Mint and Feta Quiche

I've got a few little bits of mint left in my garden and it's time to use it up before the cold weather shuts everything down. It's a perfect time for one of my favorite recipes. I can use up those last surviving mint leaves and have the kind of warm, savory dinner I crave once fall creeps in. This one comes from Kitchen Pantry.

Feta & Mint Quiche

2 zucchini
200g feta cheese
2 egg whites
1 egg
200 ml of milk
Mint and basil leaves
1 lemon's zest
Salt and pepper
1 roll of puff pastry

Roll out the pastry in a cake or pie pan. Grate trimmed zucchini directly onto the crust. Add chopped mint and basil and lemon zest. Mix egg & whites, milk, salt & pepper and pour over zucchini. Crumble feta on top. Cook at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

The metric measurements used in the original recipe kind of threw me at first, but I made some (very) rough conversions. Luckily this recipe doesn't require the exact measurements. To make things easier on myself, I just use a cup of milk and a whole 8 oz. block of feta. The rest of the ingredients are more or less added to taste. If you can get it, use lemon basil. It just adds even more tang to the lemon zest and feta, and it makes the entire thing smell that much better as it's cooking.

Punch up hot cocoa

Even though there might be T-shirt temperatures in the late afternoons, the nights now are chilly. Time to break out the hot cocoa.

I know the best hot cocoa is made from milk heated in a boiler on the stove with shaved chocolate and sugar slowly stirred in until melted. But my reality is the box with individual packets of mix. Sometimes I do splurge and go full-force with sugar-loaded dark chocolate, but usually it's the diet version that winds up in my cup around 9 p.m.

Let's face it, though. That stuff can start tasting a bit like the cardboard box it comes in. If you're trying to watch your calorie or sugar intake but want your cocoa a bit zippier, try adding a flavoring. Next time you're at the store, check them out in the spice aisle. Great flavors to pair with chocolate include almond, mint, butter rum or vanilla (the real stuff). Just a little drop per cup will do, and I'd stick with just one flavor added. Otherwise, I'm reminded of those slumber parties from my youth where we mixed one too many flavors of soda and wound up with something akin to fizzy cough medicine.

I also keep a couple bottles of (sugar-free) Torani or other drink flavors on hand for my coffee, but you might not want to add that to pre-sweetened cocoa mix. You want cozy comfort, not a faux sugar overload.

Treats, no tricks

I've been eating a lot of candy lately. It kinda happens around this time of year. At this point I've just kind of given up and started eating chocolate for dinner. But it works out pretty well, because I've been too busy working on my costume to cook.

But, I've still collected some interesting Halloween treat links. Pass out the SweeTarts, but keep these for yourself.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cups

Eyeball-tinis

Owl-O-Ween Cupcakes

Graveyard Cake with Shortbread Tombstones

Candy Corn Cookie Bark

It's cookie time!

Hello everyone, we are back after one week of vacation and two weeks of illness. Most people take vacations to relax, rest, party and forget all the "at home" or "at work" issues, but NOOOO! We relaxed, rested, partied and got very sick. We are half well now and ready to think about holiday baking and of course those luscious cookie recipes. We are giving you a few great ones to choose from, or maybe like us, DO ALL!

NOTE: If you are not a "veteran" cookie maker or baker, make sure that you check on the cookies instead of leaving them in the full suggested time. ALL oven temperatures vary! So don't ASSUME that 12 minutes in your oven is the same as Mom’s or mine! If you do you will surely get over or undercooked cookies.

FRUIT CAKE COOKIES
1/2 lb. candied cherries, chopped
1/2 lb. candied pineapple, chopped
1 (15oz) pkg. golden raisins
1 lb. (4c) pecan pieces
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. orange juice
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. Milk

Combine fruit and nuts. Add 1/2 cup flour to coat candy. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Dissolve soda in milk; add to creamed mixture. Sift flour and spices together. Add orange juice and blend well.

Pour batter over fruit and nut mixture. Mix well and drop by teaspoonfuls on greased baking sheet. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Batch makes 10 dozen cookies.

ALMOND LACE COOKIES
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 c. sliced almonds
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/3 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Stir together sugar, flour and almonds in a large bowl, stir in egg whites, butter and vanilla until well blended. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from paper and store in an airtight container. Makes about 2-1/2 dozen.

This recipe is among my most requested, some good friends from Harvey, La., Clyde and Juanita Ortego, gave me this recipe years ago ... and boy is it a WINNER!

When I make these cookies during the holidays, Bruce, his son Bruce Aaron and my son Dennis, fight over the last one! At work, D&P (I am protecting the innocent by not naming names!), request them every covered dish, and then they race down the aisle to see who gets the first and last one on the plate. I will be making these for the group in about two weeks, so if you come by for a cookie, stand back so you won't get run over!

CAJUN COWBOY COOKIES
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar, packed
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 c. rolled oats
1 (6 oz) bag butterscotch chips
1 (6 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. finely chopped pecan

In a very large bowl, mix sugars, butter vanilla and eggs. In another bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to sugar mixture and blend well. Stir in oats, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. Place nuts in small bowl. Scoop a rounded teaspoon of mixture; roll into a ball and then roll the ball of dough into the nuts. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 350 oven, until brown. Remove cookies when they are still soft, my oven takes about 10 minutes.

Grab a big glass of your favorite milk and ENJOY!

Snack right at night

It's 8 p.m. There's nothing that great on TV. Dinner was a couple of hours ago. You're not really hungry, but your mouth is bored. Hmm. There's that pecan pie in the fridge. Or chips. No, wait. How about a piece of the pecan pie with a couple scoops of ice cream on top?

Stop! Come back to reality. You don't need that. That's a special occasion treat, not something to satisfy a cranky tastebud.

If those 8 p.m. snack attacks are putting you in a new (bigger) size, you need to rethink them. I know how it is. My problem used to be a dangerous combination of grazing and denial. Yeah, I had two pieces of chocolate and some peanut butter and some vanilla wafers and two more pieces of chocolate. Prove it.

Then I started stocking my kitchen with friendly food. I still have chocolate and vanilla wafers, by the way. But now, I use them wisely, and the chocolate is a one-piece-a-day thing. Peanut butter and peanuts in general have to stay away because once I start, I know it will be many servings later before I can stop.

What you need is something that will satisfy with as little damage as possible. The simplest things to keep on hand are small bananas. Those petite little things you sometimes see in the produce section in green-arced bunches are delicious, but they're a little difficult to peel, so stick with smaller, regular bananas. Next time a snack attack comes along, slowly eat a banana and see how that goes.

Another friend is fiber. Fiber offers other benefits, but it also helps you feel full. Fiber cereal, such as Fiber One, is something you need to keep on hand. You can add it to low-fat or fat-free yogurt, for example. There are also new products on the market, such as fiber-rich cereal bars and toaster pastries, that satisfy much more than their counterparts.

Speaking of yogurt, try adding that to a serving of low-calorie cereal such as Special K Red Berries. I love cereal, but when I combine it with milk, it's easy to go over the serving limit. Add the cereal to yogurt, however, and your treat is a lot thicker and seems richer. It's also fun to combine the strawberry flaked cereal with, say, lemon or peach yogurt.

Good luck in the snacking department, and I'll see you in the grocery store.

Here's the reason elastic waistbands were invented.

I started a diet on Monday. And, as usual, temptation is around every corner. That's natural when you're trying to lose weight, of course. Food is at the front of your mind, so you tend to subconsciously seek out all those things you're trying to cut back on.

But this week was ridiculous. This is the week everyone I know sent me a link something that has been lovingly declared the Hamburger Fatty Melt. That's a hamburger patty with two grilled cheese sandwiches as its bun.

Yes. Two grilled cheese sandwiches as its bun. This horrifies a lot of people. It makes other people weak in the knees. My reaction was a little of both. I'd take a little bite, I'm not gonna lie. But, it's not something that's going to go in my lunch box everyday. The Fatty Melt is one of those Foods of Legend that are meant to be enjoyed perhaps only once in a lifetime and only by the bravest of gourmands.

The Fatty Melt joins the ranks of the legendary Luther Burger, a bacon cheeseburger sandwiched between two donuts. It's named after Luther Vandross and is known to be a leading cause of The Itis. Then there's Elvis' favorite, the Fool's Gold Loaf. This one is a hollowed out loaf of bread filled with one entire jar of peanut butter, one entire jar of grape jelly, and one pound of bacon, all baked til it's golden brown.

If you're not up to the Fool's Gold Loaf (or if you just don't have a private jet to take to Colorado in the middle of the night), there are smaller challenges to tackle as you work your way up. There's the Philly Taco, a cheesesteak wrapped in a slice of cheese pizza. Or maybe you can grab a couple (or 20) friends and tackle something like the In-and-Out 100x100 burger. And with Thanksgiving fast approaching, consider a turducken as this year's centerpiece.

Just remember, all things in moderation and make sure your gym membership is paid up. As for me, I think I'll just have a salad for now.

Today's Food Page: Gumbo Cook-Off and devilishly good Angel Food Cake

There's a story about a charity event for the Back Bay Mission's Puttin' on the Roux Gumbo Cook-Off, complete with recipes.

And, as usual, readers come through with delicious-sounding recipes for angel food cake, plus we recycle the old recipe for the Biff-Burger Sauce.

Soup's on

It's October, so it's officially soup season. There are several canned varieties that I truly like. I also bump up some - for a delicious variation, add chunks of avocado and a dash or two of garlic powder, and chiffonade fresh basil into canned tomato soup. It's delicious warm or cold.

When temperatures get the least bit temperate, though, I also can stand the thought of making my own soup. I'm not the sort of person who will make her own stock - my soup is not THAT homemade (and I truly admire those of you who will do it). But with the right ingredients, you can impress others and even yourself.

This recipe is from an issue of "Weight Watchers Five Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook" published by Oxmoor House. You can find these cookbooks about twice a year in the magazine section. The latest incarnation was a "20 Minute Cookbook," so they might have adjusted things a bit. This recipe uses my beloved prechopped onion. I get the frozen type and empty out as much as I need. No raccoon eyes!

Spinach and Tomato Tortellini Soup
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup prechopped onion
5 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups hot water
1 cup julienne-cut sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (9 ounce) package fresh cheese tortellini
2 cups packed fresh baby spinach
Shredded fresh Parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; saute 2 minutes. Add broth and next 3 ingredients; cover and bring to a boil. Add pasta and spinach and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until pasta is done. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings, 1-cup serving size. Per serving: 139 calories, 2.9 grams fat, 2.4 grams fiber, 12 grams cholesterol, 652 mg sodium.

Cornbread and Wall Street

All the photos of anguished traders on Wall Street are starting to get to me. I've started pinching a few pennies, just in case. The first thing that got trimmed was my grocery bill. It's actually led to a lot more cooking. It's cheaper to use up my pantry stores than it is to pop a frozen dinner in the microwave.

One of my favorite cheap meals is red beans. A bag of beans, a bag of rice, an onion and some sausage costs next to nothing. And since I'm usually cooking for just myself, a pot of beans cooked on Monday can last an entire week. But, I'm not going to share my red beans recipe. For one, it changes every time I make it, and two, you've probably got your own red beans recipe anyway.

I am, however, going to share a couple recipes for cornbread, my favorite red beans accessory.

The first, of course, is Alton Brown's creamed corn cornbread. My cast iron skillet exists only for this recipe these days. In his show, Alton uses homemade creamed corn, but canned works just fine for me. Also, don't use just a cup. Put the whole can in. Makes it much more flavorful.

Creamed Corn Cornbread
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 cup creamed corn
2 tablespoons canola oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet into the oven.

In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk together to combine well.

In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and creamed corn, whisking together to combine thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture and stir to combine. If the batter will not pour, add more buttermilk to the batter.

Add 2 tablespoons canola oil to the cast iron skillet. Pour the batter into the skillet. Bake until the cornbread is golden brown and springs back upon the touch, about 20 minutes.

The second recipe is a not-quite recipe that comes from my mom, who got it from her mom. I love you Alton, but mom's cornbread always tastes better. Here's the directions, copied straight from an e-mail she sent: "You just mix corn meal, about a teaspoon of salt and water (or milk) until you get it to the consistency of pancake batter, fry in oil until light brown and crispy on the outside. Butter while still hot. That's it." Not nearly as precise as the Food Network recipe so there's probably a little voodoo involved in getting the mixture just right, but it's worth experimenting with.

There you are. Invest in a sack of corn meal, the returns are incredible.

Today's Food Page

In today's Sun Herald and at SunHerald.com:

British author serves 'Second Helping' of popular cookbook

COOK'S EXCHANGE: Reader offers recipe for sourdough starter