October's Theme - Pumpkins and Other Hard/Winter Squash

A new month and a new theme! You know I love Halloween, right? And fall? And we're members of a CSA? And (ok, you might not know this one) we have several volunteer squash-y type plants in our garden & yard, one of which appears to be acorn squash? So, yeah, I'm all about this month's theme being Pumpkins & Other Hard/Winter Squash.*

I didn't think we had very many recipes so far, but it turns out you could probably make a meal of all squash dishes.

For starters, there'd be Butternut Squash Soup with Curried Horseradish Cream.

It would be followed by Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash and Shallots. It's so autumn with the oven, and the smell of the squash, and the comfort food of the noodles... YUM!

For your bread, you've got Nectarine's Pumpkin Bread. Or, make her Pumpkin Spice Muffins! Ooh, choices!

For dessert, don't forget the classic, Pumpkin Pie, as Pusher makes it from a real pumpkin! :) Now that's dedication. Or, if you're not a fan of the crust, try Diplowhat's No-Crust Pumpkin Pie!

Of course, to keep your strength up while you make all that, the day before you should make AllKnowingJen's Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Squares so that you've got them to snack on while you're all busy creating your squash-y meal! :)


So there you have it! Lots of recipes already. But looking through to find these, I noticed a few request/longings for a good butternut squash ravioli recipe, so if anybody's feeling up for a challenge, maybe you could go searching & recipe-testing for us all! :)



*To paraphrase from my old Joy of Cooking, in general, winter squash have hard-shelled skins and include acorn, Hubbard, and butternut. Summer squashes are all thin-skinned, such as zucchini, pattypan, and yellow summer squash.

Wednesday Fun #140 - Autumn is here!

The seasons have changed. No more is it a millionty degrees outside, in my house, or, most importantly for this blog, in my kitchen. I can imagine cooking something again! Something beyond throwing some brats on the grill, frying up bacon for a BLT (of which I did not have nearly enough this past summer!), or mixing up a salad.

How about you? What's this fall weather got you cooking? Turned on the oven yet? I have! While I would have loved some of that do-nothing artisan bread this summer for tomato bruschetta, I couldn't stand the thought of turning on the oven for that long. That has changed! Hooray!

So let's hear it? What are you now willing to cook, thanks to the change into the cooler weather of autumn?

Apple Waffles

We went to the apple orchard yesterday, so I've got a million apples (ok, "just" 32 pounds...), so for Sunday brunch I was looking for something delicious & different & that preferably used apples! We hadn't done waffles for a while, so I flipped through our copy of Waffles from Morning to Midnight by Dorie Greenspan & found "Apple Waffles!" Perfect! It was yum & so very seasonal that I thought I'd better share. Also, my kids LOVED them. To make them even more apple-y, I'd recommend adding an extra half-an-apple, cut into tiny chunks*.

Dorie Greenspan's Apple Waffles
Makes about 5 waffles

3 Tbl. unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. double-acting baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
pinch of grated nutmeg
1/4 c. granulated sugar [You know that's 4 Tbl., right?]
1/4 c. firmly packed, but lump-free light brown sugar [...and again, you've got the measuring spoons out anyway, don't you?]
1 1/2 c. milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 medium-sized apple, peeled & grated
[I'd recommend peeling & cutting up another half an apple into tiny chunks and adding that, too.*]

1. Preheat your waffle iron. If you want to hold the finished waffles until serving time, preheat your oven to 200F. [Mine heats so fast, I have to wait until I'm about to mix the dry & wet ingredients, so consider your own waffle iron.]
2. Melt the butter; reserve. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices, and sugars. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and vanilla until very well blended. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with the whisk until just combined. Fold in the grated apple and the melted butter.
3. Whether or not your iron's grids are well seasoned or made of a nonstick material, it's best to light butter or spray the grids of your waffle iron since this batter is very soft and can stick. Brush or spray the grids again only if subsequent waffles stick.
4. Spoon out 1/2 c. of batter (or amount recommended by your waffler's manufacturer) onto the [hot] iron. Spread the batter evenly over the grids & close the lid. When the underside of the waffle is lightly browned, carefully turn over the waffle and brown the other side. [If necessary for your iron. Mine was fine.]
5. Serve the waffles immediately or keep them, in a single layer, on a rack in the preheated oven while you make the rest of the batch.
   

*That's because when I ran into tiny chunks of too-small-to-grate apple, I really liked the extra texture & apple-i-ness.

Wednesday Fun: The Return is Foretold!

Hello, all! I hope you had a great summer. I was nearly buried under the weight of tomatoes from our garden, but managed to pull through. :) Thanks for bearing with me during the summer hiatus. Life just got too busy & hot to think about cooking much, but now that it's cooling down again, I'm raring to go.

Let me tell you my thoughts...

I like themes. They make it easier for me to come up with ideas instead of sitting down with a blank page every week. So, October's theme is going to be "Pumpkins & Other Hard/Winter Squash." NOT THAT THE THEME SHOULD LIMIT YOU!!! Got a good recipe or link or question? Post away!

The first Wednesday of each month, I'll start with the theme & links to prior recipes, like I've done in the past when we begin a monthly theme. I like seeing and highlighting what treasures we've already got here. Other weeks might have tidbits/trivia about the theme, a recipe related to it, or maybe some links or pictures or something.

Polls, especially theme-related ones, will likely run two weeks long to give folks more of a chance to weigh in their opinions. I might throw in an extra one here and there for fun and curiosity.

Looking forward, November's theme will be "The Other Red Meat(s)." (Yes, it may have something to do with us soon to be getting some lamb for our freezer, as you might have read over at House of 42 Doors. Feel free to start coming up with some good lamb/mutton recipes for me now, ok?) I'm thinking "Traditional Holiday Favorites" for December, but do speak up in the comments if you've got ideas/suggestions for themes, please. For a list of a lot of the previous themes, go here.

Ok, looking forward to seeing you all back here on Wednesdays! Hooray!

Palak Paneer

The second recipe I promised from GAW, finally. :-)

Palak Paneer

4 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1.5 lbs. fresh spinach
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
2 dried red chili peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup heavy cream

2 cups cooked basmati rice

In a medium, heavy saucepan, bring milk to a boil. Remove from the heat and add lemon juice. (I add a dash of salt at this point.) Stir until milk curdles and separates. Let stand 5 minutes, then pour through fine-meshed sieve lined with at least a double layer of cheesecloth. Let stand until cool enough to handle, then pull the corners of the cloth together and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Flatten the curd to a thickness of 1/2 to 1 inch. Set on a plate, top with another plate, then top that plate with a weight and let stand for half an hour. Remove from cheesecloth and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Wash, stem, drain and coarsely chop spinach. Thinly slice onion and garlic, and either slightly crush or add a couple slits to dried peppers.

Heat canola oil in a nonstick pan and lightly toast cumin (about 15 seconds). At this point I remove half the seeds with a slotted spoon. Sauté the cheese cubes until golden brown. Remove cheese and set aside on a paper towel.

In remaining oil, sauté red peppers and onions with until translucent. Add and sauté garlic. Add spinach by the handful and cook until it's all wilted. Add salt, cook until all liquid is evaporated. Add cream and boil until thickened to desired consistency. Gold in fried cheese, remove red peppers, and serve over rice.

Tandoori Chicken

Here's the first of the two recipes I promised from GAW. (This one is easier, because it's from Emeril on foodnetwork.com. I'll try to get to the palak paneer in the next day or two.)


Four bone-in chicken legs with thighs, or eight thighs, skin removed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 tablespoon paprika
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

With a fork, prick holes in the chicken pieces. Using a knife, cut diagonal slices 1-inch apart, and 1/2-inch deep into the larger pieces. Place the chicken in a baking dish.

In a food processor, combine the oil, onion, garlic, ginger and pepper, and process on high speed to a paste. Add the spices and process until well blended. Add the yogurt and lemon juice, and process to a smooth sauce, scraping down the sides to combine all the ingredients. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Turn to coat evenly, rubbing the marinade into the holes and slits. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to 24 hours, turning occasionally.

Grill or bake in a preheated 425 degrees F oven on a baking sheet for 35 minutes.

Wednesday Fun going on Hiatus

Ok, gang, I love y'all, but it's too hot to cook. It's too hot to THINK about cooking. It's especially too hot to try to be creative about food and cooking.

Therefore, Wednesday Fun is going to be taking a bit of a summer hiatus (and sanity break). If you've got comments about what you like about WF, what you'd like to see come the fall, or would like to volunteer to take a month or a monthly series (like ShoNuff's restaurant reviews, but whatever you'd like), please let me know.

OF COURSE, please do feel free to keep posting recipes, questions, cool food links, etc.!!!!

See you in the fall!

Fresh Corn Sauté

I am usually not one to mess with fresh corn, because I love it just how it is, but the thyme in this recipe makes it very tasty!

Fresh Corn Sauté

1 bacon slice (recipe calls for "Applewood smoked", but I think regular is fine)
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon slice from pan; crumble.

2. Add onion and bell pepper to drippings in pan; sauté 5 minutes. Add corn and next 3 ingredients; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Stir in crumbled bacon.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size 1/2 cup)
Per serving: CAL 104; FAT 3.5g; PRO 3.4g; CARB 17.5g; FIB 2.8g; CHOL 3.3mg; IRON 0.6mg; SOD 184 mg; CALC 16 mg

Wednesday Fun #139 - Very Many Veggies!

Ok, gang, in honor of July's theme being "Vegetable Side Dishes," I'd like to hear how many vegetables you can name! I mean, there are a LOT of vegetables in this world! Don't forget that you get extra bonus cool points if your veggies all relate in some way - all orange, start with the same letter or sound, all stalks or roots, whatever.

Name (at least) 3 vegetables!

July Theme - Garden Bounty

Happy July to you all! I don't know about you, but my garden's finally starting to produce some yummy food. My tiny green beans are stretching out, the peas are flowering, the tomatoes are growing! I know the season's marching on for our CSA as well, since the boxes are getting fuller and heavier.

Now, you might get your summer garden goodies from your own garden, the farmers' market, your CSA, or even the grocery store, but they are on their way! Hooray! So for July, our theme is Garden Bounty. What do you do with your veggies? "Real" recipes or just hints & tips - it's all good!

No big list of current recipes - instead, just click here or on the "Vegetable Side Dish" tag over in the right side bar.

Now, let's see those recipes!