Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten Season. Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday and is usually acknowledged by Catholics and Protestants around the world as a period of time where fasting is observed. Traditionally in the Catholic faith, members obstain from eating meat. Evangelical believers tend to fast from other food items, such as sweets or coffee, or activities which play a large part in their life, such as tv watching or the use of the computer. Whatever your faith, you will find that fish is a popular and frequently eaten dish during this religious season.

To assist you in this culinary season of no meat, I have included some recipes you may want to try. Enjoy!

Fish Stew

Ingredients:

1 1/2- 2 pounds of fish of your choosing (such as tiliapia, haddock, shrimp, scallops etc)

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 bunches of fresh parsley, minced

2 Tbsp olive oil

1- 15 ounce can of plum tomatoes

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar, mixed in 3/4 cup water

salt to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

1 loaf of crusty italian bread

Directions

1. in a skillet saute the onion, garlic and parsley in the olive oil

2. add the tomatoes and heat through

3. add the vinegar mixture and heat through

4. season with salt and red pepper flakes. Taste and adjust if need be

5. Add fish and and cook through for 10-15 minutes.

6. slice bread and place bread in the bottom of a soup bowl. Ladel soup over the bread. Enjoy!

For more lenten recipes follow the links to some of my favorite TV Chef's recipes.

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=1787

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=2540

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=2133

Chocolate- it's not just for dessert!

With Valentine's Day just around the corner you may have chocolate on your mind . While we often associate Valentine's Day with chocolate, Americans don't usually limit their consumption to this time of year. Americans consume about half of the worlds chocolate products.

If you make the correct selection, chocolate can actually be healthy for you. Dark chocolate is packed with flavonoids, the phtyochemicals that act as antioxidants. Eating dark chocolate will increase the antioxidant levels in your blood, thus increasing your heart health. Studies have shown that cocoa powder, dark chocolate and milk chocolate, in that order, have the highest antioxidant properties.

Have you ever wondered how chocolate is made? Here is how it works-
It all begins with the cacao (pronounce Kuk-kow) bean. The beans are first roasted and then ground into a thick chocolate liquor (non alcoholic). When the liquor hardens it becomes unsweetened chocolate. When pressure is added to the liquor, the bean fat is extracted, resulting in cocoa butter. Cocoa powder is made by drying and sifting the remaining materials from the liquor. When you mix chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar and milk, the end result is the chocolate we have all come to love.

Here is the percentage of cocoa in chocolate products. Choose products with a higher cocoa percentage to get those flavonoids and increase your heart health.

Chocolate by the Percents Type -% from cacao
Unsweetened or baking chocolate- almost 100%
Semisweet or Bittersweet- at least 35%
Milk chocolate- at least 10%,
Sweet chocolate- at least 15%
Dark chocolate- common to see 45-80%

Not all of your chocolate consumption needs to come in the form of candy. Why not give this mole sauce a try this heart health month?

Quick Chicken Mole

Ingredients :
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped
1 (10-ounce) can chicken broth
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 (5-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), for garnish
White rice, for serving

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and spices and continue to saute to toast and develop flavor. Add diced tomatoes, peppers, chipotles, broth, peanut butter, and chocolate. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain and puree until smooth.

Sear the chicken in a heavy bottomed hot saute pan over medium-high heat until browned on both sides. Add to casserole dish, cover with sauce and braise the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Garnish with pepitas and serve with white rice.

Recipe courtesy of Paula Dean