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WEDNESAY,
JANUARY 19, 2005
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Lunch in a box:
Healthy Choice Cajun
Style Chicken and Shrimp
A new member of Healthy
Choice’s “Flavor
Adventures” line, you’ll buy
this one for the figures on
the nutrition label, and
you’ll keep coming back for
the taste.
At 10.4 ounces, it’s a bit
heavier than many other
such meals that I take to
work for lunch, but with
only 240 calories, low fat
and reasonable carb
amounts, you won’t feel
guilty for feeling full.
Everything tastes fresh,
and don’t let the “Cajun”
label fool you - it’s not too
spicy.
For those keeping score,
this meal contains six
shrimp, of the “popcorn”
variety.
Calories: 240
Total fat: 3.5 g (5% DV)
Saturated fat: 1g (5% DV)
Total Carbs: 32g (11% DV)
Net wt.: 10.4 oz.
Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)
- Rex Gambill
Did you know?
At over SIOO per ounce,
and sometimes up to $250,
truffles go far beyond the
budget of most of us, but it’s
still fun to dream about
serving up a dish of quail a
la Perigord. You can order
yours from
Deananddeluca.com, but
hurry, because truffle sea
son is nearly over. Truffles
grow underground and
must be “harvested” by
truffle dogs, who sniff them
out and dig them up. (They
tried pigs, but the pigs know
a gourmet treat when they
fnd one, and had an unfor
tunate tendency to gobble
up the truffles.)
Grapes are fat-free and
sodium-free, but big on fla
vor. Try freezing them for a
real treat. Pull them off the
stems, wash and pat dry.
Then freeze in a single layer
on a baking sheet, and pack
in airtight freezer bags. Eat
them frozen!
What's that?
With grocery store pro-
duce sec
t i o n s,
broaden-!
ing their
world
view,
W
sometimes we run into
things we’ve never tried.
The jicama, pronounced
“HEE-ka-ma” is great to
slice raw for salads and has
a sweet, crunchy taste that
kids like, and also makes a
good addition to salads. Cut
off the amount you want.
Peel it with a veggie peeler.
Cut it into slices or sticks.
Hearths Home
Tire*
Yes, you can
make it at
home
By JON SUGGS
HHJ Staff Writer
This light, dreamy
dessert makes a nice coun
terpoint to a heavy Italian
meal. It also makes a great
standalone party item,
though you might want to
go ahead and make two, as
the only way you’re likely to
disappoint anyone with this
treat is to have too little of
it.
Tiramisu
33 ladyfingers
1/2 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup powdered
sugar
1 cup espresso or
strong coffee
1 cup heavy whipping
cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons rum or
liqueur
cocoa, chocolate syrup
and/or chocolate curls
for garnish
two-quart serving dish
(square)
mixing bowls
hand mixer
whisk
Take a gander online and
you’ll find oodles of varia
tions on this Italian classic,
but I’ve found one that
works for the cook interest
ed in simplicity, which is
me, most of the time.
Now you can fiddle
around with separating
eggs and play with a dou
ble-boiler if you like, and
while that’s all great fun,
wouldn’t you rather do it
the easy way, especially if
you’re already stuffing
manicotti or layering
lasagna the same day?
Well, I would.
This one has all the tradi
tional keys - ladyfingers,
espresso and, of course,
mascarpone - and it tastes
great.
It’s not cheap - the mak
ings of two cost about S2O,
and that’s assuming you’ve
got the right liquor on hand
- but it’s well worth the
price for the impressed
looks you can earn for turn
Know what to look for when furniture
Do you try to avoid the
furniture store at all costs?
Do you find that the com
missioned sales people can
be overbearing?
I have always believed
that knowledge is power. If
you educate yourself on
what you need to look for in
key pieces of furniture you
can ask tough questions
and send the sales person
looking for answers.
So let’s get started. After
determining your style,
narrow down exactly what
you’re looking for.
You can look through dec
orating magazines and
books, but your best bet is
to log on to your computer.
Most furniture companies
have Web sites that list pic
tures and descriptions of all
their furniture lines. Once
you find a style that suits
your needs, locate the clos
est dealer showroom on the
site.
On shopping day, before
you step out your front
door, make sure that you
have the measurements of
the space. There is nothing
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ing it out right.
Some notes on these
ingredients:
Ladyfingers are some
times hard to come by, but
you can usually find some
packaged in a good grocery
bakery - you’ll need one full
package and almost one
half of another - or you
could always inquire after
fresh ones at your favorite
traditional bakery.
Mascarpone is harder to
come by, but it can usually
be found in the internation
al cheeses bin of a big gro
cery store.
As for the booze, I recom
mend Myer’ss rum, which
is nice and dark and adds a
subtle sweetness. You can
also try a coffee-flavored
liqueur, such as Kahlua, but
that’s really unnecessary
with the coffee already
present. (I suppose you
could forego the coffee and
just use a lot of liqueur for a
tiramisu with kick. I
haven’t tried this, so pro
ceed at your own risk!)
You’ll notice that most of
these ingredients are easier
to buy in larger amounts - a
cup of mascarpone, a pint of
heavy whipping cream,
three packages of ladyfin
gers - so it may well serve
you to make two of these.
(They’ll get eaten, oh yes.)
Enough babble. How’s it
go?
Put the serving dish and
a medium mixing bowl in
the freezer an hour or two
ahead of mixing time.
If you’ve got an espresso
machine, fire it up and
make a full pot. If not, brew
some really strong coffee.*
(When I don’t feel like
gHI fF
Laura Ingalls Gunn
Homekeeping
designforadime@hotmail.com.
more disheartening than to
bring home a beautiful new
dresser only to find that
you now can’t close your
bedroom door.
Which leads me to the
next rule. Arm yourself
with a tape measure.
Don’t take anyone’s word
on what the measurement
is. You’ll find great satisfac
tion in doing it yourself.
This step, by the way, will
also add to the “this person
knows what she’s doing”
mystique.
When you go furniture
using the espresso maker, I
measure out about
enough coffee for 12
cups then put it
in my four
cu p A
machine.) M
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1 g
Measure
out a cup
and let it cool.
In another medi-
um mixing bowl, combine
the mascarpone, two table
spoons of rum and the
vanilla. Whisk, then add the
powdered sugar and whisk
some more until it’s nice
and smooth.
Add the other two table
spoons of rum to the cooled
coffee.
Pour the cream into the
chilled mixing bowl and
attack it with the hand
mixer at high speed until
stiff peaks form.
(If you don’t have a hand
mixer, allow an additional
hour for mixing with a
whisk, and schedule a mas
sage for later.)
Using the whisk, gently
fold the mascarpone into
the whipped cream, making
shopping dress for success.
In this case your uniform
will be comfortably fitting
shirts, pants and shoes.
My hope is that you will
be going to more than one
store. In each store you will
be getting physical. No, no
boxing gloves. By this I
mean sitting, pulling,
squeezing, zipping and lift
ing.
Sitting, you say? It
sounds elementary, but you
wouldn’t believe how many
people buy furniture just
for looks. It does need to
look good, but it also needs
to be comfortable.
With chairs and couches
you want to look for eight
way hand tied springs. Not
crimped coils. This will
ensure long wear and com
fort.
Gently pull on all trims
and buttons to check that
they are securely attached.
Make sure you test the
padded area by squeezing
the piece. You should not be
able to feel the frame
underneath.
Look at the cushions. The
wo n -
drously rich, light and fluffy
cream.
Layer 16 and one-half
ladyfingers into the serving
dish.
Carefully spoon about a
teaspoon of adulterated
espresso (or coffee or
straight liqueur) onto each
ladyfinger.
Gently spread half the
wondrously rich, light and
fluffy cream over that
ladyfingers.
Layer another 16 and
one-half ladyfingers.
Spread the other half of
the wondrously rich, light
and fluffy cream on top.
If you’ve got some coffee
fabric itself should be
smooth without any puck
ers or gaps. If there is a pat
tern, it should match per
fectly at the seams.
Removable cushions are a
plus as they can be turned
to even out the wear.
(Or, in my son’s case,
thrown on the floor.
Seriously, consider this. )
Next, the zipping or
unzipping as it may be. The
interior of the cushion
should have polyurethane
foam covered by polyester
batting. A muslin cover is
then sewn over the cushion
and then the decorative
cover is zipped on.
If the couch or chair in
question has only a decora
tive cover that is sewn in
place you are looking at an
item very low on the quality
scale.
This is OK if you want
only a short-term invest
ment for something such as
a first apartment or college
dorm room.
Finally, the lifting.
Higher quality furniture
6A
left,
dunk
those
extra
ladyfingers in
and enjoy a
treat. (At this
point I’m usually already
sipping on a cup with a lit
tle whipped cream - from
the beaters - and a drop or
two of spare rum.)
Cover the bowl and place
it in the fridge to chill.
Serve within 4-6 hours for
best results.
When serving, remember
that old rule about presen
tation.
Run a few lines of choco
late syrup - preferably
Hershey’s Special Dark -
on a small plate. Add a
square of tiramisu and dust
with a bit of cocoa or a few
scrapings from a dark
chocolate candy bar.
Remember though, that
the chocolate is just a flavor
shopping
is generally heavier as it is
made of solid wood. Kiln
dried hardwood such as
birch, gum, ash, or maple is
a bit more durable than soft
woods such as pine, fir or
poplar.
Particleboard is at the
lower end of the quality
scale. It is strong but may
chip or split.
The finish of the wood
should be rich and even.
Check for flaws and bub
bles.
In regards to the joints
look for dovetail or mortise
and-tenon over screwed or
glued joints. The joints
should fit snuggly without
gaps.
Drawers and doors should
open and close easily and
smoothly.
May this knowledge serve
you well.
Laura Ingalls Gunn,
1.R.1.5., is a locally based
stylist and owner of Design
for a Dime. You may contact
her with questions or com
ments via her website:
www.designforadime.com