Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

You Asked For It

Recipes put ooomph in New Year's diets

* * *

By ELLEN FOLKMAN
Published February 23, 2005

Readers trying to keep their New Year's resolution to diet will enjoy recipes submitted by two readers.

Paula Stahel offers a recipe for faux-tatoes. She found it in 500 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpenter (Fair Winds Press, 2002), but revised it to make it low-fat as well. She says this is a wonderful recipe for those who miss mashed potatoes.

She also says that her husband, who refuses to eat cauliflower, enjoys it.

Lyn Wood has been living a low-carb lifestyle for some time. She surfed the Internet to find the two dessert recipes that she submitted and turned to Southern Living magazine for the tasty mushroom soup recipe here.

From: Paula Stahel of Tampa.

Recipe: Faux-tatoes.

1 large head cauliflower, trimmed and cut up

4 ounces cream cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Steam the cauliflower pieces until very tender.

When cooked, remove from heat, uncover and let stand to cool slightly and release moisture. Combine cauliflower and cream cheese in food processor (may require dividing) and thoroughly mash. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer to a baking dish; heat 20 minutes in a 350-degree oven.

Serves 4.

Nutritional information per serving: 151 calories, 10g fat (6g saturated), 6g protein, 12g carbohydrates, 5g fiber, 728mg sodium.

From: Lyn Wood of St. Petersburg.

Recipe: Sparkling Black Cherry Ice.

1 cup boiling water

1 package (4-serving size) Jell-O, black cherry-flavored sugar-free

1 cup cold black cherry-flavored, sugar-free seltzer

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Stir boiling water into gelatin in large bowl for 2 minutes or until completely dissolved. Add seltzer, lemon peel and juice; stir until well-blended. Pour into 8-inch square pan; Cover.

Freeze 3 hours or until firm.

Remove mixture from freezer; let stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften slightly, then spoon into large bowl.

Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.

Spoon or scoop gelatin mixture into 6 individual dessert dishes to serve.

Serves 6.

Nutritional information per serving: 59 calories, 6g protein, 1g carbohydrates, 0 fat, 0 fiber, 397mg sodium.

From: Lyn Wood of St. Petersburg.

Recipe: Low-Fat Pumpkin Mousse Pie.

1 Keebler reduced-fat graham cracker pie crust

2 cups skim milk

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 (1 ounce) package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 (8 ounce) container fat-free or lite whipped topping, thawed, divided

Combine milk, pumpkin, pudding mix and spice in a mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixer until smooth.

Fold in one half of the whipped topping. Spoon evenly into pie crust. Top with remaining whipped topping.

Freeze or refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Serves 6.

Nutritional data not available.

From: Lyn Wood of St. Petersburg.

Recipe: Wild Mushroom Soup.

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

2 cups boiling water

3/4 cup Madeira wine

4 cups fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth, divided

1 (1/2 ounce) package dried porcini mushrooms, chopped

1 (1/2 ounce) package dried morel mushrooms, chopped

1 (1/2 ounce) package dried chanterelle mushrooms, chopped

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

6 green onions, sliced

1 medium onion, diced

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 pound fresh white mushrooms, quartered

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Toppings:

Fat-free sour cream

Chopped green onions

Garnish:

Green onions

Dissolve bouillon cubes in 2 cups boiling water. Set aside.

Bring wine, 1/2 cup chicken broth and dried mushrooms to a boil in saucepan. Remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes.

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add sliced green onions and diced onion. Saute until tender. Stir in flour, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Gradually stir in vegetable broth and remaining 31/2 cups chicken broth. Stir in white mushrooms and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally; reduce heat, and simmer stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.

Cool slightly. Process mixture, in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.

Return to Dutch oven. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Serve with desired toppings. Garnish, if desired.

Makes 8 1-cup servings.

Nutritional information per serving, without garnishes: 108 calories, 6g protein, 11g carbohydrates, 3g fat (2g saturated), 2g fiber, 321mg sodium.

You Asked For It readers are always up for a challenge, so here's a good one. Cynthia Minton hopes someone has a recipe from the 1960s that she is looking for.

The recipe is called Best Ever Brownies, and she remembers it from either Woman's Day or Family Circle magazines. If you have this recipe in your collection, Cynthia will be delighted.

Alice Carter is looking for two recipes, both involving poppy seeds. The first is for a poppy seed filling for coffee cake, the second for Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. Please share your favorite.

You Asked for It is a reader mail column. Send recipe requests to You Asked for It, the Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail them to youaskedforit@knology.net Please put "Recipe request" in the subject line. Recipes will be received by mail only. Be sure to include your full name, city and phone number. Letters without this information will be discarded. Requests cannot be answered by phone or mail.

[Last modified February 22, 2005, 09:56:04]