Makes six pancakes

Is that possible? Low-fat pancakes that taste good? You bet.

This is one of the best pancakes I have ever had. This recipe makes six huge pancakes that are about 60 calories each.

Of course, you’ll have to hold off of the butter to keep them low fat!  Enjoy.

Best Ever Low-Fat Pancakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1packet no-cal artificial sweetener

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients until smooth. Note: Batter will be kinda thick. If it is too thick for you, add a tablespoon of water at a time until desired consistency.
2. Heat a large skillet or griddle that has been sprayed with non-stick butter flavored cooking spray.
3. Spoon two good sized heaping tablespoon fulls (about a 1/4 cup) of the batter into the skillet or griddle per pancake and spread out slightly.
4. Let cook until bubbles form on the top like a regular pancake and then flip, allowing to cook another minuet or so.
5. Serve hot!

Serves 4

Good food sometimes just happens. Last night we were going to have some grilled shrimp and decided to have it with couscous. I had read a recipe over the weekend that called for balsamic onions. I told my wife that I wanted to try them with the couscous and she said let’s add some canned diced tomatoes. I said, “Why not?”
We put the dish together and it was great. The combination just goes together so well. The onions are sweet and they counter the acid in the tomatoes. Combined with the light, fluffy couscous it was just the perfect dish with grilled shrimp.
I hope you give this one a try. You will not be disappointed.

Recipe follows.

Couscous with Tomatoes and Balsamic Onions

Ingredients

1 cup plain couscous
1-1/3 cups water or chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 15 oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 medium Vidalia onion
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. In a medium sauce pan, bring water or chicken broth, oil and salt to a boil.
2. Stir in couscous, remove from heat and cover.
3. Let stand for five minutes.
4. Fluff with a fork before serving.
5. Meanwhile heat the tomatoes in a sauce pan.
6. While the couscous and tomatoes are cooking, heat the extra virgin olive oil in a medium fry pan until hot and shimmering.
7. Add onions and cook on medium high for about four minutes.
8. Reduce the heat to low and add the sugar and balsamic vinegar.
9. Cover the fry pan and cook for another five to ten minutes.
10. To serve, place the couscous on a serving plate, top with the warm tomatoes and then with the onions.
11. Serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8
Adapted from Woman’s Day magazine

We had some friends over the other night and I wanted to make something new. A dip maybe?
My wife had found this recipe in Woman’s Day magazine and I decided to give it a try.
It is just store bought salsa and red beans (or black or white) mixed in a blender. What could be more simple?
The results: a delicious dip that is ready in a minute or two. Give this a try. You will not be disappointed.

Recipe follows.

Salsa and Red Bean Dip — Sometimes simpler is better

Ingredients

1/2 jar of tub salsa of your choice (we use Garden Fresh here in Michigan)
1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (black beans or white beans will work, too)
Dash of hot sauce (optional)

Directions

1. Open the can of beans and place in a colonder and rinse under cold water.
2. Put beans, salsa and hot sauce (if using) in a blender and blend for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Remove from blender and refrigerate until serving.
3. Serve with Scoops, pita chips or cut up vegetables.

MuirFood note: I use an immersion blender to mix this to save the cleanup of a regular blender.

This sounds easy, and it is. And, in the past I’ve cut up pounds and pounds of strawberries. I’ve sliced them, diced them, and chopped them. And usually they leave red berry stains on my cutting board, on my counter and on my hands.
Well, no more.
Here is an easy way to cut up strawberries that is also fast:

1. Using a paring knife, cut the stem and core out. The core is sightly bitter and it’s a good idea to get rid of it. You don’t have to go very deep, about 1/4” to 3/8” should do it.
2. Place the cored strawberry on the cutting board sitting on its fat end.
3. Do all the strawberries this way (see photo above)
4. Next, take each strawberry and cut twice vertically from the top end to the bottom cutting the berry into quarters (see photo above).
5. Grab the whole strawberry near the base and throw it into a bowl.

Once you get the hang of this technique, it goes really fast.
Because of the way they are cut, the berries stick together and you do not have to handle the cut edges of the berries so everything stays cleaner. Especially your hands.
Now, go cut up some strawberries and make some great strawberry short cake!

This past Sunday, I was helping make dinner. I decided to make the Japanese cucumber salad with sugar and rice wine vinegar (recipe here). Rather than get the food processor out, I  got our plastic chef’s mandolin, pealed the cucumbers and started slicing away.
As luck (or unlucky) would have it, my hand slipped off the cucumber and I cut an 1/8th-inch slice off the end of my middle finger. Worst accident I have ever had cooking.
So, what happened?
First, I did not use the guard.
Lesson learned: always use the guard.
Second, I tried to cut the long cucumber without cutting it down to size first.
Lesson learned: cut vegetables down to manageable size before slicing on the mandolin.
I know this sounds like common sense, and it is. It’s just when you do not use a piece of equipment often, remember to review the safety procedures and think about what you are doing before you start.
Oh yea, watch out for the edge of the blade on the food processor. It is really sharp, too.
So, think before you start and work  safely in the kitchen.

Adapted from an old Internet recipe
Serves 4

I am always up for something new. And when that “something new” turns out to be simple to prepare and tasty it’s a win/win.
So it is with Japanese cucumber salad or Sunomono. It is the simplest of dishes yet is crisp and refreshing. It can accompany just about any meal.
There is not much more left to say, except be careful cutting up the cucumbers. See what happened to me here.

Recipe follows
Japanese Cucumber Salad — from MuirFood
Serves 4

Ingredients
Two cucumbers pealed and thinly sliced.
1 to 2 tsp. toasted Kurogoma (black sesame seeds) (optional)
1 tbsp. salt
Juice of 1 lemon
Approx. 2 tbsp. sugar (add sugar to lemon juice to taste)
1/4 c. NATURAL rice wine vinegar

Directions

1. Peal the cucumbers. If you want to get fancy, Peal just part of the skin off leaving stripes all around the cucumber.
2. Cut the cucumbers in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. (note: I have forgotten to do this and the dish turned out just fine).
3. Cut the cucumbers into thin slices. Use a chef’s knife, mandolin or V-slicer. Please be careful using any of these tools. Accidents can happen. Check here.
4. Salt the cucumber slices and place in a fine mesh colander over the sink.
5. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes while you make the dressing.
6. To make the dressing, combine the lemon juice, sugar and rice wine vinegar in a small ball and combine well. The sugar should dissolve.
7. Remove the cucumber slices from the colander and put on a several paper towels. Press the cucumber slices with the paper towel to remove as much water as possible.
8. Place the cucumber slices in a bowl and toss with the dressing.
9. Add sesame seeds if using.
10. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
11. Serve cold.

This is not so much a recipe as it is a tutorial on grilling vegetables on a gas grill. First, it’s not hard and it makes vegetables taste wonderful.
It brings out the natural sugars and caramelizes them and also adds a smoky flavor you cannot get any other way.

Which vegetables and how do you prepare them?

Just about any vegetable can be grilled with the right equipment. Some like green, yellow, orange or red peppers can be done right on the grill. Others like asparagus will need a vegetable grate (great for shrimp, too) like this one or a grilling wok (great for shrimp or scallops, too) like this. Tongs and a large spatula are a help, too.

Below, I will list various vegetables, the perpetration and the best method of grilling:

Asparagus

There may be nothing finer than fresh, locally grown asparagus grilled.  Snap off any tough ends of the asparagus.  Toss with vegetable or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook on a hot grill for a total of six to eight minutes, turning frequently.  Keep a close eye on the asparagus because when it can go from done to OVER DONE very quickly.  Do not overcook.

Eggplant

Slice eggplant into 1/4- to 3/8-inch slabs like the squash above or rings. Coat with vegetable oil or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on a hot grill for 15 to 25 minutes to cook through.

Corn

Use the freshest local corn you can find. Remove all the husks except the last layer. The corn should be completely covered with husk and there may need to be two layers in some areas. Peal back these husks and brush the corn with melted butter. Place on a hot grill and cook 8 to 10 minutes total rotating the corn frequently.

Green Onions

Coat onions with vegetable oil or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a hot grill (you can use a vegetable grate if you have one) and cook for a total of 8 to 10 minutes, turning once or twice. Do not overcook.

Sweet Onions, Sliced (Vidalia, Maui, etc.)

Slice onions about a 1/4- to 1/2=inch thick. Rub with vegetable or olive oil and sprinkle with salt a pepper. Place on a medium grill and cook for three to five minutes per side (depends on thickness of the slices) until you get grill marks and the onions are just cooked. Don’t overcook. They should be just beyond crisp.

Whole Peppers

Rub the outside with vegetable or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place whole peppers on a hot grill and cook on that side until the skin is charred, about two to three minutes. Rotate the pepper 90 degrees and cook that side the same way. Cook the pepper until the entire skin is blackened. Place the pepper in a paper bag and allow the pepper to cool. The pepper will steam inside the bag and make removing the skin very easy. Peal the skin off the pepper and use your favorite recipe. Delicious. Note: This works with hot chili peppers like jalapenos, too.

Pepper Slices

If you have a vegetable grill or grilling wok like this one, slice the ends off the peppers and remove the seeds. Or, place the pepper end flat on a cutting board and cut from the top to the bottom just outside the core of the pepper. This will give you four slabs and the seeds still attached to the core. Either way, slice the pepper into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Toss the strips with vegetable or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Preheat the grilling wok on high and place the pepper in the wok. Grill the pepper with the lid down for about two minutes. Open the lid and toss the pepper slices with a wooden spoon. Cook a total of about four to five minutes. Do not overcook.
If you do not have a grill wok, just place the oiled and seasoned slabs on the grill and cook until just done. Remove from the grill and cut the peppers into slices.

Summer Squash and Zucchini

Place either on a cutting board and cut into 1/4-inch slabs longwise. Coat each side with vegetable or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place slabs on a hot grill and cook for about three to four minutes per side.
Alternatively, you can cut the zucchini or summer squash into cubes, coat with oil, add salt and pepper and cook in a grill wok.

Tomatoes

Thickly slice tomatoes. Coat with vegetable oil or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook on a hot grill two to four minutes per side.

Button Mushrooms

Leave small mushrooms whole; larger mushrooms should be cut in half or quartered.  Toss mushrooms with vegetable or olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook on a vegetable grate over high heat for about five to ten minutes.

Portobello Mushrooms

Okay, not a vegetable, but the technique is the same. Coat with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on a medium hot grill. Cook for four to six minutes per side.

THE FUN PART

Grilled vegetables are great by themselves, but mix and match them and you have a party. Grill peppers and onions with grilled sausage is great. Try grilled eggplant and onions with you next Italian meal. Make vegetable kabobs on bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes. Yum. The possibilities are endless.

Good luck and good grilling.

A recipe by Brad Muir
Serves 4

My wife and I are out on the West coast visiting our youngest son (our middle son came up to visit from San Francisco) and we decided to have some shrimp and pasta for dinner. Off we went to the store to get the ingredients.
This recipe is one my middle son, Brad, developed in San Francisco. It is fast, easy, and tasty all at the same time. And, you do not have to slave over a hot stove.
Basically it uses frozen shrimp (pretty much the only way to buy shrimp unless you live next to a shrimp boat, but that’s another story), a jar of Alfredo sauce, and some pasta. There are some alteration to the ingredients and there are lots of variations you can make to this recipe. Check out some of the addition and variations at the end of the recipe.
This is another of those “open a jar” recipes, but speed and taste win over slaving over a stove.
This recipe is easily doubled or upped b y one and a half to fit the number of people you are feeding. And, it’s a good recipe to have in your back pocket when friends or family show up unexpectedly.

Recipe follows.

Brad’s Fast Shrimp and Pasta with Cream Sauce

Ingredients
1 pound frozen shrimp
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1 jar Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup milk
1 pound pasta (spaghetti, linguine, etc.)
1/2 onion chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

Directions

1. Thaw shrimp in cold running water for 10 minutes.
   If needed, peal and devien shrimp; take the tails off, too. If you can find pealed shrimp
2. that are not too expensive, this dish goes even faster.
3. Rinse shrimp off and dry with a clean dish towel.
4. Place shrimp in a medium bowl and toss with olive oil and a little salt and pepper.
5. Add some olive oil to a fry pan and saute shrimp over high heat until just cooked about
6. four minutes. Alternatively, you can grill the shrimp on a hot grill for about 2 minutes on a side.
7. Set shrimp aside.
8. Melt butter in the bottom of a medium sauce pan and saute the onions until they are just softened, about four to five minutes.
9. Add the Alfredo sauce and milk and heat slowly until very hot.
10. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to direction on the package (usually six to nine minutes).
11. While the pasta is cooking, add the shrimp to the sauce and heat through.
12. When the pasta is just done, drain it and return it to the pot.
13. Add the sauce and shrimp; toss to combine well.
14. Add chopped basil and serve hot.

I have a lot of friends that just love pumpkin. Pumpkin in anything is a good thing. I like pumpkin, too; just not as much as these folks.
I have been baking many different kinds of muffins lately and I thought why not try a pumpkin muffin.
And the search was on.
I did not find many pumpkin muffin recipes. Some of them sounded awful. I tried one from Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking that was just okay. Then I ran across a recipe on the Internet from King Arthur Flour. One thing I liked about it was that it used a whole 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree. What do you do with a quarter can of pumpkin anyway?
In looking at the recipe it look familiar. It seemed close to the moist and tasty bran muffins I posted earlier (here). So I made some changed to the recipe using some tricks from that recipe.
It worked.
These are outstanding muffins. The pumpkin flavor comes through (a problem in many pumpkin recipes) and they are moist and tender – just a great combination. And as an added bonus, they are low calorie, low fat and high in fiber.
And they taste so good that a friend of mine renamed them “Better Than Sex Muffins!”
It fits.

Recipe follows.

Pumpkin Bran Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup (6 oz.) raisins
2 teaspoons water
1-1/4 cups (5 3/8 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2.75 oz.) whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon. ginger
1/4 teaspoon. cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon. allspice
2 teaspoon. baking soda
1 teaspoon. baking powder
1 15 oz. can pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2-3/4 cups (6 oz.) bran cereal (like Kellogg’s All Bran Original), divided
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/8 cup (6 tablespoons;3/4 of a stick) butter, melted
2/3 cup (4-1/2 oz.) packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons molasses, mild
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Directions

1. Place the oven rack in the middle and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Spray standard muffin tins with nonstick spray and set aside.
3. Place raisins in a microwave-proof bowl, add the water, cover with plastic wrap, poke a couple of holes in the plastic, and microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside to cool as you prepare the rest of the recipe.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, spices, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
5. Place half of the bran cereal in a food processor and process until finely ground, about one minute.
6. In a second large bowl, whisk together egg and egg yolk until thick, about 30 seconds.
7. Add melted butter and mix to combine.
8. Add sugar, molasses and vanilla and stir to combine will.
9. Add in the pumpkin and mix well.
10. Add buttermilk and mix well.
11. Stir in the both the ground and unground bran cereal and let stand for at least five minutes.
12. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to gently mix until just combined and evenly moistened. Do not over mix.
13. Fold in the raisins.
14. Use a large ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup to scoop batter into the muffin pans.
15. Sprinkle the tops with sugar, if desire.
16. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
17. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for five minutes before taking them out of the pan to finish cooling on a rack.
18. Cool for at least 10 minutes.

Storage
These muffins are best eaten the same day they are bakes. However, you can store them in an air tight container or plastic bag for up to three days.

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Sablés au Citron
Makes about 50 cookies

These cookies are amazing. You bite into one thinking cookie. And it is a cookie. It’s sweet. But then the salt hits you and your brain says whoa!
Sweet and salty.
Then the lime and orange kick in. And your brain says whoa again…sweet, salty and citrus.
Then the slight hint of tequila hits you.
And your brain, totally confused, says, “Margarita cookie. I like.”
And you have another. And another.
These things are addictive.
I know you don’t believe me. No one believes me when I offer them a margarita cookie. Then they taste one and always want another.
Like I said, this is an amazing cookie.

Recipe follows.

Amazing Margarita Cookies
Ingredients

Cookie
2 sticks (8 ounces; 230 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (2.5 onces;70 grams) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons tequila
Grated zest of 2 limes
Grate zest of half an orange
2 cups (9.75 ounces; 280 grams) all-purpose flour

Coating
Approximately 1/2 cup clear sanding or other coarse sugar
2 teaspoons flaky Maldon sea salt* or other flaky salt like fleur de sal.

Directions

1. Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until it is smooth.
2. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat again until the mixture is smooth and silky.
3. Mix in one of the egg yolks, followed by the salt, tequila, grated lime and orange zest; beat until smooth.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, beating just until it disappears. It is better to under beat than overbeat at this point; if the flour isn’t fully incorporated, that’s ok–just blend in whatever remaining flour needs blending with a rubber spatula.
5. Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and divide it in half.
6. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
7. Working on a smooth surface, form each piece of dough into a log that is about 1 to 1 1/4 inches (2.5 to 3.2 cm) thick. (Get the thickness right, and the length you end up with will be fine.)
8. Wrap the logs in plastic and chill for 2 hours. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.)
9. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
10. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
11. While the oven is preheating, work on the sugar coating:
12. Whisk the remaining egg yolk in a small bowl until it is smooth and liquid enough to use as a glaze.
13. Mix the coarse sugar and flaky salt well and spread the mixture out on a piece of wax paper.
14. Remove the logs of dough from the refrigerator, unwrap them, and brush them lightly with a little egg yolk.
15. Roll the logs in the sugar, pressing the sugar/salt mixture gently to get it to stick if necessary.
16. Using a sharp slender knife, slice each log into cookies about 1/4 inch (7 mm) thick. [Note: To get the sugar/salt mixture to stick better, move the log over to a piece of plastic wrap, and in the sort of technique you'd see a sushi chef use to shape a roll, use the plastic to press the sugar in by wrapping it tightly.] (You can make the cookies thicker if you’d like; just bake them longer.)
17. Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets, leaving about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) space between them.
18. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are set but not browned. (It’s fine if the yolk-brushed edges brown a smidgen.).
19. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool to room temperature.

Storage
Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature. Because the sugar coating will melt, these cookies are not suitable for freezing.

* If you should choose to use regular table salt and not Maldon, use less! Much less. Probably half or less. Because Maldon has such volume, the equivalent amount of a finer salt would be much more pungent.