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Ornamental Squash with Ginger & Cinnamon Soup Recipe by Alton Brown

February 16, 2017

We’ve made it to the homestretch. Laura and I now have only one very large pumpkin left from this autumn’s collection. If you’ve been following along, you already know that we have made a variety of soups from the previous pumpkin and squash. In all honesty, many of these soups are very similar in their structure. It’s a few ingredients here and a few ingredients there that change things up. Personally, I enjoy experimenting with what others have assembled. If you’d like to see some of the previous soup recipes I’ve shared, you can visit them here.

Ornamental Squash with Ginger & Cinnamon Soup Recipe by Alton Brown

The Recipe

Today’s recipe comes from the one and only Alton Brown of the Food Network. I’ve prepared some of Alton’s recipes in the past and I’ve been thrilled with the results. He’s got a true sense of what good food should taste like, so when I saw a recipe he created that had to do with squash, I jumped at the chance to put it together.

In Alton’s dish, he used butternut squash. I love butternut squash, but since we had a very large ornamental squash sitting on the windowsill waiting to be eaten, I decided to go with that. Ours definitely wasn’t as sweet at the traditional butternut, but the addition of pure maple syrup handled that issue well. Also, instead of heavy cream, I used coconut milk. Instead of ground nutmeg, I used cinnamon. Instead of butter, I used olive oil. So, if you think about it, I changed up most of the ingredients he called for. The reason I did this was to keep in line with a very special diet Laura and I are attempting to adhere to. The healthiest of the healthy. It’s fun to substitute out some ingredients for others. It really opens one’s eyes to what they put in their mouth.

This is a good soup. We’ve got lots of it leftover in the refrigerator and I think that’s just great. The soup is light and tasty and well worth the effort. If you have a large squash or two smaller ones, I encourage you to go ahead and double up on the ingredients below. The more soup, the better. That’s what I say.

Ingredients

Serves: 8

1 Large 5 Pound Ornamental Squash
1 Large Sweet Onion, Chopped
Regular Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
3 Cups Vegetable Broth
1/4 Cup Honey or Pure Maple Syrup
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 15-Ounce Can Coconut Milk
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Step-by-Step Instructions

Just as an FYI, you can really get creative with the ingredients you use for soups like these. As long as you stick with similarly themed tastes, you should be fine. Think about nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger as in the same family. Pretty much all of these recipes call for salt, pepper and some sort of cream to add taste and add to the texture. A sweetener may be necessary and a broth is usually essential. Just alter the quantities to your liking.

Pre-Heat Your Oven

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Space the racks so they are of an equal distance from themselves and the bottom and top of the oven.

Prep the Squash

To prep the squash, you’ll need to cut it in half and remove all the seeds. Then, cut the remainder up into 2 inch pieces and cut off the skin. Place the flesh into a large bowl.

Prepped and Cut Up Ornamental Squash

Add a few tablespoons of olive oil to the bowl, along with the salt and the ground black pepper. Mix all the ingredients together until every piece of squash is coated with the oil.

Cook the Squash

Spread the pieces of squash out on one or two large baking sheets. When the oven is to temperature, add the baking sheets to it and let roast for 45 minutes. Half way through, switch shelves for the baking sheets.

Roasted Squash on Baking Sheet

Brown Onion

Warm a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. When it’s to temperature, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to it along with the chopped onion. Cook for approximately 10 minutes or until the onion softens and begins to brown.

Browning Onions in Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Once the onions have softened, go ahead and add in the ground ginger and cinnamon. Mix that well.

Mix in Remaining Ingredients (Almost)

Next, add the syrup or honey, broth and cooked squash to the Dutch oven. Mix everything together.

Squash Soup Ingredients Mixed in Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Blend Everything Together

In batches, use a blender to blend the ingredients from the pot together. When each batch is finished, pour it into a large bowl. Then, add the coconut milk to the soup and mix it in until it melts.

Coconut Milk in Squash Soup

The Final Soup

That’s it! Wasn’t that easy? Let me tell you, this soup was really inexpensive too. The amount of food you get from this effort is truly remarkable. And what’s even better is that if you choose to double up, you can store the excess in the freezer. I’ve done this in the past and there’s nothing better than having a delicious soup sitting there waiting for you when you’re ready. Enjoy!

Spoonful of Coconut Squash Soup

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Soups


Coconut & Mixed Vegetable Curry Recipe

February 12, 2017

Some of the simplest recipes make the best tasting food. This one is no exception. I absolutely love this curry and am looking forward to preparing more like it in the future.

Coconut & Mixed Vegetable Curry Recipe

The Recipe

I’ll admit, I don’t have tons of experience with different types of spices. I’ll also admit that I am going to give learning about them my best shot in the future. The recipe below uses two simple tablespoons of curry and, believe me when I say this, that made all the difference. Sure, there’s sweetness from the pure coconut sugar and that velvety goodness from the coconut milk, but what I’m thinking about right now is the curry. It really brought this dish home.

The only time consuming part of preparing this curry is the prep work involved. But once that’s done, it’s really smooth sailing. For some reason, whenever I see that I’ve got to peel and chop carrots, my heart sinks. I’ve been doing so much of that lately and I’m getting tired of it. I’m going to do a bit of research to see if there’s some magical method for making that job easier. Not that it’s a huge part of this recipe or anything, but my hands are getting tired.

Beyond that, an onion needs to be chopped and two sweet potatoes need to be peeled and chopped as well. Some mushrooms and green beans and what you’ll end up with is a really great curry that you’ll likely receive genuine praise for. It’s not every day we eat curry up here in Maine, but perhaps it’ll become a more frequent activity.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

2 Tablespoons Regular Olive Oil
1 Large Sweet Onion
2 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
2 15-Ounce Cans Coconut Milk
2 Tablespoons Curry Powder
1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar or Maple Syrup
2 Medium Sized Sweet Potatoes, Peeled and Chopped
4 Medium Carrots, Peeled and Chopped
8 Ounces Mushrooms, Sliced Thin
4 Ounces Green Beans, Trimmed and Cut into 1-Inch Pieces
Fresh Cilantro
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

I’d like to thank Kate Barrington for this recipe. Laura and I found it in one of her fabulous cookbooks. She writes all sorts of recipes for those who are looking for great dishes that will only make their bodies better. Two of her titles are “DASH Diet Detox: 14-day Quick-Start Plan to Lower Blood Pressure and Lose Weight the Healthy Way” and “The Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis Healing Diet: A Complete Program for Eating Smart, Reversing Symptoms and Feeling Great.” Many of her recipes are vegetarian, gluten free and all that. If you’re interested in what the world now calls “clean eating,” I highly suggest you check out this author.

Soften the Onion

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. When the pan is to temperature, add the olive oil to it and then add the chopped onions. Cook, while stirring, for about 5-8 minutes or until the onions become translucent. Then, add in the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir as well.

Softening Onions and Garlic in Cast Iron Skillet

Add Carrots & Sweet Potato

Next, add in the carrots and the sweet potato. Also add the curry powder, coconut sugar, a pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper. Mix all ingredients well and cook for about 3 minutes.

Chopped Carrots and Sweet Potatoes in Skillet

Add the Coconut Milk

Once that’s finished, go ahead and add in the coconut milk.

Mixing Coconut Milk into Other Ingredients in Skillet

Makes sure all the milk is melted and then mix it into all the other ingredients. Raise the stove top temperature to medium-high and cover the skillet. Let cook for 5 minutes.

Add the Mushrooms & Green Beans

Remove the lid from the skillet and add in both the mushrooms and the green beans. Stir these ingredients into the others well. Keep the temperature the same and also keep the lid off the skillet. Let everything simmer for about 5 more minutes. You’ll likely need to stir during this time because the goal here is to soften both of these additional vegetables. Once you’re finished, the curry should look like this.

Vegetable Curry in Lodge Cast Iron Skillet

Divide & Serve

At this point, you can divide the curry between 4 bowls. Also, add some cilantro leaves to each bowl as a garnish.

The Final Dish

As you can see, this recipe makes a lot of food. It’s a meal in a meal. Laura and I also cooked up some rice to scoop the curry onto. I think that worked out really well. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Carrot Vegetable Curry

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Soups


Shrimp & Vegetable Salad with Lemon Honey Vinaigrette Recipe

February 10, 2017

Today I’d like to introduce another quick salad recipe that’s sure to satisfy. This one includes tons of interesting vegetables, a really tasty vinaigrette and some fried shrimp. It also pretty much covers the spectrum from a health standpoint. Vitamins, minerals and protein. Now that’s my kind of salad.

Shrimp & Vegetable Salad with Lemon Honey Vinaigrette Recipe

The Recipe

This recipe originally included tofu as the protein, but Laura and I decided to switch things up to shrimp instead. We’re trying to incorporate more seafood into our diets and the substitution was an easy one. Also, a few other ingredients were substituted as well. Maple syrup for the honey, oyster sauce for the fish sauce, olive oil for the vegetable oil – things like that. I used what we had in the kitchen and what we were able to get our hands on from the grocery store. I think the dish I prepared came our fairly on par with the one I found in the cookbook.

For this salad, I’d say the vinaigrette is the star. It’s super tasty and when everything is tossed with it, the entire salad tastes great. I’m turning into a huge fan of mixing seafood with salads, so that was a nice move, if I don’t say so myself.

Overall, the salad was really filling and the taste and texture was what I expected – very good.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

For the Vinaigrette

3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
3 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 Teaspoon Regular Table Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

For the Salad

1/2 Medium Sized Head Napa Cabbage, Shredded
6-Ounces Snap Peas
2 Carrots, Peeled and Shredded
Stems from 3 Beets, Cut into 1-Inch Pieces
1 Cup Sprouts
1 Bunch Scallions, Chopped
3 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro, Chopped
3 Tablespoons Parsley, Chopped

For the Shrimp

1 Pound Fresh or Frozen Shrimp, Tail Off
Regular Olive Oil

Step-by-Step Instructions

Before I go any further, I do want to mention that I pulled the original recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks – The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen. As I mentioned above, their recipe was fine, but I had to modify it some to our liking. So anyway, thank you America’s Test Kitchen for another splendid vegetarian recipe. Well, almost vegetarian.

Make the Vinaigrette

In a medium sized bowl, combine the lemon juice, maple syrup, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, ginger, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk these ingredients together well and set aside.

Oyster and Lemon Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Make the Salad

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, peas, carrots, beet stems, sprouts, scallions, cilantro and parsley and mix well.

Cabbage Salad

At this point, you have the choice of either adding the vinaigrette to the salad bowl and tossing or waiting until the finished salad is plated and spooning the vinaigrette onto each salad individually. I suggest adding it to the large bowl now and tossing.

Cook the Shrimp

If you have frozen shrimp, make sure it’s thawed. You can do this by leaving it out at room temperature for an hour or so in a colander (in your sink) or by running it under warm water in that same colander. Either way, warm a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of regular olive oil to it. When the pan is to temperature, add the shrimp and cook for about 5 minutes or until each one turns pink, as opposed to gray. Be sure the shrimp are cooked through all the way.

Plate & Serve

When the shrimp is finished cooking, go ahead and divide the salad up between four plates or large bowls. Do the same for the shrimp. If you haven’t already added the vinaigrette, you can drizzle that over each bowl now.

The Final Salad

Here’s another view of the salad. Since Laura and I are only two people, we have enough leftover for tonight. I may even roast a few beets to add to each one. That would be wonderful. Enjoy!

Shrimp and Snap Pea Salad

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Salads, Seafood


Curry Coconut & Garlic Mussels Recipe by MyRecipes

February 7, 2017

I’ve been looking into the health benefits of mussels lately and because of the information uncovered, I’ve decided that Laura and I should be eating them about once per week. They’re just too good to pass up. And at the price of just a tad over $3 for two pounds, it’d be silly not get them. The only question I have is, should I continue to post each and every recipe I make that has to do with mussels? I mean, too many can get annoying, I suppose.

I gave this issue some thought last night and have decided that I’d like to post the mussel recipes. But, I told myself that if I’m going to do that, the recipe better be good. If I prepare them simply in broth and browned onion, that’s not going to cut it. To make it up here, it has to be special. Sort of like the one I’m sharing down below. Of course, this will require more recipe research on my part, but that’s fine. I enjoy research and if a great tasting dish can put smiles on our faces, all the better.

Curry Coconut & Garlic Mussels Recipe

The Recipe

Believe it or not, this recipe is more about the curry coconut mixture than the mussels themselves. It’s that good. Because of this, I recommend you prepare some rice as a bedding for the dish below. Once you’re finished with the mussels, you can eat the rice and coconut mixture as if it were soup.

What I’m going to share with you below is curry coconut gone wild. I mean, I haven’t tasted something as creamy and spicy as this in a good long while. I used an entire can of coconut milk as well as onion, ginger, garlic, curry paste and white wine. Oh, there’s more, but I’ll share those ingredients directly below. I merely wanted to give you a taste of what’s to come. In my opinion, combining a nice curry with fresh mussels from the coast of Maine is unbeatable. It’s truly outstanding.

Ingredients

Serves: 2

2 Pounds Mussels, Cleaned and Debearded
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Large Sweet Onion, Chopped
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
2 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
1 Jalapeño Pepper, Minced
2 Teaspoons Red Curry Paste
1 15-Ounce Can Coconut Milk
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
1 Teaspoon Brown Sugar
1/4 Teaspoon Regular Table Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
3/4 Cup Flat Parsley, Chopped

Step-by-Step Instructions

When I found this recipe on the MyRecipes website, I couldn’t let it slip by. It’s been sitting in an open tab in my browser for days. I think they did a great job putting this one together and even though I changed up a few items, I’d still like to say thank you. They were my inspiration.

Brown the Onion

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. When the pan is to temperature, add the olive oil and chopped onions. Cook and stir for about 10 minutes or until you see the onion begin to brown.

Add Other Dry Ingredients

Once the onions begin to brown, go ahead and add the ginger, garlic, Jalapeño pepper and red curry paste. Mix well and let cook for another 3 minutes.

Add Wet Ingredients

Next, add in the coconut milk and white wine. Increase the stove top temperature to medium-high and bring the liquid to a boil. Add in the brown sugar, salt and black pepper and stir everything together.

Cook Mussels

Finally, add the mussels to the pan and cover. Let cook for 3 minutes. Then, remove the cover and mix the mussels well, being sure to scoop and pour the broth over all of them. Place the cover back on the pan and cook for 3 more minutes.

Add Parsley & Serve

At this point, you can turn off the heat. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top of the mussels and mix it in. Divide what’s in the pan between 2 large bowls and enjoy.

The Final Dish

These things are always so easy to photograph because they naturally look good. I’m getting hungry just writing this post. I have to say, out of all the mussel recipes I’ve shared here on this blog, this is in the top three. I prefer a creamy broth to the others. I’ll keep this on the “re-make” list – that’s for sure. Thanks for reading!

Curry Coconut Mussels Recipe

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Dinner, Seafood


Ginger Shrimp, Mushroom & Broccoli Stir-Fry Recipe

February 6, 2017

Every so often, a good stir-fry hits the spot. The trick is to get the flavors right. You can’t skimp out on this part because it makes all the difference between something that’s highly enjoyable to eat, versus something that’s easily forgettable.

Ginger Shrimp, Mushroom & Broccoli Stir-Fry Recipe

The Recipe

Today’s recipe comes from a cookbook Laura recently purchased. It’s not really even worth mentioning the cookbook because I changed things up so much. To give you an indication of how much, let’s just say the original title was Ginger Beef & Mushroom Stir-Fry. Not only did I switch out the beef for shrimp, I also changed the entire cooking process. As I said to Laura, “Some cookbooks are good at finding neat ingredients, while other focus more on technique. I lean towards the technique side.” Really, I can pull so much flavor out of a carrot and an onion, it’s not even funny. So, given the chance I had last night, I decided to tear her recipe apart and create my own. You’ll find it below.

As far as stir-fries go, this is pretty tasty. The broccoli and mushroom take up the majority of it, with the shrimp coming in a close third. The broth is what ties the entire dish together. If you’re into some sort of bedding, as we are, please go ahead and prepare some white or brown rice to add this stir-fry to. It’ll only make it better.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

1 Pound Shrimp, Medium to Large
1 Pound Broccoli Crown, Cut into Florets
1 Medium Sized Sweet Onion, Chopped
1 Pound Mushrooms, Cut into Quarters
1 Cup Vegetable Broth
1/4 Cup White Wine Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
2 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
2 Tablespoon Regular Olive Oil
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

While preparing this dish, focus more on the cooking method than the estimated times I give down below. Since the time varies to, for example, brown some onions, think about how soft the onion is as opposed to some strict instruction. As I cook more and more, I’m realizing that it takes far longer then “two minutes” to soften up broccoli and far longer than “five minutes” to brown mushrooms. No matter how much stove tops vary, no place in the world can you follow a recipe word for word and expect to get the results you desire. Go with your gut and cook things until the look and feel just right.

Marinade the Shrimp

In a medium sized bowl, add the broth, vinegar, ginger and garlic and whisk well. Then, add in the, defrosted, if frozen, shrimp and let marinade for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Marinading Shrimp

Cook the Onion, Broccoli & Mushroom

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When the pan is to temperature, add in the chopped onion and cook, while stirring, for about 5 minutes. The goal is to just soften the onion.

After that, add in the mushrooms and the broccoli.

Onions, Mushroom and Broccoli in Cast Iron Skillet

Cover the skillet for about 5 minutes. This will generate steam, which will break down the raw broccoli and mushrooms. Once the mushrooms begin to soften, you can remove the cover and stir as you continue to cook. Keep going until you see both of these new ingredients begin to wilt. This will take around 10 more minutes.

Cooked Mushroom and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Cook the Shrimp

Warm another large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Then, when the pan is to temperature, carefully scoop the shrimp out of the bowl, reserving the marinade for later. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes or until each one is opaque.

Cooking Shrimp in Stainless Steel Skillet

Add Shrimp & Marinade to Vegetable Skillet

Keeping the vegetable skillet on medium heat, add the cooked shrimp and the reserved marinade to it. Stir well and bring the liquid to a simmer. This will only take a few minutes. When things begin simmering, turn off the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The Final Stir-Fry

This is a very straightforward dish to prepare, but it can put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces. I really enjoyed it. Divide the finished stir-fry between 4 bowls and serve.

Shrimp Stir-Fry

If you give this recipe a try, please let me know about your results by leaving a message in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Dinner, Seafood


Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad with Cilantro & Onions Recipe

February 4, 2017

A few days ago, Laura and I picked up a nice slab of haddock. It was a two pound fillet that was caught somewhere in the north Atlantic. Living near the coast has its perks – we get fresh wild fish that was shipped in the same day it came off the boat. In this case, haddock it was. It was a steal too at only $6.99 per pound.

Anyway, since we were having fish, I thought a nice vegetable side dish would go well with it. I already had a recipe for a pretty sweet carrot salad in my pocket, so that was my inspiration for the completed dinner. All I needed to do was grab the ingredients.

Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad with Cilantro & Onions Recipe

The Recipe

I learned something during the preparation of this dish. I learned that the best method for softening carrots is to boil and then simmer them for just ten short minutes. In the past, I’ve roasted and fried carrots, which wasn’t nearly as efficient. Roasting does give a nice brown to them, as does frying, but both of those methods take forever to get the job done. If you boil the carrots to initially soften them and then fry them, you can acquire the same results as the previous two methods – a lot faster. The recipe below doesn’t call for any browning, so I’ll keep this new technique in may back pocket for another time.

This side dish is awesome. I’ll warn you – you need to really love carrots because there’s a lot of them. You also really need to love flavor, because this recipe calls for a fairly good amount of spice. It also calls for cilantro, which I’m not usually a fan of, but that works well here. Onion, garlic and scallions really top things off to round out an exciting side that would be perfect to go along with a holiday dinner.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

2 Pounds Carrots, Peeled and Cut into 3-Inch Strips
1/3 Cup Regular Olive Oil
1 Medium Sized Red Onion, Chopped
1 Teaspoon White Sugar
3 Teaspoons Garlic, Minced
1 Bunch Scallions, Sliced into 1/4-Inch Pieces
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Coriander
3/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Sweet Paprika
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
Regular Table Salt
2 1/2 Cups Fresh Cilantro Leaves, Chopped
1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt

Step-by-Step Instructions

I’d like to thank Yotam Ottolenghi and his cookbook called Plenty for this recipe. This is the second I’ve prepared in just a few days and I’ve been thrilled with both of them.

Boil the Water

Fill a large pot half-way with water and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Prep Carrots

While the water is coming to a boil, trim both ends off all of the carrots. Then, peel each one. Cut them across so you have pieces that measure about 3 inches. Then, set the thinner pieces to the side. Cut the fatter pieces in quarters lengthwise and place in a medium sized bowl.

Cut Carrots

Cook the Carrots

When the water comes to a boil, add the carrots to the pot and lower the heat to medium-low. Then, allow the carrots to simmer in the water for 10 minutes. When finished, each one should be semi-soft. Pour the contents of the pot into a colander to dry.

Cooked Carrots in Colander

Brown the Onion

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. When the pan is to temperature, add in the olive oil. Then, add in the chopped onion and cook, while stirring, anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes. What you want is a nice brown on the onions for flavor.

Browned Red Onions

When the onions are finished, add the garlic to the skillet, stir, and cook for just 1 more minute. Then, turn off the heat.

Combine Ingredients

At this point, you can add the carrots to the skillet and mix them with the onions and garlic. Then, add the sugar, scallions, cloves, ginger, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, cumin, vinegar and salt to the skillet and mix until all the ingredients are coated with the spices.

Mixed Warm Vegetables in Cast Iron Skillet

Finally, add in the cilantro and stir everything together well.

The Final Dish

Below is a photo of this carrot salad still in the skillet.

Carrot & Cilantro Salad Side Dish in Skillet

When I plated some of the ingredients into separate bowls, I added a dollop of yogurt to each one. That was a nice topping and was perfect to dip the carrots into.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did. If you decide to try it, please let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Side Dishes


Warm Beet, Orange & Black Olive Salad Recipe

February 3, 2017

I think I’m truly developing a love for roasted beets. It’s weird – I’ve never given them much thought throughout my life, but since I began writing on this website and preparing all sorts of different recipes, I’ve grown to appreciate them. They’re different. They’ve got great texture, a rather pleasing taste and have some serious health benefits to them. Think vitamin c, fiber, potassium, manganese and B vitamin folate. They’re a really good source of nitrates, which lowers your blood pressure and phytonutrients, which fight cancer. All-in-all, beets are good for you and add a lot to a dish.

Warm Beet, Orange & Black Olive Salad Recipe

The Recipe

Today’s recipe is simple. There isn’t much effort involved past roasting the beets. That will take a while, but once they’re done in the oven, it’s smooth sailing. It’s just a bit of prepping and assembling after that.

I guess I’d consider this a summer or fall salad, considering beets are harvested throughout both of those seasons. It’s light, healthy and flavorful. And with any salad that includes roasted anything, I’m sure folks who eat it will be impressed.

For this recipe, please feel free to use any size beet you’d like. I’ll write “3 Large Beets” in the ingredient list below, but really, you can use anything. As long as there’s enough to go around or that is the equivalent of three large ones. If I had five smaller beets, I would have been just as happy to enjoy them in my salad. Just remember, the smaller the beet, the less cooking time that’s necessary.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

3 Large Beets
Regular Olive Oil
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Seedless Oranges
1/2 Small Red Onion, Thinly Sliced
3 Tablespoons Parsley, Chopped
5 Tablespoons Black Olives, Pitted and Halved
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
5 Cups Red Lettuce, Gently Packed
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

I found this recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi‘s fabulous cookbook called Plenty. While I changed some things up a bit, his recipe was certainly my inspiration.

Before I begin, I’d like to talk about olives for a moment. With this salad, you can imagine that the style of ingredient can have a dramatic impact on what you’ll eat after it’s been prepared. Laura and I purchase our olives by the can, most of the time. We only buy the fancy stuff on rare occasions. In this case, I used canned black olives because they’re really easy to deal with. If I were to serve this to someone or prepare it for a special occasion, I’d go for the good olives. You know – the ones in the jar that are imported. Those wrinkly ones that make you crinkle your nose when you eat them. Those are incredibly great tasting olives and if you want to take this recipe up a notch, go with something on that level.

Pre-Heat the Oven

Go ahead and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, arrange the racks so one of them is in the center position.

Roast & Prepare the Beets

To start, clean the beets and trim off both ends of the root. Then, if you have large ones, cut them in half. If you have smaller ones, you can keep them whole. Place them in an oven safe container and drizzle some regular olive oil over them. Mix them up a bit until they are well coated with the oil. I’d say no more than a few teaspoons of oil.

Beet Halves in Roasting Pan

Cover the dish you place the beets in with aluminum foil and let roast for 45 minutes.

When the beets are finished cooking, remove the dish from the oven, remove the foil and let them cool for about 15 minutes. Then, remove each beet from the dish, place on a surface and pinch the skin off. Once you begin this step, you’ll see that the skin slides off easily.

Next, cut each beet into wedges and add to a medium sized bowl. Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil over the beets and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well.

Roasted Beets in Glass Bowl

This is the star ingredient in this dish.

Prepare Oranges

Peel both oranges and then pull each section of the interior from the others until each section is independent. Then, cut each section in half and place everything in a medium sized bowl. Drizzle some more extra-virgin olive oil over the oranges, just as you did in the previous step. Also, add a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper, as you did above as well. Mix until coated.

Orange Pieces in Glass Bowl

Combine Ingredients

In a large bowl, add the sliced onion, parsley and olives. Also add 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, along with the red wine vinegar. Finally, you can add a pinch or two of salt and pepper to taste.

Salad Ingredients in Large Glass Bowl

Mix those ingredients well until everything is coated with the oil and vinegar. Then, add in the beets and the orange and mix again. This combination forms the basis of the salad.

Beet Salad

Plate & Serve

To plate this salad, add some red lettuce to each dish. Then, scoop out some of the salad mixture and place it on top of the lettuce. Be sure to spread the salad mixture out, so the flavors blend with the lettuce. Serve.

The Final Salad

See? I told you this one was easy. It’s straightforward, just the way I like them. It’s a good salad, so if you give this one a try, let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!

Warm Beets, Oranges and Black Olives Salad on Plate

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Salads


Onion, Garlic & Parsley Mussels Recipe

January 31, 2017

I’m not sure what would qualify something as a “super food,” but for the purposes of this website, I’m going to consider mussels as one. The health benefits of these things are simply too great to ignore. Being from Maine, Laura and I are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to indulge ourselves in the pleasure of our fresh and tiny friends from the sea quite often.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve said it in the past week. “We have got to start eating more mussels. They’re cheap, they’re loaded with protein, vitamin B12 and vitamin C. They’ve also got important minerals such as selenium and manganese. They’re also very abundant and come straight from the shore.” It’s really a no-brainer. The only issue is that they contain cholesterol and inherently bring along sodium from the ocean. Not large amounts or anything, but if those two factors are important to you, they’re worth considering.

Onion, Garlic & Parsley Mussels Recipe

The Recipe

Like many other mussel recipes, this one is very simple to prepare. The simplicity is actually the appeal of eating mussels so often for many people. In this case, a mere six ingredients can offer up a healthy and enjoyable meal for two. If you double up on these same ingredients, you also double up on how many servings you can create. If doubling up, there’s nothing special that’s necessary. Just follow the same exact instructions below – only change the quantity of ingredients.

Ingredients

Serves: 2

2 Pounds Mussels, Cleaned and Rinsed
3 Tablespoons Regular Olive Oil
1 Medium Sized Sweet Onion, Chopped
1 Tablespoon Garlic, Minced
2 Cups Vegetable Broth
1/2 Cup Parsley, Chopped

Step-by-Step Instructions

If you look through this website, you’ll see an ever growing list of mussel recipes. Some are more rich than others and include butter and cream. Others are more simple and only include white wine or broth. As you become more familiar with these types of seafood dishes, you’ll find that many of the ingredients are interchangeable from recipe to recipe. For instance, I could have swapped out the broth below for heavy cream. I could have used shallots or scallions instead of sweet onion. As long as you stick with a theme or a general flavor profile, you’ll be fine. I will tell you this though – follow this blog for more awesome mussel recipes because Laura and I eat tons of them. I plan on sharing each and every dinner we prepare.

Sautée the Onion

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Once the pan is to temperature, add the oil. Then, add in the chopped onion, stir and let cook between 5 to 10 minutes or until it softens and begins to brown.

Add the Garlic and Broth

Once the onion has browned and developed a bit of sweet flavor, go ahead and add in the minced garlic and let cook for another minute. Be sure to stir during this process as burned garlic tastes bitter. You just want to brown it as you did the onion. After a minute or so, slowly pour the broth into the pan and increase the stove top temperature to high.

Add Mussels and Parsley

When the broth begins to boil, add the mussels and the parsley to the skillet. Cover the skillet and wait 2 minutes. After that, remove the cover, stir the mussels being sure to scoop some of the broth up and pour it over the mussels. Finally, cover the pan again and wait another 4 minutes. After this time, all of the mussels should be opened and cooked. If some don’t open, discard them.

The Final Mussles

Preparing mussels is so easy I just can’t stand it. And as I mentioned above, you can get creative while doing it. For other fantastic recipes, I highly recommend the seafood stew I shared along with the mussels and fennel. Those two recipe were superb. Enjoy!

Cooked Mussels in Lodge Cast Iron Skillet

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Dinner, Seafood


Creamy Coconut & Pumpkin Soup Recipe

January 30, 2017

As you’re most likely aware, Halloween is a huge time to sell pumpkins pretty much everywhere in the U.S. The timing for the harvest and the holiday fall together nicely. I’m not sure how things go in other states, but up here in Maine, we see pumpkins begin to sell at the end of September and continue on all the way up to the middle of November. I may be off a bit on these dates because I’m pulling this data straight out of my brain, but it’s something like this.

For the most part, I see folks purchasing pumpkins to carve and to sit on their front steps. Laura and I used to do this. It’s a fun tradition and I really never gave it much thought. Before Halloween, the pumpkins cost around $8, which isn’t terrible, considering it’s a large fruit. After Halloween though, the prices fall dramatically. Two years ago, Laura and I picked up two very large pumpkins that weighed around 14 pounds a piece for only $1 each. This was Halloween night at a local grocer. This past Halloween, We grabbed three more pumpkins, along with some rather enormous squash, for $2 each. It was crazy and I was all abuzz for days after we made the big find.

You may be asking yourself why anyone would care about how much we paid for pumpkins after Halloween. I mean, we didn’t carve them and put them outside with candles set in their insides. I will tell you, however, what we did do with them. We ate them, which is something we’ve been doing for a while and which everyone should consider doing as well.

Last night, I processed a large pumpkin that we’ve had sitting on our windowsill for months. It was still in perfect shape and it gave me two large bowls of flesh. With half of the pumpkin, I made the soup that I’ll give you the recipe for below. With the other half, we’ll add pieces to our salad or simply eat as a side dish along with something else. My point here is this – last night, I made a tremendously awesome tasting and very health soup for around $3. I made a gallon of it. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I hear people discuss the prices of food, I tell myself that they should look for the sales. They should also begin to enjoy cooking, because that’s where all the fun is. I’m not sure which is better, making and eating the nice pumpkin soup or knowing that I bought the pumpkin for only $2 and that it’ll feed both Laura and me for days. Still, I can’t get over it.

And to top things off, pumpkin is wicked healthy.

Creamy Coconut and Pumpkin Soup Recipe

The Recipe

If you’re on a restricted diet or are trying to avoid eating gluten, this recipe may be for you. I’ve made it so it’s perfect for those who like gluten free foods or who are suffering from a wide variety of conditions. Of course, you’ll need to check the ingredient list below and match things up to your liking, but I will tell you that there’s no dairy, is vegetarian, is gluten free and is relatively easy to prepare.

I put this recipe together myself. I pulled ideas from a variety of sources, including some that I have listed right here on this blog. If you do a search up top for anything with butternut squash in it, you’ll see something similar below. I also took some ideas from the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook I purchased a while back. They’ve got a nice Harvest Pumpkin Soup recipe that I drew inspiration from.

If you like pumpkin soup that uses canned pumpkin, you’ll certainly enjoy this recipe. If you like butternut squash soup, you’ll most likely enjoy this pumpkin soup too. Naturally, butternut squash is sweeter than pumpkin, but for this recipe, pure maple syrup makes up for the pumpkin’s lack of sweetness. This soup’s texture is similar to that of butternut squash soup and both soups look quite similar. In all honesty, you might not even know the difference. I do, because I harp on these types of things, but if you’re not a soup person, you’ll really enjoy them both interchangeably.

In this recipe, I swapped out half-and-half for coconut milk. Just doing this got rid of some dairy and increased the health level. I also used low sodium vegetable broth and mixed up the spices so they don’t interfere with anyone’s special diet. This is where you need to be careful. If you’re restricted from spices of any kind, you need to make the appropriate substitutions. I’ll list some common ones below, but it’s up to you to take care.

Finally, I removed the butter and used olive oil instead. Again, this took care of the dairy and in it’s place, I used something much more healthy.

Ingredients

Serves: 8 to 12

1 5-Pound Pumpkin
Regular Olive Oil
1 Large Sweet Onion, Chopped
2 Tablespoons Garlic, Minced
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
3 Cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
2 Cups Water
1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
1 15-Ounce Can Coconut Milk
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions

The recipe list above is an approximation. Since my pumpkin was huge, I only used half of it. I used exactly as much as I needed to use up all of the liquid. As you progress below, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Just be aware that you may have leftover roasted pumpkin, which is fine. You can be like me and eat that as a side dish with something else. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on it and you’ll be ready to go.

Prep the Pumpkin

Cut the pumpkin in half with a sharp knife. Please be careful doing this. Pumpkin has a way of either not letting the knife through or letting it through very quickly. Once it’s cut in half, clean all the seeds out of the inside and cut those halves in half. Keep cutting until you have pieces that measure about two inches by two inches large. Then, lay each piece on its side and carefully slice off the skin. Finally, toss the pieces in a large bowl.

Pieces of Pumpkin in Large Glass Bowl

Next, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the bowl, along with a pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper. Mix the pieces of pumpkin well until each piece is coated with oil.

Pieces of Pumpkin Coated with Olive Oil in Bowl

Bake the Pumpkin

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Arrange one of the oven racks so it’s sitting in the center position. Then, add the pieces of pumpkin to a large baking sheet and spread them out evenly.

Pieces of Pumpkin on Large Baking Sheet

Finally, once the oven is to temperature, place the baking sheet inside of it and let bake for 45 minutes. The pieces of pumpkin should be softened and slightly browned by that point.

Brown Onion & Garlic

Warm a large skillet over medium heat. Then, once the pan is to temperature, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to it and then add the chopped onion. Stir and cook the onion for 5 minutes or until it softens and just begins to brown. Then, add in the garlic and stir and cook for one more minute.

Browned Onions and Garlic in a Large Cast Iron Skillet

After that’s finished, add in the cumin, coriander and nutmeg and stir these spices into the other ingredients well.

Add Liquid

Raise the heat to high under the skillet. Then, add in the vegetable broth, water and maple syrup. Stir everything together well and make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. In the previous step, you developed very tasty fond that needs to be released. This will add to the soup’s flavor.

Vegetable Broth in Glass Measuring Cup

Once the liquid begins to boil, lower the heat to medium-low and let the liquid simmer for 15 minutes. Doing this will meld the flavors together.

Blend the Soup

For this step, you’ll need two more additional things. First, you’ll need a blender all set up and second, you’ll need a large pot. You’ll also need to work in batches.

With a ladle, scoop out a few scoops of liquid from the skillet and pour that liquid into the blender. Then, take a few pieces of baked pumpkin and add them to the blender as well. Only fill the blender up about half way. Turn the blender onto one of the medium settings and see what happens. If the soup is too thick inside the blender, add some more liquid. If it’s too thin, add some more pumpkin. Once you find the right amounts of ingredients, blend well and pour the results into the pot. Continue with this until everything is used up.

Warm the Soup

Once there’s nothing left to blend, place the pot on your stove top over medium heat. Add the can of coconut milk and stir well. Only let the pot remain over the heat until the soup has warmed enough that it’s steaming, but not boiling. At that point, turn off the heat. You may now add salt and pepper to taste. I suggest you add some soup to individual bowls before adding those two ingredients because folks may have different tastes.

The Final Soup

I guess I’d consider this a very elegant budget meal. As I’ve become better at cooking, I’ve developed a sense of what different ingredients can do. I’ll tell you this – soup is special. I never knew how complex it could be. I also never knew how economical and healthy it could be. I have to give a lot of respect to those who have made really good soups out there. I simply wasn’t aware of what went into it.

Awesome Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Coconut Soup

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Soups


Caramelized Onion Pizza with Blue Cheese & Walnuts Recipe

January 18, 2017

Sometimes, a sweet pizza with some great texture and interesting flavor is in order. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten a pizza a didn’t like. It’s just that every so often, I like to eat something that tastes “mature,” if that makes any sense. As Laura and I were enjoying this pizza for dinner last night, I mentioned that it tasted like something adults would enjoy. Kids probably wouldn’t like this one. It’s sort of an acquired taste, like beer or wine. Adults love them but kids don’t. Kids’ palates simply haven’t developed enough yet to like such things. It’s an awesome pizza though.

Caramelized Onion Pizza with Blue Cheese & Walnuts Recipe

The Recipe

In order to prepare this pizza, you’ll need some dough. I have a great whole-wheat dough recipe that I shared on this website. If you follow that simple recipe, you’ll enjoy something that’s chewy and flavorful.

This recipe doesn’t use many ingredients, but what it does use needs to be prepared carefully. The primary topping on this pizza is onions. In order to get the full sweetness out of them, you’ll need to caramelize them, which means “brown” them, thoroughly. It’s these onions that put this pizza on the map.

The other two primary toppings are toasted walnuts and blue cheese. When I mentioned that this is an adult pizza above, I was talking mostly about the blue cheese. Some folks love this type of cheese while others don’t care for it much. I’ll tell you one thing – when it’s combined with the walnuts and onion, it’s out of this world.

Ingredients

Makes: 1 Pizza

Pizza Dough (Follow This Recipe)
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Regular Olive Oil
Regular Table Salt
Ground Black Pepper
2 Pounds Onions, Chopped
1 Teaspoon Brown Sugar
1 Cup Walnuts, Chopped and Toasted
4 Ounces Blue Cheese
3 Scallions, Sliced

Step-by-Step Instructions

I pulled this recipe from the awesome cookbook put out by America’s Test Kitchen. It’s called The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook and it’s definitely a win. I’ve used many recipes from this book and I truly appreciate the effort that went into it.

Let Dough Rest

After following the pizza dough recipe, you should have your product in a large bowl waiting for use. If so, place 1 tablespoon of regular olive oil on a 16 inch baking sheet and then remove the dough from the bowl and place it on the pan.

Warming Up Pizza Dough on Baking Sheet

Let the dough sit for 1 hour to warm up.

Shape Dough

After the dough has warmed up a bit, use your fingers to press it towards the edge of the pan. Be sure to keep the thickness consistent throughout, except for the edges. Those should be slightly thicker than the rest.

Pizza Dough Spread and Shaped to Pan

Next, drizzle some olive oil onto the surface of the dough and then liberally grind some black pepper on top of that.

Adding Extra-Virgin Olive Oil and Ground Black Pepper to Pizza Dough

Pre-Heat Your Oven

At this point, it’s safe to begin pre-heating your oven to 500 degrees. Also, adjust your racks so one of them is in the center position.

Caramelize the Onions

Warm up a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of regular olive oil to the pan and when it begins to shimmer, add the onions, brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cover the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. This is just to soften them up. Then, remove the cover, increase the heat to medium-high and cook and stir for another 15 minutes or until the onions brown.

Caramelized Onions in Cast Iron Skillet

Add Toppings to Dough

Now that the onions are finished, you can add the toppings to the dough. Scatter the onions evenly across the dough. Then follow suit with the toasted walnuts and the blue cheese.

Adding Toppings to Whole-Wheat Pizza

Bake the Pizza

When that’s finished, add the pizza to the oven and let bake for 10 minutes. After that time, rotate the pan and let cook for about 5 more minutes or until you see the edges of the crust are beginning to brown. When that occurs, remove the pizza from the oven and turn off the heat.

Add Scallions and Serve

At this point, you can sprinkle the sliced scallions over the surface of the pizza, cut into 6 pieces and serve. The pizza is finished.

The Final Pizza

Now that I think about, while the onions are sweet and the walnuts add a lot of nice texture, the blue cheese is probably the king here. It adds so much to the flavor it’s difficult not to come to this conclusion. give this pizza a try and let me know your results. Thanks for reading!

Whole-Wheat Pizza with Walnuts, Blue Cheese and Onions

Whole-Wheat Pizza with Scallions on a Lodge Cast Iron Pizza Pan

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Dinner

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