Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan
(3-4 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

1 pound asparagus
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
about 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat charcoal or gas grill to medium high (you can only hold your hand over it for a few seconds at that heat.)

Place grill pan on top of grill and heat while you prepare asparagus. Break one piece of asparagus to see where the tough part of the stem starts, then trim ends of asparagus all to that length. Cut asparagus on the diagonal into pieces about 3-4 inches long and place in ziploc bag. Put olive oil into bag and sprinkle in a little salt and pepper, then mix asparagus around in the bag until it’s well coated with olive oil.

Pour asparagus into grill pan and grill, turning every 2 minutes, until asparagus is getting browned edges and is barely tender-crisp. Cooking time will vary depending on your grill, but I cooked mine about 10 minutes. Serve asparagus hot with freshly grated parmesan sprinkled over.

Kalyn’s Kitchen

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One of the first factors is poor nutrition. If we choose the wrong foods to eat, we can change our acidity readings that should be more alkaline with the right food choices. By changing our diet we can reverse this factor and it will make us feel much better.

Foods that contribute to increased acid buildup in our bodies and can cause health issues down the road are the processed meats such as bacon, sausage, lunchmeat, smoked meats. Then there are other foods and drinks that should be taken in moderation or avoided when you can such as fried foods, cheese, sugar, chocolate and then coffee and alcohol have to be included on this list. These all heavily contribute to an acidic environment in our human body.

Then on the good side there are many alkalinizing foods that can work to our benefit, improve our health and make us feel better. These choices include apples, grapes, melons, bananas, most vegetables and leafy greens.

Remember, it’s not necessary to avoid acid-producing foods entirely; wisdom says to just make sure you balance the acid producing foods you eat with some foods from the group that create alkalinity. Having a salad and/or some fruit with your meal can definitely make a difference.

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Cider-Glazed Turkey
by Ian Knauer

A roast turkey glazed with a buttery cider syrup is burnished outside and juicy within. You’ll have more than enough gravy to ladle over the stuffing, the smashed potatoes, and tomorrow’s leftovers.

Yield: Makes 8 servingsActive Time: 35 minTotal Time: 4 hr For turkey:

Ingredients:
For turkey:
1 (12-to 14-pounds) turkey at room temperature 1 hour, (reserve neck and giblets (excluding liver) for turkey stock)
1 apple, cut into chunks
1 small onion, quartered
1 small bunch thyme
1 cup water

For cider glaze:
1 cup unfiltered apple cider
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

For gravy:
2 cups dry white wine
Melted unsalted butter if necessary
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
About 4 cups hot turkey giblet stock

Prepare turkey:
Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in lower third. Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Put turkey on rack in roasting pan and season inside and out with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Put apple, onion, and thyme in large cavity. Fold neck skin under body, then tuck wing tips under breast and tie drumsticks together with string.

Roast turkey and Make cider glaze:
Add water to pan and roast, without basting, 1 hour.

Meanwhile, boil cider and sugar in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved, until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until emulsified. Let glaze stand until ready to use.

After turkey has roasted 1 hour, rotate pan 180 degrees. Roast, without basting, 40 minutes more.

Make gravy while turkey rests:Strain pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve into 2-qt measure and skim off fat (or use a fat separator), reserving fat.
Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add wine and deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 2 minutes. Strain through sieve into measuring cup containing pan juices.

Put 1/2 cup reserved fat (if there is less, add melted butter) in a 4-qt heavy saucepan and whisk in flour. Cook roux over medium heat, whisking, 3 minutes. Add pan juices and stock in a fast stream, whisking constantly, then bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Briskly simmer, whisking occasionally, until gravy is thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper.
Serve turkey with gravy.

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These berries contain a significant amount of polyphenolic compounds, and polyphenolic compounds are proven to help reduce the motor and cognitive deficits we experience as we age.

Some plant foods and especially these berry fruits have significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. However, polyphenolic compounds can also improve our sensitivity to receptivity in our brains and to improve our motor skills. So, bottom line is; consuming more grapes and berries could actually help protect us against all those dreaded cognitive impairments that come with growing old. (Yuck! It can happen to the best of us! LOL!)

Concord grape juice is a very important addition to our diet along with blueberry and strawberry extracts. Tests have shown that blueberry juice can help us improve memory and learning. So if you want to relieve the possibility of dementia or alzheimer’s disease, try these fruits and drink their juices.

Along with the addition of these fruits and their juices in our diets, we should exercise daily and in general, eat healthy foods rich in nutrients, low in calories, especially the empty calories found in processed and junk foods. The combination of all this will contribute to us enjoying a lifestyle with less of the aging problems that could otherwise effect us in our golden years.

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DIM promotes healthy testosterone levels and healthy estrogen metabolism. They say it can also promote fat loss. I think we’ll be hearing more and more about DIM in the near future. Check out DIM if you’re a health advocate.

Now, getting to broccoli itself…you can’t beat this special vetable for a healthy addition to your diet. Besides the anti-cancer elements in Broccoli, it has always been well known for being one of the healthiest foods we can eat.

This low calorie green giant, (excuse the pun) packs a whopping amount of vitamins A, B6 & B12, C, E, K, folate, manganese, tryptophan, potassium, magnesium, protein, fiber, and Omega 3 fatty acids. It even has a great source of iron, calcium, and zinc!

With all this it’s not hard to understand that Broccoli is a major anti-cancer food. All kinds of cancer growths from breast cancer to bladder, to prostate, and even skin cancer have proven to be reduced with the consumption of broccoli. It’s already been tested and proven.

Broccoli is found to have large amounts of sulforaphane and indoles which are called, “phytonutrients”, and these phytonutrients deactivate the estrogen metabolites that promote tumor growth. And broccoli enhances our body’s detoxification enzymes to aid us in keeping our human bodies healthy.

So try DIM or eat your broccoli for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

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Even pumpkin pie die-hards will be won over by this pie — it’s rich, creamy, and full of flavor, with a super-flaky crust that won’t get soggy. It’s the classic holiday pie in its best-possible form. And the whiskey whipped cream and candied pecans would make anything spectacular, but they’re especially good with this.

Prep Time: 30 min
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hr 0 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Level: Intermediate
Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients
Filling:
· 3 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
· 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
· 2 large eggs
· 1/2 cup heavy cream
· 1/2 cup light brown sugar
· 1/4 cup light corn syrup
· 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
· 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
· 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
· 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
· Pinch ground cloves
Dough:
· 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 tablespoons sugar
· 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
· 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
· 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced (1 stick)
· 1 large egg yolk
· 1 tablespoon cider or white wine vinegar

Topping:
· 1 cup whipping cream
· 1 tablespoon whiskey, rye or bourbon
· Candied Pecans, homemade or store bought, recipe follows

Directions
Special equipment: 9-inch pie plate, glass preferred
Filling: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the sweet potatoes on a small roasting pan and bake until easily pierced with a fork, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile make the dough:
Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor with the metal blade until combined. Add the shortening and pulse about 10 times. Add the butter and continue to pulse until it resembles cornmeal mixed with bean-size bits of butter. Beat the egg yolk and vinegar together, add and pulse 3 to 4 times, but don’t let the dough form a ball in the machine. Remove the blade, and gather the dough together by hand. If dough does not come together, sprinkle up to 1 tablespoon of ice cold water over the dough and bring together. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and shape into disk. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (To make the dough by hand, see below.)

Peel the cooked sweet potatoes and mash lightly with a fork; you should have about 2 cups puree. Mix the sweet potatoes and butter in the food processor until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to combine. Set aside.

Lightly dust the counter with flour. Roll the dough into an 11 to 12-inch circle and transfer to the pie pan. Trim the dough so that the edges hang about 1/2 inch over the pan; fold edges under and flute as desired. (See how to). Pierce the crust all over with a fork, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or up to a day.

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven of the 425 degree F oven. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper and pie weights or dried beans and place on a baking sheet. Bake until the crust sets and begins to brown around edges, about 25 minutes. Lift foil and weights out of crust, lower oven temperature to 375 degrees F. and continue to bake until crust begins to brown on the bottom, about 10 to 12 minutes more. Pour filling into the warm crust and bake until set, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on rack.

When ready to serve, whip the cream with the whiskey until it holds soft peaks. Top pie with whipped cream and candied pecans. Serve.

Busy Bakers tips:

Crust can be made, rolled, and transferred to the pan, then tightly wrapped and frozen for up to a month. Candied pecans can be made and stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Copyright 2007 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved

To make dough by hand: Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Rub the shortening completely into the dry ingredients with your fingers. Then rub the cold butter into the mixture until it resembles cornmeal mixed with pea-size bits of butter. (If the mixture starts to get warm and sticky, refrigerate it to chill.) Beat the egg yolk and vinegar together and then drizzle it evenly over the dough. Lightly stir the dough together with a fork or by hand. The dough should just hold together when you squeeze it, with some dry crumbly bits around the ball. If the dough is dry, sprinkle up to a tablespoon of cold water over the mixture.

· Candied Pecans
· 1 large egg white
· 3 tablespoons sugar
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1 cup pecan pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly beat the egg white until frothy. Whisk in the sugar and cinnamon, and then toss pecans in the mixture. Evenly spread nuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until dry and toasted, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool.
Yield: about 1 cup

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* Are a good or excellent source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients
* Are high in phytonutrients and antioxidant compounds, such as vitamins A and E and beta carotene
* May help reduce the risk of heart disease and other health conditions
* Are low in calorie density, meaning you get a larger portion size with a fewer number of calories
* Are readily available

ALMONDS

Why eat almonds? These tear-shaped nuts are packed with nutrients – fiber, riboflavin, magnesium, iron and calcium. In fact, almonds have more calcium than any other nut – 75 milligrams (mg) in one serving (about 23 almonds). Also, one serving of almonds provides half of your body’s Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin E.

Like all nuts, almonds provide one of the best plant sources of protein. And they’re good for your heart. Most of the fat in almonds is monounsaturated fat – a healthier type of fat that may help lower blood cholesterol levels.

APPLES

Why eat apples? Apples are an excellent source of pectin, a soluble fiber that can lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Fresh apples are also good sources of vitamin C – an antioxidant that protects your body’s cells from damage. Vitamin C also helps form the connective tissue collagen, keeps your capillaries and blood vessels healthy, and aids in the absorption of iron.

BLUEBERRIES

Why eat blueberries? Blueberries are a rich source of plant compounds (phytonutrients). As with cranberries, phytonutrients in blueberries may help prevent urinary tract infections. Blueberries may also improve short-term memory and promote healthy aging.

Blueberries are also a low-calorie source of fiber and vitamin C – 1 cup of fresh blueberries has 84 calories, 3.6 grams of fiber and 14 mg of vitamin C.

BROCCOLI

Why eat broccoli? Besides being a good source of calcium, potassium, folate and fiber, broccoli contains phytonutrients – a group of compounds that may help prevent chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Broccoli is also a good source of vitamins A and C – antioxidants that protect your body’s cells from damage.

RED BEANS

Why eat red beans? Red beans – including small red beans and dark red kidney beans – are good sources of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper and thiamin. They’re also an excellent low-fat, low-calorie source of protein and dietary fiber. Red beans also contain phytonutrients that may help prevent chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.

SALMON

Why eat salmon? Salmon is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids – a type of fat that makes your blood less likely to form clots that may cause heart attacks. Omega-3s may also protect against irregular heartbeats that may cause sudden cardiac death, decrease triglyceride levels, decrease the growth of artery-clogging plaques, lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke.

In addition to being an excellent source of omega-3s, salmon is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and is a good source of protein.

SPINACH

Why eat spinach? Spinach is high in vitamins A and C and folate. It’s also a good source of riboflavin, vitamin B-6, calcium, iron and magnesium. The plant compounds in spinach may boost your immune system and may help keep your hair and skin healthy.

SWEET POTATOES

Why eat sweet potatoes? The deep orange-yellow color of sweet potatoes tells you that they’re high in the antioxidant beta carotene. Food sources of beta carotene, which are converted to vitamin A in your body, may help slow the aging process and reduce the risk of some cancers. Sweet potatoes are also good sources of fiber, vitamins B-6, C and E, folate and potassium. And like all vegetables, they’re fat-free and relatively low in calories – one small sweet potato has just 54 calories.

VEGETABLE JUICE

Why drink vegetable juice? Vegetable juice has most of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients found in the original vegetables and is an easy way to include vegetables in your diet. Tomato juice and vegetable juices that include tomatoes are good sources of lycopene, an antioxidant that may reduce the risk of heart attack, prostate cancer and possibly other types of cancer. Some vegetable and tomato juices are very high in sodium, so be sure to select the low-sodium varieties.

WHEAT GERM

Why eat wheat germ? At the center of a grain of wheat is the wheat germ – the part of the seed that’s responsible for the development and growth of the new plant sprout. Though only a small part of the wheat seed, the germ is a highly concentrated source of nutrients, including niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin E, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, iron and zinc. The germ also contains protein, fiber and some fat.

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New textures, oil laced fruit juice, of all things, spicy honey and dried flowers are about to hit the restaurants and food markets. These are only the beginning of overcoming the stagnation of new food products in this economical fever.

A fundamental shift in attitudes toward food is the driving force for the new mood. There is a world wide revolution for healthy, natural foods. Added to that is a growing influence of science-driven molecular cuisine practiced by a few celebrity chefs in England and Spain such as Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adria. This new movement is spawning a wave of new products that are hitting the shelves of your local markets.

The old has past, foodie guru Xavier Terlet, who heads the XTC trends agency
says, “People used to hark after tradition in recipes and products, they wanted chequered table-cloths, to relive the old days. All that has changed,” he added. “Molecular gastronomy has shown chefs are not just cooks but chemists, and that has brought a new boldness to the food industry, a modern-day daring to mix and play with textures.”

Food Revolution

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