Posts tagged with squash

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November 11, 2012

Perfect Pumpkin Loaf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m currently basking in the midst of a mega-long weekend, and it is pretty rad, not going to lie. The only thing I had on for the whole four days is work at the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market, at our Made with Local table, which is a long, but super fun day. Business is going really well, it’s so great that we have customers who come every single week and buy our bars, without fail. I love you guys! One of my fave ‘regulars’? A hungry little 10 month old named Zoe who’s so cute it’s just painful. Gotta love a kid with a great appetite!

Made with Local bars have a staple 4 flavours, each one showcasing different Maritime ingredients like blueberries, cranberries and apples. For a special event in October, we experimented with a pumpkin-based bar, called ‘Totally Autumn!’. It was a huge hit, and for good reason! It had local pumpkin (which we roasted and pureed ourselves), creamy white chocolate, and toasted pecans. They sold like crazy and was a great chance for us to do some recipe experimentation, we’re looking ahead to some fun holiday flavours already…think gingerbread. Yeah buddy.

So we had some beautiful, local pumpkin puree left over. It sat in my fridge for over a week just taunting me. Soup? Casserole? Cupcakes? I couldn’t decide and was really just avoiding it, until I was gifted a freaking GORGEOUS cookbook. Check it out! So many gem recipes from local chefs and foodies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This pumpkin bread recipe is one of the many gems. It’s absolutely perfect. Super moist with a tight crumb and a nice little crust along the top.

I doubled the recipe and because I didn’t have any eggs, I added some extra pumpkin and subbed in a chia egg (well, two, since I doubled it). A chia egg is just a tablespoon of chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp warm water. You let it sit for a few minutes and it becomes a gelatinous goo (sounds good, right?) that acts much like an egg in the recipe, binding all the other yummy stuff together. I was really relieved that it turned out so well despite the substitution! I added dried cranberries instead of the raisins the original recipe called for, they’re a nice little tart burst. Chocolate would be the best though, because let’s be real, when does it not make things exponentially better?

Perfect Pumpkin Loaf

Elizabeth Baird – Best Recipes of the Maritime Provinces

One loaf

1.5 cups all purpose flower

1 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

.5 tsp salt

2 large eggs (or chia/flax egg)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1.25 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup dried fruit or chopped chocolate

Pre-heat oven to 350, and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment. Whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and oil, then add pumpkin and your mix-in of choice. Pour wet mixture over dry, and stir until combined.  Pour into lined loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. I covered mine with tin foil about 25 minutes in because it was browning a little faster than I liked. I had mine in for 50 minutes in total, until a toothpick came out clean. It was perfect!

 

 

 

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April 18, 2012

Spaghetti Squash Pomodoro

Sometimes come supper I feel like I could eat myself out of house and home. Regardless of how much I ate that day, the odd evening I am so friggin ravenous I want nothing more than to just sit down to a big huge meal!

This dish is a perfect one to quash that kind of hanger. It makes an enormous pile of food, but is really just veggies, mixed with veggie sauce, served atop veggies. I love it, because it tastes amazing, is bursting with flavour and feels like a massive pig out. It’s not! Spaghetti squash is super low-cal and serves as an amazing foundation for whatever sauce, veggies, protein you want to fancy it up with.

If you’ve never had spaghetti squash before, I urge you to spend the $2 at the grocery store and try it. It doesn’t taste like any other squash, really. To be honest, it doesn’t have a ton of flavour on its own, but with spices and sauces it is wonderful. It’s super easy to prepare, too. I often make mine in the microwave because I have zero patience for baking them for 45+ minutes in the oven (it’s a great method, if you have the time).  But I cut mine in half, length-wise, and put one half ( which is about one big fat serving) cut side down in a microwave-safe dish with an inch or two of water. Microwave on high for about 10 minutes. When it’s done, you should be able to pierce through the rounded side’s skin pretty easily. Take it out of the microwave carefully! Turn over the squash, dry it out a bit inside, and scrape the flesh out with a fork. It should get all stringy and spaghetti-like! Success! It will weep a bit of water at first, I usually just take some paper towel and dab it off. No prob. Then it’s ready to be topped, or tossed with sauce!

Spaghetti Squash Pomodoro

Yield: 1

Ingredients

  • 1/2 medium spaghetti squash, cooked and scraped out
  • 1 cup tomato pasta sauce, I used store-bought, PC brand
  • 1 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp italian spice mix
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Cut spaghetti squash in half. Put on half, cut-side down, in a shallow microwave/oven safe dish, and put about 1-2 inches of water in. I microwave mine for about 10 minutes (oven will be about 45) , or until you can pierce the rounded side\'s flesh with a fork. Remove from oven/microwave, and pay dry, as much as possible. Be sure to try and get as much water out of it as you can, watch your hands, it will be hot! Season it with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar.

Sautee chopped veggies in a frying pan until tender-crisp, about 5 mins. Add pasta sauce and spice mix, until simmering. Pour it over your seasoned spaghetti squash and top with cheese or nutritional yeast. Enjoy a big-ass dinner with zero guilt!

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February 26, 2012

Butternut & Feta Muffins

Here it is! For you impatient members of the newly formed Halifax Baking Club! Zee muffinz.

I am going to keep this post short and sweet, mostly because I want to get the recipe up but am mega distracted by the Oscar red carpet schedule. Gimme a break, people. I did a 100 minute long spin class today and just want to veg, mkay?

Speaking of veggies, these muffins are full of ‘em. Unconventional? Yup. But they are delicious. Especially warm out of the oven with a little smear of butter, or even cream cheese. If you’re a savoury breakfast person, a couple of these to take on the run in the morning would be fantastic.

Since I did not alter this recipe in the least, I am just going to provide you folks with a link to the original recipe, which is on one of my favourite food blog sites, 101 Cookbooks.

Butternut & Feta Muffins

Enjoy!

 

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February 25, 2012

Roasted Root Vegetable Hash with Poached Eggs

My office phone rang last Wednesday afternoon with a call from a delivery man. He had something for me, so I directed him to my workplace and got excited for a fun birthday delivery from a mystery person!

Well it arrived, and I got spoiled, big time. My parents sent me an AMAZING fruit, veggie, and chocolate gift basket from the local fancy-schmancy grocery store, called Pete’s Frootique. It is a beautiful place to buy fresh local, and interesting imported foods. Shopping at Pete’s is a treat.

This humongous basket blew my mind, with it came an adorable little aloe vera plant and a bouquet of beautiful flowers! My otherwise very bland desk space is now all gussied up with greenery.

At the core of this basket, acting as a base on which the rainbow of exotic fruits and veggies was resting, was this thing:

I was pretty sure that it was a celery root (aka celeriac) but honestly, I did have to google image search it just to make sure. Sad? Kinda. It looked likely something out of a Goosebumps book to me. I envisioned its gnarly, coiled appendages slithering and writhing, getting completely out of control and gobbling up everything within reach of its insatiable celeriac tentacles. Luckily, that didn’t happen. I think I roasetd it before it started on its veggie warpath. Phew.

I peeled this sucker and chopped it into small cubes, and did the same to a small butternut squash and a couple of yellow potatoes. I tossed them all in some simple seasoning, just salt, pepper, and olive oil – let me tell you, the smell in my kitchen was fantastic. I love the aroma of slow-roasted root veggies!

I roasted the butternut squash separately for another dish that I made, look how pretty it is! Like little bites of vegetable candy. Eff sakes I love squash. This dish is so great, any time of day. I had it for brunch this morning, post-workout, and it kept me full for hours. Feel free to tamper with the proportions of veggies, adjusting to your tastes/supply!

Roasted Root Vegetable Hash with Poached Egg

Yield: 2

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butternut squash, cubed
  • 1 cup celeriac, cubed
  • 2 medium potatoes, cubed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp dried herbs
  • 4 eggs, poached

Toss chopped veggies in olive oil, salt, pepper, and spices. Bake on a baking sheet at 400F for 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Divide between two plates. Poach four eggs to your liking, and place atop veggies. Enjoy with a dousing of your favourite condiments; hot sauce and balsamic reduction are my favourites!

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