Reform your diet method

Slow Days: A Late Spring Dinner

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Early May is the mid-way point between the Vernal Equinox [start of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere] and the Summer Solstice [start of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere] — so why not have a special meal? Floral-themed, of course. And since the coronation of King Charles III occasioned much discussion of the Coronation Quiche, that would be the main course. Although I tried to stick to the original recipe, some changes had to be made: 1] No lard to be found, so I prepared the crust using all butter. 2] The amount of milk given was insufficient to moisten the crust ingredients, so I added more, once tablespoon at a time, followed by more water until it was right. 3] In the UK, a ‘large’ egg is larger than a US ‘large’ egg. So I provided the weight of the egg so you will have sufficient liquid in the quiche. 4] I recommend using Half&Half or Blend Cream instead of Heavy/Whipping/Double cream. Same result, less saturated fat. 5] The original recipe has the white beans tossed in whole. I mashed them so the texture would be more creamy. 6] The original recipe does not tell the cook to squeeze the excess liquid from the cooked spinach. This is a necessary step, so I included it. 7] After baking the quiche for the recommended 20-25 minutes, it was not quite set in the center and the top was colorless. I cooked it 10 minutes longer and it turned out very well. 8] Cheese type was unspecified, so I emphasized the upstart colonies and used American and Irish Cheddars. I would definitely prepare this again.

The quiche was delicious!
Add a hearty, healthy salad made with Spring Greens and asparagus.
Sv 6 ORIGINALSv 6 MY ADAPTATION20cm flan tin MY METHOD
125g plain flour
Pinch salt
25g cold butter, diced
25g lard		125g white whole wheat flour Pinch salt 50g cold butter, dicedSift flour + salt into a bowl. Add fats and rub mixture together with finger tips until you get a sandy, bread crumb-like texture.
2 Tbsp milk 
OR use 250g of ready-made shortcrust pastry		5 Tbsp milk + waterAdd milk a bit at a time to bring ingredients together into a ball. Cover, rest in fridge 30-45 mins. Or overnight
On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry to a circle ~5mm thick, a bit larger than tin.
Line pan with pastry, mending any holes. Cover, rest 30 mins in fridge.
Preheat oven to 190°C./375F
OR MAKE A CRUSTLESS QUICHELine pastry with parchement + baking weights. Bake 15 mins. Remove paper, weights.
Lower oven to 160°C./320F 
125 ml milk 175 ml double/heavy cream two large UK eggs
Salt and pepper		125 ml milk 175 ml half + half two 2.7-oz eggs Salt and pepperWhisk together these ingredients, without making it frothy..
60g canned white beans30g canned white beans Puree or mash, add to egg mixture.
180g cooked spinach 
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon		180g cooked spinach 
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon		Squeeze spinach, roughly chop it along with tarragon. 
50 g grated cheese50 g grated Cheddar 
I used Irish Cheddar here		Scatter cheese on pie crust, top with spinach, then pour egg-bean mixture evenly over all.
50 g cheese50 g Cheddar cheese
I used Vermont Cheddar here		Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 20-35 mins until lightly golden, set — might take 10 mins more
1 of 6 Sv: 229 calories 18.6 g fat 0.8 g fiber 10 g protein 3.6 g carbs 208 mg Calcium CRUST 1/6: 134 calories 8.2 g fat 2.7 g fiber 2.7 g protein 14 g carbs 2.6 mg CalciumFILLING 1 of 6 Servings: 166 calories 11.4 g fat 0.8 g fiber 10.4 g protein 6 g carbs 220 mg Calcium ALL BUTTER CRUST 1/6: 127 calories 7.4 g fat 2.7 g fiber 2.7 g protein 14 g carbs 3.6 mg Calcium

To emphasize the floral theme of the meal, an Artistic Foccacio with vegetable flowers and a Panna Cotta for dessert, topped with a drizzle of Dandelion Jelly and decked with Candied Violets.

The dessert recipe is from Epicurious.com. I am very fond of make-ahead desserts.

makes 6 ramekins or 8 mini-Mason jarsLightly spray six ¾-cup ramekins or custard cups with nonstick spray or 8 mini-Mason jars with lids
2 tablespoons water 1½ tsp unflavored gelatinPour water into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens, ~10 mins.
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
½ cup sugar		Heat these in medium saucepan over med-high heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. 
Increase heat and bring just to low boil, stirring occasionally. Do not over-heat the mixture!
Add gelatin mixture, take off heat. Stir until gelatin dissolves. 
Pour into a bowl. Cool mixture to lukewarm, stirring often. 
2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract		Stir in these. Divide mixture among ramekins. Refrigerate panna cotta until set, ~4 hours or overnight.

Slow Days: DIY Lavash

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

One day, I got to thinking about making Lavash, an ancient flatbread from Armenia and the surrounding region. Actually, I was thinking about making pita bread, but I’d done that once and was not pleased with the result, so why not do something new, like Lavash? The modern version of this flexible breadstuff is marketed as a ‘wrap.’ Son #1 said that he had made it, which encouraged me to try. Some recipes these days are yeasted, but I wanted to get to the original style. Vera Abitbol @ 196flavors.com is the source of this recipe. Lavash is one of the many ‘flatbreads’ of Asia, the main requirement being that it could be prepared quickly [no yeast to proof and rise] and could be cooked on flat rocks by the campfire. Thus it became a bread for bands of hunters, nomadic herders, and soldiers.

The story is told of an Armenian king who was kept alive by lavash and a clever ploy. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to conquer neighboring Armenia. In one battle, the Armenian King Aram was captured by his enemy. Game over? Not yet: the Assyrian king wanted to toy with his captive before a final blow. King Aram was to be starved for 10 days before meeting in an archery contest. If Nebuchadnezzar won, Aram would be murdered and his nation forfeit. If Aram won, he would go free and his kingdom would be saved. Aram asked that his near-by army would bring him his most beautiful shield to prepare him for the competition. Sure, said Nebuchadnezzar, why not? When the message was received by the Armenians, they were perplexed — why take a shield to an archery test? Then they guessed that there was a hidden meaning to the request: send. me. bread. So they baked a batch of Lavash, smoothed the thin, flexible strips of bread to the underside of the shield, and delivered it to their king. For the next nine days, the Armenian king ‘peevishly’ demanded a new shield, and thus he was supplied with sustenance instead of starving. On the day of the contest, King Aram won at archery and Armenia was saved. By Lavash bread!

LAVASH Vera Abitbol @ 196flavors.com Makes 16 lavash sheetsGriddle or wide skillet or baking sheets
2 c white whole wheat flour  1 c white flourAdd flour to bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
Make a well in center of flours.
½ tsp salt 1 c. warm water (95 F/36˚C)Put salt in well. Knead at medium speed, adding water gradually. Dough will be soft, homogeneous, and come off walls of bowl.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm place 30 mins.  
Dough is resting in a small bowl before rolling.
Roll dough thinly on a lightly floured surface. Fold sides in to make 4 layers.  Let rest 30 mins in a warm place.
Cut dough in two pieces. Roll and fold each piece 4x to make dough elastic.
Preheat oven 30 mins to 430F/220˚C OR heat griddle

As the above directions say, you are now to roll and fold each piece of the dough four times. The goal is to make the dough thinner and more pliable with every turn. While this is supposed to be done with a rolling pin, it struck me as being similar to the process of rolling pasta dough — the successive rolling works the dough into thin, even strips. so I got out the pasta machine, cut the dough into pieces the correct width and ran them through. I started at the thickest setting, then went by steps to the thinnest setting. The dough became smooth, silky, elastic, and cohesive.

Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll out to 1/16”/1.5mm thick. OR pass through pasta machine to setting 6 or 7. 
Put dough one at a time on very hot pan and cook ~1 min per side
Rolled sheets of Lavash baking on the griddle
Baked sheets, folded and ready to use or store.

And there you have Lavash. Roll it up with meat or cheese, spread it with hummus — you will find many ways to enjoy it.

Slow Days: Lamb Stew for Saint Patrick’s Day

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Saint Patrick’s Day is an occasion that demands to be celebrated with special foods. No, not green beer. No, it doesn’t have to be Corned Beef & Cabbage. Look in most common cook books [James Beard, Fannie Farmer, Joy of Cooking, et alia] for ‘Irish Stew’ and you will find that it is made of lamb. Thus lamb, even better, lamb stew is appropriate for March 17th. When young Patrick was enslaved in Ireland, he worked as a shepherd — so there’s another reason to celebrate good Patrick with lamb. Most recipes are really plain and basic: cubed raw lamb, cubed potatoes, sliced onions, water, salt. We tried many of those recipes, and although they are surely authentic, they are just plain DULL.

How happy we were to find this recipe in the book Salute to Healthy Cooking by the French Culinary Institute! We prepare a large batch periodically, and serve it twice a year: on St Patrick’s Day in March and also in December during the run-up to Christmas. Lamb has much symbolic significance to Christians, so serving it during Lent and Advent makes sense to us.

Lamb Stew for two can double or triple!Need: saute pan + Dutch oven with lid + non-stick pan 
½ pound boneless lamb shoulder, cubed cooking spray
salt + pepper		Sear lamb cubes on all sides in a heavy pan spritzed with non-stick spray or oil. Cook meat in batches so pan doesn’t cool. Put cooked meat in a Dutch oven, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
½ cup onions, choppedPut onions in saute pan and cook until tranluscent with enough water to make them sizzle .
1 oz dry red wineDeglaze pan with wine, stirring up brown bits.
Heat the oven to 350 F. 
¾ tsp white whole wheat flour
water ½ Tbsp tomato paste		Sprinkle deglazed pan with flour and stir. Add to lamb in Dutch oven.
Add enough cold water to go to top of the lamb but not cover it. Stir in tomato paste.
1 tsp thyme  1 bay leafAdd herbs. Heat to a simmer over medium heat. Cover casserole and put in oven. Bake 1 hour, making sure stew is not boiling. 
¾ c. carrots, cut in 2” batonsAdd carrots, cover pan, bake 15 minutes.
½ cup cubed potatoesAdd potatoes, cover pan, bake 45 minutes. Remove bay leaf. 
Salt + pepperAdd salt and pepper. Take off heat and cover until vegetables are cooked.
6 pearl onions, trimmed and peeled 1 cup/5 oz turnips, in 2” batons
water ½ tsp sugar  1 tsp butter		Put vegetables in a small non-stick pan with sugar and butter. Add enough water to cover the vegetables half-way up.
Simmer 10 minutes, uncovered, shaking pan occasionally. 
Plate stew with the glazed vegetables.
Here is the stew in all its glory, served with an individual Soda Bread from Friend Ann.

And while you are doing your Irish thing, the best item to go with Irish Stew is Irish Soda Bread. I usually prepare a batch in the morning, so we can enjoy them for breakfast. Then the remaining ones are served at dinner with the stew. The recipe that I use is based on the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, with a few tweaks.

Makes 12 individual biscuits or 1 large loafPreheat oven to 400F. Buttered cookie sheet.
1 cup white flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour 1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter		Cut the ingredients together, using two knives or a pastry blender.
Purists would do it with their fingers.
Non-purists might blitz this in a food processor.
½ – 1 cup raisins [black or golden] or currants 1 Tbsp caraway seedStir these into the dry mixture.
¾ cup buttermilk or soured milk – all of the milk may not be needed, or you might need moreAdd milk bit by bit, stiring with a fork, until the dough is moistened and forms a ball.
For 12 individual biscuitsRoll/pat out dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a 2” or 3” round cutter. Use a knife to mark an ‘X’ on top of each.
For one large loafGather the dough into a single ball, and flatten slightly. Use a knife to incise an ‘X’ on the top.
Bake at 400F 10-15 mins or 20 mins for large loaf
A portion of Irish Stew with a fruited slice of Soda Bread loaf.

New Beginnings

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it: a simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to Abel Pacheco Cuernavaca Morelos who is now Following.

Last week, in a fit of enthusiasm, you made some New Year’s resolutions. Have you kept them so far? Most of us don’t — only 16% of people keep the resolutions that they made. So let’s start over… Was one of your goals to eat healthier meals this year? That is a safe, achievable thing to do. What do you mean by ‘more healthy’: Smaller portions? Lower fat? Less red meat? Fewer calories? All of those will lead to healthy outcomes. Here are some tips to make it work for you. #1– Start small. Rather than changing everything at once, try healthy meals one or two days a week, say: Monday and Thursday. #2– Tell lots of people about your goal. Ask them to check in with you periodically as to how the new plan is going. Better yet, get some of your friends to join you. You can check up on each other, even plan and share those healthy meals together. #3– Keep track of your progress. Remember when you were a kid and you looked forward to earning a star on the calendar for doing all your chores? Make note on the calendar of the days that you stuck to your goal. Having that visual can be an incentive to keep you going. #4– Get back on the horse. If you run off the rails, it isn’t the end of the game. Everyone goofs up once in a while. Get back to the plan instead of beating yourself up and thinking you are a loser. If healthy eating is your goal, I’ll help you by providing recipes twice a week, every week via this blog. Can’t hurt to try, can it? Now is the time.

These meals are delicious and easy to prepare. Plan your meals ahead of time and have the ingredients on hand. Prep ingredients the night before so that everything goes smoothly.

Parmesan-Chive Bake: 138 calories 7 g fat 2 g fiber 9.6 g protein 1 g carbs 112.6 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages. PB GF  While I was away for 10 days, Dear Husband invented this breakfast to take advantage of the fresh chives in the garden. Clever man. 

One 2-oz egg 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated 1 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped 1.5 tsp reduced-fat ricotta cheese 1 oz kiwi fruit  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

First set the toaster oven to 350 F. Dear Husband is the one who prepares the breakfasts. He says to start the coffee next and then to prepare the smoothie. Spritz an oven-proof dish with oil or non-stick spray. Whisk the egg with the cheeses and chives and pour into the dish. Bake in the toaster oven at 350 F. for 12-15 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Prepare the kiwi fruit, pour the beverages and have an easy day.

Greens, Garlic, & Beans: 265 calories 6.6 g fat 12.6 g fiber 9.4 g protein 40 g carbs 95 mg Calcium  PB GF  Kay Chun, writing in the New York Times, inspired this recipe. It is very good.

2 servingsHeat oven to 350 degrees.
2 tsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 large oregano sprig		In an oven-safe pot, combine these and heat over med until garlic is fragrant but not browned, ~1 min.
3 oz/4 cups collards- kale-Swiss chard- combo
¼ c water		Coarsely tear leaves, thinly slice stems. Add water to pan with some greens and stems. Add salt and pepper, and stir until wilted.
Kosher salt and black pepperAdd remaining greens and stems in batches, with salt and pepper, stirring until wilted before adding more.
1 cup canned beans, ex: kidney or butter beans Once all greens have been added, stir in shell beans.
¼ cup waterAdd water and bring to a boil. Cover and bake in oven until greens are tender, ~20 minutes. Discard oregano.
1 Tbsp minced shallot
½ tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp chopped parsley		Add shallot, lemon juice and parsley to the pot, and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
3 oz cooked whole-wheat pasta 0R
½ c cooked brown rice/barley		Stir into cooked greens. 
Pinch of red-pepper flakes 
1 Tbsp chopped parsley		Sprinkle with red-pepper flakes and parsley. Serve warm or at room temp

Slow Days: Ossobuco

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Italian cuisine runs the gamut from plain to complex, from North to South, from pasta dishes to pasta-less dishes. In the North, the Piedmont Region has foods that one never finds in the southern part of the country: beef in plenty, cheese from water buffaloes, rice, butter, corn, and fewer tomatoes. One famous dish from Milano in the Piedmont is Ossobuco. The word means ‘bone with a mouth’ since the meat in the meal is slices of veal shank with a hollow bone in the center — the bone with a mouth. As we get into the cooler weather and past Saint Martin’s Day [when the farm animals were slaughtered], our thoughts turn to eating rich, flavorful stews or heavier pasta dishes. Enter Ossobuco. Perhaps the most difficult part of the recipe is finding the veal, since veal has justly fallen into disrepute due to the sad way that the veal calves have been raised. Our veal comes from D’artagnan, an online source of many meats, and it is raised humanely in France. That solved, preparing Ossobuco is not a complex process. Our recipe is adapted from Marcella Hazen’s excellent Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

We make a large batch so we will have leftovers. Four veal shanks will serve many using this recipe
The ingredients are simple and so is the preparation.
6-8 ServingsLarge covered Dutch oven or 16” cast iron pan with cover.Preheat oven to 350F
1 Tbsp vegetable oil + 1 Tbsp oil 4 veal shank slices, each 1½” thick white whole wheat flour, pepper, saltHeat oil in casserole over medium high heat until quite hot. Dry meat with paper towels and dredge in seasoned flour. Cook meat on both sides until ‘deeply browned.’  Depending on size of the casserole, you might do this in stages. Add more oil as needed. Put meat aside on a plate.
The wine is simmering and the brown bits are being scraped off the pan.
The soffritto adds a depth of flavor to the stew.
Now the veal is returned to the pot.
½ cup dry white wineAdd wine, cook down by half while scraping up brown bits. Pour it off and save it. 
1 Tbsp butter
½ c onion, chopped finely
½ c celery, chopped finely
½ c carrot, chopped finely 		Put butter into casserole over medium heat on stove top. When melted, add vegetables. Cook, stirring a bit, 6-7 minutes to form the soffritto. In Italy, they call it soffritto, in France it is mirepoix.
1 tsp garlic, finely chopped
1 strip of lemon peel, no white pith 		Add these, cook and stir ~1 minute, until vegetables are wilted but not brown.
Put veal atop the soffritto, laying the pieces flat if possible, or overlapping them slightly.
Ready for the oven, all ingredients in the pot.
Stew is cooked, meat is mixed into the sauce with marrow bones in center.
½-1 cup homemade meat broth
1 c canned Italian plum tomatoes with juice 3-4 sprigs of thyme
2-3 sprigs parsley, chopped 2 bay leaves freshly ground pepper + salt 		Chop tomatoes and parsley. Put all of these into the casserole, along with remaining deglazing liquid. Liquids should come up to top of the veal slices, but not cover them. Bring to a simmer and cover. Put casserole in the heated oven and set a timer for 2 hours.
Every 20 mins, check the cassserole. Turn and baste shanks, adding more liquid, 2 Tbsp at a time, if needed.
When meat is very tender, take casserole from oven. Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs. If sauce is too thin, cook it down on the stove-top.
Now for the heresy! Remove meat shanks and slice meat, saving the marrow bone. Add slices back to the sauce, stirring them in. Nestle marrow bones in the center of the pot, standing on end.

For a vegetable course, we prepared an antipasto plate of vegetables marinated in Italian Vinaigrette. For bread, no-knead focaccia, sliced for ease of serving.

Fresh, hand-cut pasta, 5 oz per person drizzle olive oilCook pasta 1-3 minutes until al dente. Drain, adding some water to sauce. Drizzle pasta with a bit of oil.
focacciaPresent casserole and pasta separately, allowing diners to serve themselves and to take one of the marrow bones if they like. Serve with slices of focaccia loaf.

One could serve risotto or polenta, to be in keeping with Northern Italian cuisine, but we opted for fresh pasta which is more typical in the North than the South. For dessert, panna cotta with fruit coulis.

Slow Days: Cranberry Corn Sticks

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Autumn in New England means foliage in stunning colors, apple cider, the last of the sweet corn, apples, cranberries, and Thanksgving. In our family, Thanksgiving is not just a feast on a particular day, rather it is an unfolding process of celebrating local foods. Cornmeal was introduced to the early European settlers here [the Puritans at Plymouth, Massachusetts] by the First Nations people who had grown corn for centuries. Dried, it could last the winter, providing vitamins and carbohydrates all year long. The Puritans thought they would be growing wheat, but the climate was unsuitable. Cornmeal filled in for flour in many foods of the era. In old recipes, the word “Indian” in the title [Indian Pudding, Indian Bread] meant that the dish contained cornmeal. Cornbread caught on all over the Eastern seaboard and people now tend to think of it as a Southern thing, despite its deep roots in New England. For breakfast on Thanksgiving, we get out the old corn-stick molds for a history-soaked breakfast. These cast-iron pans allow you to bake corn-bread in the shape of little corn cobs. Mine were from my mother’s kitchen, though I don’t remember her ever using them. The design goes back to 1919, so I guess they were my grandmother’s pans. Bottom Line: corn bread + cranberries + cute cast-iron pans = Fun Fall Breakfast.

Here are two recipes that I have used, Fannie Farmer and Hayden Pearson, both as New England as you can get:

Corn Bread by Fannie Farmer8×8” baking pan or cast-iron cornstick pans. Preheat oven to 375F
¾ c cornmeal
½ c white whole wheat flour
½ cup white flour
¼ cup sugar 3 Tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt		Sift together into a large bowl.
1 cup milk
1 egg, well beaten 4 Tbsp butter, melted		Add these to dry ingredients and mix well.
For Corn Sticks, one 7-stick pan is filled using 1 cup batter. The pan must be greased in all its crannies with melted butter. For Corn Bread, butter the baking pan.
½ – ¾ cup cranberriesAfter batter is in the pan, poke cranberries into the Corn Sticks, using 4-5 per Corn Stick. For Corn Bread, sprinkle the berries on top and gently swirl them into the batter.
Bake 15 minutes for Corn Sticks; 25 minutes for Corn Bread.Since I have left-over batter from the Corn Sticks, I bake it and use it in the turkey stuffing.
Sunny Acres Corn Bread by Hayden Pearson8×8” baking pan or cast-iron Corn Stick pans. Preheat oven to 425F
¾ cup yellow corn meal
2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup white flour
3 ¼ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1/3 c white sugar
¼ tsp allspice		Sift these into a large bowl.
2 eggs, beaten
1 stick/8 Tbsp butter, melted
¼ c milk 1 Tbsp brown sugar		Add these to dry ingredients and mix well.
For Corn Sticks, one 7-stick pan is filled using 1 cup batter. The pan must be greased in all its crannies with melted butter. For Corn Bread, butter the baking pan.
½ – ¾ cup cranberriesAfter batter is in the pan, poke cranberries into the Corn Sticks, using 4-5 per Corn Stick. For Corn Bread, sprinkle the berries on top and gently stir them into the batter.
Bake 15 minutes for Corn Sticks; 25 minutes for Corn Bread. Since I have left-over batter from the Corn Sticks, I bake it and use it in the turkey stuffing.

Slow Days: Corn Fritter Breakfast

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Fresh corn is a food that comes but once a year, and that is in late Summer. True, supermarkets will offer corn on the cob in May, but they have to bring it in from far away. To get the full effect, you must get your corn locally and in season. After you cook up a batch for dinner-time feasting along with burgers or grilled chicken, cut the cooked kernels off the remaining ears and turn them into Corn Fritters. Southerners would insist that a fritter must be deep-fat fried, but in New Hampshire, a griddle works very well and is easier. Here in Northern New England, these delights are served many ways: as a savory side dish, if chopped chives or scallions are added; as a cocktail nibble when prepared as tiny rounds; as a first course at dinner, with maple syrup [Yes, seriously. Children swoon at this]; as a dessert, with maple syrup; and at breakfast, with maple syrup. Can you tell that we like our fritters? Here are two recipes to try:

Fannie Farmer Cookbookmakes ten 4” diameter fritters
1 cup corn kernels, drained if canned 1 egg yolkStir together.
½ cup + 2 Tbsp white whole wheat flour ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt
pinch of paprika		Sift or stir together with a fork.Add to the corn/yolk.
1 egg whiteBeat until stiff and fold into the corn/flour mixture.
Pan greased with bacon fat.

For each fritter, pour 3 Tbsp batter into the hot pan. Don’t let it spread too widely. You should get 2 or 3 into a 10” pan or use a larger griddle. Cook a few minutes until bottom is set and brown. 
Flip and cook a little longer. 
Maple syrupServe hot with maple syrup.

For a complete breakfast, I cooked up some back bacon and wrapped it around slices of sweet, ripe melon. Here are those fritters, waiting for the maple syrup!
thekitchn.com7 three-inch fritters
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp fine yellow cornmeal 1.5 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper		Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cayenne pepper together in a large bowl.
1.5 c. corn kernels 
1 Tbsp New Mexico green/red chiles 1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives 		Seed and mince the jalapeno, if using. Toss these with dry ingredients until the vegetables are coated.
1/4 c. whole milk
1 large egg		Mix together in a measuring cup until incorporated, then pour into flour-corn. Stir until all flour is moistened. Batter will be quite thick, but do not overmix. Let sit.
Wipe pan with a paper towel dipped in vegetable oil OR spray with cooking sprayHeat oil into a large cast iron skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Drop 1/4-cup portions of batter evenly around pan and flatten each slightly. Cook until golden-brown on the bottom, 2-3 mins. 
Flip cakes and cook until puffed, brown and cooked through, 2-3 mins more. If using frozen corn kernels, they may need 1-2 minutes more cook time per side.
Remove fritters to a towel-lined basket. Keep making fritters with remaining batter. 
Maple syrupPlate fritters, serve warm or at room temperature.

Slow Days: Summer Vegetable Pizza

~ me ~ Leave a comment

People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Since Dear Husband and I enjoy pizza for dinner every Saturday night, I am often on the lookout for a new way to top the pie. Thus, I was delighted to find a recipe at thekitchn.com for a pizza from the famous Berkeley Cheeseboard Collective. The corn and fresh vegetables remind me of a pizza which I enjoyed in Rome. This is a delicious way to use Summer’s bounty. Of course, I use a dough prepared with mostly white whole wheat flour, instead of all-purpose flour. It gives the pie a hearty, rustic flavour which we enjoy.

Mise en Place with all those luscious vegetables.
Sv 2
5½ -6 oz white whole wheat pizza dough/personIf dough is cold, let sit at room temp 2+ hours. The dough is ready when it does not bounce back when stretched.
1 c mozzarella 1/3 c feta cheeseGrate mozzarella cheese on the large holes of a box grater. Crumble feta cheese.
1½ tsp basil 1 clove garlic 2½ Tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
¼ tsp pepper flakes		GARLIC OIL: Chop basil finely. Chop the garlic.
Place everything in a small bowl and stir to combine.
NB: can be done hours before
¼ packed c. red onion
½ c grape or larger tomatoes
½ c kernels fresh corn ½ c summer squash ribbons 		Thinly slice onion. Cut grape tomatoes in halves or fourths. [If using whole tomato, cut in 1/2″ dice.] Cut ribbons of squash with a vegetable peeler. 
Prepare the vegetables and combine in a bowl. If any liquid accumulates in the bowl, pour it off.
1½ tsp garlic oil l¼ tsp kosher saltAdd garlic oil to the vegetables, season with the salt, and toss to combine. If preparing two pizzas, divide the vegetables equally into two bowls.
2 tsp Garlic Oil per crust prepared cheesesRoll out dough balls, and brush garlic oil onto each crust, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella. Arrange vegetables on top in an even layer, without any liquid. Sprinkle with feta.
Bake at 500F until bubbly. Take from oven.
garlic oil
8 fresh basil leaves		Drizzle with garlic oil, then tear basil into bite-sized pieces and scatter over top. Serve right away.
Can be cooked on a gas grill. Pre-grill the untopped crusts for 2-3 mins, until grill marks form. Bake covered.
The salad greens were added after the pies came from the oven to provide Pizza with Salad without any plates or forks. Truly a treat for a late Summer meal.

Slow Days: Granola

~ me ~ Leave a comment

People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Granola is a cereal made of whole grains, nuts, and dried fruit. It differs from muesli in that granola is sweetened and baked. Good Friend Ann wanted to make some granola. She had a recipe from the box of Quaker Oats, then sent out a call to her circle of friends to solicit recipes, receiving two responses. Reading the three recipes got me curious about the history and nutrition values of granola.

In 1847, James Caleb Jackson set up a sanatarium in Dansville, New York. Like Maximilian Bircher in Switzerland [see Dr Bircher, August 21], Jackson thought that eating a better diet would improve physical health. One of the key ingredients was whole grains. Toward that end, he developed a dry cereal which he called ‘granula’ which was made of granules of dried Graham flour paste. John Kellogg, who had a health spa in Battle Creek, Michigan, ‘appropriated’ the recipe and marketed it for his own profit. A law suit caused Kellogg to change the name to ‘granola.’ In the 1970s, granola was rediscovered by the counterculture. Then it was commercialized and turned into a sweet, fatty product that neither Jackson nor Kellogg would neither recognize nor serve.

As you can see from this chart, granola packs a wallop when it comes to calories and fat per cup. But if you read the ‘suggested serving guide,’ one serving is usually 1/2 to 3/4 cup. Very few people think that 3/4 cup of cereal is sufficient, since they eat with their eyes rather than their brain, so sitting down to a big [read: 2 cups] bowl of granola for breakfast will give one lots of fiber and some protein, but a TON of calories, fat, carbs, and sugar. Then they add full-fat yogurt and chocolate chips and think how healthy it is. Good Grief.

Per batch# cupsCaloriesFat g Fiber gProtein gCarbs gCalcium mgSugar gr
MFE’s recipe7 cups3206106.75458543.5166240
Per cup45815.27.78.277.623.734.3
AHM’s recipe6 cups3152196.53449.5343.6193132.5
Per cup525325.68.2573222
DCP’s recipe~11 cups8074415.6140178.5944327.5377
Per cup73437.712.71685.829.734

Our family enjoys a recipe from the Peter Rabbit Cookbook, which our son was given as a toddler. This is easy to prepare and delicious. I find a 1/2 cup serving with milk to be quite satisfying.

Johnny Town-Mouse Granola from the Peter Rabbit Cookbook by Arnold Dobrin.

Makes 7 cupsPreheat oven to 250F.
4 Tbsp canola oil
½ c honey		Stir oil and honey together and warm in the microwave until they are liquid.
4-5 cups rolled oatsPut oats in a 9×13” pan and pour in the warm honey-oil. Stir until oats are all coated with the honey-oil. Bake 30 mins.
1½ cups total of any of the following: 
chopped nuts
chopped dried apples
chopped dried apricots 		Take pan from oven and stir in these add-ins.
Distribute the granola evenly over the surface of the pan. Return to oven and bake 15 minutes.
½ cup raisins +/or dried cranberriesRemove pan from oven, stir in raisins/cranberries.
Let cool in the pan, then store in glass jars.

Slow Days: Gateau aux Fruits Frais

~ me ~ Leave a comment

People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the Fast Diet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

In Summer, there is an abundance of fresh fruit. Heaven! And there are many ways to eat it, besides eating it fresh, of course. For a few years, I worked in a restaurant owned and run by a Frenchman. [He would have insisted that he was a Breton, but we will let that go.] Although I did not work in the kitchen, I was happy to glean as many tips as I could about cooking. Chef did not give out his recipes. However, I managed to get enough clues to produce a reasonable version of Gateau aux Fruits Frais — a simple cake made special by a topping of fresh fruits.

The simple slab of cake.
Cover the cake with pureed rhubarb sauce, slightly sweetened.
Pipe the ‘vanilla cream’ around the edge.

The base of the Gateau is a simple yellow cake — you could use sponge cake or pound cake as well. It was baked in a 4×8″ loaf pan, then cut lengthwise into two slabs, each about 1-inch thick. If you are serving a large gathering, put the cake slabs end to end on the serving board to create one 16″ long gateau. I freeze the other half for a dessert in the future. Next, the top of the cake is slathered with pureed rhubarb or thick applesauce. The sauce should be lightly sweetened, but not too sweet at all.

Then you need a cream mixture, the sort that could be the filling of a cake or the piping at the edge. It could be an Italian meringue, or a butter cream icing, or whipped cream. I stirred together vanilla yogurt, almond meal from unpeeled almonds and let it sit for a bit to thicken. Spoon or pipe the ‘vanilla cream’ around the edge, on top of the pureed fruit. Rake the cream with a fork to pattern it or get creative with your piping bag.

Arrange any fruit on top in a pleasing pattern.
Glaze the fruit with melted jelly.

Arrange any sort of fresh fruit over the cake: whole strawberries, kiwi slices, raspberries. Since we had blueberries and red currants ripe in the garden, I arranged them in stripes. For the final touch, melted jelly was brushed over the top of the fruit to give it a gloss. Voila! Gateau aux Fruits Frais.