Early Fall Pasta

Happy Thursday, everyone! We hope your week has been super awesome. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one, but I find that some of my best recipes are a product of having a few things in the fridge that I've never tried together, but they're the only things on hand. Last week, looking at a fridge full of corn and spinach, and a lonely butternut squash and some whole wheat farfalle in the pantry, I came up with this pasta, which, it turns out, is a lovely early fall dish if you can still get good corn.  Part of the secret is letting the butter brown a little bit, which gives it a really nice richness.

Farfalle with Roasted Butternut Squash, Spinach, Corn, and Goat Cheese
Ingredients:
1 1/2T olive oil, divided
1/2T butter
1/2 medium butternut squash, cut into 1/4" cubes
2 ears corn, shucked and kernels removed from cob
1 11 oz package of baby spinach (about 6c loosely packed)
2c whole wheat farfalle, cooked according to manufacturer's instructions (note: I like my pasta to be an accoutrement to, rather than the center of, a dish.  If you like a more pasta-heavy pasta dish, you may want to add some more pasta.)  
goat cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the squash with 1T olive oil and some salt.  Roast squash for about 40 minutes, or until it's soft, slightly brown, and cooked through.
Heat butter and 1/2T olive oil in a large frying pan or sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Leave on heat until the butter solids start to brown a bit and the butter/oil combination takes on a lovely golden hue.  Without turning down the heat, add the corn, and let sit until it starts to brown. Reduce heat to medium, and stir in spinach.  Cook until the spinach is just wilted. Turn off heat and add pasta and squash. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve topped with chunks of goat cheese.
Enjoy! 

P.S. If this isn't enough recipe inspiration for you, hop on over to It All Started at Mother's for Karen's recipe today!

Saving Vegetable Stock For A Rainy Day

I love my freezer (and not just because that's where you'll find the ice cream). I'm one of those people who prepares huge batches of meals or baked goods and freezes them for some vague future date. This probably began when I finally embraced my depression era impulse to never, ever waste food. Can't eat a whole loaf of bread before it gets moldy? Freeze it. Went a little crazy at the farmer's market and fear a produce bin of rotting produce? Freeze it. Find yourself with extra cake frosting or leftover pizza dough? Freeze those too.

My love affair with the freezer became even more extreme when I realized it takes basically the same amount of work to cook enough enchiladas for one dinner as it does to cook enough for three. The same holds true for just about every meal and meal component I can think of. Since there will always be nights when I'm too busy or exhausted to make a real dinner (and I've yet to convince my family that "there's a whole bunch of stuff in the fridge if you just dig around" constitutes a meal plan), my freezer is always well stocked.

[This is where I was going to insert a photo of the contents of my freezer, but it turns out that frozen granola bars, black beans, pinto beans, quinoa, fall vegetable soup, pesto, vegetable stock, and assorted breads will never be photogenic. The soup above, however, is pretty . . . and intriguing. I'd like to make it with the vegetable stock currently residing in my freezer.]

Vegetable stock really does have more body and flavor when it's homemade. I absolutely think you can cook a tasty soup without it in a pinch, but this is definitely a meal component where its contribution to the final product will outweigh the preparation factor, especially if you always make a huge batch, freeze it in ice cube trays (you can pop the cubes out when the stock is frozen and transfer them to a ziploc bag), and pull them out as needed.

My recipe for stock goes something like this:

Notice I have some vegetables that need to be eaten asap (make sure little hands don't steal the carrots before they're peeled and chopped). Chop the veggies, toss with a little olive oil, and brown them in my stock pot or by roasting in the oven. Add some garlic, parsley from our herb pot, and a parmesan rind from the freezer. Add a whole bunch of water and simmer until I think of it again. Strain. Taste. Throw in some pepper and soy sauce.

I realize that recipe is not particularly helpful if you've never made stock before, which is why I must direct you to one of my favorite people: Mark Bittman, the Minimalist. He will give you more precise instructions for how to make delicious and easy vegetable stock. My only advice (even if it requires you to use two pots) is to double his recipes.

This is the vegetable soup I made with my stock last week. If you have good stock, "making soup" just means adding your favorite vegetables (and maybe topping with some parmesan or pesto). Yum.

Kale & Sweet Potato with Raisins & Almonds

My mom calls this recipe "the nutritional powerhouse," and for good reason.  All of the ingredients in this recipe pack a nutritional punch; served over quinoa with a side of tofu, there is no beating this dish for dinner. This is a go-to recipe in my household during the fall and winter, and although it pains me to let go of tomatoes, corn, and peaches, making kale and sweet potatoes (aside from breaking out my tall boots, of course) somehow numbs the hurt just a bit.

Ingredients:
2T+2T olive oil, divided
1/2 medium red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 bunches kale (about 5-6 cups), chopped
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c almonds, chopped
1T lemon juice
1t cayenne pepper, or more to taste
salt
pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, cut sweet potatoes into 1/2" cubes, and spread in a 9x13" pan. Drizzle with 2T olive oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the pieces are tender and becoming golden.
Heat the remaining 2T of olive oil in a large sauté pan, then add the onions.  Sauté until translucent, add garlic, and then add kale. Cook over medium heat until the kale becomes tender, but is still a vibrant shade of green.  Remove from heat, and add cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.   Stir in raisins and roasted sweet potatoes.  Serve topped with a sprinkle of almonds.

What about you--do you have any fall recipes that you look forward to breaking out? We hope you're having a wonderful week!

Banana Cupcakes With (The Best) Chocolate Meringue Frosting

My favorite sister Lauren (she happens to be my only sister, but I'm pretty sure that even if I had more, she'd still be my favorite) is staying with us until the holidays (yay!). She arrived just in time for her birthday, which was on Tuesday. Because I cannot let someone's birthday pass uncelebrated and because any excuse for frosting is a good one, I whipped up some mini banana cupcakes before she was even out of bed. Normally, my celebratory baked good of choice is a many layer cake, but I knew my sister would appreciate the single serving nature of cupcakes (mini cupcakes being even better because you can eat them in multiples). 

I've made many banana cakes and cupcakes, but these are my favorite thus far. My hubby and sister, both of whom know their way around banana baked goods, said the same thing and little Claire seemed pretty enthusiastic as she pointed and chanted, "more that, more that." Skip the frosting, add some walnuts to the batter, and sprinkle some wheat germ or flax on top and I daresay you could even call these muffins.

If the cupcakes don't seem indulgent enough to be a treat, never fear, the frosting has no redeeming healthy attributes--it just tastes really good. I first stumbled across this frosting when I was on a quest for a delicious chocolate icing that could withstand outdoor festivities on a New York summer afternoon without turning into drippy mess. This icing held up admirably and it has been my go-to recipe ever since.

We use this little cupcake stand by vesselsandwares all the time.  

Banana Cupcakes

(adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe)
makes 12-18 standard size cupcakes or 24-36 mini cupcakes, depending how tall you like them

Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
2/3 cup natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a standard or mini muffin pan or line with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir until just combined. Distribute batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes for standard sized cupcakes (or 16-18 minutes for mini cupcakes). Let cupcakes cool for about 5 minutes in the pan. Then remove the cupcakes and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Spread the tops with chocolate meringue frosting and enjoy!

Chocolate Meringue Frosting
(slightly adapted from Chocolate Buttercream in the Well-Decorated Cake)
This recipe takes some time, but it makes enough for at least two layer cakes or six dozen cupcakes. I always make the full recipe and freeze half to two thirds. Just defrost, re-whip, and it's as good as new. It's perfect for making impromptu cakes, which, as everyone knows, are the very best kind.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 lbs confectioners' sugar
1 cup high quality Dutch processed cocoa powder
3 tablespoons meringue powder
1/3 cup kahlua or chocolate liqueur
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups ganache (I consider this optional. It certainly makes the chocolate flavor more intense, but the frosting is still delicious without it if you're short on time)

Directions:
Prepare the ganache, if using. Cream the butter for two minutes. Scrape the bowl and cream for an additional minute. Sieve cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar together (note: this will take much longer than you think). Add the sugar mixture one cup at a time to the creamed butter. Mix until well blended. Add meringue powder and beat for one minute. Mixture will appear dry.

Add milk, vanilla extract, and liqueur to the buttercream. Beat until well combined. Either continue to beat until light and fluffy or add ganache one cup at a time, and beat until light and fluffy.

Ganache
makes 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 lb high quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped roughly into pieces

Directions:
In a heavy saucepan, boil heavy cream. Remove from heat. Add chocolate pieces and use a rubber spatula to stir until the chocolate is melted. Pour into a room-temperature bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm.

Leftover ganache can be stored for up to two weeks in the refrigerator or frozen.

Heavy Rotation (Sweets Edition)

Hello, friends! I hope your week is going well. Mine has been a good mix of work, playing with Emi, seeing great friends, and Skype-ing with my mom about our upcoming trip home to California. When my mom and I would chat on the phone when I was in college, she always used to tell me about how my Grandma Libby would call her at college and tell her how many times that week they'd had spaghetti. So now "We had spaghetti three times this week." is our running joke when neither of us has anything interesting to say over the phone (or these days on Skype). And then we generally go on to talk about what we really had for dinner.

Not that there's anything wrong with having the same thing over and over again; on the contrary, that's how we roll, too. Before I sat down to write this, I was imagining sharing some dishes that are currently on repeat in our menu planning.  Then, when I sat down to write, all that started coming up for me were desserts. I promise we eat other things, too, but I guess my brain is fixating on sweets right now.  Without further ado, here are the dessert recipes that get some heavy use at our house. 

Jordy and I both love, love, love Mark Bittman's Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding. No, it doesn't taste like tofu, and yes, you should make this tonight.

My other favorite dessert right now is banana ice cream. It's super creamy, is pretty healthy, and requires very little foresight. Here's how you make it: slice a banana and arrange the slices on a pie plate or other freezer-safe dish. Freeze for an hour or 2, then put the frozen slices in your blender & blend. If you're having a hard time getting the chunks to break up, add a little milk or soymilk. Graciously accept the compliments when whoever you're sharing with tells you that you look great for just having slaved over this frozen treat.

David Liebowitz's mint chocolate chip ice cream is ridiculous. That is all.

And finally, Heidi's Triple Ginger Cookies recipe is so, so tasty. I would say I make these in the fall and winter at least once every two or three weeks. They've got a really pleasing amount of heat, and if you take Heidi's suggestion and add a little salt to the sugar these are rolled in, you'll spend your day looking forward to sitting down with one of these bad boys and a nice cup of tea, and then calling your mom/kids/friends to tell them about your cookie consumption for the week. 

What about you?  Any dessert recipes that are in heavy rotation at your house?
[none of these photos are mine; they can all be found at the link to the recipes]

Mango, Apple, Mozzarella Salad

You know those days when your fridge and fruit bowl seem well-stocked, but every time you try to make something you find yourself missing a key ingredient? Blame it on poor planning or succumbing to whim after whim at the market, but those days are inevitable. While I may pout briefly when I realize my stir fry is going to lack ginger or my oatmeal cookies are going to have to include raisins instead of chocolate chips, inevitably I perk up when I challenge myself to play Top Chef in my own kitchen. 

The salad below was the product of one of those challenges late last summer. I found myself eager to use a beautiful hunk of mozzarella from our favorite cheese guy and the last few basil leaves that escaped a pesto fate, but there wasn't a tomato to be found in our kitchen. Not to be deterred from a delicious lunch, I threw together a salad so delicious it actually made its way into our regular rotation. After all, you've got to have something to eat with your mozzarella when heirloom tomatoes disappear from the market. 

Mango, Apple, Mozzarella Salad
(serves 2-3 as a side)

One crisp, tart apple (honeycrisp is my favorite, but a green apple is also tasty)
One ripe mango
4 oz high quality mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons sliced or slivered almonds
4 basil leaves cut into chiffonade (this basically just means to cut into very thin strips--if you just tear the basil into little pieces, I won't tell anyone)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced

Cut the apple, mango, and mozzarella into 1/2 inch cubes. Toss together in a bowl. Add the almonds and basil and toss gently. Distribute among 2-3 plates and drizzle the desired amount of balsamic vinegar reduction on top of each. Alternatively, you can toss the salad with the balsamic vinegar reduction, but I prefer little bursts of balsamic flavor to an even coating. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Grilling

Dear YOU + ME*,

I'm having some friends over this weekend for an end of summer grill fest. Although my husband and I are decidedly carnivorous, some of our close friends are vegetarians. Our grill staples are hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken, so I'm not really sure what to grill for our non-meat eating friends. Are veggie burgers the way to go? Do people grill tofu? Any menu help would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
L.

Dear L.,

You've come to the right place! Miya and I are both vegetarians and California natives (where it's grilling season all year long), so we've had lots of experience with grilling sans meat. First off, your veggie friends are going to appreciate that you're putting so much thought into what they can eat at your end of summer get together. It's so easy to pull that box of veggie burgers from the freezer, chip off the layer of ice, and call it vegetarian dinner or to assume that a hamburger bun and a piece of watermelon will suffice. While I'm sure your friends would be perfectly happy with both those scenarios since they care first and foremost about your company, they'll be blown away that you put some extra energy into grilling something they can enjoy too.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Heidi Swanson's Favorite Grilled Kabob Recipe
This is one of my all time favorite grilled meals. I often don't even deal with making kabobs. Instead, I grill a variety of veggies and tofu using grill plans so they don't fall through the slats and then pile on the Muhammara, an amazing red pepper and walnut spread. You could easily serve this with grilled flatbread, a cold salad or two, and some kind of grilled meat to make an amazing feast for everyone. Actually, I've served this without any meat to plenty of carnivores and I haven't heard any complaints in between the mmmmms and yums.

Halloumi Cheese
Halloumi is a mildly salty and firm cheese traditionally made with a blend of sheep and goat's milk. It can be found in specialty grocery stores (I usually buy it at Whole Foods and I think I've seen it at Trader Joe's). To prepare, cut into slices of your desired thickness. We usually cut our hunk of cheese into three slabs, which makes them about 1/4 inch thick--much thicker and you lose the contrast in texture between the grilled, crunchy part and the melty middle. Grill each side for about 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown with grill marks. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil or a squeeze of lemon. We often serve Halloumi with the kabobs above.

Grilled Tofu. If your whole menu is basically planned and you just want to add a vegetarian protein, you can definitely grill tofu. The beauty of tofu (and also its downfall) is that it doesn't have a whole lot of flavor on its own; instead it takes on the flavors of its topping or marinade. This recipe suggests grilling tofu and then topping it with pesto. An alternative approach would be to marinate the tofu like this prior to grilling. Either way is just fine--you'll just want to make sure you do one or the other. Tofu without a topping or marinade isn't going to tempt anyone's taste buds. If you're seeking an extra firm and chewy texture, you can press the water out, freeze it overnight, thaw, and then marinate/grill. Your friends will be super impressed. 

Oh, one more grilled option to serve people with diverse dietary preferences is grilled pizza, which we wrote about last month. Letting everyone top their own pizza, means everyone gets their perfect pie. 

These suggestions should be a good start for this weekend's menu or for any future grill sessions with your vegetarian friends. You may also consider asking your friends to bring their favorite vegetarian items for the grill. I'm sure they would be happy to contribute to the meal and it might give you additional ideas for next time. Do tell us how your party goes!

xo,
ME*

Watercress Soup

Good morning! I hope you all are ready for us to knock your epicurean socks off, because this soup is ridiculously good. The watercress shines in this recipe; its peppery, fresh flavor is highlighted by the lemon juice, and substantiated by the potatoes and leeks. You can blend it or choose not to, you can serve it hot or cold, and you can top it with all sorts of goodies. I first tried cooking it at Jordy's family's house in NH this summer, and while folks were a little skeptical at first (not everyone is super stoked about watercress, I guess), everyone ended up cleaning their bowls. Last night, I made this and chose to only blend it a little and serve it hot with a hot, crusty loaf of bread (since it was super cold here yesterday). It was just as good, if not better. I served Jordy's with a poached egg floated on top, and he loved it. If you can't find watercress where you are, you can always use arugula. High quality, fresh produce is paramount here, since you are really highlighting one flavor.

Ingredients:
1T butter
1T olive oil
2 bunches watercress, (about 3-4 cups) washed & lightly chopped
2 medium leeks, white parts only, split lengthwise and sliced thinly
2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
32oz vegetable broth
32oz water
1T salt
1/4 c lemon juice

Directions:
In large pot (soup-sized pot, not a saucepan), melt butter and add olive oil. Sautee leeks until semi-transparent, about 4-5 minutes, and then add potatoes and salt. Sautee for another 3 minutes or so, just until the potatoes are starting to soften, then add vegetable broth and water. Bring to a boil, and boil until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the watercress, and continue to boil for 1-2 minutes, until it has softened. Add lemon juice.

From here, it's your choice what to do. Chill it or leave it hot, blend it or leave it chunky, top it or eat it plain.

Optional toppings:
-chopped hard boiled eggs
-a float of high-quality flavorful olive oil
-creme fraiche
-rustic croutons (roughly tear up about 2c worth of bread, toss with 2T olive oil & salt & pepper, bake @400 for 15 mins)
-a dollop of yogurt
-fresh watercress

Enjoy!

Summer Corn Salad

Every summer, we go up to my husband's family's place in New Hampshire for some R & R and family socializing. Their place is summer communal living at its finest. Dinner is rarely set for fewer than 25 people, and there are at least three expeditions a day into town for ice cream. Last summer, I was up there with Emi, who was teeny-tiny, and my parents, who Jordy's family graciously hosted for a few weeks so they could hang out with the new baby in a space that wasn't my closet-like apartment. My mom made this recipe for dinner on one particularly busy weekend, and I still get calls and emails from people who were lucky enough to be there for that dinner asking for the recipe. This salad contains raw corn, which highlights the sweetness and juiciness of the corn. Folks, don't even try this during the spring, fall, or winter. This here is a full-on summer recipe. And since the days of fresh corn are winding down, you best get it in quickly.

Fresh Corn Salad

Ingredients:
8 ears of corn, shucked and kernels removed (like when you had braces--just stand it up on a plate and cut the kernels off. If you want to get super fancy, stick the pointy end in the hole of a bundt pan, and let the pan catch the kernels)
juice and zest from 2 limes
1 red pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped (you can add more or less to taste)\
2 scallions, well-washed and sliced thinly
salt to taste (I used about 1t)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in your prettiest bowl. Serve immediately, or refrigerate (salad will keep for about 3 days).

Parsley Pesto

Poor, poor parsley.  It's an amazing herb with a fresh, green flavor, yet it is often relegated to tasks well beneath it (garnishing eggs at IHOP, for example).  While it almost seems sacrilegious to suggest using something other than basil for pesto when basil is so abundant at the markets right now, this pesto is one of my go-to weeknight dinners, and I wanted to share it with you.  Most people, when I tell them I am making parsley pesto, have a hard time concealing their skepticism, but everyone to whom I've served it has come around to the virtues of parsley. Trust us on this one--you won't be disappointed.
This twist on basil pesto lets the herbacious flavor of parsley shine, and is similar to basil pesto only in hue.  It goes well on pasta, sure, but it is also delicious as a dip for veggies, spread on sandwiches, or drizzled on poached eggs and toast.  This recipe makes a nice big batch, suitable for a few dinners and dipping sessions and sandwich spread servings.

Ingredients:
4 cups parsley leaves, washed, dried, and loosely packed
1/2 cup olive oil
1.5 cups toasted walnuts (spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes, or until they are fragrant)
1T salt (or more to taste)*
1/2 cup lemon juice
*the trick is to salt the pesto until the flavors really sing.  The amount that you need to use to get this will depend on your ingredients and your palate.  Don't be afraid to liberally salt this pesto.

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender, and blend until the consistency is paste-like.

For a pasta dinner that serves 4, cook 1/2 package of whole grain angel hair pasta according to the directions.  Drain pasta and return to pot.  Add 3/4 cup to 1 cup of pesto, and toss until the pasta is evenly covered.  Top with 3/4c toasted walnut pieces, and pat yourself on the back for having given parsley a chance.  Vow to picket IHOP for unflattering use of an awesome herb.

Enjoy!