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Leg of Lamb with Roasted Pear and Pine Nut Relish+

5 points

Relish:
6 firm ripe Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and quartered
1 sweet onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Lamb:
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 garlic cloves
1 small onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 (5-pound) boneless leg of lamb, trimmed

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare relish, arrange pears in a single layer in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Arrange onion slices in a single layer in another 13 x 9-inch baking dish; lightly coat onion slices with cooking spray. Bake pears and onion slices at 400° for 40 minutes or until tender, turning once. Cool; chop.

Combine 2 teaspoons rind and next 7 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon black pepper) in a large bowl; add chopped onion and pears, tossing gently to combine. Stir in nuts just before serving.
To prepare lamb, combine 1 tablespoon lemon rind and next 10 ingredients (through onion wedges) in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Roll roast, and secure at 3-inch intervals with twine. Spread the onion mixture over lamb; cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 450°.

Place lamb on the rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; place rack in pan. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 300° (do not remove lamb from oven); bake an additional 1 hour or until thermometer registers 145° (medium-rare) to 160° (medium). Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Serve relish with lamb.

Yield:  18 servings (serving size: about 3 ounces lamb and about 3 tablespoons relish)

  • CALORIES 246
  • FAT 10g
  • FIBER 2.6g

 

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Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew+


Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)


2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can hominy, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture aside. Add pork to remaining spice mixture in bowl, tossing well to coat.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove pork from pan; set aside. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Return pork to pan. Add reserved 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture, broth, hominy, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes.

CALORIES 300 ; FAT 8.3g (sat 2.1g,mono 3.7g,poly 1.4g); CHOLESTEROL 76mg; CALCIUM 51mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.9g; SODIUM 523mg; PROTEIN 28.9g; FIBER 6.1g; IRON 3.2mg

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Golden Corn Salad with Fresh Basil+

7 points

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 1/4 cups)

8 ounces small yellow Finnish potatoes or small red potatoes
3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
2 cups assorted tear-drop cherry tomatoes (pear-shaped), halved
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 cups arugula, trimmed
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
2 ounces goat cheese, sliced

1. Place potatoes in a small saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 11 minutes or until tender. Drain and chill. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Combine potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and bell pepper in a large bowl.

2. Combine shallots and next 4 ingredients (through black pepper) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Slowly pour oil into shallot mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle over corn mixture; toss well. Add arugula; toss. Sprinkle with basil; top evenly with goat cheese.


CALORIES 337 ; FAT 16.5g (sat 4.7g,mono 8.9g,poly 2.4g); CHOLESTEROL 11mg; CALCIUM 131mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.2g; SODIUM 376mg; PROTEIN 10g; FIBER 6.8g; IRON 2.2mg

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Apple-Cinnamon Granola

3  cups regular oats
1  cup whole-grain toasted oat cereal (such as Cheerios)
1/3  cup oat bran
1/3  cup finely chopped walnuts
2  teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4  teaspoon ground cardamom
2  tablespoons butter
1/3  cup applesauce
1/4  cup honey
2  tablespoons brown sugar
Cooking spray
1  cup chopped dried apple

Preheat oven to 250°.
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well to combine.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup applesauce, honey, and brown sugar to pan, and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Pour applesauce mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat. Spread mixture in an even layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 250° for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Stir in chopped apple.
Note: Store granola in an airtight container up to one week.

Yield: 6 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)

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Thai Fish Sauce and Lime Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 c chicken broth
3 Tbsp sweetened chili sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
¼ c lime juice
1 tsp creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp chopped roasted peanuts
lime wedges (optional)

1.  Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to ½ inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin.  Sprinkle chicken evenly with ¼ tsp salt.

2.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

3.  Add broth, chili sauce and fish sauce; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 2/3 c (about 4 minutes).  Remove from heat; add lime juice and peanut butter, stirring until smooth.  Serve sauce over chicken; sprinkle with peanuts.  Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.  Yield: 4 servings.

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Sesame Beef and Asian Vegetable Stir-Fry

9 points

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup stir-fry and 1/2 cup rice)

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce, divided
1/4 cup Chinese black (Chinkiang) vinegar or rice vinegar, divided
4 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
3/4 pound top round, cut into1/4-inch strips
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons peanut oil, divided
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted and divided
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups red bell pepper strips
1 1/2 cups frozen blanched shelled edamame (green soybeans), thawed
1 cup sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1 (15-ounce) can whole baby corn, drained
1/2 cup diagonally cut green onions
3 cups cooked jasmine rice

Combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons vinegar, sesame oil, and five-spice powder in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add beef; toss to coat. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove beef from bowl; discard marinade.

Combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons vinegar, water, and cornstarch, stirring with a whisk.

Heat 1 teaspoon peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef; stir-fry 1 minute. Remove beef from pan. Add 1 teaspoon peanut oil, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, ginger, and garlic to pan; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add bell pepper, edamame, mushrooms, and corn; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add beef and cornstarch mixture; stir-fry 3 minutes or until sauce thickens. Remove from heat; stir in 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and onions. Serve over rice.

CALORIES 434 (30% from fat); FAT 14.4g (sat 3.3g,mono 4.8g,poly 3.5g); IRON 3.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 36mg; CALCIUM 62mg; CARBOHYDRATE 55.9g; SODIUM 318mg; PROTEIN 21.7g; FIBER 6.3g

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White Turkey Chili

4 points – 1 cup

·    1  tablespoon  stick margarine or butter
·    1 1/2  cups  chopped onion
·    1/2  cup  chopped celery
·    1/2  cup  chopped red bell pepper
·    1  tablespoon  minced seeded jalapeño pepper
·    1  garlic clove, minced
·    3  cups  chopped cooked turkey (about 15 ounces)
·    2  (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, drained and divided
·    2  (16-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
·    1  (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
·    1  cup  frozen whole-kernel corn
·    1 1/2  teaspoons  ground cumin
·    1  teaspoon  chili powder
·    1/2  teaspoon  salt
·    1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
·    1  cup  1% low-fat milk
·    1/2  cup  chopped fresh cilantro

Melt the margarine in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and next 4 ingredients (onion through garlic), and sauté 5 minutes. Add turkey, 1 1/2 cups beans, broth, and next 6 ingredients (broth through black pepper), and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
Mash remaining beans. Add mashed beans and milk to the turkey mixture. Simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring frequently. Stir in chopped cilantro.

Yield: 11 cups

  • Calories: 217
  • Fat: 4.6g
  • Fiber: 3.5g
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September 3, Arolla to Grimentz

Day summary:

    • 7 hours (Kev time)
    • 6 miles
    • gain 218 m, lose 554 m

Our original plan was to take a bus to La Sage or Villa, hike up to the Barrage de Moiry and then walk down into Grimentz for the night, expecting to take the bus back up to the barrage the next day – I didn’t want to cover the same ground twice, so the bus seemed like a nice option.  You can also stay at a refuge at the Barrage, but we’re all about comfort.  We found out later that our British friends had planned to stay at that hut, but it was full.  Our friends ended up having to hike a lot further up to a more remote refuge (actually running out of water on the way), so it may be wise to make reservations ahead of time.

In order to give Barry’s feet a break – and to muster the energy to complete our trip, which had turned out to be more challenging than we had anticipated – we took a postbus from Arolla to Sion, a train to Sierre, and then another postbus from Sierre to Grimentz.

It was an enjoyable break, and we came to appreciate the amount of vertical ground we had been covering and the geography of the region beyond the mountains themselves.  It was weird (and wonderful) to cover so many miles so quickly!

Here is the journal entry for today:

I can’t say enough about Hotel Mont Collon!  Yes, there were very few guests there, but the owner went out of her way to help us.  We had a great petit dejeuner – typical, but plentiful.  The owner investigated travel info to get us from Arolla to Grimentz and printed it out for us.  Barry asked about Internet access and a computer, and she offered up her laptop, all while preparing the hotel for a conference of 85 people (which turned out to be PhD graduate students in environmental studies offering presentations of their theses, and going for hikes in the mountains – pretty cool!).

Our first leg was a bus from Arolla to Sion.  We actually rode past Ann and Joe (a couple from Australia whom we’d met at Mont Fort) as we neared Les Haudres.  It was crazy taking the bus up and down very narrow mountain roads with tight switchbacks and blind curves.  It was also great NOT TO BE WALKING.  It appears that the switchbacks are just big enough for the postbus to fit around – the driver goes right up to the rail before cranking the wheel to make the turn.  As a bus, we always win the war when bus encounters car coming towards us and there is only width for one vehicle.  Many a car had to back its way down to a spot with enough shoulder to pull off and let us through.

We lunched in Sion (capital of the Valais province) and caught a train to Sierre, then finished our motorized traveling day with another bus from Sierre to Grimentz.  We saw a lot of towns and farm fields along the way.  We are now in the Hotel Alpina, right across the street from the bus stop that will take us up to the Barrage de Moiry tomorrow morning.  We will hike up from there catch a cable car at Sorebois that will carry us down into Zinal.  Then we will decide what Barry’s feet can handle.  We have a couple of options: straight into Gruben or 2 days via Weisshorn.  We have already decided not to go to Zermatt via the Europa Hut. The book offers warnings about the trail from Gasenried to the hut.  If Kev offers warnings I get scared now – because there wasn’t enough warning for the steep, class 4 climb to Col de Riedmatten.  We have checked the weather and it looks pretty good for the next several days.  We have also heard that there is avalanche damage to the trail from the Europa Hut into Zermatt, creating quite the detour.  No thanks!

Off to dinner in a few minutes.  Hotel Alpina is pretty posh and modern compared to our stays over the last couple of nights.  No creaky floors, no dormitory-style beds, sleek shower, TV, etc.

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We enjoyed our rides on buses and trains.  Sion was interesting – bustling big city, with two tall islands of hills upon which sat a castle and what appeared to be an old monastery.  As mentioned in the “Accommodations and Traveling in Switzerland” article, we could have saved a lot of money if we had purchased a 3-day pass that would have covered the buses and trains we took today, as well as the bus from Grimentz up to the Barrage de Moiry tomorrow.  Oh well.  Live and learn.

Today was “picture light” because we were speeding past all the scenery.

Interesting view of hillside agriculture

Roadside shrine/crucifix looking down into valley

Sion, provincial capital of Valais – and an old castle (?) atop a hill island

Hotel Alpina in Grimentz