 oz portions (you can eyeball this or weigh it) and you should have about 12 buns. Roll them into a rough round and let them sit for 20 minutes covered. Meanwhile turn the oven on to 375 and prepare a pan with either parchment or grease. Crack 1 egg into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and 1 tbs water and stir until the egg is completely broken up. After the twenty minutes re-round the balls making sure you they are smooth all over. Place them on the sheet pan and take your hand and flatten each ball as much as possible (this will create a wider surface and more of a bun shape) let them rise in a warm place covered until they have doubled in size. This should take anywhere from 1/2 hour to an hour. After they are fully proofed brush some egg wash on each bun and press down gently again to help to flatten them (they bounce back quite a bit). Bake at 375 until a dark golden crust forms. Probably about 1/2 an hour. Let them cool completely before cutting in half. These freeze well.

Brine

Around Thanksgiving, the subject of brining becomes popular because of all those large intimidating turkeys that are to be cooked, and it can help to retain moisture and add flavor to the meat. Brining isn't just for turkeys though! This brine below became the secret between some pretty good grilled pork chops to amazing pork chops! I found an article from Fine Cooking that goes into more detail (if your interested) about what's actually happening when you brine meat, and it also gives some good guidelines for brining all sorts of proteins. Just remember to not be intimidated by this, it is only a form of marinating. It creates a foolproof cooking experience, because there is so much salt in the brine it seasons the meat inside out and helps to prevent it from drying out from cooking (or over cooking). I used this brine for some pork chops that I then grilled. One bite after these came off the grill and I was speechless! They were soooo good!. Keep in mind that the seasonings (anything beyond the salt and usually liquid) are interchangeable, and you can use a variety of spices and sweeteners to customize the flavors to match the meal.

Maple Pork Brine (adapted from Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen)

3 cups water
2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 TBS molasses
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

I heated the water gently (before a boil) to help to dissolve the salt, and then added all the rest of the ingredients. It's important that you don't use the brine (place the meat in it)until it's cooled down to room temperature. Keep in mind that the size of the meat will depend on how long you keep it in the brine. Even if you are doing this a day in advance, just pay attention to how long it has been in, pull it out and store it in a dry container until ready to cook. Too long in the brine will make it too salty. I had some nice thick bone in pork chops that I left in for 4-6 hours. Below I have included a recipe for a sauce/ sauteed apples that I served on top.

2 pieces of bacon chopped in small pieces
1 medium shallot chopped or thinly sliced
2 medium apples sliced fairly thinly
3/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup apple cider

Slowly render the bacon in a saute pan. Once crispy and most of the fat rendered off, take out bacon and reserve. Drain off all but about 1 tsp of the bacon fat. Add shallots to the pan and begin to saute, after a minute or so add the apples. Season with a little (pinch) of salt and pepper, and a little sugar if needed. Cook apples until barely tender. Add liquid and continue to cook until sauce is reduced by about 1/2 (or thick enough to coat the spoon). Add the bacon back into the pan and check for seasoning. Serve warm with pork chops.

Anniversary Dinner

On Sunday it was our one year anniversary. It was a quick year, but filled with great memories. I decided to make dinner and since we were going to be busy all day working on projects I thought I would keep it simple and fun with a few appetizers and some wine. I made coconut shrimp and little shao mai dumplings. I'll post the dessert tomorrow.

Coconut shrimp is one of Ryan's favorite appetizers and maybe one of the only ways he likes to eat shrimp. There many ways to make coconut shrimp but I prefer to use a beer batter and then dip the shrimp in coconut before frying. I find that it gives a more consistent coconut crust.



Coconut Shrimp (enough for about 24 large shrimp)

Beer batter:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
6 Tbs lighter beer (you don't want to use dark)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg white
about 2 cups coconut (your choice- sweet or unsweetened)
Oil for frying (about three inches in the bottom of the pot)
24 large shrimp peeled and deveined
Mix together batter and put the coconut in a shallow bowl or on a plate. Heat the oil to about 365 degrees (use a thermometer to keep temperature consistent). Make sure the shrimp are fairly dry and dip it into the batter shaking off excess and then put it into the coconut, sprinkling some on top (they're easier to handle once coated with coconut) and turning once or twice to make sure they are thoroughly coated. Place the finished shrimp on a lined sheet pan and continue with all the shrimp before starting to cook them. At this point they can sit for an hour or two before cooking them (refrigerate them) because you want to fry them right before serving. Once ready to fry cook only 6-8 at a time so the oil doesn't get too cold and they have some room around them. Fry them until a nice golden color- by then the shrimp will be cooked through. Place them on some paper towels to catch all excess grease and keep warm while frying the rest. I served these with a pepper jelly combined with pineapple. It was about equal parts pineapple and pepper jelly blended together and briefly heated.




The other appetizer was an open faced dumpling. They can be filled with a variety of fillings and are very good and easy to make. I have also included a soy based dipping sauce but you'll see in the picture I used hoisin sauce instead (given the limited time) . I used a bamboo steamer to cook these. If you don't have one of these, they're a great way to steam food and are fairly inexpensive.



Shao Mai Dumplings (makes about 60 small dumplings)
1 egg white
2 tbs ginger
1 tbs garlic
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs cornstarch
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup diced water chestnut or jicima
1/2 thinly sliced scallions
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey breast (or you can also use pork or a combination of both)


60 won ton wrappers cut into a 2 1/2- 3" rounds.


Mix all the ingredients (except the won ton skins) together . Have a small dish of water near by. Cut the wrappers and make sure to keep them covered after they are cut because they can dry out very easily. Using about 2 tsp- 1 Tbs of filling mound it in the middle of the wrapper and using a wet finger moisten the edges of the wrapper. To shape the dumplings make a little ring with your thumb and first finger and gently use those two fingers to shape the dumpling. You want to make sure the pleats at the top are secure so it doesn't loose it's shape. After it's fairly shaped put it down on the cutting board so that you flatten out the bottom and then squeeze the "neck" (where all the pleats come together at the top) and it's OK for some of the filling to rise out. As you shape the dumplings, put them on a lined tray and when you are done forming them, they can sit for about 4 hours (as long as they are well wrapped and refrigerated) or so until you are ready to cook them. To use the steamer( it works best with a wok) heat about 3 inches of water in the pan and before setting the steamer over the water (which should be boiling by then). Line the steamer trays with parchment(you can also use cabbage leaves if you have some around) put the dumplings in the steamer- you want to make sure they are evenly spaced out (this may have to be done in shifts) and put the lid back on and place the steamer over the water and they should steam for 6 minutes. Garnish with more thinly sliced scallions and serve warm.

Dipping sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
3 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 tbs chopped scallions

Mix everything except the scallions in a small sauce pan and briefly bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar and then pour into a bowl and once cool add the scallions.