Kelley Bromley

The first time I made a chocolate soufflé I used the Betty Crocker Bridal Edition cookbook that my Aunt Diane gave me. The soufflé was terrific, but very rich. It helped me to learn how a soufflé works and what I could do better! The original recipe was made with flour and a lot of sugar. Lionel and I found it a bit sweet, so I reduced the overall sweetness and used Splenda for the sauce base since the sugar did not make up the dessert structure (I left the same amount of sugar in the meringue). Also, I replaced half the butter with Butter Buds, a flavoured butter substitute made from natural butter, that I bought in San Diego, although unfortunately you can’t get it in Canada, and used less egg yolk. The recipe will work using the full amount of butter just as well. In edition, I added some mandarin oranges to break up the deep chocolate taste, and added more vanilla. You can’t tell it’s gluten-free and half the carbs and fat! I hope you enjoy it :)

It is important to have everything ready to go once you start because the hot sauce will form a skin if you have to wait between steps.

Ingredients

For the hot sauce:

• 2 tbsp Splenda*
• 2 2/3 tbsp Cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• pinch of salt

* Sugar can also be used if preferred.

To add after cooking:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp Butter Buds*
• 1 tbsp water*
• 1 tsp vanilla
• mandarin orange sections

* If you don’t have Butter Buds, omit water and use an extra 1/2 tbsp of melted butter.

For the meringue:

• 1 egg white from egg above
• 3 tbsp egg white product
• pinch of cream of tarter
• 1.5 tbsp sugar

Preparation

	Combine Splenda and cocoa in a small saucepan. Mix cornstarch with 1 tbsp of the milk to form a paste. Add milk to cocoa mixture and cook over medium-high heat until cocoa is dissolved and hot, but not boiling. Add cornstarch mix and continue cooking until mixture thickens, about 1 minute. Let cool slightly.
	Temper the egg yolk by adding a small amount of chocolate mixture, stir completely. Keep adding chocolate mixture a little at a time until the egg yolks have warmed - this prevents them from curdling.
	Once tempered, transfer chocolate mixture to bowl with the vanilla and add the yolk mixture and melted butter. Stir.
	Beat the egg whites to soft peaks then gradually add the sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Take a small amount, about 1/5 to 1/4, of the egg whites and gently fold it into the chocolate to lighten the mixture.
	Add this lightened mixture to the egg white and fold gently until half mixed.
	Add the mandarin orange and fold gently together.
	Pour into souffle dishes and put in a pan. Fill with hot water 1/3 to 1/2 way up the sides. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes for a firm souffle, or 38 minutes for a traditional French souffle with a runny center. Do not open the oven door! Top with powdered sugar and serve immediately. Serves 2.

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 small sweet red pepper
• 4 stalks green onion
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 large handful of fresh parsley
• 8 or so fresh mint leaves
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Quinoa (keen-waa) isn’t that popular in North America, but it’s nice to try something different. Quinoa is the edible seeds of the goosefoot plant and is grown in South America. It was highly appraised by the Incas who called it the “mother of all grains” (Wikipedia:Quinoa). This was the first time I have tried to cook it and I’m quite pleased with the results. It’s not hard to cook at all!

Before you use quinoa you should wash it really well in a large bowl by swishing it around. The seeds are covered with a soapy substance that will make your quinoa taste bitter if you don’t wash it off. Transferred it to a strainer and ran cold water through it.

Put the quinoa in a non-stick pot and add the broth. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until quinoa is translucent and the white thread-like attachment just starts to separate. Let it cool to a warm (but not cold) temperature.

While the quinoa is cooking toss your pine nuts in a small non-stick skillet to toast them. They will taste much more flavourful when they’re toasted and less acidic. Keep on eye on them until they start to brown up, stirring when necessary. You don’t need to use any oil for this, the nuts have enough oil already. Put aside when done.

Chop the green onion into 1/4″ thick segments and place in a large bowl. Dice the red pepper and finely chop the parsley and mint and add them to the bowl. Grate the zest from half a lemon and add. Toss in your pine nuts. Into a smaller bowl, squeeze half the juice from the lemon half and add about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Mix and set aside.

Add your warm quinoa and mix. Add the lemon dressing and salt/pepper to taste. Stir well and serve.

This salad has a great fresh taste and is very filling and nutritious. Serves 3 generously.

• 1 whole tilapia
• 1/2 lemon
• fresh dill
• fresh parsley
• salt & pepper to taste

You can use frozen tilapia for this recipe, or any other whole fish for that matter. The fish should not smell “fishy” and the eyes should be clear. Make sure it is gutted and de-scaled. Rinse out the inside of the fish well. Cut lemon into slices and put inside cavity of fish. Add parsley and dill. Salt & pepper the skin and place on a greased pan. Bake at 350F until fish flakes easily, approximately 15 minutes.

The cooked fish. I added onion powder on top but I wouldn’t do that again, it interferes with the fresh taste of the natural flavours. To serve, pull off the head and carefully cut the top fillet away from the rib cage and backbone. When the top fillet is removed, peel off the backbone, ribs, and fins, then serve the bottom fillet. Serves 2.