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| Memo
No. 2048 March 12th, 2008 |
No wonder I could not recall when St. Patrick's Day came after Palm Sunday. It hasn't happened since 1940 and it isn't happening again until 2060! I was around in 1940 but not concerned about when St. Patrick's Day was celebrated or whether I had corned beef and cabbage. Since I covered St. Patrick's Day foods last week and I'll be covering Easter foods on the 3/17th memo, this is a no-theme one.
Although I usually replace regular pasta with the whole wheat kind, I prefer angel hair pasta with this chicken entree (recipe suggested rice noodles). Like most chicken main dishes, the ingredients included 4 boneless, skinless breast halves and once again, I replaced them with boneless, skinless thighs (2 per person).
CHICKEN WITH SHERRY-SOY SAUCE
- 8 boneless, skinless thighs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
- 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced (garnish)
Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with salt and black pepper to taste. Cook thighs on both sides until lightly browned, about 8 minutes total. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add sherry, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper and sesame oil to skillet; scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Arrange 2 cooked thighs on angel hair pasta prepared according to package directions; drizzle 1 tablespoon sauce over each serving. Garnish with thinly sliced scallions. Recipe makes 4 servings.
Source: Adapted from Cooking Light recipe.
SEAFOOD KEEPS THE MIND SHARP
The idea that fish is "brain food" has been with us for many years, but new research shows that omega-3 fatty acids in fish and fish oil may truly help our brains stay healthy. A study in the December 23 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience notes that a type of omega-3 fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) helps interfere with the clumping of two proteins in the brain that lead to Alzheimer's disease. A separate study, published in the November issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that adults ages 70 to 74 that had a diet high in fish products had significantly higher scores on a series of cognitive tests than those who ate little or no seafood. Sari Greaves, RD, a dietitian at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell's Cardiac Health Center, says the new studies reinforce the value of omega-3 fatty acids, which must be consumed because they are not manufactured in the body. Omega-3s are essential for optimal health. Despite the encouraging news about seafood, Greaves urges restraint in your weekly fish consumption. "I recommend eating fish twice a week so you're getting around 6 to 8 ounces weekly." A key reason for limiting seafood intake is
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the risk of ingesting mercury. But a weekly diet that includes a serving or two of fresh salmon or flounder and a little canned light tuna should be safe. Greaves says the benefits far outweigh the risks. Source: Cornell University Food & Fitness Advisor, March 2008.
OOPS!
Regarding the Greek Pasta Salad on the February 18 memo, add 1 teaspoon oregano to the salad dressing ingredient list. I did serve this salad at the Bryan Chief and most tasters gave it a "thumbs up" and took the recipe with them. However, shoppers were not picking it up at its usual location in the front of the store. Although I know recipes will never please all of the memo readers all of the time, I do hope for the best. The 2/18 memo also included a No Bake Chocolate Drop Cookie recipe that I made when our kids were growing up and I thought it would appeal to busy moms. The salad recipe makes a lot but it halves easily. Also, if you don't want to pay the price for kalamata olives, use sliced black ones. I've avoided kalamata olives because I didn't want to pit them but the cherry pitter I bought last summer worked fine on olives.
A WELLNESS TIP
If you're very overweight, it's especially important to do aerobic exercise, even if it doesn't produce weight loss. Both obesity and physical inactivity increase the risk of chronic disease and premature death. But people who are fit, based on a treadmill test, live longer, on average, than those who are unfit, regardless of how overweight they are, according to a recent study of 2,600 people over 60 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In fact, "fat but fit" people had lower death rates than unfit normal-weight or lean people. Source: University of California at Berkeley Wellness Letter, March 2008.
MY FAVORITE SHRIMP DISH
This recipe is so good and will qualify as one of your 2 servings of fish or seafood per week. To economize, make it with smaller size cooked shrimp.
EASY SHRIMP CASSEROLE
- 2 cups small cooked shrimp
- 1 1/2 cups Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Mix
- 4 hard cooked eggs, chopped
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 cups light mayonnaise (I use Hellmann's)
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced onion
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Paprika
Combine all ingredients except paprika and spoon into a 1 1/2 quart casserole coated with nonstick spray. Sprinkle top with paprika. Bake in 350F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Casserole can be refrigerated overnight and baked next day. Recipe makes 6 servings. |
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