Our Garden Over-Groweth

My mom has these beautiful patty pan squash in her garden that have grown to nearly the size of a baseball glove. Actually, my mom likened them to the size of my 2-year old nephew’s face, but since most of you don’t know my darling Eli, let’s just say for argument’s sake they’re large. 

They are delicious on their own but we wanted to try something different other than sautéing them again. Last night I actually modified my morning glory muffins by adding in some shredded squash for extra nutrients. You can’t even taste the difference! But tonight the squash is getting stuffed.

Stuffed Patty Pan Squash

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 super-large patty pan squash (or 2 normal-sized ones)

1 lb ground turkey

1 med size onion, chopped

1 med size red bell pepper, chopped

1 pkg roasted garlic and pecan rice blend

golden raisins

spices of choice (I used garlic powder, oregano, paprika, grated lemon, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut tops off the squash and remove seeds. Place in a casserole dish and bake for 10 minutes, or until soft. Lids of the squash can be on or off the bottoms, it doesn’t matter. Be careful not to let them burn or become wrinkled.

Cook rice blend (or regular rice if you wish) according to package directions, using a little less water so that it under cooks slightly, adding in the golden raisins at the beginning of the cooking process so they plump.

Meanwhile, sauté the ground turkey with the onion and pepper, adding in the spices as you go. Cook until the turkey is browned all the way through and season to taste. When both the rice and turkey are finished, combine the two in one pan and stir so they blend together.

By this time, the squash should be done par-baking. Remove the squash from the oven and fill with turkey and rice.

Return to the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until squash is cooked through. You can test this by piercing the top of the squash with a fork. If it enters and exits easily, it’s dinner time!

Savory and Sweet, Switched Up

I am so very thankful for the day off we had on Thursday. I felt so refreshed and ready to return to work yesterday, more so than after a normal weekend. After sleeping in (!) I whipped up a lovely brunch of bacon and waffles. Don't be fooled, this wasn't your average diner breakfast. The bacon was sweet and the waffles were savory. Enter candied maple bacon and cheddar waffles. If you've never tried savory waffles before, promise me you'll try them at least once. I was dubious the first time they were prepared for me, but the concept was interesting enough to give it a whirl. My goodness, they were so delicious, I was hooked!

Candied Maple Bacon and Cheddar Waffles

Bacon recipe adapted from here, waffle recipe adapted from Moosewood's Restaurant cookbook.

Bacon Ingredients:

1/2 lb thick-cut bacon (I used Trader Joe's uncured ends and pieces)

1/2 c maple syrup

freshly ground black pepper (pink peppercorns would work well here, too)

small dash of cayenne pepper

Waffle Ingredients:

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

2/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup sourdough starter (unfed)*

2 T melted butter

1 T finely chopped scallions

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 c smoked cheddar cheese**

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F for the bacon. While the oven is preheating, start making the waffle batter. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sourdough starter, butter, scallions, mustard and cheese. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir just until combined. Using the folding method to incorporate the ingredients works really well with this batter so as to not overmix! If it's too thick, add some water or milk to thin out. Let the waffle batter sit for about 10 minutes, until some bubbles start to form. In the meantime, preheat your waffle iron and then get that bacon started!

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with heavy foil. (Trust me, use heavy duty or at least double your standard foil). Place a baking rack over the lined sheet tray. 

In a small bowl, whisk the maple syrup and pepper together. Dunk all of the bacon in the syrup until coated. Swirl it around until the bacon is dripping with goodness. Arrange the bacon slices on the rack so they don't overlap. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Back to the waffles. Give your batter a quick stir. Then pour enough batter for each waffle, about 1/3-1/2 cup depending on your iron size, and bake according to manufacturer's instructions. 

When the bacon timer goes off, flip the pieces over and bake an additional 10 minutes or until crispy. 

Everything should be done at the same time, so plate up and enjoy!

And if you have leftovers, make a pb&j bacon waffle sandwich! The boy surprised me in the afternoon with this creation as a snack. He used PB&Co's mighty maple peanut butter and blackberry jam. Yum!

*When you feed your starter, save the amount that you pour out for these waffles!

**I didn't have smoked cheddar on hand the first time I made these so I used standard cheddar...it needs the smoked! The waffles were just a little too cheesy without and didn't have enough smokey flavor. 

On The Side

If you're trying to up your veggie intake, I've got two words for you. Stir fry. This is a delicious way to get your colors in and it's light enough on the stomach to eat during this heat wave!

Grab your veggies of choice and cut them into bite-sized pieces, making enough for the amount of mouths you're feeding. 

Heat some oil on medium heat and when hot, throw in the veggies. Let them cook down for awhile, say 7-10 minutes until they brown and become soft. Add in teriyaki sauce and Okonomi sauce to coat, about 1 Tbsp of each for 4 servings. Toss in some sesame seeds to toast as well. Make sure you stir constantly at this point so nothing sticks. Cook until all veggies are tender. Done.