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.

Cold Noodle Dinner In A Bowl

I used to subscribe to Bon Appetit magazine, but stopped recently because most of the recipes seemed to be ones I couldn't see myself making. That is why I was so surprised when I purchased their June issue in late May at the airport so I would have something to read on my flight home. Despite the fact that it was the Grilling Issue and Sweetie is the one who grills, I found quite a few recipes and ideas for things to make. I think that, with all the recipes so easily available on the internet, that cookbooks and cooking magazines provide inspiration more than anything.

One of the articles was on how to put together a variety of cold noodle salads. There was coconut-lime shrimp with rice noodles, garlicky chicken with udon noodles, Veg lover's soba with a miso-mustard dressing and spicy steak salad with ramen noodles, but they also explained how to mix and match.

Inspired by the article, I decided to make a salad similar to a Vietnamese bun salad, using grilled teriyaki chicken for the protein, rice stick noodles, carrot matchsticks and cucumber, peanuts, cilantro and a fish sauce-lime dressing. It made a wonderful dinner and is a great warm weather dish. I took the same salad on a picnic a few days ago and it was just as refreshing and surprisingly filling.

Rice Noodles With Salad and Chicken
serves 4-6
Inspired by Bon Appetit June 2017 issue

Sauce:
4 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
hot pepper flakes or hot sauce, to taste

Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce

Salad:
4-6 cups thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
2 teaspoons minced cilantro
2 teaspoons minced fresh mint
1/2 cup shredded or matchstick carrots
1/2 cup thinly sliced cucumber, slices cut in half
2-3 tablespoons chopped peanuts

Noodles:
1 package fine rice stick noodles or vermicelli noodles
vegetable oil

In a jar with a tightly fitting lid, place all the sauce ingredients, then shake to combine. Let sit at least 30 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Discard the solids.

Place the chicken thighs in a glass pie dish or similar non-corrosive dish, or in a plastic ziplock bag. Pour the teriyaki sauce over the chicken and let marinate at least 30 minutes. Grill until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Cut into bite sized pieces.

While chicken is marinating, combine the lettuce, cilantro, fresh mint, carrots and cucumbers in a large bowl. Set aside.

Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling water until al dente', then drain in a collander and rinse with cold water. Put the noodles back in the pot and drizzle with a small amount of vegetable oil, then toss the noodles with your fingers to coat them with the oil. If too hot, use salad tongs for tossing.

To assemble the salad, place a portion of the rice noodles in the bottom of a large soup bowl. Add a generous helping of the salad mixture, top with the warm chicken and drizzle with the sauce. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top. If desired, garnish with additional cilantro and mint.

If you like, you can skip mixing the lettuce, cilantro, mint, carrots and cucumbers and just put the carrots and cucumbers in little piles on top of the lettuce in the bowl, then scatter the cilantro and mint on top, along with the peanuts. Once it all gets stirred together in the bowl as you eat there is no difference in the eating experience.

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.

Hanging In There

Why on earth did I decide to try to post everyday during the month of January? I must have been feeling New Years euphoria or something. It gets harder as the month passes. All the 'extra' posts that I had photos for have been used up. So have some of the 'things about me you might want to know', although we still may go there. Curiosity about others never seems to wane. I do have something yummy for today and (I think) tomorrow, but we may get to parlor games by the end of the month. Still, as anyone who knows me can testify, I am super stubborn, so now that I've started I'm determined to finish.

Do you have any challenges you set for yourself that you later questioned your own sanity for making?

So, slightly insane, today's goodies are ones that I had been meaning to make before Christmas as a surprise Christmas gift for Sweetie. He always buys the things he wants when he sees them so it is difficult to find a gift he both needs and wants. That leaves unneeded and/or unwanted. Given that we overindulged over the holidays this probably qualifies on both counts, but we each stopped ourselves after a small taste. The rest will probably be given away to some lucky fire fighter, mail person or librarian.

The recipe I adapted this from used additional toppings I didn't have on hand when I finally made this a few days ago. No peanut butter cup candy, not Reese pieces or peanut M&Ms, but honestly it wasn't needed. Since the peanuts I used were unsalted, I did sprinkle on a bit of sea salt and I'm glad I did, but if you use the honey roasted or even salted peanuts you can follow the recipe...or not. It is fun to mix your own combination and if you use good quality chocolate almost anything you like will taste good this way.


Peanut Toffee Bark Candy
Makes about 2 pounds or 30 two-inch pieces
• PREP: 20 minutes
• TOTAL: 50 minutes
Recipe adapted from one of the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, October 2010

Ingredients

• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate chips
• 3 1.4-ounce Skor or Heath toffee candy bars, cut into irregular 3/4-inch pieces or 10 oz. toffee candy pieces (I used the Heath bar pieces from a bag)
• 8 0.55-ounce peanut butter cups, each cut into 8 wedges
• 1/4 cup honey-roasted or regular roasted peanuts
• 3 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), chopped

Preparation
• Line baking sheet with foil. Stir chocolate chips in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and warm (not hot) to touch. Pour chocolate onto foil; spread to 1/4-inch thickness (about 12x10-inch rectangle). Sprinkle with toffee candy or pieces, peanut butter cups, and nuts, making sure all pieces touch melted chocolate to adhere.

• Put white chocolate in heavy small saucepan. Stir constantly over very low heat until chocolate is melted and warm (not hot) to touch. Remove from heat. Dip spoon into chocolate; wave from side to side over bark, creating zigzag lines. Scatter Reese's Pieces and M&M's over, making sure candy touches melted chocolate.

• Chill bark until firm, 30 minutes. Slide foil with candy onto work surface; peel off foil. Cut bark into irregular pieces.


Elle's note: I only made 6 oz. of chocolate (Scharffenbergers instead of chocolate chips, with a few drops of vegetable oil added) worth of this, scaling down the ingredients to fit. Left out the peanut butter cups, used unsalted peanuts instead of honey roasted, but sprinkled on some sea salt after the peanuts were added.)

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?

Feelin' Nutty

When I was asked by our good friends in Healdsburg to bring some noshes for our picnic today, including 'finger food' dessert, I knew just the thing to make. While drooling over many recipes in Dorie Greenspan's Baking; from my home to yours (sorry about the ruined pages Natasha, but you chose well!), The Peanuttiest Blondies caught my eye. Full of both peanut butter and chopped peanuts, plus chocolate chips, what better cookies for a picnic?

As I was lining up the ingredients, I mentioned to Sweetie that I was making peanut butter blondies. He asked if I could make brownies instead. Since I already had a powerful urge to make these cookies, I decided to add some cocoa powder and brownie them up a bit. Worked like a charm!

These bar cookies are thick, have a nice bit of crust on top, a moist and dense interior, full of chopped peanuts, chocolate chips, and a flavor similar to peanut butter cups. The chocolate flavor is not too intense. At the picnic none of us could stop at just one brownie, either, so you know these are well worth making. They are easy, too. The hardest part is chopping the peanuts, so you know you can do it, right?

With spring officially here, add these to your picnic basket or lunch box...you'll be glad you did.

Peanuttiest Brownies
makes 16 brownies

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cocoa powder
½ cup peanut butter – crunchy or creamy,
but not natural
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp.
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon brewed coffee, cooled (optional)
1 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
1 cup chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate
(I combined ½ cup semisweet chips and ½ cup milk chocolate/caramel swirl chips)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lina a 9-inch square pan with poil, butter the foil and put the pan on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the peanut butter and butter together on medium speed until smooth. Add both sugars and beat for 1-2 minutes, until well incorporated into the butter. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape beaters/paddle and bowl.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough; the dough will be thick. Add the peanuts and chocolate and give the mixer a few turns to stir them into the dough. If the chunky ingredients aren’t mixed in after a few seconds, just finish the job with a sturdy spatula – don’t over mix the dough. Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and level it.

Bake the brownies for 40-50 minutes or until the top is dry looking and a thin knife (or toothpick) inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature.

When it is completely cool, carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and turn them out onto a rack. Peel away the foil and invert onto a cutting board. Use a long knife (I used a serrated bread knife) to cut into 16 bars, each roughly 2 ¼ inches on a side.

Serve plain or with ice cream. Great with milk, hot chocolate, coffee and tea.

Wrapped well, these brownies will keep for about 3 days at room temperature or for up to 2 months in the freezer…that is if you can resist eating them all as soon as they are cool enough to cut.