Roast Corn and Black bean Salsa

A recipe for 6-8 servings

Here is another recipe from my Piedmont Park cooking class series. 

Nothing is better that sweet corn in the summer and this is a unique way to put it on the table. 

4 ears yellow corn roasted and cooled

11/2  cups black beans rinsed and drained

½ cup finely chopped red onion

½ cup chopped tomato

½ cup roasted red pepper chopped

1 teaspoon jalapeno

2 tablespoons garlic minced

Juice of one line plus the zest

4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Toss all ingredients into a bowl and combine. Serve chilled.

For a twist on the twist this is just as tasty served warm with grilled fish or chicken!

Sweet Potato Salad

A recipe for 4-6 servings

This recipe is from my series of cooking classes held at Piedmont Park in Atlanta. Great change of pace from traditional potato salad!

5 medium sized sweet potatoes roasted but still a little firm the chilled

¼ cup sweet onion chopped

¼ cup celery diced

½ cup pecans chopped

¾ cup pineapple chopped

1 teaspoon minced jalapeno pepper

2 tablespoons orange juice

½ cup non fat yogurt

2 tablespoons light mayonnaise

Peel and dice the sweet potatoes then combine with the remaining ingredients. Chill

Barbecue Salmon Salad With Apple Butter Dressing

BY JOE ENGELBIRD from his Georgia Magazine feature

http://georgiamagazine.com/recipes.asp?menu=1&id=628&opt=ARCH&mon=3

A recipe for 4
4 (3-4 ounce) salmon fillets
2 tablespoons Cajun or blackening-style spices
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Olive oil, as needed for cooking
1 cup apple butter
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup orange juice
Salad fixings, as needed
Directions
Coat each salmon fillet with spices and brown sugar. Let marinate for 10-20 minutes. In a hot pan, add a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Sear the fillets 3-4 minutes per side until cooked through. Note: This works well on the outdoor grill as well. While salmon is cooking, combine apple butter, barbecue sauce and orange juice; reserve. When salmon is done, place on top of the salad fixings and drizzle with the prepared apple butter sauce.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories: 414; Total fat: 12 grams; Fiber: 4 grams; Carbohydrates: 51 grams; Protein: 27 grams.

Also check out the article that is featured in Georgia Magazine!
http://georgiamagazine.com/archives_view.asp?mon=3&yr=2008&ID=1880

Ginger Peach Ice cream

A recipe for 6-10 ½ cup servings

1 ½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon water
3 cups low fat milk divided
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
3 egg yolks
1 can nonfat sweetened condensed milk
2 pounds chopped fresh peaches

Combine the gelatin and the water and set aside. Next heat half of the low fat milk with the grated ginger over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until steaming. Meanwhile combine the egg yolks with the sweetened condensed milk and add in the steamed milk ginger mixture. Return the mixture to the pan and heat stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Next strains the mixture through a fine sieve then add the dissolved gelatin and remaining milk.
Chill the mixture for at least two hours to overnight. When ready to process combine the custard with the peaches then process according to manufacturers’ directions.

What's so Real! about it?

Since the inaugural post here at Real! Healthy Cooking the hits have increased and for that I thank you. Since the blog has been up for several months I figure it may be time for a little definition. And in the raging sea of the food and nutrition blogosphere a little definition will surely set Real! Healthy Cooking apart from the rest.

Notice that the Real now has an exclamation mark! That is simply to emphasize that what you get here is real and authentic. These recipes are ones that we use at home and ones that I have used in my cooking classes for many years. These recipes work and are really easy to make. As a rule I only use recipes that are no more than 5-6 ingredients.

Real! Healthy Cooking is a way of creating foods that are, well Real! All of the Real! Healthy Cooking recipes are focused on the four things that we all want from our foods: Taste, Enjoyment, Quick and Healthy.

So Real! Healthy Cooking is tasty, fun, fast and healthy food. Look for the Real! Healthy Cookbook Vol 1 soon. In the meantime stop by often for new recipes and also check out the companion blog theconservativenutritionist.blogspot.com/ . The Conservative Nutritionist promotes the ideas behind Real! Healthy Cooking so order up a slice today.

Thanks Much

Joe

Shrimp and Grits

A recipe for 3-4

1 pound medium shrimp peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons Creole spice
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion chopped
½ cup celery chopped
½ cup green bell pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup chopped tomato
1 ½ cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups prepared grits

Combine the shrimp with the Creole spice and set aside. Next add two tablespoons of olive oil to a sauté pan and set over high heat. Once the oil is hot sauté the shrimp until nearly cooked the remove from the pan. Add in the remaining olive oil and sauté the onion, celery and pepper until well browned then add in the garlic and tomatoes. Cook this mixture for 3-4 minutes then add the chicken stock and simmer for another 3-4 minutes. Finally return the shrimp to the pan and finish with the butter. Serve warm with prepared grits.

Note that chicken can be used in place of the shrimp