What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

If you asked me what my favorite is, I would say, Maple Walnut.  Even though, ice cream sometimes gives me a tummy ache, I can’t resist it, especially in the summertime.

I learn so much from my clients that visit me in my nutrition consultation practice.  Last week, one of my clients mentioned she found some walnut butter at Whole Foods Market.  Mmmmm, that sounded so yummy.  So, I decided I would try to make some.

Starting first with some fresh walnuts.

I then toasted them up in a skillet over medium heat as this adds a nice flavor.

Let cool a bit and then add to a food processor fit with a steel blade.

Drizzle with a bit of pure maple syrup and whirl away until nice and smooth. {Walnuts and maple syrup sure do make a nice pairing}

And here it is…

This nut butter is tasty on a rice cake with sliced banana or spread on top of your favorite toasted bread.

Maple Walnut Butter

1 cup toasted walnut halves

1-2 TB pure maple syrup

Add cooled walnuts to food processor fit with steel blade.  Drizzle in maple syrup.  Whirl until smooth. Enjoy any way you want it! On a rice cake, on your favorite bread, perhaps on top of  mashed sweet potato (fodmap followers limit sweet potato to 1/2 cup).

Store in refrigerator and use up in a week.

Have you tried to make your own peanut butter or other nut butters?  It’s quite easy and really yummy!

Dear Tony (my Italian Father-in-law),

The meatball recipe I am providing is no where near what you had the pleasure in devouring as a young child of an amazing Italian cook!  But, I have to say, I really like my recipe.  It’s a little out of the ordinary…but I do think, if you tried them, you’d like them!

Love (your favorite daughter-in-law),

Kate

Even though my married name is Scarlata, I am not a big fan of traditional Italian foods so I tend to create my own take on some of their staple foods.  So, this week I made meatballs with ground chicken, cilantro and ginger…alot different than your traditional Italian meatball recipe…  But these little meatballs truly taste AMAZING!!!!

I buy my ground chicken from Whole Foods Market.  Nothing quite compares and I am happy to report, it does not have pink slime. Did you hear about pink slime in the news?  Yikes!

This recipe is easy to whip together…you just… mix the ingredients all in one bowl, form into meatballs, bake them up and serve as lunch or dinner with jasmine or basmati rice OR make into smaller meatballs as a tasty appetizer.

I like a little dipping sauce to serve with these little tasty meatballs.

Cilantro Ginger Chicken Meatballs

1 lb. ground chicken breast

2 scallions, diced (fodmap followers-use green part only)

1/2 tsp ground ginger or use grated fresh about 2 tsp.

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper

1 egg

1/2 cup bread crumbs (fodmap followers-use acceptable gluten free crumbs)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix all the ingredients together-best done with your hands to really mix well.
• Form into desired size meatballs.
• Place on cookie sheet that has been lightly oiled.
• Bake until no longer pink in the middle about 15-20 minutes depending on size.
• Serve on platter with toothpicks with dipping sauce if using as appetizer or over a bed of your favorite rice.

Sauce options:

For my Asian Sesame Soy Dressing, click here.

Mix and serve alongside meatballs or drizzle over meatballs on a bed of rice.

Or try…

Peanut Coconut Drizzle

2 heaping tablespoons all natural peanut butter

1/4 cup chicken broth (fodmap followers use homemade broth or suitable brand)

1 TB soy sauce

2 TB light coconut milk

In small saucepan, heat ingredients over medium heat until creamy and warm.

Place meatballs over a bed of rice and drizzle with Peanut Coconut Drizzle OR serve alongside meatballs as a dip.

Russ and I headed to Puerto Rico for well-needed down time.  Why Puerto Rico?  We wanted to visit a tropical location that we have never visited.  We also wanted to get there on a non-stop flight.  Puerto Rico fit the bill and exceeded our expectations.

First, the people of Puerto Rico were very friendly and seemed to be always laughing.  I like that!

You have got to love the colors in Old San Juan.

So beautiful, right?The old town center was so quaint and had such visual appeal.

The highlight of our trip was an excursion we signed up for to go zip lining in the rain forest.  Hmmm….I did not know that part of a relaxing vacation required putting on a helmet!

We just signed up and really were not sure what to expect.

In fact, I really did not expect to be scaling wet slippery rocks up a waterfall.  This was not on my “relaxing” down time plan….but we had a blast!

Seriously….did I sign up for this?

After the hike, we were treated to one of the tour guide’s Aunt’s home cooking.  How cool is that?

Including an assortment of appetizers…I particularly loved the little corn meal fritters on the right.  So yum!

Empanadas, fried batatas (Batatas Fritas) and sorullitos (corn meal fritters).

We also visited a local farmer’s market….because that’s what nutritionists do on vacation.{or maybe that’s just me!}  Russ is so good and always goes along with my fun plans….

We found all sorts of local produce…

and…this looks cool but not sure what it is!??

and even found some aloe.

And of course, we drank rum from a coconut.  

We also acted like tourists and visited The Castillo de San Cristóbal,  a Spanish fort that was built to protect the city of San Juan from outside attacks. This San Juan national historic site is definitely worth a visit.

Very cool place and it’s amazing that it was built in the 1500′s!

Great sites.  (Including that cute guy,right?)

I love this sculpture that represents the legend that a prayer procession of the women of San Juan, led by the Bishop, praying for salvation of their city during a British siege of San Juan ultimately led to the British turning away from the attack.

Puerto Rico is  island is full of culture and although a part of the US, is so rich in it’s own culture…you really feel quite far away.

Walking the beach, relaxing poolside, exploring and even zip lining….Puero Rico delivered.

But as always, it’s great to be back home.

This chicken has been my  favorite recipe lately.  I have made it 2 weeks in a row.  I love that is is simple and very family friendly.

Mix equal amounts of parmesan cheese…

and sesame seeds.

I usually start with about 3/4 cup of each.

Purchase chicken cutlets or pound chicken to even thinness.

Dip chicken in whisked eggs or egg whites then dip in mixture of sesame seeds and parmesan cheese.

Press seed/cheese mixture into chicken.

I brown up the chicken in a skillet over medium heat with a bit of olive  oil.

I love this chicken cooked up, sliced and placed over a yummy spinach salad.  My kids like it as a heartier meal with potatoes and veggies –perhaps some roasted bell peppers and broccoli?

Make extra for the week…yum!

Sesame Parmesan Chicken

Serves 4

1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cut in thin cutlets or pound chicken on your own to 1/2 inch thickness.

2 eggs or 4 egg whites, whisked

3/4 cup sesame seeds (I buy a big bag from Bob’s Red Mill)

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 TB olive oil

• Mix sesame seeds with parmesan cheese.
• Dip chicken breast in egg then dip into sesame/cheese mixture.
• Press seed mixture into breast to help it adhere to chicken.
• Heat skillet over medium heat with olive oil.
• Add chicken carefully to heated skillet allowing chicken to brown prior to flipping, about 5-7 minutes.
• Cook chicken through so no on longer pink –this may vary depending on how thickness of cutlets…total cooking time 12-15 minutes or so.

I am the youngest of nine children.  What that meant growing up is that I had very little supervision. (Ha!)   It was a different lifestyle back then; Mom’s stayed home full time, for the most part, and our backyard really consisted of the entire neighborhood.  We played outside from early morning hours until the dinner bell rang (yes, we had a bell)  and then we headed home for our family dinner.   We lined up oldest to youngest on benches with my Mom at one end and Dad at the other.

It was a rarity when we didn’t eat together.  We talked about our day, we spilt milk and we fed our dog, Max scraps under the table. It was all good. Here’s a picture of 7 of the 9 of us at Christmas time…

At 3 years old, I was allowed to walk to my friend Lisa’s house.  It seems almost unreal that my Mom thought that was okay.   We ran and played in everyone’s yard, it was all fair game.  If we got a bit hungry, we would ring Mrs. Snow’s doorbell and grab a cookie or two.  Mrs. Snow always had cookies. Here’s we are…

I was a bit of an entrepreneur, even then, trying to sell old magazines to my elderly neighbors. Did they buy them?  You bet they did.

When I think back to those days, I see how life has changed and how important it is for me to not stray too far from my past.  Part of living a well-balanced life  is being there for others.  My neighbors growing up were there for me.  They were my mom’s second set of eyes.

Fast forward, I find myself now in a very mixed neighborhood.  A wonderful mix of young families and the elderly. It’s not unusual for my neighbor and good friend, Meg to drop by some meatballs for my beef eating husband and boys.  And it’s not unusual for me to drop a treat or two to her or my elderly neighbor Catherine who has a bit of a sweet tooth.  It’s always fun to share.

So as 2012 is in full swing, I think it’s important to think about those in your village.  Visit an elderly neighbor, drop some soup off to a sick friend, send a card to someone you love, ask a friend going through a hard time if there is anything you can do for them, text someone you love an ‘xo’.  In the fast-paced life, we all seem to be living in these days, maybe it’s time to take a break.  Shut off the television, the computer, twitter, and the phone and do something kind for someone in your village.

Where ever there is a living thing, there is opportunity for kindness.

This is a short story I found online–which I thought I would share…

During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz.  I breezed through the questions until I read the last one:  “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”  Surely this was a joke.  I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name?  I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.  Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade.  “Absolutely,” the professor said.  “In your careers, you will meet many people.  All are significant.  They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello.”  I’ve never forgotten that lesson.  I also learned her name was Dorothy.  ~Joann C. Jones

Russ and I love our hot cereal in the morning.  We have gotten it down to a science with a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and our hot cereal is truly heart smart, cholesterol cringing goodness.

We start with a mixture of steel cut oats and oatbran.  And top off with some chia seeds.

Chia seeds offer a bit of omega 3 fats, soluble fiber and even some calcium.  Since I am not a big milk drinker, I will take every bit of calcium I can get.

Sometimes we add walnuts…

Sometimes we even add one of Bob’s Red Mill multigrain hot cereal mixtures. I like the Mighty Tasty GF Hot Cereal which is low in FODMAPs and has 4 grams of fiber per 1/4 cup.

And then when it’s all good to go, we add lots of nutritional perks: lots of fresh or frozen berries and a smattering pumpkin seeds and nuts.  I LOVE pumpkin seeds! Do you?

Oats and oat bran are generally easy on the belly and yet pack a big dose of soluble fiber that binds the cholesterol and removes it from your body.

I like our mixture of grains, nuts and fruit too because it keeps me full.  I hate feeling hungry and this mixture is great fuel for our running workout.

Cholesterol cringing hot cereal mixture: {low FODMAP recipe}

Makes 3-4 servings depending on how hungry you are!

3/4 cup steel cut oats

1/4 cup oat bran

1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill whole grain cereal mixtures-there are many different mixtures (low FODMAPs followers use Bob’s Red Mill Mighty Tasty GF hot cereal mix)

2 1/2 -3 cups water

• Add mixture to saucepan and cook over medium high heat for about 15 minutes or more if you like it really mushy, (I like it al dente) stirring regularly.

Top with a smattering of walnuts, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, strawberries and blueberries.

Your heart will thank you.

I found these very cute containers at Pier 1 and thought they would be perfect to fill with homemade mustard. So…I bought them.

Of course, once I get an idea in my head, I just have to make it happen.

I have made homemade mustard a couple of times, and found that my favorite is grainy mustard.  So, today it’s all about making grainy mustard.  I like to use a mixture of yellow and brown mustard seeds. Here’s my brown mustard seeds.

I buy frontier mustard seeds on line.  Here’s the yellow and the brown seeds getting measured for the recipe.

Soak seeds in your favorite vinegar overnight.  I used white wine vinegar.

Today, after a night of soaking, my seeds were ready to be whirled in the food processor.

Puree about 2/3 of the seeds with some salt and sugar… blending until it is a nice creamy mustard consistency.

Stir  in the remaining 1/3 soaked grains to create a nice grainy mustard or blend all the mustard seeds if you prefer a smooth mustard.

Pop in the fridge for a day or two to let the flavors infuse before you enjoy your homemade mustard.  It’s that easy.  Makes great gifts, too, for your mustard-loving friends or relatives.

Simple Homemade Grainy Mustard

1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds

1/4 cup brown mustard seeds

3/4 cup white wine vinegar or your favorite

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

(Perhaps some water to thin if too much of the vinegar evaporates overnight.)

• Place the mustard seeds in glass bowl and cover with vinegar.
• Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature overnight.
• Next day, blend about 2/3 of the mustard mixture with salt and sugar in food processor fit with steel blade for about 5 minutes.
• Fold in the remaining 1/3 grains to make a nice grainy mustard.
• Store in glass jar in fridge for about a couple days prior to using.

I hope you try to make some simple homemade mustard.  

This week, I decided to try to make some eggplant chips.  It seems all types of veggies are being made into chips, so why not eggplant too?

I thinly sliced an eggplant.Brushed both sides with a nice layer of olive oil.  Eggplant’s LOVE oil and literally draw it in, so you kinda need to be generous with the oil.

Placed slices on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Added a dash of salt.  And popped them in the oven.

Mixed up a little dipping sauce.  I made my dip with Tahini, a blended sesame seed paste, and fresh squeezed lemon juice.  I love lemon in just about everything. Sounds simple?  It is.

YUM!Eggplant Chips with Lemon Tahini Drizzle (low FODMAP)

1 medium eggplant, very thinly sliced

2 TB olive oil

salt to taste

• Brush both sides of eggplant with oil
• Sprinkle with salt.
• Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes–until lightly browned.

Lemon Tahini Drizzle

1 TB tahini

1-2 tsp lemon juice

salt to taste

Drizzle over eggplant chips immediately before eating.

This week while buzzing through the grocery store, I found the cutest little bell peppers. Like really, really small ones. Check out this little yellow guy…

This one really was the smallest of the small. The others were a bit bigger.  But seriously, how I could I resist these peppers?  I wasn’t sure what I would do with them, but they were definitely coming home with me.

I thought I might roast them with some garlic infused oil and fresh thyme.  But, then, I thought I would try to stuff these little guys with a Mediterranean inspired mixture.

I started with brown rice couscous.

Browned up some extra lean ground turkey breast, some mint, scallion, and feta cheese.  I added a splash of soy sauce too.  Adding soy sauce kind of came out of left field but I wanted the meat to brown up a bit and look more like traditional stuffed peppers made with beef. Plus, I wanted to add a little savory flavor too.

So, working with mini peppers is like three times the amount of work. (Ha!)  Chopping, de-seeding each little pepper and then filling them all too.But I think it was worth it! They would make a great bite size appetizer to bring to a bash.

The good news is this recipe fills about 4 regular size peppers too for those less inclined to fill a million little peppers.

Here are the little peppers, all set for the oven.

And here they are all plated and ready to eat.  And, eat, I did!  These tasted AWESOME!

Mediterranean-style Stuffed Peppers (low FODMAP)

4 medium size red, yellow or orange bell peppers or several mini ones (20+) tops cut off, deseeded and ribs removed.

1 1/2 cups brown rice couscous or brown rice, cooked

2 TB olive oil

1 lb ground turkey breast

2 TB soy sauce

4 scallions, chopped (Green part only for the low FODMAP crowd)

4 TB fresh mint, diced

2 TB fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

• Add oil to medium size skillet and add turkey breast over medium heat.  Cook while stirring until cooked through about 8-10 minutes.
• Stir in the couscous or brown rice
• Add soy sauce, scallions, mint, lemon juice and feta folding to blend.
• Remove from heat.
• Stuff mixure into the pepper until full.
• Place peppers in loaf pan or square baking dish, upright, and cover with tin foil.
• Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes for the mini peppers and about 35 for large peppers.

Today I made a play date with my good friend, Michelle.  Michelle and I have been friends since Junior High {yikes, that is a LONG time} and share a mutual love of crafting, baking and anything that involves creativity.

On the docket today, decorating tote bags and making ciabatta bread!

Michelle and I took a bread making class together a few months ago and decided we would benefit from each other’s moral support attempting the ciabatta bread recipe.  Here, Michelle mixes in some water to the dough.

When making ciabatta bread, you make a pre-ferment mixture of the dough the night before.  I did this part, while Michelle gathered the materials to make our tote bags.  When playing in the kitchen, I am notoriously messy. Today was no different.

After we added in some flour, yeast, water and salt to our pre-ferment mixture, we had to do some serious kneading. Ciabatta dough is sticky and wet.

After we kneaded the dough, Michelle and I started making our tote bags.  First we made stamps from potatoes.  {WE are crazy like that!} 

The stamps came out so cute!  One lemon and one lime stamp.

I want to finish my bag with some hand written message, so left some space in the middle of the bag to fill  in later.  But seriously, love this inexpensive tote we made, don’t you?

Michelle and I worked on the tote bags while the dough was rising.  I set the timer to remind us when we needed to knead again.  Making ciabatta bread requires lots of kneading.

Here’s the  bread just about ready to hit the oven.

I take a peek and rotate the loaves…wow…not bad for our first try, huh?

The recipe I used was adapted from the Peter Reinhart’s “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice”.  In case you want to make some ciabatta bread too.

Mondays are typically  my administrative day.  Billing, note writing, all the work I can’t fit in when I am busy seeing clients.  But not this Monday, today I scheduled a play date.  What a well needed break!

It’s always great to connect with friends and do what we love to do together.

Is it time you scheduled a play date?