Endangered Squash

Happy Fall! My favorite season of the year!

I discovered a new type of squash this season that I think is my favorite of all the winter squashes (and there is quite a long list)- the Boston Marrow squash.


It is actually not new at all, but a very old and rare form of winter squash native to New England. We got two of them while stopping for pumpkins at a farm stand in PA. Unfortunately, they are apparently really hard to find. They don't sell them at your local Whole Foods or any of the Farmer's Markets in my area. If I only knew this at the time I would have bought a dozen of them- not just two!


The squash has a really tough red-orange skin that requires an extra-sharp knife (and very strong husband) to crack into!


It is worth the effort! It has a smooth, buttery, sweet and nutty taste. It is sort of like a combination of pumpkin and sweet potato, but really has a unique taste all to itself.

I'm glad we didn't try to do anything fancy with it the first time around. In fact, next time I make this I am going to leave out the pasta altogether. It just gets in the way!

Boston Marrow Squash Pasta

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Slice the squash in half and scoop out the seeds (save seeds for later). Season squash with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and place cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the skin with fork.

• Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1/2 lb. rigatoni and cook until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan on medium heat. Add 1/2 cup of chopped onion. Saute until onion is translucent (about 4 minutes). Add a 1/4 cup of brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Next, add 1/2 cup of pecans and cook until lightly toasted, about 4 minutes.

• When the squash is roasted, remove from oven and cut into cubes (the skin should easily peel away with a knife). Add cubed squash to the pan along with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of thyme. Add a few tablespoons of pasta water if sauce is too dry. Stir until incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. Spoon on top of pasta and serve with fresh grated parm!

Au Revoir Gourmet!

The country’s oldest food magazine is going out of business. Publisher, Conde Nast announced this week that it is shutting down Gourmet magazine after 68 years! According to Conde Nast’s CEO, it will continue to provide online and television content, but will cease monthly publication.


With nearly daily media reports of various print magazines getting the ax you would think I wouldn't be surprised. Yet, for some reason this one really struck a cord. What does it say about our country, the economy, and society that one of America’s most venerable publications is no longer relevant?


I remember growing up there were always piles of Gourmet magazines in our house (in a sophisticated, non-hoarder kind of way of course). Eventually my mother started to have them bound in dark blue leather volumes embossed with the signature gold Gourmet script. Decades of volumes now line the bookcase in the study. Will her subscription be canceled now or replaced with a user name and password?

The current demise of print media reminds me of a short story I recently read by Kevin Brockmeier called The Year of Silence. A cleverly written tale of a world where people are all of sudden exposed to small, mysterious bouts of complete silence. These unpredictable moments of silence lead society to crave them and eventually impose a ban on (man-made) noise altogether. Devices are invented and employed to silence all machines, cars, etc. in an effort to achieve that moment of complete silence indefinitely. Ironically, once they succeed and silence dominates, small, inexplicable bouts of noise begin to occur at varying intervals of time. Predictably, people begin to eventually crave the noise, meeting in secret to listen to recordings of car horns, factory whistles, crowds at baseball games. Finally the world comes full circle and the return of man-made noise prevails, leaving many to forget the brief period of time where silence ruled. I can’t help but see the scary parallels between this fictional story and what is happening in real life. Albeit, there was more to the story than my simplistic summary suggests, the same eerie feeling resonates with me when I think about how more and more print publications are going out of business whereas more and more content is being provide solely online.

I realize the hypocrisy of this statement as I sit here and write/type these words on my very own blog. Maybe that is why I don’t “blog” as much as I feel I should? I’m not sure what prompted me to start a blog to being with. I suppose as my old-fashioned recipe binder stared at me from the kitchen shelf bursting with papers and covered in dried crumbs, I liked the simple, organized way my recipes and words were kept in cyberspace. Yet, I don’t get the same satisfaction from typing on a computer as I feel putting pen to paper. It’s the same reason why I prefer to read the real, clumsy newspaper as opposed to the online edition. And don’t even get me started on those Kindle contraptions! The day those replace real books I am going move to the country and live “off the grid.” I suppose the lesson (solution?) is moderation. All of one thing (silence/noise; electronic/print; ice cream/veggies) is never good. I just think we shouldn't forget the word “multi” in multi-media, lest we find ourselves living in a world where the printing press is obsolete and I am forced to meet in secret to read real books and write with a real pen… although I bet those bound volumes of Gourmet will be worth a bundle on Ebay!

Julie, Julia and Plum Muffins

I finally saw the movie Julia and Julia this past weekend. I loooved it! It was funny, clever, inspiring and an overall feel-good movie.

My friend Andrea originally lent me the book, Julie and Julia by Julie Powell, which chronicles her attempt to cook all 524 recipes from Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. We were both very excited when we learned they were making a movie! The movie was very true to the book, which I always appreciate. Meryl Streep was (of course) amazing as Julia Child. The voice, posture and mannerisms were dead on. However, we couldn't figure out how they made her look so tall? (short actors perhaps?). The movie did a very good job of contrasting Julia Child's attempt to master the art of French Cooking herself in the 1940's and then her quest to publish her now-famous cookbook of the same name with Julie Powell's attempt to master Julia's cookbook while pursuing her dream to become a writer. The parallels were much more evident in the movie than the book- probably because Julie herself didn't realize just how similar their stories were. Overall, the movie was very well done.

After the movie, we left the theater hungry and inspired to cook something! In the car, Andrea immediately pulled out her phone and began searching the internet for a boef bourguignon recipe (a significant dish in the movie) while I plotted what to do with the pint of delicious plums I bought at the farmer's market earlier that morning. I dropped her off directly at the grocery store and then headed home to bake these delicious Plum Muffins:


I searched the internet for a good recipe and found this recipe for Plum Yogurt Muffins. I made a few adaptations to the recipe and the result was perfect! I made a tin of mini muffins and a tin of regular muffins. These muffins are very moist, fluffy and healthy to boot!

Plum Muffins

In a large bowl, mix:

• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 T ground flax seeds
• 3 T orange juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup safflower oil
• 2 T unsweetened natural apple sauce
  

Add each of the following dry ingredients to the bowl (stir to combine after each ingredient):

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup all purpose white flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 3 T wheat bran (or wheat germ)
  

Fill muffin tins half way and then add a few pieces of diced plum to each. Top off each tin with another tablespoon or so of batter. Top with thinly sliced plums. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes if making mini-muffins or about 15 minutes if making large muffins.


While I won't be picking up a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking anytime soon (waaay too much meat involved; I do not think I could eat, let alone de-bone, a duck). However, the movie reinforces the message of pursuing your dreams. It encouraged me to get back in the kitchen and to write more. You never know what can happen unless you start doing something, anything, even if it is just writing a blog that no one reads except your mother!

Chocolate Chip Banana Pound Cake

Happy Father's Day!

My Dad loves bananas and I think at this point I've worn out every banana bread recipe out there! So... I made him a pound cake! I've never made pound cake before and since I only had enough bananas to make one loaf, I didn't get to actually taste it. So, I'm not sure how it turned out. However, it smelled divine and was very heavy so I think it was a success! My mom said the term "pound cake" comes from an old recipe which literally called for one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, etc... Lucky for my Dad's arteries this cake does not contain a pound of butter! Although, like I said, it was certainly heavy! I will have to wait for the reviews to see how it tastes...

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

adapted from Martha Stewart's Rhubarb Raspberry Recipe

Round two of Rhubarb! I decided to make a quick and simple compote which can be served warm or cold, over ice cream, yogurt, toast, oatmeal, or by itself with a spoon... :) It's perfect and VERY easy!

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar (could have used even less; original recipe called for 1 cup)
1/2 pound fresh rhubarb (sliced in 1 inch thick pieces)
1 pint strawberries (halved or quartered, depending on size)

Directions
In a saucepan over medium heat, bring 1/2 cup water, 3/4 cup sugar and the rhubarb to a simmer. Cook until rhubarb is tender, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Fold in strawberries. Let stand until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Yum!

Fish Tacos!

For Family Dinner this past Sunday we decided to make fish tacos! We were inspired by this new restaurant near out house called Surfside, that has the most amazing fish tacos! Everything came together really well considering we didn't follow any particular recipe.


First, we marinaded fresh tilapia fillets in lime juice, orange juice, lime zest, olive oil, salt and pepper. We grilled the tilapia and then divided the fish into soft corn tortillas. Each plate was accompanied by a grilled lime (a trick we learned from Surfside!).

Then we set out two different homemade salsas: corn/black bean and pineapple/mango, plus shredded green cabbage (tossed in red wine vinegar, salt and pepper) and sour cream. Then everyone was encouraged to build their own tacos! We also made a giant bowl of coconut rice on the side (which was quite a hit!).

Mango-Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients

2 large, ripe mangoes (diced)
2 cups pineapple (diced)
4-5 tomatillos (quartered)
4 scallions (finely chopped)
1 small red onion (diced)
Fresh cilantro (chopped)
Juice of two limes
Zest of one lime
1/2 cup pineapple juice
salt and pepper

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients
4 ears of corn (grilled and shaved)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
2 medium tomatoes (diced)
Juice of two limes
Zest of one lime
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fresh Cilantro (chopped)
Salt and pepper

Coconut Rice
adapted from Epicurious.com

Ingredients
3 cups long-grain white rice
2tablespoons unsalted butter
2 (13- to 14-oz) cans unsweetened coconut milk
1.5 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Melt butter in a saucepan over moderately high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until it becomes opaque, about 3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, waterand salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 20 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

One of my favorite combinations- strawberry and rhubarb! The grocery stores around here have been stocked full of rhubarb the past few weeks and I have lots of plans for these long, red stalks while I can get my hands on them!

I decided to start with an oldie but a goodie!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 pint strawberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, granulated sugar, and orange zest and juice in a large bowl. Stir to combine.

In another bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Rub butter into flour mixture with your fingers until it is well incorporated and large crumbs form. Add oats to combine.

Pour rhubarb mixture into a baking dish and cover with crumb topping. Bake until topping is brown and crisp and juices are bubbling, about 45 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Garden Update

The garden is finally taking shape! We planted tomatoes, squash, yellow and red pepper, eggplant and of course, lots of herbs! now they just need to GROW so we can hopefully enjoy some out bounty by the end of the summer!

The Garden

Here it is! Our community garden!

Tony and I decided to share a garden with two of our neighbors in our community garden this year (there are over 200 plots). We tackled it for the first time this past weekend. It was definitely neglected by its previous owner and needs a lot of work. We basically spend the morning weeding and creating borders with pieces of scrap wood. This is actually the "after" picture, if you can believe it. I wish I had my camera when we first started- it was literally a mound of dirt. But we have big dreams of enjoying organic tomatoes, herbs, green beans, and many other tasty veggies this summer!

Unfortunately, we've had very hard rain the past few days and the plot is now under 4 inches of water! Oh well, maybe one day we will be able to plant something! For now, we are just praying for the sun to dry out the soil (don't we already sound like gardeners!?!). We cannot plant until the soil is dry enough. Once it is dry, we need to turn the soil and add compost to build up the beds. We will also add wood chips to create a path around the beds. There will be five- one on each side and then one in the middle. Although we may not plant anything on the left bed and instead leave it to serve as a "drain" which will hopefully help the other four!

To Be Continued!....

Spring Chicks

adapted from Martha Stewart Living

These cute little guys made an appearance at my parents house over Easter! My sister came up with the idea to make them as a surprise dessert for everyone. While I thought she was overestimating how easy they would be, we definitely had a lot of fun making them! It also helped that my Mom had homemade vanilla cupcakes in freezer which we could use. They didn't look as pretty as the ones on Martha Stewart's website (will we ever learn?!?), but they were definitely a hit!

Ingredients

6 homemade vanilla cupcakes
Vanilla icing (we used two containers of Betty Crocker, shh... don't tell Martha!)
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
3 Twizzlers, cut into pieces
6 whole almonds
Dark chocolate, chopped (or chocolate chips would work)

Directions

Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of a cupcake and then turn the cupcake upside down on a plate or shallow bowl. Using a small offset spatula, spread frosting thickly on the sides, and then mound more on top to create a dome shape. Next, sprinkle toasted shredded coconut over the frosting, pressing and patting down into the frosting to create "feathers." Place the "eyes" (small peices of chopped chocolate) on the chick. Use a whole almond for the beak. Finally, place three pieces of red licorice on top of the head, and then another three pieces on the bottom for each "feet." Just push the licorice into the frosting by hand. Display and serve on a glass cake plate for maximum effect! Ta da!

Spring Herb Pasta

This was a pretty easy and healthy pasta dish I made based off of a recipe I saw in the March 2009 Martha Stewart Living magazine. We changed it up a bit by adding garlic and tomatoes. Definitely "spring-y" with all of the fresh green herbs! I am definitely becoming a firm believer in the idea of just using simple and fresh ingredients, as opposed to elaborate and complicated recipes. It's easier, healthier and tastes great.


Ingredients

2 cups Gemelli pasta (my new favorite pasta shape)
1 ripe tomato (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 cup (approx.) roughly chopped mixed herbs (dill, parsley and basil)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
Lemon zest
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese (grated)

Directions

Cook pasta according to directions. While cooking heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a separate pan. Add garlic and simmer for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. When pasta is done, drain and return to pot. Add herbs, tomatoes and garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice and zest. Serve with generous grating of fresh Parmesan cheese.