Pasta with Butternut Squash and Sage

daphne on August 19, 2008

This is one of the very few dishes that I truly adore as leftovers. The flavors continue to come together as it sits in the fridge. It’s super good, I promise.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 –inch cubes
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 tbsp. plus 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. brown sugar
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 12 large sage leaves
  • 4 chicken sausages, cooked
  • 1 lb. pasta (orecchiette, penne, or fusilli)
  • 1/3 cup chicken stock
  • 4 oz. Parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400°. Toss the squash with the diced onion and 1 tbsp. olive oil and sprinkle with the brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet until tender and caramelized, about 40 minutes.

Place the 1/3 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, fry the sage leaves six at a time until the oil stops sizzling and the edges are crisp. Drain on a paper towel. Reserve the olive oil.

Cook the pasta al dente in salted water. Drain. Put the pasta back in the pot over low heat and add the squash, sausage/bacon, chicken stock, and olive oil. Stir well. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Serve hot with crushed sage leaves sprinkled on top.

Chocolate chip Strawberry Bread

daphne on July 25, 2008

  • 1 cup flour (I use about 1/3 cup wheat flour, the rest white)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ stick butter
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup of strawberry puree
  • 1 cup of sliced strawberries
  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Mix together the first three dry ingredients.

Mix together the next 5 wet ingredients, then add the dry into the wet.

Stir in the berries, the oats and the chocolate chips. Pour into a greased loaf pan.

Bake at 375° for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Zebra Fries

daphne on July 19, 2008

These beautiful fries are made from beets (we used Chioggia beets because they came in our CSA packet, but we’ve been known to disguise any root veggie as a “pretty fry”)

  • Slice beets into shoestring fry shapes.
  • Toss with a little oil (we use canola) and some salt.
  • Arrange on greased cookie sheet in a single layer.
  • Roast in the oven at 425° until crispy, about 35 minutes.

For a grown-up version I use olive oil and garlic, and toss in some sliced sage leaves as well. They are yummy!

Confetti Cookies (shhh, there’s zucchini in there)

daphne on July 19, 2008

I borrowed this recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but I think it would work just as well to add the cup of zucchini to your go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe.

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

  • 1 cup white flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour (I used about ¼ cup more)
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup finely shredded zucchini
  • 12 oz chocolate chips

Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Stir these into other ingredients, mix well.

Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes.

Raspberry Parfaits

daphne on July 14, 2008

This is a trick, but it’s one my kids fall for and adore and best of all devour, so what’s the harm? I’ll even make them in a wine glass, which makes them feel grown-up and seems to encourage even more eating.

Ingredients:

  • Yogurt–Plain Greek yogurt (Faje) is my kids favorite, but tends to be pricey unless you hit a sale, but any kind will work.
  • Raspberries
  • Sliced bananas
  • Wheat germ or ground Flax seed – blends in well and adds nutrition without offending young taste buds
  • Diced nuts (optional)

Start with the yogurt and then add the fruit, nuts and seeds in alternating layers. Top with a dollop of yogurt and a berry.

Sometimes I’ll hide a single chocolate chip in one of the layers. The kids act like they’ve struck gold when they find it.

Super Easy Freezer-style Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

daphne on July 9, 2008

This jam is incredible, and incredibly easy if, like us, you weren’t raised down south steeping jars in vats of bubbling water while okra grew out back. But that doesn’t mean we don’t know good jam when we taste it.

We use the No/Low Sugar Needed Sure Jell Pectin and mostly followed the freezer jam recipe. The regular was too sweet, and you can’t just add less sugar—chemistry or something I guess.

Ingredients:

  • 1 package No/Low Sugar Sure Jell Pectin
  • 3 cups of diced and crushed strawberries
  • 1 cup diced rhubarb
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 cup water

Directions:

  1. Measure fruit into bowl.
  2. Measure sugar into large pot.
  3. Stir pectin into sugar until mixed well.
  4. Stir in water and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Once it boils, stir 1 more minute. Remove from heat.
  5. Add fruit to pectin mixture and stir well.
  6. Pour into containers (I use the old school wide mouth bell jars, because they are super cool)
  7. Let stand, covered for 24 hours at room temp. Freeze until ready and thaw in the fridge.

Strawberry ice cream with dark chocolate chips

daphne on July 8, 2008

(This recipe works with a 4 quart ice cream machine)

(8 cups total are needed of milk and/or cream. Use more cream if you want it richer or if you have scrawny kids you need to bulk up.)

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups regular milk (I use 2 %)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 4 cups half and half
  • 1 ¾ cups sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 Tbls vanilla extract
  • 1 cup strawberry puree (+sliced berries if you want, I put in about 1 cup)
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips (I chop them up into fine pieces)

Directions:

  1. Scald milk until bubbles form around the edges. Remove from heat.
  2. Add sugar and salt and stir until dissolved.
  3. Stir in half and half, vanilla, and heavy cream.
  4. Cover and refrigerate in pot for ½ hour (or longer)
  5. Add puree, berries, and chips to mixture.
  6. Spoon into ice cream maker and follow directions (we mixed for about 1/2 hour)
  7. Spoon into containers for freezing. Leave an inch or so at the top for expansion.

Strawberry Puree

daphne on July 8, 2008

Doesn’t get easier than this guys.

  1. Take strawberries
  2. Blend ‘em up

I froze a bunch of this puree in big ziplocs. If you want to get adventurous, freeze 1 cup sized dollops on waxed paper and then add them to bags. This way you can easily defrost in known amounts when you’re ready to make your muffins, orice cream, or delicious daiquiris!

Asian Noodle Salad with Kohlrabi

daphne on July 6, 2008

This is a yummy recipe passed along to me from my mom. I thought the peanut sauce would do a number on the kohlrabi, which has a distinct radish flavor. I also kept thinking that the kohlrabi would taste like water chestnut, but it didn’t.

All the ingredients in the salad portion are optional. You can add or subject depending on what the farm is offering up that day. Leave out the chicken or substitute with tofu to go vegetarian.

Marinade Ingredients:

  • ½ cup canola oil
  • ½ cup white rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 ½ Tbls sugar
  • 2 teaspoons mustard
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tbls peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Salad Ingredients:

  • 12 oz thin spaghetti
  • Snow peas, 20 or so
  • 1 red pepper, sliced thin
  • 4 carrots, slivered
  • 1 small Kohlrabi, diced
  • 3 oz green onions, cut thin
  • ½ cup sesame seeds
  • 2-3 chicken breasts, grilled

What to do:

  1. Blend all marinade ingredients together.
  2. Cook noodles, drain and add marinade to cover.
  3. Add vegetables, chicken and other ingredients to noodles and toss.
  4. Chill in fridge to bring out flavors and serve cold.

Rhubarb Crisp

daphne on July 1, 2008

This is a favorite around here. At book club last spring it went faster than the wine!

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups diced rhubarb
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoons cold butter, cut in small pieces
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
  • dash salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2/3 cup quick cooking rolled oats

What to do:

Heat oven to 375°. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Arrange diced rhubarb in the prepared baking dish. Toss rhubarb with the orange juice, sprinkle with the 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon; dot with the 1 tablespoon of cut up butter.

Combine melted butter with brown sugar.

Stir together flour, salt, and baking soda; mix with oats. Combine the flour oat mixture with the brown sugar and melted butter mixture until well blended. With hands, spread the crumb mixture over rhubarb. Bake for 40 minutes.

Serve warm, with ice cream.