Emily's Autumn Empanadas

Last week Bethany called asking if I would take some of their overly abundant CSA produce. I gladly accepted, but she failed to tell me she was going to leave a small farm on my doorstep. As you can see from the picture above, we had an abundance of tasty freshness to help spur some creative cooking.

I've had an acorn squash sitting in my kitchen waiting to be used and I wanted to try my hand at Empanadas so I thought this was the perfect opportunity! Empanada literally means "wrapped in bread" and is a common stuffed pastry in Spanish and Latin American cuisine.
These were flavorful and fun to make. I loved the process of making mini stuffed pastries so much that I started brainstorming of other yummy stuffings. A couple days later I made the dough and stuffed it with pizza toppings for mini calazones...(or should we say a healthier hot pocket!). Make extras and freeze them for an easy dinner at a later date.

Emily's Autumn Empanadas
Dough:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
5 1/2 Tbsp water

Filling:
1 Medium size acorn squash
1 Medium onion, diced
1 Green pepper, diced
3 Ears of corn, off the cob
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
2 Tbsp raisins
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Mix flour and salt. Cut in butter. Stir in water until you have a smooth dough. Set aside.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise (Acorn squash have very hard shells, so be careful). Scoop out seeds, sprinkle with salt, and set in a baking dish cut side up. Fill the baking dish up a 1/4 inch with water and bake at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes or until squash is tender but not mushy.

Meanwhile saute onion, green pepper, corn, and spices until tender. Stir in raisins. Peel cooled squash and cut in to small chunks. Stir the squash into your skillet.

To Assemble:
Roll dough until it is between an 1/8 and 1/4 in thick. Use the rim of a glass to cut out rounds. Take the individual rounds and roll out until they are about 5 inches in diameter. Spread about 2 Tbsp. in each of the rounds. Fold in half and pinch edges firmly to seal. (If you want to freeze these, do so now). Place on and ungreased baking sheet and brush with beaten egg. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Hope you all enjoy these savory empanadas, we sure did!!
~Emily

Yogurt, Honey, and Whole Wheat Brownies + A Tall Glass of Raw Milk: My nourishing twist on a comfort food classic...

As a ten year old, I attained a childhood savings goal of $100 by selling brownies to family and friends at $.50/ea. or $2.50/dozen. I gave the Girl Scouts a run for their money by spending several sessions beating I-don't-know-how-many-eggs into an equally stunning number of boxed mixes (Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker...whatever was on sale). I learned fine entrepreneurial skills, paying my mom for electricity and ingredients and handing over perfectly presented plates of brownies to eager (I hope?) customers. Sixteen years later, I still find myself craving the thrill of successful business and a rewarding, decadent indulgence at the end.

However, I'm more convicted to take stock of where my ingredients are coming from and how they are nourishing my family and friends' bodies.

Knowing what I've learned in the past few years about the typical contents of boxed mixes (and grocery store gallon jugs), I've been more willing to make better efforts, balancing idealism and practicality. And still enjoy the good life, of course!

I've tried Dr. Oetker's Organic Chocolate Brownies boxed mix a time or two (with farm fresh eggs~)...though I'll admit, there's still something missing compared to those perfectly engineered grocery shelf marvels of modern "food" science.

But recently, I managed to pull of a fabulous (well, for me) Suzy Homemaker stunt. Zucchini from last summer's bounty came out of the freezer and met with my cocoa stash. The original recipe may be found here. I substituted honey for the white sugar, used the called for yogurt and whole wheat flour, and pulled Ted's grandpa's home shelled walnuts out for a sprinkling on top.

~Chocolate Zucchini Brownies~

2 cups shredded zucchini (thawed and drained)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 large egg
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare 9 x 13 pan. Thaw frozen zucchini, drain excess water and set aside.

Whisk together the flours, unsweetened cocoa and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat egg, sugar, honey, yogurt and canola oil together. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Beat well. Stir in the zucchini. Pour into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips and walnuts evenly over the top of the batter. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

(I really loved these moist treats, and I'll make them again. The chocolate tasted a little more "reserved" - coyly hinting at decadence rather than brashly flirting in your face. For the record, however, Ted was underwhelmed. So...you try and let me know what your family thinks!)

~Makes 24 brownies~

Then...as if brownies couldn't get any better...terrific news: my cousin Charlotte is now supplying us with absolutely fabulous farm fresh milk! If any of you in the Portland/Willamette Valley area are interested, please be in touch. Ted and I were able to visit her again recently and meet her charming Jersey cow, Josie.

Ted and I had spent a day together this fall learning about cheese making from Charlotte, and her knowledge, passion, and dedication is unmatched. It's amazing to hear her first hand stories of the health benefits and nutritional value of raw milk that she and her family have experienced and continued to share with their friends and family. We've been able to find a few different sources over the past year, and I have loved the treat of fresh milk and the fun of testing my homemaking skills with fresh yogurt, home churned butter, and like-nothing-else-bowls-of-hot-chocolate-with-frothed-cream.

Absolutely Nothing compares to milk coming straight from my relatives' cow on farm land just a stone's throw from where I grew up...

Ted and Josie

If you are interested in meeting Charlotte and hearing more from her, she will be teaching the DIY Cheesemakers Class at Foster & Dobbs (in NE Portland) on March 18th from 6:30-8pm.

If you're interested in joining me for brownies and a cup of milk...well, between a plate for Charlotte, dessert with friends, and a few afternoon snacks, we've nearly polished them off. But check in again next week...I just may be whipping up another batch!

~Bethany

Food in the Dead of Winter

A simple meal brings such joy. Especially when hard work from earlier seasons makes for easy nights in the kitchen now.

Sunday, I roasted an acorn squash from my brother Jesse's garden and a pumpkin from Uncle Paul's Produce Market down on Hawthorne... On the stove top, I added coconut cream and red spice paste (that Spice Night last fall is still paying dividends!), simmered and blended with the roast squash...added a little water, and soup = done.

A recent lasagna held more edible treasures from earlier efforts...blanched, frozen spinach put up a while back, spicy tomato sauce from the end of summer, failproof ground beef from our 1/8 cow purchased last March...a quick trip for cheese and a raid of pasta noodles in the back of the pantry, and dinner = served. (And lunch the next day. And the next.) Repetition suits me when it's a quality repeat.

I'm amazed that the seed catalogs are already piling up again. This past string of seasons brought so much bounty, and here we are, on the cusp of another round. I noticed bulbs peeking through the soil. And the Edgeworthia is beginning its showstopping act in the hellstrip out front of the house. Promise is in the air...and, for a little longer, payoff is in the kitchen.

~Bethany

Post-Workday Food Preservation: Harvest Can't be Put on Hold

Summer's long since over...

Yet I'm still barely out from underneath the looming responsibility of harvest preservation. Putting up food took much time this late summer/autumn...but it was worth it!~ What a kick to have row after row of cheery jars up in my cupboards, and to have a freezer stocked with easy access weeknight meal ingredients...

My post-workday, late-night canning efforts weren't quite picture perfect. I still don't have the keeping-the-kitchen-tidy-while-you-go nailed. Ted came home from his once a week evening shift to find the kitchen absolutely trashed...and me standing there at 11pm, beaming over my little pints of applesauce. (And once, not-so-beaming over a few jars of gooseberry jam that came out a little...questionable. But, how else do you learn?)

Batch after batch (...after batch) of roasted pasta sauce have passed through my little oven over the course of the past handful of weeks. A late tomato season kept me going clear through October! I finally sealed and labeled the last few portions and put them in the freezer. Maybe you'd enjoy a little peek into the process?

I'm sorry to say, I didn't quite get to my truly green tomatoes in time. Despite my best efforts at digging up interesting sounding chutney recipes and sauces, the production efforts didn't quite materialize and instead I had to compost rotten tomatoes and clean up a few mold patches in the bowls. (True confessions from a real-life kitchen.)

However, on the more successful side, motivated by my new stock of SE Asian spices and seasonal ingredients fresh from my CSA (parsnips), my inlaws (delicious pears), and my little brother Jesse's garden (plenty and plenty of squash), I've gone www-stumbling and come upon a few recent pleasures: Curried Pear & Parsnip Soup and Curry Roasted Butternut Squash and Chickpeas. The roasted squash in particular was delectable ~ complimented very nicely by the cilantro lemon yogurt sauce. I whipped both recipes up with ingredients I already had around the house (in fact, I supplemented a few carrots for parsnips since I didn't have quite enough on hand.)

I really am so grateful for how many learning opportunities came my way this past year, and for the encouragement and conversation from friends with experience and inspiration to share.

I"ll leave you today with a post by Lindsay Edmonds: Baby Steps to Nutritious Eating: 12 Steps to a Real Food Diet. Follow your kitchen curiosities, and follow your senses to a delicious tomorrow...

~Bethany

My youngest brother, Jesse, and his bounty from the garden.

Perfect Pesto Party

Today at the Montavilla Farmer's Market I bought nine big bunches of basil. It's amazing how much that amount of basil shrinks when made into pesto!

I made about ten cups of pesto and froze it in one cup portions. I used the recipe from Nourishing Traditions which has always worked well for me.

2 cups of packed basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (I don't bother toasting mine)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 - 4 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil

Pulse the basil leaves in a food processor, then add the rest of the dry ingredients. Add olive oil until it becomes a thick paste.

I am looking forward to eating local pesto in December!!!
(Unfortunately no pictures of the pesto, camera went missing)

Have a happy evening!
~Emily