Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 27, 1993 TAG: 9301270035
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TONI BURKS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
COUNT THE WAYS SERVINGS MEASURE UP
What is a serving?The magic number is one-half, as in one-half cup of fresh berries, cooked or canned fruit or vegetables, or cooked or canned dried peas or beans. Try measuring your choices for a few days until you're comfortable that you can eye the right amount. And if you end up eating a full cup of steamed spinach or carrots at dinner time, well, you've just racked up two servings toward the daily goal.
Except when you're eating salad. One cup of leafy vegetables equals one serving. Add a half-cup of sliced carrots and red pepper chunks for color, and you've just added another serving.
One-half cup translates into different shapes and sizes. One medium whole fruit such as a banana, apple, peach or orange equals one serving. Ditto for a medium potato or six to eight 3-inch-long carrot sticks.
Since dried fruit is so concentrated - think of the size difference between a grape and a raisin - you'll only need 1/4 cup to satisfy a serving requirement.
If you choose to guzzle your way to five a day, drink 6 ounces - three-quarters of a cup - of fruit or vegetable juice. But don't go overboard on liquids. "Juice is a good source of some nutrients but I wouldn't recommend getting most (of the required servings) from juice alone," says Kay Loughrey, a registered dietitian and public health nutritionist with the National Cancer Institute. "I worry a little about what is extracted in the process of juicing. Most extract fiber."
- The Hartford Courant
\ COMBO COOKING Old-fashioned fruit cobbler is 1-2-3 easy when you have muffin mix and pie filling in your bag of tricks. Top each warm serving with ice cream.
Cherry-date cobbler
1 21-oz. can cherry pie filling
2 Tbsps. kirsch or lemon juice
1 7-oz. pkg. honey-date muffin mix
3/4 cup applesauce
1 egg
Sugar
Vanilla ice cream (optional)
In microwave-safe 8x8x2-in. baking dish cook pie filling on high (100 percent power) for 3 to 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly, stirring once. Stir in kirsch or lemon juice. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl stir together muffin mix, applesauce and egg. Spoon muffin batter into mounds over hot cherry mixture in dish. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a 425-degree oven about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the muffin mound comes out clean. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired. Makes 6 servings. - Associated Press
\ MARKET SHOPPING The primroses are blooming, and so are the miniature daffodils. Can spring be so far away? Actually, the primoses and daffodils are in pots, but they are in full bloom and available from some of the growers who're beginning to drift back to the Roanoke City Market.
Actually, there's a lot of activity on the market at this time of the year, especially when the weather is agreeable and particularly on Saturdays. Regular shoppers start the day with breakfast at Ernie's, then go on to browse the shops and to check out the week's farm features.
Right now, there's a good selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. Most, such as tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, squash, peppers and citrus, are coming from warmer growing areas. But there are some locally-produced items, too. Look for a good supply of greens (including "creasy greens"), apples, apple and grape butter, turnips, potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Eggs, country-cured meats, seasoning blends, herb-flavored vinegars, sassafras, jams, jellies, relishes and pickles are among the other items available.
To brighten a winter-weary world, look for those brightly colored primroses which can be transferred to a garden spot after the blooms fade and soil can be worked. Tiny daffodils, cactus and other assorted indoor plants can also be found.
\ GUEST-PROOF Company coming for brunch, lunch or even a light Sunday supper? Here's a dish that will satisfy appetites and is extra easy on the cook.
Overnight ham and cheese bake
6 slices bread
2 Tbsps. butter
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 lb. cooked smoked ham, thinly sliced
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced and sauteed in butter
1 7-oz. can diced green chilies
2 cups shredded Jack cheese
6 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tsps. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. onion salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
Spread bread slices with butter. Place bread, buttered-side down, in 13x9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Place ham on top of cheese, then add mushrooms and chilies. Top with Jack cheese. Beat eggs. Add milk, salt, paprika, basil, onion salt, pepper and dry mustard. Pour over ingredients in dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Uncover and bake at 325 degrees 50 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Makes 6 servings.
\ INS AND OUTS It's a new year, and we all know what that means: time to predict what's hot and what's not.
According to the folks at Quaker Oats, frozen yogurt, Mexican salsa, sparkling water, granola bars and tortilla chips are in for 1993. Ice cream, ketchup, tap water, candy bars and potato chips are out.
On the other hand, the editors of Cooking Light magazine predict fresh spinach salads, Tibetan food (Tibetans eat a diet based on barley flour, yak meat, mutton, cheese and tea), Thai food, fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood burritos, steak and buffalo will be hot in the coming year.
Also big in 1993 will be Pennsylvania Dutch fare, Cajun/Southwestern cuisine, healthful take-out food, one-dish meals, low-fat snack foods, milk and scones, they say.
On the outs: Taco salads, Cobb salads, nachos with cheese sauce, sushi/sashimi, breaded and fried foods, oversized muffins, ice cream made with fat substitutes.
- Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel