Wintertime is Squash Time!

It's the middle of winter and comfort food gets my tastebuds working! I love winter squash--all the varieties, but I find my favorite to be butternut.  It roasts easily in the oven and can be used for any recipe calling for squash or pumpkin. We have started receiving produce shipment bi-weekly delivered to our door from Imperfect Product.  www.imperfectproduce.com   or Ugly Produce as most people describe their fresh products.  Our last box contained a butternut squash.  In a effort to make the roasted squash more interesting, I came up with the following recipe: Roasted Butternut Squash with Pears 1 – 1 ½ pounds butternut squash 2 T olive oil 1 small onion, diced 1 small fresh pear, diced, peeled or not 2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary 1 – 2 tsp curry powder 2 T heavy cream Salt & pepper to taste Cut the squash in half lengthwise.  Remove seeds.  Brush cut edge with oil.  Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper.  Places squash cut side down on the sheet.  Roast at 425 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes, or until soft when pierced with a knife.  Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle.  Scoop out cooked squash and set aside. In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion, pear, rosemary and saute until the onion is soft.  Add curry powder and stir to coat the onions and pears. Add the roasted butternut squash and cream.  Stir until completely mixed.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Continue to heat on low until serving temperature is reached.  Makes 4 servings plus or minus depending on the size of the squash. Nutritional Information per serving: Calories 143 CHO 12 grms Protein 0 grms Fat 11 grms Fiber grms My husband, who I experiment on all the time, said this recipe was worth writing down.  I thought it was a keeper too.  The flavor of the roasted squash comes through but the seasonings give it a bit more interest, the pears a bit of sweetness and the cream--that comfort food touch. Imperfect Produce is a great idea and service.  Their mission is to divert produce that doesn't make it to store shelves to people who will eat i, resulting in less food waste.  Their products either don't pass the "appearance" test or are surplus.  Either way, their produce is fresh and tasty and is delivered to your door (in certain cities.)

Zucchini with Herbs Salad

I came across this recipe from a flyer from my supermarket, Fred Meyer, during the height of zucchini growing season this past summer.  I found it very tasty with the fresh herbs adding greatly to the dish.  It is a great way to use the medium to large sized zucchini.  It can be served hot, cold or at room temperature.  And it travels well if you leave the final assembly to just before serving.

Zucchini with Herbs Salad

Serves 4

Vinaigrette

2 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
1 T. minced shallot or one garlic clove minced
3 T. red wine vinegar
4 T. EV olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Salad

2 or 3 zucchini, depending on size, cut on the diagonal into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup lightly packed parsley, either curly or Italian, chopped
1/4 cup lightly packed basil or fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup lightly packed chives, chopped
1 T. toasted pine nuts
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Make the vinaigrette by adding all ingredients in a jar or small bowl.  Shake or whisk to combine.  Set aside.

Preheat your grill or oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly brush both side of the zucchini with olive oil.  Place directly on the grill on indirect heat.  Or place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan one layer deep for your oven.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook turning once until the edges are charred and the zucchini is tender-crisp.  

Arrange zucchini on a serving platter, drizzle the vinaigrette over, top with the herbs and pine nuts.  Scatter the Parmesan over all.  

The herbs and pine nuts really upped the flavor of the zucchini!  Feel free to use any combination of fresh herbs available.

Dinner in a Box?

I've been curious about these meals in a box.  I've talked to several people who think they are great.  I'm a "from scratch" cook and like to select my own produce and meats to get the best available.  I'm pretty good at looking in the fridge at 4:00 pm to see what I can make a dinner out of.  

I tried a meal in a box from our Fred Meyer (Kroger) store packaged by www.preppared.com.  I selected the Japanese Beef Bowl with Pickled Carrots at $18 for two servings.  It contained ground beef (15% fat), cooked jasmine white rice, shredded carrots, chopped bok choy, sliced mushrooms, minced garlic, chopped ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and Asian hot sauce.  The preparation time was 20 minutes.  The directions were very easy to follow and took the time estimated.  And it tasted good.  Certainly as good as if I had prepared it from scratch.  The quality and freshness of the ingredients appeared high.  The box is labeled with a "use by" date which was three days away.  I thought the entree was as advertised.

But I was curious:  how much time did I save?  How much would it cost if I'd purchased the ingredients myself?  I estimated the two servings would have cost $8.  Time savings?  The rice would take 25 minutes for water to boil and then cook the rice on the stove.  You could buy the mushrooms and carrots already sliced.  The bok choy would need to be washed and chopped as would the garlic and ginger.  But that could go on while the meat cooks.  The rice was microwaved.  And I had selected an easy recipe.  For this dish, preparing from scratch would take 30 minutes if you are good at multitasking while cooking.  

Pros and Cons?

Pro:

• All the ingredients are ready and waiting
• The ingredients were fresh
• Easy to follow directions/steps
• No "mystery" ingredients added--the list of ingredients on the package was very short unlike frozen entrees'
• Minimal packaging--recyclable paper box and directions, minimal amount of plastic wrapping of ingredients
• Easy decision on menu for dinner for those times when you can't think of what to fix

Con:

• Cost twice as much
• Not sure of the meat's origin--I like to know that my meat is from the same animal
• Limited ability to change portion size.  I was good with the controlled portion size, but my husband could have eaten more.

All in all, I think there is a place for dinner in a box.  For me the benefit over frozen entrees' was no additives, portion control and no planning needed.  And it sure beats ordering pizza for nutritional content!

Eat It Like Popcorn!

I had a chunk of eggplant in the fridge earlier this week.  Since it doesn't have a long shelf life, I started looking for a recipe.  I didn't plan on eating it right after I cooked it, but decided the eggplant needed to be cooked now.

I consulted Molly Stevens, "All About Roasting" cookbook.  I found a very simple recipe that the author raved about.  And I had on hand the other ingredients.

Roasted Eggplant with Cumin and Pimenton

1 1/2 pounds eggplant
1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds,  toasted and ground
1/8 tsp pimentos (smoked Spanish paprika)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 450 degrees (425 if convection oven).  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

To toast the cumin seeds, I put them in a small salute pan on medium-low heat.  Shake the pan a time or two and watch carefully as the seeds can burn quickly.  This should take less than 10 minutes.  I put the cooled seeds into a "repurposed" pepper grinder to grind them up.

Cut the eggplant including the skin into one-inch cubes.  Put the eggplant in a large bowl.  Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle the cumin and pimenton, add a generous amount of salt and pepper to taste.  Toss well to coat all the pieces.  Don't worry if some pieces are not thoroughly coated.  Spread the eggplant out in a single layer on the lined baking sheet.  The cubes will shrink as they cook.

Roast for 10 minutes then, using a turner, turn the eggplant over.  Thereafter, do this every five minutes until the eggplant cubes are brown on the edges and soft in the middle.  Mine were in the oven about 20 minutes.  It will depend on the size of the cubes.

When done to your liking, remove from the oven and slide the eggplant into a serving bowl.  I found these tasty hot, room temperature and cold.  It was better than eating popcorn!  The outsides were crispy and well browned and the inside was nice and soft.  The author suggested making this into a salad by adding a small amount of balsamic vinegar (1 to 2 tsp) and 1/4 c. fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons.  I ate half the batch when it came out of the oven.  Then next day I put the remainder into a pasta with sausage and roasted red pepper and parmesan cheese.  Delish!

Soup and Stew Weather!

Maybe I'm "on again" in posting to WoodmontCooks!  Who knows--the desire and ideas are there.  It's just the making the time.

It is cold and dark outside!  That means it is soup, stew and one-pot meal weather!  Soups are easy but they do take time to prepare the ingredients.  But there are also some "convenience" foods that are not processed foods that can shorten preparation time like pre-cubed squash.

The recipe that follows is for a vegetarian lentil soup.  If soup is going to be the main or only event, I like it thick.  This is thick and very satisfying for a vegan recipe.  Serve with a great bread and a glass of wine--yum!

Vegetable Lentil Soup

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato, cut in 1/2 inch cubes.  (This is the orange flesh sweet potato that I call a yam.)
1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1/2 Inch cubes
1 cup brown-green lentils
1 quart vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you don't care about being vegan)
1 16 oz can chopped tomatoes with juice
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 T fresh rosemary, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups fresh chopped spinach

Using a large heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, sweet potato and squash.  Cook covered stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about seven minutes.

Stir in the lentils, broth and tomatoes.  Add the bay leaves, thyme, rosemary and salt and pepper.  Cook covered on medium-low (just maintain a slow simmer) for 30 to 45 minutes.  When the lentils are soft, stir in the spinach.  Once the spinach has wilted, remove the bay leaves.  Serve!

If you like a soup with thinner broth, add more vegetable or chicken broth.

This soup was thick from the beginning and what I'd call stew-like.  I've found that many soups with lentils, beans or barley really thicken up the second day.  This soup is great the second or third day and will freeze well.

The soup tasted great even if I didn't use any of the Kitchen Aid products mentioned!

Not the Same Old Broccoli Salad

I was thinking a crunchy broccoli salad would be a fresh change from roasted broccoli for our dinner vegetable.  I was tired of the salad of broccoli, cheese, raisins, sunflower seeds, etc.  A quick Google search revealed a different treatment from the New York Times Cooking section.  It required making it in advance (you gotta' love that) and there were not many ingredients.  I had them all on hand!  It was a taste hit!  It was even better the next day as an accompaniment to a sandwich for lunch.  This would be a great picnic or pot luck salad.  If you try it, I'd love to hear your comments.

Garlicky Sesame-Cured Broccoli Salad

2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt, more to taste
1 pound broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 c olive oil
2 fat garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
red pepper flakes, to taste--a pinch to 1/2 tsp

In a large bowl, stir together the vinegar and salt.  Add broccoli and toss to combine.

In a skillet, heat olive oil until hot, shimmering but not smoking.  Add the garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about one minute.  Stir in sesame oil and pepper flakes.  Remove from heat, pour over the broccoli and toss well.  Let sit for at least an hour at room temperature or chill up to 48 hours.  Adjust seasonings.

The acid in the recipe works on the broccoli like ceviche on fish.  It turns the broccoli bright green and the broccoli soaks up all the seasoning.  This makes 4 to 6 servings.

I did make a couple of changes to the recipe.  (I can't leave some ingredients unmolested!)  The recipe called for a teaspoon of salt and three times !!!! as much olive oil--3/4 cup!  I think there is plenty of olive oil at 1/4 cup.  And, of course, salt can always be added at the table.

Quick and Tasty Dinner with Browned Butter

In the February 19, 2015 edition of the Seattle Times Pacific NW Magazine, there was a piece about browned butter.  Or in French, Beurre Noisette.  Sounds better in French, right?  Noisette means hazelnut which suggests the flavor of browned butter. The article suggested serving it over pasta with roasted squash.  I tried it and my two "tasters" declared it delicious.  I thought so too.  And easy. 

Brown butter is made from butter and needs only one pan to make a luscious, nut-like golden sauce for pasta or roasted vegetables.  To make the browned butter, melt 1/4 inch slices (one per serving) of butter in a light colored saute' pan over medium-low heat.  Slowly melt the butter, swirling the pan so it melts evenly.  Butter has three components: water, butterfat and milk solids.  The water will evaporate and the milk solids--foam--will brown.  Initially, the butter will sputter, but will soon quiet down as the water is evaporated.  Taking care to not burn the milk solids, continue to cook until it becomes oil-like and smells like toasted nuts.  It's ready!

Roasted Butternut Squash over Cheese Ravioli

Serves 4

1 small butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded and sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces
1 T Olive oil
1 lb. cheese ravioli--from the refrigerator case at your grocery store
4 T butter
8 fresh sage leaves
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/4 c walnuts, chopped and toasted

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Toss squash slices with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Spread the squash slices one layer deep on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Roast about 25 minutes or until the edges caramelize, turning once.

While the ravioli is cooking, brown the butter.  Add the sage leaves when the butter starts smelling sweet and nutty.  Cook the sage leaves until crisp, a minute or two.  Remove to a paper towel if the butter isn't quite ready.  When the butter is ready, remove the pan from the heat. 

Drain the pasta and divide between four pasta bowls.  Top with the squash. Spoon the butter and sage on top then sprinkle the cheese and walnuts.  Serve immediately.

I served it with roasted asparagus (which shared the roasting pan with the squash during the last 10 minutes.)