Pumpkin Alfredo

I had roasted buttercup squash in the fridge so this came together fast for a quick lunch.  Even Mike, who doesnt always like my squash creations, really liked it.

Pumpkin Alfredo

8–12 ounces egg noodles
2 tablespoons butter
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 sage leaves, optional but they are so good here
1 cup pumpkin puree (from a can is ok)
up to 2 1/2 cups milk, heavy cream, non-dairy milks are ok here
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt, to taste

Cook the noodles, reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid in case you want to thin out your sauce.

Heat the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic; saute until soft and fragrant. Add the pumpkin and milk. Warm the sauce. Add the cheese and stir to combine.  Taste for salt levels

Toss the pasta in the sauce and thin as needed using the reserved cooking liquid. Top with additional Parm and season to taste. Serve immediately.

Swedish Apple Pie

The origins of this recipe are unclear but I always thought it was a family recipe passed down.  Either way, it's delicious.  It's more of a crisp or cobbler than a pie.  It's the quickest apple dessert and the first that we always make in the Fall.  We have also made it with peaches, yum!

Swedish Apple Pie
serves 6 maybe

Apples, maybe 4-6
cinnamon, a sprinkle
sugar, a sprinkle

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 egg
optional: walnut pieces

Slice or dice enough apples so they are maybe an inch deep in your pie plate or 8 inch square dish. Toss with cinnamon and sugar in pie plate or square dish or something of similar size.  Melt a stick of butter, add a cup of sugar, a cup of flour, one egg, walnuts optional.  Pour/dollop over apples. Bake till slightly browned on top.   Maybe 30 minutes minimum in a 375 oven. But any temp works. It's not picky.  Let cool slightly before serving. It's just as delicious room temp as it is warm.

Grandma's Classic Stuffing

 This is a classic stuffing that we absolutely love for Thanksgiving.

Grandma's stuffing

serves a lot!

2 onions

2-3 sticks of celery

1 garlic clove

Salt

Olive oil  

1 stick butter (you might not need it all)

12 cups of dry bread cubes (we use a gallon ziplock bag full of own sourdough, toasted in the oven)

Parley, sage, rosemary and thyme

1 beaten egg

1 cup chicken broth

Saute onion, garlic and salt in oil and butter

Add spices

Add bread cubes, stir it all up

Add the chicken broth and the beaten egg.  Add melted butter if you didnt use it all and need more moisture OR add more broth.

Stuff as much as you can in your turkey.  When your turkey is done, mix the stuffing from the turkey with what didnt fix and bake at 350 for 30 to 40 mins.  Alternatively, you dont have to stuff your turkey, just bake all the stuffing at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Mozzarella

 This is my easiest mozzarella recipe yet!  Sometimes I start it in the morning and I dont finish it till the evening.

Mozzarella

makes very roughly a pound, depending on how much milk you use

Citric acid, for a gallon of milk you need 1.5 t, for a gallon and a half 2 1/4 t, for two gallon 3t

Rennet, for a gallon of milk you need 1/4t, for a gallon and a half you need1/4t plus 1/8t, for two gallon 1/2t

Kosher salt, for a gallon of milk you need 1t salt, for a gallon and a half you need 1 1/2 t salt, for 2 gallons you need 2t salt

Grab your biggest pot.  Add in a solid splash of cold water.  Then add in citric acid and swish it around to dissolve.

Add in your milk, either a gallon, a half gallon, or two gallons.

Turn on your burner and bring it up to 90 degrees or 95 max.  

While the milk is heating, prep your rennet.  Put it in a little cup/glass/bowl with a solid splash of water.

Remove your pot from the burner when it reaches 90.

Add the rennet water mixture with a wooden spoon in an up and down motion.  The goal is to mix it in but not agitate the milk too much.  Stir for just 30 seconds.

Let sit for 10 minutes minimum OR longer.  Sometimes I dont get back to it for hours.

After your wait time, you'll see a clear separation.  Using a slotted spoon or similar, scoop out the solids into a large bowl (this step is easier if you have waited longer than 10 minutes).  After you have all the solids, you can carefully pour some of the whey back into the pot.

If you have a microwave, heat your curds in the microwave for 1 minutes.  Then use your wooden spoon to kind of lift up your mass of curds.  It likely wont stretch but will break.  Heat it for another 30 seconds.  Try again. Eventually you will get to a point where it stretches.  Use your wooden spoon to lift up the curds and lift it up high so it can hang down and stretch.  Pour the whey back into the pot as it develops.  Keep repeating until the curds start to look shiny and smooth.  You might need to heat it up again.   When it's shiny, add in your salt.  Then heat it up one more time and stretch it to mix. (If you stretch your curds too much and remove too much whey, then your mozzarella will be a bit dry.  It still melts really well though.  It dont stretch it enough then it's too soft and will release whey while it bakes, which isnt really a problem in something like lasagna but not ideal in a sandwich.)

If you dont have a microwave, then you will do a similar technique to above but heat your whey to around 120-140 and either dip your curds into the whey or spoon some hot whey into your bowl to heat the curds till they stretch.

Form a ball, using a similar technique to making bread.  I do this step in the bowl but in the sink so I can run a little cold water to cool down my hands.  Once you have a nice ball, fill that bowl with cold water (ice optional) and let sit till cool.

Next you can make ricotta with the whey.  I have mixed success with ricotta from whey.

Homemade Egg Noodles from Julia

Fresh pasta is just the most amazing way to honor our garlic harvest this year.  We made garlic butter to serve with the pasta but also fresh pesto (and of course, some roasted zucchini).  

You can half this recipe if you prefer.  This makes a large batch, possibly over a pound.  It probably took 45 minutes for just the pasta machine portion of the recipe (with 2 people working together) but it's a fun project to do together.

I'm unsure of the origins of this recipe as it comes to us from Julia, Delilah's super sweet girlfriend.

Homemade Egg Noodles

Makes maybe over a pound

2 cups flour

2 cups semolina flour

2 tsp salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons water

6 eggs

Mix ingredients in order, mixing after each ingredient (including after each individual egg).  Mix until it forms a dough.  Knead (see note below).  Cover and rest for 15 minutes.  Cut dough into roughly 8 sections. 

Using your pasta machine, roll dough out to level 5 (starting at 1 and working your way up).  Dust with semolina and hang (we used our chairs).  Dust with semolina if needed then switch to the fettuccine setting (or spaghetti) and run the sheets through (cutting them first if they are very long).  Place on a tray dusted with semolina and dust them on top.

Boil water, add salt, cook in boiled water for 2 mins.  Toss with butter.

Note:

The recipe calls for kneading by hand, using a little extra flour if it's sticky.  If you choose to use the stand mixer for kneading, then add an 1/8 cup of AP flour.

Garlic Parm Melting Potatoes

These potatoes are delicious and they are also a rare potato dish that we also enjoy as leftovers.

Garlic Parm Melting Potatoes

serves 4-6

(from Eating Well)

2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1-inch-thick slices, or cubes

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

3 large cloves garlic, finely diced

1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 500 degrees F.

Toss potatoes, butter, oil, thyme, salt and pepper in a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan.  Roast, flipping once, until browned, about 30 minutes.

Whisk garlic into broth; carefully add the broth mixture to the pan. Sprinkle the tops of the potatoes with Parmesan. Continue roasting until most of the broth has been absorbed and the potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes more. Serve hot.

Granola bars (perfect for school lunches)

 The price of organic bars just skyrocketed and so here we are making our own.  I make a batch every other week and keep purchased bars on hand in case we run out.  They keep well in the freezer and if you take one out in the morning and put it in the lunchbox, it defrosts in time for snack or lunch.

Granola Bars

(adapted King Arthur)

6 tablespoons (86g) butter, melted

1/4 cup (78g) maple syrup

1 tablespoon (14g) water

3/4 cup (149g) sugar (or less, see note below)

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/3 cup (90g) peanut butter, optional (you can definitely use another nut butter or sun butter)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

1/3 cup (30g) oat flour or quick-cooking oats, processed until finely ground in a food processor or blender

1 2/3 cups (149g) quick-cooking oats

2 to 3 cups (283g to 425g) add ins (we use mini choc chips and crushed peanuts)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put a parchment sling into a 8" x 8" pan.

Mix ingredients together roughly in the order listed.  It's not really picky but it's easier to get all of the liquids mixed together first.  If you used your mini chop to make the oat flour, use it again to crush your peanuts (or a different add in).  Your mixture will be crumbly (and delicious).

Spread in a 8x8 straight sided pan, using your butter wrapper to smush it down evenly.

Bake the bars for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're golden brown around the edges. (dont over cook them!)

Remove them from the oven, loosen the edges, and cool for 10 minutes.

Remove from the pan before cutting into bars of your preferred size.

Let cool and keep in the freezer or fridge.

NOTE:

149g of sugar makes for a sweet bar, use less if you prefer or if you have sweet add-ins.  We used 100g with white choc, craisins, and peanuts and it's still very sweet.