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Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake

Despite high member ratings, this cake is a disappointment. The cinnamon streusel is good, but it’s so scanty, it might as well not be there. (You can see it in the picture above, capping the cake, and running through the middle like a racing stripe.)

The cake flavor resembles that of a biscuit, which is great for biscuits, but not what I’m looking for in a cake. Plus, the texture was heavy and too chewy.

It’s not a horrible cake, just bland and boring. I won’t be baking this one again.

Cinnamon Streusel Coffeecake
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Cooking spray
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl, and stir well. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; sprinkle 1/3 cup of the walnut mixture into pan. Set walnut mixture aside.

Combine 1 1/4 cups sugar and vegetable oil in a large bowl, and beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Measure 2 cups of batter; set aside. Pour remaining batter into prepared pan; sprinkle remaining walnut mixture over batter. Pour reserved 2 cups batter over walnut mixture. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 16 servings

CALORIES 249 (26% from fat); FAT 7.3g (sat 1.4g,mono 1.9g,poly 3.3g); PROTEIN 4.9g; CHOLESTEROL 28mg; CALCIUM 63mg; SODIUM 175mg; FIBER 0.9g; IRON 1.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 41.1g

Grade: C-

Vegetarian Chili

On Monday, I played with a Goya recipe and came up with veggie chili.Now, I am not a fan of veggie chili. I don’t usually think chili isn’t chili until it has pounds of artery clogging (yet responsibly raised) beef in it. And kidney beans? No thank you.

But maybe I’m changing my tune. This chili contains no beef or dreaded kidney beans, but has plenty of black and small red beans supported by a flavorful tomato base. Dinner came together quickly, and the result is both delicious and filling.

With nary a meat product in sight. How is that possible?

Serve as is, or top with a bit of shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream, and a few tortilla chips.

Veggie Chili
1 Tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper (or more), chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2 15.5 oz cans black beans
1 15.5 oz can small red beans
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
3 packets Goya Sazon
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stockpot, heat oil over medium heat and saute garlic, pepper, and onion for about 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Stirring frequently, turn heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low; let chili simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Grade: A-

I’m trying to eat better: more whole grains, veggies, fruit, less sugar, fat, and non-lean meats.

I like to eat (is there a food blogger who doesn’t?) so I’ll frequently eat too much — especially tasty, delicious stuff, like cookies, mashed potatoes, or anything covered in melted cheddar — and then feel stuffed and nasty. I call it the Flurry effect: given the chance, our dog will gorge himself, then collapse in a heap on the floor, his gurgling stomach keeping him company.

So to avoid that end, I signed up for the online Weight Watchers program, which allows me to keep a food diary (again, detailing food minutia is very appealing) and gives access to hundreds, maybe thousands, of recipes, without ever having to sit in a room and hear someone wax poetic over Crystal Light.

I keep telling myself that my primary reason for joining is to become a healthier eater and not to lose weight, because in America while hydrogenated and sugared food in gigantic proportions is thrown at you almost everywhere you go, it’s still a horribly awful — if not catastrophic — character flaw if you are overweight. Especially if you’re a woman.

The American dream isn’t having a happy family, a good job, and a house with a white picket fence. It’s being able to gorge on Big Macs and fries and still fit into a size 2 bikini.

Anyway, my main issue with WW is their recipes, which seem to have been developed by “industrial” chefs. As in, the chefs are less likely to work for Le Bernardin than they are for Swanson’s frozen dinners.

It’s not that the recipes are bad — they’re not — but most of them need some adjusting. I’ve noticed that a lot of the recipes shy away from hot spices, but overdo the herbal ones.

This recipe falls into the latter category. It’s a great recipe — nice idea to substitute white potatoes for sweet to pack in extra vitamins — but it calls for way too much thyme. I felt like I was eating a box of Bell’s Poultry seasoning. (Come to think of it, Bell’s would have been more balanced.) The thyme took over the dish; what’s the point of using sweet Italian turkey sausage if you can’t taste any of the sausage’s seasoning?

So I’ve adapted the recipe below, reducing the thyme to 1/4 tsp. If you’re really crazy about thyme, you might want to increase it to 1/2 tsp. but I wouldn’t do anything more than that. I like to taste different flavors in my food, not one dominant assault on my palate.

I also tossed in about a cup of peas, because what’s shepherd’s pie without peas?

Turkey Shepherd’s Pie with Mashed Sweet Potatoes

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
6 medium baby carrots, chopped
20 oz raw turkey sausage, sweet Italian-variety, casings removed
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
10 3/4 fl oz can of condensed low-fat tomato soup

Preheat oven to 400-degrees F. Lightly coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.

Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; boil until fork-tender, about 8 minutes. Drain potatoes; return potatoes to pan. Mash potatoes with buttermilk and garlic powder until smooth; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add carrots; sauté 1 minute. Remove vegetables from skillet; set aside.

Add sausage to skillet; sauté until browned, breaking up sausage as it cooks with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Return vegetables to skillet, adding frozen peas; stir to combine. Add oregano, thyme and pepper; cook 1 minute. Add soup; simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and spoon mixture into pie plate.

Spoon mashed potatoes over turkey mixture and spread into an even layer using the back of a wooden spoon.

Bake until filling is bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Yields 6 servings. Leftovers reheat nicely in the microwave.