Curried Kabocha Squash Soup

Currently on a season of night shifts, so dinner is my new breakfast. Hearty winter soup seems to fit that awkward role well. I don’t know how I lived before my Vitamix. For my birthday this year, Mom and Dad Ellis gifted the majestic machine that I do caress and canoodle like a new lover. Oh Vitamix, I love you. Be my valentine. Rather, blend my valentine into a smooth, creamy pulp—because that is what you’ve done to my heart for vegetables. I may live three years longer than I else would have pre-Vitamix now that it has made palatable a cornucopia of previously forbidden fruits and vegetables.

Curried Kabocha Squash Soup

Adapted from Food and Wine

1 kabocha squash peeled, deseeded, and cubed

2 large shallots, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbsp olive oil

kosher salt

1 tbsp hot chili powder

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp of crushed red pepper

4 cups chicken stock

3 cups water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup of heavy cream

1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce

parsley or cilantro to top (optional)

Heat the oil until shimmering. Add the shallot and garlic and a pinch of salt and sauté several minutes until translucent and fragrant. Add the squash, the chili, cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper. Stir and cook for a minute or two. Add the stock, water, lemon, and cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook about 20 minutes or until the squash is completely soft.

Puree with an immersion blender or in a stand blender. Once completely smooth, add the cream. Season to taste with the fish sauce. Garnish with cilantro or parsley. Enjoy! And THANK YOU Mom and Dad for the Wonderful Gift!

I’m not sure that what I made is actually kabocha squash soup, and that is because I was not entirely sure what a kabocha squash was, and at the trendy health food co-op, I was too embarrassed to admit foodie ignorance, so I just picked the squash that most looked to me like something named kabocha. I’m pretty sure it was an acorn squash, but I actively denied that suspicion long enough to get the thing into the soup broth. It really makes no difference, this soup tasted great, and probably would taste great with whatever squash-like product you happen to have available. Very spicy. Perfect for breakfast and a midnight lunch on labor and delivery.

North Woods Muffins

Something about working in OBGYN has me in the mood for muffins. I’m going to do a series here of my favorite muffins as I finish up my last week on the clerkship.

I made these North Woods Muffins because I wanted to feel greater solidarity with the hearty folk of the Boundary Waters, even though I have yet to get up there with our canoe. These muffins should be taken on a snowshoeing picnic, stuffed into red flannel or fur, and pushed past chapped, cold lips. These muffins have no place in the chi chi bistros of California or France. They are meant to be shared with caribou and moose, on hikes across frozen water–munched among quiet, snow-heavy branches.

North Woods Muffins

Adapted from Penzey’s Spices Catalogue

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp grated orange peel

2 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

¼ cup butter, melted

1 cup wild rice, cooked (I used Minnesota Wild Rice)

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup cranberries

Directions:

In a large bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, stir to combine.

In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and butter. Add the flour mixture and stir until moistened. Gently fold in rice, blueberries, and cranberries.

Fill a greased or paper lined muffin cup 2/3 full. Place in a 375 degree oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes than remove and place on a wire rack to continue cooling. Store in refrigerator. Enjoy with you favorite moose.

Piccia Calabrese as Italian Teratoma

The teratoma is the funfetti of all tumors. Just so, the Piccia Calabrese is the teratoma, or funfetti, of all breads. Every Italian ingredient has found its way into this recipe. The bread is a random accumulation of things that don’t seem to quite go together. Molars, hair, nose cartilage, nerve ganglions; Mushrooms, pickles, tomatoes…and yet, unlike for a teratoma, for a slice of Calabrian bread, one needs no surgery. Just an appetite. Perhaps a spirit of adventure.

Piccia Calabrese

(Calabrian Bread)

Adapted from The Italian Baker

Make Biga night before:

2 ½ cups flour

¼ cup sourdough starter

1 cup water

Let rise, covered in bowl

To the biga, the next day, add:

½ cup sourdough starter

½ cup warm water

2 tb olive oil

2 tb Sliced mushrooms, sauted in 1 tbsp olive oil

3 tb diced canned tomatoes with juices

1-2 sm Anchovy fillets; boned and chopped

1 tb Capers; drained and chopped

¼ red onion; chopped and sauted with mushroom

3 gherkin pickles; chopped

2 Roasted red peppers; chopped

1 tb Dried oregano

2 1/4 c All-purpose flour

1 ts Salt

Refrigerate the Biga until cold. Stir the starter into the water in a bowl. Saute the mushrooms and chopped onion briefly in the oil and let cool. Roughly chop the tomato, anchovy, capers, artichoke, pickles, and red peppers. Add to the starter and biga. Mix the oregano, flour, salt and slowly add to the dough. Finish kneading by hand on a well-floured surface, sprinkling with 1/2 to 2/3 cup additional flour as needed, until elastic, moist, and velvety.

First Rise: Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Shaping and Second Rise: Shape the dough on a floured surface into 1 large or 2 smaller round loaves by rolling the dough first into a taut log, then shaping it into a round loaf. The dough will be slightly sticky; sprinkle the dough and the work surface with flour while shaping it. Place each loaf on a peel sprinkled with cornmeal, cover with a slightly dampened towel, and let rise until doubled, about 50 minutes.

Baking: Thirty minutes before baking, heat the oven with baking stones in it to 425F. Just before baking, cut an even slash around the shoulder of the loaf or 3 slashes across the top with a razor. Sprinkle the stones with cornmeal and slide the loaves onto the stones. bake, spraying 3 times with water in the first 10 minutes, for 45 minutes. Cool on racks.

I was surprised how much I liked this bread. Great crust–be sure to spray with water three times in the first ten minutes in the oven. Was super skeptical when I read over the list of ingredients, but amazingly, the odds and ends all blend into a rich and flavorful loaf. One bite tastes like several courses of an exquisite Italian meal. While eating, be sure to completely forget I said anything about teratomas. I just saw one the other day and it scarred me. Yeesh. Molars and hair tucked inside an ovarian tumor. Yeesh. Say a blessing over thine gonads while kneading.

Pane Genzano

A simple thought to accompany a simple bread—recently I have entertained the notion that aging—life—is all an unfolding. That is, as babies, we emerge into the world tucked and wrinkled like the pages of well-worn, well-loved books crumpled into paper balls. Then, if all goes well, instead of grow, we merely unfold. And if we’re lucky, we are read.

Pane Genzano

Adapted from the Italian Baker

3 Cups All purpose Flour

3/4 Cup whole wheat pastry flour.

1 2/3 Cups Spring Water

½ cup sourdough starter

½ bran

2 teaspoons Salt

Mix together the starter, water, flours, and at the end of stirring/kneading for 5-6 minutes, the salt. The dough should stay wet giving it a unique taste and color. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover and allow to rise for 3-5 hours until tripled. Oil a pie tin with slanted edges and sprinkle down a layer of ¼ cup bran. Pour the wet dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a loose boule. Pat the other ¼ cup bran over the round and place it in the pie tin.

Allow to rise for 2 hours or so, until the bread has expanded to fill the edges of the tin and is a little “jiggly.” After the second rising has completed, place in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for around 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

Like I said, this bread is simple and delicious. The bran makes it nutty. It can be enjoyed by itself or toasted, topped with cheese, and dipped in a winter soup—an entity which Punxatawney Phil, that punk, assures us plenty more to come. I could have told you that without a shadow or a hog hole. Because this winter has been a giant shadow, a giant hog hole.

Possibly All My Cheese and Pancetta Pie

If one chooses to increase her atherosclerosis risk factors during the traditional Superbowl binge, let it not be with godawful Doritos and tired-old chip dips. Saturated fat, as a “sometimes food,” should be done right. For this year’s Game Day, I made a list of all of my favorite foods that contain shameful amounts of saturated fat: butter, pancetta, Gouda, Parmesan cheese, half and half, eggs, love—and with mischief and delight mixed them all into a quiche-like slurry. If we’re going for the heart attack ticket-to-heaven—let’s go first class, shall we?

Possibly All My Cheese and Pancetta Pie

Loosely based on Cook’s Country recipe Feb/March 2013

1 tbsp butter to grease the dish

3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

4 oz sliced Pancetta, cooked until just brown

4 scallions, minced

4 oz Vincent Aged Gouda from Frieslandcampina, Holland, grated

4-5 oz combo of grated Parmegiano Reggiano, Asiago, and some other mystery fancy cheese I could not identify

½ cup flour

¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp pepper

¼ tsp salt

1 cup half and half

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1. Adjust oven rack to a low position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch pie plate with butter, then coat plate evenly with Parmesan cheese.

2. Combine all the cheeses, ham, and scallions. Sprinkle the mixture evenly on the bottom of the pie plate.

Combine flour, baking powder, pepper, and salt in the now-empty bowl. Whisk in eggs, half and half, mustard, and nutmeg until smooth. Slowly pour batter over the ham and cheese mixture in the pie dish.

3. Bake until pie is a light golden color and filling is set, 30-35 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing in.

The original recipe I found called for 8 oz Gruyere, which I’m sure would be delicious as well, but being a grad student, 15-dollars-worth of cheese effectively “totals” the economy of cooking at home. So instead I went to the fridge and shredded all the spare nubs of the fanciest cheeses I already had—a gouda, parmegiano, asiago, and some curious white mystery cheese—possibly Pecorino Romano. All this to say, this quiche or strata-like pie would probably taste amazing with any kind of cheese. Also, the original recipe called for deli ham with extra butter, which I condensed into a solitary addition of pancetta. Marvelous. Love that you don’t have to bother with making a crust, nor with Bisquick.

Here’s looking forward to some Hail Marys and high fives this afternoon. Go Seahawks. Izzy is a little disappointed because she thought the Super Bowl referred to her food dish, and a super-sized meal today. No, Izzy. Just a Seahawks hat and scarf—and whatever pieces of pancetta fall on the floor.

Gourmet Tubal Ligation and Cheese

I made this macaroni dish back in September, it must have been, and I completely forgot to post on it until today—when a postpartum tubal ligation reminded me. Fun fact, when you get your tubes tied, the little piece of fallopian tube that gets snipped out looks EXACTLY like a piece of macaroni. Except it’s pink.

Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted from HyVee

1 pound elbow macaroni

6 slices hickory-smoked bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

6 tbsp unsalted butter, divided

1 c. plain panko bread crumbs

5 tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 1/2 c. 2% milk, at room temperature

1 c. 33%-less-sodium chicken broth

4 c. (16 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar cheese, divided

1 1/2 c. (6 ounces) shredded Gruyere, divided

1 c. (4 ounces) shredded fontina cheese

1/2 c. (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Cook macaroni until pasta is still firm on the inside, about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water; set aside. In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook bacon just until done, avoiding overbrowning; drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Stir in bread crumbs and cooked bacon pieces; set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart baking dish; set aside.

In a large saucepan melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour, salt, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and black pepper until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk and chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to bubble and thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat. Whisk in 3 cups white cheddar, 1 cup Gruyere, fontina and Parmesan. Stir together cheese sauce and macaroni; pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheddar and 1/2 cup Gruyere. Top with buttered breadcrumbs and bacon.

Bake until well browned on top, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Although it has been ages since I last had this dish, I do believe it was flavorful. Wish I had it now, after a long full day on labor and delivery. You’ll never believe this, but when I got home just now, Izzy told me she had been practicing her subcuticular stitches and hoped I would let her scrub in on the cesarean I’ve got first thing in the morning.

I told her she needs to build her resume first with volunteering, maybe as a therapy pet.

Then she told me nevermind about the surgery. She never really cared about that, anyways. All along she had hoped to sneak off to the cafeteria to shadow the lunch ladies.

I said, Perfect, my dear. You’ve got to do what makes your heart sing.

Happy Birthday to Me Coffee Cake

To quote from Rafa Nadal’s Australian Open concession speech yesterday, “You make feel [me] like home.” Thanks to all the family and friends whose cards, gifts and calls have warmed my heart which would otherwise be frozen by the current Minnesota climate colder than Mars. In particular, I want to thank Izzy for not eating the breakfast in bed KP prepared for me this morning. She made quite a puddle of drool, inched as close as she could get to the sweet smells, but never gave in to temptation.

Made this coffee cake to bring to our dinner club last night. New Years resolutions having the half lives they do, still at potent, therapeutic levels here in January, we took more than half of the cake home to enjoy for my birthday breakfast.

Basic Coffee Cake

INGREDIENTS

Streusel

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (3 3/4 ounces)

3/4 cup granulated sugar (5 1/4 ounces)

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons unsalted butter , cold, cut into 2 pieces

1 cup pecans , chopped

Cake

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 tablespoons softened butter for greasing pan

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (11 1/2 ounces)

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (8 3/4 ounces)

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon table salt

1. For the streusel: In food processor, process flour, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, and cinnamon until combined, about 15 seconds. Transfer 1 1/4 cups of flour/sugar mixture to small bowl; stir in remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar and set aside to use for streusel filling. Add butter and pecans to mixture in food processor; pulse until nuts and butter resemble small pebbly pieces, about ten 1-second pulses. Set aside to use as streusel topping.

2. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 10-inch tube pan with 2 tablespoons softened butter. Whisk eggs, 1 cup sour cream, and vanilla in medium bowl until combined.

3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl of standing mixer; mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add butter and remaining 1/2 cup sour cream; mix on low speed until dry ingredients are moistened and mixture resembles wet sand, with few large butter pieces remaining, about 1 1/2 minutes. Increase to medium speed and beat until batter comes together, about 10 seconds; scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Lower speed to medium-low and gradually add egg mixture in 3 additions, beating for 20 seconds after each and scraping down sides of bowl. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until batter is light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

4. Using rubber spatula, spread 2 cups batter in bottom of prepared pan, smoothing surface. Sprinkle evenly with 3/4 cup streusel filling (without butter or nuts). Repeat with another 2 cups batter and remaining 3/4 cup streusel filling (without butter or nuts). Spread remaining batter over, then sprinkle with streusel topping (with butter and nuts).

5. Bake until cake feels firm to touch and long toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean (bits of sugar from streusel may cling to tester), 50 to 60 minutes. Cool cake in pan on wire rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto rimmed baking sheet (cake will be streusel-side down); remove tube pan, place wire rack on top of cake, and reinvert cake streusel-side up. Cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Cut into wedges and serve. (Cake can be wrapped in foil and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.)

Such a good girl. In one month it will be Izzy’s fifth birthday, and she’ll get her turn for breakfast in bed.

Cauliflower and Cumin Fritters with Lime Sauce

Good morning. Stop Everything. Whatever you were up to in the kitchen, cereal, oatmeal, eggs, bacon, what have you—just stop. Find the almost-molding cauliflower head calling for help from the back of your fridge. She wants to be a breakfast fritter. Make her vegetable dream come true.

Cauliflower and Cumin Fritters with Lime Sauce

Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, Jerusalem (which I desperately want on my shelf after having tried these tasty fritters)

Lime sauce:

1 1/3 cups Greek yogurt

2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

grated zest of 1 lime

2 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fritters:

1 small cauliflower

scant 1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus a few extra leaves for garnish

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 shallots, finely chopped

4 eggs

1½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground turmeric

1½ tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups EV olive oil for frying

To make the sauce, put all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Taste—looking for a vibrant, tart, citrusy flavor—and adjust the seasoning. Chill or leave out for up to an hour. I made half of the recipe, and used EVOO-based mayonnaise because I didn’t have any plain yogurt (ahem, because someone in the post office stole my yogurt machine, methinks).

To prepare the cauliflower, trim off any leaves and use a small knife to divide the cauliflower into little florets. Add them to a large pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 15 minutes, until very soft. Drain into a colander.

While the cauliflower is cooking, put the flour, chopped parsley, garlic, shallots, eggs, spices, salt, and pepper in a bowl and whisk together well to make a batter. When the mixture is smooth and homogenous, add the warm cauliflower. Mix to break down the cauliflower into the batter.

Pour the oil into a wide pan to a depth of ¼ inch and place over moderate heat. When it is very hot, carefully spoon in generous portions of the cauliflower mixture, 3 tablespoons per fritter. Take care with the hot oil! Space the fritters apart with a slotted spoon, making sure they are not overcrowded. Fry in small batches, controlling the oil temperature so the fritters cook but don’t burn. They should take 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

Remove from the pan and drain well on a few layers of paper towels. Serve with the sauce on the side.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but the cauliflower tasted just like fish in the context of the shallots and spice. These are as good as, if not better than, the salmon cakes I made a few weeks ago.

Speaking of fritters, as a verb now, got this hat yesterday from Mom for my birthday. Nothing like an iridescent crustacean on your head to kick off the last year of your twenties.

Thai Coconut Shrimp

Oh, the Polar Vortex. I feel like Scrat from Ice Age. I wish the ice would crack beneath me so that I may travel in a bug-eyed freefall to the other side of the earth, clutching an acorn, or in my case, maybe a loaf of bread. The equator would be a nice alternative to Minnesota, today. Our high will be -3. When it gets really cold like this, I resort to making spicy food—tropical dishes. This one I sought out from Thailand. The bright colors alone temporarily converted my current igloo dwelling into a grass hut on the beach.

Thai Coconut Shrimp

1 c. brown rice

2 c. water

1 tbsp sunflower oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tbsp grated fresh gingerroot

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 serrano pepper, stemmed and minced (seeds removed for mildness or left in for heat)

4 tsp curry powder (which I made from scratch using 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp turmeric and a pinch of cardamom and nutmeg)

1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 1/2 c. vegetable stock

3/4 c. coconut milk

1 pound (16- to 20-ct) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1/2 c. frozen sweet peas

Fresh cilantro, for topping

Prepare rice according to package directions using 2 cups water.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook about 3 minutes or until it begins to soften. Stir in gingerroot, garlic and serrano pepper; cook and stir for 1 minute.

Add curry powder; cook and stir 30 seconds. Stir in sweet potato cubes, vegetable stock and coconut milk; bring to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 10 minutes.

Stir in shrimp; cook, uncovered, for about 3 to 4 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Stir in red pepper strips and peas.

To serve, heat through. Serve curry over rice. Garnish with cilantro.

To freeze for later, remove curry mixture from heat; cool rice and curry mixture. Pour into separate freezer bags. Seal, label and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw curry and rice in refrigerator for 24 to 36 hours. Reheat curry in a large skillet and rice, covered, in a microwave-safe bowl. Serve as above.

I suggest putting on a bikini, steaming up the bathroom with a running shower for 30 minutes, and then sitting in the bathtub with this dish and a drink with an umbrella (even if you go for a glass of milk–the umbrella and a margherita glass can still work the placebo magic.) Be sure to wash your hands after touching the serrano pepper (obviously). I totally forgot and later, while enjoying a bowl of this delicious dinner and watching a movie on the couch next to KP, scratched my eye and then rubbed my nose—setting both on fire. Which, admittedly, is preferable to numb.