Roasted Squash

Ever hear of a delicata squash? Me either. I got one in my Door to Door Organics delivery a few weeks ago. I love squash because it is fairly versatile and, even better, it lasts forever in the fridge. It is also known as the Sweet Potato squash, which I find moderately confusing because I feel like the butternut is more sweet potato than the delicata, but I’ll let it slide.

Either way, the delicata squash is very good, and you could do a lot with it. I need to get my hands on some more.

Roasted Squash

Ingredients (makes 2 side dishes)

1 cup squash cut into small pieces, and really any squash or even pumpkin will work well for this recipe
2 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the skin and seeds from the squash and discard (or roast the seeds if you’re feeling adventurous!) Cut the squash into bite sized pieces and put in a bowl. Add the olive oil and spices to the bowl and coat evenly.

Place on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 20 minutes, then turn over and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

Pictureless Post: Tomato Vodka Sauce

I fail as a blogger today, and I am posting without a picture. But it was so good, I absolutely must share this amazing recipe. I had a handfull of gorgeous roma tomatoes from Door to Door Organics and I wanted to make a sauce of some kind, and I had some gnocchi (store bought, I have not yet mastered gnocchi) I wanted to eat. So I decided to go with a fresh tomato sauce to keep the meal light. I served some pan seared chicken breast along side.

So, close your eyes (well, keep reading, but then close your eyes once you’re done), and imagine some fluffy gnocchi with a light and refreshing tomato sauce on top. The tomatoes are diced into small pieces and have been cooked through, keeping the flavor but eliminating the texture of the fresh tomatoes.

I hope you trust me on this one. It was really, just that good.

Fresh Tomato Vodka Sauce

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

4-5 roma tomatoes, diced
2 shallots, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp oregano, freshly crushed
2 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
salt, pepper to taste
1 cup vodka, divided
EVOO

Directions

In your pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until aromatic. Then add the tomatoes and spices, cooking on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup vodka to the sauce, cook for 5 minutes or until the vodka has completely cooked off (i.e. it does not smell like vodka anymore). Add the second 1/2 cup of vodka and repeat. Serve immediately.

Zucchini Crab Cakes

I have a confession. I am the worst Marylander ever. Not only do I not like crabs (though I have gone crabbing, I just ate chicken for dinner that night) but I am also not a fan of Old Bay seasoning. I don’t know why, most of its ingredients you’ll see me cooking with (from Wikipedia):

“The seasoning mix includes mustard, paprika, celery seed, bay leaf, both black and red pepper, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, salt and ginger.”

I’m not a huge fan of cloves or allspice, so that is likely the problem.

In any case, I decided to make this recipe anyway, with my own spice blend. These are delicious and vegetarian friendly!

Zucchini ‘Crab’ Cakes

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced onion

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (omitted) OR
Stephanie’s Spice Mix (1/2 tsp garlic, black pepper, paprika, 1/4 tsp celery seed, cayenne pepper, salt)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup EVOO (for frying)

Directions:
Mix the zucchini, butter, and egg in a large dish. Add breadcrumbs, minced onion, and spices. The recipe calls for 1 tsp of old bay, but adjust as you’d like.

Mix well and form into patties. Dredge in the flour.

Heat the oil in a deep fry pan to medium/med-high heat. Place the patties in the oil and cook for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown, then flip and brown the other side. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Mashed Purple Potatoes

Look at these beauties that appeared in my organic food delivery this week!

These are local purple potatoes. I was so excited to use these, and I hope to use them again in the future. They provide a lovely color to the plate, and they are just so much fun. Next up, purple gnocchi?

This is, of course, really nothing more than mashed potatoes. I’d recommend adding some sour cream or plain yogurt to these to make them a bit creamer. I had neither in the house, but they were still delicious.

Mashed Purple Potatoes

Ingredients:
Appx. 1 lb purple potatoes
1/3 cup whole milk
2 tbsp butter
Salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

Boil the potatoes until the skins split. Drain, then immediately put into a bowl and use a masher to smush them. Add the butter and milk, plus pepper (and also, garlic possibly) and mash them some more. Serve immediately.

Palak Paneer

I did it! I finally, FINALLY did it. I figured out how to make an amazingly flavorful Indian dish without just piling on the spices, ruining the texture. The key, you absolutely must get real Indian spices. Go get the red chili powder, corriander, caramom pods, cumin seeds, and garam masala that they sell at your local Indian grocery store, if you can. But find the real thing. They make all the difference in the world.

Here are some of the most recent spices I picked up:

Now, I’m going to admit that this entire recipe was dictated to me step by step by my coworker, who happens to be from India. I’m now planning to move in with her to be her sous chef, she just doesn’t know it yet.

Palak Paneer

Ingredients:

EVOO
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped, made into a paste
2 tsp ginger paste or roughly chopped fresh ginger, made into a paste
2 whole tomato, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ground corriander
2 tsp garam masala (divided)
1 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp hot chili powder
3/4 cup water
1 bunch spinach
Salt, pepper to taste
Paneer
Rice or nan

Directions:

Boil water and blanche the spinach, drain.

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and heat until they start to pop.

Add onions and cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic and ginger, cook until golden brown. Add tomatoes and spices, cook until the tomatoes are mostly dried out. Add water and allow the water to cook off. Add blanched spinach.

Place all contents into a blender or use immersion blender to break down the spinach and sauce. Add back to the pan along with oil and second half of garam masala. Taste and adjust spices as necessary.

Cut paneer into small pieces and add, serve immediately with warm nann or rice.

Raita

Raita is an Indian yogurt salad which is eaten with curries in order to provide an accompanying, cooling flavor (even though it itself can carry some heat!). It comes in many forms, and much like good old fashioned lettuce-based salad, you can kind of do what you want with it. Generally, it includes plain yogurt and spices, as simple as just black pepper. I really loved this version of this, because I included some fresh cucumber for some cool flavor and texture.

Raita

Ingredients (makes enough for a meal for 4 people):
1 cup plain yogurt
4 slices cucumber, chopped
1/4 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp chili powder
Pinch salt
Black pepper

Other possible ingredients: Garlic paste, mint, onions, tomato, other Indian spices

Directions: Combine in a mixing bowl, serve chilled and use within a day or so of mixing.

Crispy Cabbage Salad

Welcome to Cabbage Week! I should explain. My organic food delivery service brought me a delicious, perfectly ripe green cabbage. It is, however, the size of my husband’s head. Which is to say, very large! So this week is Cabbage Week, as we investigate ways to make this somewhat bland green delicious.

Though, I should state, I find raw cabbage absolutely amazing and crispy and tasty. But I don’t know how to cook it… and I am not a rabbit.

Crispy Cabbage Salad

Ingredients:

Chopped cabbage
Chopped green leaf lettuce
Blue cheese crumbles
Walnuts
Tomatos
Ranch dressing (or whatever you’d like)

Directions:

Mix, eat! Don’t you love simple food?

Tofu Korma

I made this recipe on Saturday. I served it to my husband, who waited with baited breath. We took a bite.

Man did I screw that up.

I followed the recipe to a T. Turns out, they underestimated the spices like crazy.

Here is the recipe WITH the tweaks I think it needs to be successful.

Tofu Korma

Ingredients (spices will produce approximately medium spice):

EVOO
5 cloves garlic, minced
8 slices ginger root, minced OR 2 tbsp ginger root paste you can get at the grocery store
1 tbsp bay leaves, crushed (about 8 leaves)
2 tsp crushed black pepper
3 tbsp garam masala
3 tbsp cumin
3 tbsp chili powder (more for higher spice)
2 tbsp ground corriander
1 tbsp tumeric
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped finely
1 cup tomato, chopped finely (about 1 large tomato)
15 oz firm tofu
1 cup chicken broth (use vegetable broth if you are vegetarian)
1/2 cup lowfat milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1-2 tbsp corn starch to thicken
White rice

Directions:

In your deep frying pan or a wok, heat about 2 tbsp oil until it is spitting (i.e. when you flick water at it… be cautious!). Add the crushed bay leaves and pepper, heat for 2 minutes. Then add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the spices, including the garlic and ginger at this time, followed by the tomato. Continue to cook on medium for 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes have broken up completely and a gravy has formed.

Add the tofu and chicken broth at this time. If you would like, you can also add some peas and carrots to this mixture, but I’m a purist.

Now, leave this to cook for at least 15 minutes but for up to an hour or more on medium-low heat. Stir occasionally and TASTE TEST. Cook your rice during this time too.

Add the milk and yogurt, heat for 15 more minutes. Finish with the cornstarch. Serve over white rice.

Butternut Squash Soup

A few weeks ago, I got a butternut squash in my organic food delivery, seen here (also, look at that amazing garlic!):

So much deliciousness!

Ingredients (FYI, I made 1/2 this recipe because my squash was only 1.4 lbs):

1 butternut squash, 2-3 lbs

2 tbsp butter

1 medium onion

6 cups chicken broth

Nutmeg, salt, pepper

You can also get out your fancy immersion blender now, the one you never use! If you don’t have one, you’ll at least need a blender.

Directions:

Remove the skin off of the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and cut into 1″ pieces. Set aside.

Butternut squash, no skin or seeds, cut into 1" pieces

In your large saucepan, melt the butter and add the onions. Cook about 8 minutes or until translucent. Then add the chicken stock and squash. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer until the squash is tender (about 15-20 minutes).

Remove the squash and puree with your immersion blender or in your regular blender. Return the puree to the saucepan. Season with the spices. Serve immediately!

Delicious and simple butternut squash soup