Being Crunchy Never Tasted So Good

What do you make for someone who is a complete and total health nut? This was the dilemma I faced when trying to figure out what to give my new physical therapist/personal trainer, Jason, a food gift. Yes, I have a PT. Due to my on-going back problems, I needed to get serious and hire someone who could work with me, one-on-one, to help a) get me out of pain, and b) get my back into tip-top shape so I will never have back problems again. So there ya go.

Jason is a health buff. He won't eat at any restaurants where he cannot see the food being prepared, so he sticks mainly to sushi and shabu-shabu places. He doesn't eat refined sugar or artificial gunk of any kind. Luckily I'd recently purchased Super Natural Cooking, a fantastic cookbook by blogger Heidi Swanson, and in it was a recipe for "Do It Yourself Power Bars." The ingredients? All healthy: oat bran, rolled oats, crisped brown rice, dried cranberries, toasted walnuts and more. It was easy to make, and absolutely delicious (I had to sample one!). I then typed out the ingredients and taped the list to the Tuperware in which I'd placed the bars, just so Jason could see exactly what was in the healthy treats. He was pretty happy to receive them, and tomorrow I will get the feedback on taste. But I'm not worried.

In other healthy cooking news, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite, low-fat sandwiches. I take two slices of sprouted grain bread, toast them, and spread a bit of low-fat mayo and lots of honey mustard on each slice. I then add thinly sliced red onions, a slice of low-fat white cheddar cheese, paper-thin roast beef lunch meat and a bunch of spring greens. So good, filling and around 320 calories and 4 grams of fat.

Happy eating!

Hot Diggity Dog!

I like hot dogs. I hardly ever eat them, but every once in a while I actually crave them. There's just something about a big, juicy hot dog with onions, relish, ketchup and mustard that really tastes great.

So I was pleasantly surprised when a rep from the Hoffy hot dog company (they provide the hot dogs for Pink's, Cupid's, Chronis and more) contacted me (via my blog) and asked if I would like to sample a new line of healthier, lean beef franks it was marketing. They are beef franks with 80% less fat than regular hot dogs; about 1.3 grams of fat and 28 calories per ounce (not bad!). In the interest of full disclosure, they did not ask me to blog about it, though of course it was suggested. And yes, they were free. But, had I not liked them, I would have probably just chosen not to blog about them at all, because really what's the point?

In any case, I decided to take them to work and cook up a few dogs for my coworkers. The only problem is that our building does not allow cooking of any kind, unless it's in the microwave. And we all know what happens to hot dogs in the microwave (think meat shrapnel everywhere!). So I filled up a Tuperware with boiling hot water from our coffee tap, and placed the hot dogs inside then put the lid on. It was a form of poaching, if you will. It only took about 5 minutes to heat the dogs all the way through, and soon enough the coworkers were raiding the kitchen and preparing their plates.

Hoffy sent me two sizes: the regular frank and the jumbo frank. I opted for a regular, on a whole wheat and sesame bun. I topped it with onions, relish, ketchup and mustard. It was very good, and didn't taste "diet" at all to me. At the same time, I probably eat hot dogs twice a year, so my hot dog palate could probably use some work. But it tasted very good; not too salty, good texture and nice flavor.

Coworkers Joey and Tony opted for the jumbo dogs. It was obvious they liked them because after finishing the jumbos, they each had another regular-sized dog (neither is Kobayashi but they can eat!). Alex had a couple of hot dogs and raved about them as well. All three guys said they really enjoyed the franks and would have never known they were less fat, but were happy that they were. Jose, who usually only eats chicken sandwiches, actually tried one, regular-sized hot dog and also stated that he liked it (<--this is a HUGE deal; Jose never eats anything besides chicken sandwiches from CPK). Coworker Lily had a couple of the regular-sized franks and she, too, really liked them and said it tasted like a real hot dog. I mean, it is a real hot dog, but you know what she means.

All in all it was a very nice lunch. For me, hot dogs always bring back memories of my childhood, since we used to eat turkey franks for lunch somewhat regularly. To find a beef frank with less fat and the great flavor of a beef hot dog was a surprise, and I want to thank Hoffy for letting us try them out for free.

Joey, giving his "thumbs up" approval, would also like to thank Hoffy, and his mom, and his wife, and his two children, and his co-workers....okay, Joey, your 15 minutes is officially up!

Lettuce Eat More Salad

I know it seems that I've been obsessed with salads lately, but it has as much to do with summer laziness than anything else. It's hot outside, and the days feel longer at work and I'd rather just come home, kick off my shoes and eat something quick and easy to relieve my hunger. Not a very foodie approach, I know, so I've been trying to make an effort to create easy but great meals (gasp - did I just quote Rachael Ray just now??).

My salmon salad is basic: I grilled some salmon with salt, pepper and lemon juice, and put it over a bed of greens and white onions. The dressing consists of Dijon mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt and a bit of cracked fresh pepper.

My Tuscan Tuna Salad is essentially a can of white beans, two cans of tuna, a half of a cucumber chopped, cherry tomatoes, scallions and red onions tossed with lemon zest, juice, olive oil and capers. No mayo here.

And my cauliflower and asparagus "salad" (more like a stir fry) is a whole head of green cauliflower cut up into thin slices, a bunch of asparagus also cut into slices, a thinly sliced white onion and some scallions. Throw in a bit of ginger, soy sauce, chicken stock and red pepper flakes and you've got a veggietastic meal that's good hot or cold.

I promise I'll make something really fabulous soon, like a big fat cake or a 4-course tasting menu. In the meantime, I am going to keep cooking lazily...a few ingredients and no more than 29 minutes. Hey, that should be my new show: "29 Minute Meals, with Clare." Huh.

Robert Rodriguez's Pibil

A few months ago, my friend Rebecca sent me a YouTube video of director Robert Rodriguez cooking up some cochinita pibil. Apparently Rodriguez loves to cook, and so he adds a feature called "10 Minute Cooking School" as a special bonus clip to some of his DVD releases. And he always starts off each segment with the line, "Not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to fuck." You kinda gotta love the guy right then and there, no?


Ever since I saw that clip, I've been wanting to have a pibil party. So this past weekend, I invited a few friends and family over to eat pibil tacos and drink some homemade margaritas (no pre-made mixes for me, EVER). The pibil was relatively easy to make; the most difficult part was finding all the spices, which Rodriguez suggests purchasing in seed form then grinding down in a coffee grinder. But one stop to a good Mexican market and I had my annatto seeds, all spice, cloves, cumin and the rest of the ingredients. I bought a little over 5 lbs of pork butt, which cost only $11.45, threw it in the spice paste mixture I made, covered it with banana leaves and tin foil and let it sit in the oven for 4.5 hours at 325 degrees. The result? Melt-in-your-mouth, spicy, uber luscious pork pibil that shredded easily with just the touch of a fork:

I served the pibil with some corn and flour tortillas, my friend Tawny's amazing guacamole, chopped cilantro and a couple of special condiments: homemade pickled jalapenos that I made following Bobby Flay's recipe (scroll past the pulled pork on his page to see jalapeno recipe); and my dad's homemade pickled red onions.

Along with chips and salsa, I made a simple green salad with a few slivers of roasted red beets in the mix.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the tacos, and the best part was that I didn't have to spend all day slaving away behind a stove or grill. The pibil takes about 10 minutes to prepare, then you throw it in an oven and leave it alone for hours. What's not to love?

All that time left me with plenty of energy to make dessert. I decided on Ina Garten's Frozen Key Lime Pie, but instead of making one, large pie, I made mini ones so everyone could have their own. The pies came out light and creamy and incredibly tangy and key-limey - really authentic and lovely. I can see why Jeffrey loves it so much (as illustrated in the episode where Ina makes this dessert for her hubby).

All in all, it was a perfect little Saturday evening dinner out on the patio. Good food, good friends and family and a great game of Taboo. A special thanks to Robert Rodriguez and Ina Garten for the inspired recipes and detailed demonstrations!

Quick Take: Crunchy Salad

I made this simple salad from leftover bell peppers (orange and yellow), cucumbers, avocado and celery. I sliced everything super thin and added a squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Who said salads have to be leafy and green?

Sunday Cooking: Salad Days

It's been dang hot lately, so slaving over a hot stove hasn't been at the top of my "to do" list in recent weeks. That said, it doesn't mean that I haven't been eating quite well.

Last night I whipped up this simple and delicious beet greens, beet and goat cheese salad. Most people waste those veiny, dense leafs on the stems of the beets, which are actually pretty tasty. I'd say the flavor falls somewhere between arugula and spinach; a little peppery, with that hearty spinach texture.

I simply roasted the beets in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes (drizzle with olive oil and sea salt before baking). Then I ripped up the greens and added a splash of lemon juice, salt, pepper and good olive oil and tossed. Crumble up some goat cheese and toss in the cooled beets and you've got yourself a hearty and tasty salad.