Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

We had some homemade gnocchi in the freezer, and I found this recipe for gnocchi with zucchini, yellow summer squash, and tomatoes in one of my old Everyday Food magazines.  It looked just right for this week.

I had read somewhere that you could freeze uncooked gnocchi.  At first I thought it wasn't turning out well, some of them seemed to be falling apart.  But in the end I think they turned out well and it is worth making a large batch of gnocchi to freeze half for another time. 

Gnocchi can be found frozen and sometimes even dried I think, but these vegetables would be good just tossed with some pasta as well. 

Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables Recipe

adapted from Martha Stewart

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 summer squash, quartered and sliced (or 2 of either squash)
1 garlic clove, minced

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
gnocchi (I had about 3 cups frozen)
fresh basil, chopped chiffonade
grated Pecorino Romano, or parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper 

 In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add squash and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until juicy, about 2 minutes.

 Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi. Reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid, drain gnocchi and transfer to skillet. Toss gnocchi with vegetables.  Remove from heat and stir in basil, butter, and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper if needed (my gnocchi was salty enough from the boiling water).  If you want it to be more saucy add some of the reserved cooking liquid. Grate some fresh cheese on top. Serve

Roasted Fall Vegetables --Two ways

In Radical Homemakers the author mentions an essential skill for modern homemakers as "rediscovering the taste of real food." It's an interesting notion to think about.  The prepared foods these days are full of salt sugar and artificial flavorings.  In essence we forget what real food is supposed to taste like.

I suggested a recipe to my sister the other day for roasted fall vegetables.  She told me afterwards that after a few bites she and her husband said to each other, "Meh, it's OK. . ."

But then she said as they continued eating they actually ended up thinking they liked it quite a bit more--they just needed time to get used to the flavors and have them meld in their mouths a bit more. 

We had the roasted vegetables on top of spinach with crumbled goat cheese on top.  Soo delicious--but different.  It doesn't taste like frozen lasagna.  The flavors are mellow and subtle.  You do have to get used to them, introduce yourself to real flavors that occur in nature, and get over a dependence on so much salt.

I'll admit that part of the reason I like real food is because I like the taste, and part of the reason is because I value real food and so I get a satisfaction from eating it that isn't related to taste.  It's a feeling of virtue for eating something I know is so good for me, and it's a feeling of well-being that comes because I (at least in that meal) am living life according to my ideals.

In some real food- taste trumps virtue, but in other foods I still rely heavily on the fact that I know the food is good for me to get me to muscle through the taste. 
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The next day we ate the roasted vegetables on pizza.  Our kids will eat anything when it's on pizza.  Pizza is a comfort food.  It can be a nice gateway to real foods (or it can be some of the poorest excuses for food you put in your body--but it's your choice). 

So here is Real Food Friday--it's an invitation, but it's also a challenge.  Get outside your comfort zone, make some food--real food.  It's satisfying to make and healthy to eat. 

Here is my contribution-- one last variation we didn't get to is puree-ing the vegetables with some lemon juice --and chicken stock if you like it thinner-- making it a roasted vegetable soup. 

Roasted Fall Vegetables:
1 lb butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound red potatoes scrubbed, and quartered
2 small red onions peeled and quartered
1/2 pound carrots halved lengthwise and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 sprig rosemary
salt and pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 450*  Pile vegetables on a large sheet pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Add garlic and rosemary to pan.  Roast until vegetables are tender and starting to brown, 40-50 minutes, tossing the vegetables halfway through.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

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Coconut Shrimp with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Coconut Shrimp with Peanut Dipping Sauce
Recipe: Alton Brown, Food Network

Ingredients

24 large (15 to 20 count) shrimp, peeled, deviened, and butterflied (We actually used a 1 lb 40-50 count bag)
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 egg whites
2 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, or 2 1/2 cups shredded fresh coconut
Canola or peanut oil, for frying

Directions

Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel. In a small bowl combine cornstarch, salt, pepper, and cayenne. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy. In another bowl, place the coconut. Coat the shrimp with the cornstarch and shake off any excess. Dip into the egg white and then press into the coconut to get full coverage. Try to keep 1 hand dry, this will keep things a little cleaner.

In a large pan, heat the oil to 350 degrees F and gently submerge the shrimp, 6 at a time. Fry for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove them to a rack to drain.

They were delicious! Owen Loved them. Jonas picked off all the coconut and ate it, and then ate the shrimp separately. I don't know what that's all about.

We served them with the peanut dipping sauce and brown rice.

Peanut Sauce:
1/4 cup chicken stock
3 ounces unsweetened coconut milk
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce or 2 to 3 anchovies, ground
1 tablespoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a food processor, puree the chicken stock, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce, chopped garlic, and ginger. Add the peanut butter and pulse to combine. Fold in the cilantro and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Bring sauce to room temperature and serve with coconut shrimp.

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms and Asparagus

One of my favorite things about this time of year is delicious fall food! After getting married and feeling more responsible for making healthful nutritious food than I had during singledom, I decided I needed to pay more attention to seasonal produce. Now the point is, nowadays you can get most produce year-round, but it make sense to me that produce would be at it's peak of flavor, and perhaps nutrition, at the time of year that it naturally grows as opposed to when it's growth is forced out of season. Whether or not that is true, here is what definitely is true: Produce is cheapest when it is in season. So I began to explore, and butternut squash jumped out at me!

There's something about butternut squash that makes me want to eat it. Maybe it's the nice shape and pink color of it's skin. Maybe it's the bright orange color of it's flesh. The flavor of butternut is mild, yet sweeter than pumpkin, and it is creamier than pumpkin--not so stringy. The following is a recipe I found that first fall. We loved it and have returned to it every fall since.

Pasta with Butternut Squash, Mushrooms, and Asparagus

3 C sliced shiitake or chanterelle mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T snipped fresh rosemary
1 T olive oil
1/3 C dry white wine
1/3 C broth
1/3 C heavy cream
¼ t. salt
8 ounces bow tie pasta
1 pound butternut squash, cut into ½- inch pieces (about 2 C.)
8 ounces asparagus, cut in 2-inch pieces (about 1 ½ C.)
1/3 C shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet cook and stir mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary in olive oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender. Stir in wine, broth, cream and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, about 4 minutes, or until sauce is the consistency of light cream and is reduced to 1 ½ C.

Meanwhile, in a large pot cook pasta according to package directions, adding the squash during the last 7 minutes of cooking, and adding the asparagus during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain, and return to warm pot. Add sauce and Parmesan cheese; toss to coat. Serves: 8

*You can see in my picture--we were a little low on "bow ties," so I mixed in some "spirals." If you want to substitute the white wine you may use broth. Look at how good this dish is to look at! Great color. By the way, this was also the first recipe that really helped me start enjoying mushrooms, another yummy fall treat.