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I am thoroughly, utterly exhausted. The past two weeks of vacation were nonstop go-go-go, and though it was all fun and time well-spent, we are, to say the least, spent. Phong and I flew back to Hawaii Sunday night, landed around 10pm, and then proceeded to wake up early the next morning to go to work. Talk about milking your vacation time for all it’s worth! And now that I’m battling a cold, I’m not quite feeling myself and apologize for not having posted in awhile.
Growing up, whenever my mom would make some kind of chicken soup, like pho or something hot and steamy to clear my nasal passages, she would take the whole chicken that she poached in water, shred it up while still hot, and make a side salad for us to eat as an appetizer before the soup. And because I have been feeling quite nasal-y and want some soup, I did the same thing last night and saved some shredded chicken for today’s lunch.
This salad is simple to make and takes only a few minutes to toss altogether. Bonus – there’s no added fat in it. Use chicken that is hot from poaching or reheat already cooked chicken in the microwave. You can also use rotisserie chicken if you like – just throw out the skin and extra fat. Traditionally, my mom and aunts make this with rau ram leaves, a Vietnamese coriander found in Asian grocery stores. It imparts a great herb-y flavor, but if you can’t find it, substitute with 1/2 mint and 1/2 basil instead.
Mom’s Chicken Salad (Thit Ga Bop)
serves about 4
3 cups hot shredded, cooked chicken (poached is preferred, and discard extra fat or skin)
1/4 cup lime juice (or 1 1/2 limes)
1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
1/2 cup packed rau ram leaves (or 1/4 cup torn mint + 1/4 cup torn basil leaves)
1 tsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1. Very easy. In a medium bowl, toss all ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to your taste. 
Nutrition Facts per serving (serves 4; approx 3/4 cup chicken salad per serving): 176 calories, 3.6 grams fat, 2.75 grams carbohydrates, 31 grams protein
There are a lot of things I want to do in my life. One of them is to have a garden where I can just pick off random herbs, fruits, and veggies and become completely inspired to make new creations by the plants growing in my backyard. Tough luck for that now, though, since I’m here in California wondering if my green onions and cilantro have shriveled up from the blazing sun and lack of shade in our yard!
Earlier last week, my MIL had my parents over to her house and we all had dinner together. She and my mom both have such a green thumb – gone are the days where I used to balk at pulling weeds (hey, as a kid, helping with the gardening is the last thing you want to do, but now I realize my parents were trying to instill a love for nature within me). Now I’m actually inspired to grow something for myself. Growing up, I would pick off guavas, lychees, nectarines, plums, pomegranates, and persimmons from my mom’s garden – the fruit always tasted better than from the store, and were more abundant in vitamins, phytochemicals, and antioxidants than getting an apple that’s lasted a few days or weeks in transit at the grocery store.
After taking a walk with my mom-in-law in her garden to find the things I could pick off to make a salad, I realized that growing your own produce lends itself into limitless possibilities. And if you think flowers are off-limits (actually, broccoli and cauliflower are considered flowers of their respective plants), you can actually eat some types such as pansies, honeysuckle (not the berries!), and roses.
I filled up a basket full of pansies, which have a sweet, honey-like crunch at the top of the stem towards the flower, mild-tasting petals, and a slight wasabi-like bite in the stem. Also in the basket were bunches of arugula (also known as rocket lettuce), Boston bibb lettuce, cilantro, green onions, celery leaves, a pomelo my mom-in-law had already picked (called buoi in Vietnamese; looks like a large yellow grapefruit with thick rind and sweeter fruit inside), and a couple of limes thrown in for good measure.
Then I started thinking about making a salad composed of veggies entirely from mom-in-law’s garden. One-half cup of arugula is only worth 2 calories, and full of vitamins A and C (if you eat two cups of it, you’d have conquered eating about 40% of your daily needs for vitamin A!). After picking out a couple limes from her tree, I thought to make a pomelo and cilantro-lime vinaigrette from my pickings.
The pomelo has a grapefruitlike taste but is sweeter and less sour – if you can’t find it, use oroblanco or some grapefruit juice mixed in with some water instead. This salad dressing is so tasty and out of the ordinary – I really like the flavor of pomelo in it because it adds that bit of sweetness without being too overpowering. One cup of pomelo sections will give you more than your daily recommendation of vitamin C (115 mg worth!) and almost 2 grams of dietary fiber. Not too bad since after all these events we’ve been attending lately, I’m feeling under the weather and could use some nutrition pick-me-up!
Pomelo and cilantro-lime vinaigrette
makes about 1/2 cup
1/2 cup cilantro, chiffonade
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of about 1/2 cup pomelo segments (about 4-5 segments; use oroblanco or grapefruit instead if you can’t find pomelo)
1/4 tsp sugar
Salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
about 4 tsp olive oil
1. Combine all ingredients into a medium bowl, except for olive oil. Whisk in the olive oil into the salad dressing; adjust seasoning to taste.
To assemble salad: Combine your fave veggies and toss with the salad dressing. For our lunch, I combined some arugula, Boston bibb lettuce, celery leaves, pansies, baby green onions, and pomelo segments.
We’re currently on vacay in California – there are tons of events planned for us in the next couple of weeks, including my cousin and friend’s weddings (on different days – whew!), baby showers, and pre-wedding festivities. I’m so happy to be around friends and family for an extended period of time and probably won’t be cooking much because our moms/aunts/family are in a cooking frenzy and I’m just sitting back enjoying the food I grew up eating. So instead I’ll be updating you all on what the good eats have been, and resuming cooking when we go back to Hawaii.
On the agenda for today: a “Ladies of Leisure Day,” as my friend Phi dubbed it. We took out our friend Karen, the blushing bride-to-be, to a relaxing spa day at Glen Ivy and then headed off to Orange Circle to lunch at Paris In A Cup, an adorable tea salon with a little boutique and market in front with French-imported goodies (my mantra today: to practice self-restraint from buying pretty things and keep room in luggage for Trader Joe’s goodies).
Many of you have probably heard about the French paradox: eat croissants and brioche, drink red wine, and don’t get fat. In fact, you’ve probably read the book “French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure” by Mireille Guiliano, where she emphasizes eating for pure enjoyment while still leading a healthy lifestyle with a “non-diet” approach. That French Paradox was on my mind as we were at Paris In A Cup, reminiscent of meals eaten in Europe when I visited my brother there a few years ago.
I firmly believe in eating for nourishment and enjoyment, and when you eat smaller portions, it just makes you savor every bite and taste your food, rather than wolfing down a burger and fries at your local fast food joint. I also believe in eating real food, and laying low on heavily processed foods. And although what we ordered today would not normally be considered “diet fare,” they were smaller in portions and a few bites would satisfy.
Phi and I both ordered the “Maurice,” which included Cream of Potato Soup in Croc, Paris Chicken Salad on Croissant, freshly steeped tea (Earl Grey for me for a change, since I usually drink green or oolong tea), and a dessert plate containing a French macaroon, cinnamon palmier, and lemon madeleine. Hello, all my fave French cookies on one plate! I never order cream-of-anything soup, but this soup was divine and after a few spoonfuls left me fully satisfied, in addition to half of my chicken salad croissant (which, thankfully, felt light and low on the mayo, and high on the chopped veggies and dried fruit inside).
Karen had the “Madame du Barry,” which came with an assortment of small scones, small tea sandwiches (including a mini version of my chicken salad croissant – so cute!), petite salad composee, and petit fours. We ended up spending a lot of time catching up, going through a few teapots of the soothing tea, and nibbling bits and pieces of our food. It was all decadent but I didn’t feel overly full. We still couldn’t finish all our small portions so packed up a lot of the petit fours and cookies to enjoy at a later time.
What I try to tell people who want to lose weight is to not to think of certain foods as “forbidden,” as it creates anxiety and potential for sabotage when you get off a diet because you lost a few pounds, and then overeat on the foods you restricted before (then gain the weight, plus some, back).
Keep in mind your portions – I know it’s easy to say, but when you serve or make food and pre-portion it out, that may help guide you towards knowing when your body is full. Even if just for 20 minutes during lunch time, eat slowly, savor every bite, and enjoy the moment that is just for you. If you’re at work, shut off your computer monitor, stop checking your Blackberry, and turn off the TV if you’re at home. You are nourishing your body, your mind, and taking a little “me time” by shutting out distractions that may influence your eating mindlessly.
I am a strong proponent of eating dinner with the TV OFF, as my family did while I was growing up. My husband and I still spend every dinner like this daily, and hope to share many more family meals with family rather than looking at a TV. After all, a meal is so much more enjoyable when you’re feeling connected with loved ones and talking about your day.
So yes, just a few of my ramblings (or maybe more) of eating with pleasure while not going overboard. Anyways, it’s getting late. Bonne nuit, my friends, I truly encourage all of you to have a “Ladies (or Men) of Leisure Day” soon! You all deserve it!
I have tried a lot of Red Velvet cupcakes in my day, but I have to say that hands down, I love my version the best. I have tweaked it so many times, that when my friend Tricia came to visit and asked me to teach her my secret recipe (which I have so safeguarded for some time now, but realize it’s too good to hold out on you much longer since, for one, I’m not going to write a cookbook anytime soon, and two, because I easily succumb to peer pressure), I handed her a scrappy piece of paper with multiple chicken-scratch marks and jargon. It was hard to understand, and I generally have neat writing. I ended up having to just read the ingredients to her as she was preparing the recipe.
Many red velvet cakes I’ve tried are either too sweet, dry, or oily, and they lure customers to buy them anyways because it’s the new cupcake trend and they always look beautiful with their startlingly-red interior and pretty piped frosting. But as we all know, looks can be deceiving. I go for the taste.
So with much excitement that you all will be able to try this recipe in your own homes now (just remember me when you make it), here is my Red Velvet Cupcake recipe. It has been tried and true. I have made it a couple of times for coworkers and family, and am done tweaking it. I put in yogurt (my secret ingredient) and vinegar to add tenderness to the crumb of the cake without adding too much butter as other recipes call for. For the frosting, continue to beat in powdered sugar until it’s the desired consistency. I like my frosting very stiff so that the peak stands when I pipe it – you can do it as you like.
And although it’s not the healthiest recipe if you count the frosting, the cupcake itself is only 203 calories and tastes moist and wonderful on its own. I didn’t include nutrition facts for the frosting because everyone adds a different amount of frosting or powdered sugar to their own desired consistency. Also, it’s cute to top off your cupcake with some chocolate shavings or a sprinkle of cocoa.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
makes about 16 cupcakes, or about 1 cake using a 9-inch round cake pan
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/3 cups cake flour (or 1 3/4 cup all-purpose/ultragrain flour + 5 Tbsp cornstarch)
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup + 1 Tbsp plain, lowfat yogurt
1 1 /2 Tbsp red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp white vinegar
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a separate medium bowl, whick together the yogurt, red food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl with a stand mixer attachment, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well-beaten.
5. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl. Beat on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then increase to medium speed until all ingredients are combined. Add 1/3 of the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Continue the same process with the dry ingredients, alternating with the wet ingredients, and completing the mixing process with the dry ingredients until smooth.
6. Place cupcake liners inside muffin pans, enough for 16 cupcakes. Bake at 350º F for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.
Nutrition facts (serving size: 1 cupcake, no frosting): 203 calories; 5.4 grams fat (2.9 grams saturated fat); 3.4 grams protein; 35.8 grams carbohydrates.
For the cream cheese frosting (makes a lot – I filled up about 1/2 a freezer bag)
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 block (8-oz) 1/3-less-fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
Powdered sugar
1. In a large mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla on medium-high until throughly combined. Add about 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat. Continue to add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until the desired consistency of your frosting is reached (until easily spreadable but can stand up on its own if piped in peaks).
If you like pina coladas…no, this is not that kind of pineapple that will just be the decor of your umbrella drink! Instead, this little pineapple shines by being the star of this salsa. All at once tart, sweet, crisp, fresh, with a hint of jalapeno kick-in-the-pants at the end, you can easily serve this salsa with baked tortilla chips, in a taco, or on top of grilled chicken or fish.
And it can be a little addicting too. This recipe makes about 3 cups and Phong and I demolished it in a day – the flavors meld perfectly together and it’s that sweet/salty/sour thing that keeps you reaching for more. You’ll just have to try it out and see! Another plus - while you’re having a fiesta in your mouth, you’re getting your serving of fruit with lots of vitamin C in the pineapple, lime juice, and tomato at the same time!
And many many thanks to Mama Chicken for my “Honest Scrap” award featured on her site! She’s got some great recipes on her blog. Be sure to check it out, especially you cooking mamas out there!
Pineapple Salsa
makes 3 cups
2 cups diced pineapple (opt for fresh pineapple instead of canned when you can)
1/4 cup tomato, deseeded and diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
Juice of 1 lime
Salt/pepper to taste
1. Simply combine all of the above in a medium bowl. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve baked something – a painstakingly long time. My call to bake always comes at around 9pm on the weekdays for some reason, but then my common sense jumps in and tells me it’s not too long until bedtime, I have to wake up early so should get to bed, and it’s too much to clean up this late in the game. So I concede and just sift through my Food & Wine or Cooking Light magazines, and pining at the pretty pictures I want to rip out and eat. Then I’ll head to the fridge and chip off a nice little piece of cheese and share it with my dog (oh, he crawls, lies down, and sits on demand when you have cheese or PB in your hand. We have taught him well).
So back to baking. We went to Kym & Randy’s house for a barbeque last night, and knowing how those two love chocolate, I decided to make some brownies. I had this Neufchatel cream cheese (1/3-less-fat) and decided that a cream cheese swirl would be oh-so fitting. I got the idea from a recipe from Cooking Light for peppermint cream cheese brownies, but changed many of the proportions to make more brownies with even less fat, added yogurt for moistness, cut the sugar and oil, and nixed the peppermint extract. Partially because the other day I was making hot cocoa and thought peppermint extract was a good idea. I put a 1/4 tsp in my cup – way too much – and had the worst bitter taste in my mouth all day long. Blech. Like a chocolate mouthwash, except I swallowed it.
But in all seriousness, try these brownies. Phong said that they were up there on my best desserts, and no one at the barbeque could even guess that they were healthier than your regular brownies (check out the nutrition facts below the recipes – I shaved off about 30 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 1 gram of saturated fat from the Cooking Light recipe)!
And sidenote: Happy 1 year wedding anniversary to me and Phong! Woohoo!!! Thanks to all our friends and family who called us today, and thanks to Kym & Randy for singing a hilarious “Happy Anniversary” to us when it was midnight last night. We are so lucky and humbled to have such wonderful family and friends. Phong and I are going out tonight – maybe I’ll do a restaurant review on my next blog – stay tuned!
Marbled Cream Cheese Brownies
makes 24 servings
Cheesecake batter:
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Brownie batter:
1 1/2 cups ultragrain flour or all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
Cooking spray
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. For the cheesecake batter, place the cream cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Add granulated sugar and vanilla extract; beat well. Add the egg and egg white; beat well. Add 1 Tbsp flour and beat until well-blended. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl; set aside.
3, For the brownie batter: In another medium bowl, lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup and level with a knife. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt; stir ingredients with a whisk. In a separate medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, eggs, and egg white; beat well at medium-high speed until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the brown sugar mixture; beat at low speed just until blended.
4. Reserve 1/2 cup of the brownie batter. Pour the rest of the brownie batter into a 9×13″ baking pan coated with cooking spray. Carefully pour the cheesecake batter on top in spoonfuls. Spoon the rest of the brownie batter, scattering on top of the cheesecake batter. Using the tip of a knife, swirl the cheesecake and brownie batters together, making sure not to touch the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the top is set and the edges start to separate from the sides of the pan. Cool completely before cutting into 24 bars.
Nutrition per serving (1 serving=1 bar): 186 calories; 5.2 grams fat (1.5 grams saturated fat); 3.6 grams protein, 30 grams carbohydrate
