A Scrumptious Season

Pretty soon it'll be all root vegetables, winter squash and kale, but right now the season is giving us a nice bridge.  So I put together a yummy Farm to Table class tonight.  Let's start with Dill-Spinach Dip, getting rid of my old childhood friend, mayo, and substituting Greek yogurt.  So creamy good.... dill and lemon zest gives it a bright flavor, and water chestnuts give it a nice crunch.

Next, I'm back in soup mode with Butternut-Apple Soup.  There are so many great ways to make a butternut squash soup: with curry, with cream, with green chiles, with sage, with roasted red peppers.  My favorite remains the old stand-by, with apples.  I like Granny Smith for their tartmess.

For the main dish, we made Orange Glazed Salmon with Basmati Brown Rice and Herb & Panko Stuffed Tomatoes.  I'll be so sad when tomtoes go away.  It's a loooong lonely winter and spring without these lovelies, so get them in while you can.  I'll still let canned tomatoes into my house every once in a while for tomato soup, but I'll miss eating the real thing in salads, salsas, on crostini, and roasted like tonight.

Couldn't imagine giving you just one recipe, so here they all are..... Enjoy!

Spinach-Dill Dip

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped shallots

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

6 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained (or 5 bunches fresh leaves)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon fresh lemon zest

½ cup Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Pinch salt

¼ cup chopped water chestnuts

·         Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. 

·         Add shallots, scallions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

·         Stir in spinach and cook about 2 minutes.

·         Place spinach mixture into a food processor; pulse until roughly puréed, about 5 pulses.

·         Add lemon juice, zest, yogurt and dill, and pulse to combine.

·         Add water chestnuts and season with salt to taste.

Butternut Squash Soup     Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup chopped onion

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 3-lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

4 cups vegetable broth

2 teaspoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon minced ginger

Salt & pepper to taste

Pinch nutmeg or cayenne

·         Heat oil and butter in a medium stock pot over medium heat.

·         Add onion and celery and sauté 5-8 minutes until tender; careful not to let them brown.

·         Add garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes more.

·         Add squash, apples, and broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20-25 minutes.

·         Add maple syrup and ginger, stirring to combine and cook 5 minutes more.

·         Season to taste with salt & pepper, and add a pinch of nutmeg (for sweet) or cayenne (for spicy).

·         Use an immersion blender to puree (or a blender or food processor).

Orange Glazed Salmon   Serves 6

1/3 cup orange marmalade

1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (from 2 valencia oranges)

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1 ½ pounds salmon, cut into 6 pieces

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

·         In a small bowl, combine marmalade, juice, mustard, zest, garlic, ginger, and maple syrup.

·         Season salmon with salt and pepper and place in a large Ziploc bag.  Cover with marinade and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Citrus juice begins to “cook” protein, so don’t marinate for more than 1 hour)

·         Preheat broiler and place salmon (discard marinade) on baking sheet or roasting pan.

·         Broil 6-8 inches from heat for 5-8 minutes until opaque and cooked through.

Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes   Serves 6

3 large heirloom tomatoes

1 ½ cup panko

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons+ olive oil

Parmesan cheese

·         Preheat broiler.

·         Cut tomatoes in half horizontally and scoop out the seeds and flesh.

·         Place in a baking dish or pan and broil until lightly browned, just a few minutes.  Let cool.

·         Set oven temp to 350˚.

·         In a bowl mix panko, garlic, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper; add enough olive oil to moisten the mixture.

·         Fill cooled tomato halves with panko mixture, drizzle with a little olive oil, and top with a shaving of parmesan cheese.

·         Bake 5-10 minutes until browned.



Crazy for Pumpkin!

I grew up sure that I didn't like pumpkin.  Not like how I grew up thinking I didn't like coconut, only to realize in my 20's that I DID like coconut.  When I was a kid my dad told me that I didn't like coconut, so that he could eat all my Mounds and Almond Joy candy on Halloween.  But noone lied to me about pumpkin, least of all my taste buds.  But as I discovered with my Roasted Pumpkin Soup test last week, if you leave out the cloves and the allspice, I might just love it.

So I played around with an old Martha Stewart recipe for Chicken Enchiladas in Pumpkin Sauce.  I turned it into a layered casserole and added a few more ingredients to it.  I was going to make it for one of my clients, but it looked so good, I kept it for myself!!  I love making a big casserole and having lunch and dinner in a flash the rest of the week.  But with something this good, it takes a lot of willpower to get the portion control in check!

Start with covering the bottom of a casserole dish with pumpkin sauce.  Layer tortillas over the sauce and top with a mix of shredded chicken, sliced olives, diced green chiles, sliced scallions and a little cheese.  Top with more tortillas (I prefer corn) and the other half of the chicken mixture.  Top with more tortilas and cover with pumpkin sauce and (of course) cheese.

It bakes up in about 25 minutes, which you've got to love!  And if you buy one of those rotisserie chickens (preferably organic), you can get it in the oven in just the time it takes to open a couple cans of olives and green chiles.  Well, there's the pumpkin sauce, but that's pretty much a no-brainer, too. And boy, is it ever yummy...

Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce
Serves 6
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
salt & pepper
6 scallions, thinly sliced
1 small can sliced olives
1 small can diced green chiles
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/3-1/2 cup milk
12 corn tortillas

• Preheat oven to 400.
•  Season both sides of chicken with cumin, coriander, salt and pepper
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet and cook chicken over medium high heat to 165 degrees.  When cool enough to handle, shred.
• In a large bowl combine cooked chicken, scallions,olives, and green chiles.  Season with salt & pepper.
• In a blender combine pumpkin puree, jalapeno, garlic, chili powder, and cumin.  With motor running, slowly add milk to get the consistency you prefer.
• Cover bottom of baking dish with pumpkin sauce.  Top with 4 tortillas, half the chicken mixture and 1/3 cup cheese.
• Top with 4 more tortillas, the remaining half of chicken mixture, and 1/3 cup cheese.
• Cover with remaining 4 tortillas and pour sauce over the top.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup cheese.
• Bake 20-25 minutes until heated through.

I make a little spicy crema, mixing Greek yogurt and Siracha (or any hot sauce), and put a couple dollops on top.

It's Soup Season!

I'm reviewing a cookbook for my local paper called Superfood Cuisine: Cooking with Nature's Most Amazing Foods, by Julie Morris.  When I was in the Natural Chef program at Bauman College, I referred to these foods as "weird food."  I was introduced to a whole new world of ingredients that I'd never heard of, let alone eaten.  And it didn't kill me...so I was excited to review Morris' book and try some new foods.

Overall I love the book, and I can't wait to cook my way through more of it.  My review focused on the soup recipes.  The first one was a Tomato & Quinoa soup.  It was easy and quick, but the taste was flat.  I added my good friend, smoked sweet paprika, and it helped give the flavor a boost.

Next, I was salivating over the Chipotle Chili with Avocado Sour Cream recipe.  It's a wonderful chili if you leave out the wakame flakes.  The recipe called for 2 "heaping" tablespoons of the sea vegetable, and it overpowered the dish.  I felt like I swallowed a mouthful of the sea!  The avocado cream, however, is out of this world!  Dairy-free, and simple as can be: 2/3 cup raw cashews, 2/3 cup water in a small blender; add 1 peeled, chopped avocado,2 tablespoons lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt and blend into a whip.  Soooooo good.  I was putting it on everything I could think of!

I wanted to try one more recipe, hoping to find one that I would love as is, and I found it in Roasted Pumpkin Soup.  I've never really liked pumpkin, but I think it's because I don't like pumpkin pie - cloves creep me out.  The ingredients in the soup looked delish, so I decided to give it a try, and it paid off.  This soup is creamy, sweet and nutty, and is a fantastic source of antioxidants, Vitamin A and C,.  Dig in.....

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 cup sweet yellow onion, diced (about ½ medium onion)

2 large garlic cloves, minced

3 cups roasted sugar pie pumpkin, chopped into 1” chunks

1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika (or regular paprika)

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 cups light coconut milk

1/3 cup pineapple juice

1 tablespoon yacon syrup, plus extra for serving (or 1 ½ teaspoon agave syrup, plus extra for serving)

1 tablespoon maca powder

Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Warm the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until onions begin to turn translucent.  Add the pumpkin, paprika, and sea salt, and cook for a couple minutes longer, stirring constantly.  Pour in the coconut milk, pineapple juice, and 1 tablespoon yacon syrup.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover, and cook for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.

Transfer to a blender and add the maca powder.  Puree the soup until smooth, then taste and adjust seasonings if desired.  To serve, ladle soup into a serving bowl, drizzle with yacon syrup, and top generously with freshly cracked pepper.

How to Roast a Pumpkin

Preheat oven to 375°.  Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and stringy matter.  Place the pumpkin, flesh side up, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and season with a couple pinches of sea salt and black pepper.  Rub in ½ tablespoon of coconut oil an each pumpkin half, then flip the halves over to sit flesh-side down on the pan.  Place in the oven and roast until the skin has begun to brown and the flesh is tender – about 45-50 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.  When cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh for use and discard the skin.

They Made It!

I'm sure you've been on the edge of your seats wondering the fate of my two little tomatoes.  Well, they managed to survive.  Not quite the crop I was hoping for, but there's always next year.

The first time I ever ate tomoatoes from someone's yard, they were served simply sliced and sprinkled with salt.  I'd never eaten a better tomato.  Sometimes simple is best.

And sometimes a pizza with tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, leeks and goat cheese is best.

Trader Joe's makes yummy pizza dough in a few different flavors; I chose herb & garlic.  Seemed like a perfectly good place to put my tomatoes.  Tomatoes like hanging out with jalapeno peppers and onion, and I like hanging out with goat cheese (as we are all aware), so this pizza idea is a win-win.

I drizzled olive oil on the dough and then seeded and sliced a couple large jalapeno peppers, the white part of one leek and my two little tomatoes.

I like using goat cheese for two reasons: 1) goat milk is very similar to mother's milk, so our bodies deal with it better than cow's milk (and cheese); a lot of people who have trouble with dairy can actually eat goat dairy products. 2) goat cheese (or chevre) has a great, bold flavor, so you don't need to use much.  I only used about 2 ounces on the pizza...and we know what a cheese hound I am, but it was the perfect amount.

The pizza bakes up in 8- 10 minutes, depending on how thick or thin you roll it.  The dough needs 20 minutes to rest before adding your toppings, but that gives you plenty of time to chop up your veggies.  Throw together a little salad while the pizza bakes and voila!  It's a great way to add lots of veggies to your diet in a simple, delicious way.  I'm already thinking about my next creation...maybe butternut squash, sage, and shallots, topped with a little watercress.  So many possibilities....