Category Archives: Vegetables

Sauteed Squash with Curried Yogurt Sauce

21st Century Foods, Gluten-free Entrees, Healthy Innovations, History of Squash, Vegetables Leave a comment
sauteed squash with curried yogurt sauce

sautéed squash with curried yogurt sauce

This history-which follows-came to me, when a beloved friend asked me to concoct this recipe for sautéed squash; she fell in love with its original at an excellent restaurant, while traveling.  Goldie longed to enjoy repeats of this masterpiece, without having to leave the Portland area; thus, she trusted my expertise to supply her this powerfully good recipe-thanks to another chef’s inspiration!

This whole process made me aware that we need each other’s expertise; thus, we lend our strengths to one another in order to break through circumstances-both in the kitchen and life. This exceptional combination started in the mind of an adept chef, but I built on it using my own approach.  In turn, I encourage you to take it to your worlds, by innovating yet further.

None of us wants to miss playing out our foreordained part!  I loved acting in community theatre in days past.  Here I learned that there are no small actors, just small parts.   The eye can’t say to the nose I have no part in you, or where would the sense of smell be in the body.  In this manner, we can’t fulfill our destinies without each other’s help, while always remembering that every “body part” is critical.  We don’t want to forfeit, even by default, any of our precious chances to give or receive support.  This way we discover our life-purposes.

James Trager has been all that for me in my writings.  With a mind like mine for detail, he offers a feast of food history information in The Food Chronology.  His work equips me with an abundance of needed facts, to effect my God-given calling.

For instance he has four entries on squash.  The first dates back to 1527, when conquistadors returned to Spain with facts about New World foods.  They reported that the Aztecs consumed squash and beans among numerous other delicacies, such as: white worms, eggs of water bugs, and domesticated guinea pigs.  These tamed animals were eaten with the skin on-the hair being removed as with a suckling pig.  (Note: while studying food in 1985, I was offered guinea pig in Peru, one of the lands the conquistadors conquered in the 16th century.)  1

Next, Trager takes us to Virginia in 1588.  Then English mathematician Thomas Hariot wrote that these Virginia fields were planted Indian-style with squash, maize, beans, and melons.  However he noted they yielded five times more than the same acre in England.  2

I take this chance to build on Trager’s house: this New World area, nearly two centuries before the forming of America, was called Virginia, a word from the Latin virgo (stem virgin).  The land was named after Queen Elizabeth I, who was queen of England and Ireland (1558-1603).  She was known as “the virgin queen”; thus, this virgin land became Virginia.

Finally, our illustrious historian Trager details the early public appearances of spaghetti and calabaza squash in the United States.  The first, resembling spaghetti, was introduced in 1962 by a specialty produce company in Los Angeles.  3  Then, when Miami’s Grand Bay Hotel opened in 1982, Jamaican-born Chef Katsuo Sugiura had a loin of lamb among his specialties.  He smoked this over oolong tea and hickory chips; Sugiura served it with calabaza squash, grilled Portobello mushrooms, and yuca.  4

I love to share the bread of life through my recipes and words.  As you can see, my act of creating is so dependent on the works of others.  Now may you expand this, my fire, in your lives-both inside and outside your kitchens.

  1. James Trager, The Food Chronology (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1995), p. 88.
  2. Ibid., p. 104.
  3. Ibid., p. 569.
  4. Ibid., p. 660.
preparing squash

preparing squash

Sautéed Squash with Curried Yogurt Sauce Yields: 3-4 servings.  Total prep time: 3/4 hr.

3 tbsp butter

2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine  (I have also substituted 1/4 tsp dried ginger, but fresh is better.)

1/2 large apple, peeled and chopped in very small pieces  (I prefer granny smith apples here, but not necessary.)

1/4 tsp curry powder

2 tsp honey

1/2 cup plain yogurt  (Nancy’s Plain with Honey is good; Stoneyfield organic plain Greek yogurt is even better.)

1/4 tsp salt, or to taste  (Real Salt is important; available in health section of local supermarket.)

1 lb butternut squash, peeled and sliced in 1/4″-wide strips

Roasted almond slices for garnish, optional  (May roast nuts ahead of time at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.)

  1. Put a serving platter in a warm oven.
  2. Melt 1/2 tbsp of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add ginger, apple, curry powder, and honey; sauté until fruit is soft; stir frequently. Remove from heat, add yogurt immediately, season to taste with salt.  Set aside.
  3. Meanwhile peel squash with a sharp knife.  Remove any seeds.  Place flat side of halved squash on counter and cut in 1/4″-wide slices; cut these slices into equal sized strips.  (See above photo.)
  4. In large frying pan, heat 1 1/2 tbsp of butter over med/low heat, until a small piece of squash, which is placed in it, sizzles.  Sauté as many strips in hot butter as will fit in pan; cook for about 4 min per side, or until soft and golden brown. Remove cooked pieces to warm platter and keep in oven.  When this batch is finished, add another 1/2 tbsp of butter to pan and repeat this step, until all the squash is done.
  5. Pour yogurt sauce on hot squash, garnish with optional almond slices, and serve.  Be prepared for joy unspeakable!

Cooking with Kale Made Extra Easy

21st Century Foods, Carrot Recipes, Entrees, Healthy Innovations, Kale Recipes, Meat Recipes, Turkey Recipes, Vegetables Leave a comment
Chopping kale in food processor

chopping kale in food processor

Last week’s easy kale recipe may be simplified even further.

A dear one from my church shares my passion for excellence with food.  She recently rolled out the red carpet for a small group of us; a repast of splendor marked the celebration of what would have been the 49th anniversary of her marriage; she commemorated this occasion with her friends, as her husband went to heaven ten years now.  Her exquisite home and meal spoke volumes of exuberant love to my soul!  It foreshadowed the “marriage supper of the Lamb” for me.

This couple started the coffee movement.  Her husband trained a person who participated in creating one of the most popular, international, corporate franchises.  (Note: I will be doing a future post on this married team and the coffee development.)

My beloved fellow lover of foods has gifted me with new ailments; one such blessing was a bottle of Cherry Pomegranate Habanero Sauce from Robert Rothschild Farm; this inspired me to cook kale with a ready-made sauce.  Order this on-line or get it at Costco; any prepared sauce will work for the following recipe, of which a number are available at Trader Joe’s; thus, healthy fresh greens are made with the shortcut described below.

My other church friend, that provides the kale from her organic garden, shared her version for

Assembly of chopping attachment

assembly of chopping attachment

my receipt, which is makes this even easier.  She added a prepared spicy chicken, which she purchased from our upscale Whole Season’s Natural Foods; this eliminated the additional step of cooking the meat for this dish. The result was optimum health, heightened taste, and even greater culinary ease.

I use the food processor to chop all my leafy vegetables. (See how the assembled blade looks in the photo.)  Sometimes I have other greens on hand, such as beet tops, mustard greens, or spinach, which I mix in with my kale; this adds nutrition, when available. It only takes minutes to chop the prepared greens in this manner; I can’t encourage you enough to try these simple, healthy instructions.

 

 

Kale with Beef or Turkey and a Prepared Sauce  Yields: 4-6 servings.  Total prep time: 45 minutes.

8 1/2 teaspoons oil  (Coconut oil enhances flavor and quality here.)

1 medium yellow onion, halved at the core and cut in even 1/8 inch slices

1 lb ground turkey or beef  (Natural is best; Foster Farms natural ground turkey is inexpensive; a prepared meat from a deli is even quicker.)

Salt and pepper  (Himalayan, pink, or Real Salt is critical for optimum health; an inexpensive fine grind Himalayan salt is available at Costco.)

1-1 1/2 lb fresh kale  (Organic is best.)

4 carrots, thinly sliced, at a diagonal

8-12 oz jar of prepared sauce

Avocado, sliced

  1. beginning stages of carmelization

    Heat 1/2 teaspoon of oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Test for readiness by placing small piece of onion in hot oil; the temperature is right when it sizzles. Reduce heat to med/low, add onions, and carmelize (cook until dark brown): stir once every several minutes until color starts to change (see photo); then, stir every minute until dark brown (see photo below). Watch carefully, as you go to next steps.

  2. Spray carrots and kale with produce spray (a mixture of 97% distilled white vinegar and 3% hydrogen peroxide is a safe, cheap, and effective cleaning solution).  Let vegetables sit three minutes; rinse three times in a sink full of water.
  3. Cook meat in 2 teaspoons of oil, in a large frying pan, over medium temperature; salt and pepper heavily before cooking; place in a bowl when done.  Set aside pan for future use.  (If using a prepared meat, omit this step.)
  4. Chop the wet kale in a food processor, by using the straight edge attachment (this is the large, round disk that fits onto the provided white “stem”-place this tall, assembled cutting disk in the food processor, where you normally put the smaller blade-see above photo).  Be sure to pick out large pieces of stem before setting aside chopped kale.  Note: you may chop this by hand, by first cutting out stems, then cutting kale into small pieces, using a sharp knife.

  5. finished carmelized onions

    Scrape cleaned carrots with knife (this preserves the vitamins just under the skin); slice carrots thinly, at a diagonal; set aside.

  6. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat in pan the meat was cooked in; add carrots when a small piece sizzles in hot oil; cook covered for 2-3 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.
  7. Place another tablespoon of oil in pan; add 1/2 the kale to carrots and distribute the oils, stirring well. (Be sure to check for big pieces of stem.) Repeat these steps with remaining kale; cook covered for 10 minutes, or until kale is limp; stir occasionally.
  8. When onion is caramelized, add meat and blend well.  Mix in  a generous amount of your favorite prepared sauce; flavor should be strong, as it will lighten, with the addition of vegetables.  Heat thoroughly.
  9. Add hot meat mixture into vegetables, when kale is cooked.
  10. Serve topped with fresh avocado slices.

Carrots au Beurre

Bean Recipes, Carrot Recipes, Historical Recipes, History of 19th Century French Foods, History of European Foods, Vegetables 1 Comment
Carrots-au-beurre

carrots au beurre

This three-part 19th century dinner, which started last week (see Chicken a l’Oignon and Lemon Meringues a la Ude), reflects the new Classic French cuisine.  This era in culinary history became popular as the Napoleonic age followed the French Revolution.  Then self-made men, following the example of Napoleon, rose in status and wealth.  They had to learn the ways of entertaining, or how to be amphitryons (hosts).

Cook books of the time reflected this non-aristocratic class’ needs, by giving such directions.  A forty-year lapse in the publication of cooking instructions, of any sort, existed prior to the beginning of this period.  One important recipe book, with the dawning of this new day, was Le Cuisinier, by A. Viard; it was published during the entire nineteenth century; its name, however, changed with each fresh political upheaval.

First printed in 1806, Le Cuisinier Imperial was named after the Emperor who loved classicism; Napoleon’s strong passion gave this new style of cooking its name Classic French cuisine.

The book’s title changed to Le Cuisinier Royal, when Louis XVIII became king in 1814.  Other name conversions reflected the politics of the century: it became Le Cuisinier National, at the time Louis Napoleon was elected President of the Republic; then, it went back to employing “Imperial”, when this man declared himself Emperor Napoleon III in 1852.  The cook book was known by Le Cuisinier National once again, when France became a republic in 1871; it has remained such; thus, this recipe for buttered carrots, taken from these pages, dates back two centuries.

In 1964, Esther Aresty documented the history of European and American cuisine in her account The Delectable Past, from which I got my above information. Here she improved on this delicious recipe from Le Cuisinier by pureeing this vegetable in a food mill.  I have augmented her outstanding method with easy, modernized, 21st century steps, utilizing a food processor.

You’ll be immensely pleased with this memorable dish; a comfort food of all comfort foods!

Carrots au Beurre  Adapted from a recipe in Esther B. Aresty’s  The Delectable Past (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1964).  Yields 4 servings.  Total prep time: 50 min./  active prep time: 20 min./  cooking time: 45 min.   Note: may make this the day before, as flavors are better the second day; double recipe for great leftovers.

½ cup pecan pieces

1 pound carrots  (Organic  carrots are very inexpensive.)

2 cups green beans  (Use either fresh or frozen;  excellent French-cut beans are available in Trader Joe’s freezer.)

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg, or to taste

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste  (Real Salt is best, available in health section of local supermarket.)

1/4 tsp pepper, or to taste

Butter or coconut spray  (Needed for oiling pan, if making ahead and refrigerating.)

  1. Preheat oven to 265 degrees. Roast pecans on a small cookie sheet for about 40 minutes, or until light brown, when piece is broken; set aside.
  2. Spray carrots with 97% distilled white vinegar mixed with 3% hydrogen peroxide, an inexpensive effective produce spray; let sit three minutes; rinse thoroughly; scrape with a sharp knife (scraping, as opposed to peeling, saves the vitamins which are just under the skin).  Cut into 1 inch pieces; if the carrot piece is thick, cut it in half.
  3. Cover cut vegetable with water in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil over medium/high heat, lower heat to medium, and cook until soft.
  4. Meantime steam green beans in a medium saucepan.  (If you are making carrots ahead, prepare green beans during last half hour of  the reheating of carrot dish in oven.)
  5. Place the hot, drained, soft carrots in a food processor; add cream, butter, nutmeg, salt, and pepper; blend until carrots are a smooth mixture, stopping once to scrape down sides.  Adjust seasonings to taste.  (IF preparing ahead, butter a baking dish large enough to hold recipe; then, place pureed vegetable in it; cover well with tin foil; refrigerate; reheat in 350 degree oven 1 1/2 hours before serving.)
  6. Place hot pureed carrots in the center of a vegetable platter, surround with green beans, and top with roasted pecans.