Chocolate Orange Meringues

Happy new year!

With the new calendar on the wall and auld lang syne fading in our ears comes the inevitable horde of sudden gym-rats packing the recreation centres and workout facilities. These "resolutioners", as we "regulars" call them, range between those who show a clear dedication to making their health and wellness a long-term commitment and those who are hitting the treadmills hard for a month or two, hoping for a quick fix. Obviously, the second group is long gone by mid-February, but everyone who remains on their own fitness paths deserves major kudos for their work. 

My issue with all the diet resolutions is that they tend to focus on "cutting out" - no carbs, no red meat, no fat, no sugar... and it is then that the respectable goals become unsustainable. As someone who hasn't been able to have a real birthday cake (or shortbread cookie) in over 10 years due to a limiting medical condition, I can tell you wholeheartedly that without something indulgent-tasting each day, I would be driven insane by my otherwise spartan diet. A treat a day, however small, means that it is truly appreciated and makes the rest of any "restricted diet" livable.

Of course, just because something tastes decadent and sinful doesn't mean it has to be weighty in calories and fat! One of my favourite treats when I was heavy and beginning my weight loss journey was the meringue. Containing little more than egg whites and sugar, even the largest of these light cloud cookies were mere pittances in terms of calories and fat. The best part was that they lasted forever in the pantry, and when dropped onto a mug of cocoa or hot mocha turned into almost a marshmallowy-style topping - delicious, especially when it was flavoured with caramel or orange extract!

With so many egg whites left over from our shortbreads this year, I decided to whip up a batch of meringue "flying saucers" with two different flavours. First, a bright orange-flavoured ring made empty frames on the cookie sheet, which I then filled with dollops of dark chocolatey meringue for a  bulls-eye effect. If you're a fan of the chocolate oranges that are prevalent this time of year, you'll love these - and you'll adore them even more when you realize that each of them is under 15 calories while tasting like a million - and gluten free to boot!

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays
 

Rich Bruschetta Endive Cups

When entertaining, whether its for a small group of close friends or a party of 30+, I always like to make sure I have an assortment of nibbles that are bright and fresh to go with the standard bread and oil or chips and cheese. Usually guests mean a heavier main course too - and around here, undoubtedly dessert as well - and the ability to have a pop of colour and refreshing coolness is a welcome accompaniment.

This year I was still coming down off my "tomato high" from the summer and knew exactly the app to put out on the table. While most of the fresh tomatoes in the stores are at the gross, mealy winter stage, we're lucky enough to have a greenhouse down the street (and if all else fails, a hydroponic operation a few towns over) which consistently gives us delicious tomatoes that I just had to use. To bump up the flavour even more, I tossed in some diced sundried tomatoes and a few tablespoons of their packing oil, adding a rich sweetness to the mixture. Roasted, rather than fresh, garlic added even more sweetness as well as the classic garlicky flavour without the bite. With all that sweetness, I had to balance it out, and opted for a dash of balsamic and a hit of lemon zest as well as some fresh basil.
 

Everything sat for a while at room temperature while we went about other preparations for the party, and when we were just about to open the door I spooned it into some lovely endive leaves and garnished each with a sprinkle of briny, perfectly salty sheep's milk feta. Leftovers (only of filling, since it makes a lot) found their way into more spartan, post-holiday meals such as toasted bread (usually challah), whole wheat pasta and plain fish or chicken and rice meals. It is a great low-calorie, low-fat alternative to the butter and cheese-heavy foods we go for in the winter, without tasting like it's cardboard-y diet food.

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays

Rich Herbed Crackers

As Winter continues, I've realized that more than the short sleeves and 30C days, I miss the freshness of my vegetable and herb gardens. During the season, it always seems like there's far too much of both the veggies and the herbs, but once they're done it's a dearth for another 5-6 months!

Luckily, canning, freezing and dehydrating work wonders to preserve the bounty, and by doing it myself I can control what happens with the formulation. Of course, some things just aren't as good preserved one way or another, like my lemon balm and basil. These, I realized as I made a compound butter for my favourite roast chicken, that most herbs, even the most delicate and dainty ones, explode flavour wise in a fat or oil medium. I decided I would use the rest of the butter (it happened to be EB Buttery Sticks since I was cooking with dairy-allergic guests coming) as a "catch all" herb butter, spiked with lemon zest, for future roasting and baking whims. 

Here's my mixture:

Herb Butter
4 oz butter
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tbsp packed minced fresh basil
1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh lemon thyme leaves
3 tbsp minced lemon balm

1. Melt together the butter and zest, remove from heat.
2. Add remaining ingredients. 
3. Pour into mini loaf pan or mould of choice and refrigerate until firm.

I made a good amount of the herb butter this summer, and to keep it around for longer, I wrapped each block in waxed paper and foil before freezing them. This holiday, we used up some of it in herbed vegetables at dinner and tossed with pasta, and to add to the spread for the New Year's festivities, I made a couple batches of these excellent "butter crackers".

We do a lot of entertaining around this time of year, and while it's usually the same group of people coming by, there is always the chance of an unexpected guest. As well as needing nibbles for home, I was putting together the last of my holiday gift boxes of goodies, which included those for two of my gluten-free friends. To keep things simple (and doable in one day) I used a recipe from Gluten Free on a Shoestring and adapted it to work with what I had on hand.  

The resulting crackers are light, savoury, crispy and not at all greasy, and stood up well to dips like hummus or even a few goodies from our cheese platter. In fact, my mom helped us eat some of the "edges" that weren't perfect squares by topping them with homemade cranberry sauce!

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays

Quadruple Pea Stir Fry

Even though winter has barely arrived on the calendar, it feels like it has been far too long since the greenness and life of living plants outdoors have been visible. The farmer's markets have been dormant for months now, and likewise the grocery store has been nothing but a black hole when it comes to sourcing any sort of fresh produce. When we can find fruit and vegetables out of cans and freezer bags, they're of dubious quality - not to mention they're prohibitively expensive, especially when we're cooking for a minimum of two produce addicts!

It's not like this is a brand new phenomenon here - for as long as I've been alive and longer, most Canadian winters are the deathly cold, windy and snowy variety. However, it's only been the past 10 or so years, when I've been buying groceries, that I've truly realized how bloody expensive anything fresh and vibrant is when we aren't in the 2-week-long growing season. With our garden proliferating over the summer, my Mom and I have become more or less proficient at blanching and freezing the hardier items like peas and beans. We also started cooking and freezing our homegrown soup beans for cheap and healthy dinners on the fly, and while I keep struggling with my indoor garden of herbs and microgreens, the ones that make it to harvest are delicious!

With a few bags of greenery sitting in the freezer and a yen for something more "springlike" than ice pellets and snowflakes, I decided to try re-making a dish I concocted over the summer - a somewhat unorthodox mixture of Asian and Italian cultures in a slightly spicy meal-in-a-bowl. The gnocchi (again, homemade from the freezer) mimics Korean-style tteok ppoki (rice cakes), Helping to soak up the delicious hoisin-ginger-garlic sauce along with the extra firm tofu and green veggie medley. In total, four varieties of the sweet, springy green vegetable make their way into the stir fry - the only one that you'd have to procure fresh is the pea shoots (but you can substitute parsley, watercress, even a small amount of spinach if you want).

Red Velvet Biscotti

Merry Christmas, everyone! Since I (like most of you I'm sure) are running around with a bazillion to-do lists in your minds, I'll keep my preamble short and sweet today. Suffice it to say that on days like today, the chance to sit down with a cup of coffee and a cookie is more welcome than normal. Even if that sitting down is in the car and the coffee is in a paper cup, taking along a sturdy, travel friendly snack like a biscotti can make the "break" complete.

We are most definitely fans of red velvet around here, and in particular I love the cream cheese frosting that caps off the slices so perfectly. Granted - I'm the type of person who would eat cream cheese frosting by the spoonful if given the chance, but the tang perfectly balances the sugar and adds to the hints from buttermilk. To make one of my favourite cakes "travel friendly", I decided to try them in the sturdiest form I knew: biscotti!

Using Sandra's recipe as my base, I switched up the fats to incorporate my favourite cream cheese, added rich brown sugar for its molasses note, and added some Red Velvet Emulsion to solidify the nuances of flavour that fill the cake and boost the red colour. A combination of an egg white and a whole egg allowed for crispness on the cut sides, while adding mayonnaise not only stood in for extra eggs but lent a slight tang not unlike the original buttermilk. A few white chocolate chips baked on top lightly caramelized and seemed almost like a toasted meringue frosting with their vanilla sweetness. At any rate, they were perfect on their own or with a coffee, and I've had requests for more!

Here's to you and yours, and have a fantastic holiday!