kbecker57

Roasted delicata squash

I read somewhere that delicata squash is a good “shoulder season” squash…like when you’ve already put away your white pants, but haven’t pulled out the sweaters and aren’t quite ready to start wearing boots.

Pretty squash

Be sure to wash it well, because you can eat the skin…if your belly can handle the roughage! This is so easy that it feels a bit like “cheating” by posting this as a recipe. Whenever I’m in doubt about what to do with something, I usually sauté or roast.

Ready for the oven

Roasted delicata squash
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients
1 delicata squash
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 Tbsp light brown sugar

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Wash squash and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out sides, and cut into slices (about 1/2-inch).

Ready for my belly, via Instagram

2. Toss with olive oil and spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet (I like to line it with nonstick foil). Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, then flip squash slices and cook for another 10 minutes, until soft and starting to brown.
3. Remove from oven, sprinkle with brown sugar and enjoy!

CSA Week 17

This week I tackled the huge butternut squash, which felt like an accomplishment in itself. I got 4 cups of diced squash from about one-third of the squash. The rest I cut into larger cubes and froze. My other freezer trick this week involved peppers. When I have a plethora of peppers, I will freeze them raw in strips or halves. Frozen peppers don’t work in salads, but the strips work great for cooking and I used a few frozen halves the last time I made stuffed peppers. Here’s how I did with the rest of the goods:

Chard, squash, ricotta pie

Butternut squash: 100% (added about 1.5 cups cooked and diced squash to chard and ricotta pie)
Broccoli: 100%
Tomatoes: 100%
Salad mix: 100%
Sweet peppers: 100%
Bell peppers: 50%
Watermelon: 50% (made juice)
Apples: 25%
Frisee: 25%
Red onions: 0%
Eggplant: 0%
Hot peppers: 0%
Lettuce: 0%

Week 17, another big week. Tomatillos and cilantro seem like a perfect pairing for something yummy. I can’t remember anything I’ve ever made with tomatillos…hopefully I can find a recipe to try out.

Week 17

I was brave and didn’t swap anything out. I picked a green cabbage because I remember making a very delicious cabbage soup last year. I might need to put my weekend visitors to work as my sous chefs!

My half

September RC – Kirkland Tap and Trotter

KT&T

In a late-breaking decision by Julie Spanos, RC went to the Kirkland Tap and Trotter during its opening week. In the former space Kirkland Café, which closed in 2007, Chef Tony Maws opened his new restaurant on September 16th. The Kirkland Tap and Trotter is his “inviting and funky interpretation of a neighborhood joint” where the food is “simple, hearty and approachable”.

Can you spot Tony Maws?

This of course begs the question of what he decided to do about the “Craigie burger” he has become so famous for? Per Boston magazine, there will be a rotating burger on the menu, which doesn’t lock him into just one kind of burger. One person ordered the burger, which unfortunately came out a little undercooked for her liking.

It’s a cozy space and a small-ish menu. Our table for seven was seated at a long picnic table – a little awkward to manage in a skirt or dress…but I think I managed to scoot in without flashing the restaurant.

I know I’m a little biased because appetizers are usually my favorite part of a meal, but I was a big fan of the appetizers we ordered. The brussel sprouts and corn were specials on the chalkboard that evening. We loved the liver spaghetti so much that we ordered a second round of it. We also went through three rounds of bread to soak up the yummy broth from the mussels.

La Quercia speck, pear, mâche, miso-mustard

Maine mussels, toasted garlic, saffron, herbs

House-made spaghetti, chicken liver, pumpkin, brown butter

Grilled corn

Grilled Brussel sprouts with duck fat

After all that yumminess, I was pretty full by the time our entrées came. There were three specials, but unfortunately the grilled pork porterhouse was 86’d before any of us could order it. That was actually my first choice because I kind of felt like ordering the chicken would be kind of boring. Lucky Wanda got the last grassfed ribeye, with grilled avocado and a super heavy duty knife.

Grilled ribeye special

The table also ended up ordering one burger, veal ribs times three, a chicken, and a choucroute. I did decide to go with the chicken, which was delicious and super juicy (my preferred alternative to the “m” word) – super not boring. It did not come with the claw foot that was pictured on the restaurant’s web site and I felt fine about that.

Fire-roasted 1/2 chicken, rapini, jus

Luckily my friends are good sharers, and I got to taste the homemade pickles that came with the burger, the ribeye, and the veal ribs.

Grass-fed cheeseburger, provolone, horseradish cream

The three orders of veal ribs all looked a bit different with regard to portion size, but they also seemed to have different amounts of fat. The quote of the night, à la Julie Spanos…”Did I eat my fat? I might have. I’m worried about that now.”

Beer-braised veal ribs, cabbage, potato

And since there is ALWAYS room for dessert, we got one of each! I think the boozy peaches were the clear winner in the dessert round.

Rawson Brook Farm fresh goat cheese, boozy white peaches

Market fruit crisp, walnut streusel, vanilla bean ice cream

Taza chocolate tarte, bourbon cream

I think if I lived closer, I would want to be a regular here. Great pick Julie!

The damage
$78 each

The rundown
Kirkland Tap and Trotter
425 Washington Street, Somerville
@tapandtrotter

Watermelon carrot apple juice

Free ninja!

Thanks to a mishap by Macy’s, I recently acquired a brand new Ninja “Mega Kitchen System”. I had never heard of this before, but apparently I don’t watch enough tv and haven’t seen the infomercial. I have a Cuisinart blender and food processor combination…who knew I “needed” an upgrade?

Singapore

I have never really gotten into juicing or smoothies. Though I do have very fond memories of a little juice stand in Singapore…we went there every morning after our breakfast of roti prata. I think that is where I discovered how much I love watermelon juice.

I am really diggin the single serve cups that came with the Ninja. I think this might make juicing and smoothie-ing faster and more convenient. For the recipe below, I first blended the watermelon and apple together, then added the carrot, honey, and ice. It was a little gritty for me (I did leave the skin of the apple on), but I might have just needed to blend it longer. I also made some straight watermelon juice by blending up 2 cups of cubed watermelon.

Watermelon carrot apple juice

Juice!

Makes about 12 ounces

Ingredients
1 cup cubed watermelon, seeds removed
1/2 cup cubed apple (1 small apple)
1 carrot, cubed
1 tsp hone (optional)
1/2 cup ice

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Hopefully there will be more juicing in my future. If you have any recipes that you’d like to share, please send ’em my way!

CSA Week 16

In lieu of vegetables this week, I decided to partake in the “belly bomb burger” at the PCI Bar and Grill in St. Pete Beach. This beauty was a 7 ounce burger with pulled pork, double cut bacon, cheese, sautéed mushrooms & crispy onion straws. YOLO, right? Plus, today is National Cheeseburger Day!

Belly bomb burger

And of course, no trip to the beach would be complete without fruity cocktails…it was five o’clock somewhere.

Rum runners x 3

Here’s what I did manage to get through this week:

Tomatoes (slicing and heirloom): 90% (just one left)
Apples: 83%
Lettuce: 50%
Oblong sweet peppers: 50%
Watermelon: 25%
Delicata squash: 0%
Bell peppers: 0%
Swiss chard: 0%
Sage: 0%
Greens: 0%

It’s hard to believe we only have four weeks left in the season. Sad face. But butternut squash = happy face! And the apples might need to find their way into a baked good sometime soon.

Week 16

My half

CSA Week 15

I’m a little behind this week, both with posting (since I have to pick up vegetables again in two days) and with consumption.

Sweet peppers: 100% (made tempeh stuffed peppers)
Heirloom tomatoes: 100%
Slicing tomatoes: 100%
Corn: 100%
Peaches: 100%
Melon: 100%
Lettuce: 75%
Edamame: 75% (boiled up two weeks’ worth, adding to salads)
Onions: 0%
Braising greens: 0%
Carrots: 0%
Kale: 0% (I could not revive it from its wiltiness, but it will make some compost bin very happy)
Hot peppers: 0%

We got another big share this week, including our first apples of the season, along with a watermelon – a perfect bridge between summer and fall!

Week 15

My half

I may have been overly excited about the tomatoes in the swap box this week. I traded my bok choy and “braising greens” for a whole lotta ‘maters.

Tomatoes!

Tempeh stuffed peppers

My friend and CSA partner Claire has a great recipe for tempeh stuffed peppers. This is not it. I decided to create my own recipe because I wanted to use my slow cooker. Some day I will also make and post hers (if she’s willing to share it)!

Tempeh from TJs

First, what the heck is tempeh? Tempeh is a vegan protein made from soybeans, rice, barley, and millet. Not something that’s typically in my wheelhouse, but it’s always good to try new things.

If you’re wondering what the green stuff in the photo below is, I tossed in some chopped collards…just because I had it. There is usually extra filling left which I either mix into the sauce or freeze for use at another time. This time I mixed it into the sauce.

Tempeh stuffed peppers
Serves: 4

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced

Tempeh mixture

1 package (8 ounces) tempeh, diced or food processed
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup bread crumbs (Panko or regular, plain)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Ready for the slow cooker

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, plus additional for topping
4 medium bell peppers, washed and cut in half
1 jar (20-25 ounces) tomato sauce

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add diced tempeh, Italian seasoning, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for a few more minutes. Stir in diced tomato and remove from heat.

2. Stir in bread crumbs, Parmesan, and mozzarella. Spoon mixture into pepper halves.

3. Spread a layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of your slow cooker pot. Gently place filled peppers in the slow cooker, and top with remaining sauce.

4. Cook on high for 1 hour, then turn to low for 4-5 hours. Top with some additional mozzarella cheese and enjoy!

Pasta salad with shrimp

I found a summer squash recipe that I was excited to try, and I got a summer squash in my CSA…perfect timing! I made this for a fun Labor Day barbecue.

Mise en place

The recipe said that “the hot pasta will will the spinach and soften the squash”, which didn’t really happen. The squash was ok because I sliced it very thinly, but next time I would probably toss the spinach in the pan with the shrimp to properly wilt. I also tossed in some chopped tomatoes with the shrimp. I tossed in the olives last, and made sure to reserve some without olives for my olive-hating friends.

Pasta salad with shrimp
Source: Adapted from Everyday Food, July/August 2010
Serves: 4-6

Shrimp prep

Ingredients
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 pound short pasta, such as fusilli
1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced crosswise
1/3 cup roughly chopped pitted Kalamata or Niçoise olives
4 lightly packed cups baby spinach (3 1/4 ounces)
1 tsp grated lemon zest
Juice from 1 lemon
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp paprika

Version sans olives

Directions
1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain pasta, transfer to a large bowl, and toss with squash, olives, lemon zest and juice, dill, mustard, and 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a medium bowl, toss shrimp with garlic and paprika. In a large skillet, heat 2 tsp oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Top pasta with shrimp.

CSA Week 14

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. I did a lot of cooking, went to a cookout, and caught a Red Sox game. It was a fun and relaxing way to start my birthday month!

Summer squash: 100% (made a pasta salad with shrimp, recipe coming soon )
Sweet peppers: 100% (made sausage and peppers)
Broccoli: 100% (made a broccoli, pepper, garlic pizza with ricotta and pesto)
Tomatoes: 100% (made tomato panzanella with ricotta)
Peaches: 100%
Lettuce: 50%
Onions: 50%
Dill: 10%
Eggplant: 0%
Hot peppers: 0%
Collard greens: 0%
Edamame: 0%
Melon: 0% (I cut the cute little melon up tonight – it looks like a cantaloupe and tastes as if a honeydew and a cantaloupe had a kid)

This week was a HUGE share. I’m so glad that I remembered to bring two bags – I definitely got in my arm workout for the week.

Week 14

It was a beautiful day today, so I thought I’d capture the pick-up scene. Our CSA coordinator is super organized!

Onions first…

This photo is missing one beautiful heirloom tomato that I used to make a quick BLT for dinner, and a half a watermelon that I forgot to put in the photo. I hope it doesn’t feel neglected. I wasn’t able to put everything away before I left for class this evening, and unfortunately I came home to some wilty lettuce and kale. It’s amazing how fast my vegetable drawer just filled up again. Stuffed peppers may need to be in my near future.

My half

Tomato panzanella with ricotta

This is an easy way to use a bunch of delicious end-of-summer tomatoes, and also to use up some stale bread. Fresh bread is ok too – I picked up a ficelle made by Iggy. Per their web site:

“Ficelle” means string in french. The long, skinny, stick shape of this bread is coupled with a distinct sourdough flavor and a lovely crusty chewiness. It is ideal for slicing into rounds for hors d’oeuvres or cutting down the middle for a special sandwich. We also love it dipped in olive oil…

I was super impressed with this recipe. It is easy and delicious, and the ricotta makes it filling enough to stand alone as lunch. I bet it would also be great with fresh mozzarella.

Pretty tomatoes

Tomato panzanella with ricotta
Source: Everyday Food, July/August 2010
Serves: 4

Baked bread

Ingredients
1/2 pound day-old crusty bread, cut or torn into 1-inch pieces (5 cups)
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 small red onion, thinly slied
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn if large
1 container (15 ounces) ricotta

Directions

Tomato panzanella

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a rimmed baking sheet, spread bread in a single layer and bake until dry and light golden, about 20 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, vinegar, and oil and season with salt and pepper. Add toasted bread and basil and toss to combine. Let sit 20-30 minutes to allow bread to soak up liquid.
3. Divide salad evenly among four bowls and top each with some ricotta, a drizzle of oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper.