Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Weight Watchers 0 point soup

With all the dieting going on I thought this might be a good idea.

Ingredients

2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1 medium onion(s), diced
2 medium carrot(s), diced
1 medium sweet red pepper(s), diced
1 medium stalk(s) celery, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
2 cup(s) green cabbage, shredded
2 cup(s) Swiss chard, chopped
2 cup(s) cauliflower, small florets
2 cup(s) broccoli, small florets
2 tsp thyme, fresh, chopped
6 cup(s) vegetable broth
2 Tbsp parsley, or chives, fresh, chopped
1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, optional

Instructions
Put garlic, vegetables, thyme and broth into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, about 10 minutes.


Stir in parsley or chives; season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Notes
If you like thick soups, consider pureeing this recipe in the pot with an immersion blender.

There are so many variations on this recipe. Add or leave out vegetables to suit your taste.

Save time by using frozen vegetables instead of fresh ones (though the texture of the soup might change a bit). You can also buy small amounts of pre-cut vegetables from your super market's salad bar.

Friday, January 15, 2010

PUMPKIN SPICE DOUGHNUT RECIPE...YUM

REALLY, REALLY TASTY RECIPE!!!!

















DOESN'T IT LOOK DIVINE?


DOUGHNUT INGREDIENTS:

1 EGG
1 EGG YOLK
1 C PUMPKIN
1/4 C BROWN SUGAR
1/2 C SUGAR
1/2 C BUTTERMILK (OR 1/2 C MILK WITH 1 TSP VINEGAR)
3 T BUTTER, MELTED
4 TSP BAKING POWDER
2 TSP PUMPKIN SPICE
1 TSP SALT
1/2 TSP BAKING SODA
3 C FLOUR

VEGETABLE OIL TO FRY

GLAZE:
1/4 C MILK
DASH OF SALT
SPICES THAT GO WELL WITH, JUST A DASH (PUMPKIN SPICE, NUTMEG, CINNAMON, ETC.)
3 C POWDERED SUGAR

IN A LARGE BOWL WHISK EGG AND EGG YOLK TILL NICE AND FROTHY.

ADD PUMPKIN, SUGAR, BROWN SUGAR, BUTTERMILK, AND BUTTER. WHISK UNTIL COMBINED WELL.

STIR IN BAKING POWDER, PIE SPICE (I ALSO LIKE TO SNEAK IN CINNAMON, ALLSPICE, NUTMEG, CLOVES...YOU NAME IT, ITS IN THERE!!!), AND BAKING SODA.

FOLD IN FLOUR IN GRADUAL AMOUNTS UNTIL STICKY DOUGH FORMS.

COVER DOUGH IN PLASTIC AND PLACE IN FREEZER FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES.

NOW TO THE OIL!

HEAT OIL TO 370 DEGREES F EXACTLY !!! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. EITHER USE A CANDY THERMOMETER OR SOMETHING. I HAVE AN ELECTRIC WOK THAT HAS A TEMPERATURE GAUGE THAT IS VERY HELPFUL.

ONCE OIL IS AT SPECIFIED TEMPERATURE AND DOUGH HAS CHILLED FOR 15 MINUTES, THE FUN BEGINS!

THE KEY TO A PLEASANT EXPERIENCE (I SHOULD KNOW, DID IT TWICE, SECOND TIME WAS MUCH MORE PLEASANT)...IS FLOUR! THE MORE FLOUR THE BETTER. SO LOAD IT ON. NO JOKE.

SO, PAT DONE DOUGH ON A VERY WELL FLOURED SURFACE. VERY , VERY WELL (OK, I THINK I HAVE EMPHASIZED THE POINT ENOUGH). FLOUR THE TOP, TOO.

PAT DOUGH OUT ABOUT 1/2 INCH THICK. CUT 3 INCH CIRCLES AND 1 INCH CIRCLES FOR THE DOUGHNUT HOLES. I USED A HOT COCOA MUG FOR THE 3 INCH CIRCLE (AND YES I MEASURED IT WITH THE MEASURING TAPE) AND I ACTUALLY USED THE PIE SPICE LID AS THE 1 INCH CIRCLE (CLEANED IT VERY THOROUGHLY AFTER SO I COULD PUT IT BACK ON THE BOTTLE).

TRANSFER DOUGHNUTS AND HOLES TO A FLOURED BAKING SHEET. HANDLE WITH CARE. THEY ARE VERY FLIMSY. USE A SPATULA IF NEEDED.

ONCE DONE WITH CUTTING OUT THE DOUGHNUTS, PLACE DOUGHNUT IN HEATED OIL. FRY TILL BROWNED, ABOUT 2 MINUTES OR 1 MINUTE ON EACH SIDE. JUST EYEBALL IT IF NEEDED. YOU GET THE POINT AFTER AWHILE. DOUGHNUT HOLES TAKE LESS TIME, BUT STILL FLIP THEM ON BOTH SIDES.

MY SECRET TO FLIPPING THE DOUGHNUTS... I REALLY SHOULDN'T SPILL ALL MY SECRETS... BUT I'M JUST TOO NICE :)
BUT THE SECRET IS... CHOPSTICKS. I LEARNED THIS OFF OF MAN VS. FOOD ON THE TRAVEL CHANNEL. WHO SAYS TV ISN'T EDUCATIONAL? BUT, YOU STICK ONE CHOP STICK UNDER THE DOUGHNUT AND ONE ON TOP OF IT AND IN ONE FLUID MOTION... WHOOSH!!! YOU FLIP THAT DOUGHNUT OVER!

PLACE FRIED DOUGHNUT ON A PAPER TOWELED TRAY, OR ANY OTHER WAY YOU DEGREASE FRIED FOOD.

ONCE ALL DOUGHNUTS AND HOLES ARE FRIED, TIME TO MAKE THE GLAZE.

PRETTY SIMPLE YET, SUPER TASTY WITH THE DOUGHNUT.

PLACE ALL INGREDIENTS IN A BOWL AND WHISK LIKE YOU'VE NEVER WHISKED BEFORE. IF YOU WANT IT RUNNIER, ADD MORE MILK. IF YOU WANT IT THICKER, ADD MORE POWDERED SUGAR. ITS JUST THAT SIMPLE!

APPLY GLAZE TO DOUGHNUT. I USE THE "DIP THE DOUGHNUT IN THE BOWL" METHOD. IT WORKS FOR ME. YOU MIGHT ALSO THINK TO TRY THE "SLATHER THE DOUGHNUT WITH OOEY GOOEY ICING WITH A RUBBER SPATULA" METHOD AS WELL. NEVER TRIED IT MYSELF, BUT IT SEEMS PROMISING.

LET THE GLAZE HARDEN. AND REALLY I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT THE DOUGHNUTS ALWAYS SEEM TO TASTE BETTER THE DAY AFTER. TRY TO RESIST THEM FOR THAT LONG IF YOU CAN...

BUT THERE YOU GO! A DELICIOUS DOUGHNUT RECIPE JUST FOR YOU.