Squash and Peanut Stew For A Chilly Night

I don't know about you, but I love to find new recipes that I can almost taste just reading them. That happened when I saw this one for a lovely began stew that's based on winter squash, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and peanut butter. Although I'm not a big fan of cumin (so I used far less than the recipe calls for) I knew that it was a necessary component of the big flavors that this dish brings to the bowl.

This Washington Post recipe by food writer Joy Manning as given to us by Washington Post writer G Daniela Galarza is a tribute to President Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who was our President when times were a bit simpler. Daniela calls it "a squash and peanut stew: packed with vegetables, seasoned with warm spices and easy to adapt." I know the adapt part is correct because I swapped out the kabocha squash for butternut squash and I changed the spices a bit, too.  I love the ginger especially...it adds a lot of oomph. Sweetie loved this (which is huge for a guy who wants meat in every meal) and said it was surprisingly filling...and to keep the recipe on rotation!

Kabocha Squash and Peanut Stew

Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently over low heat and do not let the stew come to a boil, as it may separate.

Servings: 6 to 8
Total time: 50 mins

Ingredients

·        1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed

·        1 large yellow onion (12 ounces), chopped

·        1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into small dice (1 cup)

·        1 medium green bell pepper (I used orange bell pepper), cored, seeded and cut into small dice (1 cup)

·        1 tablespoon tomato paste

·        One (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

·        3 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated

·        1 teaspoon cumin seeds

·        1 teaspoon ground coriander

·        1/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed

·        2 cups (10 ounces) peeled, cubed kabocha squash (from one 14- to 16-ounce squash)(I used butternut squash)

·        4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, preferably no-salt-added

·        One (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with their juices

·        1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

·        1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped, plus more for serving

·        2 jalapeños (seeded or not), ground to a paste with the flat side of a knife or mortar and pestle, for serving

·        1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped, for serving

Steps

1. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and bell peppers, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 8 minutes.

2. Add the tomato paste, ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander and salt, and cook until the mixture is aromatic and the tomato paste darkens slightly, about 1 minute. Add the squash and stir to coat.

3. Add the broth and crushed tomatoes, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low — enough heat to maintain a simmer — and cook, uncovered, until the squash is so tender it breaks apart easily, about 20 minutes,

4. In a medium bowl, thin the peanut butter with a ladleful of the stew, stirring until smooth and pourable. Scrape the peanut butter mixture into the pot, and stir to combine. Add the cilantro leaves.

5. Use a potato masher to break up the squash, leaving some pieces intact for a chunky texture.

6. Serve with the jalapeño paste, chopped peanuts and more cilantro leaves.

Peanut Butter, Bananas, Pecans and Pound Cake...Delicious!

Today was the annual silent auction for the P.E.O. Scholarships chapter that I belong to. We try to raise a couple thousand a year which goes towards scholarships for women both locally and at the state and international level. The auction is a good money raiser and so I usually donate some baked goods. There is almost always a bidding war for them which means more money for women scholars!

One of the cakes I donated (well, actually two) ended up being a pair of small Bundt cakes using the Maida Heatter recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Pecan Pound Cake that was one of the October Cake Slice Bakers recipes. I dolled them up with a crunchy peanut butter, butter, half and half and powdered sugar icing, but they would be fine plain, too.

Without the icing you can see that the crunchy peanut butter left some gaps in the pan design clarity. The recipe calls for smooth peanut butter which would solve most of that problem, but I like crunchy peanut butter, so no smooth in the house.

 To make the recipe as it was written, use one large Bundt cake pan. Also, remember to add the baking soda. I forgot to and so my cake was very dense. Sweetie ate the tiny loaf pan of batter that I baked up for him from the batter that didn't fit into the two small Bundt pans and he said that you didn't miss it and that it was a great cake if you like peanut butter.

Pecan-Peanut Butter-Banana Bread

• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed 
• 2 eggs
• 2 to 3 large fully ripened bananas (to make one cup, mashed)
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) pecan halves or large pieces, toasted (I used 1 cup)
  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  
  Butter a large Bundt pan or two small cake loaf pans. Set aside.
  
  Sift together flours, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
  
  In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until softened, add peanut butter, beat until mixed. Add the sugar, and beat until mixed.
  
  Add eggs one at a time, beat until mixed.
  
  Peel the bananas and smash using a potato smasher or fork. Add the bananas to the mixture and beat until mixed.
  
  On low speed add the dry ingredients, beat only until mixed.
  
  Remove the bowl from mixer and fold in the pecans by hand using a spatula. Pour batter into bundt pan or divide between the two small loaf pans.
  
  Bake at 375 degrees F. for only 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes. Watch your cakes, oven temperatures vary.
  
  Cake will be done after cake tester is inserted and comes out clean.
  
  Remove cake from oven and cool for 15 minutes, then turn out cake onto a cooling rack and finish cooling. 

Ooodles of Asian Noodles and More

When warm weather hits like it has this weekend, it's nice to be able to turn to a fairly quick and easy and filling pasta salad to sit on the plate with chicken fresh off the grill. Sweetie brushed on some teriyaki sauce while he grilled them, so that had  a nice dark color and Asian flavor. I contributed a dish I'd seen on the Food Network a week or so ago.

It's called Sesame Peanut Noodles, and it has two kinds of peanuts - peanut butter and chopped peanuts, plus cilantro, lime, fresh ginger, rice vinegar and soy sauce which combine together to make a great sauce, along with a little honey and some toasted sesame oil. The recipe called for toasted sesame seeds, too, but I'm supposed to take it easy on sesame seeds, so I skipped that part. The pasta is whole wheat linguine and the salad part includes sliced cabbage, green onion, red pepper (and some broccoli slaw because I had some and wanted to add it). Sweetie and Straight Shooter both loved it and even though it makes a big bowl, we somehow managed to polish off every strand and chunk.

The most time consuming part of this was measuring out the ingredients for the sauce, grating the fresh ginger and lime zest, and juicing the lime. The pasta cooks while you make the sauce and chop up the veggies and then you just toss the drained pasta with the veggies and sauce and sprinkle chopped peanuts on top. Yum!

Sesame Peanut Noodles
from the Food Network

Ingredients
12 oz. linguine
Peanut Dressing:
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Sriracha (I used some cayenne pepper instead)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Zest and juice of 1/2 lime
Salad:
1/2 cup loosely-packed chopped fresh cilantro
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced (I used some broccoli slaw mix, too)
1/3 red bell pepper, in thin strips
1/4 cup roughly chopped skinless roasted peanuts, for garnish

Directions
Put a large pot of water on to boil. When water is boiling, add the pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente. Do not overcook. Drain, reserving some of the starchy pasta water, rinse and set aside.

For the peanut dressing: Place the peanut butter in a large measuring cup and microwave to soften, 15 seconds. Whisk in with the soy sauce, vinegar, canola oil, ginger, honey, Sriracha, sesame oil and lime zest and juice in a small bowl. Thin with the starchy pasta water if needed, 1 tablespoon at a time. (Dressing should be thick, but pourable.)

For the salad: Place the pasta in a large mixing bowl and add the cilantro and vegetables and toss with the dressing. Top with the chopped peanuts  and serve.

Heartwarming Sweets and a Giveaway

One of the benefits of writing a food blog is that occasionally you are offered the opportunity to review cookbooks or try out new products and give your opinion. I don't accept every offer I receive but now and then I find one to be a good fit. I imagine they do the same thing before offering...take a look at the blog and see if they go well together.

Recently I received an e-mail from a publicist at Thomas Nelson, long time publisher of a variety of books. After checking out a few of the titles online I became enthused about trying out some recipes in their books.

The first book I've tried is Bless Your Heart, Saving the World Once Covered Dish at a Time with Recipes by Patsy Caldwell and Stories by Amy Lyles Wilson. It organizes recipes around gatherings like church suppers, tail gate parties, and bookclubs.

There is a pure Southern sensibility, particularly in the stories at the beginning of each chapter. These recipes are often created to be given as gifts of the heart so, although there are some recipes that are super healthy, many are comfort foods where no one is counting calories.

I belong to a women's scholarship group and we have luncheons twice a month. Many of the casseroles like Scalloped Potatoes with Country Ham and salads like Norma's Pretzel Salad with strawberry gelatin look very familiar even though we are far from the South. Quite a few recipes in Bless Your Heart are American classics like deviled eggs and peanut butter cookies and others are classics with a twist. There are lots of great photos of the recipe results, too (although all these photos are mine).


The first one I tried is a tea or quick bread familiar in that it is leavened with baking powder and baking soda and perked up with spices and nuts. The twist is that you grate pears to add to the batter and they add flavor, moisture and a subtle perfume. I used two firm but ripe red pears and followed the recipe with only two changes: I used half granulated sugar and half brown sugar instead of all white sugar and I used 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup water instead of 3/4 cup oil. I'm a fan of brown sugar and have found in the past that I prefer a bread with less oil, particularly if there is fruit in it to keep it moist.

This sweet bread was really lovely. I like the moist but firm crumb, the understated spiciness and that it isn't too sweet. Sweetie isn't a big fan of pears but he really liked this bread. Some tea breads need embellishments like a glaze or powdered sugar but this one is perfect as is.

I made it on Tuesday and it was still delicious today at tea time so it seems like a good keeper, too. It's nice because it gets stirred up with a spoon in one bowl so the cleanup is quick, too. The next time I make it I'm going to double the recipe so that I can bake three large loaves because I bet it will freeze well, too. It's always nice to have something like Bebe's Pear Bread in the oven to serve to unexpected guest.

The next recipe I tried was old-fashioned peanut butter cookies. These couldn't be simpler and are always a hit with peanut lovers. The only change I made was to include 1/2 cup chopped peanuts since I like crunchy peanut butter and think that some crunch is great in cookies, too. For about half the batter I also added some dark chocolate chips. Peanut butter and chocolate are also a classic combo, so why not? I'm sure they are delightful without either mix-in, too.

A note on quantities: Since I didn't follow the recipes exactly that probably explains the differences, but I found that the Pear Bread only made one large and one tiny loaves, not two large ones. I also found that the Peanut Butter Cookies made closer to 4 dozen than 2 dozen. Since I was eyeballing the amount of dough instead of using a measure and because I added a full cup of additional mix-ins it's not too surprising...and extra cookies are a good thing, right?

In the spirit of full disclosure, I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I'm disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Now for the giveaway...Katherine R. at Thomas Nelson Publishers has generously offered to send copies of the book to up to three readers. All you have to do is comment on this post. I'll post the winners on March 29 from comments received up to noon PDST that day, after which time the winner will need to e-mail me their mailing address so that I can pass it on to the publisher. Winners outside of the U.S. can expect delivery to take up to six weeks.

You'll be glad you have this book the next time you need to bring a dish like Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie or Cabbage Slaw with Red and Green Apples to a family reunion or pot luck. You will also find recipes for dishes your family will enjoy for weekday meals and special occasions like Fresh from the Garden Tomato Pie or Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Topping.

You can order a copy for yourself at Amazon HERE or at your local bookstore, too. Here is the information on the book: Bless Your Heart, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nov. 2010, ISBN 978-1-4016-0052-5. (BTW - no kickback from Amazon, either, nor from local bookstores.)


BeBe's Pear Bread
Makes two medium loaves - Perfect for a bake sale or for tea

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup each granulated and brown sugar)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup canola oil (I used 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup water)
2 cups grated pears (2 large pears)
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pans. Set aside. In a large bowl add the flour, sugars, pecans, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the oil, water, pears, eggs and vanilla. Stir until just moistened. Pour into the prepared loaf pans. Bake for 50 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes 2 loaves or 24 servings.

Note: If you are making this recipe for yourself, it is wonderful served with cream cheese.


Peanut butter cookies are a childhood favorite, great in a bagged lunch or for an after school treat. This recipe is just right...tender, buttery, robustly peanutty and perfect with a glass of cold milk.



Classic Peanut Butter Cookies
makes at least 2 dozen medium cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl cream teh butter, sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. In a small bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt together and add to the creamed mixture. Add the vanilla and mix well. If you are using chopped peanuts add them and mix well. You can add the chocolate chips instead of or in addition to the peanuts and can add them now or mix in later as I did.

Scoop the cookie dough 1 tablespoon at a time and roll into a ball. Place each cookie on the prepared cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Flatten with a fork or the bottom of a glass. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.

Now where's that glass of milk?