Good Times and Butternut Squash Gnocchi

(Due to technical difficulties, I'm only able to upload one photo for this post. I'll post more pics soon!)

Last week I invited my husband into the kitchen for dinner preparation. I needed an extra set of hands and he was totally on board. Also, I agreed beforehand to be on good behavior.

Until he turned it into a competition.

After feeling especially inspired by this recipe over at love.life.eat., I went home intent on making a completely new and different dish for dinner. There is something about gnocchi that is especially appealing to both of us. It all started with this video. Ryan was entranced by the drinks the cook keeps pouring for himself; I fell hard for the potato ricer and the wilted greens that come into play at the end.

Let's not mention the fact that between the two of us, only one of us had read a recipe for gnocchi.

Too much flour gnocchi on the bottom.

In any case, we set out to make butternut squash gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce. An unexpected garden meal with surprisingly few (and very basic) ingredients, the butternut squash gave the gnocchi a lovely hue and a lightly sweet flavor. And what could be simpler than an aromatic brown butter sage sauce?

We learned one important thing about making gnocchi, and that is this: less is more. As in, flour. You want the dough to be workable but as light and fluffy as you can get it. And don't overwork it, either, or you'll wind up with tough, toothsome gnocchi when what you'll really want are fluffy little pillows of gnocchi.

I followed the recipe for direction, but changed a couple of ingredients: instead of pumpkin, I used about one pound of butternut squash from our garden. And since we didn't have any other type of cheese in the fridge... we went with parmesan. The salty touch worked just right.

And as for crafting a recipe together, this went well enough that we'll do it again. Next time, though, Ryan says we'll use potatoes instead of butternut, and there will be steaks involved. I said that'll be just fine, darling.

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Zucchini Enchiladas Verdes

If you had told me I'd have tried a dozen completely different zucchini recipes before June because the summer crop would be that prolific, I never would've believed you.

But it's the truth. I feel like the Bubba Blue of zucchini: zucchini salad, zucchini salsa, zucchini bread, zucchini brownies, zucchini pickles, zucchini pasta, zucchini tacos... You get the point. (And just to clarify... I am not complaining about my surplus of zucchini. It's finding its way to friends and colleagues almost daily so it's not going to waste, which makes me oh-so-happy.)

Here's a recipe to really drive home the zucchini madness: zucchini enchiladas verdes. They're both stuffed AND covered with fresh zucchini.

I made this as part of a vegetarian and gluten-free dinner party; despite its multi-special-diet appeal, it was wonderfully received by the omnivores. In fact, I'd planned on having leftovers for lunch the next day, but that wasn't in the cards since we polished 'em off. If you'd like to add cooked chicken to the filling or wrap the enchiladas with flour tortillas, be my guest!

This may look complicated, but it comes together fairly quickly. Pass the time while they're baking to enjoy some chips and zucchini salsa, and maybe a zucchini margarita or two.

Home-grown veggies featured in this dish: jalapenos, bell pepper, pattypan squash, and zucchini.

Zucchini Enchiladas Verdes

For the filling:
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 medium squash, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 cup chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

To assemble:
10 to 12 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups Zucchini Salsa*
1/3 cup water or vegetable broth
1 cup shredded cheddar or monterrey jack cheese

Chop all the vegetables and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell pepper, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped zucchini and squash and saute until the vegetables are softened just a bit, about 5 to 10 more minutes. Add the drained black beans and the spices, and cook until heated through. Taste and season as you see fit. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Mix the zucchini salsa with the water or vegetable broth. In the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish, pour about one third of the salsa/broth mixture—just enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Assemble the enchiladas: in each tortilla, put a good sprinkle of cheese (about 1 tablespoon) and about 2 tablespoons of the zucchini/bean filling. Roll tightly, careful not to crack the corn tortillas, and pack tightly into the baking dish.

Top the enchiladas with a handful of shredded cheese, and pour the rest of the salsa/broth mixture over the enchiladas. Sprinkle one more time with shredded cheese, for good measure, and pop them in the oven for about 25 minutes. Or until they smell amazing, the cheese is lightly browned, and you can no longer stand it.

Let cool and serve with brown rice and fresh salad. Serves 4-6.

*Any salsa verde will do, but the zucchini salsa really is tasty and cooks very well.

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Dining Alone: Tortilla Pizzas

Dining al fresco; this pizza is topped with pattypan squash and arugula.

Things are busy these days. While my hubs and I normally dine together, the last few weeks have hosted an unusual number of solo dinners. Ryan is taking some evening classes (for fun things, not school-related), and when I'm left to "fend for myself" for dinner, things in the kitchen can get a little strange.

And by strange, of course I mean delicious. 

When I'm cooking for myself, I tend to take risks. With no one but me to impress (or let down), the pressure's off. This usually involves curry, or eggs, and always the mandoline. Something about paper-thin vegetables lends itself to a feeling of upscale dining. 

Everything is nice and crispy and delicious!

The words "tortilla pizza" don't normally conjure ideas of fresh vegetables and good cheese. They're a quick and unfancy way to shovel food in your mouth, right?

Wrong. My impromptu tortilla pizzas that were inspired by the garden and an arugula craving are quick, healthy, and even a little gourmet. They are bright and fresh and even totally worthy of a dinner party—for one, two, or twenty!

I made a couple of versions; some with zucchini, some with squash, some without arugula... But my favorite by far was the zucchini and arugula. Feel free to experiment!

Arugula, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese Tortilla Pizza

Serves 1* 

2 whole wheat tortillas**

1 small zucchini, sliced paper-thin on a mandoline

2 cups (or handfulls) fresh arugula

1-2 ounces goat cheese

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste

1-2 lemon wedges

Prep the veggies. Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and top with a generous layer of the paper-thin zucchini slices. Add one cup or one handfull of arugula for each pizza. Drizzle the olive oil on top and evenly disperse the goat cheese. Top with a little shaved parmesan, salt, and pepper, and spritz with a squeeze of lemon. Pop in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400, or until the cheese is melted and the edges are crisp but not burnt. Alternately, this is very easy to bake in the toaster oven!

A word of caution: tortillas can sometimes puff up with steam when they are heated. Just keep an eye on it; I learned the hard way when I made mine in the toaster oven and toppings wound up falling onto the heating element. And of course, be careful of the tortilla bubble; it's full of steam and that will be very hot should you puncture it!

*I found that two of these little tortilla pizzas made for a perfect meal; they're just like arugula tacos. If you're enjoying them with a side dish or decide to add a cooked protein (grilled shrimp or chicken would make a nice fit), you might find that one fills you up. And if you're cooking for more folks, just make extras! These come together so quickly and require so little oven time that you'll find they're perfect for summer nights.

**The whole wheat tortillas offer a nice nutty flavor that compliments the arugula. They're also healthy. Win-win, but you can use white flour tortillas if you prefer and I won't be too embarrassed. 

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Summer Squash Tacos on Whole Wheat Tortillas

It's a good day when Ryan walks in as I'm cooking dinner and says, "Oooh, smells good."

Now, this may lead you to believe that every time it smells good, it tastes good. But I generally take it one step too far in the healthy direction: "You were doing so good with this recipe until you busted out the soba noodles." "Why'd you have to add flax seeds to this?" "I think it's good, just... dense. Did you sub whole wheat flour again?" "Are you sure you should've made this without any oil at all?" "How many vegetables did you put in there?"

Cast iron makes this so much better; I also like to use my invisible hand to stir.

This, however, is a meal that manages both the delicious and healthy factors. For real. This is like, have your cake and eat it too. Or, have your tacos and eat them too. You get the point.

Tiny bowl of spices.

Last night's harvest: two zucchini, two pattypan squash, one bell pepper, one jalapeno, and one banana pepper. Add to that a little store-bought supplements (onion, baby portabellas, and tortillas), and you've got a meal. In attempting to stay ahead of the zucchini and pattypan harvest, I've used a combination of them here. But you can use one or the other if you like.

Summer Squash Tacos on Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 medium pattypan squash (or two small yellow squash), chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
5 baby portabella mushrooms (or one large portabella), chopped 
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons white wine, vegetable stock, or water
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
6 to 8 whole wheat tortillas*
non-fat plain Greek yogurt, shredded cheese, chopped fresh spinach or lettuce, and salsa for garnish

Prep the vegetables. Mix the dry spices together in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat for about two minutes. Add one tablespoon of the canola oil, and after about 15 to 20 seconds, add the onions. Saute the onions until they become golden brown, stirring frequently. Toss in a pinch of salt. Add the bell pepper and jalapeno and saute for a couple of minutes, just until the peppers have color.

Next, add the mushrooms to the pan. They will release some of their own liquids; once the mushrooms have cooked down, add the second tablespoon of canola oil and the white wine. Stir everything well.

Add the zucchini, squash, and spice mix and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until the squash are very tender. The liquid should all cook out and you'll be left with a nice taco filling.

Fill the tortillas with the sauteed vegetables and top with garnishes of your choice. (Pictured: arugula, spinach, non-fat plain Greek yogurt, shredded monterey jack, salsa verde.)

*This recipe will make enough for 6 super-stuffed tacos or 8 normally-stuffed tacos. If you want to make it 8 super-stuffed tacos, add a can of drained black beans just before the squash.

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Have Your Cornbread and Eat it Too

Texas never can make up her mighty mind. One minute, we're all frolicking around at kite festivals in shorts and flip-flops. The next, rain rolls in and the temperature drops 18 degrees in one hour, and we suddenly regretting wearing sandals to work today.

But the cold weather that blew in last week enticed me to the kitchen, where I had white beans soaking, a head of home-grown cabbage waiting for its debut, and a clean cast iron skillet beckoning from the countertop. Big night. Biiiiiig night.

I did what any sensible 20-something hipster would do: I threw on my PJs, texted the Hubcap our low-key dinner plans, and started making a meal steeped in my German heritage: Boiled cabbage and onions, white beans, and cornbread.

Healthy cornbread. With flaxseed.

I'll wait for a moment while you consider clicking on that ad over there instead of reading the rest of this post.

Let me tell you something: This cornbread will surprise you. It looks like a dry boring puck in the oven and it lacks the lovely golden color one normally associates with cornbread. But it's made in a cast-iron skillet, it's nutty, it's packed with ancient grains, and despite its aptitude for health, it is quite delicious.

So this cornbread is awesome because it's unconventional.

This recipe is based on Whole Foods' Flax and Pumpkin Seed Cornbread. I took the liberty of un-veganizing it, omitting the pumpkin seeds, and swapping the whole wheat for spelt. Here's how I did it, and if you want to ease in to the "healthy cornbread world," I'd say this is the way to do it.

Cornbread with Flaxseed and Spelt
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 3/4 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup stone ground corn meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup nonfat or 1% milk
1/4 cup canola oil
4 teaspoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a cast iron skillet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flaxseeds through salt). In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (egg through oil). Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the wet mixture, and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared skillet and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean. The bread will just pull away from the sides of the skillet.

Serve warm, with butter if you must. Go ahead and put some honey on it, too, would ya?

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sweetness overkill: cake balls!

Please know that yes, I giggled the entire time I made, and wrote about, these cake balls, because sometimes I get stuck in eighth grade all over again (and so do you). I emailed this to my parents before blogging, and my mom suggested calling them "Red Velvet Truffles;" my dad suggested "Cake Spheres" or "Earth-like Cakes." I like both suggestions very much, but to humor my inner 13-year-old, I will call them BALLS. Sorry 'rents. Love ya both. My friend suggested calling them "Red Velvet Cajones" and getting it over with. Still laughing from that.

The stars aligned this week when Valentine’s day recipes, my friend Nicki’s birthday, and an urge to bake a new recipe collided into the perfect circumstance for: Chocolate Covered Red Velvet Cake Balls.

Yes. You read that correctly. In the last week or so, I’d been seeing more and more recipes for these pop up. Nicki happens to love red velvet cupcakes, and I (until last night) had never made red velvet cake before. Opportunity, don’t you think?

I scoured the web for the best red velvet recipe. The idea of using a box mix was in the back of my mind; but then I saw that the cost for one box (not including all the pantry staples needed for it) was almost $7. Not to mention, the box was full of preservatives, partially hydrogenated oils, and even the dreaded high fructose corn syrup. Nicki’s worth the $7, for sure, but why give her chemical-laden sweets when I could whip it up from scratch? (Ok, ok—there’s Red No. 5 in my recipe...but c'mon.) This is the Sustainable Diet blog, after all. So Nicki’s recipe was treated with unbleached organic flour, organic butter, local farm-fresh eggs, and even all-natural organic cocoa. Mmmm. I finally settled on this recipe, which was adapted from the Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook. Of course, I FURTHER adapted it by leaving out, either by accident or by purposefully omitting, the orange zest. Though I think next time I’ll include the zest, because the flavor would likely compliment the icing AND the chocolate.

For the icing, I followed the Joy of Cooking’s “fastest method” for cream cheese frosting. Into the food processor went:

• 8 oz. Neufchatel (some sense of "healthy")
  
• 6 Tbls. unsalted butter, cubed
  
• 2 tsp. Mexican vanilla
  
• Approx. 2-3 cups confectioner’s sugar
  

This took literally 30 seconds to come together into a beautiful, rich, creamy frosting. Then came the fun part. After the cakes cooled, I cut them into chunks and, lacking another large mixing bowl, tossed them into my stock pot. I busted out the potato masher, spatula’d in the frosting, and went to town mashing. Once the icing was incorporated, I shaped the cake balls, making about 30-40 two-biters, and stuck ‘em in the freezer. I like to call these the naked balls. Teehee! You know you giggled. They look a little like meatballs, don't they?I prepped my chocolate-covering area with a brown paper bag and parchment (having learned something from my caramel incident). The spheres, after freezing for about 30 minutes, were nicely set and were very easy to dip in chocolate. I found that using two forks is the BEST way to do this--no special equipment needed. Two-thirds of my batch went into dark chocolate chips, and the other third were dipped in white chocolate chips. I drizzled them with the remaining chocolate, and... Voila! Chocolate-covered red velvet cake balls!! Are you blushing? Stop it! My mom's right--they do look like truffles... This took about 3 hours from start to finish, and dirtied literally an entire dishwasher full of dishes, and then some. Something I’d maybe do next time on a Sunday, and not after having a couple of beers at my cousin Callie's birthday party. :)But they were well worth the effort, albeit I’m only able to eat one in a sitting. Talk about sweet overkill. Mmmmm.... The best part? Thinking I’d been so original in my planning, another colleague had brought Nicki the SAME THING for her b-day. The same morning. Unveiling her chocolate-covered delights only moments before I had.

Apparently we run in the same blog circles. :)

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something old, something new...something in the freezer needs to be used.

One of my goals this year is to expand into other culture's foods. I've got Italian, Tex-Mex, and American foods down, but I lack experience in Chinese or Japanese foods (to name a couple; I also need to learn Indian, French, Irish, African, etc.... cuisine). Lately I've really been craving the spicy, salty, cheese-less combinations often found in Chinese food. This means lots of trips to P.F. Chang's for lettuce wraps and crab wontons. 

So the other night, when I looked in our pantry and saw the makings of orange beef stir-fry, I was thrilled. We had broccoli and carrots, flank steak from my dad's farm in the freezer, and brown rice, oranges, and chiles. Sounds like the beginning of a great dinner to me.  Happily, Fin watched as I grabbed the carrots from the fridge. She's a carrot fiend (must have great eyesight) and can't get enough, even if it's in the form of peels. Now, it is with trepidation that I approach any new Asian-themed recipe, because I am still a complete novice at the techniques and tricks of the trade. I love using the wok, but, um, just don't do it right. Maybe it's the electric coils on the stovetop... but I have a feeling it's just me.Here's the problem, I think: there was too much liquid in the pan to just sear the beef. I used (and followed very closely) Mark Bittman's recipe for orange beef stir fry, but something about the beef wasn't quite right. I probably cooked it too long, with not enough heat, so it got tough. Nobody likes to try and choke down tough meat, but overall I think the dish turned out on the better-than-average side of the scale. That's at least what I think; Ryan isn't a big fan of orange in savory dishes, so this one's not on his favorites list. :) 

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