Miracoli di San Gennaro - is it worth it?

Ever since I read this article in Gourmet magazine in January 2009, and had gone ahead to order a can of the Miracoli di San Gennaro tomatoes from Gustiamo.com, I had the can sitting there. First on my kitchen counter. Because, $15 for a single can of tomatoes, this is truly a miracle. After a while, the miracle wore off, and the can went into the pantry, to all the other cans of tomatoes. It was waiting for an opportunity to be opened. Nothing in particular happened today, but I felt it was time to try it out. To either be disappointed and feel like a sucker for false advertisement (likely) or taste something really great.

I opened the can. I wanted to make a very simple marinara, with some fresh rosemary, grated garlic, anchovy paste, a shot of red wine, and black pepper and a hint of honey. I squished the whole tomatoes from the can into paste by hand when pouring them in the pot. They felt different, silky, tender, an extremely tender texture. I added the other ingredients, stirred, heated, waited. The first tasting with a spoon..... it brought tears to my eyes, it was so good.

Yes, most definitely, it is worth it. It is so good it will make you tilt your head back in delight, looking at the ceiling and feeling you are in heaven. A toast to expensive pasta and imported italian tomatoes!

Products used: Latini spaghetti, Miracoli di San Gennaro tomatoes (also available on amazon.com)

Greek Yogurt and Apples

A simple breakfast, sweetened Fage greek yogurt and apple slices, decoratively cut with my new Wusthof decorating knife.

Low-Carb Waffles, Baby

So, it had been sitting there for a while on the shelf, another low-carb product. Carbquik. It is bascially a biscuit mix, but a low-carb version. I was reading about home-made pancake mixes, and I had an idea for a low-carb version using carbquick. It came out really great, shiny, crisp and great taste and states. Here it is

1/4 cup carbquik
1 TB anywhey (for extra protein)
1/4 ts baking soda
1 ts herbs des provence
1 ts low-fat grated parmesan cheese (I actually used Kraft's green box)
1 TB eggbeaters
3 TB buttermilk

Mix it all up, and place in the center of a preheated waffle iron. Bake for 3-4 min, or to your liking of browness and crispness.

Stats:
1 waffle has 115 kcal, 15 g protein, 15 g fiber, 300 mg sodium and 5 g of carbs

Savory Waffles (using NS pancake mix)

So, I finally decided and got a waffle iron. My first one! The All-Clad special edition available at Williams-Sonoma finally made me cave in. Pricey, but hopefully worth its money in quality-delivering waffles. My first try had to be savory, because I like savory more than sweet anyhow, and it was time for lunch, too. So, here are savory waffles with egg and cheese.

Waffle batter:
1 NS pancake mix
1 ts herbs de provence (I like the mix from Dean & Deluca)
1/2 ts Mrs Dash garlic and herbs
1/8 ts baking powder
1/8 ts baking soda
1/3 cup + a bit ff buttermilk

Filling:
1/4 cp eggbeaters
salt, pepper, Mrs Dash garlic and herbs
1 slice ff veggie cheese (soy-based), pepper jack flavor

Mix waffle batter with all ingredients. It should be a bit liquidy, but not too much. Preheat waffle iron, and fill in batter in the middle of iron with a ladle. Close the iron, and bake to desired brown-ness.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet, and cook the egg with the spices like an omelette. Fold, cut, once it is done, and serve on the waffle with the cheese. The heat will slightly melt the cheese.

1 lunch entree (or breakfast entree + protein)

Chocolate Cake, plain and simple

I was longing for chocolate cake, plain, simple, chocolaty chocolate cake. With the whipped cream this one was the one.

1 NS pancake mix
1 TB brown splenda
1/2 ts baking soda
1/2 ts baking powder
1 ts instant espresso powder
1 TB organic cocoa powder (e.g. Dagoba)
3 TB eggbeaters
2 TB ff cold milk
1/2 ts vanilla extract

1-2 TB ff coolwhip

Mix the dry ingredients first, and then add the wet ingredients. Pour into a PAM-spray small springform pan, and bake at 375F for 25 min. Let cool, remove from form, cut in half horizontally, and add the coolwhip on the bottom half. Add top half. Serve!

1 breakfast + free food

Wholewheat BBQ Pizza

Pizza from the grill! A great summertime outdoor option to make pizza

1/10 of a store-bought wholewheat pizza dough (120kcal)
tomato sauce (with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic powder)
1 tomato
1/3 red onion
1 TB ff veggie cheddar cheese (or mozzarella)
3 olives

Roll out pizza, and prebake at 450F for 3-4 min. Then, add spices tomato sauce on pizza, and layer tomato, slivered red onion, a few olives and sprinkle with cheese. Bake on the BBQ for 15 min (you have to cover it for the cheese to melt, I did not). A crisp, almost wood-stove oven like thin crust pizza! Enjoy!

1 lunch entree + salad (if you add some grilled chicken or veggie beef crumbles it is a complete lunch)

Sunday Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with Mango and Berries

Time to read the paper.......

Roasted Portabella Pasta

This is a great side for a bbq chicken breast or a steak: pasta with roasted portabella mushroom and red bell pepper.

2 oz Fiber Gourmet rotini (dry weight), prepared to instructions
1 ts extra-virgin olive oil
1 large portabella mushroom, cleaned and sliced
1/4 of a red onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, roasted over open flame on bbq, skinned, sliced (optional)
salt, pepper, Mrs Dash garlic herb blend to taste
1 ts balsamic vinegar
1 TB low-fat crated parmesan (e.g. Kraft)

Heat oil in large skillet, and add onion. Saute until soft (ca. 3-4 min) and stir, then add mushroom pieces. Saute both onion and portabella mushroom, until the mushroom is cooked and browned. Add spices, and balsamic vinegar. Stir gently, and add in drained pasta. Add parmesan cheese, stir and serve.

1 lunch entree or 1 dinner carb + 1 dinner veggie

Rye bread with Greek Yogurt and Chives

Easter holidy is over, and it's time to eye getting into bikini shape. The first herbs are growing in the garden, and the Fage greek yogurt is taking a savory twist today.

1 slice of home-made low-carb rye bread (or any light bread of your liking)
1/2 cup Fage 0% greek yogurt
handful of fresh chives, chopped
salt, pepper to taste

Mix the Fage with salt, pepper and chives, and serve on the slice of toasted rye bread.

1 lunch entree

Helen's Greek Potato Salad

The summer, party and bbq-times are starting again. This is a great potato salad of my friend Helen, perfect as a potluck dish or also for picnics.

1 pound small waxy red potatoes
1/2 large red onion, finely diced
150g low-fat feta cheese
20 sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips
1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
Juice of 1 lemon
some extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Wash the potatoes and put them onto boil in salted water. Meanwhile finely chop the red onion and add to a bowl with the sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled feta and the chopped oregano. Make a dressing with the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. When the potatoes are cooked and cool enough to handle cut them into cubes and add to the bowl. Mix everything together with the dressing and serve at room temp.

Penne with Garlic Rosemary Tomato Sauce

Lots of pasta with a basic garlic rosemary tomato sauce and a sprinkle of reduced fat feta. I could eat this every day. The sauce has onions, garlic, chopped fresh rosemary, white wine, salt, pepper, Mrs Dash tomato basil, oregano and a cup of passata di pomodorri, simmer to the right consistency. Bon appetite!

Hungarian Chicken Gulash (with Rotini)

Pasta:
2oz Fiber Gourmet Rotini (130kcal)

Chicken Gulasch (makes 2 servings!)
2 X 4 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks
salt, pepper
1 ts canola oil
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 ts cumin
1 ts sweet paprika
1 ts majorian
2 large fresh tomatos, chopped
1 TB tomato paste
1/2 TB sherry vinegar
2 TB white wine
1/2 cup low-sodium, ff chicken stock
1 ts creme fraiche (or sour cream or heavy cream)

Sprinkle chicken breast with salt, pepper, and sweet paprika, and sautee in hot oil with onions. Add grated garlic, cumin, majorian, fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, sherry vinegar and white white, and then some chicken stock; heat through, and then simmer for 15 min with closed lid. Once the gulasch is slightly thickened and reduced, add a bit of cream, and serve half of the gulasch with 2 oz FiberGourmet pasta.

1 dinner entree + 1 veggie serving

Yogurt in Pink !

Another great dessert-like arrangement featuring Fage yogurt. This time with flavored yogurt, raspberries, raspberry syrup and a crumbled amaretto cookie!

1/2 small container ff Fage Greek yogurt (sweetened with splenda)
1/2 cup white chocolate raspberries yogurt
1 TB frozen raspberries (thawed)
1 amaretto cookie, crumbled
some glugs of SF Torani Raspberry syrup.

Assemble and serve!

Greek Yogurt with Mango Puree

wonderful light, flavorful and satisfying combination: sweetened greek yogurt with mango puree!

1 small container Fage Greek yogurt
fiberfit (liquid sweetener) or 3 pcks splenda
1/3 cup of frozen but thawed or fresh mango chunks

Stir Greek yogurt with some water and sweetener to make it creamy. In a blender (or magic bullet) puree the mango pieces with some water. Add to Greek yogurt, and serve!

1 protein + 1 fruit (for breakfast)