FOREIGN FLAVORS TO CELEBRATE THE OLYMPICS March 1, 2006 Susan Noble Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent

The Olympics have been celebrating the best athletes from around the world. By now, you've probably figured out that I believe anything remotely verging on a celebration should include food.

So I've been celebrating the Olympics by trying recipes with a foreign twist. While the real Olympics have not done well in the television ratings, these recipes scored a ten in my kitchen Olympics.

First - from France - comes clafouti. This is a country-style dessert made by topping fresh, ripe fruit with a cake-like batter and baking it. Traditionally, clafouti is served hot, often with cream.

Well, there's no cream in the slimmed-down recipe I followed. In addition, I substituted a purchased blend of half sugar and half artificial sweetener made for baking for the sugar called for in the recipe. Several companies make this product, and I've always had good luck with it.

I also broke with tradition in my choice of fruit. Traditionally, fresh fruit is used with cherries being the most popular. I don't know about France but, in this country, fresh cherries are expensive. Fresh peaches and plums are not available at this time of year. So I went to my freezer and pulled out peaches I put up last summer. They seemed to work fine. Do thaw frozen fruit for clafouti in advance, drain well, and pat dry with paper towels. Too much moisture in the fruit will water down the batter.

I freeze my peaches with an antioxidant product like Fruit Fresh instead of sugar. Thus, I felt my peaches needed a little more sweetness, so I added a little artificial sweetener to them. Let your taste buds be your guide.

My next recipe - Shanghai Chicken - hails from China. Shanghai is a region of China; typical Shanghai dishes are a touch on the sweet side.

Don't be scared off from trying this recipe by all the seasoning ingredients. If you do any Chinese cooking, you probably already have them on hand. The Hoisin sauce is a must to give the dish its sweet Shanghai taste. Also, the Hoisin adds body to the dish so that less cornstarch is needed. For diabetics watching their carbs, every little savings helps.

For the chicken broth, I used canned. Since the recipe only uses 1/4 cup of broth, you'll definitely have some left over. Freeze it in ice cube trays; then dump your broth cubes into a freezer bag and store in the freezer. This way, you can thaw small amounts of broth as needed, such as the next time you make this dish.

If you cannot find the fancy sliced chicken, buy regular boneless, skinless chicken breasts. These tend to be thicker, so pound them thinner before using.

Now go try these recipes and earn a gold medal with your family.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 8-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. Place fruit in pie plate and place plate on cookie sheet (this is to catch any spills or overflow). Combine milk, egg, flour, sugar or blended, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt in food processor. Process till smooth; pour over fruit. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or till puffed and brown. Can serve warm or at room temperature. To serve, sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into 6 slices. May garnish with fresh strawberries.

Recipe adapted from The New Family Cookbook For People With Diabetes.

In small bowl, combine Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, broth, and cornstarch. Mix in sesame oil. Set mixture aside. Heat wok or large nonstick frying pan over high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of the canola oil to pan; swirl pan so oil coats cooking surface. Add chicken and stir-fry till white; remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add remaining oil to pan. Add bell peppers, ground cayenne, and garlic to pan; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Return chicken to pan. Add water chestnuts and walnuts to pan. Re-stir the seasoning mixture and add to pan. Stir-fry all till chicken is cooked through. Serve at once, along with cooked rice.

Yields 4 servings at 247 calories per serving.

Recipe adapted from The Diabetic Newsletter.

The use of brand names in this column does not imply endorsement by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service of the products or services named or criticism of similar ones not mentioned.

E-mail address: Susan_Noble@ncsu.edu

Mailing address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 6/21/06