I'm Inspired

I have been pretty lazy about cooking the past couple weeks so I have had a bit of an overload of veggies sitting in the fridge. We have been getting lots of great produce from CSA recently like eggplant, onions, potatoes, turnips, radishes, butternut squash, spaghetti squash and the winter green are starting to trickle in. I am a huge fan of squash, all types, any shape or form. Yellow squash, zucchini, butternut, spaghetti squash, pumpkin, japanese kabocha... everything.

Spaghetti squash is a super versatile veggie. You can substitute it for pasta and toss it with your favorite sauce or make a great casserole dish. A couple weeks ago, I made a Kale and Spaghetti Squash Gratin. It turned out just alright, it could have gone for a bit more cheese and more oomph. I was inspired by a Societies Dinner we had a couple weekends ago. My mentor is also a CSA member and made many CSA veggie dishes. In particular, she made a really great spaghetti squash and green chile dish. It was delish and I knew I had to try to re-create it.

I admit that I am not the best at coming up with my own recipes. I cook by following recipes provided by others and I get really nervous when I have to create something on my own. This dish was all me and it turned out surprisingly well. It has a nice crunch from the squash and onions and also kick from the green chiles. I also used queso fresco which was absolutely perfect. I always want to call this cheese squeaky teeth cheese because when you eat it, it sort of squeaks when you chew on it. It's very mild but so yum.

I'm so proud of this dish, it turned out way better than I had expected--especially since I was not working from a recipe. This dish is super versatile and you could easy throw in any veggies you have on hand. Next time, I might use a different kind of cheese (maybe a gruyere or pecorino romano) and throw in some winter greens. The dish doesn't look that appetizing in the photo, but it's really super good, I promise! I need to work on my food photography skills.

How I cook spaghetti squash: Cut the raw squash in half (this can be difficult, so be careful!!). Put a few tablespoons on water on a plate and place the squash face down on the plate. Cover with saran wrap to create a nice steamy bubble. Place in the microwave for ~10 minutes. Remove saran wrap, be careful because the steam is very hot. Let sit for a few minutes and then scrape out the yummy goodness with a fork. 

Spaghetti Squash and Green Chiles

• 1 spaghetti squash, cooked (see above)
• 5-6 roasted green chiles (more or less to your taste), seeded and chopped
• 10 oz. queso fresco, crumbled
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 c. milk
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix prepared spaghetti squash, green chiles, and queso fresco in a large bowl. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the garlic and onions. Saute until the onion are soft and the garlic is fragrant. Add onion and garlic mixture to the spaghetti squash mix. Mix in the beaten egg, milk, and season with salt and pepper.

Spray an 8x8 baking dish and pour prepared mixture into dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is bubbly.

An Apple a Day...

Today was the day of our bake sale. We had so much food it was ridiculous, it couldn't all fit on the table. It was incredible. Unfortunately, the event had little to no people attend. It was a bit of a flop and so disappointing. We had all this food laid out so pretty and no one to buy from us. I came home with a lot of leftovers and a sad heart. We have decided to have another bake sale on Monday to try and sell off the mass amount of unsold baked goods. Everything is so delicious and I would be sad to see it go to waste. So, one more plug for the last bake sale. Monday at the CoM Lobby. Come eat our delicious treats! Here is photo proof of how amazing the bake sale looked:

I've decided to write about one of my favorite treats that I made for the bake sale, and probably the most healthy thing too. This is a recipe straight out of Dr. Weil's cookbook called The Healthy Kitchen. I bought this after I attended the Nutrition and Health Conference in May. I haven't made much out of it, but I thought this recipe looked pretty good and it's actually really healthy too. It only has 3 Tbsp of sugar and 3 Tbsp of butter--that's almost nothing in the baking world. The cake gets its sweetness from the apples and dates. Shredding the apples can be a bit of a pain. I peeled and cored them and then threw them into my food processor using the grater attachment. It was super easy, but I know if you don't have a food processor that can be a bit tough. I used red delicious apples only because they were on sale, but you could use virtually any type of apple. This cake is not too sweet with just a hint of spice from the cinnamon and nutmeg. I also used fresh milled flour from our CSA wheat berries. Sprinkle these will a little powdered sugar and they are so pretty. Don't be scared of healthy recipes, this one is a keeper!

Apple Cake Squares
from The Healthy Kitchen by Dr. Andrew Weil

1 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon 3 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons softened butter or Spectrum Spread 2 eggs 2 cups apples, peeled, cored, finely shredded (about 2 1/2 medium/large apples) 1/4 cup finely chopped dates 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and stir thoroughly. Cream the sugar and butter together in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs and whisk until smooth. Stir in the shredded apples and dates until they are completely distributed throughout. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly into the batter. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, or grease it with 1/4 teaspoon of butter and pour in the batter. Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Put the confectioners' sugar in a sifter and dust it over the cooled cake a few times until all the sugar is gone. Cut the Apple Cake into 9 squares and arrange each one on top of a decorated plate and serve.

True Blue

I have been a baking monster the past couple of days. Yesterday was cookie day and today I made a wonderful apple cake and a blueberry crumb bars. Today, we will talk about the latter and we will come back to the former another day (I feel like I should throw some biochemistry in with all these latters and formers...).

Blueberries are one of my favorite foods, not only because of its flavor but also because of its health benefits. They are super rich in antioxidants like anthocyanin, vitamin C, B complex, vitamin E, and vitamin A. They are also high in zinc and iron which can boost your immune system and prevent infections. But that's not all. They also help to preserve vision and prevent heart disease. They do much more and you can read about it here. Those cute little blue spheres are pretty amazing.

With all of those health benefits, they are perfect for an integrative bake sale treat. I found a great recipe for a blueberry crumb bars that is so incredibly easy. To be honest, it has quite a bit of butter in the crust, so it's really not the healthiest treat. But in my opinion, everything in moderation, plus you're getting those super benefits from these bars being loaded with blueberries.

Rather than fresh blueberries, which can cost an arm and a leg, I bought a bag of frozen blueberries. I got about a 6 cup bag for approximately $4. Last night I took them out of the freezer and let them defrost in the fridge. And voila, today I had perfect blueberries ready for baking. I imagine you could use almost any kind of fruit in this crumb bar, just make sure it gets nice and gooey so it will congeal and hold together. You could also mix additional fruit with the blueberries. I think it would be great to throw some tart cherries, or cranberries, or even chopped strawberries or mango. Get creative, that's why baking and cooking are fun.

By the way, JC rated these little guys a perfect 10. Delicious.

These delicious little bars will make their debut appearance at the Integrative Medicine Club Bake Sale tomorrow (Friday) from 1:30-3 PM. Come visit me at my table under the homecoming student showcase tent and taste some delicious homemade goodies.

Blueberry Crumb Bars
adapted from gimme some oven

• 1 cup sugar (plus extra 1/3 cup for blueberries)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• zest from one lemon
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 cups frozen or fresh blueberries
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, baking powder, flour, salt, and  lemon zest. Use a food processor or pastry cutter to blend in the butter, egg and vanilla.  (Or if you don’t have these appliances, you can always just use your hands) Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together 1/3 c. sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.