Snacking at the Office

Eight hours or more in the office and dinner is a couple of hours away. Yes, sometimes you gotta snack at the office.

Apparently, I am not the only one snacking at the office. The percentage of energy Americans derive from snacks has doubled since the 1970's.

In the US, snacking has evolved into an actual meal category. Sales of snack foods have reached more than $64 billion dollars. Food companies have developed an almost endless array of snacks. From savory to sweet. Think potato chips and jerky. Oreo cookies ring a bell?

So why all the snacking?

We are on the move more. We consume less traditional meals around the table. Consumers are asking for snacks that are portable, easy/fast, value priced, healthy, delicious and shareable.

While I agree with this list, I have a few requirements of my own. I want a snack that makes me happy. Broccoli is out, but broccoli with ranch dip is a possibility. I also want some nutritional value and I want it to hold me over until dinner.

Here is one of my favorite snacks to make. It has chocolate - I'm happy now. And I use dark chocolate to get more antioxidants. A mixture of nuts, because I like the crunch. 

I like dried fruit for sweetness and the chew. Depending on how I feel, I might add something for flavoring, vanilla, candied ginger. If it's a grown up snack, a liqueur, such as amaretto or orange can be good additions.

French Chocolate Bark

Makes 10 to 12 pieces.

Ingredients:

½ cup nuts, toasted and chopped, your choice
7 ounces dark chocolate
¾ cup dried fruit, chopped, your choice
1 teaspoon vanilla, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Spread nuts on a baking dish or cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Place half the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 20 to 30 seconds. Stir and continue to heat in 30 second increments until the chocolate is melted. Add the remaining chocolate and vanilla.  Allow to sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally.

3.  Pour chocolate onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread to desired thickness.

4. Sprinkle nuts and dried fruit onto chocolate. Gently press nuts and fruit into chocolate. Set aside until completely firm, about 1 to 2 hours. Break into desired sizes.

Source: Adapted from Back to Basics from The Barefoot Contessa.


Lastly, don't forget plain fruit for snacking. Yes, fruit does make me happy. Apples, pears, bananas, peaches, and oranges are extremely portable.

Cupcakes! Cupcakes!

The world seems to be going crazy over cupcakes.  There are cookbooks devoted  to cupcakes, bakeries for cupcakes, blogs about cupcakes. The word, cupcake, is even used as a term of endearment.
 
I don't get it!  I just don't!  It's just a cake in a little piece of paper baked in a muffin tin.  Well, there's the old saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  So this week I'm joining the 'cupcakers'.  Only for one week, so don't get too excited.

I decided to post on cupcakes for my little friend, Carson.  She drops by sometimes to give me a hand in the lab.  And cupcakes are her favorite thing to bake.  So Carson, this is for you!

I decided to make chocolate cream-filled cupcakes.  I thought chocolate would be a good place to start for someone not into cupcakes.  This recipe contains a few steps, but it is easy to make.  So, grab your little cupcake and head to the kitchen.

Chocolate Cream-filled Cupcakes

Makes 24.

Ingredients:

1 package (18.25 ounce) devil's food cake mix
1 jar (7 ounce) marshmallow creme
1 stick butter
6 ounces dark chocolate
¾ cup whipping cream

Directions:

1.  Prepare cake mix according to package directions.  Fill 24 muffin wrappers.

2.  Bake according to package directions.

3.  In a medium bowl, combine softened butter and marshmallow creme.  Mix thoroughly to combine.  Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.

4.  Break chocolate into small pieces.  Combine chocolate and whipping cream.  Melt chocolate over low heat.  Stir thoroughly to combine.

5.  Attach a round pastry tip to a pastry bag.  Place cream filling in bag.  Squeeze to remove air pockets.  Push pastry tip into top of cupcake and fill center of cake. (I count to 20 to get enough filling into cupcake.)  Remove excess filling from top. 

6.  Dip top of cupcakes into chocolate.  Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.  Dip cupcakes again.

The Help

I read "The Help" and saw the movie.  I liked and "enjoyed" them both.  They are both excellent works of art.  This doesn't mean I didn't feel some emotions that took me back to the South and segregation.  Honestly, I had to tell myself several times, this is a movie, this is fiction.  However, for some of us, the movie was real.  You see, at one time, my mother was 'the help'.  I have heard some people imitating Abileen, "you is smart, you is beautiful'.  I believe Abileen was doing the best she could to teach this child some values. 

What I want to do in this post is pay tribute to "The Help".  These people did "menial" labor with a great deal of grace and courage.  They struggled as sharecroppers, pullman porters, and maids to make a living and a life.  They did the best they could with what they had.  In spite of their circumstances, they believed in a better day.  Yule May stole a ring so that her sons could go to college.  She just wanted a better life for them than she had. 

Despite their jobs, I see a lot of humor.   I see Minny taking great pride in her cooking.  As she says, "Minny, don't burn no chicken".  Abileen takes great pride in her ability to raise white children. 

Regardless of your feelings about the movie, we owe a lot to the Minnies and Abileens of this world.  They paved the way for the rest of us.  It is on their shoulders that we stand.  Had they not done what they did, I might not be doing what I am doing.  So to all those who paved the way, Thanks. 

Here is my version of Minny's famous chocolate pie.  If you decide to watch the Oscars, please have a slice of pie in honor of Minny.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients:

Crust:
6 ounces chocolate wafer cookies, finely ground
4 Tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

3 egg yolks
½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
¾ cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla flavor

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a medium bowl, mix  cookie crumbs with butter until crumbs are evenly coated.  Pour mixture into a 9-inch pie pan.  Press evenly over the bottom and up the side of the pan to form a crust.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Allow to cool completely.

2.  In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks, ¼ cup sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Set aside.

3.  In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and ¼ cup sugar.  Heat until the milk forms bubbles around the edge of pan.  Gradually add add milk to egg yolk mixture. 

4.  Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until very thick, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add chocolate and vanilla.  Stir until chocolate is completely melted. 

5.  Strain chocolate mixture through a fine mesh sieve into pie crust.  Smooth the surface with a rubber spatula.  Press a piece of plastic directly onto the surface.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

6.  In a medium bowl, beat the cream, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the vanilla until stiff peaks form.  Spread whipped cream over pie.  Garnish with grated chocolate and serve.

Excess Zucchini?

Recently, on my facebook wall, I posted a recipe for people with too much zucchini.  And just in case you were wondering, I got two zucchini this year.  I think rabbits ate the blossoms.  My facebook friend and colleague, Joan, replied that she would gladly accept the role of taster.  One good thing about working in a nutrition department is there are always people around to eat.  

I decided to take the challenge and bake the zucchini bread just for Joan.  So I went off in search of free zucchini.  Why buy zucchini?  I attempted to get someone to pay me for taking it, but that didn’t fly.  

After tasting the bread, Joan declared, “It’s healthy”.  My reply, “What’s wrong with that?”.  If you want to join Joan in eating healthy zucchini bread, click on the hyperlink above.    

Yes, it's healthy!

If you get a chance, let us know how you are using your zucchini supply.

How to Make Your Colleagues Happy!

In 1984, President Ronald Regan declared July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday in July as National Ice Cream Day.  So use this month to eat as much of the good stuff as possible. 

Before you scream about the amount of calories in ice cream, remember, you only have one month to eat as much of the stuff as you can.  Also one of my dietitian friends told me that if I ate 1½ cups of ice cream, I would have the same amount of calcium that is in one cup of milk.  Now, mind you, she did not suggest that eat 1½ cups of ice cream. 

Can you guess the five most popular flavors of ice cream?  They are, in order, vanilla, chocolate, Neapolitan, strawberry and cookies n’ cream.  About ¼ of all ice cream sold is vanilla. 

Old Fashioned Chocolate Ice Cream

Makes 2 quarts.

Ingredients:

1⅓ cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
2 eggs
4 ounces dark chocolate
1 can (5 ounce) evaporated milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla




Directions:

1.     In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Stir in whole milk.  Stir over medium heat until mixture begins to simmer. 

2.     In a small bowl, beat eggs.  Gradually stir about 1 cup hot milk mixture into beaten eggs.  Stir egg mixture into remaining hot milk mixture.  Cook and stir over low heat until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

3.     Finely chop the chocolate.  Stir into hot mixture.  When chocolate has completely melted, strain mixture into large container.  Add evaporated milk, whipping cream and vanilla.

4.     Refrigerate mixture for several hours or overnight. 

5.     Pour mixture into ice cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.

Ice Cream Fun Facts

Americans consume an average of 48 pints of ice cream per person, per year, more than any other country.

In 2003, residents of Portland, Oregon purchased more ice cream per person than any other US city. 

Kids between the ages 2 – 12 and adults over 45 consume the most ice cream.

More ice cream is purchased on Sunday than any other day of the week.

It takes about 50 licks to finish a single scoop of ice cream. 

The ice cream cone’s invention is linked to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.  An ice cream vendor reportedly didn’t have enough dishes to keep up with the demand, so he teamed up with a waffle vendor who rolled his waffles into cones.

Chocolate – Eat Up, for Health Benefits, Of Course

Chocolate, we love it. And now, it’s good for you! We love it and it’s healthy, too. I never thought those two statements would ever be seen together. Before you rush out to empty the stores of chocolate, let’s take a deeper look.

Theobroma cacao, the botanical name for chocolate means “food of the gods”. We enjoy chocolate in many forms, hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, cakes, candies and everything in between. Chocolate can be used in savory and sweet foods. The web is brimming with chocolate recipes to delight the tastebuds. Cook books have been devoted entirely to the subject of chocolate.

Although Americans love chocolate, we are not the number one consumer – that title belongs to Belgium, consuming about 10.74 kg per person. Americans consume about 5.58 kg of chocolate per person, ranking 10th in consumption.

If you consume chocolate for the health benefits and that is why we choose it, right? Here are a few things you may want to know. The health benefits of chocolate come from a group of compounds referred to as flavonoids. These compounds act as antioxidants and may help lower LDL cholesterol, blood pressure and increase blood flow to the brain. To get the maximum health benefits, eat dark chocolate. It contains a higher level of cocoa and therefore a higher level of antioxidants.

Before overindulging, chocolate does contain fat and sugar. A one ounce portion should provide the health benefits without increasing the waistline. If you want to indulge in chocolate on Valentine’s Day or any day, give the recipe for chocolate fondue a try. It makes two servings – one for you and maybe one to share.

Chocolate Fondue

Serves 2.

Ingredients:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 Tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted fruit (strawberries, fresh pineapple, pears, apricots, banana)

Directions:
1. Place chocolate, cream and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium. Stirring every 20 seconds, until melted. Add vanilla and stir.

2. To serve, use skewers to dip fruit into warm chocolate.

Note: If desired, substitute 1 tablespoon of coffee for 1 tablespoon of cream. Chocolate will harden upon cooling. If you have leftover chocolate, add dried cranberries and almonds. Drop on wax paper and allow to harden.