Here is a healthy side dish which we made to go with some grilled chicken this past weekend. It does not take more than 10 minutes to make. The couscous takes 5 minutes to cook, once you add it to the chicken broth. You can go all vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead. Using broth instead of water helps flavor the couscous.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat couscous
1 and 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
zest of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup chopped scallions
salt

In a sauce pan bring the chicken broth to a boil, add 1 teaspoon olive oil and the couscous. Stir and take it off the heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, zest, salt and the olive oil to make the dressing. In a bowl, mix the couscous, almonds, cranberries, scallions and the dressing.

Note:

• Zest the lemon before juicing it.

This was my first attempt at making a Mexican mole. I was trying to find dried Ancho chillies for a while now and was surprised to find them at our local grocery store in the Mexican foods aisle. I have seen Bobby Flay use it in quite a few recipes on the Food Network and I just had to give them a try.

I cannot say that it was authentic, but it sure tasted good. The Ancho chillies impart a dark red color to the mole. It complemented our Mexican menu for the super bowl party that we had with family. I managed to save some for the picture before it was all gone. If you love Mexican food, you have to give this a try. It tastes better the longer it sits!

You can substitute chicken instead of pork and a dark chocolate for the Mexican chocolate.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
5 dried Ancho chillies
2 pounds pork, cubed
1 large onion
1 jalapeno
5 clove of garlic (with peels)
1 quart chicken stock
1 ounce Mexican chocolate
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
4 medium plum tomatoes
1 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp canola oil
about 2 cups hot water

Peel and cut the onion into wedges. Place them on a sheet pan along with the tomatoes, jalapeno and garlic. Roast at 425 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until they are charred at the edges. Allow to cool. Peel the garlic and the tomatoes. Blend the onions, tomatoes, jalapeno and garlic with 1 cup of the chicken stock. Season with salt. Meanwhile soak the Ancho chillies in hot water for 30 minutes. Remove the stems and seed the peppers. Blend the peppers with a couple of ladles of the soaking water.

Season the pork with the ground cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron pot on high heat and add the oil. Add the pork in one layer and brown both sides. You can do this in two batches if the pork does not fit in the pot in a single layer. Lower the heat to medium and return all the pork to the pot. Add the onions and tomato mixture to the pot. Stir, scrapping the bottom of the pan to pick up the drippings. Cover and cook until it starts bubbling. Add the ancho chilli paste, chocolate and the remaining the chicken stock. Season with salt. Cover and let cook for about and hour on low heat or until the pork is cooked and falls apart with a fork.

Garnish with cilantro and lime. Serve with rice or warm corn tortillas.

This is a borrowed recipe from Giada De Laurentis from the Food Network. On one of her shows she showed how to make this decadent desert. I found that it didn’t use heavy cream like other mousse recipes and hence makes you feel less guilty eating it. Best of all, it is extremely quick and easy to make.

Its the kind of desert that can wow your guests and only you would know how easy it was to make. I love to have some make ahead deserts in my repertoire for entertaining. With Valentine’s day around the corner this is a great desert to surprise your Valentine!

I have adjusted the recipe from the original, by reducing the sugar by 1 Tbsp, using good quality dark chocolate and doubling the espresso.

Ingredients (makes 6 servings):
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp espresso powder
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups dark chocolate chips
6 large egg whites
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier (optional)

Garnish:
Light whipped cream
chocolate shavings

In a sauce pan over medium heat, heat the milk, sugar and espresso powder until it is just scalding. Do not let the milk boil. You can do this step in the microwave as well.

In a blender add the chocolate chips and pulse it a few times to break them up. Then with the blender running add the hot milk through the opening in the blender cap. Allow to run for about 30 seconds. Then pour in the egg whites and the grand marnier. Beat for about 1 minute. Pour the mousse in serving cups and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

When ready to serve, garnish with some light whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

I love making roasted vegetables as sides. So, I usually make a big batch and use the leftovers to make soup, frittata or pasta.

I had roasted onions, bell peppers, broccoli, zucchini, grape tomatoes and garlic. If you haven’t tried making roasted vegetables, you should give them a try. The sugars in the vegetables caramelize when roasted and they taste great. Just toss the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

Ingredients: Serves 4
2 cups chopped roasted vegetables
2 tsp olive oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup egg product (egg beaters)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or hot sauce
salt & pepper

Heat a saute pan on medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat the vegetables through for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the eggs, egg product, milk, cayenne, salt and pepper. Beat until all ingredients are well mixed. Add the mixture to the vegetables and lower the heat to low. Using a silicone spatula gently mix the eggs and the vegetables. Cook on low heat for 4 minutes and then transfer the pan to a 350 degrees F, preheated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Notes:

• You can use 3 egg whites instead of the egg product.

Here is a secret about my eating habits that only people close to me know. I cannot stand the taste of fresh tomatoes! I know..you think I am crazy! But it is true. I can eat any amounts of tomatoes when they are cooked, but not raw. So I use ketchup on my burgers and sandwiches instead of fresh tomatoes.

This is derived from a recipe that John and Patty shared with me. John and Patty are working on their cook book where they will have healthy recipes and information on harmful chemical ingredients found in prepackaged foods like MSG. More information can also be found on their website.

I have modified John and Patty’s recipe a bit to suit our taste. The first 3 ingredients are the essential ingredients to making a ketchup. You can can use other spices to your liking. I have added 8 ounces of tomato sauce to make the ketchup a little thinner, so if you like your ketchup to be thick, leave it out.

Ketchup can be used as a base to make other condiments like BBQ sauce, Russian salad dressing, cocktail sauce etc.

Ingredients:
14 oz tomato paste
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp crushed cloves
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp salt

Combine all the ingredients and cook on medium heat until the mixture just starts to bubble (about 10 minutes). As EASY as that!

I had always wanted to try and use tomatillos because I love their tangy, fresh flavor. So when I saw tomatillos at the farmers market last weekend I went ahead and bought some to make some salsa verde (Green Salsa). The week went on and I didn’t get around to making the salsa. When Friday came and I was clearing my refrigerator I saw the tomatillos sitting there and thought I would make a stew using some chicken and the tomatillos. The salsa verde would just have wait until another day, maybe superbowl?

The stew turned out great. I loved the tangy taste the tomatillos impart to the stew. It is the kind of dish that tastes better the longer it sits. It reminded me of the green curry chicken that my mom used to make, using a lot of cilantro. My big B (brother) used to call it the “Military Curry” because of its color .

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 pound of chicken breast cut into chunks (you could use bone-in chicken as well)
1 pound Tomatillos
1 large onion diced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
3 large cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno
1 and 1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 and 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp canola oil

Remove the husks from the tomatillos and wash them under cold water. Cover the tomatillos with some water and cook the on medium heat until they change color. The tomatillos will turn from bright green to a khakhi. Seed and chop the jalapeno. In a blender, blend the tomatillos, water, cilantro, jalapeno,salt and garlic.

Heat a cast iron pot on high heat and add the oil. Add the chicken in one layer and season with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon cumin powder. You can do this in two batches if the chicken does not fit in the pot in a single layer. Brown the chicken on both sides and remove from the pot. Lower the heat to medium low and add the onions to the pot. Season with salt, pepper, the remaining cumin powder and the oregano. Stir, scrapping the bottom of the pan to pick up the chicken drippings. Cook for about 15 minutes until the onions are softened. Add the chicken back to the pot along with the chicken stock. Cover and let cook until the stock comes to a boil. Add the tomatillo sauce and cook covered for another 30 minutes on low heat, stirring ocassionally.

Serve with rice or warm corn tortillas.

Last Sunday at Church, after the service a kind lady offered me a small loaf of her home made Zucchini bread as a Christmas gift. I was very touched by the gesture. We always sit in the same pews (she in front of me) every Sunday and she never forgets to wish me whenever we meet at church. The irony is, I don’t even know her name! The Zucchini bread was scrumptious. It had chocolate chips, walnuts and raisins and it was soon gone. The best Christmas gift I got this season.

Her Zucchini bread reminded me that I had always wanted to try making it, but had never got to it. So in honor of my dear friend from Church I decided to make my own Zucchini bread.

Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cup wheat flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup shredded Zucchini
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Sieve together wheat flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Beat the sugar, essence and oil on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add the flour slowly while mixing. Do not over beat. Fold in the Zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Bake in a 9 inch loaf pan for about 45 minutes.

Notes:

• To prevent the chocolate chips and the walnuts from settling to the bottom of the bread, toss them in a tablespoon of flour before adding to the batter.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. It brings back memories of Christmases past and its a time  when you can reminisce about all the things that have happened throughout the year. Its been more than 10 years since I have spent Christmas with my parents. I never get a chance to visit them during the holidays.

The fondest memories I have of my childhood is the time when we would all gather around the kitchen table to help mom make all the Christmas goodies. Santa rarely visited our house back then and it didn’t matter to us. We looked forward to adorning our new clothes and staying awake till we got to the midnight mass on Christmas eve. After coming home from church, mom would have a feast prepared for us. We would all eat, drink and sing Christmas carols.

I try to keep some of the traditions alive, especially where food is concerned . I try to make at least some of the traditional sweets that my mom used to make and also include some quick cooking goodies that I have learn over the years. This year I wasn’t sure if I was going to get around to making the Christmas goodies, but somehow I found the time to make some with the help of my dear hubby.

From left: carrot cake, kul kuls, maple pecan cookies, chocolate fudge, milk toffee, donuts, mava cake

I cannot share all the recipes with you in this post. Here are a couple of simple ones. Enjoy!

Chocolate Fudge with Nuts and Fruit
The recipe is derived from the Eagle brand Condensed milk recipe. I find that adding semi sweet chocolate makes the fudge a bit too sweet. Here is my variation..
Ingredients
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk
2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsalted cashews
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Prepare a 8×8 or 9×9 square cake pan, by lining the bottom and sides with some parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Place all the nuts on a cookie sheet and toast them in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Cool and coarsely chop the nuts.

In a non stick pan, add the condensed milk and the chocolate. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly until all the chocolate is melted. Take it off the heat and add the chopped nuts, cranberries, raisins, salt and vanilla. Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared cake pan. Refrigerate for about 4 hours. When the fudge is firm, remove it from the pan and cut into desired size pieces.

Use any nuts and fruits that you like in the fudge.

Maple Pecan Cookies
Ingredients (makes 3 dozen cookies)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
36 pecan halves

Preheat the oven to 375F.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the egg and maple syrup. Mix until combined. In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour to the wet ingredients a little at a time, while beating it on low speed. When all the flour is mixed in, stir in the chopped pecans.

Drop the dough on parchment lined cookie sheets by rounded teaspoons. Press a pecan half on top of each cookie. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Remove on cooling racks and allow to cool.

The recipe for the carrot cake can be found here.