Allison Cafe

Eating Fresh and Healthy Is Easier Than You May Think!

Did you know it is National Nutrition Awareness Month? While we should make an effort to eat healthy all year round, it doesn’t hurt to place extra attention on eating right this month. In 1980 the American Dietetic Association coined March as National Nutrition Month® in response to the growing public interest in eating right. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. For more information, visit eatright.org/nnm. Eating healthy is not always easy when our lives get busy. That is why planning weekly menus and having access to a library of healthy recipes that are easy to prepare and inexpensive to stock are so key to eating right.

In celebration of eating right, we tried a new recipe this week that is so ridiculously easy and tasty for a weeknight side-dish, that its healthy benefits are an added bonus. Try this deconstructed version of guacamole the next time you are looking to work in some healthy vitamins and good fats.

Avocado, Cucumber and Tomato Salad

This is a great salad recipe, but also an alternative way to serve avocados instead of making guacamole. Not only is it easy, it is full of healthy nutrients and good fats.

Ingredients

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half

2 hass avocados, sliced in half and then scored into 1inch squares

1 Japanese cucumber, un-peeled and sliced

1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 tbsp Anaheim pepper, finely chopped

juice from ½ a fresh lemon, squeezed

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

Preparation

Toss all of the ingredients in a medium salad bowl. Serve immediately. (It’s that easy!)

Hello friends, it has been awhile since my last post – but with good reason! We are kicking off another Relay For Life season. As some of you might remember, I got involved with the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life last year. I volunteered on the event planning committee for the FIRST Relay For Life in Clairemont CA. (read my recap of last year’s event here). Check out the brief video above from our media sponsor Firefly Films highlighting the 2009 event.

This year I have taken on the volunteer role of  Publicity and Community Awareness.  Please help me spread the word about this educational and important community event. Tell a friend about this event (use the share icons at the bottom of this post). Are you a Survivor? We want to celebrate you, please sign-up online to attend our event. Join or start a team today. Or sign-up to volunteer on our website, we have volunteer needs on every level. Interested in sponsoring our event? We need donations of materials and giveaways items, please contact me at relayforlife (at) allisonbaloglu (dot) com or contact us via the website.

Details:

Relay For Life Clairemont CA 2010

The Important Question Everyone Asks:

We don’t expect anyone to be at the event 24 hours! Even if you can make it for 1 hour to walk a few laps – we would LOVE it! Or if you don’t live in town and want to participate remotely, that’s awesome too!!

What is it?

Relay For Life is an American Cancer Society event, held to raise awareness, raise funds, celebrate survivors, and remember those we’ve lost to this disease. It is entertaining, educational, and honestly, a really fun time you will want to come back for the next year!

Relay For Life is also, as it eludes to in the name, a “Relay”. It is a 24-hour walk, where team members divy up the hours they walk the path. Teams also have their own “campsite,” and you can camp in the park overnight! There are also kids activities and various entertainment going on throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday morning.

Dollars & Cents:

Team Captains pay a small registration fee donation when they create their team online. But there is no charge for participants to join a team! We hope each team member will set a goal to raise $100, and we are planning a fundraisers prior to Relay to help you get there, if you so wish! However, there is no fundraising minimum requirement, Relay For Life is a FREE event and its primary purpose is bring the community together and educate them on cancer awareness and prevention information, while having fun of course! Anyone is welcome to attend the event, even if you just want to stop by and cheer us on!

The REASON:

Did you know that 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime? Think of you, and the most important person in your life. 1 in 2. We have had numerous family & friends diagnosed. I am committed to do my part to decrease this number! Won’t you join us?

hmmmm....dark chocolate lava cake!

Happy Belated Valentines Day to everyone! We enjoyed our day in sunny SoCal yesterday and found ourselves so thankful for our beautiful life together. My husband made the most delicious dinner of grilled lack of lamb on a bed of swiss chard with pomme frites and a beet salad with feta cheese and argula. It was so good that I do not have any photos, we enjoyed it too much!

Dessert was my domain yesterday. And we did pause for a brief moment to snap a quick photo (above). I debated what sort of healthy chocolate decadence to create. I settled on a recipe I found in my Better Homes and Gardens New Bridal Edition cookbook. The results were similar to a chocolate souffle but the recipe was much faster to make. And the best part is that you can make it up to step 4 and then just keep it chilled until 30 minutes before you intend to bake it, meaning that it is a great dinner party dessert with unbelievably rich and delicious, souffle-like  results.

Here is the recipe: (more…)

Puppy's First Pupcake!

Miss Hayley had a very special treat today on her 2nd birthday, she had her first Pupcake.

Pupcakes From Cups La Jolla

A local cupcake lounge in La Jolla, Cups, offers peanut butter and bacon Pupcakes. Yum! It came in a small plastic bag and it appeared to have a cupcake liner, but it turns out the cupcake liner is edible! Judging by how quickly Hayley gobbled it up I would have to assume they are out of this world delicious!

Happy Birthday Miss Hayley! It seems like only yesterday we brought you home from Helen Woodward Animal Center.

Babycakes Vegan Chocolate Cupcake

By Allison Baloglu, for YourSmartKitchen

Something struck me as funny today. Chocolate is so often associated with sweet treats, but actually if you have ever sampled pure cocoa, it is actually bitter. And if you have ever read the ingredients on most chocolate bars, they have to add sugar to get the sweet flavor we enjoy. Sometimes the milk chocolate bars we have grown to love are less than 50% chocolate. Which means that for milk chocolate lovers, you may actually be more addicted to the sugar than the chocolate. And white chocolate does not even contain chocolate solids, it is simply cocoa butter, sugar and milk. But some good news for you dark chocolate lovers out there: dark chocolate is full of healthy antioxidants. Dark chocolate treats are usually over 65-70% chocolate solids, or cocoa, content.

So what’s so healthy about dark chocolate anyway? Chocolate contains flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants, which are found in a variety foods, protect the body from aging and promote good cardiovascular health. They do this by neutralizing “free radicals” in the body, which are molecules that cause cell damage. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants. And while there are several studies pending to determine exactly how many antioxidants there are in chocolate, there is significant evidence to suggest that a small serving of chocolate contains equal amounts to red wine, or other fruits and vegetables. Flavonoids can help lower blood pressure, lower LDL cholesterol, and balance certain hormones in the body.

Dr. Oz on Oprah, Antioxident Rich Foods

Still not sure I completely understood what an antioxidant really did, I watched an episode of Dr. Oz on Oprah’s television program. He conducted a visual representation that really clicked with me and helped me to understand how they perform. Common antioxidants are vitamins C, E and beta-carotene. So as an example Dr. Oz had a lemon, which contains vitamin C, and some apple slices on a table. He explained that the term antioxidant means just that, it combats oxidation. When you slice an apple it will turn brown when left out and exposed to oxygen. But, if you squeeze lemon juice on the apple it prevents, or at least delays, the oxidation process. Seeing that example made sense to me. So imagine those antioxidants, like vitamin C for example, are hard at work inside your body too. This is why consuming these vitamins has so many benefits, including keeping your skin looking young and firm. That must be why the Greeks say to make food your medicine!

Now, this does not mean that just because cocoa powder and dark chocolate contain all these health benefits that you can over indulge. Like with anything else in your diet, moderation is key. Chocolate when consumed as part of a balanced diet can be a heart healthy treat. In addition to tasting good and lowering blood pressure, it also stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure; it contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant; and it contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants. Theobromine by the way is the ingredient that makes this substance so toxic for pets. Their systems are not able to unable to metabolize the chemical effectively. So keep it to yourself and enjoy!

P.S.

I am going to be whipping up some tasty Valentines Day creations this week, stay tuned for Flourless Chocolate Cake, or Chocolate Souffle, whichever sounds tastier later this week!!

What is your favorite chocolate recipe? And remember, chocolate can be savory or sweet, it isn’t just for dessert!

Introducing our newest Guest Writer, Genna! Genna is a talented graphic designer, marketer, artist and super-mom. She is also a fellow Flagler College alumni. Despite all of Genna’s amazing gifts, she is admittedly not an avid baker. As you would expect of an artist, she takes greater pleasure in decorating a cupcake than she does in baking one. Nothing wrong with that! I hope you enjoy Genna’s recent adventure in cupcake making, and maybe even take inspiration from her creative cupcake decor. Enjoy!

A Cupcake Quest

Last weekend I experienced my annual “Gotta make my husband’s homemade birthday cake” dilema. This request is bestowed upon me and usually includes which specific recipe I am supposed to make. Past years were carrot cake with avocado frosting, tres leches and some other anti-Betty Crocker ideas. This year my husband graciously asked for kid friendly cupcakes since we were going to celebrate at a bowling alley. Phew – it could be worse! I immediately looked to Allison Cafe to see what’s been tested in the kitchen by my friend.

Kid friendly requirements in MY book is: No nuts and lots of sprinkles. I don’t care about quantity of sugar or fat. If it looks cool, they love it. My kid is crazy anyway with or without sugar.

The recipe that seemed to fit the bill was Allison’s “Chocolate Cupcakes with Creamy White Frosting“. What I didn’t like about it was that it asked for things that I didn’t have in my pantry (buttermilk & coconut extract). Did I forget to mention I’m super lazy and dislike cooking in general? In retrospect, I should have just made this recipe because no matter what recipe I picked to make from scratch would seem to me annoyingly difficult and ask for items I’d have to go purchase.

So, I went off to see what Martha Stewart suggested. I love to decorate items, but not to cook them! So after looking at 30 beauty shots of decorated cupcakes – I knew I was going to make baseball cupcakes for my Red Sox fan of a husband. I came to the final conclusion of Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. I noticed on the Food Network website that Paula Deen has the same recipe and did a side by side comparison. They were ALMOST identical with variations of some important chemical combinations such as: baking soda, vinegar and cocoa powder. I regularly watch Alton Brown’s Good Eats Show (a favorite show of my husband’s) and knew that these are very important components that shouldn’t be played with. But I didn’t care. I ended up taking the average of both recipes and figured if these are horrible – well I hate cooking anyway!! With some tips from other cookers in the comments pages, I also took their advice into account. My husband should know better than to make me do this without Betty!

As I was cooking, my first mistake was in making the buttermilk. They didn’t have any in the grocery store, so I was forced to make it myself. Buttermilk can be made at home by combining milk and vinegar (about 1 cup of milk to 1 tsp of vinegar; and don’t forget to set the milk and vinegar aside so they can mix for 5 minutes before adding to batter). I had some fancy Vermont apple vinegar in reaching distance. And I had a gallon of white vinegar upstairs in the laundry room by the bleach. You can only guess which I chose to use. My husband informed me that the white version has more acid which is needed to make the buttermilk. So I sprinkled some in after he went and got it. The mistake I learned, was to not pour liquid in a measuring cup over the item your going to add it to. Because when it spills over you have no idea how much went in! Let that be a lesson for you… By the way, I’m not convinced the apple vs white vinegar made a difference. 😉

In the end, I realized my cooking style is more like Paula Deen’s. She just gives you a list and says mix. She also uses items you can find in the grocery store, but more importantly in the quantities that you can buy it in. I don’t like left-overs of an item which Martha was trying to sell me. Martha was also too nitty gritty about what order to mix things in, and asked for a specific gel-paste food coloring not found easily. I didn’t know I had more of a Southern style of cooking rather than a New England style!

Here are the two links for the recipe’s I mixed:

Martha’s Red Velvet Cupcakes

Paula’s Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

So how did my concoction taste?

Everyone loved them and were impressed I made them from scratch. The Paula Deen frosting was superb. The cake was on the greasy side like reviewers had mentioned. I had even decreased the amount of oil and it didn’t make a big enough difference. But, I was glad I used foil lined paper cups because nobody else noticed the greasy papers!

Good luck to you fellow bakers and non-bakers out there! And don’t take advice from me – take it from Allison.

– Genna Drazen

The talented Genna Drazen

Genna Drazen is a talented graphic designer, marketer, artist and super-mom. She is also a fellow Flagler College alumni. Genna resides in Maryland with her beautiful family.

Celebrating Soup for National Soup Month, Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Shrimp

We periodically fall back on a few favorite soup recipes this time of year. Chicken soup is our classic recipe that we make whenever we are looking for a healthy meal, but to also put that leftover chicken to use. But this week when I had some leftover chicken to use up, I wanted to venture out of my soup comfort zone. So I decided to try a spicy tortilla soup recipe. Wow, was I ever glad I did. I was surprised at how easy it was to blend all the ingredients and how flavorful the soup was. It is on my top ten list of favorite soups now.

After enjoying a bowl of thick tortilla soup I got to thinking. Every dish has a history. And I am sure there is a history for tortilla soup just like there is for chili. But what about the heritage of soup itself? I was surprised to learn that many historians consider soup to be the original fast food. In can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was sold as a street food using lentils, peas and beans as the main ingredient. As a new member of a Greek family I can tell you that the Greeks take great pride in their ancient influence on modern culture. So I guess I was not really that surprised to learn that the Greeks had a hand in the early adoption of soup as a popular meal.

Ok, so that explains when and why soup first started to catch on, but what about the name? Why soup? Some think that it got its name because of the sound you make when you slurp it up. Others believe it had to do with the fact that it was often sopped up with bread, so from the Latin word suppa or sop – to soup. And one last theory is that it was derived from the “sup” in the word supper.

And finally a little more fact finding for you on the subject of soup in honor of January’s National Soup Month. Soups can be classified into two broad groups: clear soups and thick soups. The French classifications of clear soups are bouillon and consommé. Depending on which thickening agent is used, thick soups fall into several classifications:

• Purées, which are vegetable soups thickened with starch;
• Bisques, which are made from puréed shellfish or vegetables thickened with cream;
• Cream-based soups, which are thickened with cream or béchamel sauce;
• Veloutés, which are thickened with eggs, butter and cream.

Other ingredients commonly used to thicken soups and broths include rice, flour and grains. Soups are also very similar to stews, the generally accepted difference being that soups have more liquid than stews.

When you think about it, most soup recipes are really healthy for you, – well if you ignore the thick soups which contain cream and therefore more calories. The broth-based soups, chicken broth-based ones in particular, are the healthiest. It also is one of the most economical meals you can make because it can be made with just about any combination of ingredients. And sometimes that selection of ingredients can be closely tied into a region’s culture. The vast catalog of soup recipes spans all types of cuisine. Have you ever wondered why soup is such a common thread across all cultures? What other entrée can be translated to almost any cuisine? There are soup recipes with roots in almost every culture, making it a dish that is as simple to make is it is diverse. It can be enjoyed anytime of year, not just this month. So here is to soup, let us enjoy it for its healthy, flavorful and culturally diverse qualities.

Spread HOPE

The talented team at the Domestic Nest has generously offered to donate 100% of the sales of these beautifully handmade, repurposed leather bookmarks to Doctors Without Borders. You can find even more creative gifts at the Craft Hope for Haiti etsy shop. Here is another great collected list of reputable charities that are collecting for the Haiti relief effort:

Plant with Purpose

Doctors Without Borders

Partners in Health, Haiti Reborn, Yele Haiti and more

In the 7 days since the earthquake in Haiti, the news has been full of reports of terror. But it has also featured small rays of HOPE as people are reunited with loved ones, survivors are pulled from the ruins of buildings even as recent as yesterday and care begins to reach those in need. The real lesson here is that recovery will not be quick, we must keep the people of Haiti in our thoughts and prayers for days, months, even years to come. And whatever way we can contribute, every little bit counts.

Today I am sending a prayer for HOPE for the people of Haiti. I pray that even in their darkest hour, they can find a ray of HOPE.

As 2009 comes to an end and we make plans for the year ahead, it is a great time to reflect and to count our blessings. We feel truly thankful for all of our loving friends and family. We were blessed in so many ways this year. 2009 was a year full of ups and downs but we enjoyed every minute. We especially enjoyed the time that unemployment gave us to spend with each other and with friends and family. Thank you to all of our readers and thank you to our friends and family for your love and support.

Here is to a happy and healthy 2010!

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you are your thankful for, share a favorite memory from this past year or a goal for next year.

For many of us in the United States, New Year’s Eve parties conjure up memories of watching Dick Clark’s Rocking New Year’s Eve bash on television, sipping champagne at midnight, and unfortunately crowded bars and restaurants with ridiculous cover charges. I have long loathed that last one. To me, New Year’s Eve has been more about spending time with close friends and family, and of course that special someone to kiss at midnight. It has been less about needing to attend large parties and spending ridiculous amounts of money just to be there. Do not get me wrong, those events can be fun sometimes, but many times I would much rather be in a smaller setting ringing in the new year with the ones I love and not hundreds of strangers.

I think that is why a lot of people decide to create their own party and host it at home. Not only is it a lot more affordable, it also can be a more intimate event. And it can still be just as chic and fun as the trendiest clubs, if you take the time to decorate. And do not be afraid to ask guests to contribute to the menu. Hosting it as a pot luck can actually be a lot less work for the host and make guests feel like part of the planning committee. And let’s be honest, not all of our friends want to cook for the party, so task those guests with bringing other key ingredients like beverages.

New Year’s Eve should (more…)