Pear Clafoutis (Flaugnarde)

Adapted from Cooking Light's Comice Pear Clafoutis

Ingredients
Salted butter for the dish
2 firm-ripe Comice pears (1 lb. total), peeled, cored, and sliced lengthwise about 1/3 in. thick
1 c. whole milk

2 large eggs

4 egg whites, or 1/3 c.
1/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. orange zest or 1/6 t. orange extract
1/8 t. nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. whey protein powder
Powdered sugar, optional for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a shallow 3-qt. glass baking dish (9"x9") and arrange pears in an attractive pattern over the bottom. (Fruit will rise to the top as batter is poured in.)

Put milk, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, orange zest or extract, nutmeg, salt, and flour (in this order) in a blender and whirl until very smooth and frothy, 1 minute. Pour batter over pears.

Bake until clafoutis is well browned and a little puffed, about 50 minutes.

Let clafoutis cool on a rack about 15 minutes. Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Nutrition Facts

Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving     1/4 dish
calories 227
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 5 g	7 %
Saturated Fat 2 g	10 %
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 100 mg	33 %
Sodium 305 mg	13 %
Potassium 218 mg	6 %
Total Carbohydrate 26 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g	7 %
Sugars 22 g
Protein 14 g	28 %
Vitamin A	4 %
Vitamin C	5 %
Calcium	12 %
Iron	3 %

Blueberry-Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

Adapted from Eating Well's Blueberry-Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

Ingredients
Cake
3/4 c. granulated sugar
5 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature (see Tip)
1/4 c. part-skim ricotta cheese
2 T. lemon zest, or 1.5 t. powdered lemon zest
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla extract
1.5 c. unbleached heritage-grain flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 c. fresh blueberries
Additional flour for dusting the berries

Icing
2 T. packed confectioners’ sugar
1.5 t. lemon juice
1/8 t. lemon extract
1/8 t. powdered lemon zest

Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F.

Butter a 9-by-5" glass loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until creamy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and beat in ricotta, lemon zest, 2 T. lemon juice, and vanilla until just combined.

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together on top. With the mixer on low speed, beat until almost combined.

Toss the blueberries with enough flour to coat and gently fold into the batter.  (This should minimize extra wetness and the tendency to make the cake blue.)

Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake the cake until starting to brown around the edges and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.  (1:50 with foil covering the browned tops for the last 50 minutes, probably because I didn't flour the blueberries, and I used frozen.)

Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake, then invert it onto the rack. Carefully turn it right-side up. Let cool completely.

In a small bowl, add sifted confectioners' sugar and zest, then whisk in lemon juice and extract until smooth. Brush the glaze on the cake.

Make Ahead Tip: Wrap cooled cake airtight and store at room temperature for up to 1 day; glaze shortly before serving.

Room-temperature eggs make cakes fluffier. Here's a quick trick—place them (in the shell) in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 5 minutes.

• Needs more lemon in the cake!  Try this recipe next time.

Nutrition Facts

How to Pare Down Belongings or Prepare for Moving

I wrote this elsewhere geared towards an oversized wardrobe, but much of it can easily be adapted to other belongings.

In no particular order:

• Use a new one of these approaches every week or month.  New approaches will give you fresh eyes when an old approach gets more difficult.

• Consider all of these options first and choose your favorite(s).  It will also make it easier if you get to choose the approach that seems easiest to you.  Make sure you at least calculate savings from getting rid of storage and estimate what a physical or online sale might bring in, whether or not you choose those options.

• Take pictures of all items with sentimental value: old concert T-shirts, a favorite jacket from school with fond memories associated, etc.

• Remove all items with holes, stains, missing buttons, broken zippers, etc.  Some of these can be donated/recycled.  I know quilters who donate the smallest leftover scraps to a program that turns the material into rags (if I remember correctly), and fleeces can be recycled.  You might call fabric stores to find the first type of program if online searching doesn't help.  Contact outdoor clothing stores like Patagonia and Columbia that sell fleeces to inquire about fleece recycling.  Some stores offer discounts on new fleece when you bring in old items.

• Calculate the cost of giving up the storage unit and make plans for the money.  Something fun and immediate for part of it, savings for half, and long-term fun plans for the rest.  Or donate to a favorite cause.  Knowing it will help others can help you.

• See what you can sell (online, garage sale, consignment shop) and add that money to the above budget.

• Talk with a therapist to address why it's so difficult to let go of stuff.  If you live with others or have family, have a frank discussion about how much easier it will be on one of you if the other happens to die first, or if either of you (or any family) need to do this process alone because one of you is in the hospital (or both of you die) and you need the money, or have to get the place ready to move out (gods forbid).

• You may be able to find some guidelines online to probe why you feel you need to hold onto things.  If you have pictures of memorabilia, you won't have to let the memories go, but you won't have to deal with over-stuffed storage or the increased budget either.  If you realizes how much work it would be for others to have to deal with, you may realize it's your personal responsibility to downsize and not leave the burden to others, to minimize your impact on the environment, or to optimize your budget.  Use whichever tactic appeals to your values most.  If you've saved or made money in this process, you can use a portion of that to replace or update items you regrets getting rid of, if you ever realize you should have kept at least one sport coat, for instance.  

• Get rid of everything that doesn't fit.  If you're hoping to lose weight, start with everything too large; if you're hoping to gain, with everything too small.  

• Hang everything in the closet 'backwards' and if you wears something, hang it the 'correct' way after it's laundered.  After 3-12 months, remove everything that's still hanging backwards.  3 months should be enough time for daily wear items.  12 for seasonal items like heavy winter clothes or light summer things.  

• Donate items directly (especially warm and waterproof winter stuff) to the homeless or needy, so you can see how much more they will value the items.

• Choose a number of items to get rid of for every short unit of time, like one item per day or 5 items per week.  This will make the project more manageable.

• For every new (or new-to-you) item you get, get rid of X number of items.  Two at least; up to ten if you have a lot of excess.  

• Hold each item in your hand and consider if it is (a.) functional, (b.) brings you happiness, and (c.) flattering.  If it's not all three, find a way to get rid of it.  (There may be some exception to (b.) and (c.) for work or specific sport/activity clothing.)

• If you're helping someone else with this process, do not remove anything without their consent and tell them you won't.  They needs to trust you so they can go through this process.

• If you're helping someone in your household, others in your household should also do all of the above as fits each of you.  You may have fewer items so you'd offer to get rid of one item per week or 3 per month vs. their 1 per day or 5 per week, for example.  If you have the most stuff, you can ask them to do it with you in a similar, scaled manner.  If you're working at this together as a family it will help.  Every so often, each of you should look around and note how much more space you have, how much less time you spend organizing, how much easier it is to clean without moving stuff, how much easier laundry is, how much nicer life is, etc.  

Kale Chips

Adapted from TheKitchn's How To Make Quick & Easy Kale Chips

Ingredients
1 bunch of fresh kale -- the variety matters, but I don't know the name of the kind I like best.  There's some that taste like mustard greens and less like pure bitterness..
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
3 T. highly concentrated flavorful sauce (suggestions forthcoming)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Remove the center stem by slicing along either side of the stem with a knife, cutting them in half while removing the stem. Alternatively, you can strip the leaves from the stalk using your hands.

Tear the kale into rough, 3-inch pieces. The kale will shrink when it bakes, so don't tear it too small. Alternative: If you have a bunch of kale that has small leaves, you can leave them whole for a dramatic presentation. The tough lower part of the stalk still needs to be removed.

Wash and dry the kale in a salad spinner, in batches, if need be.

Toss the kale with your seasonings in a big bowl.


Place kale on baking sheets in one layer. Do not let the kale pieces overlap too much or the kale will steam and not crisp up.


Bake the chips until crisp. Place trays in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate trays as the thin pieces of kale will quickly brown in your oven's hot spots. Check again after 5-10 minutes. You will hear the kale sizzling from the oil. Carefully pick up or nudge a chip. You want them to be crisp but not browned.  You may need to toss the chips and redistribute them before returning them to the oven.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the tray (unless you feel they are about to turn brown, in which case you should transfer them immediately to a rack or paper towels to cool.) Do not pile them up while they are still hot or they will steam and wilt.

Enjoy! I find that kale chips are best eaten within a few hours of baking but they will do OK for a day or so if well sealed in a plastic bag or airtight container.

Nutrition Facts

Cilantro Lime Lentil Corn Salad

Adapted from a dish Trader Joe's was sampling

Ingredients
1.25 c. uncooked lentils
2.5 c. water
1/2 T. butter
1.5 t. chicken bullion paste
pepper and dried hot chili flakes, to taste
1/2 lb. frozen corn, thawed, or 1 can canned corn, rinsed and drained
1/3 small bunch cilantro, minced
1/4 - 1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
3 T. lime juice

Directions
Cook lentils according to package directions with the water, butter, and bullion paste, and let cool.  (Or use 1 lb. pre-cooked lentils.)
Gently mix in remaining ingredients to combine.  Serve with an assortment of crackers.

Nutrition Facts

Servings 6.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 155
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 5 g	8 %
Saturated Fat 2 g	10 %
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 10 mg	3 %
Sodium 222 mg	9 %
Potassium 24 mg	1 %
Total Carbohydrate 26 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 8 g	32 %
Sugars 3 g
Protein 10 g	19 %
Vitamin A	2 %
Vitamin C	7 %
Calcium	5 %
Iron	1 %

Berry Washing and Storage

Adapted from TheKitchn's Smart Tip: Keep Berries Fresh Longer with This Washing Method

A salad spinner is an excellent way to wash berries a quart at a time. Half-full of 3:1 water:vinegar to wash, empty to spin dry, store in a clean air-tight container with cotton or paper towels and change them daily. Rinse in clear water immediately before using or freezing to remove the mild vinegar flavor. (My method is a little different than the linked one, but serves me well.)

High Protein French Toast Casserole with Fresh Strawberries

Adapted from High Protein French Toast Casserole with Blueberries

Ingredients
1/2 12 oz. Challah loaf, cut into 1.5" cubes
4 eggs
1.5 c. egg whites
1 c. milk
2-4 scoops unflavored whey protein powder, enough to add 40g protein (~1/4 c. of the kind I use)
1.5 T. pure vanilla extract
1 t. orange extract
¼ c. Grade B maple syrup
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. salt
1 T. brown sugar
1 c. pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
2 c. sliced fresh strawberries
butter to grease pan

Directions
Grease 9"x13" glass baking pan with butter.  Place cubed bread in pan.

Mix eggs, egg whites, milk, extracts, syrup, whey, salt, and spices else in a pitcher or bowl that can hold at least a quart of liquid.  Whisk thoroughly or blend with an immersion blender.

Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Pour liquid mixture over the bread.  Make sure that all bread is covered by liquid mixture.  Allow to sit for as long as it takes to make the topping. Mix pecans and brown sugar together and sprinkle before placing in the oven. Bake for about 25 minutes or until there is no longer any liquid.

Cool slightly before serving.  Top with fresh berries and enjoy!

(I think I'll double the protein powder next time.)

Nutrition Facts

Servings 8.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 327
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 15 g	22 %
Saturated Fat 2 g	11 %
Monounsaturated Fat 7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 97 mg	32 %
Sodium 374 mg	16 %
Potassium 247 mg	7 %
Total Carbohydrate 37 g	12 %
Dietary Fiber 8 g	31 %
Sugars 12 g
Protein 16 g	32 %
Vitamin A	5 %
Vitamin C	19 %
Calcium	30 %
Iron	10 %

Cilantro Lime Dressing

Adapted from Cilantro Lime Dressing

Ingredients
1/2 c. lime juice
1/4 c. honey
1/8 c. sunflower seed oil
2 large cloves garlic
1 whole shallot, or a tiny amount of onion
1/4 t. ground chipotle powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 t. ground yellow mustard powder
1/2 c. cilantro, roughly chopped

Directions
Blend with an immersion blender.  Makes ~1 c.

Nutrition Facts

Servings 8.0
Amount Per Serving       1 oz.
calories 53
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 4 g	5 %
Saturated Fat 0 g	2 %
Monounsaturated Fat 3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 10 mg	0 %
Potassium 35 mg	1 %
Total Carbohydrate 6 g	2 %
Dietary Fiber 0 g	1 %
Sugars 5 g
Protein 0 g	0 %
Vitamin A	0 %
Vitamin C	9 %
Calcium	1 %
Iron	1 %

Teriyaki Flank Steak

Adapted from Grilled Flank Steak with Rosemary
This isn't an adaptation, but my honey found and made the recipe, and they're both keepers, so I'm putting it in my digital recipe collection! Pair this with a massive sheet pan of roasted vegetables!

Ingredients
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. olive oil
4 1/2 T. honey
6 large garlic cloves, minced
3 T. chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tablespoon dried
1 1/2 T. coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 t. salt
1 2-pound flank steak

Directions
Mix all ingredients except steak in 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Add steak and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours, turning occasionally.
Prepare barbeque (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Remove meat from marinade; discard marinade. Grill steak to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare.
Transfer steak to work surface. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut across grain into thin strips Arrange on platter and serve.

Nutrition Facts (not including discarded marinade)

Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 348
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 14 g	21 %
Saturated Fat 5 g	23 %
Monounsaturated Fat 3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 110 mg	37 %
Sodium 1272 mg	53 %
Potassium 90 mg	3 %
Total Carbohydrate 4 g	1 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g	4 %
Sugars 2 g
Protein 49 g	97 %
Vitamin A	1 %
Vitamin C	3 %
Calcium	2 %
Iron	23 %

Sheet Pan Sage Turkey Breast and Vegetables

Ingredients
1 head romanesco, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 short celery stalks, chopped into 1/2" pieces
3 medium parsnips, chopped into 3/4" cubes
5 medium carrots, chopped into 3/4" cubes
1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
a dozen shishito (or other mild tiny) peppers, trimmed and quartered, or 1/8 serrano, minced 
1 T. minced fresh rosemary
salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless turkey breast (two)
3 T. butter
1/8 t. salt
1 T. minced fresh sage

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375˚F.  Arrange two racks to divide the oven into thirds.

In a large bowl, mix all the vegetables, and toss with olive oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Distribute evenly on two half-size sheet pans, leaving space on one for the turkey breasts.  (This can also be done on one large sheet pan.)

Soften (or melt) the butter, and mix with sage and salt.  Pat the turkey breasts dry with paper towels and dredge in the butter until coated.  Place on the open space on one sheet pan with ~1/2" between the two breasts.

Place the pan with meat in the bottom third of the oven, and the vegetables in the top third.  Roast for 30 minutes, or until the turkey reaches 160˚F in the thickest part.  (Switch the two pans halfway through if you don't have a convection oven.)

After removing the pans from the oven, tent the one with the turkey with aluminum foil for five minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Servings 4.0:  6oz. meat + 3c. veg.
Amount Per Serving
calories 402
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 16 g	24 %
Saturated Fat 7 g	35 %
Monounsaturated Fat 5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 123 mg	41 %
Sodium 1606 mg	67 %
Potassium 817 mg	23 %
Total Carbohydrate 28 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 9 g	35 %
Sugars 10 g
Protein 40 g	81 %
Vitamin A	268 %
Vitamin C	179 %
Calcium	16 %
Iron	21 %