Green Kitchen: The Cheap Healthy Guide to Canned Tuna for the Planet and Your Mouth (or Something)

Green Kitchen is a bi-weekly column about nutritious, inexpensive, and ethical food and cooking. It's penned by the lovely Jaime Green.

Eating delicious meat cheaply and environmentally is not easy. Grass-fed beef often starts at $7 or $8 a pound in New York City, and shows up twice or three times that at the farmers market. Fresh and frozen fish see the same price points, as do pork and lamb.Chicken is cheaper but chicken gets boring.

Which brings us to my recent love affair with canned tuna.

It is full of protein, super-cheap, easy to prepare, and does not send my fish-allergic boyfriend into fits with its cooking fumes. But while my local Whole Foods handily grades its butchered meat and fresh fish, cans of tuna are harder to suss out.

Well, harder to suss out unless you’re at a computer. The Environmental Defense Fund has a handy ranking of seafood choices based on eco-friendliness, and canned tuna is included. (The fish’s page also includes health concerns for adults and children, related to tuna’s mercury content.)

Canned tuna tends to come in two varieties – Albacore, or white, and “light,” which can be one (or several) of several tuna varieties. When it comes to what’s good for the planet, US or Canadian Albacore is tops, with general canned white and canned light both scoring the “eco-ok” middle rating.

In terms of mercury content, Albacore’s is higher, and so should be consumed less frequently, especially by kids. (The EDF recommends children under 6 eat it no more than once a month, and sets the limit for kids 6-12 at twice a month. Adults can handle it more often more safely.) Canned light (as long as the label doesn’t include Yellowfin tuna, which has about the same mercury as Albacore) is okay for younger kids about three times a month, and once a week or so for older children.

(The EDF page on mercury in canned tuna recommends canned salmon as a healthier option – "not only because the fish are low in contaminants and high in heart-healthy omega-3s, but also because they are sustainably caught” – but I haven’t fallen in love with that taste yet.)

I was relieved to learn – admitted months after getting back into the tuna habit – that this convenient can really isn’t such a bad option. (I’m not feeding any babies nor planning on gestating one any time soon.)

There is, of course, also the issue of taste.

I’d been buying store-brand canned tuna from Whole Foods, mostly out of a mostly-blind-faith sense that their fish would be more sustainability-minded than the StarKist or whatever I could get at my local supermarket, and for $1.39 a can (versus 99 cents or so), it wasn’t too bad a price. (According to Whole Foods’ website, both of their tuna varieties are caught responsibly, and are relatively low in mercury.)

But then I started worrying that I was a snob. And chunk light tuna was on sale for 75 cents a can at the supermarket. I bought two.

I kinda wish I’d saved that second seventy-five cents.

Whereas my fancy-pants Whole Foods tuna shows its extra 64 cents in nice chunks of recognizable fish flesh and easily drained water, the cheapo can started to splurt out fish puree as soon as I tried to drain it mid-can-opening. Inside that (five-ounce, rather than WF’s six) can I found fishy mush. It tasted okay, though the texture was alarming, and why does a can of tuna need vegetable broth in the ingredients? I will be sticking to my ever-so-slightly pricier chunk tuna from now on, thank you. And enjoying it (not too many times in a week) guilt-free.

Although I’m a big fan of standard tuna salad (with, sorry Kris, mayo, and plenty of diced celery), I’m always looking for ways to do it different, and with more vegetables. This recipe from TheKitchn scores on both counts – shredded raw cabbage adds a great crispness, and fresh herbs makes everything springy. I changed the original up a bit, first of all using one can of tuna for one big, healthy, satisfying serving, and second choosing dill over chives. (It was what I had on hand, it is delicious, and it goes well with the yogurt that subs in for some mayo. Kris, you’re welcome.)

I’ll probably slow down my tuna habit a bit now for mercury concerns, but when I do go for it, this is a super-easy and healthy way to appreciate – and eat – that beloved chicken of the sea. Especially when I’m a little sick of land-chicken.

~~~

If this looks good, you'll love:

• Herbed Tuna in Tomatoes
• Tuna and White Bean Wraps
• White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Wraps with Spinach

~~~

Crisp Cabbage and Tuna Salad
Serves 1
Adapted from TheKitchn.

1 5- or 6-can of tuna, drained (calculations reflect Whole Foods Tongol tuna)
1/4 a medium head of cabbage, cored chopped finely (about two cups)
1 ½ T mayonnaise (you could use reduced-fat to save calories, but don’t lie, it tastes awful)
2 T Greek yogurt (I used 2% fat)
1/3-1/4 c chopped dill
salt and ground pepper to taste (this works well with a lot of pepper)

1) Combine everything in a bowl.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
335 calories, 17.1g fat, 4.5g fiber, 32.9g protein, $2.04

Calculations
1 6-ounce can of tuna: 120 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 28g protein, $1.39
1/4 medium cabbage: 44 calories, 0g fat, 4.4g fiber, 2.3g protein, $0.25
1 1/2 T mayonnaise: 150 calories, 16.5g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.10
2 T 2% fat Greek yogurt: 19 calories, 0.6g fat, 0g fiber, 2.5g protein, $0.20
1/4 c dill: 2 calories, 0g fat, 0.1g fiber, 0.1g protein, $0.08
Salt and pepper: 0 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.02
TOTAL: 335 calories, 17.1g fat, 4.5g fiber, 32.9g protein, $2.04
PER SERVING: 335 calories, 17.1g fat, 4.5g fiber, 32.9g protein, $2.04

Open-Faced Sloppy Chicken Joes

"I have never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow

Well, that happened. Sometimes, when you're writing about barbecue sauce, other stuff goes down, and the barbecue sauce doesn't seem that important anymore. As a result, I'm going to keep this one a bit short today, and encourage y'all to watch this. Statesmanlike!

The recipe comes from The The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook, a recipe tome based on Erin Chase’s excellent frugal cooking site. It’s a bit more family-and- (duh) dinner-oriented than this interweb destination, but absolutely worth a few hours of browsing/menu-planning/other stuff, especially if you’re just starting out in the wide world of Getting Your Grocery Bills Down.

The dish came out to $5.08, but I’ll chalk that extra $0.08 up to Brooklyn pricing and my snotty insistence on Grey Poupon. (If mustard can’t be passed to you through a Rolls Royce window by a stately gentleman wearing a bowler, what good is it? Harrumph harrumph.)

I did make two big changes to Erin’s original dish. First, I reduced the amount of red pepper flakes pretty drastically. A full teaspoon sounded like a lot for my particular face to handle, so down to 1/2 it went. If you’re into spicy things and/or feel like clearing out your sinuses, opt for the original prescription.

Second, I swapped out a bun for simple slices of whole wheat bread. Why? Only my hairdresser knows for sure. Though, how she obtained that information, I have no idea. My guess is it involved a hot curling iron and some thinly veiled threats.

Overall, the dish isn't quite something you'd serve to company, but it makes for a solid weeknight dinner. Thumbs up!

(Thanks to my friend B. for the Twain quote.)

~~~

If you like chicken and gettin’ sloppy, you’ll quite enjoy:

• Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
• Rosemary Chicken Salad
• Skillet Chicken Fajitas

~~~

Open–Faced Sloppy Chicken Joes
Serves 4
Adapted from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
4 slices whole wheat bread, toasted

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, sugar, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes until thoroughly combined. Pour into a large, nonstick skillet and turn heat to medium. Add chicken. Cover. Cook until chicken is no longer pink, but still moist, about 8 to 12 minutes. If you’d like to reduce the sauce somewhat, remove the cover about 6 minutes in.

2) Spoon chicken on to toasted bread. Serve.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
462 calories, 8.1 g fat, 4.8 g fiber, 58.3 g protein, $1.27

Calculations
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce: 147 calories, 0.9 g fat, 6.9 g fiber, 6.1 g protein, $1.39
3 tablespoons brown sugar: 156 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.08
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard: 15 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.14
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar: 2 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.02
1/2 teaspoon salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.01
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper: 3 calories, 0 g fat, 0.3 g fiber, 0.1 g protein, $0.02
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.03
1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1/2-inch cubes: 1123 calories, 24.5 g fat, 0 g fiber, 211.1 g protein, $2.97
4 slices whole wheat bread, toasted: 400 calories, 8 g fat, 12 g fiber, 16 g protein, $0.42
TOTAL: 1846 calories, 32.5 g fat, 19.2 g fiber, 233.3 g protein, $5.08
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 462 calories, 8.1 g fat, 4.8 g fiber, 58.3 g protein, $1.27

Green Kitchen: Easy Meatballs and an Ethical Quandary

Green Kitchen is a bi-weekly column about nutritious, inexpensive, and ethical food and cooking. It's penned by the lovely Jaime Green.

Transitioning to the omnivore lifestyle from thirteen years as a vegetarian is not easy. Well, okay, in some ways it is fabulously easy – ordering at restaurants is a delight, and getting enough protein is a breeze. But, of course, there are complications.

My vegetarian menu was pretty ethically uncomplicated – I shopped local when I could, cooked for myself from mostly unprocessed foods, and bought my eggs from farmers I could chat with about the chickens. I wasn’t striving for sainthood, just trying to make the best choices I could. But with meat, those choices are much more complicated. And the implications are much more intense.

It crystallized the other night in the local supermarket aisle. My boyfriend and I were picking up a few things for dinner – we had kale in the fridge, so the main question was, my propensity for bowls of cheesy kale aside, what else we would eat. “What about meatballs?” he asked. “I liked those meatballs you made the other night. I can buy the meat”

The other night I’d come home with a bounty of on-sale local, grass-fed beef from Whole Foods. Now, under the C-Town fluorescent lights, I looked toward the meat case and paled.

“I have some of the Whole Foods beef in the freezer still. I can thaw that out.”

“But you bought that, that’s yours. Let me buy some for tonight.”

We walked over to the meat case. The ground beef told us it was Made in the USA, but not much more. The local butcher shop, where I get my miraculously cheap local, organic chicken, was closed.

I’ve ordered meat in restaurants. I’ve eaten chicken and beef and pork that lived who-knows-how. I know ethically-minded omnivores who eat no meat in restaurants, a restraint I’ve felt guilty for not having. But in that supermarket aisle, I found my personal line. We went home with a carrot, and I took the last of my grass-fed beef out to defrost.

This super-sale grass-fed beef was $5/lb (discounted from $8). Ground beef in the supermarket costs less than half that. I can’t always afford that. Paired with a nice pile of cheap, filling vegetables like onions and kale, you can still get a good serving of meat for under two bucks, which I didn’t even realize until I wrote up this recipe, and which I will remind myself next time my chest gets tight for budget’s sake when my boyfriend goes back for seconds.

The sale at Whole Foods ($5 for what costs $2 at the supermarket) is going on a little longer, and we’re going to stock up while we can. Beef I feel okay about eating is kinda expensive, but it’s also really, really tasty. (In case you pale at the slightly high fat count, by the way, keep in mind that grass-fed beef is much higher in super-healthy Omega-3s, that [nutrition nerd alert!!] the link between saturated fat and heart disease is in fact kinda dodgy, and that the nutrition counts are for uncooked beef – plenty of fat stays behind in the pan.)

~~~

If these look good, you will surely enjoy:

• Autumn Sausage Casserole
• Italian Turkey Sliders
• Spiced Chicken Skewers

~~~

Meatballs!
(serves 3)

3/4 lb ground beef (grass-fed/pastured if you can)
1/4 medium yellow onion
1/4 medium carrot
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
a few shakes/grinds of pepper
dash of paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1) Preheat your oven to 300. Line a baking sheet (or 9x12 dish) with aluminum foil and set aside.

2) Dice 1/4 onion and 1/4 carrot very finely.

3) Put ground beef in a bowl. Add onion, carrot, ketchup, marjoram, thyme, basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and paprika. Mix with your hands.

4) Shape the meat mixture into balls, about an inch in diameter. Don’t squish them – just gently shape them with your hands. Place these on a plate.

5) Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add the meatballs – without crowding – you may have to do this in batches – to brown. DO NOT TOUCH THEM. (That’s how you get a nice brown crust.) Once the bottoms are browned, after a minute or two, turn the meatballs over to brown the other side. Once that’s done, brown a third side, if you can get them to balance.

6) Remove the browned meatballs to the foil-lined sheet, and stick that in the oven. Repeat with the rest of the meatballs, if necessary.

7) Cook the meatballs until they’re done – not pink inside any more. This time hugely varies for me, depending on how long the meatballs were in the pan, from 2-10 minutes.

8) If you’re cooking vegetables for your meatballs to nest in – I like kale and onions – cook those in the leftover meatball/olive oil, for extra deliciousness.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving: 
250 calories, 17.5g fat, 0.8g fiber, 19g protein, $1.26

Calculations:
¾ lb ground grass-fed beef (85% lean): 640 calories, 45.3g fat, 0g fiber, 56g protein, $3.33
¼ medium yellow onion: 9 calories, 0g fat, 0.4g fiber, 0.3g protein, $0.07
¼ medium carrot: 7 calories, 0g fat, 0.4g fiber, 0.1g protein, $0.10
1 T ketchup: 15 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0.3g protein, $0.05
1 t dried marjoram: 2 calories, 0g fat, 0.2g fiber, 0.1g protein, $0.04
1 t dried thyme: 4 calories, 0g fat, 0.6g fiber, 0.1g protein, $0.03
1 t dried basil: 2 calories, 0g fat, 0.3g fiber, 0.1g protein, $0.03
½ t garlic powder: 5 calories, 0g fat, 0.3g fiber, 0.2g protein, $0.02
½ t dried oregano: 3 calories, 0.1g fat, 0.4g fiber, 0.1g protein, $0.02
¼ t salt: 0 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.01
a few shakes/grinds of pepper: 0 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.01
dash of paprika: 0 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.02
1½ t olive oil: 63 calories, 7g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.05
TOTAL: 750 calories, 52.4g fat, 2.3g fiber, 57.2g protein, $3.78
PER SERVING (TOTAL/3): 250 calories, 17.5g fat, 0.8g fiber, 19g protein, $1.26

Rosemary Chicken Salad and the Art of Customizing Recipes

We're switching the schedule around a bit this week, due to the gremlin that has taken up residence in my face. Wednesday's usual article is postponed until next week, replaced by this lovely recipe.

As this popular and highly rated Rosemary Chicken Salad recipe from Cooking Light is presented, it’s essentially a blank slate. I mean, it's moist, it tastes good, and it uses up a bunch of leftover chicken, but no single flavor ever comes forward to assert itself as master and ruler of its subordinates. But there's a reason for that. A good reason. Nay – a really good reason.

And that reason? Is you.

Seriously, though. Recipes like this one are invaluable, because they allow the chef (a.k.a. you) near-infinite possibilities for improvisation. You can add nearly any ingredient you like to the original dish, because it's highly improbable you'll go wrong with your choices. Why not try:

• Celery
• Grapes
• Apples
• Dried cranberries
• Smoked almonds
• Raisins
• Cashews
• Pecans
• Walnuts
• Cayenne

Eggs, beans, oatmeal, polenta, and pasta salads are similarly inclined, in that they can be customized until the cows come home, with huge, gaping room for error. We'll discuss more about the customization itself next week, but in the meantime, should you decide to whip this up, there are a few things to know:

1) My loathing for mayonnaise is surpassed only by my loathing of sinusitis, but it’s in here because the other flavors cover up the flavor and texture enough so I don’t ever have to taste, smell, or think about it.

2) The calculations are very different from Cooking Light’s, largely because I don’t include bread, and have changed the proportions of the original recipe a bit (less mayo, more yogurt).

In conclusion, go nuts with this thing. The salad's the limit.

~~~

If this recipe looks tantalizing, man, you'll like these:

• Autumn Apple Salad
• Golden Delight Egg Salad
• Potato Salad for Rainy Day People

~~~

Rosemary Chicken Salad
Serves 5
Adapted from Cooking Light.

3 cups (about 3/4 pound) roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken, chopped
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds
6 tablespoons Greek low-fat yogurt
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Chopped: celery, grapes, apples, dried cranberries, smoked almonds, raisins, cashews, pecans, walnuts, cayenne (optional)

In a medium mixing bowl, combine chicken, scallions, almonds, yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, and chosen optional ingredients. Serve on whole wheat bread with mixed greens.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
134 calories, 5.1 g fat, 3.7 g fat, 0.7 g fiber, 18.5 g protein, $0.78

NOTE: These calculations are for chicken breasts, and no optional add-on ingredients.

Calculations
3 cups (about 3/4 pound) roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts, chopped: 373 calories, 4.1 g fat, 0 g fiber, 78.3 g protein, $1.48
1/3 cup chopped scallions: 11 calories, 0 g fat, 0.9 g fiber, 0.6 g protein, $0.30
1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds: 144 calories, 12.6 g fat, 3 g fiber, 5.3 g protein, $0.63
6 tablespoons Greek low-fat yogurt: 65 calories, 1.8 g fat, 0 g fiber, 8.5 g protein, $0.97
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise: 70 calories, 7 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.16
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary: 1 calorie, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.25
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard: 8 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.07
1/8 teaspoon salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.01
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.01
TOTALS: 672 calories, 25.5 g fat, 3.7 g fiber, 92.7 g protein, $3.88
PER SERVING (TOTALS/5): 134 calories, 5.1 g fat, 3.7 g fat, 0.7 g fiber, 18.5 g protein, $0.78

The Top 10 Signs You’re Becoming a Better Cook, Plus Easy Chicken Pan Gravy

You guys? I was making Easy Chicken Pan Gravy last week when something hit me. Over the years, I've become a pretty decent cook. Not a good cook, per se, but a decent one. I'm fairly confident no one will die / vomit / write heartbreaking soliloquies after they eat my food.

Upon the realization, I started brainstorming some benchmarks - noticeable and definitive signs that you've come a long way, culinarily speaking. Here's what I came up with:

1. You eyeball ingredient measurements.
   
   
2. You substitute ably and with abandon.
   
   
3. You regularly improve on recipes written by professionals.
   
   
4. You search for physical indications (browning, thickness, scent, etc.) that a recipe is done, rather than use times.
   
   
5. You have an ever-expanding repertoire of dishes you know by heart, and can easily go a week without consulting a recipe.
   
   
6. You bring lunch to work not because you want to save money or watch your waistline, but because  your leftovers are fantastic.
   
   
7. You don’t choose certain restaurant dishes because you can make it just as well – or even better – by yourself at home.
   
   
8. Your pickiest friend will eat your food without complaint.
   
   
9. Your foodie-est friend will eat your food with glee.
   
   
10. Your parents entrust you with Thanksgiving.

Readers, how about you? What are some signs you're becoming / have become better cooks? Is it  something you can measure with milestones, even?

Also, this gravy is good and you should eat it.

~~~

Mmm … sauce. If this looks all nice and stuff, you will surely enjoy:

• Creamy Caesar Dressing
• Orange-Sesame Stir Fry Sauce
• Spicy Brown Mustard

~~~

Easy Chicken Pan Gravy (With Chicken)
Serves 4

16 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into thin (1/2-inch or so) filets
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1) Pat chicken dry and season one side liberally with salt and pepper. Pour half can of chicken broth into measuring cup and whisk flour in thoroughly. (There should be no lumps.) Keep other half in the can and set aside.

2) In a large pan, heat oil over high heat. With tongs, carefully place chicken seasoned-side down in pan. Cook until browned, about 3 to 6 minutes. While cooking, season exposed side with salt and pepper. Flip, and cook another 3 to 6 minutes, until second side is browned. Remove to a plate and keep warm. (Tent with tin foil, if you like.)

3) Pour broth in can into hot pan, scraping up browned bits with wooden spoon. Cook on high until broth is reduced by about half.

4) Give the flour/broth mixture one more quick whisk, and pour into pan, stirring constantly. Reduce heat a little, to medium or medium-high. Cook, stirring often, until sauce is thick and gravy-like. This could take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, so keep an eye on it.

5) When gravy hits the desired consistency, season with salt and pepper. If necessary (i.e. lumps), strain into your fancy serving vessel (measuring glass, gravy bowl, etc.). Otherwise, just pour it in. Then, dollop over chicken and/or potatoes and serve.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
151 calories, 3.3 g fat, 0 fiber, 26.8 g fiber, $0.72

NOTE: I used College Inn chicken broth from CostCo for my calculations.

Calculations
16 ounces chicken breast, sliced into thin (1/2-inch or so) filets: 497 calories, 5.4 g fat, 0 g fiber, 104.4 g protein, $2.14
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.02
1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth: 20 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g fiber, 2 g protein, $0.64
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour: 26 calories, 0 g fat, 0.2 g fiber, 0.7 g protein, $0.01
1/2 tablespoon olive oil: 60 calories, 6.7 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.05
TOTALS: 603 calories, 13.1 g fat, 0.2 g fiber, 107.1 g fiber, $2.86
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 151 calories, 3.3 g fat, 0 fiber, 26.8 g fiber, $0.72

Green Kitchen: Chopped Liver

Green Kitchen is a bi-weekly column about nutritious, inexpensive, and ethical food and cooking. It's penned by the lovely Jaime Green.

As you may have read in this recent edition of Ask the Internet, I recently concluded thirteen years of vegetarianism. (The short version is that, back when I was fifteen, I tried going veg just to see if I could, and stuck with it largely out of stubbornness/determination. I later – like Queen Elizabeth & the Church of England – added some principles, but my belief that eating animals isn't wrong, but making them suffer is, is still compatible with conscientious meat eating. Also, I don't eat a lot of grains, so I was really, really bored.)

And lo, adding an entire food supergroup back into one’s options is fun! And tasty. It’s been a long time – I guess since I fell in love with farmers markets and cooking itself three or four years ago – since I’ve had such exciting culinary adventures. I roasted a whole chicken! I made stock from its carcass! I am developing an addiction to hamburgers! Etc.

I’m also reconnecting with a lot of foods from my (distant, almost-half-a-lifetime-ago) past. Rotisserie chicken is one of a very few meat-foods that never stopped making my vegetarian mouth water, and sure enough, it is amaaaaaaazing. I would take it over bacon any day.

This chopped liver comes out of both of those impulses – the adventures and the amazing foods from way back when. (Oh, and my new friendship with the small butcher’s shop half a block from my apartment.) Who am I to be afraid of some organs, I who have ventured into the unknown recesses of greenmarket farm stands, I who have taken home the ugly, strange, and cheap vegetables of every season? Also, dude, organs are CHEAP.

I bought my pound of chicken livers from Bob and Julio down the street from me – they sell organic chickens (among many other things, like homemade lasagna), and I guess not everyone wants every part of the bird? Which is bananas, because these things are tasty and super good for you – howsabout some vitamin A, a bunch of B vitamins, folic acid, iron, copper, and CoQ10, which helps your heart do its thing, along with plenty of protein?

And then there is the flashback factor. Specifically, flashbacks to my Grandma Martha’s studio apartment on Long Island, hanging out before a holiday dinner, tiny Jaime with her tiny cousins and sister in tiny party dresses, scooping rich chopped liver onto crackers or, given the season, little matzah squares. Were we too young and carefree to know that livers might be squicky? Or would we not even entertain that thought because the stuff was so darn good?

This recipe comes not from a Jewish Grandma but from my friend’s decidedly non-Jewish own mother, a lovelier and WASPier lady you never shall meet. But somewhere in the mists of history her great-greats and mine lived in adjacent cottages in a Polish village, and as far as I can tell across the gulf of, like, twenty years, this chopped liver recipe yields a product identical in taste to Grandma’s.

(That means it’s delicious.)

~~~

If this seems neato, you will also appreciate:

• Guacamole-Bean Dip Mashup
• Sweet Potato Kugel
• White Bean Dip

~~~

Chopped Liver
(makes 16 2-Tbsp servings)

1 lb chicken livers (thawed if they came frozen)
3 Tbs butter
½ onion, chopped (1/2 to ¾ cup)
A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp mayonnaise (sorry Kris!)
Juice of half a lemon (or to taste)

1. Melt the butter in a sauté man over medium-high heat. Add onions and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, and sauté until onions start to soften.

2. Add chicken livers and sauté until they are cooked through (no pink), about 10-15 minutes.

3. Pour/scrape all of that into a food processor. Add mayonnaise. Pulse until it’s the consistency you like – the worst that’ll happen if you overdo it is you’ll get a classy-as-heck mousse – adding a few squeezes of lemon juice to taste.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
82.6 calories, 5.4g fat, 0.1g fiber, 7g protein, $0.23

Calculations
1 lb chicken livers: 758 calories, 29.5g fat, 0g fiber, 111g protein, $2.50
3 Tbs butter: 305 calories, 34.6g fat, 0g fiber, 0.4g protein, $0.48
½ onion: 48 calories, 0.1g fat, 2g fiber, 1.3g protein, $0.30
A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce: 3 calories, 0g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.05
2 Tbsp mayonnaise: 200 calories, 22g fat, 0g fiber, 0g protein, $0.20
Juice of half a lemon: 8 calories, 0g fat, 0.1g fiber, 0.1g protein, $0.13
TOTAL: 1322 calories, 86.2g fat, 2.1g fiber, 112.8g protein, $3.66
PER SERVING (TOTAL/16): 82.6 calories, 5.4g fat, 0.1g fiber, 7g protein, $0.23

Tuna and White Bean Wraps: An End-of-Winter Craving

Today on Serious Eats: Parnsip Soup with Vanilla. Made it three times in two weeks, and am going back for more.

I never wanted to be one of those people whose conversations focus mainly on the weather. I also never wanted to be one of those people whose Facebook status updates are 90% about her cat. But it’s been an awful winter, and Tim has miraculously learned to fetch, confirming suspicions that he’s actually a really ugly dog, so here we are.

Those of you in Minnesota or Buffalo, feel free to punch me in the neck (er, mental image only), but I am officially through with this season. Snow can bite me. My greatest longing - besides going back in time, becoming Katharine Hepburn, and playing the lead role in The Lion in Winter – is that New York quickly and totally becomes spring-like in its capacities, meteorological and otherwise.

Blossoming buds? Yes, please.

Gentle April showers? Sure thing.

Easter Bunny? Yay!

Mets baseball? Not actually mentally prepared for that trauma yet, but you get the picture.

Mostly, I’d like some fresh produce. While tubers and root vegetables are delightfully welcome in October and November, by March, I’d just as soon never cook another squash again. A bite of ripe bell pepper or snap of fresh string bean - man, nothing could be more welcome right now. (Excepting mimosas, natch.)

So, let’s cheat: Tuna and White Bean Wraps are not just crisp, protein-packed flavor bombs, but sleek culinary vehicles for some ludicrously out-of-season produce (which, normally, I wouldn’t advocate, but c’mon). Tomatoes and cucumbers mix with scallions and a little parsley to brighten canned pantry staples, and give partakers a much longed-for taste of warm weather foods. Simple to prepare, easy to pack, and excellent for lunch or dinner, they’re a gentle, yet delicious reminder of the sunshine to come.

As for Camp CHG, we’ll be all right. Winter’s almost over. The temperatures have already crept into the mid-40s, and the only snow that’s left is that weird black tar slushy ice that doesn’t disappear until July, anyway. If only I can teach the cat to play Frisbee, we’re all set.

~~~

If this floats your boat, these will do wonders for your whole fleet:

• Ask the Internet: Canned Tuna Ideas?
• Herbed Tuna in Tomatoes
• Sardine Avocado Open-Faced Sandwiches

~~~

Tuna and White Bean Wraps
Makes 5 wraps

1 (5-ounce) can tuna packed in water, drained
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2 to 3 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh lemon juice, if desired

For serving:
1 ounce baby spinach or mixed greens (optional)
5 fajita-sized tortillas (whole wheat if possible)

1) In a large bowl, combine tuna, white beans, tomato, cucumber, scallions, and parsley. Stir to combine. Add olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir again. Adjust seasonings if necessary. If you wish, squeeze a little lemon juice over it to freshen up the works.

2) Line a tortilla with greens. Scoop tuna mix on to tortilla. Fold and eat.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
278 calories, 7.4 g fat, 7.4 g fiber, 14.8 g protein, $1.18

NOTE: All calculations for ingredient ranges fall within the middle of the range. In other words, 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil is calculated for 1.5 tablespoons olive oil. I used MexAmerica tortilla wraps.

Calculations
1 (5-ounce) can tuna packed in water, drained: 145 calories, 3.4 g fat, 0 g fiber, 26.7 g protein, $1.00
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, drained and rinsed: 385 calories, 0 g fat, 21 g fiber, 28 g protein, $0.75
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced: 22 calories, 0.2 g fat, 1.5 g fiber, 1.1 g protein, $0.83
1/2 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced: 17 calories, 0.3 g fat, 1 g fiber, 0.8 g protein, $0.50
2 to 3 scallions, chopped: 20 calories, 0/1 g fat, 1.6 g fiber, 1.1 g protein, $0.22
1/4 cup parsley, chopped: 5 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0.5 g fiber, 0.5 g protein, $0.50
1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil: 179 calories, 20.2 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.15
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.08
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.02
Fresh lemon juice, if desired (1/2 lemon): 6 calories, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.25
1 ounce baby spinach or mixed greens (optional): 12 calories, 0 g fat, 1.3 g fiber, 0.7 g protein, $0.60
5 fajita-sized whole wheat tortillas: 600 calories, 12.5 g fat, 10 g fiber, 15 g protein, $1.00
TOTAL: 1391 calories, 36.8 g fat, 37 g fiber, 73.9 g protein, $5.90
PER SERVING (TOTAL/5): 278 calories, 7.4 g fat, 7.4 g fiber, 14.8 g protein, $1.18

Pasta e Fagioli, or: I Succesfully Rehydrate Dried Beans For the First Time, Ever

Up until last night, I've always used canned beans in recipes. I wish I could say it’s because they taste better. Or they’re cheaper. Or they come in prettier colors and sing me neat Pink Floyd songs as I go to sleep at night.

Alas, that ain’t the truth. The truth is more like this: I have never been able to rehydrate dried beans. Ever. Like, in recorded history. Even before I was born, I couldn’t do it. No matter how long I soaked, no matter how many hours I boiled, my dried legumes always stayed dried. Like tiny, grainy BB gun pellets.

Then, I stumbled over The Kitchn's One-Pot Pasta e Fagioli, which uses caramelized onions and a smattering of bacon to flavor a rich broth, in which dried cannellini beans, pasta, and spinach are then cooked to a soft, hearty stew. (Wow, that was a long sentence. Also, A Smattering of Bacon is potentially great title for your next novel about Existentialism.)

And just like that, I have been joined the ranks of the People Who Are Capable of Rehyrdating Beans, or PWACORB. Really, it's kind of a revelation, and not just because dried cannellinis are much creamier than canned. They're also way, way less expensive, use significantly less packaging, and are a comparative breeze to carry. Which? Is important when you're training for the Olympics. (Note: I am not training for the Olympics.)

Back to that recipe, though: I liked it, and it's a wonderful way to incorporate bacon into your diet in a healthy way. However, it did turn kind of mushy. Not unacceptably so. Just more than I would have liked. To remedy this, next time I will:

1) Try using a thicker pasta. I added elbow macaroni, and it softened pretty quickly. A whole-wheat pasta or sturdier mezze penne or orrechiette would have probably held up better.

2) Try adding the pasta last. That way, it won't have so much time to absorb extra water.

Besides that minor issue, we ate it, and have more than enough to last for a week o' office lunches. Not to mention, now I will rehydrate beans with impunity. IMPUNITY, I SAY!

~~~

If this looks tasty, you’ll surely enjoy:

• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Easy Vegetarian Bean Chili
• Quinoa Soup with Avocado and Corn

~~~

One-Pot Pasta e Fagioli
Serves 8 to 10
Adapted from The Kitchn.

1 pound dried cannellini beans
5 strips bacon, chopped
2 medium yellow onions, sliced thin
3 medium celery stalks, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15-ounce) can chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 pound small pasta (whole-wheat for extra healthiness)
5 thyme sprigs
3 teaspoons salt
10 ounces frozen spinach (fresh would also work)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

1) In a large mixing bowl, add beans and enough water to cover by an inch or two. Let sit overnight.

2) In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until a little crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon or a spider. Set aside. Get rid of all bacon fat in pot, except for one tablespoon. Add onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized. (This will take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes, depending on how large you slice the onions and a few other factors.)

3) Preheat oven to 325 °F.

4) Add celery to onion mixture. Sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Scoop half of onion mixture into a bowl and set aside with bacon.

5) Deglaze pot with 1 cup chicken broth, making sure you scrape up all the tasty onion bits stuck to the bottom.

6) Drain beans. Add to pot along with bay leaf, remaining chicken broth, and “enough water to cover the beans and onions by 1 inch.” Cover. Stick in oven and braise for 1 hour. If the beans aren’t soft after 1 hour, cook an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

7) Remove pot from oven. Place on burner and turn it up to medium-high heat. Add reserved bacon, reserved onion mixture, thyme, remaining salt, and pasta. Cook until pasta is almost done. Stir occasionally, and don’t be afraid to add more water if things are getting a little dry.

8) Add block of frozen spinach. Cook, stirring often, until spinach is totally defrosted and spread out in stew. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with parmesan cheese.

OTHER SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Try using a thicker, smaller pasta, or perhaps a whole-wheat pasta. If you’d like it to have more of a chew, add it in with the spinach and cook until al dente. The pasta will soften significantly and absorb water as the stew sits, so don't fear adding more H2O as time goes on.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
Nine servings: 312 calories, 3.6 g fat, 6.3 g fiber, 17.8 g protein, $0.68

NOTE: Calculations are for Goya cannellini beans, also known as white kidney beans or alubias.

Calculations
1 pound dried cannellini beans: 1500 calories, 10 g fat, 40 g fiber, 100 g protein, $1.59
5 strips bacon, chopped: 230 calories, 17.8 g fat, 0 g fiber, 15.7 g protein, $0.83
2 medium yellow onions, sliced thin: 92 calories, 0.2 g fat, 3.1 g fiber, 2 g protein, $0.50
3 medium celery stalks, diced: 17 calories, 0.2 g fat, 1.9 g fiber, 0.8 g protein, $0.30
4 garlic cloves, minced: 17 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0.2 g fiber, 0.7 g protein, $0.32
1 (15-ounce) can chicken broth: 30 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 5.8 g fiber, $0.66
1 bay leaf: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.02
1/2 pound small pasta: 840 calories, 4 g fat, 8 g fiber, 28 g protein, $0.33
5 thyme sprigs: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.50
3 teaspoons salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.02
10 ounces frozen spinach: 103 calories, 0 g fat, 3.4 g fiber, 6.8 g protein, $1.00
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.02
TOTAL: 2812 calories, 32.3 g fat, 56.6 g fiber, 159.8 g protein, $6.09
PER SERVING (TOTAL/9): 312 calories, 3.6 g fat, 6.3 g fiber, 17.8 g protein, $0.68

Guest Post: Cheap Healthy Carnivore

Alexandra is a Certified Personal Trainer and dancer-with-a-day-job who blogs about health, fitness, and ballroom dancing at Ombailamos.

Once upon a time, cereal bowls and takeout menus were the most-used items in my kitchen. Then came a voluntary downsizing, followed by a layoff, followed by four months of unemployment. It is amazing how motivating a drastically-reduced income can be!

From Flickr's procsilas

Man, and woman, cannot live on bread alone. And for some of us, a pot of beans or lentils is not the protein we want to dish out after a hard day's work. There are some completely vegetarian dishes in rotation chez nous, but the go-to for me and my hardworking DH is a piece of meat, a side of vegetables, and a glass of wine.

Now: how to do that in the half-hour that is my self-imposed weeknight dinner prep time? Because let's face it, I don't want to spend more time than that in the kitchen after a full day's work plus commute.

When it became clear that our $1200/mo food expenditure needed to be more like $400, I got in the kitchen. I scorched a few things. I learned not to use "soup mix" in any preparation except dip. And over time, I gradually accrued some actual cooking skills and lost my fear of spices. Here are three of my big winners for the carnivore who needs some meat fast, healthy, good - and relatively cheap.

Pan-grilled Chicken Breast

Generally speaking, I consider chicken one small step up from tofu. I have never had the opportunity to try a heritage bird, so it's just not very exciting for me. However, it's a good source of lean protein and in my area, organic cuts are readily available, so it does come into the house occasionally.

Years ago I discovered a recipe that produced a tolerable breast. (It was from a magazine, I think, so apologies to whoever wrote it, but I just don't remember.) I ended up changing it anyway, because it was a baked recipe and it just took too long. My oven is 30+ years old and takes twenty minutes to heat; baking for another 40 on top of that was not working for me.

From Flickr's larryjh1234

So I decided to try and see if I could adapt the recipe to my trusty Calphalon grill pan. And lo, it worked. Here it is. Please note, in my home, life is too short to buy chicken breast bone-in. Your mileage may vary.

Ingredients: two boneless, skinless chicken breasts totaling about one pound (and about $7 max). Bread crumbs or panko. Olive oil. Spices.

Prep: Remove the chicken from packaging, rinse, and pat dry. Rinse off their styrofoam tray as well and dry it. (If the chicken did not come in a tray, just use a plate.) Put the chicken back on the tray, pour a little olive oil on top and rub it in; turn the breasts over and repeat the treatment. While doing this, preheat the pan to medium.

Cooking: right before adding the chicken to the pan, lightly coat both sides with bread crumbs and seasoning. I apply both straight from their containers, and my seasonings are typically garlic powder (not salt) and paprika. Then lay the breasts in the pan and cook for 7-8 minutes. (Use a paper towel to brush off your plate into the trash - crumbs and oil really shouldn't go down the drain.) Turn the breasts over, reduce the heat to medium-low, place a large lid loosely over the pan to hold some of the steam, and cook for another 7-8 minutes. Note: this is not about getting a crispy coating on the chicken, it's about getting moist chicken fast without using a gallon of oil!

After 15-16 minutes total cooking time, I usually cut the breasts lengthwise to check for doneness, as medium-rare chicken is not too appetizing, and my goal with weeknight food is to get it on the table expeditiously, not prepare a magazine photo. (Which explains why I have no photos.) Cook a little longer, under the lid, if necessary.

After the turn, prepare your side - in my case, nearly always a salad or a package of frozen veg. This preparation makes four servings.

The pairing: I like a bright red wine with chicken, like Sangiovese or Garnacha (Grenache). On the white side of the spectrum, this holds up well to chardonnay, verdejo, or pinot grigio.

Pineapple Pork Pot Roast

From Fresh Direct

"Pot Roast" is traditionally beef in the U.S., but a lower-fat, less-expensive alternative is pork. The secret is to not try to make it 100% non-fat. If you go for very lean cuts of meat in the slow cooker, you will sacrifice flavor and mouth feel on the altar of "nutrition." However, it's my firm belief, based on years of study, that a moderate amount of fat from animals is not only not going to kill you - it's good for you. This stuff metabolizes usefully: the body can really put it to work. Obviously, I'm not recommending sitting down to a tasty bowl of lard, but letting your meat cook with its fat is not necessarily a bad thing.

With that in mind, and with the memory of a rather dry pork loin haunting me, I went looking for a piece of nice fat pig. I took home a four-pound pork shoulder roast, with about a one-centimeter layer of fat on its base (we'll say, a strip about three inches by eight), at a cost of less than three dollars a pound. Pork shoulder does have the fat and it does have a chunk of bone in it. After slow cooking, the net serviceable result was about 2.5 lbs - easily enough to feed eight.

This preparation cooks during the day, and if you like "Hawaiian" pizza, you will Love. It. For quick and easy assembly, peel the onion and garlic the night before, wrap in a damp paper towel, and leave in the refrigerator till morning.

Ingredients: 1 c. crushed pineapple, in juice. 1 6-oz can of tomato paste. 1 large onion, peeled and cut in eighths. 8 to 10 cloves of garlic, peeled, smashed, and roughly chopped (or not. Chopped, they will dissolve entirely, so if you like a bite of garlic, use more and don't chop them). Spices to taste: I used red curry, paprika, nutmeg, and chipotle - about 1/2 teaspoon of the first two, and 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg and chipotle. Plus, of course, the pig.

From Flickr's norwichnuts

How to prepare: first, get out the slow cooker and turn it to High. Combine pineapple, tomato paste, garlic, and spices in the bottom. Place the pork shoulder in the cooker and slowly roll it around in the sauce mixture. Then add the chunks of onion, put on the lid, and go get ready for work. Right before you leave, turn the cooker down to Low.

When you get home, roll the pig around a little to make sure the onions get thoroughly mixed into the sauce. The pork will probably fall apart at this point. Pick out the bone and let the pot roast continue to cook, with the lid off, until you are ready to eat. I served this with absolutely nothing else, but rice or quinoa or even couscous can be easily (and more or less negligently) prepared while you are decompressing.

The pairing: any chilled rose or sparkling wine, gewurtztraminer, or riesling.

Broiled Beef Tri-Tip

Tri-tip is most often seen at barbecues and in a mushroom sauce at Sizzler. But it is also a great steak substitute. I picked up a pound of tri-tip roast at my grocery store, on a night when they had no acceptable tenderloin, for less than ten dollars with my loyalty card - the same price as a pair of wimpy ribeyes that weighed in at a mere .6 pounds. This particular cut was about two inches thick at its deepest point, which dictated the cooking time. Less thick = less time.

From Flickr's arnold | inuyaki

How to cook it: remove your pound of tri-tip from grocer's packaging and place it on your broiler pan. Give it a generous dose of your seasoning of choice, on both sides. (This seasoning should not include salt! Try a mix of black pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. If you want salt after you taste it, go ahead.) Heat broiler for five to ten minutes. Put the whole tri-tip under the broiler for ten minutes. Then turn it over, and give it another eight to ten minutes (for medium-rare. If you require your steak well-done, you shouldn't bother eating steak).

Now take a look at it. If the edges are slightly carbonized, the top is lightly browned, and the meat springs back under your finger (presuming a silicone glove, here), it's done. If it looks mostly gray and feels spongy, give it two or three more minutes. When it's done, place the hot broiler pan on your stovetop and let the meat rest for at least five minutes. Then move it to a board and carve it into centimeter-thick slices. Because a tri-tip roast doesn't contain much fat or any bones, this will provide four servings of just under four ounces each.

A note on the nutritional value of meat. The oft-recommended four-ounce serving contains between 28 and 32 grams of protein. It just so happens that 30 grams of protein is the maximum that the average person can metabolize at one sitting. Anything more than that is excreted, or converted to glycogen (carbohydrate) and stored in the muscles for future short-term energy demands. So this is really all the meat you need in a given meal.

But this is a small amount of food, so you will want some additional ... something ... on your plate. I recommend a separate bowl, actually, with a nice big green salad in it. Or you could put the slices of tri-tip right on top of that salad. Or throw a package of frozen veg in the microwave after turning the roast.

The pairing: your hearty red wine of choice. I am fond of blended reds under $8.

If you are cooking for two, these three low-salt preparations will see you through 6-7 days with cooking only necessary on three days, for a meat cost of less than $30. If you try 'em and like 'em, I'd love to hear about it!

~~~

If you like this post, you'll love:

• Angus Anguish: Is Angus Beef Worth the Money?
• Newsflash! Scientists Getting Closer to Lab-Grown Meat
• Vegetarian Meal Planning for Meat Eaters

Guest Post: Sauteed Shrimp and Asparagus with Sesame Seeds

Carrie Murphy studies poetry in the MFA program at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM. She blogs about eating well in graduate school at Master of Fine Eats.

Being a strapped-for-time-and-energy graduate student, I am always looking for quick, easy and healthful dinner recipes I can make after a long day of class. Eating healthfully as often as possible is important to me, but so is relaxing (which, for the purposes of this post is defined as watching bad TV on Hulu and laying on my couch). So, how to eat well when I'm tired and don't feel like cooking?

I came up with this fast little saute after reading this recipe and wanting something a little bit more substantial (apologies to Martha). I had half a bag of frozen shrimp and some shriveling green onions in the fridge, so I threw this together one night a few weeks ago. The sesame seeds and green onions add a nice crunch and the lemony broth smells heavenly; it turned out flavorful and fresh-tasting without taking a lot of time or effort.

~~~

If this looks good, you're gonna love:

• Noodle Salad with Shrimp, Chicken, and Mint
• Roasted Asparagus with Poached Egg and Parmesan
• Sweet and Sour Shrimp with Vegetables

~~~

Sauteed Shrimp And Asparagus With Sesame Seeds
Serves 2
Total Time: 10-15 minutes
Hands-On Time: 10-15 minutes
NOTE: This recipe is designed to be eaten over your favorite grain. I served quinoa, but rice or couscous would work just as well.

1 tablespoons garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large bunch of asparagus chopped into 1 in pieces
20-30 small to medium shrimp (about 10-15 per person, depending on the size)
1/4 cup white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Liberal sprinkling of sesame seeds
Liberal sprinkling of chopped green onions

1) Defrost your shrimp and chop your asparagus and green onions.

2) Put the olive oil and garlic in a deep skillet on medium high until heated through.

3) Add in asparagus, thoroughly coat with garlic and oil. Cook for about a minute.

4) Add in shrimp, stir well. Cook for another minute.

5) Add in the wine and lemon juice, stir. Let this cook down, about 5 minutes or so (liquid should be bubbling).

6) Sprinkle on sesame seeds, mix well.

7) Spoon asparagus and shrimp mixture with broth over your selected grain; top with chopped green onions.

Tip #1: I know asparagus and green onions aren't really in season now, but imagine how good this recipe will be when they are!

Tip #2: Substitute sesame oil for olive if you want more of an Asian flavor, or add in some soy sauce near the end. You could also easily omit the sesame seeds or green onions for a slightly simpler recipe.

Calories
Asparagus, 27 cals
Ten shrimp: 80 cals
Olive oil in 2 tbsps: approx 238 cals
White wine: approx 40 cals
Garlic: 4 cals
Lemon Juice: 8 cals
Sesame Seeds: 52 cals
Green Onions: 10

Total: 459 calories
Total per serving: 229.5
(not including whatever grain you choose to serve this with)

Guest Post: Musings of a Healthy Cooking Teacher

Stacey is a Registered Dietitian at a large Midwestern university. She teaches healthy cooking classes and is a working mom of four kids ages 10 and under.

Why did I start teaching healthy cooking classes? Simply put, there are too many people who don’t know how to read a recipe or use common kitchen appliances. (Microwaves don’t count.)

It’s becoming generational. I found that when I did demonstrational classes, people loved tasting the food, but never actually thought about making it at home. I call it the “Food Network Halo Effect,” in which viewers watch the network, but never end up cooking anything on screen. However, once they landed in a kitchen, participating in the process made them less afraid to make mistakes, and those small victories gave them confidence to start trying things on their own. As I tell my classes, “It’s only food, not rocket science.”

I had one college freshman approach me during a class, embarrassed he didn’t quite understand recipes. The five minutes we spent learning have unlocked a world of healthier eating and for him, not to mention several ways to save money.

Time and time again, when folks get together and cook, really cool things happen: community development, team building, the melding of cultures and camaraderie. Often they walk in with uncertainties, but walk out laughing, encouraging each other to try recipes. Either way, as an educator, I see behavioral changes happen faster than if they participated in any lecture or demo.

I personally believe food is meant to be enjoyed. It’s a part of our culture, our traditions, our memories. But I also realize that for health’s sake, we need balance, so we can simultaneously enjoy food and nourish our bodies. This is important whether you’re trying to maintain your weight, prevent medical issues, or if you are smack dab in the middle of a health crisis. I try to teach the concept of balance to my own children, as well. If they enjoy a double cheeseburger at lunch, you better believe they’re going to have more health-filled options for supper.

Enough of the sermon, and let’s get to a recipe! Here’s one of my favorites from the Frugal Healthy Foods class I teach. The secret ingredient is surprising and gets folks talking every time. Try it, and I betchyoo like it, too. Better yet, tinker around with the ingredients (I give some options below) and make it your own.

~~~

If you like this article, you might also enjoy:

• American Chop Suey
• Food, Finance, and Judging Others
• Free Cooking Lessons. No, Seriously.

~~~

Sloppy Jacks
Serves 4-6
NOTE: Creative commons photo is from Flickr's Word Ridden, and gives a pretty good idea of what the end product will look like.

1 pound ground turkey (or equivalent Soy Crumbles)
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 15-ounce can plain pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Pinch black pepper
Whole wheat buns

In a large nonstick skillet, cook meat and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain and return to pan. Add ketchup, water, chili powder, pepper and vinegar and mix well. Stir in pumpkin, cover,  reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes.

Options: Add brown sugar if you like it sweeter, hot sauce if you like it spicier, and chopped green pepper if you want a one-pot meal; you can also serve over baked potatoes.

NOTE: The pumpkin is a power-packed nutrition addition to this recipe as well. It is super high in vitamin A!

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
NOTE: Calculations do NOT include buns, since they numbers can vary wildly depending on brand.
Four servings: 236 calories, 8.5 g fat, 3.6 g fiber, 23.4 g protein, $1.24
Six servings: 157 calories, 5.6 g fat, 2.4 g fiber, 15.6 g protein, $0.82

Calculations
1 pound (93/7) ground turkey: 640 calories, 32 g fat, 0 g fiber, 88 g protein, $2.80
1 small onion, chopped: 29 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1 g fiber, 0.6 g protein, $0.15
1/2 cup ketchup: 120 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein,
1/4 cup water: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.00
1 teaspoon chili powder: 9 calories, 0.4 g fat, 0.9 g fiber, 0.3 g protein, $0.05
1 15-ounce can plain pumpkin (not pie filling): 145 calories, 1.3 g fat, 12.3 g fiber, 4.7 g protein,
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.02
Pinch black pepper: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.01
TOTALS: 943 calories, 33.8 g fat, 14.2 g fiber, 93.6 g protein, $4.94
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 236 calories, 8.5 g fat, 3.6 g fiber, 23.4 g protein, $1.24
PER SERVING (TOTAL/6): 157 calories, 5.6 g fat, 2.4 g fiber, 15.6 g protein, $0.82

Lentil Soup with Sausage, Brown Rice, and Spinach: Things Are Looking Up

Today on Serious Eats: Swiss Chard and Turkey Sausage Over Polenta. So simple. So seductive delicious.

Painful things I have done recently (SPOILER ALERT):

Dislocated and/or broke my left pinky toe on a door frame. That’ll teach me to ... uh ... walk.  

Read the entire Lord of the Rings series. Fellow nerds! Hear my call! Why did no one tell me the books were butt-awful? Sweet bejeezus, Tolkien dedicated entire CHAPTERS to whether Frodo and Sam should take a left at the scary-looking rock, and exactly two pages on the death of Gollum, destruction of the ring, and collapse of Mordor. By the ancient sword of Elendil, Charles *freaking* Dickens would been like, “This needs fewer words, old chap.” 

Admitted my English degree has been fairly useless. With apologies to the Bronte sisters, Jane Eyre does not prepare you for the intricacies of expense reports. 

Watched Precious. “Hm,” I thought halfway through the film, “The only thing that could possibly make this more depressing is if they gave Precious AIDS.” (ten seconds pass) “Aaaaand there you go.” 

Threw out my old music cassette tapes. Oh, man. Here’s something they don’t tell you when you move: Carrying 90 boxes up a flight of stairs isn’t the hardest part. It’s chucking beloved, but outdated and useless possessions, like Open Up and Say ... Ahh!, the 1988 multiplatinum classic from Poison. Every rose has it’s thorn, indeed.

A very enjoyable thing I did recently: 

Ate Double Lentil, Sausage, Brown Rice, and Spinach Soup from the stupendous Kalyn’s Kitchen. Speaking of which, Kalyn just published her Top 10 Recipes of 2010, which you should gaze upon immediately.

HOTUS and I had guests for the first time at our new apartment. As it turns out, it’s impolite to starve company, so thus, the soup. And it tasted good. Real good. So good, there was slurping. From guests! Even my sister liked it, and she hates food.

I made two medium-sized changes to Kalyn’s original recipe: I substituted water in for part of the chicken broth, and used a combination of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika for Spike Seasoning, which I couldn’t find in Brooklyn. Also of note: Kalyn and I both used a 3.5-quart slow cooker. If you don’t own one, she includes instructions to adapt the recipe for the stovetop at Kalyn’s Kitchen. (They’re not included here).

A wonderful thing I have recommenced recently: 

Blogging. It's good to be back, sweet readers.

~~~

If this recipe floats your boaty, these will surely make you gloaty. (Sorry.):

• Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
• Slow Cooker Pork Chops, Apples, and Sweet Potatoes
• White Bean and Kale Soup with Turkey Sausage

~~~

Double Lentil, Sausage, Brown Rice, and Spinach Soup
Serves 6.
Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen.

1/2 medium onion, diced small
1 carrot, peeled and diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
A few shakes each: kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, paprika
3 links pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausage, chopped into 1/3-inch pieces
1 (15-ounce) can petite dice tomatoes, undrained
2 (15-ounce) cans chicken broth
2-1/2 cups water
1/4 cup brown or green lentils
1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup long-grain brown rice
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1) Heat olive in large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Saute until ever-so-slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Saute an additional 2 minutes.

2) Pour onion mixture into crockpot. Add sausage, tomatoes, broth, water, and all lentils. Stir to combine. Cook on high 3 hours.

3) Add rice and spinach. Stir to combine. Cook 1 more hour.

4) Add balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine. Cook 15 minutes. Serve, with crusty bread and “Parmesan cheese if desired.”

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
226 calories, 7.8 g fat, 7.3 g fiber, 15.5 g protein, $1.72

Note: Calculations are for Chef Bruce Aidells Chicken & Apple Sausage from CostCo., since the numbers were easily available online. I personally used a different, yet similar brand, the label of which I can't remember, and is currently buried under two feet of garbage.

Calculations
1/2 medium onion, diced small: 23 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0.8 g fiber, 0.5 g protein, $0.17
1 carrot, peeled and diced small: 25 calories, 0.1 g fat, 1.7 g fiber, 0.6 g protein, $0.08
2 stalks celery, diced small: 17 calories, 0.2 g fat, 2 g fiber, 0.9 g protein, $0.25
1 tablespoon olive oil: 199 calories, 13.5 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.13
3 cloves garlic, minced: 13 calories, 0 g fat, 0.2 g fiber, 0.6 g protein, $0.20
1 teaspoon dried thyme: 3 calories, 0.1 g fat, 0.4 g fiber, 0.1 g protein, $0.12
A few shakes each: kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, paprika: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.03
3 links pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausage: 480 calories, 30 g fat, 1.5 g fiber, 42 g protein, $4.34
1 (15-ounce) can petite dice tomatoes, undrained: 70 calories, 0 g fat, 3.5 g fiber, 3.5 g protein, $1.69 (ugh, I know)
2 (15-ounce) cans chicken broth: 67 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 13.1 g protein, $1.33
2-1/2 cups water: negligible calories, fat, fiber, and protein, $0.00
1/4 cup brown or green lentils: 119 calories, 0.5 g fat, 14.7 g fiber, 12.4 g protein, $0.37
1/4 cup red lentils: 119 calories, 0.5 g fat, 14.7 g fiber, 12.4 g protein, $0.37
1/4 cup long-grain brown rice: 171 calories, 1.3 g fat, 1.6 g fiber, 3.7 g protein, $0.18
4 cups chopped fresh spinach: 28 calories, 0.5 g fat, 2.6 g fiber, 3.4 g protein, $0.86
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar: 20 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.20
TOTALS: 1354 calories, 46.8 g fat, 43.7 g fiber, 93.2 g protein, $10.32
PER SERVING (TOTALS/6): 226 calories, 7.8 g fat, 7.3 g fiber, 15.5 g protein, $1.72

Apple Sausage Breakfast Patties: A Thanksgiving Breakfast Treat(ise)

Today in mah Serious Eats column: Ellie Krieger's Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Three cheers for the chef! (Ellie, not me.)

In the hubbub over Thanksgiving dinner, we often forget the wonder of glory of Thanksgiving breakfast. And y’know what? It’s a dang shame.

Think about it: The flurry of dinner preparations has not yet begun. Every member of your family is bizarrely and totally accounted for. The older kids are home from college. The younger ones haven’t scurried off to school. Mom isn’t due at the 5am Kohl’s Black Friday sale for another 21 hours. Dad’s awake, and he’s wearing pants. In this day and age, it’s practically a coup d’etat in the name of togetherness.

So, sweet readers, don’t waste this opportunity. This Thanksgiving, sit down and bond with your immediate family before the extendeds and all 57 of their drooling, deafening toddlers arrive. Brew some joe. Scramble some eggs. Toast some, er, toast. Whip up Apple Sausage Breakfast Patties from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

“Make my own meat?” you might holler across the plains. “Are you insane? I’ll have a 34-pound bird to defrost, brine, baste, and slice later that day. Why in the name of Super Grover would I spend my 40 minutes of Thanksgiving free time mixing sausage? Go home, nerd!”

Yikes. You’re not in a good mood today. That’s okay. I understand. And I’m telling you: never fear. These patties only take about 20 minutes, and half of that is cooking time. You can be doing a ton of other things while they warm through, like peeling potatoes and calling Grandma to tell her to bring that gravy bowl you like.

Ooo. And I forgot to mention. Apple Sausage patties are inexpensive, way delicious, and comparatively light. (To give you a yardstick, a Jimmy Dean turkey patty is almost three times the calories and more than four times the fat.) Essentially, they’ll alleviate any negative feelings you’ve ever had about making sausage, plus communism and athlete’s foot.

Of course, if you should try them, know these two things:

1) The parsley in this is listed as “optional,” which is a clever way of saying that I mistook the cilantro in my fridge for parsley, and subsequently failed to purchase any from the supermarket. I didn’t miss it. Neither will you.

2) Nutritional calculations come from Better Homes and their respective Gardens.

Remember folks: Thanksgiving should be a day of appreciation. For everything. Especially family breakfasts.

~~~

If this recipe makes you want to play pattycake, these will propel you right up to double dutch:

• Autumn Sausage Casserole
• DIY Turkey Breakfast Sausage
• Hush Puppy Corn Cakes

~~~

Apple Sausage Breakfast Patties
Makes 8 patties.
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced (I used a MacIntosh – Kris)
3 tablespoons quick-cooking oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash o’ cayenne
1/2 pound 93/7 ground turkey breast (I used Shady Brook - Kris)
Nonstick cooking spray

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

1) In a medium bowl, combine egg, onion, apple, oats, salt, sage, nutmeg, pepper, cayenne, and parsley if using. Stir. Add turkey and mush all ingredients together with your hands, as you would for meatballs. Form into eight patties, each about 2 inches long and 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick.

2) Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Once hot, add patties. Cook until first side is browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Flip. Do the same to the other side. Cut into one patty to make sure everything is cooked through. Serve hot.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price Per Serving
51 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g fiber, 4 g protein, $0.33

Calculations
1 egg white, lightly beaten: $0.33
1/4 cup onion, finely diced: $0.05
1/2 cup apple, peeled, cored, and finely diced: $0.24
3 tablespoons quick-cooking oats: $0.06
1/2 teaspoon salt: $0.01
1/2 teaspoon ground sage: $0.08
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg: $0.03
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper: $0.02
Dash o’ cayenne: $0.01
1/2 pound 93/7 ground turkey breast: $1.68
Nonstick cooking spray: $0.10
TOTAL: $2.61 (Nutritional calcs from Better Homes)
PER SERVING (TOTAL/8): 51 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g fiber, 4 g protein, $0.33

Deconstructed Guacamole Wraps, OR Lime Chicken Salad with Avocado and Tomato: It's All in the Name

NOTE #1: Today on Serious Eats, it’s Zucchini Crostini. As much fun to eat as it is to say.

NOTE #2: Wanna help out a good cause? Yay! The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation is asking CHG readers to fill out this Healthy Eating poll for research. They don't want any personal information – just a few answers to some very worthwhile questions. Head on over!

In my humble, meek, somewhat self-effacing (yes, I used the Thesaurus tool) opinion, one of the best recipes we’ve ever featured on CHG is the unfortunately named Cheesy Eggplant Bake. A tornado of vegetables and frommage, it’s most excellent for those days you just want to pack your face with large quantities of delectable healthiness.

Jeez, though. That name.

Today’s recipe has a similar problem. It’s a limey, fresh, summer-appropriate mixture of chicken and various guacamole-associated ingredients. And ideally, it goes in a wrap, on top of a few leaves of lettuce.

So, do we call our creations Deconstructed Guacamole Wraps? On one hand, the name sounds like the classy-like results of a Top Chef quickfire challenge. On the other hand, what everyday cook ever deconstructs anything? Besides his blender, I mean.

Or, do we go with Lime Chicken Salad with Avocado and Tomato? It lacks the upscale panache of the first name, but it IS much more picnic-ready. Like you can just throw it together and be off. Still, there’s the slight mayo-association that comes whenever you use the word “Salad.” And nobody wants that.

Sweet readers, what to call this thing? Would you go with either of the proposed titles? Would you call it something else entirely? How do we convey that it requires leftover chicken? Am I overthinking this?

(My answers: dunno, maybe, yes, beats me, yes.)

Before you get to brainstorming, though, know this: these wraps, while scrumptious, are much richer than our usual entries, due to a lot of avocado and a not-modest amount of olive oil. However, you can drop a significant amount of fat by reducing each ingredient by half. Not that you have to. This is all pretty healthy, fat-wise.

With that said, how about that name? I'm stymied.

~~~

If you dig this recipe, these might also float your boat:

• Chipotle Pork Tenders
• Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
• Skillet Chicken Fajitas

~~~

Deconstructed Guacamole Wraps
OR Lime Chicken Salad with Avocado and Tomato
Serves 4.

8 ounces grilled chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 avocado, diced
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 large leaves green lettuce
4 tortilla wraps

NOTE: I used grilled chicken thighs for this, due to their moistness and general tastiness. There were three of ‘em and I took each apart with my fingers.

1) In a medium bowl, combine chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro. Stir, gently if you have very-ripe avocado.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour on to chicken mixture and stir to combine.

3) Place a few leaves of lettuce on each wrap. Split chicken evenly among wraps. Roll them up. Serve!

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Price
368 calories, 23 g fat, 5.7 g fiber, 18 g protein, $1.30

NOTE: Your numbers will be slightly different depending on what cut of chicken and what kind of wraps you use. My calculations are for chicken thighs and Tropical brand tortillas.

Calculations
8 ounces grilled chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces: 435 calories, 22.7 g fat, 0 g fiber, 54 g protein, $1.27
1 avocado, diced: 322 calories, 29.5 g fat, 13.5 g fiber, 4 g protein, $1.00
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes: 27 calories, 0.3 g fat, 1.8 g fiber, 1.3 g protein, $0.99
1/4 cup red onion, minced: 17 calories, 0 g fat, 0.6 g fiber, 0.4 g protein, $0.12
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped: 1 calories, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, 0.1 g protein, $0.25
3 tablespoons lime juice: 12 calories, 0 g fat, 0.2 g fiber, 0.2 g protein, $0.50
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil: 239 calories, 27 g fat, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein, $0.24
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $0.01
Freshly ground black pepper: negligible calories, fat, fiber, protein, $0.01
4 large leaves green lettuce: 19 calories, 0.3 g fat, 2.4 g fiber, 1.4 g protein, $0.10
4 wraps: 400 calories, 12 g fat, 4 g fiber, 12 g protein, $0.72
TOTAL: 1472 calories, 91.8 g fat, 22.6 g fiber, 73.4 g protein, $5.21
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 368 calories, 23 g fat, 5.7 g fiber, 18 g protein, $1.30