Five Isolation Recipes

Spaghetti Squash Tots
That's right "tater" tots made from spaghetti squash!  As a side or a vegetarian main dish these are sooo simple and soooo tasty, you'll make them again and again.

1 Medium-Large Spaghetti Squash
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup Breadcrumbs -- Panko would be best, but regular crumbs are just fine
1 Tbsp Seasoning of choice

That's it!

Well ahead of time, halve and cook the squash -- microwave or oven -- until forkable.   Let the squash cool completely (no sense in burning your hands).  Use a fork to rake the flesh out onto tea towels or paper towels and let it air-dry for an hour or so.   Then chop the stringy flesh some so you get short strands not long strings.

You need 1-1/2 cups (packed) of the flesh, or you'll have to scale the recipe a bit to compensate.

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.  Meanwhile...

Stir everything together in a large bowl, and give it a couple minutes to rest.  Then scoop up a couple tablespoons of the mixture and mash it in your hand as you shape it into a sort of smooth "tot" or "nugget" shape.

Lay the tots out on a lined baking sheet or roasting rack like the one I have.  Dust with a little more seasoning (I used Evergladestm).  Bake for 20-30 minutes until nice and brown, turning if/as needed.

Serve with a dipping sauce or two (even ketchup, if you must).

My Rye
Just before the Isolation, we went out to Sanibel island for a Ding Darling bird spotting drive and picnic.  While there we stopped at Bailey's Market, an Island institution for something like 100 years, and picked up some eggs and bread.  I got Sally a nice multigrain bread, and myself a loaf of Marble Rye.  I'd forgotten how good rye bread is!   Now that we're isolated, I thought I'd try to make my own.  I happened to have 1-1/2 cups of rye flour tucked in the back of a cupboard, and that turns out to be just enough to make a loaf!

1-1/2 cups Rye Flour
2 cups AP or bread Flour plus more for bench flour and kneading
2 pkts Quick Rise Yeast
1/2 cup plain Icelandic Skyr Yogurt
1Tbsp + 1 tsp Caraway seeds
1-1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup warm Water + 1/4 cup Sauerkraut or Dill pickle juice (I had kraut juice)

Sauerkraut or Pickle juice?  Yep.  The acid helps keep the bread from becoming overly gummy and gives it a slight sourdough-like 'tang'.  Don't leave it out.  No one likes gummy bread.  Gummy bears, sure; but not gummy bread!

Mix everything together and let it rest 20 minutes to hydrate the flours.    Flour your bench and flatten the dough out.  Put the yogurt in the center, fold the dough over it, and start kneading to combine.

The dough is very sticky now, so add, a little at a time, as much as 1/2 cup more AP flour -- kneading all the while, until you get a not-too-sticky dough that is as smooth as can be considering you've got seeds in there.  Kneading develops the gluten to make a good bread.  Total knead time maybe 15 minutes.  Work out your Isolation frustration on that dough!

Oil/grease a large glass bowl.  Fold and "thumb pull" the dough until you get a nice ball, then plop the ball into the bowl and cover with a towel.  Set it dough in a warm place for an hour or 1:15.  Rye doesn't have as much gluten as wheat, so it may not double in size.

Pre-heat oven to 400F.   Add an empty steam pan -- not metal -- a couple inches deep, to preheat on the lower rack.

Transfer to a lined loaf pan. Slash the loaf top two or three times.   Place the loaf in the oven, slosh a couple cups of water into the hot steam pan, and quickly close the door to confine the steam.

Bake for 30 minutes, then temperature check.  You want an internal temp of 205-210F before you pull the loaf and set the pan on a cooling rack.

Oh man!  Slathered with butter, hot from the oven -- this is GREAT!

Corn Chowder
Our Produce Co-op this week restricted us to buying just pre-packaged boxes of veggies and fruits.  This week's box had 4 ears of sweetcorn, and Sally suggested making a corn chowder.  I found this on our WW app.   Don't have Liquid Smoke?  Fry up a couple strips of bacon and crumble them into the mix.

4 ears of Corn, kernals sliced off the cobs
2 medium Yukon or Red Potatoes, cubed
1 small Red Pepper, Diced
1/2 cup Celery
1 Medium Onion, diced
2 cups Whole Milk or Half & Half
1 tsp Liquid Smoke
1/2 tsp White Pepper
Hot Sauce to taste (not much)

Par cook the potatoes -- either boil the cubes or nuke in the microwave until just forkable.  In your soup pot, saute the onion, celery and pepper until just soft.  Add the other ingredients and simmer for about 15 minutes to marry the flavors.  

Southwestern Rissoles
I had two cups of leftover cooked black beans, and sweet potatoes taking up space in the fridge.  Saw this recipe and just had to try it -- seems like a good use of resources!  Makes six rissoles of 3/4 cup each.

2 cups cooked Black Beans
1/2 cup diced Onion -- sweet or red
1.5 lbs Sweet Potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed
3/4 cup Bob's Red Milltm  Scottish Oatmeal, or ground Rolled Oats, not oat flour
Southwestern Spices to taste:  cumin, chili powders, taco seasoning, black pepper, cilantro if you like it, etc.
Toppings of your choice -- sliced tomato, avocado, cheese, salsa, etc.

Mash together the onion, sweet potatoes, and beans with the spices.  Chill (it helps to make the patties stick together).  Pan-fry the rissoles 5-7 minutes per side until crisp outside...

Asparagus Tart
We love asparagus, and last week's Produce box had a great bundle of pencil thin stems -- just what I like for making a savory dinner tart.  Made the crust too.  Here we go:

Tart Crust
The "trick" to this crust is to keep everything cold!
Butter, flour  salt and water.  Pretty simple.
1-1/2 cups AP Flour
8 Tbsp <cold> Butter or Oliviotm
1/4 tsp Salt
4 Tbsp Ice Water

Pulse the flour, cold butter and salt in the food processor.  Add the ice water and pulse a few times more -- just until the dough starts to come together.  Drop on a floured surface and knead a couple times to form it into a disk about 1-1/2" thick.

Wrap and put in the freezer for about 15 minutes while the oven comes up to 425F.

Roll the chilled dough out about 1/8" thin, between pieces of wax paper.  Drape it over your 10"-12" tart pan, press into the pan.  Dock it all over with a fork, and bake for about 15 minutes, until the crust starts to brown just a bit.  A firm crust won't be soggy when served.  Cool the crust in fridge while you prep the fillings.

Fillings

Caramelized Onion -- one medium sweet or red onion, sliced thin and cooked slowly to color and sweeten.
Asparagus -- trim  into pieces about 1" long before par-cooking.  I nuke mine in the microwave for about 4 minutes, otherwise it will be stringy and tough in the tart.
Cheese -- I grated about a cup of sharp white cheddar.  Added a dash of jar Parmesan too.

Bake the tart about 20 minutes until the cheese is all melted and starting to brown.  

Serve with a side salad for an elegant Isolation Supper.