Southern USA 1 - Disney & Cooking Panda 0

It is a part of my profession to keep up with food news & trends. I have never heard a Frank Ocean tune but I know about a whopperito. I'll listen to Frank Ocean before I ever eat a whopperito but I know what it is. It's my job & this week my job made my Southern mind itch. Disney & Cooking Panda's take on Southern classics were the comical irritants. It is okay for them to be inspired by the classics but Never call a thing a thing if it's not that thing.

When you wish upon the Southern star, make sure you never mess up the gumbo. Poor Disney! They tried to debut a healthy "gumbo" to the masses and failed big time.

Tiana maybe a one of their princesses now but nobody is going to let Disney disrespect gumbo. Clearly they didn't consult Leah Chase on this recipe like they did for the movie, The Princess & the Frog. It didn't have a roux. Adding flour & oil in the middle of the recipe is not a roux. That's just thickens the dish. It had quinoa it. My grandfather, who didn't like rice ate gumbo over mashed potatoes.

Quinoa is still a grain & looks better than mashed potatoes. I could deal with that. But the adding of the kale was the true slap in the face. Disney erased the recipe before it gave a reason for adding kale. My guesses are 1) Another vegetable benefit, 2) To make it thicker without the roux calories 3) Just wanting to be different.

Gumbo is already full of amazing vegetables & fruits like okra, tomatoes, & peppers that kale was not needed. Also, there are ways to make a roux that is less in calories than the traditional recipe. I hope Disney is going back to the drawing board on making a healthy gumbo. I don't understand how they fail at modifying it, hey have a gumbo on their menu at one their restaurants in Disneyland. I do have a few suggestions.

• Use canola oil instead of butter with the flour to make a roux
• Instead of andouille sausage use smoked turkey or chicken or smoked paprika for that "rich smoky" taste. Also that lowers the sodium in the recipe
• Use shrimp stock, vegetable stock, or water instead of chicken stock. Sometimes meat stocks still contain small amounts of fat that weren't fully removed

Disney didn't have to erase their recipe. I know gumbo is derived from the West African word kingombo meaning okra. I know of an old Southern Lima Bean & Okra soup recipe that has survived with slapping a gumbo name on it. I feel calling it a gumbo inspired stew or soup may have been more appropriate. Disney, keep the recipe but ditch the name.

I've seen & eaten a few variations of sweet potato pie in my life. I've seen the potatoes sliced like apples instead of mashing them. Sarah Lee & Pappadeux have products & dishes that combine it with pecan pie that people like.

Then there is  the recipe that Cooking Panda has on their Facebook page. At the end of it the video, the recipe is called "Stuffed Sweet Potato Pie". Maybe if they had lead with the name, I might have not been so freaked out about the recipe.

Though my mind would've thought a "Stuffed Sweet Potato Pie would've looked like a "Sweet Potato Pocket", the blow might have been lessened. The first thing noticeable about this pie recipe was the missing of seasonings. September 1st, everybody but me celebrated the beginning of  Pumpkin Pie Spice time.

The only thing I put pumpkin pie spice in is sweet potato pie. It's a money saver. But you at least put cinnamon & nutmeg in sweet potato pie along with the sugar, milk, & butter (that are in the recipe). But that was not the weird thing about the recipe. They put half the filling in the crust then put parmesan cheese on top of that layer before topping it off with the other half of the potato filling.

Yes, I said parmesan cheese. I am still confused. Maybe Cooking Panda should change the name & idea of this being a pie to a quiche. It's cooked in a spring form pan (makes cheesecakes, flourless cakes & quiches) so, it could be could a quiche. That's what Cooking Panda made a Sweet Potato Quiche!

America is a melting pot. Yes, I know. But it is important that we know the proper names of it's ingredients. Non-Southerners, its like calling every apple organic, even though many of them have be treated with chemicals. I guess recipes like these should be expected. This is the land where Basic Cornbread Dressing is still thought to be Innovative version of Thanksgiving stuffing in magazines & websites. The South may never "Rise Again" but All Southerners will Rise to protect the integrity of it's recipes.

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms

Baking with Yogurt (Healthier Soul Food)

A few years ago I read a study that said,
One cup of whole milk has as much saturated fat as 5 strips of bacon.
One cup of 2% milk has as much saturated fat as 3 strips of bacon.
One cup of 1% milk has as much saturated fat as 1 and 1/2 strips of bacon.

I had already switched to 2% milk by then. Now, I drink or put 1% milk on my cereal. I only use 2% for special holiday baking. I use non-fat plain yogurt for my daily baking uses, now. This idea came from a family friend suggesting I put sour cream in a failed pan of cornbread and a brand name yogurt commercial came to mind.

One cup of Sour Cream has 26g of saturated fat of its 45g of total fat content.

One cup of Low-Fat Yogurt has 2g of saturated fat of its 4g of total fat content.

Combine those with the fat grams on butter or oil was still too high for me. 

One cup of NonFat Yogurt has 0.2g of saturated fat of its 0.7g of total fat content.

So, it was a better choice for lowering the fat content in the baked goods in my home.

The first thing I tested on was Sweet Potato Pie. I loved making and eating this pie but it is very heavy. Once I learned how to switch the milk for yogurt it became a hit in my home.

Low Fat Sweet Potato Pie (Recipe found on Diet Solutions Facebook Page)

Ingredients

• 3 sweet potatoes

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1 Tbsps vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 cups sugar

• 2 Tbsps pumpkin pie spice

• 4 eggs, beaten

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt 

• 2 (9 inches) unbaked 9-inch pie crusts

Directions

1. Wash and dry sweet potatoes. Put on baking pan unwrapped. Bake at 350 ° for about 1 hour and 45 minutes or until potatoes feel soft. Remove from oven, cool and peel. Keep oven at 350 °

2. In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, butter, sugar, vanilla and spice mix. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, and yogurt and blend into the sweet potato mixture.

3. Pour into pie shells and bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until done.

Cornbread is an item on my "Burned Out" list for me but eaten in my home weekly. My 1st time using yogurt in cornbread is a blessed result of me praying that it came out ok. If you mess up cornbread in my Texan, southern, black home, your feelings will be hurt. I thank God for those results. Now, my household does not want it made any other way. Recently, I ran out of yogurt and used canned milk and they noticed. 

Yogurt Cornbread (Recipe Idea came from Taste of Home)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow or white cornmeal

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 1 cup (8 ounces) fat-free plain yogurt

• 1/2 cup water

• 2 Tbsp. canola oil

• 2 tsp sugar

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients.

2. In another bowl, combine the egg, yogurt, water, oil, and sugar. 

3. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. 

4. Pour into an 8-in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray. 

5. Bake at 425° for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Easier Yogurt Cornbread (Recipe is my own recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 1/2 ounce) box corn muffin mix

• 1 egg 

• 1/3 cup yogurt

• 3/8 cup (6 Tbsp.) water

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients well. 

2. Use either cupcake paper cups or a greased pan. 

3. Bake at 400 ° or according to box instructions for 20-30 minute

Whenever I attend a Soul Food theme luncheon or dinner I hope somebody brought either some vanilla ice cream with the cobbler or a pound cake. If not I opt out of eating dessert. So, this one is for the pound cake makers that understand that everyone does Not eat Banana Pudding or Peach Cobbler. Oh yeah, I don't like Banana Pudding or Peach Cobbler. LoL

Yogurt Pound Cake (Recipe from Cooks.com)

Ingredients:  

• 3/4 cup butter, softened

• 2 1/4 cup sugar

• 3 eggs

• 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/8 tsp. baking soda

• 3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

• 1 tsp. vanilla flavoring

• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

• 1/4 tsp. lemon extract

Directions:

1. Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of an electric mixer.

2. Add eggs, gradually; after each 1/4 cup addition, beat well. 

3. Combine flour and soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until well blended.

4. Stir in flavorings.

5. Pour batter into greased and floured 10" Bundt cake pan. 

6. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

7. Cool in pan 10 minutes, remove from pan; allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

I also use non-fat yogurt in other dishes like nacho dips and mashed potatoes. Same taste as sour cream with less of the fat. Valentine's Day is coming up. Add a little non-fat yogurt in place of your regular dairy products in your baked goods. Give your sweetie's something to help them be here a little longer to love you for it. *wink*

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms