Monday, September 26, 2011

Zucchini Cornbread


Is it just me or are you finding yourself, this time of year, hiding zucchini in your kids breakfast smoothies, cold cereal, and peanut butter sandwiches? I am all about using up these gorgeous courgettes (in French they sound less pedestrian) in the hopes that the “anonymous” donations on my front porch won’t go to waste. To that end I want to share the most delightful quick bread: Zucchini Cornbread. Is it savory or sweet? Well…the answer is “yes.” Sprinkle chives and cheddar on top and it is savory. Drizzle honey or peach jam over a slice and it is sweet. Regardless, it is perfectly moist with a delicate crumb and appealing summer-yellow color. Most zucchini recipes can use all colors of squash interchangeably—which means summer squash or beautiful variegated Mexican zucchini can be used in place of standard green varieties. When they are enormous and over-mature, just peel the tough skin and use the tender flesh inside. Trust me, in December you will be grateful you froze bags of shredded zucchini when you get a powerful yearnin’ for this bread. This recipe is adapted from Sara Dickerman’s published in Bon Appetit, July 2011.


Zucchini Cornbread

Makes 8 to 10 servings

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter plus more for pan
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup buttermilk (or milk stirred with 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
1 large zucchini (about 10 ounces)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

Position a rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter a 9x5x3" loaf pan.

Melt 1/2 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Transfer butter to a medium bowl. Set aside and let cool. Whisk in eggs and buttermilk.

Trim zucchini ends. Thinly slice five 1/8" rounds from 1 end of zucchini and reserve for garnish. Coarsely grate remaining zucchini. Add shredded zucchini to bowl with butter mixture and stir until well blended.

Sift both flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Whisk in cornmeal. Add zucchini mixture; fold just to blend (mixture will be very thick). Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top. Place reserved zucchini slices atop batter down center in a single layer.

Bake bread until golden and a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 55-65 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; let cool completely on a wire rack. Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy .

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

September Morning with Granola


The morning light was banana yellow against blue sky and fluffy, white clouds. I sat with my new friend on my patio looking out on ridiculously long grass and never once thought of mowing because I was sharing a splendid treat. Warm vanilla-scented granola with almonds, oats, and yes, corn flakes, atop a pillow of plain whole-milk Greek yogurt. Oh yes, there were even fragrant, tree-ripened peach slices to complete the dish. Like Ernie and Bert, peanut butter and jelly, chickens and Martha Stewart, these elements were meant to come together in a perfect zen celebration of my September morning and its magnificent beauty.

This granola is good on its own--perhaps even in the month of February, but it is especially nice served with yogurt and fruit. The following recipe is an excerpt from Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy, by Tres Prier Hatch.

Tammy’s Granola

Makes 12 cups

In big microwave-safe mixing bowl mix together:

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup honey

½ cup water

Place in microwave for five minutes. Watch carefully, it will bubble up. Add:

3 teaspoons vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

Pour liquid over:

8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats or 7-grain mix

4 cups nuts & seeds: almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, millet, quinoa, shredded coconut (unsweetened), corn flakes, wheat germ, etc.

Stir to coat oat mixture and spread in an even layer on four ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 275° for 45 minutes up to one hour. When cooled scrape granola into a large bowl with metal spatula. Add dried fruit if desired: raisins, currants, sultanas, apricot, prune, fig, date, mango, pineapple, banana, pear, apple, cherry, etc.

Store in airtight container. I keep a tub of granola in my pantry and extra in the refrigerator to keep the nuts and seeds fresh.

*Feel free to experiment with your favorite additions. Try amaranth, golden flax seeds or any other seed. Alternative grains are available in health food stores. Try millet, barley, spelt or kamut. As long as they are rolled or chopped fine, they can be added. Try natural maple syrup in place of some honey. For variety sprinkle cinnamon or other spices on the oats before baking.

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Amano Chocolate Buttercream


We all know cake is just a vehicle to get more frosting in our mouths. To that end, I recently had a powerful need to frost a moist, rich yellow genoise cake with a buttercream worthy of such a noble platform. Standard issue chocolate frosting involves dry, dusty cocoa whipped into powdered sugar and butter. In contrast, nothing can replace melting premium chocolate and beating it into a mixture generously endowed with unsalted butter, powdered sugar, Tahitian vanilla, and a splash of cream. Sure, some purists dislike the chalky texture of uncooked frosting due to a lacing of cornstarch in the powdered sugar (to keep it dry and fluffy). But, for ease of preparation raw buttercream cannot be beat. Just plop the heart-stopping ingredients in a standing mixer and whip until you have a fluffy frosting. No thermometers, no whipping egg whites, just one bowl, and beaters to lick in less than 5 minutes.

So, a-whipping I went. And the critical component, of course, was the chocolate. Rather than degrade all those calories with mediocre couverture, I decided to spring for the good stuff: Amano chocolate. To be fair, Amano is the sponsor of all my tastings at speaking engagements and I do have a box of this premium chocolate sitting in my house—just begging to be used. It’s an unfair advantage, I know. But I broke into my stash because there is a reason Amano is the “winning-est” chocolate in the world. Amano Chocolate tastes INCREDIBLE. It is single-sourced from the best plantations, roasted, ground, and poured in small production batches by fanatical chocolatiers. Each variety has a complexity of flavors and notes totally different from the others. Who knew Orem, Utah, has a hidden factory that would make Willy Wonka jealous. To get your hands on Amano Chocolates you can visit their retail store in the industrial side of Orem. It is well-worth the trip to see truffles so beautiful they should be in a museum. While you are there, I highly recommend you indulge in the free tasting of chocolate bars to discover the remarkable diversity of flavors—all in the name of science, of course.

Amano Chocolate Buttercream

Yield: Frosts a 13 x 9-inch cake or two 8-inch rounds.

1-pound powdered sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream, or more

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch kosher salt

1 2-ounce bar Amano chocolate (any variety), broken into small squares

Melt chocolate in the top portion of a double boiler over medium-low heat, stirring frequently with a spatula. Remove from heat and set aside. In a large standing mixer, pulse powdered sugar and butter until combined. Add all remaining ingredients and beat on high until fluffy. Add more cream if mixture is dry. Frost immediately, or keeps in a sealed container in refrigerator up to three days. Bring to room temperature before using.

The Amano Factory Store is located at:
450 South, 1325 West
Orem, UT 84058

801-655-1996
amano@amanochocolate.com

www.amanochocolate.com

Summer Hours: 10:00am - 8:00pm, Monday through Saturday
Winter Hours: 10:00am - 6:00pm, Monday through Saturday

Tres Hatch is the author of Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy

Friday, September 2, 2011

What Size is Your Soul?


What size is your soul? And does your body match its outline? When your body doesn’t match your magnificent soul, there will be problems. Namely, we become dissatisfied with our bodies. This incongruence between our spiritual dimension and physical dimension creates weight issues, beauty issues, and eating disorders. It can also contribute to extreme fashion statements such as: gothic clothing, tattoos, piercings, and other tendencies.

While coaching a client this week I recognized the desperation associated with this disparity between her true profile and the one she wears on the outside. She felt uncomfortable in her own skin. Like a suit that doesn’t fit well; puckering in the wrong places and getting in the way. Over the course of the previous week she had sabotaged her weight loss with binges and escapes. When pressed for a reason, she confessed it was motivated by fear of success. She was panicked at the thought of losing weight and going into uncharted territory as a “thin” person. She didn’t know who she would be if she lost weight. I reminded her she was actually resuming her “original” size. Her true self, or soul, was the perfect size for her. With better balance and health the unneeded weight would be stripped away revealing her good ole self underneath. With peace and relief she understood that rather that embracing the unknown she was, in fact, becoming whole—going home.

Replace fear with faith in your body—warts and all. We were designed to be in balance, which means to function as well as possible given limitations outside of our control. Some things we cannot prevent, but we can feel gratitude for the working parts and manage well the things under our control. Even when working through diabetes, grief, allergies, and other wild cards we can revel in the perfect design of a body that wants to be honored with healthy connections.

Never be afraid of healthy changes to your body. Rather, celebrate your brilliant soul as you assume the size, shape, power, and profile you always were.


Tres Hatch is the author of: Miracle Pill 10 Truths to Healthy, Thin, & Sexy