This week we have a recipe posted by Rainie Piccione but originally from Helen McGill-Balsamo.

If you LOVE deviled eggs, you are going to just adore Buffalo eggs.

“Buffalo” style is as it suggests, imagine those crispy little wings you love accompanying your game day pizza. You got it!

12 hard cooked eggs

½ tsp salt

½ cup crumbled blue cheese

¼ tsp pepper

¼ cup mayonnaise

½ tsp celery salt

1 TBS fresh minced parsley

2 ribs finely diced celery

½ tsp (or more) Tabasco sauce

Mash the yolks with all ingredients but the celery.

Spoon or pipe the yolks into the egg whites.

Garnish with the diced celery.

If you want a little extra heat, sprinkle the top with cayenne pepper.

Enjoy!

Fusion of Food & Friends: FOFF Thursday with Carla Vavala

Introducing a collection of recipes to inspire and encourage expansion of your palate. The book Fusion of Food and Friends offers a range of recipes passed down from families and friends, coupled with ideas to make cooking fun and exciting. The book welcomes cooks of all levels to create new menus to share.

The author, Carla Vavala -

Carla Vavala is a self taught cook who utilizes her passion for food to become creative in the kitchen. She has written and self published two cookbooks, “Cut Costs with Creative Cooking” and “Fusion of Food and Friends”.

“I grew up in Syracuse NY, then served in the Navy and since then had a career in medicine as a physician assistant with a Ph.D in naturopathic medicine. I always try to find ways food can help with aliments in our bodies so I try to incorporate my medical knowledge with my knowledge of food. I could never decide which career to follow so I decided to follow both, with medical as my primary career, food was my favorite pastime when I came home. Now I would like to incorporate both skills and knowledge into something that will not only help people with their health but also with the ease of cooking and time constraints. How to use leftovers and create a new meal or just go to your pantry and find simple ingredients that will fuse into a fabulous dish!”

I’d like to welcome anyone who wants to join in to pick up either book at Cuts Costs With Creative Cooking and cook along each Thursday.  You will have the opportunity to chose the next recipe.

For now, until an independent site is set up, please send a photo with comments and/or changes that you made to the recipe (if any) and I will post your photo and a link to your post. If you don’t have a website, simply send the photo and your comments to share. Carla offers a super book filled with delicious recipes and it’s only $10.00 (right now, it’s FREE SHIPPING!).  Email your recipe and photos to: applecrumbles1@yahoo.com

Proof is in the pudding right? So let’s get on with our first recipe AND… if you make this, even though this post has gone up, please send your photo and comments. I will edit the post if you want to cook along.

Richie A to Zucchini Pie by Rich Albano

(From Chapter: Pastas, Rice and Vegetarian, page 47)

• 4 med. zucchini, peel, slice to about 1/4inch to 1/2inch thick *I used 1 large zucchini + 2 cups chopped broccoli crowns
• 1 cup boxed biscuit mix *I used 2/3 cup Heart Smart Bisquick, low fat, 0g trans fat, cholesterol free
• 4 eggs  *or 2 lg eggs and 2 egg whites
• ½ cup vegetable oil  *or a scant 1/4 cup olive oil
• ½ onion, chopped *or 4 green onions, white and green parts chopped.
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• *I sprinkled some Paprika on as a finishing touch.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Turn into an ungreased pie plate. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Geesh! Talk about easy! And tasty?! You bet. I wondered how a dish with so few ingredients, no spices, no herbs would taste. In fact, I thought it might be bland. No way. This dish is really good.

It was light and moist.  Ted even thought there was some kind of a sauce in it but it was simply the eggs and cheese.

I added some cooked chicken to Ted’s plate for a little extra “man” protein.

NEXT WEEK:  Lets go with the very first recipe in the book, “Caponata”.  It’s done in the crock pot so don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients.  If you want to make the recipe but don’t have the book yet, OR you just want to “test” one of Carla’s recipes, please let me know and I’ll email the Caponata recipe to you.  If you cook along, you’ll get the opportunity to chose the next recipe.

Who loves a quiz? Don’t get nervous.   The information will let you know how to get more “BANG” from your healthy eats.

From Healthy living (an insert in the Utica OD)

1.  Adding sautéed onions and garlic to whole grains boosts the absorption of WHAT TWO MINERALS?

a. calcium & magnesium. b. iron and zinc c. iodine and potassium

2. What does ZINC DO?

a. boost immunity b. repair wounds c. both a & b

3. Beans and Greens. What happens when you COMBINE EATING GREEN VEGETABLES WITH BEANS?

a. vitamin C found in greens helps the body absorb iron from the beans b. calcium in the greens is boosted by protein in the beans c. magnesium levels, especially when eating broccoli, rises 3x due to the iron in the beans

4. Eating greens with a NONHEME iron source is important because absorption is difficult on its own. Which is an example of a NONHEME IRON FOOD SOURCE?

a. fish b. tofu c. turkey

AND THE LAST QUESTION….

5. Based on research, people who eat several servings of tomatoes mixed with sunflower or olive oil increase their lycopene levels. LYCOPENE REDUCES THE RISK OF WHAT?

a. breast cancer b. kidney failure c. gout

Answers at the bottom of the post so….read on!

Sunnyside Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Well worth the effort.

• 1 small butternut squash:  Cook in the microwave for 10 – 12 minutes until softened just enough to easily cut thin slices and peel.
• 2 TBS olive oil – divided
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 15 oz. can Dark red kidney beans
• 1/4 cup wild rice
• 3 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 sprig oregano, leaves removed then chopped
• 2 TBS fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 large portabella mushroom caps – peel and de-gill. wipe clean
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 4 large whole eggs

Heat 1 TBS oil in small sauté pan and cook onions and peppers over medium heat.  About 5 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the onions and peppers, beans, rice, herbs, cheese, salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Line a large baking tray with foil and coat with 1 TBS olive oil.

Place sliced squash on tray. Place mushroom caps on top. Stuff with bean mixture.

Make a dent in the top of the mixture so the egg will stay there. Break a whole egg over each stuffed mushroom.

Bake for 30 minutes.

*If you don’t eat egg yolk, it’s just as good with simply whites.

Easy and nutritionally a PLUS!

QUIZ ANSWERS: 1 a, 2 c, 3 a, 4 b, 5 a How’d you do?

The last of the longer runs was Thursday morning, 18. 2 miles.  Shane was with me for 11 miles.  It was one of his longest runs yet and he STILL wanted to play Frisbee when we got home. 

But there was no time to play because I was out the door again with Ted.  Ted won’t run as far as Shane, course Ted isn’t attached to my waist so he has a choice (poor Shane doesn’t).   

I told Ted that around 4:30, I saw two people walking down the Parkway – way too early for strolling along.  He said “maybe they were homeless people or criminals”.  Gee! Thanks Ted. Now I feel so safe when I’m out running in the dark! 

I had that pain in the ball of my foot again. I used a gel insert but ended up tossing it at mile 15.  The insert caused more pain than relief.  It was on again off again type pain and went away as soon as I took the sneakers off.  The only other repercussion from Thursday’s run was hamstring spasms.  Nothing to worry about. I’ve had them before and they subside. 

That leaves me with an easy plan for the weekend:  Friday is a day off – feet up, basically.  Saturday is a leisurely run around the golf course and maybe the Switchbacks with Shane (hilly but relaxed).  Sunday, just a walk.  I was going to run 6 days this week but my mileage is already up there and there’s this thing called “TAPER” that I’ve got to think about.

That Thing Called Tapering….

Taper means to gradually diminish. As a runner, we need to reduce our volume of running before the event to be in the best possible shape before competition. We want to feel fresh, have our muscles fully recovered from the weeks of hard work they’ve put in, and we don’t want to feel mentally or physically tired.

The length of the taper is dependent upon the event distance as well as personal preference. Generally the total volume of hard work begins to reduce in the last few weeks prior to the race. Volume decreases about 10 to 15% the first week of taper and will be as much as 60% decreased by the week of the race.

Feeling fresh: Reduce the length of runs as well as time spent on the feet. Focus on getting adequate sleep and proper nutrition at every meal. Reduce your long run miles but do some speed sprints just to keep the legs fresh. Focus is on intensity. Pay attention to your body. If you feel pain, back off. If you feel tired, back off.

Muscle recovery: Allow muscle tears and stresses to heal during this time. Come the day of the event, the legs shouldn’t feel tired but are ready to take on the miles of the challenge. Remember that your workouts are quick but short in duration. If you have incorporated a weight lifting program in your training, back off. It won’t do you any good that last week before the race.

Mental/Physical Recovery: Focus on what you’ve accomplished during your weeks of hard training. Don’t compare your training to someone else since there is no pre-determined method that works for everyone. You know your body and you trained the best you could for your event. It’s personal.

Timing the taper: It could be 3 weeks, it could be 2 weeks. For a 5K race, it may be one day. Use common sense when determining your taper time. Allow at least 10 days between your last long run and race day. You won’t lose the benefits of that run for 30 days so don’t sweat it. Take it easy and recover from it.

If the day of the event rolls around and you don’t feel like “eventing”, you may not have allowed enough recovery time. Don’t worry. Get through it and fix it next time. Most important is mental preparation. Be confident and believe in your training. Nervousness is normal. You’ve worked hard for this and you want to do the best you can. Do what ever it takes to relax, get a massage, engage in yogic breathing, but most importantly, SMILE ‘cause race day will soon be HERE.

The Omelet and Soup

Sometimes I get in those moods where I just crave eggs. Not sure what it’s all about but I like to listen to my cravings because I believe my body is telling me that it needs something from that food that I’m craving. 

When Ted and I were headed out to a bike maintenance clinic (that never happened because we got the times mixed up), we had to make dinner in a hurry. Eggs are my go-to guys for quick, easy, nutritionally balanced meals, not to mention settling my craving.

Serves 2 to 4

• 1 can of your favorite soup (I used Progresso Tomato and Parmesan)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup egg substitute (or use 2 whole eggs and 1/4 cup egg whites per person) *Enough for 2 omelets
• 2 TBS Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 – 8 asparagus stalks, trimmed

Preheat the oven broiler. Place the asparagus in a foil lined pan and broil for 5 minutes.

Open the soup and heat to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Stir occasionally.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. When the oil is hot, add the eggs and let cook 2 minutes over medium high heat. Sprinkle on cheese, salt and pepper. *Do this for each omelet.

Lightly pick up the sides of the egg omelet with the spatula to let the uncooked egg seep underneath.  Continue to cook another minute or two then flip over one side.

Allow to finish cooking (about 2 minutes) until cooked through (no longer runny).

Serve omelet on top of soup and asparagus on top of omelet.

I’ll be eating a lot of eggs in the coming week to “buff up” for Boston.

Yes, another birthday came and went.  Ah!  I feel so good because when I looked in the mirror there wasn’t any wrinkle, any imperfection, any sign of another year gone by that wasn’t there the day before.  Phew! Made it!  I bet I won’t fair so well the day I run Boston.  Probably see someone age 20 years in 3.45 hours ( yes – my goal time). But that’s weeks away yet so moving on…

My Birthday Breakfast

The day began kind of funny. I got up with the alarm and went through the routine of getting myself into the gym.  Put my water on the T/M, looked at it, thought to myself “today is my birthday and I don’t want to do this”.  I took my sneaks off, went upstairs and climbed back into bed, clothes on, hair up and went back to sleep for an hour.  All was not lost because Shane still had to go out so we did get a 5 3/4 mile run in when I finally emerged from under the covers.

Ted said “lets go out to breakfast for your birthday”.  We ended up at Mar-Log Restaurant just a mile or so from the house.  It was noisy in there but wasn’t crowded. Weird?! 

A quick cup of coffee…Cup No. 1

The menu had the one item I was in the mood for:  Giambrotti – a mix of eggs, potatoes, greens, peppers (hot or sweet or mixed) and typically sausage but not for me.  I asked for mine made with Egg Beaters and no sausage, all hot peppers.  Dry Rye on the side.

It wasn’t long before the steamy, hot plates of breakfast delicacies arrived. 

Oh but wait! I needed hot sauce!

Before taking my first bite, unaware of the heat my mouth was about to encounter, I said yes to my 2nd cup of “Joe”

My first fork full of Giambrotti landed on the hot pepper.  It wasn’t the hot CHERRY pepper that I thought was going to titillate my tastebuds.

It was a long hot!  AND BELIEVE ME! IT WAS HOT!  In fact, there were more long hots on that plate than eggs, potatoes, greens or anything else.  I endured the pain of 2 peppers then worked my way around the rest.  Not enough eggs, the wrong hot peppers, and too many tasteless potatoes.  Oh well. 

To calm my flaming tongue down, I had a little colored sugar on my dry rye

We managed to tackle the better part of the crossword puzzle before having to leave.  We like to leave a little to do at lunch time as well. It’s called pacing ourselves.

So it wasn’t the best tasting breakfast but the folks at Mar-Log can’t be beat. So friendly. The service is great. It was a fun time.

Today’s run(WED):  Since I was a slug yesterday AND the weather was looking pretty good today, I got my weekly long run under my belt.  17.2 miles.  I really like getting that long run done early in the week so I can see what my miles look like going into the weekend.  It allows me to do some finagling to crank it on up there. 

I can’t say that today’s run was the best. I woke up 3 times during my short night (6 hours sleep) and one time with an intense cramp in my calf.  OUCH!  Got up to run at 3:45 (INSANE!!!!) but had a 20 min. delay due to a treadmill glitch as well as the new TV not working.  UGG! All my fault, I’m sure.  Almost got run over 2 X outside by people who obviously have a dislike for runners. Had to get Shane in the shower because he ran 11 miles with me and was covered in road dirt and salt.  Couldn’t get my shirt on.  Couldn’t get the huge knot out of my hair.  I just wonder what more “excitement” the day holds in store for me.

The mystery ingredient

The other day, I was reading an article by Catherine S. Hains, MS RD.  She was revealing the secrets behind the ingredient listed on Nutri-Grain bars. 

Be sure to watch out for the following and think about whether this is really what you want in your body.

• tBHQ-tertiary butylhydroquinone.  An antioxidant additive that keeps soybean oil from going rancid.  In a 2004 study, it was shown that tBHQ might cause tumors.  Esophageal, stomach benign tumors were increased when rats were given tBHQ.
• High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Possibly causes diabetes, obesity, liver disease. 
• Calcium Carbonate.  A filler, preservative and color retainer but also used in paint supplements and other products.
• Propylene glycol.  Solvent for flavoring and food colorings and labeled “GRAS” or “Generally Recognized As Safe”. HUGE amounts may cause a health hazard.
• Soy Lecithin.  Emulsifier. Also known as “GRAS”.
• Carrageenan.  A thickener derived from red seaweed.
• Calcium Phosphate.   From cow’s milk and teeth. Used as a raising agent.

As quoted by Courtney Stinson RD of Savorlife Nutrition:  “What increases the shelf life of food usually decreases the “shelf life” of our bodies.”

Catherine S. Hains has a web site at Lighthouse nutrition.

To be honest, I like Nutri Grain Bars.  Maybe  Kellogg’s has adjusted some ingredients?