Greens Pie

I know, that doesn't sound appetizing, but the recipe to follow kicks some serious butt. It's pretty simple to prepare too. My notes tell me that last time I made this, I wanted more dill and more feta than what's called for in the recipe. You can use any greens for this, including your salad mix. I used some of the leeks from our farm share in addition to the onions. Phyllo dough is often found in the freezer section of the grocery store. At Safeway, it’s with the pre-made crusts and frozen pies. Use your leftover phyllo to make a berry tart. There's a recipe down there. Yum!
Greek Greens and Sweet Onion Pie

Fresh dill and feta cheese flavor this double phyllo-crusted pie. Serve with vegetable soup and crusty bread. Cutting slits into the top phyllo layer allows steam to escape so the crust will be crisp. To serve a larger crowd, double the recipe, and bake the pies side by side in the oven.

Ingredients
2 quarts water
12 cups torn Swiss chard (about 3/4 pound)
8 cups torn spinach (about 1/2 pound)
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

Preparation
Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add the chard and spinach; cook 2 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Place chard mixture on several layers of paper towels; squeeze until barely moist.
Preheat oven to 375°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add chard mixture, dill, and parsley, stirring well to combine. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat. Combine chard mixture, cheese, eggs, and egg whites, tossing well to combine. Stir in pepper and salt.

Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board or work surface (cover remaining dough to prevent drying); lightly coat phyllo sheet with cooking spray. Place phyllo sheet in a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray, allowing edges to overlap plate rim. Repeat the procedure with 6 additional phyllo sheets, placing sheets in a crisscross design. Spoon the spinach mixture over phyllo. Lightly coat each of remaining 3 phyllo sheets with cooking spray, and place sheets over spinach mixture in a crisscross design. Roll excess phyllo into the dish to create a decorative edge; press lightly to hold. Cut 4 (2-inch) slits in top of pie; cover with foil. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until crust is crisp and golden. Cut pie into 8 wedges.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 2 wedges)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 312(30% from fat); FAT 10.5g (sat 4.8g,mono 3.5g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 16.1g; CHOLESTEROL 125mg; CALCIUM 264mg; SODIUM 955mg; FIBER 5.9g; IRON 6.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.3g

Cooking Light, APRIL 2004

We had a lot of salmon berries around here last night and a couple of pears. I used the following recipe as a starting point for a yummy dessert. I used salmon berries, a few pears, lime juice and added some raspberry jam to the filling to help sweeten those perky salmon berries. The end result was very tasty. Especially with ice cream!

Low Fat Blackberry and Apple Tart

This blackberry and apple tart is the result of a morning's apple and blackberry picking at a local farm. Phyllo dough is a great substitute for regular pastry.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1/2 dry pint of blackberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 8 sheets phyllo dough

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss apples slices and blackberries in a medium bowl with sugar and lemon juice. Meanwhile, remove eight sheets of phyllo dough from the pack. I use 14-inch by 9-inch sheets.

If yours are 14 by 18, then cut them in half. Lay the phyllo sheets on a clean work surface or cutting board.

To prevent the sheets from drying out, cover with plastic or wax wrap and then with a damp cloth. Removing one sheet at a time and covering the remainder, spray each sheet with butter-flavored cooking spray, then lay sheet in a 9-inch pie dish, with the sides hanging over the edge. Repeat with remaining sheets, forming a circular pattern.

Fill the center with the apple and blackberries, then bring up the sides of the dough and fold in, leaving a gap in the center. Spray with butter-flavored spray or brush with egg white.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Serves 6.

Per Serving: Calories 170, Calories from Fat 16, total Fat 1.7g (sat 0.3g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 114mg, Carbohydrate 36.4g, Fiber 3.5g, Protein 2g