“Would you rather eat a plate of black beans or a fudgy brownie?”

That’s what Ziporah Janowski and Julie Harrington of the Shane Diet Plan ask in their new cookbook, “Meal Simple — The Camp Shane Cookbook: Quick, Easy, Delicious & Healthy Recipes” ($24.95). (Shane has a diet resort at the Westin la Cantera where recipes from the book are served as part of the meals.)

Camp Shane’s Brownies

And the answer their question by offering a brownie recipe that’s made with black beans.

Their reason: “You can get the nutritional benefits of black beans while eating a brownie. Sneaking healthy food into dessert is more enjoyable than eating them plain on a plate.”

Still, black beans in a brownie? I didn’t believe it. So I had to try it out. Sure enough, the recipe is quick and easy, and the nutritional analysis is certainly better than a brownie from a bakery. And, they’re wheat-free.

But what about delicious?

Yes, according to the 15 or so people who sampled the brownies both at work and in my Bible study group. I handed them out and told everyone these were “diet brownies.” Yet no one believed me, and not a single person could guess that black beans were in them. I couldn’t taste them, either, and I was the only one who knew they were there.

The only caveat I got from some people was that there were no nuts in them. And I could understand that. Those of us addicted to nuts in brownies love that contrast of texture as well as the additional flavor. Perhaps that’s why I tossed a little coconut into the mix before baking. Nuts and coconut will add fat, so if you have to have them, try limiting them to a good tablespoon of finely chopped nuts and use 1/4 teaspoon almond or walnut extract instead of the vanilla.

That success makes me want to try more from “Meal Simple” and not just the dessert recipes. The Tilapia with Mango Salsa, Roasted Brussells Sprouts, the breakfast treats, and popcorn with a mix of nuts and dried fruit are all on my future must-try list. Who knew dieting could taste so good?

Brownies

Cooking spray
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 eggs
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Camp Shane’s Brownies in the pan.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray and 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

In a food processor, purée black beans until smooth. Add eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, vanilla and sugar; blending until smooth. Add 1/4 cup chocolate chips and pulse a few times to mix. Transfer batter to pan and sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top of batter.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted at center comes out clean.

Makes 20 brownies.

Approximate nutritional value per serving: 150 calories, 4.7 g fat, 22.7 g carbohydrates, 4.1 g dietary fiber, 6 g protein.

From “Meal Simple — The Camp Shane Cookbook: Quick, Easy, Delicious & Healthy Recipes” from Ziporah Janowski and Julie Harrington

Let’s face it, most of us could stand to lose an inch or two off our waist. We love our rich foods so much that we indulge in most anything that tickles our taste buds.

That’s where H-E-B’s latest cookbook, “My Texas Table: 100 Family Favorites Done Light” (H-E-B, $12.49), comes in handy. The cookbook features dozens of recipes, including French toast, Texas chili, a beefy Guisado and Ooey Gooey Red Velvet Butter Brownies, all remade by dietitians to have lower calories without featuring less flavor.

“Our goal with ‘My Texas Table’ is to inspire our customers to cook healthy at home by providing a guidebook tailored not just to our stores, but to their tastes. These are their recipes, their family favorites,” said Kate Rogers, vice president of communications and engagement at H-E-B. “As a culture, we have become too reliant on convenience food eaten outside the home. We need to get back to the basics of cooking and eating as a family, not just for our health but for our happiness.”

It’s a lofty goal, and one that the book addresses head on. The paperback volume begins with tips for cooking for healthfully, including oven baking and steaming instead of frying, before going to offer ideas on how to reduce sugar or increasing fiber in foods.

Asian Shrimp Stir-Fry

The recipes themselves are lighter versions of ideas submitted by both H-E-B employees and customers, each of whom is given credit, while a paragraph explains what was done to lighten it up or why it’s considered healthful. Consider this comment about the Pizza Margherita: “Pizza often gets relegated to the junk food category. Done right, however, it can be nutritious and tasty. Simply use whole wheat crust, low-fat cheese and lots of fresh basil to enjoy America’s favorite Italian pie guilt-free.”

But even the best intentions from the H-E-B dietitians, who compiled the book, can go somewhat awry, if you don’t pay close attention.

The recipe for the Asian Shrimp Stir-Fry suggests you should serve it over brown rice or buckwheat noodles. Yet the photo shows plenty of white pasta tossed with the shrimp, edamame and red peppers. Beware, that pasta is not included in the nutritional analysis and if you add it to the recipe, you could be adding 40 grams of carbohydrate to the dish, about double the daily allotment for many diabetics.

For the South Texas Oatmeal Cookies, margarine is used instead of butter, but there’s a continuing debate in the medical community over whether that’s a wise choice or not. The end result might mean fewer calories, but that’s not the only yardstick that a recipe’s healthfulness is measured by. Even Weight Watchers has changed its formula to include healthful fats from olive oil, nuts and avocado, among other items, and to restrict carb counts as much as watching calories.

Julie Meza’s Guisado

But that’s where you come into the picture. Recipes are only guidelines, after all. These will get you started, and the rest is up to you. When you’re making the Spicy Bean Burgers, you can wrap them in lettuce leaves instead of carb-heavy bread or leave out the pie crust on the Very Berry Pie with a Twist. Or you could cut the sugar in the Skinny Scones by using chopped nuts instead of dried cranberries, which are almost always coated in sugar.

Making such decisions will help you take greater control over your diet and will hopefully give you greater discipline about what you eat. “My Texas Table” is a good place to start.

“My Texas Table” is available at H-E-B stores. Customers can sign up for this year’s Ready, Set, Cook! challenge through May 26 to try a new healthful recipe each week and for a change to win prizes.

Cabbage Roll Casserole

I love cabbage rolls, but I doubt that I’d ever take the time to roll them myself. I’m not the only one who thinks so, either. Because that was the inspiration for this recipe, featured in “101 Cozy Casseroles” (Gooseberry Patch, $14.95).

Dianne Gregory of Sheridan, Ark., says she loves it because it offers “the flavors of a tasty favorite without all the fuss!”

Cabbage Roll Casserole

2 pounds ground beef, browned
1 cup onion, chopped
1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup instant rice, uncooked (see note)
1 teaspoon salt
1 head cabbage, chopped
1 (14-ounce) can beef broth
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle on some black pepper.

Combine beef, onion, tomato sauce, rice, salt and cabbage in an ungreased 9-by-13-inch pan. (Add the cabbage last in case there is too much to fill the dish, so you can use the leftover in coleslaw or a cabbage salad. When I tested the recipe, I used only 3/4 of a head of cabbage.) Drizzle with broth, cover aluminum foil. Bake for one hour; uncover and stir. Sprinkle with black pepper and cover again; bake 30 additional minutes, or until rice is cooked and casserole is heated through.

Note: To cut back on the carbs, I used farro instead of rice, following the directions exactly as printed. It was a great substitution. And now that I’ve made the dish once, I might vary the seasoning, using dill or even hot sauce in the mix.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Adapted from “101 Cozy Casseroles” from Gooseberry Patch

Raspberries and lime are the basis of this cool treats.

It’s still summer, even if the kids have gone back to school. So, here’s a fun idea for giving them a cool treat that’s filled with fresh fruit flavors.

“The raspberry and lime flavors are equally distinct in these bright, refreshing pops,” writes Bryant Terry in “The Inspired Vegan: Seasonal Ingredients, Creative Recipes, Mouthwatering Menus” (Da Capo, $19). “I make them using store-bought molds, but using small cups works just as well. Simple add the prepared juice to the cup, cover it with paper, wrap a rubber band around the paper to hold it in place, poke an ice-pop stick in the center of the paper almost to the bottom of the cup, then freeze as directed. I have found that freezing beverages typically decreases their sweetness. So the juice for making these pops may seem sweet, but after they are frozen the taste will even out.”

But don’t just make these for the kids. Adults will enjoy them, too.

Raspberry-Lime Ice Pops

2 cups fresh raspberries
11/2 cups filtered water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup raw cane sugar or 6 tablespoons agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

In a small saucepan  over medium heat, combine the raspberries, water, lime juice, sugar and lemon zest. Simmer, stirring often, until the sugar is dissolved, the raspberries have softened, and the liquid is thick, about 10 minutes. Let sool for 5 minutes, then purée in two batches in a blender. Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a bowl, and refrigerate, covered until completely chilled.

Pour the justice onto 6 ice-pop molds or  cups with ice-pop sticks, leaving a 1/4-inch space at the top to allow for expansion after freezing. After filling the molds, if there is any juice left over, water it down and enjoy. Place the pops in a freezer for at least 6 hours until frozen compeltely.

Makes 6 servings.

From “The Inspired Vegan” by Bryant Terry

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Sherry and Toasted Almonds

Sometimes, a recipe jumps off the page and practically begs you to make it. Such was the case with celebrity chef Jeffrey Saad’s soup that matches the winning flavors of red bell pepper, sherry and almonds.

“Sherry and almonds are a classic wine and food pairing,” the chef writes in “Jeffrey Saad’s Global Kitchen: Recipes Without Borders” (Ballantine Books, $22). “By reducing the sherry down with the toasted almonds, the flavor in this soup becomes intriguingly complex. The sherry adds a unique  woody, aged flavor that balances brilliantly with the almonds, while the paprika accentuates the bell pepper flavor, creating a velvety puréed delight.”

But I also wanted to tweak the recipe slightly. I knew I could make it vegan simply by substituting vegetable stock for the chicken stock he called for, which makes it great for a Meatless Monday, an appetizer or even a main course with a salad. He also called for Marcona almonds, but skinned, slivered versions aren’t readily available  in San Antonio. You could pulse Marcona almonds in a food processor to break them down slightly, if you can only find them whole.

As for the texture, I found myself doing a mixture of the techniques he mentions. I put two-thirds of the soup in the blender and processed it down, while leaving just enough alone to give it a rustic crunch.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Sherry and Toasted Almonds

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped shallots
1/2 cup skinless slivered almonds, Marcona preferred
1 cup dry sherry
1 cup tomato purée or chopped canned tomatoes
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Let the pepper, shallots and almonds turn golden.

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the red bell pepper, shallots and almonds. Keep an eye on the heat and stir frequently to get a golden color without burning. Sauté until evenly golden, about 5  minutes.

Add the sherry and simmer until fully absorbed. Add the tomato purée, stock, paprika and salt.  Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool. Transfer the mixture to a blender and purée until smooth, or keep the soup chunky if you like the texture. Strain the puréed soup if you want  it silky smooth.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the parsley.

Makes 4 servings.

Adapted from “Jeffrey Saad’s Global Kitchen: Recipes Without Borders”

Looking for a salad that’s different yet fresh and comforting. Try this lively combination of hearty cheese, hazelnuts, fruit and greens.

According to the new “Carrabba’s Italian Grill Cookbook: Recipes from Around Our Family Table” (John Wiley & Sons, $19.95), “It took time for some folks to get used to pears in their green salad. Now this combination of sweet fruit, bitter greens, pungent cheese and crunchy nuts is appreciated for its creative blend of flavors and textures Be suer to let the pears get nice and ripe. Domestic Gorgonzola cheese is perfect, but if you use the Italian version, “mountain” Gorgonzola is easier to crumble than the creamy “dolce” cheese.”

Pear, Gorgonzola and Hazelnut Salad

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup hazelnut oil (see note)
1 head radicchio, about 7 ounces, cored and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 head frisée, about 6 ounces, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 Belgian endive, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces, core removed
2 ripe Anjou or Bartlett pears, unpeeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2/3 cup (about 3 ounces) hazelnuts, toasted, skinned and coarsely chopped

Whisk the vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste, in a large salad bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil. Add the radicchio, frisée and endive and toss. Add the pears and Gorgonzola and toss gently. Sprinkle with the hazelnuts. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on salad plates.

Note: For homemade hazelnut oil, use a blender on 1/2 cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts and 1/2 cup vegetable oil until the nuts are minced, let stand 5 minutes and strain.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Rebecca Rather’s book “Pastry Queen Parties,” (Ten-Speed Press, $32.50) offers treats big in Texas style for entertaining. Leafing through it, you’ll see such things as Cajun Catfish Tacos with Chipotle Mayonnaise, a big, cool Marinated Crab Claw Salad, Watermelon Mojitos, S’mores Cupcakes (with marshmallow cream topping, off course) — it’s enough to make you want to start planning a half-dozen parties and start cooking.

These Butterscotch Brownies with Brown Sugar Butter Icing seem like a lighter, brighter version of the heavier chocolate and gingerbread sweets we make at Christmas — perfect for a summer potluck or birthday party.  In the book, the brownies are pictured neatly stacked, all individually half-wrapped in strips of parchment paper. A gracious touch to a very sweet offering.

Butterscotch Brownies with Brown Sugar Icing

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups firmly packed golden brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups chopped pecans, toasted
Icing:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups firmly packed golden brown sugar
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the brownies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a half-sheet (13-by-18-inch) pan with aluminum foil and grease with butter or cooking spray. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the 1 cup butter and the 3 cups of brown sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 tablespoons vanilla and continue beating for another minute. In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture on low speed until incorporated. Stir in the pecans. Pour into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake until the bars are set and slightly puffed, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

For the icing: In a saucepan set over medium heat, melt the 1 cup butter and 2 cups brown sugar. Once the mixture is lightly bubbling, decrease the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 more minutes; set aside. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachement, beat the powdered sugar, half and half and vanilla on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the melted butter mixture and beat until well combined. Pour over the cooled brownies and spread evenly. Let the brownies sit for about 30 minutes to let the icing firm up before cutting into squares.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen 2-by-3-inch bars

From Rebecca Rather’s “Pastry Queen Parties” (Co-written by Alison Oresman)

It’s been a few years since we tackled made pizza on the grill. This wasn’t an art we mastered, but even the imperfect products, crunchy and smoky, tasted mighty good.

In Whole Foods the other day, I picked up a copy of Fine Cooking’s “Pizza on the Grill” (Taunton, $10). The cover is a closeup of a Fire-roasted Tomato and Cabrales Pizza; and suddenly, pizza on the grill, once again, looked like a very good idea.

The 75 recipes in this book are mostly pizza, but pizza-grilling experts/authors Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer packed in some more goodies. Along with your pizza, or on it, you might include herb-marinated olives, a mellow Onion Marmalade recipe, an Artichoke Spread or infused oil. These items are complimentary to pizza, and look like great enhancements for the crusty, smoky pie you’ll be whipping up.

Starting with the classics such as All-American Pepperoni Pizza or Very Cheesy Pizza, the book takes on more adventurous fare with Smokin’ Salmon Pizza, Kung Pao Cashew Chicken Pizza or Black ‘n Blue Steak Pizza. The also include dessert pizzas as well as wine pairings, salads and more.

In case you haven’t tried making pizza on the grill, the book will give you all the tips you need, (some basics are included below) whether you’re using a charcoal or gas grill. And of course, there is a recipe for handmade pizza dough, how to slap it into shape and get it safely on and off the grill.

Handmade Pizza Dough
Kung Pao Cashew Chicken Pizza
Black n’ Blue Steak Pizza

The 1-2-3 Techniques for Grilled Pizza from “Pizza on the Grill” from Fine Cooking

Preheat a gas grill or build your charcoal fire and arrange the gray-ashed briquettes for indirect grilling by moving them to one side making sure not to cover the air vent.

1. Place the dough on the cooking grate. For gas grills, place dough over medium-direct heat, close the lid and cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 3 minutes. For charcoal grills, place the dough over the side without briquettes, close the lid and grill for 4 minutes, then check the crust. Rotate the crust if necessary and continue grilling until the bottom is well-marked and evenly browned.

2. Remove the crust from the grill using tongs and a pizza peel or rimless cookie sheet and flip it to reveal the grilled side. Spread the entire grilled surface with the sauce, add the toppings and sprinkle with cheese.

3. If using a gas grill, reset it to indirect heat by turning off one burner (a charcoal grill remains as is). Set the pizza back on the grate over the unlit section, close the lid, and grill until the bottom is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly, 7-10 minutes. Your pizza is ready to eat.

The book “Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent” by Ellise Pierce (Running Press, $25) explores the cooking adventures of a Texan, transplanted to Paris, only to find herself cut off from the boyfriend for whom she’d moved. Forced to find a way to make a living out of her small, subterranean 16th arrondisement apartment, she turned to her love of food and cooking. That is, catering and teaching cooking classes built around the Tex-Mex favorites she’d grown up with.

As she explains in “Cowgirl Chef,” Pierce’s new home wrought some adaptations to her dishes. Not surprisingly, some of these were dictated by the tastes of her audience as well as the availability of ingredients. Her Tacos Carnitas are served with a slaw made of purple cabbage and Roquefort. Or her Tex-Mex Tart, which has a cornmeal crust and is filled with refried beans, chicken and melted cheese, could be compared to “a big nacho,” says the author.

“Paris is big on fish of all sorts,” she writes. So, fish tacos — perhaps not the most Tex-Mex of dishes — nevertheless translated well to the fish-loving French. This recipe calls for techniques she learned from her mom, including the buttermilk and cornmeal breading. It calls for medium-firm white fish, such as halibut or cod.

Pierce has made her way to San Antonio a couple of times this summer already, and she will return to teach a class at Central Market, 4821 Broadway St., from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. July 27. The price is $65. (Call the Central Market Cooking School for class availability: (210) 368-8617.)

Fish Tacos with Mango-Avocado Salsa

1 mango, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
2 tablespoons of finely chopped red onion
1 jalapeño, finely chopped
Small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Pinches of sea salt, divided use
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound medium-firm white fish
1/4 cup buttermilk
Corn oil, for frying
10-12 corn tortillas (heated)
3-4 limes, sliced into wedges, for serving

Gently toss together mango, avocado, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice. Taste and add a pinch or two of salt.

Whisk together the cornmeal, cayenne and a big pinch of sea salt. Pour the buttermilk in a bowl. Dip your fish in the buttermilk, and then roll the pieces around in the cornmeal and shake off the excess. Add just enough corn oil to the bottom of a large skillet to coat it and turn the heat to medium-high. When it’s hot, add your fish, turning them when one side is brown. The whole process will only take a couple of minutes, since fish cooks quickly. Immediately top the hot, fresh corn tortillas with a few pieces of fish and pass the mango-avocado salsa and lime wedges.

Makes 10-12 tacos.

From “Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent” by Ellise Pierce

It’s not just meatless Monday for some of us anymore. It’s less meat, more days of the week.

This turns out to be fairly easy, even for non-vegetarians, who like to cook.  Last week, I picked up Sally Butcher’s  “The New Middle Eastern Vegetarian” (Interlink, $35), and I couldn’t be happier.  The book’s subtitle is “Modern Recipes from Veggistan,” but its 260-plus pages do include dishes with eggs and cheese. The author isn’t vegetarian and admits to a “terrible weakness for chorizo, yet she does cut a broad swath of delicious territory that even vegans will want to explore.

As Butcher points out in her introduction, the Middle East is an area where “constituent nations are simmering, bubbling and bursting with sumptuous vegetarian traditions and recipes.” In this book, for instance, the list goes from bread, pastries, desserts, herbs, salads and soups to legumes, grains, sauces, pickles and preserves.

One of the author’s goals in “The New Middle Eastern Vegetarian” is to offer a guide to the aromatic, even exotic ingredients found in the culinary treasure chests of these countries. Fortunately, in San Antonio, we have stores and markets that import and sell most of them. Our particular favorite is Ali Baba International Food Market at 9307 Wurzbach Road. (We’ve seen many of the ingredients in this book on their shelves, plus they offer a pita bread bakery and halal meats.)

The recipes are tempting, enough so that you will want to go boldly out to find mint sauce, fresh turmeric, harissa paste, date syrup, truffle oil and more. (These may, in fact, already be in your pantry!)

The three recipes we include, linked below, are meatless options from the book that we’d suggest for a day of good dining: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Cheese-Baked Egg-Stuffed Tomatoes

Spinach, Apricot and Bulgar Salad

Black-Eyed Pea and Lemon Hotpot

The author of “The New Middle Eastern Vegetarian,” Sally Butcher, is a London-based food writer and cookbook author. She also runs the acclaimed Persian food store Persepolis. Her first book, Persia in Peckham, was published to critical acclaim and was short-listed for the 2008 André Simon Award. It was also selected by the Sunday Times as their Cookbook of the Year.