Spiced Squash

We are going to be eating a lot of squash this winter, because this simple side dish is addictive.

Start by warming a tablespoon of olive oil in a small heavy pan. Add 1 tbsp cumin seeds and 1/4 tsp (or more to taste) chile flakes. Warm until aromatic, then remove from the heat, add 1/2 tsp salt, and let rest while you prepare the squash.

Wash half a small pumpkin or acorn squash, or any kind of squash you like. Slice it in wedges about 3/4 of an inch thick.

Dip the two cut sides of each piece of squash into the oil, then place on a baking sheet. Pour any remaining oil (and all the spices) over the squash. Bake at 375°F 15-20 minutes until tender and lightly browned.

Serve the wedges hot or at room temperature. Diners can remove and discard the peel because while I'm pretty sure it's edible, it can be tough.

The flesh of the squash, however, will be spicy and delicious.

Food for the Week

I'm enjoying emptying our shopping bags onto the dinette and photographing our week's groceries.

Here's what we'll be eating this week:

4 shallots

3 onions

parsley

cilantro

chard

2 red peppers

1 1/2 lbs eggplant

kale

beets with greens

garlic

arugula

spinach

cucumber

lettuce

red onion

2 pomegranates

2 ambrosia melons

9 grapefruit

feta

black olives

eggs

8 assorted apples

14 small red potatoes

4 pears

1 quart and 4 cups plain yogurt

gingerroot

green beans

6 corn on the cob

2lbs dried white lima beans

coffee from Oaxaca

spring onions

16 oranges

(It's all from the Hollywood Farmers Market, and all organic except for the feta, olives and gingerroot. The lima beans are no-spray.)

Eggplant Pasta

Larry was out one evening last week, so I took the opportunity to indulge in arugula and eggplant.

Actually, I think he would have enjoyed this too.

I had leftover grilled eggplant, which I diced and stirred into some crumbled goat cheese. I cooked some penne, stirred in the eggplant goat cheese mixture, and then tossed in some chopped arugula. I covered the pot and let the residual heat cook the arugula and warm the eggplant.

A good grating of black pepper, and I had a simple feast.

Peperonata

The red peppers and tomatoes in the market are just beautiful at this time of year.

The other night I combined them in this simple, sweet side dish that perfectly complemented fried tofu, braised eggplant and coconut rice.

This recipe is also excellent in an omelet, or stirred into rice or pasta. It also makes a great topping for bruschetta.

Peperonata
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 red peppers, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup basil
2 tbsp parsley

Warm oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, red peppers and jalapeno. Cook briefly. Add wine and 1/2 tsp salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, another 10-15 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom.

Stir in the chopped basil and parsley. Add salt to taste, and heat through.

Eat hot, cold or anywhere in between.

Serves 4

Last of the peaches

Sadly the stone fruit season is coming to an end.

This was the last of the peaches, along with golden plums and a delicious pear.

Mmm, pears. I'm going to enjoy the fall fruit season.

The Week's Groceries

This is the organic produce we bought today at the Hollywood Farmers Market.

We ran out of eggs on Friday. Tragic. So we bought 2 dozen this week to make sure that doesn't happen again.

I have a meal plan for the week including a potato curry, mushroom barley risotto, and something excellent with fennel that I don't remember in this moment. The pumpkin and zucchini are extra vegetables to round out the week's meals.

10 small red potatoes
2 shallots
2 onions
celery
1orange pepper
5 fennel bulbs with fronds
3 small zucchini
1/2 cup cremini mushrooms
1 hand oyster mushrooms
3 shiitake mushrooms
1 pint cherry tomatoes
pistachios
3 golden plums
2 cantaloupes
radishes with leaves
7 empire apples
3 pears
6 cups and 1 quart plain yogurt
green olives
1 bunch arugula
3 cups mixed winter salad mix
3 grapefruit
2 dozen eggs
1 small pumpkin

Mmmm Tofu

Sometimes I get a craving for tofu. My local grocery store carries it, so I can easily pick some up on my way home.

And then it's quick to fry up for dinner.

Make sure the tofu you're buying is from organic soybeans, otherwise they are genetically modified. Tofu is a good source of calcium, helps alleviate menopausal symptoms and reduces the risk of cancer. It also helps lower bad cholesterol. Quite the excellent dinner food.

Here's how I cooked it the other night.

Fried Tofu
2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp roasted sesame oil
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp minced ginger root
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 lb firm tofu

Whisk together all ingredients except tofu to create a marinade.

Cut tofu in 1/2 inch slices.

Heat cast iron skillet. Add marinade, then tofu. Cook 5-10 minutes until the tofu is slightly browned. Flip the tofu and continue cooking another 10 minutes or so.

Serves 3-4

Leftovers are great. Just re-fry them, or eat them cold.

Greek Salad with Farro

This is a very untraditional Greek Salad. It has the requisite cucumber, olives, feta and tomatoes. But the foundation is farro -- an ancient form of hard wheat that cooks up similar to brown rice but with a firmer and nuttier texture.

It is full of fiber, magnesium and B vitamins, and its chewy texture is a good foil for the salad vegetables, and a solid counterbalance to the strong lemony-mustard dressing.

It made a wonderful dinner salad on a cooling summer evening.

Greek Salad with Farro
1 cup farro
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup packed parsley leaves
2 tsp fresh oregano leaves
2 tsp dijon mustard
4 oz spinach
1 cucumber
1/4 cup chopped red onion
8 kalamata olives, pitted
2 tbsp feta, diced or crumbled
1-2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

Cook the farro in 3 cups boiling water with 1/2 tsp salt until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

Purée the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, parsley, oregano and dijon in a blender or food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss the farro with most of the dressing.

Wash and stem the spinach and tear into bite-sized pieces. Peel the cucumber and cut it in quarters lengthwise. Cut out the seeds and membranes and discard. Chop the cucumber into bite-sized pieces.

Line a serving platter with the spinach. Pile the farro on top. Arrange the remaining ingredients decoratively on top. Sprinkle with the remaining dressing, or serve it on the side.

Serves 2-3

Groceries for the Week

Here is the beautiful organic produce we bought at the Hollywood Farmers Market yesterday:

1 red onion

3 yellow onions

baby spinach

cilantro

2 poblanos

5 ears corn

3 red peppers

2 orange peppers

3 granny smith apples

2 small pumpkins

2 mountain peaches

1 O'Henry peach

1 bunch arugula

1 bunch beets with tops

heirloom cherry tomatoes

lettuce

12 oranges

3 grapefruit

3 cremini mushrooms

1 dozen eggs

2 lb black beans

2 lb chickpeas

1 sweet potato

1 cantaloupe

1 quart and 5 cups plain yogurt

4 green plums

12 oz pistachios in the shell

3 bartlett pears

3 avocados

2 empire apples

2 summer elf (?) apples

Red Pepper and Lentil Soup

It's still hot during the day, but it's starting to cool off in the evenings. Last Sunday I made a lentil soup in the slow cooker that didn't heat up the kitchen, but warmed us up after dark.

I added a couple of the vibrant red peppers currently in season. Unfortunately they fade to brown when the soup is cooked, but they still add plenty of nutrients, including lycopene which helps prevent cancers of the lung and prostate. They've also been found to boost the metabolism, a boon to weight watchers everywhere.

I added chipotle chiles in adobo sauce to give the stew a smoky kick. Use less for a milder dish. For a different but good soup, throw in some diced fresh jalapenos or serranos when you sauté the red peppers. Or skip the chiles and stir a teaspoon of smoked paprika into the cooking peppers.

A bowl of this soup is a good light dinner. Serve it with a salad and some bread and cheese for a more substantial meal.

Red Pepper and Lentil Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion

6 cloves garlic

1 chipotle pepper in adobo

2 red peppers

1 cup brown lentils

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Dice onion and warm in oil until soft. Add chopped garlic and cook 1 minute. Chop the chipotle pepper, add to the pan, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Dice the red peppers and add them to the pan. Cook 3-5 minutes until beginning to soften.

Scrape into slow cooker. Add lentils and 5 cups water. Cover and cook on low 7-9 hours.

Add vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Serves 6.

Orange Spiced Rice

I picked a couple of oranges on my way in from the garden the other day, and used the rinds in this wonderful rice dish inspired by a recipe in Chris and Carolyn Caldicott's beautiful book World Food Café. The pictures in this book are of the people and lands they visited in Asia and the middle East, Africa and Central and South America. And the recipes are all vegetarian, so it's quite inspiring.

I adapted a more complicated recipe into this simple rice cooker dish which had a bright flavor that went well with the leftover white bean and tomato stew. I used white basmati rice because it was late and I wanted to get dinner on the table. I'm pretty sure this would be good with brown rice, although more water would be needed.

That's an experiment for another day.

Orange Spiced Rice
2 oranges
2 tsp oil
1 onion
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white basmati rice
2 bay leaves

Scrub the oranges well, and peel off the thin outer layer of zest, leaving the white behind. I used a zester which removes the peel in long narrow strips. If you use a regular peeler, slice the pieces thin after peeling them. Save the oranges for another use.

Put the pieces of zest in a small pot with 2 cups water and 2 tsp oil. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm 1 tbsp oil and sauté the thinly-sliced onion, cloves, and the seeds from the cardamom pods until the onions start to brown. Season with 1/2 tsp salt.

Put the onion mixture in the rice cooker along with the orange zest and cooking water, the basmati rice, bay leaves, and an extra 1/2 cup of water. Run rice cooker as directed.

The ingredients will probably separate out during cooking, as you can see in the picture above. Stir it all back together and serve.

Serves 4-6

Fennel and Mushroom Salad

I love meals of beans and rice, but a little crunch is needed alongside.

Last week I pulled some fennel and mushrooms from the fridge, and made this simple little salad that added zest and crunch to the meal.

Fennel and Mushroom Salad
1 fennel bulb
2 cremini mushrooms
1/4 red pepper
1 tsp fresh snipped chives
parmesan
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small clove garlic, mashed

Quarter the fennel lengthwise. (Remove and discard fronds if they are attached.) Remove the tough core in the center, and slice the remaining fennel thinly.

Slice the mushrooms and red pepper thinly and toss with the fennel and chives. Use a vegetable peeler to shave a few pieces off the block of parmesan into the bowl.

Separately, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil. Stir in the mashed garlic.

Toss the dressing into the vegetables and serve the salad immediately.

Serves 2

Shopping for the Week

We bought some beautiful organic food at the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning.

Before we went, I planned the menus for the week. Then I wrote a shopping list to take to the market with us.

The list is subject to change, of course, depending on what looks good at the market. But I'm generally aware of what's in season, and plan accordingly.

This is what we brought home today:

1 cucumber, baby spinach, 2 red peppers, 1 bunch lacinato kale, butter lettuce, 1 small romaine, 8 small red potatoes, 6 corn, 12 poblano peppers, 1 red onion, 1 small winter squash, parsley, cilantro, 16 oranges, 2 pears, 4 green plums, 2 peaches, 2 nectarines, 5 limes, 2 grapefruit, 5 honeycrisp, apples, 4 gala apples, pistachios in the shell, 8 oz raw almond butter, eggs, feta, 12 oz goat cheese, plain yogurt from St. Benoit - 1 quart and 6 cups, 1 small aged goat cheese called Avalanche, organic coffee from Oaxaca

The oranges were juiced for brunch today. The remaining fruit will go into our lunches, or be eaten as morning fruit. The salad items will also go into our lunches.

I'll roast and freeze the poblanos, in preparation for the long poblano-less winter and spring. (See how I do it here.)

The rest will combine with our garden produce to turn into this week's meals. It will be a week of good eating!

Dodger Grilled Cheese

We went to Dodger Stadium last night to watch the Dodgers face their arch rival San Francisco Giants.

It was a beautiful night for baseball. Before darkness fell, we looked out at the backdrop of the Hollywood Hills, the San Gabriel Mountains, and lots of palm trees.

When we got to the stadium, we found our seats and then looked for food. The concessions within a few sections of our seats sold Dodger Dogs, fries (with garlic optional), and grilled cheese sandwiches.

I had the grilled cheese. (Yum - not. You can see it above.) The server offered me ranch dressing on the side. She seemed surprised when I refused it, but why put extra fat on a grilled cheese?

So we sat in the stands, eating a grilled cheese and a Dodger dog, and watched an ad on the big screen for Healthy LA: Children holding signs saying "Feed me healthy food. Give me a safe park to play in. Or treat my diabetes." Etc. The next ad was for Carl's Jr. (a huge bacon hamburger thing).

I wandered around in later innings and found a healthy food truck tucked into a dark corner under a single light bulb. I could have bought a salad (large box of lettuce) for $8. Or a veggie cup (I can't describe it to you because I couldn't see it in the dark) for $6. There was no line here.

Is it any wonder obesity is a problem?

Unusual Fruit

 One of the cool things about life in Southern California is people sharing fruit from their backyard trees.

One of Larry's co-workers brought him this yellowish pomegranate the other day. He looked at it dubiously -- aren't pomegranates supposed to be red? -- but she assured him that the seeds were red inside and that it was ripe.

I didn't know there was a yellow-skinned pomegranate. And actually, yellow is a misnomer. It's more like a dirty cream color. And the seeds inside were pink, not bright red.

But the flavor was good. We enjoyed it in our morning fruit.

(You can see my secrets to peeling a pomegranate here.)

Tofu Salad

Twenty years ago I studied holistic healthcare at NHC Institute in Montreal. You can read more about my time there in my summer newsletter, and in the training section of my website.

It was a real hands-on program - we tried everything on ourselves.

In nutrition class, we learned about systemic candida, a condition which causes fatigue, digestive upset, lightheadedness, etc. The dietary cure is simple: only eat MEVY (meat, eggs, vegetables and yogurt).

So we all started on the diet. As a vegetarian, I had to tweak it a little. I used beans, tofu and brown rice in place of the meat.

For a few weeks, I ate a lot of mashed tofu on rice cakes.

But time went by, and I forgot this simple dish. Until I came home from work on Saturday and found tofu in the fridge and organic brown rice cakes in the cupboard. I knew just what to do.

(I was entertained to read on the package of rice cakes that they were made in Montreal.)

I sliced a couple of pieces of tofu, mashed them with a fork on a cutting board, and added some tumeric for color, tamari for flavor, and mayonnaise to hold it all together. (Back in the day I used nayonnaise.) I added some diced spring onion for a little crunch. (I could have added celery and other vegetables too.)

Then I piled it on the rice cakes, and enjoyed a fast protein-rich lunch.

Larry had already eaten lunch - tuna on rice cakes - so he did not share my tofu. But I think he would have liked it.

A Simple Eggplant Dinner

We stayed outside until dark the other day, sitting on the stoop in the garden, letting the dusk settle around us, feeling the heat dissipate, listening to the crickets start their evening song.

Then we realized we hadn't eaten dinner.

Fortunately I had picked a couple of eggplants, and I cooked them up with tomatoes, tofu and mint for a light yet satisfying meal. The fresh mint really enhanced this dish, giving it a perkiness that basil or oregano would not have done.

Tofu is a good quick protein source. Slice off a couple of pieces and fry them for a few minutes on each side. It doesn't get easier than that. Always buy organic tofu -- the non-organic kind is probably made from genetically-modified soybeans.

I used a can of diced tomatoes, but 2 cups of fresh ones would have been great too. (Although then the decision of to peel or not to peel comes into play, and it was still too hot in the kitchen to think about peeling tomatoes.)

The spice combination comes from Marie Simmons in her book Fresh & Fast Vegetarian. Her recipe was a little more complicated than this, but the spice combo is a winner.

I cooked the tomatoes in a stainless steel skillet and then added them to the eggplant and tofu in my cast iron frypan. While it's not recommended to cook acid foods like tomatoes in cast iron because they break down the surface of the pan, 10-15 minutes does no harm. I figure a little cast iron in my food is not a bad thing anyway.

I used a long white eggplant -- Doughboy -- and a round fat one -- the label has disappeared, but I think it's an Italian one. I didn't salt and drain them. I just sliced them and added them to the pan. An advantage of using cast iron is I could use just a little oil, and then let the eggplant sear in the hot pan after they'd absorbed the oil.

Quick and delicious. It doesn't get much better than that.

Eggplant Tofu with Mint
14-oz can tomatoes
1 tsp curry powder
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp salt
sprinkle of hot chile pepper flakes
2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
3/4 lb eggplant, sliced in 1/2 inch rings1 tbsp oil
2 1/2-inch slabs of tofu

Combine the tomatoes, curry powder, garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, salt and chile pepper flakes in a saucepan and cook until warm and thickened. Stir in 1 tbsp mint.

Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant and cook about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Turn the eggplant slices over and cook another 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Wrap the tofu in a folded dish towel and press it with your palm for 30 seconds to squeeze out extra moisture.

Put the tofu in the hot pan, adding a little more oil if necessary. The tofu should sizzle for about 3 minutes. Turn it over and cook another 3 minutes.

Add the eggplant and tomato sauce to the pan with the tofu. Stir together and let cook until warm.

Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of mint and serve.

Serves 2

Savoring the Salsa

I wrote last week about how we spent Labor Day weekend cooking and canning salsa.

During the week, Larry designed this year's label.

And Saturday we opened the ceremonial first jar.

The San Marzano tomatoes gave it a rich flavor which was out of this world. The heat had been tempered in the hot water bath, so it's well-flavored without being too spicy.

We ate it with organic corn chips from Trader Joe's -- yum!

Crenshaw Melon

We bought an organic Crenshaw Melon from Rocky Mountain farms yesterday.

It weighs 6 lbs! And the farmer told me it was one of the smaller ones he's grown.

I heard a story years ago that these melons were discovered growing in someone's yard on Crenshaw Blvd. in LA. I can't find anything to back up the story, so it might be an urban myth. Crenshaws are a cross between casaba and Persian melons, and are known for their sweetness. People seem to get quite addicted to them.

The people next to me at the stall raved about them, and I'd never tried one before, so I bought it, and gave it to Larry to carry.

I have to say, it's really good. It's similar in flavor to a cantaloupe, but it has a richness to it that makes it more interesting.

It's big enough that we'll be eating it all week. And maybe next week we'll come home with another.

Sunday Shopping

Here's a picture of all the beautiful organic food we brought home from the Hollywood Farmers' Market this morning.

3 cremini mushrooms
1 small romaine
4 red peppers
4 corn
1 red sails lettuce
olive oil
2 dozen eggs
2 cantaloupes
1 crenshaw melon
2 honeycrisp apples
4 gala apples
1 Bartlett pear
2 peaches
2 nectarines
12 oranges
3 grapefruit
4 yellow plums
pistachios in the shell
4 cups plain St. Benoit yogurt
1 bunch chiogga beets with greens