Butternut Squash and Zucchini Risotto

Holy fast and easy risotto! I didn't know such a thing was possible, but I ate my words today along with copious quantities of this delectable dish. Amazingly, it didn't take more than 1/2 an hour from start to finish, and was not very dish-dirtying, either! I definitely recommend following the "variation" noted at the end by the recipe's author, cooking the butternut squash and zucchini separately to speed things up a bit. I also put the onions in a blender to chop them up very fine, as I don't like the texture of thick-cut onions, even when minced. I added the butter which was delicious, and I found that substituting the white wine for some of the stock (the recipe originally said 3 cups stock instead of wine) gave it a really delicious yet subtle flavor. Might also up the quantities of butternut squash as well.

Butternut Squash and Zucchini Risotto:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic – crushed

1 small onion

1 zucchini

1/2 butternut squash (poke holes in the squash and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes to make cutting easier) - I would even use a full squash

1 cup arborio rice

About 3 cups stock (can be real or made, vegetarian or chicken) or 2 cups stock, 1 cup white wine

Generous grated Parmesan cheese

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Peel and cut all the vegetables into small pieces (about 1/2 cm.). In a large pan, heat the olive oil to medium heat and add the onions, cook for 5 min. and add the garlic. When the onions are soft and almost transparent add the zucchini and butternut squash, cook for 10 min.

Add the risotto rice and start adding the stock, a little bit at a time. Let the rice absorb the stock before adding some more. Repeat until the rice is soft and has a creamy texture.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

good variations:

* Replace some of the stock with white wine (if you do that, add the wine at the beginning and later add the stock.
* Add peas or green beans – It makes the risotto look more appealing (color contrast).
* Add 20 grams of butter (a little less than half a stick) at the end, it makes the risotto even more creamy.
* To save time, make the onions and risotto rice in one pan and the vegetables in another. It can cut down the time to make this dish to 1/2 a hour.

Source: http://bakingforthecure.wordpress.com/2008/07/22/butternut-squash-and-zucchini-risotto/

Lynnie's Spinach Pasta with Ricotta and Pine Nuts

One of the best, easiest pasta dishes, and always makes me think of a dear friend who introduced me to it. An indispensable part of our repertoire these days. Heap on the ricotta! And the pine nuts really make the dish.

Spinach pasta - I like the "nests"
Bag of fresh spinach
Ricotta cheese
Olive oil
Pine nuts
Parmesan cheese
Sea salt and black pepper

Boil the pasta to your desired taste. Reserve the pasta water, strain the pasta, and put in bowls. Put an entire bag of fresh spinach (or more or less, depending on your tastes) in the pasta water and wilt for about 30 seconds. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts - more is better - at least a couple of handfuls! - in a skillet on the stove or in a toaster oven for about a minute or two, be careful not to burn. Put the wilted spinach on top of the bowls of pasta, add about a teaspoon of olive oil (again, more or less depending on taste), and toss. Add a big scoop of ricotta cheese, sea salt and black pepper to taste, toasted pine nuts, and a little bit of parmesan cheese on top. Tastes best with a little bit of each component - pasta, spinach, cheese and pine nuts - all in one bite.

Park Street Pizza

This is the recipe my mom, dad, and uncles Charlie and Tom used to make when they all lived together on Park Street in the early 1970s as college and grad students in California. Super quick and easy!

To make dough:
1. Soften 1 package yeast in 1/4 c. warm water
2. In a saucepan heat to scalding 1 c. milk
1 T sugar
1 t. salt
1 T. butter
3. Cool to lukewarm, add softened yeast, combine.
4. Add 3 to 4 cups flour - start with 3 cups, knead, and if it needs more, add by 1/4 c intervals (I found that mine required about 5 cups). Let rise.
5. Spread on pizza stone or pizza pan sprayed with cooking spray, brush olive oil over dough, add toppings, bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

For toppings -- what we used, in order we put them down:
-Spicy tomato spaghetti sauce
-2 very finely chopped garlic cloves
-1 very finely chopped green onion
-Shredded mozzarella cheese
-Sliced beefsteak tomatoes
-Fresh whole basil leaves (we left them on the whole time they were in the oven; you may want to put them on after 15 minutes in the oven if you want them to be fresher/less cooked)
-Fresh thyme leaves
-A tiny bit of sea salt once it came out of the oven.

Southwestern Tofu Wraps

Delicious and flavorful, and physician-approved! I think this came from the Mayo clinic list of heart-healthy recipes; we made it for the first time last fall with my good friend Liz, who's recently been doing a vegan diet. We added black beans, vegan soy cheese (which was surprisingly good), some green salsa instead of red, and some sour cream.

* 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 8 ounces firm tofu, drained, patted dry, crumbled
* 1/2 cup chopped red onion
* 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 4 7- to 8-inch-diameter flour tortillas
* 2 cups thinly sliced lettuce leaves
* 1 cup green salsa
* Cheddar cheese
* Light sour cream or nonfat yogurt
* Black beans

Whisk 3 tablespoons lime juice and oil in medium bowl. Add tofu, onion, cilantro and garlic and toss to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let marinate 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap tortillas in foil. Place in oven until heated through, about 10 minutes (OR, just microwave them). Meanwhile, toss lettuce with 1 tablespoon lime juice in small bowl.

Place 1 tortilla on each of 4 plates. Place layer of lettuce down center of each tortilla. Top with black beans and then tofu mixture, dividing equally. Spoon cheese, salsa and sour cream or nonfat yogurt to taste. Roll up tortillas.

Spinach, Pesto and Cheese Healthy Veggie Lasagna

"One of the best lasagnas I've ever had" according to a recent eater. Good ingredients are the key to this recipe, especially in the pesto - make it homemade or buy high quality. The prep is fast and the return on investment is high.

* 3 cups fat free ricotta cheese
* 1-2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
* 1 large egg
* 2 10-ounce packages chopped fresh spinach (I use a food processor)
* 1 7-ounce package prepared or homemade pesto
* 4 cups bottled chunky pasta sauce
* 12 no-boil lasagna noodles from one 8-ounce package
* 2 cups grated Fontina cheese
* Fresh mozzarella (about twenty mini bocconcini cut in half) - if desired

Blend ricotta and Parmesan in medium bowl. Season cheeses with salt and pepper; stir in egg. Blend spinach and pesto in another medium bowl.

Brush 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with oil. Spread 1 cup pasta sauce in prepared dish. Arrange 3 noodles side by side atop sauce. Spread 1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese mixture over in thin layer. Drop 1/3 of spinach mixture over by spoonfuls. Repeat layering with sauce, noodles, ricotta cheese mixture and spinach mixture 2 more times. Put a layer of the fresh mozzarella half-moons towards the top. Top with remaining 3 noodles and 1 cup sauce.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover lasagna with foil. Bake 35 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with Fontina cheese. Bake lasagna until heated through, sauce bubbles and cheese on top is melted, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes.

Maureen’s Curried Spinach Salad

Maureen is my mom's best friend, and we've had this *incomparable* salad every year on Christmas Eve for the past 25 years. Lately I've been craving it and indulging in making it even on non-special occasions. Luckily, it's easy.

2 lb. fresh spinach (I used baby spinach)
2 green apples, unpeeled
2/3 c dry roasted peanuts
1/2 c. dried fruit (cranberries or cherries)
1/3 c thinly sliced scallion (green onions)
2 T. toasted sesame seeds

For dressing:

1/3 c. white vinegar
3/4 c vegetable oil (I substituted olive oil and it was fine)
1/4 c finely chopped chutney (I used an apple-cranberry one but you can use most any kind)
2 T. sugar
1 t. curry powder
1 t. salt
1 t. dry mustard
3 drops tabasco sauce

To prepare salad, trim stems from spinach and chill (or, if no time and you don't mind stems, don't worry about it). When ready to assemble, tear spinach into bite sized pieces (not an issue if using baby spinach). Core and dice apples. Place spinach, apples, peanuts, dried fruit, green obions and sesame seeds in a salad bowl.

To prepare dressing: combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Toss with salad immediately before serving.