Pumpkin: Thinking Outside The Pie

I was looking for inspiration while roaming the aisles of Nature's Temptations, a locally-owned whole food organic market, and had an epiphany! Why not pair the salty, pungent taste of Gorgonzola cheese with a creamy fresh pumpkin sauce.

One caveat: The pasta was store-bought. I know, shame on me. Next time I will attempt to make my own; however, the all natural, no preservative brand La Piana was quite good and a reasonable substitute in a pinch.

Gorgonzola Mezzaluna in Pumpkin Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Gorgonzola mezzaluna (store bought)
• 1, 2 lb. pumpkin
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds.
2. Peel the pumpkin halves and dice the flesh into pieces.
3. Place the diced pumpkin in a large saute pan, that has a cover, and add enough water to just cover all the pieces.
4. Heat the pan to bring the water to a boil. Then, put on the lid and cook for about 10 minutes or until the pumpkin pieces are fork tender.
5. While the pumpkin cooks heat the olive oil in a small saute pan.
6. When the olive oil is fragrant add the sliced shallot and garlic. Saute until the shallot is translucent and the garlic is lightly browned.
7. Remove it from the heat and let it cool.
8. Once the pumpkin pieces are very tender, drain, and add them into a blender.
9. Add the sauteed shallot and garlic to the blender.
10. Pour in the vegetable broth.
11. Add the nutmeg and dried sage.
12. Blend until smooth.
13. In a large pot bring 5-6 quarts of water for the pasta to a boil.
14. While you wait for the water to boil, heat the butter in a large saute pan.
15. When the butter is fully melted and sizzling pour in the pumpkin mixture. Stir. Reduce heat to low and let is simmer until the pasta is ready. Occasionally stir the sauce.
16. When the water boils, throw in the pasta and cook according to package instructions or until al dente.
17. When the pasta is al dente, remove from the heat and drain. Reserve some of the pasta water!
18. Add the cooked pasta to the simmering pumpkin sauce and mix to well combine.
19. If the sauce has thickened too much, just spoon in some of the reserved pasta water until you get the desired consistency. (We prefer it one the thicker side.)
20. It's ready to serve.

NOTE: This recipe was a big hit with the husband and is now officially on the you-need-to-make-this-again list. Feel free to adapt the recipe and see what other flavor combinations work best for you.

Jalapeno Pear Chicken Thighs

As supplies dwindle and we begin to muster up the energy to go food shopping I love whipping up a dinner with what's left in our cold and lonely fridge. Once again just "winging" it came out to be a delicious surprise.

Jalapeno Pear Chicken Thighs
(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 4 chicken thighs with the skin
• 1 Bosc pear, cored and quartered
• 2 carrots, sliced into rounds
• 1/4 red onion, thickly sliced
• 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/4 extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup white wine
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. On the stove heat a medium/large Dutch Oven.
3. Add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
4. Once the olive oil becomes fragrant, place the chicken thighs skin side down into the pan. Make sure the pan is large enough so the thighs don't overlap one another. Brown the chicken.
5. When the thighs release easily from the pan and the skin is crispy and golden, flip them over.
6. Add the sliced onion, jalapeno, carrots, and pear.
7. Pour in the wine. Season with salt and pepper.
   
8. Toss in the thyme sprigs (don't bother removing the leaves from the twiggy stems, they will come apart during cooking and you can remove the stems later).
9. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Cook for 1 hour.
10. In an hour pull the pot out of the oven and uncover. Vegetables should be tender and chicken should "fall off the bone".
11. Place one chicken thigh and one wedge of pear on each plate. Remove the thyme stems and, using a slotted spoon, scoop out the veggies. Divide them evenly among the four servings.
12. Serve it up!
    

Note: Don't throw away that chicken fat left in the pot. Let is cool slightly and put it in a container to save for when you make a meat tomato sauce!

Alternative

• If you don't want all the fat from the chicken skin, feel free to remove it. However, you will want to add a touch more olive oil to brown the chicken.

A Farmer Facebook Battle

I read this story in the Valley Independent Sentinel and just had to share it. I so love this idea: Using social media to promote local farms and charity.

In sum, it's the Jones Family Farm vs. Bishop's Orchard. The two CT farms are battling for the most Facebook fans, and loser has to spend a day working on the other farm.

Sure it's great marketing, but it's good for local charities too, because the farms plan to donate $1 to charity for each Facebook fan that signs up before 8 a.m. Nov. 27. The farms also plan to donate a portion of the money to the Working Lands Alliance, a local project of the American Farmland Trust which preserves farmland in the state.

Here’s a link to Jones’ Facebook page, and Bishop’s Facebook page.

Check out the entire news story: Valley Independent Sentinel | Jones Family Farms Battles For Facebook Fans

Photo Worthy Dinner: Broccoli & Apple Quinoa

We had to work late last night, so by the time we got home I was quickly loosing steam. Alas, dinner was not going to cook itself. Plus, the cupboards were relatively bare and the refrigerator only contained a few lone fresh ingredients. (Yes, it's time to restock.)

As the saying goes "necessity is the mother of all invention." Well, a quick and easy dinner was a necessity that turned out to be a successful, tasty invention.

(photo by Renato Ghio)

Broccoli & Apple Quinoa
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 small head of broccoli, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium-sized apple, diced
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup of chopped cashews
• 8 tablespoons freshly grated cheddar cheese
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse the quinoa.
2. In a medium saucepan add the rinsed quinoa and vegetable broth. Bring it to a boil, then cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Let it cook for about 15 minutes.
3. In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan.
4. Add the shallot and garlic. Saute for about 3 minutes.
5. Now add the diced apple and finely chopped broccoli. Saute until just tender.
6. Toss in the lemon zest and chopped nuts. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Mix around the pan to evenly distribute.
7. Reduce heat to low until the quinoa is ready.
8. Once the quinoa is done, place a hearty spoonful of it in each bowl.
9. Evenly divide the broccoli and apple mixture among the bowls.
10. Top each bowl with 2 tablespoons of cheddar cheese and serve it up.
    

Alternatives

• I love nuts and the cashews added a creamy crunch, but feel free to use whatever type of nuts you have on hand or eliminate them all together.
• No apple, try a pear. No broccoli, try cauliflower.

Taking Action

Today is Blog Action Day, an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. This year's topic is climate change.

Most people have heard of Carbon Footprint ... but what about FoodPrint?

The Cool Foods campaign’s "FoodPrint" reflects the total amount of greenhouse gases that have been created as a result of the growth, processing, packaging, and transportation of any given food. By making better choices, consumers can have significant impact. This website is a great resource for facts and how to make better choices.

Here are a few things I do that reduce my FoodPrint:

1. Eat less meat. I am by no means a vegetarian, but I do eat less meat. I read one fact that said US meat consumption would need to drop by nearly two-thirds by 2050 to stabilize livestock-related greenhouse gas emissions. If we all ate just a bit less meat it would certainly help.

2. Eat more food that's seasonal and local. Locally grown food travels less to get to your plate, so there's a smaller carbon footprint. (This is not always the case, but typically).

3. Eat organic. According to the EPA synthetic fertilizers sprayed on cropland are responsible for emitting 647 million pounds of nitrous oxide per year.

4. Eat less processed food. A whole lot of fossil fuel goes into processing sweets, drinks, etc with low nutritional benefit. Cut out the processing and it reduces fossil fuels, thereby reducing emissions. Plus don't forget the packaging on packaged food. In 2004 the Dept. of Energy reported that the food processing and packaging sector is one of the top 5 users of energy in the U.S., using almost 14 billion gallons of gasoline every year.

5. Grow more of your own food. I had my first veggie garden this past summer. The food I grew 20 feet from my backdoor certainly didn't have far to travel to get to my plate and it was grown without pesticides, etc.

There are lots of good reasons to be more conscious of our eating habits not just for our own personal health, but also for the health of the planet.

What are you doing to lessen your impact?

"Food Fight" in Wilton

There's going to be a food fight in Wilton, CT ...

Actually, it's a screening of the documentary "Food Fight" (prior to its release nationwide) followed by a panel discussion and a local food tasting.

Here are the details, which I discovered on The Fairfield Green Food Guide.

Date: Thursday, Nov. 5
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Place: Wilton Library, Brubeck Room

Food Fight is a look at how American agricultural policy and food culture developed in the 20th century, and how the California food movement has created a counter-revolution against big agribusiness.

Following the film, director Christopher Taylor will moderate a panel discussion with Bill Duesing, Executive Director of CT NOFA, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut, and also organic farmer, environmental artist, and author of Living on the Earth: Eclectic Essays for a Sustainable and Joyful Future; Chef Michel Nischan of The Dressing Room restaurant in Westport, whose nonprofit Wholesome Wave Foundation focuses on local agriculture and access to healthy foods; and Jim Hunter, responsible for developing the garden at Wilton High School, followed by an audience Q&A. And to cap the evening, Chef Michel will provide tastings of locally grown foods.

No charge. Registration strongly recommended. To register, please call 203-762-3950 or visit www.wiltonlibrary.org/events.

Farmers Market IQ

It's quiz time. This morning on the Planet Green website I took the Know Your Farmers Market? Quiz.

I learned so many great facts. For instance, farmers can expect to take home 90% of each dollar from sales at a farmers market as opposed to 10% when they sell to a packing house. Wow, cut out the middle man and our farmers might actually be able to make a living.

Test your farmers market knowledge. What's your score?

Harvest Cocktails

In honor of today being Friday, here are two harvest inspired cocktails from my party!

Maple Leaf

Ingredients

• 1 oz. bourbon
• 1/2 oz. maple syrup
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• Orange or lemon peel for garnish

Directions

1. In a cocktail shaker over ice, pour in the bourbon, maple syrup and lemon juice.
2. Shake it up.
3. Strain into a martini glass
4. Garnish with the lemon/orange peel.

Spiced Apple
(This is a chilled version of a normally hot drink called Cinnamon Toast)

Ingredients

• 2 oz. spiced rum
• 3 oz. apple cider (room temp.)
• cinnamon and sugar, for garnish
• apple slice for garnish

Directions

1. Mix together equal parts cinnamon and sugar into a shallow dish.
   
2. Wet the rim of a martini glass and turn it in the cinnamon and sugar mix.
3. In a cocktail shaker over ice, pour in the spiced rum and apple cider.
4. Shake it!
5. Strain into the martini glass and garnish with the apple slice.

Cheers!

The Natural Princess: Tomatillos

It's time to get out the chips for the latest The Natural Princess video series. This time were talking about tomatillos. I ate them for the first time at a local Mexican restaurant and was completely hooked on their amazing tangy, crisp flavor. I was then on a mission to find a local farm growing them. That's when I stumbled upon Ryder Farm in Brewster, NY. Since we taped this episode, I've discovered more and more local farms are adding this crop to their rotation.

Our Visit To The Farm



In The Kitchen



Cross posted as part of Food Renegade Fight Back Fridays.

Apple Harvest Salad

This is the first in a series of recipe posts from my recent harvest-inspired cocktail party.

Endive leafs make the perfect little "boats" to serve the salad in. You can easily grab one without having to put down your cocktail.

Overall this salad was a big hit with party goers. The funny thing is - I was just winging it. I love it when a plan comes together.

Apple Harvest Salad

Ingredients

For the salad:

• 4 Belgian endive heads
• 4 medium-sized apples (MacIntosh preferred), diced
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup white cheddar, diced into cubes
• 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  

For the dressing:

• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. In a small bowl whisk together the cider vinegar, olive oil and maple syrup. Salt to your taste. Set aside.
2. Dice four medium sized apples into a large bowl.
3. Pour the lemon juice over the apple pieces and toss it all around. This will prevent the apples from browning.
   
4. Dice a block of white cheddar - enough for 1 cup. Add it to the apples.
5. Add 1 cup of chopped walnuts and toss it all together.
6. Pour on the dressing and mix to evenly coat all the ingredients.
7. Set the salad aside.
8. Slice the endive heads in half and trim off the ends by the core.
9. Very carefully pull off the individual endive leaves and lay them on a platter.
10. Into each endive leaf, spoon on about a tablespoon of the salad.
11. Then, serve 'em up.

Alternatives

• If you don't want to make endive "boats", this salad would be great on top of multi-grain toasts.

I am not exactly sure how much this recipe yields. Needless to say it makes quite a bit and the leftovers the next day were delicious too!