Apple Curry Squash Soup

Autumn is here in Vermont. Actually, technically it's practically over. Peak foliage has passed. Leaves are on the ground and snow has already hit the mountain tops. Which means it is prime soup weather. I love soup. A bowl of it with slices of homemade bread is one of my very favorite lunches.

I also love to can. There is something about hoarding mason jars that makes me really happy. As I follow USDA regulations I don't can anything with dairy so the two soups I made this week are all vegan and very healthy as I also didn't use any oil.

You will need:

2 lbs (about 2 cups) roasted butternut squash (Check out my post on easily roasting a squash whole.)
1 lb of apples, sectioned but not peeled (Macintosh or another squishy saucing apple works best)
1/2 cup sliced red onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 TBS curry powder
6 cups vegetarian stock (I use a Vegetarian "Chicken" Flavored powder, 1 tsp per cup)

Chop apples leaving the skins on. Slice onions and mince garlic. Put it all into a stockpot and saute using the cider vinegar. (If you wanted to you could substitute in a little oil here.) The apples will start getting a little squishy. This means you are ready to puree.

Puree the apples, onions, and garlic. Add 1 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper to the puree and mix. 

Return the puree to the pan and heat.

Add the 6 cups of stock into the apple puree. 

Puree 2 cups of squash until smooth and add to the pan. Stir in well.  

Add curry into pan and mix in. 

Simmer the soup over low until slightly reduced for about 20 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary (curry usually has salt in it so I always undersalt then taste it to avoid a salt-tastrophe!). 

If you're serving it right away then dish it out and enjoy with some bread!

If you're canning it make sure to use clean, hot sterilized jars. Fill the jars leaving about 3/4" of headspace. Wipe the rim and threads and top with clean sterilized NEW lids and a clean ring tightened (but not cranked on too tight). The soup will need to be pressure canned at 11 lbs of pressure (I do 15 since I have a weighted canner) for 55 minutes. Store for up to a year to enjoy on cold winter days.

                                       

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

"There are beets in these? Really?" That was the overwhelming reaction to the cupcakes I served at my daughter's birthday party this weekend. The next statement, "So that's what you're doing with all those beets!" (I had been posting pictures like this for weeks.)

As part of our CSA share I signed up for the extra cost "preserver" option. I had been getting a lot of "second" beets. That's right, it's not just Old Navy Outlet shirts that are seconds. Some beets are just not as pretty as others and these aren't sold to restaurants. Lucky for me I just puree them and then they look beautiful. All of the above beets were topped & tailed (translation- I chopped the roots and tops off) and then they roasted in the crockpot for a few hours. I pureed them peels and all and measured 12 oz into each freezer bag. Seal them, double checking to make sure the top is sealed, and then spread the bag flat. You can store a ton of them in very little space in the freezer this way. Since they are thin they also thaw very quickly. The cupcakes made from these are moist, gooey and delicious. They are like individual brownies or chocolate cakes.

Chocolate Beet Cupcakes
Makes 12

1 1/2 cups pureed beets (you can use a can of beets & puree them if you'd like- a 15 oz can with a little additional water would do the trick)
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 + 1/8 cup milk (can be replaced w/ non dairy milk for vegan)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips (can be replaced w/ carob chips for vegan version) The chocolate chips add a gooey decadent feel to the cupcakes- reduce the amount if you don't want them as gooey.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In mixer, mix together beet puree, flour, sugar, cocoa, and milk. (I measure everything out using a 1/4 cup measure- then I use the same cup to "dose" out each cupcake into the pan, only 1 cup to wash then!). Add the salt, soda, and powder and mix. Add the chocolate chips and mix to distribute. The batter will look luscious and red velvet-esque.

 

Use liners! These moist cupcakes are easiest to store when in liners.

3. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Take out and let them cool. Resist the temptation to eat them all. If you're throwing a monster birthday party for your 2 year old feel free to frost them and give them eyes made out of candy :) They also freeze fantastically and can be pulled out and microwaved for 30-60 seconds for a quick chocolate fix that's chock full of veggies!

Banana Coconut Muffins

Banana Coconut Muffins with Cornmeal & Oatmeal

I have always been a muffin lover. One of my first comments upon arriving in Vermont was that there was a serious lack of good muffins. A lot of coffeeshops didn't carry them, which I am happy to say has changed over the last couple of years. Muffins are magical because my daughter loves them and will sometimes sit in her highchair happily demolishing one for half an hour. That is 30 magical minutes that I have to get stuff done quickly without anyone "helping". I write many blog posts in that 30 minutes. 

These muffins are a great use for bananas that are nearing the end of their life- although you can still make them with ripe bananas. They are egg free and can easily be made vegan by substituting in non-dairy for the milk. The cornmeal gives the muffins a great texture and make them a little denser- which in our house means less crumbs. 

Banana Coconut Muffins

(Makes 1 dozen)

2 bananas- medium

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup coconut

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

 1. Preheat oven to 375. Put bananas in mixer and mix until they are all squashed up. Add in brown sugar and beat until blended. Add in coconut, cornmeal, and oatmeal and mix until all ingredients are moistened. Add spices, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until incorporated. The batter will be really thick. Add the milk in and mix. I use a 1/4 cup measure to add in all my ingredients so that I can then use that measuring cup to dose the batter into the pan. The batter will make 12 muffins and is easily doubled if you have more bananas.
Bake at 375 for 14 minutes.

My daughter loves to sit on the counter to "help" me cook. This is why I try not to use eggs in recipes- she has a love of licking the beaters. 

Enjoy!

Cooling muffins

Refrigerator Radish Dill Pickles

Radish Dill Pickles

Early in the CSA season there are an abundance of radishes and greens to use. We eat salads nonstop and even experiment a little. My husband was NOT a fan of the mustard green juice I made :)

The ginger juice did not exactly get a "Woo-hoo" response either. 

Radish dill pickles are a new item to my lineup this year but this is now the third batch I've made. They are super simple to make as they are just refrigerator pickles. This means that I don't process them in any way- no hot water bath, no pressure canning- just good old-fashioned vinegar. I'm going to run through the steps but there will be no exact measurements. If you follow the proportions you'll be able to do this with any quantity of radishes. I had a mixing bowl full and it made 3 pint jars and one small canning jar of pickles.

You will need:
Canning jars, bands & caps
Radishes
Fresh Dill
Kosher Salt
Water
Vinegar- I use white

Soak your radishes in water for 5 minutes to remove any loose debris. Agitate the water with your hand to get dirt off of them. Dump the water and carry the bowl over to your cutting board.

Chop the roots and tops off of the radishes and halve or quarter them depending on their size. I keep a little bowl nearby to put the ends in so I can run them to the compost easily.

If you see any black spots on the outside just slice them off. If the spot is on the inside too discard the radish.

Bring the radishes back over to the sink in the bowl and give them one more rinse. Then pack them into your jars. You want to leave about 3/4" at the top for the dill. Wash your dill and take stalks of it off. Curl them into the top of the jar over the radishes. 

Pour vinegar through the dill until the jars are halfway full. 

Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt on the top of each jar. Fill the jars the rest of the way with water.

I top off the dill at this point. I want a lot of dill flavor so I cram as much as I can fit in there. Once your done cap and band the jars. 

Turn them upside down for about an hour on the countertop so that the dill infuses into the vinegar. After an hour put them into the fridge.

Within an hour of making them the pickles will start turning pink. I try to leave them in the fridge for at least a week before we open them to eat. They keep 3-6 months in the fridge. As a fair warning, radishes make stinky pickles. They taste delicious but they are smelly. 

Eggplant Gnocchi with Eggplant Tomato Sauce

I love gnocchi. I am also a lucky woman. My husband and kids will eat anything but I love finding ways to "hide" vegetables for their friends. This gnocchi is the perfect vehicle for hidden vegetables. What child would imagine that lurking in the harmless looking pasta is an entire roasted eggplant? The sauce is a great complement to the gnocchi but could easily be replace with standard spaghetti sauce for the picky eaters in the crowd. This is also a great dish to make if you have vegetarians or vegans coming to dinner. One easy egg substitution and the meal is vegan. I am going to refer you to the photos & steps on my previous gnocchi blog post for techniques & pictorials on how to form and roll out gnocchi. 

Eggplant Gnocchi

(serves 4-6)

1 large eggplant (You will toss it with 1 TBS oil & 1 tsp kosher salt)

1 egg (you can easily make this recipe vegan by using an egg substitute product)

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/4 cups flour plus an additional 1/2 cup- 3/4 cup for rolling out

1 tsp thyme

Eggplant Tomato Sauce

(serves 4-6)

1 large eggplant (You will toss it with 1 TBS oil & 1 tsp kosher salt)

1/2 26 oz can diced tomato (or replace with fresh diced tomato if it's in season in your area)

1 garlic clove, minced

2 TBS olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

zest of one lemon

juice from one lemon

1. Preheat oven to 450. Chop the ends off of the eggplants (you'll be using two if making the gnocchi and the sauce). Peel it and slice it into rounds. Stack the rounds and cube up the eggplant. Throw it into a bowl and toss with 1 TBS olive oil and 1 tsp of kosher salt for each eggplant you're using. 

Spread the eggplant on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven for roughly 15-20 minutes until soft. Watch for burning pieces. 

2. When the eggplant is done roasting place half of it into the food processor, reserving the other half for the sauce. Add an egg, 1 tsp of kosher salt, 1 tsp thyme & 1 /14 cups of flour into the processor and blend until smooth. It will look like a dip. Feel free to add an extra 1/4 cup of flour if it feels too goopy. 

Turn out the batter a few spoonfuls at a time onto your prepared floured surface to roll out the gnocchi into long strands (for pictures see my earlier gnocchi blog). As you cut up the gnocchi make sure to place it onto a floured cookie sheet. Once all gnocchi is cut place it into the fridge for 15 minutes to set. 

3. Start a large stockpot of water on the stove so it will boil in time to cook the gnocchi. Now it's time to start your sauce. In a saute pan place a tablespoon of olive oil and dump in the remaining eggplant. Use a spatula to move around the eggplant and heat it back up. Add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and mix to coat. 

Add in minced garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add in the diced tomatoes and 1 TBS of olive oil. Use your tongs to combine the eggplant and tomato. 

4. By this point roughly 10- 15 minutes should have passed. Add the eggplant gnocchi that was resting in the fridge into the pot of boiling water. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and thyme into the sauce. The gnocchi need to boil for a little under 5 minutes and will float to the surface when done. Scoop onto plates and top with your sauce. Enjoy!

Make Your Own Crackers

If you have never made your own crackers you have no idea what you're missing! The recipe is easy, the procedures are straightforward, you just need the time to roll out the dough and bake the batches. The end result is delicious. I first made crackers for my husband to bring to an office Christmas party and now they're a favorite snack in our house and tend to disappear quickly.

Homemade Crackers
(Makes 20 dozen-ish, it's hard to get an accurate count as my husband was eating them off the cooling rack. Yield will also depend on size of cracker you make.)

6 cups flour
2 cups warm water
2/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Any additional add on ingredients you'd like (I split my dough into three batches- the 1st batch were plain or had mixed seeds-fennel, poppy, and sesame- on top, the second batch had 1 tsp thyme & 1/2 tsp ground rosemary, and the third batch were spicy with 2 tsp of hot pepper flakes.)

1. In a mixer with the dough hook attachment measure out olive oil and add salt. Add warm water and add flour a few cups at a time mixing in between.

It will yield a large ball of slightly sticky dough. It won't look like a lot but it rolls out nicely.

2. Turn out a manageable ball onto a flour covered surface. The great thing about working with olive oil dough is that as it absorbs the extra flour from the counter it becomes very easy to work with. Flip it a few times to get flour on all sides. You want to roll it out thinly with a rolling pin. It will feel elastic-y almost like a pizza dough so you'll have to push hard. I'm short so I stand on a step stool to get a little leverage to push down. To prevent your crackers from sticking flip the dough one last time before you cut out the shapes. I use a biscuit cutter that is a 1" square to make roughly Triscuit sized crackers, I also have a slightly smaller square that I use sometimes to make Wheat Thin sized crackers. 

Make sure to have plenty of flour on your counter!

Push down really hard when you roll out the dough. The crackers puff a bit in the oven so you wan them thin. 

Cut squares. (or the shape of your desire)

Once your squares are cut out, transfer them to a foil lined cookie sheet sprayed with a tiny bit of cooking oil. You want to use a fork to poke at least a few holes in each cracker, otherwise they puff up in the oven while cooking. They still taste delicious when they puff it's just easier to put cheese on them if they're flat :) Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes per batch. I can usually fit 30 on each tray. When they come out you can either cool them on a cookie rack or just dump them into a large mixing bowl to cool and to store. Repeat multiple times until all crackers are baked. 

See the tiny little poked holes? Very important detail!

My 8  month pregnant belly became a flour covered disaster during this cooking project!

Cooling plain crackers.

Varieties: Your flavor options are only limited by your imagination. One of the reasons that I do different flavors is that the dough is easier to work with when it is freshly mixed so as I add spices and remix the dough it becomes easier to work with. If you're going to make all plain ones I recommend keeping the extra dough in the bowl and mixing it occasionally to maintain it's workability. 

A mix of fennel, poppy, and sesame seeds.

Sprinkle a bit on each cracker and give each surface a light press with your fingers to make sure the seeds stay on the cracker. 

Another option is to mix add ins directly into the dough. This is how I make my rosemary-thyme crackers and my hot pepper crackers. 

Enjoy! This recipe offers a great opportunity for kids to help out and you can certainly make all kinds of fun shapes for them.

Chinese Cabbage & Portabella Stir Fry

At the grocery store last week I went heavy on the fruits and veggies. I bought Chinese cabbage because it was on sale and decided to do a stir fry with it tonight. It was a dinner of necessity as I came home and realized that our power had gone out due to a windstorm. We have a propane stove so I could still cook but the goal was as few ingredients as necessary with little prep so that it could be done by headlamp. Luckily the power has just come back on and thankfully dinner was delicious. My husband's first comment to me, "What did we miss Meatless Monday or something?" (insert sarcasm). Second comment, "This is really good." Third comment, "I'm a big fan." I think we have a winner. The portabellas give it a nice meaty flavor.

Chinese Cabbage & Portabella Stir Fry ($3.79 for the meal)

(serves 4 as a side or 2 hungry adults as a meal- if desired you could serve it with rice to make it serve more)

1 head Chinese cabbage (mine was roughly 2 lbs- it will wilt down) 1.99

2 small portabella mushroom caps (4.99/lb- I used 1/3 lb) 1.80

2 cloves garlic

1 inch of ginger

3 TBS olive oil (split)

4 TBS (roughly) soy sauce

a dash of hot sauce or chili flakes (optional)

1. In a saute pan heat 1 1/2 TBS olive oil over medium heat. Use garlic press to press garlic cloves and ginger directly into pan (see ginger pressing hints here). Saute lightly. 

2. Wash the outside of the Chinese cabbage. Remove any outer leaves that look wilted. Cut off the base. Chop the mushrooms into large cubes and add to the ginger and garlic. 

Add the remaining 1 1/2 TBS oil on top and stir. Chop Chinese cabbage into rounds and add into pan. 

Drizzle the top with the soy sauce. Toss with a spatula and cover the pan. This helps the cabbage to wilt.

Cook for roughly 5-10 minutes stirring occasionally. At the 5 minute mark add the chili flakes or hot sauce to your desired heat. At 10 minutes turn off the heat, the cabbage should be wilted down but still have a nice crunch. 

Properly Wilted

Enjoy!