Sep 09 2011

Back to School

I was going through a bunch of old photos and noticed that I had never created posts from the Homemade Ricotta cooking class I took several months back. Whoops!

Our Sacramento Co-op instructor for the evening was Chef Lucia Oliverio. My favorite part of her being our instructor was all of her family stories that she shared throughout the evening. She was in the family restaurant/catering business, but switched to teaching, after being diagnosed with MS. She’s super down to earth and really connected with the students during the hands-on class. I had a great time.

We munched on black cured olives from Chef Lucia’s olive tree. She explained the curing process, but I can’t even read my scribbled notes to share. We also got to snack on homemade ricotta cheese.

The addition of eggplant spread (made with pickled eggplant) took the cheese snack to the next level. Sea salt breadsticks, and jack and white cheddar cheeses were also served.

The wine was a Montevina Winery (Amador County) Pinot Grigio. It was super tasty with it’s crisp pear flavoring and went well with all of the dishes for the evening.

Now let’s get back to the main event…

Homemade Ricotta Cheese
I had never made my own ricotta cheese (or any cheese for that matter) and wasn’t quite sure what would be involved. It turns out that it was much easier than I thought it would be, and the wonderful/fresh taste sealed the deal for me. Homemade ricotta from here on out!  Oh how I wish I always had the time to make things from scratch. Being the realist that I am, I will probably still be buying the small containers from time to time – but if I can, I will take the extra time and I’ll put forth the effort to make my own. It was that good!

The Ingredients:
1/2 Gallon Whole Milk
1 Quart Buttermilk
1 Quart Half & Half
2 Pints Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Rennet Tablets
1 Tablespoon Warm Water
(Yields about 2 1/2 lb. – 2 3/4 lb.)

Chef Lucia used Junket brand rennet tablets. What are rennet tablets? Well, rennet tablets are small tablets made from powdered and packed rennet. They were basically designed for ease of use.  Rennet is an enzymatic extract made from the lining of the stomachs of young ruminants, such as cows, goats, and sheep. These animals produce enzymes to help them digest the milk produced by their parents, breaking down the milk so that the maximum nutrition can be extracted from it in the stomach and intestinal tract. Yummy! 😉 These same enzymes can be used to curdle or thicken milk to make a variety of foods – including ricotta cheese.

Directions:

  1. Place all of the milk and cream in a large pot.
  2. While liquid is heating, take the rennet tablet and crush to powder. Add 1 tablespoon of warm water to the crushed tablet and mix. Do not add milk to the tablet or it will curdle.
  3. Heat the liquid until it is almost too hot to touch and then add the rennet mixture.
  4. Continue to stir the milk and it will begin to curdle. This process should take about 2-3 minutes.
  5. Once it starts to curdle, begin to scoop out the cheese with a slotted spoon into a strainer to drain the excess liquid (whey). The strainer can either be a fine net strainer or a colander lined with cheesecloth.
  6. Let the ricotta drain for about 1/2 hour – overnight if you are making cannoli.
  7. Place into a container and refrigerate. (Regular milk will last up to 3 days – if using organic milk, it will last a little longer. You can also freeze the cheese, just let it thaw out overnight in the fridge before using.)

Chef Lucia used the slotted spoon to place the ricotta into 3 different containers –  so we could see that it really didn’t matter which one we used.

I loved that one of the methods was to use a basket, mostly because I have some of those! The finished ricotta was fresh and smooth, simple and versatile – it will forever change you. I promise.

We spent the remainder of the evening broken into small groups, where we created dishes from the above chalk board menu. My group made the Deep Dish Pasta-Crusted Pan Pizza Linguini Frittata – topped with ricotta and mozzarella. Say that 10 x’s.

I will create posts for each dish. Yay, something to blog about besides my diet – you know you’re all excited!

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Sep 06 2011

And There Was Pizza…

I’m 3 days into Cycle 3 and loving the increase in food and the variety I can now have. I was not kidding when I said that pizza was what I missed the most. It is my desert island meal… I could eat pizza every day for the rest of my life. So… getting my pizza to fit within the 17 day diet meal plan was easy!

Ingredients:
1 Middle East Baking Company Carb Watch Whole Wheat Pita
2 Tablespoons Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce
1/2 Small Yellow Onion
1 Dorat Chopped Basil Cube
2 Dorat Crush Garlic Cubes
1 Cup Fresh Spinach
6-8 Grape Tomatoes
1 Serving Low Fat Mozzarella Cheese
2 Shakes Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese
1 Teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Slice onions and saute in olive oil and add the frozen cubes of garlic, basil and salt and pepper. Cook over medium/low heat until translucent.

Put sauce on the pita bread. No need to pre-cook, the pitas are thin enough that they get crispy all the way through.

Place the onion mixture on top of the sauce, measure out a single portion of mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with one shake of reduced fat parm.

Set the handy dandy GE Profile Advantium Oven (ours is an older model) to the pizza setting… (Best money we ever spent – a speedcook oven that uses light to cook things up to 8 times faster than a conventional oven.) The oven uses special metal pans… think crispy pizza, browned biscuits, cookies, and grilled chicken in minutes… it’s awesome!

Turn the dial to select deli/fresh (there are 5 or 6 pizza settings including frozen, thin crust, thick crust and by size) and 5:28 minutes later… j/k, it was 5:30, but I missed the shot… You could also use your regular oven set at 350 degrees for between 8-10 minutes – maybe less depending on how your oven cooks.

While my pizza was cooking, I sauteed some grape tomatoes and cut up spinach in a non-stick pan with some olive oil cooking spray. Spinach burns with the oven’s high heat, so I like to cook my toppings separately.

Oh dear pizza… how I love thee…

In my belly…

Don’t mind if I do… 35 days without pizza and my craving was totally satisfied. So amazing that 4 decent slices of pizza hovered around 300 calories and was less than 22 g of carbs… with 7 g of fiber. I’m not tracking calories or fiber, but wanted to calculate it for people that are.

I am feeling more and more like Cycle 3 is a way of life… the first 2 Cycles, no way… they were pretty restrictive and it bummed me out how exhausted I got from working out for only 17 minutes. Add more food, several carb and dairy servings and my exercise mojo is back – the workouts feel great!

Not sure what’s up next on the “must create” food list – but I’m thinking it will include whole wheat pasta.

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=5723

Sep 03 2011

17 Day Diet – Cycle 2 Update

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 34 days since starting the diet. Cycle 2 is called “Activate”  – You basically stay on every cycle for 17 days until you reach your goal weight, then you switch to the last Cycle (4) for maintenance. Cycle 2 consists of alternating between Cycle 1 “Accelerate” days and Cycle 2 “Activate” days. No problem.

I was excited to be able to add shellfish, a broader range of lean cuts of meat – including some red meats – flank steak, top sirloin, lean ground beef and some of the leaner cuts of pork. I also got to add in two daily servings of natural starches – my favorites included quinoa, brown rice, couscous, old-fashioned oatmeal, garbanzo beans, black beans and corn. There were lots of other choices, but I basically stuck to those I listed. It was hard to fit in more, since I only had 9 days (18 servings) to include the new things.

Tomato, cucumber and spinach salads remain a favorite “go to” side dish to my proteins. I add a drizzle or two of olive oil, champagne or other flavored vinegar, cracked black pepper, and a little sea salt.

Sometimes I even used some ribbons of fresh basil.

Lots of steamed broccolini and cauliflower – the purple made a second appearance.

Chicken, carrot, bok choy, leek and onion stir fry – using light soy sauce and Dorat garlic and some olive oil.

I’m still drinking a lot of Yakult to satisfy the probiotic requirement, but also added the Dannon Light and Fit – Carb & Sugar Control on a more regular basis… mostly because I needed a change and I missed my vanilla Chobani. While it’s not the same… and it took some getting used to the taste, it works in a pinch. I have also been eating plain Greek with light agave syrup and fresh fruit.

My morning routine changed a bit too. With the addition of a starch – I added oatmeal into my rotation. I bought a container of Quaker Old Fashioned Oats – but also bought some low sugar quick and easy pouches.

Better Oats – Oat Fit. I basically run around every morning before work trying to get everything packed and ready to take on the road… as I chug my morning hot lemon water and drink my green tea. Often times I just grab a packet of oatmeal and make it in the microwave at work.

Another favorite fruit snack has been sliced strawberries, basil and agave syrup – just a small amount. Some sort of “sweet” treat is what I have missed the most. Even though fruit needs to be consumed before 2:00 p.m. – it’s been a nice alternative to my apples, frozen red grapes, and peaches. I’m also still addicted to ruby red grapefruit, I pretty much just peel and eat them like an orange.

All in all – Cycle 2 wasn’t too bad. I stuck to my 17 minute a day workouts, didn’t stray from the plan and still feel as excited about the program as I was after Cycle 1. I did get a little discouraged when the scale didn’t budge for 8 straight days, but I solved that. I decided I needed to stay off the thing until the end of the cycle and that really helped.

I am officially down another 5.3 lbs. for Cycle 2 – bringing my total to 20.5 lbs. in 34 days.

Cycle 3 “Achieve” starts tomorrow and I CAN’T WAIT to sink my teeth into a mock pizza… 1/2 a whole wheat pita pocket or a whole wheat tortilla with a little Parmesan, low-fat mozzarella, homemade sauce, fresh basil, caramelized onion – OMG how I have missed pizza.

Some other add-ons for Cycle 3 – pumpernickle and rye bread – low sugar granola, gluten free cold cereals, whole wheat pasta, zucchini, pineapple, bananas, low fat cheeses – instead of FF cheeses, AVOCADO, nuts and seeds… and optional snacks… and an optional daily serving of alcohol – the first glass of wine is going to taste so damn good!

More food = more exercise, actually looking forward to that! The book says to increase weekly aerobic activity from 17 minutes a day to 150-300 minutes a week. I have to get a feel for things with the increased calories, but I’m aiming for the 250 minute range so I have some wiggle room if I end up back on Cycle 3 a second time or if I hit a plateau. I’m pretty much prepared for the fact that the scale won’t budge much during Cycle 3 and that’s o.k. The extra calories will keep my body guessing before going back on Cycle 1 after the 17 days are over.

It’s so hard to believe that I haven’t had a single piece of bread, cracker, muffin, pretzel, tortilla, cookie, etc. for 34 days. At first it was all I could think about – now I’m pretty much over it. I do occasionally crave things, but nothing compared to before.

Things I’ve learned…

  • TV was a problem for me. I liked to snack when I watched TV. I also liked to eat my meals in front of the TV. 1/2 the time I didn’t even pay attention to what I was eating or the amount. I’ve cut down on TV – I’m watching an hour at most a night and I’ve stopped watching TV on my lunch hour. I am eating all of my meals at the dining room table.
  • A lot of times I think I’m hungry, when I’m actually thirsty. The water and green tea have really helped to leave me feeling full.
  • Speed workouts on the treadmill are fun. Seeing how far I can get in 17 minutes has become a game. My fastest has been 2.1 miles and I was jammin’. That was a one time thing. I actually like to stick to between 10 and 11 minute miles with the incline set between 3-5.
  • There is always at least one thing that can be modified on a restaurant menu to fit any diet.
  • It was a brilliant idea to keep all of my “skinny” clothes, because I’m going to need them. I’m down 2 whole sizes.
  • I have incredible willpower and when I put my mind to something, I do well. Hurting my back pulling weeds was a true wake-up call for me. I know the extra weight is not good for my back. It was time and I’m treating this like a doctor’s prescription – even though I prescribed it myself.
  • It hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns… some days are tougher than others. I have turned to reading, blogging, side graphic design work, home decorating, craft projects and lots of other things to distract myself from thinking about food and things I miss eating.
  • Rewards are important. This cycle I got a spa pedicure and chose OPI Ink Suede – sparkly purple polish to match my hair. It’s the little things…
  • I miss blogging about sinful foods… almost as much as I miss eating them on occasion.

I’m excited to see what the next 17 days bring. I’m also excited to have even more options to create meals from.

Let’s Do This!

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