Baked Spaghetti Squash with Mushrooms, Fontina and Spinach

The Recipe

1 3lb (ish) Spaghetti Squash
Olive oil
1 10oz box mushrooms, preferably cremini, quartered
1/2 lb. fresh baby spinach
6 oz (1 1/2 cups) shredded fontina cheese
1 minced clove garlic
1/2 cup, about, good bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375. Pierce the squash several times and place on cookie sheet; roast until tender, about an hour or so. Let cool a little. Maintain oven temperature.

Meanwhile, sauté shrooms in about two tablespoons of olive oil. When they are almost finished exuding liquid, add the spinach, toss and turn off the heat. We want the spinach wilted, not cooked.

Cut the squash in half and use a spoon & fork to remove the seeds. Pull the spaghetti-like threads out of each half, separate and toss in a 9x13 in. baking dish. (It will be pretty wet, no reason to oil the pan.) Add the spinach & mushrooms and the garlic; toss well, then add 1 cup (4 oz) of fontina. Mix well , adding a pinch of salt.

Top with the bread crumbs and the remaining fontina. Bake about 20 minutes or until the crumbs are nice and brown and everything is nice and hot.


The Story

We get A LOT of spaghetti squash from our farm this time of year, and I'm getting tired of the same ol' squash recipes. Invented this the other night and we all absolutely loved it. A keeper.

Nutty Kale Slaw

The Recipe

1 bunch kale

1 Medium onion

1/3 c. cider vinegar

1/3 c. XV olive oil

1/3 c. natural peanut butter

1-3 tsp hot sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. raw walnuts

Shred the kale into strips approximately ¼”. Halve the onion and slice thin. Use a mandolin for this if available.

In separate bowl add vinegar, olive oil, peanut butter, and hot sauce and whisk to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine mixture, kale, and onions and mix thoroughly. Cover and chill for at least one hour.

Toast walnuts and add to slaw just before serving.

The Story

We have been getting bunches and bunches of kale from our farm share this year. Love kale though we do, we are starting to tire of the few recipes we have and are dreaming up new ones. Andrew made this up, and now the kids ask for it every time we get kale.

The dressing gets a creamy texture from the peanut butter. We always have chunky peanut butter, so that adds additional interest. 

I can't tell you how well it keeps. We eat the whole bowl every time. I bet if you let it sit overnight, the kale will soften somewhat. If you end up with leftovers, let me know how they are! 

How to peel a head of garlic in 10 seconds

I have not yet tried this, but it looks so totally cool:

Blueberry Jam (no pectin)

The Recipe:


7 cups blueberries, divided
3 cups sugar
juice and finely grated zest of two lemons (need about 1/4 cup of juice)

Mash about 3 cups of blueberries in a much larger pot than you think you'll need. Add sugar, lemon juice and zest, and the remaining blueberries. Bring to a boil; turn down to medium heat and boil about 18-20 minutes, or until thickened. Keep stirring and take care not to let it burn on the bottom. Skim off any foam on top; pack into jars.

The Story:


Really, that's it.


I do this as a refrigerator jam, as I don't can. If you do can, I'm sure you have sources which can tell you how to do that safely.


We've picked 40 lb. of blueberries so far this season. I just realized that we ran out today; we've frozen or eaten everything (or baked, or jammed, or what have you.) We've just decided to go back out tomorrow and pick more. I get the feeling that I'll be making a lot of blueberry jam with frozen berries this winter!

Almond Streusel Coffee Cake

The Recipe


Streusel:
1 1/3 cup whole almonds (see note)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (dark brown, right? RIGHT?)
1/4 cup AP flour
Grated zest of 1/2 orange
3 Tbsp butter, in small pieces

Cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
Grated zest of the other half of the orange
1 tsp almond or vanilla extract
2 Cups AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 Cup orange juice

Icing:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp orange juice

Pulse almonds in food processor a few times, until chopped (not finely, chunky.) Add the sugar, flour and zest; pulse 2 or 3 more times. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly but still has big chunks of almond in it. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a tube pan.

Beat butter and sugar with mixer until very light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat for another minute or so after you think it's done. Add the zest and the extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining dry ingredients. Add flour and OJ to butter mixture in alternating steps, 3 additions of flour and 2 of OJ, beginning and ending with flour (you know this drill from other cakes.) Scrape down the sides well, and mix an additional 30 seconds or so.

Spread half of the batter in the bottom of the tube pan; scatter half the streusel over. Carefully spread the remaining batter on top, then scatter the rest of the streusel over. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Let cool at least 10 minutes in the pan before beginning the complicated removal from the tube pan; I find it easiest to slip the sides off, then loosen the cake as needed, and slip it off the tube assembly using two spatulas. Let cool another 10 minutes on the serving plate.

Mix the remaining OJ and confectioner's sugar until very smooth. Drizzle over the top of the cake in a pretty way. (You can add more OJ if you need to, but be sparing here)

The Story


On weekends we often have a nice family breakfast, waffles or pancakes or something. Breakfast cakes usually take too long in the oven; by the time you've woken up and baked for an hour or two, it's lunchtime. This one cuts the baking time by using the tube pan. Unlike many coffee cakes, it's not sticky sweet either. Who needs all that sugar?

Don't go out and buy almond extract for this. If you have a bottle that's been sitting around for three or four presidential administrations, here's the perfect time to use it up. If not, vanilla makes a lovely cake too.

If you don't have whole almonds, go ahead and use chopped or slivered; just wait to add them to the food processor until the end.

Pumpkin Bread

The Recipe


1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil (I prefer canola, it's your choice)
4 eggs
1 1/3 lb. roasted pumpkin puree (see The Story)
2 cups AP unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp or so freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup chopped walnuts

Grease & flour 3 8.5x4.5 inch loaf pans; preheat oven to 350.

Beat sugar, oil and eggs in bowl until very light, stopping once or twice to scrape sides of bowl. Add pumpkin, flour, powder & soda, salt and spices, and molasses; mix until all flour disappears and everything is combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally, one minute on medium/low speed should do it. Don't overmix. Add walnuts and stir briefly to combine.

Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake loaves in the center of the oven for approx. 50-55 minutes, testing with toothpick for doneness. Let cool at least 15 minutes before trying to remove from pans, then let cool on wire racks. You can wrap them up before they're fully at room temperature.

The Story

These freeze beautifully. Quick breads are often better the day after they're baked, so making these the night before makes a quick breakfast in the morning. This recipe is higher in fiber and lower in sugar than most pumpkin bread recipes, so it's good for breakfast in my mind.

I make this with my own roasted pumpkin. Take one "cheese" pumpkin (also called pie pumpkins or baking pumpkins, they are the squat creamy-yellowish pumpkins that are best for baking), cut it into quarters and scoop out the seeds, and roast at 375 until done through, maybe 45 min. to one hour. Let cool before handling. Scrape the flesh out of the shell and puree in a food processor. I then fill plastic containers with 20-21 ounces of puree, just enough for this recipe, and freeze them. I can get maybe 3-4 recipes worth of pumpkin out of a good sized cheese pumpkin. This puree has A LOT more water than canned pumpkin; if you want to make this recipe with canned pumpkin puree, use one 16 oz can and 3/4 cup of water.

I've been told canned "pumpkin" is really Hubbard squash. I wonder if it's an urban legend (rural legend?). I can say for sure that the lovely big orange carving pumpkins are NOT good for baking. They're really wet and the flesh is tasteless.

What is CSA?

CSA, or Community Sponsored Agriculture, is a great way to support local farmers, encourage a greater variety of local plantings, and get high-quality really fresh food for your family.

It's simple to do. For most farms, you pay for a share (up-front, so the farmer has money for seed and such) and then each week during the growing season, you pick up your portion of the farm's harvest. Some farms have a half-share option for smaller families; most farms have a swap area, so if your portion has something you don't like, you can leave it for someone who does and maybe you can pick up something you want instead. Many of the farms are organic (or headed that way.)

Friends of ours who have done this for years say it's cheaper than the grocery store in the long run, especially when compared to the price of organic produce. I'm just excited to get the really fresh food and support my local farmer.

Our farm has a winter option this year, using unheated greenhouses and certain crops. Our first week's harvest: 2 bins of potatoes (about 6.5 lbs worth), 9 fat lovely onions, 2 huge bunches of broccoli rabe, 2 bunches of Asian salad greens, and all the parsley and oregano we could cut. The salad greens were the star of dinner last night, and one of the broccoli rabe will go with some chickpeas & garlic for dinner tonight. I'm thinking potato pancakes and a fritatta later in the week for some of the potatoes. That's one big advantage of a CSA: eating seasonally. We get what is picked now, and we have to make meals based on it.

Our farm is Mendies Family Farm in Roosevelt, NJ. http://mendiesfarm.com/ So far, we just love it.

Blueberry season is in full swing!

We picked 27lbs. of blueberries yesterday at Emery's Organic Blueberry Farm yesterday. Today, the freezing and baking begin.

Yes, we left some there for you. Go soon, though, because blueberry season is too short.

Strawberry Muffins

The Recipe

3 1/2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup half-n-half or milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups chopped strawberries
1 tsp cinnamon mixed with 2 tsp sugar

Preheat oven to 375; oil (or line with paper) 2 12-cup muffin tins.

Mix first four ingredients in large bowl; set aside. Whisk eggs in medium bowl until light; whisk in half-n-half or milk, oil, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Toss strawberries with flour mixture. Add liquid to dry, stirring just until most of the flour disappears. DO NOT OVERMIX! Spoon batter evenly into muffin tins. Carefully sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over muffin tops.

Bake 18-20 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Makes 24 muffins.

The Story

So far we've picked 26 lb. of strawberries this summer at Lee's Turkey Farm. We've frozen a lot and eaten a whole lot!

I searched around on the interwebz for good strawberry muffin recipes, but there are wide variations. This is my version, the way I like them. I had half-n-half sitting around and I used it up here, it was awesome, but milk works just as well. (Just not fat-free half-n-half, it has no place in a diet for humans.)

Enjoy the end of strawberry season! Blueberries are coming on strong!

Indian-style Eggplant

The Recipe

1 tsp. brown mustard seeds 3 T. veg oil or ghee 1 onion, sliced thinly lengthwise 2 in. piece of ginger, peeled and chopped very finely 4 long eggplants (often called "Chinese"), quartered and sliced into 1 in. chunks 1/2 tsp. turmeric 2 tsp. Sambhar Masala (see The Story) 1 14oz can diced tomatoes 1 or 2 hot chile peppers, chopped pretty darn finely 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper salt to taste 1 cup or so water, veg stock or leftover bean cooking liquid

Heat oil in large pot; add mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the onion. Stir & fry for a minute or two, then add the ginger, and keep stirring until the onions brown nicely. Add the eggplant; stir to coat with oil and stirfry for 5 min. Add the turmeric and Sambhar Masala; fry for a minute until the kitchen smells heavenly. Add the tomatoes & your choice of liquid, the pepper, some salt, and the chile(s). Stir well; bring to boil, reduce to simmer, and let cook for a good half hour, until the eggplant is lovely soft and the chiles have made it spicy. Serve over brown basmati rice.

The Story

Was going to pick up the ingredients for dinner, but too expensive. I pretty much invented this out of what I had in the fridge. Nice hearty stewed dish. I served it with roasted cauliflower & sweet potatoes (cut into similarly-sized pieces, toss with oil and a few cumin seeds, roast at 375 until brown in spots, turning occasionally, about 30 minutes; dust with Garam Masala and you're all set.)

This is about as traditionally Indian as I am- not at all. But it's inspired by those flavors, and I did get some of the ingredients at the local Indo-Pak grocery. That's something, isn't it?

*Sambhar Masala is a spice blend, like curry powder and Garam Masala. I made my own from a recipe in a book. Here are some places if you want to make your own: IndiaCurry.com's Sambhar Masala or Food-India.com's Sambhar Masala. A quick Google search reveals, as expected, that there are as many versions of this as there are Indian cooks. I bet you could buy one from a quality spice vendor, too.

Turkey talk

Lee Turkey Farm is taking orders. Placed yours yet?

Summer in Jersey

First tomato of the season came out of the garden today!

Cherry Grove Farm

Nice article in the Star-Ledger about Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville.

Asparagus and Ricotta Fritatta

The Recipe

1 bunch local asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 in. lengths
1 Tbsp. olive oil
6 eggs
1/2 bunch Italian (aka flat leaf) parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/2 of a 15oz container ricotta cheese

In a 10 in. nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet, saute' the asparagus in the olive oil until just about done, between 3-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the stalks. When almost done, turn the heat down to low, and season liberally with salt & pepper.

Turn on the broiler to low. Beat the eggs lightly with the parsley and pour over the asparagus in the skillet. Drop the ricotta cheese over the top in medium- sized dollops, randomly over the top. Pop the skillet into the oven until the eggs are just set, about 2 minutes (but don't turn your back on it! Only you know how hot your broiler is and you don't want to burn up dinner.) Cut into 8 wedges and serve. Feeds 4 folks as a main dish for dinner.

The Story

Yes, this recipe is just what it sounds like- I used up leftovers in the fridge with some lovely asparagus. The kids loved it, however, and asked if I could make it again- so that's a winner-and I figured I should write it down. I made some roasted roots with it: couple carrots & couple fat potatoes cut into uniform chunks. Add a chopped onion, some dried thyme and some paprika, toss to coat with olive oil, and roast at 400 until done (1/2 hour or more depending on the size of the potatoes.) Has a nice eggs and hash browns feel that way, just with more veggies.

Would work maybe even better with goat cheese. Try 4 oz, broken into chunks.

Not sure how to tag this: lunch? Dinner? breakfast? vegetarian? leftovers? It works in a lot of categories. So I'll start a new one for eggs.

New Central Jersey Farmers Market

Hightstown is starting its own Farmers Market, Fridays through the summer from 3-7, by Peddie Lake. (That's the corner of Morrison and Main Streets, aka the corner of Rt. 33 and Rt. 539, aka the park by the library.)

They're starting small but hopefully more farmers will join in soon. Come out and get what's fresh!


(Cross-posted to The Center of NJ Life)

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

The Recipe

1/2 lb dry chickpeas, soaked & cooked (see The Story)
1 red pepper
2 cloves garlic, in large pieces
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup olive oil, more as needed
Juice of two lemons
1-2 tsp. salt (to taste)
1 tsp. ground cumin

Soak & cook the chickpeas; (they take 1 1/2-2 hrs.). Drain & cool; save 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

Roast the red pepper over the flames on your gas stove or alternately on the grill: Do Not Cut Up The Pepper! Roast whole, turning each time the skin is charred. Once the whole pepper is blackened, put in a lidded bowl for about 10 minutes to finish cooking and soften the skin. Slip the skin off with your fingers, then cut open the pepper from the top carefully- it will steam- and remove the seeds and ribs. If you can save any accumulated juices from the pepper, you'll be glad you did.

Add the chickpeas and garlic to the food processor. It will be pasty. Add the remaining ingredients in order, blending well. Last, add the pepper and let the machine run for a while to compeletly puree and blend the flavors. Add more olive oil or the cooking liquid if you want a more dip-like consistency; leave it more dry if you use it as a sandwich spread.

Makes more than you think it will, but that's good since it's tasty.

The Story

Tahini is a roasted sesame seed paste. My grocery store stocks it with the peanut butter. Make sure to stir it very, very well before measuring- it settles. Store the extra in the fridge until the next time you make hummus or baba ganouj.

Soak the chickpeas at least 4 hours and up to 10 hours. They take 1 1/2-2 hrs to cook: put in large pan with water to cover, bring to boil, reduce to simmer until tender. It's so easy- you weren't going to go the canned route, were you? :)

If you want a creamier, impress-your-guests texture, add lots of extra olive oil and keep the food processor running for a long time. If you're eating this for lunch for the next few days, maybe keep an eye on the fat content. (We eat this for lunch often, with pita bread and carrots.) Don't worry, there's plenty of flavor either way.

The bite of raw garlic becomes stronger the longer this sits in the fridge. Beware!

I know the cumin is non-traditional, but so is the pepper. I like cumin. Leave it out if you don't.

Fish Sticks and Tartar Sauce

It's Lazy Linkin' Sunday here at Sharon's Food Blog!

We had fish sticks and tartar sauce with friends on Friday. Growing up, my friend's family tradition during Lent was fish sticks and mac-n-cheese; We recreated that, homemade-style.

Fish Sticks I use pollock or mahi-mahi, whatever is a good price that day. Easy and good.

Tartar Sauce Make a full batch, no matter how much you think you'll use. It makes the very best tuna fish the next day. It has to sit in the fridge for at least an hour before dinner.

Another diet study confirms what we already know

Want to live longer? Cut back on red meat

"The researchers estimate that 11 percent of deaths in men and 16 percent of deaths in women during the study could have been prevented by reducing consumption of red meat. "

That's without exercise or genetics being taken into account. Just cut red meat and processed meat consumption way down. You'll be doing yourself a favor.

Bistro Soliel: a review

Bistro Soliel
173 Mercer St.
Hightstown, NJ
609-443-9700

Overall review: very good to excellent

Bistro Soliel opened last summer in charming Hightstown. On a recent Saturday night visit, we made reservations and arrived about quarter to seven. The hosts are friendly and seat diners as quickly as possible. This being a true neighborhood place, we knew folks at several of the tables around us, waving and greeting them as we went to our table. The restaurant is BYO, and our wine was quickly whisked off to the kitchen to arrive opened and with the appropriate number of glasses. Servers are pleasant and knowledgeable, reciting lists of specials (without prices) and any of-the-day items from memory. Warm, light foccacia-style bread and fair olive oil are provided, and the servers are very fast about taking orders.

And then the wait begins.

Almost every visit I've made to this lovely, pleasant place, we've waited for our food. Please don't misunderstand me- I really mean waited. At least a half hour for appetizers, well in excess of an hour for entrees. The place is always busy, and you will wait. Make sure to call ahead for reservations, bring an extra bottle of wine, take the offered second basket of bread, and prepare to be there a while. You have time to notice the suns on each bright yellow wall, the decorative lighting, the traffic on the street outside. You have time to chat with your friends and family. You will wait.

You won't be disappointed.

On our most recent visit, we enjoyed two boneless short rib appetizers; a special, where the tender meat was brazed in Guinness (celebrating the St. Patrick's season) and the crispy tostadas ($9). The two dishes were very different in flavor but both melted in your mouth. Our dining companion remarked that the cole slaw served with the Guinness ribs was possibly even better than the ribs themselves. Very successful dishes both.

Our entrees were very good as well. A special of the night, sea bass on a parsnip puree with spinach and a green curry sauce, was perfectly cooked and a surprisingly good combination. (If I wasn't afraid of embarrassing myself, I would've licked the plate clean. I scraped it pretty well with a spoon to get every last morsel.) Leg of lamb with pearl onions and peas ($18) was a lovely spring dish, a slightly sweet sauce balanced nicely with the slight tinge of gaminess that comes from good lamb. The evening's lasagna, portobello mushroom and spinach with an Alfredo sauce ($13), was a huge slab of thick pasta sheets and very flavorful fillings. Our friends raved about the shrimp & asparagus risotto ($16) and the stuffed pork loin ($13).

This is the best restaurant in the Hightstown area for food. The flavors are wonderful and everything is expertly prepared. The staff is professional, the atmosphere a nice, slightly upscale/casual neighborhood restaurant, and the decor attractive. The prices are good. The only quibble I have is the extraordinary wait for your dinners to arrive; But, they're truly worth the wait when they do.

Roasted Garlic Baba Ghanouj

The Recipe:

1 med-large eggplant (1 1/4-1 1/2 lb)
1 head garlic
olive oil
1/3 cup tahini
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika (or regular if it's what you got)
salt

Preheat oven to 350. Drizzle a little olive oil over the garlic- do not separate the cloves or remove the paper, we want this baby whole- and wrap in foil. Pierce the eggplant several times with a sharp knife. Roast both in a shallow dish- the garlic for 45 min.; the eggplant for about 1 hour or until tender through.

Let the garlic cool and remove the soft roasty cloves from the paper and drop in the food processor. Let the eggplant cool in the shallow dish (I use a pie plate). Some juice will accumulate- this isn't your friend, pour it off. Peel the eggplant, using a sharp knife to pull the skin away from the soft insides. Add the pulp to the food processor along with all the other ingredients. Puree until a lovely texture. Chill in the fridge at least 1 hour or probably overnight. Great with pita bread or pita chips for dipping.

The Story

Tahini is a sesame seed paste used in hummus. My grocery store stocks it with the peanut butter. Make sure to stir it very, very well before measuring- it settles. Store the extra in the fridge until the next time you make hummus.

If you don't wrap the garlic in foil, the outside cloves will brown which imparts a great flavor. However, they cross from golden brown to burned crispy in a short window of time- watch out. Also, in summer you can roast both the garlic and the eggplant on the grill outside; just keep an eye on the temperature to keep them from burning on the outside while still raw inside.

I usually see Baba Ghanouj made with raw garlic, fewer cloves. If you like the raw garlic bite, use 1 or 2 cloves only. The garlic flavor will increase the longer the dip rests in the fridge.