Brown Onions

This was one of my twelve new recipes for 2013 when I received two very large zucchinis from the garden of my mother's girlfriend, Paulette.  At that time, I decided to try a variation of Ruta Kahate's Garlicky Pattypan Squash from Quick Fix Indian as it appeared in the August 2013 edition of Yoga Journal.  

This recipe was also in the August 2013 Yoga Journal and is a nice addition to top either my Garlicky Zucchini Squash or to my Oven Roasted Butternut Squash recipes.

Brown Onions

2 medium-size yellow onions, thinly sliced

½ cup canola oil

In a large saute pan, cook onions in canola oil over medium heat until they turn dark brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Serve or cool and store in glass jar or ziploc bag in refrigerator.

Oven Roasted Butternut Squash topped with Brown Onions

Gooey Virginia Peanut Butter Brownies with Chocolate

When I recently pulled out my Apple and Oat Crisp recipe to share, I found this recipe for Peanut Butter Brownies which I would make with a chocolate middle.

Yield: one 8-inch square pan, 9-12 servings

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups light brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs

1 ¼ cups flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Place oven rack on middle rung. Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

Using an electric mixer in a medium bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, salt and vanilla. Add eggs and flour. Beat on high speed for 5 minutes. Spread ½ batter into prepared pan. Spread 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips on top of batter already in pan. Cover chocolate chips with remaining batter.

Bake 45-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with only chocolate on it. Remove from oven. Cool. Cut. Serve. Store any leftovers in air-tight container.

Oven Roasted Delicata (Sweet Potato) Squash or don't judge a squash by it's skin.

For years I've walked past the delicata squash at my local farmer's market thinking its yellow and green-striped appearance conveyed a bitter taste. Until last year, when I overheard a conversation with a farmer and customer about how they cook this squash, I decided to give it a try for myself creating this recipe in the process which is a variation of my Oven Roasted Eggplant and Oven Roasted Cousa recipes.

Delicata also known as peanut squash, Bohemian squash, or sweet potato squash is a winter squash whose skin and seeds can be consumed which makes it quick to prepare for this recipe. It's sweet and creamy to the taste, and I like it as a substitute for oven roasted potatoes.

delicata squash

Oven Roasted Delicata Squash

4 cups delicata washed and diced

1/2 cup olive oil or canola oil

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1 ½ tsp garlic powder

1. Place oven rack on middle rung. Preheat oven to broiler setting.

2. In a large bowl, combine squash, oil, onion powder and garlic powder.

3. Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil, tucking in ends.

4. Place squash on cookie sheet, close together but no higher than one layer deep.

5. Place squash in oven on middle rack. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes or until largest pieces are easily split with fork. Serve or cool and store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 as many times as needed.

Oven Roasted Delicata Squash

ready to eat

Sauteed or Oven Roasted Cousa

Sauteed or Oven Roasted Cousa

I had never heard of cousa (sometimes also spelled kousa or called white zucchini) until I saw it at my local farmer's market several years ago. Intrigued by its light green skin and eggplant-like shape, I asked what it was. “Cousa. It's a Mediterranean Zucchini,” one of the associates replied.

“Stuff it with some lamb and rice and, oh, it's wonderful,” added in another patron of the market.

I picked up about a pound of cousa that day. Every summer since, I look forward to the annual crop as this is not an item stocked by my local supermarket and is a nice deviation from the zucchini traditionally available at the same time.

Cousa from my local farmer's market

According to Allendale Farm in Boston, MA, cousa is a light colored squash in the summer squash family. It can be used just like zucchini and the taste is similar. Originally from the Middle East, it can be found in a lot of Lebanese and Syrian recipes. While I have yet to stuff cousa with lamb and rice or use it as a substitute for “traditional” zucchini in zucchini bread, I enjoy either sauteeing or oven roasting cousa and serving with chickpeas and rice.

Sauteed Cousa

3 – 4 cups cousa washed and diced

1 – 2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

Heat the oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add cousa, onion powder, garlic powder, stir once, cover and cook.

After 8 – 10 minutes, stir.

Cover and repeat step 2 until cousa has cooked down and browned slightly.

Serve or cool and store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Oven Roasted Cousa

3 – 4 cups cousa washed and diced

1/2 cup olive oil or canola oil

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1. Place oven rack on middle rung. Preheat oven to broiler setting.

2. In a large bowl, combine cousa, oil, onion powder and garlic powder.

3. Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil, tucking in ends.

4. Place cousa on cookie sheet, close together but no higher than one layer deep.

5. Place cousa in oven on middle rack. Cook for 7 – 13 minutes or until largest pieces are easily split with fork. Serve or cool and store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 as many times as needed 

Oven Roasted Cousa ready to serve or store

Olive Oil Rosemary Cake or the Best Summer Cake I've ever had

With the return of the warm, summer weather here in New England my palette shifts to the tastes of summer,--local strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, summer squashes, tomatoes and corn very soon to follow.

I also begin to crave olive oil rosemary cake. I discovered this recipe several years ago and decided to try it when a friend of mine gave me fresh rosemary from her herb garden. Despite being a butter-free cake, this has an amazingly light, buttery sweet flavor.

Olive Oil Rosemary Cake

(Makes 8 to 10 servings)

4 eggs

¾ cup sugar

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped rosemary or 1 – 1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped local, garden fresh rosemary

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (unbleached recommended)

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

non-stick cooking spray

If you are using an electric stand mixer, i.e. a big Kitchen-Aid:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 10-inch loaf pan, two 9-inch loaf pans or 8-inch by 8-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs at high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and continue to beat until mixture is very foamy and pale in color. With the mixer running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Gently fold in rosemary by hand.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Pour the batter into the 10-inch loaf pan or equally distribute between the two 9-inch loaf pans.
4. If using loaf pans, bake for 45 – 50 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the cake is golden brown and a skewer or inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool briefly in the pan, and then tip the cake onto a rack to continue cooling.
5. If using an 8-inch by 8-inch pans, bake for 20 – 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the cake is golden brown and a skewer or inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool briefly in the pan, and then tip the cake onto a rack to continue cooling.

If you are using an electric hand mixer, i.e. a Braun or Proctor-Silex:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 10-inch loaf pan, two 9-inch loaf pans or 8-inch by 8-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs at high speed for 30 seconds. Stop mixer, add sugar and then continue to beat until mixture is very foamy and pale in color. With the mixer running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
3. Stop mixer and gently fold in rosemary by hand.
4. Add flour, baking powder, salt and gently fold into the egg mixture by hand until thorough folded. Pour the batter into the 10-inch loaf pan or equally distribute between the two 9-inch loaf pans.
5. If using loaf pans, bake for 45 – 50 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the cake is golden brown and a skewer or inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool briefly in the pan, and then tip the cake onto a rack to continue cooling.
6. If using an 8-inch by 8-inch pans, bake for 20 – 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the cake is golden brown and a skewer or inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool briefly in the pan, and then tip the cake onto a rack to continue cooling.

(Reprinted from The Babbo Cookbook, by Mario Batali (Clarkson Potter Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc., 2002) in the September 2010 issue of Yoga Journal.)

Chewy Granola Bars

 Until I saw this recipe, I thought that making any type of granola was a complex process best left to large food manufacturers.  If you’ve ever made rice krispie treats from scratch, making chewy granola bars from this recipe is not much different.

I stumbled across this recipe in the September 2009 issue of Yoga Journal magazine and is adapted from Petit Appetit - Eat, Drink and Be Merry by Lisa Barnes (Penguin Book Group, 2009). 

Where these bars are as sticky as rice krispie treats, I found the extra step of lining the baking pan with aluminum foil whose edges hang over the side of the baking pan help in removing the granola from the pan to a flat surface to cut into bars.

Chewy Granola Bars

Makes 16 2-inch bars

Wrap these treats in wax paper or recycled aluminum foil when packing them to go.

Ingredients:

Non-stick cooking spray, for pan

Aluminum foil, for pan

1 1/3 cups rolled oats or quick cook steel cut oats

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal

1 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons candied ginger, chopped

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

1/4 cup turbinado sugar or organic sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, letting edges of foil hang over side of pan.  Spray aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray. 

2. In a large bowl mix the oats, seeds, cereal, cranberries and ginger until well blended.

3. In a small saucepan, combine rice syrup, sugar and vanilla.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and starts to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes. 

4. Pour rice syrup mixture over the oat mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until evenly coated.  Spoon into prepared pan and top with a piece of waxed paper.  Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the pan. 

5. Cool to room temperature.  Remove waxed paper.  Using edges of aluminum foil used to line pan, lift granola out of pan and to flat surface to cut into bars. 

6. Wrap the bars individually or place them in an airtight container and store at room temperature. 

For chocolate chip, substitute ginger and dried canberries for 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Adapted from PetitAppetit - Eat, Drink and Be Merry by Lisa Barnes (Penguin Book Group, 2009) and Yoga Journal (September 2009).

Applesauce Cake

As I noted in my Applesauce Bread posting, having made my own applesauce for over a decade, I've acquired several recipes where applesauce is a primary ingredient. This recipe I found in the revised 13^th edition of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook.

This can be made as two 8” cakes, a 9” x 13” cake or 4-5 mini-loaves. I generally make mini-loaves as these freeze well, and are sweet and flavorful enough to not need frosting. For freezing, I suggest wrapping each loaf in plastic wrap and then placing the loaves in a freezer safe ziploc bag.

Applesauce Cake

Yield: Two 8” cakes, round or square; one 9” x 13” cake or 4-5 mini-loaves.

½ cup canola oil

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup applesauce (this is about 16 ounces)

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped walnuts

Set oven rack to middle rung. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Spray baking pan(s) with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium to large bowl, combine oil and sugar. Add the applesauce and blend. Beat in the eggs and mix thoroughly. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and mix until blended. Stir in raisins and nuts. Spread into prepared baking pan(s).

Bake 25-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan(s) for 5 minutes before turning out onto racks.

Single or double Spelt Pie Crust for 9” pie

In mid-November 2015, I discovered the link I had to the Spelt Pie Crust recipe once available on the Bob's Red Mill website no longer worked. A search of this recipe via Google yielded yielded a copy from Spark Recipes which gives instructions for a single crust.

As noted in my July 2013 post, this recipe helped me get my pie crust mojo back and has been my go to pie crust recipe ever since. I originally found this recipe on Bob's Red Mill Spelt Flour package which I bought for another recipe.

Spelt is a whole grain and an ancient species of wheat whose taste I find similar to whole wheat. The end result is a golden pie crust, not too sweet, but not super-flaky either.

I found this recipe makes a good single or double whole grain crust. If making a single crust, you can just press the crust into the pie plate.

Spelt Pie Crust single crust

3 Tablespoons oil, Canola Oil recommended

2 Tablespoons cool water

¼ Teaspoon salt

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Spelt Flour

In a medium to large bowl, whisk oil, water and salt together. Stir in the flour and mix only until evenly moistened. Press into a 9-inch pie plate. Fill and bake as required for the filling. Or bake the empty crust for 12 minutes in 275 degrees farenheit and fill when cool.

Spelt Pie Crust double crust

6 Tablespoons oil, Canola Oil recommended

4+ Tablespoons cool water

1/2 Teaspoon salt or ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups

In a medium to large bowl, whisk oil, water and salt together. Stir in the flour and mix only until evenly moistened. If needed, add water one tablespoon at a time and continue mixing until dough forms. Cut dough in two equal halves.

Using half of the dough, form into disc shape. Flour dough lightly and then roll into circle between two sheets of waxed paper until large enough to fill 9-inch pie plate. Carefully lift both pieces of wax paper from dough. Set aside in the wax paper. Repeat with other half of dough.

Use pie crust as noted in pie recipe.