Butternut Squash Fries

A bunch of people at Price's office have joined Weight Watchers and they found this really yummy recipe for butternut squash fries (they taste a lot like sweet potato fries).

So here is the recipe. I tried it with Turkey burgers and it was excellent.

Butternut Squash Fries
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash, peeled.
Salt to taste
Chili pepper to taste
3 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
Slice the round bottom (the part with the seeds) off the squash and reserve for another use.
Slice the top of the squash into sticks that resemble thick fries.
Brush a cookie sheet with oil. In a single layer, add the squash sticks. Brush those with olive oil too.
Sprinkle a little salt and chili pepper on the sticks. Bake at 350 for 16-20 minutes until soft and slightly crispy on the outside.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Jam

Price and I picked 2 quarts of raspberries from our neighbors raspberry patch (with their permission of course!) and today I was going to make raspberry jam. I had everything ready. And when I looked at the raspberries that were left....They were covered in mold!
So I threw them away and thought forlornly of raspberry jam....so I went and picked a quart of raspberries from the raspberry patch. (Our neighbors did say we could have all we wanted :) ).
So I started the jam recipe...only to realize I had only 1/2 as many raspberries as I needed...so instead of picking yet more berries, I made half as much jam. But it should still taste good. I just hope that it sets this time!

By the way...I used the recipe on the Sure-Jell package. Last time I didn't use pectin and the jam never set...so I have syrup. This time I decided to go the pectin route. I hope it turns out better!

Enjoy the last days of summer!

Veggie Lasagna and No Boil Noodles

Tonight was the church potluck. So I decided to make Veggie Lasagna. And I tried the Barilla No Boil Noodles. They worked really well. You have to cook them for longer though...and make sure that the sauce is a little runny to begin with. I added water. I am not quite sure of my recipe, but the basic idea is like this:

Dice an eggplant. Make sure to cut off the peel. Saute with diced white onion in a skillet with a little olive oil. Add some sliced mushrooms and zucchini (again). Add a jar or 3 of tomato sauce...actually, just one jar. Then put a little in the bottom of the pan. Layer the noodles. Mush in some ricotta. Sprinkle with mozzarella. More noodles, more sauce, more cheese, more noodles, more sauce, more cheese, more noodles. At this point you should have run out of the veggie sauce. So pour a new jar over the lasagna. Add more mozzarella. Bake, covered 50-60 minutes at 360. Uncover to melt cheese. Serve and enjoy. P.S. You can use meat, cooked and drained, instead of the veggies, but I don't recommend it!

Enjoy!

O What Red Red Raspberries

Our landlords (well their son) have a raspberry patch. I call it a patch because at one point they had planted raspberry bushes in neat rows, but now the raspberries have taken over and new bushes are growing wild on their own every which a way. And yet...these little red gems are utterly amazing. I have never tasted sweeter raspberries in my life. After our landlords picked all of the raspberries they could possibly eat and use, they told us that we were free to pick as many as we wanted...there were still a lot left. So far we have picked 2 pints of raspberries and have been munching on them for lunch. But I think they would make a good freezer jam. Speaking of freezer jam, I made some with blackberries that is superbly easy to make and wonderful to eat. It keeps in the freezer for up to 1 year or the fridge for 3 weeks. When you are ready to eat it you put it in the fridge to thaw and eat it within 3 weeks. Here is how to make it:

Berry Freezer Jam
Ingredients:
4 cups berries, any type
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch freezer jam pectin (different from liquid or regular, though it is a powder)

Directions:
In a bowl, crush the berries with a potato masher until there is a lot of juice and no whole berries left. In a larger bowl, mix the sugar and pectin. Add in the fruit. Pour into 4-5 8 oz freezer containers. Close the lids and let sit for 30 minutes. Freeze or chill and enjoy!

This recipe tastes great on rolls, biscuits, or for PB&J.

Enjoy!

Reusable Shopping Bags: Baked Eggplant over Polenta

About a year ago, when my husband I were still in the mist of wedding planning, my then future mother-in-law saw me pull a reusable shopping bag out of my purse at the store. She was intrigued by the trend...and curious as to how to make one. She is a crafter. Her income comes from her ability to make and sell things people want. And people want reusable shopping bags. After all, in today's society, everything is about being green...which means using bags over and over again, among other things. This past weekend we went to Price's parents for Lenore's (my mother-in-law) birthday party. Lenore was so excited about her new craft: reusable shopping bags! Showing me her pattern...and the fact that they fold to fit into your purse (yay!) Lenore then asked me which one I wanted. I was very happy. Those of you who have seen me shop, especially at the grocery store, know that I am happiest when I go through the checkout line with my colorful cloth shopping bags. I have my rainbow bag, my sunshine bag, my blue foldable bag from Bath and Body that now makes trips to CVS with a green bag tag, and now...my little food and garden bag! I am always trying to resist purchasing another bag...because they work so well at the farmer's market, the grocery, carrying things to church or the bookstore. And now I was just given one (though I think I am being used as quality control, if this bag can survive a week with me, most people will have it for years).

Speaking of the farmer's market...I love going and seeing what sorts of seasonal produce is available. Of trying to come up with recipes based off what I already have at home and what I can find at the produce stand or farmer's market. Today we stopped at a produce stand on the way home from Price's parents and got a peck of peaches, a gallon of blackberries, a pint of blueberries, and an eggplant (really fits in with all of the fruit, right?).
Well, the eggplant is going to be for dinner one night next week. Price loves it when I make my version of eggplant parmesan...whether there is cheese or not! So try it and enjoy!

Baked Eggplant over Polenta
Ingredients:
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices, ends removed
1 c. all purpose or whole wheat flour
2 tbsp Italian seasoning or 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1 1/2 tsp marjoram, and 1 tsp garlic powder
1 c. polenta
3 c. water
olive oil, for brushing
spaghetti sauce
parmesan or romano cheese, to serve

Directions:
Mix the flour and seasoning together. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, preferably nonstick. Brush the lined sheet with olive oil. Brush each slice of eggplant with olive oil and dip into flour mixture. It will be crumbly. Place on baking sheet. Drizzle a little olive oil over each slice. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven. Meanwhile, mix the polenta and water together with a little salt to taste. Bring to boil stirring constantly. Stir for 1-2 minutes after boil. Set aside for 5 minutes to set. Heat the spaghetti sauce in a small sauce pot. Serve the eggplant over the polenta with sauce poured over the top. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately.

1 small eggplant will feed 2. Personally, I like the white or striped eggplant you can get at the farmer's market, however, a large purple one from the grocery works well and will feed 4, but you will need to double the amount of polenta in the recipe. Pasta may be substituted for the polenta, but I think that polenta gives the dish a really good texture. For those of you who don't know, polenta is an italian style of cooking corn grits.

Enjoy!

Blackberry Bushes

Our neighbors have blackberry bushes that they kindly allowed us to pick from. After 15 minutes of many scratches I succeeded in picking an entire pint...at which point I gave up. Here is a photo of a blackberry bush Price and I saw when we were hiking off of the Blue Ridge Parkway earlier this summer. Blackberries are amazing in smoothies, pies, cobblers, and on top of pancakes, cake, and ice cream. So enjoy the berries that have been so wonderful this year...and don't forget the cherries too.!

Enjoy!

The End of the Reign of the Zucchini

Our zucchini plants caught a fungus. One has already succumbed and died. The other two are holding on for dear life, producing their last few zucchini breaths. We will probably only have 3-4 more zucchini. It is sad, but we knew that eventually the zucchini would go out of season. We have done really well with it! And we froze quite a bit.

We are now entering the reign of the winter squash, where currently the acorn is king. But we have butternut and spaghetti squash coming in too! Hopefully we will have pumpkins soon. And of course...we will have tomatoes into September. The sun golds are slowly producing less as the brandywines amp up their production. Our garden goes on!

So far this year we have had approximately 15 pounds of zucchini, 12 quarts of sun gold cherry tomatoes, 6 brandywine tomatoes, 16 ears of corn (with more on the way!), assorted cucumbers and our winter squash. Yay for gardening. Even if I do say I hate it sometimes.

So its the end of the summer season and the beginning of the fall. Time for the best of both worlds. So enjoy the fresh produce while it is still available and enjoy!

I miss real food: Pesto Pasta Primavera

After being at Highlands for a fungi class for almost two weeks, I have come to a few conclusions.
1) Cooking for one is no fun.
2) To many mushrooms can make you sick, not just the breathing of the spores, but the eating-even if they are supposed to be edible.
3) The diet that we have been eating, my entire class, has been different up here than it is at home, even though we prepare our own food.
4) I miss real food.

So I am giving you a recipe that I made recently for Price and I, Pesto Pasta Primavera, which is definitely real food!

Pesto Pasta Primavera (Serves 2)
Ingredients:
1/3 box whole wheat spaghetti noodles
6-8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small banana pepper, diced
2-4 small green onions, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp pesto paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 diced sausage link such as polska kielbasa, if desired
(You can substitute one pack of pesto mix according to package directions for the olive oil, pesto paste, and garlic paste)

Directions:
Prepare pasta according to package directions. In last 3 minutes of cooking time, add the zucchini, onion, and pepper. Drain. Add the olive oil, pesto, and garlic paste. Stir well. Add the tomatoes and sausage if desired. Serve immediately.

P.S. This can be made with any vegetables available such as summer squash, spinach, mushrooms or carrots.

P.P.S. I have learned in my mushroom class that it is very dangerous to eat mushrooms raw as they can absorb chemicals from the surrounding environment (they will get cooked out). This means that even a safe, edible mushroom can make you sick if consumed raw.

Enjoy!

Canning Salsa: Bean Dip

I wanted to do something with the 3 quarts of cherry tomatoes that Price and I had collected from our garden. So I decided to make a half recipe of salsa. I couldn't make a full recipe of salsa because that would have taken 6 quarts of tomatoes. I was expecting to make 2-3 pint jars of salsa with maybe a half-pint (cup) jar thrown in. I followed the directions, scalding the tomatoes, peeling, coring and seeding them. And...when all was said and done, I made exactly 1 pint jar of salsa :( I tried. Hopefully it will taste good. Price and I will try it when we next need salsa. Anyway. I hope all of you enjoy your salsa, whether homemade or from a jar. And enjoy the recipe below!

Bean Dip (serves 4-8 as an appetizer)
Ingredients:
1 12 oz can refried beans
1/2 c. salsa
1/2 c. shredded mexican blend cheese
3 small green onions diced
1 small banana pepper, diced
1 tsp olive oil
tortilla chips for serving

Directions:
In a small sauce pan, add the olive oil, onions, and pepper. Saute 3 minutes until peppers soften and onion begins to caramelize. Add the beans and salsa. When the mixture begins to warm, add the cheese. Once the mixture has warmed to the desired temperature, and the cheese has melted, remove from heat and put into a serving bowl. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top if desire. Serve immediately with chips for dipping.

Enjoy!