Moroccan(ish) Vegetable Stew

Not purported to be authentically Moroccan, hence the (ish). From our CSA, this used an acorn squash, sweet potato, zucchini, kale and 4 large plum tomatoes. Sub veggies of your choice - any type of hard squash would be good. Vegan! Oh, and I forgot to get a pic. Not that exciting to look at, but tasty!

- Saute 1 chopped onion in olive oil until soft. Add 4 cloves of garlic, minced.

- Add spices: about 1 tablespoon cumin, smoked paprika, a bit of cinnamon, a bit of tumeric, and I threw in the last bit of a jar of Penzey's Turkish seasoning. Add a good amount of salt.

- Add cubed & peeled hard veggies - 1 acorn squash and 1 sweet potato.

- Add 4 chopped plum tomatoes (or used canned) and 2 cups of water or veggie broth. I also added a splash of apple cider.

- Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until vegetables are soft. Optional: use an immersion blender to puree just a small amount of the stew to thicken.

- Add cubed zucchini, kale & 1 can chickpeas. Simmer until zucchini is tender. 

- Add about a tablespoon of pomegranate molasses (this is great stuff - kind of like balsamic vinegar but fruitier), and some hot sauce.

- Serve over rice or couscous.

Mac & Cheese with Roasted Cauliflower & Tomatoes

Made this to feed the band at practice tonight. It had a truckload of cheese in it, but it DOES have some vegetables...used up 1/2 a head of cauliflower and one of our large tomatoes, plus a store-bought red pepper. You could easily add more veggies to this - a whole head of cauliflower would be fine, some greens, roasted squash...anything. This made a ton of sauce so it could definitely have more "bulk." I also tried adding an egg to this - not sure if it made much difference, but...bit o'protein!

- Cut a half or whole head of cauliflower into small florets. Toss with some olive oil, salt and spices (I used a garlic-onion blend and smoked paprika) and roast on a baking sheet for 20 minutes at 425.

- Grate up a bunch of cheese - I used a package of Cabot extra sharp cheddar, and most of a wedge of gouda. It was probably at least 4 cups grated.

- Make the cheese sauce: in a medium-size pot, melt 1 stick of butter over med-low heat and add 1/2 cup of flour. Whisk and cook for about a minute, then slowly add 1 quart of milk. Increase heat and whisk frequently. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, and dry or prepared mustard. Cook until thickened but not too thick. Then remove from heat and whisk in most of the cheese - hold back some to top the casserole. Let sauce cool a bit while you:

- Boil 1 package of pasta - I used mini penne, but regular elbows would be fine. Drain when quite al dente as it will cook more in the oven.

- Beat 1 egg and add a couple spoonfuls of cheese sauce to temper it - then whisk egg into the pot of sauce.

- Combine pasta, sauce and vegetables (I also threw in a diced red pepper).

- Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish and pour in pasta mixture. Cut a large ripe tomato into 6 or 7 slices and lay on top.

- Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Then top with reserved cheese and broil for about 5 minutes, until starting to brown and crisp.

Eat Your Greens Soup

This week's CSA haul of kale, collards, chard and cabbage was perfectly timed with my acquisition of an immersion blender. This many greens calls for special reinforcements!! Time to puree them up into a soup. First, prepping and washing them all...love my salad spinner for this. I just put the chopped greens in the basket, fill it up with water, swish & drain, repeat.

(I even took out almost a gallon-size plastic bag's worth before this photo, for rob's breakfast scramble creations.)

- Saute lots of chopped onion and the chopped chard stems in olive oil in a large pot.
- Add 3 cloves chopped garlic.
- Spice to taste - I used Penzey's Mural of Flavor; ended up adding a bit of Black & Red and smoked paprika at the end.
- Add 1/2 head cabbage, chopped. Cook for a few minutes, until wilted.
- Add a load of mixed chopped greens - kale, collards, chard.
- Add 3 medium potatoes, cubed.
- Cover with 2 cartons chicken broth (or vegetable broth).
- Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Puree with an immersion blender.
- Add a splash of lemon or lime juice, and optional - a bit of half & half or heavy cream.

The new blender - yes, it's green!

I had a hunk of stale French bread, so I also whipped up some homemade croutons. Though the color is a bit alarming, this was really good. Greens have been conquered!

Pasta with Leftover Brisket, Chard & Tomatoes

I came home from my gig last night with a tub of leftover brisket. It wasn't stellar in the BBQ sandwich I had at the party, but I figured I could turn it into something good. Had some chard and tomatoes from the CSA to use up, so...pasta dish! I would have put an onion in this but couldn't find the one I thought I had, then discovered half of it in the fridge when this was almost done. Ah well, it was still good.

- Saute 4 cloves chopped garlic in olive oil briefly (start with onion, if you have some).

- Add leftover brisket, chopped or shredded.

- Add 2 large tomatoes, chopped (or used canned). Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

- Add a few handfuls of chopped chard leaves and cook for a few more minutes.

- Add salt, pepper & hot sauce to taste...maybe a splash of half & half. I also added a little bit of BBQ sauce that I had with the brisket.

- Use short, chunky pasta like rigatoni, and serve with parmesan.

Kale, Potato, Squash & White Bean Soup

I've returned home from a month-long tour, and though we did have some great restaurant meals on the road, eating out definitely gets old after awhile. Towards the end of the trip, two of the folks we stayed with made us pots of soup, and it was SO good after a spate of eating mostly heavy/fried pub food. Vegetables!! They can be a rarity while traveling. And we've had several days of cold & rainy weather, so that calls for more soup!

Our return coincided with the Thursday pickup of CSA veggies, so we had kale, tomatoes and Delicata squash which went into this soup. I've never used Delicata - it's an oblong winter squash that I read is like butternut, but easier to deal with and you don't have to peel it. Truth! Much easier to cut and chop than butternut.

I find soup recipes a little silly, 'cause soups are good for throwing in whatever you have and improvising. But, here's what went into this one (easily made vegan by leaving out the sausage - probably use 2 cans of beans in that case - and use veggie broth). This was definitely a chop-and-dump, so I prepared things in this order as each one went into the pot:

- 2 Andouille sausages, halved and sliced - saute in olive oil in large pot.

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 4 cloves garlic, minced

- 4 potatoes, cubed

- thyme & smoked paprika

- 2 boxes low-sodium chicken stock

- 1 Delicata squash, cubed (after adding, simmer for 15 minutes)

- 1 can white beans

- 1 large tomato, chopped

- 1 bunch kale, stemmed & chopped (simmer for a few more minutes)

- salt & hot sauce to taste