Beans on Toast

I had to give a little tribute to one of my most favorite recipes. I "stole" the idea for British-style beans on toast from the movie Bend It Like Beckham. It is so simple, light, low fat and tasty!
Give it a try!

Beans on Toast

2 slices of your favorite bread
Favorite buttery spread (butter, margarine, Smart Balance, etc.)
1/2 cup favorite baked beans (In my opinion, nothing can compare to Bush's Vegetarian Baked Beans.)

1. Heat up the beans in a small pot or in the microwave.
2. Toast one slice of bread so that it is really golden. Not, what I like to call "raw" toast, but good and crunchy. It needs to be crunchy to resist getting soggy from the beans.
3. While the toast is hot, spread on your favorite butteriness. Put the toast on a plate and add half of the beans. Eat and relish the amazing flavors.
4. Toast the second slice of bread and repeat steps 2 and 3. (The hot toast makes all the difference, which is why I only toast one slice at a time.)

Yummy!

Citron-Semoule de Maïs Madeleines

Okay, so I got a little fancy with the name. I just thought "Lemon-Cornmeal Madeleines" sounded so boring and thought French would spice it up a bit. I found this recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook and made a few changes. Anyway, this is my new favorite recipe! It is easy, delicious, refreshing and low fat. I think these would be perfect for a wedding reception or a tea. These madeleines are basically a cross between a mini muffin and a cookie and go perfectly with a cup of your favorite warm beverage or a bowl of strawberry ice cream.

Citron-Semoule de Maïs Madeleines

1 lemon
1 egg white
2 Tbsp. water
4 Tbsp. powdered sugar, sifted
1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix (dry)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray 48 mini-madeleine molds, 2 (12-cup) mini-muffin pans, OR 2 (12-cup) regular-sized muffin pans with non stick spray. (I used the regular muffin pans and it worked great.)

2. Grate 1 tsp. of the zest from the lemon; squeeze 3 Tbsp. of juice, set aside. Combine the egg white and 2 Tbsp. water in a medium bowl, beating with a whisk until blended. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and 2 Tbsp. of the powdered sugar. Add the melted butter and the muffin mix; stir just until blended. (I found that using a whisk to stir gave the muffins a finer crumb.)

3. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. (I used a tablespoon measuring spoon, filling it 3/4 full for each muffin cup to be sure the batter would stretch for all 24 muffin cups.) Bake until the edges are golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed in the center, about 8 minutes. Immediately invert the madeleines on racks and let cool. Using a seive, sprinkle the remaining 2 Tbsp. of powdered sugar onto the tops of the madeleines just before serving.

Makes 12, 2-madeleine servings.

**Note: These are great fresh. I put the leftovers in a sealed plastic container on the counter and they lost their crunchy edge, making them taste more like muffins. I didn't like them too much that way, but they were still good. So, for an experiment I left the rest of them out on the counter for about 2 days with the lid off and they dried out, becoming a lemony, crunchy cookie. I think they tasted great! You might want to experiment to see how you like them best.

**Another note: An idea I had was instead of sprinkling them with just powdered sugar, mix some of the extra lemon juice with the powdered sugar and use it as a glaze.... Yum! I think I'll try this next time.

Banana-Raspberry Bread

Aaah! The most wonderful way to use up over-ripe bananas. I like plain banana bread pretty well, but this version is wonderful! The raspberries add just the right amount of tartness to contrast with the mellow taste of the banana. This recipe is adapted from The Joy of Cooking (I added the raspberries to the recipe and made a few other adjustments.)

Banana-Raspberry Bread
(adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder

5 1/3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup mashed, very ripe banana (about 2)
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
½ -1 cup frozen raspberries (in pieces and whole)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan.

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on high speed with an electric mixture until lightened in color and texture, 2-3 minutes.

4. Beat in the flour mixture until well blended and is the consistency of brown sugar. Gradually beat in the eggs. Finally, fold in the banana, walnuts if desired, and frozen raspberries, just until combined. (Baker's Note: Keep the raspberries in the freezer until you're ready to add them to the batter. Otherwise, you'll end up with red streaks and raspberries that fall apart as you're stirring.)

5. Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely on the rack.

Baker's Note: As tempting as it is, don't cut this bread until it has cooled down for at least a half hour to an hour. When it's removed from the oven, it's still cooking and contains a lot of moisture. We want to let that process wind down on its own without letting a lot of the moisture escape. The wait is well worth it!

Recipe Requests

I had a few requests for recipes so here they are!

Tuna Loaf

This is a good change from beef meatloaf, especially if you love tuna. Using foil during the baking really helps keep this loaf moist. You can make this recipe using salmon as well. Some day I'll have to try making this with fresh, broiled tuna. Yum!

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 tsp. dried dill weed
2 tsp olive oil
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 cup fat-free skim milk (powdered milk would work here)
4 6-oz. cans of tuna, drained and broken into chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Oil a regular-sized bread loaf pan with a little extra olive oil or some cooking spray.
2. Saute onions and dill weed in a saucepan with the olive oil until onions are tender.
3. Add eggs, bread crumbs, milk and tuna. Stir until everything is well distributed.
4. Pour the filling into the bread pan, spreading the top to make it even without pressing the filling down too much. (We don't want it to be dense!)
5. Cover the top with aluminum foil (to keep it from drying out) and bake for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool about 5 minutes with the foil off before serving. Good with tartar sauce or Italian dressing.


Spinach Artichoke Dip

A classic recipe good for dinner or an appetizer.
Thank you, Janae! I hope you don't mind me posting this - I've had a number of requests for this recipe. Everyone loves it!

8 oz. (1 package) reduced-fat "neufchatel" cream cheese, softened
1 cup light mayo
1 cup light sour cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 14-oz. can artichokes (in water), chopped and drained
1 small package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 tsp. dill
1/8 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Oil a medium-sized, deep baking dish with olive oil or cooking spray.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl by hand or with a hand mixer. Pour into baking dish, using a spatula to get all of the dip out of the bowl.
3. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 50-60 minutes. Serve with your favorite corn chips or a good French baguette.

A Little Recipe Organization

If you love cooking like me, then you have a zillion recipes floating around your house - stuffed into folders, crammed into beat-up cookbooks or earmarked in favorite cooking magazines. I like being organized and not being able to find recipes that I use constantly was getting to be frustrating. So, I came up with a few organizing ideas.

1. To cut down on magazine-mania, I went through my cooking magazines, cut out the recipes I wanted to keep or that I realistically knew I would actually make some day and slipped them into page protectors and stuck them in a binder. I chucked the rest of the magazines but did keep the magazines that were chock full of amazing recipes.

2. Now I have 2 binders. One binder (okay, one and a half - the first one overflowed) contains recipes that I have yet to try, but still interest me. The other binder is full of the recipes that I have tried and that I actually like. (Why keep a recipe everyone hated?) That way, when I want to make an old favorite, I don't have to flip through countless page protectors of gorgeous food pictures and 10 different pumpkin pie recipes to find the Sticky Chicken recipe I want.


Do you have any recipe organization tricks? Post a comment and let us know! I know I can use all the suggestions I can scrape in.

Greek Sesame Candy

Sesame candy was always a treat I liked to get when we went to the health food store, but the downside was that it was so expensive! I was thrilled to find this fun, tasty, and really easy recipe that I could make at home. It's not too sweet and just really hits the spot. It's crunchy, chewy and it's great to share. I hope you enjoy it! (I found this recipe through www.epicurious.com.)

"There are many variations of sesame honey candy from around the Mediterranean and the Middle East - some are hard and crunchy; others, like this Greek version, are chewy. This pasteli is sticky, but [using waxed paper sprayed with baking spray] will help you unmold the candy with ease."

Ingredients:
1 cup mild honey
1 cup sesame seeds, toasted in oven (I had pre-toasted seeds on hand that I used)
1/2 tsp. salt

Place wax paper on a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep). Remove the bottom of a springform pan and set aside. Place the springform ring upside-down on the wax paper and spray the inside of the ring - wax paper and lower edge of ring - with cooking spray.

Bring the honey, sesame seeds, and salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring. Then boil undisturbed until mixture registers on thermometer, about 10-15 minutes. (I live at a higher elevation and it only took 10 minutes. Any longer would have been a bad thing.)

Holding the ring in place, quickly pour the mixture into the ring, then cool on a rack until candy is set but still warm - about 30 minutes. Unmold by opening the springform ring (the candy should pop out) and peeling off the wax paper. Transfer candy to a cutting board. Cut the candy into 1-inch pieces with a large oiled knife, or if the candy is too hard, break into medium-sized pieces. Candy keeps, layered between sheets of parchment or wax paper in an airtight container in a cold dry place for 1 week.

Hush Puppies

Cornmeal makes me happy on levels I can't even describe. I guess, for me, it's a soul food. So, I'm posting one of my ultimate favorite recipes that I've tweaked to be healthier. (Originally, you're supposed to fry them in oil.) These hush puppies can be served with breakfast - I just had them with eggs and a bowl of strawberries. Delicious! You can also eat them as a substitute for cornbread with chili or any fish dish. They're just fabulous and really good for you!

Hush Puppies

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups yellow cornmeal (I think coarser meal is better, but whatever you have on hand.)
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. fat-free milk (I used reconstituted non-fat powdered milk.)
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 large egg

Place the onion and garlic in a food processor and pulsate until finely chopped. Separately mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. Add the onion mixture along with the egg, milk, and oil. Stir until well blended. (If the dough is too stiff, add a little more milk. If you live in a more humid climate, you might not need as much milk.)
Spray a flat pancake grill with cooking spray. Pour about 1/4 cupful (or 1/3 of a ladelful) servings onto the grill when it is hot. Cook until golden, crispy brown on one side. Flip to cook the other side until golden. The hush puppies should cook about 3-5 minutes on each side.

Makes about 16 hush puppies.

Note: You can experiment by adding spices you like such as black pepper, cayenne pepper, basil, paprika, extra garlic or even cheese!