Sufferin' Succotash

There will be no suffering with this succotash.

For Christmas I received a beautiful green depression glass casserole dish and a box set of Moosewood farmer market recipes both of which I have used very faithfully since. I love to make the succotash from those recipes and serve it in my green dish.

A reasonably quick vegetable dish, this is a sweet combo of roasted butternut squash mixed with some buttery sauteed lima beans and corn. I have taken this to our monthly fellowship lunch at church but make it a lot at home to accompany BBQ sausage and a coleslaw.

My hilarious nephew, Jack, gorged himself on this last week. Jibs has good things to say about it too.

Jack and Jibs say, "Trust us, this succotash is mighty fine."

Fancy Succotash

(moosewood farmer's market collection)

5-6C peeled and cubed (bite size) butternut squash

2 C coarsely chopped red onion

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

3 Tbsp olive or veg oil

2 Tbsp fresh sage (1.5 tsp dried)

2 tsp dried thyme (2 Tbsp fresh)

1 1/2 C fresh or frozen corn

1 1/2 C frozen or canned (drained/rinsed) lima beans

1/4 C minced fresh parsley

Heat oven to 450*.

Mix together squash, onion, garlic, salt and 2 Tbsp oil on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment.

Bake 40mins stirring frequently until softened but crisp around the edges.

Meanwhile, heat the last 1 Tbsp of oil (or 2tsp oil, 2 tsp butter) in a large skillet.

Add sage and thyme and simmer a few seconds. Stir in corn and lima beans. Cook on low about 5 mins. Cover and set aside.

In a large dish toss together cooked squash mixture with the lima bean/corn mixture. Stir in parsley.

Calzones: The new house specialty.

Recently, I made calzones for some dear little people (and the dear little peoples dear daddies). As I watched them devour the lovely golden pillows stuffed with cheese and green veg I decided to make them more often.

I took this pic from TheArdentSparrow I hope she doesn't mind...:)

Jim and I always used to get calzones for lunch while I was pregnant with Clara. I used to make them too. For some reason I stopped making them for a while but am back in full swing and loving them again. I have been searching for the perfect calzone dough and this is currently the winner.

It is from the original Moosewood cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I usually put in the classic pizza toppings like mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, turkey sausage, mozz and sauce. Mollie has a few delicious sounding suggestions such as spinach-cheese and asparagus-mushroom that I am planning on trying soon. Here's my new favourite dough; stretchy and soft.

Calzones

1C wrist-temp water

1 1/2 tsp active yeast

1T honey

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2- 3 C Flour

olive oil

**the starred parts are for using a kitchenaid mixer

1. Place the water in a med size bowl. **(I used my kitchenaid mixer) Sprinkle in the yeast, and stir in the honey until everything is dissolved.

2. Add salt and flour and whisk until it's too thick to whisk. Then stir with a floured hand. Knead in bowl for 5 mins. **(I added salt and flour to the kitchenaid and kneaded it with the dough hook for about 3 mins.

3. Drizzle a little olive oil over the dough and roll it around in the bowl to coat.

4. Cover the dough with a tea towel and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour or doubled in size.

5. Cut dough into 6 pieces and roll them out on a floured surface until around 1/4inch thick and slightly oblong.

6. Fill one side of the dough with toppings. Run a little water around the edge with filling on it with your finger, stretch the empty side over the top and press edges closed with a fork and prick the top a couple of times.

7. Brush with an egg wash of 1 egg beaten with 1Tbsp of water.

8. Bake at 450* for 15-20 mins.

**Filling is lethally hot...be careful!

My new favourite cookbook and pancakes.

I have a lot of cookbooks. No, my Kalamazoo Mum has a lot of cookbooks...I have quite a few cookbooks. The Moosewood cookbooks are some of my favourites. A few weeks ago I picked up the new one called "Cooking For Heath" and we've pretty much eaten from it every night since. (I have a very lovely husband who willingly eats tofu and lentils on a very regular basis.) I thought Nigella's banana pancakes were the best pancakes until I tried the Moosewood Whole Grain Pancakes. These pancakes are seriously delicious and although Nigella's recipes are tasty I don't cook from them for their health benefits.

I made a few changes to the recipe (I love to do so) and topped them with some baked apples and they were perfect.

Here is the recipe:

Moosewood Whole Grain Pancakes (With Baked Apples)

1/4C Whole Flaxseeds
1/2C Rolled Oats
1C Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 t Salt
1 t Cinnamon (my addition and therefore optional)
1/2 t Baking Soda
2 t Baking Powder (I use the aluminum-free stuff)
2 Large Eggs
1 C Buttermilk or plain yogurt (I used Vanilla)
1/4C Olive Oil
1C Water

1. In a spice grinder, whirl flaxseeds and oats until they are the consistency of cornmeal, and place in a large mixing bowl. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix well.

2. In a separate bowl beat eggs, buttermilk, oil and water. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Stir just until combined.

3. Warm a greased skillet over med-high heat and ladle a 1/4C of batter for each pancake. Flip after a minute or two.

Serve with Maple Syrup, Baked Apples, Cottage Cheese, strawberries, blueberries......

*(You can add more water if batter looks too thick.)
*(These freeze really well, in anticipation of being re-toasted at a later date.)

Baked Apples

2T Pure Maple Syrup
2t Fresh Lemon juice
1t Vanilla
Pinch of Salt
5C peeled and slice apples (or apples and pears)

1. Cute fruit into a 9 inch square baking dish. Add syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Mix well.

2. Bake at 400*, stirring every 10-15 mins, until fruit is soft. Around 35-40 minutes.