The Bathing Suit Diet

Now that it's May and we 're only a few weeks  - and in some areas - days - from bathing suit season, it's time to shed those pounds. It pays to eat right now as opposed to crash dieting when you're trying to fit a size 12 body into a size 8 bathing suit. Lose the flab  before you dig out the monokini or bikini.

It's tempting to make a hearty breakfast when the mornings still have a nip to them. Resist. If you do want something hot, then think of egg white omelets studded with spinach and mushrooms. Another great idea is asparagus and  a poached egg on a toasted English muffin.Poached eggs can also be tasty and low calorie when paired with mushrooms and tomatoes.If you love salads , then think about an egg salad,. This literal version has eggs, poached and scrambled paired with kale and asparagus. If having a vinaigrette is too strong in the AM then sub in lemon juice for the vinegar. Bacon would be good with it but, remember the real thing is calorie rich, A better choice is  Morningstar Farms soy bacon which is only sixty calories a serving (about twenty calories a slice). Oatmeal is always a good way to start the day. It also helps in reducing the low density lipoprotein or LPD in your body. Whole grain oatmeal  also boosts metabolism, the key component in losing weight. Try it with agave syrup and almond milk. You can also cut up apples and add cinnamon for an apple pie flavor.

What to do for lunch? Think tuna or salmon. Chicken of the Sea and Starkist have these handy packets of both kinds. The flavors include lemon pepper and sriracha which makes them ideal for mixing with salads. They're so  indulgent tasting even though the tuna is only eighty calories while the salmon is just seventy. The packets have  about seventy-four grams and are filling .If you don't want salad, then try them with plain Saltines for a light but satisfying lunch.Salad, either for lunch or dinner is always  good. Make it substantial with chickpeas , broccoli and peppers.Add some julienned strips of turkey and ham if you want to make it heartier. Remember to keep dressings light. Nix the heavy mayo based ones and make it a light vinaigrette. You can even jazz that up with crushed blue berries,blackberries or strawberries.Dinner should be a low calorie rice or bean bowl. The two can even be combined to create a good for you , satisfying supper.Use arborio rice instead of the long grain to make it special and more of a dinnertime dish. Toss in carrots , bell peppers and cherry tomatoes for color and flavor. Another idea is having salmon for dinner, Flavor  it with herbes de Provence and lemon for a more sophisticated turn. Serve with zucchini noodles or mandolined squash to round it out.

Bathing suit season will be here before we know it. Start shedding the pounds now by eating right and eating healthy. It's a great jump start to those days when less clothing is more.

Cooking Vegan With Gardein

Running a vegetarian or vegan home kitchen is hard. What do you sub in for protein? How do you make a plant based meal appetizing? The answer lies in Gardein, a company that makes a variety of faux meat products. Use their products and any home chef can expand their meatless repertoire.

Gardein was started by a Canadian chef twenty-five years ago. He had a vision about using the power of meatless dishes t create a healthy version of fast food. The company  strongly believes that eating plant or soy based meals will help the planet and cut down on the global need for killing and eating animals.It is a great company. I discovered them , looking for some kind of change from other brands of veggie burgers and chicken nuggets.  What I like is their variety. They have soy fish  and crab cakes which the other types don;t have. For a fish  lover like myself, this is a huge deal. I can have a Friday night fish and chips dinner, without hurting any sea life.Theirs tastes exactly like cod, especially with the crunchy  beer batter coating.Another plus is that Gardein has a variety of beef flavored soy. It's not just burgers and crumbles. They have steak tips which can be used for all sorts of recipes.The company also has hot pockets and has just introduced skillet meals  which is kind of like Hamburger Helper with the addition of  "meat". I 'm hoping they expand their breakfast foods line. Right now they only have a hot pocket , filled with  scrambled "eggs and sausage", red peppers and spinach.  and a sausage patty that can be used in sandwiches or as a side to eggs.Hopefully faux Canadian bacon and bacon are on their radar.

Still Gardein is my go to main ingredient. I love their variety and t enables me to create all sorts of dishes.An easy and tasty recipe is sauteing the beef tips with minced garlic in olive oil. I could end it there and serve it with mixed veggies however I add a tablespoon of soy sauce  and steamed pea pods . It's ladled over flavored rice (namely white rice cooked in vegetable broth). It's delicious and filling, and definitely more tastier than using the real thing. Gardein's ultimate beefless burger tastes so much like the real thing, that any carnivore would give up beef patties for this. It has the same juicy mouth feel and mineral flavor.. Another favorite is the Mandarin Crispy Chik'n. I served it with edamame for a PF Chang's vibe.Again it was so flavorful  and the feel was very much like the real thing.I  would  love to try the Chipotle Lime fingers, a perfect Saturday dinner served with french fries and home made cole slaw. The only hiccup is their crab cakes.They're  a little too fishy along with being a bit too peppery.Since they're meant to be hors d'ouevres, they should be served with some kind of sauce. I just had them plain, I should have made some kind of cocktail sauce to compliment them to balance out the over crablike taste.

Gardein's products are a must have for any vegetarian or vegan kitchen. They can be used in a variety of dishes, being the perfect subs for the real thing. Try any of their faux meats or fish  for a tasty, healthy meal..

The Best Of Barney's Bites

With shopping comes an appetite. Luckily there are stores like Manhattan's famed Barney's that have  a restaurant that satisfies hungry shoppers. Now there's a new cookbook, full of great recipes and stories by its' chef. Mark Strausman. Now affectionados of the eatery can recreate their favorite dishes and relive the Barney's experience.

The Fred's At Barney's Cookbook (Grand Central, Life and Style Publishing 2018) is a compilation of all three restaurants located in New York City and Beverly Hills. The store itself was started by Fred Pressman,hence the restaurant's name.   It started out as simply a men's suit store and expanded to include women, children and home goods There was a need to have a place where shoppers could sit and eat in order to keep them in the store. Enter Chef Strausman who also created the famed Campagna. His background is international , having apprenticed in Germany  and working in A-list restaurants both in the city and East Hampton. His recipes are easy enough for a novice chef  however and there should be no qualms in making the various dishes. The book is divided into four simple sections, lunch  dinner, brunch, and dessert along with an opening chapter on Chef Strausman's background and a history of Barney's. A plus are the green blocks that have all sorts of useful information, from what constitutes rare,medium and well done along with what vegetables are perfect for vegetable. stock.  There are pictorial how tos on how to cut vegetables as well as folding a towel in the "Escoffier way" to act as a pot holder.He also  offers sweet anecdotes  about each dish along with tips on how to cook the dishes.

For those who love Fred''s  the book starts off with their popular French fry recipe along two dipping sauces , the famed aoili and a zingy Sauce Calypso. Beginners to the kitchen will appreciate the recipes on the different kinds of stock as well as how to make clarified butter, pesto and homemade croutons.  The lunch recipes are both New York classic and California trendy.  There is the club salad, rife with radicchio, frise and Romaine lettuce along with roast turkey breast and oven baked bacon . Both coasts of Fred 's fans will love the avocado toast topped with Pico di Gallo and sunflower seeds.  Dinner recipes include balsamic chicken, inspired by Chef' Strausman's time in Switzerland and tuna with soy and a balsamic glaze. Of course there is pasta, from spaghetti to fusilli to ravioli
 and two kinds of pizza One celebrates Emilia -Romangna that has four kinds of cheeses plus aged vinegar and the beloved Pizza Margherita, with basil and mozzarella gracing a homemade crust. Home chefs will love the variety of the brunch recipes. There's scrambled eggs covered in cheese fondue along with the classic Eggs Benedict. Recipes for  accompanying driniks such as the Bloody Mary are also included. Desserts vary from the simple fruit plate to the decadent tiramisu and  chocolate souffle cakes with orange compote.

Fred's At Barney's Cookbooks are for those who love the eatery along with shopping at the store  and for those who enjoy good food and desserts. it's a great book, filled with history  and recipes

 Like the store itself, it appeals to all tastes.

A Seller's Party

Ever since the dawn of selling cosmetics , women have been creating parties and teas around their sales pitches. It's still the same today, whether at home, selling lipstick or in a local salon selling jewelry or nail stickers. There's nothing like having fun hors d'ouevres as you're shopping and trying out samples.

Many sales people feel that a wine party - and whatever they're selling is always best. From a seller's point that's true. Potential customers have a buzz on, they're laid back and careless with their credit cards. I feel that this is not the greatest way to promote a product or a brand. It's taking advantage of guests. Besides , what happens the next morning  when they wake up sober and realize they've bought a pricey pair of earrings or enough make up to paint all of the Kardashians?  Keep drinking to a minimum. (Also keep in mind that the party host is responsible if the guests drive drunk.) An easier solution would be white wine spritzers. Have plenty of  sparkling water and various diet and regular sodas around  too..If it's a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, then think mimosas or Bellinis  - a few sips of champagne or any sparkling wine mixed with peach nectar. Of course if it's more sales talk, then serve coffee with  flavored creamers along with a variety of different teas.

What to serve?Keep it light. Friends and family are not there for a meal but for shopping. One of the easiest is different kinds of bruschetta. This is a simple make , which requires just toasting slices of oil brushed Italian bread with various toppings. It's easy to whip up the tomato topping which also had chopped onion , garlic and chiffonaded basil. Vary it with a pesto topping, which is  just a basil based sauce that also has pine nuts and olive oil added.Another idea is charcuterie platters and loaves of sliced French bread. Include various cold cuts from mortadella to sliced turkey along with  small boats of aoli sauce and mayonnaise.For a really low fuss table, set out two or three cheese plates with cubed cheese and crackers. Guests can nibble as they peruse the goods offered and shop.Another no- nonsense idea is just cake and coffee.You can make it yourself if it's a small group or opt out for a larger. store bought cake for a larger one.  Fancy butter cookies would also be a nice choice, paired with a fruit platter.

A sales party is the time for shopping and eating. What's more enjoyable than buying a new lipstick or fancy bauble followed by good food.It's the perfect get together.

A Spring-y Take On Pasta

This is the time of early harvests. One of those is peas. Their , fresh, green flavor is a harbinger
 of the bounties to come. They are good on their own. Paired with pasta,they become almost magical, bursting with a sweet earthiness.

David Tanis knows this and wrote about the pairing in his column A City Kitchen in yesterday's New York Times Food section,.Right now peas in pods are finally making an appearance in farmer's markets, here on the East Coast. (the West Coast have been enjoying them for the past few weeks). Peas have always gone well with pasta.They add color and zing to a cream sauce, while giving it a fresh, garden-y taste. The addition of pancetta gives Mr. Tanis'  sauce a salty smokiness, another perfect foil  that adds an interesting note.Pancetta , especially the unsmoked kind should be found at your local grocery but if you can't then just add in regular smoked bacon. Pancetta is usually sold in cubes or lardons and Mr. Tanis recommends simmering them in water for a minute or two. Doing this tomes down the smokiness and renders the fat. He also adds mustard green which were also found at his outdoor market. as for the pasta, any would do but papperdelle is the best. The sauce clings to the ribbon like pasta Either buy it fresh made or the imported dried version in boxes. if you're
adventurous enough, use your pasta maker and create those silky ribbons.

Making the sauce is easy.Everything is cooked in one skillet and afterwards the pasta is added to it.
The sauce  is bursting with not just the peas but also with the flavors of fresh basil,mint and parsley leaves. These three have to be put in either a mortar or mini food processor and mashed into a coarse pesto like paste. Mr. Tanis also adds green garlic shoots , also found in farmer's markets right now. Both the green and white parts should be used and finely chopped. As for the peas , four cups should do it. They and the garlic shoots are added to olive oil and should be sizzled but without turning brown. The pancetta is then tossed in   along with half a cup of water. Add the mustard greens
, then the herb paste along with a cup of fresh ricotta and the zest of one lemon. Boil the pasta, drain
mix into the sauce.. Transfer to a platter or individual bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan.If you want to change it up, use fettucini or tagliatelli.instead of the papperdelle.

Take advantage of the harvest that come with Spring. Right now it's peas. Try them in a creamy sauce that pair well with robust pastas.

Utah Mecca Of Hawaiian Food

Utah is known for many things - great skiing, the Great Salt Lake and great Hawaiian food. It's true. This landlocked state is now famous for producing  island treats It's like a taste of a sunny paradise in the middle of the mountains.

Priya Krishna, a regular contributor and author of Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks, wrote this unique and interesting article for today's New York Times Food section.She interviewed the force behind the Hawaiian food movement, brothers Kalani and Kimo Mack. Their restaurant , Mo Bettahs (it means the best in  local  Creole Pidgin dialect) is in Salt Lake City and it's one of the most popular out there How did the food get there in the first place? Thank the Mormons. The first missionaries went to the islands in the 1840's , trying to convert islanders to their religion.It is why now Polynesia is rife with them.The islands host six temples and several church sponsored schools. Many modern missionaries are sent there for two or three years and develop a taste for Hawaiian food.They miss the variety and different flavors. Mo Bettahs satisfies that culinary  itch  The brothers came into it by happy accident. Mormons themselves, they moved to Salt Lake City in 2008 because the cost of living was cheaper than the islands along with being Mormon. There were no job prospects and the brothers were more beach bums than academics. They brainstormed coming up with ten ideas, including selling tents and  creating kiosks for people to download Ipod songs.

The third idea - running a restaurant resonated with them. There was only one problem - the Mack had no clue on how to run a restaurant but knew they wanted to make their favorite foods. Fortunately they had their Hawaiian - Korean mother's recipes and their work experience at the exclusively Hawaiian chain, Zippy's  One menu must have was the  popular plate lunch , consisting of a multicultural meal of meat, rice and macaroni salad!It was a staple of the 19th century sugar plantations, Other dishes offered are chicken katsu, a kind of fried chicken with a panko crumb coating.and kahlua pork, shredded pork  butt  seasoned with liquid smoke and Hawaiian sea salt.There's also the more familiar shrimp tempura and pulehu steak, a strip rubbed, again, with Hawaiian sea salt, garlic and sugar. What's surprisingly is there is no shaved ice - the cool treat the Obamas made popular and haupia, a kind of custard made with coconut  milk,cornstarch, sugar  and waterMaybe the brothers will expand their menu to include these in the future or even set up a separate but connected stand  Still Utahans love the food, thanks to Kalani's campaign on Facebook and the missionaries longing for Hawaiian food. There will be six more branches opening up in Utah and one in Idaho. Nevada and Missouri are also on their radar too.

Utah seems like an unlikely place for katsu chicken and pulehu steak,. Yet the Mack brothers are making sure it's a standard  in a landlocked state.It's a chance to enjoy paradise in the Beehive State.

Pereg Flours - A New Way Of Baking

Using an old fashioned recipe is sweet. Using old fashioned white flour isn't. It can lead to bad allergic reactions along with gluten based stomach problems. Luckily, there is Pereg Flours that allows home  bakers to bake without any worries or doubts.

Pereg is known as an alternative flour company, even though they also sell soups , bread crumbs and pasta among other healthier foods.It's one of the oldest , starting by the Pereg family in 1906. The company has a full range of gluten free, carb free, allergy free flours. These are perfect for those dealing with all sort of wheat related problems. The flours range from the ancient grains such as teff and quinoa to plaintain, coconut and banana. Old standby's like buckwheat are also sold along with the trendier almond and chickpea. I thought I'd give Pereg Flours a try and got the quinoa. This doesn't have the carbs of regular wheat and it's healthier.I thought  why not pancakes.I took the Lazy Cat Kitchen recipe and tweaked it a bit.

This is the quinoa flour. It has a custardy yellow hue and a silkier texture than regular flour.

A teaspoon of baking powder was needed as was a teaspoon of baking soda/

They were sifted together to look like this

Now it's time for the liquids. The Lazy Cat recommended a plant milk. I chose coconut milk, for both the low calories and creaminess. 

Two teaspoons of lemon juice were added to create a catalyst with the baking powder and baking soda. This creates a leavening effect that gives the pancakes lift.

Four teaspoons of maple sytup (actual maple syrup not the watered down version) gives the batter a subtle sweetness.

Vegan butter , made from coconut oil but tastes exactly like the real thing was used for frying.

The pancakes came out  OK not as robust as regular pancakes.

The taste was green and plantlike, Imagine the scent of freshly cut grass as a taste and you have quinoa. Before frying I added a sprinkle of Celtic sea salt to bring out the other ingredients' flavors.Of course I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and more maple syrup were poured over them.

 Next time I'll try Pereg's Buckwheat to maybe whip up a batch of blinis.

Pereg's Flours bring in a whole new era of baking. They'll help home bakers wean their families away from traditional wheat flours and embrace a healthier diet. Try their flours in any baking recipe and see the difference.