vegetarian tacos, or delicata squash for haters

Spoiler alert: there is only one hater, M. I think everyone else I know likes delicata squash, bc it is awesome.

This recipe was adapted from my CSA, Harmony Valley Farm, newsletter.

I make beans in my usual way - pinto beans, cooked in stock (veggie or chicken) with onion, garlic, tomato paste, seasonings (cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, dried oregano, and fresh cilantro).

For the veggies:
Thinly slice 1 medium red onion
Seed and thinly slice 1-2 delicata squash
Slice 2 poblano peppers
Toss the above with 3-4T vegetable oil, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, salt, and 2t brown sugar.
Roast at 425 for about 20 minutes, or until soft.

Serve with corn or flour soft tacos and any or all of: rice, fresh tomatoes, more cilantro, cheddar cheese, and jalapeno quick pickles (thinly sliced jalapenos barely covered with white vinegar and some salt).

M repeatedly stated "if you want me to eat delicata squash, this is the way to do it." The baby even ate some of the rice and beans. Success.

Leek pie

Mom makes this dish quite often. She has made a few modifications to make it more healthy. I made it tonight in its original glory and LOVE it!

For filling:
Carefully clean 4 leeks (spread the leaves out carefully under the tap)
Cut off the dark green parts
Slice the white and light green parts thinly
Keep an eye out for more dirt as you slice - leeks are often very dirty.
Saute on low in EVOO (use maybe 2T). Salt the leeks lightly. Cover with a lid and cook until the leeks are soft and pale, maybe a little caramelized (note that they will not caramelize as much as onions would, since they have less sugar).
Turn off heat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix 3 eggs lightly, and stir into the leeks.
Add 1/2 c grated parmesan.
Set aside.
Get a frozen pie crust (I use whole wheat. Puff pastry would be great, too. I will also include mom's recipe for foccacia crust below, which is more classic but also more work.) Line the bottom and sides with several slices of prosciutto (I used about 5 slices.... less than 1 of the small packages you can get at Whole Foods).
Pour the leek mixture into the crust, over the prosciutto.
(optional) decorate the top with thin slices of peppers - I used 1/2 poblano (lightly spicy) and 1/2 Carmen pepper (sweet).
Bake for 45 minutes at 350, or until filling sets and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean (it should look like a quiche).

Photo of the half-eaten pie below. It just smelled so good I couldn't wait...



Optional - Foccacia crust (alternative to frozen pie crust) (nb, I haven't tested it, it's copy-pasted from mom):

mix 1 T yeast with ¼ cup water.  Yeast should start to grow within a few minutes

            Add 3/8 cup olive oil and ¾ cup water and 1 t salt

            Add one egg and stir

            Mix in 2 cups of bread flour and knead on floured surface, adding more flour as                            necessary to get a thick, cushiony dough.  Put in bowl to rise.
Later, form dough into baking dish and add filling. Bake as described above.

Roasted tomato soup

I've used this tomato soup recipe from Smitten Kitchen a few times and LOVE it. Here's why: you do NOT have to peel or seed the tomatoes! So easy!

I've done basil instead of thyme, which is also great. I also haven't ever tried her combined soup + grilled cheese top combination, which sounds amazing - just phoned it in with a bowl of soup and some regulation grilled cheese. It freezes very well, too. Yea!

Note that compared to recipes where you peel and seed the tomatoes, this has a bit more texture to it - as long as you puree it well, there are no actual chunks, but it is not super smooth. I like it this way.

salsa verde chicken enchiladas

I gave this recipe a try because I have a lot of tomatillos - with a little trepidation, since I've struggled with enchiladas in the past. It turned out great!! I made a few modifications, and will re-write the recipe here since you have to follow a handful of links in the original to see all the text.  Of note, the shredded chicken could be used for all kinds of other stuff - tacos, nachos. I did cut it in half, since this is the amount that was needed for the enchilada recipe, but could easily be scaled.

Slow cooker shredded chicken (see blog linked above for a stove-top version)

Put the following ingredients in the slow cooker for 4-6 hours on low (I did 6, which was perfect, though my slow cooker runs a little cool):

• 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (organic ones surprisingly affordable at Whole Foods)
• small onion, peeled and sliced
   2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  1 small bay leaf
   1/2 tsp salt
  3/4t cumin
  1/4t black pepper
  chicken stock (or water) - enough to just barely cover chicken   

Once chicken is done cooking, remove it to a cutting board and allow it to cool. If you have a cat, put a collander or something over it (be prepared). Then, shred it using 2 forks. In the meantime, take the cover off the slow cooker and turn it up to high to allow some of the liquid to evaporate. Depending on what recipe you are using the chicken for, you could boil some off on the stove. Extra moisture is good for enchiladas, so I did the slow cooker method.

Make salsa verde

Enchiladas verdes -serves 4
Preheat oven to 350
Warm up 1.5 cups salsa verde in a pan on the stove (don't boil) - reserve 1/2 cup (so, need a total of 2 cups salsa verde for this recipe)
Add 1/2 cup sour cream and stir (nb: left over sour-cream based dip works too)
Add 2 cups cooked shredded chicken (see above)  and stir
Stir in 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese (1.5 cups cheese total needed for recipe)
Remove from heat
Pour reserved 1/2 cup salsa into a pan - I used a routine-sized rectangular casserole dish (slightly smaller would be optimal)
Spoon 1/3 c chicken/salsa/sour cream mixture into a corn tortilla (taco sized) - need about 12 for this recipe (flour would work too)
place it, seam side down, in the pan.  Repeat until pan is full. You want the individual enchiladas to sort of hold each other up - they should be tucked in pretty snug. I had a little extra room, so I did some rolled but empty tortillas.
Pour remaining salsa over the top.
Sprinkle 1 cup cheese on top - I used cheddar and mozzerella (I think jack would be better than mozz), but I didn't have it)
 Cover with foil and bake for 15-25 minutes (goal is to warm everything through - I did 25 bc mine had been in the fridge for a few hours after prep)
Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or so to melt the cheese.

Yum!