Fall Vegetable Tart

I'm putting this on the blog before I even take a bite into it. Mary made this tart over Christmas and it was so tasty. Mom and I made it again this afternoon and we're just about to bite into it.


Squash, onion, apples, rosemary and thyme all mixed together in a flaky crust. Yum!

So Long Fresh Tomatoes

Since snow is in the forecast, I'm guessing tonight might be my last night of running out to the garden to pick fresh tomatoes and basil. But oh, it was a good one.


This is from the Rachael Ray cookbook Veggie Meals. I love this cookbook. This particular recipe is called Pasta alla Trapanese: Pasta with Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce.

Here's the original recipe:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Scallions thinly sliced
4 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
6 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper
pasta
basil leaves

You cook up the oil, scallion, and garlic. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and just let simmer. Then at the very end add the coarsely chopped basil and serve over pasta.

Tonight I changed it up a bit, I used onion instead of scallions (just because all the scallions at HyVee were nasty looking) then I tossed in a few red pepper flakes and some red wine. Delicious.

So long fresh tomatoes and basil. So long.

Hello SNOW!

Lentils and Pasta with Greens

I gave up meat for Lent, so I've been on a hunt for good vegetarian recipes. I found a couple of cookbooks at the Library, and am going to go and buy a copy of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Veggie Meals. Everything I've made out of this book I'd definitely make again.

I've made:

• Three Bean Soup
• Spinach Calzones
• Portobello Burgers with Roasted Pepper Spread
• Ratatouille Pasta

And tonight ... Lentils and Pasta with Greens:

2/3 cup lentils, green or other variety
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
3 tablespoons EVOO
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can (14 ounces) vegetable broth
1 pound Swiss chard, washed, dried, and chopped
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Course salt and black pepper, to taste
10 to 12 ounces pasta (bowties or wide egg noodles), cooked until al dente
a handful chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cover lentils with water and bring to a boil. Add a bay lelaf and cook lentils until tender, 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While lentils cook, add olive oil to a hot large skillet. Add 1 bay leaf, onion, carrots, red bell pepper, and garlic. Saute 10 minutes over medium heat. Add wine and reduce liquid for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute more. Add vegetable broth and Swiss chard, then cover. Once greens have wilted, season with allspice, cumin, and salt and pepper, then continue cooking. Steam greens 10 minutes until tender.

When greens are tender and no longer bitter, uncover and stir in drained pasta, lentils, and parsley. Adjust seasonings and serve.

I couldn't find Swiss Chard, so I used Spinach and I used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth (no, I'm not a true vegetarian - its just for Lent.)

Shredded Beet and Carrot Salad

Yum!! I love this salad. And it is super healthy with only 1 Tbls of oil (though I think you could omit that if you really wanted to). I tried to take pictures of it, but the salad kept coming out looking hot pink and not too appetizing. Use your imagination. The color is wonderful - beet red, orange and green. It is just slightly spicy and will be loved by those that like Indian spices. The cookbook recommends serving with roast pork or chicken. Prep is a snap if you have a food processor to shred the beets and carrots, but you could use a box grater, too.

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tbls extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbls honey
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2-3/4 tsp coarse salt
1 pound raw beets, peeled
4-6 carrots, peeled (The recipe called for 2. I put in 4, but next time would still put in more, I think. There was plenty of the spice mix to cover it.)
1/3 cup coarsely torn fresh parsley

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, honey, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne and salt.
2. In a food processor fitted with the shredding disk, shred the beets and then the carrots. Add to the bowl along with the parsley, and toss all of the ingredients to combine.

Rainy Day and Stew

I found this recipe on Saturday and it was warm out so I didn't think stew was really appropriate, sunny and warm again on Monday, blah. But today, it rained. The second day of fall, rain, and stew go together right?

So I give you, (by way of Martha Stewart and friends) Vegetable and Navy Bean Stew. Here's where you can get the recipe.

My Summer Favorite

So I jumped the gun a little bit on this one. My favorite summer food is Tomato Basil Pizza, especially when all I have to do is walk out the garden and pick the tomato and basil. My garden isn't quite ready yet - but I am.

I'm working on perfecting my pizza crust recipe, tonight's recipe follows.

Pizza Crust:
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp EVOO
1 Tblsp honey (if you use the same measuring spoon and measure the oil first the honey slides right out - a little trick I accidentally discovered.)
2/3 cup white flour
2/3 cup wheat flour
1/3 cup corn meal
1/3 cup oatmeal
Then add alternating 1/3 cup portions of wheat and white until you achieve bread dough consistency. Knead for about 10 strokes (with a bit more flour) and let rise.

Butternut Squash Risotto

I've made this one a ton of times, but I guess I've never blogged it! Mary is responsible for introducing this delicious dish. It's Butternut Squash Risotto - I think she got it from an Everyday Food magazine. This one could be a side dish or an entire meal.

I've lost the actual recipe - but here's how I make it.

Cut up one medium sized squash into about 1 1/2 inch cubes. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat with 2 Tbs. of butter.

Add 1 cup of Risotto rice and mix in with 1/2 cup white cooking wine.

When all of the liquid is dissolved add warm chicken broth in 1/2 cup increments. About two cans of Chicken broth are needed.

When the rice is all cooked (this takes about 45 minutes) add approx. 1 Tbs. of fresh Sage and 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

I had this one tonight in my new pottery bowl from the empty bowls luncheon for the Food Bank. Isn't it a great bowl??

Mango & Black Bean Salad

We had this with shredded beef wraps. It was supposed to be a side, but it ended up inside lot of wraps so it works well as a fruity salsa too. Sara was very brave and tried it, even though it's a lot like a condiment.

Mango & Black Bean Salad

1 1/2 cups chopped peeled ripe mango

1 cupthinkly sliced green onion

1/2 cup cooked wild or brown rice

3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

2 Tbsp. roasted tomatillo or fresh salsa

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp. EVOO

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss gently to mix. Serves 6.

Spinach Polenta Topped with Tomatoes

I'm totally digging trying new recipes. I used to have about four main dishes that I just cycled through, its a whole new world.

Last night I tried this Spinach Polenta from Moosewood's Simple Suppers. Delicious.

Spinach Polenta
2 cups water
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta cornmeal
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces fresh baby spinach

Fresh Tomato Topping
4 large tomatoes or 8 to 10 plum tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 Tablespoons oliver oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

In a saucepan, bring the water, milk, and salt to a boil. Add the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream while whisking. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until polenta is thick. (mine took about 20 minutes.)

Meanwhile, prepare the topping: Cut the tomatoes into wedges. In a saucepan on medium-low heat, cook the garlic in the oil for a minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, oregano, and vinegar and simmer for about 5 minutes, just until hot.

When the poletna is thick, reduce the heat to low and stir in the cheese (I only used about 1/2 a cup of Parmesan cheese) until melted and smooth. Fold in the spinach, a couple of handfuls at a time, until just wilted.

Serve the polenta hot, topped with the tomatoes and more cheese if you wish.

I thought this was a great meal. I would serve it in a bowl next time as the tomatoes were a bit runny. Otherwise - perfect!

Lentil-Walnut Burgers

If you have a food processor, these burgers are EASY! And they are so tasty. My notes:





-I made them according to the recipe, but you could reduce the cumin/coriander. I may do that next time for a more subtle flavor.
-I used less oil then listed for the cooking and they were fine, probably just not aS crispy as intended.
-I doubled the recipe and it still fit in my food processor.
-We topped our burgers with tomato, red onion and yogurt.

(From Everyday Food - Great Food Fast page 153)

3/4 c lentils
3/4 c walnuts
1/3 c plain dried breadcrumbs
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground corander
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 Tbls olive oil
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350. Place lentils in a small saucepan and cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender but still holding their shape, 15-20 minutes. Drain well and cool.

Meanwhile, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and darkened, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

In a food processor, combine the walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Process until finely ground. Add the lentils and 1 Tbls of the oil. Pulse until coarsely chopped (some lentils will remain whole).

In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the lentil mixture; mix well. Dived into 4 balls and flatten into 3/4 inch thick patties. (Use wet hands to reduce the stickiness.)

Heat the remaining 3 Tbls oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the burgers; cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, about 8-10 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Green Pie

Sara's heard tell of the euphemistically named "Green Pie," but she's never had a chance to eat it at my house. The problem is that my family of 5 eats the whole thing. Which is pretty cool since the original name was "Italian Spinach Pie." Yep. Spinach is the main ingredient. And my 3 kids (11, 9 & 6) count it as one of their favorite meals.

Use your favorite pizza dough, just be sure the dough isn't too moist...you want a stiff, dry dough because the filling has a lot of moisture. Here's one we tried recently and liked. Rick doubled it (you need a top & bottom crust), and he had to add more flour than it called for to get the right consistency, but it was a really good crust!

For the filling:

2-10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach
2 eggs
2 tsp. chicken bouillon
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
1 c. soft bread crumbs ( make with 2-3 slices of bread chopped in food processor or blender)
1 c. parmesan cheese (we use the stuff out of the plastic jar)

Saute the onions in butter until clear. While onions are cooking, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach in a colander. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and combine all filling ingredients, mixing well.

Divide dough in half and roll out as you would for 2 pizzas. Put one dough round onto a round baking stone. Spread spinach mixture evenly on the dough. Cover the filling with the 2nd dough round. Seal the edges by pressing together. Brush the top with olive oil.

Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes. Check at about 20 minutes. You may need to brush the top with olive oil again to keep it from overbaking.

Top with your favorite marinara sauce, if you like that sort of thing.

An Old Favorite

Maybe Rice Hotdish wasn't the original comfort food . . . maybe it was Cream Peas on Toast. Some of my favorites from childhood will never go away. Yum!

Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans

First of all these are two ingredients that were on my "do not eat" list less than one year ago. See how I'm growing up?

Tonight for dinner I'm having Sweet Potato and Black Beans on Rice. The recipe is for making burritos, but I'm improvising just a bit.

This is Mary's recipe. But its pretty simple. Saute one onion and two small sweet potatoes until the sweet potatoes are cooked. Add cinnamon and ground cumin and one can of black beans. I sprinkled some cheese on top. Mary said cheddar cheese but all I had was white.

This was one of the entrees at the family Christmas. I've been meaning to make it again ever since. Mine isn't as good as Mary's, but I'm still eating comfortably tonight!

Sara