teaspoon spices

Curried butternut squash "coins"

I always love autumn- not least because I love the richness of autumn vegetables,  especially squash.

Last week, I picked up a beautiful butternut squash at our CSA, and thought about what to do with it.  I had recently seen a recipe that called for cutting wedges out of an acorn squash and roasting them. 

The shape of butternut squash does not really lend itself to this treatment, so instead I sliced it into "coins," all the way down the neck.  Once I reached the fat part that houses the seeds, I made the coins a bit thicker, and then cut the seedy part out, leaving a ring.

I sprayed a baking pan with non-stick spray, then placed the squash coins on the pan.  This was a small, tender squash, so I didn't even need to peel it. I sprinkled the slices with a packet of Smart Spice curry powder, and roasted them at 375 degrees for a little more than 30 minutes. 

These squash coins were delicious, and lovely to look at.  I plan to include them as a side dish at my next dinner party because they were beautiful, tasty and most important, easy!

--Katie

Herb-Stuffed Eggplant

As fond as I am of fresh herbs, I love the strong flavor -- and convenience -- of dried herbs. Drying concentrates the flavor of an herb, lending depth to any dish. For the past few weeks I've been making use of dried herbs in cooking the produce we're picking up each week from our CSA. One of my favorite recipes is Herb-Stuffed Eggplant, adapted from the wonderful book, "Cucina Fresca," (Harper & Row, 1985), by Viana La Place and Evan Kleiman. It's a perfect way to use the lovely eggplants from One Straw Farm.

The recipe in the book calls for a mixture of fresh herbs (your choice -- basil, oregano, mint, marjoram, etc.) If you're using fresh herbs, you'll need about 1 1/2 cups altogether.

The first time I made the recipe I used some fresh basil and fresh oregano with a teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano. The results were good.

The next time I skipped the fresh stuff altogether and the results was even better because the herbal flavors were more pronounced. I like that extra burst of flavor, so I have continued to use only dried herbs in this recipe, although fresh herbs make a nice garnish for the finished dish.

Here's my version:

Herb-Stuffed Eggplant:

3-4 Japanese eggplants, or 2-3 very small eggplants

Coarse salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

3-4 teaspoons dried herbs (your choice)

1/4 cup wine or water

Cut each Japanese eggplant in half lengthwise, but do not remove the stem. If you are using regular eggplants that are very round, cut them lengthwise into quarters. Score the eggplants by making diagonal, shallow slashes into the flesh. Salt the eggplants and let them sit for 20 minutes so that the water comes to the surface. Blot the eggplants dry with paper towels, removing as much salt as possible. While holding the eggplant so that the slashes are slightly open, fill the slashes with the herbs.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, place the eggplant halves cut-side down in the oil. Fry for 5 minutes over high heat. Pour the wine or water over the eggplant, cover, lower the heat, and braise for 5 to 10 more minutes or until the eggplants are tender. Remove the cover. If any liquid remains, turn up the heat and cook until it evaporates.

Remove the eggplants to a platter. Cool and serve at room temperature. 

Makes 4 to 6 servings

 --Sara
 

 

A boost for fresh basil

It has been a hot, hard summer for our backyard basil. This time of year, it's typical for a few of our plants to be losing their color and generally looking like they've run their course. But this year, practically all of them seem to be well into an end-of-summer swoon, still weeks before the first frost. So the secret we learned long ago about cooking with fresh basil -- boosting it with dried basil -- is coming in handy.

Even when basil is splendidly green and fresh, we've learned that a teaspoon of dried basil is a delicious addition to pesto or our other favorite fresh-basil recipes. Both dried basil and fresh basil are delicious, and each has strengths.

Fresh basil is, well, wonderfully fresh-tasting. Dried basil is intense, with a concentrated flavor. Added to fresh basil, it creates a deeper layer of flavor, like a good bass line in a melodious tune. 

So, as you harvest your own basil, or take advantage of a fresh bunch at a farmers market or the grocery store, remember that you can boost your basil flavor by adding a teaspoon or two of dried basil. And if your dried basil is organic, you get 100% pure flavor, no additives or fillers to dilute the pleasure.

--Sara