Recent Foodage
With the onslaught of harvesting tomatoes and squashes (squashii? squashae?) from Kerry's garden and then the sudden cold front that pushed through, I have been slaving away quite a bit in the kitchen. (Sorry, no food porn pics this time.)
The first question is, of course, what to do with 3 lbs of garden tomatoes (some from Iowa and some from Aurora CO) and 4 summer squash bigger than your arm? First you make tomato sauce and, if you are lazy, you make it without peeling the tomatoes and manage to slice your finger in the meanwhile. Toss in some turkey and beef meatballs and you have a nice go to sauce in your fridge for whatever pasta might be kickin' it on the shelf. You look at the squash and think, these are just going to have to wait...perhaps they will get smaller if I let them rest on the counter for a few days. (Note: They will not. In fact, they might just grow more. Just like difficult people, giant garden squash refuse to disappear if you ignore them.)
Saturday, I went for a late Summer/early Fall harvest dinner theme. Made the Turnip and Potato Soup from Vegetarian Cooking for Everybody. Basically saute leeks, potatoes, turnips and garlic, then cook down and puree. Toss in salt, pepper and cream. A good idea is to not drop and break your blender. Then I tackled the squash: cut it into rounds and either roasted half and slow-cooked the other half them on the stove. Seasoned with some lemon pepper and italian seasoning and tossed with some Feta. It's very sunny looking. Finally, made the Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pistachios. Kept it pretty close, but subbed lime juice which was pretty nice matched with the pistachios. Rounded the meal out with a little bread with roasted garlic spread and smoked sea salt and a peach cobbler.
For the party, I cooked up some chocolate gemelli I picked up at the farmers' market, tossed with some raspberries and strawberries plus some homemade whipped cream for a dessert pasta salad. Also made a coconut rum cake by adapting the Little Lime Soaked Coconut Cakes from In The Sweet Kitchen. Followed the recipe for the cake, used low-fat coconut milk (which worked fine), added an egg for altitude and cooked in a square cake pan. Made the lime soaking syrup by dissolving the sugar and lime juice with rum rather than water and cooked it down to more of a thick syrupy glaze (careful not to burn!!). After the cake was done, drizzled with rum, glazed and then sprinkled toasted coconut over it and drizzle a little more glaze to help the coconut adhere. It's a nice contrast between a sweet cake and a limey tang.
Finally, Monday was a nice day for using the oven since it was freezing out (hail in the AM!). If you are going to spend money on heating the house, you might as well make it smell good and have a tasty meal, too. Made the Moroccan Roast Chicken (my favorite roast chicken recipe, possibly) and a quinoa pilaf with diced summer squash, onions and dill. A nice protein packed meal! Lots of leftover chicken that would be good for pita sandwiches, maybe with some hummus or baba ganoush.
That's all I have for now and with loads of leftovers, there may be a stoppage in cooking for a bit. Discovered that the soup reheats well with some manchego or drunken goat sprinkled over it...the nuttiness is a nice contrast against the sweetness and creaminess.
The first question is, of course, what to do with 3 lbs of garden tomatoes (some from Iowa and some from Aurora CO) and 4 summer squash bigger than your arm? First you make tomato sauce and, if you are lazy, you make it without peeling the tomatoes and manage to slice your finger in the meanwhile. Toss in some turkey and beef meatballs and you have a nice go to sauce in your fridge for whatever pasta might be kickin' it on the shelf. You look at the squash and think, these are just going to have to wait...perhaps they will get smaller if I let them rest on the counter for a few days. (Note: They will not. In fact, they might just grow more. Just like difficult people, giant garden squash refuse to disappear if you ignore them.)
Saturday, I went for a late Summer/early Fall harvest dinner theme. Made the Turnip and Potato Soup from Vegetarian Cooking for Everybody. Basically saute leeks, potatoes, turnips and garlic, then cook down and puree. Toss in salt, pepper and cream. A good idea is to not drop and break your blender. Then I tackled the squash: cut it into rounds and either roasted half and slow-cooked the other half them on the stove. Seasoned with some lemon pepper and italian seasoning and tossed with some Feta. It's very sunny looking. Finally, made the Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Pistachios. Kept it pretty close, but subbed lime juice which was pretty nice matched with the pistachios. Rounded the meal out with a little bread with roasted garlic spread and smoked sea salt and a peach cobbler.
For the party, I cooked up some chocolate gemelli I picked up at the farmers' market, tossed with some raspberries and strawberries plus some homemade whipped cream for a dessert pasta salad. Also made a coconut rum cake by adapting the Little Lime Soaked Coconut Cakes from In The Sweet Kitchen. Followed the recipe for the cake, used low-fat coconut milk (which worked fine), added an egg for altitude and cooked in a square cake pan. Made the lime soaking syrup by dissolving the sugar and lime juice with rum rather than water and cooked it down to more of a thick syrupy glaze (careful not to burn!!). After the cake was done, drizzled with rum, glazed and then sprinkled toasted coconut over it and drizzle a little more glaze to help the coconut adhere. It's a nice contrast between a sweet cake and a limey tang.
Finally, Monday was a nice day for using the oven since it was freezing out (hail in the AM!). If you are going to spend money on heating the house, you might as well make it smell good and have a tasty meal, too. Made the Moroccan Roast Chicken (my favorite roast chicken recipe, possibly) and a quinoa pilaf with diced summer squash, onions and dill. A nice protein packed meal! Lots of leftover chicken that would be good for pita sandwiches, maybe with some hummus or baba ganoush.
That's all I have for now and with loads of leftovers, there may be a stoppage in cooking for a bit. Discovered that the soup reheats well with some manchego or drunken goat sprinkled over it...the nuttiness is a nice contrast against the sweetness and creaminess.
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