Pasta
I discovered a very useful low fat cooking technique a few weeks ago that I’ve been wanting to share with all you pasta lovers out there. (Well, with those of you that haven’t succumbed to the low carb craze yet).
Instead of using loads of heavy cream for your sauce base, reserve some of the water you cooked the pasta in and use that for the base of your sauce. True, it may not be the rich and creamy pasta sauce that you know and love so well, but there are hundreds of ways to kick this water-turned-sauce up a notch–especially for summertime cooking! (And it’s certainly better than no sauce at all!). Throw one tablespoon of butter or some of your favorite cheese into the hot water to thicken and add a bit of flavor–and always season everything!
One of my favorite healthy sauces consists of freshly squeezed lemon juice and fresh basil leaves (it’s all about the quality fresh ingredients!), mushrooms, garlic, tofu, and large-dice vine-ripened tomatoes. It’s a great, quick, healthy, easy summer meal!
Have you ever seen or tried any of the neat mini-dishes that some Chinese restaurants serve? Well, here’s some trivia for you; these little dishes, which are favored by the Cantonese, are collectively known as dim sum (loose translation: “dot the heart” or “tickle the heart”). Dim sum are little snacks usually associated with yam cha, the Chinese ritual of tea taking. Yam cha is a tradition in which business men or families gather for a long, leisurely morning of tea sipping, dim sum nibbling and warm conversation. This usually occurs very early in the morning (read: even as early as 5AM), and is most popular in