Butternut Squash Baked w/ Bay Leaves, Butter, & Brown Sugar

 Some may look at this and see a tempting side dish.  I however, look at it and see dessert in an earthenware dish.  Since butternut squash is already pretty sweet in its own rite, when it's given any sort of "sweet treatment", it seems like a satisfying way to wrap up a meal.  Don't get me wrong, I love roasting squash with a dab of oil and some seasoning and eating alongside some roasted turkey, or atop a bed of winter greens, or even tucked into a hearty grain salad with fresh bursts of herbs.  But when butter and brown sugar come a knockin', this dessert train's a rockin'!  Let me also just throw it out there that the sweetness is tempered beautifully by the addition of a few errant bay leaves.  It's funny, really.  You can't imagine the impact these unassuming little leaves can make.

Oh, and p.s.- if you don't want to bother with the whole pesky peeling-a-winter-squash-thing?  Don't.  Once roasted, the skin turns beautifully chewy and palatable.  I actually look forward to the outside bits the most.  

Butternut Squash baked w/ Bay Leaves, Butter, & Brown Sugar

by Heather Schmitt-González inspired by Tessa Kiros (Apples for Jam)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50-60 minutes

Keywords: roast side dessert vegetarian squash butter Christmas Thanksgiving American

Ingredients (varies)

• Butternut squash
• butter
• brown sugar
• bay leaves
• sea salt
• water

Instructions

Remove the seeds from the squash. Cut into slices that are ~½" thick. You can peel it if you like, but I like the chewiness that results from roasting it unpeeled.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Rub the bottom and sides of a baking dish with a bit of butter. Sprinkle a little brown sugar over that.

Lay the squash in a single layer. Sprinkle with a bit more brown sugar. Sprinkle a couple good pinches of sea salt over that. Tuck a couple of bay leaves in and around the squash. Dot with a few more small blobs of butter. Add a splash or two of water.

Slide into preheated oven and roast until squash is tender, basting occasionally. It's okay (actually it's wonderful) if you wind up with a few golden brown spots. Just take care not to let the squash get mush (unless of course, you like it that way...then roast away).

notes:

Adjust this recipe by using a bit more (or less) of each ingredient and a larger baking dish. Baking time may be a bit longer for a larger amount of squash. You can serve it as a side dish, or (my personal preferance) as dessert.

Roasted slices of butternut squash resting in a sticky syrup made from the sugar and butter reducing with awesome, grassy green undertones from the bay leaves. I think a small hit of finely grated lemon zest scattered over the top right as it comes out of the oven would add another dimension to the dish...a bit of a bright citrus finish.

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IHCC theme: POTLUCK

Cuban Bread (aka...quickest yeast bread EVER)

Not only is it quick- it's REALLY GOOD!  It has this beautifully thick and chewy crust with a spongy interior.  I may just have to make it daily.  Or at least every other day.  It's just that simple and that delicious.  I want to make it my everyday, go-to white bread.  I was amazed that the flavors could develop like they did in such a short period of time...I think the poppy seeds added a lot to the top, but I will try using sesame seeds on a loaf next go-round to see if I can taste the difference.

Hubs and I polished off the last of the loaf for lunch yesterday by simply cutting thick slices and slathering them with frijoles con chorizo and washing it all down with a cold glass of milk.  I think it's worth mentioning that as soon as I finish typing this, I'm mixing up another batch so that we have a couple more loaves to carry us through lunch today and breakfast tomorrow.  I feel an obsession coming on.  Thanks so much to Ilva, this month's Bread Baking Babes hostess for choosing this recipe and bringing this bread into my life.

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Cuban Bread

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Keywords: bake bread vegan flour Cuban

Ingredients (2 small loaves)

• 5-6 c. bread flour
• 2 pkgs. dry yeast (~2¼ tsp. each)
• 1 Tbs. salt
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 2 c. (500 ml) hot water
• sesame or poppy seeds, optional
• cornmeal, for baking sheet

Instructions

Place 4 cups flour in a mixing bowl and add the yeast, salt and sugar. Stir until they are well blended. Pour in the hot water and beat with 100 strong strokes or about three minutes in a mixer.

Gradually work in the remaining flour (using fingers if necessary), ½ cup at a time until the dough takes shape and is no longer sticky.

Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Work in the flour as you knead, keeping a dusting of it between the dough and the work surface. Knead for ~8 minutes by hand or with a dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and put in a warm (26-37°C/80-100°F) place until double in bulk, ~15-25 minutes.

Punch down the dough, turn it out on the work surface, and cut into two pieces. Shape each into a round. Place on a baking sheet dusted lightly with cornmeal.

With a sharp knife or razor, slash an X on each of the loaves, mist with water, and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if using.

Place the baking sheet on the middle shelf of a cold oven. Place a large pan of hot water on the shelf below, and heat the oven to 400°F (205°C). The bread will continue to rise while the oven is heating.

Bake for ~50 minutes, or until the loaves are golden and bottom crusts sound hard and hollow when thumped.

Cool on a wire rack for a bit before eating.

recipe adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

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Bread Baking Buddies (hosted/chosen by Bread Baking Babe Ilva at Lucullian Delights)
Yeastspotting

Wheat Berries w/ Cherries, Berries, & Almonds

Yes, I was raised to believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  I couldn't walk out that door without eating.  But I'm glad that was instilled in me...because it's so true.  It gets your brain and your body warmed up and ready for action.  I've always been a breakfast kind of girl.  Sometimes it's small and light, sometimes it's more substantial.  Either way, I need my breakfast.  And a cup or two of coffee.  

This is a good one for those days when your teeth and your bones are chattering from the bitter cold temps outside your door.  It's reminiscent of rice pudding, porridge, or even a warm fruit soup.  My current favorite grain, wheat berries are cooked until gloriously chewy in a bath of maple-kissed almond milk and before being complimented by juicy, antioxidant-rich berries and cherries.  Topped off with nutty slivers of almonds and a smattering of poppy seeds, I find it pretty irresistible.

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Wheat Berries w/ Cherries, Berries, & Almonds

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes - 2 hours

Keywords: simmer breakfast vegan vegetarian grains berries

Ingredients (serves 4)

• ¾ c. wheat berries
• 2 c. almond milk
• 2 Tbs. maple syrup, or more to taste
• sea salt
• 1 c. blueberries
• 1 c. cherries, pitted
• 1 c. strawberries, hulled & quartered
• sliced almonds
• poppy seeds

Instructions

Combine wheat berries in a medium to large pot with almond milk, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt. Milk should cover wheat berries by about an inch...if it doesn't, add a bit more or some water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a gentle bubble.

Allow to cook, stirring from time to time, until wheat berries are tender (this can take anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour or more). Wheat berries will sweel and be tender, yet firm when done; mixture will still be a bit soupy. If you're making the grains ahead of time, you can cool them down and refrigerate at this point, gently reheating before service.

Adjust seasoning by adding more salt and/ or maple syrup, if you like. Stir in the berries and cherries. Sprinkle with as many sliced almonds and poppy seeds as you'd like.

recipe adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman

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Also, I wanted to give a heads up to all of the Mark Bittman fans out there...Sarah and Kate have started a new cook-along style group for his Food Matters Cookbook.  It’s all about eating more plants and fewer animal products and processed foods — and the positive impact this has on our health and the environment.  It's called the Food Matters project and it will be a weekly event (Mondays) starting February 6th.  Check out the schedule of recipes so far and grab a hosting spot!

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Whole Food Wednesdays

Garlicky Chicken Soup inspired by Anna Heart of a Peasant

Food, history, culture, struggle, triumph....Life! I thought that the combination of all of these elements found in Anna: Heart of a Peasant made for a quick, entertaining read. I was trying to figure out how to categorize the book...and I was thinking historical fiction...when I read Rachel's account of the story listed as fictional biography. Yes, that's perfect. Davis tells the story of her grandmother through her own eyes using research, facts, stories, and memories.

If you hang out with me at all, you've probably heard me talk about how much I adore learning about food through studying a person or place's culture, history, and people...by hearing stories and spending time with people in the place they are the most comfortable- the kitchen. This story starts from the time Anna was very young and touches on the beliefs, religion, and symbolism that surrounded and embodied everyday rituals such as child birth, welcoming somebody into your home, harvest, and the evil eye. It shares Anna's sad tale of banishment after a tragic accident. One of my favorite parts of the story is when Anna meets up with and joins a band of gypsies. She learns to read tarot cards and tea leaves and experience a much-needed, more "free" way of life than strict one she has left behind. She eventually works for an old woman on a farm for years before buying her place amongst the other peasants on an ocean liner leaving Russia, bound for America. Years later...with a husband, kids, grandkids, and a home of her own, Anna has achieved the American dream...but she holds fast and strong to her upbringing and her beliefs, instilled in her when she was just a child in Byelorussia.

Pizza w/ Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic, Italian Sausage w/ Fennel, & Basil {food 'n flix}

I hesitate to put this out there.  But, since this month's chosen flick for Food 'n Flix was Eat Pray Love, I guess I'm gonna have to.  So.  Here goes.  I'm gonna say it.  Puttin' it out there.  I don't like this movie...or this book.  Eek!  Don't hate me.  I wanted to like it.  I expected to like it.  I mean...I'm a fan of chick flicks (and chick lit).  It has all the criteria to fit snugly into the categories of movies I love to watch at least once a year as a little getaway or girl time.  It has delicious food, cute guys, gorgeous settings, and a story line that I want to be great.  I want to covet Liz's life for a couple of hours.  But I don't.  I'm sure the book put me off the movie.  Which is fairly normal for me.  But in a different way.  Usually if I want to enjoy the movie, I can't read the book first because as you know, the movie rarely does the book justice.  So, I hesitated picking up the book first.  But, in true Heather form, I couldn't resist the book.  I could hear it whispering to me every time I walked by it at the library.  I gave in.

Much to my chagrin.  I guess it's not really fair for me to say that I didn't like the entire book since I couldn't actually get through the whole thing.  I really thought it tried too hard.  I found it pretentious.  Again, this is hard for me to write, because I don't enjoy dismissing anybody's hard work.  The words just sounded so scripted...so meant for a movie.  Me, Me, Me!  See what I did!  I find "look at me" stories hard to stomach in any medium or setting, though.  So basically what I'm trying to say is that it's possible I may have enjoyed the movie (which this post is supposed to be about) had I not tried to read the book first.  But since I couldn't disconnect, I'll never know.  I mean, how can you not adore Julia Roberts?  And I'm a sucker for the crinkles in the corner of James Franco's eyes when he smiles.  And pizza in Naples?  Yes, please!

There were, however a few scenes here and there that I enjoyed.  I enjoyed Elizabeth's simple breakfast plate of egg, bread, asparagus, and tomato on the floor with a newspaper with the Italian sun streaming in.  I enjoyed the supporting cast of characters such as Ketut, Richard, Wayan and Tutti.  I have a few favorite quotes such as "God dwells within you, as you" and "Not too much God, not too much selfish...otherwise, lose balance" and "ruin is the road to transformation".  I just don't find myself with a craving to watch this film again.  I did watch it when it first came out on dvd, then again this month so that I could refresh my memory and write this post.  To each their own, right?

As far as inspiration to head into the kitchen, I was stuck on the pizza.  I'm sure you don't really need a recipe for pizza, so I won't give you one.  I'll just give you the method and ingredients that inspired me that day.

non-recipe for Pizza w/ Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, Roasted Garlic, Italian Sausage with Fennel, & Basil

yield: 1 pizza

pizza dough (homemade or storebought...your choice)

olive oil

slow-roasted yellow cherry tomatoes

roasted garlic

loose Italian sausage

fennel seeds

crushed red chile flakes

mozzarella cheese

fresh basil

Cook sausage in a pan until done, adding a good amount of fennel seed and crushed red chiles toward the end of cooking.  Drain fat and set aside.

Pat or roll dough out into desired shape.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Cover with desired amount of cheese.  Scatter sausage and however many tomatoes and roasted garlic cloves as you wish.  Bake in preheated over (~400° F for 12-15 minutes-ish).  Scatter torn basil over top.  Enjoy!

I know are going to be some people who vehemently disagree with my opinion on this (and I'm okay with that).  I'd love to know your thoughts...

Eat Pray Love is the January '12 Food 'n Flix pick hosted at The Law Student's Cookbook.  Posts inspired by this flick are due on the 28th of January, so you still have time to cook something up and share your thoughts on the film.

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50 Women Game-Changers (in Food): #31 Donna Hay - Banana-Buttermilk Cinnamon Breads

the "Gourmet" prompt...

31. Donna Hay- Australia became the hottest food nation somewhere around 1995, and then came Hay. She’s ubiquitous Down Under with her books, eponymous magazine, and sunny TV face, but her simple, throw–it–together Pacific Rim style spread all the way Up and Over.

Okay.  So.  Have you tired of hearing me say so-and-so is someone I wasn't familiar with before this week?  Well...if so...I apologize because I'm about to say it again.  Sort of.  I actually have heard the name Donna Hay before.  But that was about the extent of it.  I'd heard her name.  So, I didn't really know what to expect when I went to pick up the couple of books our library carried of hers.  I placed a hold on them online and once they had been shipped over from another branch, I stopped in to pick them up.  I'm pretty friendly with the library staff (since I'm in there so often), and as I went to check them out, one girl mentioned that she couldn't put them down when she was checking them in and was bummed that they were on hold.  Mmmm...good sign.  I chuckled and joked that they'd be back in a few weeks at the most.  I mean, by then we'd be well on to another of the "50 women", right?  Right.  Sort of.  You see.  I fell in love with these two books.  And now, I don't want to take them back.  I want to keep renewing them until all of my options are exhausted.  Gorgeous photography + mouthwatering recipes = a sh!t ton of bookmarks.  Where the heck has Donna Hay been all my life?

Australia.  That's where she's been.  With a career as a food writer and stylist that began at 19 and being appointed food editor of marie claire at 25, she's definitely been around.  She is currently Australia's leading food editor and best-selling cookbook author.  Focusing on basic ingredients that are simply prepared and photographed BEAUTIFULLY, her food, recipes, and styling have "set the benchmark for food publishing worldwide and inspired a whole new generation of cooks".*  She has 18 award-winning cookbooks (2 down, 16 to lust over) that have sold over 4 million copies worldwide.  She also has a line of homewares and baking kits using all natural ingredients.  She's kind of like Martha Stewart.  Only better.  Ssshhhh...don't tell Martha I said that.

I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say that I changed my mind dozens of times about what to make to represent Donna this week.  Since I couldn't wait to get in the kitchen, I went with one of my bookmarked recipes that I already had all of the ingredients hangin' out in the kitchen for.  Well, almost.  I didn't have any hazelnut meal (or hazelnuts), so I subbed in almond meal.  Great little tea breads served warm or chilled and sliced.  They are firm and substantial with the tangy flavor of buttermilk complimented by the warmth of cinnamon and comfort of banana.  One recipe down...hundred to go.

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Banana-Buttermilk Cinnamon Breads

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: ~45 minutes

Keywords: bake bread vegetarian buttermilk bananas

Ingredients (2 mini loaves)

• 5 oz. butter
• ½ c. superfine sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1½ c. all-purpose flour, sifted
• ¾ tsp. baking powder, sifted
• ½ c. almond meal
• ⅓ c. buttermilk
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 large banana, sliced
• melted butter, for brushing
• raw sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add flour, baking powder, almond meal, buttermilk, and cinnamon. Fold through until smooth.

Grease two mini-loaf tins (16 oz. capacity). Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth the top. Shingle the banana slices down the center of each loaf. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake for ~45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in a loaf comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

recipe adapted from Modern Classics Book 2 by Donna Hay

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In May '11, Gourmet posted a list of 50 Women Game-Changers (in Food) that runs the gamut from food writers to cookbook authors to television personalities to restauranteurs to chefs to food bloggers.  Some are a given.  Some are controversial.  Speaking the names of some brings fond childhood memories.  Speaking the names of others will make some readers cringe.  And of course, some of our favorites were not even included.  We food-lovers are a passionate bunch of people and whether we agree or disagree, every woman on this list has earned her place for a reason.  Being a woman who is passionate about food (cooking, eating, talking about, writing about, photographing), when I caught wind of Mary from One Perfect Bite's idea of cooking/blogging her way through each of these 50 women...one per week...I knew I wanted to join her.  Many of these women paved the way for us in culinary school, in the kitchen, in cookbooks, in food writing, and on television and I think it is a fabulous way to pay tribute to their efforts.  Some of the women on the list have been tops with me for years.  Some I have heard of (perhaps even seen, read, or cooked from) before.  And there are even a handful that I am not familiar with at all.  I excited to educate myself on each of these women game-changers and hope you look forward to reading along.  We are going in order from 1 to 50.

Who is cooking along with these 50 Women Game-Changers?

Mary- One Perfect Bite, Val- More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne- Eats Well With Others, Taryn- Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan- The Spice Garden, Heather- girlichef, Miranda- Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette- Jeanette's Healthy Living, Kathy- Bakeaway with Me, Sue- The View from Great Island, Barbara- Moveable Feasts, Linda- There and Back Again, Nancy- Picadillo, Mireya- My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica- My Catholic Kitchen, Annie- Lovely Things, Claudia- Journey of an Italian Cook, Alyce- More Time at the Table 

*source: Donna Hay online biography
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Pineapple-Ginger Elixir (with or without Rum)

I'm a sucker for words like potion, tincture, balm, and elixir.  In my mind I can picture myself in a long, colorful gypsy skirt, a flowy peasant blouse, and bare feet.  Gathering bundles of wild flowers and herbs; carefully peeling bark from medicinal trees and digging healing roots from the earth.  I see heavy glass bottles with frosty glass or cork stoppers amongst jars, tins, canisters, pots, and droppers in various sizes.  My well-loved mortar and pestle sits atop an ancient butcher block with a dip worn in it from years of use.  Dried lavender, yarrow, purple cone flowers hang amidst the herbs, garlic, and chiles on the wooden rafters.  Gnarled roots of goldenseal, ginger, and licorice are wrapped in cloth and tucked into baskets on cool, dark shelves.  I'm pretty sure I was meant to be a shaman.  Or a healer in some form.

So, perhaps you can see why a recipe containing the term "elixir" drew my attention.  Although I used a blender instead of a mortar and pestle to coax the sweet juice from a golden pineapple, the addition of warming ginger and cayenne reinforced the images in my head.  This blend...this elixir...will warm your body from the inside out on a cold day.  If you're sensitive to chile peppers, be aware of the potency (oooh, that's another great word...potency) of your cayenne.  If it is nice and fresh, you'll get a fantastic burn on your upper lip for hours to come.  

If the word elixir doesn't inspire you like it does me, I hope you'll try this sweet, yet spicy cooler anyway.  Add a shot of rum for even more warmth...

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Pineapple-Ginger Elixir

by Heather Schmitt-González

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: blender beverage vegan vegetarian ginger pineapple

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 4 c. fresh pineapple cubes
• 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• ½ c. water
• ¼ c. light coconut milk or homemade
• 2½ Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 Tbs. pure Maple syrup
• 1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp. ground cardamom
• ⅛ tsp. ground cayenne

Instructions

Purée pineapple cubes, ginger, and water in blender until smooth. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer into bowl, pushing down on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard pulp and return liquid to blender.

Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

Serve over ice and garnish with fresh pineapple wedges or rings, cinnamon stick, or lime wedges.

For a warming cocktail with the sweetness of pineapple, add a shot of rum to the bottom of the glass before pouring in the elixir.

slightly adapted from Vegetarian Times #391

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Bookmarked Recipes at Tinned Tomatoes (founded by Ruth's Kitchen Experiments)