[2] Boneless chicken breasts are seasoned with adobo (photo © Alleksana | Pexels).

[3] Spice things up with jalapeños (photo © photo © Good Eggs).

Yesterday, we recommended pork pozole recipe to celebrate Día de los muertos. If that didn’t grab you, try these chicken enchiladas suizas with reduced fat, also from Chef Ingrid Hoffman.

“Suizas” means Swiss in Spanish. The thought is that when Swiss people emigrated to Mexico, they brought their dairy-based cuisine with them. Over time, many Mexican dishes became accented with cheese.

These enchiladas are a little lighter than what you might get at a restaurant, but they still pack a strong flavor punch.
 
 
RECIPE: ENCHILADAS SUIZAS

Ingredients For 4 To 6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the chicken, water, 2 of the garlic cloves, and the adobo in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer until the chicken is opaque when pierced in the thickest part with the tip of a knife, about 15 minutes.

2. TRANSFER the chicken to a cutting board. Strain the cooking liquid into a heatproof bowl and reserve. Let the chicken cool. Using two forks, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces.

3. PURÉE the tomatillos, onion, cilantro, jalapeños, and remaining garlic clove with ¼ cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Transfer to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

4. STIR in the sour cream and Parmesan. Pour into a wide, shallow dish or bowl.

5. WRAP the tortillas in moistened paper towels. Microwave on high (100%) until the tortillas are pliable, about 15 seconds.

6. POSITION the broiler rack 6 inches from the source of heat and preheat the broiler. Spray a 9 × 13-inch flameproof baking dish with cooking spray. Dip each tortilla in the sauce. Transfer to a plate.

7. PLACE about 2 tablespoons of the chicken on the tortilla and roll it up. Place, seam side down, in the baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

8. BROIL until the cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve immediately.

There’s a new way to sneak more fruit into your day: Yoplait Fruitful, which blends 1/3 cup of real fruit into each carton. Each flavor contains fruit pieces and/or purée.

It’s available in six palate-pleasing flavors: Blueberry, Cherries & Red Berries, Mango Pineapple & Orange, Peach, Pineapple and Strawberry.

In general, both Yoplait Fruitful and Yoplait Original have around 170 calories per six-ounce container. Fruitful has a higher fat content, as it made with whole milk yogurt. Yoplait Original is made with low-fat yogurt, but has a higher sodium and sugar content.

The company also recommends Yoplait Fruitful as an ingredient in different recipes that call for yogurt—from baking to pancakes. A recipe for pancakes using the Peach flavor follows.

New Fruitfull, in three of the six flavors. Photo courtesy Yoplait.

Find more information at Yoplait.com.

Discover all the different types of yogurt in our Yogurt Glossary.

Check out the different grades of maple syrup.

Peachy pancakes: peach yogurt is mixed in.
Photo courtesy Yoplait.

Even when peaches are out of season, you can still enjoy peachy pancakes. Here, Peach Fruitful stands in. Prep time is 20 minutes.

Ingredients For 6 Servings

Preparation

1. HEAT griddle or skillet over medium heat or to 350°F. Grease griddle if necessary.

2. BEAT beat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl, with a whisk. Stir in milk, yogurt and egg. To test griddle, sprinkle with a few drops of water. If bubbles “dance,” heat is just right.

3. POUR slightly less than 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto hot griddle. Cook until pancakes are puffed and dry around the edges. Turn and cook the other side until golden brown.

4. GARNISH with syrup, pecans and optional cream/yogurt and serve immediately.

 
BAKING POWDER VS. BAKING SODA

You may have used both for years, without knowing why they’re different. Each makes a particular contribution to the cooking/baking process.

Here’s the difference between baking powder and baking soda.

In these modern times it often seems like everything is moving at hyper-speed, and one of the first things to suffer is the quality of your diet (or your kids’ diets). Amplify that by gluten sensitivities, and the struggle to eat sanely on-the-go gets even harder.

Enter ZEGO, a new line of virtuous gluten-free and allergy-friendly energy bars made mostly from organic sunflower seeds, but also including such nutritious ingredients as brown rice flour, pea and rice proteins and quinoa. The sweeteners are agave, brown rice syrup and tapioca syrup.

The ZEGO bar aims high in trying to be safe for every palate and proclivity. In addition to being vegan and gluten-free, there are no nuts, no soy and no dairy (though the bars are careful to note that the facility they use also processes nuts and some of the banned ingredients above).

So ZEGO could even be safe for those following the au courant anti-inflammatory diet. To feel even better about your purchase, ZEGO donates 20% of its profits to the Campaign for Better Nutrition—far above the 5% or 10% we are used to seeing from other brands.

“But how does it taste?” you may ask, intimidated by ZEGO’s credentials. The answer is: delicious!

ZEGO has launched with two flavors, Sunflower, with a hint of caramel, and Chocolate with a crunchier texture.

 
ZEGO is available for $2.50 per at retailers, and $29.99 for a box of 12 bar, at Amazon: Chocolate and Sunflower.

The packaging is recyclable—of course.

—Georgi Page
  

With a chill in the air, this Slow Cooker Corn Chowder recipe from Spice Islands may be just what you’re looking for. The prep time is 20 minutes, and while you’re away, your slow cooker simmers the ingredients for 8 to 9 hours.

Pick up a a crusty loaf on the way home, or refrigerator rolls from the fridge, or some saltines or oyster crackers.

You can also cook this recipe on the stove top, cook time 25-35 minutes.

For a heartier meal, substitute 6 sausages, sliced, for the bacon. We used chicken sausage flavored with garlic and spinach.

RECIPE: SLOW COOKER CORN CHOWDER

Ingredients For 10 One-Cup Servings

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE bacon, potatoes, corn, onions, broth, water, garlic salt, pepper and turmeric in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 8 to 9 hours, or until potatoes are tender.

2. STIR in milk and cheese. Cover and heat until cheese melts, about 2 to 3 minutes.

3. GARNISH each bowl with chives, if desired. Serve hot.

Stove Top Method

1. PLACE bacon, potatoes, corn, onions, broth, water, garlic salt, pepper and turmeric in stock pot. Cover and bring to a boil.

2. REDUCE heat and simmer 20 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. (Add 1 additional cup of broth, if needed).

3. ADD milk and cheese, and stir until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Find more tasty recipes at SpiceIslands.com.

FOOD 101: WHAT IS CHOWDER?

To many Americans, chowder is a soup with fish or seafood as the main ingredient. However, as with the recipe above, there are non-fish chowders such as corn chowder and chicken chowder.

In any chowder, potatoes and other vegetables are typically added. The soup was originally enriched with salt pork fatback (the fat from the back of the pig) and thickened with flour or crushed soup crackers—two ingredients that define a chowder. In the recipe above, bacon stands in for the fatback.

The name “chowder” derives from the French word for the pot in which such a soup was cooked, chaudière, from the Latin caldaria. The word came to New England via Newfoundland, where Breton fishermen tossed some of the day’s catch into a large pot to make soup.

That soup was originally thickened with crushed ship’s biscuits (hardtack); today flour is used.

WHAT IS HARDTACK?

Hardtack (or hard tack) is a simple water biscuit (cracker) made from flour, water, and sometimes, salt. Baked to remove most of the moisture for a long shelf life, it was sustenance for travelers. Merchant seamen, sailors and soldiers saw more of it than they’d have liked.

The name derives from the British sailor slang for food, “tack.” Other names include cabin bread, pilot bread (rations for the ship’s pilot), sea biscuits, ship’s biscuits and sea bread. There are numerous pejorative names for the hard, flavorless rations. One is “dog biscuits,” because people fed them to dogs until the more nourishing and pet-specific dog biscuit was developed.

You can still buy hardtack, known in modern times as water biscuits and saltines. Paired with moisture-rich foods—cheeses, dips, soups, spreads—they are quite enjoyable.

Yesterday we presented a table’s worth of wines that are perfect for Halloween. With names like Phantom, Sinister Hand and Velvet Devil, they add fun to the occasion. Check ‘em out.

Today, it’s beer. Our source is the new book, “The Brewtal Truth Guide To Extreme Beers,” by Adem Tepedelen—an award-winning and entertaining writer who adds “music pairings” to enjoy with each particular brew.

The book promises—and delivers—“the brewtal truth” about beers on the edge—more than 100 of them. It’s a terrific guide to extreme styles, and an informative and fun read even if your beer tastes are more moderate.

There are some imports, but the majority of the selections are American craft beer. The book is a great gift for anyone who is serious about beer. Find it on Amazon.com.
 
 
Bloody Beer
Brewer: Short’s
Location: Bellaire, Michigan

Called “the godless offspring of Bloody Mary and a beer,” this is not a simple case of adding tomato juice to beer. This 8.5% A.B.V. is brewed with tomatoes, celery seed, dill, horseradish and peppercorns. Website.

Damnation
Brewer: Founders Brewing
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan

This Belgian Strong Pale Ale with an A.B.V. of 7.75% is a relative lightweight among the other contenders here. But the author notes, “…it’s the kind of incredibly flavorful beer that could convert someone into a believer and save a soul from a lifetime of drinking bland pale lagers.”Website.

Devil Dancer
Brewer: Russian River Brewing
Location: Santa Rosa, California

Who’s up for a triple IPA with an A.B.V. of 13% and “a tongue-numbing amount of hops?” How’s this for poetry: “Between the malt avalanche and mountain of hops, a veritable floral/fruit/spice cornucopia develops. It smells like a farmers’ market in the heat of summer. Website.

Ghost Face Killah
Brewer: Twisted Pine Brewery
Location: Bellaire, Michigan

The ghost in the name is bhut jolokia, the ghost chile—the hottest in the world. “It will have even the most diehard heat freak howling in pain,” says the author. Hmm. Website.

Labyrinth
Brewer: Uinta Brewing
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

The A.B.V. on this baby is a hefty 13.2%, “wine strength.” (The book features brews up to 21.92%.) If you’re going to be stuck in a labyrinth, a bottle or two of this rye barrel-aged black ale with licorice will make you forget where you are. Website.

Unearthly
Brewer: Southern Tier Brewing Company
Location: Lakewood, New York

How about an Imperial IPA with an A.B.V. of 9.5% and “an uninhibited infusion of hops?” Website.

There are many non-spooky names that amuse: Alpha Dog, Beer Geek Brunch Weasel, Double Bastard Ale, Hardcore IPA, Hopsicle, Palate Wrecker, Red Rice Ale, Shark Pants, Siamese Twin, Victor/Victoria and Voodoo Donut Maple Bacon Ale (named for one of our favorite donuts from Portland, Oregon), from starters.

But beyond the flashy names, these are beers crafted with skill, love, and a touch of heavy metal music.

How can you resist this book?