A recipe worth posting

Last night for dinner we had Moroccan-Style Stuffed Acorn Squash.  It was apparently a big hit, because Tim's comment was "this is a recipe worth posting on the blog."  I have to admit, it was quite delicious... and it was super easy.  I served it with collard greens that I sauteed with ginger, garlic, red onion, red and green bell peppers, olive oil, a little salt and pepper, and some crushed red pepper.  I love Fall and all the scrumptious foods that go along with it! Try this yourself - you won't be disappointed!

Here's the recipe (from this website)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 large acorn squash, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 cup garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
1 cup uncooked couscous

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Arrange squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until tender. Dissolve the sugar in the melted butter. Brush squash with the butter mixture, and keep squash warm while preparing the stuffing.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, celery, and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Mix in the garbanzo beans and raisins. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper, and continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.

Pour the chicken broth into the skillet, and mix in the couscous. Cover skillet, and turn off heat. Allow couscous to absorb liquid for 5 minutes. Stuff squash halves with the skillet mixture to serve.

Zucchini Brownies

After a long day of working outside painting and putting up the downspouts, I thought Tim & Angel (our nephew) would enjoy a special treat. OK, to be honest, I was craving something sweet, but knew that ice cream was off limits, because I'm only on day 2 of the dairy-free diet (which, by the way, has resulted in very little improvement so far). Either way, it doesn't seem like the guys complained about the scrumptious zucchini brownies. The smell of chocolate pervades the walls of our house right now. So, so yummy! Look at those beautiful morsels!
The guys got their dessert Ala mode while I ate my brownies naked. Still delicious, no matter how you look at it! They were just the right amount of sweetness, super moist and oh - so - good!

If you're tempted, I got the recipe from Simply in Season - this is a fantastic cookbook that encourages local and seasonal cooking.

Here's the recipe:
1 c. flour (I used soft wheat)
3/4 c. whole wheat flour (I used spelt)
1/3 c. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Combine in large bowl.

2-3 c. zucchini shredded (I used some I had frozen from our CSA from this summer)
Stir in.

1 egg
3/4 c. sugar (I cut this back to about 1/2 c.)
3/4 c. brown sugar (again, I cut it back to about 1/2 c.)
1/2 c. plain yogurt (I used my own home-made yogurt)
1/2 c. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine in separate bowl and beat with fork. Stir into zucchini mixture. Spread evenly into greased 9x13 pan.

1/2-1 c. semisweet or mint chocolate chips (I'm sure dark chocolate chips would be fabulous, too, but I didn't have any on hand)
1/2 c nuts chopped optional (I used walnuts)
Sprinkle on top of batter. Bake in preheated oven at 350F until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes.

ENJOY!!!

Thai Curry Yumminess!

Tomorrow we have a fellowship meal after church, and I've decided to repeat one of my favored and favorite recipes... Thai Curry. I got this recipe from my dear friend, Stephanie. I've modified it a bit. It sure is absolutely delicious (in our opinion), and the last time I took it to church, several people asked me for the recipe. I told them I'd post it on our blog, but that was 3 or 4 months ago... So, I'm trying to be a bit proactive by posting the recipe tonight, in case someone asks me tomorrow. The recipe below is for a single pot, but I almost always double it, because we're either serving it up to lots of people or just because we love it so much and are big fans of leftovers.

First, I mix the following together:

• 1 can coconut milk - use the real stuff - the "lite" version just doesn't cut it.


• 2 Tbsp of red curry paste - I use a brand called Maesri, which is available any Asian market and serveral grocery stores, if they have an international section - you can add less if you like things less spicy or a bit more if you really like a kick.


• 2 Tbsp of fish sauce


• 2 Tbsp of lime juice


• 3 Tbsp of brown sugar

Then, I throw in all sorts of veggies chopped up into bite-sized chunks... tonight I added the following:

• Tofu


• Carrots


• Green beans


• Red and orange bell peppers


• Zucchini and yellow squash


• Broccoli


• Bamboo shoots


• Baby corn

It's best to start with the vegetables that take longest to cook, so they all end up done at approximately the same time.

Finally, I sprinkle a little bit of salt over top and either a bunch of fresh basil leaves or some frozen basil, depending on what I have. I never use dried basil.

And of course I taste test it a few times, and then add a pinch of this or a dash of that, a little more curry paste, lime juice, brown sugar, etc... or leave it just as it is, if it seems great already.

We serve it up with Jasmine rice and love, love, love it!

Give it a try! You won't be disappointed ;).

The week in review...

So I realized that it's been a very long time since I've done much posting - almost a month, as a matter of fact! Except for the pictures of my jewelry that I posted yesterday before the power outage (lasting 4 hours) and the -even worse- cable outage, lasting almost 24 hours. I'm as happy as a clam to have internet back, and figured it was time to do some blogging. It's crazy to realize how dependent we are on the internet, at least in this household, in 2008. We don't have TV, so this is our source for all things informative, not to mention how I check on the jewelry business, communicate with friends and family and follow things at the hospital while I'm on call (like right now!). Anyways, the internet is back, and so am I!

Since it's been so long, I just thought I'd post some updates...

First, we have a wonderful new outdoors patio set, which we just assembled last night. Check out the picture (a view from above on our balcony) - it was made from tropical woods (maybe acacia?!?) in Indonesia, and we were ever-so-pleased to purchase it, knowing that it was Forest Stewardship Council certified, which means sustainable and responsible methods of forestry were used to get the wood to make our super sweet table. The best news is that I ordered the table, chairs and benches on clearance, and when I ordered them, it said that there were only three chairs left, so, I ordered three chairs and two benches to have seating the whole way around our 7 foot table. When they arrived, the cartons for the chairs said "two chairs per carton." What a surprise! No where did it say that on the website nor the order form... so it seems like we got 2 for the price of 1! And we thought they were a bargain when they were the price for just one! So now we have a table, six chairs and two benches. We put the extra bench on the front porch for now, to create a sitting area out there to watch the cars and people go by on our quiet city street. Isn't our furniture lovely?!? Now you'll all have to come over and have dinner with us! We're starting with my parents tonight to break in the new table and chairs.

While having new patio furniture is exciting, it was a bit of a sad week, because I went to my third-ever funeral of a patient. This funeral was particularly sad, because it was a baby that I had delivered the week before, that was born still-born. Everything seemed fine up until the day the baby was born, when the teenage mom developed belly pain and all of a sudden didn't feel the baby move anymore. We still don't know what happened, and likely never will. My patient is doing as well as can be expected, but this is incredibly difficult for her and her family. Some things are so hard to understand no matter how old you are, but especially when you've just finished 9th grade. I was glad to be able to get coverage during my office hours to make it to the funeral - my patient and her family were all very appreciative.

We had a lovely surprise in our front yard! Which was a wonderful reminder of growth and new life (even when there are sad times and death). My sister-in-law, Lydia, had done landscaping for us in the front yard (which is gorgeous!), and somehow snuck in a surprise. About two weeks ago, I noticed leaves that didn't seem like anything else in our yard, yet strangely familiar to me. Sure enough, out popped my favorite flower, a calla lilly, and then more and more. They keep coming, one at a time! They're beautiful, and in MY yard (as opposed to some garden or alongside the road in Mexico). Thanks, Lydia.

Tim and a friend, Jason, spent the day doing the prep work to re-do the electrical work in our master bedroom. We only have two outlets, as it stands now, but soon we'll have a total of 6, plus lights in the closet, that don't currently exist. One step at a time, the master bedroom will become a wonderful retreat! Can't wait to have lots of zzzz's in that space. :)

Tim and I both must have been distracted this week, because three days in a row, we did a load of laundry and forgot that it was there! Of course, with the dampness and the hot, steamy days of July, by the next day when we remembered, the items were asking to PLEASE be washed again! At least we use eco-friendly laundry detergent, but so much for doing our deed in terms of minimizing our carbon foot print this week!

I guess we didn't do too badly, now that I think about it - we dry all of our clothes on drying racks or on the line (some day I'll have a wonderful pully system to dry our clothes on, but for now it's been added to the "list"), Tim has upped our rain barrel count to 10 (I told him that I bet no one else in Lancaster City owns so many rain barrels), and I ride my bike to work while Tim car pools with two other guys.

We're coming up on our 1st anniversary very, very soon! Just three days away! So hard to believe that we've been married now for one whole year. When I think about what the year has brought, I'm overwhelmed with joy and blessings. I have a wonderful husband, a great house (with lots of projects to keep us all busy for a long time), a fabulous group of partners to work with (go SELHS!), family and friends close by, and wonderful vegetables to eat everynight from our local CSA. Yum!

Speaking of vegetables, it's time to get on with dinner - chard cheese bake (delicious recipe from Simply in Season), grilled corn on the cob, beets, sweet potatoes, and pineapple (not from the CSA, sadly, but every now and then we break down and go with the splurges beyond what our local produce can offer), fresh baked bread from Ric's Bread at Central Market, something to do with cucumbers, and surely blueberries for dessert... all at our new table! Summer is great!

My first successful bread making!

I've been dying to make bread from scratch for the longest time... first, I had multiple unsuccessful attempts, and ended up with unleavened bread (or at least it seemed), only to find out that most likely my yeast was a bad batch. Then, it was a question of getting the perfect pan to bake it in. I finally got a wonderful pyrex dish that's lovely for bread making, got some fresh-off-the-shelf yeast, and went to town yesterday. I was bound and determined to make a good loaf of bread, with lots of love and lots of flavor. Of course, I chose a steamy, hot summer day to crank up the oven and go to town kneading bread.
Baking bread is a LABOR of LOVE... especially when you're supposed to knead, then wait til it rises, then punch, knead and wait again - all sorts of waiting and muscle work! Tim took several pictures of me in action to prove that it was for real! We ended up with a big loaf of yummy oatmeal wheat bread (from More with Less, one of the best cookbooks ever published) that we took as part of our picnic dinner (note: bread still warm... so good!) at the concert in the park. Hooray! Can't wait to try more bread recipes and buff up my muscles.

Yogurt Making!!!

I love yogurt! I can't tell you how much I love yogurt... especially Greek style, or super thick, whole milk yogurt that you need to skim the cream off the top. Delicious! I don't drink milk at all, so yogurt and cheese are my calcium staples (and some occasional ice cream, as any good Norwegian gal living in Lancaster County would agree and subscribe to as a necessary part of any healthy diet!). Anyways, I eat so much yogurt, that I really thought I should be making my own. We buy organic yogurt, and try to buy it locally, but how much more organic AND local could it get if I'm making it in my own kitchen. Of course the problem is that I don't have a cow or a goat in my back yard, so I actually have to purchase milk, but at least we're trying! I'm not sure what people would say about a cow in city limits...
Tim and I researched several web sites last night so we'd know how to best prepare our first batch of yogurt. My parents had a yogurt maker (Big Batch) that they got probably in the early 70's but haven't used for YEARS, so they gave it to us. Yippee!
We learned that it's best (and I think so far we agree, even if it's just our first batch) to use Stonyfield's Organic Whole Milk yogurt as a starter and whole milk to get the batch going. The Big Batch makes 2 quarts of yogurt at a time, which I probably go through in about a week. So, I poured a half gallon of whole milk into a large pot, and brought to a boil, and took it off the heat when it hit 185 degrees. The longer part of the process is letting it cool down, which took some patience, but we eventually got it to 110 degrees, when we knew we could add the other ingredients. Some sources we read said that you could immerse your pot in the sink with cold water to speed up the process, but then sometimes it goes too fast, so you really have to watch. We just continued to stir until we got it to the right temp, then added 1/2 cup of yogurt and 1/3 powdered milk, which we read would help it to be thicker. We transferred it to the Big Batch when it was all mixed together, and plugged it in to let it incubate over night. We are fans of tangy and tart yogurt, so we let it incubate about 11 hours. You can do it for shorter periods of time if you like a milder flavor. And that was it! This AM, I transferred my 2 quarts of yogurt to glass containers to put in the fridge. I happened to sneak a taste by licking my fingers at the end, and it seemed great! The consistency and the flavor seemed right on, which makes me oh! so happy!!!

In summary, it was super easy and all we used were the following ingredients:

• One-half gallon of whole milk
• 1/2 cup of whole milk plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup of powdered milk

Hooray for yogurt and hooray for the Big Batch Yogurt Maker that still works some 30+ years later. Thanks, mom! :)