Chimichurri Verde Sauce

Chimichurri Verde is a simple and stunningly delicious sauce originating in South America (primarily Argentina and Uruguay) and made with parsley, garlic, and olive oil. It's like South American pesto, but possibly better. There are a LOT of chimichurri recipes out there, each one different and tailored to different taste. All I can do is describe why this is my favorite and invite you to try it out for yourself. 

To be fair, authentic Argentinian chimichurri doesn't contain cilantro as mine does, but are mostly parsley with a small amount of dried oregano. In fact, I found quite a few recipe reviews on other sites written by incensed Argentinians apparently experiencing spasms over the addition of cilantro to their beloved sauce. However, because I have a huge affinity for cilantro and a garden overgrown with oregano, I began adding those additional herbs in to find the ratio I most preferred and I found the combination was greatly improved by the herbal diversity. 

Chimichurri is traditionally served over grilled or barbecued meat. Most of all, I recommend it over grilled flank steak and served on homemade tortillas. Add some avocado, some pickled onions.. It's one of the best things I've ever eaten. 

Chimichurri Verde Sauce

1 bunch Italian flat-leaf parsley (around 2 cups, chopped)

1/2 bunch cilantro (around 1 cup, chopped)

3 sprigs fresh oregano 

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 to 1 whole serrano pepper

1/2  to 3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Rinse and dry herbs. Remove stems. Seed split serrano pepper in half and remove seeds. Place the parsley, cilantro, oregano leaves, garlic cloves and desired amount of serrano pepper in a food processor and run until finely chopped. (Traditional methods call for the herbs to be finely chopped or ground using a mortar and pestle.) 

Scrape contents into a bowl and stir in the lesser amount of olive oil and the red wine vinegar. Whisk to combine; use remaining olive oil to achieve desired constancy. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Moroccan Spices and Goat Cheese

This recipe is adapted straight out of an authentic Moroccan cookbook, belonging to one of my good friends. He made this soup for us recently and I was so excited to find such a cozy, complex soup that I took a photo of the page in his cookbook (pictured below) and have been working on adapting it slightly. The original calls for some authentic Moroccan ingredients and spices so I have included a recipe for a Moroccan Spice Blend you can make yourself.

The caramelized onions and roasted squash with their natural sweetness are perfectly balanced by the acidic tomato paste and the creamy goat cheese. Add in the complexity of turmeric, ginger, and all those other amazing, spices and the flavor you can expect out of this soup is just stunning. Serve with toasted sandwiches or crusty bread, or fill your favorite mug and sip on the sofa in your comfy socks. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Moroccan Spices and Goat Cheese

Serves 4

1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped

2 TBS olive oil

2 butternut squash

2 TBS tomato paste

1/2 cup heavy cream or créme fraîche

1/2 lb goat cheese 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tsp Moroccan Spice Blend

Moroccan Spice Blend

1 TBS ground ginger

1 TBS ground turmeric

1 TBS freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp allspice

Combine spices into a jar and shake to combine. Store in an airtight container and use to season meats, grains, and vegetables. 

Preheat oven to 400°. Halve squash and remove seeds. 

Grain of Salt Option: You can either peel and chop for a shorter roasting time, or roast the entire half and then scrape the cooked squash out, which is my preference.                            

Place butternut squash on a baking sheet and roast halves for a hour or until soft. Cubes will only need 30 mins. 

Toss the onion with some salt and the olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Cover and steam over med-low heat until onion is soft, about 10 mins.

Add the squash, tomato paste, spices, and 3 cups of water. Simmer for 10-20 minutes until the squash is very soft and tender. Remove from heat and transfer soup in batches to a blender (or use an immersion blender, which is much easier, but may not yield as smooth and creamy a result) and puree until smooth. Add cream and three quarters of the cheese to the last batch of soup and puree until velvety. 

Return the soup to the pot and season with salt and pepper, and extra Moroccan spice blend to taste. Serve topped with the remaining goat cheese.

Cranberry Christmas Cake

The arrival of colorful cranberries in the grocery store is a sure sign that the holidays are near. This lovely winter fruit adds festive flavor for autumn and winter desserts, and is also a delicious accompaniment to poultry and pork. 

This Christmas Cranberry Cake recipe reminds me of my grandmother's cranberry bars, which are a favorite Christmas dessert from my childhood. An after-dinner cup of coffee enjoyed with this cake is now both a luxurious holiday treat and an easy dinner-party dessert. 

The ingredients are very simple, your eggs are as your only leavening, and this cake always comes out moist and tangy sweet.

  

CRANBERRY CHRISTMAS CAKE

Ingredients

3 whole eggs 

1 1/2 cups white sugar 

3/4 cup butter, softened 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

12 oz fresh cranberries

For additional tartness, you may add 1TBS of orange juice concentrate

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar for about 6 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened and forms a ribbon when the beaters are lifted out. (The eggs work as your leavening agent in this recipe). Add the butter, vanilla, and almond extract then mix for two more minutes. Stir in the flour until just combined. Add the cranberries and stir to mix throughout.Spread in a buttered 9x13 pan.  Bake for about 50 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool before cutting into small squares.

Red Pickled Onions

This August my baby boy turned one year old and is now a running, climbing, squealing toddler. For his first birthday we had a Polynesian themed party (his favorite movie is Moana) and because I was making lunch for a lot of friends and family I made Polynesian Pork Tacos with pineapple salsa, cabbage slaw, pickled onions, and avocado. This was the first time I made pickled onions and I was blown away by both how easy and what a delicious addition they were. Since then I’ve pretty much kept them as a condiment in my refrigerator and have put them on all kinds of things. 

My favorite ways to use them so far are on tacos and burgers, and I think they’d be great on sandwiches, salads, nachos, and in burritos. 

Red Pickled Onions

Ingredients

1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoon honey (you can also use cane sugar)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, optional

Instructions

Slice the onion very thin and place into a 1 pint mason jar. 

Combine all other ingredients into a saucepan and heat while stirring to completely dissolve. Bring to a simmer and then pour hot liquid into the mason jar over onions, making sure all the onions are completely submerged.

Let cool, then refrigerate overnight before serving. Will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks. 

Homemade Pasta with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese

The summer weather lingered into October this year. This is the first week that I’ve really felt like trading our summer favorites for warm, autumn flavors. My starting point was the desire to roast some butternut squash in olive oil with freshly ground nutmeg. Once I realized I wanted it over pasta the rest felt natural. Creamy goat cheese mixed with parmesan, and the last basil from my summer garden were the perfect toppings.

First of all we need to talk about fresh pasta. It is one of those recipes that I’ve never recovered from. I can’t eat store bought pasta anymore because the freshly homemade kind is so much better. Obviously it is not as easy as opening a box of the dried noodles, but it is more than worth the effort for a special weekend dinner. The catch is having the proper equipment. The Kitchen Aid attachments, consisting of a roller and cutters, for pasta make the process very simple but are really pricey. I haven’t tried it without them, but the general consensus is that you need a roller of some kind to get the pasta dough to the ideal thickness. While you couldn’t exactly make spaghetti without the cutting tool, you could cut the rolled dough into noodles for lasagna or ravioli or fettuccini. 

The pasta recipe I used is from Serious Eats and I highly recommend their recipe and instructions. My good friend, who is a bread wizard of the highest order, gave me some pointers from his experience with this basic recipe for egg noodles. Here are the ones I found to be helpful: 

1. You may substitute 25% semolina flour for a better texture,
2. It is possible to use the kitchen aid mixer with dough hook to knead your pasta dough (I did it) but your dough is more likely to come together without extra liquid when hand kneaded. 
3. The constancy of your dough is important; if it’s too soft it won’t hold together once cut into noodles. Keep adding flour until it’s the consistency of play-dough, as described in the recipe.  Also use plenty of flour when rolling out your dough. 

But even if you aren't ready to take on the adventure of pasta making you should try this delicious autumn recipe with regular pasta. The sweet roasted squash with creamy cheeses and the fresh, spicy flavor basil are really amazing. 

Homemade Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Salt to taste

Olive oil to coat

Homemade pasta

Olive oil

Salt

Black pepper

4 oz goat cheese, crumbled

4 oz parmesan cheese, grated

Fresh basil, roughly chopped

Instructions

Peel and cube butternut squash. Toss in a bowl with olive oil, salt, freshly grated nutmeg, then spread over baking sheet. Roast at 400°F for 30 minutes until tender and lightly brown. Keep warm for serving.

Prepare pasta according to Serious Eats recipe, drain well then return to pan. Add half of the goat cheese and all of the parmesan cheese a little at a time, gently tossing and stirring to combine and melt. To serve place a nest of hot, cheesy pasta of desired size on a plate and top with roasted butternut squash, crumbled goat cheese, and a generous amount of roughly chopped fresh basil.

Experiments in Healthier Baking and a Recipe for Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins

During the month of July my husband and I decided to attempt a diet. It's the first time we've really ever done this, usually we just trying to cut back on indulgences when we noticed the extra pounds creeping on, but we both felt ready for more of a change. So we settled on the currently-trendy Keto Diet, threw away all the carbs in our household, and embarked. 

Overall, I'd call this a success story. We have both lost around ten pounds, but never really felt the energy surge or brain clarity promised by those effusive fans of the diet, and we both experienced strange side effects (like insomnia?! Also Keto Flu was no joke). We planned to do it for a month, but I stopped after three weeks and Brad has continued on for five so far. My breastmilk supply was suffering from the reduced calorie intake, though it came right back when I started eating more calories in the form of fruits and oatmeal, and also I just missed all the amazing summer fruit too much to go on. 

I have been eating more of a Paleo style diet in the last couple of weeks, but I've missed baking. Since I'm not trying to limit myself to a totally gluten or sugar free lifestyle, I decided to make some muffins using as few refined ingredients as possible. These muffins have banana as the main sweetener but a tablespoon or two of honey or maple syrup would add just a little extra sweetness if your tastebuds haven't been recently so starved of sugar that things like milk and plain oatmeal taste sweet to you. (I may not be in the best position to taste-test dessert recipes right now.. )

Basically this little recipe is really easy to adapt to your personal taste and diet preferences. Lots of options!

BLUEBERRY BANANA OATMEAL MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup coconut oil

2 very ripe bananas, mashed (approx 1 cup mashed banana)

1/4 cup milk of choice

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup whole wheat flour, or unbleached white wheat flour 

1 heaping cup of oats 

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Optional: 1 or 2 TBS honey or maple syrup

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 325F and fill muffin pan with parchment liners.

Combine coconut oil and sweetener in stand mixer and blend with paddle attachment. 

Add eggs, then mashed banana, milk, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Mix well.

Combine baking soda, flour, and oats, then mix into wet ingredients just until combined. 

Toss in blueberries and stir gently. 

Pour batter into muffin liners and bake for 22-25 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and place on a cooling rack. (Or on your countertop, like I did.)

Lemon-Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

Lemon—Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

These scones are wonderful when served with cream and homemade lemon curd. I have also substituted coconut oil for butter and coconut milk for buttermilk and had great results for a vegan and dairy-free option.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup grass-fed butter, or coconut oil

7/8 — 1 cup buttermilk or coconut milk

zest of 1 lemon

fresh blueberries

optional lemon glaze

1/4 cup confectioners sugar

juice from 1/2 lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400ºF. In a large bowl mix together flour, baking, powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and lemon zest.

Cut butter into small cubes or scoop coconut oil into flour mixture and crumble with fingers or a pastry cutter until it resembles a rough, sandy texture. Add lesser amount of buttermilk or coconut milk and gently stir until it just starts to come together. Only add extra if necessary. 

Add blue berries and gently press into the dough to avoid bursting them and staining the dough purple. Turn onto a baking sheet and with floured hands gently bring the dough into a disc shape about 1.5 inches thick. Press extra blueberries into the top of the dough, if desired. 

Cut the dough into 6 or 8 wedges and gently spread them 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

For glaze: mix confectioners sugar and squeeze in lemon juice, stirring, until desired consistency is achieved. Pour over partially cooled scones and serve.