veggie veggie

Dear Mom,

Well, thank God its over!  What's over, you ask?  My two week stint as a vegetarian.  Quite a stupid endeavor I'll have to admit.  Not to say that going vegetarian is stupid, its just totally dumb to do it for two weeks.  I was convinced by my husband and a documentary that he made me watch that animal protein was bad for you.  That is probably correct, but you know what?  I don't care.  I like meat and cheese and eggs and I'm proud of it!  So I tried to give up meat and eggs (not cheese, I just could not give up cheese) for two weeks, with the end goal of, "if I feel better, I might just stick with it."  Well, newsflash, two weeks is probably not enough, and lets be honest the end goal did not involve becoming a veg for the rest of my life.  So what did I learn?  Well, I learned a couple of new veggie friendly recipes and I'm going to cut back on my meat consumption.  That's about it.  Not exactly worth giving up meat for two weeks, but this is a very tasty recipe so some good did come of the attempt.

roasted red pepper and cauliflower pasta

1 head of cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

salt & pepper

2 large shallots, sliced

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup white wine (Pinot Grigio works great)

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained (in water, or if in oil, drain and rinse them in cold water)

chopped fresh basil

pasta, cooked and drained, reserve some pasta water (really any kind you like, I used a lemon-pepper pappardelle) 

Preheat oven to 400.  On a sheet pan toss the cauliflower, minced garlic, 4 tbsp. EVOO and salt & pepper to taste.  Spread in a single layer and roast in the oven for 25 minutes, stirring & flipping at the halfway point.  The cauliflower should be lightly browned and toasty when done.

Cook pasta according to package directions, reserve some of the pasta water.  

Meanwhile, in a saucepan or deep saute pan heat 1 tbsp. EVOO and add shallots.  Saute the shallots until they begin turning golden.  Add tomato paste and let brown a little, then add white wine and scrape up the brown bits.  Puree the roasted red peppers in a blender or food processor and add to the shallot-wine mixture.  Bring to a light simmer.

Add to the saucepan the roasted cauliflower and bits of minced garlic from the sheet pan.  Stir to combine.  Add the pasta and toss over medium-low heat, add some of the reserved pasta water if the sauce is too thick or not adhering to the pasta.

butternut squash redux

Dear Kristin,

Your bacon and squash galette looks wonderful. I've just recently started using butternut squash - I was always an acorn girl up until now. I'm learning that squash is the "Sybil" of the vegetable world - able to take on multiple personalities with the addition of just a few basic ingredients. I know you and your mate are trying to curtail the amount of animal protein in your diets - so I'm offering a side dish that you can make without any animal-related products whatsoever.

We were looking for a side dish to serve with lemon chicken and the thought of just another potato or rice dish was just not very exciting. I've been wanting to do something with quinoa for quite some time, and thought that it would do nicely as a starchy side dish. A friend recently served Wegman's recipe for squash & grain bake and I've also had quinoa with squash and craisins, and these dishes were my inspiration.

I've never made quinoa before, and when I brought it home & opened it up your dad gave me one of those "oh here we go" skeptical looks and retreated to his man-cave to await what he was sure was going to be a bland substitute for rice. Well, I've made a believer out of him with this recipe. I cooked the quinoa in a mixture of water and chicken stock to boost the flavor a bit (to make it vegetarian friendly you could use vegetable stock). I also added some red onions (because we love onions), and instead of using craisins, which tend to get lost easily, I used frozen cranberries instead. The cranberries were an inspired addition - they really add a nice tangy "pop" that makes this side dish stand out.

Just a warning - this dish makes a lot! Since it is just a side dish, I think I will cut it down to half the next time.

Red Quinoa with Squash and Cranberries

1 cup red quinoa
1 cup lower sodium chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 1/4 cup water
3 cups butternut squash, large dice
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, halved
1 medium red onion, large dice
1 clove garlic (or more to taste)
2 Tblsp. good quality maple syrup
Kosher salt
Extra virgin olive oil

Cook quinoa:

Place quinoa in large fine sieve and rinse with cold water. Drain and place in saucepan with chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat and simmer for 17 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.

Prepare vegetables:

Place squash, cranberries, onion and garlic on large baking sheet lined with non-stick foil. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Toss mixture to coat. Spread mixture evenly in pan and roast in 400 F. oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until squash is tender.

Fluff quinoa with a fork and place in a large pre-warmed serving bowl. Add roasted vegetables and toss. Add salt to taste. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve hot.

comfy's note: I imagine this would work as well with acorn squash. Stuffing a presoftened acorn squash shell with the quinoa mixture would make a nice presentation.