Connie Anderson remembered her sister Linda had a delicious turkey tetrazzini recipe “that ran in The Herald in the ‘80s” when she read a recent column. While I furnished a recipe for Oleta Powell, who had lost hers, I agree with Anderson this one should be passed along, for it was written by our Heart Healthy columnist at the time, Mary Armstrong, and so is much lower in fat — yet just as flavorful. A bonus is that it can be prepared in advance.
Capirotada
Patricia Vasquez of Miami says capirotada is simply Mexican bread pudding. It was a favorite in her family, and she found a recipe much like the one her mother used to make in an old Mexican cookbook by Josefina Velazquez de Leon. “I hope Ms.Walker likes this as much as our family.”
“I have made this several times and it always turns out good, ” said Janice Hamel of St. Augustine. ”It is even good cold.” The recipe here is from Carola Castel of Key Biscayne and Mexico City. She says it is her grandmother’s specialty. “It is a dessert, but my sister and I would always raid the refrigerator the next morning for any leftovers – it makes a fantastic breakfast!
Variations: Rita Daniel’s recipe From Grand Diplome Cooking Course adds a sliced apple and banana with the raisins. Martha says instead of the French bread you can use 4 bolillo rolls. Vasquez’s recipe uses a Mexican candy called piloncillo rather than brown sugar, and calls for Cheddar cheese. Hamel also makes her capirotada with Cheddar. Maria uses queso Oaxaca, which is a string cheese similar to mozzarella.
Thanks also to Mariaelena Graves, Ellen R. Girden of Aventura and Anna Ronquilo.
Tried and New
Alouette has introduced convenient little 40-calorie portions of its original and Italian flavored soft cheese that are great for lunch boxes and for a quick and easy-to-calculate-the-calories snack. I love the original in place of cream cheese on a bagel thin for breakfast, too. The cheese comes in a package of 8 individually wrapped portions, is natural and made with only fresh milk and cream and contains less sodium that other spreadable cheeses I checked.
Here’s a quick recipe you can easily adjust to your own tastes by adding artichoke hearts, celery slices, red pepper flakes, fresh basil leaves or whatever strikes your fancy!
Brown Bag
When Dr. Mona Meighan’s 26-year-old son died from complications of undiagnosed diabetes, she determined to help people eat better. Though not a chef or a nutritionist (she’s an education consultant) and “kitchen adverse” she started to create recipes that would help give people the tools to change their lunch habits. Her cookbook What are You Doing for Lunch ($12.95; available at www.whatareyoudoingforlunch.com), has lots of quick recipes, cost-saving ideas and nutrition facts perfect for those of us looking to change our lunch patterns, save money and at the same time eat better. The tuna apple sandwich recipe here is an example — with a little effort (she estimates 15 minutes) and simple ingredients ($2.50 per serving as opposed to $6.50 in a restaurant) you get a lunch that transcends the ordinary. Personally I’d clip the calories even more by using light mayo and skipping the walnuts, and I’d up the healthy factor by using a whole grain bread.
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