Comunidad Health Foods

As part of my nutrition education, I volunteer as the assistant for a food lab that all nutrition majors need to take. It is by no means a healthy cooking class; rather, it's an introduction to the fundamentals of cooking and food preparation, as well as to the notion of food safety and sanitation practices. This week in lab, the students each made their own, individual apple pie. I watched as the girls cringed as they filled their measuring cups with shortening, and I helped them maneuver their delicate crusts to their foil pie tins. It's a fun lab. And at the end of it, the professor always passes around a plate of cheddar cheese slices for the students to top over their still-warm-and-fresh-from-the-oven pies. Many people refuse or, at the very least, hesitate considerably. It's totally weird, right?

Wrong!

Alright, maybe I shouldn't be that harsh or that black and white with things as subjective as flavors and food. However, even if you forget the sophisticated cheese-and-fruit classic pairing or you have never heard that sweet + salty = pretty darn tasty, even for a salt-phobe like me, I have this recipe to prove to you just how heavenly warm cheese and apples can be. It comes directly from the blog, Closet Cooking, (and, in fact, he says the inspiration for the sandwich came from hearing about the apple pie + cheddar combo) and I made it just about a half century ago (re: last semester). So, although it's definitely not apple season anymore and I did recently (kind of) post a cheesy, melty, pan-sauteed sandwich type of thing, I ask you to hear me out. Because this recipe is good. Healthy? Not so much. But good? Times five hundred percent, two thumbs and both big toes up. Seriously. I didn't even write any notes about it (that's how long ago I made it), and I can tell you emphatically just how worth it this conglomeration of hearty whole grain bread, gooey cheese and warmed, caramelized apples is. Yes, I did say caramelized - as in, you cook the apples in a whole lot of butter mixed with some cinnamon before even introducing the words cheese or bread to the pan. I'm shocked that you're still sitting here, actually, unless you do come here for healthy(ish) recipes and you have the restraint of a saint.

I really shouldn't even re-post the recipe, since I changed nothing and think that it is absolute perfection just the way it is, so I'll simply direct you over here for the Real Deal.

I will say, though, that I wholeheartedly encourage the use of a heavier, heartier bread - I use a whole grain oatmeal bread almost without exception for my grilled sandwiches because it adds a significantly noticeable level of complexity to the texture and flavor. It's not just because Wonder Bread frightens me. Also, as you can see in the picture, I paired it with a side salad consisting of mixed greens, walnuts, and cranberries to round out this Autumn (and, I'd argue, winter...) meal.

After a week like the one I've had, and on a night when I'm finally beginning to feel the chill in a not-yet-heated apartment, I could think of no better recipe than this Chicken Chutney melange to warm my thoughts and soothe my entire body. There's a reason you haven't heard from me in so long, and believe me, it has nothing to do with a lack of recipes. My computer Note Pad is overflowing with my list of recipes to share with you, but I have been running nonstop and, unfortunately, am only beginning to see a slight decline in work load and responsabilities. But, c'est la vie of a college student come Thanksgiving. It's crunch time, folks, and I've got it coming at me from all fronts.

So no, I did not eat this belly-warming Chicken Chutney One Pot tonight, as it has been long gone from even my freezer for several weeks now (yes, I am that behind on posting, for shame), but I will hope that telling you about it will feel almost as comforting. You see, this is the epitome of a chilly fall meal, the kind that tastes, smells, and all-out exudes autumn-ness and warmth. There are parsnips and apples and cranberries, apple cider and allspice and cinnamon, and a whole lot of rib-sticking flavor sopped up beautifully by the right loaf of bread. It's spicy in that ginger-and-cinnamon kind of way, and sweet with the dried fruits and apples - but still savory with some chicken and butter and mustard. This one-pot meal has it all, except, I guess, a proper name, to my knowledge. One Pot? I like melange much better, though I guess uppity-French words don't necessarily describe a down-home almost-stew type of meal very accurately. Regardless of what you call it, it's good.

Chicken Chutney One Pot (actually, Chutney Chicken One Pot, but I liked the way it sounds the other way), courtesy of Rachael Ray's Everyday magazine
Yield: 4 servings
The Ingredients
2lb. boneless, skinless chicken thigh or breast, cut into large chunks - I'll give you 3 guesses which cut of meat I chose.
Salt and Pepper (salt optional, according to me)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tart apple, peeled and chopped (I believe I actually bought Granny Smith instead of just grabbing whatever I had lying around, which is inevitably never Granny Smith)
1/2C dried apricots, chopped
1/4C dried cranberries
1/4C dark or golden raisins (I used dark)
2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar or cider vinegar (I used apple cider - as in, not vinegar - and then cut back a little, but clearly not enough, on the preserves later on)
1-in. fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground allspice (I used nutmeg)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1C chicken stock
1/3C apricot preserves (I'd go down to 1/4, I think)
2 Tbsp. grainy mustard
Crusty whole grain bread for mopping (seriously, even the recipe recommends whole grain bread - it's perfect for this kind of meal!)
Additions: 1 sweet potato (or, if you're concerned about sweetness, you could try 1 regular potato), chunked (no need to peel!)

The Method
1. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet, head the oil over medium-high heat and throw in the chicken. Turn once after 5 minutes, then cook about 5 minutes more...though I think that with the chunks I made, it didn't take quite this long. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add the butter to the empty pan and melt it before adding in the parsnips, onion and apple (add the potato here if using). Season again with salt and pepper. Cook approximately 5 minutes, until the vegetables soften up.
4. Stir in the dried fruit, vinegar/cider, ginger, cumin, allspice/nutmeg, and cinnamon. Scrape the pan to get all the good bits up.
5. Stir in the chicken stock, preserves, and mustard. Lower the heat.
6. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer until the dried fruit plumps up, approximately 5 minutes.
7. Serve with bread and, if you're me, some apple slices left over from cutting the recipe in half and only using half of an apple. As Rachael would say, dee-lish!

I made 2 servings and froze one, and enjoyed it immensely later on. I'm actually kind of craving it now, just telling you about it. It may have been sweet, but you can adjust that to your liking. It's just this perfectly wholesome meal for cooler weather, and what are you left with to clean up, really? Some cutting boards and a pot? A spoon? If you're me, you're left with a big mess, but you're not me, so you probably cook with a touch more grace and efficiency.

I would highly recommend this, and if you're really daring or if it's a snow day and you just have nothing else to do with your life, after you finish making me jealous you can whip up your very own homemade bread to pair with this. Because really, that trumps any crusty loaf a grocery store can offer about a dozen times over.

But as is the case with my life right now, there's no time for the luxury of homemade bread. Soon enough, though, in a few weeks - just you wait until the semester ends and time is all I have. Just you wait to see what I've got in store for you then.

If you're looking for a side dish that screams fall without you having to loosen the notch on your proverbial belt several times, look no further! Alright, there are healthier fall-inspired dishes than this sweet potato and apple gratin, but compared to the sweet potato casseroles topped with marshmallow and all of those darn pies, this really is pretty saintly. And if you're wondering what this mystery dish looks like, I apologize for the lack of eye candy - you can see a picture of it, though not at its most photogenic, right on over here.

I did doctor up the original recipe just a little bit to make it the teensiest bit healthier and, even more realistically, to suit the ingredients I mostly had on hand. Especially now that I'm stocking a kitchen just for myself, I'm not going to run out and buy an ingredient unless I'll use it more than just once (unless, of course, that one recipe calls for the whole thing). The gratin turned out really well, and I'm even considering making it a second time already - something that almost never happens in the Floptimism kitchen, considering the mountains of clipped recipes I have taking up residence in any spare corner I can find.

It's not an overly sweet casserole, despite the combination of apple + syrup, though I don't know that I'd pair it with a main dish smothered in any kind of saccharine glaze. As it was, paired with the savory mustard chicken and vaguely bitter kale, I found it to be perfect - but we all know by now how consistently obsessed I am with contrasting flavors/textures/you-name-it. The sweet potato and apple gratin on its own doesn't really offer this, though perhaps a little bit on the texture front with the soft apples and crunchier breading as a topping, so it's good to put it up against something on the more savory side of things.

Or, you know, eat it with whatever you please. Since when did I become the expert on food pairings?


Sweet Potato and Apple Gratin, courtesy of Cooking Light
Yield: 8 servings (I cut everything by 4 to give me just 2 servings)
The Ingredients
3C thinly sliced, peeled granny smith apple, approx. 1.25lb
1 tsp. lemon juice
4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced, approx. 2lb.
1/4C maple syrup (I used the cinnamon-infused bottle that I had on hand)
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. salt (c'mon, omitted)
1/4 tsp. black pepper (I don't measure this, since I almost exclusively use that McCormick 'fresh ground' container)
cooking spray (I only keep butter and olive oil in stock for greasing purposes, so I just used a little bit of oil and a paper towel to spread it around)
2 (1-oz) slices white bread (I used whole grain and don't see any reason why not - it turned out perfectly well)
2 tsp. olive oil
1/4tsp. ground nutmeg

The Method
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and coat a 9x13 dish with spray or oil (I used an 8x8 since I was making such a small batch).
2. Combine the apples and lemon juice in a bowl and toss to coat. Add in the next 5 ingredients (sweet potatoes through the pepper).
3. Place the mixture into the dish and bake for 25 minutes. Stir, then place back in the oven for another 15 minutes (40 minutes total).
4. While the casserole is baking, pulse the bread in a food processor approximately 10 times so that it measures around 1C.
5. Add the bread crumbs with the oil and nutmeg in a bowl and stir to mix well. Sprinkle over the casserole and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes to allow the juices to thicken (but let's face it - I probably only waited a grand total of 5).

The original website posted the nutrition information as well, so you can check that out if you're interested with the understanding that it can vary a great deal: the type and brand of bread, whether or not you use salt, pure maple syrup vs. aunt jemima's, they all impact it. And regardless of the calories that the website says, this is worth trying. Along with all of the other fall recipes my kitchen has been brimming with - so don't forget to keep coming back. If I don't overwhelm you with delicious recipe finds for this upcoming season, I will be impressed.

The combination of apples and honey takes me back to every year at Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. It's this classic, traditional food pairing that's supposed to symbolize wishes for a sweet new year, and it's definitely a duo worth keeping. Because of that, I immediately think of honey any time I'm adding apples to a recipe and need a little extra something to get the dish to reach a new level.

I'm still playing catch up from all of the meals I made while on vacation all of those long weeks ago, and this recipe for an Apple and Honey Salad is next up on my checklist. I made this as an impromptu lunch on a steaming hot day, and was really pleased with the result. It really couldn't be much simpler; the most complicated part is slicing the apple, and god knows I don't have any artsy, skillful tips to make the slices come out as perfectly as those bagged, sliced & ready to eat apples from the grocery store. I took a butter knife (sadly, the sharpest utensil on hand in the borrowed vacation house) and hacked away as gracefully as one possibly can with a butter knife - that is to say, not very gracefully at all. I would not serve this at a five-course dinner party without honing my technique, but the slices made it into my mouth without difficulty, which is really all that matters when it comes to a spontaneous vacation lunch recipe.

Apples & Honey Salad
Serves: 1
The Ingredients
1 apple, on the small-to-medium side
1 - 1 1/2 C spinach
Honey, to taste

The Method
1. Wash and dry the spinach, placing onto a plate.
2. Slice the apple as best you can, keeping in mind that you're going to want to eat this without a knife (unless you are, in fact, less lazy than I), and fan over the spinach.
3. Drizzle with honey (really, a very little amount goes a long way; I used a very hefty drizzle and wound up regretting it, as it overpowered the other two ingredients)

You see, I told you this was easy, quick, and very refreshing for a hot day. The fiber in the apple keeps you full, the honey lends a light sweetness, and the spinach base gives all sorts of power nutrients without a ton of heavy calories. You've probably seen many nut-and-apple salads out there, so I'm sure that you could add many things to make this a little bit fancier - cranberries/craisins for an autumn salad, a little bit of a peanut butter dressing to add some saltiness and protein, who knows. However, I love how simple this three-ingredient salad is, without any changes. You really can't go wrong.