chicken enchilada casserole

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 cup chopped fresh onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 clovesgarlic, chopped
• Dash of ground red pepper 
• ~30 oz beans (2 cans.  we used our kidney and great northern beans)
• 2 cups boiled or sauteed chicken 
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 18 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 2 cups (8 ounces) cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 
• 1 (16-ounce) jar green salsa
• 10 tablespoon sour cream 
• cilantro ..loads of it
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Preparation

• cook the beans, i recommend soaking them over night.
• heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion; cook  until tender, stirring frequently. stir in spices; cook 1 minute. stir in beans; cook 2 minutes. remove from heat. add chicken, 1/2 cup green onions, and 7 tablespoons ripe olives; stir well.
• preheat oven to 350°.
• layer 6 tortillas on bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. spread 2 cups chicken mixture over tortillas; sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese. repeat layers once. top with remaining 6 tortillas.
• combine milk, chopped cilantro, and salsa in a blender, and process until smooth. pour over top of tortillas. cover and bake at 350° for 35 minutes. uncover, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, remaining 1/2 cup green onions. bake for a few more minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with sour cream. garnish with many many cilantro sprigs.

a midsummer garden

  
we had a heat wave a week ago, same as the rest.  it did a number on our crops, but overall everything is doing well.  the heat bolted lots of lettuces, broccoli, herbs and burnt the roma green  beans (luckily we already picked the majority of them). the high temperatures also stunted the growth of the second plantings of green beans, spinach and edamame.  
so... the past few shares have consisted of zukes, mesclun, new potatoes, beans, lettuces, broccoli, bok choi, kale, chard and various herbs.  we've been busy squishing beetles on our edamame and potatoes, keeping an eye out for hornworms, and watering plants.

beautiful kale

autumn crops have dominated our garden thoughts lately.  we planted some super sugar snap peas for the fall, and loads of plug trays full of brassicas (who isn't smitten for fall kale?!) and lettuces.  but that seems far off, because next week we're expecting the first tomatoes, and soon after the first planting of corn and edamame. those are some high ticket crops!
also, the firecracker sunflowers are coming up - yowza! 

easy great northern bean dip

this is an easy, hummus-like dip that's delicious on some focaccia, or other bread.  it's also using the beans that we grew in the garden and put in the shares.  we're getting in bean mode these days, so

ingredients:

1 1/2 c gn beans

2 - 4 tbs yogurt

4 tbs olive oil

jalepeno pepper  (3-7 slices, diced)

1-2 tsp rosemary (to taste. parsley would be a good replacement)

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp garlic (4-6 cloves chopped)

1 tbsp lemon juice (to taste)

s+p to taste

soak the beans over night (or quick cook them if you prefer).  drain them and put them in 7or 8 c of water over medium heat for 40-45min - until soft.  in a food processor, fill half with beans.  add the rest of the ingredients and blend.  taste it as you go along, so you can decide if it is too flavorful or not enough.  add tsps of warm water to make the dip creamier, and more gn beans to thicken it.

what is to be done, what has been done and photo tour

 howdy folks!

did i mention wild lupines surround the garden?

 sorry it's been awhile. we have been busy in the garden! and, i'll admit, occasionally  just laying around being very pregnant and cranky (that's me, but conroy has sympathy pains, so i can't exactly exclude him, either).  still, we are so very excited about the garden, and are out there everyday, weather permitting.  
we're planning on distributing first shares next week. it won't be an overwhelming amount of food, but it'll have multiple greens, peas, dry beans and an herb, hopefully. 

to keep you posted, i'll start with what we've done so far.   
so far we have sowed: corn, snap peas, squashes, green beans, edamame,  lettuces, mesculn, arugula, chard, kale, spinach, broccoli, potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, radishes, fennel, flowers and herbs.  most of those we've sowed successive plantings, so we can expect a long stretch of fresh veggies.  basil, leeks, red cabbage, and more tomatoes still need to be transplanted.
also, we've been weeding and hoeing the heck out of that garden - paths and beds.  conroy hilled the potatoes yesterday, we thinned the corn and squash, and have been covering lots of the crops with row covers (remay). and, we made an awesome scarecrow (props to lynn and abby,  the artistic visionaries).


after some seriously finicky (hot, cold, dry, soggy) weather it looks like we'll have a nice warm and sunny front for a stretch, which should do wonders for the crops. of course, we have had a few snafus besides the weather...  we've got a groundhog threatening our snap peas from above, and a vole from below.  so far the vole has taken out many a snap pea plant.  also a snowshoe hare is munching on radish greens and lettuce.   deer have had a walkabout on some of our onions, flowers, and greens. and, we have a skunk - who hasn't done any garden damage that we know of, but is a pain in the ass to wake up to.

what is to be done?  weed, transplant, and harvest!  also, design a shade fixture for greens II.
here's a photo tour for your viewing pleasures:

potato plant

snap peas and greens

tomato rows

potato beds

corn I

edamame I

snap peas

rainbow chard

plug trays!

we've got loads of plug trays with seedlings eager to be transplanted.  above you can see some baby broccoli, kale, leeks, tomatoes, cabbage, lettuces....   the pictures was taken a few weeks ago, so they're bigger now.  we had a slight mishap which involved overheating seedlings in the cold frames one sunny afternoon.  but no worries, 'cause some leaf trimming and compost tea fixed everything. 

above you see the first batch of snap peas.  they're doing great save the vole who's been nabbing the seedlings: note the empty patches.  still they're healthy and bug-free, and we've managed to keep the groundhog at bay thus far.

the fellas checkin' in on the seedlings.

seitan shepherd's pie

a take-off of an old classic.this is how it's done.

boil potatoes with skins. a bunch of 'em. say 3-4 lbs. 

the original recipe calls for slicing zucchini length-wise, frying them until almost cooked, and placing them along the bottom of the baking pan.  i've done that before, and it is delicious (especially for the month of august, b/c it uses up some of the massive amounts of zucchini around the house) but it's also more work.  so i've modified it a tad, and just:

-stir fry all of my favorite vegetables in olive oil: garlic, onions, broccoli, kale, peppers, parsnips, etc.  -then toss in some savory herbs: thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano, parsley...etc. whatever you prefer. add some nutritional yeast, balsamic and sun dried tomatoes if you got 'em (they'll add lots of tang) at the end of the cooking. put the whole mixture at the bottom of the casserole dish.

-cook seitan however you prefer: dry baked, boiled, fried. i usually fry it with pepper and thyme. put that on top of the veggies in a flat layer.

-now, if you have lots of extra veg, place 'em on top of the seitan layer.  if not,

-mash those potatoes in your favorite way.  i usually just do garlic mashed potatoes and add a bit extra butter/margarine and (soy) milk to make the potatoes extra wet (which you need, b/c the whole pot pie will be baked for a good long while, and dry out the potato mash).

bake it all at 350 for 45 minutes.

sprinkle nutritional yeast over the top, and you have yourself a hardy meal.

garden activities 2011

howdy friends!
though we haven't been writing about the garden, we've been busy tending to it.  we made two new cold frames that are storing many plug trays of seedlings. the two front plots have been broadfork'd and treated with manure, as well as four beds in the back 40. we've put spinach, arugula, chard and sugar snap peas in the ground. and we've planned out the garden, in its entirety.  we're doing a CSA this year, and quite excited about it. we love sharing our garden with people!
we've started plug trays of basil, fennel, leeks, tomatoes, lettuces, broccoli and kale, so far. there's more to come, for sure.

new cold frames

here's our crop list (mainly from johnny's):
edamame (toya and butterbeans)
broccoli (windsor, blue wind and gypsy)
cucumbers (diva and little leaf)
kale (winterbore and red russian)
lettuces (mesculn and red romaine)
melons (charentais-edonis)
snap peas (super sugar snap and sugar anne)
scallions (deep purple)
tomatoes (green zebra, velencia, sun golds, marianna, striped germans)

can you tell there are 4 broadfork'd beds?

squash (kabocha-confection, delicata, butternut-waltham)
corn (augusta and vision)
spinach (corvair)
mesclun
potatoes (red norland and kennebec)
summer squash (dundoo)
parsnips (javelin)
carrots (bolero and nelson)
pumpkins (expert)
leeks (king richard)
sunflowers (fire cracker, velvet queen and full sun)
zinnias (prairie)

and from vermont bean company:
green beans (roma II, soleil, cherokee, top crop)

things to do: sow a tray of peppers, direct sow carrots, parsnips, onions, radishes and potatoes

lemon ricotta pancakes w/ blueberry sauce

we made these for our family, visiting. i gotta say, they were a huge hit - the lemon blueberry combo is hard to beat. i got this recipe from two peas and their pod.  it's pretty simple, so here goes. 
for the blueberry sauce:

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water

1. in a bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch. set aside.

2. in a saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, and water. bring to a boil. reduce to a simmer and stir in lemon juice and cornstarch mixture. stir until the sauce thickens slightly.  cover and set aside.

it's unfortunate the hashbrown mixed with the sauce, i know

the pancakes:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon canola oil
1. whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
2. in another bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, egg, egg whites, lemon juice, lemon zest, and canola oil. fold this mixture into the dry ingredients until flour disappears. don’t over mix, you want the batter to be thick.
3. heat a griddle or a nonstick skillet over medium heat with oil. cook the pancakes until browned on the underside and beginning to set, about 2 minutes. flip and cook the other side, about two minutes longer. make 'em until batter is gone. serve with blueberry sauce.

gingery cookies and naming

i'm not calling them gingerbread cookies because they're lacking a key ingredient - molasses. can't be gingerbread w/out molasses, sorry. i'm pretty unforgiving on this topic. 
so instead i used a molasses replacement and came up with a whole new cookie that is very popular in our house. 
i'm just not sure what to name 'em. why don't you try out the recipe and lemme know what you think an awesome name would be for them? 

don't you love the shapes of the cookie people?

gingery cookies

- 1 stick of butter
- 1/2 c sugar
- 1/3 c maple syrup (the real stuff!)
- 1/4 c agave  (you could use honey instead)

melt a stick of butter in a sauce pan.  add in 1/2 c of sugar and stir.  now add the agave and maple syrup, and continue stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture isn't grainy. 

in a separate bowl combine until well-mixed:
- 2 c all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 tbs ginger root (ground) or powder
- almost 1 tsp cinnamon 
- 1 tsp nutmeg

create a hole in the middle of the bowl and slowly pour in the lukewarm sugar-butter concoction. mix it until the dough starts to form a ball in the center of the bowl. then take it out a knead it a few times on a wooden cutting board.  
cover it in saran wrap and leave it out for an hour or so (if you plan to use it immediately). you can also refrigerate the dough for 4 days.  when you're ready to make cookies, roll the dough into a ball and sprinkle the very minimum of flour on a flat surface. roll the dough flat and even, and cut out shapes. 
bake for 7 to 10 min at 375 on parchment paper.  
you can decorate them with some frosting, or raisins and nuts....lots of options.  clearly we went with the easy colored-sugar stuff.  it was a good project for kid A.

 try them and lemme know what you think!  
enjoy!

butternut squash gratin and toasted sicilian quinoa

we've got loads of butternut squash from autumn that still needs to be used up.  so when i stumbled upon this recipe, after some initial ingredient make-over, it was a perfect fit. here goes.

butternut squash gratin

-1 squash about 2 to 2 1/2 lbs.  peel, scoop out the seeds, 
and slice quarter inch half moon pieces. 
-1 tbs unsalted butter, cut up into small pieces.
-1/2 c chicken stock
-1/2 c parmesan cheese
-1/2 c bread crumbs
-1 tbs olive oil
-1 tsp red pepper flakes
-1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
-1 tsp thyme, chopped
salt


in a greased, shallow 2 qrt pan layer the squash on top of each other. toss some salt on each layer. pour the stock over the squash and place the butter pieces evenly over the squash.  cover with tinfoil and bake at 400 for 35 minutes, or until squash is soft. 
meanwhile, in a bowl mix the cheese, oil, spices, a dash of salt and bread crumbs.  add some hot sauce if you want to spice it up a little. 
when the squash is ready, spread the cheesy breadcrumb mixture evenly over it. bake for another 12 or 15 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. 


while the gratin was cooking i made some toasted quinoa. the quinoa tastes more nutty and less bitter this way.
sicilian toasted quinoa 


-1 c quinoa
-2 tsp olive oil
-2 c water
-2 or 3 garlic cloves, chopped
-1 tbs balsamic
-handful of dried tomatoes, to taste
-small onion chopped
-bunch of kale or char (optional)
-handful of raisins and sesame seeds (optional)


drain the quinoa, grease  a skillet with the oil and toast the quinoa at med heat until golden (~15 minutes) tossing frequently. add the water, garlic and onions, let boil. after a few minutes add the dried tomatoes and leafy greens. 7-10 minutes later the quinoa should be cooked. a minute before it's finished add the balsamic and stir.  top with sesame seeds and raisins if you like. 
yum!

chicken marsala

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon essence recipe
• 2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 lb spinach
• 3/4 cup marsala
• 1 cup chicken stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• chopped chives, for garnsih

 

directions

in a shallow bowl or plate combine the flour and "essence" and stir, combine thoroughly. dredge the chicken breast halves in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking to remove any excess flour.

heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. add 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. transfer to a plate and set aside. add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and stirring frequently. add the marsala wine and bring to a boil. when the wine has reduced by half, add the chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. lower the heat to medium and return the chicken breasts to the pan and continue to cook until they are cooked through and the sauce has thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes. swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the spinach. add salt and pepper, to taste. garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately.

mocha brownie torte

this recipe was recommended to me by a fantastic cook, and i made it as a surprise for valentine's day. it was perfect, b/c the dinner i made was a bit more complex and this recipe is very very simple.  it didn't end up actually being a surprise, since conroy's a sneak who peeked in the fridge. so, i should warn you if you want to surprise someone with this, it takes up a far bit of space in the refrigerator.

it's the whipped cream flavor that really makes this "cake". although, next time i try it i'm going to add some crunchy peanut butter to the brownies, instead of walnuts. (but, i gotta say , the walnuts worked out well). 

w/o the frosting on top.

 

ingredients:
1 package of fudge brownie mix
1/4 cup of water
2 eggs
1/2 c chopped nuts
1 1/2 c chilled whipping cream
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tbs instant cofee
shaved chocolate


heat oven to 350.  grease and flour two round 9X1 1/2 inch layer pans.
mix brownie mix with eggs and water, stir in nuts. 
spread in the pans and bake for 20 min. (this makes the brownie's more cake-like. if you want more standard brownies, add 1/4 c oil to the mix).   take out, let cool for about 5 min, and then cool the cakes (on wire racks, or what have you) until room temperature or cooler.
in a *chilled* bowl, beat the cream until it begins to thicken. gradually add the sugar and coffee until it's stiff.  
fill the layers with ~1 c  of the whipping cream mix.  add the remaining to the top of the torte (i didn't do this part until i served it up). sprinkle with chocolate shavings and chill for at least an hour. 
a variation of this recipe that i am definitely going to try is adding maple to the whipped cream mixture. what can i say, i'm a mainer and i'm a sucker for some family-made maple syrup.

r-e-c-i-p-r-o-c-i-t-y

big props to das linoleum for being so funky and rad to actualize this fantastic idea.  all i did was copy and paste, so drop das  a line if you love the thought, and check out the etsy page. you'll only find inspiration, folks. gift giving - this should become and annual event in blog-land, right?

reciprocity

 

reciprocity has been a struggle for us these days, with the farm, kid, illnesses, being preggers, and other totally wimpy excuses.  we all need a gentle nudge to get our act together every now and then, and remind ourselves that being decent community-minded folk takes little effort.  consider yourself served.

let me sum up the below: you read it, if you want to participate you comment on my blog, and i send you a handmade gift.  i'm guessing my PIF handmade item will be a silk screen t-shirt, but it could also be some knitting.  keepin' ya on your toes. do comment y'all! participation is key!    ...read and enjoy. 

The Gift.

Dear [whoever reads this],

they usually do these things and call it the 'snowball effect' but really it's not so much about passing on than about giving back (and passing on and giving back and so on). Reciprocity: it's that principle based on networking – on connecting and linking up, on creating relationships between nodes and vertexes, and finally growing them into networks and matrices. 

Some would probably prefer the more elegant term: rhizomes. More elegant, yes!, but also burdened with fewer connotations than 'the network' and 'the matrix,' both of which can bring about all kinds of unwanted associations, including Hollywoodesque performances, eerie worlds of exposed social life, or mind-boggling algebraic formulas. Rhizomes are botanical, not mechanical, and they are so full of life as only the mildly entangled and wildly exploratory, sprouting and germinating roots of plants can be, pulsing and palpating as they are in the dark soil of this egg-shaped terrestrial planet. 

Of course, there is also the philosophical kind of rhizome. Famous thinkers with minds that have more folds than those of most other earthlings have made rhizomes into a philosophy and then turned that philosophy into a model for society. They say that a rhizome is really … nothing we have thought of before, because it has no beginning or end. And most of us are probably tempted to say that something without beginning or end is not really much at all, is maybe nothing or, if anything at all, it is nothingness. But these philosophers have found a way out of it: if something misses its beginning and its end, all that’s left is the in-between, right? So there you go: the philosophical rhizome is an interbeing, an intermezzo. So say the people with many-folded brains.

I tend to stick to my roots though and so I prefer the biological rhizome, because that interbeing is always a being, it always is. Full of life, nodes, vertices, lines, links, connections, relations. 

Coming back full circle then: with gifting, the nodes and vertexes are we, and the links are established by the gifts that travel along the lines connecting us. Metaphorically speaking, but in some sense this is also quite real. There are telephone lines, there are tubes through which our packages fall into collecting bins at the post office, and so on. Now here is the deal for participating in that gifting- and passing-on-rhizome: it’s called a PIF = Pay It Forward. This means: if you would like to receive something handmade from me (well, okay, it’s going to be a small lino print), simply leave me a comment. And Pay It Forward means that if you get something from me, you do the same thing on your blog for three others. It's the principle that counts: r-e-c-i-p-r-o-c-i-t-y.

nutritional yeast polemics (and recipe)

  i discovered nutritional yeast for the first time about 10 years ago, as a budding vegan.  my initial experience with it was unimpressive, mainly b/c it was intended as a complete cheese substitute, in a sauce.  expecting cheese, i was disappointed.
  however, i have since transformed my ways and become crazy for nutritional yeast. but it's important to know that nutritional yeast, while comparable, is not a cheese-replacement.  it has it's own wonderful irreplaceable flavor, that stands alone. 
  nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast, unlike the yeast used for beer fermentation. it's grown in a medium of beet molasses and sugar cane. we prefer the unfortified version, because it's got lots of iron and B vitamins (both of which we don't get too much of). Nutritional yeast has magnesium, manganese, copper and protein. it's an superb source of thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, folate, zinc, dietary fiber, and all those vitamin B's.  
  to be a little more specific:

"Two tablespoons of fortified nutritional yeast flakes, the serving size on the nutrition facts label, contain 60 calories, 5g carbs, 4g fiber and 9g protein plus beta-1,3 glucan, a type of fiber that may aid the immune system and help to lower cholesterol. Additionally, nutritional yeast is a good source of selenium and potassium. Fortified nutritional yeast has significantly less iron than the unfortified kind, five percent versus 20 percent respectively. The B-vitamin content in the fortified form ranges from 150 percent for B12 to 720 percent for riboflavin."  praise for nutritional yeast
    and check out this

 i eat meat/fish rarely, so there is basically no meal that i don't sprinkle nutritional yeast on (see below for an exception) for health and savory purposes.  one of my favorites to dash some nutritional yeast onto is a freshly made veg-heavy stir fry.  but i'm branching out, trying new recipes.  so here's a 'mac n' cheese' i created that was very popular in our house. 

the below recipe is vegan, but easily un-veganised by replacing whole for soy milk, and butter for margarine. 

  to make it you need:
1 pound of your favorite pasta, cooked. 
1 c nutritional yeast
5/8 c margarine
1/2 c (spelt) flour (add more for a thicker sauce)

the sauce

2 3/4 c soy or hemp milk
1 tbs garlic powder or 2 cloves chopped
1 tbs salt
2 tsp tumeric
2-3 tbs mustard
pepper to taste

melt margarine in saucepan  and add chopped garlic, add flour stirring rapidly.  continue stirring while adding the soy milk, (garlic powder) and salt.  let it cook to a rolling boil and become thick, while stirring frequently.  add the nutritional yeast and mustard, and remove it from the heat, stirring.  pour it over your pasta and mix. add some chives or hot sauce and enjoy!

winter wonderland photo shoot

 we've been bombarded with nor' easters this winter - two in the last week, and another one to come on saturday!   this last storm brought snow, sleet and freezing fog that has served to collapse the roofs of ~50 boston businesses and many more homes, and derail several commuter trains.
we got 17 inches total from tuesday mornin' to wednesday night. and while 17 inches isn't that much, combined with the already 3 1/2 feet we have on the ground, that leaves 4+ feet of snow just hangin' out in our backyard.  we have 50 inches of depth, including the melted/ing snow.  this snow is for sledding and tunnel-making only, folks.
we have been busy shoveling. but we got a few requests so thought i might share some photos.

 

 

our little house

the fence line marks our garden

backyard

the walk to our car

our backyard

black bean burgers - recipes please!

so it begins.  finally, the undertaking of processing, cooking, mashing, etc. the multitude of black beans that have been patiently waiting for our attentions is coming to pass.  
the plan is to mix, mash and freeze a whole heck of a lot of black bean burgers in the days to come.  but we have far too large a bean to burger ratio. 

we just took out 20 cups of beans.

we need your help! best manifested in the form of well-loved black bean recipes: soups, stews, chilis, salads, refried, salsa, sauces, bakes and cakes, what-have-you, we'll take it. i'll be sure to post my favorite recipes, in thanks.  

in a token of good faith, here's my black bean burger recipe.


32 ounces of black beans (2 cans)
1 large onion chopped
4 garlic cloves chopped
2 eggs
1 1/2c bread crumbs
1 1/2  tbs cumin
2 tsp red pepper flakes or chili powder
1 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tbs flax seed meal
few dashes of oregano
cilantro 
dashes of hot sauce - as many as you deem necessary
salt and pepper

sorry, looks kinda nasty. needs more mashing.

 mix and mash it, like your bad self.  i recommend rockin' out to some favorite tunes for this part, b/c why pass up an opportunity? roll them into the appropriately sized balls. i made some smaller b^2 burgers for our kid.  we freeze 'em individually so it makes for a quick easy meal.  with some greens, salsa and cheddar on a toasted spelt bun - yum! 

off to the freezer they go!

baby black bean burgers

mahi mahi with (v) aioli sauce, butternut with cider reduction

here i used the reduction on tofu and (v) aioli on fish.

i had never tried aioli sauce before, and decided a vegan version would be much more appealing than the alternative.  so i mixed:
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tblsp of vegan mayo (veganaise)
1 tsp of some awesome mustard
1-2 tsp of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil to taste

if you can, i recommend using a mortar and pestle to crush the garlic in with the mixture and preserve the flavor.

bake the fish as you would any other white fish and pour the aioli over it.  if you're not a fish lover, try baking some tofu instead. either way, ya' gotta heavy amounts of onions - that's crucial.

for the cider reduction sauce use:
1 1/2 c apple cider
1/3 c balsamic
pepper
maple syrup to taste

if you love balsamic, add 1/2 a cup.  cook the cider and balsamic until almost completely reduced (20-30min), add pepper and maple syrup, and cook for about 5 more minutes.  pour it over the squash hot, and enjoy!
there are some interesting variations on this recipe out there. i've tried adding more balsamic, no maple syrup, and adding some mustard - successfully.  i'm a proud supporter of creative cooking!

squash process

 yikes! forgot about the blog-world.  

we've been up to a lot of projects these days (months),  one of which was processing loads of delicata and butternut squashes.

 it's a good project for cold winter days b/c it involves leaving the oven on and hanging out near the kitchen.  it's also simple. 

cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, put them face down in a large glass pan with a 1/2 to a full cup of water on the bottom. bake at 400 for 40 to 50 minutes, until the squash is soft.  

with delicata squash you can eat the skin, but we still peel it, once the squash has cooled.

just scoop out the squash, bag it and freeze it.   when you're ready to eat it, let it thaw and mix it with some butter and maple syrup or brown sugar. or fresh sage and cranberries.