Healthy and Delicious Cooking

I can't believe it's been 7 years since I started this blog, with encouragement from my children and friends. I was unemployed and miserable and my solace was cooking and revisiting dishes from my youth. People started asking me for recipes and a friend suggested a blog. I was quite prolific in those initial months, and without sounding overly dramatic, my new found hobby saved my sanity in those trying times. Staying focused and being somewhat creative (I was hopelessly computer inept) kept me from sliding into depression and panic. It also made me more confident with the computer as it taught me to explore different programs and apply them to my profession as a healthcare provider.                              Eventually, I did land a job, and my daily duties of work and home made my blogging increasingly erratic. Once again, my children's encouragement was reinforced when they presented me with a new comp...

This is a twist on Enchiladas Suizas, where chicken wrapped in corn tortillas are bathed with a creamy tomatillo-poblano sauce. At weeks end I found some sad looking cherry tomatoes, avocados that had finally ripened, and left-over roast chicken breast, the prime reason for roasting a chicken, as far as I am concerned. I made the creamy sauce with avocados, grilled tomatoes, some jalapenos and garlic. topped off the wrapped chicken enchiladas with all the bits of left-over cheeses in the fridge, and end-of week enchiladas were born. RECIPE Serves 4 1 cup cherry tomatoes 2 jalapenos (I like it spicy) 4 cloves garlic, peeled 3 avocados 1 cup cilantro 1 teaspoon cumin, toasted salt and pepper 8 corn tortillas 2 chicken breast, shredded 1 1/2 cups left-over cheese, grated Heat a cast iron skillet and grill the tomatoes, jalapenos and garlic until brown spots appear, and the garlic is soft enough to adhere to a knife. Blend the vegetables with the avocados, cilantro, toaste...

Holidays are wonderful but they can be bittersweet We share good times, and a bounty of food, with friends and family, and we toast those whose absence weigh heavily. This Thanksgiving my son and daughter-in-law, rightfully, stayed with our family in Rochester, to give thanks and to celebrate Jareds' father-in-law, Tonys', miraculous recovery from adversity. I had to prepare far less food without Jared at the table, and he begged for leftovers to be frozen and shipped. With a house full of kids for the entire weekend, there was barely a crumb left in the cupboard. So much for leftovers! Then much to our surprise, Jared and Sonia came for a week in December, and I planned a Thanksgiving recreation. It didn't happen. The week was packed with events, a continuous stream of family and friends, and then they were gone. But surprises are a plenty, and lo and behold, Jared (sadly without Sonia), returned to welcome in the New Year with his New York family. This time I was deter...

Delicious, yes. Healthy, questionable. You get a lot of calcium and a lot of fat. Here is my theory. It is OK to indulge every once in a while, if you do the whole grain, lean meats, veggies and fruits, most of the time. I didn't grow up on "American Food", but mac and cheese was comfort food for our family of cheese lovers. Later on in my life, my Dad introduced us to the wonderful Edna Lewis, the doyenne of Southern Cookery. I loved it all, the Smothered Chicken, Collard Greens, Fried Cat Fish, She Crab Soup, and I can go on and on. So when my friend, Rudy, asked to be taught how to make Macaroni and Cheese , I turned to Edna Lewis' "The Gift of Southern Cooking". Miss Lewis' is not the usual bechamel based recipe. It is less of a pasta dish, and more of a cheesy custard. And if you follow her serving size, it is a side dish, and not a main dish. In my home it is the Main Attraction, the Leading Lady, and Center Stage. It serves 4, instead of 8-10, a...

I love Chiles Rellenos. They are cheese or meat stuffed poblano peppers, that are dipped in a fluffy meringue, floured and deep-fried, and I adore every, not so healthy, bite. Thank you Oaxaca, Mexico, for this fabulous creation. However, I made them without deep-frying, but by baking them with a cheesy vegetable stuffing, and I served it with rice and beans. My Mexican amigos may faint with horror, but, honestly, they were quite delicious, and easier on the arteries. The pepper were spicy, sweet, and combined with the creamy stuffing it, literally, melted in your mouth. Having the real deal every now and then is fine, and enjoy every morsel. But for those of us who need a fix more frequently, this vegetarian meal satisfies the soul. And even you carnivores may display a reluctant smile! RECIPE ( 2 servings) 4 medium poblano pepper 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 1 small onion, minced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 jalapeno, minced (seeded if you dont want heat) 1 small red pepper, d...

ODE TO DIANE The Monday blues dissipated after making Roasted Eggplant,Salad, Potato and Zucchini in a Skillet, and lovely little Pork Skewers with Cayenne and Raw Onions. WOW! Thank you Diane, your beautiful food was a massage for my soul, and brought joy to my loved ones.  BYE BYE BLUES Thought I burnt it but the creamy, white flesh was perfect. RECIPES Roasted Eggplant Salad with Feta, Onions, Peppers, and Garlic (8 servings) 3 large eggplant juice of 1 large lemon 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 large red onion, chopped 2 green peppers, chopped 3 cloves garlic 7 ounces feta, crumbled 1/2 teaspoon cayenne salt and pepper to taste Poke the eggplant all over surface and roast in a 450 oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until charred and wrinkled, (as above). Slit the eggplant open and scrape out the flesh on to a cutting board. Place in a bowl and squeeze lemon and add the olive oil and mix well. place in the serving dish. Add chopped vegetables and ...