Wooh, the Bitsch is Back!

Hello! I have been so freaking busy. I started my new job, and it's taken me two weeks to adjust to the point I'm not a complete pile of dead sludge when I get home. But anyway, I'm here, and first up -- two food products I am IN LOVE with.

Exhibit A:





Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Sorbet.

There are no words, but I shall try. Delicious. Chocolate. Frozen. And, dare (dairy?) I say, as good/better than chocolate ice cream. I know, I know. And there's no dairy in it. Cocoa, sugar, corn syrup (not hfcs, though), egg whites, pectin, vanilla, salt. It's just scrumptious, and even if you gorge on it, you don't feel like you ate an entire cow the way you do after you snarf down a pint of Ben and Jerry's (not to say I don't LOVE snarfing down some cookie dough... I just waddle like I'm 13 mos pregnant after). And the best part? 130 calories per 1/2 cup serving. Ie, you can beast through the whole carton and take in 520 calories. And there's only half a gram of fat and no cholesterol per serving. Good stuff.

Exhibit B:


Ling Ling's Chicken Spring Rolls

These are delish, and you can actually recognize everything in the ingredients list. They're quick to prepare, come with tasty sauce, and 3 mini rolls have about 200 calories. At Costco, they run about $10 for a 30-pack.

I hope to be posting a bit more frequently. I have three recipes to put up this weekend if I can get a few minutes.

Pasta PrimaSquasha for Two One

I came in ravenous on Friday afternoon. I don't know what it is about cooking lunch on Fridays (see Trash(y) Pasta Salad), but it's been happening of late. It is probably just the knowledge that after next week, I work real jobs and can't do it anymore. Anyhow, I wanted something filling and tasty, and did not want to go out in public. I scanned the kitchen... 2 tomatoes on the verge of squish, a squash on the verge of squish, an onion, and some whole wheat fettucine. Perfect!

Twelve Minute Pasta PrimaSquasha



-A little olive oil
-One large summer squash (or zucchini)
-About a cup of sliced onion (I used half of a gigantic vidalia)
-Two fresh tomatoes, or canned diced tomatoes
-Two cloves garlic (I sliced... I still can't remember to bring the mincer back to Mr. B.'s)
-Herbs and spices
-A little white wine for deglazing
-A little sugar
-Freshly ground salt and pepper
-Whole wheat pasta

Put pasta water on to boil. Wash and cut squash lengthwise and scrape out some of the seeds with a spoon. Slice squash and saute in a little olive oil while you cut onion. Add onion to pan and cook with squash until both veggies are getting soft while you cut the tomatoes. (I bet you can put your pasta on now). Add tomatoes to pan, stir, add garlic. Let that cook and get happy. Add herbs and spices. After things have been cooking a bit and are starting to smell and look delightful, remove pan from heat and add a little white wine to deglaze the pan. Stir and scrape and put the pan back on the heat. Things a little dry? Not too saucy? Add a dash of sugar (less than a tablespoon) to the veggies. This will bring out the flavor of the tomatoes and draw out a little juice. Turn heat to low and stir while you wait for pasta to cook. Season to taste, and serve a giant helping of veggies over some pasta, perhaps with a little fresh parm.

Now, I made that giant pan up there with the intent of feeding Mr. B. too. He foolishly decided to go fishing, and I ate the entire pan of veggies all by my ownself. I didn't even have pasta with the second serving, and I did not feel bad about cleaning out that pan one bit. It was freaking wonderful. You know what else? One tomato was a delicious farmers market tomato. The other was a pinkish grocery store tomato Mr. B. put in the fridge -- but cooking it made it better. So, don't give up on the eehhhh-about-to-squish produce all the time. I mean, don't eat moldy carrots, but some stuff you can salvage.

The cost? The tomatoes were about .50, the squash was about .50, the onion, .50, and the pasta, mmm... about .50. Let's call it a 2.50 lunch that should have served two. Alas, je suis un piggy.

Magical 17 Cent Low Fat Low Cal Brownies of Wonder

Hi again! It's been awhile. I've been busy not posting, but I have been busy cooking and taking pictures, and reading cookbooks, and doing lots of things that I'll get around to here. :) So... today's project... magic brownies!

Awhile back (like, say, ten years ago), mom and I found a great lowfat brownie recipe that we made ad nauseum. Well, not really, cause I don't so much tire of brownies. Anyhow, it had interesting ingredients, but nothing really strange. It called for cocoa and lowfat sour cream, and I can't remember the rest. I've been looking all over for it, and can't find it. But, the search led me to something really neat. As I googled, all-reciped and cooks.commed around, I discovered a completely odd recipe for healthier brownies. People have been talking about it all over the internet. It's just brownie mix and one secret ingredient. You just have to keep the secret ingredient a secret until you get someone to eat it.

So, I went to the grocery store the other night and Ghiradelli double chocolate brownie mix was on sale for 1.89 and the secret ingredient was .79. I figured this would be a fair investment for something that could be a culinary disaster.

And here we go. Try it before you judge.


Magic brownies
Makes 16 2-inch brownies. I call this 4-8 servings.


-1 box brownie mix
-1 can black beans (I swear to Paula Deen, it's true)

Preheat oven according to package directions. (I did 325, using a glass 8x8 pan -- I like thick fudginess.) Make sure your significant other will not come into the kitchen for the next two minutes. Dump beans into a colander, saving the can. Rinse them well. Rinse out the can. Return the beans to the can and put enough water in the can to just cover the beans. Dump beans and water into blender and blend the bejaysus out of them. If you don't blend them well, you'll get bits of bean skin in the brownies. While blender is on forever, go make small talk with significant other and tell him you're doing a science experiment in the blender. Run back and make sure you hid the bean can. Dump brownie mix into a bowl. Add the blended beans. Stir well. Pour in greased brownie pan/dish. Bake according to package directions. Cool. Cut. Serve. Make s.o. or small children eat one and then tell them what's in it. Smile as they gawk.

The nutritional stats are pretty awesome. Per brownie using Ghiradelli:
Calories:164
Fat: Less than 4 grams
Saturated fat: 1.5 grams
Fiber: 2.5 grams
Sodium: 200 mg.
9% RDA for iron
No cholesterol!

Go ahead and double that, cause I already ate 2. Oh, and by the way? The cost is 17 cents per brownie. Seriously, you can't not try this. And if you like frosted brownies, what better way to feel good about indulging?

I served one up to Mr. B. He ate it and said, "That was good."

I said, "Come on! I need more than that. I know the texture was weird, but tell me what you think of them."

"Ok. Yeah, the texture's different. The taste is good, just not as rich as regular brownies." Fair enough. They don't get the crusty top, but criminy they're fudgy. Then he looked at me again.
"What did you put in there?"

"Black beans."

"Damn good use of black beans."

So there! Give it a shot and let me know what you think!