Yellow, Green, Purple...So Pretty!

We ate all of the quinoa and nearly all of the soup for lunch today. Those leftovers did not last very long. I had an allergy scratch test this morning and found out I am allergic to almost every tree and weed in existence, a single random mold, cats, cockroaches, and dust mites. Super. I then spent the rest of the day watching podcasts, so I wasn't in the mood for too much cooking. Just something quick and easy that I could eat while I researched the treatment of cholesystitis.

We had some great yellow summer squash and green chayote from the CSA this week, so I decided on a simple squash pasta. Squash is probably my favorite vegetable--zucchini, summer squash, petit pan (aka "flying saucer squash"), you name it, I love it. It is so versatile and scrumptious. Who doesn't like fried zucchini? I have yet to meet a single person. It makes any soup much heartier, any stew more colorful, and any pasta more yummy. I also threw in some sliced i'itoi onions that gave a nice purple color and also some pine nuts for crunch. The basis of this dish is a simple garlic butter pasta, but it just shows you can add almost anything and make it much more interesting.

Squash Pasta

• 1 lb pasta
• 1/3 c. pine nuts
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 summer squash, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 chayote squash, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 i'itoi onions, sliced (or any type of onion, about 1/2 c. chopped)
• 1/3 c. parmesan cheese (plus more for serving)

Boil water and cook the pasta, While the pasta cooks, add the pine nuts to a pan on medium heat and toast for a few minutes. Set aside. Add the oil to the pan and sautee the squash until soft. Set aside. Melt the butter in the pan and sautee the garlic and onions until softened. Remove from heat and stir in the pasta, squash, pine nuts, and cheese. Serve immediately with extra cheese sprinkled on top.

It's Pronounced "Keen-Wah"

Still sick, so we had soup again tonight. I also wanted to make a hearty and healthy quinoa as a side. Quinoa is not found in most kitchens, but it definitely should be. It's super high in protein, has lots of essential amino acids, gluten-free, and high in fiber. Everyone should eat it because it's also delicious and has a great texture. We had some artichokes from the CSA and I found a great Artichoke Asparagus Quinoa recipe on Closet Cooking. I modified the recipe a lot. I added some garlic (of course), sauteed rather than blanched the asparagus, and removed the garbanzo beans. If I were to do it again, I would definitely not do the artichokes. Those things are so hard to prep! Removing the tough outer leaves, peeling away the skin around the heart, and then taking out the choke. Way too much work for not much product. I think the dish would be perfectly fine with just the asparagus. Unfortunately, I'm still sick which means I don't have my sense of taste. But luckily, the taste tester was here and said it was delish! It might not be the prettiest dish, but it certainly does taste good. Who knew something so healthy could be so yummy?!

Artichoke and Asparagus Quinoa

• 8 baby artichokes (optional)
• 1/2 pound asparagus (trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 1/4 cup feta (crumbled)

1. Peel the leaves from the artichokes until you get to the paler tender inner 2. leaves. Cut the top third off and discard and cut the artichoke in half. Remove the inner choke (the furry part).
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Add the artichoke hearts and asparagus and saute until tender, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Add the quinoa and broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the quinoa is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and mix in pesto and feta.

Here's a cute picture of a puppy:

Sick Day = Soup Day

I haven't posted in forever. I apologize. The beginning of last week I was at the Nutrition & Health Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It was amazing and so interesting. It was hosted by the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and was right up my alley. Dr. Weil talked about an anti-inflammatory diet and we learned about healthy eating that can also be super tasty. I totally overdosed on salmon because everyone is so up on omega-3 fatty acids. We had at least two servings of salmon every day, plus they had these tasty little gummy worm omega-3 vitamins. I also had the chance to meet James Beard Award Winning Chef Scott Peacock and a dual Chef/MD Dr. Wendy Kohatsu. She finished her MD and during her clinicals went to culinary school so she could better consult her patients on the importance of diet and healthy cooking. I am obsessed. This is my new dream in life. The conference was an overall success. I hope I will be able to attend the next one in San Francisco.

Only downside, I came back with a cold. I have completely lost my voice and I feel like I'm coughing up a lung. Solution: make soup. The bf and I had decided on a yummy, hearty potato kale soup last week with our CSA but never got around to making it. So this was the perfect opportunity. It reminded me of the Olive Garden Toscana soup, but without the cream, and much more healthy. Unfortunately, I couldn't taste the soup (that's what happens when your nose is completely plugged) but I can say the texture was really nice, if that counts for anything. The kale gave a nice crunch that reminded me of Japanese wakame seaweed. The potatoes were nice and soft and made the soup hearty and filling. I had frozen the sausage and thawed it out yesterday, so they became a little mushy. When we cut them, they just squished and the casing didn't hold up around them. They turned out like spicy mini meatballs in the soup which I was totally fine with. I think the recipe would also be great with some carrots to give it a little more body. We also added some garlic and used our wonderful torpedo onions from the CSA. The look like giant green onions and really mild. We simply took the white bulbs and sliced them. You could easily substitute any other kind of onion. Super quick and easy and so wonderful when lying in bed sick.

(I think I need to take a food photography class because my pictures really do not do the food justice)

Sausage, Kale, and Potato Soup

• 1 package spicy sausage, sliced into rounds or with casing removed shaped into meatballs
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 torpedo onion bulbs, sliced
• 5 1/2 c. low-salt chicken broth
• 6 small red lasoda potatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 5 c. thinly sliced trimmed kale leaves
• 1/4 tsp. caraway seeds, lightly crushed

Saute sausage, garlic, and onion in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth, sliced potatoes, and white wine and bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.

Add kale and caraway seeds to soup. Simmer soup uncovered until potatoes and kale are very tender, about 10 minutes longer. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and serve immediately.

CSA Harvest

Citrus, Potatoes, Summer Squash, Wheat Berries, Dry Beans, Artichokes, I’Itoi Onions, Winter Bore Kale.

I haven't posted in a while. Sorry! I have been so busy and away at an amazing conference. Here's the harvest for this week. I think I might trade out the dry beans and citrus for more wheat berries and summer squash, if people are willing to exchange. I love squash...

Creamy Dreamy Pasta

So steak night fell through yesterday. No problem though, we're going to have them tonight. Instead, I made a wonderful Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Bacon from Kitchen Attempts. I am a garlic lover. If it was socially acceptable to smell like garlic, I would eat it more often. Luckily, I'm stuck at home for the next week--We have a test on Thursday, ick. Because I won't see any other humans for the next few days, I went all out and made this crazy garlic pasta. It uses three whole heads of roasted garlic. Roasted garlic is super easy to make, tastes delicious, and is so versatile. You can mix the cloves in a pasta, spread it on toast, or eat them with fruit. Here's some easy directions for roasted garlic from Simply Recipes. By roasting the garlic, it really tones down the spicy bite of the garlic, but leaves a wonderful sweet flavor.

Prior to yesterday, I had only experimented with roasted garlic once before and it was not very successful. I stumbled upon a vegan recipe for baked spinach pasta with a creamy roasted garlic sauce from Sweet Beet and Green Bean. I need to preface this with I have no problems with vegan cuisine, I just haven't had a dish I've really been wowed with. This dish was sort of like a fake alfredo sauce, the secret to the vegan creamyness--tofu. Yeah, seriously, tofu. Don't get me wrong, I love tofu, I mean it's practically in my genes. But this use of the bean curd was pretty icky. I even ended up added about a cup of parmesan cheese (I know, anti-vegan!!) and that still didn't help the dish whatsoever. In the end, I pawned off the dish to a couple of friends. Don't make this dish unless you enjoy bland monotone pasta.

Straying away from the vegan dish, the pasta from last night was great. It originally called for pancetta, which I love, but to be a little more economical I used some leftover turkey bacon. I also wish I could have used some parsley from my plant in the backyard, but it's a little sad looking right now, so I just used some out of a bottle. Also, I was able to use some of our great organic chili flakes from the CSA. They are amazing and taste so much better than the ones you throw on top of your pizza. This pasta is so easy, so creamy, and so tasty!

Pasta with Roasted Garlic and Bacon

• 3 heads of garlic, roasted (how to prepare roasted garlic)
  
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1/4 c. chicken broth
  
• 1/4 c. sliced bacon or pancetta
• chili flakes
• parsley
• salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 box cooked pasta

Remove the roasted garlic from the skin and mash it with a fork.

In a non-stick pan, heat the olive oil and saute the onion until transparent and soft. Add the bacon and saute until golden brown. Add the mashed garlic and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the chili flakes and parsley.

Remove from heat and add the pasta. Mix and add in the cream and chicken broth. Serve with an extra sprinkle of parsley on top and parmesan cheese.

CSA Harvest

Harvest for this week: Artichokes, Cabbage, Grapefruit, Lettuce Mix, Sorrel/Oregano/Parsley (choice of, as supply lasts), Sweet Potatoes, Torpedo Onions, Yukon Gold Potatoes.

Last week I picked up our grass-fed beef share, so we're having porterhouse steaks with garlic mashed potatoes for dinner tonight. I will try to post the mashed potato recipe soon. I'll be using the Red La Soda potatoes from last week, but Yukon Golds would work perfect also.

I'm really excited for sweet potatoes again. We had a huge surge of them at the beginning of this season and I ended up making about four sweet potato pies and a sweet potato casserole (like what you get from Boston Market). Those are super duper easy and I'll also try to post those recipes this week as well.

Happy eating!