Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup

Before I get to the food, let me address this important issue. Where have I been?

Well, I've been very, very busy getting a certificate in Web Design - the first step in a hopeful career change. So I've been crazy in over my head as I learned all about css, page design, flash, using available java scripts, jQuery, a bit about XML, and table-driven and css-driven DHTML.

I haven't cooked much beyond boxed pizza in months. The freezer has been full of frozen meals and I've been thrilled about the invention of the microwave. We didn't have those things when I was a little kid!

But on to the food!

This recipe happened by mistake, as I got punished by my bad karma.

Several weeks ago while out taking fall pics, I stopped in at one of my favorite foodie destinations, Idylwilde Farms. I saw the soup mixes on the shelves and couldn't resist. You know, the dry soup mixes - the ones with the dried beans in a clear cellophane bag, and then at the top are the herbs and such. You add some stock and veggies. Here's a pic of one of the mixes I got:



Well, I bought about four of them because I thought it would be like homemade goodness, but with convenience. Also, they make rather large batches, I could do it in a crock pot and freeze individual meal-sizes that I could just reheat when I felt like it and have comfort food any time.

The first one I made was the beef stew pictured above. And it was delicious. But as I made it I felt like an idiot. I spent so much time sauteing the onions and peeling and cutting up yellow turnip. I thought to myself, "Meryl, what you are doing now is the time consuming part of making anything. You could have made your own stew and made this a blog post and been proud of your creation instead." But it was too late for that.

So a couple of days ago I figured I'd use another of the mixes - this time the Red Lentil and Butternut Squash soup mix. But I got bitten in the rear by bad karma!

So, I was kicking myself as I cut up and seared some chicken, sliced and sauteed the onion, and cubed the butternut squash. But I thought that I must not let this soup mix go to waste. And I was sure it would taste good.

I put all the chicken broth (low sodium) in the crock pot. I added the chicken and veggies, and opened up the top of the cellophane bag of soup mix. The herb packet is always at the top. I reached in, took it out, and I immediately noticed that things were hanging off of it, as if caught on a web.

I was holding it over the sink, puzzled. I thought to myself, "what is this?" as I removed it all from the little plastic herb packet. It was then that I saw the live little worms twitching around inside.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

And now I've got a dilemma because the soup is already started! I had to do something right away! I remembered that I had some red lentils, so I ran to my laptop to look for my own recipe.

I began by typing in epicurioius.com to find out that my Internet went down. OMG, the Gods are totally against me today! I thought to myself, "Meryl, don't panic. Take a walk with the dogs and the Internet will be back up and running when you return."

So I did. And when I came home, the Internet was back up. I looked at various recipes on various sites and came up with a game plan. Then, I ran to the cupboards to get the lentils. CRAP! I no longer had any.

I decided to let the what was in the crock pot cook, since the chicken was in it, for the rest of the afternoon. Then I put the entire crock in the fridge that evening and went to the store, not knowing if I'd find the red lentils easily or not. Luckily I did find them and I got back to the soup the next day.

In the end, the recipe I chose was a success. Warm, cozy, seasonal, and tasty. I'm glad that I made it and not the mix, although I could have done without the roller coaster ride.

Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup
(a crock pot recipe that makes 8-10 servings)

10 cups broth (I use low sodium - by the way, how big is your crock pot?)
a bag of frozen chicken breasts – and olive oil (large bag - approx 8-9 breasts / 3lb?)
a bunch of scallions
olive oil
1 onion sliced
1/2 can light coconut milk *
1 tbs garam masala ** (mine was old)
1 tsp red madras curry
1 tsp cumin
2 cups red lentils (added in last - cooked for about 2-3 hours, tasting for doneness)
salt (I added 1 tsp - I'm very sensitive to salt. I'd suggest 3 tsp for normal people)

* The coconut milk was great. If I were to remake, I'd add the whole can.
** My garam masala was quite old. But even if it were fresh I would still try the entire tablespoon. I bet it would be awesome. But if you are wary of that, you could go with 1.5 teaspoons.

Okay, if I were making this today, all in one day, this is what I would do.

Put the crock pot on high and add the broth, the coconut milk, the cut up butternut squash, and the spices.

Cut up the chicken in to small pieces or slices. Sautee them and them in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and add them into the crock pot.

Back in the sautee pan, turn the flame on medium-high, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, heat it up, and add the sliced onions. Sautee them till golden brown and then add them to the crock pot. Leave the crock pot on high for 1/2 hour to an hour. Then turn it to low for a good long time. Geeze, this is where I had it on low for about 6-8 hours and then put it in the fridge overnight.

The lentils don't need as long to cook. Red lentils will take between 1-2 hours to soften on low.

Then you have a delicious, hearty, comforting fall soup. If you put it in the fridge, you'll probably need to add more broth, it gets very thick overnight, and the crock pot can only hold so much liquid.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Savory Bread Pudding with Butternut Squash, Chard & Cheddar ♥ Vegetarian Recipe

A savory bread pudding, two layers of good whole-grain bread studded cubes of butternut squash and cheddar cheese, with a layer of Swiss chard in between. Can be made ahead, much like a breakfast strata. Perfect for a vegetarian Thanksgiving entrée or a weekend brunch or a holiday buffet supper. It could also stand in as the 'stuffing' at Thanksgiving dinner.

This vegetarian recipe is the first of several in the 2009 collection of Thanksgiving vegetable recipes.

How to strike fear into a cook's heart? "Alanna, I'm bringing so 'n' so to Thanksgiving dinner. He's a vegetarian." Even though I was a vegetarian myself for many years, and often cook simple vegetarian and vegan meals, there's something about meat, well, that's celebratory.

The good news about this dish? It tastes good to everyone, carnivores and vegetarians alike. It feels special. It tastes substantial. And it smells divine while it's baking! One of my book club tasters walked in the door asking, "What smells so good in here?" and another, "You could bottle that aroma ..."

Here's what makes this bread pudding work:

• Proportions - This is an 'unbready' bread pudding, light on bread and heavy on vegetables. I use about a 4:1 vegetable:bread ratio.
• Good Bread - A flavorful, slightly dense whole-grain bread is perfect for bread pudding. It doesn't 'deflate' with the weight of vegetables and custard, it holds its own. And it's not just filler, the bread itself actually tastes good.
• Contrast - The butternut squash and the cheddar are quite creamy. In contrast, the chard is slightly astringent, that's a good thing!

RECIPE for SAVORY BREAD PUDDING with BUTTERNUT SQUASH, CHARD & CHEDDAR

Hands-on time: 50 minutes
Time to table: 2 hours (can be made ahead)
Serves 8 as a main course, 16 as a side dish

CHARD
2 tablespoons butter
2 large onions, chopped
2 large bunches Swiss chard, washed well, stems discarded, leaves chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

CUSTARD
3 eggs, whisked
1-1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup cream
2 tablespoons good mustard (what is 'good mustard'?)
2 teaspoons ground sage
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
A pinch of cayenne pepper
A generous sprinkle of freshly ground pepper

TO ASSEMBLE
1 butternut squash, washed well, peeled and cut into 1/3-inch cubes (aim for 1-1/2 pound of squash cubes, see how to cut, peel & cube a butternut squash and keep all ten fingers)
1/2 pound whole-grain bread, crusts on, cut into half-inch cubes (see Kitchen Notes)
8 ounces cheddar cheese, cut in 1/3-inch cubes
The set-aside cooked onions

CHARD In a large skillet, melt the butter til shimmery. Add the onions and cook until just soft. Set aside half the onions. Add the chard a big handful at a time and stir to coat with fat. Let it cook a minute or two, then add another handful. When all the chard is added, let cook until soft. Add salt and set aside.

CUSTARD Mix all custard ingredients together.

ASSEMBLE (If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375F.) In a large bowl, combine the squash, bread, cheese and cooked onions. Transfer HALF the mixture to a lightly buttered baking dish about 8x11 or 9x13. Arrange the cooked chard evenly on top, then the remaining squash-bread-cheese mixture. (See Notes, if making ahead, you may choose to stop here.) Gently pour custard mix over top, being careful to wet all the bread pieces, especially.

BAKE Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven. If any pieces of butternut squash are still firm, gently push them into the custard. Cover and bake for another 15 or so minutes. Let rest for about 10 minutes or so before serving. Reheats well.

TO PREP AHEAD This bread pudding can be made ahead in two ways. It can be fully assembled, then baked a few hours later. Or the bread-squash-chard-cheddar mixture and the custard mixtures can be prepped the day before, then combined just before baking. With the first method, the bread pudding is slightly crusty on top, very good. With the second, the bread pudding is more custard-y, also very good. Cook’s choice!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
(How many calories in bread pudding? How many Weight Watchers points in bread pudding?)
Per Main Dish Serving : 378 Calories; 20g Tot Fat; 12g Sat Fat; 137mg Cholesterol; 863mg Sodium; 34g Carb; 6g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 15 Protein; Weight Watchers 7 points
Per Side Dish Serving : 189 Calories; 10g Tot Fat; 6g Sat Fat; 68mg Cholesterol; 431mg Sodium; 17g Carb; 3g Fiber; 3g Sugar; 8 Protein; Weight Watchers 4 points

RECIPE INSPIRATION
While I fashioned today's bread pudding recipe after my favorite recipe for Asparagus Whole Wheat Bread Pudding, the genesis of the inspiration came from Molly Wizenberg of the food blog Orangette, this time from her recipe published in the November 2009 issue of Bon Appetit. Thank you, Molly!

KITCHEN NOTES
Bakers, consider a batch of homemade bread for this bread pudding. I'm especially fond of this Light 'n' Fluffy Whole-Grain Bread but also this Whole Grain Bread (without the beets).
This is a great base or 'concept' recipe, begging for adaptation. I think cornbread would be a fabulous substitute for whole-grain bread. I wanted to add fennel to the chard and corn to the overall mixture but ran short of room. Sweet potatoes? Of course. Kale or spinach instead of chard? Naturally. For a meat version, I'd add cooked pork sausage, chunks of cooked bacon or cubes of smoked ham.
Note to Vegetarians

---

MORE BUTTERNUT SQUASH RECIPES
~ Butternut Mac 'n Cheese ~
~ Winter Squash Polenta ~
~ Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Glaze ~
~ more winter squash recipes ~
~ more vegetarian supper recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Squash Puff ~
~ Acorn Squash with Quinoa & Cherries ~
~ Winter Stew ~
~ more winter squash recipes ~
~ more vegetarian & vegan recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

(Un) Fried Green Tomatoes ♥ Recipe for Baked Green Tomatoes

Thin slices of green tomatoes dipped in a seasoned cornmeal breading, then baked at high heat. Virtually no fat, thus 'healthy fried green tomatoes' (and baked, of course, not fried) but still full of flavor. Weight Watchers 2 points.

Fried green tomatoes have been a long time reaching A Veggie Venture, though not for lack of trying. Three years running, I tried new techniques. For a recipe that is so homely and humble -- heavens, we're just trying to use up upripe tomatoes just before or just after frost -- fried green tomatoes take a trick or two.

The breading needs to be light in texture but big on flavor.
The tomatoes need to be sliced thin, so they'll cook clear through.
Most of all, the fried green tomatoes need to be baked, not fried, giving the tomatoes more time to cook but also to eliminate all that gobby fat that the breading will soak up if you let it.

Is any of this heresy to southerners? I hope not, these are mighty good!

RECIPE for (UN) FRIED GREEN TOMATOES aka BAKED GREEN TOMATOES

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 50 minutes
Serves 4 (assumed 1/2 a tomato a serving)

BREADING
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon kosher salt (don't skimp on the salt)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or the pepper!)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pimenton or sweet paprika (or cumin or maybe garam masala)

TOMATOES
Buttermilk
2 large green tomatoes, core removed in a V shape, sliced crosswise about 1/3 inch thick

Preheat oven to 400F. Place a baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes to get it plenty hot. Spray it with cooking spray. Meanwhile, stir together the breading. Place the breading in a large shallow container, the buttermilk in another. Slice the tomatoes. Once the baking sheet has been preheated, work quickly. Dip each tomato slice into the buttermilk, then into the breading. Arrange on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the slices over. Bake another 10 minutes or until cooked clear through. Serve hot, they don't improve!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 107Cal; 1g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 1mg Cholesterol; 613mg Sodium; 22g Carb; 2g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 4g Protein; Weight Watchers 2 points

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from Cooking Light

KITCHEN NOTES
Coarsely ground stone-ground cornmeal is too rough and won't adhere. Fine-ground stone-ground cornmeal may well work but I've never seen it.
It's quickest and cleanest to dip the tomatoes with your hands. Get right in there!

---

MORE RECIPES for GREEN TOMATOES
~ Scalloped Green Tomatoes
~ Green Tomato Pie ~
~ more tomato recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Warm Green Tomato & Apricot Salad ~
from the Inadvertent Gardener
~ Salsa Verde with Green Tomatoes, Avocado & Cilantro ~
from Kalyn's Kitchen
~ Spicy Green Tomato Soup ~
from The Joy of Soup
~ more green tomato recipes ~
via Food Blog Search, a hand-selected list of the best food blogs
from all across the world

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

How to Roast Garlic ♥ The Recipe & A Planting Reminder

How to roast whole heads of garlic to a deep, dark and luscious creamy paste. Plus, a reminder that October 15th is when we plant garlic in the fall!

When roasting vegetables, or baking a casserole, or simmering a big pot of soup, I love to throw something else into the oven, too, making efficient use of the energy. More times than not, that 'something else' is a dish of garlic heads. Then for a week, I tuck roasted garlic into everything I cook. No more vampires, garlic breath be **mned!

And did you know that fall -- yes, fall -- is when we plant garlic? If you grow nothing else, it's ever so easy to plant a small garlic crop. It's a start! Check out my How and Why Guide to Growing Garlic. It's an especially fun project with kids, carrying through on the lessons from the summer's herb pots, tomato plants and vegetable gardens.

HOW to ROAST GARLIC

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour

Aluminum foil
Olive oil
Kosher salt & pepper
Whole heads of garlic, washed well, especially the area around the root end, enough to fill the baking dish

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking dish with foil (enough to both cover the bottom and to fold over the top). Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slice off the top 1/3 to 1/4 of the stem end of the head of garlic. Rub cut-side down in the oil. Repeat with the remaining heads, filling the dish. Wrap the foil over the top, creating a packet. Roast for 50 - 60 minutes until garlic cloves turn golden to deep brown. Use immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator for use within a week.

How to Use Roasted Garlic: Squeeze a warm clove of roasted garlic onto a slice of buttered bread: ambrosia. After that, throw in a clove or two whenever you're already using garlic, stews, eggs, vegetable dishes, etc. The flavor difference is remarkable!

How do YOU Use Roasted Garlic? Leave an idea in the comments!

TODAY'S RECIPE INSPIRATION
Adapted from an article published by Stef Tolle of Iron Stef in St. Louis' great monthly food magazine, Sauce Magazine.

---

MORE GARLIC IDEAS
When I asked Kitchen Parade readers about their
~ favorite kitchen tools ~
many mentioned a garlic press!

When I show people
~ how to make salad dressing ~
the first step is to rub the salad bowl with a clove of garlic

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Whole Pumpkin Baked with Custard ♥ A Fun Recipe for Fall

Today's pumpkin recipe: Stuff a whole pumpkin with custard, bake it, and what do you get? A fun fall dessert!

Finally, pumpkins! For a year now, I've been waiting-waiting for pumpkin season. You see, two recipes had tucked themselves into the back of my brain and refused to let go. One cooked meat and vegetables into a stew, right in a whole pumpkin settled into the coals of a campfire -- sorry, I can't recommend that one yet, perhaps ever. The other cooked custard right inside a whole pumpkin. Yes, custard cooked inside a whole pumpkin, that one I happily recommend!

The stuffed pumpkin and custard recipe comes from "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American" by Jeff Smith, an uneven but often fascinating look at 'American ethnic cooking'. The recipe's headnotes say that custard baked in a pumpkin was a favorite of George Washington. It's kind of a cozy fall dessert, definitely dramatic in appearance and meant to be shared.

2010 UPDATE Turns out, the fascination with stuffed pumpkins is an annual affair. Check out the brand-new Stuffed Pumpkin with Apple & Cranberry!

RECIPE for WHOLE PUMPKIN BAKED with CUSTARD

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Serves 4

1 small pumpkin, preferably a 'sugar' pumpkin or a 'pie pumpkin' or anything other than a pumpkin whose destiny is a jack o'lantern

CUSTARD (makes about 2 cups liquid)
3 eggs, whisked well
1 cup cream (sorry, half & half doesn't thicken well)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon dry sherry (optional but nice)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger

1 tablespoon butter, in tiny cubes

Preheat the oven to 350F or 400F. Wash the outside of the pumpkin very well. Carefully insert a knife into the flesh to cut off the 'top'. Remove and discard the seeds (or save them for Spicy Sweet Pumpkin Seeds) and the pumpkin 'gunk' inside.

Whisk together the custard ingredients, then pour into the pumpkin. Sprinkle the butter cubes over top. Place the stem-top back onto the pumpkin and transfer to a baking dish. Bake for about 90 minutes or until the custard is firm. (Check after 60 minutes but both pumpkins I cooked took a full 90 minutes.)

To serve, use long-stemmed spoons (such as iced tea spoons) to share, scooping up bits of the cooked pumpkin along with custard.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 361 Calories; 27g Tot Fat; 17g Sat Fat; 247mg Cholesterol; 100mg Sodium; 21g Carb; 0g Fiber; 17g Sugar; 6g Protein; Weight Watchers 9 points (yikes, that's way more than I'd have guessed, it's one of the reasons why I'm running a poll, asking where we'd like to see nutrition information).

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
Adapted from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American by Jeff Smith, 1987

KITCHEN NOTES
This recipe was tested at both 350F and 400F, both worked fine. It's a good excuse to roast some butternut squash at the same temperature.
A grapefruit spoon's serrated blade is ever so useful for cutting stuff out of vegetables. I use one all the time.
We added currants to one batch, they tasted great but sank to the bottom.
If there's custard liquid leftover, pour it into small ramekins. Then place the ramekins in a low flat oven-safe dish and fill halfway up the sides of the ramekins with hot or even boiling water. (This is called a 'hot water bath'.) Place the dish in the oven alongside the whole pumpkin, the custards will be done about the same time or a little sooner.
If your pumpkin can hold more than two cups of liquid, you may want to make more liquid.

---

POSITIVELY MORE! PUMPKIN RECIPES
~ Pumpkin Corn Bread ~
~ Pumpkin Muffins ~
~ Pumpkin Pudding ~
~ more pumpkin recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Autumn Pumpkin Bread ~
~ Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars ~
~ Pumpkin Bread Pudding ~
~ more pumpkin recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Supper Casserole with Pumpkin & Green Chile Cornbread Topping ♥ A Welcome-to-Fall Recipe

A one-dish casserole supper, meat cooked with on-hand vegetables and flavored with green chile salsa. The cornbread topping repeats the green chile flavor and adds pumpkin for color, moisture and nourishment.

Who else has noticed? When winter turns to spring, we long for the first bites of spring, waiting with much anticipation for the first asparagus, the first artichokes, the first strawberries.

But fall? Not so much. As soon as fall 'happens' -- it hit here in St. Louis on Monday -- we can immediately start cooking our fall favorites. You see, they've been around for a few weeks, we've just been ignoring them to get our last fill of tomatoes and peppers and okra and and and.

For me, cornbread is one of the siren calls of autumn and the cold-weather months, baked first, baked last, baked often in between. It was a welcome welcome to autumn. I pulled this Supper Casserole out of the pantry, you can too by using what meat (Note to Vegetarians) and vegetables you have on hand, then topping it with the pumpkin-colored and chile-spiked cornbread.

Hello fall, glad you're here.

SUPPER CASSEROLE RECIPE with PUMPKIN & GREEN CHILE CORNBREAD TOPPING

Hands-on time: 35 minutes
Time to table: 90 minutes
Serves 6 or 8

MEAT LAYER
Splash of water
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey or in my case, ground elk)

2 cups slow-roasted tomatoes or 15-ounces canned diced tomatoes
1 cup green chile salsa
1 cup frozen corn (no need to thaw)
15 ounces canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup canned pumpkin purée (make sure to buy 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon kosher salt or salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large deep skillet, cook the water, onion and ground meat until onions are soft and meat is fully cooked (for the most flavor, let the meat 'brown' and even get a small amount of 'burn' before turning it). Stir in the remaining ingredients. Transfer to a low casserole dish.

CORNBREAD LAYER
1 egg, whisked
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
4 tablespoons butter, cubed and melted in the microwave in 10-second increments
1/2 cup green chile salsa

2 cups flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal (stone-ground cornmeal is too coarse here for my taste)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, pumpkin, butter and salsa. Separately, whisk together the remaining ingredients, then stir into the egg mixture. Using two spoons (one to scoop, one to scrape) place small dollops of the cornbread batter atop the Meat Layer, butting them against each other. Bake for about 40 minutes or until Meat Layer is bubbly and the Cornbread Layer is fully cooked. Cover and let cool for about 10 minutes. Serve and savor!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
If Serving 6 or 8: 406/305 Calories; 34/25g Tot Fat; 8/6g Sat Fat; 105/79mg Cholesterol; 1811/1358mg Sodium; 41/31g Carb; 8/6g Fiber; 11/8g Sugar; 25/18g Protein; Weight Watchers 10/7 points

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
Inspired by recipe from Better Homes & Gardens, October 2009

KITCHEN NOTES
Play around with the ingredients in the Meat Layer, adding more vegetables to extend the meat further or to feed more mouths. If using slower-to-cook vegetables such as carrots, winter squash or sweet potato, cut them into very small cubes so they'll cook evenly and quickly.

---

MORE CORNBREAD RECIPES
~ Sweet Cornbread ~
~ Pumpkin Cornbread ~
(which I made earlier this week and inspired the casserole's topping)
~ more cornmeal recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Skillet Cornbread ~
~ Apple Cider Indian Pudding ~
~ more cornmeal recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Rosemary Potatoes ♥ Recipe & Roasting Tips

Just in time for roasting fall vegetables, four tricks for roasting starchy vegetables like potatoes and winter squash using less oil without compromising on texture or flavor.

Here in St. Louis, we're caught in that lovely 'bridge' between summer and fall. There's no deciding whether to slice up a quick Insalata Caprese to get the final fill of summer tomatoes or to tip over into autumn's vegetables. The solution? Salad for lunch, potatoes for supper! These Rosemary Potatoes, talk about comfort food when paired with Meatloaf. Turns out, however, that the technique used here for the potatoes can be applied to roasting other vegetables as well.

Roasting vegetables, it's the number one way to draw out flavor and sweetness. But over the years, I've watched various recipes call for so much oil. Where A Veggie Venture allows for 1 tablespoon of fat per pound of vegetables (for most although not all recipes), other recipes call for four to eight times that. No wonder those vegetables taste so good!

So here are four tricks to roasting vegetables with less oil, ones that can be applied to one vegetable after another:

DIRTY A DISH If you drizzle oil over top of the vegetables right on the baking sheet, you'll need more, it's just not as easy to cover the cut surfaces. So to reduce how much oil is used, toss the vegetables and oil together in a bowl, tossing well, more than one or two turns. You really want to distribute the oil.
ADD A LIQUID Extra liquid helps distribute the oil further. In this recipe it's balsamic vinegar, but you could use chicken stock too. I even wonder about buttermilk though haven't tried it. (Has anyone?) I might also mix good mustard into some chicken stock.
ADD FLAVOR The balsamic vinegar is a brilliant touch in the flavor department, for it adds color, and sugars that caramelize and the great complementary acid that works so well with the creaminess of the potatoes. With that touch of rosemary, too? Delicious. An added benefit? These potatoes are filling and satisfying, the portion size doesn't seem skimpy.
ALLOW TIME So many recipes call for roasting at a medium temperature for a short period of time, hardly enough to cook the potatoes through let alone drawing out flavor. Instead, use a high temperature and toss often, distributing moisture and heat and letting more than one surface take the brunt of the heat.

ROSEMARY POTATOES RECIPE

Hands-on time: 10 minutes plus occasional attention during the roasting
Time to table: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Serves 8

2 pounds small red potatoes, some times labeled 'new' potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped small

Additional kosher salt

Set oven to 400F. Wash the potatoes well, remove any blemishes and anything sprouting from the potato eyes. Cut into quarters. (If you're in a rush, the smaller the pieces, the quicker the potatoes will cook.) In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the remaining ingredients -- use your hands, it'll go quicker and you'll get tactile confirmation of how well the oil is distributed. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and roast for about an hour, tossing every 15 minutes. During the last 15 minutes, be sure that a cut-side of each potato piece is touching the pan. If needed, roast further until at least some of the pieces are quite dark and caramelized. If needed, season with additional salt. Serve and savor!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 98 Calories; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 152mg Sodium; 19g Carb; 2g Fiber; 2g Sugar; 2g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
Inspired by a recipe from Food & Wine, January 1997

---

MORE ROASTED VEGETABLE RECIPES
~ Slow-Roasted Tomatoes ~
this is what's making my kitchen smell like a tomato factory this week!
~ Roasted Cauliflower ~
~ Roasted Potato & Red Onion ~
~ Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Glaze ~

~ more roasted vegetable recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

MORE RECIPES pairing ROSEMARY & POTATOES
~ Grilled Rosemary Potatoes ~
from Panini Happy
~ Rosemary Potatoes ~
from Fearless Kitchen
~ Glazed Rosemary & Garlic Potatoes ~
from eCurry
~ more rosemary potato recipes ~
via Food Blog Search, a hand-selected list of the best food blogs
from all across the world

SPUD FUN (because I can't resist)
Well, a Girl Potato and A Boy Potato had eyes for each other, and finally they got married, and had a little sweet potato, which they called “Yam”. Of course, they wanted the best for Yam. When it was time, they told her about the facts of life. They warned her about going out and getting half-baked, so she wouldn't get accidentally mashed, and get a bad name for herself like 'Hot Potato,' and end up with a bunch of Tater Tots. Yam said "not to worry, no Spud would get her into the sack and make a rotten potato out of her!" But on the other hand she wouldn't stay home and become a Couch Potato either. She would get plenty of exercise so as not to be skinny like her Shoestring cousins. When she went off to Europe, Mr. and Mrs. Potato told Yam to watch out for the hard-boiled guys from Ireland. And the greasy guys from France called the French Fries. And when she went out west in the USA, they told her to watch out for the Indians so she wouldn't get scalloped. Yam said she would stay on the straight and narrow and wouldn't associate with those high class Yukon Golds, or the ones from the other side of the tracks who advertise their trade on all the trucks that say, 'Frito Lay.' Mr. and Mrs. Potato sent Yam to Idaho P.U. (that's Potato University) so when she graduated she'd really be in the chips. But in spite of all they did for her, one-day Yam came home and announced she was going to marry former NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw. Tom Brokaw!!! Mr. and Mrs. Potato were very upset. They told Yam she couldn't possibly marry Tom Brokaw because he's just... well he's just a... A COMMONTATER !!!

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad