Ile Flottante - So delicious and potentially so light

One of the first "fancy" desserts that I was introduced to in France was the Ile Flottante or Floating Island. I had had many pastries before that, but it was when I went out to a restaurant somewhere and someone else was paying so I got a dessert (I was 18, that's how it was.) They are so fun looking, with the mountain of egg white on top of the sea of creme anglaise. How can you resist??

Ten years later and I still enjoy it. The egg whites let me pretend it has some redeeming nutritional value, and the caramel and cream are delicious and rich. I even got one on Friday when I had a lunch so big, all I wanted was salad and a thin soup for dinner. Would you like to see it? Let's go through the whole thing, shall we?

First, Foie Gras with Ris de Veau en Croute. (Foie Gras [goose liver paté] surrounded by veal sweet breads, all in a pastry crust.) On the side is some fig spread that made it awesome and a sneeze of salad.

Then Cod with a super tasty sauce and what I think is a beet chip. It was tasty. So was the fried onion. Like an onion ring without the breading. Oh, and the fish was quite nice, too.

I thought our wine glass line-up was pretty. Red, water, water, rosé.

And the sides, to be shared for the table. Fried slices of potato and a macaroni gratin (i.e. fancy french fries in a different shape and extra super fancy mac n cheese.)

And finally, our desserts. We shared 2 between four people. The star of the post is in the front.

Nice, eh? So, if you want to make your own, here is a fancy recipe in French: http://www.teva.fr/emission-le_gateau_de_mes_reves/news-le_gateau_de_mes_reves/487724-christophe_michalak_vous_revele_sa_recette_de_son_l_ile_flottante_revisitee.html

You could also try Barefoot Contessa's version, I trust her with desserts: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/ile-flottante-recipe/index.html

However, if you want to go the easy route (as I fully intend when I get home) then I would buy some tasty caramel topping and some good vanilla ice cream. I'll probably pick a lite one or a coconut-based one. The you'd make just the island, and melt the ice cream to be your "sea." If you are cautious about the egg whites, just buy the pasteurized stuff.

Time for dinner here, bon appetit!!

Tartelette au Crumble: The best of two cuisines

If you couldn't tell, I am now in France, enjoying all the progress that French gastronomy has made in however many thousand years. I am also in a city that claims to be the capital of gastronomy - not too bad! So I will share some things with you, even if I haven't tried them yet. I have discovered a brilliant little pastry shop and bakery just 2 blocks away from my house. French people eat dinner relatively late (7:30 is when my family eats, and they consider that quite early!) so I need a snack somewhere between my lunch at 12:30 and dinner time.

Today when I stopped in, there was a beautiful tartelette (small tart) au crumble. Yes, crumble is a totally English word. American even, I think. This one was made of "fruits rouges" or fruits of the forest. Here that means blueberries, red currant, blackberries, sometimes raspberries and black currant. A nice mix of flavors to make you want to savor every bite. The tart has a typical tart crust, then the fruit, with an American style crumble on top - you know, sugar, butter and flour. I was going to eat just half, so as to not spoil my dinner, but suddenly realized I was 2/3 of the way through it. Haha, just less for tomorrow!

Fruits of the forest Crumble Tart

I took this picture and then went searching for a good looking recipe and stumbled on one right away. And even more amazing? She posted it IN ENGLISH, too!! Check it out at her blog directly, since I haven't tried it myself yet: http://lespetitsplatsderoseinenglish.blogspot.fr/2012/08/red-fruits-crumble-tart.html?showComment=1370276817944#c1475283672595921731

You'll still need to convert measurements unless you are using a scale. Remember that the equivalent for dry ingredients is ingredient-specfic! Put a cup of powdered sugar in one bowl and a cup of butter in the other and you can feel the weight for yourself. I often use this site, but some ingredients need a bit more searching: http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/flour_volume_weight.html

Strawberry Mousse Sorbet

I am now in France, enjoying all kinds of delicious foods, and staying with a host family. My host mom has a magic machine that you can't buy in the US (yet) called a Thermomix. It mixes, it heats, it weighs, it times, it chops, it kneads. So you can see why it's magic. Today we made a Strawberry Sorbet that was extra  magical. It was just strawberries, sugar and an egg white but it had an incredible texture. I'm sure it's due in part to the special whisk attachment of the Thermomix, but I bet you could do it with a VitaMix, too. I shall charge my little sister with making it and reporting back.

I did the nutrition info to post it, and I am stunned at how decent it is! It was so rich and creamy!

Strawberry Mousse Sorbet 

Prep time: 10 min     Servings: 3-6

250 grams frozen strawberries (8.8 ounces, just over half a pound)
40 grams granulated white sugar (1.75 ounces, or 1/4 cup minus 1 Tbs)
1 egg white (you can buy pasteurized egg white in most grocery stores if the truly raw ones worry you.)

- Put the sugar in your mega strong blender and blend until fine.

- Add strawberries (however many your machine recommends at a time) and blend until they are all basically chopped. Hers took 5-6 pulses. You'll mix it more, but this gets it started. Use a spatula to push down the parts on the walls of the blender.

- Blend strawberries with sugar for 1 and a half minutes on high.

- Add egg white and blend on medium for 1 minute. You could also pour it into a bowl and use an electric hand mixed to incorporate more air.

A view through the top of the magic machine as it spun:

Nutrition info for 1/4th of recipe: Cal - 26     Fat: 0g     Carbs: 5.8g     Protein: 0.9g

Healthier Box brownies

Years ago I posted a version of a brownie mix recipe that is lower in fat and calories. While that is great, it's not enough for me anymore - I don't just want to have a treat that isn't "bad" for me, I want it to be good for me, too! I add 2g protein per brownie, so it's ok, but not perfect. These are not quite as far in that direction as the amazing chocolate muffins that I will tell you about soon, but they are going the right way.

Being a little ridiculous, like I am, I decided to just adjust the recipe for half of the box, so I had a direct comparison! These are definitely less decadent than the full-fat version, but are still very rich. I did use the Ghiradelli Double Chocolate box, so it was a good starting place. One benefit is that by adding things I got more brownie out of the mix.

More Protein, Less-Fat brownies from a box! (with help)
16 servings, 10 min prep, cooking time varies by brand

Regular recipe on right, healthier version on left.

1 box brownie mix, intended for 8x8 (or 9x9) pan
1 egg
soy milk to replace water called for (1/4 cup in mine - really doesn't add much nutrition, though!)
low-fat or non-fat greek yogurt to replace oil (1/3 cup in mine)
1/2 cup oats (I used old-fashioned)
2 T whey protein (10 grams)


Nutrition info for DRY MIX (1/16th of box): Cal: 140     Fat: 3.5g     Carbs: 26g    Protein: 1g
Nutrition info for my additions (1/16th of total): Cal: 32     Fat: 0.8g    Carbs: 4g      Protein: 2.1g

Whole wheat blueberry muffins from pancake mix

The other day we had a TON of blueberries (they were on a good sale!) and we didn't want them to go bad, so we decided that muffins were in order. Feeling lazy, I though I might see if I could make them from pancake mix. I based my idea on this recipe, but instead of using a mix that included dried blueberries, I added the fresh ones to the whole wheat honey pancake mix. I also didn't want to add any sugar, figuring that the blueberries were sweet enough on their own, or any oil, since the pancake mix doesn't usually need any. I decided to add another egg, since... actually, just because.

The only drawback is that these were definitely best on the first day. If you intend to eat them over multiple days, freeze them immediately, and then microwave before eating - this is my basic method for low-fat baked goods!

Whole Wheat Honey Blueberry Muffins (from Pancake mix!)

2 1/2 cups Honey Whole Wheat Pancake Mix (I used Krusteaz)

2/3 cup water

2 eggs

1 cup blueberries, rinsed

- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line cupcake tins, or grease if you prefer. I used silicone, but didn't grease it and they were fine!

- Mix first 3 ingredients JUST until moist.

- Fold in 2/3 cup blueberries gently.

- Fill muffin tins until 2/3 full, then top with the rest of the berries (so you can see them!)

- Bake 14-16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Nutrition Info per muffin: Calories: 113, Fat: 1.6g, Carbs 21g, Protein 3.5g

Whole wheat, low sugar apple pie scones

Last night I really wanted something kind of muffin-y, but not. I had re-found my apple pie scone recipe last week, and thought that sounded perfect. Of course, this time I decided it should be with white whole wheat flour. So, I set about making them and decided they should have half of the sugar, too. They don't start out with much sugar, just 1/4 cup, so I also added a little bit of stevia.

Side note on stevia, my grandma has been using since I was in about 5th grade, I think. She had to get it from a specific store and it was only in liquid form. I think the current popularity is pretty funny, as if it had just been found. That's part of the reason that I'll use it when I don't touch the other 'sugar substitutes.'

Back to the scones. I mixed the dry ingredients, then the wet (used greek yogurt this time) and put it all together. It was too dry, so I added 2 Tbs water. I went to plop it out on the cutting board to shape it and... saw the apple I had chopped. How did I miss that?? So, I mixed in the apple. Then I glanced at the computer screen. And saw a mention of butter in the directions. And hadn't added any. So THAT is where the dryness came from. Oops. I added a tablespoon of oil, since it was still a bit dry, and finally shaped and baked them. Which means that these turned out lower in fat than I had planned!

Between the whole wheat and reduced sugar, these aren't particularly sweet. Mr. More Calories's first response was "needs more honey" and proceeded to eat his with honey. I enjoyed them plain or with almond butter. The greek yogurt ups the protein, too, so these are a pretty darn good snack!

Whole wheat apple pie scones

Makes 16 mini scones, 20 min prep, 10 minute cook

2 1/2 c flour (I used white whole wheat, also reflected in nutrition info)
1/4 c granulated sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces
1 medium green apple, diced (about 1 1/2 cups, depending on the size)
3/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt (I used Fage 2%, or one six oz. container)
1 large egg, separated
1 tsp vanilla

1 - Preheat oven to 425ºF
2 - Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a large bowl
3 - In a small bowl, combine yogurt, egg white, oil and vanilla
4 - Stir fruit into the dry ingredients
5 - Add yogurt mixture to dry ingredients stirring just until moist (may be sticky)
6 - Divide into two parts and pat into rounds about 6-8 inches across. Cut into 8 equal parts.
7 - (Optional) Beat egg yolk and brush over tops of scones to smooth them out and make them look pretty.
8 - Bake at 425ºF for 7-10 minutes or until golden (mine took about 10 minutes in my current oven)

Nutrition per 1 scone: Fat - 1.8g; Cal - 96; Protein - 4g; Carbs - 17.2g

Review: High Protein Sweet Potato Spice Cookies

Two days ago I pinned a very fun looking recipe. High Protein Sweet Potato Spice Cookies. How cool is that?? And no sugar! Even more exciting! I got the sweet potatoes from the store that night, but made the brownie batter dip instead. Can you blame me? I can't.

Tonight it was the cookies's turn. I mixed it up. And almost over-did it on my poor blender. It's 600 watt, but I could smell its effort. I put them on a cookie sheet. And baked and waited. And checked. And waited longer. And then some more. I think they spent a total of an HOUR in the oven. Hers were somehow 15-20 minutes. I have no idea how...

They look good enough, anyway

When they finally came out I tried one. Ok, I tried 2 before that along the way to test them as well. It was... different. She said she liked them cold, so I chilled 2 in the freezer and then offered one to Mr. More Calories, who had recently arrived and appreciated the smell of cinnamon and ginger. He bit it. Chewed. Made a face. Kept chewing. Then made 'eeeeuuurggghh' noises like a small child and ran to the trash to spit it out. He said you can't call that a cookie.

To be fair, it's from a blogger that doesn't eat sugar or even a lot of fruit due to allergy reasons. I know people figure out how to live with whatever they have to, but for someone used to sugar these are a big surprise. I didn't hate them, but I will let you go to her site if you'd like the recipe. She said 'one medium sweet potato' whatever the heck that means, and mine was 1.5 cups, mashed, if you're curious. They're pretty decent topped with brownie batter dip or banana! So I will eat them. I just won't have anyone fighting me for the last ones.

My overall opinion: I won't throw them out, or 'gift' them to others, but they aren't on the top of the list to try again. If you do try them, consider them a small vehicle for other delicious things, not a cookie!

Recipe facts you might want:
Makes 36 Tablespoon-sized cookies.
Prep time: 20 minutes WITHOUT cooking the sweet potato, 50-60 minutes to bake
Nutrition info for 1/12th of recipe as written: Cal: 150   Fat: 4.5g   Carbs: 22g    Protein: 6.5g

Brownie Batter Dip

I have one thing to say: SOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Sorry, now that that's out of my system. I've been trying to eat more protein, because when I moved out from being made food, I realized that I don't reach for protein sources automatically. Cookies? Yes. Protein? No. So I figured if I could find some SWEET recipes with protein, easy fix! Oatmeal has a decent dose, then add some nuts & you're good. That's still just one option, though.

Enter Chocolate Covered Katie. She has some amazing ideas I've drooled over before. But she had one that sent me to the cabinet to make. ASAP. Brownie Batter Dip. Yes, amazing deliciousness in dip form that is also full of protein. I kid you not. I am putting the way that I made it, because it was different from hers, but please do see the original at the link above! She has lots of different options.

I actually divided my batch so I could try it with two sweeteners - one with honey and the other with brown sugar. Mr. More Calories says the sugar one would be really good for frosting, but likes the honey one better (as do I.) I realize it's not the most absolutely healthy thing in the world, and I'm excited to try it with dates, but it's super amazing how delicious it turns out!

Brownie Batter Dip
Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie
Prep time about 10 minutes my way, probably 5 hers
6-8 servings (after making it twice, this seems right.)

1 can garbanzo beans (250g), drained and well rinsed
3-4 Tbs cocoa powder, to taste
2 Tbs milk
3 Tbs almond butter
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 - 1/2 c honey, to taste (I used 1/2, but will do less next time!)
1/4 - 1/2 c oatmeal (I did it by handfuls, sorry)

I am food processor-less, so I mashed it all first with a potato masher and then put it in a blender and pulsed until it was mostly smooth, and then turned it to high. (She uses a food processor.)

Nutrition info (1/8th of recipe, 3T cocoa, 1/2c honey, 1/4c oats): 257 calories, 6.2g fat, 45 carbs, 9g protein

Nutrition info (1/8th of recipe, 3T cocoa, 1/3c honey, 1/2c oats): 245 calories, 6.4g fat, 40 carbs, 9g protein

Green smoothies!

I started making smoothies using a commercial-quality blender, so I took much too long to pick a blender now that I won't have access to that one. Everybody has critiques on the working of all blenders that cost under $100, and maybe it is smarter to get one of those, but I still can't bring myself to do it. I ended up with a crazy, almost painfully, loud one that arrived yesterday and I waited til today to open and try it out.

On the way home, I stopped for spinach, ginger and a green apple. I already had vanilla soy milk in the fridge. The most time I took for this one was peeling the ginger and chopping the apple - the blender recommends that pieces be less than 1-inch across. *sigh* shouldn't a blender be able to handle more? Maybe next time. If you do this, be sure to use a green apple, or if not add in a bit of lemon or lime juice, because the tartness helps brighten up the whole thing. You don't want to just taste a spinachy drink, right? Right.

My Typical Green Smoothie
Time: 15 minutes

1/2 cup vanilla soy milk (plain or any other milk would be fine)
1-inch cube of ginger (think half of your thumb)
3 cups spinach
1 green apple (Or red apple with 3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice)

Pour soy milk in blender jug.
Peel ginger and add to blender.
Cut spinach if your blender thinks that will help it. Add to blender.
Cut apple into whatever size your blender can handle. Add to the rest.

Blend it up! I pulsed it until it started going, and did need to push it down. Usually I push it with celery, but forgot to get some at the store. It adds a fresh taste and gives you a safe pushing-stick that you can use while the blender is going!

Brisket-y pot roast

I realized that I don't post much, but most of the things that I make are from other food bloggers. So I decided that the right thing to do is to let you know how these are from my point of view! I completely respect the bloggers whose recipes I use, but sometimes we have different goals. And sometimes I change things just because I don't want to go to the store. So I'm calling these 'reviews' even though it's sometime a rather different version of what they made!

The first review here is of Deb's Tangy Spiced Brisket (smittenkitchen). I was actually looking for her brisket recipe that I used at Taos, but found this one and went for it instead, haha. She didn't use potatoes or carrots, but I wanted a one-dish meal, so I did. I also had a much smaller brisket, so I'm including the ingredients I used below. I actually had a 1-pound brisket, because Mr. More Calories was worried about it not all getting eaten, but I'd recommend a 2-3 pound one. We both agree that the 'sauce' that comes out of this is fantastic!

Overall Conclusion: I will use the sauce of this with regular beef pot roast, skip over carmelizing the onions and just use big onion chunks, and then also add all of the spices directly to the pot. Will make it quicker and I think still very tasty! Also plan to add tomato chunks.

Tangy Spiced Brisket with Potatoes and Carrots

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 6 hours

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 onion, sliced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/4 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (adjust to your preference - I added too much while it was on the stove top and we had to turn on the allergy air filter. oops.)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2-3 cups beef stock (I used low sodium - use enough so that it almost covers the beef)
3 oz tomato paste (she said ketchup, but I would rather use the plainer option)
1/2 cup chili sauce* ( I used Heinz, which she recommended - not hot at all)
1/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
2-3 pound brisket

5 medium red potatoes

1 pound carrots

**See her original post for more detailed directions or for just a pot roast!**

1 - Slice the onion and carmelize it. Then add garlic and spices - stir and cook for 2 more minutes.

2 - Put Sauce ingredients (beef stock through brown sugar) in the pot of the crock pot.

3 - Cut potatoes and carrots into big chunks. Put potato in pot. Put brisket on top of potatoes, then surround with carrots and top with onion spice mixture.

4 - Cook on low for 6-8 hours. (I did overnight and then had it for lunch the next day.)

5 - Enjoy!