Freezing!

Outside, that is. It's about 15 degrees Fahrenheit as I type. Of course, that's thirty or forty degrees warmer than the worst temperatures we had a few weeks ago. But still, it's cold, and I'm happy to be inside and comfortable. The freezing weather outside has inspired me to write about freezing inside - that is, freezing vegetables for later use.

This was a delicious meal - roast pork loin with sage rub, roasted butternut squash with cinnamon and butter, and French green beans. Thanks to the freezer, this meal was actually made on quite short notice and with little effort.


The pork loin, which was not frozen, did take some time to roast, but it was hands-off time so I could be productive elsewhere. The sage rub I used was actually a prepared seasoning mix, something I found in my cupboard and thought, "Why do I have this? I don't remember buying this. Oh well, might as well use it!"

Both side dishes came from the freezer. I had roasted, mashed, and frozen the squash from our winter CSA weeks before, so all I had to do was pull it out to thaw when I put the roast in and then put it in the oven to warm up during the last twenty minutes or so of roasting time. The green beans were originally from a summer CSA box. When they arrived, I knew we wouldn't use them that week, so instead I washed, trimmed, and froze them raw; when I wanted to use them, the frozen beans went right in to the steamer basket and cooked for about seven minutes.

The freezer is particularly essential for me in winter when I can't get fresh vegetables locally. Freezing the excess from the abundance of my summer CSA share means that food doesn't go to waste. I also buy a lot of frozen veggies from the grocery store. Most of these veggies are now flash-frozen right after harvesting, so they actually retain more nutritional value than the "fresh" produce that is shipped thousands of miles. Frozen vegetables are also better than canned because canned vegetables often have a lot of added sodium and the heat from the canning processes destroys some nutrients. Plus, frozen veggies are cheap: I stock up at my local PriceChopper when they go on sale for $1.00 or $1.50 for a two-pound bag, but even at the normal price, they cost about $1.00 per pound.

What's your favorite frozen vegetable? I just love having the little packets of mashed roasted squash on hand; also, lately I can't get enough broccoli!

Salad Days: Butternut Squash with Spiced Pecans and Roasted-Garlic Vinaigrette

We received several butternut squashes in the first two winter CSA pick-ups; most were roasted, mashed, and frozen for later use. It has been helpful to have on hand; I move it to the fridge in the morning, then heat it up in a casserole dish in the oven while I get the rest of the meal ready. (You could use a microwave, too, but I don't have one, so oven it is!) But I still had a few whole butternuts and I wanted to try something different, so I came up with this salad.


The butternut is cubed and roasted. Near the end of the cooking time, some garlic cloves are tossed in the oven; they become the basis for a crunchy, garlicky vinaigrette that is drizzled over the warm squash and fresh greens. The finishing touch is a spicy, sweet, crunchy sprinkle of pecans, pan-toasted with some butter and garam masala (yes, I love this spice mix!). The end result is a hearty and satisfying mix of textures and flavors. This salad was an experiment, and I would call it a success; Dan managed to wolf his down before I could even ask if he liked it (about five minutes after handing him the plate).

Butternut Squash Salad with Spiced Pecans and Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

1 small butternut squash
salad greens (enough for two people)
four cloves garlic
1 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 cup pecans
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
salt, to taste

Set oven to 350. Roast whole squash for twenty minutes; remove and set aside until cool enough to comfortably handle. When cool, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds and stringy bits. Peel and chop into large (1") chunks. Spread on cookie sheet lightly greased with cooking spray (such as Pam). Return to oven and roast for another thirty minutes or until very tender, stirring occasionally.

While squash is roasting, wash and spin your greens and place in salad bowl.

When squash chunks have about fifteen minutes left, toss garlic cloves with one teaspoon olive oil in small baking or casserole dish; place in oven.

While garlic and squash roast, prepare your pecans. Melt butter in large saute pan over medium low heat. Add pecans and garam masala, stirring frequently for about five minutes, or until pecans smell nice and toasty.

Remove squash and garlic from oven. Place garlic in food processor with one tablespoon olive oil, cider vinegar, mustard, and salt, and blend. Add squash and vinaigrette to salad bowl and toss. Sprinkle pecans on top before serving.

Sorta-Stuffed Squash

Here's the stuffed squash post I mentioned last Friday. I call it Sorta-Stuffed Squash because every stuffed squash recipe I've ever seen involves stuffing the squash and then baking it. Sometimes the squash is partially baked first, but it always ends up in the oven after being stuffed with some sort of mixture, usually rice-based. This recipe cheats by cooking the filling separately from the squash and just throwing them together at the end.

You might think cooking the squash and the filling separately is more complicated, but both steps are actually very easy and totally hands-off once you've got them on the heat. After halving the squash and scooping out the seeds, put a pat of butter in the hollow of each half and roast them, cut side up, for about 35 minutes at 400 degrees. The exact time will vary from squash to squash, but they should be tender when you stick a fork in them.



Once the squash is in the oven, make Rebecca Blood's brown rice and lentil recipe, which I've mentioned before. It couldn't be simpler - just lentils, rice, and water - then add salt and/or a little red wine vinegar when it's done. The lentils take about 25-30 minutes to cook, so your squash and your lentils will be done around the same time. Meanwhile, rinse and spin your lettuce, make your dressing, and you've still got twenty minutes to check email, watch the news, or - my favorite - enjoy a glass of wine.

When both the squash and the lentils are ready, scoop the lentils into the squash hollow. Tada! You're done. The rice and lentils absorb some of the melted butter from the squash, and the sweetness of the roasted squash nicely complements the salted, earthy taste of the lentils. This meal is a hat trick: easy, healthy, and cheap.

Out of the Box: Final Week of the Summer

Our CSA "summer" share actually lasted well in to October. Here's a shot of our final weekly pickup, which included potatoes, beets, celeriac, leeks, rainbow chard, dinosaur kale, cabbage, carrots, butternut squash, delicata squash, broccoli, and brussels sprouts.

Both the butternut squash and the kale I cooked and then froze for later use. Everything else I used in various dishes that I will post about over the next week or so, except for the celeriac, which I still haven't used! Luckily it's a root vegetable and keeps very well.

Here's the delicata squash after I sliced off the ends and cut it lengthwise, but before I scooped out the seeds. We received delicatas several times over the summer; the first time, I roasted the two squash halves with some water in the pan, and the result was indeed very delicate, with the texture of a very soft puree and a taste reminiscent of apples and pears. I also tried a delicata and gruyere soup, which was a huge disappointment: it was somehow too bland and too sweet at the same time (to me, anyway; Dan enjoyed it, but he's easy to please).

With this delicata, I think I finally found a method that really brings out the best flavor of the squash. I left the skin on and chopped the squash in to small chunks, which I tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted at 400 degrees for about twenty-five minutes, stirring once or twice. The result was amazing: the flesh was tender, the skin crispy, and the salt and pepper provided a nice, kicky contrast to the natural sweetness of the squash.


I tossed the warm, roasted squash cubes with dried cranberries and toasted pine nuts and added a simple side salad with mustard vinaigrette. This was a very satisfying and delicious meal, and the leftovers were not leftover for long; Dan couldn't pass through the kitchen without grabbing a few more bites, and I certainly couldn't blame him.

catching up

There are always a few meals that, for whatever reason, don't make it on the blog during the week I make them. They linger in the corners of my memory, haunting my "to blog" list, and are borne ever farther back by the waves of new photos in my Flickr photostream. They are perfectly good meals, decently photographed, so there's no reason not to post about them. So now, when I don't have regular access to a camera, is actually a perfect time to sweep the corners and post the pieces that I've missed.

This was a fantastic and satisfying veggie-only dinner from week 10. I made a simple red sauce from mushrooms, onions, fresh tomatoes, olive oil, and rosemary, and I served it over faux-fried eggplant. Tasty as it is, I don't fry eggplant (or much of anything, really) - most of the time, fried foods just aren't worth the calories to me. I'd rather have ice cream. So my favorite way to prepare eggplant (and zucchini) is to fake-fry it: I dip the sliced veggies in milk or plain yogurt, then in bread crumbs (seasoned with herbs and sometimes parmesan cheese) and bake them in the oven at 375 for 20-30 minutes. The result is unbeatable - all of the crispiness of fried eggplant (or zucchini) with none of the grease. In this case, I also served corn on the cob and sliced cucumbers.

One of my favorite vegetables this summer is yellow squash. It's a new favorite for me; while I liked it alright before, for some reason this summer I just can't get enough of it. I especially love the teeny, tiny baby squashes we've received so often in our CSA box; they are awesome raw - crunchy yet tender. The larger ones usually end up grilled, with peanut sauce and other grilled veggies, or sometimes very lightly steamed. Several weeks back, I decided to experiment with the squash and use up several pantry items at the same time.

I ended up with this tasty, if a little strange, concotion: sliced squash, sauteed and sprinkled with balsamic vinaigrette, tossed with Wacky Mac and feta cheese. I was inspired in part by recipe that I stumbled across for pan-seared balsamic squash; since my squash was only lightly cooked and not seared, I'm not sure it quite stood up to the balsamic. Maybe it's just me, since I'm actually not a big fan of balsamic vinegar in general. But the feta worked nicely with both the squash and the balsamic, and Dan enjoyed the dish. Luckily, he's pretty easy to please.

Out of the Box, Week 10

Just popping in to post a picture of this week's spectacular haul.
It's almost too much to fit in the frame!
Okay, let's pull out and see it all:

The quantity of vegetables this week is mind-boggling. We have:
--two small heads of lettuce
--two small bunches of bitter field greens
--two heads of bok choy
--assorted potatoes
--half a dozen onions
--SEVENTEEN tomatoes!
--a pint of assorted baby tomatoes
--three cucumbers
--two small yellow squash
--one delicata squash
--green beans
--six ears of corn

We already had an eggplant, four ears of corn, hot peppers, and garlic left over from last week, as well as a big bag of cucumbers from Dan's boss. I should have no problem sticking to just vegetables this weekend. In fact, I think I'll have to in order to get through all of this.

(By the way, these photos were taken with a borrowed camera - mine's almost certainly beyond repair.)

Out of the Box, Week 8

Last week, purple peppers; this week, purple garlic! Isn't it beautiful? This must be the garlic that sent off the scapes we got a few weeks ago. I just love this color.

Speaking of color, it's that time of the season when the box is packed with so many different colors (not just green, like we had in June). Of course we are still getting lots of lettuce (curly red stuff, this time), which is good since salads are such a staple in our house. We also got a huge bunch of basil this time as well as a big load of scallions. There's also fennel - another new food for me - and some cucumbers. Beets, carrots, tomatoes, and tender, little summer squashes add punches of color between all the green.



The first thing I tackled was the basil, since we still had some from week 7 and I didn't want any of it to go to waste.

I've heard that the best way to preserve basil is in oil and in the freezer, and pesto is probably the easiest way to do this. I whipped up a few batches of this on Sunday night, some of which went on our pizza. I put the rest in a plastic-wrap-lined ice cube tray so I could freeze it in small blocks, which I later transferred to a freezer bag. Now when we want pesto it will be easy to grab one or two cubes to thaw.

To make pesto, all you need to do is combine fresh basil and pine nuts (about one packed cup of basil and 1/3 c. pine nuts is a pretty good ratio). You can use a blender or a food processor; my mini-Cuisinart works great for this. Once the basil and nuts are well-blended, you need to add a little olive oil. Ideally, you want it to emulsify with the other ingredients, so if possible, pour it in a thin stream while your blender or food processor is running. The MiniCuisinart actually has a small well with a tiny hole built into the lid for exactly this purpose. Once these three ingredients are blended, mix in some grated parmesan or romano cheese (roughly 1/3 c. to 1/2 c., according to your preference). If you are going to freeze the pesto, hold off on the cheese and instead add it to the thawed herb blend right before serving.

We used our pesto on wholegrain pizza dough with some fresh mozzarella and a little feta, served, of course, with a big leafy salad on the side.

Confetti Salad

For my first meal from this week's amazing bounty, I decided to try The New Moosewood Cookbook's raw vegetable salad. Basically, the idea is that any vegetable can be eaten raw if you chop it small enough, so grab whatever you have -- the more different kinds and colors, the better -- and mince or grate them all. I picked squash, zucchini, scallions, and purple pepper from our CSA box, as well as carrots and celery that we had on hand. (A cucumber is pictured, but I didn't end up using it.) The celery was the only thing I minced manually; I used the kitchen shears on the scallions and threw everything else in to my trusty salad shooter. Consequently, this salad took about five minutes to prepare.

See how pretty it looks with all the different colors? Like confetti. Once everything is chopped or grated, just stir it up and add the salad dressing of your choice.

I decided to take another page from Moosewood and use their green salad dressing. It's a slightly odd mix of fresh herbs, spinach (or kale, in my case, since we didn't have spinach), lemon juice, and buttermilk. It was fresh and tangy and worked well with the raw veggies. The overall effect was very light and tasty; there's something about this salad that reminds me of fresh salsa, even though it's not spicy. It would make an incredible burrito filling -- I'm thinking with mashed pink pintos and a little queso blanco in a whole wheat tortilla. Yum!

Out of the Box, Week 7

Aren't these colors glorious? We're clearly at the height of summer. It's really nice to be back home and get another huge box of veggies.

It was recently brought to my attention that some readers might be wondering just how it is we get a nice box of veggies every week. We participate in a CSA (community-supported agriculture) program. It's sort of like a subscription service for produce. We paid in advance for a full year's worth of vegetables. From June to October, we pick up a box once a week; November through May, we'll pick up a somewhat larger assortment once a month.

It's a nice deal for all involved: the farmer gets money in advance to help pay for seeds and planting, and we end up getting fresh, local, organic vegetables and herbs at a lower price than we would pay in stores or at the farmers market. Our share works out to about $10 per week over the course of the year.

Clearly, we're getting more than $10 worth of vegetables here: we've got a large head of romaine, some kale, a bunch of basil, a huge bunch of scallions, summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, a green bell pepper, a purple pepper, and two kohlrabi.

We signed up for the CSA at Luna Bleu Farm in South Royalton, Vermont. To find a CSA in your area, go here.