gourd city

I counted 3 squash sitting on my counter by Friday.  One kabocha from two weeks ago, a butternut from last week and a fresh one from this week.

Supposedly, squash gets sweeter as it's left to mature...so, you know...that was all in the plan... ;)

I saw a recipe in Sunset magazine that seemed like a good way to use the squash somewhat in disguise.  My kids love a lot of fruits and vegetables, but squash unfortunately isn't one of them.  Having some time this Sunday afternoon, I made a batch of squash gnocchi.  Some for tonight and the rest for the freezer.  

The basic recipe is like this:

• Cook a butternut squash.  You can roast it, steam it or microwave it.  I did the latter - poke holes all over and put it in the microwave on high for 10 minutes.  (Mine needed a bit more cooking afterwards).
  
• Scoop out the flesh and mash.  You need 2 cups.
  
• Season: salt, pepper, nutmeg, sage/marjoram/thyme.  You could have fun and add Indian spices - that would be yum.
• Add flour, 1 cup at a time.  Now, I used King Arthur's white whole wheat flour.  The recipe calls for 3.5 cups + dusting.  My squash took at least all of that...maybe even a bit more!
• Roll out into 'snakes', cut into 1/2" pieces.  
• Boil in salted water just until they float - no longer.

That's it!  I tossed ours with melted butter, parsley and lemon juice and topped with parmesan.

Beware: the dough remains a bit sticky.  I tried to do the Italian nonna thing by rolling each little gnoccho down a fork to get the grooves.  It didn't work so well...I do not recommend.  Just leave them in their little pillow form and enjoy.

Artichokes Galore

It's artichoke season around here! I'm lucky enough to have a grocer in my neighborhood who sells local artichokes (from about 30 miles south in Half Moon Bay) for $1 a piece. Who could pass them up at that price? I bought a half dozen this weekend, steamed them up and even made some of my own mayonnaise for dipping.

Two mayonnaise tips I learned from Ruth:

1. Use champagne vinegar
2. Use a blender

I whisked and whisked but nothing was firming up. I realized that I needed to add more olive oil (I didn't exactly measure the lemon juice or vinegar...) and wasn't sure how much, so into the blender it went. The biggest downside to this method is that you lose a little bit when trying to pour/scrape it out.

There are plenty of places to find out how to prepare an artichoke online, so I'll spare repeating it here. It really is pretty easy if all you want to do is steam them. I used the mayonnaise recipe that Orangette wrote about in the most recent Bon Appetit.

Funny artichoke story:

I spent a summer in France when I was 16 with my best friend. Four weeks were spent on the sea in St. Malo, living (and eating with) with a family. This was the part I most looked forward to about that summer!

One evening for dinner we sat down, had a glass of wine ... some kind of small appetizer that is not memorable...and then our entree: an artichoke on a plate. One, steamed artichoke with a vinaigrette (I think) on the side. I had never seen a whole artichoke up close (I'm from upstate NY - artichokes only came in jars) and had no clue how to eat it. We politely followed their lead, finished the artichoke and then waited for DINNER, because the artichoke had to be another appetizer? Then the salad and yogurt came out and we knew that was it for the night. We were so peeved, we went out for Chinese food (oh, the blasphemy!).

Now you know why the French aren't fat :) I'm happy to report that I have come full circle and on Saturday night, I had a bowl of sorrel soup and an artichoke for dinner and I was completely satisfied.

PS: Artichokes are KID FRIENDLY! My 4 yr old had a blast peeling and dipping and scraping/sucking the leaves

Jamie Oliver Swoon

You were forewarned - I'm about to wax poetic about Jamie Oliver, aka the Naked Chef (which is such a dumb moniker, in my opinion).  Before you run away...have you seen his latest series on the Food Network? If you haven't, but he annoys you so you think you don't care, keep reading.

Let me first admit that I have always been a fan. I've been with him through all of his various incarnations, I have all of his cookbooks, I have let him hold my first-born (really! I have a photo to prove it). My admiration for him and his values was immediately validated the day he started trying to improve school lunches in the UK - and that was before his kids were even born. I know he's a superstar and everything, but I also think he's real and he means well.

That brings me to his latest series called Jamie at Home. It could also be called, Jamie Goes Hippy, Jamie Loses the Punk, Jamie has an Amazing Garden and Gardener. I don't care what it's called, I love it. I could watch these episodes over and over again. For starters, the setting is perfect. He could be outside, surrounded by his garden and next to his woodburning oven. Or he's inside what looks like a garden shed, or he's in his old-timey kitchen. Each one is quirky and kind of small in a British way. I feel immediately transported in an armchair traveler kind of way and just imagine myself getting cooking lessons in a locale just like that.

The whole theme of Jamie at Home is that he uses produce straight from his garden. Seasonal, fresh, what-do-I-do-with-this-again kind of thinking. The latest episode was squash. I was kind of bummed since we are now out of squash season, because man did he make that squash soup look GOOD. Did you know you don't need to peel a butternut squash? Either did I. He also made an amazing batch of squash muffins/cupcakes that are very kid friendly. I'm stashing this recipe for the fall when I will need to bring a snack to my daughter's preschool once a month .

I hope you give it a try! Saturdays @ 9:30 AM. Upcoming episodes are Pastry, Asparagus, Peppers & Chilies, Mushrooms, Eggs, Leeks.

The thing about vegetables

I have this theory about kids and vegetables. You know, how they don't eat them? Some of it is just flat out not liking them whatsoever, period. Some of it, though, has to be preparation. I think we're still entrenched in the era of low-fat thinking when it comes to our veggies, so we're feeding our kids steamed, crisp, fat-less, salt-less vegetables and scratching our heads when they won't eat them.

Not any more at my house. We've embraced healthy fats and I've seen vegetable consumption skyrocket.

Tonight? Tonight at the table my four year-old says, complete unprompted: "Thank you for making these! I love them, they're my favorite!" The "these" he was referring to was cauliflower, sauteed in butter and olive oil until slightly carmelized. He's not one of those kids, either: some goodie two shoes, saying things just to delight adults. Au contraire. And in the early years, despite my best efforts, I thought he might go the rest of his life with out a vegetable.

But tonight, he loves them. I'm going to bed happy

Sneaking it in

I never thought I would find myself relying on a celebrity wife as a cooking guide. But, when I saw Jessica Seinfeld touting her book on Oprah - I couldn't resist. What part of adding extra vegetables to food isn't smart? All Moms do this in some way at some point! I liked the idea of having a guide as far as which vegetables to add in what. This wasn't just for my kids sake, but for their parents as well. Who couldn't use an extra hit of veg? I also thought it would be helpful to have a use for pureed butternut squash or sweet potatoes when we have a glut of them from the farm.

Last night I made a turkey chili that included pureed carrots and red pepper. Today's snack was applesauce muffins, which also included a hit of butternut squash. The chili was good and sweet - but a little bland as far as spice (not even cumin was listed in the ingredients). The muffins are delicious and you definitely cannot detect the 1/2 cup of squash. I think next time I would put even more squash in.

I like the idea of this book. And, the design is totally cute! I plan on using it as a guide, and not a hardcore cookbook. The recipes often lack salt or spice, and I don't like that she uses margarine instead of butter. Hmph.

Turkey Chili w/ pureed Carrot & Red Pepper
-my version of the one that appears in Deceptively Delicious

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz. can of chopped tomato (ideally you would have some canned from the summer!)
1/2 cup pureed carrot
1/2 cup pureed red pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup of flaxseed meal
spices: salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder
beans: cannelini, kidney, or whatever you like
garnish: scallion, shredded cheese

In a saute pan or small dutch oven, saute diced onion in a bit of olive oil. Once it has softened, add the minced garlic and allow to cook for about 30-60 seconds. At this point - add the spices and allow them to cook for about 30 seconds to bring out their aroma. Add the turkey and cook until no longer pink. Throw in tomato, carrot, red pepper and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, add flaxseed meal - then simmer for 20-30 minutes. Towards the end of cooking, add the beans to warm them.

I ate this over quinoa. Not local or organic, but it is darn healthy ;)

Squash dish the kids will eat

I had a going-bad squash I had to roast off the other night, right after picking it up.  No fault of the farm - it's a delicata squash - so just as the name implies - it's fragile!

Slice the squash, seed it, brush w/ olive oil and season

Roast in a 400 oven until brownish

Cool

Cut into chunks or dice (more camoflauge-ready)

Store for future use

Future use #1:

Whole wheat pasta

Toasted walnuts

Roasted squash

Parmesan cheese

Toss. Done!

I toasted the walnuts in one pan ... then added olive oil and sauteed the squash a little to reheat and carmelize a little more ... then added the pasta straight into the pan with a bit of pasta water so it wouldn't be too dry.  No herbs in this one,  but sage would be yum.

The kids eat it because they think the squash are tomatoes! LOL!

Ode to My Roots

Excuse my food blogginess for a post...but I did use products from our CSA delivery!

The 'ode to my roots' is not a nod to the French or Irish or English or German or any other genes in my blood that I am unaware of.  Nope - I'm talking about my geographical roots. 

Tonight I made salt potatoes.  You have probably never heard of them.  As far as I know, not only are they indigenous to central New York (Syracuse), they seem to not have made their way past that area.  You can read all about them here.

I found two recipes online.  One called for 1 lb of salt, 4 lbs of potatoes, water and butter.  That pretty much describes them!  The other wanted you to dump salt into the water until it was so salinated that no more could dissolve.  Believe it or not, that would also work.  After they are drained, the skin is coated with salt and deeeelicious.  

We had some cute little fingerling potatoes, and some purple/blue ones that were also on the small side.  I scrubbed them up (as you would, and should, with any potato.  There was no more work involved here even though the potatoes are covered with dirt) and put them in a pot of water.  I used about a pound of potatoes, tops.  Then, I grabbed the Morton's from the back of my closet (you could of course use sea salt) and dumped a lot in.  A.LOT.  Like, more than you would be comfortable with.  And that's the idea.  A container of Morton's is 1 lb., and I put in about 1/3 of the container.   

These are perfect in the summer as a side dish.  New potatoes are the classic type used - at least that's how they are sold.  Ideally they are a side dish accompanying something from the grill or a huge pot of steamed clams.