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Spinach Parmesan Dip+

1 point

1 teaspoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach
1/2 cup basil leaves, loosely packed
1/3 cup (about 3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add salt and spinach; sauté 3 minutes or until the spinach wilts. Place spinach mixture in a colander, pressing until mixture is barely moist.

Place spinach mixture, basil, cream cheese, and pepper in a food processor; process until smooth. Spoon spinach mixture into a medium bowl. Add yogurt and Parmesan; stir to combine. Chill.

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

  • Calories: 63
  • Fat: 4.2
  • Fiber: 0.9
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Summer Peach and Tomato Salad+

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Don’t bother getting yellow tomatoes – they blend in with the peaches.  Don’t combine the basil with the dressing.  This gets very liquidy very quickly.  Serve right away – consider serving in a collander.

1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
3 ripe peaches, pitted and each cut into 8 wedges (about 1 pound)
1/2 pound heirloom beefsteak tomatoes, cut into thick wedges
1/2 pound heirloom cherry or pear tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup small basil leaves or torn basil

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Combine vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle vinegar mixture over peach mixture; toss well to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

CALORIES 75 ; FAT 3.5g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.3g); CHOLESTEROL 6mg; CALCIUM 47mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9.9g; SODIUM 230mg; PROTEIN 2.1g; FIBER 1.7g; IRON 0.4mg

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Stir-Fried Chicken Salad

The pan sauce here doubles as a piquant vinaigrette for the main-dish salad. Serve with crunchy breadsticks, if you wish.

1/4  cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2  tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1  tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1  tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1  tablespoon bottled chopped garlic
2  teaspoons sugar
1  pound skinless, boneless chicken breast tenders
1  tablespoon peanut oil
4  cups mixed salad greens
1/4  cup chopped fresh basil
1/2  cup thinly sliced red onion
2  tablespoons finely chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
Lime wedges (optional)

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken to broth mixture, stirring to coat. Let stand 3 minutes.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Drain chicken, reserving marinade. Add chicken to the pan; cook 4 minutes or until done, stirring frequently. Stir in the reserved marinade. Reduce heat; cook 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Remove pan from heat.
Combine greens and basil in a large bowl. Add chicken mixture, tossing to coat. Place 1 1/4 cups salad mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 2 tablespoons onion and 1 1/2 teaspoons peanuts. Serve immediately. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings

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Roasted Flank Steak with Olive Oil-Herb Rub

4 points

To serve two, use two (four-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks instead of flank steak, reduce the herbs to 1/2 teaspoon each, and omit the broth. Finish the tenderloin in the oven for two minutes instead of 10.

Yield:  6 servings (serving size: 3 ounces steak and about 1 tablespoon sauce)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (1 1/2-pound) flank steak, trimmed
Cooking spray
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
Thyme sprigs (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside.

Sprinkle salt and pepper over steak. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak to pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until browned. Add wine and broth; cook 1 minute. Spread herb mixture over steak; place pan in oven. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Serve with pan sauce. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.

CALORIES 167 (38% from fat); FAT 7g (sat 2.5g,mono 3.3g,poly 0.4g); IRON 1.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 37mg; CALCIUM 21mg; CARBOHYDRATE 0.5g; SODIUM 266mg; PROTEIN 23.9g; FIBER 0.1g

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Broccoli Soup

2 points

6 c small broccoli florets
2 c chicken broth
¼ c chopped onion
2 c milk
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp butter
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
dash ground mace

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Place half of broccoli mixture in a blender, process until smooth.  Pour broccoli mixture into a bowl.  Repeat procedure with remaining broccoli mixture.  Return pureed mixture to pan.

Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended; add to broccoli mixture.  Cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently.  Add lemon juice, butter, salt, pepper and mace, stirring until butter melts.

Yield: 6 servings (1 cup)

  • Calories: 91
  • Fat: 3.1g
  • Fiber: 2.3g
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September 5, Zinal to Gruben

Day summary:

    • 6 hours (Kev again)
    • 8.5 miles
    • gain 1199 m, lose 459 m

We followed (in the opposite direction) the Z’s marking the trail, courtesy of the Sierre to Zinal marathon:

Today we only had one spot when we weren’t sure of our path.  More people hike to Weisshorn, so that track is quite visible.  The trail heading up and over to Pointe de la Forcletta is a little less obvious.  We made the transition today from French Switzerland to German Switzerland – quite a contrast in language and culture.  The change is visible on the maps when “cols” become passes and “mont” changes to “horn.”  It took about an hour to get out of the valley – it is the hallmark of this trip that you hike up in the morning just to hike down in the afternoon just to hike back up again the next morning.  We are literally crossing the “nap” of this corduroy-shaped terrain.

Our journal entry for today:

Bonus at breakfast this morning: they had a great breakfast (petit dejourner) buffet today.  We were the first ones down there, waiting for them to set it all up.  Then they delivered up fresh-from-the-oven croissants!  YUM!

We had a great day of hiking today.  It was super clear, but COLD.  We saw snow in shaded areas and icicles on grass by a stream.  It was a steep climb out of Zinal – not surprising, but then the trail stays at a fairly level height, following along the west edge of the valley.  We passed lots of munching cows, one of whom did not want to relinquish the path to me.

Finally we reached the fork where we headed west, breaking off from the more popular route to Hotel Weisshorn.  There wasn’t much of a marked path – it was just up a steep slope with lots of rivulets of water running down.  Eventually we reached a road that took us to the farm house and cross described by Kev – the alp of Tshalet.  To reach the start of the pass (Forcletta), you cross over some grassy hills.  The pass was surprisingly easy, compared to the several we have crossed this last week.  It’s a steady climb, but there is no scrambling.  The view at the top is disappointing, though.  You can’t really see all the cool peaks to the south yet.  It was also very cold and windy, so we kept hiking down before finding a comfortable spot for lunch.

The view from Chalte Berg is magnificent –  Weisshorn, Bishorn and the Tete de Milon are massive and the glaciers impressive.  After that it was just knee-grinding downhill to Gruben.  We didn’t take the path recommended by Kev because the sign indicated that we’d get there quicker on the one we chose.  But when you get down to the road, you are still at least a mile (or more?)  from the center of Gruben, so we should have taken the other trail.  We got lucky because 2 men were finishing up their work and heading home down into the valley.  They offered us a ride in their van – and as you can imagine, they didn’t have to ask twice.  They delivered us right to the hotel door and Barry offered to buy them a beer – they accepted, but chose coffee, and then we tried sustaining a conversation with their limited English and our non-existent German.  Kristof and son, Erik, were both very nice and kind – what a great introduction to this German side of Switzerland.

Hotel Schwarzhorn is very comfortable.  We have a sink in the room and there are newly remodeled showers and toilets across the hall.  Dinner was only so-so.  Nothing like what we have enjoyed so far.  Soup – what kind?, nice salad, then thin slabs of pork with gravy, shredded carrots and PLAIN spaghetti noodles.  Dessert was cold chocolate pudding.

The hotel has a good supply of lunch items and other food – good thing since there is NOTHING else in Gruben.

Apparently the hot time on a Saturday night in Gruben is standing around in the street outside the bar, by the cows, drinking beer!?!

Good night – I’m beat!

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Hotel Schwarzhorn has several floors featuring private rooms with a communal bathroom down the hall, and a couple of dortoir-style rooms on the upper level.  There is a bar on the lower level and then a little grocery store, check-in desk and the main dining area on the first level.  Inside the front door is a 3-D relief map of the Alps that gives a good perspective of the trip.  I think there is one other dortoir in Gruben, but it is a very small town without much going on.  We probably saw more people and activity since it was a Saturday.

Once out of the valley, we walked at a steady level along the slope and encountered many cows.

Moooove over!

Signs along the way

It wasn’t hard to figure out why they chose to build here – Chalte Berg

The village of Gruben

Hotel Schwarzhorn – looks just like the book showed

A view of our room

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Spinach and Artichoke Dip

3 points

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl; stir until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.

Yield: 5 1/2 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup dip and about 6 chips)

  • Calories: 148
  • Fat: 5 g
  • Fiber: 1.5 g