Delicata Squash Cheesecake

It has been a busy couple of weeks! I have made quite a few dishes, many of which will be lost due to a lack of archiving. Thankfully I am sure every thing has left me with some imprint, and I am now at least slightly wiser... My cakes will be fluffier, cookies crispier (on the outside, with chewy tender insides), and ice creams creamier.

Chai frozen yogurt, whisky apple pie, carrot sorbet, broiled radicchio slaws, five spice spreads, dark-chocolate stout ice cream, celeriac-green apple soup are some of the casualties of this fall that may never get posted. My Community-Supported Agriculture share has tossed me some curveballs, and I have handled them with grace, rendering me a bit too busy to give my blog some well-earned love. Appropriately enough, it is with some sadness that I am not off picking up my CSA share right now, which ended last week. The winter share, with rutabagas, radishes, and leafy greens will be returning on Friday, then every other week through December.

There are always a few items I have a hard time repurposing, depending on what is going on in my life at that point. This fall it was the adorable little carnivale and delicata squashes showing up in my share. They are lovely, sweet little squashes with edible skins that deserve a good place on a plate... Not the sort of thing to be brought out for pot-lucks, which has been my usual modus-operandi when it comes to food preparation. Eventually, I ended up with several and remembered that there was a Kabocha Squash recipe I had been considering making. And below we have it!

-This is definitely a recipe in progress, changes I'm planning for next time will be marked with an asterix and my intent for the future round-

Delicata Squash Cheesecake

Walnut-Lime Crust:

• 1/4 c (2.2 ounces) Palm Oil shortening
• 1/2 c (2 ounces) walnuts, toasted
• 1/2 c (2 1/2 ounces) packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 c (6.2 ounces) graham cracker crumbs
• 2 t grated lime zest (about 2 medium-small limes)
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground ginger
• 1/2 t salt

Kabocha Squash Filling

• 3 lbs of sweet fall sqaush (I used Delicata & Carnivale, Kabocha and Butternut will also work)
• 8 oz firm silken tofu
• 1 c (7 ounces) white sugar
• 1 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t umeboshi paste*
• Juice of 1 medium lime*
• 1 T soy yogurt*
• 1/2 c arrowroot starch*
• 1 1/2 T brandy*

1. Steam the squash, until the a knife easily pierces the flesh and the stem falls off. To do this I prepared a large pot with an inch or two of water on the bottom, and placed a steamer basket within. I put the sqauash atop the basket, and brought the water to a boil over high heat. I reduced the heat to medium, covered the pot and let the squash cook for about an hour. When it is done, remove it from the heat and let it cool. Meanwhile, I....

2. Preheated the oven to 300 to prepare the crust: Grease a 9 inch springform pan. In a food processor chop the walnuts with half of the brown sugar in a food processor, until they are coarsely ground but not turning into a flour. Transfer walnut/sugar mix to a mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients, except for the shortening. After the dry ingredients are mixed, add the shortening and stir with a rubber spatula until everything is evenly mixed. If the mix is too dry to stick together when pressed against the edge of the bowl, add a couple of tablespoons of water as needed. When done, press into the bottom of the pan and up the sides if you have extra.

3. Put the crust in the oven and bake until it is golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. Leave the oven on.

4. When the squash is cool enough to handle, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and scoop the flesh away from the skin. It is ok if a little skin gets in in the case of delicata and carnivales. Get 2 1/2 cups of flesh (save the rest for something else), and place the flesh into a blender bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients for the filling, and blend until well mixed and smooth (hi-power blenders are great for this!).

5. Pour the custard mixture into the springform pan and place in oven. Bake until the middle is set, with the center still slightly jiggly, about 1 hour. Cool completely, unmould, and serve!

*Next time I would use less arrowroot starch (probably 1/4 c + a T or two), less lime juice just for tartness. The yogurt and umeboshi paste are optional, I just happened to have them, though you may want to add more salt if you ditch the ume paste. and I forgot the brandy but would try to remember it next time.

The cheesecake is somewhere between a pumpkin-style pie, and a cheesecake. It is virtually fat free, tangy, and certainly interestingly flavored, if not flat-out good. It is good enough for me to seriously desire to make again.

Stewed Tomatillos & Tomatoes

You say Tomato, I say Tomatoes & Tomatillos... OK that didn't work out the way I wanted it to, but needless to say.... One of my most recent bounties has been tomatillos and tomatoes... From this I have made sauces, and even the adventurous (and delicious) tomato jelly (recipe forthcoming, probably). This dish is surprisingly not much less adventurous than the tomato jelly, with interesting sour overtones similar to those I have found in some Malaysian dishes. This likely had something to do with a tart leek stock I used, as much as the contents of the soup... If it is something you desire, I feel like some lime juice could help achieve it.

Anyway... Having recently begin a new job with a vegetarian good food fast startup, I am a bit on the exhausted side for florid posts, so I am just going to git on with the recipe... It goes well straight on its own, or with a cous cous or other grain. It can be had hot or cold.

Stewed Tomatillos & Tomatoes

2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
2 poblano chilis, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husked and washed
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes*
1 cup home made stock or water
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 T Vodka (optional)**
2 T lime juice or white vinegar (also optional, if you like tart)

*I used mixed cherry & pear tomatoes. Large tomatoes, of any ripeness, cut into chunks will also work.
**Vodka, along with white wine, is a lovely flavour enhancer of tomato products.

Warm the oil in a large pot on a medium-high heat, when the oil heats up add the onion, pepper, and garlic until the onion is has begin to brown, about five to ten minutes.
Add the tomatillos, cook until the skins start to break open, ten to fifteen minutes. Pour in the stock and vodka, and stir, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to produce a slow bubble and cover, cook until the tomatillos are mostly dissolved, about thirty minutes. Add some salt and pepper for flavor.
Returm the heat to medium-high. When the mixture starts to bubble, add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes wilt but their skins remain intact. Now add the sour liquids if that is what you like.
Add more salt and pepper if desired, serve hot, at room temperature, or cold, drizzled with olive oil if desired.

Tarts! (Is "Let's get reTarted" offensive?)

First, a quick note, I have some recipes being featured on Meatless Mondays! If you haven't checked that campaign out, definitely do it! Even better, pass it around to your resolutely omnivorous friends. All they ask is that you don't eat meat one day of the week, easy I know, rite?! Anyway, onto the food bits...


Pictures above is a leek and roasted red pepper tart topped with a confit of slow-dried tomatoes, on a bed of sriracha, a thai hot sauce also known as "rooster sauce," or "cock sauce." It is a fun kitchen accessory, many believe it an absolute necessity. But what are we doing talking about cock sauce, when this post is about tarts?

I wish it were about tarts! But the above tart did not dazzle the tongue's palette. Oh the things that went wrong, I can't even begin to think about! It definitely needs work and I think the platform may be a good thing to explore... so today's recipe is only going to be a base. I will surely toy with it in the future, it has the potential to be both a great platform as well as a good dish for dinner parties and pot lucks. It can also be cut up into two-bite bits and served as an appetizer.

The tofu base is creamy, with a bit of tang (from the ume plums) that one would find in a cream cheese base. It is definitely a dish that could be mistaken for a non-vegan fritatta. Oh I can't wait to explore it!

For all my talk this dish wasn't _bad_, just wasn't as awesome as I thought it could be... So here is the base, and instructions on how to explore from there... I also made this in a 8x13 inch baking sheet, but it could also be done in a 9 inch removable-bottom tart pan, or perhaps in two smaller pie pans.


DIY Quiche

Quiche/Tart crust
3/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c whole wheat pasty flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
1/4 c canola oil
3-5 T cold water

Filling
2 T olive oil
3 T umeboshi paste
2 pounds firm water packed tofu, drained
3/4 t sea salt
*fillings!

To make the crust: Preheat the oven to 375, with a rack in the bottom third of the oven. In the food processor, blend the flours, baking powder, and salt together. Pulse in the oil until the mixture becomes mealy. Mix in enough water to form moist clumps. Gather the dough into a ball, then flatten it into a disk. Press it into the pan you are using, going up the sides.

To make the filling: Blend the tofu, umeboshi paste, olive oil, and salt. Pour into a bowl and stir in your fillings.

Bake the quiche for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the filling is set.

*Fillings: Honestly, you could probably leave this plain and just have a simple sort of tart... But more excitingly, I would recommend tossing a garlic clove or two into the mix, at least... I would look through any cook book for quiches, and simply whatever they add to the egg and dairy base, you add to this.. Spices, sauteeded mushrooms, carmelized onions, artechokes, roasted red peppers, etc. To give it a nice bit of flair, a drizzle of sauce, a spoonful of topping will make a lovely difference.

Balsamic Glazed Roasted Radicchio

Radicchio is, likely, one of the most neglected objects of my CSA share. It isn't that I don't like it, or find it appealing, but rather it is something that doesn't lend itself well to my meal-prep styles... which you'd be surprised to know consists largely of putting a lot of whatever I get into a blender and mixing the hell out of it (kale + tomatoes + garlic + radishes + radish greens + basil + romaine + apple=GO).

Radicchio has long held the title for "most likely to rot in my vegetable crisper," as I never knew of what to use it for. This has always paind me, given te plant's history as a medicinal tool thanks to its quantities of intybin, which infuses the plant with its bitter character. I always felt it was limited to a fine shred in salads, something I rarely make.

Now I have learned a way of tempering that bitterness in a dish that elevates my radicchio heads into a stand-alone dish. Today's recipe is a two-prong approach, both reducing the bitterness with roasting and counterbalancing it with a sweet balsamic and brown sugar glaze. Even better, this recipe can be made in about 5 minutes.


Balsamic Glazed Roasted Radicchio

1 lb radicchio (about 4 large heads, or 2 small)
2 T olive oil
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1 T brown Sugar
Salt & pepper

Turn your oven to it's low broil setting, and make sure a rack is at the highest point about 4 inches from the heat.
Quarter or halve (depending on head-size) the radicchio and gently remove the core, keeping the pieces whole.
Brush heads with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Mix the balsamic and brown sugar until the sugar has dissolved.
Place the radicchio into the oven for one to two minutes, remove and brush with the glaze. I drizzle the heads with all of the glaze (I pour it into the cracks), place back in the oven until the edges begin to crisp and char, another couple of minutes.
Remove, transfer to the serving dish, sprinkle with a little salt and a few fresh grinds of pepper.
Can be served hot, or at room temperature.

Mocha Pudding Pops

It is hot. I like things that are cold. I also like to have recipes that utilize things like almond milk, of which I have many containers of since school got out for the summer... Tales of the aseptic-sealed bean and nut milk mass abandonment of summer, 2009 are legendary!

Anyway... getting on with it... I am gifting you with the guide to my own first foray into frozen bars... or logging my work for my own future reference. The recipe is pretty tasty, but there are things I am going to try differently. Those notes will be after the recipe for me as well as you.

Mocha Pudding Pops

• 1/2 C sugar
• 3 T dark unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch processed)
• 5 t instant espresso powder
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 2 T cornstarch
• 2 T tapioca starch
• 1/4 t lecithin
• 1 T coconut oil
• 1/4 C raw almond butter
• 2 3/4 C unsweetened almond milk
• 1 t vanilla
• pinch of salt

In a large saucepan whisk together the first six ingredients.

In a blender combine the almond milk, almond butter, and salt and blend until smooth.

Add about 1/4 cup of the liquid to the dry mix and whisk until smooth. Turn the stove onto medium, whisking constantly and adding the rest of the milk slowly. Add coconut oil, turn stove to medium high and switch to a rubber spatula, constantly stirring and moving the liquid that firms up on the bottom.

When the mixture comes to a boil, stir vigorously for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir for about 1 minute as it cools down, add vanilla extract. Let cool down for another 15 minutes, then pour into moulds.

You can also pour into ice cube trays, cover with saran wrap and stick in toothpicks, then freeze for about six hours. To remove from moulds, run hot water briefly over the moulds, and shimmy out.

Enjoy! They is no denying that these are indeed pudding pops.

And that is just it, they are indeed very pudding-like, even frozen. In the future I may reduce some of the starches... Also I would add the coconut butter after I kill the heat...but there you have it, I would make them again. So, cheers and happy summer! Hopefully I'll get that update on peaches in before I leave for Burning Man!

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Sometimes I feel like summer is cruel. It is not a rational feeling, but rather a negative one that doesn't bask in the bounty but thinks of the future absences I'll face as the days shorten. In the moment, at Farmer's Markets, in the kitchen with my fruits of the earth, I do bask in the wonderful produce this season offers; secure that this season's goods will yield to new treasures (pears and apples I can hardly wait!) . Then I look over my photos, and see what has come and passed. These tomatoes are no longer here with me, rather they have been consumed. I smile, knowing that was their purpose.. but my smile would be even bigger if I had them with me now...

So today is a way you can stretch out your tomato supplies a little longer, while amping up the flavor, through a slow roast.

Directions are simple, ingredients minimal.

Tomatoes (Cherry, grape, and/or Roma)
Olive Oil
Salt
Unpeeled Garlic
Herbs

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Quarter or halve your tomatoes and spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You should have some distance between your tomatoes. For my purposes, my tomatoes were closer together (they were used for a sauce). Drizzle with olive oil, a couple of cloves of garlic, and some fresh herbs (I used some thyme and oregano sprigs).


Place in the oven, and bake for about three hours. They should be shriveled, but still have a little bit of juiciness inside. Depending on the size of tomatoes, this could take more or less time. Let them cool, then pack them in a jar and cover them with olive oil.

These are good for salsas, pizza & sandwich toppings, stand alone snacks, hummus additions... They are just good. Period.

Kitchen Improv 101: Eggplant Cutlets with "Breadcrumbs"

So many eggplants! My fridge is overrun with eggplants! Actually, that isn't entirely true. My fridge is overrun with eggplants, there are a whole lot... but my statement implies there was this sudden deluge. It has actually been an accumulation of these interesting, not-always-inspiring nightshades in my house..

It isn't that I don't like eggplant, but it seems that all the good things to do with these oblong fruits-in-disguise-as-vegetables require a couple of steps. Having moved a bit further away from my friends, the casual dinners that beg use of eggplants are harder to do.

So when my fridge cleaning yielded several eggplants from more than a few CSA shares, give/take (along with a couple of zucchinis) I decided it was time to do something about it... while also slaying the beast of other items that have accumulated in my kitchen that screamed "Use me, so I stop taking up space!"

The fruits of the day (or is that aubergine?) yielded several results... moussaka, baba ghanouj, and eggplant cutlets... using up the rest of my shredded wheat patties!

Anyway, this is a great non-recipe recipe to start feeling your way around kitchen improv. So onto the non-recipe!

Eggplant Cutlets with Shredded Wheat Bread Crumbs

Eggplants
Shredded Wheat
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
Salt
Seasonings

Coating
Vegan Milk of Choice
Rice Flour

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Slice the eggplants about 1/2 an inch thick.
Drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil so it is lightly covered, then sprinkle the garlic over it.
In a flat dish Mix 4 parts non-milk with 3 parts rice flour (IE 1 cup milk to 3/4 c rice flour), mix until thick.
In another flat dish crush a few shredded wheats, mix with salt and seasonings of choice (I used black pepper, sage, and tekka)

Dredge the eggplant with the liquid coating, then coat with the shredded wheat mix. Place on baking sheet. Repeat until you run out of eggplant (or space, then either start a second sheet or wait for the first sheet to be done).

Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes remove from oven, flip cutlets over, and put in for another 10 minutes.

These are crunchy, addictive, tender.. and... sigh I do like them. They can be served straight, dressed up with a simple tomato sauce, put on sandwiches... Explore thine inner chef!