Not-So-Fat Tuesday

A delicious down-home meal, Cajun-style

Specialties: At nine months pregnant the specialty of the house is anything my husband Sam (who is a fantastic cook himself) prepares. Seriously though, I make great desserts and appetizers. Party foods.For several years now, I haven't eaten ham, sausage, oysters, crabs, shrimp and many of the other ingredients strongly identified with Cajun cooking, But for me, it's not just the ingredients that define the cuisine--it's the flavor, spirit and essence of this cooking, all of which are inextricably tied to my memories.Stacey Warden'sWhat is the most enjoyable aspect of cooking? I love it when friends and family eat and enjoy the dishes I've created that contain ingredients that they insist they do not like, or have been reluctant to try.Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Combine apples, cherries, sugar, lemon juice, flour and ground cinnamon in large bowl. Mix well. Pour filling into prepared dish. Sprinkle topping over apple mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 40 minutes.30 min. SERVES 4 EGG- & DAIRY-FREEDried Cherry and Gingerripe pears)Seitan has the ideal texture and flavor for this dish. The recipe also includes onion, garlic, celery and green bell pepper, a combination frequently used in Cajun cooking. The recipe can easily be doubled to accommodate more diners.Cored, and Sliced (also try firm but3. Add vegetable-seitan mixture to rice. Stir just to combine ingredients. Bake, covered, until water is completely absorbed, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and keep jambalaya covered for 5 minutes; stir and then serve.3/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon1 T Fresh Lemon JuicePER SERVING: 153 CAL.; 2G PROT.; 0 TOTAL FAT (0 SAT. FAT); 37G CARB.; 0 CHOL.; 478MG SOD.; 2G FIBERFilling:When I eat out, I like to order: Fresh seafood whenever possible, and I can't resist potstickers when I have Chinese food.temperature1/2 tsp Ground CinnamonWhat is your favorite kitchen gadget? A huge square cast iron skillet handed down from my grandmother.Preparing Recipes for the GrillExcellent served warm with ice cream.SERVES 4 TO 6 EGG-& DAIRY-FREEIn my grandmother's kitchen in Slidell, La., you could always find a simmering pot of greens on the stove--collards, mustard or turnip--and corn bread cooking in a cast-iron skillet. This dark-crusted wonder was used to sop up the liquid from the greens. Cajun food was woven into my everyday life. My Aunt Myrtle took rightful pride in her Crawfish Etouffe, and our neighbor Mrs. Packard made stuffed crabs that were the highlight of Wednesday night church suppers. Good Cajun food even crept into school lunches, where the New Orleans tradition of serving red beans and rice on Monday was faithfully observed. And everywhere there was rice: rice and gravy, rice and beans, rice with gumbo, rice in jambalaya.3. In small bowl, whisk sesame oil, both vinegars and garlic until blended. Toss greens with dressing and garnish with toasted almonds. Serve hot.Caramel Pecan PieOnce you have considered the differences in the types of foods you will be grilling and preparing them accordingly, the basic procedure for creating recipes for the grill is the same across the board. First, heat up the grill as hot as it can get. Brush the food item with the oil of your choice and place it on the hot grates - presentation side down. Leave the cover open and let the item cook. After a few minutes inspect the item. You are looking for the item to start to brown around the edges and to see pink (almost clear) moisture bubbling up to the top. This will be your signal that the item is 75% cooked on one side and that is the time to flip it. Do not use a fork to flip the item and do not puncture it in any way. This will allow precious juices to escape, drying out your product. The ONLY way to know when your product is finished cooking is with a thermometer - testing internal temperature. Because there will be some carry-over cooking, remove the item 5-10 degrees BEFORE the desired final internal temperature.When preparing recipes for the grill, the most important thing to consider is how the grilling method of cooking acts differently on different types of foods. To begin, careful product selection is extremely important. Marinating meats when making recipes for the grill is the best way to apply some tenderizing properties before cooking because the grill will not tenderize meats. You must start with a tender product if you want to end with a tender product. You want to also make sure the product you choose will be able to withstand direct high-heat cooking. Different products will handle this differently and some are just not the best choice for standard grilling. A very delicate fish, such as tilapia, will not perform very well on the grill because the high heat may burn the outside of the fish before the inside cooks at all. Vegetables all cook at different rates, too, depending on their texture and fimness. When cooking different combinations of vegetables together (as in skewering), you will achieve far better results by par-cooking the "harder" items prior to skewering so that all vegetables are the correct done-ness at the same time.SERVES 10 EGG- & DAIRY-FREE1/2 C Chopped Crystallized Ginger1 1/2 C Dried Tart Cherries

Sucanat, the dehydrated juice of sugar cane, is the sweetener in this refrigerator pie. Unlike refined white sugar, it retains all the vitamins and minerals present in raw sugar cane. I usually opt for liquid sweeteners (rice syrup, barley malt or maple syrup) in desserts, but a granulated sweetener works best when making a caramel sauce. I suggest making this pie a day in advance.

Author: Richard Pierce