I tend to disagree, as a fine cook (if I do say so myself)it is more than a challenge to do both. That being said it is easy w/things such as fish & the like but since so many things are (supposedly) bad for you, where does one draw the line ? My famous garlic/chive mashed potatoes would merely be a shadow of themselves short of the generous portions of butter & cream. Of course all pasta dishes are 'bad' for you. & oh my, red meat, horror the thought. Man can not live on raw vegetables alone !~~Myself, I will stick to the moderation technique in which all things are allowed in moderation, healthy (by whomevers definition) or not. LOL

If I may paraphrase Julia Childs, who never found a dish that had too much butter, "eat a little bit of real butter, instead of a lot of margarine".

OR

"All things in moderation"

Now, if I can only lose 20 lbs. :)

((I))

I would say pasta is bad only when swims in a butter. It is good with olive oil based sauses, isn't it?
Well trimmed steak once a week is good.
Pizza is good if only 1 slice with salad, arguments are out!!!
To me if it is not deep fried, not drenched with butter and doesn't have a fat piece hanging off of it - is good!
Yeah, not covered in mayo so you can hardly see what kind of food actually covered. Switched to light low-sodium salt recently.
Mashed potatoes are good (but as much as I would eat - it is a killer).
So any soup (small bowl) with any meat and salad can be good or bad depends on size and whether lard was part of cooking.

Hi M,
>Ira, you'd be the perfect guest in my house ....<

And you would be a perfect guest in mine.

>I've never tried making pita bread. <
But I have made Naans before.<

Much the same thing, except that Pita is a yeast bread. You don't have to buy a baking stone. You can make it in a cast iron fry pan with a lid.

>Try straining regular yogurt ...Thick and creamy and delicious.<

Amen, brother. I think that it is also known as "yoghurt cheese".

>Also, oven roasted sliced eggplant doused in olive oil...<

Having that for dinner tonight!!!!

((I))

>Also, oven roasted sliced eggplant doused in olive oil...<???

Can you clarify please? You roast it in the oven, slice it and then frying it in oil? Any spices added? Salt? Pepper?
I know lots of people who love it but can't see what I am missing (it is just tasteless to me) Help needed.

I don't think healthy and tasty are mutually exclusive - it's all in the herbs and spices!

Well here's what's been on our dinner menu so far this week:

white bean, sausage, and kale soup, served with bruschetta with homemade eggplant caviar and a cucumber/radish salad.

stuffed cabbage with a chickpea/red onion/olive/red pepper/caper salad (an odd combination, I know, but my son put it together and I didn't want to criticize)

tilapia filets sautéed in olive oil with lemon, white wine and capers, served with basmati rice with saffron and asparagus roasted with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

tonight - my seafood bourride, the tastiest thing I've ever eaten (and not the healthiest): start with a mirepoix of chopped onion, celery, and carrots; add chunks of monkfish or other firm fish; when cooked add white wine and court bouillon, a chopped tomato, shrimp, clams, squid ringlets; as soon as clams open add heavy cream, salt, pepper, a few red pepper flakes, some tarragon if you like it, and a ton of saffron. Serve over Israeli (large) couscous. Drink the rest of the white wine.

It's not hard to cook healthy and tasty; one of my favorite dishes is a thai broth, with chilles, lime juice, thai fish sauce, lemongrass, coriander, prawns... Or a thai beef salad; a very good steak, seared, rare inside, on a salad with a dressing of rice vinegar, soy sauce, and anything else you like to add. As Nigella Lawson (my favorite cookbook writer)said; the best low fat food is food that is naturally low in fat. Not unhealthy food that has been artificially altered to make it low fat or low sugar (as seen on so many American supermarket shelves).

And I'm all for olive oil; much better for your cholesterol than butter, great taste, but it does have more calories than butter; 884 calories for 100g, compared to 720 for 100g of butter (thecaloriecounter.com). So forget about covering your pasta in olive oil if you want to stay slim.

St Cirq, Ira; I'm getting hungry just reading about your meals!

A good cookery book is well worth a read, not so much for the recipes as (assuming it's more than just a collection of recipes) for understanding what different foods mean in the lives of different people and cultures - how it's reared, prepared, preserved, presented, and what that means for the organisation of daily life in and out of the home (so this IS travel-related!).

I love reading Elizabeth David for that reason. Of course, I've rarely actually cooked any of it, except for some of the beef stews, and a Navarrais dish with sausages and peppers cooked in wine.

I agree with StCirq - if you have a good selection of herbs and spices, it's easy to make healthy, tasty food.

We never buy ready-prepared meals as I find it's often almost as quick to whip up a vegetable stir-fry, salad, pasta dish or soup. And I prefer making things from scratch so that I know what's going into the food I eat, and can control the seasonings and flavours. I'm one of those people that finds cooking relaxing - if anything it helps me unwind at the end of the day! Can't think of anything worse than popping the plastic on some frozen dish and sticking it in the microwave...

Recently I've been making a great "one-pot" dish based loosely on the flavours/ingredients of Moroccan chicken tagine (but not cooked in a tagine as I don't have one - yet). It's so easy and tastes incredible.

I dust chicken pieces (thighs work well) in a little flour and brown them in a little olive oil at the bottom of a heavy pan and then remove. In the same pan, I sautée thin wedges of onion (cut onion from root to tip so the slices hold their shape) with some crushed coriander seeds. Then I add a few roughly chopped carrots, peeled potatoes cut into medium wedges, and a lemon cut into wedges. I return the chicken to the pot, cover the whole lot with about a pint of chicken stock, add a good pinch of saffron and some peppercorns. I reduce the liquid down a bit, then cover and leave to simmer gently for at least an hour.
When it's time to serve, I stir in a good handful of chopped coriander (cilantro), stalks and all, and then ladle into bowls. We always serve it with crusty bread, which, in the Moroccan style, we hold in our fingers and use to tear off pieces of tender chicken meat.

Also often make an "own-recipe" pasta sauce with finely chopped onions, sieved tomatoes (passata), a dash of red wine and paprika, stirred through the pasta (just enough to coat it), along with a generous handful of chopped parsley.

I'm getting hungry now!

So last nights menu included my afore-mentioned 20g of fat per bite mashed potatoes, wild salmon pan-fried lightly in olive oil w/a citrus glaze, a handful of beer/Old Bay marinaded scallops (I just returned from Fla. so brought some seafood back w/me) & some garlic steamed broccoli w/a splash of sea salt. That is as healthy as it gets at our house, & was prepared at my daughters request & w/her help (she is 3). My chef in training.

Tulips,
olive oil and butter are 2 different foods where one is not hardening and good for your cholesterol and another is danger!!! Cooking oils are not cholesterol product when butters are. Am I wrong?

StCirg,
going to cook seafood bourride!
Can you clarify what is court bouillon?

Thanks
If everyone is wonderfull cooks after all why McD is so in business still?

Ziana:

Court bouillon is just a bouillon cube flavored with fish stock. It takes the place of real fish stock, which I frankly don't usually have the time to make from scratch (particularly on a weeknight). I buy them in France and bring them home. They come in all sorts of flavors - parsley, anise, garlic, etc., but I usually use just the plain one and add my own spices and herbs.

Mrs Doon has been working away this week, so, for when she gets back, it will be my world famous (at least in our house)slow roasted lamb:
In a bowl, mix some olive oil, crushed garlic (I use 1 clove, but it's up to you), a little orange juice (about half the quantity of olive oil), and some dried mixed herbs. Leave for 1 hour, then rub over a leg of lamb. Wrap lamb in foil with 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary (or mix 2 and 2 with fresh coriander). Place in the oven and cook on a low heat (gas mark 4) for 5 or 6 hours.
Unwrap & serve with rice (or rice pasta) or cous cous.

Ziana, I just mentioned it since I so often hear people that try to loose weight say; 'I only use olive oil'.
Here in Belgium, where the cuisine is mostly French, everyone uses butter in cooking and baking. We use more olive oil than butter, but one cannot always be substituted for the other. Sometimes you just must have butter!

McD is still in business because the kids love it.

Hi Ziana
>Also, oven roasted sliced eggplant doused in olive oil...<???

Can you clarify please? You roast it in the oven, slice it and then frying it in oil?<

No.
Brush with olive oil an roast it in the oven until just soft. Slice. Arrange on platter. Sprinkle with herbs and drizzle with olive oil. Let rest. Serve at room temp or slightly warmed.

You can also grill the eggplant slices to get the grill marks.

I make the eggplant grilled, along with grilled onion and grilled zucchini.

>I'm all for olive oil; ...but it does have more calories than butter; 884 calories for 100g, compared to 720 for 100g of butter ....

100g of olive oil is 7 tbls. 1 tbl is enough to brush on an entire eggplant for grilling.

I think I use about 1/2 as much olive oil as I do butter to achieve the same level of flavor.

((I))

((I))

For folks with a Trader Joe's store nearby: they sell the most yummy yoghurt cheese made with Greek yoghurt-nonfat,lowfat and full fat.Frankly,though,the nonfat version is so thick and decadent,you would guess it was full-fat.

I too respectfully disagree with the comment about cookbooks. I think they can be excellent tools, if you find the right ones. To me, the best cookbook authors are those that encourage you to experiment, and provide ideas and suggestions for putting dishes together. You should never feel you have to adhere strictly to "1 cup of this, 1/4 tsp. of that."

Some people grow up in a household that understands and values cooking, and it therefore is second nature. For those of us that didn't, the information, recipes, and knowledge provided in books can be a great help as we learn to build a cooking repertoire.

>..the information, recipes, and knowledge provided in books can be a great help as we learn to build a cooking repertoire. <

Good advice from Tar.

I rely on "Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vols I and II".

My Lady Wife has simpler tastes, she uses "The Betty Crocker Cookbook".

I'm reading through "The Silver Spoon" (Italian). It's not as instructive as MTAFC, but very useful for people who are not beginners. I think that the author assumed that you had an Italian grandmother when you were growing up.

((I))

I was particularly interested in Fodorites cusine, why would i ask for the cookbook recipies...you guys sometimes surprise me a LOT!
Couldn't I go and buy cookbook?
I remembered how many times Fodorites mentioned being foodie and I wanted to know what FODORITES are having at home?
What book can substitute it?

Thanks to all and keep them coming. I will tell what I've cooked already.
Fodorite's cusine...not a bad idea for this site. Should we open a section so everyone can post anytime? and others can use?
Like
Dinner with ira...
Elina's fish
All Italian Fodorites
Patric's oatcakes
(btw searching for oat meal)

WHAT DO YOU THINK?