Hot Chocolate

from Mother Nature Network

Try #5


In all of the recipes here you can play around with the proportions, adding more or less sweetener as you prefer — and you can also mix and match the milks, as these were developed so that either dairy or nut milks could be used. All of these will yield one regular or two small servings, you can double or quadruple as desired.

1. Traditional Hot Chocolate
This is the only one of the group here that includes chocolate pieces, which as mentioned before creates a beverage with more fat. That said, this recipe will yield a beautiful cup of hot chocolate that will still be better for you than a chemical- and preservative laden cup made from a crummy instant mix.

1 cup milk (or nut milk)
1/2 vanilla bean, split
3 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, cut into small pieces

Heat milk to scalding in a medium saucepan, add vanilla, and let steep with the heat off for 10 minutes. Strain and return milk to saucepan to reheat milk. (You can use 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract instead and skip the steeping process.) Whisk in chocolate until melted and frothy. Serve, savor.

2. Dried Plum Cocoa
Okay, okay. Yes, you could call this one the “hot prune smoothie,” but we’re going to stand by it anyway. After all, if the French can make Pruneaux d’Agen (the decadent prune and chocolate cake) then we can make pruneaux d’ cocoa, by golly. (We’re just going to follow the lead of the prune industry and rename it dried plum cocoa.) The truth is, this one is so thick and rich it’s closer to drinking chocolate, and instead of sugar’s empty calories, you get a healthy dose of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

1 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
3 medium plums
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Put all ingredients in the blender and puree until very smooth, gently heat in a pot on the stove. Voila.

3. Coconut Hot Cocoa
Somehow, mixing the products of a tropical tree — coconut milk and dates — just seems all wrong for making the perfect drink for a blizzardy afternoon. And it’s true this one may not be the best if you’re considering food miles. But for dairy-free, sugar-free, nut-free diets this recipe may be as close as you get to cocoa nirvana. And for anyone else, if you’ve got the ingredients, this version is super salubrious and delicious.

3 tablespoons canned coconut milk
3/4 cup water
3 soft pitted Medjool dates
1 tablespoon cacao powder
Dash of cinnamon

Put all ingredients in the blender and puree until very smooth, gently heat in a pot on the stove. Sip and dream of the tropics.

4. Maple Cocoa
Maple syrup is one of a wholesome-cooking cook’s best-kept weapons in avoiding refined sugar. It not only adds a punch of sweetness, but that special almost-smoky maple taste adds incredible depth to baked goods and sweets that are hearty in flavor (meaning, great with chocolate and nutty things, not so good for angel food cake). This one is nice with the neutral flavors of regular dairy, but you can use any alternative milk you’d like as well.

1 cup milk
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt

Combine ingredients in a medium pot and warm on medium-low heat, whisking until frothy and hot.

5. Mexican Hot Cocoa
The original chocolate beverage lauded by the Mayans was a bitter spicy slurry drunk cold and nothing like the Swiss Miss we have come to rely on. Hot cocoa in Mexico and other southern realms retains the heat, which is very clever since chocolate and spice go together as well any pair of flavors possibly could.

1 cup soy milk (or regular milk)
1 tablespoon Sucanat (see note)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
1 pinch of cinnamon
1 pinch (or more, go crazy!) of cayenne

Combine ingredients in a medium pot and warm on medium-low heat, whisking until frothy and hot. Say "salud" to the Mayans for bringing us drinkable chocolate.

Note: Sucanat is the trade name for “Sugar Cane Natural,” a non-refined cane sugar that is made by crushing sugar cane, extracting the juice then heating and drying it. It’s a more wholesome sweetener than refined sugar – but if you don’t have it, agave syrup, stevia, or regular sugar can be used instead.

Roasted Mackerel with Paprika Garlic Rub, Mustard vinaigrette and sweet potatoes

From epicurious.com

Great find - never had mackerel before, but bought it when Whole Foods was out of salmon during a pre-blizzard supermarket run.  Good, meaty non-oily fish. The rub is very tasty, if not a bit bitter because of the garlic and paprika - but good.  The mustard vinaigrette tasted a bit lemony, and was excellent on the potatoes and with the quinoa I prepared with this dish.  Overall, very good dinner. Will definitely add mackerel to my repertoire of fish, which has been pretty much limited to salmon and halibut.

From epicurious:

I don't know why some people don't like mackerel and why it's not more widely served in the States. It's such a lovely fish, cheap and plentiful, and, served with this gently Spanish vinaigrette, an absolute winner. Make sure you dress the potatoes while they are still warm as they'll take on the dressing much better.

ingredients
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
Olive oil
8 mackerel fillets, skin on
1 pound new potatoes -I used sweet potatoes
2-3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

For the vinaigrette
Pinch of saffron
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Put the garlic and paprika into a mortar, add the salt, and pound to a smooth paste. Add a few drops of olive oil, then rub the flesh side of the mackerel fillets with the paste and set aside.
3. Make the vinaigrette. Put all the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush lightly with olive oil. Lay the mackerel fillets skin side up on the paper and season the skin with sea salt. Roast for 8-10 minutes until the skin is crisp and the fish is cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to rest.
5. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in a large pan of salted water for about 15 minutes until tender, then drain. Return to the pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Crush lightly with the back of a fork, then add the scallions and stir to combine. Season with salt, then add a couple of tablespoons of the vinaigrette.
6. Serve the crushed potatoes topped with the mackerel and a drizzle of the remaining vinaigrette.

Recipes from Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking by Gordon Ramsay. Copyright © 2013 by Gordon Ramsay. Reprinted by permission of Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.


Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Mackerel-with-Garlic-and-Paprika-51161600#ixzz2tD1VnVKz

African Bean Soup

From pcrm.org

Sweet potatoes and peanuts are familiar ingredients in many African cuisines. In this colorful soup they are combined with garbanzo beans and other vegetables and served over cooked rice.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 onion, sliced
2 small sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth (see recipe) or water
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, undrained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1-2 teaspoons curry powder
4 cups cooked brown rice

Directions

Heat water and soy sauce in a large pot. Add onion and sweet potatoes or yams and cook over high heat, stirring often, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add carrot, celery, and bell pepper. Cover and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes, broth or water, beans and their liquid, cilantro, peanut butter, and curry powder. Stir to mix, then cover and simmer until vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes.
Per serving: 279 calories; 5.6 g fat; 1 g saturated fat; 18% calories from fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 10.5 g protein; 48.9 g carbohydrates; 6.2 g sugar; 9 g fiber; 472 mg sodium; 80 mg calcium; 3.3 mg iron; 35.7 mg vitamin C; 3,251 mcg beta-carotene; 1.8 mg vitamin E

Source: Healthy Eating for Life for Women by Kristine Kieswer; recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D