Pasta with Creamy Egg and Squash Sauce

Do you know when you reach that point where you just can not eat any more squash? That's the time in my household where we forge boldly ahead, and yep, keep eating it. We like to tempt fate.

This pasta turned out delicious-creamy and nutmeg-scented. Very comforting. Good with finely grated wisps of cheese on top. Gruyere perhaps?

In other news, we ate last night at Founding Farmer's restaurant. Have you heard of this place? It just opened two months ago and sources all of its ingredients from local farmers. Rad idea, and excellent execution.

There are some aspects of the restaurant that are a little too cutesy. (I like the shape of the ice cubes, but could have done without hearing how they recall ice-blocks being chipped out of Lake Huron...) But overall, a great dinner nestled in a booth, surrounded by vegetables canned in large, clear jars.

Pasta with Creamy Egg and Squash Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 lb pasta
2 eggs
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 TB water
1 lb butternut or delicata squash, roasted, peeled and cut into roughly 1 inch chunks(I used a combination of squash)
1/2 cup grated cheese (I like either Gruyere or Parmigianno- Reggiano)
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cook pasta according to directions in salted water.

Combine next 5 ingredients (through water) in a bowl using a fork. Set aside.

In another bowl, gently mash 1/2 of the roasted squash using the back of a wooden spoon.

When pasta is done cooking, use tongs to transfer it to a large bowl. Reserve 1 c cooking water. Slowly pour egg mixture over pasta, using tongs to thoroughly combine mixture and pasta.

Add mashed squash to pasta, and combine. Use pasta water to achieve desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top each portion with chunks of squash. Serve with grated cheese. Serves 4.

Pan-Fried Tofu with Mushrooms, Roasted Acorn Squash Stuffed with Rice

I feel like singing, and trust me, I have an awful, awful voice. The cause of the joy-overload? I just went running in Rock Creek and it was amazing... the leaves are at their absolute peak and I feel marinated in fall. Bizarre image, good feeling. 

I've already started trying to overdose on squash, no sense in pacing myself through the season, right? I can't get enough.  The Husband loves squash, too, but that's probably due to his secret love of babyfood.  And, no, we don't have a baby. 

If people didn't look at him really strangely, he and a really wee spoon could probably even be spotted in public, scraping the last bits of pureed banana out of a jar with a kid's face on it. 

Pan Fried Tofu with Mushrooms 

Ingredients:

cooking spray (I like high-heat spray)

2 blocks of extra firm tofu, pressed and thoroughly drained

1TB olive oil

6-8 spring onions, white and half of green parts, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

water

1.5 lbs assorted mushrooms

1/2 TB thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: 

Slice each block of tofu lengthwise into four equal slabs.  Then slice each slab into four triangles. Season tofu generously with salt and pepper. Spray nonstick pan, and heat over medium-high heat.  Pan fry tofu in batches, cooking for about ten  minutes per side, or until well browned.  Set aside. 

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic, and saute until softened. Add small amounts of water as needed to prevent onions and garlic from sticking.  Turn heat down to medium-low and add mushrooms and thyme.  Stir mixture to coat mushrooms in oil.  Stir occasionally, and allow mushrooms to cook until they have released all but about 2TB of their liquid.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

To serve, top tofu triangles with mushroom sauce. Serves four. 

Roasted Acorn Squash stuffed with Wild Rice

Ingredients: 

cooking spray

2 acorn squash

1TB butter

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cooked wild rice

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with foil, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.

Cut acorn squash in half crosswise.  (Note: to make cutting easier, try microwaving squash for 2-3 minutes to soften it prior to cutting.)  Scoop seeds out and discard.  Place squash flesh side down on baking sheet and roast for about 45 minutes, or until outside of squash feels soft to the touch.  

To serve, divide butter between four squash halves, and place in well of squash. Season with salt and pepper.  Add 1/2 c of wild rice to each squash.  Serves four.  

Spaghetti Squash & Mushroom Enchiladas

I got the idea for these enchiladas from the nutrition/cooking class that I am an assistant to.  I just started assisting a chef and a nutritionist in teaching the group of low-income seniors a few weeks ago, and I am in love.  They are the spunkiest, funniest, most perverted group of sixty and seventy year olds you could ask for. What more could you ever want?

For a group that are living in senior housing, many of whom have trouble getting around and some suffering from chronic conditions, they talk about sex an awful lot. There's no way around it. But it is very life affirming- these are not people who are sitting around waiting to die. 

Oh no. They are waiting for the Friday night dance, to see who's making the moves on who. It is awesome.  

We are teaching basic nutrition and healthy cooking skills, and I am happy to say I feel like they are embracing a lot of the principles.  Sure, people might always prefer to make a sweet potato pie rather than bake some sweet potato fries, but at least we are offering new ideas.  

Last week we made spaghetti squash, which a few people had never seen before. It is one of nature's wackier veggies, isn't it? 

I was inspired to make these enchiladas, which do best when complimented by sides of refried bean, rice and salsa.  They are protein-less when eaten solo, so do add some bean somewhere to the dish.  But they are surprisingly filling, and quite healthy.  

Spaghetti Squash & Mushroom Enchiladas 

Ingredients:

12 corn tortillas, softened in a heated skillet (30 seconds per side)

1 TB olive oil 

1 onion, chopped 

5 cloves garlic, finely minced 

jalapeno, or other pepper, to taste

1 lb assorted mushrooms

3 c spaghetti squash*

salt and pepper to taste

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

1 14 oz can green enchilada sauce

1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese 

* to prepare spaghetti squash, split squash lengthwise in half.  Scoop seeds out of squash with a spoon or your hand.  Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.  Place squash flesh down and bake in a 450 oven for about 30-40 minutes.  When finished cooking, use a spoon or fork to scoop out flesh.  

Preparation: 

Spray a 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray, and set aside.  Preheat oven to 400. 

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion, and garlic and saute until softened. Add jalapeno (or other pepper) and saute until softened. Turn heat down to low, and add mushrooms to skillet.  Cook until mushrooms have release most of their liquid, about five to seven minutes.  Remove mixture from heat. 

In a large bowl, combine mushroom mixture and spaghetti squash.  Allow mixture to cool ten-fifteen minutes. 

Pour tomatoes into 13x19 inch pan.  Spread evenly.  Take one tortilla, and lay on counter.  Spread 3-4 TB of mushroom mixture across center of tortilla. Roll tortilla up, and place seam down in enchilada pan. Continue preparing tortillas; there will be two rows of six tortilla rolls. 

Once all tortilla rolls are in pan, pour enchilada sauce over middle of each roll, and down sides of pan.  Top rolls with cheese. Bake at 4oo degrees for about 20-30 minutes, or until cheese is golden.  Serves 6.  

Pasta with Garden Vegetable Sauce

I do apologize for being so out of touch! I've been by the sea, and other fun fabulous locales. This lazy summer afternoon finds me at the Cocoa Bar in Brooklyn- I highly recommend it. Lovely garden behind the shop and very tasty iced coffee. Perfect.

In my absence, my trusty garden has been hard at work. I overcame my doubts and finally plucked my one eggplant. Now I know how only children must feel- so much pressure. Anyway, the eggplant shined, it was only my heavy-handedness in picking it that caused the jewel distress. The stems of eggplants are very reedy and woody, and apparently snap if you twist them. Who knew! So, the plant did sustain some trauma (the branch the eggplant was on split in two) but hopefully, it will knit itself back together.

Thank you now for indulging in my cheesy vegetable-scape:

These were all the veggies I found waiting for me when I returned from my eastern seaboard adventure. Those vaguely albino looking fellows are yellow peppers. And the squash in front is a mutant pattypan, grown beyond all reason.

With these vegetables, I made a lovely pasta sauce:

Pasta with Garden Vegetable Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 lb pasta

1 TB olive oil 

1/2 onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 large eggplant, cubed

2 peppers, any color, chopped

2 lbs assorted squash, cubed

1/2 c water

2 TB tomato paste

2 TB capers

1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives

Freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

Preparation:

Cook pasta according to directions, in salted water.  Drain and set aside.  

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onions and garlic and saute until soft, about four minutes.  Add eggplant, peppers, and squash to pan.  Turn vegetables to coat with onions and garlic.  Saute for two minutes, stirring often.   

Turn heat to low, and add 1/4 cup water to skillet, and cover. Add more water periodically as needed to prevent vegetables from sticking to bottom of pan.  Cook until vegetables are soft, about five- seven minutes.  

Uncover mixture and add tomato paste, olives and capers.  Combine thoroughly and cook over low heat for two minutes to allow flavors to combine.  Season with pepper. Season with salt to taste. (Note: salt may not be necessary as the olives and capers bring much saltiness to the sauce.) 

To serve, top portions of pasta with sauce.  Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.  Serves four. 

Summer Salads

 This was another one of those dinners that had to stand in for what I really wanted: an ice bath.  

I do love summer, I do, I do! But this summer my love is being tested, for the first time really.   I know I'll come out the other side OK.  I would never forsake the refreshing afternoon thundershowers, insanely lush landscape and long nights for a cooler climate. Never, summer, OK? You're safe.

These salads are all quite simple.  The beet salad was my way of using up the last of my beets from the garden.  I lovingly swaddled them one by one in tinfoil... and then delivered them to a 500 degree oven.  They roasted for about an hour, because they weren't the hugest beets.  If you are working with bigger beets, just roast them until they feel tender when pricked with a fork. After removing the foil the skins slide off easily. 

I quartered the beets, and combined them with a healthy amount of dill, allspice berries, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Optimally they should be refrigerated overnight to allow the flavors to combine, but chilling them just until they are cool is OK too. 

Next on the plate clockwise is  a simple tomato, basil, cucumber, red onion and parsley salad.  I combined those ingredients with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Clean and comforting.

Finally, I made a hot zucchini, eggplant, and onion salad.  I simply sauteed chunks of the vegetables in a bit of olive oil, and then seasoned. Voila! It was quite good cold the next day, as well, but someone in my house (not naming names husband) has a real thing for hot food, even when it's so hot out that people's faces are warping.  So, hot salad it was. 

With the salads we had toasted pita and pureed white bean dip. This dinner was fairly virtuous, dietarily speaking, but still very satisfying, perfect for enjoying a summer evening. 

Rigatoni with Pesto,Yellow Squash Ribbons, and Grilled Grape Tomatoes

Rigatoni with Pesto, Yellow Squash Ribbons, and Grilled Grape Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1/3 c toasted almonds

3-4 handfuls basil leaves

4 TB extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lb. Rigatoni

1 dry pint grape tomatoes

2 squash, peeled into ribbons using Y peeler (discard center, seeded part of squash)

1/3 c grated parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In food processor, combine almonds and basil. Drizzle olive oil in (reserving 2tsp), and combine. Remove mixture from food processor, and mix in parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. 

Cook pasta according to directions in salted water. Reserve about a cup of cooking water prior to draining.

Meanwhile, drizzle 2tsp olive oil in a grill pan, and heat. When oil is almost smoking, add grape tomatoes. Grill, turning occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Return pasta to empty pot. Add pesto and squash ribbons. Add pasta water  and cheese until desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper. Top with grilled tomatoes before serving. Serves 4.

Spaghetti with Anchovies, Zucchini, Pine Nuts and Red Pepper Flakes

Do you ever have those days where you eat your lunch on the way to work? And you go to work at like 8:30? And you had breakfast already at like 7? Um, yeah, me neither. Today was definitely not like that...

I am not quite sure where the midieval-girl-will-eat-anything-not-affixed-to-surface hunger came from this morning, because we had a lovely dinner last night. Thursday nights seem to find me making pasta often, since it's so simple and comforting. A sign the weekend is almost there.

I ventured boldly into the world of tinned fish: anchovies. I was honestly surprised by what I found. They are boney little suckers! I reserved the oil, and then rinsed the fish thoroughly using a mesh strainer. I am not entirely sure if I should have tried to pick out all of the little splinter sized pieces of cartilage, but they seemed so thin, and I wanted to eat dinner before next week, so I said what the heck. We didn't notice them at all.

What do you do with your anchovies? I guess cartilage doesn't exactly melt, but they were undetectable. I will definitely cook with anchovies again-- they lent a lot of depth to the dish.

Spaghetti with Anchovies, Zucchini, Pine Nuts and Red Pepper Flakes

Ingredients:

6-7 anchovies, oil reserved, rinsed and picked over

1TB olive oil

2 zucchini, thinly sliced

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 c toasted pine nuts

2tsp lemon zest

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

handful of Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/2 lb spaghetti

Preparation:

Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and reserve 1c pasta water. Meanwhile, heat anchovy oil and olive oil in large skillet. Add anchovies, and saute over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute over medium-low heat for another 3 minutes. When garlic is soft, add zucchini to skillet, and combine ingredients with spoon. Saute over medium heat until zucchini softens and becomes translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Season to taste.

Take mixture off of heat. Add pine nuts, parsley, lemon zest and cooked pasta to mixture in skillet. Combine thoroughly. Add cooking water as needed, until desired consistency is reached. Serves 4.