Butternut Squash Soup with Roasted Apple

We are partial to our favorite Butternut Squash Soup, but since I was able to get regional apples and fresh local apple cider in addition to more butternut squash from the Colvins, I figured I try this new recipe. It's a sweeter soup than our favorite and not as substantial (no dairy or anything to offer some staying power). It freezes fine, too.

Butternut Squash Soup with Roasted Apple
~from The B. T. C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook

• 2 pounds mixed apples, peeled, halved, and cored*
• 2 T. olive oil, plus more for the apples
• salt
• 1/4 t. pepper, plus more for the apples
• 1/2 c. butter
• 6 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock (or part stock/part water)
• 2 c. fresh apple cider
• 2 T. apple cider vinegar
• 2 T. apple butter
• 1 cinnamon stick or ~ 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 t. allspice
• 1/8 t. ground fennel
• 1/8 t. nutmeg
• dash cloves
• sprigs fresh thyme

*cookbook specified granny smith, but I used a mixture of local apples

1. Toss apples in enough oil to coat, season with salt and pepper, and roast at 425 degrees (cut-side down) for 30 to 45 minutes, until caramelized. 
2. Heat butter and oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add squash and onion and cook, stirring, until squash is soft, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients (except thyme). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about an hour.
3. Remove pot from heat, remove cinnamon stick if using, and puree. 
4. Sprinkle individual servings with thyme, if using.

~Serves 6-9

Braised Lentils with Roasted Butternut Squash

True story: for the first time in 4 years, I forgot to pick up my CSA veggies. Well, I remembered, but by then, I couldn't make it work. I guess Labor Day threw off my mental "what day is it today" track. The Colvins are very forgiving types, thank goodness. I think we're going to be able to work it out for me to get a box this weekend. So, I don't know if you will be getting butternut squash this weekend or not, but if you're like me, you may still have one or two lying around. I usually eat up the more perishable stuff first. Good thing because last night, I could still whip up a meal with CSA veggies!

This recipe is simple, but takes a bit of time to cook. It's delicious, too, despite the unassuming ingredient list. I'm not a huge fan of chunks of butternut squash; generally, I prefer the pureed recipes like our favorite Butternut Squash Soup. But the combination in this recipe works beautifully. I didn't think to take a picture of all the Colvin veggies that went into this recipe, but I used onions and garlic from them in addition to the squash! This works as a good side dish for sausage (smoked, flavored chicken, etc.) as well as a vegan/vegetarian main dish.

Braised Lentils with Roasted Butternut Squash
~adapted slightly from How to Cook Everything, 10th ann. edition

• 1 cup lentils, brown or green
• 1 small onion or 1/2 of a large one
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 c. peeled, cubed butternut squash (1/2-inch to 1-inch cubes) from a medium squash
• 2 T. olive oil plus extra
• 2 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 1/2 c. red wine (can use white for a more subtle taste)
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Toss squash cubes with enough oil to coat and roast at 375 degrees until tender and caramelized (about 20 minutes or so). (I sprinkled some salt and pepper over the cubes as well.)
2. Meanwhile, in a medium pot, sauté onion over medium high heat until translucent. Add garlic and stir for a minute or so until garlic is fragrant. 
3. Add lentils, stock, wine, and bay leaf to pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes.
4. Taste, adjust seasonings, and simmer until lentils are done to your liking. Removing the lid will help some of the excess liquid cook off (which I like). When lentils are just about done, gently stir in squash pieces to reheat.

~Serves 4-6

Everyday Okra

Now, we Southerners love us some okra. But my Yankee husband can't stand it. I'll eat it pickled, fried, in gumbo, in stir fries...but my favorite is this simple sautéed version. My boys like it this way, too, and when we're busy--this is the way I make it. We've been getting the perfect amount from the Colvins the past few weeks: just enough for me to indulge and to throw a pod or two to the boys.

Everyday Okra

Okra
salt
olive oil

Heat a skillet with a "pour" of olive oil in it over medium to medium high heat. In the meantime, slice the stems off the okra--if you slice right through that little black line that divides the pod from the stem, you can avoid some of the sliminess that folks find offensive. The seeds will remain covered and the pod will hold together better.

Throw in your okra and a touch of salt. Saute until pods are soft and some sides are dark brown/blackened.

This will take 10 minutes or so. Serve immediately!

Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar

A couple of weeks ago, we brought home a lovely little acorn squash in our box from the Colvins. I let it sit contentedly in its happy place on the counter for about 2 weeks before I remembered it in the chaos of starting up school. I don't have any pictures of the final dish because we scarfed that bad boy down in all its buttery, sugary goodness. One acorn squash made enough for my family to eat at one meal with zero leftovers. Petite portions, too. The recipe below is for 2 squash, but, obviously, you could halve it.

Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar
~Cook's Illustrated Cookbook

• 2 acorn squash (1 1/2 pounds each), halved pole to pole and seeded
• salt*
• 3 T. butter*
• 3 T. brown sugar

*if using salted butter, go easy on the salt; if using unsalted butter, salt away!

1. Sprinkle squash halves with salt and place, cut sides down, in a pan big enough to hold them (13x9-inch pan, large bowl, etc.). Pour 1/4 cup water in bottom and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for about 15 to 25 minutes, or until squash is tender and pierces easily with a knife (or fork). Remove pan from microwave and place on hot pad on counter (if your counter is too cold, this could be dangerous without a hot pad--the pan/bowl will be HOT).
2. Preheat broiler. Melt butter and brown sugar together (add 1/8 t. salt if using unsalted butter).
3. Transfer squash to rimmed, broiler safe baking sheet (tongs work well). Place them cut-sides up and brush with butter/sugar mixture. Broil until brown and caramelized, 5 to 8 minutes. You may need to remove some portions before others if they brown faster. Serve immediately.

~Serves 4-6

Yellow Squash Casserole with Almonds

So many people I know these days are gluten-free, low-carb, or something similar. This casserole is delicious and very similar to classic squash casserole, but it uses both raw and roasted almonds to achieve the effect given by crackers in the original. I left my squash pieces a little larger and didn't cook them until mushy, so this casserole has more texture over all--which seemed to go over well when I served it (similar to the Microwave Squasherole already on full tummies). I also used all sorts of different summer squash since I had an assortment from the Colvins (the onions and garlic were from them, too!). I'm sure you could mix in some zucchini as well. I thought the mixture looked too runny before baking, so I added in some green beans. The casserole thickens up a lot when it cooks, so the green beans probably weren't necessary. (sorry for the poor picture quality below!)

Squash Casserole with Almonds
~adapted from this recipe on allrecipes

• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 t. butter
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 c. chopped yellow squash*
• 2 t. kosher salt
• 1 t. pepper
• 2/3 c. finely chopped/coarsely ground raw almonds
• 2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese (can also use Colby Jack)
• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 1/2 c. milk (can use whipping cream instead of milk and/or yogurt)
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 c. chopped roasted, salted almonds

1. Heat butter and olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onions and garlic in hot oil until softened, about 3 minutes. Add squash and salt and pepper and stir. Cover and cook until squash is softened, stirring occasionally (about 5 minutes). 
2. Meanwhile, mix raw almonds and half the cheese in a small bowl. Add to cooked squash mixture. Whisk dairy and eggs together and add to squash mixture. Pour squash mixture into greased 13x9-inch casserole. Top with remaining cheese and roasted almonds.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Casserole can be assembled ahead of time and baked before dinner--it may need extra time if it's very cold.

~Serves 10-12

Frittata with Leftover Greens

Greens are often hard for CSA newbies to use up. Leftover cooked greens rarely beckon to someone as comfort food (unless that someone is like me and has grown to love certain kinds of greens!). This frittata recipe is a great option for odds and ends of leftover cooked greens as well as those greens you're still, um, "learning to love." (Swiss chard, I'm lookin' at you!) You can certainly cook some up just for this recipe, but do keep it in mind the next time you have leftovers. I used Swiss chard from the Colvins (and onions and grape tomatoes from my box, too!).

Frittata with Leftover Greens
~from allrecipes

• 5 eggs
• 2 egg whites (or 1 additional whole egg)
• 2 T. chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 c. chopped onion
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 1/4 c. halved grape tomatoes
• 1 c. cooked Swiss chard or spinach (thawed if frozen)
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan

1. Preheat oven broiler. Mix eggs and first salt and pepper amounts and parsley. Whisk until completely blended together.
2. Saute onion in olive oil until soft (5 minutes). Make sure to use a broiler-safe large skillet (10 inches or so). Add remaining salt and pepper and tomatoes. Saute for another minute. Add greens and cook until heated through. 
3. Pour egg mixture over, cover, and cook for a few minutes until mostly cooked.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top and cook under broiler for 2 minutes or until top is fully cooked and cheese has begun to brown.

~Serves 3-4

Breakfast Burritos with Greens

Mmm… I can hear you now: nothin' better than taking a cheesy, meaty breakfast treat and adding greens to it (and taking out the meat!). But even the kids scarfed these down. If you're a gardener, regular farmer's market shopper, or CSA shareholder, you're likely to have greens lying about. I'm at the point where we need to eat vegetables at every meal just to use some of our produce up. These burritos are a nice way to chip away at the pile o' greens; they also are a good way to use up some leftover cooked greens as long as they were cooked simply without some sort of sauce.

Breakfast Burritos with Kale

• scrambled eggs with cheese* (about 1 egg/person)
• cooked kale--about 1 leaf/greens-eater's burrito; 1/3-1/2 leaf for non-greens-eaters' burritos
• cooked black beans (drained and rinsed if canned); about 1/4 cup per person)
• whole wheat tortillas
• salsa of choice

*if you make plain scrambled eggs, then sprinkle cheese on the top of the burrito fillings; if there's a lot of cheese in the eggs, you won't need extra on top.

1. If kale is not already cooked, strip leaves from stems and chop. Cook in a small bit of water for a few minutes until cooked. Drain well.
2. Warm tortillas in a microwave. Layer eggs, beans, and kale. Top with salsa. Mmmm

On a side note, if anyone tries to make these and freeze them, let me know. I'm thinking that might work, but don't have time to mass produce them right now.

Easy Roasted Carrots

updated 6 years after first posting--we're still eating these but now we use our CSA carrots!

Try these for a nice change from glazed carrot dishes. They're also an alternative for recalcitrant carrot eaters--they look and taste similar to roasted sweet potatoes. Plan these for a night when you'll have the oven on at 400 degrees for something else (cornbread, muffins, whatever). You can also roast them at 450 degrees, and they'll be done in less time. The picture shows the lovely white carrots I get in my CSA box from the Colvins. Yum!

Easy Roasted Carrots
From Joy of Cooking (1997 ed.)

• 1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled (can leave whole or chop into equal size pieces)
• olive oil
• thyme
• salt and pepper

Place carrots in 13X9-inch baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat lightly. Sprinkle with thyme, salt, and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for about an hour, or until carrots are tender. Stir them once in a while; carrots will blacken in some areas like other roasted vegetables.

Serves 4

Easy Roasted Potatoes

Updated 7/21/14

This original recipe posted 6 years ago, and we've been roasting potatoes ever since--especially since we get them frequently in our CSA boxes from the Colvins. We've grown quite careless with amounts and just toss together what looks good. Rosemary is delicious, but plain salt and pepper yield great results, too. Super easy, tasty, and a flexible oven temperature=perfect side dish. I use a different sized pan, not as much oil, and estimate the spices, but I'm keeping the original recipe below for reference. I also don't cover the pan anymore--just stir on occasion. (Covering helps eliminate need for stirring in case you need that freedom.)

Leftovers are delicious for breakfast and topped with a fried egg.

Easy Roasted Potatoes
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 11th edition.

• 3 medium potatoes (1 pound), quartered, or 10 to 12 whole tiny new potatoes (1 pound), quartered
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or margarine or butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika

Place potatoes in a greased 9x9x2-inch baking pan. Combine oil and seasonings. Drizzle over potatoes, tossing to coat. Bake, covered, in a 325 degree oven 45 minutes. Stir potatoes. Bake, uncovered, 10 to 20 minutes more or till potatoes are tender and brown on edges. (Cookbook notes that potatoes may also be roasted for 30 minutes at 450 degrees, stirring occasionally.)

Makes 4 servings.