Dietitian’s Corner

Bread isn’t really one of the staple foods in our home.  We don’t really have toast for breakfast, and we never have sandwiches for lunch.  Growing up, I had way too many sandwiches for lunch, and as an adult now (with a mini fridge and microwave in my shared office), I much prefer hot lunches.  However, I do have a bit of a weakness for Chinese buns, especially fresh coconut buns (雞尾包) fresh out of the oven.  I always pick one up every time we’re at church early to lead worship b/c the buns are always fresh out of the oven at the Chinese bakery down the street from our church.

One of my (and my dad’s) fave buns is “pai bao” (排包).  There’s just something about tearing off pieces of this soft, fluffy bread that’s just so comforting.  A couple of months ago, I came across a recipe for making 排包 at one of my favorite food blogs.

Here’s the original recipe - http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/11/pai-bao-hong-kong-sweet-buns.html

The recipe looked really intriguing, especially since this recipe calls for a special type of ingredient called 湯種 (ie. bread flour paste).  What exactly is this bread flour paste?  Well, many years ago, a Chinese bread cookbook was published in Taiwan that specialized in using this specific type of paste, which was supposedly the secret ingredient for making Chinese breads soft and fluffly.  The book was extremely popular, and everyone wanted to try making bread with this type of paste.

The only problem with this paste is that it makes the dough very sticky, which makes it hard to knead the dough with a stand mixer.  So, this recipe strongly recommended using a bread maker for kneading.  I hummed and hawed about getting a bread maker just to try out this recipe, but finally caved when breadmakers (and glass digital kitchen scales!) were on sale at Canadian Tire this weekend :P  This blogger is from Australia, so her ingredients are all in weights instead of volumes (just like most UK and HK recipes).

So, equipped with my new kitchen gadgets, I embarked on making my very first batch of 排包. Getting all the ingredients together and getting the breadmaker to knead the dough was the easy part (I’m so glad I bought it!).  The hard part was getting the dough to proof.  This recipe calls for two proofings.  Because the weather is so cool now, it was hard to get the dough to proof properly (well, at all!).  The flavour of the bread was exactly like that of store-bought 排包, but b/c the dough didn’t proof properly, it wasn’t that soft or fluffy :(  I also forgot to brush the egg wash on the dough until half-way through the baking, and since we were in a rush to go over to my BIL and SIL’s for dinner, I stuck it under the broiler to speed up the process of browning… but left the broiler on for a bit too long :(  Gah!  It was OK, it wasn’t burnt, but it does look a bit more golden than it should.

Now that I’ve done some research on how to better proof my dough, I’m on my second try of making 排包.  Hope it turns out better than the first time!

I’ve come to realize that tomatoes + basil + garlic is one of my favorite flavour combos.  So, when I saw the Barefoot Contessa make a scalloped tomato dish on her show recently, I knew I had to try it.  It was so easy to put together, and so delish!  I made mine healthier by using multigrain ciabbata (instead of regular baguette), and served it up for dinner with two sunny-side up eggs per person (you could also do poached eggs).

Ingredients:

8 ripe, vine-ripened tomatoes (or 16 plum tomatoes), cubed (roughly same size as bread cubes)

1 multigrain ciabbata, cubed

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 large bunch basil, julienned

Freshly grated Parmaggiano-Reggiano (I used my food processor for this… so much better than the store-bought kind!)

Salt & freshly ground pepper

EVOO

Method:

1. Preheat an oven to 350oF.  Grease a 9″ x 11″ baking dish with EVOO.

2.  Heat some EVOO in a large pan and sautee cubed bread until toasted on all sides.

3.  Add tomatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper, and stir for a few minutes.  Transfer to baking dish.

4.  Sprinkle with Parmaggiano-Reggiano, and bake for 35-40 minutes until bubbly.

I was watching a Chinese food show that I have on DVD recently, and the host was demonstrating how to make HK-style baked pork chops on rice.  This is a classic dish in HK-style cafes, a type of restaurant I used to frequent in Vancouver, but barely go to anymore in TO (due to so many disappointing experiences).  Anyways, after watching the host make it, I decided to try it myself.  I made some modificatios to: a) make it more efficient, b) use less dishes, and c) avoid the quintessential corn-starch slurry that is added to Chinese sauces to thicken it (I just reduced the sauce instead).

Note:  This dish is quite time-consuming to make…  from start to finish, it took me about 2hours.   But, it was well worth the effort!

Ingredients  (enough to fill a 9″x11″ casserole dish)

A.  For making the sauce

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

1 medium onion, chopped, separated

3-4 carrots, peeled, chopped

2-3 celery sticks, chopped

1 package white button or cremini mushrooms, washed, stems cut off, sliced thickly

1-2 cups chicken broth

freshly ground black pepper

Maggi soy sauce

B.  For making the fried rice

2-3 eggs, beaten

3-4 cups cooked rice that’s been refrigerated

Maggi soy sauce

C.  Pork chops

6 thick-cut pork chops (bone-in or boneless, whatever you prefer)

salt & pepper

oil

Methods

1)  Make the fried rice.  In a big mixing bowl, crumble the cooked rice with your hands so that there are no clumps of rice stuck together.  Heat oil in a wok until very hot.  Pour half of the beaten eggs in the wok, and then pour the rice in right away.  Stir-fry for 1/2 a minute, and then add the rest of the beaten eggs.  Continue stir-frying until the eggs are cooked.  Transfer to casserole dish.  Wash wok for step #3.

2)  Pan-fry pork chops.  Season the chops with salt and pepper on both sides.  Along the fatty part of the pork chop, make 2 or 3 deep cuts - this will prevent the chop from curly when you pan-fry it.  Heat oil in a non-stick pan.  Pan-sear chops on both sides until golden brown.  Set aside.

3)  Make the sauce.  Heat oil in the wok until quite hot, then sautee onions for a couple of minutes until slightly softened.  Add carrots and celery, sautee for a couple of minutes.  Add mushrooms and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.    Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, freshly ground black pepper, and chicken broth, stirring well to dissolve the tomato paste.  Pour a couple swirls of Maggi soy sauce, cover, and bring the mixture to a boil on medium-high heat.  Once the mixture is boiling, add pork chops (and any juices from the plate), and simmer for another 20 minutes, covered, on medium heat.  Stir occassionally so that the sauce does not stick.  Uncover, and remove pork chops.  Slice into thick strips.  Continue simmering the sauce for another 5-7 minutes until it reduces a bit and thickens.

4)  Assembling the dish.   Spoon a bit of sauce over the rice.  Assemble the pork chop slices over the top of the rice.  Cover the pork chops in the remaining sauce.  Place under the broiler for about 5-7 minutes.

Now that the weather is cooling down, I love making and eating hearty, slow-cooked meals, and one of my favorite meals is risotto.  This is one of my “cook from the pantry/fridge/freezer” meals, and it’s got a stick-to-your-ribs kind of heartiness to it, without being overly heavy.  Barley is a great substitute for rice when making risotto, and it adds a boost of heart healthy, cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre and a nice bite as well.  It does take longer to cook, but it’s well worth the time spent :)    I love cooking with lemons, and the lemon zest and juice in this dish help to lighten things up and add that depth of flavour that the wine usually contributes.  Shrimp is a staple in our freezer b/c it’s a quick and lean source of protein, but you can definately use scallops, shredded chicken, or even white kidney beans as a substitute.

I cooked up some broccoli and cheddar cheese soup to enjoy with the barley, but if you’re making this risotto as a one-pot meal, you can add some frozen peas, spinach, or arugula at the end.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 cup pearl barley

Chicken broth

1 lemon, zest + juice

1/2 onion, diced

1 pint grape tomatoes

Tiger shrimp, defrosted, and peeled

EVOO, salt, and pepper

Parmaggiano-Reggiano, grated

1.  Preheat your (toaster) oven to 400oF.  Toss the grape tomatoes in some EVOO, salt, and pepper, and roast for about 30min.  Set aside.

2.  Heat broth in a small pot and keep warm for cooking the risotto.

3.  Heat some EVOO over medium-high heat in a non-stick pot, and sautee onions until soft.  Add pearl barley, and stir until all the granules are coated with oil.

4.  Add 1/2 cup hot broth to the barley, and stir until all the liquid has been absorbed.  Add lemon zest and juice, and stir until all the liquid has been absorbed.

5.  Add another 1/2 cup hot broth to the barley, and stir until all the liquid has been absorbed.  Repeat this until the barley is cooked thoroughly (will take about 40minutes).

6.  Once the barley is cooked, turn off the heat, add the shrimp and grape tomatoes, cover, and let sit for a few minutes.  The heat of the barley will gently cook the shrimp without overcooking it.

7.  Add grated Parmaggiano-Reggiano and some freshly ground black pepper, and stir to incorporate.

I was recently asked to submit an article/recipe for one of the quarterly newsletters that’s published at the hospital I work at.  I really didn’t want to “preach” heart healthy nutrition in the article and simply offer up heart healthy nutrition tips, so I decided to make it a bit more practical and share one of my favourite fall recipes: chili!  Enjoy

Note:  I used the on-line Canadian Nutrient File (on the Health Canada website) to look up the nutrition information.  For reference, a good source of fibre is a food/dish that provides > 3g fibre/serving.  I usually recommend trying to keep the sodium content to < 200mg/ingredient, and < 500mg/serving of the final dish.

************

As the weather is cooling down and the leaves are turning colours, a bowl of chili is not only a hearty way to warm up on a cool autumn day, it can also be a heart healthy source of fibre.  This chili recipe is packed with soluble fibre (from the beans), which helps to lower LDL-cholesterol, as well as insoluble fibre (from the vegetables), which helps with bowel regularity and blood sugar management.           

Ingredients  (Makes 6 servings)

1 can               red kidney beans, drained and rinsed well (reduces 40% of sodium)

500g                extra lean ground beef

1 packet          sodium-reduced taco seasoning

1                      onion, diced

2                      carrots, peeled and diced

2                      celery stalks, diced

1 can               no salt added diced or whole tomatoes, pureed

1 cup               frozen corn

1 cup               frozen peas

1 tbsp              olive oil        

1. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.  Sautee onions for 2-3 minutes until soft.
2. Add ground beef and cook for 5-6 minutes until completely cooked through, using a spatula to break up the beef.  Pour off any additional fat that has cooked out of the beef.  Add taco seasoning and mix well.
3. Mix in carrots, celery, beans, and tomatoes, cover, and bring to a boil.  Turn heat down to medium and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve in bowls with a sprinkling of chopped scallions, shredded partly-skim old cheddar cheese, or a warm, crusty whole wheat dinner roll.

Nutritional Content (Per serving) 

Calories           368kcal

Protein            28g

Fat                   9g

Saturated Fat 1.6g

Fibre                8.2g

Sodium            313mg

Cholesterol      46mg

I can’t believe that next week is September!  Where has the summer gone?  I must say, I much prefer the “cooler” weather we’ve been experiencing these past few days!  When we got our BBQ last year, I was petrified to use it… something to do with being so close to a gas tank (probably a side effect of caring for burn patients at work!).  Anyways, this year, I worked up my courage to use it, and I have been enjoying grilling on a weekly basis.  I’ve been itching to try grilling ribs for awhile, and finally got a chance to do it  today (added plus: ribs were on sale last week!).  I have many friends and coworkers who are pros at grilling ribs, and I probably got difference advice from each one of them as to the best way to grill ribs.  Some say that you should slow smoke them (I think I’ll tackle smoking next year!), some slow grill them for a couple of years, some pre-boil then toss on the grill, and some pre-bake and then toss on the grill.  I opted for the latter method b/c I didn’t want to waste so much BBQ gas trying to cook them entirely on the gril  and boiling them runs the risk of making them tougher.  Well, the ribs were already very tender and getting close to fall of the bone after slow baking for 1.5 hours in the oven, and finishing them off on the grill with the Asian-style BBQ glaze (that I normally use for my slow cooker ribs) made them finger-lickin’ good!  While the grill was pre-heating, we even got to pick some green beans from our garden.  Field to table veggies (and free!) - I love

Ingredients

2 racks of pork side ribs, each rack cut into 3 sections

Schwartz’s steak spice (or whatever dry rub you like… I love that this spice has dried bits of garlic in it)

salt and pepper

Diana’s gourmet rib and chicken  BBQ sauce

Hoisin sauce

Dark soy sauce

Light soy sauce

Brown sugar

Garlic powder

Water

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 350oF.  Rub ribs with salt, pepper, and steak spice (or other dry rub) on both sides.  Put in roasting pan, cover with foil, and bake for 45min.  Remove foil, and bake for another 45min.  Drain oil and juices.

2.  While the ribs are baking, make Asian-style BBQ marinade.  My apologies for no measurements - I’ve made this so many times I just eye-ball it now.  Equal parts of BBq sauce and hoisin sauce, few tbsp of both types of soy sauce, couple tbsp of brown sugar, splash of water to thin out it just a touch.

3.  Preheat grill and then turn heat down to medium-low so the glaze doesn’t burn.  Place ribs on grill, and brush top side with glaze.  Flip, and brush other side with glaze.  Repeat one more time (total grilling time about 10min).

4.  Place ribs back in roasting pan, tent with foil for a few minutes, and serve with rice and veggies.

This is another Anna Olson recipe (I PVR her show every day… it’s about the only show that I watch on TV regularly).  It’s another light and simple summer meal.  I actually served these alongside the tomato basil tarts for dinner one evening (they both bake at the same temperature in the oven).

Ingredients

8 sea scallops

16 tiger prawns, defrosted, de-shelled

1 sliced red bell pepper

1 sliced yellow bell pepper

1 sliced small zucchini

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 pint grape tomatoes

1 lemon, sliced

1 tbsp butter

salt & pepper

4 tbsp water or white wine

4 sheets of parchment paper (16″ x 12″)

Method

1.  Preheat oven to 375oF.

2.  Fold a sheet of parchment paper in half to create a crease.  On one side of the crease, arrange 1/4 of the zucchini slices, 2 sea scallops (on top of zucchini), 1/2 of bell pepper slices around zucchini, 4 shrimp (on top of bell peppers), 1/4 of grape tomatoes, 1/4 of red onion, 1/4 of lemon slices and 1/2 butter on top, sprinkle with 1 tbsp water/wine, and season with salt and pepper.

2.  Fold the other side of the parchment paper over and fold in the edges tightly to create a half-moon shaped package.  Ensure that there is a tight seal at the ends to prevent any air from escaping during steaming.

3.  Place on a baking tray, and repeat with the other 3 sheets.

4.  Bake for 15min until the packages inflate.

5.  Rip open packages and enjoy!  I like to smush the lemon slices with my fork into the bottom of the package to add some lemony goodness to the natural juices/sauce.

I came across this recipe for tomato basil tarts when I was watching Anna Olson on TV the other day, and decided to try it out.  It’s essentially bruschetta mix served in tart form instead of on toasted baguette.  Simple, fresh, and easy… my favorite kind of summer cooking!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 pint ripe grape tomatoes, halved

Handful of fresh basil, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4  cup diced red onion

Balsamic vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted

1 egg + 2 tbsp cold water (for egg wash to brush pastry)

Parmaggiano-Reggiano

Method

1.  Roll out the puff pastry, and cut into 4 squares/rectangles.

2.  Mix tomatoes, basil, garlic, red onion, spash of vinegar and olive oil, s&p in a bowl, and let sit for about 1/2 hour.

3.  Preheat oven to 374oF.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and place two pastry squares on each baking sheet.  Spoon tomato mixture over pastry squares, leaving some space on the borders to fold the pastry.  Fold each side of the pastry square up, and pinch the corners.  Brush pastry with egg wash.

4.  Bake for 30-35min.  Grate parmaggiano-reggiano over each of the pastry squares.

As some of you know may know, I love recipes that involve stuffing things :)  A couple of months ago, I decided to make this as a starch for a BBQ dinner.  Quinoa is a very popular grain these days, considered a complete source of protein, and an excellent source of cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre.  I’ll confess, this was my first time cooking quinoa, and it was easy peasy.  You can definately substitute the quinoa with any other grain that you like: couscous, barley, brown rice, or even tiny pasta, like orzo or acini de pepe.

Ingredient (Serves 4)

4 bell peppers (get a variety of red, yellow, and orange)

1 cup quinoa

1 carrot, diced

1 celery, diced

cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups chicken broth

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350oF. Slice the top off of each bell pepper and remove the core and seeds.  Ensure that each bell pepper is able to sit upright on its own.  If it tilts a little, just shave off a bit of the bottom so that it sits upright properly.

2.  In a small pot, heat some oil, and sautee minced garlic for a minute or so.  Add carrots, celery, and mushrooms, and sautee for a couple of minutes.  Add quinoa and sautee until coated in oil.  Add chicken broth, bring to boil, reduce to medium heat, and let simmer for about 15minutes until liquid is completely absorbed.  Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt (if needed)  Fluff with a fork.

3.  Line a square baking pan with aluminum foil and grease the aluminum foil.  Fill each bell pepper with the quinoa mixture, place on baking pan, and put the “lid” of the pepper on top.  Brush each pepper with extra virgin olive oil.

4.  Cover with aluminum foil, and bake for an hour.

Simple, easy, and delicious!  That’s all I need to say

4 pork loin chops

2 large nectarines, quartered, pit removed (pick ones that are still firm so they don’t disintegrate on the grill)

2 tbsp syrup (maple or regular pancake)

3 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp olive oil

Basil (optional - for garnish)

1.  Brush pork chops with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper

2.  Mix olive oil, syrup, and balsamic vinegar, and brush over nectarines

3.  Grill pork chops for 1.5-2min on one side, flip and cook for another 1.5-2min, flip again (to create cross hatchmarks) and cook for 1min, and flip one last time (to create marks on the other side) and cook for 1 min.

4.  While grilling pork chops, place nectarines, grill for 1min on one cut side, flip and grill for another 1min on the other side.

5.  Sprinkle torn basil leaves over top.