Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a regular watcher of Food Network's show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, where pro chef Bobby Flay goes up against chefs from around the country and challenges them to beat their dish of expertise. It's a great show. The only drawback to watching is that I start craving whatever the challenging dish is! Recently, I saw one where Bobby went up against Levain Bakery located in New York City. This bakery specializes in gigantic, chewy, chocolate chip walnut cookies. I personally have not tried these cookies, but I will definitely try to the next time I visit NYC. After watching the show, I could not stop thinking about these cookies, and I had to make them. The bakery would not divulge their recipe on the show. Luckily, there are several food bloggers out there who have painstakingly re-created it by trial and error. Bless them!

Now, I am not a baker by any means. I'll throw together a boxed brownie mix any day, but rarely do I take the time to put all those ingredients together from scratch. Why would I do that when the mix is just as good? However, in the case of cookies, I can always tell the difference between the mixes and scratch. When I compare the work to make these cookies and the work to make other meals in this blog, baking these cookies from scratch was not that bad. My only real problem was when my dinky handheld mixer started making noises like a dying cat and emitting a funky burning smell, then I knew I was in trouble. Fortunately, the old mixer persevered and I was able to combine all the ingredients. The hard work by me and my mixer was totally worth it. These cookies were fantastic.

Instead of recreating the recipe steps, I'll just point to the link where I found this wonderful blog and recipe and post a picture of mine. This gives me more time in which to eat the cookies I made. :) A few notes: I used 1/2 Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 Nestle milk chocolate chips. I used shelled walnuts, toasted them in a skillet, and broke them up a bit for big chunks in my big cookies. I used 2 3/4 cup flour (the recipe gives a range). Finally, I baked mine for 17 minutes (range is 16-20).

Enjoy!

Levain Bakery Knockoff Cookies

Cleanse Diet Day 3 (Eating Out)

Cleanse Diet is going well! I am following the rules fairly well without feeling like I'm starving. I started exercising this week, and I'm feeling good. I feel more awake during the day, even with the lack of sugar or caffeine to perk me up. Despite my best efforts I'll give myself a "C" grade for the "no gluten" rule. I thought I was safe with couscous and oatmeal, but according to internet resources, those contain gluten. Apparently I have to buy the "gluten-free" versions of both, which are not available in a regular grocery store. I could see how this kind of diet can get expensive. There are many money-saving tips out there such as homemade sauces and breads, but this diet definitely takes a lot of planning and time. From what I've read, the healthy benefits are worth the extra work!

I thought eating at a restaurant was out of the question with this diet, but it turns out I was able to get a vegan gluten-free meal at the local Thai restaurant, and it was delicious too! I did some research on restaurants, first starting with gluten-free. I was surprised to find that local chains Cheeseburger in Paradise and Outback Steakhouse both had gluten-free menus on their website. But guess what-- ALL of the entrees contained meat. One forum suggested Thai food, so I gave it a try. My dish was Pad Pak ordered off the Vegetarian menu - stir-fried veggies with fried tofu in a brown sauce with jasmine rice. I asked the server about gluten-free, she knew exactly what I was talking about, and said they would remove the "flour powder" that they put in the sauce. So easy. I wish everything in my life was that easy. Anyway, if I keep this going, I'll definitely be going back there. Also, Thai Kitchen sells gluten free pre-packaged meals and soups, so that's one option for a quick meal finally!

Today I had a fruit smoothie for breakfast and I'm having quinoa salad for lunch. Dinner is TBD, I'm out of groceries already. I have a few more recipes to try, so I think after my Friday Free Day, I'll try this crazy diet for another week. Wheeee!

Grilled Portobello Pita

On Day 1 of my Cleanse Diet, I made portobello pitas for dinner. At my local grocery store, I could not find any buns or bread without "wheat gluten" listed in the ingredients. I found whole-wheat pita bread that did not have it listed, but I think wheat flour contains gluten so perhaps I disobeyed that rule already. I don't get what I'm supposed to eat in the breads category! The only info I could find online were recipes on how to bake your own gluten-free bread, and sure, like THAT'S going to happen. So anyway, back to the recipe. It turned out very yummy!

Have I mentioned how much I love the grill that my coworker donated to me?? Good karma should start for him any day now. I marinated those meaty portobello mushroom caps and grilled 'em up perfectly, along with bell peppers and onions. C. had his with a toasted whole wheat deli flat (gluten in these) while I sliced up my mushroom and stuffed it in a pita.

Marinade:
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil (go easy on this! try limiting to 2 tbsp)
dried basil
dried oregano
garlic powder
cayenne pepper
salt
pepper

Toppings:
1 bell pepper, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
guacamole

Remove stems from mushroom caps and rinse. Place caps in a shallow dish and pour marinade over them. Let sit for 15 minutes. Heat grill to med-high. Grill peppers and onions for about 10 minutes. Grill mushroom caps 5-8 mins on each side, occasionally brushing them with the marinade. Slice mushroom cap and place into pita. Top with peppers, onions, a dollop of guac and serve with a side of couscous. (per serving: 335cals, 16g fat, 44g carbs, 9g protein)

Eggplant Rollatini

I purchased some great looking eggplant at the local farmers market and found this recipe on allrecipes.com in which to use it! This is a good vegetarian dish without the prosciutto, although I really liked the salty bacon-y flavor that it added to the rolls. This receipe was really easy and delicious!

1 eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/4" slices

1 egg

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese

1/2 lb prosciutto, sliced paper thin

14 oz jar spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 cup low-fat mozarella cheese, shredded

8 oz spaghetti

olive oil

Sweat eggplant slices by spreading out on a baking tin and salting both sides, then wait 20+ minutes. Eventually the slices will have small beads of liquid on them. Rinse salt off egg plant slices and dry with towel. Sweating the eggplant is supposed to improve the flavor of the eggplant, but I also liked how it made the texture tougher or more meat-like. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Beat egg and dip egg slices in egg then coat with breadcrumbs. Place coated eggplant slices in skillet until golden brown.

Start boiling water for noodles. Preheat oven to 350F. Spread thin layer of ricotta cheese onto each slice of eggplant. Sprinkle a bit of the fresh basil on top of ricotta. Place a slice of prosciutto onto each one. Roll up tightly, and place seam side down in a 9x13" baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over eggplant rolls and sprinkle mozarella cheese on top. Bake for 15 minutes until cheese is melted. While eggplant is baking, finish cooking noodles.

Cleanse Diet

This week I am doing a trial run of the Cleanse Diet presented in Kathy Freston's book, "Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Happiness". Over the past few months I have not felt like my former energetic self. I used to tackle all kinds of tasks and hobbies after work, but now I often feel lethargic, especially after I sit at a desk all day. My funk could be due to my crazy work travel schedule which makes it difficult to follow a healthy diet. Or perhaps it's because I'm soon turning 30? I'm sure the pound of Halloween candy I finished over the weekend isn't helping either! So I'm looking for ways to add energy and clarity to my daily life. I found Freston's book interesting, and the Cleanse Diet intriguing. It is not as extreme as some, like the "Master Cleanse" (yikes!) but it does cut out foods I eat every day, like cheese (the second love of my life, haha). The purpose is to kick start your body into a more healthy lifestyle. I'm starting out small...my plan is to follow it for 5 days, take a day off (Friday girls' night!), then start back up for another week if I want. Since I eat a lot of vegetarian dishes already, I'm hoping it won't be a huge adjustment. Oprah did it for 21 days but she has a personal chef so it was considerably easier on her!

The basics of the diet:
No meat
No animal products - includes eggs and dairy
No caffeine
Natural sweeteners only - no syrup, honey, fake sugar
No gluten - didn't really know what this was until I tried to find bread without it. It's in everything!

Here's my sample menu so far.

Day 1
Breakfast: instant oatmeal with soy milk, chopped apples, ground flaxseed, and cinnamon
Lunch: Quinoa salad
Dinner: Portobello mushroom pita with grilled peppers, onions, and avocado. I couldn't find gluten free buns or bread, but I think I found whole wheat pitas that make the cut.

Day 2
Breakfast: fruit smoothie with soymilk
Lunch: veggie salad with avocado, chickpeas, and walnuts
Dinner: Tofu stir-fry with bell peppers, onions, snap peas, and baby corn.

Day 3
Breakfast: Gluten-free toast with natural peanut butter
Lunch: quinoa salad
Dinner: Thai Green Curry Tofu

Snacks
fruit
baby carrots
almonds
homemade protein bars (these contain whey protein powder, maybe I should switch to soy powder instead)

I'll report back after a couple days - wish me luck!