Potato, Pea, and Panir Curry

The Potato, Pea, & Panir Curry from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest is the best thing that I have made in a long, long time. OMG. So Good.

Please don't let the ingredient list intimidate you. All the spices can be purchased in the bulk food section and most cost between $.07 - $.25.

The spices were fragrant. I recognized their beauty after I dumped them into the dutch oven.

I was expecting to eat a large serving and was pleasantly surprised when I only needed a cup. I made minimal changes to the recipe and it ended up making 7.5 cups. I calculated the points based off of 7 (1 cup) servings. When I track this in my food journal, I tend to add another point. I don't know. I didn't feel right about only using 3 points for this dish. WW guilt, perhaps?

I will spare you from viewing all of the recipe builder images created with varying serving sizes. I still cannot believe only 3-4 points/serving.

Here's how it was made:

1. Thinly slice 2 large potatoes. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Simmer until tender.

2. In a dutch oven, heat 1 TBSP oil. Add 1 TBSP mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, 3 TBSP sesame seeds, 2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, and a pinch of thyme heat until the seeds begin to pop.

3. Add the cooked potatoes, 1 1/4 tsp salt and 5 cloves of minced garlic. Cook over med/low heat until potatoes are well coated.

4. Add 3 TBSP fresh lemon juice and 6 ounces fat-free Greek yogurt. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cayenne as preferred.

5. Add 2 cups peas and 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese. Stir together and cook until heated.

Cottage Cheese Enchiladas

Cottage Cheese Enchiladas are my new favorite "after the gym" meal. 

The first time I made these I filled 3 corn tortillas with a dallop of fat-free cottage cheese, a pinch of shredded cheddar cheese, and green onions. It helps to heat the tortillas first (15 seconds in the microwave) to prevent them from tearing. Fold the tortillas and place them seam-side down in a baking dish. Cover the enchiladas with salsa verde and bake at 400 degrees until the cheese melted. Heaven. 

I started omitting the cheddar cheese (and the green onions when I don't have them on hand). Simply fill the tortillas with cottage cheese, top with salsa and bake. Still delish, if you ask me.

Broccoli, Cherry Tomato, and Pasta Salad

I was feeling ambitious tonight. However, I did not make all of the dishes that I planned to make, partially because this pasta salad took longer than planned. It is possible that it was because I was chatting away on the phone while I was preparing it.

I would recommend this recipe to anyone with an herb garden. The salad was slightly expensive to make since the only things that I had available in my garden were the mint and lemon. The dressing is unique and creamy, which is a nice change from the standard Italian dressing or oil and vinegar.

Broccoli, Cherry Tomato, and Pasta Salad

Herb mixture:
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
12 mint leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled

Dressing:
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/3 cup 2% low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Dash of black pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Salad:
7 cups small broccoli florets
2 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups cooked medium seashell (about 4 ounces uncooked pasta)
1/2 cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, and halved

To prepare herb mixture, combine first 6 ingredients on a cutting board; finely chop, and reserve 3 tablespoons. Set remaining herb mixture aside.
To prepare the dressing, place the reserved 3 tablespoons herb mixture in a food processor. Drop 2 garlic cloves through the food chute with food processor on; process until minced. Add cottage cheese and next 6 ingredients (cottage cheese through dash of pepper) to food processor; process until smooth. Stir in feta.

To prepare salad, steam broccoli, covered, 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Cool. Combine remaining herb mixture, broccoli, mushrooms, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over salad; toss well.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 1/2 cups)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 327(24% from fat); FAT 8.8g (sat 3g,mono 3.4g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 18.4g; CHOLESTEROL 14mg; CALCIUM 248mg; SODIUM 768mg; FIBER 7g; IRON 4.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 50g

Recipe can be found in 2000's Best of Cooking Light or cookinglight.com.

Broccoli Bread

I made Cooking Light's Broccoli Bread expecting to create a corn bread with chunks of broccoli in it. This dish turned out to be more of a quiche than a typical bread. I thought I did not mix the ingredients together well or that I added way too many eggs. I read the reviews and other people commented the same. However, most people, including myself and my boyfriend, liked the dish anyhow. In my opinion, it was good both warm and cold. This "bread" needs to be kept refridgerated and it will only stay fresh for a few days. I accidently left out all of the melted butter and I think it still turned out good, without the extra fat.

Broccoli Bread

Packaged corn muffin mix gives this bread a touch of sweetness. If you make this corn bread-type dish in a glass baking dish instead of a metal pan, decrease the oven temperature by 25 degrees.
1 cup egg substitute
3/4 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the onion, broccoli, and muffin mix; stir until well blended. Pour into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 27 minutes or until set. Yield: 12 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 146(28% from fat); FAT 4.5g (sat 1.8g,mono 1.9g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 6.7g; CHOLESTEROL 8mg; CALCIUM 62mg; SODIUM 497mg; FIBER 2.4g; IRON 0.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 19.8g

Ann Taylor Pittman
Cooking Light, MARCH 2002

My Heavenly Cheese Platter

Recently, I visited Point Reyes, California. On the way home from the National Seashore, we stopped at the Cowgirl Creamery to buy some cheese. We were able to sample around 10 different kinds of cow, goat and sheep cheeses. We ended up buying the San Andreas Bellwether sheep cheese and a St. Pat Nettle Cheese. Delicious! At home, I put together this cheese platter with locally grown organic strawberries, grapes, a sliced baguette, and a dried apricot and almond bread. We drank a Pinot Noir with this. I was in heaven!

This platter was way too much food for the two of us. A little bit of good quality cheese went along way.

A close-up of the Cheese (The St. Pat's is on the right. The green is Nettles.):



Cowgirl's description of their St. Pat Cheese: ST PAT is our seasonal springtime cheese. These rounds are made with whole organic milk and are wrapped with stinging nettle leaves. Do not fear the nettles, since they are washed and then frozen to remove the sting before they are wrapped around the cheese. ST PAT, with its distinctive, green wrapping, commemorates the arrival of spring in Marin County. After three weeks of aging, ST PAT is mellow, soft, and full of flavor. The nettle leaves impart a smoky, artichoke flavor.