Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Stuffed Acorn Squash

This is not technically a recipe, and I don't have a photo because it was just thrown together when I noticed squash was on sale. But Milo insisted, "Mom, put this on your list so you will remember to make it again." I have to admit, it was pretty good, inexpensive, relatively healthy, and if you have an hour to wait for the oven, only took about 5-10 minutes of actual work.

Easy Stuffed Acorn Squash
2 acorn squash (to serve 4 people)
1 box Near East rice pilaf of your choice (wild rice would be nice - I chose the classic)
a little extra water and rice (about 4 T/2 T)
bread crumbs
grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil, salt, pepper

Heat oven to 350. Cut acorn squash in half and scoop out seeds. (the "pretty way" across the middle). They will need to be able to sit cut-side up, so trim off stem if needed. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Put cut side down on a baking sheet and cook for about 45 minutes until super-soft.

About 20 minutes into the baking, cook the rice pilaf. Follow package directions, but I added a little extra water and extra rice to make sure I had enough to fill all 4 squash halves. (it also cuts down on the saltiness.)

When squash is soft, remove from oven and flip over in pan. Fill with the rice pilaf. Mix some of the bread crumbs and some parmesan cheese (about 4 to 1 ratio?) and sprinkle on top. You could also add some paprika for color. 

Return the squash to the oven to brown the bread crumbs, about 10-15 minutes (keep an eye on them.) If you have a broiler that is adjustable you can use a low broiler setting to gently brown the top.

Serve 1 squash half per person. This is a pretty substantial serving, not a side dish - it was a "one dish" meal for us that night. It would be good with ham or sausage on the side, but doesn't really need it.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Sweet Allergen-free Treat

OK, this isn't a recipe, just an idea and not even one I came up with originally. I actually (a) wanted to show off this photo and (b) haven't been doing much cooking lately, except Christmas cookies. 



My first grader celebrated his 7th birthday the day before Thanksgiving break, and his classroom has quite a few allergies, and he loved the idea of these fruit kebabs with miniature marshmallows. I found the long (4") fruit skewers at Party City. The cocktail umbrellas I had on hand. A peeled clementine is holding one up in the center. I made one tray up to be pretty, and took the rest of the fruit and marshmallows to school for the kids to make their own. So, healthy sweet treat, kids could pick what they wanted on their skewers, and fun little easy activity. Anyone surprised that I saw several skewers of marshmallows only? 

Note: make sure that you remind kids to remove the fruit from their fruit kebabs instead of (oops) eating from the sharp pointy sticks. (everyone was fine!)

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

New World Skillet (Cheap Eats)

Around the beginning of the recession, our grocery store started featuring $15 dinner specials. Buy these 4 items totaling under $15 and you have dinner for four. Of course like any cheapskate worth the label, I scoff at that. I can make dinner for four for $5 without breaking a sweat! (leaves more in the checking account for splurging on the $50 dinners.)

The following dish is improvised, mostly pantry-based, and cheap as heck if the squash is on sale. It’s also fast and simple to throw together after work. I called it New World Skillet because most of the ingredients (corn, squash, tomatoes) are native to the Americas. An interesting name encourages kids to give it a try (or at least provides some dinner conversation). We served over rice, but it could also be a burrito or enchilada filling. Actually, I had the leftovers for breakfast and that was pretty yummy too.



New World Skillet
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into about ½ inch dice
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (if you don’t rinse, everything turns gray, ick.)
28-oz can diced tomatoes
Chili powder, about 1 tsp or to taste
Oregano, about ½ tsp
Cumin, about ½ tsp or to taste
Tabasco sauce or similar, to taste (2 shakes is good for my kids.)
(optional) red pepper flakes, for adult diners, about ¼ tsp.
Salt and pepper

Heat oil in large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium or med-low heat. Add squash and sauté about 3-4 minutes. Add onion, chili powder, oregano, cumin and oregano. Cook a couple of minutes more and add garlic. Continue to cook until squash is soft. Add corn, reserving the liquid to add moisture to skillet if needed, beans, and tomatoes. Add optional red pepper flakes. Cover and cook about 10 minutes until flavors are blended. Taste and add Tabasco, salt and pepper. Cook another few minutes to blend flavors.

Serve over rice or with corn tortillas. Kids may want to add sour cream.

Serves 4.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Ralph Sisters’ Fabulous Sausage Bread

The shout-out
Earlier this month our after-school care staff from Hephzibah hosted their fall potluck. It’s a great chance to get to meet some of the parents of the kids our kids see after school, to share wonderful food, and for the kids to use their craft time making the mini-gym look wonderful with handmade decorations, banners, and table covers. I love our Hephzibah staff – Melissa and Linda know my boys as well as any other adult in their lives after 6 years. We are so lucky to have all of these creative and energetic women and men in our kids’ lives.

The main event
I usually bring a vegetarian entrée or dessert. But this year we wanted to dazzle the crowd with one of the best potluck dishes I’ve ever had, my friend Lynn’s Sausage Bread. It’s addictively delicious, and predictably the two loaves we brought vanished with only bread-y scraps left behind. Tom volunteered to bake when my work schedule got hectic. My husband is the best.



Lynn gave me the recipe years ago, and I came across my slightly-battered printed copy recently. It’s called the Ralph Sisters' Sausage Bread and I haven’t asked her about these mysterious relatives because I like to imagine them as slightly-eccentric, slightly-whimsical ladies of a certain age who like a good time and never count calories.

Marginalia
I reproduce the recipe below as I received it, with Lynn’s notes (in blue.) An online friend who sadly died a few years ago, Maria G., added her own notes (in green). Tom's/my notes are in red. I love the way each cook brings their own thoughts and twists to a recipe. I have recipes with my grandmother or my great-aunt Verna’s or my mother-in-laws extra notes on them, and I notice as I flip through some of my cookbooks that I’m adding my own food marginalia that some day my kids may read. (Halve that waffle recipe. Add extra water to the dahl.)

The star of the show
With Lynn’s permission, the best (meat-containing category) appetizer/snack for buffet or potluck. You won’t have leftovers (but please don’t calculate the calories!)


The Ralph Sisters' Fabulous Sausage Bread 

Mix the following together in a HUGE bowl--add enough eggs to make the mix hold together:

2-1/2 lb Italian sausage, cooked thoroughly and chopped (Lynn - I put it through the food processor for a few pulses--also, portion note: I've made this with 3/4 to 1/2 this amount, with good results--you might want to play with it.) Tom yes, definitely reduce the sausage amount.
3-4 eggs
3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 lb shredded mozzarella (Lynn - see note above about sausage portion--you can easily make this with less cheese)
handful of parsley, chopped fine 
Make according to package directions, then split in half to rise in greased bowls: One package of bread mix
(Lynn: Note: the original recipe calls for Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix, which IMO is difficult to find in stores and makes a flatter loaf, but the Ralph sisters swear by it. I prefer a white bread mix originally made for bread machine, but made according to the "conventional oven" instructions on the side of the box. Again, you can experiment with this, either using your favorite bread recipe, some exotic box mix, or even premade bread dough from the grocer's case.) 
Tom – we used bread dough/pizza dough rounds from Tony’s Super Store, for local readers (you can also buy them at Turano bakery or Trader Joe’s.)

After dough has risen, roll each ball out in a large rectangle (about the size and shape of your average cutting board), taking care not to roll it out so thin the dough gets holes in it.

Then cover each rectangle (leaving about 1/4-inch or less margin not covered) with 1/2 sausage mixture.

Roll the sausage covered dough, starting at the short end of the rectangle like a jelly roll, and seal ends by moistening them, pinching them together and folding them under, then cover LOOSELY with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes; Allow to bake unwrapped an additional 15 minutes, or until a nice golden brown. Slice and serve!


Tom - Good with dijon mustard!



Maria - I used Williams-Sonoma Parmesan and Tomato Basil bread mix. In making the sausage, I seasoned it with much finely diced onion, pressed garlic, aniseed, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper (to taste.) 

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Chili Night (Big Molar-style Texas Chili)



It was a dark and windy October night, perfect for chili, when we gathered for the long-awaited chili cookoff. 

Mmm, Steam-ay

The moment of truth for the tales of neighborly chili prowess had arrived.

L and T made a mouth-watering white chicken chili





J and W made a Spanish-seasoned chili with hamburger and fresh garden peppers. Can chili taste like a garden? Yeah, MMM.

Apologies for lame photography - we were eager to get to the eating portion of the evening


Tom made his Texas Big Molar style beef chili and Big Molar-inspired beans. 



They were all fantastic. I hope to bring the other recipes for future posts, but here’s our chili contribution. This is a great combination chili if you have a vegetarian to serve – the meat-eaters can mix the beans and meat. Our kids just have the beans over rice. 

Big Molar – style Beef Chili

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 pounds chuck roast, cut into smallish pieces
1 (14-ounce) can beef broth
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon granulated onion
5 tablespoons chili powder, divided
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic (or 3 cloves fresh minced)
Salt to taste
Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook until browned; drain fat (save for beans if desired.) Transfer the meat to a 5-quart stockpot or dutch oven. Cover with 1 inch or so of water. Heat to a boil and cook 30 minutes.
Add broth and tomato sauce, cook over medium-high heat until thickened, about 30 min. Stir in seasonings except garlic and salt. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook 30 min. Add garlic and salt and cook 30 minutes more.

Big Molar Inspired Beans

2 tablespoons olive oil or rendered fat from the beef, above
1 medium chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper
1 can mild or hot green chiles
Tsp. paprika
2 tsp. granulated onion
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 tsp black pepper
4 cloves minced garlic
2 cans red kidney beans, drained (or equivalent dried beans that have been soaked and cooked)
8 oz can tomato sauce

Heat cast iron skillet over low heat. Add oil or rendered beef fat, about 2 Tablespoons. Add chopped onion and bell pepper. Cook until vegetables are soft. Add green chiles. Add spices except for the garlic. Cook for a few minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Add minced garlic and red kidney beans, tomato sauce, and about ½ cup water or vegetable broth. Cook over low heat, covered, for about an hour.


Tonight we’re gathering again for soup and bread night. We’re cooking borscht and peach cobbler as I type. Mmm. Hate the shorter days of fall, but I do love the food. (recipes later! Off to the oven)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Ten Thumbs Up Minestrone

That’s right – when I asked the kids to rate this meal by thumbs, they put all their digits in the air. Reluctant amateur cook mom WIN. 

(OK, so part of that might be the way I refused to let them into the kitchen and have a snack, and dinner wasn’t served until 6:30. Hunger = best sauce. But still.)


Another nod to the Daily Soup Cookbook. They have three fine-sounding recipes for minestrone. I’ve never actually made the recipes, given that I can’t plan ahead and never have all the ingredients,  but they give me a starting point and proportions, and whatever’s in the house pretty much dictates the direction from there. This recipe makes a lot of soup – half will serve 4 generously.

Ten Thumbs Up Minestrone
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 leeks, rinsed well and chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
8-10 cups of veggie broth
2  15-oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1  28-oz can whole tomatoes, drained and diced (I don’t know why, but it seems to taste more tomato-y than canned diced tomatoes)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
½ cup savoy cabbage, chopped
½ cup small pasta for soup (I used small ditali, ditalini)
1/3 to ½ cup basil pesto
(optional) fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, leeks, and garlic and cook until tender (about 5 min.)

Add the seasonings and stir.

Add the beans, broth, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about an hour.

Note – at this point the soup can be put away in the refrigerator or freezer if you aren’t serving immediately. The next few steps are for right before serving.

To simmering soup, add the carrots and cabbage and cook about 10 minutes, partially covered, until carrots are mostly soft. Add the ditalini pasta and cook partially covered about 5-7 minutes (or package directions) until pasta is al dente.   
Turn off the heat and stir in the pesto. 

Serve with grated Parmesan and garlic bread.
Makes lots of soup – 10-12 cups.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Easy-Peasy Veggie Broth

When we first started cooking mostly-vegetarian meals, I used to grumble to Tom that vegetarians and vegans must hate food. My evidence was: vital wheat gluten, seitan, and the flavor of canned or boxed vegetable broth.  Bad, bad semi-vegetarian.

But it turns out that making your own vegetable stock is easy, cheap, and relatively quick. You will never again have to pay $2.99 a box for something that tastes like boiled grass flavored with soy sauce (yes, I’m talking to you, Wolfgang Puck.) Next time you notice some wilting celery and carrots in the crisper while doing your weekend fridge cleaning, simmer up some stock for later. It will keep in the fridge for about a week, or you can freeze it for later use. Not cooking vegetarian? Honestly, I think this fresh vegetable broth will work better in many recipes than the strange flavor of most canned beef broth. Give it a try.

My version of vegetable stock owes something to both the Everything Vegetarian and the Daily Soup recipes, depending on what I have in the house and what I’m planning to use the stock for. 

Rules of Thumb for veggie stock:
  1. You can make this with only onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and some sort of seasoning (salt and pepper at least – parsley, etc., if you want.) A note on celery: I don’t care for it myself, but I haven’t found anything else that provides the depth of flavor it adds to vegetable stock. 
  2. Other standby additions: chopped tomato, one potato (adds body), dried mushrooms thyme, parsley, bay leaf – fresh bouquet garni if you have all the ingredients on-hand. Everyday Vegetarian likes a lot of parsley, and soy sauce. It’s the time of year to throw in what’s left of the fresh herbs in the garden before winter.
  3. Don’t include strong flavors (broccoli, cabbage).
I made veggie broth last night, which will be the base for the minestrone we’re having tonight.  Doesn’t the final result look rich?



Veggie Broth

  • 3 large carrots, washed well or peeled, and chopped coarsely
  • 3 celery stalks, washed and chopped coarsely
  • 2 medium potatoes (any style), washed well and chopped coarsely
  • 1 large onion or two medium onions, peeled and chopped coarsely
  • 3-4 garlic cloves (you don’t even have to peel them)
  • Half yellow bell pepper, seeded, washed, and chopped coarsely (green pepper is too much flavor for my taste, but a little bit of a milder bell pepper is OK.)
  • One medium yellow winter squash, washed and chopped coarsely
  • Dried mushrooms, about a half-cup. (we have the cheap variety you can find in Chinatown – nothing exciting or expensive.)

    Seasonings (also see point 2 above. This is what I used:)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • A couple of stems of fresh oregano
  • A few stems of fresh parsley
  • A couple of fresh basil leaves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 10 cups of water (or a little more if needed to cover vegetables in pan.)
Put everything in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes. An hour is even better. 

Allow broth to cool slightly. Strain into a bowl or other container using a colander or strainer. If you don’t mind a cloudy broth, you can use a potato masher to squeeze more flavor out of the vegetables as you drain the liquid. Discard or compost the cooked vegetables.

That’s it! Refrigerate or freeze and use in any recipe calling for vegetable broth. The flavor is very mild and almost disappointing if you try a teaspoonful of it, but it made a huge difference in my soups and sauces.  Next up: minestrone (which is bubbling on the stove as I type).

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Mexican Chocolate Veg Chili

“Oh, man, best thing ever!”  - Milo



Since most of our meals are vegetarian, it’s no surprise that we have chili pretty often. Tom makes an especially good chili, never the same taste twice. (As he explains, it all depends on what we have in the house. Pantry chili, I guess you could call it.) Last night’s was a little picante and a bit sweet, and the kids went crazy for it. Here’s the closest he can come to capturing it in recipe form.

Ingredient note 1: You’ll find Sazón Goya on the list, which turns out to be largely MSG, oops. I’m fascinated by the concept of MSG – a chemical that makes any food taste better! How cool is that? – but that’s a topic for another post. In any case, feel free to skip it. We've been having fun with it.

Ingredient note 2:  This was pretty sweet. It skimmed the borderline for me and came in on the yummy side, but some diners may find it too much in their chili. I might cut the hot chocolate tablet amount by half next time.

Mexican Chocolate Veg Chili
Chop up all the half-used onions in the refrigerator (about half a large yellow onion and half a purple onion)
Oil for cooking
1 – 7 oz can mild green chiles
1 T paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 packet Sazon con cilantro y tomate [see note above]
1 15-oz can kidney beans
1 28-oz can pinto beans
1 28-oz can diced tomato
1/ 2 circle of Mi Abuelita Mexican style hot chocolate [see note above]

In about a tablespoon of oil, saute onions and green chiles until onions are starting to soften. 

Make a pool in the middle. Add a little more oil. Into the oil, put 1 T paprika, 1 t garlic powder, 1 t  black pepper,  1 t  cumin,  t 1cinnamon, and one packet Sazon con cilantro y tomate.  Cook in oil, Indian style

Add 1 15oz can kidney beans, with liquid, followed by a 28 oz can of pinto beans, without liquid. Add 28-oz can of diced tomato. Cook on med for 40 minutes. 

Note from Jen: I always rinse all canned beans! Tom insists on using the liquid. The experts of teh google search tell us that to avoid the bean's more unpleasant side effects, drain and rinse.

Then add a half circle of Mi Abuelita Mexican style hot chocolate and allow to soften before stirring into the chili. Cook on low for a while stirring occasionally.

We served over macaroni noodles. Also good alone, with rice, or on tortillas. Optionally, top with cheese, or hot sauce, or sour cream, or all three.
Serves 4 generously, with leftovers (or 6 without leftovers)

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Yeah! Savory Spinach Without Bacon


I like spinach. I enjoy the taste and mouth-feel of the substantial, not crispy, leaves in salad. I like to add it to sauces and sneak it into pasta and egg dishes. But I haven’t been able to figure out a way to cook spinach, greens-style, without the addition of bacon. Amazing how short the distance is between sublime and soggy. If you’ve had the same dilemma, this recipe solves it. The flavor is rich and intense. You’ll find yourself going back for seconds and thirds. And it's veg/vegan.

Italian Spinach

On the kid rating scale: I can’t say they loved it. But they ate small servings and didn’t hate it. Every little superfood bit counts, right?

Tom picked up this Cook's Illustrated publication after browsing it in line at the supermarket last week. $7.95, occupies less than 1/4 inch on the cookbooks shelf, packed with 60 recipes. What's not to like about that? 

Italian Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts
(from Cook’s Illustrated Italian Favorites, 2010)

NOTE: If desired, one small red onion can be substituted for the shallots. Using a high-sided Dutch oven (rather than a low-sided skillet) makes wilting the spinach easier and faster.
¼ cup golden raisins [we used regular raisins]
¼ cup hot water
2 tablespoons pine nuts
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 (10 ounce) bags curly-leaf spinach, stemmed and torn into bite-sized pieces
3 shallots, sliced thin
¼ cup balsalmic vinegar
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
Table salt 

1. Plump raisins in a bowl of hot water, about 5 minutes. Toast nuts in Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add spinach in handfuls, stirring and allowing each batch to wilt slightly before adding next batch. Continue to cook until spinach is uniformly wilted and glossy, about 1 minute. Transfer spinach to colander set over bowl and press with wooden spoon to release extra liquid.

3. Wipe out Dutch oven, add remaining oil, and set over medium heat until shimmering. Cook shallots until softened, about 3 minutes. Drain raisins and add to shallots. Stir in vinegar and sugar and cook until syrupy, about 2 minutes. Add spinach and toss to coat. Season with salt and sprinkle with nuts. (Serves 4)

1.  

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Roasting Weather Arrives


Who really needs official recipes in September and October in the Midwest, when the farmer’s market is full of flavorful in-season produce? So today, I just have some quick snapshots of what we’ve been eating. Yummy!

Yesterday I was working at home and it was sweater-weather, so I killed two birds with one stone by roasting some of my Saturday Farmer’s Market goodies and warming up the kitchen at the same time.  

Winter squash, orchard apples and onions
This is butternut from the market and another winter squash, from my neighbor’s garden. I peeled and sliced, sprinkled generously with freshly-ground nutmeg; added a little bit of cinnamon, kosher salt and pepper. On top, I added fresh orchard apples from our outing on Sunday, and sliced sweet yellow onion. Cover and bake at 350 for about 45 min. until soft.  Two very enthusiastic thumbs-up on this one from the kids. They had seconds, and Milo had thirds.

Fingerling potatoes - on the way into the oven

While the squash was baking, I threw in some beets (of course) for a later meal in the week on the bottom rack. And I tucked this dish of heirloom fingerling potatoes on the rack next to the squash, for tonight’s dinner. I had selected about 4 different varieties from the farmer’s market, all with exotic names I forgot immediately, but those dark ones are blue. I scrubbed the potatoes, then tossed with some sliced leek, purple onion, carrot, olive oil, dried thyme and rosemary, and fresh marjoram and oregano leaves. (cover until almost done). Look at those colors, mmm.

Our kitchen is still filled with the pungent smell of pesto-making
Tom’s been harvesting the basil that Milo and I grew from seed way back in April. With the squash, we ate pesto ziti with freshly-grated Parmesan (more thumbs-up), and an unbelievably good spinach recipe, which I’ll share later this week.