Double Celery Soup with crumbled goat cheese and balsamic reduction

3 tbs butter

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 large leeks, chopped (light green and white parts only)

2 yukon gold potatoes, chopped

1 large celery root, chopped

2 sprigs Thyme, fresh or dried

1 bay leaf

8 cups Chicken stock/broth 

5 stalks of celery, chopped
1 cup milk (optional)

Balsamic vinegar

Goat cheese, crumbled

celery leaves

Kind of Xmas-y!

Sautee onion and leeks in butter and olive oil till almost translucent. 

Add potatoes, celery root, herbs and broth. Bring to a boil for a few minutes then let simmer for 40. 

Add celery and cook til soft, about 10 minutes. Puree in pot. Add pepper and salt to taste. You can add the milk here if you want but I find the soup so creamy and great as it is that I mostly skip it.

Reduce a half cup of balsamic vinegar in a saute pan.

Top soup with crumbled goat cheese, balsamic drizzle and celery leaves.

Zucchini Fritters

Just like the spinach cakes except I've decided to call them fritters.

3 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Onion, finely diced

1 Tbs Olive oil

2 Zucchinis, shredded

1 serving prepared couscous

1 egg

Vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

Sautee oil and garlic until fragrant, add shredded zucchini and couscous and stir to combine; salt and pepper to taste.

Take off heat. While the mixture cools, heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a fry pan. Mix in one egg. Shape mixture into patties and fry, 3 minutes on each side.

 Drain on paper towels.

Devour.

Spinach Cakes

Oh, man, it's been so long! Must have a kid or something.

Owen loves his greens (for now) so I'm taking full advantage.

1/2 c. uncooked quinoa

1/2 c. Onion, finely chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced

Olive oil

1 10-oz pkg frozen spinach

1 egg

vegetable oil

salt and pepper

Cook quinoa according to direction in chicken broth or water. Spin your spinach a salad spinner or squeeze out as much water was you can. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil on med hi heat until translucent with a dash of salt (add more if you used water to cook your quinoa and didn't season it); mix in cooked quinoa and spinach. While the mixture cools for a moment, heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a big fry pan. Stir in one egg to the mixture and form patties.

Fry in oil until firm, about 3 minutes per side. Let drain on towels before serving.

Next time, I might add some feta cheese. Yum!

Ratatouille

Andy complains that I watch too many cooking competition shows (the Top Chef franchise, Chopped, Next Food Network Star, Next Iron Chef, Champions, ETC) but I learn so much! Like, last season the winning Next Food Network Star taught me in passing how to make ratatouille: EZPOT!

E- Eggplant
Z- Zucchini
P- Peppers
O- Onion
T- Tomato

It's so easy to remember and, now that I have a shiny new mandoline, it's easy to make!

Slice all the vegetables thin and layer in order starting with Eggplant at the bottom of an 8X8 baking dish; drizzle the top with olive oil and generously salt (while it cooks the olive oil and salt will get to the rest of the layers).  Cook for 30-40 minutes at 375. You can add whatever spices and herbs you want through the layers like basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, anchovies, the works! Go nuts! Oooh, pine nuts would be good...

Serve over brown rice or pasta or cous cous or white beans or sourdough bread or under chicken or a flaky white fish. Etc.

Tofu with Rice Noodles and Bok Choy

adapted from the best of Cooking Light everyday favorites


Rice Noodles
red pepper, julienned
bok choy, chopped
firm tofu, drained and cubed
garlic
red pepper flakes
honey
4 tbs soy sauce
4 tbs rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
olive oil

Prepare rice noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile, whisk together honey, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil (use about 1/4 oil to rice vinegar).

In a large pan, heat your olive oil over medium high heat. Sautee red pepper for two minutes; add bok choy and sauté for 1 minute; add tofu and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add cooked noodles and sauce and heat through. Serve immediately.

Roasted Stuffed Acorn Squash

This is FALL.

2 acorn squashes, halved and cored
pecans, rough chop
onions, chopped
garlic, minced
fresh rosemary, sage, parsley, chopped
dried cranberries
1 cup couscous
olive oil
1 tbs Earth Balance
S+P

Preheat oven to 375. Oil up your halves, season with salt and pepper and place meat down on your baking sheet. Roast until your fork can pierce the shell, 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, sauté onions and garlic in oil and Earth Balance until translucent. Add your rosemary and sage and sauté til fragrant, 30 seconds or so. Add 1 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil. Mix in couscous, parsley, dried cranberries, and pecans. Remove from heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Stuff your mix in the squashes and serve.

A non-vegan might top with parmesan cheese. ;)

Moroccan Inspired CousCous and Butternut Squash with Spiced Tofu

Okay, this came out really great and I have no idea how. It's an amalgam of three different recipes and had the potential to go terribly wrong. Andy wanted me to look at something on TV and I literally could not leave the stove for a few seconds or lose the plot of the whole thing.

Anyway, it was delicious! As usual, all quantities are approximate.

Tofu:
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Brown sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp Salt + 1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp dried mustard
Tofu

CousCous:
2 tbs toasted pine nuts
dried cranberries
1 cup couscous
handful chopped parsley

Dressing:
Orange zest
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
olive oil

Butternut squash, cubed

1. Preheat oven to 375 and position rack to the tope 1/3 of your oven. Cube squash and toss with olive oil and a dash of salt. Arrange in a single layer and roast til tender (20-30 minutes depending on the size of your cubes). Set aside.

2. Cut your tofu into slabs and drain by wrapping in paper towels and setting a plate on top for weight. Leave for 15 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, mix together your rub ingredients. When tofu is drained, dredge in rub. Pan fry in a couple teaspoons of olive oil. Keep in a warm oven (225) until you need them.

4. Toast pine nuts in a small pan. Boil 1 cup of water; add dry couscous, cranberries, parsley, and pine nuts. Stir, remove from heat, cover and set aside for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

5. Toss together dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Toss in prepared couscous and squash.

6. Plate with tofu on top.

Black Bean Hummus and Tabouleh

Thanks, Mark and Kristi for the black bean hummus suggestion; I will seriously never use chickpeas again.

Black Bean Hummus

1 can black beans with 1/2 their juice
juice of 2 lemons
3 cloves roasted garlic
7 tbs tahini

Puree all in your food processor and refrigerate.

Tabouleh

(play with the quantities)
juice of 2 lemons
1c cooked bulgar wheat
cucumber, diced
mint, chopped
parsley, chopped
tomato, diced
scallions, chopped
olive oil
salt

Prepare bulgar wheat according to package directions (cooks a lot like cous-cous or quinoa: bring water to a boil and simmer for 12-15 minutes). Mix in with the rest of your ingredients and refrigerate. Serve chilled.

Hummus, flatbread

Andy got a box of tabouli from Whole Foods, it was not very good; tasted like powdered, dusty bulgur wheat. No thanks. But my homemade flatbread and hummus was great!

Hummus
1 can garbonzo beans with half their juice
7 tbs tahini
4 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 c olive oil
juice of two lemons
Salt

Mix all in your food processor till as smooth as you want.

Flatbread
Preheat oven to 375, follow directions, pat into little pancakes and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Vegan Shepard's Pie

It's a lot like this but with squashes and carrots. Just as yummy but vegan!

Ingredients

Potatoes, peeled and cubed
Almond/Soy/Rice Milk
Earth Balance
Cloves garlic, whole roasted then minced

Olive oil
3c various diced squashes and carrots
Cloves of garlic, whole roasted then minced
2 tbl shallots, minced
2tbl rosemary, chopped
3tbl flour
1 1/2 c veggie broth
S+P

Preheat oven to 375.

Dice veggies, spread in a single layer with the whole garlic cloves on a lined cookie sheet, coat with olive oil and pinch of salt and pepper, and roast until the carrots are sort of soft or 30 minutes.

While the veggies roast, boil potatoes until soft. Mash potatoes with Earth Balance, salt and pepper, and your milk. Mince and then add the roasted garlic cloves. Set aside.

In a big pan, sautee the shallots, garlic and rosemary until soft and add veggies. Mix the flour into the veggie broth and pour the mixture into the pan with the veggies. Let that simmer for a minute and thicken.

Pour the veggie mix into the bottom of an 8X8 pan, top with mashed potatoes and bake for 20 minutes. Enjoy!!

Coriander Scallops with Orange-Ginger Dressing

This is such a quick, easy weeknight dinner, thank god, because babies are a lot of work.

from Epicurious

Coriander Scallops with Orange-Ginger Dressing
2 servings

12 scallops
coriander seeds, crushed

1 tbs cilantro
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tsp ginger, minced
3 tbs orange juice
S+P

Salt and pepper scallops, dredge in crushed coriander seeds and place in hot pan with olive oil. Sautee 1 1/2 to 2 minutes each side. Combine the second group of ingredients in a small bowl for the dressing. Serve scallops and dressing over mixed greens. (I grilled some ciabatta slices brushed with the dressing for a starch.) Yum!

Shepard's Pie

Holy crap, it's been a while! Honestly, one of the last things on my min dat the end of the day is cooking! I got a fussy baby most evenings. But this recipe was easy and a winner.

Shepard's Pie

2 Potatoes, cubed
1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 cup chicken broth
3 tbs flour
rosemary
sour cream
milk
butter or butter sub
S+P
1 tsp dried thyme
Parsley to taste

Preheat oven to 400.

Boil potatoes til soft. Drain. Add sour cream, salt and pepper, butter and milk and mash over low heat til thick. Set aside.

Cook veggies in olive oil til soft and then add garlic, salt and pepper; cook for twenty seconds more. Add ground turkey, rosemary and thyme; cook til meat is no longer pink. Mix 3 tbs of flour into chicken broth and pour into ground turkey mixture. Cook until thickened.

Spoon meat mixture into shallow baking dish, top with mashed potatoes and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Done!

I'm actually going to try this again tonight but with cubed chicken and phyllo dough as the topper to make chicken pot pie. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Tipsy Shrimp

I intended to make shrimp scampi but had no white cooking wine on hand, just beer so I had to improvise! Which is good because seriously a new house deserves some new recipes, yes? Even if the kitchen is still roughly the same size? Yes.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

I LOVE pancakes, Every one of my friends knows this because when Andy is gone for the evening a couple of them never fail to ask me if I'm making pancakes for dinner and a lot of the time the answer is "Yes, of course I am." It's a snack/meal/dessert all in one and they are an awesome vehicle for whatever: fruit, bacon, whipped cream, you name it. So, yeah, pancakes are the best.

Recently, I found a recipe over at a health site that intrigued me because as much as I LOVE pancakes, I have gained a ton of weight this pregnancy and really need to watch my carbohydrate intake. Boring, I know. At any rate, I whipped these up yesterday and, holy crap, I'm sold. They are packed with protein and they taste so much like real pancakes that I still felt guilty. And guilt is the byproduct of a really good snack/meal/dessert. SMD? I'll work on it.

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

This one is so easy that when I made it, I totally forgot to post about it. It's rich and creamy and delicious.

1 1.5-lb butternut squash, cubed
1 large sweet potato
small onion, chopped
some garlic, chopped
some olive oil and butter
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
S+P

Sweat your onion and garlic in oil and butter until tender and add squash and potato. Liberally salt and pepper. Let the vegetables hang out for 10 minutes or so and then add your broth. Cook until everything is soft. With your immersion blender or food processor, puree soup until silky. Next time, I'd add some ginger or some rosemary at the beginning (not to be pureed, though). Yummm.

Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf

Adapted from this recipe but completely different because I'm genius, haha. Ha.

I looove quinoa! Like I said, it's an awesome vehicle for whatever ingredients you have on hand and it has an amazing texture. Plus, it's filling and nutritious! Honestly, I'm making this meatloaf again but probably with totally different ingredients, ie. whatever I have in the frig like tonight. I also think that you can tell I'm not into measuring savory ingredients: use whatever you have and like. If you don't have fresh spices, use dried. If you don't have spices, don't use them. You get the idea. Like a quiche, a meatloaf is a basic dish that carries whatever you put in it. So, the ingredients are, shall we say, flexible. And freezable! You can make this loaf and freeze it for when you have a baby on the way and can't worry about dinner for, like, 3 months.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I really, really need to remember to take pictures! Because these turned out beautifully.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Bread
Parsley
Cheese (whatever you have on hand, I had cave-aged Gruyère)
Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
S+P
Mushrooms

Preheat oven to 350. Pop off the caps from the stems of your mushrooms and save stems for another dish (I threw it in my quinoa). In your food processor, combine all your other ingredients and chop to combine. Fill each mushroom cap. Lightly grease the bottom of a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes or until mushrooms start to get juicy. Yummm!

Quinoa

Oh, hey, so a new discovery: quinoa is FANTASTIC and as easy to cook as couscous and almost just as fast. Like couscous, it can serve as a pretty awesome vehicle for whatever you want to put in it and, if you're not careful, you could end up making way too much. Like, enough for 6 people even though you only used a cup and half! Unlike couscous, you have to be careful to read the packaging because it might need to be rinsed until the water runs clear or taste like poop. The package I bought was pre-rinsed so, lucky me, I only dirtied one colander and wasted a half minute rinsing it before I read the packaging.

When it's cooked, this small grain is fluffy and nutty and, oddly enough, a relative to spinach. Anyway, it's delicious. I'm excited for it because it seems like I could throw in whatever I have lurking in the frig and, 12 minutes later, dinner is served. A one pot meal, my favorite! Here's what I threw in last night adapted however slightly from this recipe. 

Rosemary Butternut Squash Savory Bread Pudding

I had to fix up something quick for party and I had day-old bread and butternut squash that I had roasted. So, I sort of winged it and it was delicious! None of these measurements are exact; feel free to wing it yourself! You can use sage, a different kind of cheese, add some kale and walnuts, whatever you want!

Chicken and Spinach Casserole

This recipe is, um, fat forward, let's just say. I can't get Andy to eat this kind of meal very often so I don't think this will become a part of the repertoire and I hesitate to include it but I liked it, so here we go. I cut the fat by a tiny bit by using milk (the original recipe called for 1 1/2 c half and half. Oof.)