We’ve been enjoying a yummy cold salad lately: Bok Choy Asian Salad! It’s simple and refreshing. And it doesn’t heat up the house!
I pre-cook a few chicken breasts in soy sauce in my cast iron skillet. I chop the chicken into bite size pieces and refrigerate it until I’m ready to serve the salad.
Then it takes just a few minutes to wash and chop the Bok Choy, toss it with the chicken pieces, sesame seeds, and a natural sesame oil dressing I picked up at Costco. A bit of fresh ground pepper to taste and it’s ready to eat.
Posted June 2nd, 2010.
That spring sunshine has been tantalizing me with its promises of warmth. I’ve been digging in the flower beds, poking in my herb garden. But come dinner time, it usually feels a bit more like the winter we’ve just left behind, and we’re in the mood for a meal to warm the insides.
The other night I decided we needed one more taste of winter squash before the greens I’m salivating for arrive! I’d already cooked the Amber Cup squash on the wood stove that morning, so putting together this favorite recipe of my mother-in-law’s took no time at all.
Orange Rice & Squash Casserole
Spread cooked, mashed winter squash in the bottom of a 13×9 pan.
Sauté chopped onions, minced garlic, and diced carrots in butter.
Mix sautéed vegetables with:
1 c. diced ham
3 c. cooked rice
1/4 c. orange juice concentrate
salt, pepper, chives, and curry powder to taste
Spoon over pan of squash. Bake at 350 until warm and bubbly.
Posted March 26th, 2010.
My mother-in-law has the most fabulous recipe for scalloped potatoes. It is rich and delicious yet the most simple of recipes to make!
- Line greased pan with peeled, sliced raw potatoes (we slice them using the attachment to our Kitchen Aid to get nice thin slices).
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over every few layers.
- Pour whipping cream and milk over the potatoes.
- Bake uncovered until it starts to brown, then cover with foil until all the potatoes are fork tender (several hours total cooking time).
Posted December 20th, 2009.
My sister-in-law’s recipe is a favorite “special occasion” bread in our family…
2 1/2 t. yeast
2 T. warm water
1 c. cooked, pureed winter squash
1/3 c. warm milk
1/4 c. soft butter
1 egg
3 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
3 1/2 c. flour
Glaze: 1 egg, 1 T. water, beaten
Dissolve yeast in water. Combine remaining ingredients, adding flour gradually to make soft dough. Knead, let rise until double. Divide dough into thirds. Roll each third into 18-inch rope. Place on greased baking sheet. Braid ropes together, pinch ends. Cover and let rise until nearly double. Combine glaze ingredients; brush over braid. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden.
Posted November 25th, 2009.
It always frustrates me when a recipe calls for winter and summer squash in the same dish. Maybe they are ready at the same time where you live, but not here! However, thanks to our amazing new greenhouse, tomatoes are ripening during both winter and summer squash season. And our pepper plants are safe inside the greenhouse, too. Thus, it calls for making Mexican dishes with winter squash: a fun, if not authentic, challenge.
I tried a recipe for enchiladas before that used only winter squash, peppers, and garlic as the sauce. But it was a bit dry and “squashy” for me. This time, I put into the blender cooked winter squash, some hot peppers, and some tomatoes. Inside the flour tortillas, I used leftover venison taco meat and the last bit of the purple cabbage and green tomato salsa, rolling the tortillas tightly into the pan. I spread them with a can of un-healthy, fattening, non-organic cream of mushroom soup, just because I love the flavor it adds to my enchiladas! Then I topped them with a generous amount of blended squash, peppers, and tomatoes (all grown organically, of course), making sure the sauce made it down in between and below the individual enchiladas.
Smothered in cheese and cooked ‘til bubbly and slightly browned, it was moist and delicious!
Posted November 9th, 2009.
