Garden: Spaghetti with Summer Squash and Tomatoes

I’ve been waiting for this meal for a long time.  Since February, to be exact, from the moment I put the first seed in the first pot to sit in my bedroom window absorbing the weak winter sun.  And by this meal, I don’t mean this dish exactly – I just mean the first meal where all of the produce (well, except the garlic, we don’t get to plant that until September) could be fresh-picked from the garden, moments before preparing it.  Accomplishing this was just as satisfying (and delicious) as I thought it would be.

The garden has been far more successful than I expected.  Our random assortment of pots with store-bought dirt have turned into a lush array of greenery, and I’m so happy about it.  The highest tendrils of the watermelon are beyond arm’s reach, the cucumbers have climbed all the way up the porch and threaten to overrun the grapes, the tomatoes (started from seed!) are turning red one at a time, and the kale finally battled off the last of the cabbage moths and could provide at least 5 batches of my favorite kale soup.  Even the lemon tree has made a comeback and is covered in new leaves (!) after losing almost all of them this winter.  (This lemon tree seriously toys with my emotions.  After all my painstaking work nursing it back to health from the mealybugs, it rewarded me with over a hundred blossoms – not a single one of which managed to turn into a lemon larger than a quarter before shriveling up and falling off the tree.  No lemons this winter – any citrus experts out there have advice for me?)

This is less a recipe than a suggestion for how to use whatever’s good in your garden now.  The basic process is this: gently cook your vegetables until they’re crisp tender, then toss with pasta, or rice, or leave them by themselves.  Smother the veggies with herbs, heated only for a moment or two just to release their flavor.  Then dress the dish – I went the luxurious route, with cream and cheese, but a drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkling of salt would have an equally wonderful effect.  Maybe pour yourself a glass of white wine, and, if it’s a nice night, take your dinner out to the garden and enjoy all the goodness summer has to offer.  It can’t be beat.

I can’t wait to share more garden-inspired recipes soon!  Especially when the watermelons (and the figs, and the grapes) are ready.  Stay tuned.  And enjoy your weekend!

Creamy Spaghetti with Summer Squash and Tomatoes

Serves 4-6

  • 1 lb. spaghetti
  • 3 TBS butter
  • 2 small summer squash, thinly sliced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 20-30 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/3 c. packed fresh parsley, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 c. packed fresh basil, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 c. heavy cream
  • 1/3 – 1/2 c. packed grated parmesan
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • sea salt
  • black pepper
  1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
  2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until melted.  Add the sliced squash and cook until tender and beginning to turn golden brown, about 7-10 minutes, flipping with a spatula once or twice over this time period.  Add the minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes longer, until garlic is very fragrant but not browned.  Add cherry tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring.
  3. Add the spaghetti to boiling water at about this point.  Cook according to package directions.  In an ideal world, you want the sauce to be ready as the same time as the pasta, but life doesn’t always work out like that.  If your pasta is done first, rinse with cold water or drizzle with olive oil to prevent it from sticking.
  4. Lower the heat on the sauce and cook vegetables for 2-3 more minutes, stirring.  Add cream, parsley, and basil to vegetables, and cook, simmering gently, for 2 minutes.  Turn off heat, and stir in lemon juice and parmesan cheese.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.
  5. If your spaghetti is just finishing, add a few TBS of the pasta cooking water to the sauce, then drain the spaghetti and immediately toss with the sauce.  If your spaghetti has been finished for a while, add as much of the spaghetti as will fit to the saucepan and heat over low heat for 2 minutes, tossing spaghetti with sauce.  When spaghetti is just heated, add it all back to the pot to mix thoroughly.  (The goal here is to get the sauce to adhere to the spaghetti and both to be hot when served).
  6. Serve hot with additional grated parmesan.

A Summer Dinner: Cold Sesame Noodles with Veggies

So here I am in Maine.  On vacation.  My first ever real-person vacation, to be exact.  It’s been really nice, with just the right amount of activity, and just the right amount of rest… and there’s still four whole days left.  Tomorrow my 3 best girlfriends from Duke begin to arrive, and things will be a little busier, but in a good way.  I’m envisioning margaritas, long tanning sessions, catching up on love lives and gossip, and some wholesome Maine activities for good measure.  So far though, other than Trevor’s too-short visit, things have been quiet, rejuvenating.  Just me and the fam.

I’ve gotten up to a little bit of everything while here.  I learned to wakeboard, which is a major accomplishment, given my track record with sports where you’re dragged behind a boat.  I also ran 8 miles down the most beautiful stretch of road I’ve seen in ages, another major accomplishment – the last time I ran anything more than 5 was in October.  It feels really good to know that I’m capable of running that far.  It helped that I took my camera along to take pictures of the butterflies and wild turkeys.  I also giggled through 21 Jump Street with Trevor.  I ate bowlfuls of the sweetest, creamiest mangoes I’ve ever tasted that our Indian friends brought during their visit.  I had piping hot popovers slathered with salty butter and strawberry jam at Jordan Pond House, after a gorgeous 7 mile hike in Acadia.  (You know, it just feels great to have moved that far before noon!)  I picked blueberries even though they’re not quite ready, because I couldn’t wait until next time.  I sat on the sandy beach of a deserted island and read my book and ate a turkey sandwich, then watched a curious seal check out our boat.

I’ve also devoted a fair amount of time to checking out some cookbooks that have been gathering dust on my bookshelf, updating my recipe lists and plans, and of course, cooking.  I’ve made Bailey’s ice cream sandwiches that were a total pain in the ass, but worked out in the end, a bubbly stone-fruit crisp, arugula salads with hearty chunks of avocado, Mexican stuffed sweet potato skins, and a handful of other recipes I’ve been wanting to try.  Tonight, after a long day on the water, dinner was a simple bowl of cold, sesame noodles with crisp veggies and honey-roasted peanuts.  They were super yummy, and just the kind of simple, cooling, flavorful dinner that’s perfect for a hot, summery day.  I served them with this warm cucumber and coconut dish, which was also quite good.  Enjoy this for now, and I should be back soon with more shots of Maine, and maybe even some ice cream sandwiches.

Cold Sesame Noodles

A hodge-podge of these three recipes (one, two, three).  Serves 4-6 as a main.

  • 1 lb. soba noodles
  • 2 TBS vegetable oil
  • 3 TBS minced garlic
  • 3 TBS minced ginger
  • 4 TBS sesame oil
  • 3 TBS soy sauce
  • 3 TBS rice vinegar
  • 3 TBS sugar
  • 3 TBS peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 TBS sriracha sauce or other hot sauce (taste as you go!)
  • 1 large cucumber, peeled and cut into matchsticks
  • 5-8 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
  • 5 scallions, trimmed and sliced thinly
  • 1/2 c. chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 c. sesame seeds
  • honey-roasted peanuts, for garnish (about 2-3 TBS per serving)
  1. Cook soba noodles according to package directions.  Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again, and set aside.
  2. In a small frying pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and ginger and saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant and garlic is just beginning to brown.  Remove from heat and add to a medium bowl.  Add sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, peanut butter, and sriracha to bowl with garlic and ginger and whisk vigorously to combine.  Sauce should be smooth.  Taste for flavor and heat and adjust ingredients to your taste as necessary.
  3. Pour sauce over cooked noodles and stir to combine.  Stir in cucumber, carrot, scallion, cilantro, and sesame seeds.  Serve chilled.  Garnish with peanuts.

Quinoa and Brussel Sprout Primavera

Before leaving for Miami I thought that going a full week without access to a kitchen was going to be horrible.  That I would come back dying for something freshly prepared with my own two hands.  That I would feel gross and weighed down by too-hearty breakfasts and unhealthy dinners.  For most people, a week of fully-paid-for restaurant food would be a cause for celebration, not concern, but I was seriously worried.  Turns out I was being a little bit ridiculous.  The breakfasts are a little bit on the heavy side, but seeing as it’s a buffet, it’s totally within my control.  The buffet lunches actually have a surprising number of fresh and interesting dishes – yesterday they had three separate dishes incorporating three of my favorite foods –  pesto, chickpeas, and avocados – and today spinach ravioli and a chorizo bar.  Last night, we had an incredible dinner at Red Fish Grill – I was really stunned by how much flavor each of the ingredients in my salad had (super sharp and creamy blue cheese, slightly smoky and slightly sweet candied pecans, smoky smoky smoky bacon, and crisp-tart apples) and the key lime pie was perfect.  Literally, perfect.  Plus, having a gym a 60 second walk from my bed and my “office” right downstairs decidedly increases the frequency of my visits to the gym.  So, really, not much to complain about here.

Still, I do sort of miss the act of cooking.  It’s one of my favorite ways of unwinding on weeknights.  Occasionally on weekends when the cooking I’m doing is for the blog and I’m racing against the daylight, it gets stressful, but I still enjoy it.  And it’s certainly nice to have homemade food for lunch every day (well, most days… sometimes it’s nice to just get pizza).  Since starting work, as you might have noticed, I’ve been concentrating a little more on quick and healthy recipes – recipes that I can make before I leave in the morning, and that counteract the serious increase in eating out that I’ve experienced since moving to the city … and having an income.  This recipe is one of my favorites for fulfilling both those purposes – with the added bonus that I find it absolutely delicious.  The idea for this comes from Let’s Dish, but I’ve tailored it to my own tastes – which is sort of what the original recipe encourages you to do, anyways.

This recipe was also the first way that I tried brussel sprouts, about 2 months ago.  Brussel sprouts have never been on my family’s table, because my mom absolutely hates them.  I think it’s because she was forced to eat them in a very unpleasant, boiled soggy, flavorless form as a kid, and swore never to force her own children to eat them.  I’m the complete opposite though, and absolutely love them, enough to have made them several times since first trying them.  I always blanch them in water or broth before caramelizing them with butter, half because I love the flavor the caramelization gives them, and half because that ridged golden brown effect makes them so pretty!  For this dish, I then toss them with hot quinoa, a bit of cream cheese, a sprinkling of parm, and whatever other vegetables happen to be in my kitchen at the time, briefly sauteed with garlic – I’ve included carrots, green beans, asparagus, and onions, but the brussel sprouts are so far the only mandatory vegetable.  I brought this along to Vermont with us, but we didn’t have a microwave in our hotel room, and it’s really best heated up.  Also, cooking the quinoa in chicken broth seriously ups the flavor because it absorbs so much of it – water is OK, but definitely inferior.  If you don’t like brussel sprouts, give the original recipe a try with whatever vegetables you do like, and enjoy a quick, healthy lunch!

Quinoa and Brussel Sprout Primavera

Adapted from Let’s Dish.  Serves 2.

  • 1 c. quinoa
  • 2 c. chicken broth
  • 3 oz. cream cheese
  • 3 c. fresh brussel sprouts, washed and halved
  • 2 c. other vegetables, cut into small chunks (optional)
  • 2 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 3 TBS butter
  • parmesan cheese, for topping
  1. Bring chicken broth to a low boil.  Immediately upon boiling, add halved brussel sprouts and blanch by cooking for 2 minutes, then removing with a slotted spoon and rinsing in cold water.  Add quinoa to boiling chicken broth and turn heat down to medium.  Cook qunioa for around 15 minutes, until it has absorbed all the broth and the “tails” of the quinoa grains have unfurled.
  2. While quinoa is cooking, heat half the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic slices and cook for 1 minute, until golden.  Add the brussel sprouts and let cook without disturbing for 2-3 minutes, then flip sprouts so that both sides can brown.  Remove brussel sprouts when they are golden-brown in places, and set aside.  Add remaining butter to pan along with other vegetables, if using.  Cook veggies until they are just a bit more tender than when fresh, about 2-7 minutes depending on the vegetables.  Toss brussel sprouts, vegetables, and quinoa together.  Stir in cream cheese until melted throughout.  Top with parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper, if needed.  Serve hot.

Detox

We’ve reached that point in the semester that’s like the Wednesday of a busy week – fall break already seems like it happened months ago, Thanksgiving is about 30 midterms away, the excitement of being back at school has worn off, and we’re tired.  We need to be re-focused.  We need a detox – a mental, physical, and emotional detox.

My physical rejuvenation is getting a kick-start with my mom’s vegetarian chili.  It’s one of my favorite recipes of all time; long before I was doing my own cooking, or actively consuming vegetables, I frequently requested this for dinner.  It’s really, really good.  Like, it’s so good that I had some for breakfast this morning.  Vegetables?  For breakfast?  Katie?  Yeah, now you know it’s delicious.

I’ve been wanting to share this recipe pretty much since I started this blog, but I’ve been waiting for the right time, and now is definitely the right time.  It’s just starting to get chilly and crisp outside, it’s getting dark earlier, and a bowl of hot, nutritious chili is about as appealing as it gets.  This particular recipe is full of vegetables, beans, and nuts, so it’s super flavorful, energizing, and full of nutrients.  So that after you eat it you can continue your physical detox by ellipticalling infinity miles at the Belmont gym while watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall on TV.  Man I love those new ellipticals.  But seriously, I really can’t describe it adequately – you have to try it.  Served over rice or fresh cornbread and sprinkled with shredded cheddar, it’s perfection.

And you know what?  Making this chili and some corn-thyme biscuits was kind of an emotional detox too.  There’s something very therapeutic about being tired but calm and making something wholesome that takes time and patience.  And I also have this weird thing for cutting butter.  Literally, one of my favorite food memories is of sitting at our kitchen table in Prague, cutting sticks and sticks of frozen butter into little pieces for our Thanksgiving pies.  Maybe that’s beside the point.  The point being, make this chili.

Mom’s Vegetarian Chili

Serves 6

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 3/4 c. chopped celery
  • 3/4 c. chopped onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 c. raisins
  • 1 T red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 6 oz. beer
  • 1/2 c. cashews
  • cheddar cheese
  1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot.  Add celery, onion, and garlic, and saute until softened.
  2. Add tomatoes, beans, raisins, vinegar, bay leaf, and spices.  Stir to mix, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours.
  3. Slowly stir in beer (it will bubble) and cashews.  Return to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.
  4. To serve, remove bay leaf, and spoon over rice or cornbread.  Top with shredded cheddar cheese.