Friday Night Food

Friday nights are always fast and furious... even when we don't do anything. This friday was no different. Red beans and rice is a great dish that can be done ahead of time and served up whenever the mood strikes. Not only is it great for you and low in calories and fat, but it's yummy and kid-friendly!

Red Beans and Rice:

(American Cancer Society's Healthy Eating Cookbook)

3/4 lb ham hocks, washed

1 Qt. Water

1 lb dried red beans, sorted and washed

1.5 c onions, chopped

1 c fresh parsley, chopped

1 c green bell pepper, chopped

1 8-oz can tomato sauce

1/2 c green onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1t pepper

1/2 t red pepper

1 T fresh oregano
1T Fresh thyme

3 dashed hot sauce of choice

Serve with 5 c cooked rice

Place ham hocks and water in large saucepan, bring to a boil, and cover. Reduce heat to a simmer for 30 minutes, until tender. Remove and discard ham hocks. Strain broth and chill overnight. Remove surface fat from cold broth and set broth aside. Place beans in enough water to cover in a stck-pot and let stand covered over with lid overnight. Drain beans and add ham broth. COver and cook over low heat for 45 minutes. Add all ingredients remaining. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding additional water if desired. Serve over rice. Makes 8-10 servings. 282cal per serving with 1/2c rice; 1g fat

Don't forget dessert! I am on a perpetual diet. It is much more important to me in the month of January than it is all year round. I guess that's why it's perpetual! So... low-fat low cal is the way I've been cooking lately and this dessert fit the bill: Angel food cake with dark choc. ganache and whole raspberry sauce. Yummy and REALLY low-cal. However... it has so little sustenance that the chocolate I used hadto be good. I tried Guittard. It was yummy, but not as pretty as I hoped it would be. Some cooks just make the food so pretty it's a shame to eat. I think I would be better on the diet if my food were THAT pretty!

Angel Food cake:

1 1/2 cups egg whites (10-12 large), room temperature
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar, divided
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 tsp cream of tartar1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
1/2 tsp almond extract
Preheat oven to 325F.
In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar and the cake flour. Set aside.
Beat egg whites until frothy, the add cream of tartar and salt. Beat until fully incorporated then begin to add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar 1-2 tablespoons at a time. When sugar has been added, beat egg whites to soft peaks. You will know when you have soft peaks because the egg whites will look like soft waves and when you lift the beaters, the peaks will droop back down into the batter. If your batter is falling in ribbons, it is not quite down. Once you have soft peaks, add the vanilla and almond extracts and beat for a few seconds to evenly distribute.
Sift the flour/sugar mixture over the egg whites in 6-8 additions (depending on your proficiency with folding flour into egg whites) and gently fold it in after each addition
Spoon batter into an ungreased 9 inch tube pan with a removeable bottom. Smooth the top with a spatula and tap the pan on the counter once or twice to ensure that there are no large bubbles lurking beneath the surface.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed. Mine took 55 minutes.
Remove from oven an invert pan over a bottle. Allow to cool completely or overnight.
Gently run a thin knife around the sides, then around the bottom, of the pan to release the cake when you are ready to serve it.