It's possible that I may have put on a few pounds.
So I'm reaching into my annals of diet history and busting out my low calorie goodies for the New Year. Being the piggy that I am, I insist that my food always have flavor and be of a substantial portion- no celery sticks and cottage cheese for me (at least not without serious alteration.) Here is my first "diet" offering of the new year, a barley dish that's good for a low-calorie lunch (and way better than a stupid diet shake) or for a filling side dish to serve at dinner with a little grilled sirloin steak.
This recipe can be served warm or cold, but I usually eat it cold like a salad, and it's just about 220 calories per serving. It's also full of things that are very good for you, especially since they aren't cooked.
Ingredients:
1 cup pearl barley
2 bunches of curly parsley, most stems removed, and chopped finely
2 cups of grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered (measure before chopping)
1 or 2 large garlic cloves, chopped very fine (adjust to your own taste)
1 rounded tablespoon of pine nuts
3 ounces of crumbled feta cheese
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
juice and zest of one small lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
This makes about 5 one-cup servings (very packed cups.)
Simmer the barley in a pot of salted water for 45-60 minutes. Drain and add to the rest of the ingredients and toss everything really well together. You can fill it out with even more tomatoes if you'd like a bigger plate of food.
You can lower the calories even further by omitting the cheese (add a little more salt if you do this), then it will be only about 170 calories per serving, but do not omit the olive oil for any reason, for that way lies madness...
(Because of the raw garlic, I wouldn't eat this for lunch at work, if you need to talk to people at work, leave out the fresh garlic and a little Tabasco sauce and a dash of garlic powder.)
I did very well at the Sacramento farmer's market on Sunday, everything looked beautiful, and was priced right. I found lots of good veggies and even some potted vegetables and herbs for the garden. Not all of my loot was for eating though, I also got this really pretty ornamental oregano called Kent's Beauty, I can't wait for it to get bigger (I'm an impatient gardener).
Check out the big green onions with the flowers on them, I think they look like little lit candles, I chopped them right up along with the stems!
The recipe today, a pie made with Swiss chard, is obviously a savory pie, it's very yummy served cold for lunch or cut in smaller slices for appetizer.
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| Right out of the oven |
Ingredients:
1 bunch Swiss chard
1 bunch dill weed (chopped)
1 bunch green onions
1 cup walnuts
6 eggs
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon plus one pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (omit if you don't have it, don't use fresh)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sharp cheese for topping (amount is up to you, I used 2 oz feta)
Walnut oil and Balsamic vinegar for drizzling
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put a large pot on the stove on high with a few inches of water in the bottom. Chop the chard into small chunks and dump in the pan. Heat up just until the mass is wilted down, then drain immediately in a colander. Let it cool.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Chop walnuts until you have about a cup roughly chopped. Chop the green onions as well and then add both to the olive oil with a pinch of salt, and fry on high, stirring frequently.
After five minutes, remove the walnuts and green onions from the heat, and for ease of clean up, instead of using a fresh bowl, just use the pot you already used to boil the chard in as a bowl (dump out the water of course!). To that, add your fresh chopped dill, your eggs, cornmeal and spices.
Before adding the chard to all of this, take the cooled chard in your hands and squeeze the heck out of it until most of the liquid comes out. It's amazing how a whole bunch of chard now fits easily in your hands! Once everything is in there mix it all very well.
Rub oil all over the inside of a regular glass pie pan, and fill it with the mixture. Sprinkle the top with your favorite cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let it cool a bit before serving with vinegar and oil drizzled on top.
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