Quinoa with Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Seeds

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 2-pound butternut squash, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 3/4 cups water or vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 large handfuls baby spinach
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Put the quinoa in a bowl and cover it with cool water. Rub it between your hands and pour off most of the water. Add fresh water and repeat two or three times, until the water runs clear. Drain thoroughly in a fine-meshed strainer. Set the strainer over a bowl until you are ready to cook the quinoa.

Heat the olive oil in a large (4 to 5-quart) pot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until it begins to soften. Stir in the chili powder and the squash and cook, stirring every so often, for 3 more minutes. Add the drained quinoa, water or stock and salt. Bring the liquid to a boil, adjust the heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, set a small plate next to the stove. Pour a few drops (about 1/2 teaspoon) of olive oil into a small skillet. Heat the oil over medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds. Stir and shake the pan until the pumpkin seeds turn from green to olive to slightly golden brown. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and immediately scrape them onto the awaiting plate.

Remove the pot from the heat and add the spinach and cranberries. Cover the pot and let rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. Mix and fluff up the grains with a fork. Serve sprinkled with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Serves 4.

VERDICT:  I have a real problem with cooking grains, and true to form, this turned out mushy instead of fluffy.  Despite decent flavor and a good ingredient list, toss.

Lentil Salad with Roasted Oranges and Radicchio

• 2 medium oranges
• 1 head radicchio, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced (4 cups)
• 4 large shallots, thinly sliced lengthwise (2 cups)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil, divided
• 1 cup French or Puy lentils, rinsed
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• ½ cup toasted walnuts
• 2 Tbs. chopped fresh mint

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

 

Trim orange ends all the way to juicy flesh. Stand fruit upright, and remove peel and pith with paring knife, following curve of fruit from top to bottom. Hold fruit over large bowl, and cut sections along membranes to release each wedge. Set segments aside, and squeeze empty membrane over separate bowl to capture any remaining juice.

 

Add radicchio, shallots, and 1 Tbs. oil to bowl with orange segments. Season with salt, if desired, and toss gently. Spread mixture in single layer on baking sheet, and roast 25 minutes, or until oranges begin to brown and caramelize, stirring once and rotating tray halfway through.

 

Meanwhile, bring lentils, 11/2 cups water, and orange juice to boil in medium saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 25 minutes, or until lentils are tender.

 

Drain lentils, and transfer to large bowl, reserving cooking liquid. Return liquid to saucepan, and simmer over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Pour over lentils.

 

Add roasted orange-vegetable mixture to lentils with remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil, walnuts, and mint. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.  

 

Serves 6 (1 c.); 279 calories.

 

VERDICT:  I was intrigued by roasting oranges, but I don't think I did it right--they just seemed like orange segments, but hot.  On the whole, not bad, considering it has radicchio in it, but not really worth the effort.  Perhaps if I had served it over peppery greens as suggested, it would have been stunning, but I did not.  Toss.

Mujaddara with Onions, Dried Apricots, Almonds and Spicy Yogurt

• 1/2 c. jasmine rice
• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 1 T. butter
• 1 T. olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• 1 3/4 c. chicken broth or water
• 1/2 c. red split lentils or Puy lentils
• 1/4 c. chopped dried apricots

Spicy yogurt

• 1/3 c. Greek yogurt
• 1 T. minced fresh mint
• 1 T. olive oil
• 2 t. fresh lemon juice
• 1 t. honey
• 1/4 t. cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cayenne

Rinse the rice in a strainer under cold running water, swishing it with your fingers until the water is no longer cloudy and runs clear, about 1 minute.

Toast the almonds on a plate in the microwave on high for 1 minute.  Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds, then stir again and microwave for 30 seconds longer.  The nuts won't brown much, but will definitely taste toastier.  Set aside.

In a 12" skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil.  When the butter is melted and hot, add the onions, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of pepper.  Saute the onions until the soften and begin to brown, about 3 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low and cook the onions, stirring, until they are tender and golden brown, about 3 minutes longer.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add the broth and lentils, and bring to a simmer.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer the lentils for 10 minutes.  Uncover and stir in the apricots, rice and almonds.  Re-cover and continue to cook until the lentils and rice are almost tender, about 15 minutes longer.  Remove pan from the heat and let it sit, covered, for another five minutes to allow the rice and lentils to finish cooking in the steam.  Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.  If you'd like a more drizzly sauce, stir in 1T. or more water to thin it.

To make the spicy yogurt: Stir together the yogurt, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne in a small bowl.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.  Spoon the mujaddara into warmed shallow bowls and top with a drizzle of the yogurt sauce before serving.

Serves 2 (but really 3).

VERDICT:  I used brown lentils, since I had them, vegetable broth, and regular plain yogurt, all of which were fine.  Caramelizing the onions took WAY longer than six minutes, which is only to be expected.  On the whole, really good--warm and filling and savory.  This is from One Pan, Two Plates, which is earning big points for getting good flavor out of a few standard ingredients with a minimum of mess.  (I learned my lesson from the two previous dishes we made from it, and more than halved the salt.)

Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Chowder

• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 medium leek, halved lengthwise, rinsed, then thinly sliced (1 ⅓ cups)
• 1 ¾ lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced into ½-inch cubes (4 cups)
• 1 small head cauliflower florets, chopped or broken into bite-size pieces (4½ cups)
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 ½ cups low-fat milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• ⅔ cup frozen corn
• 2 Tbs. grated lemon zest

Heat butter in large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek, and sauté 4 to 5 minutes, or until softened. Add butternut squash, and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Add cauliflower, and sprinkle with flour. Stir in broth, milk, bay leaf, and thyme sprigs; season with salt and pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Stir in corn and lemon zest, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove thyme sprigs.
 

Serves 6 (1.5 c.); 172 calories.

 

VERDICT:  Pretty--creamy and pale orange--but a little bland.  Ramp up the seasoning or toss. 

Barley and Lentil Salad with Dried Cranberries and Walnuts

• 1/2 c. pearled barley
• 1/2 c. dried lentils
• salt
• 1/4 c. dried cranberries or raisins
• 1/4. toasted walnuts
• 2 T. fresh lemon juice, plus more if necessary
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• freshly ground black pepper

Add 2 c. water, barley, lentils, and 1/4 t. salt to 12" skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 20-25 minutes or until tender, but still chewy.

While the grains cook, combine the cranberries, walnuts, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley and 1/2 tsp. salt in a medium bowl.  Season with pepper. 

When finished cooking, drain the barley-lentil mixture and add the hot grains to the cranberry mixture in the bowl.  Toss to mix.  Taste for seasoning and add more lemon, salt, or pepper if it needs it.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 2 (but really 3).

VERDICT:  A bit salty, but if you dialed that back a bit, really pretty good.  Not fussy at all, and we usually have most of the ingredients on hand.  Keep!  From One Pan, Two Plates.

Pear Ginger Champagne

Simple syrup:

• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 pear (peeled and cored)
• 3 pieces of ginger (broken off from ginger root, peeled with vegetable peeler)
• 1 cinnamon stick

Boil all of the ingredients together until sugar has melted, about 5 minutes. Cool and put in container in fridge. Will keep for up to 2 weeks. (This makes a great gift on its own!)

To assemble drink, add a double shot of pear, ginger & cinnamon simple syrup to a glass.  Fill the remainder of the glass with champagne.  Top with frozen cranberries if you’re feeling festive!

VERDICT:  I made these to use up a hunk of leftover ginger.  The pear didn't come through as much as I'd hoped for, and they were frankly a little odd.  Toss.  From  Design*Sponge.