Baked Quinoa with Zucchini, Corn and Basil

As I was perusing Williams-Sonoma's recipes last week for some dinner ideas, I came across this Baked Penne with Corn, Zucchini and Basil. It was the perfect way to marry the fleeting summer produce with a warm, wintery recipe. Because there was no real vegetarian protein, and already starch from corn, I substituted quinoa for the pasta. I also used canned, diced tomatoes rather than fresh, just because I had them on hand.

This is another great casserole meal to keep in mind for freezer stocking, baby/sick meals, or just something warm, hearty and healthy to cook for your own family! Now please excuse me while I go huddle in the corner with my space heater, we had our first frost last night.

Baked Quinoa with Zucchini, Corn and Basil

adapted from Williams Sonoma

1 c. quinoa, rinsed well

3 c. vegetable stock

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 ears of corn, kernels cut off

1 small yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 medium zucchini, sliced into half moons
1/4 c. dry white wine
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
12 large basil leave, torn
2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Bring vegetable stock to a boil in a stock pot, add quinoa, turn heat to low and cover, cook for 15 minutes.
While quinoa cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and corn kernels, saute for 5 minutes, then add onion, garlic and zucchini.
Season with salt and pepper, and continue to saute for another 10 minutes, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown a bit.
Add white wine, scrape bits off the bottom of the pan, when wine has evaporated for the most part, add diced tomatoes, and turn heat off.
Preheat oven to 400*
Fluff quinoa with a fork, then add to the skillet with vegetables, gently mix, then add torn basil leaves and gently mix once more.
Transfer to a casserole dish, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
Top with parmesan and mozzarella in a layer on top.
Place in the oven, and bake for 15-25 minutes, until cheese are beginning to brown and crisp.
Serve immediately. 

Green Beans with Garlicky Shiitakes

A common theme among posts these days seems to be recreating things I've eaten while at restaurants. I don't think I go out to eat that much, maybe once a week, but with all of the travel I've done lately, it's been more than usual. I had the great opportunity to spend some time with my best friend from high school while I was crashing at my parents' house in Cincinnati. We met for lunch each Friday for 5 weeks, and this was definitely the highlight of those meals out. While looking up places near the office, I found Brown Dog Cafe. The menu looked great, and the food was exceptional.

I had the grilled vegetable sandwich and got the green beans as my side dish. Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables, and this preparation took them over the top! It was super garlicky with earthy shiitake mushrooms in a light vegetable broth, but the green beans were still the highlight of the dish. I will definitely be making these again and again, they're easy enough for an average dinner side, but fancy enough to serve for a holiday or fancy dinner party.

Green Beans with Garlicky Shiitakes

adapted from Brown Dog Cafe

Serves 4 as a side

1 lb. green beans or haricot verts, trimmed

1 tbsp. butter

4 large garlic cloves, smashed and chopped

6-8 oz. shiitake mushrooms

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 c. vegetable stock

Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt and drop in green beans.

Cook to al dente, then drain and rinse in cold water to preserve color and crisp.

In a large saute' pan over medium heat, melt butter and add garlic and mushrooms.

Saute' for 5-7 minutes, until mushrooms begin to brown and garlic is soft - do not let garlic burn!

Add green beans and stock, cover and bring to a simmer, remove from heat.

Pour green beans into a serving dish, top with grated parmesan cheese.

Blue Cheese, Garlic and Green Chilie Guacamole

As soon as I found out my sister was expecting a baby in February, we decided to spend a week of vacation in Cleveland to meet my nephew. We chose Memorial Day to take advantage of the three day weekend,and figured it would hopefully be warm in Cleveland by then! My sister was an incredibly gracious hostess and tried to pack in as much fun and relaxation as possible. We had an amazing week, and I almost forgot at times that we had one week to pack our house and move when we got back to Jacksonville! And let me just say I do not recommend going on vacation a week before you have to move... stressed was an understatement!

One of the highlights of our vacation was our parents night out. A few months prior, JJ and I saw an episode of Diners, Drive Ins and Dives where Guy went to Momocho, a restaurant specializing in guacamole and other upscale Mexican dishes. We had an amazing meal at Momocho, my favorites being the specialty Margarita sampler (especially blood orange) and the amazing guacamole combinations. We actually played rocks, paper, scissors to see who got to lick out the bowls!

The four main guacamoles we tried were blue cheese, goat cheese, pineapple and crab (each with a few other supporting ingredients!) My absolute favorite was the blue cheese, with the pineapple as a close second. I knew I had to recreate this guacamole since we're now a far, far drive from Cleveland!

While it may seem strange, the blue cheese adds a huge punch of flavor, the avocado is a subtle base flavor, and the garlic and green chiles keep it bright and each bite is different, some with a large chunk of blue cheese, some with a piece of garlic.

After dinner, we headed to Progressive Field to watch the Indians game. Coincidentally, they were playing the Reds. Too many Summer Shandys were shared by my sister and me, I don't even remember who won the game! But we had so much fun.

The rest of the week was much more family friendly, we had a great time with the kids at the Memphis Kiddie Park and the Children's Museum of Cleveland. While people joke about Cleveland, it really is a great city and we had so much fun there. And Baby Eli is truly the best baby ever, it was such a joy to get to finally meet him in person!

Blue Cheese, Garlic and Green Child Guacamole

adapted from Momocho

2 ripe avocados

1/2 lime, juiced

Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

3 oz. chunk of blue cheese, crumbled

2 tbsp. diced green chilies (canned)

1 head of roasted garlic (or roasted garlic cloves in olive oil from salad bar)

Halve avocados, remove pit and spoon flesh into a mixing bowl.

Add lime juice, a sprinkle of salt and cumin, mash avocado with a fork.

Crumble blue cheese into avocado mixture, add green chilies and garlic, gently mix with a fork until just incorporated.

Taste and add more salt and lime juice, if desired.

Serve immediately with a lime wedge and tortilla chips.

Roasted Cauliflower Pizza with Garlic Goat Cheese

Lately I've seen a few recipes for pizza come up in my google reader with cauliflower as the crust. Seriously?  Why in the world would anyone replace delicious carby crust with cauliflower?! I know carbs are the enemy and whatnot, but let me tell you as an 85 lb. (and counting!) weight loser, it's not! Diet and exercise, counting calories, and a colorful, plant based diet at the answer! I have my pizza, and eat it too.

After receiving 3 heads of cauliflower in the CSA share last week, I decided to take the cauliflower pizza idea, and make it the topping. To make it flavorful and healthy, I used a 50/50 unbleached white flour/whole wheat flour pizza crust, and roasted garlic infused goat cheese as my base. Roasting vegetables gives them so much flavor, the cauliflower turns a little nutty and the garlic becomes sweeter and less pungent. A sprinkle of parmesan, some fresh thyme and scallions finished the pizza and let me tell you it was phenominal! I paired it with a garden salad and it was a healthy (but delicious) pizza night! For Christmas, we received a pizza stone, and it really does make a huge difference. This is the first time my homemade pizza has bubbled up like the best pizzaria's pizzas do, and yes, that's a life "win" for me!

Roasted Cauliflower Pizza with Garlic Goat Cheese

Veggie by Season original

Crust:

3/4 c. warm water (about 110*)

1 packet instant yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. olive oil

Toppings:

1 head of garlic

2 tsp. olive oil, divided

1 large or 2 small heads of cauliflower, cut into florets

Kosher salt

Black pepper

4 oz. goat cheese

1/4 c. grated Parmesan

2 fresh sprigs of thyme

2 scallions, thinly sliced

Crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400*

Cut top 1/3 of garlic bulb off, place garlic on a square of tin foil, drizzle with 1 tsp. olive oil.

Pinch up sides and create an ball around garlic. 

Place in the oven and roast for 1 hour.

While garlic roasts, prepare crust.

Add water, yeast and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer, swirl around to gently mix.

After yeast begins to bubble, attach dough hook to the mixer and add flour, salt and oil.

Turn mixer on low and knead dough for 8-10 minutes, add additional flour if necessary, dough should be slightly sticky, but pull away from sides of the mixer. 

Flour surface, form dough into a ball and rest, cover with a damp towel.

Add cauliflower to a baking sheet, toss with 1 tsp. olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper, place in the oven with the garlic and roast for 20 minutes.

When garlic is finished, cool and squeeze out 4-5 cloves into a dish, add goat cheese and mix well. 

Remove cauliflower from the oven and set aside while you prepare the crust, Raise oven temperature to 475*.

Stretch dough out and form a circle, top with goat cheese mixture, cauliflower, Parmesan, thyme, scallions and crushed red pepper flakes.

Place on a pizza stone and bake for 20-24 minutes, until crisp on the bottom and golden brown on top. 

Serve.

Garlic-Parmesan Crusted Romanesco Cauliflower

Romanesco Cauliflower is probably the most interesting looking vegetable I've ever seen. The vibrant color, pointy florets and bumps add so much charm. I received two heads in my CSA share a few weeks ago, and spend hours (I'm not even kidding) looking for recipes to do this vegetable justice. I wanted the shape and color to stay in tact, so chopping it to pieces wasn't an option. Then I remembered using a technique on artichokes that would work well. I roasted a few heads of garlic with olive oil, smashed them with some Parmesan and slathered it on to create this delicious crust.  I think a drizzle of balsamic or a tomato chutney for dipping would take this dish even further, but we loved it as it too.

Garlic-Parmesan Crusted Romanesco Cauliflower

3 heads of garlic

1 tbsp. olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh black pepper

2 heads of Romanesco Cauliflower

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. butter, softened

Preheat oven to 425*

Slice the top 1/4 off the heads of garlic, place them on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, pinch up sides of foil to create a sealed packet, place on a baking sheet and into the oven.

While garlic roasts, steam cauliflower.

Prep the cauliflower by stemming, removing leaves, and washing well. 

Place in a pot, add 1" of water and heat over high.

Bring water to a boil, steam cauliflower for 5 minutes, until tender, turn heat off and set aside (keep the lid on and let it continue to steam/stay warm).

Add butter and parmesan to a small mixing bowl.

Take cauliflower out of pot and place in a baking dish that will hold cauliflower snugly.

After an hour, remove garlic from the oven and cool for a few minutes, then squeeze roasted cloves out into mixing bowl with cheese, use a fork to mash and stir well. 

Slather cauliflower with garlic mixture.

Turn broiler on low, place cauliflower under and broil for 3-5 minutes, keep your eye on it the entire time, and remove if it's too brown.

Serve immediately.