Butternut Squash Salad with Tahini Dressing October 29, 2008

This recipe has been sitting on my list for over a year. I’ve just been waiting, patiently, for a butternut squash through my CSA. Last week, I got one. It was huge. I sliced it up, roasted it and used have in this and half in a soup recipe.  Thank you, Orangette, for this beautiful, very filling, warm fall salad.

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 ½ lb.) – peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
• 1 garlic clove – diced
• 2 T. olive oil
• Salt
• One 15-ounce can chickpeas – drained and rinsed
• ¼ of a medium red onion – finely chopped (oops! I forgot this, but you should remember it!)
• ¼ C. coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

Tahini Dressing

• 1 garlic clove – finely minced with a pinch of salt
• 3 +T. lemon juice
• 3 T. well-stirred tahini
• 2 T. water
• 2 T. olive oil – plus more to taste

Start by roasting your squash at 425 for about 20 minutes. Before going into the oven, mix it with the oil, garlic and salt and pepper and spread it out on a big cookie sheet to roast.

In a bowl, mix together the lemon juice, water, tahini, garlic, and olive oil. Taste it and add more water, lemon juice or oil as needed.

Mix the salad together in a large bowl with the garbanzo beans, onions, slightly cooked down squash and about half the dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Plate and drizzle with a little dressing. Enjoy warm or cold.

Notes: The dressing was a lovely nutty flavor and went very well with the squash. Great for lunch leftovers!

Servings: 4 servings

Slurptastic Curried Noodle Soup October 27, 2008

On our drive home from Iowa last night, it started to sleet. Meaning, it would have been snow if it were just a little bit colder.  SNOW. In October. It’s time for slurp-tastic curried noodle soup from 101cookbooks.com. This soup is so warm and comforting, smooth and flavorful.  Enjoyed with some crunchy buttered garlic bread and it’s a fabulous fall meal.  I’m keeping my eyes peeled for some spinach pasta, but I didn’t have any so use regular wheat pasta instead.

• 4 ounces whole wheat angel hair pasta
• 1 C. coconut milk
• 1 T. green or yellow curry paste
• 1 1/2 C. vegetable broth
• pinch of salt (more depending on your broth)
• 6 ounces tofu – cut into small cubes or pieces
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1/3 C.cilantro – chopped
• 1/4 C. basil – chopped just before using
• pinch of crushed red chili peppers

Bring a pot of water to boil, ad some salt and cook the pasta as directed on packaging. Drain and set aside.

In a big soup pot, heat 1/4 cup of cocounut milk and mix in the curry paste well. Add the rest of the curry paste once smooth, along with the broth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Mix in the tofu and broccoli. Taste to see if you need to add more curry paste or salt.

Just before serving mix in the herbs. Place a helping of noodles in a bowl and top with soup. Serve with a pinch of pepper flakes.

Notes: This basic flavor of curry, coconut milke and broth is just so delicious to me. I could leave out the noodles and just add in more broccoli and maybe some spinach. Way better for keeping the blood sugar level and just as good. Next time!

Servings: 4 bowls of soup with noodles + some left over noodles

Delicata Squash and Celery Root Mash October 24, 2008

Delicata Squash. I got two of these new-to-me squash a few weeks ago and went about finding a recipe. I also had a big, ugly looking celery root waiting for me. All I know about celery root is that they are ugly, but when mixed with mashed potatoes, are delightful. I came across this puree recipe on The Wednesday Chef and it perfectly matched what I had on hand. I ate this as a side dish for several dinners and lunches. The flavor was just beautiful with the mix of sweet squash and the flavor of celery.

• 2 delicata squash
• 1 celery root – peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic – diced
• 1/2 c. cream (I used half and half)
• Salt and Pepper

Carefully cut both squash in half and scrap out the pulp and seeds. Drizzle some olive oil on top of each one. Roast at 375 on a cookie sheet for about 40 minutes. Pull out and let cool before scrapping out the inside. Make sure to taste it, it’s good.

While the squash is roasting, boil the celery root until it’s soft. This takes about 30 minutes. I have to tell you that I cheated and microwaved mine in a bowl of water for about 5-10 minutes. In a pot on the stove, heat up the cream with the garlic until just warm.

In a mixing bowl, mash the squash, celery root, warm cream and salt and pepper. I used a potato masher because I didn’t want to dirty the food processor. What I made was more mash than puree. I didn’t mind the texture at all.

Notes: A really great flavor. This would make a perfect side dish for the holidays and is something a little different and not too unhealthy.

Servings: 5 – 6 side dishes

Fennel and Chicken Soup October 23, 2008

Uh oh. We remembered. Chris and I remembered how much we love soup and stew in the fall and winter.  After getting home from the gym on a work day, I really don’t have much effort to make something elaborate. What isn’t elaborate (most of the time) is soup. There may be a little bit of sauteing of vegetables first, but in the end you just throw everything into the pot and let it heat and mix all together! And there are always leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. Thanks to The Kitchen Sink’s blog for this hearty and delicious soup.

• 2 c. fennel – chopped
• 4 slices bacon – chopped (They don’t sell pancetta at Harvestime.)
• 1 28 ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans
• 1 1/2 c. roasted chicken – shredded (I used a rotisserie chicken and used the leftovers for salads through the week)
• 1/2 t. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 t. paprika
• 1 bunch basil – chopped

Saute fennel and bacon in a big soup pot on medium high heat until the bacon starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with liquid and reduce heat. Simmer for 8 minutes. Mix in broth, chicken, beans (drained and rinsed!), seasonings and a little extra water. The canned broth is flavorful enough that diluting won’t hurt it, and my soup needed more liquid. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add in the basil. Season with salt and pepper and serve with toasted pita.

Notes: Excellent. Lovely. Warm with a little kick from the pepper flakes. So very filing with chicken and beans. And there is BACON in this soup.

Servings: 6 servings

Goat Cheese, Prosciutto, Tomato Panini October 21, 2008

How about an easy, simple recipe for a delicious panini. I made these sandwiches to go along with a pot of french onion soup, minus the bread and cheese on top. It was a good combination. Warm soup and warm sandwich. Yum. But really, this sandwich isn’t healthy. Not a healthy creation! It is tasty. Try it.

• whole wheat bread
• goat cheese
• prosciutto
• fresh tomato – sliced
• butter

Heat the panini pan and press. Spread a little bit of goat cheese on one slice of bread (I crumbled more than spread). Top with one or two slices of prosciutto, then top with sliced tomato. Finally, crumble a little bit more goat cheese on top so there is gooey cheese on both sides. Top with another slice of bread. Butter the panini pan and the press and cook away. Keep an eye on that thing, don’t walk away or it will burn! Enjoy warm.

Notes: Delicious.

Servings: 2 sandwiches

Bean and Squash Mole October 19, 2008

Holy mole was this good! (Yeah, I couldn’t hold that back.) I’ve never made mole before but I’ve seen it made at the Chopping Block. Mole is a mexican sauce that includes chili peppers, ground nuts, spices and chocolate. Chocolate, in soup! I saw 101cookbooks.com’s recipe for bean mole with roasted squash and new I’d have to try it. I adjusted the recipe for what I had or could find.

• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 1/2 C. carnival squash
• 7 – 8 big leaves of kale
• 1 T. butter
• 1 onion – diced
• 3 peppers – diced (I used one jalepeno, and two other spicy peppers from my CSA)
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 t. paprika
• 1 ounce almonds – ground
• 2 ounces 70% dark chocolate – chopped
• salt

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Slice and lay on a cookie sheet and spray with oil. Roast at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool and cut squash into bite sized pieces. I did this a day before I made the mole.

In a large pot, melt the butter. Toss in the onion and peppers and saute for 20 minutes. Add the garlic for a few minutes more before adding in the tomatoes and paprika. Cook for about 15 minutes before adding the beans, almonds, chocolate, squash, kale and salt. Stir everything together and mix in a bit of water if needed. The recipe then says to bake in the oven for 2 hours, but I just let it simmer for about an hour on the stove top and it seems to work just fine. Serve and enjoy!

Notes: I used the 2 ounces of chocolate, but the chocolate came through a bit more than I liked. Just a tad. Maybe use one square less next time. Very very filling meal!

Servings: 5 – 6 big servings

Spaghetti Squash Fritters October 17, 2008

Least favorite squash: spaghetti squash. It’s called such because, once cooked, it comes out all stringy, like spaghetti. And then there are all these gross looking recipes that treat it just like spaghetti, just dumping some red sauce on top. And let me tell you, that does not look appetizing to me. So, I searched for a recipe to mask the boring flavor and hide the texture: FRITTERS! This was by far the best recipe I found online, so thanks Too Many Chefs’ blog!

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 C. flour
• 1 t. pepper
• 1 1/2 t. ground nutmeg
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. cayenne pepper

Very very carefully, with a good sharp chef’s knife, cut your squash in half. Scoop out the seeds. Roast in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes. Let cool and then use a fork to scrap the cooked squash out. It will naturally shred.

In a bowl, beat the eggs and then mix in the seasonings. Add the squash and then the flour and mix all together.

In a large skillet, heat a bit of vegetable oil (don’t waste your nice olive oil on this!). Scoop up the squash mixture and plop down into the hot oil. Fritter sized. Fry about 1minute for each side and then place on a paper towel. Consume when done.

Notes: Chris thought these smelled like breakfast (due to the nutmeg I’m sure). I thought “wow, looks like I’ll be giving away my spaghetti squash from here on.” These tasted fine, but they aren’t healthy (oil!) and take a bit of time. Spaghetti squash = meh.

Serving: 20ish fritters

Biryani Quinoa Salad October 14, 2008

Mmm, this one is so pretty! I mean look at it. It’s got green and yellow from zucchini, orange from carrots, brown from raisins, white from the quinoa, tan from the garbanzo beans. Pretty pretty pretty! And it tastes great too. I used this recipe on Dog Hill Kitchen’s blog.

• 1 C. uncooked quinoa
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• oil
• 1 t. curry paste
• 1 small onion – diced
• Lime – juice and zest
• 1 t. grated ginger
• salt and pepper
• dash or two of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 C. raisins
• 1 green and 1 yellow zucchini – julienned
• 1 – 2 carrots- shredded
• 1/2 C. sliced almonds

Cook the quinoa in 4 cups of water. Bring to boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the grain is just cooked but not mushy. Drain, rinse in cold water and let cool

Saute the onion in a little oil. After a minute, at the curry paste and stir. Mix the zest, juice, cayenne and raisins in a bowl. Stir in the quinoa, vegetables, and finally the onion and curry mix. Stir and taste, adding more curry, salt, cayenne or juice as needed. Enjoy!

Notes: This made a big old bowl and we had lots of left overs. Great for a cool Indian Summer meal!

Servings: 6 big servings

Pasta with Fresh Vegetable “Sauce” October 13, 2008

Here’s an easy one, the pasta catch all dish. I normally am not a huge pasta fan because it wrecks havoc on my blood sugar, no matter what I do. But it’s simply so easy and maliable that I will continue to try until I get it right. I threw this dish together last week with the vegetables I found in my fridge and some fresh tomatoes.

• 1/2 pound whole wheat pasta – boiled and drained
• 2 leeks – sliced
• 1 zucchini – sliced
• olive oil
• 2 fresh tomatoes – diced
• 1/2 head radicchio – cut into 1 inch pieces
• Shredded Parmesan
• Salt and pepper

In a skillet, heat oil and saute the leeks. After a few minutes, add in the zucchini and let cook for about 4 minutes. Next, toss in the tomatoes and radicchio and season with salt and pepper. Mix with the pasta and drizzle on a little olive oil and mix in some fresh parmesan cheese.

Indian Lentils and Homemade Chapatis October 10, 2008

I just adore curry. That’s probably my favorite “flavor” if you can call it that. Such an amazing mix of spices. This very basic dish of “Indian Lentils” from Kalyn’s Kitchen gets all its flavor from my favorite curry paste. I think I should actually call this dish Curried Lentils. Actually, who cares what I call it. Just try it.

You should also try making homemade chapatis. The dough is beyond basic and they are so fun to cook. They puff up! I worked off of this recipe I found, although I reviewed a lot of other recipes and they seem pretty hard to mess up. It does take some Time and patience to cook them on the stove top, but I’d say they were worth it.

• Olive oil
• 1 onion – diced
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 1 t. curry powder
• 1 C. dried brown lentils
• 1 can chicken broth and 1/4 C. water
• salt/pepper
• fresh parsley (about 1/4 C.)

In a skillet, heat oil and saute the onion for about 5 minutes before adding in the garlic. Add the lentils, broth, water and curry paste and stir together. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30-40 minutes until the lentils are done. Add more water if needed while cooking. Remove from heat and stir in the salt/pepper and parsley. Serve warm with…

Chapatis

• 2 C. flour (I used a mixture of whole wheat, amaranth and white)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 3/4 C. water plus 2 T.

Mix together the flours and salt. Slowly stir in the water, adding enough to get the flour into a dough and shape into a ball. Kneed for about 10 minutes on a floured surface, adding more flour as you go so it does not stick. Place dough back into the bowl, cover with a warm towel and let sit for 30 minutes. After it sits, divide the dough into 12 even balls. Roll out the first ball into a thin flat disc shape. Heat a cast iron skillet to medium, medium high heat. Pat of excess dough from your disc shaped dough and toss onto the skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes and then flip. The dough with start to puff up but press it back down (I used a fork) so that it cooks all the surface of the dough and not just one area. Don’t be afraid to “pop” the dough so that it goes flat. It’s done when it’s nice and browned on each side. Set aside and continue to cook each chapati. Serve warm with Curried Lentils!

Notes: I loved this meal. It was warm and filling and freshly made. The chapatis can also be put in the oven and turned into a cracker (250 for about 5-10 minutes).

Servings: 4 servings of lentils and 12 chapatis