November 2011 - Mostly Balanced

Homemade Soft Pretzels

September 15, 2020November 26, 2011 by Meg

Clearly Thanksgiving was the big event this week, but I was also really looking forward to the Packers-Lions game, too. Since the game started at 12:30, David and I didn’t start our Thanksgiving cooking until late that afternoon. Since we had a small gathering to feed, we opted for a tiny 8-pound turkey, which roasted in about two and a half hours. We loaded up our table with sides of veggies: mashed potatoes, twice-baked sweet potatoes with goat cheese, cauliflower gratin, and roasted Brussels sprouts. I also made a cornbread stuffing (coming later next week). All these dishes had minimal prep time and simple cooking methods, which allowed for plenty of time to make game day snacks.

Sweet Potato Muffins

September 14, 2020November 21, 2011 by Meg

Once I started my Master’s program in nutrition, I started following several dietitians’ blogs to help me stay in touch with what’s going on in the field: they blog about food, research, trends, and often include vignettes from their experiences with patients. The Nutrition Blog Network is where I first came across several of the Recipe Reduxers blogs. Each month the bloggers share their recipe interpretations of a common theme on their individual blogs. This month is my first post with the group, and our subject is “new” whole grains — in other words, incorporating less familiar whole grains in new or inventive ways. I wanted to branch out into something new, but still use readily-available ingredients in my kitchen. Whole wheat flour and oatmeal are two of the most common options for cooking with whole grains, but I also usually have quinoa on hand in my pantry. Quinoa is technically a seed, but it is still often considered a whole grain. Instead of making a salad, I decided to grind the quinoa into a flour and go from there.

Hasselback Potatoes

September 14, 2020November 17, 2011 by Meg

These are the best, absurdly easy potatoes I’ve made in awhile. I saw the idea posted on a friend’s pinterest page and thought they looked super simple and whimsical. Over the last few weeks I’ve made them twice with great success: once as a run-through of sorts to see if they really were as easy and delicate-looking as they seem, and then again when my good friend Allison came for a visit from out of town. Paired with salmon and roasted Brussels sprouts, it made a great dinner: the kind where you spend all your time and energy talking with your guests and pouring them drinks instead of watching the stove.

Figs, Goat Cheese, and Arugula Pizza

September 15, 2020November 4, 2011 by Meg

I put this pizza together last week before our book club meeting just to get a quick dinner in before our evening out. Book club on an empty stomach can be a dangerous idea: English majors (who now earn full-time salaries) tend to bring along lots of wine. We had about an hour between getting home and heading out for the evening, so these little pizzas worked out well. The combination of figs, goat cheese, and arugula is classic. Adding prosciutto here wouldn’t hurt either.

When these figs get cooking in the oven at about 400-degrees, they get very soft and start to caramelize. I smeared goat cheese over the pizza dough to serve as the base, and the gooey cheese and caramelized figs running together produced a great flavor.