Tuesday, April 30, 2013

TAKING CARE OF YOUR SKIN AND A GREAT SOUP RECIPE

No, there is no real connection between taking care of your skin and this incredible soup recipe; but these are two important life-style issues.

First I would like to discuss your skin, especially the skin of your face.  Our skin takes a beating every day of our lives, literally!  Living in Israel, in a country where there is only about 35 days of rain a year, that leaves three hundred and thirty-something days of  sunshine and our skin is exposed to the hot sun for a significant number of those days.  Talking as a makeup artist who sees the ravages of the sun on the skin, around the eyes, the lips and the mouth: IT'S TIME TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN.  This means that it is time to invest in a good moisturizer and apply it TWICE A DAY - EVERY DAY!

When we began our diet (sorry, our new lifestyle), I brought our oil intake down to nil, nada, zero and zilch!  I wrote in previous blog articles that I went from dousing everything in olive oil to using no oil – just my new BFF PAM. The good news is you lose weight, the bad news is you need to pay attention to the changes this weight loss does to your body inside and out.

As my face lost its fullness, my skin became drier. Drinking, even the amounts I drink today (my trusty water bottle is always at my side – hold on – I need to bring it from the kitchen...), still cannot replenish my skin and bring it back to looking fresh and twenty-something plump and healthy.  You need to pay attention to your skin: drink lots of water and moisturize – religiously!

Keep a jar of moisturizer in your bathroom to lather on in the mornings and a jar in your bedroom to lather on before you go to bed.  Your skin will thank you for it!

A note about drinking water and hydration:  Drinking coffee, especially in the winter, may help you feel warm and keep you from snacking, but it also dries you out.  Do not count cups of coffee as part of your water intake. You should drink extra water for every cup of coffee you drink.

Always have a bottle of water at your side and in your bag – at all times!

Along with water, our bodies need fat.  You should have a small amount of fat in your daily diet.  This fat can be in the form of a half to whole a tablespoon of olive oil dressing on your salad or in your cooking.  Fatty fish and nuts are also a good source of natural oils.  Think about how you can add them into your diet on a weekly basis.

Oil and water are important for our digestive track as well.  Changing our lifestyle and eating habits will also have an effect on how our digestive track works.  Don't ignore your insides, while we work on the outsides.

So now – let's talk soup…

Yochi's Broccoli Soup




Hints and Tips:

·        When making any soup, keep in mind that most soups can be made either by sautéing the vegetables before adding the water or simply throwing all the raw vegetables in the pot and adding water and spices and then cooking. I have no preference.  I like both. Try either method and see which you prefer. 
 
·        One of the most common questions regarding soup making is: what is the correct pot size?  The soup pot must be a pot that is deep enough to comfortably hold both the vegetables and the water.  In general the water will cover about a third more of the pot than the ingredients. 

o   Soup pot sizes:

§  2.5 liter pot – enough for about 6 to 8 bowls of soup (something like 12 to 16 Jewish ladlefuls of soup)

§  5 liter pot – enough for 12 to 16 bowls of soup (something like 24 – 32 Jewish ladlefuls of soup)

§  10 liter pot – I call this my Pesach pot! Twice the 5 liter pot and enough for L'el Seder, unless you've invited all of Hadera.

·        To blend or not to blend, that is the big question.  I never liked the consistency of blended soups, I always believed that soup should have the texture of soup; that is, you should be able to see and taste the different pieces of vegetables and meat/chicken.  I believed that blended soup was baby food in disguise.

Today every home (if this is not true, then it should be!) has at least one hand blender, actually I assume that in every kosher home we have three or more: milchicks, fleishkes and at least one for Pesach.  Blended soups are all the rage. 

I think the first blended soup I ate was in a restaurant in Zichron: it was a cold, half orange soup- half potato soup (poured side by side into the same bowl – very cool!).  Today I enjoy blended soups almost as much as I like "regular" chunky soups.

·        Perfectly blended soup  When blending soups – you should keep the liquid quantity to a minimum or you will end up with a drink and not a soup.  Here's the best way to prevent thin weak blended soup:

1.   Cook your soup as usual with water covering about a third above the vegetables.  Cook down to quarter or third the amount of liquid. 

2.   Make sure all the vegetables are well cooked and very soft. If you are worried that this cooking will reduce the amount of vitamins and minerals in the vegetables – I can't help you.

3.   If you feel you have too much liquid or are not sure about the amount of liquid, simply pour out most of the liquid from the pot into a small bowl and reserve.  You should now have a pot of vegetables with very little liquid.

4.   To avoid spritzing and making a mess all over the kitchen walls and floor when using a hand blender, follow this great hint:

§  Take a piece of parchment paper (I love this paper!), fold it in half and in half again  - you will end up with a square. 

§  Tear out the small circle of paper in the corner of the folded side of the sheet.  This circle should be large enough to fit the head mixing head of the blender.

§  When you open the paper you will find a hole in the middle of the sheet.

§  Place the paper over the pot and insert the blender in the hole.

§  Blend until your get the consistency you want.  Then unplug the blender and twist off the blender head into the parchment paper – now you can carry the head into the sink to be washed, without dripping on the floor.  Genius – eh?

Ingredients:

·        Broccoli: Depending on size of broccoli and pot; between 4 and 6 medium size heads of broccoli

·        Carrots: 2 large carrots, chopped

·        Onions: 2 large onions, chopped

·        Garlic: several garlic cloves chopped

·        Spices: garlic powder, freshly ground pepper, paprika

·        Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

·        Water

·        PAM

 

How to work:

1.   Select a pot large enough for the amount of diners and/or meals you plan.  This soup is better hot, but can be served cold, so it can be a good summer Shabbas soup for the main se'uda or se'uda shlisheet.

2.   Spray the pot with PAM.

3.   Cut off the hard stem ends and then cut into half palm size pieces (flowerettes) or smaller depending on pot size.  Soak the broccoli in water and salt or vinegar, to make sure there are no bugs. 

4.   Remove the broccoli from the water and rinse off.  Add to pot.

I like to cook with the broccoli stalks, but they are very husky and can leave stringy bits in the soup. 

5.   Next slice several cloves of garlic.  I like a strong garlic taste in my soup, so I add a lot of garlic.  You can add as much or as little as you want.

6.   Clean and chop the carrots and the onions. Add to pot.

7.   You can now begin to sauté these vegetables or just continue to add the rest of the ingredients.

8.   Mix with a wooden spoon.  Remember wooden spoons do not cut, tear or mash the food – even though in this case you will be blending the vegetables, I still recommend getting used to using wood.

9.    Add enough water to cover all the vegetables and plus an additional third of the way up the pot.  Mix well and then cook for several hours.  You want all the vegetables to be very soft and the water to cook down to almost half.

10.                Once the soup is cooked down, take it off the flame and let it cool. 

11.                Once the soup is cooled and as I discussed above, you can pour off the liquid and reserve it in another bowl.  Don't throw this liquid away!  This liquid can be used to help make the soup consistency you desire or be frozen to use as a base for another soup or sauce. (Another great idea!)

12.                Blend the soup to the consistency you wish, if you feel you want the soup to be a bit more watery – add only single tablespoons at a time of liquid.  Blend and check again. 

13.                Your seasoning should be perfect, but you should re-taste the soup once it is blended just to make sure.

14.                I definitely believe that this soup tastes better the day after it was prepared, but that's me!

Enjoy!  Do you have any questions? Any comments?  Write me or facebook me!  B'TeyAvon!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Surviving Weddings, Simchas and holidays and oh yes, cooking chicken breasts


There are many hints, tricks, views, theories, attitudes and philosophies behind losing weight and keeping it off.  Today I would like to discuss the philosophy of NEVER COMING TO A MEAL HUNGRY and by inference how to survive the food wars found at weddings, simchas and holidays.   I have to tell you that I used to believe in the unshakable truth that:
1)   You came to the table hungry (starving!) and that you ate until the serving plates could no longer be re-re-refilled and your own plate was shiny and clean (once again).

2)   And bizarrely, if you had no leftover food at the end of such a meal, it was a sign that you DID NOT MAKE ENOUGH FOOD to begin with.  The theory behind this bit of insanity was that you needed to make masses, mountains and canyons of food that would more than match the substantial appetites of the number of diners invited.  Therefore if food was leftover it meant that there was enough food (impossible!).  The idea that any dish was leftover because it did not taste good is simply not part of the Jewish psyche and therefore ridiculous.

Now I believe, understand, have put into practice and therefore have made it one of my everyday actions: I NEVER come to the table hungry.  Let me repeat that: I never come to the table hungry. This means that I always have three meals a day and usually two snack/very light meals. Heck, I never used to eat breakfast, so three meals a day is light years, eons away, from how I used to eat!

I make sure I have breakfast and lunch even on Fridays when Shabbat comes in early!  We sit down and eat a sandwich (light, whole wheat bread, good Dijon mustard, fresh spinach or lettuce, tomatoes and pickles (me, not Sid) and 100 grams of low fat, thinly sliced turkey pastrama *.  Insanely low in points and WHEN EATEN S-L-O-W-L-Y - very satisfying.  We make the time to prepare a light meal and then sit down at the kitchen table and eat it. 

We try never to come to any table starving.  The trick is in the portion sizes.  Don't come to the table hungry, but also don't come to the table full.  It's a balancing act.

Since we began our journey, we have added on light lunches before big meals on Erev Shabbat, before Purim Seuda, Erev Pessach (a stir fry of pastrama and vegetables and spices) and even a fruit and an energy bar when we were on the run.

If we are going away for Shabbat, we either eat before we leave or in the car.  We do not enter someone else's home famished.

Now, let's get to this week's recipe.  I want to continue to talk about chicken, this time chicken breasts.

Yochi's Chicken Breast Salad





Yochi's Chicken Breast Salad


Hints and Tips:

·        This recipe includes salad dressing.  I never make salad dressings and I never add them to vegetable salads, let alone chicken salad recipes, but this dressing a MUST for this dish!

·        Soaking the chicken breasts in a marinate all night or a few hours before starting to prepare this dish is nice, but not required.  I want life to be easy, not make it any harder than it already is.

·        You must work with a wok or any wide deep frying pan to make sure the chicken comes out cooked, light and moist.

·        Always cook with wooden spoons.  These utensils do not have sharp edges and will not cut up or mush your food.

·        Working with raw meat/chicken and vegetables:  This is a very important: ALWAYS keep and cut raw meat separate from raw vegetables.  This means you should cut the raw meat and then place it in a bowl.  If you only have one cutting board, wash it (and your knife) very well in very hot water and soap before cutting the vegetables on it.

·        This is not a dish that can be warmed up and eaten the next day.  I do make enough for an additional meal, (usually the next day) but I serve it room-temperature.  Just take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you are ready to eat.  It will not be as tasty the next day.

·        I buy chicken breasts once or twice a month.  I have the butcher prepare the breasts as schnitzel (deboned, sliced and banged down) and then have the schnitzel packaged in bags of 2-serving portions each (about 150-250 grams for two slices of breast).  These servings are wrapped in plastic wrap, which I then put in individual plastic bags that can be easily taken out of the freezer and either defrosted in the fridge or in the micro.

·        When adding water to sauces - instead of oil – add only a tablespoon at a time, mix and then check the consistency.  It is very easy to end up with a watery, unappealing mess.  Work carefully and check the consistency.  You can always add more water. You cannot remove water!

Ingredients:

1.   Chicken breasts (about  ~250 grams is enough for between two and four portions depending on the amount of fresh vegetables used)

2.   Marinate for chicken before cooking (very optional): 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce and some water

3.   Chicken sauce:

·        2 table spoons teriyaki sauce

·        2 table spoons sweet chili sauce

·        water

4.   Sliced onions and/or green onions (can be stir fried with the chicken and/or added to the salad)

5.   Spinach or lettuce (very fresh, firm leaves)

6.   Tomatoes (I always prefer cherry tomatoes; there is virtually no waste and I use all the less-than-perfect tomatoes for soups and sauces)

7.   Cucumbers (I never peel cucumber, unless I am making sushi)

8.   Optional salad items: orange slices, carrots

9.   For the salad dressing:

·        mayonnaise (any low fat version)

·        Dijon mustard

·        Balsamic vinegar

·        Spices: garlic powder, freshly ground pepper, paprika

·        Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

·        water

10.                PAM

How to work:

1.   Slice the defrosted chicken breasts into thin, pinky-sized slices.

2.   If you want to leave the slices in marinate for a few hours or overnight, simply mix the soy sauce and water and pour over the sliced chicken breasts.  I stopped doing this and the chicken is fine and I cut out preparation time. 

In any case, if you insist on the marinate stage: when you are ready to cook the chicken, take the chicken slices out of the marinate and put into the hot wok.  Do not save or reuse this marinate, throw it out immediately.

3.   Place the wok on the largest flame on your stove and turn up the heat.  Spray with a shpritz of PAM. 

4.   Add the chicken so that the slices cover the wok without over lapping or touching and allow each piece to be individually cooked. 

If you have too many slices and/or your pan is too small for all the slices, cook in batches.  Remove each batch to cook a fresh batch and then once all the chicken is cooked, return all the chicken to the pan.

5.   Continuously toss the chicken with a wooden spoon to nearly-brown on all sides.

6.   Once the chicken if fully cooked, you can add sliced onions/green onions to the wok and stir fry them along with the chicken. (You can also add sliced onions to the fresh salad.) The amount of onion is totally up to you.

How to slice an onion (I know everyone is born with this innate knowledge!):  Cut the ends off the onion and peel the outer, "dirty" skin.  Slice the onion in half from top to bottom.  Then continue to slice the onion – top to bottom – into consistently thinner slices.

7.   Next mix the chicken sauce in a separate bowl: 2 table spoons teriyaki sauce, 2 table spoons sweet chili sauce and enough water to make a loose sauce. Add only a few drops of water at a time until you get a loose medium brown sauce. 

8.   Pour the sauce over the chicken (and onions).  Cook the sauce until it thickens, but does not evaporate.  You must constantly stir the chicken or it will burn and/or dry out.  If the sauce gets too thick, add a bit more water.

9.   Once the chicken is cooked, take the wok off the flame and allow to cool.

10.                In a separate (large) bowl, slice the vegetables into thin, but large slices: fresh onions, spinach or lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and optional salad items.

11.                Toss together.

12.                In a small bowl mix the salad dressing ingredients: mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, spices and water. This should be a watery sauce.

13.                Next add the chicken (and onion) and its sauce to the salad bowl and mix gently.

14.                Pour the salad dressing over the entire dish and toss well.  Serve immediately!




* I  am calling it "pastrama" and not pastrami, because pastrami to me is a sliced meat - real meat, not made of chicken or turkey (what was it made of??), that was sliced hot and included in a deli sandwich of immense proportions (that no human mouth to could open wide enough to bite off a chunk). Pastrama is made of turkey meat and comes in a low fat, thinly sliced version.  Pastrami is New York and unhealthy.  Pastrama is Israeli and healthy!


Enjoy!  Do you have any questions? Any comments?  Write me or facebook me!  B'TeyAvon!