We just discussed transforming favorite, calorie-packed recipes with lighter cooking techniques. This recipe for a lower calorie seafood “chowder,” from Swanson’s, substitutes vegetable broth and tomato soup for the cream used in many chowders.

FOOD 101: Call it what you want, but even with cream, this is not a chowder. Chowders are enriched with salt pork fatback and thickened with flour or crushed soup crackers—two ingredients that define a chowder, but are missing from this recipe. In addition, potatoes as well as other vegetables are typically added to a chowder; this recipe omits the potatoes.

You can call it “chowder” for marketing purposes (i.e., making the dish sound more exciting to your family). But know in your heart that it’s simply “seafood soup.”

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. HEAT the oil in a 6-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion and thyme and cook until they’re tender. Stir the water, broth, soup and carrots in the saucepan and heat to a boil.

2. ADD the fish. Cover and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Discard any open or cracked mussels. Add the shrimp and mussels.

3. COVER and simmer for 3 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork, the shrimp are pink and the mussels open. Discard any mussels that do not open. Sprinkle with black pepper and serve.
 

KNOW YOUR SOUP

A brief history of soup and the different types of soup.

Nutritionists tell you that you can have your favorite rich foods, just in small portions. One piece of pizza instead of two. One heaping tablespoon of ice cream instead of half a pint.

But overall, eating healthier means better nutrition and fewer calories. The good news is that even historic “bad eaters” can appreciate the delicious flavors of these other foods. It’s a mind thing.

So start looking at your favorites an see where you can make revisions. You might want to start with a copy of Cooking Light: The New Way To Cook Light, Fresh Food & Bold Flavors for Today’s Home Cook.

While there are numerous books in the Cooking Light series, this books starts with the principles of eating lighter:

Continue to enjoy pasta, but make it whole wheat pasta and 50% “primavera” (half pasta, half vegetables). Photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

 
The recipes use “real” ingredients instead of fat-free sour cream, artificial sweeteners, etc.

They provide more than enough flavor, texture, color and mouthfeel to satisfy everyone at the table.

The adjustments are easy, the taste results negligible, the overall transition painless. And if you want to lose weight without working at it, this is how!

It must be “egg day” at THE NIBBLE: We just finished an article on the new pullet eggs (“farmer’s eggs”) from Fresh Direct. And now, some suggestions for leftover egg whites.

More than a few recipes require just the yolk of the egg: custard (including crème brûlée), egg nog, hollandaise sauce, Key lime pie, mayonnaise and pudding, to name a few.

So what do you do with the leftover whites?

It’s easy enough to combine them with whole eggs in a scramble or an omelet. You can also toss them into soup that you’re heating, to create the ribbon effect in Chinese egg drop soup. The extra egg white adds more protein, for just 17 calories (per large egg white). You can add one or two extra whites to cake batter.

But here’s a list we got from About.com years ago, and continue to build on.
 
Uses For 1 Egg White

Add extra egg whites to a regular frittata or omelet. Photo courtesy DeLallo.com.

 
Uses For 3 Egg Whites

More Egg Whites

 
But what if your goal is to make meringues or angel food cake, and you have leftover yolks?

That’s another article. Stay tuned.

In the New York area, online grocer FreshDirect.com is so ubiquitous that it’s often hard to think of it as a Northeast regional business.

It overs only five states: Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. While there are numerous online grocers covering the country, Fresh Direct is known for delivering top quality produce, meats and seafood and prepared foods, as well as non-perishables.

And such convenience: The customer picks the delivery time, 7 days a week. Your order can arrive from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. weekdays or 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays—just the flexibility that those of us who work long hours need.

The company is committed to sourcing the best and newest products for its customers and to helping small farmers optimize their revenue.

That’s what happened on a trip to Alderfer Farm, a fourth generation family farm in Pennsylvania that produces organic eggs. David McInerny, a co-founder of Fresh Direct, inquired about eggs he saw that were set aside from the rest.

The brown farmer’s egg compared to a large organic egg. Photo courtesy Fresh Direct.

“We don’t sell them,” was the response. “Retailers don’t want them. So we send them to breaking companies,” where they are cracked and packaged for foodservice or other applications.

PULLET EGGS, NOW SOLD AS “FARMER’S EGGS”

But these smaller eggs are actually tastier, and are a “secret” product enjoyed by the farmers themselves, unknown by the outside world. (Similarly, hanger steak was kept by the butchers for their own families, until it was discovered by chefs.)

A young hen, called a pullet, will begin to lay eggs at 19-20 weeks. Pullet eggs are much smaller, but produce fluffier cooked eggs with creamier yolks. The tight albumen sets up better for poached eggs. The shells are harder, which means low likelihood of bits of shell falling into the cracked egg.

Part of the flavor and the deeper color of the yolk is because pullets are pickier eaters: They pick out the corn from the feed mix.

The eggs are sold by Fresh Direct as “farmer’s eggs” under FreshDirect’s private label brand, Just FreshDirect, three times a year.

Farmer’s eggs are available through the end of the month, or while supplies last; will be available again in late May or early June, and in September, as the latest crop of pullets starts to produce; and only are produced for four weeks, when the pullet grows larger and produces larger eggs.

If you want a better-tasting egg, give them a try. We’d like to add our observation that organic eggs in general taste better than conventional eggs (due in part to superior feed).

You’ll also enjoy these “farmer’s eggs” knowing that the hens are:

 
The calories are lower, too: 50 calories, compared to 70 calories in a large egg. One dozen organic eggs are $3.69.
 
HOW MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF EGGS HAVE YOU TRIED?

Check out the different types of eggs in our Egg Glossary.

Also new in the refrigerator case is Just Fresh Direct pasteurized organic milk.

Isn’t all milk pasteurized? Yes, but for years it has been ultrapasteurized, to afford retailers a 60-90 day shelf life.

Ultrapasteurization (also called UHT, for ultra-high temperature) is the process of super-heating milk or cream to 275°F for 4 to 15 seconds or 280°F for at least two seconds. Regular pasteurization heats the milk to 161°F for 15 seconds.

The ultra-high temperature kills off all bacteria—not just the harmful ones, but the benign ones that can potentially sour milk but also provide flavor to fresh milk. Now, you can enjoy Just Fresh Direct’s fresher-flavor organic milk with your better-tasting organic eggs.

FOOD HISTORY: Routine pasteurization in the U.S. began around 1920, as a way to prevent illnesses caused by contaminated milk, including tuberculosis. Here’s the scoop.
  

“I’m infusing every morsel that crosses my path with a bit of edible sunshine while the real thing plays hard to get,” says Hannah. “Grapefruits, oranges, lemons and limes are always close at hand, spilling out of the refrigerator fruit bin and lining the kitchen counters with a cheerful spray of neon colors. Their natural luminescence does wonders to lift spirits through the most gloomy of days. But it’s truly the bold, bright, astringent flavors that sustain me through winter.

“This year, I’ve added a newcomer to that lineup: the petite yet powerful clementine. Cuties Clementines [in California’s San Joaquin Valley] were generous enough to ship an entire crate of these glowing orange orbs straight to my door.

“Not to be overly dramatic, but what a revelation! Gone are the days of meticulously picking at the stringy pith of oranges before the segments become edible. The skin practically falls off of these juicy half-moons, nary a seed in sight.”

Clementines are mandarins, not oranges. “Tangerines” are a made-up term for a mandarin in general—see why below. Photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog.

Clementines from California are available from November through April. Not only are they naturally sweet and delicious; they’re also seedless, compact, and easy to peel. This makes them perfect for fruit bowls, backpacks, lockers, glove compartments, tote bags and even back pockets.

You can use clementines anywhere mandarins and oranges are called for, from a breakfast yogurt parfait to sorbet to the clementine tart below.

RECIPE: CLEMENTINE & MATCHA TAPIOCA TARTLETS

“Bursting with flavor, sweeter and more mellow than an orange but still plenty punchy, clementines sounded like the ideal pairing with matcha,” says Hannah, whose sweet spot (pun intended) is vegan desserts. She has published several books on the topic.

“Cutting through the bitter powdered tea and balancing out the whole dessert, clementine segments top chewy tapioca pearls, cradled in the easiest mini tart shell you’ll ever slap together. There’s no need to break out the rolling pin: This crust is merely pressed into the pans and won’t slip or slide under the heat of the oven. There’s no need for pie weights.”

The recipe is cholesterol-free and vegan (although you can use conventional milk and butter).

Press-In-Pan Olive Oil Pastry Crust

 
Matcha Tapioca

 
To Finish

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 375°F; lightly grease 10-12 three-inch tartlet molds.

2. MAKE crust: Mix together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, stirring thoroughly to incorporate. Drizzle in the water very slowly, adding just enough to bring the dough together without making it wet or sticky.

3. BREAK off 2-3 tablespoons of dough for each tartlet and press it evenly across the bottoms and up the sides of the molds. Make sure there aren’t especially thick edges left around the base, so that the entire crust cooks evenly.

4. BAKE for 10-15 minutes, turning the pan around halfway through the process to ensure even baking, until golden brown all over. Let cool completely before popping the shells out of the molds.

5. MAKE the tapioca: Pour 2 cups of very hot water over the pearls and allow them to soak for 2-3 hours. This will soften them and prevent hard centers from remaining after cooking. Rinse with cold water and thoroughly drain.

6. PLACE the soaked pearls in a medium saucepan along with the milk. Whisk together the sugar, matcha, cornstarch and arrowroot in a separate bowl and break up any clumps of matcha.

7. ADD mixture to the pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Allow the mixture to come up to a boil, whisking periodically. Be sure to scrape along the sides and bottom to prevent sticking and burning. Once the mixture bubbles vigorously for a full minute, turn off the heat; then add the butter/margarine and vanilla extract. Stir until the butter/margarine has completely melted; then distribute the mixture between the baked tart shells, filling them to the top.

8. COOL the tapioca filling fully; then top with clementine segments and optional mint leaves (if the leaves are large, cut into a chiffonade [finely cut strips]). Serve at room temperature or chill for 2 hours.
 
 
CLEMENTINES ARE NOT ORANGES

There are three basic citrus types—citron, mandarin and pummelo—from which all modern citrus derives via hybrids or backcrosses.

While they look like small oranges and are often called “mandarin oranges,” mandarins are a separate species that includes the clementine, mineola (red tangelo), murcott (also called honey tangerine), tangelo, temple and satsuma, among others.

 
Clementines alone have numerous sub-species, some more commercial than others (the Clemenules Clementine is the largest commercially grown variety). “Cuties” are a marketing name for clementine mandarins generally sold before Christmas. The same fruit is called a murcott or tango mandarin after the holidays. Why ask why?

More Confusion

Mandarins are also called loose-skin oranges—a usage which is both unfortunate and confusing given the numerous, highly distinctive differences between the two genuses. According to the experts at U.C. Davis:

 
The mandarin probably originated in northeastern India, home of the Indian wild mandarin, Citrus indica Tan. As with all agriculatural products, many hybrids followed. The King and Kunenbo mandarins, for example, originated in Indo-China and the Satsuma mandarin originated in Japan. The Mediterranean mandarin is believed to have been cultivated in Italy.

The mandarin reached the Mediterranean basin in the early 1800s, and about 1825 in Florida. Thanks to the University of California Davis for providing this information. You can read more here.