Week of April 30, 2006

As the price of baked chips soar at the grocery store, you might think about making your own. It is much more economical and they actually taste fresher too. The big plus is you can control the amount of salt used as well as add other spices you love for flavor.

Baked Corn Tortilla Chips
10-12 servings

1 package corn tortillas
1 can non-fat cooking spray (plain or butter flavored)
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray baking sheet and set aside. Spray each tortilla shell lightly on each side and sprinkle with salt and if desired other spices. Cut into small strips for taco salad or tortilla soup. Cut into wedges if using to dip with. Put on cookie sheets in one layer, placing chips as close to each other as possible, without overlapping. Bake at 425 degrees for 3 to 4 minutes or untill they turn a very light brown. Watch closely - they burn easily.

Baked Flour Tortilla Chips
Makes 96 chips

12 flour tortillas
vegetable oil spray
Salt and spices

Cut tortillas into 8 wedges and brush or spray baking sheet with oil. Arrange tortilla wedges in a single layer on the baking sheet and brush or spray lightly with oil. Sprinkle with seasonings. You can use salt or seasoned salt, chili powder, cinnamon sugar. . . Bake at 325 until crisp and lightly browned, approximately 10 minutes.

COOKS NOTE: I love these salted plain with taco salads or with cinnamon sugar with fruit salsas.

Week of April 23, 2006

In Season - Asparagus

Here are a few ways to cook this delectable vegetable that is so abundant in the spring.

Stovetop:
Saucepan or Steamer: Cook fresh asparagus in a small amount of boiling water until tender. Fresh asparagus will be crisp-tender in 5 to 8 minutes.

Frying Pan:
Place a strip of folded aluminum on the bottom and up the sides of the pan, extending over the edges. Bring water to a boil; add asparagus spears and cook, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Use foil strips to gently lift the spears to a serving dish.

Double Boiler or Percolator:
To steam asparagus in an upright position, fasten the stalks into a bundle using a band of foil or string. Stand the stalks upright in the double boiler or percolator with the tips extending an inch or more above the boiling, salted water. (A glass cooking vessel works best.) Cover and cook until tender, 5 to 8 minutes.

Stir-Fry:
Cut spears diagonally in 1/2 inch pieces, leaving tips whole. Stir-fry pieces in butter or hot oil, in a skillet or wok at medium high heat. Stir constantly until tender-crisp, 3 to 5 minutes.

Microwave:
Fresh Asparagus:
Microwave fresh asparagus by placing one pound in a microwavable baking dish or serving bowl. If cooking whole spears, arrange with tips in center. Add about 1/4 cup water and cover tightly. Microwave at 100% power for 4 to 7 minutes for spears, 3 to 5 minutes for cuts and tips. Stir or turn halfway through cooking time.

Frozen Asparagus:
Microwave frozen asparagus in a covered microwavable baking dish with 2 Tablespoons of water. Cook at 100% power for 4 to 7 minutes, stirring or rearranging once.

Canned Asparagus:
Drain all but 1 Tablespoon of liquid, and microwave at 100% power for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking time.

~ From the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board

Week of April 16, 2006

Lemon aren't just for Lemonade

Lemons are one of the most popular members of the citrus family. Lemons have a very high vitamin C content - one regular-sized lemon supplies about 30 percent of an average person's daily requirement. Lemon not only in stimulates appetite and aids digestion, but also promotes the absorption of calcium and iron from natural foods.

In cooking, lemon adds a distinct and tangy flavor to soups, sauces, curds, sorbets and mousses. Much of its taste and aroma comes from the oils, called zest, that are found in the fruit's peel.

When choosing lemons, find the ones that are smallish and heavy for their size, shiny, lemon yellow in color, and have smooth or fine-grained skins. Lightweight, dry-looking, reddish, or coarse-skinned fruits are past their prime.

If you plan to use the skin for cooking or for making marmalade and lemon zest sprinkles, choose lemons that are certified organic. If unsure of where the fruit came from, choose the un-waxed batch and remember to wash and scrub them before slicing or peeling.

When serving lemons for squeezing onto salads, fish, or seafood, slice them lengthwise into quarters or wedges (as against crosswise when squeezing for lemonade) so that the juices squirt directly onto the food.

Remember to add lemon juice to dishes just before serving because its vitamin C components break down during the cooking process.

Fresh and firm lemons will last several weeks inside the refrigerator.

Week of April 9, 2006

Sauteeing Vegetables Without Oil

If you sauté vegetables in some kind of flavored liquid, you will end up with the vegetable softened, its own flavors developed and the added flavor from the reduced sauteeing liquid.

Put the chopped or sliced vegetables in a pan and add a little vegetable stock (or use water with bullion cubes or granules if you want). Bring to the boil, reduce heat to a brisk simmer and sauté. If it looks as though it's going to boil dry, add a bit more hot water and continue. You usually want to end up with all the liquid evaporated or reduced from the pan.

You can use other liquids if you wish; such as red or white wine, a mixture of wine and broth or even apple juice for a slightly sweet flavour.

Week of April 2, 2006

Health regulatory officials in the United States have recently declared that the amount of trans fat in a food will now have to be indicated on the food label. This added bit of information will allow shoppers to clearly see how much trans fat they are getting.

These new regulations have already prompted several food manufacturers to declare that they will be soon eliminating trans fat from their products. Cakes , cookies, pies and bread are the major sources of trans fats in the American diet.

Trans fats are produced by hydrogenation -- adding hydrogen atoms to fill the empty places on a molecule of polyunsaturated fat. Hydrogenation makes polyunsaturated fats more rigid so that they will be solid at room temperature and less likely to spoil.

By taking on a physical likeness to saturated fats like those in lard, suet, and butter, hydrogenated fats also mimic saturated fats' effects on the body. They increase total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol, just as saturated fats do. Trans fats are the VERY WORST FATS that you can ingest.

If you want to eliminate most transfats from your diet, the best way is to buy a bread machine and make your own bread or buy fresh bakery bread. No it does not last as long. But you can always freeze half of the loaf for later.

Then try to buy most of your foods from the fresh section of your market - that includes both poultry, meats, fish and vegetables. Dried rice and beans are fine, but you should start reading labels again if you opt for mixes or prepared food.

For more questions and answers about trans fats, please visit this government site: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qatrans2.html