Panforte!

Panforte is a traditional Italian fruit and nut cake.  Literally meaning, 'strong bread', it is a very dense and chewy dessert that is actually low carb since it is flourless.

The version I made has hazelnuts, pecans, almonds, dried tart cherries, golden raisins, dried apricots, figs, and dates.  It's topped with a chocolate glaze.

This is so easy to make. Simply mix your favorite dried fruits and nuts with some spices and almond flour. Heat 2 tbsp butter with 3/4 c honey and 1/2 c sugar, mix thoroughly, put in spring-form pan lined with buttered parchment, bake at 300º for 55 min, cool overnight. That's it. Make a chocolate topping by melting chocolate chips with a halfcup of milk or cream and pour over.

Here's what I use. All nuts and fruits are roasted and coarsely chopped. Amounts are approximate.

1 c. - hazelnuts
1 c. - almonds
1 c. - pecans
1/2 c. - figs
1/2 c. - dates
1 c. - dried tart cherries
1/2 c. - gold raisins
1/2 c. - dried apricots
2/3 c. - almond flour (or 1/2 c all purpose flour)
cinnamon, cloves or allspice, nutmeg to taste
2 tsp finely ground coffee

mix thoroughly in large bowl

heat 2 tbsp butter (I use butter - canola blend), 3/4 c. honey, 1/2 c. raw sugar until sugar is dissolved and mixture bubbles.

Pour over fruits and nuts and mix thoroughly in large bowl.
Add a few squirts of chocolate syrup while mixing

Line spring-form pan with parchment paper and butter the paper

push mixture into pan, compress mixture with wet fingers or spatula

Bake at 300º for 55 min.

let cool over night

remove from pan and paper

make chocolate topping and coat:
boil 1/2 c milk or cream, reduce heat, add chocolate chips (semi sweet) until melted

coat and cool

Sewanee weekend photos

After a foggy cool Saturday, and a warm rainy Sunday, Monday was sunny and nice... mid 50sº.  So, I got some wood cut, some training on the track in, and some guitar practicing at home and in All Saints church. Just a small dash of color remains after the stormy Sunday... the day of tornados in IL.

Emma Visits

My cat Emma may be in her last year.  She had reached the skin and bones stage, weighing just 4.4 lbs before I brought her to the vet.  After being de-wormed and de-fleaed, she was given fluids and vitamin supplements.  She now has gained a half pound and is recovering and eating well.  I took her to Sewanee for the first time to keep an eye on her.  Wow, she is so tiny.  She'll be 16 yrs old in April.

New Recipe

I also made Kind Bars.  Amazingly easy and good.  Too good.  Can't make them too often because they're addictive.  Really much better than cake, cookies or flour based pastries.  Since they have no flour, they have no gluten and are low carb.... but high in 'good fat' and sweet.  Basically just dried fruit, nut and honey.  So much better to me than any traditional cookie, and so much more healthy... not to say this is 'health food' ... but relatively speaking.  Cooking with parchment paper was a first for me.  So easy to make, so good.   Looking forward to trying the apricot coconut almond variety.  Amazingly, after eating most of 2 batches of these, I didn't gain any weight.  Well, maybe a lb.  I gave some to John and Nancy P.  They totally approved.  The second batch came out more crispy crunchy.

Hope my cat makes it through the winter.

Another awesome paella

A mid-summer's night paella.

This dish came out well. This spanish rice paella had 9 lbs of seafood: 4 lbs shrimp, 2 lbs scallops, 2 lbs cod, and a lb of mussels. I don't make it the traditional way in an open paella pan, I saute all the seafood in garlic butter with parsley before mixing it with the cooked rice. Garnish with mussels in the shell and slices of lemon and red roasted peppers. I think it makes for a tastier and less dry paella.

Awesome.

These pictures are becoming cliche'...

Josh turned 30, Sliviu prepares to leave for FSU ona full graduate assistantship.

After a while, most everyone got in the pool and hot tub.

Happy summer!!

Healthy Sweets - Apple Crisp

Here at Bill's TN Paradise, a healthy lifestyle and a healthy diet doesn't mean abstinence from tasty sweet desserts.

It's all about ingredients that makes the difference. And if you're like me, you love sweet fruity and nutty desserts.

Here's Bill's Apple Crisp - low fat, no refined sugar, low carb recipe.






Bill's Apple Crisp with dried cherries and walnuts

• Wipe a glass pie pan with canola or olive oil

• Peel, core and slice 5-6 apples, since I don't add sugar, I use sweet apples like Fuji or Gala

• Mix with a couple tbsp lemon juice and dust with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice

• Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 min

While that is baking, make the topping.

Mix approximately:

• 1/2 c. walnuts (or your favorite nut)

• 1 tbsp. whole wheat flour

• 2/3 c. rolled oats (oatmeal)

• 1/4 c. maple syrup

• (optional: add a 2 tbsp ground flax seed)

Make sure the entire topping is fully moist w/ maple syrup - I never measure anything, all amounts are approximate!

Take baking apples out of oven. Mix in a hand full of dried cherries (better than raisins, they don't burn), put topping on a little at a time. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 15-20 min or until the topping is done and crisp.

Did you know, walnuts have the highest Omega 3 essential fatty acids of any nut? Ground flax seed too is a great source. That is the 'good fat' - good for your heart. And.. use pure maple syrup, none of that Aunt Jemimah crap. The less refined the sweetener, the better. I never use chemical sweetners but sometimes, I use stevia, an herbal sweetener, it tastes great on fruit (but it doesn't work in this recipe).

After my last physical/blood work, I guess I must be doing something right. I've dropped 12 lbs and my cholesterol dropped from 223 to 150 since last year. I weighed 143 this morning, I'm feeling really light and fast. Looking forward to my next 5K race.

Cold weather food - Bill's vegetable stew

Bill's vegetable stew is not an exact recipe, it's different every time depending on what is in the refrigerator.

It sure makes a great and healthy meal on a cold day. I can't believe it didn't get above freezing all day here in Middle Tennessee.

Here's today's recipe:

• Destem and then finely chop one bunch of kale. (After removing the big stems, wad the kale up into a tight bunch and then chop finely).

• Put 3 cups water in a large pan, add the kale and bring to a boil

• Chop carrots, a bunch of celery, and an onion and add to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer.

• In a mortar and pestle, grind 4 cloves of garlic with a tsp or 2 of kosher salt. Add Italian spices, 6 pepper mix and add a little balsamic vinegar. Add to stew. This is the most important step of flavoring the stew.
  

• Add one can of vegetarian vegetable soup, a can of chick peas, and a chopped tomato.

• (optional - add fish or canned clams)

This stew is hardy, has low carbs, and is packed with vitamins and antioxidant vegetables. It is really a fallacy that adults need to eat a lot of carbs and protein for good health. You're better off eating more fats in the form of nuts, fish, and olive oil than carbs like bread and cereal. (You know, the good fats - like avocado, nuts, seeds, and fish - not the bad fats - like chicken, pig and cow/dairy fat). By substituting more nuts, fruits and fish for the carbs I used to eat, I've dropped 12 lbs and my total cholesterol has dropped from 223 to 150 - 73 points!

Despite the 24 F. degree temperatures, I had dinner by the pool this evening.

The secret to real Italian salad dressing

Bill's secret to the best Italian dressing

What is it about the south that real Italian food is so hard to find? I'm talking about family-owned Italian restaurants that have been in business 50+ years, whose traditional recipes come straight from the old country. Sorry, but chains like Carraba's, Macaroni Grill and Olive Garden just don't cut it. This is painfully clear when you ask for Italian dressing and they give you some white, mayonnaise-based crap . . . gross! There is no such thing as 'creamy Italian dressing' in my book. (And guess what, there is nothing from Italy called "Alfredo sauce" - completely an American invention, probably by Shoney's)

Although traditional Italian is just oil and vinegar, Italian family restaurants improved on that theme with a tradition of making their own great dressings by adding garlic and spices. Now you can have that Italian dressing with great garlic and herb flavor but you must have the tools and #1 is: the mortar and pestle (photo). So, here's how you do it, it takes less than 5 minutes:

Basic method -

1. Get one or two pealed cloves of fresh garlic and a few teaspoons of Kosher salt or coarse sea salt and put them in the mortar.
   
2. Grind with pestle until garlic and salt become a paste.
   
3. Add fresh extra virgin olive oil and Italian spices (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary).
   
4. Grind some more, infusing the oil with the garlic and spices.
   
5. Add red wine or balsamic vinegar, grind some more and presto, you're done.

There you have it. A great salad dressing, dipping sauce or marinade. Great for grilling too. The proportion to oil and vinegar is a personal choice, I prefer 50/50 but most people like slightly more oil than vinegar.

Variations - for a more Mediterranean flavor, add lemon juice instead of vinegar. For a summer salad (like spinach with pear, died cranberries and nuts) add orange juice and a few drops of sesame oil. For spicy marinades, grind hot pepper in with the mix. Add honey for a sweeter dressing. You can also grind raw peeled ginger with honey and sesame oil, add rice wine vinegar for a great Asian dressing. The possibilities are endless, but you gotta have the mortar and pestle.

The bottom line is - the only way to prepare garlic is to grind it into a paste with a mortar and pestle. It is the best way to completely infuse the olive oil with the flavor of Italian spices and garlic. Garlic presses, minced, or smashed garlic just isn't as good. And stay the hell away from pre-pealed, and/or pickled garlic. It has to be fresh. Speaking of fresh, try Penzey's for great quality spices. Good spices make a difference.

This is from a guy who lives on salads... happy, healthy and flavorful eating!