Oh My Gosh! Guys, Learn to cook!

Some people don’t know how easy it is to mix crab meat, mayo, cheddar, horseradish and French dressing into a snappy dip. Others don’t realize how pine nuts can dress up a salad and there are poor dears who haven’t even made quick cheese grits or French toast. Hollis Ledbetter has met these new adults who have moved out of the house and are suddenly faced with feeding themselves. After boning up on her book, readers may even want to host parents for dinner or . . . throw a party.
“Oh My Gosh! I’m in College and I Never Learned to Cook” covers basics and gets creative. I do like the emphasis on young people having fun with the whole deal enough to invite friends over to taste their accomplishments. Where there’s food, there’s fun. Some may learn to cook, others may learn to eat better. Here’s one made with healthy stuff:

Black Beans and Chopped Avocado Dip
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 16-ounce can black beans, drained
3 medium tomatoes
1 8-ounce can corn
½ cup red onion
1 ½ cup salsa
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
To prepare, take the seed out of the avocado and scoop out the meat into a bowl. Dice the onion and tomatoes. Combine avocado, beans, tomatoes, corn and onions. Mix salsa, lime juice, olive oil and sugar together, and pour over the avocado and bean mixture. Chill for two to three hours. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.


The spirit program
Many of us pray before meals. Thomas C. Kaut keeps up a prayerful attitude with “Spirit” Matrix” “Spirit Healing,” “Spirit Netting” and other names for his program throughout the chewing and digestive process, and through selection of the next meal. Scripture spices his message as he reminds readers to be grateful for air and water and stay away from junk food. His book is “The New Millennium Christian Health Program and Kaut ends each chapter with an “Amen.”



The Consious Plate
Chef Randy Rabney, owner of TheConsciousPlate.com, offers a “blueprint” on keeping stocked, cooking simply and making it good and good for you. The new book is “Delicious for Life: Your Everyday Guide to Making Quick & Healthy Meals.” With space for notes and ideas to create your own signature dishes, this little book is best-suited to readers who think they can’t do it all. Rabney aims to show they can. Tips include:
Make the most of the flavor combinations you love by using them in multiple dishes. For example, if you love tomato and basil, you can make whole wheat spaghetti with zucchini, fresh tomato and basil, a mozzarella tomato and basil salad, or zucchini, onion, tomato and basil frittata with parmigano reggiano.
Tired of having your fresh vegetables go to waste? Make a creative pasta sauce by sautéing vegetables and garlic and combining them with a small amount of high-quality marinara sauce. Or for an Asian inspired noodle dish, instead of marinara, use a small amount of organic soy sauce and dark sesame oil and toss in soba or rice noodles.
If your sweet tooth kicks in, eat cherry tomatoes or beets that are naturally sweet. Or, you can roast the vegetables at 450 degrees so that they become caramelized and the sugar is released, thus making them taste sweeter.
I’ve already been making something like Rabney’s Banana Ice “Cream” recipe:
Ingredients: 3 very ripe frozen bananas, 1 fresh banana, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional), 1 tablespoon of milk of your choice (nut, cow's milk, etc).
Step 1: Take the very ripe bananas, peel them, and break them into chunks and freeze.
ddoiron@panews.com

Starry nights and lots of spice for October

Blue with Van Gogh
Van Gogh Vodka has two new flavors for fall: Rich Dark Chocolate and Cool Peach. What I have tried from the culinary artists in Holland is Acai-Blueberry Vodka, which got me with straight up flavor, after I was already smitten by the flamingo on the label. It seems like you wouldn’t want to add anything else, since there’s hints of raspberry and almond. But if you’d like a cocktail, here it is:

Starry Night
4 ounces sparkling rose
1 ounce Van Gogh Acai-Blueberry Vodka
Pour chilled van Gogh Acai-Blueberry vodka into a flute. Top with Sparkling Rose wine and garnish with a starfruit.

I’m reading up on the chocolate version, offering hints of coffee, nutmeg and spice and notes of coffee, chili pepper, caramel, and exotic spice. They’ve gone all Aztec on it. The peach is a customer request.
Van Gogh Imports in Orlando, Florida, also brings Ron Abuelo Anejo, which has won lots of awards, yet is in a very reasonable price range. Fall is a good time for rum and this one offers estate-grown sugar cane from Panama. The company started in 1908 and its third generation is producing this satisfying blend with hints of sweet fruit, toasted coconut, vanilla, mocha, nuts and sweet spice. It’s a reason to celebrate the season.

Nuts about ‘em
Mix brown rice and almonds and what do you get? Nacho chips. Or Sour Cream and Chive chips. Maybe you’d prefer to stick with Sea Salt? Blue Diamond Almonds makes the flat, triangular snacks that are wheat and gluten free while coming out with significantly less saturated fat than potato chips. Don’t pretend it’s a tortilla chip. It’s got its own personality. Think “interesting cracker,” then try it with cheese or guacamole. It’s a tasty match.

Naked Juice
I know a woman who works out and refreshes with a bottled juice that seems to have more calories than she just burned off. Be aware and read labels of what’s tagged to be “good for you.” If you down the bottle, you may be drinking more than one serving.
Naked Juice has a tasty alternative to the super-sweet stuff with smoothies in a bottle. They offer two new flavors: Reduced Calorie Lychee and Reduced Calorie Citrus Lemongrass. Bet you’d never have thought of mixing one of these up. Makers use “100-percent bare-naked ingredients” such as coconut water and mango. Very refreshing. I used some to flavor up French toast, so I’ve been “Naked” cooking with this product as well.

Their loss is our spicy gain
Celeste De Armas and Corina Mascaro met at college, where their longing for dishes from their native Cuba lead to discussion of their “freshman 15” weight gain. Through a search for a healthy lifestyle, they eventually launched Nueva Cocina Foods, what they say is the nation’s first line of all-natural and authentic Latin rice dishes, seasonings and soups. Now their company offers 17 different items featuring authentic recipes from Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain and other Latin countries. Most are vegetarian and gluten-free. I’ve tried Chipotle Taco, Picadillo and Taco Fresco seasoning packets in unusual ways. They smell amazing and they’ve got to be wonderful in meat. I’ve mixed them in to eggs and vegetables on a week I wanted to eat modestly. Dried raisins and olives plump up well in the picadillo and there’s a different aroma going on when compared to our beloved Tex-Mex. It’s a good, hearty pick for fall.

ddoiron@panews.com

What to eat in October: Start with chocolate and wine



I began with Toffee Interlude, then went to 60 percent, 72 percent, then, the highest I’ve ever taken it: 86 percent cacao. Ghirardelli’s Midnight Reverie is dark chocolate meant be paired with dry red wine, strawberries and cheese. It’s savory, and an adventure. I think I’m most comfortable at 60 percent, Evening Dream. That’s dark enough to keep my husband out of the Ghirardelli, though he’s way into the Toffee Interlude. These squares are so good and satisfying, a reasonable person can ration out one a day to make them last. Are you reasonable?

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company has teamed with Leslie Sbrocco share pairings for Ghirardelli Intense Dark chocolates, in support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. They can inspire a Girl’s Night Out Pairing. Through December, specially marked pink ribbon packages of Intense Dark found at grocery and specialty retailers nationwide will carry a code inside the package redeemable for a $1 donation to the NBCF (up to $100,000).

www.intensedarkpairings.com has the scoop.



Drink with a Vampyre/Vampire

I perfectly timed consumption of a refreshing Blood Berry Martini on my front lawn at dusk. A bat flew overhead following my final sip. Mexican fre-tail, I’m pretty sure. Perfection. I made the recipe that Vampyre Wickedly Smooth blood-red vodka provided. By the way, I improvised with brown sugar.



Blood Berry Martini

1.5 oz Vampyre Vodka, red

2 strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 oz orange juice (blood orange juice, if available)

0.5 oz lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar

Half a strawberry, for garnish

· Directions: In a cocktail shaker, muddle the strawberries with the orange juice and sugar. Add the Vampyre Vodka. Top with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a half strawberry.





Vampire Vineyards has selections from where “a vineyard where the fruit is night-picked and the winemakers are sworn to secrecy.” I could say, don’t wait until Halloween to try their syrah with black cherry and cark chocolate flavors and a “jammy” finish. I didn’t. But, I have to confess. I’d like to save the Cabernet Sauvignon until Halloween. It comes with a Lord Byron verse on the label and the promise of adventure. Every year there seems to be drink recipes that call out the sexy vampire. This line simply wants to be uncorked.





Autumn with Sailor Jerry

After tasting Sailor Jerry Rum, I’m put in the mind of local band Hanna’s Reef, which Jerry Diaz promotes as Texas Beach music. Both the rum and the band are in the “kick back” style. It’s spicy and strong and full of fall flavor. Fortunately, Sailor Jerry Rum Brand Ambassador Paul Monahan (what a cool title) created a “handful of special cocktails” to usher in the season. Here’s one that will make you ready for the next Cayman Fest:



Autumn Bite

-1.5 part Sailor Jerry

-1.5 part lemonade

Top with black cherry soda

Add Sailor Jerry and lemonade to ice filled mixing glass. Shake and pour into fresh rocks filled highball glass. Top with black cherry soda. Garnish with cherry.

ddoiron@panews.com

Bring it: Grape Salad

Yes, I have played with wheat berries, but not at the same time I experimented with grapes that California fresh grape growers promote. They sent a recipe for Wheat Berry Salad with Caramelized Onions and Grapes and note a pairing “with the deep sweet of the soft onions and the subtle sweetness and juicy texture of the grapes.” They add chewy wheat berries, peppery arugula and the bite of feta cheese, for a dish diners will spoon up to the last morsels in the salad bowl. You can “bring it” to parties. Here’s how to make four servings:
1 cup wheat berries
6 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 cups green and red seedless California grapes, halved
1 cup baby arugula, washed and dried
1 garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper or pinch cayenne
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Cook the wheat berries in a pot of boiling, salted water until they are cooked but still quite crunchy, about 55 to 60 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Meanwhile, heat 5 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they are dark brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Stir the onions into the drained wheat berries and cool slightly. Stir in the thyme, grapes and arugula.
For the dressing: Using a chef’s knife, mash and chop the garlic on a cutting board with the salt until it becomes a paste. Transfer to a bowl and add the vinegar, pepper and remaining tablespoon of oil. Blend well and pour over the salad. Mix well, sprinkle with feta and serve.
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Grill Lean
Yes, we Southeast Texans love the fatty meats on the grill, but a doc shares tips for finding new favorites. Vivienne Halpern, MD, a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery, says your family can learn to love chicken, fish, turkey and sirloin are lean proteins that are lower in fat, calories, and cholesterol than hot dogs and full-fat hamburgers. Turkey, buffalo and veggie burgers are great on the grill, and olive oil-based marinades and lemon juice give barbequed meats and vegetables added flavor. Think squash, zucchini, peppers or tomatoes served over a bed of rice and round out the meal with a fresh garden salad and watermelon for dessert. No one would go hungry with this plan.


Spreadable update
I told y’all about Earth Balance Organic Coconut Spread for baking and cooking. I’m loving it on toast and even drizzled warm over popcorn. I’m enjoying the companion piece, Earth Balance MindfulMayo dressing and sandwich spread. It’s a dairy- and egg-free vegan spread that’s transformed my basmati rice into a fragrant salad when tossed with cilantro. I haven’t kept mayo in the house for years, but I’m thinking of amazing ways to use this little jar. Makers urge users to “Spread the joy.”
ddoiron@panews.ocm

“The Kosher Carnivore”
I expected some good beef and chicken recipes in “The Kosher Carnivore,” billed as The Ultimate Meat and Poultry Cookbook,” but June Hersh surprised me with recipes for chicken fried steak and guacamole. Kosher sounds tasty to me. I love how she urges cooks to get to know their pepper mill, because sometimes you want to really taste that pepper and sometimes it should hang in the background. I also love that there are so many good recipes that plenty of non-meat options, such as a low-calorie version of creamed spinach and a cranberry chutney will be my first tries, along with this:
Horseradish Cream
½ cup good quality mayonnaise
2 tablespoons jarred or freshly-grated horseradish
1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
Pinch of wasabi, optional
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the horseradish. Grate the garlic clover over the bowl and combine. Stir in the wasabi powder, if using, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to use.

Taste the burn
Burn is a workout program that I’m not familiar with, but Burn’s Lisa Corsello has some calorie cutting tips that I already use:
Sour Cream: Instead of sour cream, which has around 200 calories per 100grams, use low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt (70 calories per 100 grams). The flavor difference is virtually unnoticeable and you’ll get a boost in protein.
Cheese and Crackers: When craving a cheese snack, substitute celery, which has only 10 calories per medium stalk, for the crackers. You'll still be able to get the benefit of the protein, calcium and flavor of the cheese, while avoiding the empty calories in the crackers.
Tacos, Burritos, and Wraps: If Mexican food is your weakness, you’re in luck. Tortilla makers have made tremendous strides toward cutting the fat and calories and bumping up the fiber. Bonus! A variety of fajita and burrito-sized tortillas can be found at your local grocery store for less than 90 calories per serving.
When dining out at your favorite Mexican Restaurant, ask to substitute 2 corn tortillas for 1 made of flour or wheat. One corn tortilla has around 70 calories, while flour tortillas have 180-200+ calories.
Soda: If you're craving a fizzy sweet soda (which averages 136 calories), try mixing sparking water (0 calories) with a splash of apple juice (around 30 calories).
Coffee: If you enjoy getting a daily espresso drink at your local cafe, try this simple substitution: Instead of one tall latte, which has 150 cal, order one tall cappuccino and save yourself about 60 calories.

Orange you glad
Oranges look great as a fall centerpiece. You can take a Sharpie pen and draw faces them like jack-o-lanterns, stick cloves in them for potpourri and candy the slices for holiday

Arthritis in the kitchen
Mix cake batter in a pitcher, instead of a heavy bowl, for easier pouring. It could ease your joints, the Arthritis Foundation suggests in a very handy little book, “Tips for Good Living With Arthritis.” A travel mug with a lid, bending straws and plastic mugs are good options for better gripping, and plates with a curved rim could help aching hands spoon food better, are tips from the book. Some ideas take kitchen items out of the box. Consider a wooden pizza paddle to help tuck sheets under the mattress. The more than 700 tips are for every room and beyond. Close drawers and push chairs under the table by using your backside, is another helpful hint.

ddoiron@panews.com

Take five for quick cooking; tailgate time

I had to stop reading a cookbook on page 62, because I had already gotten so many ideas I had to catch up with myself. I love experimenting, saving time and being economical, so the new Quail Ridge Press “More Fast & Fabulous Five-Star 5-Ingredient (or less!) Recipes” book from Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley is good reading for me.
I had thought about cooking strips of bacon into all the crackers I had acquired, imagining they’d come out crispy and addictive. These women already did it, and called them bacon bows. They make a bread with nothing but flour and ice cream. There’s a beer omelet. Sigh. Good stuff. I’m sharing another one I never would have thought of, before savoring the rest of the book. It’s actually one of the more elaborate ones:

Sweet Tomato Jelly
5 pounds ripe tomatoes
8 cups sugar
2 lemons, thinly sliced
Scald tomatoes so peelings can be easily removed. Peel and chop tomatoes and place in a large bowl. Cover with sugar and let stand overnight.
Next day, drain juice into a large stockpot. Bring to a boil and boil until threads form. Add tomatoes and lemons. Allow to cool When thick and clear, pack in hot sterilized jars and seal.
A Big, Easy tailgate
How about those Lamar Cards? If you are on tailgate duty, consider a dirty jambalaya bar. I couldn’t dream this up: Zatarains sent me the tip:
* Set up a Dirty Jambalaya bar with different add-ins, like chicken, beef or sausage; and vegetables, like peppers, mushrooms and onions, for fans to customize their own perfect party plate.
* Seafood lovers can mix in shrimp or crawfish along with the meats and veggies for the ultimate flavor experience.
* Tailgating at the stadium? Prepare Dirty Jambalaya in advance and take it with you to the game. It’s easily eaten off paper plates, so no extra equipment is needed and clean-up is a breeze. All you need is a fork to enjoy!
Visit www.Facebook.com/Zatarains for more exclusive tailgating tips and recipes, as well as a chance to win a trip to the 2012 Allstate® BCS National Championship in New Orleans. Follow Zatarain’s on Twitter: (@MyZatarains).

Goin’ Green with purple
Fill ‘er up with Copco’s colorful Stir ‘n Sip Cups in crazy colors that keep you from filling up the landfill. I like a banana shake breakfast on the way to work and this cup, available at Bed Bath and Beyond stores for $7.99, is a winner with a paddle-bottom straw to keep the drink mixed. Mine’s purple, so I think I know a whole school district who could go for that. You’ve got a clear cup and lid with a colorful “coaster” band and the serviceable straw. Upcoming Halloween versions come in Crossbones, Midnight Branches and Damask.

And something for your Stir n’ Sip
Healthy food advocates talk about “ingredients you can’t pronounce” that make junk food. Our tongues and palates should be getting used to words like organic yerba mate and matcha green tea, which are in the powders of Amazing Grass which “has been sprouting some of the most vibrant ‘nutrition convenience’ ideas for years.” They’ve come out with Lemon Lime Green Energy Drink Powder, with the antioxidant equivalent of 7 servings of fruits and vegetables, giving “ a convenient and energizing means to achieve the recommended 5 to 9 daily servings of fruits and vegetables.”
I’ve tried the Green Superfood blend a few times and still find the organic wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa, spirulina, spinach, chlorella and broccoli with other ancient superfoods including açaí and maca give me a feeling of mowed grass, but add-ins like banana blend a smoothie that transports me into a healthy mode. Makers say the blend “includes an enhanced digestive enzyme and active probiotic blend to improve nutrient absorption.” That’s got to be better than a plastic bag of what many Americans gulp down on the way to work.
ddoiron@panews.com

Best women have done the work for you
Use your imagination to taste the joys of avocado pudding, jambalaya grits, onion fries and watermelon pickles. I can’t immediately prove it, but I think I’ve shared an earlier book from Best of the Best before. Three cooks have released “Recipe Hall of Fame: Fresh from the Farmers Market Cookbook” in the “Best” series, which gleans winning recipes from other sources. I love all kinds of cookbooks, but this is one that features something I not only want to make, but can make pretty easily, on nearly every page.
They’re all about fresh, and some are very quick, too. One’s got a slaw recipe with crushed Ritz crackers and grated sharp cheddar cheese. Another has a note that the recipe for Orange Mint drink is so important, it ought to be issued with Social Security numbers. Here’s just one that Gwen McKee, Terresa Ray and Barbara Moseley rounded up:

Edisto Stew
2 12-ounce cans beer
6-8 ears corn
2 teaspoons crab boil seasoning
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Tabasco
1 pound link sausage, sliced
1 pound shrimp, unpeeled
Bring beer and enough water to cover corn to a boil, add corn and seasonings. Let simmer 5 minutes, then add sausage and simmer 5 minutes. Add shrimp and cook until pink. Drain and spread on newspaper. Dive in; pretend you’re on the island. (“Recipes & Memories,” from South Carolina)


September marks the 21st year of National Rice Month, sponsored by the USA Rice Federation. The group reports U.S.-grown rice contributes $34 billion in economic activity in America and provides 128,000 jobs annually. That’s enough for me to cook up a pot.


Coffee with Wolfgang
If you want to stick to 120 calories, you already have a treat in Wolfgang Puck’s new line of iced coffees in four flavors. His signature in glass is raised on the little milk-bottle shaped servings. But if Café au Lait, Vanilla Fusion, Crème Caramel and Double Blended Mocha are great in the morning think how tempting they’d be as bases for drinks enjoyed in the evenings. Taste toasted, notes, Tahitian vanilla, Viennese chocolate and organic goods in these various blends, as the come. Wolfgang has a few add-in ideas:
Siberian Espresso
Covoa Iced Coffee
2 ounces Wolfgang Puck Café au Lait
1 ½ ounces vodka
½ ounce kahlua
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake well for 10 seconds. Strain into a martini glass.

Crunchy Yogurt
This is one is designed for kids, who will think it’s fun to crunch drops of freeze-dried yogurt, without realizing it’s organic and good for them. Little pouches to slip in the lunch box remind me of Pop Rocks but Plum Organics and Revolution Foods have made Yo’ Drops out of 100 percent certified organic & hormone-free yogurt that’s mixed with real fruit and freeze-dried it into tiny drops. I tried the crunchy yogurt over fresh fruit. It’s got a “candy” sensation children ought to go for. This is from the folks who gave children and their health-conscious parents Mashups Fruit & Veggie Smoothies, also designed for on-the-go children.

The cheese investment
I’ve mentioned before that I’d like to “invest” in a cheese that’s so rich tasting you just need a little bit to get flavor satisfaction. Grana Padano is a hard hunk of sweet, nutty flavor that works with luncheon meats, fruits and vegetables and it works for those who are lactose intolerant, makers say. They ought to know, because monks in Northern Italy discovered about 1,000 years ago they could work with curds and whey and create the world’s first hard cheese, Grana Padano literature reports. It’s an Italian DOP, which to us is a PDO, meaning Protected designation of Origin. It gets tests, brands, marks and stamps to prove it is what it is. . . high quality cheese. I’m enjoying it as an appetizer, but the guide suggests packing it in a lunch box kabob style, with cherry tomatoes and gherkins or even little dippers with hummus and fruit spreads.
ddoiron@panews.com