Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Cooking Light inspiration


Welcome to Carol Corners the Market, my blog on eating healthy in central Ohio.

For my first post, I would like to share a recipe I tried from the July 2009 issue of "Cooking Light."

To sum up this recipe in two words: Easy & Yummy!

I modified the original recipe (listed below) to use locally grown black raspberries from the Mitchell's Farm in Plain City, Ohio. The Mitchell's Farm is a pick-your-own berry farm, and since black raspberries are currently in season I hand-picked the black raspberries I used for this recipe in lieu of both the blackberries and the blueberries. One pound of hand-picked black raspberries was $5. I had originally planned on purchasing organic blueberries at my local grocer; however, at $4.99 for 6 oz. of organic blueberries—and plenty of black raspberries on hand to cover both berries in the recipe—it just didn't make a lot of sense.

The organic peaches were purchased from Whole Foods, and they were juicy and ripe, though they were not locally grown.

My modified recipe turned out fabulously. The main source of fat in this recipe comes from the butter in the topping. I don't recommend cutting the amount of butter used in this recipe, as it's already considered to be "light," and I think it would change the consistency of the topping dramatically.

The cobbler was featured on the cover of this issue of "Cooking Light" (see image above).

Berry-Peach Cobbler with Sugared Almonds
A delicious combination of blueberries, blackberries, and peaches yields a sweet, juicy dessert that's the epitome of summer.

Yield
12 servings (serving size: 1 cup cobbler and 1/3 cup ice cream)

Ingredients
FILLING:
3 (6-ounce) packages fresh blueberries
3 (5.6-ounce) packages fresh blackberries
3 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
Cooking spray
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt

TOPPING:
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup sliced almonds
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon egg white

REMAINING INGREDIENT:
4 cups vanilla fat-free ice cream

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare filling, combine blueberries, blackberries, and peaches in a 13 x 9–inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, juice, and 1/8 teaspoon salt over fruit; toss gently to combine.

3. To prepare topping, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon salt, stirring well. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add half-and-half; gently knead dough just until moistened. Drop dough by spoonfuls evenly over top of filling. Combine almonds, turbinado sugar, and egg white; sprinkle over top. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until topping is browned. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve with ice cream.

Nutritional InformationCalories: 321
Fat: 8.9g (sat 4.5g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.8g)
Protein: 5.3g
Carbohydrate: 58.9g
Fiber: 4.2g
Cholesterol: 19mg
Iron: 1.1mg
Sodium: 147mg
Calcium: 101mg

*The link to this recipe can also be found here: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1906395