Sauteed Zucchini & Squash with Almonds and Garlic

One of my favorite blogs to visit is Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks. A beautiful photographer, a well-traveled writer and an accomplished home cook, her blog began on the premise that "when you have 100 cookbooks, it's time to stop buying and start cooking." Her recipes are all vegetarian with a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean/fresh off the farm feel. Yesterday's post was her "Skillet Zucchini" - a saute of thinly sliced zucchini, squash, garlic slivers, almonds and fresh dill. Those ingredients together really intrigued me, so for dinner at work last night I tried her recipe and tossed it with fettucine. She uses it as a side, as a main component, or even on a hand pie. I loved it tossed with the pasta. The sweetness of the lightly seasoned squash and the garlic were the perfect combination with the nutty flavor. I used toasted slivered almonds which was a change from her whole raw almonds (we only had slivered in the store) and I could not put my hands on some fresh dill - I can't wait to try it again with the dill next time.

Easy, simple, healthy - throw some olive oil, the thin slices of zucchini and squash with some salt and pepper into a cast iron skillet or saute pan. After the squash has cooked for a minute or so, add the almonds and garlic slivers - cook until squash has softened and garlic is a light brown/golden color (do not add the garlic and almonds right away or they will burn). Serve with brown rice, pasta, as a pizza topping, on a savory pie crust, or as a side to a fish or grilled meat. So light, fresh and tasty!

Curry Butternut Squash Soup w/ Bacon & Apples

per amanda's request here is the recipe for the aforementioned Butternut Squash Soup:

2 butternut squash, peeled, cubed

1 T olive oil

salt and pepper to taste *preheat oven to 375. toss squash in a bowl with olive oil and s & p. roast on baking sheet for ~30-40 mins, turning once

6-8 strips bacon *cook over medium-high heat in stock pot or Dutch oven until evenly browned. Remove the bacon slices (for chopping later for bacon bits!)

1 large onion, chopped

6 stalks celery, chopped

6 carrots, chopped *in bacon fat, saute mirepoix (that's the fancy word for aromatic vegetables widely used in French cooking - 25% carrots, 25% celery, 50% onions) until carrots and celery are soft. Add in:

1 bay leaf

2 t curry powder

1 t dried thyme

s & p

1 granny smith apple - peeled and diced *mix in the garlic and the roasted squash - cooking 5 mins

4 cloves garlic, minced *add in garlic, cooking 1 extra minute

1 1/2 quarts chicken stock *stir in chicken stock. Let reduce to about half its volume then simmer on medium-low for ~20 minutes

*pulse in blender or use electric hand mixer to puree. I prefer a lumpy, not so pureed puree.

1/2 t ground nutmeg

2 T heavy cream *whisk in nutmeg and heavy cream, stirring

bon appetit

bacon bits from earlier *top with bacon bits and apple dices

a little bit of this, a little bit of that...

Well, what are you in the mood for? I haven't blogged in awhile but I have still been cookin in the kitchen. School, tax season, watching seasons 1-5 of Lost...Life is so busy. That was a joke, but really, life is busy. Still, I have been trying to cook most meals of the day. My goals for the last two weeks have been

1. Buy mostly whole foods, organic and from the Farmers market what I can
   
2. Cook primarily from these foods and go out to buy little else
3. Cook tasty but healthy - "healthy" meaning high in nutrients, foods close to the way they came from the earth, and balanced
4. Use the food I have to prevent waste

Some food that has been in my refrigerator, my hanging basket or pantry: Caw Caw Creek Hot Italian Sausage, tatsoi and curly mustard greens from Cedar Creek Farms, fresh eggs, cheese, pears, oranges, apples, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots from City Roots, homemade honey & buttermilk bread.

Some memorable meals worth sharing: last week I made a tasty Butternut Squash Soup: basically you peel, dice and roast butternut squash, and add it to mirepoix, diced apples, and curry you have been sauteeing in a stock pot, add some chicken stock (and a few other things I am forgetting) - reduce it a little then puree. I prefer a not-so-pureed soup so I just took electric hand mixers and roughly blended it in the pot before stirring. Oh - I added 1-2 T of heavy cream just before serving and topped with homemade bacon bits. I think crumbling with a few little dices of apple would have been nice as well.

Today I made Brown Butter Pasta with Tatsoi. Simple but so good - cook pasta (I used EarthFare's whole wheat "gnocchi" which is not gnocchi at all but a cute seashell pasta made out of semolina NOT potatoes. So confusing) al dente - just before pasta is finished, brown butter in a sauce pan. Strain pasta and toss with browned butter, adding in tatsoi leaves, sage leaves and parmesan. My version today included tatsoi as well as curly mustard leaves (spicy! in a horseradish kind of way) and no sage. Lots of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. I also added minced garlic in with my butter at the last minute - I think making a legitimate garlic butter would have been nice.

Favorite breakfast item: Bob's Red Mill Thick Rolled Oats with Caramelized Bananas. Mmm...thank you for the inspiration, Immaculate Consumption. I have loved cooking oats in a pot for breakfast - 1 cup provides enough for the next day and its a good slow start in the mornings before a busy day. I have actually only made bananas twice for health and speed, but its so tasty. I am not the authority on caramelizing bananas though so find some other source and do it yourself.

On Friday my new book club turned food club had its first monthly Community Kitchen. I will talk in more detail about this later this week but we spent the afternoon baking breads: Honey Whole Wheat; Half White/half whole wheat with oats, honey, flax and wheat germ; Sudanese flat bread; Beer Bread (made with Killian's Irish Red); and empanadas made with farmers cheese topped with sugar.

The empanadas were incredible, made by Gabriella from Ecuador and Becky who has lived in Bolivia for many years. I only watched this process and tried to duplicate it with Julianna and Andrew last night - utter disaster, ending in tattered empanadas and upset stomachs this morning. My only success was the empanada dough (the TASTE). It was delicious, but knowing what size to roll, how hot to make the oil, whether I should deep fry, pan fry or bake the empanadas, how much to stuff them (and I couldn't even find the best cheese), why my fork was cutting through the dough instead of just sealing it, ohhh what an exhausting endeavor. I would really love some empanada guidance.

I think this is enough for now - I need to work on making these short and sweet. I do have some blog ideas coming up so sit tight and while you're waiting, check out my friend Carley's new fashion blog!