Spaghetti Squash with Caramelized Onions

·         Spaghetti Squash with Caramelized Onions

1    

1    1 medium spaghetti squash

·         2 cups (2 medium) chopped yellow onions

·         1 cup chopped baby Portobello mushrooms

·         1 cup tomato sauce

·         1/2 cup water

·         2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil + extra to coat pan

·         1 teaspoon garlic powder

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon pepper

·         3 eggs, whisked

·          

PREPARATION

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease an 8x8 casserole dish with olive oil.

2. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and place the squash cut-side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, until the skin of the squash is fork tender.

3. While the squash is baking, prepare the caramelized onions and mushrooms. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, then add the onions and mushrooms. Lower the temperature to medium and cook the onions and mushrooms until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, for around 10 minutes. Add the water to the pan and stir the onions and mushrooms to pick up the brown bits in the bottom of the pan. Cook the onions and mushrooms for 8-10 minutes, until there is no more water in the pan.

4. Remove the squash from the oven, scoop out the flesh and place it in the casserole dish. Stir in the caramelized mushrooms,onions, tomato sauce and garlic powder. Add the whisked eggs to the baking dish and mix everything together until you can no longer see the eggs.

5. Bake uncovered for 1 hour in the oven, until the top of the casserole has formed a crust that looks like cheese and is brown around the edges. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving

Spaghetti Squash Delight

Spaghetti Squash Delight

•  1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
•  2 tablespoons vegetable oil
•  1 onion, chopped
•  1 clove garlic, minced

•  1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes

 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

•  3 tablespoons sliced black olives
•  2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
•  Add all ingredients to list

Directions

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place spaghetti squash with cut sides down on the prepared baking sheet, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a sharp knife can be inserted with only a little resistance. Remove squash from oven and set aside to cool enough to be easily handled.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are warmed through.
4. Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash and place in a medium bowl. Toss with the vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Serve warm. ADD SPINACH IF YOU HAVE IT.

Note:  MICROWAVED THE SPAGHETTI SQUASH INSTEAD OF BAKING IT - AFTER PRICKING IT ALL AROUND WITH A KNIFE, PUTTING IT IN A BOWL WITH WATER AND MICROWAVING IT FOR 20 MINUTES.

Tomato & Cantaloupe Salad with Basil

Tomato & Cantaloupe Salad with Basil

Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6-8 servings as a side

Ingredients

• 1 cantaloupe, cut into 1" cubes
• 2 large ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 1" cubes
• 8 leave of basil
• 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
• pinch of salt
• fresh-ground pepper, to taste

• Stack the basil leave and roll them tightly into the shape of a cigar. Slice the basil perpendicular (cutting across the roll), creating thin strips. Toss cantaloupe, with basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add tomatoes and gently toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Notes

Cantaloupe can be cut in advance and refrigerated along with basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes up to an hour before serving and keep at room temperature, or serve immediately (refrigerating the tomatoes will harm their favor and texture).

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Difficulty level: Easy

Ingredients:
3 Eggs

1C vegetable oil

2C sugar
1tbs vanilla
2 C shredded zucchini (about 2)
1/2 C cocoa
1tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
2.5 C flour
1/2 C chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 2 loaf pans

Whisk eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla. Add zucchini. 

Combine dry ingredients and whisk to combine. 

Mix dry ingredients to zucchini mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. 

Divide between 2 loaf pans. Bake 45-60 mins. 

Freezes well. 

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

3-4 large Eggplant, any variety or mixed

Marinara Sauce, about 4 cups

Basil, about 20 leaves

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, one large ball (CSA!)

Shredded Mozzarella, about 1 cup

Parmesan Cheese, about ½ cup

Olive Oil

Unbleached Flour

Italian Breadcrumbs

Salt and Pepper

Method

1. 1.      Slice Eggplant in big pieces about 1/4 inch thick. To remove bitter taste from eggplant, lie out on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with salt. Let eggplant sit for about 10-15 minutes until small beads of water begin to appear. Rinse eggplant under cold water and pat dry.
2. 2.      Prepare flour with salt and pepper for dredging. Dredge eggplant in flour lightly.
3. 3.      In cast iron pan, fry eggplant in olive oil until browned on both sides. Set aside.
4. 4.      Prepare deep baking dish by rubbing olive oil on bottom and sides of pan. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and shake pan to coat bottom and sides.
5. 5.      Place ½ of the eggplant on top of breadcrumbs to create first layer. Place about 6-8 whole basil leaves on top of eggplant. Coat generously with marinara sauce. Place about 1/3 of fresh and shredded mozzarella and ½ Parmesan cheese on top of eggplant and basil. Repeat with second ½ of eggplant, basil leaves, marinara sauce and remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
6. 6.      Place more basil on top of cheese for decoration. 1.      Bake in 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes until bubbling. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.

For Marinara Sauce –

2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes, squeeze tomatoes with hands to break apart

1 can of crushed tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, smashed

Parsley, about ½ cup chopped

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper, optional

Heat about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in large pot. Place squeezed and crushed tomatoes, garlic and ½ of parsley in pot. Season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook on low for about 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let rest for 30 minutes or more. Add remaining parsley and return to boil briefly before using or serving. Note that this recipe does not use onions and, as a result, the marinara is less sweet than most other sauces. If you desire a sweeter sauce, sauté 1 finely diced medium yellow onion in olive oil prior to adding the rest of the ingredients. Basil leaves can also be added to change flavor profile. This sauce can also be made with ground beef, veal or pork. Simply pan fry about 1 pound and a half of ground meat until browned and add to sauce with tomatoes. Sauce can freeze well in Tupperware or plastic gallon bags for up to 6 months.

Alternate:

Add other vegetables – Layer thinly sliced fresh tomatoes or zucchini with eggplant. Zucchini can be dredged in flour and prepared similar to eggplant.

Add Italian Sausage – Remove sausage from casing, break up into small pieces and fry until brown. Spread sausage on top of eggplant prior to adding marinara sauce on each layer.

Best Ever Zucchini Bread

Best Ever Zucchini Bread

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (you can substitute applesauce for ½ the oil)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp nutmeg
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups grated zucchini (you can add a little more, I always do!)
1 cup chopped walnuts

 

Grease two 8 x 4 inch pans or 6 mini loaf plans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Assemble your ingredients.

Mix flour, salt, baking powder, soda, nutmeg and cinnamon together in a bowl.

 

Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. {I always sneak in a few spoonfuls of flax!}

Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well.

Grate zucchini.  Stir into the mixture along with the nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. My mini-loaf pans take about 35-40 minutes. Large sized loaves take about 55 minutes. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool. Enjoy!

Linguine with Zucchini, egg and parmesan

Linguine with Zucchini, egg and parmesan

1 medium onion, or 4 spring onions
2/3 lb zucchini 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb linguine or spaghetti (CSA Pasta)
2 whole eggs, plus two extra yolks
1/4 C grated Parmesan
A few basil leaves
Salt and black pepper

1 Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Thinly slice the onion, then cut the zucchini into 2 inch long, 1/4-1/8 inch thick strips. In a large frying pan, warm the olive oil over a medium-low heat, then cook the onion and zucchini gently with a pinch of salt, turning them regularly with a wooden spoon until they are very soft and tender – which will take about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

2 Add salt to a large pan of boiling water, stir, then add the linguine, fanning it out, and using a wooden spoon to push it down. Cook until al dente (check the cooking time of the packet and start tasting at least 2 minutes before).

3 While the pasta is cooking, in a largish bowl whisk together the eggs, extra yolks, cheese, a pinch of salt and lots of pepper. During the last minutes of pasta cooking time, put the courgette pan back on the heat to thoroughly warm the fat and vegetables.

4 Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the frying pan, stirring so it tangles with the vegetables. Turn off the heat, and, working quickly, add the egg mixture and a splash of pasta cooking water, then stir and swirl the pan vigorously until each strand is coated with creamy sauce and the consistency is slithery. Add a little more pasta cooking water if it seems too stiff and stir again. Rip the basil into the pan, stir again and serve. 

Shrikhand (Sweet Strained Yogurt)

32 ounces plain full-fat Greek yogurt (CSA variety!)
1 ½ cups loosely packed confectioners’ sugar
1 cup roasted unsalted or lightly salted pistachios, roughly chopped, plus ⅓ cup for garnish, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon saffron threads, finely chopped, plus a pinch for garnish, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

Put yogurt in a fine-mesh strainer suspended over a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Let excess whey strain for 24 hours.

Transfer yogurt to a large mixing bowl, and gently stir in sugar, pistachios, saffron and cardamom. When they are combined, transfer mixture into a serving dish, using an offset spatula to smooth out the top. Evenly sprinkle reserved pistachios and pinch of saffron over the top, and chill for an hour before serving. Shrikhand will keep covered in the fridge for a few days (though the pistachios will soften).