Skinny Blini

This recipe was inspired by one of my OH pals. In my usual meddlesome way, I had to fiddle with it, and loved the result. Blini or blintzes are Eastern European style crepes (thin pancakes) filled with goodies. When I used to visit New York city frequently, I would order blini with cottage cheese for breakfast. Here is a lower-calorie, higher-protein version.

Whiz in a blender or food processor:
3/4 c. Egg Beaters
1 c. fat-free milk
1/4 c. low-fat cottage cheese
1/3 c. flour (wheat or soy)
1 packet sweetener (I use Truvia)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, mix:
1/2 c. low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 c. fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1-2 packets sweetener
1/2 c. fresh berries (whole or cut up) or other fruit (roughly chopped)
1 tablespoon chopped unsalted nuts (I use walnuts)

For sauce, use one of the following:
1 cup pureed fresh berries sweetened to taste
1 cup no sugar added jam (microwave it for 1+ min. until slightly liquefied, then stir it)

Optional garnish:
whole fresh berries

Spray an 8" nonstick saute pan with butter flavor or plain Pam and heat over medium heat until the Pam starts to bead up. Pour in enough crepe batter (about 1/4 cup) to thinly cover the bottom of the pan, tilting the pan to swirl the batter evenly over the surface of the pan. Cook until bubbles start to form on the top surface of the crepe. Flip the crepe over with a pancake turner (these crepes are very tender, so be careful). Cook for another minute or until the bottom is pale gold and dry. Gently transfer the cooked crepe to a plate and repeat the process until all the batter is used, being sure to spray the pan with Pam between each crepe. You may have to turn down the heat a bit after the first crepe is done.

To assemble the blini, put a crepe on a salad plate with the nicest-looking side down. Put 2-3 tablespoons of the cottage cheese & yogurt mixture in the center of the crepe. Roll the crepe up. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of sauce over the crepe. If desired, scatter a few whole fresh berries on top. Serve.

Yield: about 8 blini

Sunflower Cheese Balls

This recipe makes a tasty party appetizer or snack. If desired, serve them with whole-grain crackers, bagel crisps, and raw veggies and fruits (apple & pear slices, grapes)

4 oz. Muenster cheese, at room temperature (or other cheese - if using hard cheese like Swiss or cheddar, shred the cheese first)
4 oz. reduced fat or fat free cream cheese, at room temperature
2 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, basil)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
cayenne pepper to taste
salt to taste
1/2 cup roasted, salted sunflower kernels

Put all ingredients except sunflower kernels in a food processor and whiz until well combined (you may have to stop once or twice and scrape down the sides of the processor bowl).

Put the sunflower kernels in a shallow bowl.

Scoop out small spoonfuls of cheese mixture and form into 1" balls. Roll the balls in the sunflower kernels and put them in a shallow storage container. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Makes 15 cheese balls.

Quinoa with pistachios & herbs

This stuff is great - you get your whole-grain carb fix with a boost of protein (in the quinoa and nuts). It's good served at room temperature or cold, though I prefer to let it sit about 10 minutes after I take it out of the fridge, because the olive oil needs to liquefy. For variety you can use other grains, like bulgur wheat or brown rice. If I'm using fresh lemon, I grate about 1/2 of the lemon rind and add it to the cooked mixture. I use whatever fresh herb is happening in our garden or that's affordable at the supermarket. I haven't tried different nuts with this yet, but cashews could be in my future...

1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water or broth (chicken or veg)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
grated lemon rind (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh mint, cilantro, or thyme, chopped

In a heavy medium saucepan, stir the pistachios over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until fragrant and brown. Transfer to a cutting board, allow to cool slightly, and chop roughly. Set aside.

In the same saucepan, heat 2 cups water or broth until it boils. Add the quinoa and salt, stir, cover, and cook on low heat for 15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Transfer the cooked quinoa to a large bowl.

Add the pistachios, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, and mint or other herbs to the quinoa and mix well. Let stand about 20 minutes for the flavors to develop.

Adjust seasonings.

4 servings

Caramel Apple Yogurt Dessert

Yoplait has a new flavor (new to my area, anyway) called Apple Turnover. One day I was inspired to chop a few apple slices and mix them into this yogurt, with great results. But I really prefer the flavor and the thick, creamy consistency (to say nothing of the higher protein content) of Oikos 0% plain yogurt, so I did this mixture, with even better results:

4 oz. plain Greek yogurt (or 4 oz. Oikos 0% with honey)
1/4 of an apple, peeled and diced (if you can't eat apple at all, try no-sugar-added applesauce)
sweetener to taste (optional)
1 tablespoon sugar-free caramel sauce
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts (optional)

Adding the raw apple and nuts to the yogurt gives you something to chew, plus some fiber and healthy fats, and that results in greater satiety from a small portion of food. Gotta love that! You could skip the caramel sauce but I happen to love caramel and it turns the yogurt into a desserty treat.

Sardines on Toast

Sardines on toast? Sounds like a desperation meal, but we actually like sardines. You can serve this as an appetizer, but we have it as an entree. When I can't eat toast, the sardine mixture is tasty by itself. You can use kipper snacks instead of sardines.

1 4-ounce can boneless, skinless sardines packed in olive oil
1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped
1 scallion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or mint
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 slices multigrain bread or 12 slices whole-grain baguette

Preheat oven to 350F.

Flake the sardines into a small bowl. Don't mash the fish, but keep the pieces small. Add the tomato, scallion, parsle, olive oil, and salt and mix gently.

If using whole slices of bread, cut each slice into 4 pieces (square or triangle). Place the bread on a baking sheet and bake until crispy and golden, 12-14 minutes. Remove from oven. Top each piece of toast with fish mixture. Serve immediately

Avocado Olive Salad

I love avocado, and it does have healthy fat in it, but at 276 calories for a medium avocado, 42% of which is fat, I have to be careful with it. This is a great recipe because it adds some chewing satisfaction to an otherwise mushy food. The saltiness of the olives is surprisingly good with the bland creaminess of the avocado.

2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon wine vinegar (red or white)
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
1 ounce black olives, sliced (I use Kalamata)
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar, garlic salt, pepper & olive oil. Add parsley, olives, avocado, and cucumber and gently toss to combine all ingredients. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.

4 servings

Culinary Disasters

Recently I pledged to resume the regular posting of menus and recipes, but I have been confounded by some culinary disasters.

Like the Cauliflower Latkes recipe. Substitute nutritious, low-carb cauliflower for potatoes, and still get your potato pancake fix. Not. It turned into Cauliflower Soup In A Skillet, not even faintly resembling pancakes. Nothing wrong with heating soup in a skillet. As Shirley Jackson, talented writer (and obese person) and author of the short story The Lottery which many of us were made to read in high school, wrote in one of her hilarious books about domestic life (I think it was Raising Demons), the quickest way to re-heat coffee (in pre-microwave times) is to put it in a skillet.

But when you have your face fixed (as my mom would say) for pancakes, you don't want soup in a skillet. You want the danged pancakes, nice and crispy and browned.