A Life, Lived

Lemon Gin Sparkling Cocktail

Today is a bittersweet Cooling Light Virtual Supper Club post - it is our last supper club as a group. I first joined this group in February of 2011 and it has been quite a journey. The group members have changed but our focus has always been on interesting, healthy meals. After all of these years our fearless leader has decided to move on to other challenges.

The theme for our last dinner was selected by Sandi (who is currently enjoying herself in Positano). She decided upon a theme of lemons. Hmmmm couldn't be because of the great lemons grown on the Amalfi Coast and all of that limoncello could it?

I had the wild card for this last supper club which meant I could make anything I wanted. f course I went with a cocktail - it seemed appropriate for toasting the group.

Loosely based on the French 75, a classic cocktail of gin, Champagne, lemon juice, and sugar, this sparkling beverage uses lemonade concentrate as a shortcut. Be sure to allow the concentrate to thaw ahead of time. You'll use almost a whole bottle of Champagne - just chug what is left so not to waste it. :-). If time allows, you can use a quick simple syrup with lemon juice: Combine 3 tablespoons each of sugar, lemon juice, and water; microwave for 1 minute, and cool.

Lemon Gin Sparkling Cocktail

1 cup gin, chilled
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 2/3 cups Champagne or other sparkling wine, chilled

Combine gin and lemonade concentrate in a pitcher; chill until ready to serve.

Just before serving, add Champagne to gin mixture; stir gently.

April Fool - Spicy Shrimp with Grits

April Fools' Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day, is one of the most light-hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar.

It is worth noting that many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar has Holi, and the Jewish calendar has Purim. Perhaps there's something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring, that lends itself to lighthearted celebrations.

April Fools' Day is observed throughout the Western world. Practices include sending someone on a "fool's errand," looking for things that don't exist; playing pranks; and trying to get people to believe ridiculous things.

I'm celebrating April fools with the wonderful ladies from the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. I selected the theme for this months (duh . . .April Fool's).

My addition to the menu is this recipe for Spicy Shrimp with Grits.

Shrimp and grits is one of those iconic Southern dishes that stir something deep inside those who grew up with them. Originally from the oceanic South—Georgia, the Low Country coast of the Carolinas and Gulf Coast states all have their versions—this homey bowl of awesome was historically a simple fisherman’s breakfast: Grits, with some bacon and a few shrimp tossed on top.

If you’ve ever eaten it, you can understand why shrimp and grits has burst from the seaside shrimp shanties. The grits are soft, buttery, and often cheesy, with a savoury, bacon-studded sauce surrounding them, and lots and lots of shrimp. Maybe some parsley or green onions for colour and crunch.

One doesn't equate southern cooking with low-fat and low-calorie. That is the April Fool trick with this dish - this great twist on "traditional" shrimp and grits has only 500 calories!

Spicy Shrimp with Grits

3 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
4 thick slices applewood-smoked bacon
1 pound peeled, deveined large shrimp
1 cup thinly vertically sliced white onion
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce or chopped chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1/8 teaspoon ground or crushed red pepper
1/4 cup green onion strips

Combine milk, water, butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer; gradually add grits, stirring constantly with a whisk. Reduce heat to medium; cook 4 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in cheese.

While grits cook, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings; crumble bacon. Add shrimp to drippings in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove shrimp from pan. Add white onion to pan; sauté 1 minute. Stir in bacon, tomatoes, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp, pepper sauce, and red pepper; cook 1 minute or until shrimp are heated. Serve over grits; sprinkle with green onions.

Cheddar-Bacon Chive Dip

I confess to having struggled with my recipe for this month's Cooking Light Virtual Super Club. The theme was St. Patrick’s Day and I was to bring an appetizer. Long-time followers will know that we celebrate St. Patrick's Day every year and that our menu is not one that any self-respecting Irish person would ever serve to company but here in North America we have come to expect corned beef and cabbage.

I settled on this dip for two reasons - I could make it with some lovely Irish cheddar and the dip is served with potato chips and there isn't much more that connects with Ireland than potatoes . . . although not in a happy way for the Irish.

After all these years of wielding a wooden spoon would you believe that this is the very first time that I have made a dip for chips? Don't get me wrong -I've eaten LOTS but never have I tried to create my own version of my favourite chip dips. This one has the classic flavours of bacon, cheddar, and the subtle taste of chives. Unlike those dips you buy at the store it is low-fat and comes in at only 124 calories a serving.

Sadly if you hope to stick to that level you'd have to limit yourself to 10 potato chips and I have no idea how anyone can do THAT!

The end result is delicious . . . making me wonder if I'll ever buy one of those cartons of pre-made dip again.

Cheddar-Bacon Chive Dip

5 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
1 tablespoon canola mayonnaise
3/4 ounce finely shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
2 slices cooked and crumbled center-cut bacon
Dash of black pepper
2 ounces reduced-fat kettle-cooked potato chips

Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese, chives, bacon, and black pepper. Serve with potato chips.

Into the Woods Bean Soup

For this month's Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club we have an Oscar theme. Everything we're making for the meal must be tied to the movies in some way. I was assigned the soup course for the dinner.

We enjoyed the movie Into the Woods and it was nominated for Costume Design, Production Design, and Actress in a Supporting Role (the 18th nomination for Meryl Streep). The story combines a number of well-known fairy tales into one arching storyline about dreams and how they come true. Pivotal to the story is the story of Jack and the magic beans.

I decided to pay homage to this scene by making this bean soup.

When I have made bean soup in the past it is a full day affair with soaking the beans and a long, slow boil. This recipe makes use of canned beans and takes less than 30 minutes to pull together. I was shocked at how good it was.

(note - I realized after I had snapped this picture that I had forgotten the spinach!)

North Woods Bean Soup

Cooking spray
1 cup baby carrots, halved
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
7 ounces turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (15.8-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 (6-ounce) bag fresh baby spinach leaves

Heat a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and kielbasa; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes. Add the broth, Italian seasoning, pepper, and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Place 2 cups of the soup in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to pan. Simmer an additional 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat. Add the spinach, stirring until spinach wilts.

New Year's Tapas

It is the first Wednesday of the month so that means I'll be hanging out with the wonderful women who have taken this curmudgeon into their midst for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. Even better - it is the first supper club of the new year so we have an added treat for you!

Treats are a grand thing . . . right?

It was Susan's turn to pick the theme and she selected a late night tapas meal with a cocktail. Not only did we all bring a dish to the meal but also a drink. It's a shame this is a virtual supper club and not an in person one! LOL

My dish isn't really a true Tapas dish - you'd likely not find this in a bar in Spain - it is, however, a wonderful snacking sort of dish. It is also a bit on the fussy side and has an interesting presentation so that makes it a perfect dish to bring to a celebration.

The shrimp pot stickers won the "Starters and Beverages" category in the Cooking Light Ultimate Reader Recipe Contest.  Recipe author Lindsay Weiss of Overland Park, KS, remarks, "I love the huge flavor packed into these tiny packages, especially when they're dipped in the peanut sauce. These are best served immediately, but they can be made in advance, refrigerated, and then served at room temperature." I agree about how amazingly delicious these are.

The ingredient list is long and seems complex. Don't fret. I prepared the filling and filled the pot stickers in advance at which point I froze them. Once frozen I packaged them for later use.

For my beverage I went with a Satsuma Vodka-tini-now I have to confess that I had never heard of a satsuma (other than a long ago Harry Potter book where Harry's ends up at the wizard's hospital visiting friends and finds himself shunted aside by a witch with a satsuma jammed up her left nostril.) I googled a bit and discovered that they are like a tangerine. I used tangerines. This drink had two things I really liked - you make most of it in advance and you measure the alcohol using a measuring cup. Sure it will serve 10 people but it just seems decadent measuring out booze in a measuring cup.

Ginger-Shrimp Pot Stickers with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Pot stickers:
3/4 cup shredded green cabbage
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup matchstick-cut carrots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound cooked peeled small shrimp
Dash of hot sauce
24 wonton wrappers
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
1 cup water, divided
Sauce:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Remaining ingredient:
Chopped green onions (optional)

To prepare pot stickers, combine first 10 ingredients in a food processor; pulse 4 times or until coarsely chopped. Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to prevent drying), spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons shrimp mixture into center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of dough with water; bring 2 opposite corners to center, pinching points to seal. Bring remaining 2 corners to center, pinching points to seal. Pinch 4 edges together to seal. Place pot stickers on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 12 pot stickers to pan; cook 2 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Slowly add 1/2 cup water to pan; cover and cook 4 minutes. Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil, 12 pot stickers, and 1/2 cup water.

To prepare sauce, combine 1/4 cup water and next 5 ingredients (through sugar) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Serve sauce with pot stickers. Garnish with chopped green onions, if desired.

Satsuma Vodka-tini

1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup vodka
1/2 cup sugar
4 satsumas
3/4 cup Grand Marnier
1/4 cup lime juice

Combine cranberries, vodka, sugar, and satsumas in a food processor; process until pureed. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Strain mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a bowl, pressing to extract juice. Discard solids. Stir in Grand Marnier and lime juice. Place 1 cup satsuma mixture in a martini shaker with 1/2 cup crushed ice; shake. Strain mixture into 2 martini glasses. Repeat procedure to yield 10 cocktails.

Warm Gingerbread with Lemon Glaze

Today is the day for the last Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club of 2014. December's theme, Warm Up to Winter, was selected by Val. This month I was tasked with bringing a dessert to the party.

I do believe that this must have been the easiest cake I have ever made! This gingerbread recipe is probably most similar to British gingerbreads. It’s moist, cakey and very pungent from the molasses. The spices give it a warm feel in the mouth and the lemon glaze adds just the right amount of tart sweetness.

The fragrance of gingerbread baking is just delightful as the cinnamon, cloves and ginger fill the house with holiday cheer. Perfect for today since we managed ot do most of the Christmas decorating.

We skipped the whipped topping that was called for - mom whined that she wanted some ginger ice cream with hers - I thought it was just fine on its own.

Warm Gingerbread with Lemon Glaze

1/3 cup butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup hot water
1 cup light or dark molasses
1 large egg
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed
Ground cinnamon (optional)
Lemon slices (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine butter and hot water in a bowl, stirring with a whisk until the butter melts. Add molasses and egg, and stir with a whisk until blended. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, salt and cloves. Add flour mixture to the molasses misture, stirring just until moist.

Spoon batter into a 9-inch cake pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool gingerbread in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Combine sugar and lemon juice, stirring until well blended. Pierce top of gingerbread liberally with a wooden skewer. Pour glaze over gingerbread. Cool completely.

Top each serving with the whipped topping. Sprinkle gingerbread with cinnamon and garnish with lemon slices, if desired.

Pear Chutney Bruschetta with Pecans and Blue Cheese

Wow. Another month has flown by. Once again it is time to gather with the gang for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club organized by Val from More Than Burnt Toast.

This month's theme was selected by Sandi. Her theme is 'It’s Thyme for Turkey' in honour of US Thanksgiving. It was my 'free pass' month so that I could bring whatever I wanted to the meal! I decided upon these fall appetizers.

We LOVED them. The sweet-tangy chutney paired beautifully with pungent blue cheese and toasty pecans! Making the chutney ahead of time makes the assembling and serving very easy - perfect for Thanksgiving.

Pear Chutney Bruschetta with Pecans and Blue Cheese

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1 1/2 cups finely chopped peeled Anjou, Bartlett, or Bosc pear
1/2 cup pear nectar
1/4 cup finely chopped dried apricots
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
4 ounces French bread baguette, cut diagonally into 16 thin slices and toasted
8 teaspoons chopped pecans, toasted
8 teaspoons crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots, and sauté for 2 minutes or until soft. Add pear and next 6 ingredients (through cinnamon); bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook 20 minutes or until pear is tender and mixture is thick. Cool to room temperature. Discard cinnamon stick.

Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons chutney over each baguette slice; top each with 1/2 teaspoon pecans and 1/2 teaspoon cheese. Sprinkle evenly with chopped chives and thyme.

Roasted Breast of Chicken with Pinot Noir Sauce

Happy October!

Long-time readers will know that on the first Wednesday of each new month a group of cooks from across North American join together in the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. It was my turn to select the theme for the dinner - I went with 'A Wine Country Feast' in honour of the fact that I'll be spend a happy chunk of the month in California wine country.

Yeah!

This recipe intrigued me - a red wine sauce with chicken?

The chicken came out absolutely perfect; crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside – flavored with rosemary and thyme, and sauteed in a light, seasoned searing flour before roasting in the oven giving it a nice browned flavor. The wine sauce is the trickiest part – you want to cook down the wine in the sauce until it turns into a thick glaze and watch it so it doesn’t burn, stirring often. You'll see from my picture that we never quite got there. LOL

This was one of those dishes which is fancy enough for company but would be perfect for a week nitgh dinner.

Roasted Breast of Chicken with Pinot Noir Sauce

2  teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2  teaspoon salt, divided
1/2  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/2  teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
8  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4  cup all-purpose flour
1  tablespoon olive oil, divided
Cooking spray
3  tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2  cups pinot noir
1 1/2  cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3/4  teaspoon sugar
3  tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 425°.

Sprinkle thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and rosemary evenly over chicken. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess flour. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 chicken breast halves to pan; cook 2 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Remove chicken from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and remaining chicken. Arrange chicken in a single layer on the rack of a roasting pan coated with cooking spray; place rack in pan. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160°. Remove from oven. Cover and let stand 10 minutes.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots to saucepan; sauté 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Increase heat to high; bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until wine is reduced to 1 cup. Add broth; cook 16 minutes or until broth mixture is reduced to 1/3 cup. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and sugar. Gradually add butter, stirring constantly with a whisk until smooth. Serve sauce with chicken.

Farro Salad with Cherry Tomato, Onion, and Almonds

Happy August!

It seems as if the year is flying by - remember when you were a kid and summer seemed to last forever? Now that you're an adult if you blink it is October. LOL

Anyway . . . a new month means it istimetogather with the great group of cooks from across North American for the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.

This month's theme of 'Backyard Barbecue' was selected by Sarah. I was tasked with bringing a salad to the festivities. I selected this farro salad because I LOVE farro - the nutty taste and slightly crunchy texture is perfect for a nicer summer salad. This dish also makes use of cherry tomatoes -sad story here  . . . generally I have a number of cherry tomato plants on the terrace and I would just pop out and pick a handful for this salad but this year the plants were all sold out by the time I arrived home from Italy. Boo hoo. Instead I had to use store bought!

Enough of my sad tales.

This was a wonderful salad - making perfect use of fresh, seasonal ingredients.

Farro Salad with Cherry Tomato, Onion, and Almonds

9 ounces uncooked pearled farro
1 1/2 cups sliced, halved cucumber (half moon)
1 1/2 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup Multipurpose Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup lightly salted, smoked almonds, chopped

Cook farro according to package directions, omitting salt; drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water for 30 seconds; drain. Cool to room temperature.

Combine cooked farro, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and parsley in a large bowl.

Combine vinaigrette and mascarpone in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour over farro mixture, tossing to combine. Top with almonds.

Multipurpose Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon light agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Slowly drizzle olive oil into vinegar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk.

Zucchini Ribbons with Lemon and Pecorino

Happy July!!

With this being the first Wednesday of the month it is time to gather around the virtual table with the amazing group of cooks who take part in the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club. This month's theme 'Beach Blanket Picnic' was selected by Susan. I was asked to bring a salad to the celebration.

I poured through the pages of Cooking Light magazine (OK, I searched online) until I came up with something I felt was worthy to share with the Virtual Supper Club. This salad with a simple lemony vinaigrette seemed to be the perfect thing for taking along on a picnic.

Zucchini is another of those vegetables that is good served raw - in fact, I think I may prefer it that way. The small, sweet summer zucchini can be sliced thinly lengthwise with a simple mandolin or 'Y' shaped vegetable peeler and tossed with a little olive oil, cheese,  and salt. Easy!

In Italian cooking zucchini is often paired with mint and while this recipe didn't call for it I added some in the second time that I made the salad. Take my advice - add mint. It was fine without it but adding it in took the salad to an entirely different level.

I used pecorino cheese that I brought home from Italy with me. Trust me on this as well, try to search out REAL pecorino cheese. The pecorino we often buy here in North America is often a hard cheese . . . yet when we visited Pienza (the centre of Italian pecorino cheese production) the cheese was a medium soft and creamy. It is also far less salty than whet we often find in our shops.

At the end of hunting for the best ingredients spend about 10 minutes pulling this salad together.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Ribbons with Lemon and Pecorino

2 zucchini
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons shaved pecorino Romano cheese

Slice zucchini into thin ribbons using a mandolin or vegetable peeler; toss with lemon juice, olive oil, pepper, and salt. Top with shaved pecorino Romano cheese.

Be sure to visit the rest of the group. This is what they brought to the party this month:

Sarah of All Our Finger in the Pie started us off with her own recipe inspired by Local Lounge an appetizer of Toasted Foccacia Topped with Strawberry Rhubarb Preserve, Pickled Radishes and Pea Shoots.

Val, our fearless leader, at More Than Burnt Toast, brought a drink - Cherry Peach Sangria. I've bookmarked this one for when we have some fresh local peaches in a few weeks.

Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch brought along a delicious Farro, Cherry, and Walnut Salad.  (mmmmmm I ADORE farro)

Susan of The Spice Garden continributed Lemon Ginger Fried Chicken for the main dish.

Sandi of Whistlestop Cafe Cooking ended the meal in style with a luscious dessert. Lemon Polenta Cake with Summer Berries.