Cabbage and Leek Gratin with Mustard Cream

We're in full-fledged Christmas mode around here. I wanted to get all the decorations up this week, but I couldn't bear to decorate a dirty house. We've been skimping on the cleaning for a while now - a deep clean is overdue. My solution has been taking the house one room at a time, cleaning really well, then decorating as we go. So far we've tackled . . . three rooms. One of them was the kitchen, though, so I consider it a triumph. The Christmas tree just went up and will be decorated later tonight, so we'll have to handle the rest of the rooms later in the week. However long it takes, I am determined to have everything sparkling before Christmas.

A clean, festive house requires comfort food, doesn't it? But if you're anything like me, you're probably trying to avoid too much heavy winter fare. There will be enough time for splurging and treats at all the holiday parties that are coming up - in between, we need to keep things light. This is a great meal for that. Despite its name, this gratin is cheese-less. I've lightened up the dairy called for in the original recipe, so the final result is a healthy but satisfying dinner option.

Cabbage and Leek Gratin with Mustard Cream
Adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Suppers.

1 1/2 lb green cabbage, chopped into bite-sized chunks
3 large leeks, sliced into half-moons
1/3 c flour
1 c skim milk
1/3 c fat free Greek yogurt
3 eggs
3 tbsp dill, chopped
1 small shallot, minced
1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
2/3 c fat free Greek yogurt
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp prepared horseradish
salt

Preheat oven to 350° F and lightly coat a 6 c gratin dish with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cabbage and leeks. Boil for 5 minutes, drain in a colander and press out remaining water. Return the cabbage mixture to the empty pot.

Whisk together flour, milk, yogurt, eggs and herbs, then add to the cabbage and leek mixture. Sprinkle with 3/4 tsp salt and fold together with a rubber spatula.

Transfer to prepared dish and bake 45 minutes, until firm and browned.

Meanwhile, mix the shallot and vinegar in a small bowl with 1/8 tsp salt and let stand for 5 minutes. Add yogurt, mustard and horseradish. Mix well to combine, then serve with gratin.

(If any of you end up trying the mustard cream, let me know what you think! I think it tastes exactly like the sauce Burger King uses on the Whopper. Who would have thought that pickled shallots were the secret ingredient?)

Dill Yogurt Dip

I love vegetable dips. I actually learned to like raw broccoli (well, again - apparently I loved it as a toddler) in high school when I realized it was the perfect vehicle for a nice dip. The problem is that I can't handle that sort of fat in my diet anymore. I'm apparently getting too old to be shoveling full-fat sour cream and mayonnaise down my gullet without my body protesting.

But I have the perfect solution. Last year, I purchased some Greek yogurt for some recipe or other. Now I've never been a huge yogurt fan - I think it's the goopy texture - but this was different. It still has a yogurty tang, but the texture is closer to sour cream. So a lightbulb went off in my head - what if I exchanged the sour cream in my favorite dips for Greek yogurt? A gut-busting indulgence now becomes a healthy snack! It's seriously good and good for me. And it got me to eat tons of raw vegetables this summer - in fact, this was usually my lunch.

This is also a great way to use some dried herbs. What, you don't dry your own herbs? I think this is the easiest do-it-yourself kitchen project. Fresh herbs from the grocery store are expensive and go bad quickly. When I'm compelled to buy some, I use what I need and then hang the rest up to dry. After forgetting about them for a few weeks, I take them down, strip the leaves from the stems and put them into my handy magnetic containers. Below you can see my basil, thyme, dill, marjoram and sage.

I have parsley and rosemary as well, but they're in ceramic pots on my counter (I have more than will fit in the magnetic containers). Most of these came from store-bought herbs. Hopefully by the end of the summer, my own herb garden will be thriving both indoors and out, and I won't need to be buying herbs at the store again any time soon. I'll definitely need plenty of dill on hand for this dip!

Dill Yogurt Dip

1 - 1 1/2 c Greek yogurt

1 tbsp fresh dill (is you're using dried dill, 2 tsp should be plenty)

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp seasoned salt (why? my original recipe called for it - this is actually the only reason I keep it in my pantry!)

1 tsp onion powder

dash garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir (and don't confuse garlic and onion powder like I did - I had to spend some time trying to fish out most of the garlic! That would have been super-strong!).

While you can eat it right away (I certainly did when I made this batch), it's at its best if you put it in the refrigerator for an hour or so to let all the flavors meld. Also, I've found that the Greek yogurt can separate a bit when refrigerated - the herbs and things will all float to the top. There's nothing wrong with it when this happens. Just give it a quick stir and it will be as good as new. Serve with your favorite veggies!