Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

These cookies are scrumptiously light and chocolaty. Better yet, they’re flourless! In other words, they’re wheat-free (for me)—people who can’t eat gluten should make sure all of their ingredients are gluten-free.

This recipe is from Francois Payard.

2 ½ cups walnut halves

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

½ cup + 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder*

4 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Finely chop walnuts and transfer to an unlined baking sheet. Toast in oven for about 9 minutes, until fragrant.

3. In a large bowl, combine sugar and cocoa.

4. Stir in walnuts.

5. Add egg whites and vanilla. Beat with a fork until batter is just moistened.

6. Drop dollops of batter onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.

7. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are lightly cracked and glossy.

*If possible, use organic or Fair Trade cocoa to prevent chocolate extinction.

Veggie-Loaded Pasta

Here’s a speedy weeknight meal that always leaves us with enough leftovers for at least one lunch. This recipe is based on a recipe for “Athenian Pasta Primavera” from Eating Well.

1 package extra-firm tofu, drained, patted dry and cubed

EVOO

1 medium onion, sliced

2 yellow bell peppers, sliced

2 medium zucchinis, halved and cut into thin slices (or 1 zucchini and 1 yellow summer squash)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

½ cup dry white wine (either Riesling or Pinot Grigio)

1 package brown rice penne (or your penne of choice)

1 ½ cups frozen peas, thawed

¾ cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

1. Cook penne until it’s al dente.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tsp EVOO in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to brown, 3-5 minutes.

3. Add tofu, peppers and zucchini to the skillet. Cook, stirring until the tofu starts to brown and the vegetables become tender, 3-5 minutes.

4. Add garlic to the skillet. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.

5. Add wine and simmer 1-2 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated.

6. If you’ve timed things perfectly, the pasta will reach al dente perfection while the wine is simmering in the skillet. Drain the pasta (if you’re using brown rice pasta, rinse it with cold water) and then add the pasta to the skillet.

7. Add peas, feta and 1 tbsp EVOO. Toss.

Butternut Squash Soup with Fontina Sage Crostini

I made no-knead spelt bread for three reasons this weekend: 1) because I looove bread dunked in EVOO, 2) to try out the new replacement knob and 3) to make crostini for this fabulous soup.

We’re not really soup people, but a friend made this for us about a month ago and it was good—damn good—and wicked filling. So we made it for ourselves and watched the snow outside as we ate our soup by the fire.

This recipe is adapted from Giada.

For the soup:

2 tbsp butter (at room temperature)

2 tbsp EVOO

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 big butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

6 cups low-sodium (or unsalted) chicken stock

¼ cup chopped fresh sage

For the crostini:

Sliced baguette (or no-knead spelt bread)

EVOO

Chopped fresh sage

Fontina cheese, grated

1. Add butter and EVOO to an 8-quart stockpot. Melt together over medium-high heat.

2. Add onion and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until onion is soft.

3. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring for 30 seconds.

4. Add squash and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add sage.

5. Continue to boil until the vegetables are tender (poke ‘em with a fork to test), 20-30 minutes.

6. Pour contents of stockpot into a blender (you may have to split it into batches) and blend until smooth.

7. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°. Arrange bread on baking sheet. Drizzle with EVOO, sprinkle with sage and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted, 6-8 minutes.

Even Better No-Knead Spelt Bread

I’ve got fabulous news: There is a Santa Claus and he reads Healthy-ish! I got a stainless steel replacement knob for my Dutch oven in my stocking…and I put it to work this weekend. I followed the first part of the recipe for No-Knead Spelt Bread, using light spelt flour instead of regular spelt flour because that’s all I could find. After letting the dough rest for about 20 hours, I followed the following instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Heat empty lidded Dutch oven in the 450° oven for 30 minutes.

3. Place dough in a parchment paper sling and move it into the Dutch oven. Return the Dutch oven to the oven and cook for 30 minutes with the lid on.

4. Remove lid and cook for 3 minutes.

This bread tasted like it was straight from a bakery! It was light and moist with a crispy crust. The light spelt flour gave the bread less of an earthy flavor than the regular spelt flour…perfect for dipping in EVOO.

Marinated Pork Tenderloin

We attempted our first pork tenderloin a few years ago. We rubbed the tenderloin with dried fennel and other spices and stuffed it with dried apricots and then we cooked it…and cooked it…and cooked it. It took two hours longer than the recipe promised for the pork to be done. We sat down to eat at 11pm and I quickly learned that I hate apricots and fennel. In other words, it was a disaster.

A couple years removed from the apricot-fennel disaster of 2007, we decided to give pork tenderloin another try—with a very different recipe. It was delicious! Pork tenderloin has been redeemed. Apricot and fennel, however, remain on my blech list.

Pork tenderloin (whatever size suits your needs)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/3 cup Dijon mustard

1 tsp dry mustard

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup brown sugar

½ cup honey

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

1. Combine all ingredients (except the pork tenderloin) in a medium bowl. Mix well.

2. Place tenderloin and marinade in a zip-top bag and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

3. Take the tenderloin out of the bag and plop it on a broiling pan. Broil for 20 to 30 minutes, turning once, until the internal temperature reaches 150 to 155ºF. Let pork rest for a few minutes before serving.

4. While the tenderloin is cooking, pour the leftover marinade into a saucepan and boil to reduce.

5. Slice pork into medallions and plate. Top with sauce.

Wheat-Free O Bars

If your New Year’s resolution involves eating healthier in 2010, make these now! If you plan on incorporating a small amount of not-exactly-nutritious yumminess into your diet next year, feel free to postpone baking these delectable treats until the mood strikes you.

1 package gluten-free graham-style crackers, crumbled

1 ¼ cup old fashioned oats

1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar

½ tsp baking soda

1 ½ sticks butter, chilled and cut into pieces

12 oz. chocolate chips

½ cup whipping cream

14 oz package of caramels, unwrapped

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, oats, brown sugar and baking soda in a food processor. Blend until everything is crumb-size.

3. Add butter and pulse (use the on/off function) until the crumbs begin to stick together.

4. Press all but 2 cups of the crumb mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 9x 13 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the crumb crust. Set aside.

5. Add whipping cream to a heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

6. Add caramels and stir until the caramels are melted and the sauce is smooth.

7. Pour the caramel sauce over the chocolate chips.

8. Cover the caramel layer with the reserved crumbs.

9. Bake until the edges are golden brown (15-20 minutes).

A Few Notes:

• These freeze really well. Cut them into squares, wrap in tinfoil and place in a zip-top freezer bag. When you get a hankering for an O bar, just microwave a single bar until it’s gooey.
• The original recipe (courtesy of a friend’s mom) is not wheat-free. It calls for 1 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats and 1 ½ cups packed brown sugar. The graham cracker substitution was inspired by my brilliant oat-hating friend Katie, who uses graham cracker crumbs in place of the oats.
• These aren’t really called “O Bars,” but we try to keep this blog G-rated so make “O” stand for whatever you want…octagon, origami, oligarchy, odd…

Gift Idea: Give a Six-Pack!

Attention last minute shoppers in the Portland, Maine area! I’m teaching Core Conditioning at the Sanctuary again this winter. Class meets Monday mornings from 6:30-7:30AM. It’s ass-kicking, energizing and fun AND if you register by January 1, it’s only $100 for the whole 16-week session!

To register, click here and select the $100 payment button.

If you have questions about Core Conditioning or the Sanctuary, email me at healthyish@gmail.com