Butternut Squash Risotto

     A quick visit with my grandma this morning and I acquired yet another butternut squash.  I wanted to try something different this week.  I browsed a few of my new November magazines that have started to arrive, but they were all about Thanksgiving.  I'm not quite ready to think about that yet.  So I consulted my Cooking Light book and found this recipe for a risotto. 

Butternut Squash Risotto
A Cooking Light Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups water, divided
2 cans (14.25 oz) vegetable broth
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
3 cups butternut squash, cubed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cup Arborio Rice
1/2 cup Romano Cheese, grated
3 tbsp Smart Balance Butter
1 tbsp dried parsley


Method
1. Bring 1 1/2 cups water and the broth to a simmer in a large saucepan.  Do not allow the liquid to boil.
2. In a Dutch oven or a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until golden.
3. Add the squash and 1/2 cup of water.  Cook for about 10 minutes or until the squash is tender.
4. Stir in the rice.  Add 1/2 cup of the water/broth mixture.  Continuously stir until the liquid is absorbed.  Once most of the liquid is absorbed, add an additional 1/2 cup of the water/broth mixture.  Continue this process for about 30 minutes. 
5. Stir in the cheese, butter, and parsley.

Grilled Salmon and Cucumber Salsa

    As I stood at the fish counter yesterday, contemplating dinner tonight, I tried really hard not to make an impulse purchase as I thought to myself, "I wonder what pollock tastes like?"  Since I had no frame of reference for pollock except the paper on Jackson Pollock I wrote my sophomore year of college that earned me $100, I opted for the safer salmon.  As the man at the fish counter cut and weighed my fish, I browsed the recipe cards conveniently located right there on the counter.  A recipe for salmon with cucumber salsa caught my eye, only because I had just discovered two overlooked cucumbers growing in our garden.  So there I was on a Sunday afternoon all set and ready to make Monday night's dinner.  What a great feeling.

Grilled Salmon with Cucumber Salsa

Ingredients
1/2 lb salmon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium cucumber, diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp cumin

Method
1. Coat grill with cooking spray.  Preheat to medium-high heat.  Drizzle both sides of the salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place the salmon, skin side down, on the grill.  Grill for 8-10 minutes, flipping once.
2. In a medium bowl, combine cucumber, avocado, onion, basil, vinegar, and cumin.  Set aside.
3. Remove salmon from the grill and top with salsa before serving.

Knock You Naked Brownies aka Grandma's Got A Dirty Mind Brownies

      It is time for another literacy team meeting at school, which now means another excuse to bake.  I have a confession- I have been contemplating ending my blogging for the past few weeks.  My life has been a whirlwind lately and I've been thinking of ways to slow it down a bit.  But then when I really thought about it, I realized that I enjoy blogging and in return I now enjoy my time in the kitchen.  The whole reason I started blogging, a little over a year ago, was because I found cooking an anxiety ridden task.  This blog has helped me to foster richer relationships with people, I am able to share my creations and in turn share happiness, and when I make something that turns out good, I have this sweet proud feeling-like a little kid who is finally able to ride a two wheeler.  Now if I could say the same about grad school homework assignments, data collection for work, or rush hour traffic- I think my days would be filled with many more happy moments.
     So back to the baking.  This is a bit of a cheater recipe for me because it uses a boxed cake mix, but the title of the brownies totally sold me.  What better sweet to serve at a meeting at school than brownies called "knock you naked."

Knock You Naked Brownies
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman (Awesome sight filled with so many great things!)

Ingredients
1 box (18.5 oz) German Chocolate Cake Mix
1 cup finely chopped pecans (I left these out-nuts and schools don't really mix these days)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
60 caramel candies, unwrapped
1/2 evaporated milk (additional)
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Combine the cake mix, butter, and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk in a large mixing bowl.  Stir until everything is well combined.  This will be very thick.  If you are using nuts, you would add them in here as well.
2. Press half of the brownie mixture into a well greased 9x9 square baking dish.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the caramels and 1/2 cup of evaporated milk in a heat proof bowl over a pan of boiling water.  Stir frequently and continue to heat until the caramels and the milk combine and are smooth.
4. When the brownies are done baking, pour the caramel mixture over the brownies.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the caramel, evenly.
5. Place the remaining brownie mix on a clean surface and use your hands to press it into a square shape slightly smaller than the baking pan.  Place this layer over the chocolate chip layer.
6. Bake the brownies for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow the brownies to cool completely.  Then refrigerate for several hours before sprinkling with powdered sugar and carefully cutting the brownies from the pan.

Arnauld said he didn't even want to comment on this mess as he passed through the kitchen.  He went on to add, "it kind of looks like meatloaf."

 The Taste Test
   Well these were certainly not the most beautiful or neat brownie.  Somehow I think that 60 caramels may have been 1 or 20 too many.  First of all, the caramels seemed to take an extraordinarily long time to melt.  When they finally melted and I poured them into the smallish square baking dish, it seemed a little much.  I didn't realize the extent of the caramel until I opened the oven to find brownie oozing everywhere.  Then, when I went to cut the brownies from the pan, it appeared that the caramel overpowered the bottom brownie layer and instead of these being layered brownies, they were more like caramel with a spot of brownie mixed in.  Hey, I didn't hear anyone complaining about their odd shape or sticky mess as they ate these brownies up- but if there is a next time, I say cut the number of caramels in half!

Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup

    Has anyone else noticed that the most popular posts on my blog right now (featured on the left hand side) are all orange?  It must be the season.  Here is another orange dish to add to the list.  This week I turned to my shelf of cookbooks for a recipe to make for lunch this week.  I had some sweet potatoes so I decided on this recipe for Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup from my book called 400 Soups.  I've never had a parsnip before, let alone cook with them.  I'm excited to see how this soup pans out.

Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup

Ingredients
1 tbsp grape seed oil
1 large leek, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 1/2 cups parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 lb of sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
3 3/4 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Heat the oil in a large pot, over medium heat.  Add the leek, celery, parsnips, and sweet potato.  Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the vegetable stock and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.
3. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup. 
4. You can roast strips of parsnip and sweet potato, drizzled with olive oil to garnish this soup.  I skipped this step!

The Taste Test
    Creamy, simple, and delicious.

Simple Simple

Nine out of ten times, I choose recipes based on 2 things-

1.The list of ingredients either needs to be short or consist mostly of things I already have in the kitchen.
     
2. The instructions also need to be minimal and consist of words and techniques I either already know or I can google in order to find a video demonstration.

If simple is in the recipe title, even better.  When thinking about dinner on this lovely Columbus Day, off from work, simple was about all that I was in the mood for.  Lucky for me, I quickly found two recipes that were called "simple" and I also had all of the ingredients on hand.

Simple Spaghetti Squash
Recipe from Clean Food

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 spaghetti squash
cooking spray

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. *Cut your squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash, cut side down, in a baking dish coated with cooking spray.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the squash is soft.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 5-7 minutes.
3. Once the squash is done, use a fork to remove the squash from it's skin.  Stir the shredded squash into the oil mixture.

*When Arnauld is home, I usually request his assistance in cutting squash in half-it's just easier.  However, I recently read about a strategy that makes this job easier.  Tonight I tried microwaving the whole squash for 3 minutes before cutting it in half.  The task was a lot easier this way.  Who needs muscles?

Simple Scallops
Recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1/2 lb scallops
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Method
1. Toss the scallops with marjoram and salt.
2. Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the scallops and cook, 3 minutes per side.  Remove the scallops from the skillet.
3. Add the wine and balsamic vinegar to the skillet.  Whisk together until the liquids begin to thicken.  Stir the scallops back in and coat them with the sauce before serving.

Apple Squash Soup

    I've had a butternut squash sitting on my counter for two weeks now.  I've resisted using it, waiting for the weather to feel more fall like.  I can no longer wait for the weather, which continues to bounce around like a yo-yo.  So on this 85 degree fall day, I am making squash soup.  Instead of going with my trusty Cooking Light recipe, I decided to try something new from my Clean Food book.  I like this book because the recipes are organized according to seasons and flipping through the fall section and then taking a walk through the produce department at the grocery store leaves me with tons of inspiration. 

Apple Squash Soup

And my camera is finally back from being repaired  and working like new!  Ahhh...huge sigh of relief on my part (and also my Dad's who let me handle this customer service problem on my own...like a big girl-but he was ready to pounce at any moment!)

Ingredients
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large butternut squash
4 gala apples, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Method
1. Peel the squash and cut into 2 inch pieces.
2. Add the oil to a large pot and heat over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the squash, apples, broth, coconut and almond milk, and the nutmeg to the pot.  Cover and bring the mixture to a boil.  Then reduce the temperature and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the squash is soft.
4. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.  Allow to cool a bit before serving.  Season with salt if desired.

The Taste Test
     This soup was fine.  Usually I despise the word fine because really, what the heck does it mean?  It means it wasn't that great, but it wasn't terrible.  Arnauld is good for replying, "it's fine" when I ask for  fashion advice.  My mom is also notorious for using the word.  While the response always leaves me wanting more, in all honesty, this soup is just fine.  I think it may have been the apples that added something to the flavor that I didn't love.  The recipe didn't specify what kind of apples to use-I just chose gala.  My tried and try butternut squash soup is a bit thicker, which I think I like better.  I suppose the take away message here, don't mess with a good recipe.  Luckily my grandma's garden produced quite a few butternut squash this season, so I'll have a chance to try again.

Update
     I am upgrading the taste test on this soup to good!  This soup tasted so much better the next day, reheated.  My friend Ali said it might have been because the flavors had to "marry."  Well by day two, the apples and squash were in love and tasting delicious. 

Mango and Avocado Salad

      From time to time, my friend Elena and I swap lunch while at work.  I usually make something on Sundays that I can bring for lunch most of the week.  By Wednesday or Thursday, lunch time doesn't always seem that exciting.  Luckily last week, Elena surprised me with a sample of this tasty mango and avocado salad that she had made.  I have to be honest, I never even think of eating mango.  They are one food that I can honestly said that I wasn't sure if I liked or not because I didn't have many experiences with it.  Even after tasting Elena's salad and then making it again on my own, I'm still not sure if I'm a fan of mangoes themselves, but I liked them in this dish.  There was something unexpected about the sweet mango mixed with the avocado and balsamic vinegar.  Definitely an interesting combo.  Elena said she'd like to try this salad over something, like fish.  I made it on it's own but also think it would work on a nice white fish.

Mango and Avocado Salad
recipe from The Food Network

Ingredients
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large mango, cubed
2 avocados, cubed
1 small red onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Gently whisk together the vinegar and lime juice.  Slowly whisk in the oil.  Season with salt and pepper.
2. Combine mango, avocado, and red onion in a medium bowl.  Slowly drizzle the dressing over the top and toss gently.