Sunday, September 28, 2008

Autumn Eats

Lately, I have been working late, and we have been throwing together meals so quickly, and devouring them even more quickly, that I have been forgetting to take pictures and blog the recipes.  But we have been enjoying autumn's bounty, via the following easy-to-make quickies:

Roasted Squash with Rosemary 
          - Chopped zucchini and summer squash tossed with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper, and roasted in a 350°F oven for about a half hour (until cooked/tender).

Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta with Green Olive Tapenade, Broccoli, and Red Chilli Pepper Flakes 
          - Broccoli florets sauteed in olive oil, garlic, red chilli pepper flakes, and salt, tossed with hot whole wheat angel hair pasta, fresh black pepper, and green olive tapenade.

Butternut Squash Soup 
          - Peel a butternut squash, halve it width-wise, halve each half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, toss with olive oil, roast at 400°F for ~25 mins. in a foil-lined baking tray (until it's tender), puree with vegetable stock to the consistency of your choice with the seasonings of your choice (this time I used salt, pepper, and fennel fronds; I also love ginger, or honey and garam masala). 

Warm Lentil Salad
          - Saute the chopped, lower, thicker parts of four scallions, four chopped celery stalks, and garlic in olive oil until softened. Stir in 2 cans of drained brown (French) lentils and salt and pepper. Stir until warmed through and mixed together - be careful not to let the lentils get mashed up. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, chopped fresh parsley, and the chopped, upper, thinner parts of the four scallions.

Wild Rice, Cranberry, Shiitake, and Sliced Snap Pea Salad
          - Toss cooked brown rice and cooked wild rice with dried cranberries, thinly sliced sauteed shiitakes, and thinly sliced blanched snap peas with salt, pepper, and a vinaigrette of apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, walnut oil, olive oil, chilli pepper, and minced shallots.

Mache and Mesclun Salad with McIntosh Apples, Candied Pecans, Shaved Manchego, Shaved Fennel, and White Balsamic Vinaigrette
          - In each plate, place a handful of mache rosettes and mesclun. Top with chopped McIntosh apples, candied pecans, and shaved fennel. Drizzle with a vinaigrette of white balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, and salt. Grind black pepper over salads. Top each with a few pieces of shaved manchego.

2 comments:

  1. thank you for posting these recipes. they all sound so yummy. do you plan ahead cuz how do you hae all of those stuff in the house?

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  2. I use an organic coop delivery service called Urban Organic. Every 2 weeks (unless I cancel) Urban Organic delivers a Little Box of seasonal, organic produce to my apartment. Recently there's been broccoli, butternut squash, summer squash, zucchini. Tuesdays and Thursdays there's also a farmer's market across the street from my office, and I picked up some lovely purple scallions there that ended up in my lentil salad. I plan when there's something specific that I want to make; otherwise, I use the produce I have on hand with the grains, oils, vinegars, spices, etc., that I have in my cupboard.

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