Kids Dish

Tonight I made pepperoni bread for the third time. It’s the best batch I’ve made so far. This is a recipe I came up with myself. None of the recipes online looked quite right so I decided to wing it and it’s worked out pretty well.

Pepperoni bread is like a stromboli, only not quite as heavy. I took the basic ingredients of a pepperoni and cheese stromboli and scaled them down so it wouldn’t be quite as greasy. You can start the dough the night before to cut down on the total time for the recipe.

1 recipe pizza dough
2/3 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 lb thin sliced sandwich pepperoni
2 tsp coarse ground mustard
olive oil

Make one recipe of pizza dough, adding a tablespoon of Italian seasoning or a combination of dried herbs before mixing. Let rise for an hour or overnight.

Stretch the dough into a thin rectangle, about 14×10″ on a half sheet of parchment paper. The parchment will keep it from sticking and help you transfer the bread in and out of the oven. Brush coarse mustard evenly over the dough. Sprinkle about a third of a cup of shredded mozzarella over the dough. Add a thin layer of sandwich pepperoni. Sprinkle with another third of a cup of cheese. Roll it the long way, jelly roll style, using the parchment to help. Turn the bread seam side down and cover the bread with lightly greased plastic wrap.

Preheat the oven and the baking stone to 425 degrees. If you don’t have a baking stone turn a large baking sheet upside down. Spray the top of the bread with a mist of olive oil. Using another baking sheet, slide the parchment onto the preheated stone and let the bread bake for about 25 minutes, until lightly browned and a little bubbly. Let cool on a rack. Slice into rounds and serve warm or at room temperature.

This is one of the only bread recipes I’ve used that is impossible to screw up. Whether I knead by hand or with the stand mixer, whether I use all whole wheat flour or a mix of white and wheat, whether I forget ingredients, let it rise too long, don’t let it rise long enough, or put the kids to bed while it’s in the oven and miss hearing the oven timer so it overbakes by a good fifteen minutes the bread always turns out okay. But for the record, I recommend not letting it bake for 20 minutes too long. The color isn’t nearly as attractive and the crust is a bit crunchier than a sandwich bread should be.

This recipe makes two loaves. Freeze one or give it to a friend. The bread toasts well and is great for sandwiches, especially peanut butter and jelly. It’s a kid favorite. You’ll need two loaf pans.

Oatmeal Wheat Bread
adapted from Gourmet
* 2 cups milk- whole milk is best but 2% or skim are fine too
* 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats plus additional for topping
* 1/2 cup warm water
* 2 tablespoons active dry yeast (3 packages)
* 1/2 cup mild honey
* 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional for buttering pans
* 3 cups whole-wheat flour
* About 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (you can use white whole wheat flour instead if you want an all whole wheat loaf)
* 1 tablespoon salt
* Vegetable oil for oiling bowl
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water (to brush the tops of the loaves- you can omit this and brush with milk or melted butter instead)

Heat milk in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan over low heat until hot but not boiling, then remove pan from heat and stir in oats. Let stand, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooled to warm.

Stir together water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon honey in a small bowl; let stand until foamy, 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.) Stir yeast mixture, melted butter, and remaining honey into cooled oatmeal.

Stir together whole-wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups unbleached (or white whole wheat) flour, and salt in a large bowl. Add oat mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.

Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead with floured hands, adding just enough of remaining unbleached flour to keep from sticking, until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes. Dough will be slightly sticky.

(If you want to use a stand mixer, stir all the ingredients together in the mixer bowl on low, then knead with a dough hook on medium for 5-10 minutes. Don’t add too much of the additional flour.)

Form dough into a ball and transfer to an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. I just use the bowl I mixed the dough in. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel; let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly butter loaf pans. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times to remove air. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a loaf, then place 1 loaf in each buttered pan, seam side down, tucking ends gently to fit. Cover loaf pans loosely with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly brush tops of loaves with some of egg wash (or milk or butter)and sprinkle with oats, then bake until bread is golden and loaves sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 35 to 40 minutes. (Remove 1 loaf from pan to test for doneness. Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen.)

Remove bread from pans and transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

I’ve posted this recipe before, and I’m reposting a slightly modified version now. The toddler wanted noodles with butter and cheese again for dinner so I decided to see if I could trick him into eating something a bit more substantial. Carbonara, aside from the obvious chunks of bacon, doesn’t look all that different from just plain butter and cheese. It didn’t really work but I can’t tell if it didn’t work because he wasn’t hungry or because he feared it.

Spaghetti Carbonara

When the pasta is still slightly firm (al dente) drain in a colander, first reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Leaving the pasta slightly wet, add it to the pan and toss it with the bacon and reduced wine. Add in the egg and toss with tongs until well combined. If you didn’t add the olive oil earlier you can add some now. Transfer to warm serving bowl, add fresh parsley if using and salt and fresh ground pepper to taste and serve hot.

I get my eggs from a farm so not cooking them doesn’t phase me, but if you’re sketched out by the barely cooked eggs, this recipe from Emeril calls for cooking them slightly.

One more trick. I made some kale as a side dish. Personally I like kale best when it’s been boiled then sauteed. I boiled it for a few minutes in the pasta water then removed it with a slotted spoon. I added the pasta to the kale water. While I don’t really know that it makes a huge difference, I like the idea that the nutrients that leach out from the kale while boiling make their into the pasta.

After several overly dense loaves, loaves that did not rise, loaves that were raw on the inside, loaves that tasted cardboard, and rock hard balls of dough I just had to throw out, I’ve finally become confident in my ability to bake bread. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t so much practice that made it happen as it was advice from others. Here’s the advice that has worked for me.

1. Use good flour. If you can’t get freshly milled flour use King Arthur Flour. There’s something about the protein content that makes it far superior to the generic supermarket brand or Gold’s.

2. If your house is freezing cold like mine is, preheat your oven to 175, turn it off and let the bread rise (tightly covered in plastic wrap, not just covered by a kitchen towel) in the warm oven. It will rise.

3. If you want to make 100% whole wheat bread buy some vital wheat gluten. A teaspoon to a teaspoon and a half added to each cup of flour will help your bread’s texture and height.

4. Make sure you’re using the correct yeast and make the necessary changes if you don’t. If a recipe calls for instant yeast and all you have is active dry make sure you mix the yeast with some of the liquid the recipe calls for and let it dissolve before adding the rest of the ingredients. I always add a pinch of sugar so it gets bubbly and I can make sure it’s active.

5. Use the least amount of flour the recipe calls for, adding a little at a time. If a recipe calls for 5-6 cups of flour start with 4 1/2 and work your way up. It’s better to add more flour than it is to end up with a dry dough that’s hard to knead.

6. Skip the stand mixer and knead by hand. It was only when I started kneading with my hands that I figured out I’d been over-kneading with the mixer. When you use your hands you learn what dough should feel like and you can start to really understand the terminology, for example what a “shaggy” dough is, or “puffy but not doubled in bulk.”

It really is easy for me now. Aside from last week when I accidentally used a tablespoon of salt instead of a teaspoon, I haven’t had any casualties. Good luck!

One of the nice things about not hosting during the holidays is that there’s no need to cook. I have not had to prepare a meal other than a bowl of noodles with cheese and butter or a sandwich since last Tuesday. I think I’m going to have to ease my way back into cooking. My in-laws came over for dinner tonight bringing leftovers and left behind two jars worth of homemade tomato sauce. Tomorrow I think I’m going to make pizza.

I discovered (in my yeast bread frenzy) that pizza dough is ridiculously easy to make. If I’d known this sooner I probably would have started making my own years ago. But hindsight is 20/20 and now I know, so pizza is soon to be a regular menu item especially since I got a pizza stone for Chanukah.

Pizza dough

1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
½ cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Dissolve yeast in two tablespoons of warm water with a pinch of sugar. Let it sit until it becomes bubbly, about five minutes. Stir dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can. Dump the bowl out onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a ball. Use your hands, not a mixer for this, especially if you’re not used to kneading. After a few minutes you’ll notice that the lumps suddenly come together and you’ve got a soft, easy to work with ball.

Lightly oil the bowl you mixed the dough in. Put the dough in the bowl. Turn it to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it to rise for about an hour until doubled in size. If your kitchen is cold like mine is it may take longer than an hour.

Once it’s doubled, preheat the oven to it’s highest temperature with a pizza stone or baking sheet on the rack. Dump the dough back out on the counter, punch it down to get out the air, roll it back into a ball and let it sit for about ten to fifteen more minutes.

Roll out into a 12 inch circle and top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake on the preheated stone or baking sheet for about 10 minutes or until the crust is brown and slightly bubbly.

Sadly the toddler is too smart for his own good and knows that my pizza is different from takeout. I may have to slip it into a box we’ve saved for the entertainment value to try and fool him.

I mentioned that I successfully made a decent loaf of white sandwich bread. It rose like it was supposed to and tasted pretty good. The following day, bolstered by my success, I replaced half of the white flour with wheat flour and tried the recipe again. It was still pretty good.

The recipe calls for letting the bread proof above the top of the loaf pan. I think that in my kitchen that’s just not likely. My kitchen is too cold. So by the time the dough reached the level it was supposed to it had overproofed, causing it to sink in the middle. The top crust became loose and because of the overproofing, which would be great if your kids like the crusts cut off of their sandwiches.

Anyway, Sam loved the white bread and the wheat bread too and has been requesting toast and sandwiches for meals the past few days. Here’s the recipe from the King Arthur Flour website:

3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 to 2/3 cup hot water, enough to make a soft, smooth dough
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter, margarine or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water OR 2 teaspoons instant yeast

If you’re using active dry yeast: While you measure the other ingredients let the yeast dissolve in the water with a pinch of sugar until it becomes bubbly. That way you know it’s working before you start.

Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine set to the dough or manual cycle). Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen. This took a long time in my kitchen, which is between 55 and 60 degrees.

Shaping: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8-inch log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 60 minutes, until it’s domed about 1 inch above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly. Again, my kitchen is quite cold. I let it go for closer to two hours and it over-proofed.

Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for about 35 minutes, until it’s light golden brown. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or by measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature. Yield: 1 loaf.

This is a great recipe for beginning bakers.

After four days in a row of Thanksgiving dinner it was time for a change. I still had a few winter vegetables left from the CSA so I decided to make one of my favorite soups- Roasted Vegetable with Kale and White beans. Most of the ingredients were local. I used homemade chicken stock (from organic, pastured chickens), butternut squash, carrots, onions, garlic, cabbage and kale from my CSA, and a can of beans. I roasted the vegetables in the morning while the baby took his first nap and finished the soup in the half hour for dinner. With the prep done in the morning - you could also do it the night before- it was a very easy, healthy, tasty dinner. The soup smelled so good Bob excitedly asked, “Are you making bacon?!” Sadly, the answer was no but the soup was good anyway. Even the toddler ate some.

The recipe is adapted from Bon Appétit

* Nonstick vegetable oil spray
* 6 medium carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise
* 4 large tomatoes, quartered
* 2 large onions, each cut into 8 wedges
* 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
* 1 head of garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves
* 1 tablespoon olive oil

* 12 cups (or more) chicken, turkey or vegetable broth
* 1 bunch finely chopped kale
* 1/4 cabbage, shredded (optional- it doesn’t make or break the recipe)
* 6 large fresh thyme sprigs
* 2 bay leaf

* 1 15-ounce can Great Northern or cannelini beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray rimmed baking sheet with oil spray. Arrange carrots, tomatoes, onion, squash and garlic on sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake until vegetables are brown and tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

Transfer carrots and squash to work surface. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside. Peel garlic cloves; place in processor. Add tomatoes and onion; puree until almost smooth. Pour 1/2 cup broth onto baking sheet; scrape up any browned bits. Transfer broth and vegetable puree to large pot. Add 10 1/2 cups broth, kale,thyme and bay leaf to pot; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until kale is tender, about 30 minutes.

Add cabbage, beans and reserved carrots and squash to soup. Simmer 8 minutes to blend flavors, adding more broth to thin soup if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to simmer before serving.) Like most soups and stews this is better the next day.

This afternoon after Sam finished the last of the chocolate ice cream I decided it was time to use up the box of pudding mix that has been sitting in my pantry for three years. I bought it on a whim when I was pregnant and never made it. I did make the vanilla pudding/banana/Nilla wafer monstrosity that I will probably never crave again, for reasons unknown both the chocolate and butterscotch pudding mixes sat gathering dust.

Looking at the ingredients, the My-T Fine Butterscotch did not appeal to me. As much as I love a good butterscotch pudding, I did not feel like serving up partially-hydrogenated oils and four (!!!) different food colorings with my pricy organic milk. Dr. Oetker’s organic chocolate pudding fit the bill. With only four ingredients I felt confident that it would be a good match for the milk that comes from pastured cows.

It was a good match. A delicious, chocolatey match that I promptly sullied with a generous squirt of Reddi-Whip (it was on sale and free after catalinas!). The fresh raspberries may have helped undo some of the Reddi-Whip damage, but probably not.

But back to the pudding. Looking at the ingredients, just four- sugar, cornstarch, cocoa and salt- I began to wonder just how easy it would be to make my own pudding and if it was worth the effort. A quick look at recipes made it seem like making chocolate pudding just isn’t worth the extra effort. Double boilers, food processors, and extra egg yolks sounds like a hassle. But Epicurious came to the rescue with a recipe that only has a few more ingredients than the box mix- all ingredients that I have in my kitchen. I’ll report back later this week.

I bought a flat iron steak on a whim from my meat buying club because it was relatively inexpensive and I somehow confused it with flank steak. When I saw it I realized that it was pretty small, not the type of steak I could split with Bob and serve with potatoes so it’s been in the freezer for a few months. Today I decided that even though it’s supposed to be grilled, and it’s not traditionally the right cut of meat for a stir, it was destined for a stir fry anyway.

I mixed up a quick Asian marinade and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two. Then I threw it in a big, wok-like pan with some bok choy, broccoli and garlic while I cooked some brown minute rice. It took less than half an hour to get it on the table. Everybody liked it, including my mother who claims to hate vegetables and the unpredictable two-year-old.

1 flat iron steak cut into half-inch strips
2 heads of bok choy
1 head of broccoli
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger, grated
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

For the marinade mix together:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Let the meat marinate, covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 24. Cut the broccoli into florets of similar size. If your broccoli has them, reserve the leaves. Separate the leaves from the stems of the bok choy. Cut the stems lengthwise, then cut into one inch pieces. Stack the leaves and cut into ribbons (with the broccoli leaves if you have them). Stir the sugar into the soy sauce until dissolved.

Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a 12 inch skillet with high sides. Drain the meat and add when the oil is almost smoking. Cook until brown on one side, then flip. When the meat is almost cooked through add the boy choy stems and the broccoli florets. Cook for about three minutes, until the broccoli is bright green. Add the soy sauce mixture and leaves to the wok and stir. When the greens are wilted add the garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds more. Serve over rice.

I had no intention of posting this recipe for two reasons:

1. It was not an especially easy dish to make
2. My kid refused to eat it.

Let me start with number one. The dish requires that you start the chicken and the vegetables on the stove top and transfer them to the slow cooker later. After cooking for three hours you’re then supposed to add more to the slow cooker and cook for another hour. Then you’re supposed to remove the chicken from the slow cooker, whisk flour to some stock, add that to the slow cooker and cook it for another half hour. Why bother using the slow cooker if you have to do all of that work? With all of the additions/subtractions you might as well just cook it in a dutch oven and have one less pot to clean.

Then there’s number two. My kid said, “I don’t like chicken.” Then he said, “I don’t like chickpeas.” Then he wanted to eat the flour. He even refused to eat the quinoa I served with the chicken. For dinner he ate a carrot.

But then, later, he was hungry. And not only did he eat the chicken, he ate the chickpeas, the apricots and the onions. Then he ate more chickpeas and more onions. And some quinoa for good measure. So here’s the recipe. I’ve adapted it for a dutch oven, but I’ll add slow cooker directions at the end for those of you who are gluttons for punishment.

2 teaspoons hot paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 chicken, 3-4 lbs, cut into 8 pieces (or 3-4 lbs of just chicken thighs and legs, the dark meat is more flavorful)
Salt

6 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, chopped

3 1/2 cups chicken stock (reserve half a cup)
1 cup apricots cut in half
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Pat dry and salt and pepper the chicken. Brown the chicken on both sides in oil in a dutch oven for about ten minutes.
2. Remove the chicken to a plate and add the onions and spices to the dutch oven and cook until soft, about five minutes more.
3. Add the garlic and cook for about 15 seconds.
4. Pour three cups of stock into the dutch oven and scrape up the brown bits.
5. Add the apricots and cinnamon stick and bring to a simmer.
6. Put the chicken back in the pot, add the chickpeas, bring back to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.
7. Remove the chicken to a plate and cover with foil.
8. Whisk the flour with the remaining stock and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened, and the sauce no longer tastes like flour.
9. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, parsley and cilantro. Serve the chicken and the vegetables over couscous or rice. (I used quinoa)

For the slow cooker follow steps 1-5, only remove the chicken to the slow cooker and pour the simmering stock over the chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours. Add the chickpeas and cook for one hour more. Follow steps 7 and 8 only add the flour mixture to the slow cooker and cook on high for 30 minutes. Then add remaining ingredients and serve.

The cold snuck up on me and suddenly I’m craving warm foods that simmer for hours. Chicken chili fits the bill. If your kids aren’t crazy about vegetables chili is an easy way to sneak them in especially if you serve the chili with tortilla chips and lots of shredded cheese.

This recipe serves 4-6. It freezes well so you can double it and save some for later. Like most stews it improves over night since the flavors have time to meld so it’s even better the next day. I used chicken breast because I had it, but you can use a store bought rotisserie chicken for the meat or any chicken parts you have on hand.

4 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 onion chopped medium
1 bell pepper chopped medium
1 hot pepper seeded and chopped fine
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced (1tsp dried)
1 can white beans rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 bunch of kale, stemmed and sliced into ribbons
1 tablespoon chili powder (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons cumin
2 cups water (or chicken stock)
salt
pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large pan. Add onions and peppers. Cook until onions are soft, about five minutes. Add cubed chicken breasts, salt and pepper and cook until opaque but not cooked through. Stir in garlic and oregano and cook for 30 seconds more. Transfer chicken and vegetables to slow cooker with remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.* Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.

*If you’re using leftover (cooked) chicken or vegetables you can cook on high for less time.

I like the idea of slow cooking. It doesn’t use as much energy as cooking in the oven or stove top and dinner is on the table with very little effort at the end of the day. So I busted out the crock pot (I actually have a Rival Crock Pot so I’m not speaking generically) for the first time in three years and made a pot roast yesterday. It took about half an hour to prep the ingredients in the morning and by dinner time all I had to do was make a few quick sides. This was only the second time I’ve ever made a pot roast and based on my previous experience I think the slow cooker is the way to go.

5lb roast (chuck, brisket, top or bottom round)
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper
1 lb carrots peeled and chopped
3 onions chopped medium
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 or 6 sprigs of fresh thyme (1 tsp dried)
1 cup red wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup beef stock
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley (don’t substitute dried- just skip it if you don’t have fresh)

Heat the oil in a large pan until shimmering. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and salt and pepper it. Brown the roast on all sides,about ten minutes total. Remove the roast to a plate and add onions and carrots to pan. Cook until onions are soft and translucent and carrots are browned, about five minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. (You can prepare up until this point the night before. Refrigerate the meat and vegetables separately.) Pour in the red wine and scrape up any brown bits. Remove from heat.

Put the roast and its juices in the slow cooker. Pour in the wine and vegetables. Add the remaining ingredients and cook on high for 6-7 hours or low for 9-10. Remove the roast from the slow cooker and let rest for five minutes before slicing. Remove the bay leaves, add the chopped parsley and puree the remaining vegetables into the sauce with a stick blender or in batches in a regular blender and pass as gravy. (You can skip this step, but if your kids don’t love vegetables they won’t suspect they’re lurking in the gravy!)

Serve with a green vegetable or salad and something to sop up the gravy. Mashed potatoes and biscuits are excellent choices.

Early in the day I roasted an acorn squash* with the idea that I’d make squash enchiladas for dinner. I had ripe tomatoes in the garden for salsa and a bowl of leftover rice to serve on the side. But as it got closer to dinner time Sam grew inexplicably sad and needed my undivided attention leaving me unable to cook. So in a hurry to get the cranky toddler and the fussy baby fed and in bed I gave up on my elaborate plans for acorn squash enchiladas and started a batch of acorn squash quesadillas that were so easy my husband was able to finish them.

For three quesadillas that can serve two adults and a child you’ll need:

About a cup of cubed, cooked acorn squash
about a cup of shredded, cooked chicken
half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

6 flour tortillas
salsa and sour cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Mix the first seven ingredients in a medium bowl until the squash and chicken are well coated with the spices. Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings if necessary. Heat a large, nonstick or cast iron pan to medium. I like to put a pinch of coarse salt in the pan. Place a tortilla in the pan and generous spoonful of the squash mixture in the center. Spread the mixture out towards, but not reaching the edges of the tortilla. You don’t want to lay it on to thick or it won’t heat through. Put another tortilla on top. Cook for about two to three minutes or until you can smell the tortilla starting to brown. Flip and cook the second side for about two to three minutes more. Put the cooked quesadillas in the oven to stay warm while you cook the rest. If you put them directly on the rack or on a rack positioned on a baking sheet they’ll stay warm and crisp.

Serve with sour cream and salsa and rice on the side.

If you don’t have any cooked chicken, a can of drained, rinsed beans slightly mashed make a great protein substitute.

*to roast acorn squash cut it lengthwise down the center, scoop out the seeds, and cook on an oiled baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes face down until tender.

I had about 3 quarts of tomatoes from my garden and the CSA that I needed to use. With Bob back at work and only one child napping I don’t really have the time or energy to peel and seed tomatoes for sauce. Oven roasting tomatoes takes a while, but it’s low prep, low energy and all around low impact, a quality I appreciate in food prep these days.

I preheated the oven to 225, cut and chopped a few stems of rosemary and a handful of time from the garden out back, and cut all of the tomatoes (mostly plum with a few heirloom Mr Stripy thrown in) in half. I put the tomatoes skin side down on two baking sheets, drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled them with salt, fresh ground pepper and the herbs. I threw a few unpeeled cloves of garlic on the trays for good measure. Then I put them in the oven and ignored them.

After three and a half hours I checked the tomatoes. They weren’t quite as shriveled or brown at the edges as I was hoping for so I left them for a few hours longer. After they’d been in for about six hours total the house smelled divine. Planning on using them for dinner the next night I peeled the garlic and put them and the tomatoes in two jars, pouring in the oil and herbs remaining on the trays.

The tomatoes, slow roasted, are sweet and tangy. They make an amazing sauce or are delicious right out of the jar. They’ll keep, covered in oil, in the fridge for a few weeks or you can freeze them and save them for the cold months ahead- if you can stop yourself from eating them.

The other night I planned on making baba ganoush, an eggplant spread to serve with falafel and tahini sauce. I thought that maybe I’d buy some bulghur and make tabbouleh to go with it. I even planned on making my own pita bread. But then I realized the box of falafel mix I thought I had in the pantry was nowhere to be seen and I didn’t feel like soaking dried garbanzo beans to make my own. Since I had no falafel it seemed silly to go to the trouble of baking pita, so I didn’t buy the bulghur either. I did, however, have an already cooked eggplant that needed to be dealt with. I made the baba ganoush anyway and served it with bread. The next night I rolled it in a tortilla (yes, I’m mixing cuisines) with sauteed chard and fresh tomato.

You can make it in a food processor if you like a smoother consistency. I just mash it by hand to avoid dirtying another dish. You can also skip the garlic paste and just stir in minced garlic, but it will make your baba ganoush a lot more potent- you’ll taste it the next day. Since it’s dip your kids will probably eat it. Cut up some veggies or serve with crackers or pita triangles.

1 large eggplant (about 1 pound)
1 glove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Prick eggplant with a fork and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Bake the eggplant until it is soft inside, about 20 minutes. Alternatively, grill the eggplant over a gas grill, rotating it around until the skin is completely charred, about 10 minutes. Let the eggplant cool. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, drain off the liquid, and scoop the pulp into a medium bowl.

On a cutting board, work garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt together with the flat side of a knife, until it forms a paste. Add the garlic-salt mixture to the eggplant. Stir in the parsley, tahini, and lemon juice. Season with more salt, to taste. Garnish with additional parsley.