Week of December 26, 2004

Now that everyone has stuffed themselves during the Holidays, every other sentence out of most peoples mouths is "I need to lose those pounds I put on". So what does a caring hostess serve for those New Year's get-togethers?

For an elegant and healthy canape try stuffed vegetables as an alternative to other calorie ladden appetizers. Make up low fat chicken, tuna, shrimp, crab or surimi salads or goat cheese and yogurt or feta and low fat cream cheese or low fat sour cream stuffings and let your imagination go. Garnish with chives and pimentoes or get truly lavish with caviar.

Great veggies for stuffing are belgium endive, celery, cucumbers, small plum or cherry tomatoes, small pimento peppers, cherry peppers, pepperoncini peppers, anaheim peppers and miniature colored bell peppers. If your guests like spicy or hot things, you may also stuff jalapeno peppers.

The best part is, most of these appetizers can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to serve.

Week of December 19, 2004

Healthy Gift Baskets

Delightful gift baskets can bring a lot of joy during the holiday season and they do not have to cost a lot to make. Here are a few ideas that are healthy and will be fully appreciated by any recipient.

Pasta Lovers: For the pasta lovers on your gift list, find a brightly colored basket in reds and greens and fill with a a package of gourmet pasta, a jar of good tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, sundried tomatoes, a head of garlic, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a nice bottle of red wine.

Coffee and Tea Lovers: For the coffee and/or tea lover, find a pretty basket and fill with small packages of flavored gourmet coffees and herbal and green teas. Add a jar of honey and a jar of jam as well as a low fat scone mix.

Mexican Food Lovers: Find a brightly colored basket and fill with small jars of different flavored green and red salsas. Add jars of black bean dip, a gourmet jar of picked jalapeno peppers and a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Use brightly colored tissue papers to fill between jars to ensure there is no breakage of glass jars.

Snack Lovers: Find a small basket that resembles a picnic basket and fill with smoked salmon, several packages of low fat gourmet crackers, gourmet pretzels, several jars of different flavors of spicy ground gourmet mustards, mixed toasted walnuts and almonds and dried fruits.

Week of December 12, 2004

Healthy Gifts for the Holidays

Herb flavored vinegars are easy to make and make beautiful and elegant yet inexpensive gifts for the holidays. They are perfect for friends that like to try experiment with new flavors. Use wine bottles or unusual decorative bottles and fill them with exotic combinations that look fabulous displayed on a shelf and that make wonderful additions to foods and marinades.

You may use these vinegars in any recipe that calls for vinegar. Choose the type of vinegar by the herbs you are using. Red and White Wine Vinegars and Rice Vinegars are the most often used, because of their smooth taste. White Vinegar is sharper, but is still a nice choice with some herbs. Cider Vinegar has a taste of it's own, so care has to be taken so that it doesn't overpower the herbs. Please find a list of herbs and vinegars that combine well for a general guide.

The strength of an herb and chosen vinegar will determine how much herbs to add for optimum taste. A basic guideline proportion is three or four 2 inch sprigs of fresh herb per cup of vinegar. If using dried herbs, use 1/4 cup of herb per cup of vinegar. If using garlic, hot peppers, or something similar, use 1 garlic clove or 1 pepper per cup of vinegar.

Place the herbs in clean jars or bottles. Heat the vinegar gently, but don't boil it. Let it cool down and then pour the warm vinegar over the herbs in the bottles. Cork or cap bottles and place in a dark place, such as a cabinet or shelf away from bright windows. The vinegars may be used in 3 - 4 weeks to up to a year later.

You can make simple single - herb vinegars or you may experiment with multiple herbs vinegars. The combinations below are a starting guide to what vinegars go well with what herbs.

Vinegars
Type of Vinegar	Herbal Combinations
Cider Vinegar	Nasturtium, Dill, Garlic Chive and Chive Blossoms, Savory Tarragon, Thyme, Garlic Garlic, Dill, Bay Cayenne, Horseradish, Shallots Garlic, Dill, Mustard Seed, Lemon Balm
Red Wine Vinegar	Parsley, Sage, Shallots Raspberry, Thyme, Sugar to Taste Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Garlic Tarragon, Thyme, Garlic Rosemary, Sliced or Spiraled Orange Peel Thyme, Hyssop, Rosemary, Fennel, Garlic, Oregano Basil, Bay, Savory, Sage, Rosemary Bay, Cayenne, Sage, Cilantro, Rosemary
Rice Vinegar	Rose & Violet Petals Lemon Verbena & Lemongrass
White Vinegar	Mint & Honey Garlic, Rosemary Lemon Peel Sliced or Spiraled, Dill, Black Peppercorn Parsley, Mustard, Allspice
White Wine Vinegar	Rosemary, Garlic, Raisins & Orange Peel Dill, Borage & Shallots Garlic, Fennel Leaf, Parsley Coriander, Oregano, Garlic, Cayenne Coriander, Oregano, Tarragon, Thyme, Basil, Garlic Lemon Thyme, Rosemary, Peppercorns Sliced or Spiraled Lemon Peel & Dill Garlic, Mint, Sliced or Spiraled Lemon Peel