So. It’s been a few days. This whole cookbook writing sure makes it hard to keep on top of everything. But the stress is worth it, even if it means I don’t post every single day. But I am working on balancing everything so I can get back to nearly daily posts.

Anyway, since the cookbook features dinners, I will probably focus more on breakfast, lunch and dessert here until the writing is completed. I don’t want to share all the new recipes I am developing before the book comes out! So there is a recipe here . . . it’s for Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins . . . I have revisited a recipe I first posted months ago and made a few small alterations . . . still lovin’ it! I also discovered that a sprinkling of red decorative sugar makes the tops that lovely shade of pink you see (apply it before baking).

On the meat-free front, I have come to respect and realize just how imperative it is that I take my lunch to work everyday. Our cafeteria is a vegetarian’s nightmare. Many days, the only meat-free offering is the salad bar and one soup. Meanwhile, there are at least six other offerings for the non-meat-free world. No wonder my colleague orders out so much! Seriously, I just don’t understand the logic of the whole thing. How could you not offer at least a few entrees everyday for the veg crowd? I find it hard to believe that there aren’t enough vegetarians in the park to justify that.

Anyway, the plethora of meat offerings certainly doesn’t help my resolve either. I am beginning to fiend for meat. I would love a juicy cheeseburger, maybe some baby back ribs, and a loaded hot dog. But that is the whole point of sacrificing, right? Four weeks and one day until Easter (April 8, this year). Four LONG more weeks. Already, so it’s a little pathetic that it’s only been about two and a half weeks since Lent began and I am already complaining. But when you are cooking all sorts of new and exciting meat dishes, it’s only natural . . . I think. At least there will be a good chunk of vegetarian recipes in the book as a result.

And rest assured I will retest every meaty recipe after Lent, to taste it for myself.

1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup frozen raspberries, partially melted
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat the egg. Beat in milk and butter until well combined. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until just moistened. Gently fold in vanilla, raspberries and white chocolate.

Spoon evenly into the muffin cups. Bake for 22-26 minutes, until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center pulls out clean.

Let muffins cool until they can be touched.

Topping:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Place butter and sugar into separate bowls.

Dip each muffin top first in butter and then in sugar.

So there I was, sitting at my desk at work. Idly clicking through Cooking Light‘s recipe archive when I found it: a broccoli recipe that I had to try. And when I say “had to” I mean right away, walk don’t run, need to do this now. Broccoli and Three-Cheese Casserole was calling me.

So I did what any sane food loving person would do: I printed the recipe, starting my adaptations on it and headed home to try it out. One of the things that had really attracted me to the recipe was that it called for fontina, which I have a huge unused chuck of in my fridge. That was reason enough for me to try it out.

I definitely changed things up a bit from the original recipe to suit my needs and tastes such as deleting the onions and changing up portions. This isn’t Cooking Light’s dish anymore. But the result was pretty good – it’s a filling dish, and lighter in flavor than some that I make. It’s nice to have a lighter tasting dish once in a while. I think next time I would add in a little cayenne pepper to the rice mixture to give it a kick. That is noted in the recipe as optional.

Don’t be deterred by the long ingredient list or the process. It really doesn’t take that long to make.

2 cups cooked white rice
1/4 cup Romano cheese, plus 2 tbsp
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp herbes de province
3 eggs, separated
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
4 cups chopped broccoli
1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbsp skim milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I used stale French bread)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a large oval baking dish by spraying with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the rice, 1/4 cup of the Romano, 1/4 tsp of the salt, herbes de province, and three egg whites. Stir in cayenne pepper, if desired. Spread mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing down. Sprinkle evenly with the shredded fontina.

Meanwhile, heat a pot of water to boiling and cook the broccoli until just tender (about 4 minutes). Drain. Spread the broccoli over the rice mixture. Top with the cheddar cheese.

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks, milk, 1/2 tsp of salt, and pepper. Pour this over evenly over the broccoli.

Finally, combine your breadcrumbs and 2 tbsp of Romano and sprinkle over the broccoli.

Place the dish in the preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until the top is slightly browned. Serve warm.

Lunch. It was a lot simpler before – if I had time I would throw together a quick salad of lettuce, meat and cheese. But I am trying to lose weight and also not eating meat for Lent so the majority of my salad just went down the drain.

And besides, I need more vitamins than I am getting. Lunch today is a simple salad of romaine hearts (2 cups), one small ripe tomato, one small carrot and about 1/3 cup of garbanzo beans. That will be served with a sesame soy dressing, 1/3 cup of blueberries and half of an organic dark chocolate bar. It looks like a lot but all in all, it’s about 330 calories. Not bad.

1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp minced ginger root
2 tsp sesame seed
3 tsp sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or dressing craft, whisking or shaking until well combined.

This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week in an airtight container.

For those of us who are Christian, Lent began today (Ash Wednesday). And for some of us, that means giving up something. This year, I have decided to part ways with meat for the 40 days of Lent.

Though I was a vegetarian as a teen and young adult, it is a much harder thing to give up meat as a married adult with a child. My husband and son aren’t doing the same so I will be doing double duty in the kitchen so that we can all eat. And I am far more cognizant of health now than I used to be so a bag of chips isn’t going to pass as dinner.

More cooking, more contemplating . . . geez, have I lost my mind? Hardly. I think it will be good for me in many ways – physically and spiritually – to sacrifice just a bit.

Fortunately, for dinner tonight I was able to make something we could enjoy together: manicotti. If only it could be this simple every night.