Since I have some time on my hands while I am job hunting (Lord, please! Let me find a job soon!) I have taken over the cooking chores in my mother's house. Cooking isn't really a chore: I love to cook! Unfortunately, I also love to eat, so I am learning a new way of cooking--healthy and low-fat. I have called upon reserves of creativity to cook tasty dishes that are healthy and not boring. I have found that Asian and Mediterranean cuisine lend themselves well to this new way of eating.
I love prepare central European and southern soul dishes, which don't fit into my new life style quite as well. My favorite goulash recipe calls for round steak to be dredged in flour mixed with lots of sweet Hungarian paprika and pan-fried, then cooked slowly in a tomato-based sauce with mushrooms, onions, and sweet peppers until extremely tender. Then I add a yogurt-sized container of sour cream and heat it through, careful not to let it curdle. This is served over egg noodles with crusty peasant bread.(Oh gosh! I have made myself so hungry!)I know there is a way to lighten this dish, I just haven't figured out yet!
I have had better luck with my easy Thai curry, since I can find reduced-fat coconut milk. I just stir fry some chicken and veggies, add coconut milk and green curry paste, and, presto! A delicious, authentic-tasting thai-style curry served over brown rice with a green salad. I don't really like brown rice. I much prefer white, and if I make risotto, I use the white. The results with brown rice are less than satisfactory.
Tonight, I am doing my version of healthy italian: chicken marinated in balsamic vineger and sauteed in olive oil, roasted asparagus (love me some asparagus!), and mushroom risotto (made with real arborio rice. This weekend I am going to try to replicate an incredible bean soup I had last weekend at a new Portuguese cafe' that opened up recently. It won't be low-fat. Maybe next time! Yours, Fannie Ryan