CRAFTY New Year everybody!
My family background is Polish and Slovak, and along with that heritage came the tradition that eating sauerkraut (or cabbage) on New Year's Eve/Day -- supposedly becuase it is good luck for the year or some such thing.
Although I enjoy cabbage, I have never been able to stomach sauerkraut no matter what it is served with or how it's prepared. The closest I've come to enjoying it is a variation served by a restaurant here in Northeastern Ohio named Melt Bar & Grilled -- a grilled cheese joint (as seen on "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives") that kicks this kid-friendly staple into outerspace. They have a starter (appetizer) that features potato and cheese pierogis, grilled onions and a Napa cabbage kraut made with vodka. I don't love the Napa kraut, but I can tolerate it with all the other yummy flavors in the dish.
While superstition isn't my thing, I do love a good tradition--especially related to the holidays. In lieu of a dish of potatoes, sauerkraut, and vegetarian sausage, I decided that for dinner this New Year's Day I would make a soup that my husband and I discovered in the book "Lean and Luscious and Meatless, Volume 3" but hardly ever make for some reason.
The recipe is for a tasty Cabbage and Potato Soup that happens to also be vegan, low in calories and carbs and completely fat free. What better way to start off the new year...and those healthy eating/get fit new year's resolutions? Even if you help yourself to two servings, it's only 174 calories and 40 carbs. It also has the benefit of being a dish you can prepare quickly and just set to simmer for a while. Crusty bread or rolls go well with this comforting dish.
If sauerkraut has you making sour faces, like it does me, maybe you'll try out this tasty soup and start a new holiday tradition yourself!
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Cupcake Flavor of the Week: TBD
More than a few of my friends on Facebook have let me know that my Sunday forays into experimenting with cupcake flavors have become a much anticipated ritual that they quite enjoy--I tend to microblog them as I bake. One of the most recent beta tests was a S'mores cupcake, which I'll talk about in another post.
I've been pondering flavors for this week and hadn't quite settled on one. As I wrote to one long-quiet friend who commented on my 7 am status ("Is it too early to start baking cupcakes?"), I am still in the mood for pumpkin--having made a pumpkin pie last week.
That said, last weekend I purchased the ingredients for black forest cupcakes (chocolate cakes with cherries). I've made black forest cake before but don't recall taking it to the individual serving size model of the cupcake. I've been playing with my own personal logistics for execution all week. On the other hand, we had a rough night last night thanks to our adorable but often puking (and sometimes on the bed while we're sleeping in it) cats, and I'm not sure I'm up for too many creativity. So, as peanut butter is staple in our household, I also could whip up chocolate peanut butter cupcakes, which I've made a few times before. Of course, it might be seen as missing something without the miniature peanut butter cup on top.
At the grocery store this morning, I also toyed with the idea of chocolate-caramel-pretzel. I love the idea--that seems to be everywhere--of pairing just a tiny bit of salt (preferably sea salt) with caramel and/or chocolate. The idea of using a pretzel as the conduit for the salt and acting as a decorative element to boot, seemed to strike a chord with me. But, alas, I didn't commit to it and so I don't have the ingredients to attempt it.
The cupcakery at our local "schmancy mall" had cinnamon dulce de leche cupcakes, which sounded intriguing. Even though I have no cream or sweetened condensed milk and therefore cannot produce any dulce de leche, I did a search for recipes to amuse myself. I found this recipe for Churro Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Whipped Cream (on "All the Trimmings" Blog) particularly intriguing and a satisfying read.
Finally, I have the necessary ingredients for margarita cupcakes, and recently happened across a gorgeous way of presenting them in margarita glasses. It's a possibility, but fall just doesn't really scream "margaritas" the way it does pumpkin spice or rich chocolaty goodness.
Hmmmmm. Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Well, if you want to know my final decision...you'll just have to check back later.
I've been pondering flavors for this week and hadn't quite settled on one. As I wrote to one long-quiet friend who commented on my 7 am status ("Is it too early to start baking cupcakes?"), I am still in the mood for pumpkin--having made a pumpkin pie last week.
That said, last weekend I purchased the ingredients for black forest cupcakes (chocolate cakes with cherries). I've made black forest cake before but don't recall taking it to the individual serving size model of the cupcake. I've been playing with my own personal logistics for execution all week. On the other hand, we had a rough night last night thanks to our adorable but often puking (and sometimes on the bed while we're sleeping in it) cats, and I'm not sure I'm up for too many creativity. So, as peanut butter is staple in our household, I also could whip up chocolate peanut butter cupcakes, which I've made a few times before. Of course, it might be seen as missing something without the miniature peanut butter cup on top.
At the grocery store this morning, I also toyed with the idea of chocolate-caramel-pretzel. I love the idea--that seems to be everywhere--of pairing just a tiny bit of salt (preferably sea salt) with caramel and/or chocolate. The idea of using a pretzel as the conduit for the salt and acting as a decorative element to boot, seemed to strike a chord with me. But, alas, I didn't commit to it and so I don't have the ingredients to attempt it.
The cupcakery at our local "schmancy mall" had cinnamon dulce de leche cupcakes, which sounded intriguing. Even though I have no cream or sweetened condensed milk and therefore cannot produce any dulce de leche, I did a search for recipes to amuse myself. I found this recipe for Churro Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Whipped Cream (on "All the Trimmings" Blog) particularly intriguing and a satisfying read.
Finally, I have the necessary ingredients for margarita cupcakes, and recently happened across a gorgeous way of presenting them in margarita glasses. It's a possibility, but fall just doesn't really scream "margaritas" the way it does pumpkin spice or rich chocolaty goodness.
Hmmmmm. Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Well, if you want to know my final decision...you'll just have to check back later.
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