Food
Food for Thought While in Hibernation Keep off the ‘winter 15’ with healthy but flavorful choices. by Elaine Slater-Kogler Community contributor It is winter, and I tend to hibernate. Do you hibernate? I will unequivocally admit to hibernating from the time snow starts until we hit the mud season in March. I was sitting in my living room with my laptop, feet up on the ottoman with a blanket on my lap thinking about what I could make that would warm me and fill me up. My thoughts ranged from chocolate chip cookies to chili and then back again to mac and cheese. These are only a couple of choices that ran through my head making me unbearably hungry. What do I do to keep these tasty foods from following me into spring? I love to snowshoe and walk with our dogs, a couple of things that bring me out of hibernation helping to keep the “winter 15” off. I have awesome exercise equipment in my basement, but they don’t get as much attention as they should. I work a lot standing up, so that helps a little. In the end, it is portion control, keeping the recipes healthy and adding some form of exercise to the day. Cooking healthy is about choices, but you don’t have to lose flavor. There are many seasonings that are healthy, gluten-free and add nothing but flavor. It’s okay to hibernate a little, and it’s okay to splurge a little, but it’s always okay to cook healthy.
Photo courtesy of Elaine Slater-Kogler
What’s Cooking? Elaine Slater-Kogler is owner of Infused!, a specialty food store at 37 Fennell St., Skaneateles. In business since 2005, Infused! is all about flavor as well as listening to customers. Contact Elaine at elaine@ infused.com.
Chill Out Chili
Macaroni and Cheese
Simmer recipe all day in slow cooker.
Easy to make comfort food.
2 lbs. ground beef or ground turkey 2 tbsp. Infused! Chili Garlic Olive Oil 1 tbsp. minced garlic 1 minced sweet onion 1 tsp. each creole seasonPhoto courtesy of Elaine Slater-Kogler ing, ground cumin and ground cayenne 2 cans crushed tomatoes 1 can of tomato paste 1 diced green pepper 1 diced red pepper Garnish: shredded cheese and sour cream In a large pot, add olive oil, minced garlic and minced onion with the ground beef (or turkey) and start to simmer and break up. Once meat starts to cook and break into smaller pieces, add the dry seasonings and continue to stir. Once ground meat has approached a browned stage, add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste and stir. Once combined, stir in the red and green peppers and continue to simmer on stove. At this point, you can continue to simmer on stove or transfer to the crockpot or slow cooker to continue cooking.—Elaine Slater-Kogler
Vegetable oil , salt 1 lb. elbow macaroni 1 quart milk 8 tbsp. butter, divided 1/2 c. all-purpose flour 12 oz. Gruyere, grated 8 oz. extra-sharp Cheddar, Photo courtesy of Elaine Slater-Kogler grated 1/2 tsp. each freshly ground black pepper and ground nutmeg Bread crumbs Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well. Heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for two minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add macaroni, stir and pour into a baking dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on top.—Elaine Slater-Kogler
12 March 2014
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2/20/2014 1:16:51 PM