Healthy eating

Not too oily, not too salty, creative ways with veggies and herbs… these, for me, are only some of the ways by which we can add more health consciousness to our cooking. And with the Holy Week coming up and e-mails asking for no-meat recipes piling up (hint: search the archive), here are some dishes — including meatless ones — cooked by this blog’s readers that won’t make anyone feel guilty should they opt for second or even third helpings.

From Anna: “Here is my take on your chicken and pesto quesadillas. I made these on three occasions. One was a trial, the next was during my son’s birthday and the most recent was an out-of-the-blue cooking, we were just craving for something to eat when i thought of making these for a sumptuous merienda.

“Three things i learned: (1) to make homemade pesto, (2) to get over my intimidation using my oven and (3) not to ‘over-heat’ (read: burn) the tortilla cause when i spread the filling and folded it (the first time i tried this recipe), it split into two! i ended up eating all those ‘imperfect’ qusadillas and served the “good” ones. And so the next time I cooked it, it was just right if not perfect! And it was always a hit, not to mention my family and friends were surprised that I was able to make such a delicious appetizer!

“Thanks for the recipe. I also tried tons of your recipes but I don’t have any pictures of it. Next time, I will take a picture of it first before serving (kaya lang mahirap kapag lahat nag aabang na sa hapag kainan ) I will send some as soon as i have it. Thanks again! I’m a fan!”

It was Emy Medina’s first time to use sichuan peppercorns when she made Ma Po tofu: “I love trying new ingredients and Connie you introduce me to Sichuan Peppercorn. Had you not pictured it on your site I wouldn’t have known about it, much less cook with it. “Ang sarap!” my sister and brother-in-law keep on saying it.”

Sheryll Nito says of the creamed potato and broccoli soup: “Ahh… This soup is one of the best recipes I’ve tried. Since my husband’s favorite is the ready-to-cook soups in sachets which I think has lots of preservatives, high sodium and the like – I would really want to serve him with healthy soups. This one is good especially its soft fine texture. Since my hubby is restricted to have hi-calcium diet, I disregarded cheese as its toppings. When we tried the soup though, it seemed like it was a take-out soup from a high-end resto.”

Above, Rosemarie Estaris’ says of her fish fillets with pepper and thyme: “I’m not sure now which type of fish I used here…but this one I can cook over and over again it was really a hit with children and adults. How can one know that the simplest method of just rolling the fish in pepper and thyme and fry would taste so good. This one is a fave of my hubby.”

The steamed fish photo above is from a reader in Canada. Here’s her message:

Dear Connie,

Leftovers are the mother of invention.

I am writing this because your website has yielded for me quite a number of recipes for dishes I had wanted to put together using ingredients in my fridge I needed to use up. Half a block of tofu, one too many frozen fish fillets, half a can of baby corn, fresh spinach that needed to be cooked before they wilted — all have found a rightful place after a recipe search on your site. This fish dish was a combination of two of recipes from your site: Baked Fish and Spinach and Steamed Fish with Oyster Sauce.

I admit I (or my family) am not fond of fish, but I include it in our monthly menu for variety and nutrition. Like you, I also hate being a kitchen slave to oil splatters or piles of greasy pots and pans. So I like baked dishes, the kind you assemble with minimum hassle, slide into the oven, then pull out when the timer goes off and you have given your tired feet enough rest time on the couch in front of the tv. When I chanced upon the recipe for Baked Fish and Spinach, it immediately became a staple dish for the family. It was easy to make and nutritious — light on the oil and with healthy bright green vegetables.

I had planned to make that dish this week, but remembered that I had half a bag of shanghai bok choy sprouts in the fridge. I needed to use them before they wilted. Would they work as a substitute for spinach? Worth a try.

I started to prepare the ingredients when I realized the tarragon may not go well with the bok choy. I needed an Asian flavor. So, I searched your blog for fish recipes, knowing that I would most likely find steamed rather than baked fish with Asian spices. Lo and behold, my search yielded Steamed Fish with Oyster Sauce which was actually oven baked!

Encouraged by my find, I put together the dish with the following changes:
1. I added about 1/4 cup of water instead of broth. (I had done this before because I found the dish got too salty with the broth.)
2. I used shallots instead of onions (only because I had a handful of shallots that had been neglected in the fridge for some time now).
3. I sprinkled sesame oil over the fish before not after baking.
4. I used a baking dish covered with foil instead of the tent.
5. I omitted the parsley and used only cilantro for garnish (I love cilantro ).

The result was a good dish. Nothing exciting (maybe because fish hardly ever excites me), but I thought I’d share it with you anyway — mostly to thank you for helping me find a place for my leftovers just when I needed a recipe for them.

I’m the kind of cook that needs a recipe to follow. I haven’t yet been courageous or creative enough to invent. But maybe that kind of invention begins with the kind of substitution I tried out here. So best of luck to me, I guess, even if most of that “luck” comes from websites like yours.

Sincerely,

Lia P. de la Cruz
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

P.S. I was going to apologize for the photos not being very well taken (I used a basic point-and-shoot Canon Powershot), but then you did say you wanted the photos to look real. So there.

Thank you Anna, Emy, Sheryll, Rosemarie and Lia. For taking the time to share your thoughts and photos, for inspiring other readers — and me.

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Lumpiang tinapa at mangga (smoked fish and mango spring rolls) Honey-glazed, herb-crusted whole leg of lamb Mapo tofu Pinaupong manok Chocolate chip cookies

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Conversations

• Mia on 'Penne with portobello mushrooms': Hi, I just bought a bag of pre-washed, pre-sliced portabellos and...
• faye on 'Cheesecake with homemade blueberry topping': hi ms connie. wats the difference betweeen ur 2...
• Crisma on 'Chocolate chip cookies with fresh mint': How many cookies were you able to make, Connie? And...
• cia on 'Lemon chicken': can i use the ordinary ginger instead of the turmeric? thanks…
• RobKSA on 'Honey-glazed, herb-crusted whole leg of lamb': Since no pork here in Saudi Arabia, this is a...