Continuing My Conquest (or Apples, Continued)

So, did you miss me?

Don't worry, I don't mind if you didn't. I can't really say I missed my computer a whole lot last week actually - not because I don't love you all, but I was otherwise enthralled by the magic of a certain Mouse. Yes, I was at Disney World in Florida, spending a week in the sun (getting burnt!) and allowing others to do the dirty work in the kitchen. I promise that I have a full write-up coming, but for now I'm still trying to tell you all what I did with those 22 lbs of apples from co-op!

So anyways, seeing as how we had (at the time) not only the apples to use up but also a part-carton of buttermilk and two very large buckets of cream cheese, I wanted to try and incorporate them all into something I could bake and serve at the Club to both the staff and the kids. Of course, that meant there would have to be a decent amount of "that nutrition stuff" going on too... so when I hopped onto the 'net for inspiration this recipe from Fun & Food hit all the right notes! With just a little bit of butter used to caramelize the apple topping and add flavour to the batter, the remaining "creaming fat" made up with the cream cheese and the buttermilk singing backup, the texture was so tender and moist you wouldn't guess anything different! I opted to reduce the eggs as well, adding flaxseed meal, and using all whole wheat flour for a heartier texture. Everyone who tried this over the day loved it - from barely cooled, to room temperature and even when chilled overnight!

Health[ier] Upside-Down Apple Cake

Serves 16

Caramelized Apple Topping

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup orange juice

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp butter

5 apples, peeled and sliced into 12ths

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Cake

2 tbsp butter, softened

2/3 cup low-fat cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 tbsp maple extract

1 egg

2 1/2 tbsp ground flaxseed

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp allspice

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1. Heat oven to 350ºF, grease a 10" cake pan.
2. Combine sugar, orange juice, lemon juice and butter in a deep skillet, bring to a boil.
3. Cook for 5 minutes, then add apples, and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, until soft and caramelized.
4. Pour the apple mixture into prepared cake pan and spread to an even layer.
5. In a bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, maple extract, and egg until smooth.
6. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice, and cinnamon.
7. Beat flour mixture and buttermilk alternately into the creamed ingredients.
8. Pour batter over apples and spread evenly.
9. Bake 1 hour.
10. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 204.0
Total Fat: 5.1 g
Cholesterol: 25.4 mg
Sodium: 71.6 mg
Total Carbs: 39.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.6 g
Protein: 3.8 g

Dipped Out

I was left with a decent amount of the dip leftover from the breadstick lesson one week, but instead of tossing it away when I came in the day after, or force-feeding the kids dip for days, I walked right into my inspiration - literally. There was a giant box of well-past-sale-or-eating-point bananas on the kitchen island, with a handy Post-It note on the top:

"Sarah, use these today."

Hmm, use these I will... you didn't specify how, Marlene, but considering I know you adore the fruit, know I bake and there's a fellow staff member whose only pregnancy craving has been banana bread?? You asked for it!

Because my usual banana bread recipe didn't use anything liquidy other than the banana puree itself, I hit the Net to find a suitable base recipe. Even though the dip wasn't all-yogurt, I figured that a touch of lemon juice would help offset the baking soda, and who doesn't like strawberries and banana? I kept on with the breakfast theme by using rolled oats in the dry mix too, and if I did it again I'd even go so far as to sprinkle some crunchy granola on top!

Strawberry-Banana Oatmeal Bread

Makes 2 loaves, 14 slices each

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 banana, mashed

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 tbsp lemon extract

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

3 1/2 cups "Sweet Fruit Dipper" recipe

1. Grease two 9×5" loaf pans, preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.
3. Beat butter and shortening in a bowl.
4. Add sugar, eggs, banana, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon juice, beating smooth.
5. Alternately add the dip and flour mixtures to the beaten mixture.
6. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
7. Cool 20 minutes in pans before turning onto wire racks and cooling completely.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 238.3
Total Fat: 8.5 g
Cholesterol: 32.5 mg
Sodium: 111.2 mg
Total Carbs: 36.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.8 g
Protein: 5.3 g

Magic Wands and Fairy Dust

When I was at co-op, I got to play the role every day of fairy Godmother, evil witch or crafy magician (depending on who you talked to). Nobody knew what to expect the kitchen to unleash - including me - and so long as I could get a gaggle of kids to settle down for a little while and make it through a lesson plan anything went! Luckily I had one of the easier tasks when it came to keeping the kids entertained, since they knew that regardless of the stuff they had to sit through and do while in my care (including - horrors - dishes!) eventually they would be rewarded with something tasty to supplement whatever the daily snack of the day was. Of course, they knew I was a Nutrition major, even if they didn't really know what that meant, so everything was suspect until they could be convinced that adding a bit of whole wheat or oatmeal to a recipe, cutting down on the sugar and fat or putting a little effort and pride into their food was really not the end of the world. Tasting is believing, I say!

One of the most successful lessons I taught the kids was this basic, sweetened bread dough that we turned into cinnamon-swirled breadsticks. Playing off the idea from a certain pizza chain, I rolled each spicy, whole wheat and oatmeal-laced stick in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and added my flair - a twisted, rope-like appearance. To top it all off (literally), I considered my options. There was no way I was about to give the kids an icing to dunk sugary bread into, but I knew they would probably be missing that aspect since I was trying to bill them as a take-out substitute. Thank goodness we at least had a well-stocked pantry that week, and a fridge with a plethora of dairy I could use! A quick beat together of plain, fat-free yogurt, low-fat cream cheese, a touch of sugar and a spoonful of all-fruit, low-sugar strawberry jam turned into a creamy, dunk-able mixture that the kids eagerly downed not only on their sticks but also on plain pita bread, leftover tortillas and even *gasp* carrot sticks!

I can't vouch for the carrot pairing, but hey, whatever works, right?

Sweet Cinnamon Twistie Sticks

Makes 10

4 cups flour

½ cup oatmeal

3 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 ¾ cups milk
2 tbsp melted butter or margarine
1 tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
Water, for brushing dough

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease 2 baking sheets.
2. Put the flour, oatmeal, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl and mix well.
3. Add the milk, melted butter and salt.
4. Using a wooden spoon, mix it to make a soft dough that comes away from the sides of the bowl.
5. Flour a countertop well and turn the dough out onto it. Knead for about 10 minutes.
6. Divide dough into 10 pieces, set aside.
7. In a small bowl mix together the 2 tbsp sugar and the cinnamon.
8. One piece at a time, roll dough portions into a long snakes.
9. Brush the snakes with a small amount of water and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.
10. Fold each roll in half and twist into a rope. Place on the baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
11. Bake for 20 minutes, serve warm.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 288.3
Total Fat: 4.3 g
Cholesterol: 9.5 mg
Sodium: 75.3 mg
Total Carbs: 53.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.7 g
Protein: 8.6 g
 
Sweet Fruit Dipper 
Makes 16 (two-tablespoon) servings
1 cup low fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup all-fruit strawberry jam

1. Beat together cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add yogurt and jam, beat well.
3. Store, covered, in the fridge.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 70.2
Total Fat: 2.7 g
Cholesterol: 8.6 mg
Sodium: 53.9 mg
Total Carbs: 9.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
Protein: 2.2 g

Princess For A Week

Guess where I'm headed - as we speak??? Here's a clue:

M-I-C...K-E-Y...M-O-U-S-E!!

Yuppers, trip number 8 to Walt Disney World is in progress! I am SO beyond thrilled (can you tell?), especially since being a "foodie" now I'll be able to really pay attention to the details and flair the staff at the park puts into everything they do. I mean yes, it is a theme park, and they do serve gargantuan smoked turkey legs out of "street carts" (delicious, by the way) and to-die-for cinnamon buns in their bakeries, but they've got insanely talented food and beverage staff in all areas of their parks and hotels too that make sure that every meal from counter service to the fanciest sit-down dinner is the most amazing experience it can be. It's even more special to me this time, since with my list of restrictions being what they are (hello - no oils/high fats/meat, etc... in the USA of all places!) I've been given essentially a crash course in the ways and methods of Disney's special dietary department and restaurant systems. Let me tell you - I have never felt more at ease leaving my diet's control in the hands of others than on this trip. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for no ill effects (if you have allergies, you'll understand!), but at the same time, I'm keeping my mouth open and camera out!!

Because we're going to be away, this week's been all about using up stuff in the fridge that probably wouldn't be "welcoming" us home by the time we get back. Of course, a lot of that stuff is getting shoved into the freezer, but there are a few things I couldn't resist getting my grubby freshly-washed hands on and throwing into some baked yummies!! This time around, it was a handful of strawberries and some cream cheese we had kicking around, plus some extra "bits" in my pantry I wanted to use up in the form of coloured chocolate wafers. The result? Well, some pretty-in-pink rhubarb bars!

Pink Princess Rhubarb Bars

Makes 24

2 1/2 cups diced rhubarb

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp shortening
1/3 cup low fat cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 cup fresh (or frozen and thawed) mixed berries, pureed
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup white chocolate chips (or chopped coloured "coating chocolate")

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a 9 x 13" pan with parchment paper.
2. Toss rhubarb and white sugar, set aside.
3. Cream brown sugar, shortening and cream cheese.
4. Add egg, berry puree, vanilla and ginger, beating well.
5. In another bowl, whisk together flours and baking soda.
6. Stir into creamed mixture until moistened, then fold in rhubarb, almonds and white chocolate chips.
7. Bake for 50 minutes.
8. Cool completely (ideally, chill) before cutting and serving.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 139.2
Total Fat: 4.2 g
Cholesterol: 11.0 mg
Sodium: 19.7 mg
Total Carbs: 26.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.5 g
Protein: 2.9 g

Bear With Me!

I'm trying my hand at this whole "blog redesign" thing - the first in a series of overhauls I want to do (which also includes a recipe index... eek!). Sorry for the dust!