Squash in the Pot

So it turns out you can cook winter squash WHOLE in the crock pot! This was great news to me, because I love the way butternut and acorn squash taste, but hate hacking them up, and never seem to get them quite right in the oven. So you just wash them well, and stick them in the pot with 2 tablespoons of water, and let them go on LOW for 4-9 hours, or until you can stick a fork all the way through. I have to admit it didn't smell terrific during cook time, but they scooped out like a dream and I just reheated them with some curry, brown sugar and butter. Delicious!

Provencal Chicken and Fennel

We had our neighbors over for supper tonight, and I wanted to make something that the kids would eat (not too spicy or exotic), and found this recipe from the Mayo Clinic cookbook. It came out really good. You know you have a winner when the kids and the grown-ups like it. I modified it from the cookbook by reducing the amount of fennel and adding red pepper and switching in broth for white wine.

Provencal Chicken and Fennel

• 1 fennel bulb, chopped into wedges
• 1 red pepper, cut into strips
  
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup broth
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 6 bone-in chicken breasts or thighs
• 2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley

1. In dutch oven or large frying pan, combine tomatoes, broth, o.j., garlic and vinegar. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low.

2. Arrange chicken, fennel and red pepper over tomato mixture, spooning some sauce over chicken. Cover and cook until chicken reads 180, approx. 45 min. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken and vegetables to a platter.

3. Increase heat to high and cook until sauce has thickened slightly. I added some flour also, and it made a slammin' gravy. Spoon over chicken or serve on the side. Sprinkle dish with parsley.

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

I've made this several times, and it always comes out good, even though I never really measure anything out.

• 2 Tbsp (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 small celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
• 4 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth (use vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
• 1 tsp curry
• ¼ tsp ginger

1 Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add chopped celery stalks, sauté about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes.

2 Add sweet potatoes, chicken stock, curry and ginger; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

3 Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return to pot. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Travels in Foodland

Food is always on my mind. Whether I’m rationalizing my next handful of frozen dark chocolate chips from the freezer, or hiding wheat germ in my kids’ pancakes, or searching for the perfect cornbread recipe online (found it!), it seems I’m always either thinking about, researching or experimenting with food. (Or dealing with the more mundane reality of shopping for and cleaning up from meals). Food is a journey for me, a fascinating and often surprising one, and my family’s diet is constantly evolving.

One of the major epiphanies I had when I stopped working full-time is that I could make many things from scratch, and that this would be healthier, cheaper and tastier than buying packaged food (and as I would soon find out, much more time consuming as well). It was a joy to eat food that was real, homemade and free of preservatives. So far I’ve learned to make pie crust, homemade pizza dough, a killer chicken broth, and am learning to use a slow cooker. I have found a great recipe for homemade hamburger helper and for homemade pancake mix.

So this blog is a way for me to chronicle my kitchen experiments, food-related reading, and confessions (my kids still eat chicken nuggets, no matter how many times I’ve tried to quit them), and also to file recipes that have worked for my family. I love sharing recipes, and would love to sign on anyone interested as an author or recipe contributer.