Pesto Paparadelle With Cayenne Butternut Squash

'Tis the season for butternut squash!

What is your favorite pasta? Mine has to be paradelle. It's a large, broad, and flat noodle. I love the noodles that flops over your fork, yet fat enough that it gives a certain satisfying kind of mouthfeel. ("mouthfeel" = a physical and chemical reaction in the mouth that occurs from the initial perception on the palate to the first bite. In more simple terms, the "texture". Have definitely been watching too much Australia's Master Chef, which by the way, is ten times better than the American or Canadian version). I think the thickness of the noodle also allows more of the sauce to hang on to it, giving each bite just that much more flavour.

Anyway, before I go off on a tangent into la la food dreamland, (as I've been doing way too often already), this is how I made this delicious, yet simple pasta.

I have to say that this Fall, one of the biggest and bestest time saver (and yes, I know bestest is not a word), is freezing premade pesto cubes. My dad had grown an abundance of herbs, including copious amounts of basil, so the only natural thing to do to save them, was to make homemade pesto and freeze them in ice cube trays.

Blend together in a blender :

2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 minced garlic
1/3 cup parmesan-reggiano cheese

These are approx. measurements as we usually just dump in whatever we have. Freeze them into cubes, and then pop them all into a clean bag. So whenever I'm feeling lazy, I'll boil up some pasta and mix in a couple cubes of pesto. Add salt and pepper to taste. It's so, so good.

I did exactly that with this recipe. Boiled the pasta and added the frozen cube pesto. Then, I roasted some butternut squash to go on top. Recipe from Rachel Ray.

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
oil to coat
salt and pepper
1/8 cinnamon
1/8 cayenne pepper

Mix all above and roast for 20-25 mins under 425C.

I'll have to admit that they both taste amazing separately. But I wasn't so big on the cinnamon Fall flavour pairing with pesto. I would definitely make these two again but for separate dishes. Perhaps some roasted tomatoes or garlic-sauteed tomatoes with some chicken on top of the pesto, and the butternut squash dish as a side with other Fall vegetables. Definitely adding to my "easy, no fuss" repetoire though.

Pear and Pistachio Crumble

I searched high and low for a Fall dessert. Something warm and cozy. And of course, above all, (as mentioned over and over again in this blog), easy. And this is it.

I made this for our family Thanksgiving dinner. A perfect ending to the coma-inducing turkey feast. It was crazy good... almost soothing. The pears held its natural sweet flavour with nothing much mixed to it except for a little cinnamon to add that bit of "Fall" to them. It was an absolute perfect match with the pistachios in the crumble, adding some buttery nut richness to the dessert. Took it out of the oven, and top it with a scoop of Hagen Dazs vanilla bean ice cream. (Spend the extra couple dollars for a quality ice cream! you won't regret it. Quality = understanding all ingredients listed in the ingredient list). This is definitely going in on my permanent, must-make-again list. If I were to make any adjustment to the recipe, I'd probably add just a tad more pistachios. Make it 3/4 cups.

Adapted from weelicious.com :

Ingredients

5 pears, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp- 1 tbsp lemon juice (I used 1 tbsp. just b/c I like the acid. But wasn't very apparent in the final product)
1 c. old fashioned oats
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine pears and cinnamon and toss with lemon juice.
3. In separate bowl, whisk together oats, flour, brown sugar and salt.
4. Working with fingers, crumble butter into flour mixture until combined and about the size of peas. Mix in the pistachios and set aside.
5. Pour the pears into greased baking dish and cover with the oat mixture.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Pear Tart

Fall and Winter months means spending more time on baking. When it's cooler outside, all I want to do is fire up the oven, bake up a storm, and wait for the heavenly aromas to fill the air. Perfect pairing with a cup of tea. I love summer, but I've also been looking forward to whipping out my scarf collection and changing up my wardrobe to cozy sweaters. Watching the leaves on the trees change to gorgeous orange and red hues is also on my Fall favorites list. Along with baking. 

I love cooked (poached or baked) pears. With the crazy number of hours I spend looking up and studying recipes, (trust me... it's probably my biggest time waster), I've come to find a whole lot of pastry recipes that require way too many techniques, steps, and wait-time. As much as I'd love to learn those things too, for the most part, I simply don't have the time. Easy, simple and tasty are the recipes I love to collect. 

Will post the recipe up later. Just about to run out the door for an afternoon coffee with dad. See, I simply don't have the time!

Edited to include recipe : 

Adapted from Real Simple magazine :

Ingredients

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the pan, at room temp

1 c. AP flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 c. sugar, plus 1 1/2 tbsp 

1 large egg

2 to 3 bosc pears, peeled, halved and cored ( can use canned)

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 c. apricot preserve

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

whipped cream (optional)

Preparation 

1. Heat oven to 350F

2. Butter a 14-inch rectangular tart pan and set aside.

3. Combine the flour and baking powder in medium bowl and set aside.

4. Using electric mixer, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar at high speed in a large bowl. Lower speed to medium, add egg, and beat until incorporated. Gradually add flour mixture until fully incorporated. Dough will be soft.

5. Push dough into pan with floured fingers to form even crust. Arrange pear halves, top to bottom, cut-side down. Sprinkle with cinnamon and remaining sugar. Bake until crust is golden brown (45 minutes).

6. Heat apricot jam and lemon juice in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and brush gently over cooled tart. 

(Tart can be prepared and stored at room temp, loosely covered with foil, up to 1 day in advance.)

Salmon with Sundried Tomatoes

Everyone enjoyed it when I brought it over for a dinner party one summer. Salmon makes a great entree for the summer. Especially with a delicious and light topping. Of course, I can enjoy it just as much in the winter so I was craving it the other day. I haven't made it since that summer party but the ingredients are so simple and easy, I have no problems remembering it and duplicating it once more. This was given to me by my lovely coworker, Deanna. (Actually, she's probably one of my biggest source to developing my repetoire).

Mind you, I was never a big fan of sundried tomatoes. I'd eat it but I never loved it. I think with most tomato-based things, it has to be on the sweeter rather than sour side for me. (That's why I don't understand American ketchup!). And to me, not all sundried tomatoes I've tasted taste the same. But, Deanna gave me the great tip to using only the California Sun-Dry brand of sundried tomatoes. They're soaked with the right amount of herbs and has the perfect sweet and tanginess. You can get them in a big jar from Costco and it keeps for a while. Love!

Salmon with Sundried Tomatoes

chopped Califronia Sun-Dry sundried tomatoes
diced onions
chopped Parsley

Equal parts of each. Lay like a crust on top of salmon filet that is seasoned with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Need a better knife for finer chopping.



Lunch and snack.



Add some veggies. Yam and potatoes.

Turkey Zucchini Chili

Baby, it's cold outside...

And what better way to keep warm than a bowl of hot chili?

A bowl of chili always brings me back to the good ol' days in Victoria. It reminds me of my old roommate because she made it all the time. Maybe it wasn't all the time. But I enjoyed it so much that I wished it was all the time and when we did have it, I would sink into our cushy papasan chair with a bowl of it (usually on a cold winter night), and melt into bliss with each mouthful.

This recipe was adapted off of allrecipes.com. It is a recipe that calls for both canned and fresh ingredients. Although, I have to say it may not be my absolute favorite chili recipe due to the fact that in search for healthy recipes, there is an awful lot of canned goods used. To make up for it, it is also packed with a lot of fresh vegetables and was also checked to be weight watcher's friendly. Anyway, the most important part is, the flavour is absolutely amazing. It was a hit with my family. It is so simple to make. Even I was pretty pleased with myself for being to produce something that tastes that good. So, I just have to share.

Turkey Zucchini Chili

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey

1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (14.5 ounce) can beef broth

1 (7 ounce) can salsa

1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or coarsely chopped tomatoes packed in puree

1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, diced

3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble turkey into the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon to break apart. Season with taco seasoning mix, coriander, oregano, chili flakes, and tomato paste, and mix until meat is evenly coated with seasonings. Continue cooking, reducing heat if necessary, until turkey is well browned.

Pour in beef broth, and simmer to reduce liquid slightly, about 5 minutes. Add salsa, tomatoes, and green chilies, and continue cooking at a moderate simmer for ten minutes. Adjust the thickness at any time you feel necessary by adding water.

While chili is still cooking, heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion, zucchini and green bell pepper, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent and bell pepper is lightly browned. Add onion, bell pepper, and zucchini to the chili, and continue cooking at a very low simmer.

Done!


Here are the series of photos of the process :

Steamed Milk Pudding

Since the Christmas baking, I've been still fighting off the itch to work in the kitchen. As much as I want to fire up the heat and cook myself some steelhead trout paired with a braeburn apple and bulgur salad or something savoury of the like, I needed to make something that uses simple ingredients that I already have in my fridge. While I was brainstorming for recipe ideas, I was half listening to my dad's Chinese program on a cooking show. And on that particular segment, they were tasting some of Hong Kong's finest steamed milk pudding. Ah-ha!

I started my research of the simplest ingredients with the simplest instructions, also factoring all the health notes and picking something that asks for healthier if not ingredients, then measurements. (ie. 1 tbsp of sugar vs. 2 tbsps of sugar). And why I always look for something simple is, face it, I don't have a lot of time (and sometimes patience) to do fancy recipes over again. For me, this is sort of my journey to build up my repetoire. I want something I'd want to make again. So, if the time comes that I want to make steamed milk pudding again.... I will!

So here it is with a bit of my own variations :

Steamed Milk Pudding

2 eggs
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp honey

1. Beat eggs really well. (I was lazy the first time and did this half-assed, which left mini egg clumps in the pudding which I had to fish out. So beat it well. Some will choose to pour it through a sieve).
2. Warm up the milk in the microwave to approx. room temperature and add it to the eggs. Add sugar to warm mixture and mix well.
3. Pour pudding mixture into bowl and skim off any visible bubbles (or else it will leave holes on the top of your pudding).
4. Cover bowl with foil (this is also to prevent holes and leaving the surface of your pudding nice and smooth).
5. Steam for 10-12 minutes. Lifting lid to release steam every 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Serve warm drizzling a tiny amount of honey on top.

Ta da! Enjoy.

There's different variations to steam. In a wok, in a bamboo steamer... I just did it in a pot with a steaming rack inside.

The pudding came out super slippery and smooth. The texture was just right. By the third bowl, I added a tad bit more milk than the 1 cup and I think it came out even smoother. The 1 tbsp sugar didn't add very much sweetness at all to the pudding, but the honey on top was just enough.

This was absolutely delightful on a cold, winter night.



Here are some photos of the process :

Lemon Fresh

I made frosted lemon cookies to bring to my cousin's New Year's Eve party last night. You can definitely tell by the frosting job that they're home made. I made them a bit more "rustic". I couldn't find a microplane at the last minute, so I had to use a fork to zest a lemon for those sprinkles on top of the frosting. Zesting a lemon with a fork is no easy feat, I tell ya. Nonetheless, regardless of their appearance, they taste very lemony good. If I could throw in a cheesy metaphor, I'd hope that in this new year, any sourness (like the lemon) can be toned down and maybe even complimented with sweetness (like the icing). So, if you're given lemons, hey, make some frosted lemon cookies! These cake-like cookies come with a fresh citrus flavour and are so easy to make.

So here is the recipe (2009 Taste of Homes Best Loved Cookies & Bars cookbook) :

Frosted Lemon Cookies

Yield : About 3 dozens (so the book says. I got about 2 dozens... if that).

7 tbsps butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

ICING:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tbsps lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

• In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Combine honey, yogurt, lemon peel and lemon extract. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with honey mixture, beating after each addition.
• Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. (I used the all-handy parchment paper). Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (I found baking them any longer than 8 minutes would cause the bottom to go too brown). Remove to wire racks.
• In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Brush over the warm cookies; sprinkle with lemon peel. (I couldn't find a brush so I used the back of a spoon hence the uneven frosting).

Enjoy!