Nothing says "fall" like a bowl of Butternut Squash soup and a fire in the fireplace

I know winter is coming.  I saw it on TV.  I heard it from my friends in Minneapolis.  They shoveled snow today.  But here in central Iowa, the weather was so beautiful last week, I took advantage of some time off work and headed out with my camera, my watercolors, and a general sense of direction...North.  It was a truly wonderful day, taking time to just meander down highways and gravel roads, following whatever caught my eye.  The picture below was the last shot of the day when I pulled over to catch the flash of light that happens when the sun drops over the horizon. 

There are quicker ways to make Butternut Squash Soup, but if you have the time, this is the way to do it!  Oven roasting the onion, carrots squash adds to the autumn appeal of this soup: the oven warms the kitchen, the house is filled with delicious aromas and the vegetables caramelize, making them sweet and delicious.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Makes 6 servings.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
3 medium carrots, peeled and quartered
1 small butternut squash, halved and seeded
1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 13.5 oz can light coconut milk
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp thyme
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, optional garnish

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil.  Prepare and place onions and carrots in a medium bowl. Toss gently with olive oil, salt and pepper. Halve and seed butternut squash. Drizzle with seasoned olive oil poured off from onion and carrots. Place squash cut-side down on baking sheet. Dump onion and carrots onto baking sheet, spreading out to a single layer. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes or until vegetables are tender and begin to caramelize on the edges.

2. After vegetables have finished roasting, pour vegetable broth and water into a medium saucepan. Add roasted vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and stir in coconut milk and spices. Ladle soup in batches into blender; blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan and reheat over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes.

4. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
Calories: 266
Calories From Fat: 87
Total Fat: 11.6g
Cholesterol: 1.6mg
Sodium: 1452.4mg
Potassium: 708.5mg
Carbohydrates: 36.5g
Fiber: 5.3g
Sugar: 5.7g
Protein: 6.8g

Canning Homemade Salsa

It has been another weird and wet summer here in Iowa.  And right from the get go, my tomato plants had black spot fungus on the leaves.  For those of you who haven't seen that (lucky you!), it is a fungus that causes some branches of the tomato plant to brown and wilt.  Based on my experience, it then seems like the tomato plant ends up putting all it's energy into trying to make new leave branches and never really gets around to making a lot of flowers.  No flowers...no tomatoes.  Last year, I was swimming in tomatoes at this time.  This year, I've resorted to buying them at the farmer's market.  I was lucky enough to be able to go to the downtown farmer's market in St. Paul, Minnesota and brought back a bag of beautiful, rich red tomatoes.  My bell, chili and salsa peppers have been doing well in the new herb garden so I had plenty of peppers.  And, we've been getting a steady supply of organic garlic and onions from the CSA (they are also having tomato problems this year). 
I modified the salsa recipe from the site http://www.pickyourown.org/ to make sure I was using a recipe that had enough acidity to do a hot water bath method when I canned.  The modifications were slight, so I want to make sure I am crediting them as the source!  My modifications were to add a few drops of liquid smoke and I used my VitaMix blender to process the tomatoes.  I didn't want to spend tons of time peeling, seeding and prepping the tomatoes if I didn't have to!  I just topped and cored them, squeezed out the seeds,  threw them in the blender and gave it a couple of pulses. 
I shared this recipe with TLew's Aunt Linda in Vermont and she said her salsa turned out so fantastic that people are begging her to make more.  She did remind me, though, that this is really more of a weekend day project than an after-school project.  But, we both agree, the work is SO SO WORTH IT!

Home-made, Home-canned, Home-grown Salsa

Serving Size : 48  1/4 cup servings   12-half pint canning jars
Preparation Time: 1:00 hour
Cooking Time:  45 minutes
Canning Time:  30 minutes total (15 minutes for each batch)
Resting Time after Canning:  24 hours

Instructions
10 pounds fresh tomatoes
1 28 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes, diced
3 cups chopped onion
4 small red chili peppers, diced
1 medium green chili peppers, chopped
1 large head (6-8 cloves) fresh garlic, finely chopped
2  6 oz cans Tomato paste
2  cups fresh lemon juice
2  tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
1/8 tsp liquid smoke flavoring

Instructions
1.  Wash and quarter the fresh tomatoes, gently squeezing out some of the seeds. Using a VitaMix blender or a food processor, process the tomatoes a couple of handfuls at a time...you'll know how much your machine can handle.  I blend it fairly smooth to blend up the skins. As the batches of tomatoes finish, pour them into a large, non-aluminum pot. Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste and stir to combine.

2.  Place the onion, peppers and garlic in the blender or food processor.  Process to a fairly fine dice (about 1/8 inch). Add to the tomatoes in the pot and bring to a gentle simmer.

3.  Add the seasonings and lemon juice. It only needs to get hot, not boiling (180 F, if you have a thermometer). Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.  Taste the salsa as it cooks. I put a spoonful in a small dish and test it with a chip to make sure I don't over salt the salsa. Adjust the seasonings to your taste, adding chili powder if you like it hotter.

5.  Fill sterilized jars with salsa to within 1/4 inch. Set the lid on and hand-tighten the ring around them. Be sure contact surfaces are clean and get a good seal!

6.  Bring water in canner (or large stock pot) and keep water boiling. Place jars in water bath and keep them covered with at least 1 to 2 inches of water. Process the jars in boiling-water bath according to jar size and altitude (15 minutes for pints or half-pints at 0-1000 feet, 20 minutes at 1001-6000 feet, 25 minutes above 6000 feet).
7.   NOTE: The USDA says the only change you can safely make in this recipe is to change the amount of spices and herbs. DO NOT alter the proportions of vegetables to acid and tomatoes because it might make the salsa unsafe.
DO NOT substitute vinegar for lemon juice...vinegar is less acidic and could compromise the canning safety.

8.  Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place overnight. I spread a dish towel on the counter and use that as my cooling space.  You'll hear that wonderful *ping* a few seconds after removing the jar and setting it on the counter, which tells you that it sealed!  You can remove the rings once the jars are cool or leave them on.  Always check that each jar sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Any jar lids that pop up and down when you press them in the middle have not sealed properly and should be refrigerated and used right away.  I ususally keep a close eye any that didn't *ping* and check them as they cool.

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
Calories: 39
Calories From Fat: 3
Total Fat: <1g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 181.4mg
Potassium: 393.4mg
Carbohydrates: 9g
Fiber: 2.1g
Sugar: 4.5g
Protein: 1.7g

Comments: Adapted from the site www.pickyourown.org which specializes in locating pick-your-own farms and recipes for celebrating fresh produce!

Zucchini Invasion!

Zucchini.  Zucchini.  Zucchini-zucchini-zucchini.  Say it enough times and it sounds funny.  Which is a good thing, because when dealing with zucchini, it is important for one to maintain one's sense of humor.  I sneak it into everything I can...marinara sauce, banana bread, stir-fries.  Not that it isn't worthy in it's own right, but after a while, it's like a guest that just doesn't know when to leave.  TLew grills slabs of it when he's barbequeing.  I bake straight-up zucchini bread.  I make oven-baked zucchini fries (which are so good it reminds me that I should post that recipe, too!).  But, by now you know that on Saturday mornings, I love to bake muffins.  These turned out yummy and returned my unwelcome guest back into guest of honor status.  Everything that comes from the garden is good bounty and I know come February, I'll be missing my fresh zucchini.  Well, maybe not the ones that turn into giant whales overnight!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 egg substitute equivalents
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (vegan style!)
1 Tbsp sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon -- (optional), divided for topping among 12 muffins

Instructions
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.

2.  In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Run a whisk through until dry ingredients are uniformly mixed. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

3.  In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the applesauce, buttermilk, egg substitute (already mixed together), zucchini and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry, mixing until dry ingredients are just covered and folding in chocolate chips as you go.  Remember, over-mixing makes tough muffins!

4.  Divide muffin mixture evenly between the 12 muffin cups, filling each one about three-quarters full. Sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon-sugar mixture if desired. Sugar in the raw (turbinado sugar) works well for this because the sugar crystals are bigger and retain their crunch as the muffins bake.

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
Calories: 150
Calories From Fat: 27
Total Fat: 3.3g
Cholesterol: <1mg
Sodium: 325.8mg
Potassium: 104.4mg
Carbohydrates: 27.2g
Fiber: 1.6g
Sugar: 2g
Protein: 3.9g

Comments: These muffins are a delicious way to handle the invasion of the zucchini from the garden! The recipe calls for buttermilk, but soy milk and a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice can be substituted. There just needs to be some acidity to react with the baking soda to create lift in the muffins.

My First Kale Recipe

One of the vegetables we've been receiving regularly from our CSA share is kale.  The first couple of weeks, I avoided figuring out what to do with it by chopping it up and throwing it in with the baby bok-choi when we made a big stir fry.  One of the guiding principles I established for myself when joining the CSA is that I want to try all of the vegetables that are made available to us, regardless of how unfamiliar they are, so just using it up was an achievement.  Another principle is that we will use every bit of the produce we receive.   No waste.  No letting it linger in the produce drawer of the refrigerator.  This week, when I dutifully picked up my clump of kale leaves, I vowed to explore it as an actual vegetable in its own right.  I had the perfect opportunity when the guys decided to dig into the lettuce and make big Chicken Caesar salads.  I based this recipe on one that I had seen using collard greens, golden raisins and orange juice.  This recipe was simple, fast, fresh and delicious!  Kale has a really chewy bite to it and a nice kind of smokey green flavor.  I really loved how this recipe turned out and know I will use it often.  Enjoy!

Soba with Kale, Garlic and Golden Raisins

Serves 1
Preparation time:  5 minutes 
Cooking time:  10 minutes
Ingredients
3 cups loosely packed kale leaves, chopped (6-8 leaves)
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 medium lemon, for juice
1 cup soba noodles, cooked and drained
coarsely ground sea salt to taste

Instructions
1.  Rinse kale, cutting off long stems.  Leaving kale leaves slightly damp, roll leaves together loosely and cut into 1-inch wide ribbons.

2.  Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add kale and garlic slices. Using tongs, toss gently for 3 minutes.

3.  Add raisins. Cover and let cook for 3 minutes.

4.  Roll the lemon on the countertop for 15 seconds to make juicing easier.  Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice from each half over the kale as it cooks.

5.  Add the cooked, drained soba noodles and toss gently. Let cook for 1-2 more minutes.  Add a quick grind of sea salt and serve.


Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------------

Calories: 426
Calories From Fat: 94
Total Fat: 10.7 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 162 mg
Potassium: 1330 mg
Carbohydrates: 82.5g
Fiber: 6g
Sugar: 23g
Protein: 14.6g

Our First Year in a CSA

I spent time over the past 2 years doing some research and looking into joining a CSA (Community Sustained Agriculture).  The concept is that you "buy in" with a local farmer to receive a weekly share of their produce.  By committing to a weekly share up-front, the members help the farmer offset the risks that go with farming.  Over a lunchtime jog, a friend recommended ZJ Farms, which was one of the two that I had narrowed down to.  I was actually leaning away from this one because of the fact that they raise lambs for meat.  There are many factors to weigh and consider when choosing a CSA and this was definitely one that I spent a lot of time debating about.  In the end, I decided that facts are facts and people raise animals as livestock.  While it is an important ethical decision for me not to eat meat, I shop at grocery stores that sell meat and the CSA is farm version of my grocery store in this scenario.  If that sounds like a ratonalization, it isn't meant to be...I'm just sharing the thought process I went through to reach my decision.  I feel really good about supporting the work and commitment that Susan and ZJ Farms make to growing and sharing fresh, organic, earth-friendly food, the practices they use and the philosophy they have.
Anyway, we are now in Week 3 of our Spring shares and absolutely love it!  Every Monday, we pick up a variety of produce and a dozen eggs from the free range chickens.  I make an assembly line of salads for lunches on Sunday nights and we usually make a big Asian veggie stir-fry for dinner early in the week.  The simpler and cleaner the preparation, the better the flavor of the food comes through.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Last week, after weeks of unseasonably warm, sunny spring weather in Iowa, the weather took a turn for the cold and rainy worse.  I was up early on a Sunday and decided it would be a perfect morning to turn on the oven (to warm up the house!) and bake some muffins.  I found a can of organic pumpkin in one cupboard and some vegan mini chocolate chips in another.  I whipped up a batch of these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins and mmmmmmm...they were delicious with a steaming cup of coffee.  I kind of wondered what the guys would think of the flavor combo.  Both husband TLew and #2 son DLew thought they were really awesome!  Throughout the day, our dozen muffins dwindled down to 4...barely making it through two days.  TLew even said to take a picture before they were all gone because he knew they'd make the blog.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 egg substitute equivalent
1 16 oz can canned solid-pack organic pumpkin
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegan mini chocolate chips


Instructions
1.   Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-muffin pan with paper liners.

2.   Mix sugar, oil and egg substitute. Add pumpkin. In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.

3.   Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes.

Serving Size: 12 large muffins
Nutrition
Calories: 185
Calories From Fat: 52
Total Fat: 6g
Cholesterol: <1mg
Sodium: 252.9mg
Potassium: 136.7mg
Carbohydrates: 31.3g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 14.8g
Protein: 2.8g

Comments: The pumpkin and chocolate chip combination sound a little odd, but these muffins are delicious!

This is what I'm talking about! Grilled Veggie Lasagna...SO, SO GOOD!

We had a get-together with TLew's side of the family last weekend when the kids were home from college.  My mother-in-law always makes delicious food and the guys love Grandma's cooking.  She was making lasagna, so I offered to bring a pan of veggie lasagna.  I know the vegetarian "thing" can be hard for people to figure out and the vegan thing...that's totally intimidating.  Offering to bring a dish is a great way to take the pressure off the hosts (even when they're family!) and gives them a chance to sample a vegan dish.  Both of our sons tried it (as "seconds") and everybody else took a little half-piece to try.  Everyone liked it a lot (although I know my mother-in-law isn't a fan of mushrooms!).  This was the first time I made this recipe and I LOVED it!!  It didn't take any longer to make than a regular lasagna, but that does take some time so I would suggest starting early or making it ahead. 

Grilled Veggie Vegan Lasagna

Comments: Grilling the vegetables is worth the extra effort. The smoky, grilled flavor deliciously complements the sweetness of the tomato sauce.

Serves 12
Preparation Time: 1 hour;  Cooking Time 1 hour

Ingredients:
----- Tomato Sauce-----
1 large onion, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cans (14.5 oz) tomato sauce
2 cans (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp minced garlic

-----Grilled Vegetables-----
2 small zucchini, unpeeled, and cut in 1/4" slices
1 medium eggplant, unpeeled, and cut in 1/4" slices
1 large sweet red Bell Pepper, cut in 1" strips
8 ounces large white mushroom caps, well cleaned, and cut in 1/4" slices
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

-----"Cheese" Filling-----
12 ounces soft, silken tofu (1 box Mori Nu)
1/2 cup fresh basil chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
10 ounces Follow Your Heart Vegan Mozzarella Imitation Cheese (1 package)

12 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked according to directions

Instructions:
----- Grilled Vegetable Preparation -----
1.   Heat grill to high heat. While grill is heating, place cut vegetables into a zip top baggie. Add olive oil, salt and pepper.
2.   Place eggplant and red pepper slices on grill. Watching carefully so vegetables don't burn, grill vegetables until cooked. Remove to a platter.
3.   Using a grill pan or basket, grill mushrooms and zucchini slices until cooked. Remove to a platter.
4.   Turn off grill and set vegetables aside to cool.

----- Tomato Sauce Preparation -----
1.   In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook onion in 1 Tbsp olive oil until tender and transparent (about 5 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Add minced garlic and cook 1 more minute.

2.   Add tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and salt. Stir together well and reduce heat to low. Let simmer 10 minutes.


----- "Cheese" Filling Preparation -----
1.   Open the box and drain liquid from tofu. Place the block of tofu into a medium mixing bowl. Add basil, parsley, soy sauce, and nutritional yeast.   Mix together using a fork until mixture resembles the consistency of ricotta cheese. Set aside.
2.   Slice the block of Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Imitation Cheese into 1/4" slices. Set aside.

----- Assembly and Baking-----
1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2.  Spray the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Ladle 1/2 cup of sauce into the pan and spread evenly over bottom. Layer with 4 lasagna noodles noodles will overlap), 1/2 of the cheese filling, 1/2 of the grilled vegetables, 1/2 of the mozzarella slices and 1/3 of the tomato sauce. Repeat layers. Top with the remaining lasagna noodles and sauce.
3.   Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.  Uncover; bake 15-20 minutes longer until edges are bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand at least 10 minutes before cutting.


Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 620
Calories From Fat: 124
Total Fat: 14.7g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 988.4mg
Potassium: 1128mg
Carbohydrates: 97.6g
Fiber: 10.9g
Sugar: 7.9g
Protein: 28.1g

Don't forget to serve this with a beautiful glass of your favorite red wine...and it's always better on a beautiful eveing out on the deck.  Cheers!