Squash in a Skillet

I made this dish yesterday in a cast-iron skillet over a campfire because I needed to find a way to use the vegetables I had in our camping ice chest.  I have never thought of combining squash with peppers, but I had some fresh ones from my daughter's garden.  I expect that zucchini or some other summer squash would be fine as well, if that is what you have.  The blended flavors were surprising and so delicious I decided to share the experiment here. (My husband does not like squash, but he remarked, "Hey, that was pretty good."  That's high praise indeed.)  I'm thinking that some fresh herbs, like basil or tarragon, would make it even better, and I see no reason this wouldn't turn out just as well when cooked on the stove at home!

Ingredients
one medium to large onion, chopped coarsely
one medium to large pepper, chopped coarsely  (I used an orange one.  Red or green would be fine too.)
one or two tomatoes, halved and cut into about 8 pieces
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter or more, as needed
3 or 4 potatoes, cut in fourths and then sliced somewhat thin
one large crook neck squash
salt, pepper, garlic

To Do
Saute the onions and potatoes in a large skillet with the butter.  Use more butter, or add some olive oil, as needed.  Add tomatoes and squash.  Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Add about 1/2 tsp. garlic powder or one chopped garlic clove.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally,  till squash and potatoes are just tender. 

Swiss Chard with Feta

Swiss chard, a sort of spinich look-alike, is showing up in our Farmer's Markets in these parts.  I admit that chard is not my favorite veggie, but it is so chock full of vitamans that I have to find ways to cook it.  I love garlic and pine nuts and Feta, so how could I go wrong with this?  The strong flavors of the garlic and the cheese off set the slight bitterness of the chard.  I added a little Parmesan as well, since my son-in-law works at a cheese making place and we have plenty.  It was great.

Ingredients:
1 bunch chard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 ounces crumbled Feta cheese (about 1/2 cup)

What to Do:
Cut off the chard stalks near the base of the leaves and discard. Cut any large leaves in half lengthwise. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring, until the chard ribs are just tender, 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with the Feta cheese.

Collard Greens and Bok Choy

Many years ago, my husband was a Marine and we were stationed at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina.  I knew a little about southern cooking, and some of the recipes from my Texas mother and aunts can be found on this blog. 

But in North Carolina I learned more about some of the wonderful food that is most familiar to the African American community, and is at least a bit spicy.  Yep, "soul food."  I mean that in no pejorative sense whatsoever. 

I worked at a group home where the warm and wonderful housekeeper and cook, Gladys, made meals that made everyone's mouth water.  I learned to like turnips, rhutabagas, and collards.  Collards can be hard to find here in Wisconsin but I grab them when I see them. 

This recipe is a bit like what Gladys made.  May she rest in peace, and I hope when I arrive on the other side, I find she has cooked me a Welcome-to-Heaven meal!

6 bacon slices
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce (I prefer Kikoman, or other Japanese soy sauce to its weaker Chinese cousin.)
1 tablespoon Dijon-style  mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
4 cups (about 6 ounces) thinly sliced collard greens (about 2 bunches)
4 cups (about 1-1/2 pounds) thinly sliced bok choy (about 2 heads)

Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towels, and crumble into small pieces. Set aside.

In small saucepan, bring the coconut milk and soy sauce to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the mustard and crumbled bacon. Set aside

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large straight-sided pan over low heat. Add the garlic, and slowly toast until pale golden brown, about 10 minutes. (Be careful not to let it burn). Lift the garlic out of the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the collard greens and cook, stirring frequently, until the greens start to wilt. Stir in the coconut milk mixture and cook for about 20 minutes, until the greens are tender and the sauce has thickened.

In a separate pot bring 3 cups of salted water to a boil. Blanch the bok choy, and fold into the collard greens during the last minute of cooking. Stir the reserved garlic into the greens and serve.

This recipe is for a group and makes 6-8 servings.  I usually cut it in half.

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Balsamic

You like Brussels sprouts too?  Ah, the few, the proud...oh never mind.

These flavorful little morsels are full of wonderful nutrients.  If you overcook Brussels sprouts, they do get a bit smelly.  Cook till just tender.  Smaller ones are more tender and sweeter.  Remove any yellowed outer leaves, and trim off the stems.

Serves 6.

Ingredients
1/4 pound (about 4 strips) bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 pounds Brussels sprouts, stalk ends removed, cut into halves
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, or almonds (optional)

What to Do
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add bacon pieces and cook till crisp.  Discard most of the fat, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pan.  Add the Brussels sprouts, pour in the vinegar, and saute until the vinegar caramelizes on the sprouts.  Add nuts.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Easy Scalloped Carrots

Ingredients

About 1 lb. fresh carrots or 1 bag frozen carrots, sliced and boiled  till just tender
1 medium onion, chopped
3 Tbs. butter
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of  pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups seasoned croutons (I prefer the smaller cubes)
1/2 cup melted butter

Drain carrots and set aside.  Saute chopped onion in 3 tbs. butter. Combine carrots, onion salt, pepper and cheese.  Spoon into greased baking dish.  Toss croutons in the melted butter and spread over carrot mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 35 minutes or until croutons are lightly browned.

Easy Pickled Beets

My mother used to make delicious pickled beets. After she died I spent some time looking through her recipes. Some of them are posted here at The Owl's Kitchen, and some will be later. I found a few different recipes for pickled beets, tried them, didn't like them. Most involved pickling spices, boiling, canning jars--and none tasted like what I remembered.

I recently found a scrap of paper between the pages of a notepad. There it was! It might be the most simple recipe on this site. Sometimes the simple things really are the best!

Ingredients:
Two cans beets (or about four cups fresh beets, sliced and cooked until tender)
1 cup sugar
1 cup white or red wine vinegar
1 cup beet juice or 1 cup water (from the cans, or save water from cooking the fresh beets)
1 small to medium onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 clove garlic or 1 tsp. pickling spice (Both are optional.  This recipe is good just plain.))
1 tsp. salt

What to Do:
Heat sugar, vinegar, beet juice and salt to a simmer, just enough to melt the sugar crystals. Combine beets and onion rings and put into large jar. Add the garlic or pickling spices (optional). Pour the liquid over the beets and onion and close jar. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Turn the jar occasionally to stir.

Notes:

• This will generally fit nicely into a large pickle jar or mayonnaise jar or something similar. (Some beets are "pickling" in my refrigerator right now, but I made them with one regular size can and one small can -about 3 cups beets-and halved the rest of the recipe. It worked out fine, but I just used a smaller canning jar.)
• If you have one can of beets and are going to make a small batch by halving the amounts, you can still use a whole clove of garlic.
• This recipe won't make beets with a long shelf life like 'canned" beets (as in "boiled in a canner and sealed tight in a canning jar") will, but they sure do make a store-bought can of beets taste fabulous.
• You can reuse the juice, if there is a good amount. Just add more beets and onions and start all over again. :-)

Hearty Pumpkin Soup

Did you think pumpkin was only for pies and cake? Try this savory recipe--not sweet!

2 tbs. butter
2 tsp. cumin
3/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 leeks, chopped
2 1/2 lbs. pie pumpkin, or butternut or acorn squash peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes (about nine cups)
7 cups chicken broth (vegetarians can use vegetable broth)
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
4 cups chopped green cabbage

salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs. fresh tarragon

In a 5/1/2 to 6 quart stockpot, melt butter over medium heat.
Add cumin, turmeric and cinnamon. Cook, stirring, for one minute.
Add leeks and cook for two minutes, stirring to coat leeks with spices.
Add pumpkin cubes and broth. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer (covered) for 10 minutes.
Add rice, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.
Add cabbage and simmer for 5 to 10 more minutes or till rice and pumpkin are tender.
Add salt and pepper.
Add tarragon just before serving.

Don't like cabbage? Try adding chopped jicama, brocoli or spinach instead.

Serves 10 as a side dish or first course. Serves 6 as a main course.

Green Beans and Tomatoes

Brown 1/4 to 1/2 lb. ground round and one diced onion in a large skillet. (If you choose to skip the meat, this dish will still taste great.) Add one medium can diced tomatoes, drained, 1 tsp. garlic salt, and 1 tsp. pepper. Add green beans. Use the regular, not french cut, style. This can be a large package of frozen beans, two cans of green beans (if you must), or a "good bunch" of fresh ones. Canned or frozen green beans can be added and cooked till beans are tender and heated through, but if you use fresh beans, cook them separately and then add to other ingredients and heat. If you would like a bit of crunch, add slivered almonds or some water chesnuts. The result is homespun but fine in flavor and the colors are festive for a holiday meal. You can also make more of a main dish by adding some cooked macaroni.

Cheesy Carrots

There is not much to this recipe, but it is my son's favorite veggie dish for the holidays. It's the dill weed that gives it a distinctive flavor.


Ingredients:
2 lbs. sliced, cooked carrots
1/2 stick butter
1/2 lb. Velveeta, cubed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 to 2 Tbs. dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

What to Do:

Cook carrots in salted water till just tender.  Drain and cool slightly.  Mix salt, pepper and dill weed with carrots and onion. Layer carrots, Velveeta, and slices of butter in a casserole dish. Bake at 325 degrees F. for about 20 minutes. Don't overcook or the cheese will separate and turn into small curds, and while it will taste good it will look odd!

Aunt Pauline's Cucumber-Onion Salad

My mother and my Aunt Pauline are the last remaining siblings of  six sisters and two brothers.

Mother and her sisters were all wonderful cooks, but Pauline was the best of the lot.  At 93, she is nearly blind and quite frail, but she is still a charming southern lady.

She can no longer cook, but she will be happy to know I'm passing on some of her recipes. Here is a simple summer salad that is surprisingly good with almost any meat.  Eating it  makes me think of summer vacations in Texas.

Ingredients:

1 small onion, or 1/2 of a large onion, sliced and rings separated
1 nice cucumber, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oil
dash pepper

What to do:

Slice the onion and cucumber and put them into a jar.  Mix other  ingredients, adjusting sugar and salt to taste if needed.  Bring to a boil so sugar melts.  Cool and then pour over the onions and cucumbers.  Refrigerate for several hours, or overnight.  Serves 4 to 6.

Variations:

Add some chopped parsley, a pinch of dill or fennel, or some sesame seeds if you'd like to change it a bit.