Category — Vegetables

For the last several years, my family has bypassed our usual sweet potato recipes in favor of this sweet potato casserole with a brown sugary, strudel-like topping.  It would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving recipes!  In fact, if you’re expecting a crowd, I’d make a double batch…there are rarely any leftovers on this one.

Sweet Potato Crunch

Base:

• 3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk

Combine all above ingredients in a large mixing bowl, blend well, and place in a square baking dish.  Set aside, and prepare topping.

Topping:

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. melted butter
• 1/2 cup pecans

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, and blend with a fork.  Mixture will be crumbly.  Sprinkle on top of sweet potato mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until bubbly on the sides and topping is crisp.

No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a heaping helping of piping hot and buttery mashed potatoes.  There are several ways to make delicious mashed potatoes.  Here are a few variations on “mashed potato recipes”.

Old-Fashioned Mashed Potatoes: Mashed potatoes made with a hand potato masher, like the one above, will give you that irregular, a little bit lumpy, texture in your mashed potatoes.  For those who want mashed potatoes like Grandma used to make, this is probably the way to go.  Peel potatoes, boil, and drain before mashing.  Add milk, butter and salt to taste.

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In my never ending quest to squeeze more veggies into my family’s diet, I was reading the other day about the health benefits of sweet potatoes.  Turns out these funny looking root vegetables are an excellent source of vitamin A, and a good source of both calcium and vitamin C. In addition, the antioxidants contained in sweet potatoes are linked to helping the body heal itself, and fight cancer and other diseases.  This article on sweet potatoes even rates them as the most nutritious vegetable in existence.

You can make baked sweet potatoes in the oven, or even in your microwave, just like a regular baked potato, or mash them.  I’m also going to try this skillet recipe:

Skillet Sweet Potatoes

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 2 whole sweet potatoes
• 1 cup sliced onions
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper

Peel sweet potatoes with a vegetable peeler.  Using a mandolin slicer or a knife, slice the potatoes into 1/2 inch strips, and then the onion into medium-thick slices.

In a nonstick skillet, cook onions in oil for 5 minutes, or until softened.  Next, add sweet potatoes and vegetable stock.  Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until potatoes are tender.   Serves 2-4.

Sweet potatoes pair well with pork dishes, or baked chicken breasts. Here are more sweet potato recipes.

I made this for dinner the night I made my chicken broth.  It was easy and delicious.  Serves four.

Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 butternut squash peeled and cut into one inch cubes (I bought mine precut)
• 3 cups homemade chicken bouillon OR 3 cups store bought chicken bouillon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• the vegetables left over from making the stock OR 1 onion, peeled and quartered
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• salt to taste

DIRECTIONS FOR USING MY HOMEMADE STOCK: Throw out the parsley, garlic and the skins from the onions.  Keep the rest of the vegetables in the pot along with about 3 cups of the strained broth.  Add the squash and boil until the squash is soft.  Put all the vegetables in the food processor.  Stir the pureed vegetables in the pot with the broth.  Add the butter, spices and salt to taste.  Serve hot with a dab of sour cream or heavy cream if you like.

DIRECTIONS FOR USING STORE BOUGHT STOCK:  Melt the butter in your pot and sautue the onion for a bit until soft.  Add your bouillon and the squash and cook til soft.  Puree the onion and squash in the food processer then stir the puree in to the pot with the broth.  Add the spices and salt to taste.

First, don’t think of this broth making adventure as extra work.  Think of it as extra food!  I know it’s easier to buy chicken bouillon cubes but not only are they less nutritious and don’t taste as good, but you also won’t have a the juicy bird a the end for dinner!  Here’s a list of all the things I was able to make from one batch of chicken broth:  chicken breast served with butternut squash soup (tomorrow’s recipe), real Italian chicken and mushroom risotto (recipe to come) and a delicious homemade chicken liver feast for my cat!  That’s three meals for four people and a feline.  So get to it!  You will need:

• one 4-5 pound (organic, free range) chicken
• 4 carrots
• 1/2 a celery head including leaves
• 2 whole onions, unpeeled
• 1 whole bulb garlic, cut through the middle so each clove is cut in half
• 3 bay leaves
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 2-3 cubes chicken bouillon

Open the bag of neck and gizzards and put them in a large pot along with the whole chicken, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, bay leaves, parsley and some salt and pepper to taste.   Fill the pot with water so that everything is covered and boil.  Suet, a brown bubbly substance will rise to the top.  Skin the suet off the top for as long as it continues to rise.  Cook for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours until the leg bone easily twist loose.  When the chicken is almost cooked taste the broth to see if you need to add some cubes.  Stir a crumbled cube or two in to give it extra punch, but be careful not to make it too strong tasting.

Remove chicken and let it cool.  While the chicken is warm, take the pieces from the bone.  Strain the broth into a storing container.  When your stock is cool or refrigerated, you’ll be able to skim the fat off the top.  Don’t through out the veggies!  You can use them in my butternut squash soup recipe or another soup of your own!

This recipe comes from my hardcore singer friend and screen writing partner, John Joseph. He first made it for me in New York and now that I live on the west coast, I had to call him up for the recipe because I was craving it. It’s that good! It’s vegetarian but don’t let that scare you. It’s the bomb!!! You will need:

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 6 tomatoes
• 4 carrots
• half a head of broccoli
• half a head of cauliflower
• a few handfuls of spinach
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons asafoetida/hing powder (can substitute with crushed fresh garlic)
• 3 chilies - chopped (optional or can use chili flakes)
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons tumeric
• 2 tablespoons cumin powder
• salt
• pepper
• 8 oz munster cheese - grated
• 8 oz monteray jack cheese - grated
• parmesean cheese
• 2 cups bread crumbs

Note: all the ingredients are approximate and you can use your good sense on the proportions.

Cook the rice. Wash all the veggies. Chop the carrots, broccoli and cauliflower into small bite sized pieces and steam until tender (don’t overcook). Cut the tomatoes into eighths. Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat. Add all the spices, then the tomatoes and cook over medium until the tomatoes soften and become juicy. Stir in the chopped spinach until it becomes cooked by the tomatoe mixture. In a big pot mix the rice, veggies, tomato mixture, cheese and most of the bread crumbs and salt and pepper to taste. Put in a baking pan and bake at 325 for 50 minutes. Put the extra bread crumbs and grated parmesean cheese on top and put bake in the oven until brown.

The most typical excess in any summer garden is zucchini. At this time of year, you should be able to get your hands on some fresh, home grown zucchini for very little or even for free if you have nice neighbors. Here’s a recipe for how to use up that extra goodness in a delicious, unusual way. You can make this as a cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan if you prefer. You will need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups grated zucchini - takes about three medium-sized zucchinis
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup currants

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour muffin tins or cake pan. Wash the zucchini, cut off the stems and grate in a food processor.

In a medium size bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Mix thoroughly.

In another bowl beat eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla together. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in the shredded zucchini, walnuts and currants. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. If fork comes out clean when poked in the center, take out to cool. If not, keep baking. Could take up to an hour to bake thoroughly if made in a 9 x 13 pan.

Feel free to experiment with this recipe. You could add coconut, cranberries or raisins or even try it with fresh fruit like blueberries. You also may try a topping like coffee cake crumble or icing. I tried it with a lightly sweetened cream cheese frosting which was good but my husband prefered it without saying it was “like taking a beautiful country road and putting a McDonald’s on it.” Simple sometimes is better and I plan to have my next muffin with a cup of Earl Grey and maybe the slightest bit of butter.

I mixed it up the other night with this new recipe and it got major kudos from my man.  I feared I might regret that I didn’t just order Chinese, but once we tasted the finished result I was convinced the effort was worth it.  I felt it was much healthier than restaurant Chinese probably because I used organic chicken and cashews, brown rice, the freshest veggies and no msg or other bad ingredients.  You will need:

• 2 chicken breasts, cut length ways to make four thin pieces
• 1/2 pound Chinese snow peas
• 1/2 pound shitake mushrooms
• 4 green onions
• 1 cup bamboo shoots (from can) drained
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 T corn starch or 4 T flour
• 1/2 t sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 4 T peanut or sesame oil
• 4 ounces cashew nuts
• 1 1/2 cups rice

Prepare the rice as directed.

Prepare the veggies.  Remove the strings and ends of peas pods.  This makes them nicer to bite but if you don’t have time, it’s no drama.  The peas will have a little more to chew but it’s not that noticeable.  Slice the mushrooms and green part of the onions.  Keep the onion seperate from the other veggies.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.  Heat one T of the oil in a skillet, add the cashews and stir fry for a minute, tossing the nuts lightly.  Remove nuts from pan and set aside.  Pour remaining oil in the skillet and stir fry the chicken until opaque.

Mix the soy sauce, cornstarch or flour, sugar and salt in a seperate dish. Add the chicken broth to the frying pan, then the soy mixture and stir.  Add the peas and mushroom.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until thickened. Add the green onions and cashews and simmer for a few minutes.  Serve immediately with the rice.  Delicious!

If there’s one thing a chef doesn’t like, it’s a picky eater. It seems like a battle that just can’t be won and many moms have already tried. Having picky children can leave you a bit worried about your kid’s health, but studies have shown that the diets of picky children weren’t too different from healthy-eating children – besides the fact that the picky eaters didn’t consume as much fiber and calcium.

For the moms who have a picky eater at home, there are some things you can do to ensure your kid eats. First off, when doing business with children, you need to learn some psychology. Make them feel like they’re getting their way when in reality you’re getting yours. A great example is serving them dessert for breakfast. The idea is to make them feel like they’re getting something yummy – this can be from fresh fruits, cottage cheese or even eggs and plain yogurt.

Then you can try sneaking in some healthy foods. For protein, you can serve peanut butter, nuts, egg salad, boiled eggs, rice pudding or chicken salad. Then for veggies you can give your kid a V8 Splash fruit juice, veggie lasagna or some carrots and cheese in tortilla bread. Other ideas include granola and yogurt (like the parfait) or veggies with ranch dip. If you have a blender, fruit smoothies are fun to make and drink. You can even get creative and let them create their own pizza.

Recipe for fruit smoothie (get creative with the fruits!):

1 banana, cut into chunks
4 strawberries, stemmed and cut into chunks
8 oz. milk
1 TBSP almond butter
2 tsp. maple syrup

Pour the fruits into the blender, pour in the milk, then add the almond butter and syrup. Turn on the blender until the contents are smooth.

Speaking of blenders, you can also try the smother attack; this is when you puree all types of foods with a food processor (the idea is to place veggies, fruits and other healthy foods into nonsuspecting items). You could blend veggies in foods like brownies and cakes or grind up broccoli and zucchinis in pasta or pizza. Get creative with your cooking skills!

As if I haven’t given you enough reasons to get out to your local farmer’s market and take advantage of all the fruits and vegetables that are in season right now, here’s another one.  It’s been scientifically proven that they help prevent and fight cancer.
These are the health-promoting compounds that occur naturally in foods:

• Anthocyanidins - Antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties.  Think purple: beets, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, red grapes and purple cabbage.

• Carotenoids - protect vital fatty acids and enhance immune response.  Good sources: apricots, carrots, dark leafy greens, yams, squash, and tomatoes.

• Lutein - an antioxidant that helps protect cells and maintains health of eyes, heart, skin, and breasts and cervix in women.  Go green: spinach, collard greens, kale, leeks, peas and romaine lettuce

• Lycopene - reduces risk of prostate cancer in men.  Overall, it’s also a potent antioxidant and prevents damage to DNA.  Tomatoes have the highest percentage of lycopene; other food sources include watermelon, pink grapefruit and guava juice.

• Sulfer compounds - may help remove cancer -causing agents from your body as well as improve estrogen balance.  Mr. Mustard Family: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard greens, radishes, and turnips

The easiest way to make sure you’re selecting a good mix of cancer-fighting fruits and vegetables is by observing the colors: purple, orange, dark green and pink/red.  A mix like this is not only pleasing to your body but also to your eye.