Iron Chef Lite

We spend so much energy thinking of food as the enemy. I shouldn't eat this. I can only have this much of that. I can't even have those in the house.

Today's homework is aimed at getting us to think about the fun side of food! So we're going to play a little Iron Chef.

The Rules: I'm going to give you a list of special ingredients, each one of which is a super food, and you come up with a meal featuring those ingredients. Your meal can consist of several courses, including a lite dessert. You can also use anything in your fridge and pantry (or the pantry of your mind!), but the meal should highlight the distinct flavors of the super foods. Please write your post before you read everyone else's replies!

Oh, and one other rule: the dishes have to stay true to the ideal of eating healthy and lite!

And now, to unveil the ingredients:

1. Chickpeas
2. Sweet potato
3. Garlic
4. Blueberries
5. Spinach

Have fun!

alli

I'd flunk this challenge, as I would not use the chickpeas or the sweet potatoes. Nobody in our house likes them.

I'd saute the garlic, some onion, some shredded carrots, and the spinach with some chicken stock and some sort of broiled fish would be having dinner. I'd substitute quinoa and mushroom or bulgar pilaf in the potato's place.

Blueberries in a cereal bowl with milk is one of my favorite blueberry treats.

Tilapia, broiled with a little lemon rind, salt, and pepper, served over a bed of wilted spinach that has been sauteed with olive oil and garlic.

Mashed sweet potatoes, made with a little brown sugar, some light cream, and just a touch of butter(even sticking with the true ideal of eating healthy and light there is room for a little butter, right?).

Hummus, made with chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic and served with an assortment of celery, pita breads, carrots, radishes and other veggies.

Blueberries, fresh, of course-served with Greek yogurt, some fresh lemon(like a little rind grated on a microplane over the yogurt, and a sprig of fresh mint.

Thanks Alli, this was fun homework!

Jill

I just read the other responses, and I think Brie and D are THE Iron Chef's!!!

KD has a recipe for some spicy wrap thing with chickpeas and sweet potatoes in one of her books. I'd make that and add the spinach and garlic.

And eat the blueberries for breakfast on my cereal the next day for breakfast.

I haven't read any of the other entries yet (trying to stay true to the rules) but I know I'm not as creative as so many of you in the kitchen. Despite my being older than nearly all of you, I have always been a pretty simple chef, not to mention a picky eater, and abhor anything that has more than a few ingredients (which is why, along with being picky, I so rarely use recipes).

I don't even like all of these ingredients, but here's the first thought I had:

Roasted pork tenderloin with a mustard rub.

Mashed sweet potatoes with lowfat milk, brown sugar and margine.

Spinach and chickpea salad with a garlic-lime vinaigrette.

Blueberries over angel food cake with lite Cool Whip and a shave of dark chocolate.

This might be cheating a little, but I'd make KD's Sweet potato, squash, and sausage stew, which includes chick peas and garlic.

For dessert, the blueberries would either be topped with vanilla yogurt or baked in individual ramekins with a little bit of oatmeal/flour/brown sugar/butter topping.

Appetizer: Whole-wheat flatbread, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled w/ kosher salt & pepper, baked until crisp, with an assortment of hummuses...hummi? to highlight the chickpeas' earthy flavor and smooth texture: Roasted red pepper hummus, roasted garlic hummus, green olive hummus, lemon & tarragon hummus.

Salad: To highlight the POP and beautiful color of the blueberries....a salad of butter lettuce, mild sheep's milk cheese, and fresh blueberries with just a hint of tart lemon vinaigrette.

Main course: Chicken tangine in a roasted garlic-orange sauce to highlight the sweetness of roasted garlic as a complement to citrus. Chicken & sauce served over a bed of lightly wilted spinach to showcase the slight bitterness and pleasant chewiness of a wilted spinach, as well as its ability to complement other flavors.

Dessert: Sweet potato mousse (sweet potato, boiled and whipped with with fresh orange zest and juice), topped with a cinnamon-brown sugar syrup and candied pecans.

(It was a tossup between a sweet potato mousse and a blueberry buttermilk sorbet.)

First course:
Sweet potato bisque

Main course:
Broiled lamb chop with roasted garlic confit served on a sweet potato puree (whipped with chx stock and a soy milk)

Salad course:
spinach salad with chickpeas and blueberry vinagrette served with a crostini with chickpea hummus

Dessert:
Fresh blueberries served in a martini glass with a sprig of fresh mint and a dollop of real whipped cream