I Eat, Therefore I Cook

Disregarding any potentially fallacious logic inherent to the title of this post :), something that I enjoy doing nearly every day is cooking. I think that I learned to cook fried and scrambled eggs when I was six or seven years old. Bacon followed soon afterward! Since then, I have tried cooking many things with reasonable degrees of success. I usually don't go to a lot of trouble, preferring to throw a collection of vegetables, seasonings, and some type of meat (usually chicken) into a pot and let it stew. However, I occasionally go to a bit more trouble. I sometimes eat fish, which I bake with different vegetables and seasonings. I can also make some pretty good chili and stir-fry. As I have gotten a bit older, I have become a lot more health conscious. Consequently, I have greatly reduced my intake of cholesterol (no more egg yolks!) and sodium. Also, I try to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Most recently, I have attempted to reduce my intake of trans fats (partially and fully hydrogenated oils) to zero. I do not subscribe to any particular diet fads, however, I think that I am pretty well in tune with many aspects of the Mediterranean diet. I do eat a fair amount of fat, but I try to consume mostly monounsaturated fats, which are the healthiest. Olive oil and nuts like walnuts and almonds contain mostly this type of fat. I have stopped eating beef (no, I did not become a Hindu, although I have known some pretty cool Hindus :) ) because it is very high in saturated fat. The cattle disease BSE is pretty scary too! As previously mentioned, I eat a lot of chicken and some fish, but I also eat turkey and lean ham. When I was a kid I loved to eat fried pork rinds, which is basically just fried slabs of solid fat! I do love chocolate, cookies, cakes, etc., but I have cut way back on my processed sugar intake. When I bake, I now substitute honey and molasses for sugar when a sweetener is called for. If a recipe calls for margarine or vegetable grease, I always substitute olive oil. Also, instead of using all white flour, I use part whole wheat flour. Whole wheat items, like breads, tend to be digested more slowly than things like white bread (do you remember Wonder Bread?) and are thus less likely to make the consuming party obese! Anyway, with all the substituting that I make in my quest for greater health through selective gastronomics, I have developed some of my own recipes. I have listed two below that are really quite good. When I make them for friends or relatives, there is never any left over. I know that some of my visitors like to cook, so I hope that you will try these recipes and more importantly, I hope that you will enjoy them! :)

Apple Walnut Muffins

Mix together:

2 egg whites
1/6 cup honey
1/3 cup extra light olive oil
1 pealed and finely chopped apple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
dash of cinnamon
dash of ginger

In a separate bowl, sift together:

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine all ingredients and slowly add milk while mixing until a thick batter results. Approximately 3/4 cup milk should be about right if you want to measure.

For baking, use a non-stick muffin pan. However, even "non-stick" cookware often sticks anyway (so much for truth in advertising!), so spraying it with a non-stick vegetable spray like "Pam" is a good idea. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 25 minutes. A 12" by 12" baking pan can also be used to make a cake, however, the cooking time will need to be increased to 35 or 40 minutes. A good test for doneness is to stick a toothpick or a sharp knife into the muffin/cake. If it pulls out clean, then it is done.

Banana Nut Bread

Mix together:

2 or 3 mashed ripe bananas
3 egg whites
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup extra light olive oil
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
dash of cinnamon
dash of ginger

In a separate bowl, sift together:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine all ingredients and mix well until a thick batter results. Pour into a non-stick bread pan. Here again, a non-stick vegetable spray is a good idea. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 to 70 minutes.