Roasted Butternut Tahini Dip

Sweet and creamy.  This dip can easily be mixed with a pasta, rice, or used as a dip for a plate of veggies.  

1/2  butternut squash
1 small onion, halved
Oil for roasting
1/4 c.  tahini
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. coriander powder
Drizzle sesame oil
salt, pepper, cayenne, to taste


Coat onion and squash in oil and roast until the squash is soft and the onions are browning.  Cool.

Scoop out squash and place it and remaining ingredients into blender/food processor.  Blend until smooth and creamy.  Adjust ingredients to your desire. I sometimes want lemony or spicy. 

Garnish with a drizzle of sesame/olive oil and some sesame seeds.  This is good warm or as a sauce.    

Vegetarian Chili

This recipe has become a staple for our annual holiday party.  It's gluten free and vegan, so it works for many diets and freezes well *if* we don't eat it all.  It would be a fabulous base for a meat chili - just add or replace beans with your favorite chili meat for a paleo option.  

Oil, for sautéing

1 large onion, chopped 

4 cloves garlic, minced 

1 T. chili powder

1 t. cumin

2 bell peppers, diced (red, yellow, orange, green....)

4 ripe tomatoes, diced

1 can green chilies or several chopped fresh ones

28oz can crushed tomatoes  (I often use fresh pureed in a blender)

3 sprigs fresh oregano, or 1 t. dried

jalapeño, diced

1-2 squash, diced (zucchini, yellow, Mexican grey) 

~ 4 cups (or 2 cans) beans (I use a combination of types)

Sauté onion and garlic, in oil, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add chili, cumin, bell peppers, and diced tomatoes.  Cook for 5 minutes or so.  

After bells start to soften, add green chilies, crushed tomatoes, oregano, jalapeño, and zucchini.  Cover and simmer to meld the flavors.  You could simmer this for 20 minutes to all day adding water or broth as needed.  

Add beans 10 minutes before serving to warm them up.  You can add them earlier, but they tend to get a bit overcooked.  

Toppings:  red onion, sour cream, cheese, green onion, cilantro, olives, salsa, chips, cornbread....options, options!

Apricot Lentil Soup

I have a cold, the day is overcast, and despite the 100º temperature, I feel like soup.  My CSA has given me tomatoes and onions in abundance.  I have some sweet potatoes to use up before our road trip.  Middle Eastern dishes use lots of apricots and lentils, but given my Armenian descent I consider this an Armenian style soup.  Here we go!


1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 - 2 sweet potatoes, diced
2 - 3 fresh tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup dried apricot,  diced (I threw in a couple squishy fresh ones, also)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 Tablespoons lemon juice (to taste, I like tart)
salt and pepper (cayenne) to taste

These, as usual, are estimates.  I just threw all ingredients, except lemon juice/salt/pepper, into the crockpot with water to cover and let slow cook together until tender.  Puree in the blender, lemon juice/salt/pepper to taste, and serve topped with yogurt and nuts or diced apricots.

For the stovetop, I would sauté onions and garlic in the oil before adding in the other ingredients and simmering until tender in water to cover.  Puree, lemon juice/salt/pepper, garnish, and eat!

I did not give a water amount. If you wanted this thick like dip you can use less, thinner use more.  I would start with enough to cover and go from there.

Garlic Kale Eggdrop Soup with Lemon

We try to consume lots of greens.  Kale is the one we use the most (along with salad greens).  This recipe was refreshing and delicious and could be made with other greens should you desire.  

1 T. oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bulb of garlic (yes, a whole bulb)
1 quart broth
Sprig of fresh oregano or 1/2 t. ground
Salt and pepper
1/4 c. fresh basil or 1 T. dried
1/4 c. lemon juice
5-6 cups kale
2 eggs, beaten

Sauté onion and garlic cloves in oil until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add broth, oregano, and salt/pepper.  Simmer for as long as you want (I left mine on for ~40 minutes just for that warm, garlic soup smell.

Blend broth mixture adding the basil, lemon juice, and as much kale as you desire. Taste test for flavor - more lemon/salt/pepper to taste.
  
Return to pot, bring to a simmer.  Slowly drizzle in eggs as you stir the soup.  Let cook a couple minutes and serve.  We added more kale, cherry tomatoes, and Parmesan to ours.  

Ranch Dressing

Craig and I have always appreciated a good salad.  We tend to prefer vinaigrette dressings, with balsamic vinaigrette being a favorite. In a desire to increase the kids salad consumption we asked what we could do to make them more desirable.  Eva wants no toppings, just lettuce and the balsamic dressing - easy enough.  Elias claimed that anything works, but he likes going to Sweet Tomato's for the ranch.  Ranch isn't something I use often.  My grandma always made a fabulous homemade one, so I set out to recreate a homemade version that Elias would appreciate.  He is now requesting salads.  

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise


• 1/2 cup buttermilk


• 1/2 cup sour cream


• 1/2 teaspoon dried chives


• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley


• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed


• 1    teaspoon garlic powder


• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper


• Dash of cayenne

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

These are a tradition for Christmas morning, served with quiche and fruit. We do make them other times...a rainy day always make me feel like a good, gooey cinnamon roll.

The Dough:
2/3 cup milk
4 Tablespoons butter
1 cup canned/fresh pumpkin puree
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
2 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
(I use all white whole wheat flour and add a couple tablespoons of gluten.)

I heat the milk and butter until the butter is almost melted. Beat the eggs. Adding all the ingredients to my bread machine. I place this in my bread machine on the dough setting. :) Easy.

If you don't have a bread machine: Heat the milk and butter until butter is mostly melted into the milk. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter, pumpkin, sugar, and salt until evenly combined. Add 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast to the bowl and mix until smooth. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and knead/mix until a soft dough comes together. You may need to add a little extra flour to make the dough workable, but only add a bit at a time. This is supposed to be a very soft dough! Lightly flour your countertop and knead the dough for a couple turns until you have a smooth dough. Lightly grease another large bowl and turn dough into it. Rub the surface of the dough lightly with a neutral oil, such as canola, cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.


The Filling:
This changes...
~3/4 c. butter
I add cinnamon until it is the color brown I want...maybe 2 Tablespoons.
~ 1/2 c. sugar

Sometimes I add other spices, or brown sugar. Mix this into a smooth mixture and spread over rolled out dough. Sprinkle with nuts, dried cranberries, raisins...whatever your heart desires.

Roll length wise and cut into a dozen 1 1/2" to 2" wide portions. Place in an oiled 13 x 9 pan.

Now you can let rise in a warm place for 40 min or so. Or you can cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. This makes Christmas morning much easier.

If you rise right away: After rising, place them in a 350 degree preheated over for 30 minutes. Remove and glaze/frost.

If you opt for overnight: About an hour before you want to serve the rolls, remove plastic wrap from the rolls and set in an oven with the light on. Place a pan of boiling water on the rack below the rolls, close the oven and allow to warm for about 30 minutes. When you can no longer feel a chill coming from the dough when your hand is lightly placed on top, remove pans from the oven and preheat to 350F. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and glaze/frost.

Glaze/Frostings:

I oftentimes just use a basic glaze of powdered sugar mixed with orange juice/lemon juice to make it runny. You can use as much as you want.

The picture is a cream cheese based frosting with a bit of extra oj glaze. I had a tub of Trader Joe's Orange Cranberry Marscapone Cream Cheese leftover and decided to use it. You can easily make a cream cheese frosting with:

4 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 T. milk/orange juice

Mix until creamy and spread on top of warm rolls. You can add cinnamon, lemon juice (less sweet), marscapone, or cranberries.

Always good, but I like them warm with a good cup of coffee.

Crepes

Sweet, savory, fruit, veggies, cheese, fresh herbs...fill them with whatever you want.

Tonight we had them filled with cheese and vegetables. I used sauteed red onion, mushroom, zucchini and garlic. The cheese was a mix of sharp cheddar and cottage cheese with lots of oregano and pepper.

Morning crepes are great filled with fruit, yogurt and cottage cheese. Top with whip cream and powdered sugar.

Crepe Batter
(This batter needs to sit for at least an hour or overnight.)

4 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of flour (I used WW Pastry)
1 - 2 cups of milk (any type or combination of types)

Blend together all crepe ingredients, using one cup of milk, to a smooth batter. Let rest 1 hour or overnight. Blend briefly before using. If the batter is still thick after a cup of milk add more until you have a runny mixture. I have in the past added up to a cup more depending on the flour. Heat an 8-inch skillet or crepe pan to med-low. Grease pan and pour in enough batter to lightly coat bottom of pan. Cook until just starting to brown. Flip gently and brown the other side. Remove from pan. Fill and roll up. Enjoy the versatility.

If you are doing a sweet crepe and want a sweeter batter, add a tablespoon of honey to the batter.