An apple a day

   You know the old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!", right? But how many of us reach for an apple snack instead of a cookie or bag of chips.
                            Guilty!
In an effort to consume more of these healthy treats I had to get creative. First and foremost,  I never did like sinking my teeth into a whole, hard apple. It almost seemed barbaric. In addition, if you do not eat the whole apple in one seating the rest turns an unappetizing brown color.
                            Wasteful!

   My first idea came about purely by accident.  My granddaughter, who loved eating fresh cut up apples, lost too many of her front teeth to bite into the skin of an apple. I thickly cut the skins off her apple and gave her thin slices of the apple meat. On a lark, I cut the apple skins into bite-size chunks and threw them in the freezer. Much to my surprise, they were a delicious, refreshing treat that I always have in the freezer now for a healthy snack. 

   My favorite apples are Honey Crisp. They are a bit more expensive so using all the apple tickles my frugal bones.
    The frozen apple skins have just enough meat on them to taste delicious and do not have to be treated with any lemon or lime juice to retain their color. 

   Many times an apple will be my dessert for lunch and I always freeze the skins and then cut slices off the bare apple. The other day, my apple was so big, I was too full to finish the meat closest to the core. What to do?

What to do? Make a mini apple crisp appetizer, was the answer.  I cut all the meat off as close to the core as possible and cut the pieces into thick squares. Then I spread them with peanut butter and dipped the peanut butter side into honey nut granola. Lastly, I sprinkled them with honey. They were a delicious dessert served cold and even better when warmed in the microwave. 

   Now I can get the benefits of eating an apple a day without boredom. I think my favorite is the frozen apple chips, however. All the nutrients and a refreshing treat on a hot summer day. This is how to enjoy apples in the company of food. 

Nibble meals

       I enjoy eating a variety of foods throughout the day instead of stuffing myself with one meal so I decided to investigate mini portions. Mini portions came about as much by desire as by necessity, cooking for one. Some prep work is required to accomplish my variety mini meals but I find it worth the effort and delectably delightful. 

Each time I think of one creation invariably it leads to another discovery. It is helpful that I work as a chef and have certain things available to me you would not necessarily find in a grocery store. For example, the four-ounce souffle cups and lids for mini parfaits. 
Mini parfaits are one of my new favorite breakfast items. They can be prepped ahead of time and chilled. Simply layer your favorite granola on the bottom, cover with a layer of yogurt. Next top the yogurt with fresh berries and then one more layer of yogurt. This is the perfect treat for breakfast and very nutritious. 
This breakfast was paired with a slice of lemon cream bread, fresh ground honey roasted peanut butter and sliced apples.

Leading to my next discovery frozen apple skin chips. You heard me right!
I can not eat a whole Honey Crisp Apple, my favorite, in one nibble meal. Many times I cut one in half and refrigerate the second half for another meal. This time I decided to peel the apple skins off with a bit of pulp and freeze the chips. That gave me just enough apple left for my breakfast. 
When dinner time came I had a taste for a bit of something sweet after my meal and decided to test the frozen apple chips. Delightful!

      

     

     

Pamper me meals

    The delight of a balanced meal is sometimes lost on a single diner. Is it the effort it takes, lack of time, or just not the right ingredients? Probably, all of the above. It does not have to be a chore, or costly to eat like a royal, just a little planning and creativity. Tonight was one of those cold winter evenings that my body craved some comfort food. I had a fresh butt steak in the fridge, half of a baked potato from last night's dinner, some blanched broccoli and half tomato. In the crisper were the last five fresh mushrooms.

     Let me make one thing clear. I hate leftovers unless they are in the form of stew or chili, which seem to get more flavorful the next day. I do love recreating leftovers into a new delicious meal. I always keep freshly blanched vegetables in the fridge. On a recent vacation, I discovered an electric teapot. I love tea, only Lipton, black tea. I am a tea snob in this respect. What I discovered it this teapot is the bomb for blanching fresh vegetables. I get a deep bowl and strainer filled with fresh vegetables and pour the boiling water on the vegetables until the bowl is full. Done! Perfectly blanched vegetables to use in any meal.
     Another thing I love is cooking in cast iron. The great thing about this method is you keep your food nice and warm by eating right out of the skillet when cooking for one.

For dinner this evening I cleaned and sliced my five fresh mushrooms and seasoned my butt steak. I sliced my leftover baked potato into wedges, seasoned with olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper and placed in the oven to brown.
      Then I heated my single-serving cast iron skillet, put a little olive oil in the pan. When the pan was really hot I placed the steak in the pan to sear until browned. Flipping the steak it is topped with the fresh mushrooms and put it in the oven to finish.  Then I slice one thick slice off my fresh tomato, cut into wedges, and topped it with cold, blanched florets of fresh broccoli.
     My table is set with a cute placemat. The cold tomato and broccoli salad are sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. Time to eat like a royal.!

Can I freeze that?

     Today I went grocery shopping, which for me is no easy task. I make a list. It is not just an 'I am going shopping today' list of what I need. It is a cumulative list of my minds menu wandering. Oh sure, when I run out of the basics I, like everyone else, has a list on my fridge or on my phone for reminders. But meal planning is a' passion quest'.

     I hate leftovers and I live alone. That in itself is an oxymoron. 

     The ' I hate leftovers' problem consumes my food choices and keeps my freezer barron, to a point. The things that are in my freezer are thoughtful components of the next meal. The leftovers, which are inevitable, are shared with grateful recipients. 

     I have a craving for split pea soup and go shopping with this desire in mind. One bag of dried peas, one carrot, one onion, one potato, check. Celery is wrapped in foil in the fridge, check. The magic freezer item ham bone soup base, check. 

     The items I do freeze, either have a purpose or are going to be a part of another scratch meal. For example, pitas.They come in a package of five and I only need one for this meal. I take the one I need out of the bag and individually wrap the other four in saran and put them back in the bag to be frozen. This way I can take them out one at a time without them being frozen to each other. The ham base was leftover from a ham dinner I hosted. I cut the extra ham from the bone chopping it into bitesize pieces. Then I boiled the bone to make the soup base and froze in containers with the pieces of ham for soups, as needed. 
     The secret to any good soup is timing and patience. I first boil the peas until tender and then add the frozen chunk of homemade soup base. When that has melded I add my onions, carrots, and celery simmering until the carrots are blanched. I season with fresh ground pepper and add the chopped potatoes last so they do not become mushy. 
     I pair my soup with hummus and pitas and enjoy a delicious fall meal, in the company of food.

Upper Crust coleslaw

     My sister-in-law is a microbiologist and my brother is a trained chef, so it always amazes me when my favorite dish at their home is one prepared by the microbiologist?  Usually, the recipes are on the healthy side, easy to prepare, limited ingredients, and visually pleasing. And so was born what I call Upper Crust cole slaw, discovered on my recent visit to California.
     The purpose of the visit was my nephew's graduation party. The menu was extensive. As my brother manned the grill searing large slabs of sirloin tips and whole marinated fresh salmon, my sister-in-law was busy in their gourmet kitchen preparing the side dishes for the meal. With all the delicious food I devoured that evening the one leftover I craved was the coleslaw. To my delight, it was still very crisp and the flavor was even better than the day it was made. Here is the simple recipe, enjoy!

                                   Bag of broccoli slaw
                                   Smokehouse almonds
                                   Poppyseed dressing

     Place the broccoli slaw in a mixing bowl, add chopped nuts, toss with poppyseed dressing and season to taste. I just use some fresh ground pepper. My only hint is to cut the nuts on a chopping board instead of a nut chopper because you want the pieces to be random sizes.
     Serve. "Simple cooking science."
 
   

   
 

Crappie for Kiki

     My son-in-law, Jake. is a fisherman. Contemplating proposing to my daughter, Jennifer, he requested she sign a contract allowing him to fish if they ever got married. She agreed.
      He asked her to marry him while they were ice fishing stringing the ring inside a fish's mouth.  The man loves to fish!
      I love the fish he catches. He freezes them in water and labels them for a perfect meal portion. Tonight I enjoyed a delicious dinner with 'Crappie's for Kiki".
     Knowing that I love this small fresh water fish, Jake takes the time to filet and package them just for me, making me feel very special. Although they are delicious fried, baked or simply sauteed, tonight I tried a different recipe more Mediterranean and I was delighted. I prepared some white rice for my starch. I sauteed onions, garlic, green peppers and plum tomatoes in olive oil, seasoning with fresh ground pepper, garlic salt and oregano. Lightly flouring my fish, I brown one side in butter. Quickly flipping the fish, I ladle the sauce on each piece adding some juice from the sauce. This allows the fish to finish with steam heat. I turn off the heat and cover the pan. By the time I scoop my rice onto the plate the fish is ready. Delightful!

Minimal Indulgence

      I prefer a little bit of a good thing to a lot of bad. When  New Year's Eve 2017 rolled around I decided to give myself a little treat.  I toasted in 2017 with Lobster.  It was an 8 oz. tail that I baked and paired with a baked potato. The butter warming dish was a favorite find from an estate sale and just added a bit of elegance to the meal. It was the perfect amount of food because my tradition of eating creamed herring on New Year's Eve, for good luck, proceed with this minimal indulgence. 
      Thinking ahead, I purchased four large scallops and some oysters Rockefeller for my New Year's Day meal. I cooked two baked potatoes the night before so I could create an awesome twice baked potato for this meal. Hollowing out the potato I mixed the inside with butter, pepper, salt, sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, and chives. I spooned it back into the potato and baked it for about an hour. I steamed some fresh spinach and cut up a fresh lemon. While the twice baked potato cooked I indulged in the Oysters. When the potato was golden brown on the top, I lightly floured the scallops and quickly seared them on one side in butter until brown. Turning off the heat on the stovetop I flipped each scallop, squeezed in some fresh lemon juice, and put them in the oven with the potato, turning the oven down to warm. This was just enough time to finish cooking the scallops. Mounding four heaps of steamed spinach on the plate around the butter warming dish and slivers of fresh lemon wedges, the scallops were placed on top of each spinach bed and drizzled with warm lemon butter. Served with the hot twice baked potato this was the perfect minimal indulgence to begin a new year. Happy New Year to all!