Welcome to the Eclectic Kitchen
September 12, 2009 by anneg
Filed under The Eclectic Kitchen Blog
Chef Channon
Thanks for stopping in at this eclectic kitchen, a place where I’ll post my adventures, observations and foodie fun for you to join in on virtually. Coming soon will be video and commentary. Check back soon.
Channon
Sept 18, 2009
On a recent trip, I picked up this fall bounty at a roadside stand. Check back
Fall Bounty in Michigan
in November to see those gourds and pumpkins turned into soup tureens for you holiday table.
Local Harvest Menu; recipes to be posted soon!
Last night I served this menu at a dinner for community garden volunteers;
Sept 17, 2009
Broccoli Strata- fresh broccoli layered with Sarkozy’s oatmeal bread, swiss and pepper jack cheese, baked in an egg custard
Cabbage Roll Casserole- ground beef, peppers, onion and cabbage baked with a tomato sauce, served with sour cream
Badhinjin Bi-laban- Eggplant and yogurt dip with caraway and cumin served with Pita bread
Roasted Squash Soup- Acorn squash roasted and blended with caramelized onion, garlic with freshly ground spices in a cream base
Harvest Squash Cheesecake- Butternut squash are roasted then blended in a traditional cheesecake base, baked with fresh spices, a chocolate cardamom crust and finished with chocolate shavings and maple pecans
“Pasta et Aglia et Olio”- pasta with olive oil,garlic and Pesto by Shelley
Channon’s Slaw- a mix of onions, cabbages, root vegetables such as beets, parsnips and carrots with a simple dressing
Tabbouleh- traditional bulgur wheat salad made by Penny
Breads- Made by Penny and Shelly
Coffee with Hazelnut Syrup, Iced Tea, Mint Tea orLemonade
Thank you to the volunteers; Penny, Shelly, Lori, Julie
Channon, last time I saw you was when Connor was born at Providence Hospital in April 2001. Anyway, I read your articles and recipes in BeHealthy and wish you would include nutrition info for the recipes. My husband and I are both in Weight Watchers and need calories, fat and fiber to calculate points for the recipes. Any chance of having them included in future recipes??
Sue
Dear Sue,
How wonderful to hear from you! It has been a long time.
Let me first say congratulations for taking up WW’s. I have used their principals to help me get down to a reasonable weight, although I am beginning to creep up again and need to refocus!
As for your request, I hear you! I do however have a bit of a philosophy issue with the nutrition factoids. After years of counting calories, measuring fat grams and balancing it against fiber content I’ve come to a few conclusions. For some time I calculated these figures for my recipes and, unfortunately found that these numbers were not always consistent from program to program and they didn’t always convey the right message about life long positive changes in eating in my opinion.
I work very hard to create balanced recipes that incorporate seasonal produce, whole grains and healthy protein options. Similar to WW’s philosophy of Core and Flex which is now rolled into one idea of “filling foods” I hope to promote a holistic view of weight management. For some the numbers help them make sense of the options, but that can then be difficult to work into a lifelong adaptation. This is an exert from a WW’s site
Weight Watchers has made a real turnaround in this area and this Momentum program seems to tackle this weakness head on. Specifically, they are focusing on the idea of “Filling Foods” that are high in fiber and high in water content. Which means a diet high in plant-based foods which are excellent for long term health. This is really a change of focus.
In the words of Gail Gedan Spencer of Examiner.com, “Thirty points of nacho cheese rice cakes is not the same as 30 points of healthy, filling, nutritious foods.”
http://blog.peertrainer.com/tip_of_the_day/2008/12/weight-watchers-new-momentum-program.html
As such, I appreciate your need for points but for me it’s more about healthy, filling foods eaten in moderation. I really hope you continue to read my articles and use my recipes. If you decide you’d like to calculate points, I’d be happy to have them passed along to others.
The more the merrier when it comes to getting healthy!
I hope my answer is not disappointing. Thanks Sue, for taking the time to comment. Please feel free to join in again!
Just for you, I posted two new healthy options recipes, check out my most recent post!
Broiled Salmon with Whole Wheat Israeli Couscous and Wild Mushroom Farro
Hi Sue,
how is the WW program going for you? I hope you’re still willing to use my recipes, even though I don’t calculate fibre, calories etc. If you ever decide you want to, let me know I will post your calculations!