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Author: mo

  • Spaghetti Squash

    I hear some people say that they are intimidated by cutting winter squash in half in order to bake them. I have read that you can microwave winter squash for 5 to 10 minutes, making them easier to cut, then proceed with baking. I had never tried that, so I did.

    I poked some holes in the spaghetti squash so it wouldn’t blow up in the microwave.
    Spaghetti Squash

    I microwaved it for a total of 10 minutes. After 5 minutes I turned it over and cooked it another 5 minutes. This is what it looked like after 10 minutes of microwaving. You can see how it is partially cooked, but very raw in the middle. While I was microwaving it I preheated the oven to 400°F. After doing this I am positive it will work with any winter squash.
    Scooping Seeds

    I scooped out the seeds and added some onions, herbs, salt and pepper. I rubbed all that with olive oil and put it in the 400°F oven for about 35 minutes.

    Spaghetti squash are the ultimate in stringy squash. To optimize the stringy ‘spaghettiness’ of the squash you want to dry it out a bit so bake it uncovered, cut side up the whole cooking time.

    See the meat of the squash pulling away from the squash shell? That is how you know it’s done.
    Baked Till Done

    Discard the herbs if you used them and use a fork to fluff up the squash to make it look like spaghetti. Don’t stir it or smash it. Try to keep it fluffed up.
    Making the Spaghetti

    My very favorite thing to do with spaghetti squash is to cut up one of my last very ripe tomatoes and add a little olive oil, parsley and Parmesan cheese. This dish tells me that summer is well and truly over. What a great goodbye.
    Dressed with Tomatoes

  • Hasselback Potatoes

    This is one of my favorite ways to make potatoes. By cutting them you get more roasted crunchiness to contrast the creamy inside of the potato.

    Set your oven to 400F.  Make even cuts in your potatoes (don’t cut all the way through) and place them on an oven proof pan. Brush the potatoes with olive oil. Carefully brush oil inside the cuts you made and salt and pepper them. The potatoes will fan out and all the surface areas will crisp up so you want to get oil on all the surfaces.
    Hasselback Potatoes

    Roast them about 35 to 45 minutes, depending how big your potatoes are. Just keep an eye on them. When they are done to your liking you can eat them as is or add some cheese or herbs. I added a little cheese and some rosemary and let that melt down and inside the cuts.
    Hasselback Slices

    Oh my goodness are these easy to make and so good.

  • Blistered Shishito Peppers

    Blistered shishito peppers are favorites at Tapa and Sushi Bars. Shishito peppers are a favorite staple crop here at Red Wagon.

    The seeds of most peppers are bitter, you almost always discard them. But the seeds of the Shishito pepper are almost a caviar texture, creamy and succulent and very juicy and part of their appeal. Shishitos are a thin-walled pepper, sort of like sweet peppers, Jimmy Nardelo if you are familiar with those.

    You can grill Shishitos or pan sear them. Both are equally delicious.

    Start by heating a heavy steel or cast iron pan to medium high olive oil slicked in the pan and put your washed peppers in the hot pan.

    Sear the peppers on all sides-it only takes a few minutes so don’t walk away. The peppers will puff up and some even pop open!! that’s ok-they pop and spit sometimes for some reason!

    That is it. A little salt and pepper and maybe a squeeze of lime or lemon and you have a restaurant worthy appetizer or side dish.

    I seared some shrimp and Cajun seasoning with shishitos for a super fast and fancy feeling meal.

     

  • Arugula Pesto

    You can use spicy salad mix or spinach, or beet greens or anything leafy. My favorite pesto is made from arugula. I like it better than basil. Anyway, let’s start here. Bag-o-arugula.
    Bag of Arugula

    If I have been asked once I have been asked 100 times.
    “Do I have to wash it?”
    “Yes.”
    “It looks wet, didn’t you wash it at the farm?”
    “No, we put our greens in a tub of water to wash some dirt off and the odd bug, and to hydrate it so it keeps for you well. We don’t wash it. You need to wash it. Trust me, wash it.”
    This is the water left in my salad spinner after I washed my arugula.
    Salad Spinner

    Not a great picture, but you can see dirt and weird stuff. Not too bad this time, but I still don’t want any dirt or the odd bug in my food. I’m glad every time I see what is washed off my greens that I took the time to wash it.

    Ok, on to the pesto. Grab any kind of nuts you like. Pine nuts are most common in pesto, but they are crazy expensive now so feel free to use any kind of nut you like. Cashew pieces were what I had. Any nut is better roasted in my opinion, so I roasted my cashew pieces before making my pesto. You can skip that step if you like. Get your washed and dried greens, about 1/3 of a cup of any kind of nuts you like and some olive oil and a few cloves of garlic.
    Pesto Ingredients

    Chuck the garlic and nuts in the food processor and give them a spin. Stick your face in and smell that, roasted cashews and garlic. Yum.
    Puree nuts

    Add exactly three glugs of olive oil and start adding your greens a few handfuls at a time.
    Olive oil

    Do that until you have all the greens mixed in and add more olive oil if you feel it is too dry. Mine didn’t need more. When the greens are all incorporated, salt and pepper to your liking.
    Blended Pesto

    I like to have some pesto in the freezer to have on hand in the winter. I have heard some people put the pesto in ice cube trays and put the cubes in a Ziploc bag and just grab a cube when they need it. You can do that.  I like to put the whole batch in a large Ziploc and just break off what I need. This went into the freezer.
    Bag for Freezing

  • Sunchoke Ideas

    We have been offering Jerusalem artichokes in our CSA for years now, so many of you love them and look forward to getting them. This is some information for those of you who may be less familiar with them.

    Jerusalem artichokes (also called sunchokes) are tubers belonging to the daisy family. The plant looks like an enormous sunflower plant. We dig up the roots to eat, much like potatoes. I don’t want to get into a health discussion here, but if you are interested you should look up the health factors of this tuber, especially if you eat it raw. It has some very unique health benefits.

    You can use Jerusalem artichokes in pretty much the same way you would use a potato. Specifically, use it like you would a new potato because you don’t need to peel these. They are washed and ready to use.


    They look a little like ginger root don’t they?

    You can roast these, bake them, incorporate them in a root vegetable mash-up, or make a soup or a salad. Anything that you would make with a potato, you can make with these. I think they are fun to cook with because your brain thinks it is going to taste like a potato but you get a unique flavor and texture.

    I pan roasted some with onions, mushrooms and a little garlic.

    They have a very interesting nutty taste and a pleasant crunch that potatoes lose when cooked. Because they are so flavorful with such a nice texture, they work well to compliment a less flavorful, unique textured counterpart…like spaghetti squash.

  • Watermelon Radishes

    I get asked all the time what I do with watermelon radishes.

    I have fun.
    Watermelon Radishes

  • Butternut Squash Ravioli

    Yield: about 30 triangle ravioli

    I am calling them butternut squash ravioli but you can use any squash you like to make these.

    For the filling:

    • 1 cup cooked squash (I roasted mine)
    • 1 shallot, chopped
    • sage leaves, chopped
    • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
    • 1 or 2 ounces goat cheese

    For the ravioli:

    • won ton wrappers
    • 1-2 egg whites

    Heat the butter in a skillet. Add the shallot until it is softened, then add the sage, cooked squash and goat cheese. Cook until it is all really well incorporated.

    Lay won ton wrappers out on your work surface and paint egg white around the edges of the wrappers. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of squash filling on the won ton wrapper. You can either put another wrapper on top and seal, or fold in a triangle and seal. The egg white will seal the wrapper to itself.
    Filling Wonton Wrappers

    I made one ravioli with one wrapper on top of another and the rest I folded in a triangle. I think the triangle is easier and a better size to eat.

    You can freeze the ravioli at this point and pull out what you need later. I like to use these on salads with kale or spinach, or in soups like minestrone. You can also use them for a really rich starter. They only need to be boiled for 2 or 3 minutes so be careful not to overcook them.

    Boil as many as you need. While they are boiling, brown some butter and more sage in a pan. When they are cooked, drain and quickly saute the ravioli in the butter and sage. You don’t need to cook them any more, just coat the ravioli with the butter and sage and drain them a little before serving.
    Frying Ravioli

    You can refrigerate the rest of the squash for up to a week or freeze it for two or three months.
    Roasted Butternut Squash

  • Eggplant Sauce

    *Adapted from a recipe by Nigel Slater

    • The flesh of one grilled Italian eggplant
    • ½ cup Greek yogurt
    • A handful of mint leaves
    • Olive oil

    Mash all the ingredients together in a bowl and use it as you would baba ganoush. This is fresh and bright.

    And this is the eggplant sauce served along with  cauliflower and beans you are getting in your share.  I blanched the vegetable for about a minute and served the eggplant sauce on the side.

    Cauliflower with Eggplant Sauce
    – Mo

  • Tortilla Salad

    I often look through Heidi Swanson’s books for ideas. I saw this recipe Tortilla Salad and made my own version of it with the vegetables we got this week.

    Tortilla Salad

    You can use any vegetables you have of course. I followed the recipe for the dressing except I added a little cumin, and used the beans and cauliflower again. This is very good. I’ll make this again.

    • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
    •  1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
    •  1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
    •  1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves
    •  2 teaspoons sweet paprika
    •  2 medium cloves of garlic, smashed into a paste
    •  1 well-crumbled bay leaf
    •  pinch of red pepper flakes
    •  1/4 teaspoon + fine grain sea salt
    •  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    • A pinch of cumin

    Gently warm the olive oil over medium-low heat in a skillet or pan, until it is just hot. When hot remove from heat.

    While the oil is heating, lightly pound the rosemary, thyme, and oregano in a mortar and pestle.

    Stir the paprika, garlic, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and salt into the oil. Then add the bruised herbs and lemon juice.

    You can use this now, but know – the oil just gets better as it ages over a few days. Keep it in a refrigerator for up to a week/ten days-ish. It thickens up when cold, so if you need it in a liquid state, place it in the sun or in a warm place for a few minutes.

    Cauliflower

    -Mo

  • Easy Broccoli Raab

    I wanted to show you another way to cook greens. You can use this method for any greens. Collards, kale, broccoli raab, chard…any of the greens you get in your CSA share.

    First roughly chop your washed greens.

    Broccoli Raab

    Then throw those into a hot pan that has oil in it and maybe some garlic too.
    Saute
    This will really steam up and sputter. It cooks down pretty fast.

    Pour about a cup of broth or water in the pan and let that simmer until the greens sort of melt.
    Add broth

    At this point you can add some beans and serve it over rice for a really quick healthy meal. This is great with eggs and toast too or just a quick side dish. Use your imagination.
    Have a great week.

    – Mo