Cheezy Spaghetti Squash Soup

I was happily surprised to see some winter squashes at the local farm store today, they are my favorite part of the fall (and today felt like fall here in NJ).

So I popped one of the spaghetti squashes I bought into the oven for about 45 minutes (first, poke it all over with a fork). But while I was working on making something else, I sliced my finger! Don't worry, no ER visit, no stitches, just a minor freak out (I was home alone!) and 4 tries of wrapping my finger in gauze.

So, once I finally got back to the kitchen, I decided to change my plans, and used a recipe I found a few weeks ago but haven't had time to try out. But, I tweaked it a little, I used the spaghetti squash, veggie stock and didn't have enough parmesan, so I used shredded "Mexican blend" cheese from the grocery store.

spaghetti squash and cheese soup

This was pretty simple, after the squash was cooked, I heated about a tablespoon of olive oil, sauteed two large cloves of garlic (but use more, I added plenty of garlic powder) then melted two tablespoons of butter, added veggie stock (enough to cover the squash), salt and pepper, and brought it to a boil.

Then I added the cheese (about a half cup parmesan and a half cup shredded cheese blend, mentioned above), and let it melt.

Next, I added about a half cup skim half and half and two tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley.

If you checked out the original website, you saw the original recipe looked like a creamy, garlicky sauce that stuck to the pasta. Yum. But, this didn't turn out that way. I was more soupy, but actually really good, sort of like a broccoli cheddar, but with the squash, and not super heavy.

Simple Squash Side Dish

roasted summer squash, peppers and onions

I loved this super simple side dish that used up any extra veggies I had in the fridge.

I set the oven to 350 while I started chopping. I used sweet and hot peppers, half an onion, two cloves garlic, and one large summer squash, threw it in the dutch oven with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and let it roast in the oven for about a half hour.

This is great as a side dish, but its also great to take to work tomorrow.

Better For You (read not fried) Eggplant Parmesan

eggplant parmesan

Both Pat and I are pretty picky about eggplant. I almost never like it, neither does he. But, we got two large eggplants in a local produce box, so here's our healthier version that we both actually enjoy. And yes, it is a little time consuming, but tastes great.

First, let me say that we don't buy spaghetti sauce, we always make it and freeze what we don't eat. It's more economical, and always tastes better than most brands I've tried. That was a big part of what made this so time consuming, because we didn't have any in the freezer, so I had to make sauce.

So, the most important thing to this recipe is how thick the eggplant is cut. I always believe the thinner the better. It doesn't matter if you cut the eggplant lengthwise or into circles, if you use a knife or a mandolin, as long as the slices are thin.

Then, you lay the slices out on towels, sprinkle with salt, let them sit for about 10 minutes, flip, repeat, wait, rinse, pat dry, and you're ready to go. This pulls all the excess moisture from the eggplant, and helps to make them less bitter, but this step isn't necessary if you use small eggplants because they tend to be less bitter (because they have fewer seeds).

This is the part where many people batter and fry the eggplant, but where we veered off course. We put the eggplant into the oven (about 10 minutes per side at about 350F). Some of the eggplant burnt a little, but we used it anyway (and you couldn't taste any burnt).

I used a 9x9" glass baking dish, and layered marinara sauce, eggplant, mozzarella, parmesan and panko (in that order) until the pan was filled, and left a layer of marinara on top.

We ate this a few days later (it kept well in the fridge, but I know it also keeps well in the freezer), so we cooked this at 350F for about 25 minutes, then added a little panko to the top, set the broiler to high, and cooked for about five more minutes, until the breadcrumbs were brown.

Great to make over the weekend, and save for a week night.

Pan Seared Salmon with Corn Risotto and Peach Salsa

corn and squash risotto with seared salmon

For dinner, we decided to make risotto with some corn and butternut squash we got locally, and topped it off with pan seared salmon. (Sorry for the poor quality photo, my camera battery was dead and I had to use my cell phone.)

Pat actually made the risotto, I helped a little, but I was working on making the salsa and something else.

So, to start, I peeled and cubed a butternut squash, tossed it in a little olive oil, and roasted it at 350 for about a half hour. While that was roasting, I put 2 ears of corn (leave on husks, but get them damp) on the grill for about 12 minutes, then cut the kernels off the cob.

For the risotto itself, we heated about 5 cups of veggie stock in a small pot. In a deep pan, we heated some olive oil, then added about half of an onion and about a cup (maybe a cup and a half) arborio rice, toasting it until the rice started to turn translucent, then added about a half cup of dry white wine, and started adding the stock, stirring constantly, slowly adding stock until it was all incorporated.

After about a 25 minutes, we mixed in the corn, butternut squash, a little butter, pepper, and parmesan cheese.

While we were finishing the risotto, we started the salmon, citing it into probably 3oz portions (so it would cook more evenly), adding a little pepper and salt, and cooking it, skin side down, flipping it to the flesh side once I could see that it was cooked about halfway up on the side. I only seared it on the flesh side because I like my salmon cooked to medium rare (or even a little less).

After we plated dinner, we decided it needed something else, so that's why we added the peach and corn salsa from my last post.

Grilled Sweet and Spicy Salsa

quick and easy salsa

Pat had a peach craving yesterday, so he went to the farm and got about 5 lbs of peaches, again, and a few ears of corn.

So, we turned on the grill and got to work. We threw two ears (leave husks on, but get them damp, this helps to steam the corn inside), one peach, cut in half, and one big tomato from the garden, cut into thick slices, right onto the grill.

On our gas grill (turned to med-high) the corn took about 12 minutes, the peach about eight, and the tomato about five, just make sure you flip everything.

Once everything was cooked, I husked the corn, and cut it off the cob, peeled the skin off the tomato, and cut it and the peach into chunks a little larger than the size of the corn kernels.

The peach and corn held together well, and the tomato started to break down to make the salsa nice and juicy. I added the juice of half a lime, and some of our ghost salt to give it a kick (from Princeton, NJ's Savory Spice Shop, an awesome store that has every spice you can imagine, dried mushrooms, spice blends, and tons of stuff I would never have imagined). You can just use chili or cayenne powder instead, but then make sure you add some salt too.

The final result was sweet, spicy and acidic. You can use it on dinner (I'll show you soon what we added it to, yum!) or let it cool and eat it with chips.

Tomato and Eggplant Salad

tomato, eggplant and herb salad

I love Caprese salads, but with all the tomatoes out in the garden, I'm trying out a few healthier options (all that mozzarella!). Plus, I have other things growing out there that need to be eaten too!

So, I cooked one of my mini eggplants by slicing it in half, and cooking it flesh side down in a pan with a little olive oil until it was soft and a little brown, then I flipped it until the skin side had just a little color.

While this cooked, I went out and got some lemon basil, lemon thyme, orange mint and flat parsley from my garden, and sliced it all. Then I cut the tomatoes and eggplant into smaller pieces, and tossed all of this with olive oil, pepper and some ghost pepper salt we got from this awesome spice store in Princeton, NJ, and added some mixed greens (more for fluff than anything, this was my dinner, after all).

It was good, but I was wishing for some fat in this salad, maybe because I love mozzarella so much, but I think next time this salad is definitely going to have almonds, olives, cheese, or something more on it.

Quinoa and Veggies

quinoa and all the veggies in the fridge

For lunch today, I scoured the fridge and pantry, and, for the life of me couldn't figure out what to eat. I kept thinking, "there's nothing, and I don't want to go to the grocery store..." So, I reminded myself to think outside the box from my every day ideas, and I grabbed the box of quinoa (Peruvian seed that's low in fat, but high in protein and lots of important vitamins and minerals) off the shelf.

I peeled and chopped one carrot, one medium red pepper, one chili pepper, half of a white onion, two cloves of garlic, and tossed them in a pot with just a little olive oil.

After about two minutes on a medium high flame (I just wanted to bring out the flavors a little, not really cook anything through), I added one cup quinoa, one cup water, one cup veggie stock, a little ground mustard, allspice, salt and pepper. I brought this to a boil, then turned the flame to low, covered, and set the timer for 20 minutes.

Then I remembered how awesome couscous is with golden raisins and almonds, so I chopped a handful of each, and tossed them in.

There was so much flavor from all the veggies, and then little bursts of sweetness from the raisins. The only part I would change were the almonds, they were just a little too crunchy, so I would either, cook them longer, leave them out, or add flax seeds instead for a little nutty flavor.