Sunday, November 25, 2012
Thanksgiving
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Pumpkin Breakfasts
I recently heard fall called the "pumpkin-ocalypse," the season in which normal dishes and drinks become "Pumpkin Spice" this and that "with Pumpkin." I'm not sure if this person was bemoaning the way the pumpkin flavor of fall has permeated our food culture or rejoicing in it, but the Helpful Husband and I celebrate it in all it's glory! I am someone who loves and appreciates the changing of seasons. I have to remind myself to continue to joyfully participate in the current season once it's settled in rather than turn my attention to anticipating the coming one. God has given us such a beautiful display of his unchanging but multifaceted goodness, and my eagerness for what's next can sometimes overcome my appreciation for what is. But with pumpkin, I don't grow tired. In order to preserve its preciousness to my palate and to live as harmoniously with the earth's seasons as I can, I limit my pumpkin consumption to the autumn. But in the autumn, I love to enjoy pumpkin morning, noon, and night! And so, here are two breakfast recipes that we've happily consumed in the past week or two.
Now, to be really harmonious with the earth's seasons, as I so grandly put it in the previous paragraph, I should be getting my pumpkin from an actual pumpkin. However, if you read the post about the Chicken and Chickpea soup, you'll know that the Helpful Husband and I have had quite enough struggles with using a real pumpkin this fall, and you'll understand a little better why we have fallen back on canned pumpkin puree. I haven't worked out enough to be ready for another pumpkin battle. The wonderful thing about these two pumpkin-y breakfast recipes is that between the two of them, they use one can of pumpkin puree very nicely. I hate to waste any! And so, without further ado, as I eat my pumpkin oatmeal, here are the recipes for Pumpkin Baked French Toast and Pumpkin Overnight Fridge Oatmeal - two dishes you make the night before and enjoy in the morning! (both recipes were found on pinterest.com)
Pumpkin Baked French Toast
Cut up enough bread (whatever kind you want) to fill an greased 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together 4 large eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, and 1/4 cup pumpkin puree.
Pour it over the bread, and use your hands to scrunch it all together, making sure each piece of bread is soaked. Cover it and put it in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, preheat the oven to 350, uncover the bread, put some pecans on top (if you like that sort of thing, and Mom - I do! Two weeks ago I started liking pecans, even IN things!), and bake for 35-45 minutes or until it's not wet anymore. Enjoy - perhaps with some maple syrup or honey.
Pumpkin Overnight Fridge Oatmeal
Put 2 Tbsp. butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Melt them together until they're a thick sauce. In a medium sized bowl, mix the brown sugar sauce together with 3 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats, 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1 cup milk, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Once it's well-mixed, cover it and put it in the fridge overnight. The oats will soften in the other ingredients, and in the morning, you'll have oatmeal! I recommend warming a serving in the microwave, pouring on a little more milk and a bit of maple syrup and perhaps tossing in a few raisins and/or pecans!
Yum. Now you're ready for whatever fall weather is thrown at you, be it sun and 60 degrees, as it was here yesterday, or rain and 35 degrees, as it will be here tomorrow! Wherever you are, I like to think of you enjoying a hot, pumpkin-y breakfast before you head off to face your day. Like Powdermilk Biscuits, these breakfasts will give shy people the strength to get up and do what needs to be done.
Now, to be really harmonious with the earth's seasons, as I so grandly put it in the previous paragraph, I should be getting my pumpkin from an actual pumpkin. However, if you read the post about the Chicken and Chickpea soup, you'll know that the Helpful Husband and I have had quite enough struggles with using a real pumpkin this fall, and you'll understand a little better why we have fallen back on canned pumpkin puree. I haven't worked out enough to be ready for another pumpkin battle. The wonderful thing about these two pumpkin-y breakfast recipes is that between the two of them, they use one can of pumpkin puree very nicely. I hate to waste any! And so, without further ado, as I eat my pumpkin oatmeal, here are the recipes for Pumpkin Baked French Toast and Pumpkin Overnight Fridge Oatmeal - two dishes you make the night before and enjoy in the morning! (both recipes were found on pinterest.com)
Pumpkin Baked French Toast
Cut up enough bread (whatever kind you want) to fill an greased 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together 4 large eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, and 1/4 cup pumpkin puree.
Pumpkin Overnight Fridge Oatmeal
Put 2 Tbsp. butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Melt them together until they're a thick sauce. In a medium sized bowl, mix the brown sugar sauce together with 3 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats, 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1 cup milk, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Once it's well-mixed, cover it and put it in the fridge overnight. The oats will soften in the other ingredients, and in the morning, you'll have oatmeal! I recommend warming a serving in the microwave, pouring on a little more milk and a bit of maple syrup and perhaps tossing in a few raisins and/or pecans!
Yum. Now you're ready for whatever fall weather is thrown at you, be it sun and 60 degrees, as it was here yesterday, or rain and 35 degrees, as it will be here tomorrow! Wherever you are, I like to think of you enjoying a hot, pumpkin-y breakfast before you head off to face your day. Like Powdermilk Biscuits, these breakfasts will give shy people the strength to get up and do what needs to be done.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Chicken & Chickpea Soup
Sorry to miss you last weekend, which was when this soup was actually simmering away. It took a bit more time than I had planned on, which didn't leave time to blog about it after enjoying it. We have been having a gorgeous fall, although we are already bereft of colorful leaves, only a few weeks after they began. We had a couple of days of heavy rain, which knocked all but the hardiest leaves from their limbs, and I think the frost the past two nights has done the rest of them in. Every so often upon a walk one will come upon a tree still holding nearly all its leaves, the lone standout in a copse of bare branches, but even those are nearly gone now. All summer we felt as though we lived in a treehouse (albeit a very modern, well-equipped tree house) because our front windows look out into the branches of a beautiful maple. We also had a nice tree line at the back of our backyard, shielding us from the yards of our neighbors to the west. Now we draw the curtains as night falls, since we are otherwise on display given the lack of a protective leafy veil.
We are enjoying almost all the other aspects of the seasonal change, though. The crisp mornings, geese flying overhead, and autumnal flavors - most especially pumpkin. So last week we made a soup containing pumpkin chunks. Up to this point, neither of us had cooked/baked with a real pumpkin. We were canned pumpkin lovers, and counted ourselves among those who enjoy carving a big jack-o-lantern in the fall, but never had we wrestled with a little eating pumpkin. And wrestle we did! We are proud to have very sharp knives. In fact, when we were first married and using this knife set, I cut myself on them so often that I bought the nice, waterproof, antibacterial-salve-in-the-pad bandaids so that I could cover a cut and keep cooking. We can slice through a butternut squash with barely a thought to its tough rind. And yet, this pumpkin nearly bested us. It took a good half hour and three different knives to chop off the top and halve the body. Then we were unable to peel it (or unwilling, as the previous half hour had worn us down), so we crossed our fingers and stuck it in the oven for 30 minutes at 400. This actually worked beautifully - the pumpkin separated from the skin and softened enough to make dicing it easy. So, with that background, I will give you the recipe for the Chicken & Chickpea soup that the diced pumpkin was to join.
You have to make this soup in two parts. Part one involves boiling chicken in spices and water to make a delicious broth. The recipe calls for a whole 3 pound chicken, cut into pieces, or else just some pieces of chicken weighing about 3 pounds. I did 3 pounds of thighs, since that was what I could find at the store. Put it in a stockpot with 8 cups water, 1 onion cut in wedges, 2 smashed cloves of garlic, 1 cinnamon stick (or 1 tsp. ground), 1 tsp. whole cardamom pods (or 1/2 tsp. ground), 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg. Simmer this together for about an hour, or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken and pull out the spices if you used whole. Strain the broth, pushing the onion and garlic against the sieve so their juices join the broth. Chill the broth and skim off the fat. (This part took quite a bit longer than I had expected. May I suggest doing this step the day before you want to eat the soup? That will give the broth plenty of time to chill. Then you can skim the fat and start step 2 on the day you want to eat.)
For part two, first skim the fat off the broth if you haven't already, and put the broth in a pot to reheat. Next you'll chop up your veggies. You'll need one diced potato, 2 cups peeled and diced pumpkin, 3 cups peeled and quartered tomatoes. (If you are worried about peeling your tomatoes, there's a trick: Bring a pan of water to a boil. Drop the tomatoes in a few at a time, letting them boil for maybe 1 minute. Have a bowl of ice water standing by, and when you remove the tomatoes from the boiling water, place them immediately in the ice water. Once they've cooled for a minute or two, you should be able to easily slide the skin right off!) Once you have your veggies chopped, put them in the broth and add 2 cups cooked chickpeas (I used canned) and 1 Tbsp. ground turmeric. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the veggies are tender (~20 minutes). While the veggies are cooking, remove the chicken from the bones, cut it into small pieces, and stir it into the soup.
Serve this with rice or couscous, and maybe a sprinkling of salt and/or hot sauce. Delicious! Thanks for stopping by, and be sure you come again.
We are enjoying almost all the other aspects of the seasonal change, though. The crisp mornings, geese flying overhead, and autumnal flavors - most especially pumpkin. So last week we made a soup containing pumpkin chunks. Up to this point, neither of us had cooked/baked with a real pumpkin. We were canned pumpkin lovers, and counted ourselves among those who enjoy carving a big jack-o-lantern in the fall, but never had we wrestled with a little eating pumpkin. And wrestle we did! We are proud to have very sharp knives. In fact, when we were first married and using this knife set, I cut myself on them so often that I bought the nice, waterproof, antibacterial-salve-in-the-pad bandaids so that I could cover a cut and keep cooking. We can slice through a butternut squash with barely a thought to its tough rind. And yet, this pumpkin nearly bested us. It took a good half hour and three different knives to chop off the top and halve the body. Then we were unable to peel it (or unwilling, as the previous half hour had worn us down), so we crossed our fingers and stuck it in the oven for 30 minutes at 400. This actually worked beautifully - the pumpkin separated from the skin and softened enough to make dicing it easy. So, with that background, I will give you the recipe for the Chicken & Chickpea soup that the diced pumpkin was to join.
You have to make this soup in two parts. Part one involves boiling chicken in spices and water to make a delicious broth. The recipe calls for a whole 3 pound chicken, cut into pieces, or else just some pieces of chicken weighing about 3 pounds. I did 3 pounds of thighs, since that was what I could find at the store. Put it in a stockpot with 8 cups water, 1 onion cut in wedges, 2 smashed cloves of garlic, 1 cinnamon stick (or 1 tsp. ground), 1 tsp. whole cardamom pods (or 1/2 tsp. ground), 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg. Simmer this together for about an hour, or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken and pull out the spices if you used whole. Strain the broth, pushing the onion and garlic against the sieve so their juices join the broth. Chill the broth and skim off the fat. (This part took quite a bit longer than I had expected. May I suggest doing this step the day before you want to eat the soup? That will give the broth plenty of time to chill. Then you can skim the fat and start step 2 on the day you want to eat.)
For part two, first skim the fat off the broth if you haven't already, and put the broth in a pot to reheat. Next you'll chop up your veggies. You'll need one diced potato, 2 cups peeled and diced pumpkin, 3 cups peeled and quartered tomatoes. (If you are worried about peeling your tomatoes, there's a trick: Bring a pan of water to a boil. Drop the tomatoes in a few at a time, letting them boil for maybe 1 minute. Have a bowl of ice water standing by, and when you remove the tomatoes from the boiling water, place them immediately in the ice water. Once they've cooled for a minute or two, you should be able to easily slide the skin right off!) Once you have your veggies chopped, put them in the broth and add 2 cups cooked chickpeas (I used canned) and 1 Tbsp. ground turmeric. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the veggies are tender (~20 minutes). While the veggies are cooking, remove the chicken from the bones, cut it into small pieces, and stir it into the soup.
Serve this with rice or couscous, and maybe a sprinkling of salt and/or hot sauce. Delicious! Thanks for stopping by, and be sure you come again.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Goat Cheese and Apple Tart
On a rainy fall evening, we are warmly ensconced in our little home. We've talked to many family members this afternoon, and look forward to our Sunday evening routine of dinner, an episode of "The West Wing," making tomorrow's lunch, and then reading with a glass of wine until we're too sleepy to continue. There is comfort in this homey routine. I love things that are comforting, and they are usually comforting because they are so familiar. That is why this week we are going to eat some meals that are simple and that I (Emily) have eaten at my mother's table for years. However, if you want a recipe for tuna casserole or spaghetti, you probably already have one from your own mother, so I won't be posting those (at least not today - if you are dying for such a recipe, let me know and I can do that in the future).
Now, as comforting as familiar foods are, it is so much fun to give them a twist by pairing them with something a little less ordinary. Hence, Goat Cheese and Apple Tart. I found this recipe online when I was looking for recipes reminiscent of "The Hunger Games," because I was going to be having a Hunger Games themed dinner with some friends. But this delicious treat has been featured at my Bible Study since, and it was a hit. It has that familiar goodness of apples, cinnamon, and honey, but combined with the earthy and unexpected tang of goat cheese. Everyone I've served it to has enjoyed it immensely, and David asks me to make more every time I mention that I feel like baking, so I know it's a hit with the Helpful Husband. So don't be afraid! Try it! (and also don't be afraid of making tart pastry - it was a lot simpler than I had imagined it to be!)
To start, you'll need to make the crust. It is intended to be light and flaky, which means getting lots of butter in between layers of flour. So mix together 2 cups flour and 1/2 tsp. salt (the original recipe calls for 1 cup each of cake flour and all-purpose, but I only had all-purpose, so I just did 2 cups of that and it was fine). Cut up 1 cup cold butter into 1/2 inch cubes, and toss them in with the flour/salt. Slowly add up to 3/4 cup ice water, adding only enough so that the dough sticks together. I tested this by adding a little water, giving the flour mixture a stir, then pinching a bit of the mix to see if it stuck. Once it did, I moved on to flattening the dough into a rectangle. Of course this requires a little bit of kneading, but not too much. Too much will make it stiff in the long run. Once the dough is flat, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
10 minutes later...get out the dough and fold it in half two times (in half, then in half again). Roll it back into a large rectangle, and put it back in the plastic wrap and back in the freezer for another 10 minutes. Do this two more times (10 mins freezing, fold twice, roll out). After the third re-rolling, lay the dough in a tart pan, or if you're like me and do not have a tart pan, a circular pan like a pie, cake, or springform pan. Make sure you have the dough folded up at least half an inch around the edges, or later your filling won't stay in. Now, depending on how thinly you rolled the crust, you might only have to use half of it this time around. You can store the rest in the freezer, and save it for the next time you want to wow your dinner guests (or just yourself) with this tart. Put the crust back in the freezer while you preheat the oven to 450. Once it's ready, put the crust in for ~20 minutes.
While the crust is pre-baking, make the filling. You'll need to mix together 1/2 cup (4 oz.) goat cheese, 1/2 cup (4 oz.) cream cheese, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 egg, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla. To make the mixing easier, start with the two cheeses in a microwave-safe bowl, and nuke them for 30 seconds or so - just until they're nice and soft. Then add the other ingredients and mix well.
Once that's done, peel, core, and thinly slice 3 apples, and toss the slices with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. By now the crust should be done with its 20 minutes of pre-baking. Pour the cheese mixture into the crust, then lay the apples on top. Drizzle with 4 Tbsp. honey and sprinkle with cinnamon, and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes. While this is baking, your mouth will water and you'll check the timer every 30 seconds to see if it's done yet. It smells that good.
When it's done baking, let it sit and cool for at least 5 minutes before you dig in. And when you do, think of us. We enjoy you at least as much as you're enjoying that tart.
Now, as comforting as familiar foods are, it is so much fun to give them a twist by pairing them with something a little less ordinary. Hence, Goat Cheese and Apple Tart. I found this recipe online when I was looking for recipes reminiscent of "The Hunger Games," because I was going to be having a Hunger Games themed dinner with some friends. But this delicious treat has been featured at my Bible Study since, and it was a hit. It has that familiar goodness of apples, cinnamon, and honey, but combined with the earthy and unexpected tang of goat cheese. Everyone I've served it to has enjoyed it immensely, and David asks me to make more every time I mention that I feel like baking, so I know it's a hit with the Helpful Husband. So don't be afraid! Try it! (and also don't be afraid of making tart pastry - it was a lot simpler than I had imagined it to be!)
To start, you'll need to make the crust. It is intended to be light and flaky, which means getting lots of butter in between layers of flour. So mix together 2 cups flour and 1/2 tsp. salt (the original recipe calls for 1 cup each of cake flour and all-purpose, but I only had all-purpose, so I just did 2 cups of that and it was fine). Cut up 1 cup cold butter into 1/2 inch cubes, and toss them in with the flour/salt. Slowly add up to 3/4 cup ice water, adding only enough so that the dough sticks together. I tested this by adding a little water, giving the flour mixture a stir, then pinching a bit of the mix to see if it stuck. Once it did, I moved on to flattening the dough into a rectangle. Of course this requires a little bit of kneading, but not too much. Too much will make it stiff in the long run. Once the dough is flat, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
10 minutes later...get out the dough and fold it in half two times (in half, then in half again). Roll it back into a large rectangle, and put it back in the plastic wrap and back in the freezer for another 10 minutes. Do this two more times (10 mins freezing, fold twice, roll out). After the third re-rolling, lay the dough in a tart pan, or if you're like me and do not have a tart pan, a circular pan like a pie, cake, or springform pan. Make sure you have the dough folded up at least half an inch around the edges, or later your filling won't stay in. Now, depending on how thinly you rolled the crust, you might only have to use half of it this time around. You can store the rest in the freezer, and save it for the next time you want to wow your dinner guests (or just yourself) with this tart. Put the crust back in the freezer while you preheat the oven to 450. Once it's ready, put the crust in for ~20 minutes.
While the crust is pre-baking, make the filling. You'll need to mix together 1/2 cup (4 oz.) goat cheese, 1/2 cup (4 oz.) cream cheese, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 egg, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla. To make the mixing easier, start with the two cheeses in a microwave-safe bowl, and nuke them for 30 seconds or so - just until they're nice and soft. Then add the other ingredients and mix well.
Once that's done, peel, core, and thinly slice 3 apples, and toss the slices with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. By now the crust should be done with its 20 minutes of pre-baking. Pour the cheese mixture into the crust, then lay the apples on top. Drizzle with 4 Tbsp. honey and sprinkle with cinnamon, and put it back in the oven for another 20 minutes. While this is baking, your mouth will water and you'll check the timer every 30 seconds to see if it's done yet. It smells that good.
When it's done baking, let it sit and cool for at least 5 minutes before you dig in. And when you do, think of us. We enjoy you at least as much as you're enjoying that tart.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Chicken Pot Pie
Welcome to Sunday night dinner! We love this part of the week - everything is done and we are relaxing. This weekend we've even made all the meals for the upcoming week already, because looking ahead we're not sure we'd have time during the week. Tonight we're having a couple of belly-warming comfort foods. We're starting with homemade chicken pot pie, which is so easy, especially if you have some leftover cooked chicken.
First, chop up one onion, a few carrots, and a handful of potatoes - ours all came from the Farmer's market yesterday morning. Toss them in a pot with 3 cups chicken broth and let it simmer until they're soft. Add 1/2 cup each frozen peas and frozen corn, as well as 2 cups diced cooked chicken, a big pinch of sage, a bigger pinch of thyme, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper. Let that simmer while you whisk together 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of flour in a bowl. Mix it in to the veggies, and let it simmer until thickened. Then take it off the heat. Now, I find it a personal point of pride to use as few dishes as possible, and so I want to say that to this point in the process, I had used one cutting board, one knife, one bowl, one spoon, one measuring cup, and one stock pot. Plus, I have a husband who likes to feel helpful, so I called on him and he washed them all up! A Helpful Husband is a beneficial but not required ingredient.
Have you ever used phyllo dough before? It's pretty good, but a little finicky. You buy it frozen, so you have to put it in the fridge a day ahead of time to let it thaw (I forgot, so I had to set it close-but-not-too-close to the hot burner to speed the process). Anyway, when you work with phyllo, you can't let it dry out, so it's best to keep it covered with plastic wrap while you work. You'll also need some melted butter or a bowl of oil to brush on the pieces as you go. In a pack of phyllo you'll probably have about 20 pieces of thin dough. Take one, put it in a greased 9 inch pie pan, then brush some melted butter or oil over it. Do that 9 more times until you have 10 pieces of dough layered with the butter or oil. Now do something I didn't: put the pie pan on an edged cookie sheet in case of spills. Of course, I spilled because I had too much filling and it overflowed. Enter the Helpful Husband once again. We got it cleaned up and then put the pie pan on the cookie sheet. Preheat the oven to 350, then do the phyllo dough/butter or oil layering on top of the filling until you've used up the phyllo. Brush a little more butter on top, and put it in the oven for about half an hour, until it's nice and brown. Let it sit a few minutes before scooping out a hearty helping.
Now for dessert, we're going to have some Goat Cheese & Apple Tart, and I'll probably put that recipe up someday soon because it is oh-so-good. But tonight, we're relaxing. Tomorrow David will return to studying about infectious diseases, pharmacology, and pathology and I will go back to counseling a distraught family member about her uncle's swallowing decline, guiding a man with Aphasia into finding the right words to express himself, and determining whether or not a little old lady can drink regular liquids again. But tonight we'll drink some wine, eat some yummy food, watch an episode of "The West Wing," and read our books. Praise the Lord for the Sabbath!
First, chop up one onion, a few carrots, and a handful of potatoes - ours all came from the Farmer's market yesterday morning. Toss them in a pot with 3 cups chicken broth and let it simmer until they're soft. Add 1/2 cup each frozen peas and frozen corn, as well as 2 cups diced cooked chicken, a big pinch of sage, a bigger pinch of thyme, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper. Let that simmer while you whisk together 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of flour in a bowl. Mix it in to the veggies, and let it simmer until thickened. Then take it off the heat. Now, I find it a personal point of pride to use as few dishes as possible, and so I want to say that to this point in the process, I had used one cutting board, one knife, one bowl, one spoon, one measuring cup, and one stock pot. Plus, I have a husband who likes to feel helpful, so I called on him and he washed them all up! A Helpful Husband is a beneficial but not required ingredient.
Have you ever used phyllo dough before? It's pretty good, but a little finicky. You buy it frozen, so you have to put it in the fridge a day ahead of time to let it thaw (I forgot, so I had to set it close-but-not-too-close to the hot burner to speed the process). Anyway, when you work with phyllo, you can't let it dry out, so it's best to keep it covered with plastic wrap while you work. You'll also need some melted butter or a bowl of oil to brush on the pieces as you go. In a pack of phyllo you'll probably have about 20 pieces of thin dough. Take one, put it in a greased 9 inch pie pan, then brush some melted butter or oil over it. Do that 9 more times until you have 10 pieces of dough layered with the butter or oil. Now do something I didn't: put the pie pan on an edged cookie sheet in case of spills. Of course, I spilled because I had too much filling and it overflowed. Enter the Helpful Husband once again. We got it cleaned up and then put the pie pan on the cookie sheet. Preheat the oven to 350, then do the phyllo dough/butter or oil layering on top of the filling until you've used up the phyllo. Brush a little more butter on top, and put it in the oven for about half an hour, until it's nice and brown. Let it sit a few minutes before scooping out a hearty helping.
Now for dessert, we're going to have some Goat Cheese & Apple Tart, and I'll probably put that recipe up someday soon because it is oh-so-good. But tonight, we're relaxing. Tomorrow David will return to studying about infectious diseases, pharmacology, and pathology and I will go back to counseling a distraught family member about her uncle's swallowing decline, guiding a man with Aphasia into finding the right words to express himself, and determining whether or not a little old lady can drink regular liquids again. But tonight we'll drink some wine, eat some yummy food, watch an episode of "The West Wing," and read our books. Praise the Lord for the Sabbath!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Butternut Squash Harvest Stew & Focaccia Bread
Welcome! It's Sunday evening, and we are sitting down to a hearty fall meal of Butternut Squash Harvest Stew and Garden Tomato Focaccia. The idea behind this blog is that so many of our loved ones, friends and family with whom we would enjoy sharing a meal, live far away. We like to know what good things fill the bellies of those we care about, and like even better to be the ones to provide those good things. So imagine you are eating a bowl of stew, occasionally dipping your focaccia in or pausing for a bite, or better yet, go make some for yourself! Here's how:
Start by making the focaccia dough.
Combine 1 cup warm water and 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast in a bowl. Mix until the yeast dissolves, then add 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, stirring until smooth. If you'd like to add some herbs, now is a good time to do so. I put about a Tbsp. of fresh basil in mine tonight. Add approx. 2 cups additional flour (white, whole wheat, white whole wheat, whatever you like) gradually until you have a stiff dough. Knead 8-10 minutes until elastic. Place in a greased bowl (or, if you're like me and prefer to have the fewest possible dishes to wash, put some oil in the same bowl you've already used, and put the dough back in), cover with a damp cloth, and put it in a warm place to rise until it's about doubled, approx. 45 minutes.
While that's rising, start chopping for the stew. Chop up an onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Put 2 Tbsp. of butter in a large saucepan on the stove and melt it. Add the onion and garlic alone with 1 1/2 lbs. boneless pork cut into bite-size pieces. Saute until the meat is no longer pink and drain off fat. Add 3 cups of chicken broth, 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. crushed dried rosemary (I didn't have crushed, and just regular rosemary was still delicious), 1/4 tsp. rubbed or ground sage, and 1 bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Your kitchen will smell like a savory heaven.
Meanwhile, peel, core/seed, and chop 1 butternut squash and 2 medium apples. I hope you're feeling strong and have a sharp knife, because butternuts are no pushovers, but you can do it. Once all that is chopped, the stew has probably simmered for the required 20 minutes, so dump in the squash and apple to simmer for 20 more minutes, and move back to the dough.
Once the dough has risen enough, press it into an 8x10 jelly roll pan and let it sit while you prepare the toppings and preheat the oven to 450. Tonight I did some chopped fresh tomato, minced garlic, mozzerella, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I also recommend doing an herb and cheese topping or sweet peppers, onions, garlic, olive oil, and feta, with the option of hot chilis if you're into that sort of thing. Put the focaccia in the preheated oven for 12-16 minutes.
Take the bay leaf out of the soup and serve it up with a slice of steaming bread.
Once it is all done, sit down with us. Maybe grab a beer. Tonight we're debating this news article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/sunday-review/to-encourage-biking-cities-forget-about-helmets.html?pagewanted=all. Basic synopsis: should cities forego bicycle helmet laws to encourage more bike riding? It appears to work in Europe; could it work here?
We miss you, but isn't it nice to have a meal together?
Start by making the focaccia dough.
Combine 1 cup warm water and 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast in a bowl. Mix until the yeast dissolves, then add 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, stirring until smooth. If you'd like to add some herbs, now is a good time to do so. I put about a Tbsp. of fresh basil in mine tonight. Add approx. 2 cups additional flour (white, whole wheat, white whole wheat, whatever you like) gradually until you have a stiff dough. Knead 8-10 minutes until elastic. Place in a greased bowl (or, if you're like me and prefer to have the fewest possible dishes to wash, put some oil in the same bowl you've already used, and put the dough back in), cover with a damp cloth, and put it in a warm place to rise until it's about doubled, approx. 45 minutes.
While that's rising, start chopping for the stew. Chop up an onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Put 2 Tbsp. of butter in a large saucepan on the stove and melt it. Add the onion and garlic alone with 1 1/2 lbs. boneless pork cut into bite-size pieces. Saute until the meat is no longer pink and drain off fat. Add 3 cups of chicken broth, 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. crushed dried rosemary (I didn't have crushed, and just regular rosemary was still delicious), 1/4 tsp. rubbed or ground sage, and 1 bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Your kitchen will smell like a savory heaven.
Meanwhile, peel, core/seed, and chop 1 butternut squash and 2 medium apples. I hope you're feeling strong and have a sharp knife, because butternuts are no pushovers, but you can do it. Once all that is chopped, the stew has probably simmered for the required 20 minutes, so dump in the squash and apple to simmer for 20 more minutes, and move back to the dough.
Once the dough has risen enough, press it into an 8x10 jelly roll pan and let it sit while you prepare the toppings and preheat the oven to 450. Tonight I did some chopped fresh tomato, minced garlic, mozzerella, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I also recommend doing an herb and cheese topping or sweet peppers, onions, garlic, olive oil, and feta, with the option of hot chilis if you're into that sort of thing. Put the focaccia in the preheated oven for 12-16 minutes.
Take the bay leaf out of the soup and serve it up with a slice of steaming bread.
Once it is all done, sit down with us. Maybe grab a beer. Tonight we're debating this news article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/sunday-review/to-encourage-biking-cities-forget-about-helmets.html?pagewanted=all. Basic synopsis: should cities forego bicycle helmet laws to encourage more bike riding? It appears to work in Europe; could it work here?
We miss you, but isn't it nice to have a meal together?
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