We eat a lot of blueberries in this house. So, how happy were we when Eating Well featured an entire section on even more yummy things to do with them?

Blueberry-Ginger Relish

1 cup fresh blueberries, coarsely chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1 Tablespoon chopped feresh cilantro
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and allow to sit for 20 minutes.

I got my new issue of Eating Well today, and after reading it wanted to give it a big fat kiss right on the lips. This is the best food magazine E-V-E-R. [Note to self: add Eating Well subscription to will, right after Vanity Fair.] As I have mentioned on occasions too numerous to list, I have a certain weakness for publications dedicated to food. And although there is enough love for all of them, I hold a special place in my heart for Eating Well. It allows food lovers to be food lovers and encourages it’s readers to eat, dammit eat! It’s ability to cover evertything from old-standard comfort food, to new and trendy, to international cuisines is what makes it so endearing. The food is good, it’s easy and it takes the agony out of trying to cook healthfully. The same way that Julia Child brought French food to the masses, Eating Well delivers the idea that you can be healthy and eat well – without pain. Their new website even has a section on kid meals!

This issue sports a lengthy article on Niman Ranch meats, of which we buy regularly, a section of articles from Rick Bayless, who whips up some of the best non-Americanized – and thereby, authentic (and naturally healthful) – Mexican food this side of the border, and a toned-down version of Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (something I have always wanted to make).

Gone are the days of subbing prune puree for oil, and using fat-free varieties of everything you can get your hands on. Instead, you get to change the kind of fats you use (from saturated to non), subbing in extra fiber by introducing a little bit of whole grain flours, and omitting an egg yolk here and there. It’s all stuff that, by itself seems negligible, but overall can make a huge difference. The best part is that it all still tastes good.

Who knows, maybe I’ll even be so brave as to plan one of those lamb recipes (but no promises)…

This is my banana-nut muffin recipe. I have made it about a million times – basically because it is quick & easy, somewhat healthful and odds are usually pretty good that I will have all the ingredients without having to make a run to the store.

Adapted from Diner Desserts

Banana-Nut Muffins

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unprocesses wheat bran (not bran cereal)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans (or walnuts, if you prefer)
1 large egg
1 cup smashed ripe banana (roughly, 2 large bananas)
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (you could also use a butter substitue to lower fat content a bit)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line 12-cup muffin tin with liners.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, wheat bran, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Stir in the nuts.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg, banana, brown sugar, melted butter, sour cream, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until blended. Add the flour misture and mix with a wooden spoon just until moistened. Don’t overmix. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

We have eaten tofu for dinner three times this week (yes, really). These three recipes take almost no time to prep, are easy, flavorful & healthful, and are each so completely different it makes you forget you are actually eating tofu. (If you just can’t wrap your brain around the idea of eating fermented bean curd, you could very easily substitute chicken, mild-flavored fish, or whatever suits you.)

The recipes are technically, supposed to feed four, but we make it a one-dish meal and split it between two adults.

All adapted from Eating Well

Each of these three recipes follows the exact same process, you simply use a different sauce and veggie combo.

For the tofu:

1. Buy extra firm tofu (the standard 14 oz block)
2. Put tofu in shallow dish and place a couple of plates on top of it. Let it sit this way for at least 15 or 20 minutes (you could go for as long as you want, depending on how much liquid you want to expell). Drain excess liquid.
3. Slice crosswise into 1/2 inch slabs, then lengthwise into thirds.
4. Pat dry to remove excess liquid (this helps reduce the splatter and helps it cook faster)
5. Coat a large NON-STICK skillet with olive oil (approx 2 teaspoons) and heat on high.
6. Add tofu and cook until golden brown on both sides.

Once the tofu is cooked, add the vegetables and sauce and cook until desired doneness (usually just a couple of minutes longer).

Here are your three options:

Tofu with Thai Curry Sauce

Sauce:
1 cup “lite” coconut milk
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Veggies:
4 cups baby spinach (6 oz)
1 medium bell pepper, sliced

Good over brown rice.

Tofu with Peanut-Ginger Sauce

Sauce:
5 Tablespoons water
4 Tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons fresh minced (or grated) ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced

Veggies:
4 cups baby spinach (6 oz)
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (4 oz)
4 scallions, sliced (1 cup)

Good over brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

Tofu with Tomatos and Pesto

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons prepared pesto

Veggies:
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (4 oz)
2 Tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

Good over polenta (either soft or fried).

I love any publication that writes about food. I love cooking magazines, cookbooks, and don’t even get me started on Food TV. [During the entire time I was in labor with Stella, the Food Network was on, muted in the background.] There is rarely a trip to Costco where I don’t pour over the cookbook section to see what they have added to their inventory. (I reserve my high-end Borders-type browsing for special occasions.)

So recently, when we got the “Low Introductory Offer of just $12 for 12 Issues of Gourmet” I – in a moment of weakness – I caved like a bad souffle. We own (and use) at least half a dozen Gourmet cookbooks, and although I made the brave declaration that we needed to sacrifice quantity for quality when it comes to our magazine subscriptions, I just couldn’t help myself…come on – 12 issues for just $12 dollars!

So when our first issue arrived this week I was giddy with excitement. It doesn’t have the article power of Eating Well, or the hard-core foodie, intellectual undertones of Cook’s Illustrated, or even the lighthearted, feel-good quality of Everyday with Rachael Ray (which, has been a surprisingly good addition to our collection), but it talks about food, and shows pictures of food and, in general, just makes you all warm and fuzzy just by looking at the glossy photo on the cover (a decadent Chocolate Glazed Hazelnut Mousse cake….OH YEAH!)

There is also an article in this first issue on Slovenian cooking, which I found of particular interest for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Slovenia is where my great-grandmother’s family (on my mother’s side) immigrated to the United States from. Slovenia is just not a place you read about very often, so naturally I was intrigued when it showed up in relation to my favorite topic (food). Secondly, there is a family recipe called Potica (pronounced puh-teet-zuh) that has quite an illustrious history when it comes to my mom and my Aunt Tess. It is basically an apple-strudel-type confection that, when made correctly, is the bomb. Emphasis on made correctly. You see, the trick to making good potica is that you have to roll the dough into a ginormous paper thin sheet – and not tear it in the assembly process.

My aunt, having had a past life as a bake-house owner has made and enjoyed many a potica in her lifetime. My mother – well, let’s just say that I remember a particular episode where a ball of dough was hucked into the walnut orchard behind our house. (It probably landed next to the batch of tamales that had been given residence out there after the great masa debacle of ’79). The irony to this is that I my mom is a great baker. I can remember all the great homemade, sesame seed-topped egg braid bread I enjoyed as a child, and the butter-licious parker house rolls that we would fight over straight out of the oven. Pretty much any baked goods we had were made from scratch – and they were good – all the way down to my bad-ass Holly Hobby cake I had for my 6th birthday. It was out of character to see something go so bad – so hilariously, and memorably wrong.

So, this article had lots of photos of large animal parts dangling from hooks, as well as your typical pallid, hearty, Eastern European folk (the article begins with a full-page photo of a woman with a large mole on her cheek and hay in her hair). One thing that particularly caught my eye was a lenghthy recipe for something called Struklji, which is Farmer Cheese Dumplings. The part I found most amusing was the description for how to work the dough.

Lightly flour dough and roll out on cloth with rolling pin, as evenly as possible, into a 24-by-20-inch rectangle, so that a long side of rectangle is nearest you. Dough should be thin enough for you to see any pattern on tablecloth.

Perhaps this is a gene sequence that, had we actually been first-generation Slovenians, would have given us the ability to work dough like this in our sleep. Much the way that we as American children have a sixth sense on how to intuitively make a box of Macaroni and Cheese from memory.

In all fairness, I need to come clean on the fact that baking is not my strong suit. I made my first official, homemade pie-crust just last year, and have yet to successfully produce an edible dough that involves yeast and kneading. I think part of the problem is that my highly segmented brain is confused by the combination of precision and chemistry required in baking, while also being a skill based on feel and intuition. It just freaks me out. ONE OR THE OTHER PEOPLE – ONE OR THE OTHER!

I guess, basically, what it comes down to is this: I can claim to be as big a foodie as I want, but when it really comes down to it, I wouldn’t last a minute back in the land of my people.