Buttermilk Apple Coffee Cake

This truly is a beautiful coffee cake. The cake moist and sweet, but not overly so. When making the glaze, I had to use extra buttermilk to make the glaze a thinner consistency. Additionally, I substituted almond extract for the vanilla to give the cake more of an almond flavor.

Buttermilk-Apple Coffee Cake

Cake:
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apple
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Glaze:
1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon low-fat buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare the cake, combine the first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes or until syrupy, stirring frequently; cool.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well-blended; add egg and extracts, beating well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.

Spoon the batter into an 8-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Arrange apple mixture over cake. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon buttermilk, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 185(24% from fat); FAT 5g (sat 2.3g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 3.4g; CHOLESTEROL 35mg; CALCIUM 36mg; SODIUM 162mg; FIBER 1g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31.8g

Cooking Light, APRIL 2001

Spinach Lentil Soup

Racking in at 20 grams of fiber per serving, this tasty soup is fiberlicious! I made a whole pot of spinach lentil soup with very little prep time. I used pre-diced onions ($.99 a bag at TJ's and the recipe used 1/2 the bag) and pre-shredded carrots. The recipe does not specify what type of lentils to use. I chose tiny black lentils and I think this reduced the cooking time. I will definatly make this dish again and it beats all canned lentil soups hands-down. It's even vegan.

Spinach Lentil Soup

1 cup shredded carrots

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 cups water

1 (16 ounce) jar salsa

1 1/4 cups dried lentils

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 (10 ounce) package fresh spinach, torn

In a large pot, saute carrots and onion in oil until tender. Add the water, salsa, lentils and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the lentils are tender (50-60 minutes, but it took mine about 30 minutes). Stir in the spinach and simmer until the wilted (about 5-10 minutes).

6 (1 1/2 cup) Servings: 208 calories, 3 grams fat, 686 mg sodium, 36 g carbs, 20 g fiber, 18 g protein. Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 1 starch, 1 very lean meat, 1/2 fat.

Fruit Shish-Ka-Bobs

I put together these fruit shish-ka-bobs for a staff meeting. The middle skewers are balls of watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew. The outer skewers are fresh strawberries and pineapple. I used a flower cookie cutter to cut out the pineapple pieces.

Ricotta Ranch Dip

My newest discovery is mixing 1/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese with 1 teaspoon of Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix.

The cheese that I use has 50 calories and 2 grams of fat per 1/4 cup serving. The ranch mix is only 5 calories for 2 tablespoons.

Today, I used this fabulous mixture as a dip for baby carrots and celery. Tomorrow, I plan to use it as a baked potato topping (with salsa).