On The Way, Week 19

{1} Clouds, Chester, NY {2} St. James Episcopal Church, Goshen, NY {3} Healthy White Pizza, Whispering Hills, NY {4} Beach/Park, Ridgewood, NJ {5} Cornflake Crusted Chicken w Local Heirloom Tomatoes and Corn, Chestnut Ridge, NY {6} Historic Racetrack, Goshen, NY

Sizzled Shrimp and Heirloom Tomatoes

This is a dish I got right off the Prevention website and - oh! - is it ever full of summer goodness. I saw the recipe and planned to make it last week because I had an unexpected craving for shrimp. Happily I decided to stop by the local natural food co-op to pick up the few ingredients I needed and lo & behold I found absolutely gorgeous pints of mixed, locally grown, organic patio tomatoes - perfect for this quick and easy recipe. One serving of this recipe is only about 250 calories so you can add a nice bit of pasta or rice, a side salad or tortilla to round out the meal. I recommend you do whatever must be done to get real tomatoes - not those mealy, mushy, flavorless pink fruits sold year-round at the supermarket. Although a few sun dried tomatoes and sweet corn contribute a lot to the flavor, this dish really relies on farm fresh summer tomatoes to knock it out of the park!

Farmer's Breakfast

I am a cheater. Done. Said. It's all out there now. Sunday is a particularly good day for me to cheat. I like to keep one day of the weekend without firm plans. I can get up when I want to, do what I feel like. I often feel like having an early cup of coffee in bed and a big, old-fashioned breakfast later on which offers a fine opportunity for cheating. On my "diet" that is. There I finally said it! You can't "cheat" on a meal plan but you sure can "cheat" on a diet. But I am also a liar because it's not really cheating. This luscious version of the classic diner bacon-egg-n-hash brown breakfast is less than 400 calories, relatively low in saturated fat and cholesterol AND has lots of veggies packed in it as well! So if you're going to cheat - please - let it be as harmless as this: Add 2 tsp of Olive Oil to to a hot, non-stick fry pan. Add 2 frozen Dr. Praegar's Broccoli Pancakes. Cook, untouched until crispy and brown - about 2 minutes. While the pancakes are cooking separate and place 3 Egg Whites in a small bowl with a little cayenne pepper or whatever seasoning you prefer (crushed red pepper flakes, sriracha sauce, salt and black pepper, fresh herbs are other good choices). Thinly slice about 1/4 cup of your favorite vegetables - this morning I used some Heirloom Patio Tomatoes and Red Onion. When crisped on one side flip the pancakes. Add the veggies and 2 slices of Applegate Farms Sunday Bacon to the pan. Once the bacon is done and the pancakes crisped on the 2nd side remove to a paper towel, transfer to a serving plate and keep warm. Spread the vegetables out in the pan and continue to cook until tender. Give the egg whites a good whisking and quickly dump into the pan with the veggies, cover and cook over low heat until set. Fold the omelet in half and transfer to the serving plate. Chow down!

On The Way, Week 18

{1} Baby Coyote, Bear Mountain Zoo, NY {2} Shrimp with Heirloom Tomatoes, Chester, NY {3} Post Stormy Sky, Whispering Hills, NY {4} Chocolate Cherry Waffle, Goshen, NY {5} Hanging Out, Whispering Hills, NY

Better Berry Muffins

Remember how I said I like to bake for breakfast? I've tried Cranberry-Pecan Scones. Eh. In the spirit of the Olympics, I give 'em a 7.5. Using only whole wheat pastry flour and very little sugar or fat - they were a little dense and bitter. Next time I think I'll substitute some or all of the nuts for chocolate chips. I tried the Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins which are quite good - a solid 9. The fresh fruit adds a natural sweetness, allowing more calories to be dedicated to a bit of canola oil for a nice texture and mouth feel. The Double Corn and Pecan Muffins - well the BATTER went in the garbage. It looked and smelled so bad - with a significant amount of soy flour  - that I didn't even want to bake them! Today's recipe is from Chef Meg over at Spark and this, my friends, is a big winner! As pointed out in several of the "user" reviews these muffins are high in sugar and therefore not appropriate for a  diabetic-friendly diet. But one of the great things about a 4-4-4 meal plan is that there is very little sugar consumed in an average day. So the 20 grams per muffin is not something I'm going to worry about. It makes me feel better that some of that comes from the amazing fresh blackberries and strawberries I used. The recipe calls for them to be chopped but I left them whole or in big chunks and oh boy are they tasty. I stuck pretty close to the recipe, reducing the brown sugar by just a bit and adding a 1/4 cup of chopped pecans to the topping. By a rough estimate these fantastic breakfast treats are under 150 calories each! The American judge gives them a 10! That's good math.

On The Way, Week 17

{1} Podcast, Whispering Hills, NY {2} Horse Farm, Wallkill, NY {3} Spectacular Skies, Chester, NY {4} Better Berry Muffins, Whispering Hills, NY {5} Closet Re-Organization, Whispering Hills, NY {6} Local Tomatoes, Chestnut Ridge, NY

The New Kid On The Blog, August 2012: Tea & Cookies

This is a lovely blog that is all about my closet life! Just read the subtitle ... recipes, travel, books, gardening, coffee! Fabulous! Hmm? It doesn't say "coffee"? Okay - well it's kinda the same thing, right? Anyway - check it out. I gave you the link to the particular post that lead me there, courtesy of Shutterbean's "I Love Lists Friday" post of July 13th. "Crossing the Street" is such a beautiful essay. By the way - I happen to own that exact tea strainer shown in the blog's masthead! For reals. I bought it many years ago and it holds the same kinds of wonderful memories that "Tea" conjures on her blog. I was spending a late spring day in the city, before late spring in the city was filthy, hot, sticky, pretentious and smelly. What is that you say? It was never NOT filthy, hot, sticky, pretentious and smelly? Well then maybe it was just before I minded that so much. Anyway I was treating myself to a special day at the salon, a quiet lunch alone and leisurely strolling and shopping on Madison. I came across the darling antique shop in the lobby of The Barbizon Hotel. Such a throw-back! If I were living that day now I'd say it reminded me of Mad Men, of a day when an adventurous young woman might come to live in "the Big Apple" but would need watching out for. Of a day when women wore gloves to work and men were just beginning to rebel against hats and ties when stepping out. Tea & Cookies...a pleasure to savor.