Acorn Squash with a Teeny Sombrero & Tasty Tacos

* September 14 * Dinner

As I noted in the last post, I generally find large squash suspect. This really traces back to one previous attempt to eat some kind of stuffed squash. I'm sure it wasn't the squash's fault. Despite the distance I have come since being dubbed "the carnivore" in college, I still have residual twitchiness regarding some veg. So, I fully admit that I feared the acorn squash. It was too big. In short, it was creepy. Well, wrong again Kessler. Although our dinner did not end up being what we had initially planned (pork chops with fennel orange marmalade), dude it was delicious and has forced me to give over-sized squash a fair shake.

So, as usual I was searching online to find some fool thing to do with CSA acorn squash (something Liz never buys because of my general disdain for said veg). I found this recipe for roasted acorn squash with chile vinaigrette. Because I had already defrosted the pork, but we wanted to fully capitalize on the veg, we ended up making a Southwestern extravaganza: the aforementioned acorn quash, glamorous pork, onion, jalapeño, pablano, red pepper, and green bean fajitas, and black beans and onions. It was truly amazing. I have to fully admit that I ate all of my squash. The vinaigrette was a lovely addition. We worked from the aforementioned recipe but made it lower in fat by using much less olive oil and increasing the citrus factore. We each ate half a squash, a mess of beans, and 2 tacos worth of pork and veg and we still have 2 dinners or 4 lunches of pork, veg, and beans left over. It was a mound of food that did not turn us into a mound of humanity. In my opinion, this is a win and a win. All it needed was a margarita (but I settled for an Old Style Light - don't you judge me!).

Anyway, it went a little something like this:

Roast one 1 sizable acorn squash (cut in half, emptied and brushed with olive oil and dressed with salt and pepper) at 450 for about 45 minutes.

Chili Citrus Vinaigrette:

Whisk together:

• 1 garlic clove (crushed)
• 1/4t salt
• 2t olive oil
• 1/4c juice from an orange and lemon (we didn't have lime so we just squeezed a bit of each)
• a splash of apple cider vinegar
• 1 small red hot pepper (diced)
• 1T chopped cilantro

Spoon onto the squash when it comes out of the oven.

Freaking Amazing Tacos

• 3/4lb of pork chops (trim fat and cut into strips)
• 1 red pepper (cut into strips)
• 1 poblano (cut into strips)
• 1 jalapeño (diced)
• 1 onion (slices)
• 1lb green beans

Sauté 3 types of peppers and onion. Place that in a bowl to the side.

Cook pork in skillet (after coating in chili mix - some mix from once we made chili) and then put in bowl to the side.

Cook green beans in skillet (with remnants of chili mix) and then warm all three parts of the pork and veg together.

We served them in the Tortilla Factory corn tortillas we've discussed in the past. In short, yum and yum.

Yes, it's true that I like almost anything with a Mexican or Southwestern flair. Yes, I have forgiven acorn squash for its previous offenses. Yes, Liz has a 99% success rate (and she made this on the fly while starving and managed not to eat everything in the kitchen while cooking).

On a final note, Liz has been working hard of an evening, so I have been blogging solo (with final Flauto approval). I think it lacks for the absence of her voice. I only fancy myself a baking direction-follower and a skilled eater. Flauto is culinary artist. So please forgive my lack of flair in describing the process.

Liz's Note: Kelly's lack of culinary flair is more due to lack of courage than skill, but she eats boldly and describes with panache. It is a pleasure to cook for and with her. While she does not wing it in cooking, she often comes up with fresh and excellent suggestions for things I should make (ie chili citrus vinaigrette) and is the most receptive of diners. I appreciate her. That is all.

Fall is Nipping At Our Heels - It's Sausage, Veg, and Potato Soup Time

* September 12 * Dinner

So, we're in week 13 of our 20 week CSA share. We're starting to get a little anxious about not having the boxes anymore. As it turns out, we're better at not letting produce go to waste when we have the pressure of next week's box.

So, this box was kind of glorious (and we had things from last week to take care of). We still have to figure out what do to with acorn squash (which honestly freak me out a little). So, for tonight we were trying to take advantage of (a) produce, (b) the cool weather, and (c) some amazing so-called "breakfast" sausage that we bought at the Glenwood Sunday Market a few weeks ago (the pork sausage with rosemary, sage, black pepper, garlic, and tarragon was not necessarily breakfasty, but we used some for a lovely red onion, egg, sausage, tiny hot pepper, spinach, basil, and tomato scramble this morning). Anyway, Liz created a bit of fall soupy tastiness.

The taste well complemented the creepy guy outside the sunroom who kept trying to get passersby to give him change and the guy yelling across the street. Ah, the peaceful sounds of fall on W. Fargo.

Anyway, it was truly lovely, despite my overall aversion to carrots (which I support pureed but do not approve of in chunks. I think this is a holdover from my first 20 years of veggie hatred. The crunch still gets to me.). That said, I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this soup. It was warm, fresh, and not soggy. It also combined some of my favorite things: potatoes, sausage, and beans. (I fully believe that the majority of people do not take full advantage of beans.)

Anyway, it went a little something like this:

10oz white potatoes, cubed

5oz chopped of collards (CSA)

1/2 large red onion, diced

7 garlic cloves (crushed)

2 small leeks

4 small carrots cut into little discs (CSA)

2oz of seasoned pork sausage (Glenwood Sunday Market)

1 can of Bush's canellini beans

1 T olive oil

6c chicken broth (Costco Organic)

Herbes de Provence

Black Pepper

2T chopped parsley (fresh, CSA)

1t chopped sage (fresh, CSA)

1/4c Chardonnay

Okay, Flauto just rattled off to me how to do it. I'm going to take a shot. You know I'm just a mouthpiece and she's the brains behind this kitchen operation. So, it went as follows (those of you who make soups can likely just turn off right now).

1. Sauté the garlic, onions, and leeks in olive oil

2. Add sausage, potatoes, and carrots and sauté for a bit longer.

3. Add broth, Herbes de Provence, and pepper and bring soup to a boil

4. Add beans and collards and boil until the potatoes are ready

5. Right at the end add fresh herbs and wine

6. Enjoy tasty goodness while watching the tv show that goes on outside your window

Go, fight, win, soup!!!! I'm not sure what we're going to do when the boxes stop coming. Will we get lazy? We're just heading into prime soup time. Only time will tell.

Rosemary-Walnut-Oat-Dried Cherry Cookies - Um, Yes.

Okay, so sometimes Liz comes home from work like this, "So, I have a cookie I need you to bake. I had this cookie at work but yours would be better." It was her belief that the idea behind the cookie (a cherry-rosemary cookie) was brilliance, but that the execution was lacking. I forget the name of the schmancy bakery from which it came. I think maybe it was Flourish. Anyway, she thought it would be good if I could combine the idea of this cookie with a chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie I often make. This is all I have to say, SHE WAS NOT WRONG!!! I can't really impress upon you enough how amazingly good this cookie was. The thing that I like about baking is following directions. Improvising makes me a little nervous (as I'm never sure how well it's going to turn out). In this case, we added the same amount of dried rosemary as I had lavender in a past lavender cookie. So, here is what I did.

Preheat the oven to 350

1 c flour

1/2t baking soda

1/4t baking powder

pinch of salt

1T dried rosemary

1 stick butter

1/2c sugar

1/2c brown sugar

1 egg

1/2t vanilla

1c rolled oats

1c walnuts

1c dried cherries

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix in dried rosemary (which I had crushed with a tiny mortar and pestle).

Beat butter and sugars together. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat (on low) dried ingredients into the wet mixture. Add (with fork) oats, walnuts, and dried cherries.

I have a tendency to make teeny, tiny cookies. I like them that way. I use a small melon baller to scoop my cookies. I guess they are about rounded teaspoons. Place those on a waxed cookie sheet. (I prefer waxed paper to spray, but again, that's just how I roll.)

Bake each batch for about 12 minutes, until slightly brown around the edges.

The smell is amazing. My fear that the rosemary would be too weak was immediately assuaged. The smell during the baking is amazing and the cookies were seriously no let down. I think they're going to have to make their way into the cookie rotation. So, if you feel like trying a somewhat savory cookie (that is totally bad-ass), go for these!

Bake, Schmake, This Tomato Tart Don't Need No Bakin'

KELLY * August 22 * Dinner

So, as you can tell, we've been slacking off a bit. Our summers are catching up with us and the blog has been falling to the wayside. Well, we've been re-making some things (that are not worthy of report). We've been cooking late (and therefore too sleepy to blog). We've taken a few short trips (so not cooking). We've had guests (and therefore wiped out). The new seasons of Jersey Shore and Project Runway started (judge me if you must). In short, life is hard! Anyway, I couldn't let this one go. Last Sunday night we spent the evening with the lovely Hotzmasters (our CSA box partners) and jointly made an amazing dinner from the box. (If I have not mentioned this before, they are lovely dining partners and they often let me sit and drink beers, margaritas, fresh strawberry mojitos, etc. as Liz and Brian cook. Note: I am not slighting Jaime. She made bad-ass cupcakes that night. Liz and Brian, however, seem to enjoy being in charge. As for me, I like watching. I bake what I must and then I sit back and watch the magic happen.)

Anyway, as we have lately been showered with a mess of tomatoes per box, we focused on that angle. The evening was lovely and included the following (and then was topped off by homemade black-bottom cupcakes from Jaime and a little Don Draper):

* Lemon Balm Mojitos (lemon balm from the CSA)
* Cucumber and Garlic Chive Salad (CSA & Glenwood Sunday Market)
* Asian Pears baked in balsamic & butter and topped with goat cheese & honey (Glenwood Sunday Market [pears] & Whole Foods [cheese] & Brian and Jaime [honey])
* Hormone Free Boneless & Skinless Chicken breasts topped with peppers and onions (CSA)

All in all, it was lovely.

The tart was based off of this recipe. The crust is amazing and simple. (I reiterate: DON'T FEAR THE CRUST!!!). Liz didn't layer the tomatoes and she skipped the pesto. Instead she just arranged pieces from a GIANT heirloom tomato around the crust. She cut up pieces of fresh mozzerella and arranged them on top of the tomato, topped that with some sliced fresh basil, and then drizzled olive oil, salt, and pepper on top of that. You do really have to serve everything relatively soon (and it's not so good for leftovers), because the tomato moisture will make your crust creepy by morning. That said, it was amazing.

I'm not 100% sure what she did for the salad. I know she seeded and cut into squares a large fresh cucumber and diced the fresh garlic chive we bought that morning at the market.

The pears were based off of this recipe. Liz saw the pears at the market and had to have them. They're relatively small, so I made 1.5 per person. I just followed the recipe. You just melt a little butter in your dish, put the pears in, add the vinegar, and bake, bake, bake. I am a firm believer that goat cheese makes everything better, so... Goat cheese and honey seemed like a no-brainer.

Liz will have to explain the chicken and the lemon balm if I can drag her to the blog. She's a busy girl. She's been making a LOT of witch heads this summer. That takes it out of a girl. Honestly, I often have to decide if she has time to talk to you or talk to me (and I choose me).

Anyway, this tart is amazing. I swear by it. I think we're going to make it again this weekend (and perhaps one with bacon).

GO TOMATOES!!!

Who Needs Sauce When You Have a GIANT Heirloom Tomato

KELLY * August 25 *

So, tonight was a quickie dinner. I ran out to see Cairo Time in the early evening and the gf ran to the acupuncturist (to work on her chi, wind, or something). We thought a quick dinner that took advantage of our produce would be lovely. So, she stopped off at the Jewel and grabbed some mozzarella and a pizza it was.

All I know is that had perhaps the best fast to tasty ratio of all time. It was quick and easy and incredibly delicious.

We had a pre-made pizza crust from Meijer (bought this summer when in Holland, MI because we knew they were tasty and would want them later). Liz sauted onions, garlic, and mixed wild mushrooms (portabello, oyster, and shiitake from the Glenwood Sunday Market). She cut up half of a giant CSA heirloom tomato. (It was about the size of a softball.) On top of those she placed some half rounds of cherry-sized mozzarella balls, olive oil, and basil.

She baked it at 450 for about 12-15 minutes.

Result: AMAZING!!! It needed much salt, but aside from that, it was delicious. I'm generally a believer in more sauce is better, but I had no complaints here.

I Love You Peaches: Peach Cupcakes & Brown Sugar Icing. Yes, Please.

KELLY * August 12 * Dessert

Well, I'm on the fly. I'm heading out into the wilds of the Ozarks (okay, it's not so wild. It's really a little more like a redneck version of the resort in Dirty Dancing). Well, there will be about 30 members of my family and I'm doing what I do best: bringing baked goods. Last weekend Liz was lured by some beautiful peaches at the Glenwood Sunday Market. That set off my search. What to make with a peach that is both transportable and won't wither in the summer heat of Missouri? I found this recipe for peach cupcakes. Initial response is that they're lovely. As I've worked more with cupcakes, I've been trying (against my nature) to not panic when they don't look perfect. I just keep repeating "all things don't rise the same way. All things don't rise the same way." Well, these weren't the prettiest coming out of the oven, but I'm just assuming that's the norm (as the 2nd batch was left in longer because I lost track of them while watching Notting Hill and although they rose more uniformly, they then fell to look like the others). This recipe called for brown sugar icing. The answer is, yes, it's delicious. It also gives you a nice tan colored icing (which totally has its aesthetic purposes).

Anyway, they look great. I'm hoping that a slew of Kesslers, Briggses, and Littles enjoy them. For someone who has spent her entire life being Kelly who falls down and does "crazy" things, it's tough to convince folks I can do things well. I figure it's easier to convince my family I can bake than insightfully analyze the media.

Redneck Jamaica, here we come!

Don't Know What To Do With That Eggplant? Stuff it in a Tomato!

KELLY * August 10 * Dinner

So, at it turns out, I'm not actually very bright during the summer. I was actually somewhat productive today, but apparently my attempt to be so led to me becoming wholly oblivious of my own surroundings. Liz was pretty sure that the apartment (that I had been sitting in all day with no A/C or open windows) felt like a sauna. She said I was bright red and needed to hydrate. Well, this is not unusual for me. That said, despite my overall obliviousness, I did do some online research to figure out something to have for dinner. What to do with tomatoes and eggplants? Hmm. Well, I found this recipe for stuffed eggplant. Liz had to switch things up a bit (as our eggplants lacked a bit of bodily integrity/size and could not serve as a boat for stuffing). Anyway, I stand by tonight's dinner. I loves me a tomato, so if you want to stuff things into a tomato and give them to me, I will take them! (Have I mentioned that Liz is useful?) We differed on our opinions regarding the dish. She felt that the stuffing was not as good as the veg that she cooked outside of the tomato and I thought the stuffing was naught but tasty tomato-y goodness. I think she was just cranky because the apartment is BLAZING!!!

ELIZABETH * August 10 * Dinner

It's not so hot now that I opened all the windows and turned on a fan or two. The absent-minded professor really doesn't notice a thing when she is working. It was dang hot in the kitchen though, with the oven on and water boiling! Again, like last night, discoveries were made, with room for improvements next time. We served the stuffed tomatoes with spinach-ricotta tortellini from Galucci's Cleveland, with a light Aglio e Olio sauce of lemon infused olive oil, crushed chilis, chopped garlic, salt and pepper, and grated pecorino romano. As always, there was NOTHING wrong with this classic. The tomatoes themselves were made as follows:

Two sizeable tomatoes (Angelic CSA) - core and drain in a colander while you make:

Chopped garlic scapes (probably the last of the season) and a sliced leek, both from Angelic CSA, sauteed in olive oil with crushed chilis, salt and pepper.

Diced zucchini and 2 baby eggplants (Angelic CSA), the guts of the above tomatoes sans seeds, added to above.

When veg is tender add 1 tbsp each fresh thyme and fresh parsley, chopped, and some grated pecorino romano cheese.

Stuff tomatoes with mixture, place in baking dish. Surround with remaining veg, and sprinkle the whole with breadcrumbs. Bake 30 min at 350 and serve with more grated cheese, salt and pepper, with tortellini on the side.

I will agree with the good Doctor K that this was pretty good, but in fact the veg in the baking dish surrounding the tomatoes were better than the stuffing inside, even though they were the same stuff. I think the reasons for this were twofold - I enumerate the folds here:

1 - Because the veg in the pan were exposed to more heat and not stuffed in a tomato, they cooked more, became more succulent and tender, and tastier.

2 - Because the veg in the tomato were in the tomato, they not only cooked less, but they got a little wet due to tomato water. K thought they tasted tomato-ey. I just thought they were wet.

I think both folds could be addressed a) by not stuffing this veg in tomatoes at all but just roasting it and eating it yum or b) roasting the tomatoes longer and/or at a hotter temp. I think this would help evaporate some more tomato water and cook the veg more.

Also, although garlic scapes and leeks are lovely and delicate, in this dish I missed the punch of real live garlic (lots of it) and full-force onions. I took some of the Aglio e Olio and drizzled it on the tomato stuffing and it was seriously improved. I'm sure the addition of the extra oil didn't hurt, but the garlic really enhanced the tomato flavor. In short, we ate it and it was good and good for us, and we used up alot of veg, which was truly necessary. I would make again with some adjustments. It WAS very pretty though! A nice summer meal, especially if you have AC!