The Sexy Forever Recipe Bible (9 page)

1½ cups whole milk ricotta cheese

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Place the ricotta in a medium bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add the fennel, salt, and pepper.

Heat the olive oil briefly in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in the egg-ricotta mixture to make one large pancake. Gently move the mixture around with a wooden spoon until the egg sets, 5 to 6 minutes. The surface will still be a little runny. Invert the pancake onto a plate, cooked side up. Then slide the pancake back into the skillet to cook the other side for 1 to 2 minutes more. Slice into four wedges and serve immediately.

SERVES 4

zucchini pancakes with warm tomato coulis

PROTEIN, HEALTHY FATS, VEGETABLES
DETOX, LEVEL 1, LEVEL 2

TOMATO COULIS

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced, or 6 canned Italian plum tomatoes, seeded

5 dried bay leaves

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

1 large zucchini, shredded

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

¾ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

For the coulis:
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over moderate heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper. Reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. Keep warm.

For the pancakes:
Preheat the broiler. In a bowl, mix the zucchini with the eggs, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. (If you have two skillets, use both at the same time, one for each pancake. If you don’t, keep the first pancake in a warm oven while you make the second.) Add half of the zucchini mixture and reduce the heat to low. Gently cook for 3 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally. The pancake should be loose in the center but set around the edges. Transfer the skillet to the broiler. Cook until firm in the center, about 4 minutes. (If you don’t have a skillet with an ovenproof handle, you can flip the pancake by inverting it onto a plate, browned side up. Then slide it back into the skillet to cook the other side.) Repeat for second pancake.

Slice each pancake into three wedges and center on serving plates. Garnish with the tomato coulis and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

SERVES 6

zucchini muffins

VEGETABLES, CARBOHYDRATES
DETOX, LEVEL 1, LEVEL 2

Grapeseed or coconut oil, for greasing the pan

2½ cups nonfat milk

¾ cup All Natural SomerSweet

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon orange extract

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

2 cups quick-cooking oats

2 cups All-Bran cereal (see Note)

2 medium zucchini, shredded (about 2 cups)

32 ounces nonfat plain yogurt

4 cups whole wheat flour

2½ teaspoons baking powder

2½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons grated orange zest

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil two 12-cup muffin tins.

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until just boiling. Add the All Natural SomerSweet, vanilla and orange extracts, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, All-Bran, zucchini, and yogurt. Add the hot milk and mix to form a batter. Stir in the flour, and add the baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest, lemon juice, and orange zest. Stir well.

Scoop the batter into the muffin tins. Bake at 400°F for 8 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

When the muffins have cooled, store those that will not be eaten within a day or two individually in an airtight container, and freeze.

MAKES 24 MUFFINS

NOTE
All-Bran may contain sugar but only trace amounts, which will not create an imbalance.

soups

Stranded on a deserted island
and you can only pick one food to eat for the rest of your life … Ever played this game? My answer is “chicken soup.” It’s the perfect food. Comforting, warm, nourishing, and delicious.

Any good cook knows your soup or sauce is only as good as your broth. I make broth about once a week, and keep it in the freezer to use as needed. A meaty carcass and some vegetable trimmings are all you need. All week I gather them in a baggie in the freezer: chicken bones, ends of carrots and celery, parsley stems, kale stems. Nothing is wasted. Then I toss them into a pot with water and cook them down to a golden broth.

You’ll find several versions of chicken soups, stock, and broth. (I am often asked what the difference is between stock and broth. Quite simply, stock is unseasoned and broth has added salt.) Using a whole, raw chicken will give you a cleaner, clearer broth. A roasted chicken carcass (don’t forget to include the scraped bits from the bottom of the pan) will provide a heartier, richer broth.

The peasant housewife method of cooking means not wasting any ingredients, and that’s a virtue we should all live by. I taught my son, Bruce, to make a chicken last a week when I sent him off to college: Roast a chicken on Sunday night. Enjoy your dinner, then pull off any extra meat. Use the carcass to make stock for soup. The leftover chicken will provide dinner on Monday, with extra for sandwiches or salads. Then use your stock to make soup to enjoy for the next couple of days. Now one dinner lasts all week long.

Once you have broth (chicken, vegetable, beef, etc.), making soup is a snap. Try the
Chicken Tomato Cilantro Soup
for an easy South American taste. Toss in soy sauce and bok choy for
Asian Turkey Meatball Soup
. Make delicious “egg” noodles with no flour for a
traditional Jewish grandmother’s soup
. I love
Tom Yum Kai
with the Thai flavor explosions of lemongrass, lime leaf, and chiles. Or go
Italian with Stracciatella Soup
with egg ribbons and spinach.