potato chips in the microwave?!?!

A couple of my favorite blogs posted last week about making your own potato chips...in the microwave? Wha? Redonkulous! I had to see for myself. I've never seen anything crisp come out of a microwave. So I got some taters and broke out my thumb-eater mandoline and got to experimenting.


I did the first batch on paper towels, not overlapping. I nuked them for 3 minutes on full power then 3 minutes on 1/2 power, then 1 minute on 1/2 power a couple times until they looked nicely browned. And guess what? They were crisp! Amazing. They were also stuck to the paper towel. Here are a couple video demonstrating the chips' crunch and stuck-ness:





For the second batch I put the potato slices straight on a plate, and seasoned them with smoked salt. Same cooking method. This time, they stuck to the plate. Also, it seemed I had put too much salt on them. It didn't seem like alot when I put it on, but the flavors must have intensified a lot in the microwave.


For the third batch, I seasoned the taters with celery salt and garlic powder. This time I put the slices on parchment paper laid directly on the microwave's turning plate. The didn't stick this time! Well, they stuck together, because I overlapped them. I also over seasoned them again. :(


Then I thought I would go the next step and try making sweet potato chips.


I love me some sweet potato chips, but I rarely find them for sale. Plus I never like how they are seasoned. Using the parchment paper trick again, I nuked the sweet potato slices. They took longer than the russet potato, but eventually they crisped up. I just kept adding 1-minute until they were done. You have to watch carefully, I think...I could see these getting burnt pretty fast. The sweet potatoes also shrunk more than the russet, and they didn't stick together. They were not as pretty as I'd hoped, as they got a strange gray color to them...Still tasty and crisp, though!


In conclusion:

• Microwave potato chips are the real deal!! Crisp and potatoey.

• It's very easy to over-season/salt. Be very careful.

• Parchment paper is the best vehicle for these chips.

• Do not overlap the russet potato slices, as they will stick together.

• Sweet potatoes work well. I can't wait to make some chipotle flavored ones. And perhaps curry! Oh, and sweet ones with cinnamon and sugar!

• Ahem. The possibilities are endless...

Ellie Krieger's Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and White Beans

Spring is coming, followed by summer. Which means that this tummy I've developed in the cold months has to go. Things like chicken & waffles and pancetta egg cups and hollandaise sauce don't help, so I'm gonna try and cut back on meals like that, and cook more healthy meals.

Back in January, I got the opportunity to meet Ellie Krieger and have her sign a copy of her book The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life at the St. Louis Food & Wine Experience. She was very nice! The book is great. There are so many recipes I want to try. I like her stuff because she uses real ingredients to make healthy meals....butter, cheese, olive oil...she just uses it in moderation.

Last night I tried her Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, and White Beans. The recipe called to me because it had lots of summer flavors...lemon, basil and tomatoes. Of course tomatoes are horrible right now, but I got some cherry tomatoes, which tend to be less-mealy than the regular ones. Also, this recipes calls for roasting the tomatoes, which really helps them get sweet and yummy.

Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, and White Beans

3 large tomatoes, (about 2 lbs. I used 2 12 oz. bags of cherry tomatoes and one can of whole tomatoes)
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1(15 ounce) can cannellini beans (I used 2 cans)
1/2 pound penne pasta
2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Slice each tomato into 8 wedges and discard the seeds. Put the tomato wedges and garlic into a 9 by 13-inch roasting pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and a few turns of pepper. Roast in the oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

Drain the beans into a large colander in the sink. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta into the colander containing the beans, so the hot pasta water will warm the beans. Return drained pasta and beans to the pasta pot.

When the tomatoes are done, pick out the garlic cloves, squeeze the garlic out of the skin into a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add lemon juice, the remaining oil and salt and pepper, stir to combine. Pour the roasted tomatoes into the pasta pot, add the garlic mixture, the basil and additional salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to combine. Serve topped with the Parmesan.

It was easy, and the flavors were refreshing...sweet roasted tomatoes and garlic, tart lemon and creamy beans. Again, Ellie's recipe works for me! Here are some other times when I've made her recipes: Oven fried chicken thighs and Short-cut greens ; Oven fried chicken strips.

chicken fingers and peanut sauce

Last night for dinner I made Ellie Kreiger's Crispy Chicken fingers from her book The Food You Crave, as featured on Serious Eats. I had made a couple recipes before of Ellie's...The fried chicken and collard greens...after seeing one of her shows on the Food Network. We like the fried chicken, and these strips looked pretty similar. It seemed it would make a nice, comforting, quick and healthy meal. Once at the grocery store, however, I decided to nix her honey mustard sauce and whip up some spicy peanut dipping sauce instead. And for a veg I decided on broccoli stir-fried with ginger, garlic and sesame.

Recipes for the Chicken fingers (direct from the book via Serious Eats), peanut sauce and broccoli follow. Keep in mind that this is the kind of cooking you do to taste, so use my recipes as a guide, but feel free to add, subtract, veer off...

Chicken Fingers
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut across into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk 
(I added some soy sauce to my buttermilk...don't know if that made a ton of difference or not)
Cooking spray (I just used vegetable oil wiped on the pan with a paper towel...)

4 cups whole-grain corn cereal such as Corn Chex or corn flakes 
(I added sesame seeds as well...)
1/4 teaspoon salt 
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper (I put in about 1 tsp. of white pepper instead of black)

Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Combine the chicken and buttermilk in a shallow dish. turning the chicken to coat it with the buttermilk. Cover and chill for 15 minutes. Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.
3. Put the cereal in a sealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.
4. Transfer the crumbs to a shallow dish and season them with the salt and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in the cereal to fully coat and arrange on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Leave the chicken on the baking sheets to cool slightly. It will become crispier.

Peanut Dipping Sauce
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
1/2 tsp. fresh grated garlic
1 tsp. chili hot oil
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. fish sauce
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
water to thin out...approx. 4 Tbsp.

Mix everything but the water together. add water a little at a time, stirring until sauce reaches your desired consistency.

Sesame Ginger Broccoli
3 cups broccoli florets, blanched
about 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp chili hot oil with some of the flakes
1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
2 tsp. fresh grated garlic
1 shallot, sliced thin
4 tbsp. sesame seeds
4 tbsp. soy sauce
dash of fish sauce

cook shallots and garlic in oil until translucent, add ginger, hot chili oil and sesame oil and sesame seeds, cook for a couple minutes, then add broccoli and stir-fry for about a minute before adding soy and fish sauces and cooking for another couple of minutes.

fried chicken and collard greens

Obviously, if I value my health, I can't be eating things like the famous meatloaf cupcakes everyday. Saturday I came across a Food Network show I hadn't seen before, Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. On the show she was making healthier versions of some American favorites. And I don't mean healthier as in no-fat, artificially sweetened diet food. She was using real ingredients, making real food...just cutting back on certain things such as oil and butter and egg yolks. Not cutting them OUT completely, just using enough to get the taste/texture benefits.

I decided to try her oven fried chicken and the short cut collard greens. Both turned out really good. The chicken was slightly reminiscent of the shake and bake I remember from childhood, but much better. The addition on Sesame seeds is my favorite touch! And it did end up being crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. I did substitute boneless skinless thighs for the bone-in skinless breasts and thighs she used. I just couldn't find that particular cut. Plus, I just love me some chicken thighs.

The collard greens were my favorite. Canadian Bacon provides the porkiness and I loved the tanginess of the vinegar with the sweetness of the maple syrup and bitter greens. I've only tried cooking collard greens once before. They took forever and didn't taste this good. These only took about 30 minutes and they were tender and yummy. And healthy!! The way you start them, by microwaving them with a small amount of water, is one of the best ways to cook them so that they don't lose all of their nutrients. I added a little liquid smoke to them, just because I had it on hand, and figured why not. And I microwave bakes some sweet potatoes to serve as another side...nothing crazy there...just a little salt and pepper was needed, because sweet taters are so good the way they are! It was a filling, warming (I made it on a cold rainy Saturday) and healthy meal. See?

not the most appropriate post to follow the brownies...

It's that time of year when food is king. It's everywhere. Delicious cookies and cakes and comfort foods. I like it and usually don't feel much guilt. But I know I will be paying for it when it comes time for getting out the summer clothes again....the dreaded swimsuit and shorts and tank-tops. I love summer, don't get me wrong. But all my winter sloth and gluttony shows. It's the weather, I think, mostly. It's cold and dreary most days. You want to stay inside. Warm and comfy. And what's warmer and comfier than a belly full of yummy food?

Then New Years comes and we make all our resolutions to eat less, exercise more, etc. etc. Well why not start sooner? I've been searching for more healthy comfort food recipes. I read several bits about an author named Jeanne Jones who is famous for taking traditional recipes and lightening them up. I've gotten a couple of her cookbooks from the library, and tried one recipe: meatloaf in an onion. I liked the idea of it, but it turned out quite poorly. For one it's really meant to be something you wrap in foil and cook on the embers of a fire. But there were baking instructions, too. They didn't say NOT to put the foil on, so I wrapped all my onions in foil. It probably would have turned out better if I hadn't. What I got was bland steamed hamburger in a bland steamed onion. Very "cafeteria at the retirement home." Oh well. I'm not giving up on her recipes just yet, I'll just have to think about them more before I try them.

Wild Oats' website has all kinds of recipes. As far as healthier comfort food, this meatloaf and these mashed potatoes both look yummy and warming.

They also have a whole list of recipes to make using "super foods." Super foods are those which pack the most healthy stuff nature has to offer. I like this idea of not so much concentrating on "low-fat" and "low-calorie" but on quality ingredients that have naturally beneficial nutrients, fats, vitamins, etc. For more lists and recipes featuring the healthiest foods, check out the World's Healtiest Foods website, which has all kinds of info, including the list, a database of recipes, and featured food and recipe each week.

Also, this article lists 5 of the healthiest foods in the world, from around the world, such as Olive Oil from Spain. Click on each food to find out more about it, and see a recipe. Neat!

Okay, one more list. The 29 healthiest foods on the planet. It's something I'll keep in mind when planning my next meal.

nutritious & delicious

The government released a revised food pyramid not too long ago. Therefore, "New Nutrition guideline fun for all" is the theme this week!

Go to mypyramid.gov to see what you should be eating. And you can get more specific by entering your age, sex and activity level.

We could probably all use more veggies in our diets (I'm supposed to have at least 3 cups a day, according to the pyramid). Here's a neat resource to find farmer's markets near you.
What to do with all those yummy fresh veggies you get at the farmer's market? Check out this plethora of Just Vegetables Recipes!

Protein is important, too. Are you getting enough?

Make over your breakfast according to the nutrition guidelines.

Mmmm...fiber!
Rather just take a magic pill? good luck.

I'm off to shovel sugar babies into my mouth now :)

think thin

Thanksgiving is over, but we’re still in full holiday swing. When the food is plentiful…and so is the guilt and extra weight-gain. Today’s links are all over healthy eating & weight-loss tips.

First things first, put down the donut, and back away slowly.

Drink lots of water.

I like soup as a healthy but comforting meal. Today I had split-pea soup from the cafeteria that was mighty yummy and perfect for this cold cloudy day. For some soupy inspiration, check out this list of movies that feature soup.

Obviously, an American-style diet ain’t gonna cut it. Check out how people around the world eat. Lots of good tips in this series of articles.

Speaking of tips, here’s some about how to avoid binge eating during the holidays. Speaking of holiday eating, check out some of these healthy holiday recipes. yum.

Instead of just trying to diet, maybe you should reflect on relationship to food.

Or get spiritual and artsy with your healthy self with diet inspiration from Our Lady of Weightloss. Check out her greeting cards. Pretty.

A glossary of diet pills and weight-loss terms for the studious dieters. And while you’re nerding up your diet, might as well use a calculator!

For healthy lunches, this company makes really cute compartmentalized lunch boxes, much like Jaapanese bento boxes, except more tupperware-ish. Their website has lots of great ideas for healthy lunches.

For those who read this but don’t give a crud about eating healthier, I’ll just come full circle (pun intended) and end with a link to tips for eating donuts.

Let’s get physical!