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Day 302: Fennel, Leek & Mushroom Saute ◄

[It's February and we're cooking fennel this month! And YOU are invited to join the fun! All month, food bloggers and readers are invited to share their favorite fennel concoctions, new or archived. There's a running round-up , with new entries including fennel dumplings -- dumplings? Something in Season promises they're a two-time winner!] More fennel! Another prospect for easy, healthful weeknight fare! And tasty -- tasty, of course! It's a simple saute of fennel, leek and mushrooms and worked great beside grilled meat. NUTRITION NOTES ... Carb counters? This one's for you, only 5 grams of carbs. Weight Watchers? This one's for you two, with options ranging from 0 points to 2 points. So low-carb, low-fat, low-point and high-fiber. This is a real winner. NEXT TIME ... Skip the walnuts which added texture contrast (but also calories) and little flavor ... Saute the fennel and leeks in stock rather than olive oil, creating a non-fat dish ... Consider adding a

Day 301: Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon Butter ♥

Today's quick and easy and healthy way to cook sugar snap peas: All it takes is a quick sauté in salted water. Then the flash-cooked sugar snap peas are tossed with a smidgen of butter, just a single teaspoon. But it's enough, it really is, because the lemon zest makes this one seriously tasty way to cook sugar snap peas. Low carb and because there is so little fat, so much fiber, these sugar snap peas add up to absolutely zero Weight Watchers points. ~recipe & photo updated 2013~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ 2006 ORIGINAL POST: I can't remember the last time I cooked sugar snap peas. Hmmm: have I ever cooked sugar snap peas? Either way, what a mistake. These were easy-easy, quick-quick and tasty-tasty. (If you're into food-blogging acronyms like SHF and IMBB and DMBLGIT and ETC, then that'd be EEQQTT. And now that I've done the nutrition analysis, see below, let's make that EEQQTTHH, adding healthful-healthful.) And because there was nothing st

Day 299: Butternut Squash Soup with Cider Cream ♥

~ recipe & photo updated in 2007 ~ 2005: Regulars at the Epicurious Buzz Box will recognize this recipe . Since its appearance in 1998, some 200 cooks have rated it with four forks for 'dish beyond compare'. Based on those reviews, my expectations were high, so high I even splurged by leaving in the cream. I was soooo prepared for something wonderfully delicious. But tonight's soup turned out only okay, certainly nothing to rave about nor ever make again. Since so many other cooks have loved this soup, it's possible that tonight's particular circumstances changed its outcome. Winter squash can be watery and flavorless, plus for a half recipe, I cut the I cut the butter from 2 1/2 tablespoons to 1. 2007: Sure enough, if the squash itself has flavor, the soup will be delicious. I used roasted pumpkin (pumpkin and butternut squash are often interchanged) and so the soup was on the table in about 20 minutes, completely delicious. I skipped the cider cream, though

Day 298: Fennel Goulash ◄

Tonight's vegetarian supper comes from a favorite cookbook from my vegetarian years, titled, surprise, surprise, Vegetarian Suppers . The margin note reads, "1/92 Great! Meaty and rich flavored." Now I've added, "2/06 Still great! Add 1T vinegar at end to brighten. Don't skip mushrooms." (Yes, I've been writing notes on recipe cards and in cookbooks forever and ever ... I figure food blogging and food writing is just my way of sharing those notes!) It makes for a terrific meatless supper or side dish, fat with fennel, potato and tomato. FEBRUARY IS FENNEL MONTH ... Are you cooking fennel with me this month? Or do you have a fennel favorite in your archives? Leave a comment and I'll add the link to February's Fennel Round-up . NUTRITION NOTES ... Carb counters: Omit the potato and substitute additional fennel. Weight Watchers: This is already a 1.5 point supper so perfect for weight-loss and weight-maintenance mode. For a no-fat version, simp

Kitchen Parade Extra: Shhh Banana Bread ◄

It's too warm for sleds and too cold to garden. So what's a foodie to do except, well, bake? This week's Kitchen Parade column features a luscious banana bread that's oh-so-moist, even though it's made with just one tablespoon of fat. (c) Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade

Day 297: Daikon & Carrrot Salad

~recipe & photo updated 2010~ 2005 Original: Hmm. So what makes this daikon-carrot combination so average when this Daikon & Pepper Salad was sooo good? Did last week's daikon have better taste or texture than tonight's which had been stored in the frig for a week? Not noticeably. Was last week's first-time-ever daikon new and exciting and tonight's same and humdrum? Not likely. Was it last week's white wine vinegar vs tonight's rice vinegar? Not likely. Was it last week's 1/2 tablespoon of oil vs tonight's no-oil? Not likely. Honestly, the only thing that makes sense is that the TEXTURE of daikon and pepper are a better match than the texture of daikon and carrot. Whatever it is, I'm still very high on daikon. Plus on the nutrition front, this salad is no-fat, low-calorie and low-carb -- so it's good on the healthful dimension. But next time, I'll make the Daikon & and Pepper Salad ! 2010: For a second time, I found th

A New Challenge

Do pink 'n' purple peppers seem as foreign and inedible as say, hmmm, vegetarian and vegan cuisine? My new challenge is entice us all -- vegetarians and carnivores alike -- to expand our cooking inspiration into worlds previously unknown. (MeatHenge, I'm talking to you too, you cauliflower fiend , you! If you can eat cauliflower, you can go meatless ONCE in awhile!) How, you ask? Thanks to the kind invitation of Elise Bauer at Simply Recipes , I've joined an all-star team of contributing editors over at BlogHer , the brand-new happenin' place whose simple mission is to build new audiences for women bloggers. (Not just food bloggers, mind you, but Mommy & Family bloggers , Sex & Relationship bloggers , Politics and News bloggers , oh so many bloggers! My fellow editors and I are already busy posting highlights -- check out my posts and all our food and drink posts . And lady bloggers, be sure to check here to claim or add your own blog .) But I do