Baked spaghetti squash with tomato and basil

Spaghetti squash is not a vegetable I've worked often with. Turns out, it really is super cool, and what a delicious and healthy alternative to starchy pasta. I love my pasta, my spaghetti squash is pretty unique in its own right too.

I was inspired by some pictures I saw on foodgawker.com, but mostly I just wanted to take the spaghetti squash and jazz it up with some delicious cheese and bake the hell out it. The result is beautiful as you can see:

Here's how you make it:

Recipe and instructions- Baked spaghetti squash with tomato, basil and rosemary

Adapted from: http://www.cookingwithmykid.com/recipes/baked-spaghetti-squash/

1 medium spaghetti squash
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 medium tomatoes
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
rosemary
1/2 cup basil
1/2 cup yogurt
2tbsp chili powder
salt and pepper

1) Take the spaghetti squash and poke holes all around it with a knife or other sharp object. Heat it up in the microwave for about 12 minutes, stopping every 4 minutes to turn it over. In the end the skin should be wrinkly and easy to scrape off.

2) Scraping it out! Cut it into two and scrape off the seeds and store them for later. You can make some delicious chutney with the remaining squash seeds and center. After you're done taking off the center, use a fork to scrape off the spaghetti layers.

3) Making the sauce. Slice the onion and garlic and sautee them until they turn light brown. Add in chopped tomatoes and the chili powder.You can also add some vodka or wine at this point to enhance the flavor. I did not use vodka this particular time. After a paste has formed turn off the heat and add the yogurt to the mixture along with some salt and pepper.

4) After the tomato mixture has cooled, combine the tomato mixture with the ricotta cheese, the rosemary and basil. Finally add the spaghetti squash and mix it up. Bake them separately into individual ramekins. Bake for around 35 minutes at 350 F.

Back from a hiatus; Orange Lemon Bread

 A major twitter design blog discovery inspired me to start blogging again. This time it's mostly about the pictures. I'm in love with my new Nikon D50 camera, and I couldn't stop gushing at how luminous an orange looked. I'm still learning though, so expect the pictures to get better.
Meanwhile, I visited my sister in the city yesterday and she introduced me to her friend's blog which then inspired me to try one of her recipes- olive oil bread, which I'm renaming orange lemon bread here. I did make a couple substitutions. I used corn starch as a substitute for egg and I used wheat flour instead of flour. The result was pretty delicious, but I think using regular flour would have definitely elevated the taste. I'm also going to try using egg the next time around. Here's the recipe and LOTS of pictures!

Recipe and instructions:

Adapted from epicurious.com


- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 2 eggs(I used 2 tbsp cornstarch + 4 tbsp water)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- zest and juice of one lemon
- zest of one navel orange + juice of half an orange
- 1/4 cup of slivered almonds

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Whisk the egg(or egg substitute) with the milk and olive oil. Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until the mixture is just combined. Gradually add in the lemon and orange zests and juices. Transfer the mixture into a loaf pan and top with slivered almonds. Bake for 55-60 minutes. 

New camera!

Also, I'm just in love with my new digital SLR camera. So expect bigger and better pictures.

 

Butternut squash and Kale Lasagna

I hadn't made lasagna in a while, so I wanted to try a new recipe. I found this excellent recipe from my Mom's recipe treasure, and I surely wasn't disappointed. I was afraid the butternut squash would end up being too sweet so I balanced it by making the tomato sauce extra spicy and the bitter kale works well with the sweet butternut squash as well. I also added almonds to add some crunch. Turned out fabulous.


Recipe adapted from Sunset magazine's recipe

1 medium butternut squash
9 sheets wheat lasagna pasta
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes
paprika and chili powder to make it spicy
thyme or sage
1 can riccotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cups chopped almonds
nutmeg
black pepper
crushed pepers

1. Chop onions and garlic and sautee until soft. Add the tomatoes; spice it up with some chili powder and crushed peppers and cook for about 30 minutes.
2. Chop up the butternut squash into 1 inch cubes. Marinate in thyme and olive oil and bake at 350 F until the butternut squash is soft. Puree the butternut squash to make a fine paste.

3. Cook the Kale and chop up finely.

4. Cook the lasagna pasta and set aside.
5. Mix the riccotta cheese with 1 cup mozzarella cheese and nutmeg. Add in the chopped almonds and mix.

6. Arrange layers of tomato sauce, butternut squash paste, kale and the riccotta mixture. Top off the a generous layer of the 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 F.

Balsamic strawberry black pepper Jam

I couldn't resist buying these strawberries at the farmer's market. But of course, it's way more than me, or my family can consumer before it all goes bad. Solution? Jam, of course!

So I've never made Jam before, and I've always assumed that it would be a long laborious process, involving the serious food thermometer and risking kitchen injuries. Not true at all! The process didn't take more than half an hour, and I'm mighty pleased with the results. I didn't want to just make regular strawberry jam, so I modified this recipe from Canadian Living.









Here's what you do:

3 cups strawberries
1/4 pack Pectin
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp balsalmic vinegar
1 tsp coarsely cracked fresh black pepper



Drop the strawberries in a large cooking pot. Mash the strawberries thoroughly until it reaches a pulpy juice consistency. Add 1/8 cup sugar along with the pectin to this mixture. Cook the mixture on high heat until the mixture is thoroughly boiling. Add the remaining sugar and cook until the mixture is boiling thoroughly once again. Cook for one more minute. Remove from heat, and add the balsalmic vinegar and the fresh pepper.

Pizza topped with arugula pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella

I typically don't care much for arugula in my salad, but I love arugula pesto. It's strong and has a bit of a kick to it. I thought it would go excellently well with pizza, and it was!

Arugula pesto
pizza dough
1 tomato
5 slices of chunky mozzarella cheese

Top the pizza dough with arugula pesto, and place the tomatoes all over. Top with generous slices of mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 F.







Arugula pesto recipe(modified from Martha Schulman's fabulous recipe in the Times)
2 cups fresh arugula
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp walnuts
1/3 cup-1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Drop the garlic in the food processor and finely chop the garlic. Scrape the sides of the food processor, and add the walnuts and grind until the walnuts are finely blended in with the garlic. Finally add the arugula, and drip in the olive oil to form your desired consistency.

Caramelized Onion Pizza with Taleggio cheese

It's Pizza time! Making pizzas are fun because you can be creative, and really the world is your oyster when it comes to toppings. I like to keep toppings simple- usually not more than 2 ingredients as a rule. I discovered Taleggio cheese on a ski tip to Tahoe with a huge group of people, and I really began to appreciate cheese as an ingredient on its own. Yes yes, I'm a late bloomer when it comes to cheese. I'm going to try experimenting more with types of cheese from now on though. Ok, so this is one of two pizzas I'm going to post separately.

Pizza dough- I happen to love Pizza dough at Whole foods. I normally try making my own, but their dough is so good, I've given up on making my own.

Pizza dough
2 medium onions
taleggio cheese to top


Roast onions in olive oil until they are light brown in color. They should be slightly sweet. Add a tinge of salt if you want. Roll the pizza dough into the desired shape. Sprinkle the caramelized onions and finish off with a generous layer of the Taleggio cheese. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 F.