Since I had some cider to use up (courtesy of the apple cider doughnuts), I decided to put some of it to good use in soup. I had a squash sitting around for awhile, earmarked for a new pasta dish I wanted to try out, but when it got cold and windy, all I wanted was a warming soup.

I added some turmeric to the pot for nutritional reasons, and some extra ginger for a bit more of a punch. Turmeric happens to be a powerful natural anti-inflammatory, and I try to add a little extra here or there when the dish warrants it.

This soup is great with fresh bread, such as my favorite homemade baguettes. With fresh bread and a salad, it makes a great autumn lunch or quick dinner.

Curried Squash Soup
somewhat adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Print Recipe

1 large butternut squash
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 McIntosh apples (could substitute another baking apple)
8 ounces (237 mL) apple cider
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
olive oil
salt
pepper

Position baking sheets in upper and lower thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 425F/220C.

Peel squash, then cut off top and bottom. Carefully cut the squash in half where the neck meets the base. Resting the base on its bottom, cut it down the middle so you can scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut the squash into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces and divide between two large baking sheets into two piles. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss with your hands to coat the squash, then arrange on pans so pieces aren’t touching each other.

Roast for 20 minutes, flip pieces over, then return pans to oven (switching them on the racks so the upper pan is now the lower pan) and roast for another 20 minutes.

In a large pot, heat butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft and beginning to brown. Add curry powder, turmeric, and ginger, stirring to coat the onions.

While onions are cooking, peel, core, and cut apples into 8 pieces per apple (large pieces). Add to pot with onions and cook until soft.

Add roasted squash, 2 cups water, and apple cider to pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low for 20 minutes. Use an immersion blender (or blend in batches in full size blender covered with dish towel – not a tight cover or you risk an explosion) to blend. Add water and/or additional cider as desired for consistency and taste. Adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve hot.

(A tip for butternut squash: look for the smallest base and longest neck for fewer seeds and more flesh.)

We’re starting a heat wave!

Well, compared to last week and this past weekend, anyway. Over the weekend, I had to turn my heat on a few times, to take the chill out of the air. Yesterday when I got up, it was a whopping 29F/-2C. Brr!

Sure, in a couple of months, that will feel warm, but when you’re suddenly plunged into low temperatures, it’s kind of cold. And I had to go out grocery shopping in that weather. For the first time this fall, I had to let my car run a couple minutes to help warm it up. Okay, that was because I refused to get out a winter coat. Or wear gloves.

But, for the rest of the week now, it’s highs in the 70′s, and even the low 80′s! (That’s 21-27C, for anyone outside of the States.) So, bring on the summery beverage for likely the last time this year. I have a garden full of mint that’s still going strong, and I’m going to use it while I can.

This recipe is low fat, as well as low carb if you use sugar-free sweetener.

Iced Mint Green Tea

Print Recipe

4 cups (1 L) cold water
6 green tea bags (I prefer decaf)
couple sprigs of mint
1/4-1/2 cup (55-115 grams) sweetener of choice (I used half truvia, half sugar)
ice cubes
extra mint for garnish, if desired
juice of 1 lime, if desired*

If using sugar, place desired amount of sugar in bottom of 6 cup (1.4 L) pitcher.

Add water and mint to medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and add sugar substitute, if using. Stir until sweetener is dissolved. Remove from heat.

When water is no longer boiling, add tea bags and cover; steep 10 minutes. Remove cover, tea bags, and mint. Pour hot tea into pitcher, stir to combine with sugar. Add enough ice cubes to fill the pitcher.

Refrigerate until chilled, then serve in glasses over ice. Garnish with mint, if desired.

*To change things up a bit, add the lime juice to the chilled tea.

A couple of years ago I saw a thread on a message board about slow cookers. A number of women didn’t feel comfortable with leaving a slow cooker on all day unless they were at home. They felt a heated appliance that was turned on all day was a fire hazard.

I have to admit, that really never occurred to me. The reason I even have a slow cooker is to have dinner cooked for me while I’m gone for the day. Isn’t that the whole point?

I got to thinking that we all have our own little peculiar habits and/or beliefs. My dad, for instance, doesn’t want the toaster plugged in when it’s not being used. While growing up, I rolled my eyes every time he nagged me to unplug the toaster. The nagging paid off, though, because I’ve realized that the first thing I do after taking my toast out of the toaster, is unplug the darn thing. (I guess that’s proof for any parent out there whose teenager rolls their eyes at everything they say – the message is actually getting through to them.)

For as long as I’ve known him, B has never left his dryer running if he leaves the house. (I’ve picked up that habit, as well – never know when a dryer fire might start.) The above mentioned message board thread also mentioned people who wouldn’t leave their dishwasher running unattended – that one has not infuenced me – at least, not yet. However, a couple of years ago, my neighbor had an issue with her washing machine – the water wouldn’t shut off. It was a late summer night, and she came over in a panic because the water just kept flowing. and the machine overflowed. Together, we tried to get it shut off, to no avail. As a result, I pay attention to make sure my washing machine and don’t leave it unattended. But, at least there’s a drain to help ensure the place doesn’t flood.

I am much more careful these days when it comes to appliances running when I’m not around. However, I still use my slow cooker, even if I plan on being out of the house for a good portion of the day. I do make sure there’s nothing placed close enough to pose a fire hazard, however. So when a recent produce box contained a head of cabbage, I started thinking about what to do with it. I’m not a big slaw fan, and neither is B (whom I split the produce with). I had, however, recently seen a slow cooker curry recipe that suggested cabbage as one of the veggies.

I may not be a fan of cabbage, but I adore curry. A slow cooker full of food will yield some nice leftovers, as well.

The curry paste I use (from Thai Kitchen) is gluten free.

Slow Cooker Red Curry
adapted from Raspberry & Coconut

Print Recipe

1 can organic coconut milk
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon fish sauce
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
freshly ground black pepper

20 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced, OR 2 cans garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
salt & pepper

1/2 head green cabbage, sliced
2 small onions, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1-2 bell peppers, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

fresh basil leaves or cilantro, if desired

Whisk coconut milk, curry paste, honey, fish sauce, and a generous sprinkle of black pepper in a small bowl. Add garlic and ginger, whisk again to combine.

If using chicken, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place chicken or garbanzo beans in bottom of slow cooker insert. Cover with half the coconut milk mixture.

Add cabbage and sweet potatoes to the insert. Pour remaining coconut milk over, stir slowly to combine. Add peppers and mushrooms, cover, and cook 7-8 hours on low. If using basil or cilantro, add after 7-8 hours, mix, and cook for 1 more hour.

I’ve wanted to try this recipe for a long time, but especially this summer. After replacing my dilapidated grill, I wanted to use its replacement as often as possible.

However…really hot, humid weather and I do not get along. At all. So most of July was out of the question for me – it was already 90-100 degrees (Fahrenheit) for what seemed like a good portion of the month, and the last thing I wanted to do was stand in front of a 500 degree grill. But then August brought some relief, so I pulled out my grill.

And then I put it back away when I realized the chicken needed to hang out in the marinade overnight.

The next day, I pulled out my grill, again. The extra marinating time really does seem to make a difference, though I may have actually liked the chicken better with less time in the marinade. It had a very strong tequila flavor, and really only a hint of lime. That said, it remained very juicy, and I would rather have chicken with too strong of a flavor, than with no flavor at all. And leftovers are excellent in a green salad with a citrus vinaigrette.

Tequila Lime Chicken
adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Print Recipe

1 cup (237 mL) freshly squeezed lime juice*
1/2 cup (118 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice**
1/2 cup (118 mL) tequila
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, cut into 3-4 large pieces
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4-6 boneless chicken breasts, with skin

The night before: In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, orange juice, tequila, garlic, chili powder, jalapeño pieces (mince them for more spice), salt, and pepper. Add the chicken. If you can’t find chicken breasts with the skin but already cut off the bone, simply do it yourself – run a chef’s or carving knife between the meat and bone to separate. Don’t worry if the tenders are still on the bone; you can cut those off for another use, or just leave them on the bone, and save it all for making chicken stock. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat a grill with coals (gas grill to medium). Brush grates with oil.

Remove chicken from marinade, season well with salt and pepper. Grill skin-side down for 5 minutes, then flip and cook another 7-10 minutes, until cooked through. Remove to a clean plate and cover with foil for 5 minutes.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

*6-10 limes, depending on how much juice they have – always pick the heaviest limes
**1-2 oranges

One of my favorite parts of summer is sweet corn. It’s the only time during the year I’ll eat corn.

For a reason I can’t quite explain, I only like corn when it’s still on the cob. Frozen corn in a bag? In my world, that’s an ice pack. (Don’t even mention canned corn to me.)

As a child, heated corn was often served during the winter as a side dish. I didn’t want to eat it, but I also didn’t want to be stuck at the table for half the night, so I would swallow spoonfuls like medicine, with big chugs of milk. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, but now I mentally apologize to my digestive system.

Of course, when my parents left the room long enough, I would bury some of the remaining corn in the garbage, always leaving a little on the plate, so as not to draw suspicion.

However, I would happily eat corn on the cob in the summer. Cut it off the cob, I wouldn’t touch it. I still can’t explain why, but once it’s been cut off, it simply reminded me too much of the corn I didn’t like. To this day, I maintain that corn off the cob simply doesn’t taste the same.

I adore tossing a cob or two directly on the grill (okay, I brush it with olive oil first), letting a few of the kernals char ever so slightly. But what happens when the weather ruins your grilling plans?

If you’ve taken advantage of the bounty of sweet corn available in the summer but find rain ruining your plans to grill it, here’s a very tasty alternative that you might just discover tastes even better.

Oven-Roasted Sweet Corn

Print Recipe

Fresh cobs of sweet corn
Butter
Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Pull husks back on cobs and remove silk. Replace husks, tying with kitchen twine if necessary to keep closed.

Roast for 30 minutes, turning the baking sheet halfway through. Remove twine, pull back husks, and slather with butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Sometimes I have to go back through my pictures to realize I’ve made many things I’ve yet to post. Often these are very un-fancy meals where I snap a few quick pictures in the kitchen, without bothering with lighting, props, my DSLR…

But that doesn’t mean this food isn’t worthy, that people aren’t interested in simple meals they can cook rather quickly.

I’m a big fan of using as few dishes as possible, which often means stir-frys or curries. Sure, there may be some prep initially to slice the meat and chop the veggies, but the meal tends to proceed quickly from that point. It’s also great because it’s easy to make year-round, warming you up a bit when it’s cold out, but also not heating up the kitchen too much during warmer months.

I made this curry several weeks ago, before I had my spiralizer. It was delicious with pasta, but I think spiraled zucchini would make it even more interesting. Guess I’ll just have to make it again…

Coconut and Beef Curry with Noodles
adapted from Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast

Print Recipe

8 ounces angel hair pasta (rice vermicelli for gluten free option)
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 pound beef skirt steak*, cut against the grain into 2 inch strips
1 red onion, halved and cut into thin slices
2 red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup basil leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt & Pepper

*can also use sirloin cut into 2 inch strips

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt. Cook noodles per package instructions, drain.

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon oil to large saute pan set to medium-high heat. Season beef with salt and pepper, then add half to pan until browned on first side (about a minute), then flip to brown on the other side. Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining oil and beef, remove to plate.

Add onions, bell peppers, and water to pan. Stir occasionally until veggies are slightly tender. Add curry paste, stirring, until combined and fragrant.

Return beef and juices to pan, add coconut milk. Simmer about 5 minutes, until sauce thickens a bit. Remove from heat, stir in basil and lime. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over prepared noodles.

During a hot summer, what could be better for breakfast than a cool fruit smoothie?

Recently, I’ve been partially to the combination of peaches and strawberries. It started when the peaches I picked up from the grocery store were small and quite hard. Not good for eating, but my blender could turn them into something delicious.

At the time, I also had some cut strawberries in the fridge that I had sprinkled with sugar. Sweet and juicy, they were the perfect complement to rock hard peaches and plain yogurt. Since that morning, I’ve taken to simply washing and trimming a handful of strawberries, slicing up a peach, and throwing them in the blender with some Fage greek yogurt. A quick taste lets me know if a dash of sweetener is needed.

Strawberry Peach Smoothie
serves 1

Print Recipe

4-5 medium strawberries
1 small peach
1 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
2 ice cubes
sweetener of choice, if desired

Wash and remove stems from strawberries, toss in blender. Wash peach and cut slices; add to blender. Add yogurt and cover, blend.

Turn off blender and add ice cubes, blend again until liquified and frothy. Taste for sweetness, adding sweetener as needed.

If you live in the US, there’s a good chance you’ve been affected by this week’s heatwave. If you haven’t yet made homemade lemonade to cool off, well, what are you waiting for?!

Earlier in the week, when I saw that Michelle made Deb‘s Watermelon Lemonade, I immediately decided to emulate her.

Watermelon was the first entry on my grocery list. I added a couple of lemons for good measure, not sure if those that had been hanging out in my fridge for awhile would yield that much juice anymore.

They did, but it wouldn’t have been enough. Always best to play it safe.

When it comes to summer refreshment, nothing beats freshly squeezed lemonade; playing around with fruit combinations only makes a classic better.

Watermelon Lemonade
recipe from Smitten Kitchen via One Ordinary Day

Print Recipe

2 cups watermelon puree (from about 1/4 large melon or 1/2 small melon)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 5 heavy lemons)*
3/4 cup simple syrup
3 cups cold water
Ice, for serving

First, make the simple syrup. Heat 1 cup cold water with 1 cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat to cool.

Next, make the puree. Place large chunks of watermelon in food processor (blender would work too) and pulse until liquidy. Strain through fine sieve into medium-large bowl to remove seeds.

Juice lemons and measure out 1 cup. Pour through sieve to remove seeds.

In large pitcher, combine lemon juice, watermelon puree, 3/4 cup simple syrup (or more or less to suit your taste), and cold water; stir to combine. Serve in glasses filled with ice.

Chill remaining lemonade, stirring before serving (puree will separate out).

*The heavier the lemon, the more juice it contains. Always try to juice room temperature lemons, they’ll give up more juice.

For me, pasta is more of a delivery vehicle for a favorite sauce, rather than an excitement unto itself. Sure, there are gourmet flavored pastas, which I do enjoy from time to time, but for the most part, I don’t find pasta all that interesting.

A few years back, I discovered spaghetti squash and realized it was an excellent substitute for spaghetti when served with a tomato-meat sauce. I liked the texture, I liked the flavor, and I found it tasted better than noodles. What I didn’t like was the hassle of cooking it, cutting it, and scraping out the strands.

So when I discovered an inexpensive little kitchen gadget that would allow me to turn many vegetables into spirals, I had to get it. I used it for the first time mere days after it arrived, to turn zucchini into curly “pasta”. I tossed the zucchini with some store-bought sauce and served it alongside an easy chicken parmesan.

For a little extra flavor, I dredged the chicken cutlets in shredded parmesan seasoned with Italian seasoning and ground pepper before cooking them.

If you have an abundance of zucchini you don’t know what to do with, turning it into “noodles” is an easy, interesting way to use up some of it. Since I just picked up my produce box yesterday and found it filled with zucchini, you can bet I will be making more meals like this one.

If you’re interested in a spiral vegetable slicer, I’m very happy with this one; it’s easy to use and easy to clean, and it stores the various blades in the gadget itself.

Zucchini Pasta

1 medium zucchini per person, washed
1/2 cup prepared tomato-based pasta sauce or marinara per person

Heat pasta sauce in medium saucepan over medium heat.

While that’s warming, cut the stem end off your zucchini. Depending on the size of the zucchini, you may need to cut then in half, as well. Make sure the suction cups have secured the gadget onto your counter, and place a bowl to the left of the gadget to catch the zucchini strands. Push a flat end onto the circular piece by the blade, then push the spikes into the other end. Your right hand will rotate the zucchini, while your left hand will push the lower handle towards the blade.

Continue with each additional piece of zucchini until you’ve spiralized all the zucchini. Toss the “noodles” in with the warmed sauce, let sit in pan for 1 minute to warm through slightly. Remove from heat and serve.

One of the reasons I joined a CSA is to try new things. And though I’d passed chard in the grocery store many times, and appreciated the colorful stalks, I never really knew what to do with it, so I passed it up. Well, there was a bunch of brightly colored chard in this week’s produce box, along with a recipe for chard tacos.

Anytime I’m confronted with new produce, out of curiosity I head over to the World’s Healthiest Foods website to see how it measures up. After reading about chard, I think it’s become a regular player in my diet. Am I shocked it’s so good for us? Well, no. Leafy green vegetables of any kind have a pretty darn good reputation, but I had no idea this one was so instrumental in helping to regulate blood sugar levels. Further, it’s second only to spinach among the healthiest vegetables! For a complete nutritional analysis, please visit this link.

All week I’ve struggled with eating meat (this happens to me now and again), so a vegetarian option for tacos sounded pretty nice to me. But I confess, I did have my doubts as to what these tacos would actually taste like. And you know what? I was more than pleasantly suprised.

If you’re looking for a nice, summery meal that your bank account will thank you for, give these a try.

Notes: I used whole wheat tortillas, but if you use corn tortillas, the recipe is gluten-free.

Also, the original recipe called for queso fresco, which I’ve had trouble finding. An Internet search listed mild Feta as a substitute. I’m not a fan of the salty, briny flavor of feta, though I thought I’d give the mild version a try. Yup, still not a fan. I’ll take my Mexican cheese blend, or plain ole cheddar, anyday.

Chard Tacos
adapted from Tree of Life CSA

Print Recipe

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch chard, woody ends removed, leaves roughly chopped
1/2 cup water
pinch or two of salt
dash of ground cumin
dash of chili powder
dash of ground cayenne (more if you like it spicy)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
whole wheat or corn tortillas
shredded Mexican cheese blend (or shredded cheddar)
salsa
sour cream (optional)

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions with a pinch of salt and cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne; cook until garlic is fragrant. Add chard and water, cover and reduce heat to low, cook for 5 minutes, or until chard is tender.

Remove cover and increase heat to medium; cook until water cooks off. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium. Toast tortillas until lightly browned, flipping frequently. (Alternatively, toast on a gas burner or warm wrapped in foil for 10 minutes in a 350*F oven.)

Top each tortilla with a spoonful or two of chard, a sprinkle of cheese, a generous spoonful of salsa, and a spoonful of sour cream, if you wish.