If you tuned in to Saskatoon's CTV Morning Live today you may have caught my Canada Day themed segments. Andrea and I discussed the calories in alcoholic beverages and made a cocktail and snack.Some calories to note:
5 oz of wine, 1.5 oz hard liquor, and 12 oz light beer are all about 100 Calories! Regular beer is about 150 Calories, and coolers can be 175-350.
The recipes I used and/or adapated for the show are below:
Canada Day Cocktail (adapted from Chatelaine)
Ingredients:
6 fresh raspberries
1 tsp maple syrup
1.5 oz gin
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1 can club soda
Directions:
1. Muddle raspberries, maple syrup, gin and lemon juice into a tall glass.
2. Fill with ice. Top with club soda and a lemon wheel.
Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil (from SimplyRecipes)
Ingredients6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
1/4 cup olive oil
Method
1. Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.
2. Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
3. While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.
Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.
5. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.
Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)
Yield: Makes 24 small slices.
Bean There. Dunked That (from LooneySpoons cookbook)
Ingedients
1 can (19 oz) white kidney beans (cannellini), drained and rinsed
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 teaspoon each ground coriander, salt, and black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
Have a happy and healthy long weekend!
Steph Langdon (Wheler), RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com
