Super Sweet Potatoes!

No your eyes are not playing tricks on you, that is one gigantic sweet potato!! This big boy was in our CSA box last week. I already had a bunch of sweet potatoes from the previous week so I knew it was time to start making something with sweet potatoes in it! My mother in law had been telling me about a Sweet Potato Flatbread she had made a couple of times so I figured it was time to try it out. It was delicious! Even Tyler liked it! So since it was such a huge success I though I should share this fabulous recipe with others. Try it out... you won't be disappointed!

Sweet Potato Flatbread

Ingredients

• Cornmeal, for the baking sheet
• 1 lb. pizza dough, thawed if frozen (I of course made mine. Refer to http://homemadejess.blogspot.com/2011/10/october-is-national-pizza-month.html for my pizza dough recipe)
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• Kosher salt and pepper 

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal.
2. Shape the dough into a large 14 inch long rectangle or oval and place on the prepared baking sheet.
3. In a large bowl, toss the sweet potato, shallots, cheddar cheese, thyme, almonds, oil, salt and pepper. 
4. Scatter the potato mixture over the dough and bake until golden brown and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve with salad, if desired.

                                                  

Easy and so yummy!! Try it out and let me know what you think. Did you make any changes to the recipe that was really good? Tell us what you did so other's can try it too.

*Here's a tip for slicing the sweet potatoes and shallots. Use a mandolin slicer if you have one. It makes slicing easy and as a result you get really thin, consistent slices. 

Recipe from Woman's Day 

www.womansday.com

My Newfound Love Affair With Squash

With the change of the season brings the excitement of new seasonal vegetables. As much as I miss heirloom tomatoes, basil and zucchini, I look forward to welcoming broccoli, sweet potatoes and winter squash into our home! Believe it or not I haven't always been a fan of squash. I know... crazy right!?! Well now that I am fully invested in CSA I have made it my mission to try to enjoy squash. I wanted to try incorporating squash into recipes rather than just having pureed squash, not that there is anything wrong with that! I am happy to say that I found a winner!! This recipe, like all the recipes on this blog, can be adapted to suit your taste. 

Penne With Braised Squash and Greens

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces smoked tofu, cubed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes(about 3 cups)
• 1 small bunch Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves cut into 1 inch pieces
• 8 ounces whole wheat penne, rigatoni or fusilli pasta
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil for cooking pasta.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add tofu and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. 
3. Add onion to the pan; cook, stirring often, until softened and golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
4. Return the tofu to the pan and add broth and squash; bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add chard and stir to immerse. Cover and cook until the squash and chard are tender, about 5 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, cook pasta until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and return to the pot. 
7. Add the squash mixture, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

I'm so glad that I found this recipe because I LOVE it! The best part about this recipe is that it is easy to adapt to your liking or change it according to what you have for ingredients. For example, I have never seen smoked tofu nor do I have any interest in trying it anytime soon! My family loves tofu so I always have it in my fridge. So for this recipe I use firm or extra firm tofu. Now I'm sure a lot of you are thinking, 'I hate tofu!', and that's fine. I have not tried this recipe with chicken, since we don't eat meat, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't use chicken in place of the tofu. Of course you could also leave the tofu out completely and not substitute it at all. The recipe calls for Swiss chard but kale or spinach would work as well. As for the cheese, Parmesan is great, but the first time I made this I didn't have any Parmesan. I did however have some Gruyere left over from another recipe. Personally I think the Gruyere was even better than the Parmesan! Gruyere cheese has a slight nutty, earthy flavor that pairs really well with the fresh vegetables.

So if you are not a squash lover, as I was, I encourage you to try this recipe because I really think you'll enjoy it! As always let me know what you think and let me know if you made any substitutions that I didn't think of. Good luck and good eating! 

Recipe adapted from http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/penne_with_braised_squash_greens.html

Pancakes, Pancakes!

So I saw an article on Yahoo the other day about whether or not there is a difference between pancakes made from scratch or from a mix. Basically the end result from their "research" was that there wasn't much difference so you might as well use the mix in a box and save yourself some time. No, no, no, no! I'm not sure who they asked or who made the pancakes, but I can assure you there is a difference and it is totally worth it to make them from scratch! I don't remember the last time I bought a box of pancake mix but I can tell you that I bought buttermilk last week to make my own pancake mix.

You don't need to be a master chef to make your own pancake batter and it doesn't take much time either! I make homemade pancakes every weekend and I'm challenging you to try it at least once and tell me weather or not you think there is a difference. Here is an easy recipe.

Ingredients
2 eggs
2 cups of buttermilk(You can use regular milk if you don't have buttermilk but I recommend the buttermilk!)
2 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2-3 Tbsp. sugar
1tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 Tbsp. of vegetable oil

Directions
Use just one bowl.
Slightly beat eggs.
Add buttermilk, baking soda and baking powder and mix.
Add flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir.
Fold in oil.
Do not over stir. It's best to leave a few lumps!
Lightly grease a griddle with oil.
Spoon batter onto griddle and turn when they are puffed up and full of little bubbles.
Makes 12-15 pancakes!

Easy enough right? Of course you can add blueberries or chocolate chips if you want. My dad used to add bits of apples to his pancakes! YUM! Try whatever you like! Serve with butter and syrup and a nice cup of coffee! So please try this at least once. You won't regret it and I bet you won't be buying pancake mix in a box any more! Enjoy and please leave a comment to let me know how your pancakes turn out.

Community Supported Agriculture: Are you a member?

I only learned about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) two years ago. I was frustrated that I could not afford to buy all local, organic fruits and vegetables for my family. What do you do when you are faced with a dilemma in this day and age? Post it on Facebook of course! Immediately someone suggested that I look into CSA's in our area. I like to do research so I began a search online to see what CSA's were all about and how I could be a part of this wonderful concept. Little did I know that this would be the beginning of a wonderful new adventure for me and my family! I find that belonging to a CSA has greatly influenced my 'Homemade' approach. I highly recommend considering joining a CSA. At least do a little research! For those of you who are unfamiliar with CSA's here is some information.


A farmer advertises their CSA program offering a certain number of shares. Consumers purchase a share for the season and in return they receive a box of seasonal produce each week. There are benefits for both the farmer and the consumer. When the farmer receives payments in the beginning of the season, they are able to buy seeds and supplies needed to produce the food. Consumers benefit by getting local, fresh produce each week. Delicious, organic produce is not the only benefit of being a CSA member. By participating in a local CSA you are helping the environment. Your produce is not traveling as far as grocery store produce, which travels an average of 1500 miles. (National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service) You will be eating what is in season in your local area. And you are also investing in preserving local farmland.

Some of the reasons I love being part of a CSA:

• Trying new vegetables. Have you ever had Tatsoi or Kohlrabi? Have you ever enjoyed the flavors or beauty of Garlic Scapes and Romanesco? If you answered no to those questions then you're missing out!
• Experimenting with new recipes.
• Having the ability to can or preserve vegetables for the winter season.

Hopefully I have sparked some interest and you will consider becoming a CSA member! Here are some links to help you get started.

If you are interested in finding a CSA in your area as well as more information about CSA's in general:www.localharesvt.org/csa/

Here is the CSA where I am a member:www.farmerdaves.net

I hope you will do some research to learn more about this wonderful opportunity. Let me know if you decide to become a member of a CSA in your area!

This is an example of what you might get in your share.

Kayla enjoying an ear of corn at our CSA member appreciation pot luck party!

October is National Pizza Month!

Buongiorno!

Who knew October was National Pizza Month? Well, my husband did! He let me know via a text message yesterday. I'm pretty sure he was hinting at the fact that he wanted pizza for dinner last night. Unfortunately we were having leftovers. I really shouldn't say unfortunately because leftovers was eggplant parmigiana, homemade of course! No problem though, we always have pizza on Friday nights.

We had always ordered our pizza on Friday nights from various pizza shops near our house and enjoyed it. The only problem was that we were not only ordering pizza. We got into the habit of getting french fries or onion rings or mozzarella sticks to go along with the pizza. I'll admit... onion rings are my weakness!! I love them but I really do not need to be eating them once a week! So instead of ordering our pizza, with various sides, I decided to start making my own homemade pizza and a healthier side dish. This would be our new Friday pizza night. Fresh, homemade pizza and salad!

So in honor of National Pizza Month, I would like to encourage everyone to make their own pizza at least once! It's a healthier, tastier, family friendly option to ordering out. And since you're making your own, everyone can choose their own toppings! Let's get started!

First things first... the dough. The easiest way to make pizza dough is with a mixer. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, use it! You will be so thrilled at how easy it is! You won't have to knead the dough by hand because the mixer does all the work for you. The best part of this recipe is that you don't have to roll the dough out! I know I haven't always had an easy time rolling out pizza dough! Here is a recipe for basic pizza dough that I use (from the Kitchen Aid stand mixer recipe book).
Ingredients

• 1 package of active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons if you have a jar of yeast)
• 1 cup of warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 table spoon of cornmeal

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl (I warm the bowl by filling it with hot water from the tap).
2. Add salt, olive oil, and 2 1/2 cups of flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.
3. Continuing on speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until dough clings to the hook and cleans the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes.
4. Kneed on speed 2 for about 2 minutes longer. At this point you can tell whether or not you need to add more flour. If the dough is still sticking to the bottom of the bowl you need to add more. 
5. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. I remove the dough from the bowl and grease it with olive oil then place the dough back in the bowl and turn to coat. This way you will only have to wash one bowl!
6. Cover. I use saran wrap, actually stretch tight. It's the best brand!
7. Let rise in a warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
8. Once dough has risen, punch the dough down, gently! You want to remove air from the dough but you don't want to press too hard because then you will have thin spots in your dough.
9. Brush a 14 inch pizza pan with olive oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal.
10. Press the dough across the bottom of the pan, forming a collar around the edge to hold toppings.
11. Add toppings.
12. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

If you don't have a stand mixer that's okay! You can make the dough by hand as well, it just requires a little more work. Use the same ingredients as listed above.

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the olive oil and yeast mixture into it. Stir  until it begins to form a ball.
4. Take the ball of dough out and place it on a clean, floured surface and knead for about 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Place the ball of dough into a greased bowl and turn to coat.
6. Cover with saran wrap (stretch tight is my brand of choice) and let rise in a warm place free from draft for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
7. Brush a 14 inch pizza pan with oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal.
8. Press dough across the bottom of the pan, forming a collar around the edge to hold toppings.
9. Add toppings.
10. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

That's it! Super easy! Once you've made the dough a few times you'll be able to make it very quickly. It only takes me about 10-15 minutes for me to make it now. Of course I love to use my own homemade sauce on my pizza but you can use jarred sauce as well. Fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil makes an amazing margarita pizza! Roasted red pepper and artichokes is yummy too! You decide how you want to top your pizza. The options are endless! Give it a try and let me know how it turns out. Hopefully you will enjoy your homemade pizza better than that pizza shop down the street. A more yummy and healthy option for you and your family!

Buon Appetito!