More Temple Days

The ravages of the holiday season are not undone in a day. We all know that. We all also know of how the best intentions and the highest minded New Year's Resolutions wind up failing (I've already broken two of mine, but I'm working on getting restarted, on the theory that the year really doesn't begin until Monday, January 7th).

Trying to stay with "Temple Days," or just eating better and healthier generally calls upon you to do something very, VERY important: you have to enjoy what you're eating. If you don't, you won't eat it, you'll go and eat something bad for you and POOF goes the good intentions.

So, you'll need more than one recipe. And you shouldn't be relying completely on me for them. An easy way to make all of your recipes healthier is to drop a tablespoon of fat from anything you cook, if it calls for multiple tablespoons. Taking out all of the fat won't work. Your dish will not work, it will not taste good, and you'll just put it back in. And if you look at a recipe that you think would be good, IF the fat were dropped, then drop it.

I have in front of me a recipe for scallops in a sauce of shallots and grapefruit juice. Scallops, and any fish , are a very good choice for temple days. And if you are allergic to fish, or will not eat it for some reason, as is true for some of my blog readers, substitute the scallops with chicken tenders, or chunks of chicken, or any small, quick cooking piece of skinless chicken. It will work, and it will be good.

The recipe I am looking at serves four, and calls for EIGHT TABLESPOONS of olive oil. As Grace used to say when she was flustered on Will and Grace: "WHOOOOA" On reading the recipe, six of those tablespoons are used to saute shallots.

Well, shallots DO need fat for preparation, but SIX TABLESPOONS for THREE shallots? HUH????? No. We will NOT do that here. Here is how you would do the recipe for two people. Two very generous portions. Double it to cook for four. And as I will always do in these blogs, I will tell you when, in my opinion , the recipe fails, or where it can be improved.

You need 1/4 cup of diced shallots. Use a dry cup measure for this, or frankly, just estimate. Two nice sized shallots will give you a very generous quarter cup. More than you'll need. So if you like the taste, use two, and if you don't really care that much for them, use one. And instead of the eight tablespoons of olive oil that this recipe calls for, you're going to use two.

You also need 1/4 cup of fresh grapefruit juice. That's the juice that a good sized grapefruit will give you, plus more. Use a red or pink grapefruit. And if you get more than 1/4 LIQUID cup, drink it down. It's good for you. You will also need 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar. I am partial to champagne vinegar, but use what you have. Then you need a pound of day, or "dry" scallops. Get them from the fish market. DONT TRUST THE SUPERMARKET. The stuff you get there has almost always been treated with chemicals, and when you cook them, it will show up as tons of unappetizing liquid in your pan. If you're not a fish eater, use the chicken, like I mentioned above. Whether you use the scallops, or the chicken, pat it very dry with paper towels, and just before you're ready to cook it, sprinkle it with salt and pepper (you do this at the end because the salt will draw out liquid. Liquid keeps protein from searing).

Ok, here we go. If you are lucky enough to have a saute pan and a nonstick pan, have them ready. If not, use the nonstick. Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in the pan, and then add the shallots. Saute them for about four minutes, and then, taking that pan off of the heat, add the grapefruit juice and put this aside.

Now, get your salted peppered, scallops ready. Add the second tablespoon of oil to the nonstick pan, and then add the scallops to the pan, when it's hot. You MAY have to do this in two batches, and if you do, add another tablespoon of oil when you're cooking them. Saute for four minutes on the first side, and then for two on the other. This will give you a nice sear. Add the grapefruit sauce to the scallops, and you're ready to go. And if you're using chicken, just make the substitution.

The normal accompaniment for this, would be simple white rice. But try couscous, for example, or perhaps some boiled potatoes. And as your vegetable, something I will talk about in the next blog. A very overlooked vegetable: carrots. Yup, carrots. When's the last time you had them other than as sticks? Time to get reacquainted with an old friend.