Starburst Tart, Hasselback Zucchini, Sweet Potato Curry, Taco Soup & Corn Bread

 Starbursttm Strawberry Tart
Starburst brand flavored gelatins have the same tart-sweet flavors as their signature candies, and the strawberry makes a particularly good matrix for a strawberry or strawberry-cream pie.  Back in April I made a strawberry cream pie which incorporated Starburst gelatin and Cool Whiptm.  But I didn't have any handy this time around; didn't have a pre-made Graham cracker crust either... 

Short Crust
This crust is a classic "short crust" type pastry -- 1 cup AP Flour, 6 Tbsp Butter, 1/2 Tbsp Sugar and a pinch of salt cut together into "coarse crumbs", then blended with about 3 Tbsp of ice water.  The result is rolled out into your tart pan and chilled for at least 30 minutes before docking and blind baking.  Bake @ 400F for 20 minutes until it starts getting golden.  Cool completely before filling.

Filling
Halved strawberries to fill your shell -- how many depends on the size of your berries. 
One box of Starburst Strawberry Gelatin, made according to package directions for Molded Gelatin.  Wait a few minutes for the gelatin to start to thicken.

Lay the berries artistically in your crust.  Pour/ladle the thickening gelatin over the berries and nearly to the top of the crust.  Carefully place in the fridge and chill for at least 2-3 hours before slicing.  Some whipped topping will not go amiss here...

FYI -- these gelatins are not vegan/vegetarian/halal. 

Hasselbach Zucchini
A slightly different take on the now classic potato preparation, these roasted zucchini are equally stunning and tasty.  

Lay down two wooden spoon handles or chop sticks or something similar so that you won't accidentally cut all the way through.  Make the slices here 1/4" wide or so.  Spritz each zucchini with EVOO or vegetable oil and lay then out on a baking sheet cut edges up.  

Roast the zucchini @400F for about 20 minutes, until the start or curl a bit and open up.  Gently, with a fork or spatula, lift the center of a zucchini and allow the slices to open up.  With the other hand add your 'stuffing' between the slices -- thin slices of shaved Parmesan or another cheese, or like I did -- a mixture of breadcrumbs and grated Parm.

Set the oven on Broil and cook the zucchini  about 5-7 minutes until you start to get some browning.  Serve hot.  I served mine with a 3 oz salmon filet.

Sweet Potato, Spinach & Chickpea Curry 
I got a lot of sweet potatoes in our SWFL Produce box a week ago and had to figure out something to do with them.  This recipe showed up on my foodar and I thought "why not".

2 cups peeled, 1" cubes of Sweet Potato
1 Onion, sliced
2 cups or cans of cooked Chickpeas/Garbanzos
10-12 oz stemmed Baby Spinach
1 cup sliced White Mushrooms

1-2 medium Tomatoes, chopped and pureed
1+ Tbsp Chana Masala -- spice blend for chickpeas

Start by sauteing the sweet potatoes and onion in a splash of oil.  When they start to soften, add the spice, the garbanzos and mushrooms and cook a minute or two more.  Now add the tomato puree and bring it up to a simmer.  Top with the spinach, cover and cook another 4-5 minutes until the spinach is nicely wilted.  

Stir everything together  before plating with some rice.

Taco Soup & Cornbread
Tacos you eat with a spoon.  How cool is that!  Simple too, even making your own, healthier, taco chips...

1 lb dry Red Beans
1 small to medium Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed
1 Sweet White Onion, diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 cup Frozen Corn
4 cups Broth or water plus seasonings

6-8 white or yellow Corn Tortillas to make chips for garnish.

Cook the beans in the broth, to package directions until just done.  Remove half the beans, puree them, and return to the simmering soup pot.  

Roast the cubed butternut for about 20 minutes @ 400F until just coming tender.  Add to the soup pot along with the taco seasoning, onion, bell pepper and corn.  You can add additional seasoning if desired. Simmer for at least 30 minutes to marry the flavors.

Make homemade taco chips by cutting tortillas into wedges, brushing or spraying lightly with vegetable oil, and pan frying in a mostly dry skillet with a sprinkle of fine salt or Evergladestm seasoning.  Fry one each side for 3-4 minutes until just turning color, then lay them out on paper towels to cool and absorb excess oil.

Cornbread
This is the perfect accompaniment to Taco Soup.  Fast, simple, and oh, so tasty.

3/4 cup AP Flour
1-1/4 cup Yellow Cornmeal
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
pinch of salt
1 cup Dairy --  milk, half & half, what have you
1-2 Eggs
1/2 cup Corn kernals -- fresh or frozen
1/2 cup diced Red Bell Pepper

Combine the dry.  Add the wet.  Stir in the corn & pepper.  Pour into a 9x9 baking dish.  Or larger if you like a thinner "pone" of cornbread.  Bake 20-30 minutes at 400F until golden. 

Slather with butter!

                                  

Rumbledethumps, Hungarian Mushroom Soup, No Knead Bread, Spaghetti Squash Puttanesca

Rumbledethumps
Potatoes, cabbage and onion -- in one form or another -- are a classic main or side dish in the UK -- Bubble & Squeak, Irish Colcannon, and this dish.  Rumbledethumps comes from the Scottish Borders and has the added advantage of cheese (always a good thing).

                               

2 lbs Potatoes, or mixed Potatoes & Turnips or Swedes (rutabaga)
10-12 oz chopped Cabbage
1/2 large Sweet White Onion, chopped
Optional --  1/2 cup diced carrots or whatchagot leftover vegetables
Butter or Sour Cream or Skyr to make mashed potatoes
1/2 tsp Mace or Nutmeg
Sharp Cheddar for topping

Cook the potatoes and cabbage separately -- boiling is traditional, but the microwave with a splash of water in the bowl does a good job too.  I like to leave the peels on the potatoes/turnips -- that's where a lot of the nutrients are.   Red potatoes with the peel on also add a bit of color to the dish.  A dash of salt & pepper will not go amiss here.

Make sure you don't over cook the potatoes, turnips and cabbage.  You don't want them mushy.  Keeping them al dente gives you a much more satisfying mouth feel.

Saute the onion until it starts to caramelize.

Mash the potatoes with a bit of butter or sour cream.  Dust with the mace, then fold in the cooked cabbage and onion. 

Transfer to a baking dish, top with the cheese, and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes.  Dish it out and serve with a splash of hot sauce if you like.

If you're lucky you'll have some leftovers which can be flattened and fried on the bottom as a cheesy potato cake!

Hungarian Mushroom Soup
We got a pound of huge beautiful whole mushrooms in our Co-Op box this week, and that means Mushroom Soup for supper!  This time I'm trying a Hungarian version of the classic soup.   This really turned out GREAT -- will be making this one over and over again!

1 lb Mushrooms, chopped
4 cups Broth with Mushroom Powder
1 Tbsp Paprika -- Hungarian, of course; 1/2T of sweet and 1/2T of smokey
1 large Onion diced
Carrots
Sour Cream or Skyr or Cashew Cream
Optional: chopped Dill and/or Parsley to garnish

Saute the mushrooms hot and fast for a couple minutes to bring out the flavors.  Transfer to your soup pot and saute the onions and carrots likewise.  

With everything in your soup pot, add the broth and spices, bring to a boil, then simmer 30 minutes or so to marry all the flavors.  To thicken you can add fine bread crumbs, a cornstarch slurry, Bistotm Gravy Crystals, or Wondratm.  I used some fine breadcrumbs I sliced and ground from the butt of my last piece of whole wheat Irish Soda Bread.

Before serving, garnish each bowl with chopped greens if you like,  and add a dollop of your cream of choice. 

I made a dilled Cashew Cream from 3/4 cup raw cashews, 1/2 cup water, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and some fresh dill tossed in the food processor while I took the nuts and liquid for a long spin (5 minutes or more) to make a smooth concoction. 

No Knead Bread!
This is absolutely the BEST BREAD I've ever made!  It's been awhile since I posted this, and it pairs so well with soup, so this is the perfect occasion.   I'm making this as a sandwich loaf, but if you make this as a low-wide round (or even square) foccacia you can even bake it in your toaster oven!  The recipe comes from No Need To Knead: Handmade Artisan Breads  by Suzanne Dunaway, which  I picked up on Kindle for $2.99 about a year ago.  I've made this recipe often and it's been successful every time!

2 cups warm Water
1 packet (2 tsp) Active Dry Yeast
4 cups AP or Bread Flour
1-2 tsp Salt
Olive Oil for brushing
Rosemary (fresh or dried) for flavor, to taste

Bloom the yeast in the warm water for 10 minutes or so while you measure the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and get everything else together.  

Stir the salt into the flour.  I put a couple teaspoons of dried rosemary in the dough too.  Make a well and add half the yeast-water, stir with a large spoon to start combining.  Then add the remaining yeast-water and stir for about 4 minutes to incorporate all the flour and create a "shaggy" dough that just pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

You can make this bread "same-day" or "next-day".    For same-day, cover the bowl and tuck it in a warm place (75F or more) to rise for 45-60 minutes, until doubled.  For next-day, cover and stash in your refrigerator over night where it will rise slower but gain more flavor.  

Scrape the risen dough into a greased or sprayed 5x9" loaf pan or 9-10" round cake pan and let it rest another 20 minutes or so to rise again.  If using the next-day version, bring the dough to room temp for at least 2 hours before transferring to the baking tin. 

Brush the surface with EVOO and dust with rosemary.  Bake in a pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes for Focaccia,  or 45-60 minutes for Sandwich Loaf -- until the internal temperature is 190-220F.  

Sphagetti Squash Puttanesca
Here's another oldie but goodie.  I originally made these as  "boats" and filled the seed cavity with ordinary commercial pasta sauce.  That was 20+ years go before I started making my own sauces.   

Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds.  You can roast the squash for 20-30 minutes at 400F until the shells get soft.  Or nuke them in the microwave for 6-10 minutes.  The use a fork to rake the strings of 'spaghetti out.

Puttanesca is  "working girl's" sauce.  Quick and easy to make, after a hard day's or night's work, from whatever is at hand, not slow simmered for hours like an Italian housewife or grandma would make.  For two people (1 spaghetti squash) you'll want to make about 3 cups of sauce.

It starts with tomatoes, of course, as do many Italian sauces.  Today we can use cans of crushed, pureed, chopped, diced or even whole, fresh tomatoes chopped up and added to a pot.  Then add whatever vegetables are handy in the fridge:  chopped mushrooms, diced carrot, onion, bell pepper, pitted kalamata olives, garlic, celery,  capers, pepperoncini if you like a bit of heat... you get the idea.  For an authentic puttanesca you'll want to add a couple of anchovies, of course.   Spices, of course -- basil first, then some red pepper flakes, and an Italian blend or individual spices to taste.  Bring it all to boil and cook for 15 or 20 minutes to marry the flavors.  Add some bread crumbs if you want to thicken it up a bit. 

Top your spaghetti squash with sauce and dig in!