Kids Dish

According to Cook’s Thesaurus, Americans refer to a sweet, moist variety of sweet potato as yams. Yams have orange flesh and are sweeter than their white-fleshed cousins. Yams are quite versatile, and though you may be used them candied and (yuck!) served with marshmallows for Thanksgiving dinner, I prefer them savory or spicy. If I bake them I like them with butter or salt. When I make oven fries with them I like to add chili powder and cumin. When roasted I like them with olive oil, garlic and ginger.

Then my friend Nicole suggested making sweet potato burritos with roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, Monterey Jack cheese, spinach, sour cream and brown rice. The first night I had the ingredients on hand to try it I had a number of people coming over for dinner. I’d watched an episode of Good Deal with David Lieberman that called for making enchiladas casserole style, layering charred tortillas with sauce and filling and baking it so I figured I’d give that a shot. The result was fantastic. It’s so good it’s become one of my classic, can’t think of anything else to make so I’ll make something that pleases everybody dinners.

Veggie Enchilada Bake

This week’s Vegetarian Carnival, the first of fall, featured a number of different soup recipe. The first soup from Lisa’s Vegetarian Kitchen is a beautiful looking orange and beet soup. I may have to make a pot with the beets hiding in the bottom of the crisper drawer. Adventures in Daily Living offers a cream of tomato soup just calling out for a grilled cheese on rye. Joel Fuhrman of Body for Life fame dishes up some superior seasonal servings from his Disease Proof website. I’m not sure about mixing vanilla extract and soymilk with broccoli, zucchini and spinach, but the Summer Fresh Tomato Avocado Soup sounds pretty good to me.

Other recipes include Frugal Journey’s five easy whole grainvegetarian sandwiches like a Cheese Italian Sub and , lentil tacos made with rice flour tortillas from Country Kitchen Pantry. Veggie Way presents a recipe for red Camargue rice with veggies and my recipe for Spaghetti Surprise is available here at Kids Dish.

In the non-recipe sphere, there’s Elaine Vigneault’s post about NYC’s Zen Palate, a vegetarian restaurant my non-vegetarian dad, cousin and I all enjoyed. There’s a post about a woman’sfirst experience with tofu.The New Vegan writes about being vegan in the social sphere and someone writes a bizarre confession about the vegetarian that isn’t.

Aims of Life offers tips for eating a balanced vegetarian diet. Wisdom from Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket writes about acidic blood. The Healthy Living Lounge designs your own health and well being affirmation.

The rest of the Carnival posts are linked at Veggie Chic. Be sure to submit your entry for the next vegetarian carnival in two weeks. All submissions can be made using the carnival submission form at the blog carnival website.

Acorn Squash, Butternut Squash, Spaghetti Squash, Delicata, Hubbard, Kabocha and fall’s ubiquitous pumpkin are just a few varieties of squashes harvested in late summer and fall. Winter Squashes store well in cool basements for months if they are checked regularly for soft spots or mold.

Unlike summer squash, winter squashes tend to have thick, hard skins so I find it’s easiest to bake first and cut later for the larger varieties like butternut or cut in half and bake in the shell for smaller varieties like acorn. Most squashes are sweet when cooked, making them popular with kids. They’re high in Vitamins A and C, high in potassium and fiber.

To cook most squashes, bake them in a 375 degree oven until the skin is easily pierced with a fork. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and either serve in the shell or scoop out the flesh and mash or puree. Other squashes are delicious cubed in soups or stews. For these cut first, scoop the seeds, bake for about 20 minutes and peel and cube when the flesh is cool enough to handle.

The flesh of squash when pureed can be baked into breads or muffins for an extra vitamin boost. This time of year pumpkin finds its way into many baked goods like my favorite pumpkin cheese muffins. This recipe calls for canned pumpkin, but if you have access to small, sweet cooking pumpkins, not the large jack-o-lantern types which tend to be tasteless, you can puree the cooked flesh and use the equivalent amount in the muffins.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (low fat is fine. Non fat is not)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons brown sugar

4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin ( I usually add more)
1/3 cup olive oil or applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.

To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, then set aside.

For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, olive oil and vanilla. Beat together until smooth.

Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.

Bake at 375 degrees F (195 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

winter squash, muffin recipe, pumpkin cheese muffin recipe

The surprise is not so much that it’s spaghetti squash, not just spaghetti, is that Sam ate it and he liked it. He took his fork and his bowl and dug in, occasionally asking me to put some on the fork for him. It was only after he’d eaten more than half of the contents of the bowl that he asked for “gee been” and pointed to the green bean containing lunch bag we’d brought to his cousin’s house today.

So with that success in mind I bring you my recipe for Spaghetti Surprise

1 medium spaghetti squash pierced several times with a fork
3 tablespoons of garlic butter (recipe follows)
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
1/2 cup (or more) cheese of your choice- I used a mixture of Monterey Jack and Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the squash on a baking sheet for an hour. Meanwhile, shred and chop the cheese and parsley. Remove the squash. When it’s cool enough to handle cut it lengthwise down the middle. Using a fork scrape away the flesh from the skin. It will separate into spaghetti like strands. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, reheat if necessary and serve.

For the garlic butter I used a few cloves of garlic I’d previously roasted and combined them in a food processor with unsalted butter. To roast garlic, cut off the tops of a head, drizzle it in olive oil, wrap in foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350. When the garlic is cool enough to handle you can just squeeze the garlic right out of the cloves. Roasting garlic mellows it and removes any bitterness.

If you don’t want to roast the garlic you can toast a few unpeeled cloves in a pan heated to medium for about 10 minutes until it’s black and spotty on all sides. When it’s cool enough to handle, peel and combine with the butter in a food processor or with a fork.

recipes, spaghetti squash, surprise! my picky eater ate it

The latest edition of the blog carnival was posted at Activist Mommy and some of my favorite food blogs are represented.

Sally’s recipe for Gazpacho is up and Jennie’s recipe for quesadillas with squash blossoms and tomatillos looks delicious. I submitted my T is for Tomato post.

The next carnival is scheduled September 24th.

I love eggplant but I hate pan frying the rounds. Oven frying them is far superior, leaves the eggplant crisp, even after baking, and probably saves you some fat and calories without sacrificing flavor at all.

This recipe takes about 2 and half hours total, but most of that time is hands off including 40 minutes to salt and drain the eggplant slices and 45 minutes baking time. It’s worth the effort. I usually drain the eggplant overnight in the fridge, though I don’t know if my method is recommended. I also make double the eggplant and freeze half for later.

Eggplant Parmesan
2 globe eggplants sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
salt
1 cup flour
pepper
4 large eggs
4 cups plain dried breadcrumbs (I like using Panko crumbs because they’re light and crisp)
3 oz Parmesan cheese grated (the finished product is a 1000 times better if you use fresh, not the junk in a can)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups tomato sauce
2 cups mozzarella
fresh basil leaves, torn

Toss the eggplant with 1 teaspoon of salt and let drain for 40 minutes. I take Lidia’s advice, and line the eggplant up the sides of the colander, place a heavy bowl over the eggplant, and weigh it down with a couple of cans of tomatoes.

Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower middle positions, put a baking sheet on each rack and preheat the oven to 425. Combine the flour and 1 teaspoon of pepper in a large ziploc bag and shake to combine. Beat the eggs into a shallow dish. Combine the bread crumbs, 1 cup of Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in another shallow dish.

Rinse the salt off the eggplant and pat dry with paper towels. When the eggplant is thoroughly dried, place a handful of slices in the ziploc bag and shake to cover with flour. Shake off excess flour, dip in the egg, then coat with breadcrumbs and let drain on a wire rack. Work in batches until all of the eggplant has been dredged in flour and breaded.

Remove the preheated baking sheets from the oven. Spread 3 tablespoons of oil over each sheet, tilting the sheet to coat evenly. Spread the breaded eggplant in a single layer over the hot sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the first side is brown and crisp. Flip the slices over and return to the oven until the second side is browned, about 10 minutes more.

Spread a cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Put half of the eggplant over the sauce, overlapping. Cover the eggplant with a cup of sauce, a few torn basil leaves, and half of the mozzarella. Layer the remaining eggplant in the dish and dot with a cup of sauce leaving most of the eggplant exposed so it stays crisp. Sprinkle with 1/4 of Parmesan and the remaining Mozzarella.

Place the dish on the bottom oven rack and bake for about 15 minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Remove from oven, top with the remaining basil leaves and let sit for 10 minutes. Pass the rest of the sauce and Parmesan around when you serve.

Whether you call it a fruit or a vegetable, last week’s CSA share came bearing tomatoes of all different shapes, sizes and colors. Grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, striped tomatoes, green tomatoes, yellow tomatoes and purple tomatoes all made appearances in different meals throughout the weekend. Sam mostly stuck to eating the tiny yellow ones raw, but he particularly enjoyed last night’s pizza, made with a tomato sauce I threw together in about 30 minutes, start to finish.

Red, Orange, Yellow and Green Tomato Sauce (enough for one pizza crust)
4 medium tomatoes of different colors, peeled, seeded and chopped (you can just use the red ones if you like, but the different colors sure do make a pretty sauce)
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
half an onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, toasted whole then peeled and minced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
a few torn basil leaves

To peel tomatoes, with a knife score an x on the bottom of each tomato. Plunge into boiling water for about 30 seconds. Drain until cool enough to handle. Peel. To seed tomatoes, cut them in half and squeeze out the seeds.

While waiting for the water to boil, toast the garlic cloves whole in a dry frying pan over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until brown spots cover all sides. Remove the garlic from the pan to cool. Turn the heat down to medium and pour in the oil. When the oil is hot, cook the onion for 3 to 4 minutes until it’s translucent. Add the tomatoes and garlic and cook ten minutes. If you like your sauce chunky, cook it uncovered, if you like it saucier cook it covered. Stir in salt and pepper to taste and the torn basil leaves.

I made the pizza using a multigrain crust I bought from Trader Joe’s. Boboli will work as well, or you can make your own dough or buy uncooked pizza dough in the supermarket. I don’t have a pizza stone so I stick with the precooked. I put a thin layer of homemade pesto on the whole crust, covered the pesto with the chunky, colorful tomato sauce, and sprinkled the sauce with shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan. Easy and delicious.

We also enjoyed a white bean and tomato dish that I based on this recipe for Roasted Tomatoes and Cippoline Onions Over White Beans With Garlic-Rubbed Bread Cubes. It was crazy hot so I cooked the tomatoes on the stove top instead of roasting them. When it cools down a bit I’ll try the recipe for real.

Elsewhere on the internet, Farm to Philly offers ten things to do with tomatoes (other than salsa, gazpacho, sauce, or sandwiches)

tomatoes, quick tomato sauce recipe

Despite my best intentions, with the heat and humidity I haven’t much felt like cooking in my swelteringly hot kitchen the past couple of weeks. That’s not to say I haven’t- I’ve cooked plenty. I just haven’t really wanted to, so none of the meals I’ve cooked have stood out. I ordered tomatillos in my CSA share, a vegetable I’d never cooked with before, and I wanted to find a recipe to showcase them. After flipping through a couple of different cookbooks and browsing online for a while I found a recipe for Grilled Vegetable Tostadas with Two Salsas in my Bon Appétit cookbook. I had all of the fresh, seasonal vegetables the recipe called for at home and a quick trip to the grocery store got me the ingredients I was missing- Ancho chilis for the red salsa, cilantro for the green, and flour tortillas.

The two salsas really made the meal. The red salsa is made with dried Ancho Chilis and tomatoes, and the green salsa is made with tomatillos and cilantro. The salsas didn’t take long to make at all, and if you can make them a day or two ahead of time because they taste better after sitting for a while. If you’re not up to making the salsas you can buy jarred salsas at the market, usually in the ethnic aisle by the Mexican food. If you buy them, check out the ingredients on the label. Try to find a tomato salsa that’s made with ancho or chipotle chilis so you don’t miss out on the smoky flavor.

Grilled vegetables, brushed with a seasoned oil mixture, are the stars of this recipe. Grill them until they’re tender and browned on both sides, layer them on crispy flour tortillas and top them with the two salsas. I also added shredded cheese and a dollop of low fat sour cream. While my husband took charge of the grilling I made Mexican rice (to ensure Sam would eat something if he didn’t like the grilled veggies) and heated up a can of organic black beans for protein. The recipe calls for frying the tortillas in oil but I’d recommend just throwing them on the grill to crisp them.

Grilled Vegetable Tostadas with Two Salsas
from Bon Appétit

Grilled Vegetables

3/4 cup olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt (I used less)
3 large zucchini, cut on deep diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 large red bell peppers, seeded, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
1 large eggplant, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

12 large oyster mushrooms ( I skipped the mushrooms)
1 large onion, cut into thin rounds

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Mix olive oil, garlic, chili powder and salt in large bowl. Pour 1/4 cup oil mixture into small bowl and reserve. Add zucchini, bell peppers and eggplant to oil mixture in large bowl; toss to coat.

Grill zucchini, bell peppers and eggplant in batches until light brown, about 3 minutes per side. Place on baking sheet. Cover with foil. Brush mushrooms and onion rounds with reserved 1/4 cup oil mixture. Grill until light brown, about 3 minutes per side. Place on baking sheet with other vegetables.

The salsa recipes are after the jump.
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The yellow zucchini in my garden didn’t make it. Powdery mildew and end rot forced me to rip the plant out by the roots and plant a new crop of haricot verts beans in its place. But zucchinis and other summer squashes the size of baseball bats are still lurking under leaves in other people’s gardens everywhere. So far this summer I’ve eaten small, tender zucchini, yellow zucchini, crookneck squash, and pattypan squash in a variety of different dishes. I’ve eaten it hot, cold, sliced, shredded, sauteed, baked, fried and steamed.

Here are a few of the squash recipes we’ve tried this summer and my thoughts.

We all loved these Zucchini Patties with Feta. I made them for lunch one afternoon and we had almost none left over. Even Sam who doesn’t ordinarily like Feta gobbled them up. If you try the recipe make sure to read the reader reviews because they have a ton of useful advice. The patties require more flour than the recipe calls for.

Bob and I enjoyed the Stuffed Pattypan Squash more than Sam, but Sam did eat some of the filling the next day for lunch. I added fresh herbs and a bit of cayenne pepper to the filling, but otherwise made the recipe as is.

Back in the spring, way before zucchini season, when we learned Sam’s iron was low I made these vegan Full Meal Muffins because they’re supposed to be full of iron. I didn’t have spelt or barley flour so I used white and wheat flour instead and I used golden raisins because I had them on hand. They don’t sound like they’d be that good, but they were surprisingly tasty. Sam ate most of one or two, picking out the nuts and raisins, but then refused to touch them. I froze them and forgot about them for a few months. Now that he’s bigger Sam really enjoys them. Oddly, he enjoys them frozen. I pull them out of the freezer, help him pull off the paper, and he gnaws on them until they defrost and get all sticky on his grubby little hands.

If your kid won’t eat vegetables you can try this Chocolate Zucchini Cake. I don’t know how much nutrition the zucchini adds, but the zucchini sure does make the cake moist. Read the reviews for healthier substitutions. Ladybug’s Picnic posted a similar recipe not too long ago that doesn’t require buttermilk (an ingredient I almost never have on hand and have to substitute). She also posts some of the alterations that she makes to the cake to make it a bit healthier.

It’s probably a bit late in the season for this recipe, and I can’t vouch for the deliciousness since I haven’t made it, but Straight From the Farm has a recipe for goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms with accompanying photos. I wish my zucchini had been healthy enough for me to be brave enough to try it. Next year.

summer squash, zucchini

What are your favorite summer squash recipes?

Let’s be honest here. Risotto is time consuming and this particular recipe isn’t especially easy. Nonetheless, when I saw the picture of beet risotto at Mac’s flickr page I couldn’t help myself. I initially wanted to make it while we were on vacation but realized only after I’d peeled and chopped the beets that I only had long grain rice. So I ordered more beets from my CSA and made it the other day ignoring the 90 degree heat. Though my finished product wasn’t as stunning as Mac’s, it was delicious and Sam couldn’t get enough of the beets.

I took Mac’s recipe and altered the cooking method just a bit. Most risotto recipes call for adding the stock one half cup full at a time and stirring until it’s fully absorbed before adding the next half cup. I add half of the stock at once, then add the remainder by the half cup full to make it slightly less labor intensive.

Beet and Beet Greens Risotto

1 cup short grain rice (Arborio)
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. beets [peel the beets and chop them; cut the stems into one inch pcs; tear leaves into pcs]
salt and pepper
1/2 cup red wine
4 cups of chicken stock
1/2 stick of butter
3/4 cup shredded parmesan

Heat the chicken stock and keep it warm.

Melt the butter in a large, heavy saute pan over medium heat. Saute the onion until translucent, about five minutes; add garlic and saute another minute or two. Add the beets and stems; cook - stirring occasionally - for about five minutes.

Add rice; stir to coat and cook, stirring, for a minute. Add wine. When nearly all the wine has been absorbed add half of the chicken stock and let cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until all of the stock has been absorbed, about fifteen minutes.

Add the beet greens into the pan. Stir to wilt.

Continue adding stock by the half cup full, waiting until each addition has been fully absorbed before adding more. When the rice is at the right consistency- creamy, yet firm- remove from heat and stir in salt, pepper, and cheese. Stir to melt.

I was low on Arborio rice so I used a combination of Arborio and short grain brown rice. I didn’t have any chicken stock so I used turkey stock I had in the freezer (leftover from last Thanksgiving!) instead. My beet greens hadn’t been stored properly and looked shriveled and wilty so I discarded them. I had a nice bunch of swiss chard on hand so I used that instead. Mac’s recipe called for horseradish sauce which I also didn’t have. My back from vacation fridge was lacking sour cream as well, so I topped the risotto with a spoonful of plain yogurt.

beets, beet and beet greens risotto, risotto recipe, CSA,

Another guest post from Blythe

I got this recipe from the May issue of Real Simple magazine, but it’s the perfect summer time meal that might actually get your little one to eat asparagus.

5 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth (I once substituted vegetable bouillon cubes for store-bought broth – definitely not as good)
2 T. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ cups barley (you can find boxed barley in the same aisle as the cous cous, or you can buy bulk at a health food store)
1 cup dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc works well)
1 pound asparagus, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces (it doesn’t really matter how you cut it)
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan

Warm the broth in a saucepan over low heat. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for seven minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cook one minute more. Add the barley and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Stir in the wine and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about three minutes. Add the broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring occasionally and waiting until it is absorbed before adding more (this helps to keep the barley firm and prevent it from becoming soupy). Add the asparagus with the last ½ cup of broth and cook until tender. It should take 30 to 35 minutes for all the broth to be absorbed. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper (I personally skip the salt – the cheese has enough in it and the broth is flavorful), and stir in the Parmesan. I usually add more Parmesan than they recommend. It’s so delicious.

Aidan wasn’t crazy about the consistency of the barley in his mouth, but he’s come around to it. I love asparagus, especially when it’s in season and I get bored steaming it all the time. My family enjoys this variation.

As a kid I was the weirdo who loved eating peas, not just playing with them. (Though I did enjoy playing with them- especially when they were served with mashed potatoes.) As an adult I like them on their own, especially when fresh garden peas are in season. There’s something sort of soothing about getting a quart of peas in the pod and shelling them on the front porch. When they’re not in season they’re still delicious frozen. Peas in the bag, flash frozen still retain their nutrients, don’t have nearly as much sodium as canned peas and cook quickly. I throw them in the water when I make pasta and add them to boxes of mac and cheese when I’m too lazy to cook a vegetable for real. They’re also good with just a little butter and salt.

Here’s a quick, in season recipe that my whole family enjoyed. Even Sam. The recipe and photo were found at Food and Paper. Delicious.

Fresh Peas with Green Onions and Basil

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups fresh shelled peas
2 green onions, white and light green parts, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
a pinch of dried pepper flakes
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup basil leaves, torn into pieces
parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Have all of your ingredients ready when you start…everything comes together fast, and you don’t want to overcook your peas.

1. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil and pepper flakes over medium heat.
2. Add peas and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes.
3. Add chopped green onions and cook, stirring, for an additional 2 minutes.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add lemon juice and basil. Remove from heat, and stir to combine.
5. Divide between two bowls. Top with shaved parmesan cheese, and serve.

The produce box arrived today and I’d completely forgotten what I’d ordered.

One head of summer crisp lettuce
Red Kale
Red tropea onions
zucchini
garlic scapes

I’m excited to make Zucchini Patties with Feta. Though Sam has refused feta several times in the past, he’s never had it in fried, patty form and he seems to enjoy most fried, non-meat foods. I’m also interested in the red onions. I’d never even heard of red tropea onions until I saw them listed on the CSA home page. It’s sad that there are so many different varieties of produce that just aren’t available in supermarkets.

Speaking of fried, non-meat foods, he loved spinach and ginger fried rice and even ate some of the roasted ginger carrots I served with it. (I did not offer the roasted ginger beets, as I had no interest in removing beet stains from my floors.)

Spinach and Ginger Fried Rice

One 10 oz bag of of spinach leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 cloves minced fresh garlic
about 3 cups cooked long grain rice (1 cup uncooked)

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add half of the spinach, and cook, turning often until just wilted (3 to 4 minutes.) Remove the spinach to a colander to drain. Add the rest of the spinach to the skillet, cook until wilted and remove to drain. In the same pan, heat the sesame oil. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the cooked rice to the skillet and toss to coat. Add the spinach and fish sauce to the rice mixture and cook until heated(about 5 minutes), stirring often.

eat local, CSA, spinach and ginger fried rice, recipe

The stuffed peppers I’ve had in the past were all sort of terrible. I don’t particularly care for green bell peppers and the rice and beef mixture was almost always bland. My mother-in-law doesn’t even use rice. She just sticks a meatball in a pepper and cooks it in tomato sauce until the pepper is almost unrecognizable. I wanted to make stuffed peppers that still maintained their integrity as peppers, yet had a tasty filling. My original plan was to make stuffed peppers with spinach, feta and tofu but I wanted Sam to enjoy the stuffing (if not the whole pepper) and I know he doesn’t really like feta so I threw caution to the wind and modified a recipe for a traditional beef and rice stuffed pepper. I skipped the spinach, replaced the feta with Monterey Jack, and stuck with the tofu for the protein source. These were pretty good.

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

4 medium bell peppers ( I like red), 1/2 inch trimmed off the tops, cores and seeds removed
1/2 cup long grain rice
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
1/2 package of tofu crumbled
3 medium cloves of garlic minced or pressed
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes drained, 1/4 cup juice reserved
5 ounces Monterey Jack cheese shredded (1 1/4 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup ketchup
ground black pepper

Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large stockpot over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and bell peppers. Cook until peppers soften, about 3 minutes. Remove the peppers from the water with a slotted spoon and drain excess water. Place peppers cut side up on paper towels. Return the water to a boil and add the rice. Boil until tender, about 13 minutes. Drain the rice and move to a large bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer onion and garlic to the bowl with the rice and stir in tomatoes, tofu, one cup of cheese, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Stir together the ketchup and remaining tomato juice.

Place the peppers cut side up in a baking dish or tube pan. Dived the filling evenly among the peppers. Top each pepper with ketchup mixture and remaining cheese. Bake until cheese is browned and filling is heated, 25-30 minutes.

If you prefer meat you can add 12 oz ground beef, chicken or lamb and adjust the other ingredients accordingly. I’d use beef with the ingredients as is, chicken with mozzarella and basil, and lamb with feta and cilantro. I don’t have a tube pan, but I used a bundt pan to bake the peppers because they retain their shape and remain upright. Sam did not eat the peppers. But he did, as expected, enjoy the filling. The boy sure does love rice.

stuffed peppers, vegetarian, recipe

First, the sites to check out.

Tastespotting, though not child specific is a great site for inspiration. Beautiful photos of food are uploaded to the site several times throughout the day. Each photo links to the blog post/recipe at the original site. Scrolling down the page makes my mouth water.

The Great Big Vegetable Challenge is just what it sounds like- parents of a picky eater trying to get their kid to like veggies. Currently on H, for herbs, they’re running through the alphabet with recipes and child ratings. Horseradish was not a success. Herby beef burgers scored 10 out of 10. Of course my problem’s not the veggies. My problem’s getting Sam to eat the fattening stuff.

Now for the menu planning. I have the following vegetables on hand:

3 large beets with greens
1 lb of spinach
1 bunch swiss chard
5 medium carrots
1 sweet onion
1 red onion
3 scallions
1 lb green beans
1 bunch asparagus
1 yam
2 medium zucchini
3 red peppers
garlic scapes
1/2 lb fava beans

I’m pretty sure I’m going to make

Stuffed peppers with spinach, feta and tofu
Swiss chard with bacon and red onion
Roasted beets with ginger
Asparagus risotto
Fava bean crostini
Spinach and ginger fried rice

I’m not sure about the rest yet. Recipes and more menu planning to follow. Suggestions are welcome.