Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Have I mentioned how much I love our CSA? I think I have! Another reason why I love our CSA is the variety of veggies we receive each week. Last week there was zucchini, summer squash, kousa squash and some adorable little patty pan squash. I made sure to grab 4 patty pan squash because I had an idea. After chatting with another CSA member about patty pan squash I had decided that the next night I would make stuffed patty pan squash! I couldn't wait!

You would know if you have seen patty pan squash before because they look like little yellow flying saucers. They are similar to summer squash in flavor and texture and can be cooked the same. If you have a chance pick some of these squash up at your local farmers market and give them a try. Here is the recipe. While cooking and eating these stuffed squash I was thinking about how many variations there are for these. For example if you wanted more of a mexican dish you could use black beans and rice and season with cumin a chili powder. As always let me know what you think of these stuffed flying saucers and share your thoughts on other variations as well. Enjoy!

Ingredients 

• 4 Patty pan squash
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 can or 2 cups of cannellini beans
• 1 box of Chopped Pomi Tomatoes or 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup of quinoa
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• oregano
• thyme
• salt and pepper
• mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook quinoa according to directions.
3. Cut tops off of the squash and scoop out the pulp. Roughly chop the pulp.
4. Pour some of the tomatoes in the bottom of a square baking dish. Place the hollowed out squash in the baking dish.
5. Heat oil in a pan. Add onion and garlic and sautee until tender.
6. Add squash, tomatoes, beans and cooked quinoa.
7. Season to taste with oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Allow mixture to cook for about 10 minutes.
8. Fill each patty pan squash with the squash mixture.*
9. Cover with foil and bake for 40-60 minutes or until squash is tender.
10. Remove foil and sprinkle the tops of the squash with cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*There will be extra filling. Save this for another night and serve as a side dish or use as a filling to make stuffed peppers.

Hollowed out squash and ingredients ready to be cooked.

Squash in the pan ready to be filled.

Stuffed and ready to go in the oven.

Done! I was so excited I forgot to take a picture of all four before eating them:)

Roasted Beet Pizza

I went to dinner one night at Flatbread Pizza Co.http://www.flatbreadcompany.com with my family. We had this amazing vegetarian pizza with roasted beets. It was fabulous!! I have never had pizza with beets on it nor have I ever thought about putting beets on pizza. Ever since eating that pizza I have been determined to try and make it at home...because that's what I do:). Once the weather starts to warm up around here I start making my pizza outside on the grill. I think I like it better on the grill! The crust is nice and crisp. I use a pizza stone and I will go into detail on how to properly cook pizza on a stone on the grill. So if you're interested in trying this fabulous pizza, and I recommend that you do, continue to read on and go for it!

First thing you'll need is pizza dough. I have been making pizza dough for a while now. I have tweaked my recipe slightly over time and now I have it just right. Here's the recipe for the pizza dough.

Pizza Dough

• 1 packet or 2 teaspoons of Instant yeast
• 2 to 3 Cups of White Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 teaspoons of Salt
• 2 Tablespoons of Whole Ground Flax Seed Meal*
• 1 Cup of Water
• 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon of Honey

Directions

1. Combine water, oil and honey and microwave for 1:30.
2. Combine 2 cups of flour, yeast, salt and flax seeds in a mixer bowl and stir to combine.
3. Add water mixture to the flour mixture.
4. Mix on setting 2 until all ingredients combine.
5. The mixture will most likely be sticky. Add flour 1/4 cup at a time and allow to mix before adding more.
6. Continue to add flour until a ball forms and cleans the sides of the mixing bowl.
7. Mix on setting 2 for 6 minutes. Set a timer and walk away! The kneading process is important.
8. After the dough has been kneaded place into a bowl greased with a little olive oil. Cover with saran wrap and let rise for at least an hour.

*Ground Flax Seed Meal are rich in fiber, lignans(antioxidants) and omega 3 fats. I add this to all of my baked goods for added nutritional benefits. They hardly add any flavor so go ahead and throw some in your pancake or waffle mix, baked into bread or muffins or sprinkle on hot or cold cereal. I even add it to my chocolate chip cookies! You will find it with the Bob's Red Millhttp://www.bobsredmill.com products in your grocery store.

Roasted Beet Pizza

• Pizza Dough (If using store bought dough, allow it to rise to room temperature before placing on a pizza stone)
• 1 bunch of beets, roasted and sliced
• beet greens, chopped
• 1 small red onion, sliced thin
• plum tomatoes, sliced
• fontina cheese, grated
• balsamic glaze
• salt and pepper
• cornmeal

1. Place a pizza stone on the grill and preheat on high. It is important that the stone is heated with the grill not placed in after it is heated! Cut the stems off of the beets and save the greens. Rinse the beets and place them into a foil pouch drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the foil pouch on the top wrack of the grill and cook for about an hour. Check the beets every so often to see if they are done. If you're not using the grill you can roast the beets in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour. 
2. Remove from grill or oven and allow to cool slightly. Run the beets under cold water and slip the skins off then slice.
3. Once the dough has risen for an hour, punch it down in the bowl. My pizza stone is small(about 12 inches) so I divide the dough in two. Spread the dough onto a pizza pan or cutting board greased with olive oil.
4. Sprinkle some cornmeal on the pizza stone. Place the dough onto the stone.
5. Top with beet greens, beets, tomatoes, red onion and fontina cheese. Close the lid and allow to bake for about 10-15 minutes.
6. Remove pizza from stone onto your pizza pan. Drizzle with the balsamic glaze.
7. Slice and enjoy!

New Year= New Goals!

Happy 2013! I hope everyone had a great holiday season filled with family, friends and of course FOOD! What is the holiday season without all that delicious food? Now that the new year has arrived so have new goals and resolutions. My main goals for this year is to eat even less processed foods and to cut out even more sugar and white flour. Another thing I really want to get into is juicing. Of course I would need to purchase a juicer first but that is only a minor detail! Once I start my journey I will share my juicing thoughts and recipes along the way.

I know that many people have resolutions that involve food and exercise. So my first recipe that I'm going to share for the new year is homemade bread. I have been making bread for about a year now and I really enjoy it. The benefits of homemade bread without any preservatives and high fructose corn syrup outweighs the time and precision needed to achieve a perfect loaf. Take a Sunday afternoon and set aside some time. You can make several loaves which you can freeze and defrost as needed in the following weeks. Give it a try! I know it can be intimidating working with yeast but once you've got it down you will be able whip a few loaves in no time!

A few notes about ingredients:

The following recipe uses white whole wheat flour. This flour has all the benefits of 100% whole wheat flour with a more mild and light flavor. Once you master this recipe we can move on to baking 100% whole wheat bread. *You cannot substitute whole wheat flour for white flour. Whole wheat bread is a different recipe!*
I also use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast. When using instant yeast you only need to allow the dough to rise once instead of twice. This will save you an hour of rising time! If you are going to use active dry yeast you would need to follow a different recipe.
Two ingredients that you can leave out are the whole ground flax seed meal and vital wheat gluten. You can purchase these both at your regular grocery store. Market Basket carries them both. Look for them with the other Bob's Red Mill products. The flax seed meal adds fiber and omega 3. The vital wheat gluten is helpful for baking breads made with course, whole grain flours and cereal. It basically helps with the rise and elasticity of the dough. It is also 75% to 80% protein! Bonus!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of white whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur Flour)
• 3 tablespoons of whole ground flax seed meal
• 2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of instant yeast
• 1/2 cup milk (skin, 1%, 2% or whole)
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup water
• 4 tablespoons of melted butter

Directions:

1. Add all dry ingredients to your stand mixer and give it a quick mix.
2. Melt the butter and warm all liquid ingredients to about 110 degrees. Usually this is about a minute and a half in my microwave.
3. Add liquid to dry mixture. 
4. Turn the mixer on to the number 2 setting. 
5. Mix until all ingredients are combined.
6. The dough will start to form into a ball. Be patient! 
7. Once the dough ball has formed it should start to "clean" the sides of the bowl. If the dough is sticking you may need to add more flour. Only a a little at a time. If the dough is to dry add a little warm water.
8. Once the ball is formed and is the right texture set a timer for 7 minutes. 
9. Allow the dough to mix for the full 7 minutes!
10. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface and shape it into an 8 inch log.
11. Place the log into a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan. Cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap.
12. Allow the bread to rise for about an hour until it's crowned about 1" above the edge of the pan.
13. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack before slicing. You can also rub a little butter on the crust when it's still hot. This will make the crust a little softer.
14. Store in a plastic bag at room temperature.

The bread should be consumed within a week. This bread is great for sandwiches and toast. I hope that you will be willing to give homemade bread a shot! You won't regret it! As always let me know how you do! Happy baking:)