Isn't it just like me to be enjoying something and immediately jump ahead, into the future, and start missing it before it's even gone. This morning I was eating my particularly yummy breakfast in the quiet semi-darkness of my living room, enjoying it immensely. It featured shredded squash. Yes, that's right, shredded squash again! It's my new favorite food trick, as I mentioned in the last post, and I discovered two new ways to use it. I will describe both of them in a minute. But first, what struck me this morning is that it really is coming to a close, this magical summer that I have loved so much. I noticed that Tastespotting is starting to feature more recipes with apples and heartier ingredients. The air is cooler and I can just feel that turning, sliding down into autumn. My last remaining squash plant is starting to do this thing where the squash get rotten before they're big enough to harvest and my tomatoes are FINALLY turning red. It dawned on me how much I will miss summer squash. Yeah, I know you can get it year-round but it's not the same when it wasn't grown in my backyard. It's not the same when it's not summer. So, even though there is still squash around and will be for a while, I started thinking of what I will replace it with in the fall and winter months. Pretty much any root - carrots, beets, parsnips - could be used similarly but nothing is going to melt in the pan quite like squash. What I had to admit to myself is that it's all part of the deal, here on earth. Letting go of what has been, however beautiful it may be, in order to receive the bounty of what's to come. Nothing can really replace what's been loved and lost but I'll stand at my stove and come up with something new and love it just as well. Yes, I did just get all touchy-feely about some squash. And you probably know I'm talking about more than just vegetables here. Like my friend Kelly says, "metaphor is my first language." There's usually another meaning under there somewhere. Not sure how well that's gonna work as man bait, but that's me. Take or leave it, right?! Anyway, on with the instructional portion of our program.
This morning I made eggs (1 whole, 1 white) scrambled with sauteed onion, fresh basil, and shredded squash. It was super easy. Just saute the onion and basil a bit, then add the squash. Let it all soften as much as you want. Add salt and pepper. Then add the eggs, lightly beaten, and mix it all thoroughly. Cook until the eggs are set to your liking.
Last night I needed to make a quick dinner between my 6-mile run and meeting up with a friend. After a run, I need at least little bit of simple carbs to recharge my glycogen but I don't like to load up on that stuff. I do, however, like to feel sufficiently full. I realized that adding shredded squash to my spaghetti would bulk it up with fiber and vitamins instead of just flour. I try to keep a bag of spaghetti noodles and a jar of sauce around. They usually last me at least two weeks if not more. All I did was sautee onion, garlic, and chopped fresh basil (from my garden!) then added the shredded squash (also from my garden!) and let it soften a bit. Then, I just dumped some sauce in, salt and peppered to taste and added it to my little pile of noodles. I shook just a little bit of parm on top and holy crap, flavor city. And it barely took any time to make. I suppose its one pitfall is the lack of protein. I'm not too concerned about that but it would be very easy to add a can of white beans or some chicken if you had left-over laying around, or Italian sausage and it would be even more filling and well-rounded.
That's it! I'm thinking I need to come up with a departing line, like when Paula Deen says she's sending you "love and best dishes from our kitchen to yours." Much as I've come to love the South, I am no Paula Deen so I don't think I could really get away with something as sweet as that. Ideas are welcome, including sarcastic ones!
Showing posts with label squash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label squash. Show all posts
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Simple, Delicious, and Vegan!
After two posts about sugary treats (which are awesome, don't get me wrong) I'm going to do a quick post about some healthy, yummy fare I cooked up last night. Like I said in my very first post, I want to include some of the simple stuff I make most nights of the week as well as represent some tasty vegan options. Between the ages of 16 and 19, I was vegetarian and this also happened to be when I learned to cook. So, a lot of what I cook is veg by default. I have honed my meat cooking skills a bit over the last couple of years but it's still sort of my automatic to make stuff with veggies and beans and the like. Last night, I needed to cook for a friend who is vegan and I was so grateful to have the ability to make flavorful meals without animal products because, like I've mentioned ad nauseum since starting this blog, cooking for the people I love is A-number one important to me.
I did a quick mental inventory of what I had in my fridge and my pantry and came up with squash from my garden, homemade canned salsa I'd dug out of the pantry, and burrito shells. The only beans I had were dried black beans, not an option since you really gotta plan ahead to use those babies, so I decided to stop by the grocery and grab some pintos in a can and onion, since I'd used the last of that at some point last week. I've become quite fond of shredding vegetables to cook them. It's a great way to make them meltingly tender and if you slice an onion really thin and saute them together with olive oil, salt, pepper and whatever spices seem appropriate, it becomes this perfect amalgamation of flavor. In my mind, there are two distinct ways to do burritos (and other westernized forms of latin food). There's the version where all the ingredients have these nice crisp boundaries that keep the integrity of their own flavor while also pairing well with other ingredients. My fave of this variety is black beans, lightly spiced, with pineapple, pico de gallo, roasted sweet potatoes, and either blanched kale or lettuce. (I highly recommend this if you need fiber in your diet. Just don't eat it the night before a long run ;) Last night, though, we needed the other version where everything's a bit mushy and all the ingredients meld together so you have a little pocket of belly-warming goodness. Below is the recipe for what I came up with. It really came together nicely and I'm stoked that there are a tiny bit of leftovers that I'll be eating with tortilla chips for lunch today.
Shredded Squash and Pinto Bean Burritos
Ingredients:
2 medium size yellow squash
1 small or half of a large red onion
1 80z (I think, whatever the normal size is) Pinto Beans
2 cloves garlic
2 T Olive Oil
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. chili powder
lettuce (whatever variety floats your boat)
salsa
whatever other fixins you're into for burritos
Method:
1. Heat 1 T of olive oil in a skillet. Slice your onion very thin and shred the squash with a grater. Once the oilve oil is warm, throw in the onion and sautee it until it starts to turn transluscent. Then, add the squash and stir to coat with the oil. You may need to add a little more oil.
2. Once the squash has been cooking for a minute or so, stir in 1/2 t. of cumin and a heaping 1/2 t. of chili powder. Also, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine the spices well. Remember to stir it occasionally for even cooking and to prevent sticking.
3. Drain the pinto beans and put them in a sauce pan with about a tablespoon, maybe a little less, of olive oil. Throw in two small or one large clove of minced or crushed garlic, 1/2 t. cumin and another heaping 1/2 t. of chili powder as well as salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine. The trick is to spice the beans and squash equally and not too strongly since they'll all end up together in the end. We also want to avoid one of them being bland, since that leads to this stratification of flavor and flavorlessness in the end product. Let the beans cook until heated through. Mush them just a little with a spoon or fork, not totally to a paste but just break about a quarter of them open.
4. Heat your tortillas in whatever way you fancy. I like the oven on 200. Assemble burritos with beans, squash mixture, salsa, lettuce, and whatever else you want. I added a little greek yogurt to mine (a fat free, low call, de-freakin'-lish substitute for sour cream) and it went really well with the flavor and texture.
Yummmmm!
I did a quick mental inventory of what I had in my fridge and my pantry and came up with squash from my garden, homemade canned salsa I'd dug out of the pantry, and burrito shells. The only beans I had were dried black beans, not an option since you really gotta plan ahead to use those babies, so I decided to stop by the grocery and grab some pintos in a can and onion, since I'd used the last of that at some point last week. I've become quite fond of shredding vegetables to cook them. It's a great way to make them meltingly tender and if you slice an onion really thin and saute them together with olive oil, salt, pepper and whatever spices seem appropriate, it becomes this perfect amalgamation of flavor. In my mind, there are two distinct ways to do burritos (and other westernized forms of latin food). There's the version where all the ingredients have these nice crisp boundaries that keep the integrity of their own flavor while also pairing well with other ingredients. My fave of this variety is black beans, lightly spiced, with pineapple, pico de gallo, roasted sweet potatoes, and either blanched kale or lettuce. (I highly recommend this if you need fiber in your diet. Just don't eat it the night before a long run ;) Last night, though, we needed the other version where everything's a bit mushy and all the ingredients meld together so you have a little pocket of belly-warming goodness. Below is the recipe for what I came up with. It really came together nicely and I'm stoked that there are a tiny bit of leftovers that I'll be eating with tortilla chips for lunch today.
Shredded Squash and Pinto Bean Burritos
Ingredients:
2 medium size yellow squash
1 small or half of a large red onion
1 80z (I think, whatever the normal size is) Pinto Beans
2 cloves garlic
2 T Olive Oil
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. chili powder
lettuce (whatever variety floats your boat)
salsa
whatever other fixins you're into for burritos
Method:
1. Heat 1 T of olive oil in a skillet. Slice your onion very thin and shred the squash with a grater. Once the oilve oil is warm, throw in the onion and sautee it until it starts to turn transluscent. Then, add the squash and stir to coat with the oil. You may need to add a little more oil.
2. Once the squash has been cooking for a minute or so, stir in 1/2 t. of cumin and a heaping 1/2 t. of chili powder. Also, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine the spices well. Remember to stir it occasionally for even cooking and to prevent sticking.
3. Drain the pinto beans and put them in a sauce pan with about a tablespoon, maybe a little less, of olive oil. Throw in two small or one large clove of minced or crushed garlic, 1/2 t. cumin and another heaping 1/2 t. of chili powder as well as salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine. The trick is to spice the beans and squash equally and not too strongly since they'll all end up together in the end. We also want to avoid one of them being bland, since that leads to this stratification of flavor and flavorlessness in the end product. Let the beans cook until heated through. Mush them just a little with a spoon or fork, not totally to a paste but just break about a quarter of them open.
4. Heat your tortillas in whatever way you fancy. I like the oven on 200. Assemble burritos with beans, squash mixture, salsa, lettuce, and whatever else you want. I added a little greek yogurt to mine (a fat free, low call, de-freakin'-lish substitute for sour cream) and it went really well with the flavor and texture.
Yummmmm!
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