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Archive for January 2012

Green Bean & Hazelnut Salad

by Gabriela
January 31st, 2012

I’ve owed you guys a healthy recipe for awhile now. It’s been Candyland up in here, what with the birthday bars and Oreo cookie pie and flourless chocolate cake. I mean, Une Vie Saine does mean “a healthy life.” Yeah…let’s get on that.

This green bean salad is another adaptation of an NGI recipe; once again, I subbed out some of the harder to find ingredients with simpler stuff. The beans are lightly cooked so they keep plenty of texture, the hazelnuts add a nice roasted crunch, and the dressing is light but tangy. It would be great served with some salmon and jasmine rice for dinner!

Green Bean & Hazelnut Salad

Adapted from the Natural Gourmet Institute

Yields about 4 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts
  • 4 cups green beans, ends removed and sliced in thirds diagonally
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • pinch sea salt
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 325*F. Toast the hazelnuts for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Roll the nuts in a towel to remove the skins, then roughly chop and set them aside.
  2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil; meanwhile, prep the green beans. Blanch them for about 4 minutes, or until tender but still slightly crunchy. Drain and immediately rinse with cold water.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, olive oil and sea salt until everything is well incorporated.
  4. Toss together the beans, nuts and dressing until everything is well coated.

This salad brings me back to the days when my mom made homemade dijon vinaigrette. She hasn’t in years, but it’s still my favorite salad dressing. I love the slight sweetness the hazelnuts give, too- it would be great served with some salmon and jasmine rice for dinner!

PS- I have to say that healthy posts aren’t nearly as fun to write as the decadent ones…

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Citrus-Grape Compote

by Gabriela
January 29th, 2012

This, my friends, would be the book of recipes I collected while at NGI.

It’s the fattest binder Staples sells, and I didn’t even keep all the handouts- I just don’t need several dozen pages reminding me why refined sugar is EVIL KNIEVEL and I’m going to spontaneously combust one day after eating too much cake. However, I did keep about a thousand recipes (literally), and after retrieving them from my old apartment last weekend, I’m paging through and thinking about what to recreate.

A certain compote recipe stuck out in my mind from our flourless & frozen desserts class, but a lot of the things it called for were pretty obscure. I modified it to use ingredients that are easily available at the grocery store, and it was just as good- really juicy and fragrant!

Citrus-Grape Compote

Modified from the Natural Gourmet Institute

Yields about 3 cups

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons rice syrup*
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups supremed citrus (oranges/clementines, etc.)**
  • 1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds (optional)
*Rice syrup is a natural alternative to corn syrup and can be found in the natural foods or baking aisle of almost all supermarkets.

**I used a combination of supremed and peeled clementines, and found that with slices that small, the supreme isn’t necessary. Just make sure to pick off all the hanging pith! If you’re using regular oranges, supreming would probably make more of a difference.

Directions:
  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the water, syrups, ground spices and vanilla and bring them to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow everything to simmer until it becomes thick and syrupy, but still slides easily from the back of a spoon.
  2. In a medium bowl, toss together the grapes and citrus. Pour in the syrup and toss until all the fruit is well coated.
  3. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors combine. Sprinkle with the almonds before serving.

This is sweet and slightly spicy, but still has a fresh flavor it’s great spooned over vanilla ice cream or with pound cake. It’s a good addition to any basic dessert that needs a little help in the presentation or taste department! You could also play around with the fruits; pears, kiwis or apricots sound especially good.

What kinds of recipes would everyone most like to see from the NGI stockpile? There’s a “health-supportive” take on just about everything, from appetizers to pastas to breads to frostings to ethnic food. Just don’t ask me to cook beans. Or kasha.

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Oreo Cookie Pie

by Gabriela
January 19th, 2012

First things first: this isn’t one of those no-bake Oreo pies with cream cheese and Cool Whip. Those are good and all, but nowhere near this…

Oreos are the most Amurrican cookie out there. There’s just something about those crumbly, chocolatey cookies stuffed with that unidentifiable creamy filling that turns anyone, in any situation, into a kid again. Even better: unlike Lunchables and Gushers, Oreos are still socially acceptable to eat past middle school. I’ve yet to find a person who doesn’t like Oreos, but there are some people who love them. You know what I’m talking about. It’s like the Cult of Cookies ‘n’ Cream.

This pie is for those people. Those people who ate sleeves of Oreos as a kid, those people who will take the blue package over the entire candy aisle, those people stuffing their self-serve froyo cups with the crushed cookies. It’s basically a gigantic Oreo cookie, but with the soft, decadent texture of a Toll House pie. Sounds good, right?

Oreo Cookie Pie

Inspired by smitten kitchen’s homemade oreos and Toll House Pie

Yields one 9″ pie

Ingredients:

For the crust:

  • 25 Oreos
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 12 ounce package white chocolate chips
For the frosting:
  • 1/4 cup room temperature unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • extra Oreos, for garnish
Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 375*F.
  2. In a food processor, pulse the Oreos until they’re ground to a fine meal. Stir in the melted butter, then press the mixture into the bottom of a 9″ pie pan.
  3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.Beat in the butter and egg, then add the milk a few tablespoons at a time. Stir in the white chocolate chips. The batter will be thick, like a very sticky cookie dough.
  4. Spoon the batter into your prepared cookie crust, being careful not to unsettle the cookie crust.
  5. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a test comes out nearly clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely
  6. Meanwhile, beat together the butter and shortening, then add the powdered sugar in 1/4 cup increments until an Oreo filling consistency is reached. Beat in the vanilla and add milk to achieve the desired consistency.
  7. Once the pie is completely cool, add a thick layer of the frosting to the top. Garnish with crushed Oreos and serve!
There are no words to describe this pie. It has a cookie base, a fudgy, kinda under-baked chocolate filling, and a mess of creamy frosting on top. Rich, uber-sweet, and insanely decadent. It’s the kind of thing you make once a year for someone’s birthday- save it for a special occasion, because it’s a special pie! I went a little crazy with the crushed Oreos on top, but it would be just as incredible and a little less over-the-top without them. Your call!

Okay, so looking over my last few recipes, I really owe you guys something healthy…or at least savory. (The world of baked goods just provides infinite creativity when you’re bored, and even the flops still taste good.) Suggestions/requests?

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