Sautéed Sweet Potatoes with Granny Smith Apple

After a hectic end to my school year, I am back in the kitchen. Thanks for being patient!

I write today with a recipe that could easily be part of breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Think of it as a fusion of traditional home fries and Thanksgiving dinner's sweet potatoes. The recipe, adapted from Susie Middleton's Fast, Fresh & Green, caught my eye for its excellent description of walk-away sautéing. Middleton breaks up her book by technique; other techniques include grilling, braising, and gratins.


Important tips when walk-away sautéing:
--Cut your vegetable into similar sized pieces. The closer in size, the easier it will be to avoid larger pieces being undercooked.
--Don't be afraid of caramelizing or browning the potatoes - this will bring out their flavor
--This technique is flexible, as long as you keep in mind that it works best with firm vegetables like potatoes, carrots, or even cauliflower, paired with an aromatic vegetable such as mushroom or onion.


Ingredients
(This recipe can easily be made vegan by omitting the butter)

• 1 Tbsp butter
• generous drizzle of olive oil
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, skins on, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 medium white onion, diced
• kosher or sea salt
• 1/4 Granny Smith apple, chopped
• splash of apple cider vinegar
• dried parsley, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat large frying pan to medium heat.
2. Add butter to melt, and olive oil
3. Add sweet potatoes, onion, and a few shakes of salt to the pan. Cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Stir every once in a while but do not scrape bottom of pan.
4. Once sweet potatoes are tender, add fresh apple and a splash or two of cider vinegar. Cook for another minute or two, until apples are warm.
5. Dish onto plates and top with a pinch of parsley and another sprinkle of salt. Serve hot.

Roasted Vegetable Minestrone

For weeks, I had been drooling over this soup recipe from What Megan's Making, one of my favorite food blogs. I loved the idea of roasting vegetables to bring out their flavor in an unexpected place like soup, and couldn't wait to give this a try as the weather has cooled off here. 

To switch up the original recipe, I changed which vegetables to roast, catered the seasoning to my liking, and altered the amounts for a smaller crowd. This recipe will make enough for 3-4 people as a main dish.

Ingredients for roasting vegetables

• 1 bunch small carrots, sliced in rounds
• 1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 yellow (summer) squash, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1/2 red onion, halved and sliced thinly
• generous drizzle of olive oil
• salt + pepper

Ingredients for rest of soup

• more olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• pinch of dried thyme leaves
• 14.5 oz can cannellini beans, drained
• 6 cups vegetable broth (more if you want it brothier)
• 2 cups pasta shells, uncooked
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
• salt + pepper
• fresh parsley or Parmesan or mozzarella cheese (garnish, optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Combine ingredients for roasting vegetables in large baking dish and cover. Bake at 500 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside, still covered, until soup is complete (Step 8).
3. While vegetables are roasting, heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-low heat. 
4. Add garlic, celery, and thyme. Cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add cannelini beans and vegetable broth. Increase heat to medium-high until broth boils, then reduce to low. 
6. Add pasta shells and cook until they are al dente (about 10 minutes).
7. Add tomatoes and cook until heated throughout. 
8. Pour roasted vegetables into soup and stir to incorporate.
9. Season with salt and pepper, and top with desired garnish.

Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

I am not going to lie any longer. I am addicted to soup. Every year as winter sets in, I get out the stockpot and begin the Soupstravaganza for the season. Or something like that. But seriously, there is nothing like a giant pot of soup on the stove and rolls warming in the oven. We had a friend over for dinner and this recipe served the three of us very hearty portions, with another left for my lunch tomorrow.

I used full fat sausage and didn't mind the fat in it; however, you can use a leaner sausage if you prefer - just add a little olive oil while browning the sausage so it doesn't stick to the pot.

This recipe was adapted from the one found here.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed (I used hot sausage)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups beef stock
• 2 carrots, thinly chopped
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 pinch dried basil (about 1/2 tsp)
  
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups water
  
• 10-12 oz. bag of dried tortellini (I used 12 oz. Barilla spinach and cheese tortellini)
• parmesan cheese (optional)
  

Directions

1. In a large stockpot, cook the sausage for about 5 minutes over medium heat, mashing it up with a spatula into small pieces.
2. Add the garlic and onion and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the beef stock, carrots, zucchini, basil, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
4. Add the tortellini and water and cook until tortellini is cooked but not overdone.
5. Remove from heat, ladle into individual bowls and top with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Carrot Cake Cookies with Lemon Glaze

This recipe was my birthday cake this year! Rather than making myself a cake, I opted for these cookies. My friends were gracious enough to grate the carrots by hand, but injuries occurred, so if you are intimidated by sharp objects, I suggest buying pre-grated carrots.

The lemon glaze really makes these cookies, so don't skimp! Also, don't be worried if these seem too "healthy" - if it's a testament to how tasty these cookies were, they disappeared within 30 minutes at the party.

The only photo I have of these cookies is this one of me blowing out the candle on it, so I apologize for not having a close up of the beauty of these tasty little desserts.

Cookie Ingredients

• 2 cups flour (if you've got it, make this using 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup grated carrot
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 5 Tbsp milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Glaze Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• juice from 1 lemon
• zest from 1 lemon
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a cookie sheet.
   
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, carrot, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
4. With a mixer, or by hand using a spatula, beat in egg, milk, oil, and syrup until just blended.
5. Drop small blobs of dough (about 1/8 cupfuls), about 2 inches apart, onto a greased cookie sheet.
6. Bake 10 minutes or until just starting to brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
7. While cookies are baking, whisk together glaze ingredients in small bowl. Add a Tbsp or two more powdered sugar if you desire a thicker, more frosting-like glaze.
8. Once cookies have cooled, spread glaze on top of each cookie and let set.

Comments
These were light and a little chewy, so it wasn't hard to eat more than one. The lemon glaze really brightens up the flavor - I wouldn't recommend them without it.

Corn Chowder

I learned this recipe from the bosses at my previous job - every semester they make a huge pot of corn chowder for new volunteers who are training to answer phones at the crisis hotline. They are the masters of soup, at least in my book. Thanks, K and H!

The cheese is my favorite part, but depending on your preference, you may want not want a strong cheese flavor. For this size pot of soup, the minimum amount of cheese is about 8 oz. (which is a standard size block of cheese). In my workup, I used about one and a half blocks of cheddar, and it was pretty tasty. The biggest thing to attend to is keeping the heat low or off once dairy has been added. A nice soup can go to waste if you curdle the milk. It's no problem to reheat this later, as long as you don't allow the mixture to boil.


Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 large onion, diced
  
• 3 large white potatoes, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
  
• water
  
• 2 bay leaves
• pinch of thyme
• 3 bouillon cubes (chicken or vegetarian) **
  
• 2 lbs. frozen corn
• 8 to 16 oz. cheddar cheese, cubed or shredded **
  
• milk
• salt
• pepper
  

Directions

1. Heat a stockpot to medium-low heat.
2. Melt butter in pan. Add garlic and saute until brown.
3. Add onion. Cook until onions are soft and translucent; about 10 minutes.
4. Add potatoes to the stockpot, then pour in enough water to cover the potatoes.
   
5. Add bay leaves, thyme, and bouillon cubes. Turn heat down to low and let simmer for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until potatoes are completely cooked and tender.
   
6. Add corn and simmer until heated throughout.
7. Turn heat off. Add cheese and stir well. Pour in enough milk to change the color of the liquid, stir well.
   
8. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

**For a gluten-free diet, make sure to use gluten-free bouillon cubes, as well as cheese that was made using gluten-free caking agents, such as Cabot cheese.

Comments
This recipe is really flexible because you can add anything you like. If you want to add ham or bacon, cook the meat before the onion goes in. The fat will add flavor that will carry throughout the dish. If you want other vegetables, add them in right before or after the potatoes (depending on soft they are, this will change how much time they need to cook). With regard to the spices, I have often had this recipe with cumin seed replacing the thyme - it is quite nice.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Simple Vanilla Glaze

This marks the beginning of my excursion into the world of food blogging. I hope to provide you with a look into my kitchen as I experiment with from-scratch recipes in cooking and baking.

Tonight's recipe comes to you in the form of pumpkin cupcakes, from Martha Stewart Online. Here is a link to the original recipe, and below I share my alterations on that recipe.



I primarily purchase salted butter, as we use it on bread, and I have never had a problem using it in baking, as long as I take care to omit any salt that is added to the recipe. The recipe below reflects that, as well as my love for allspice.

CUPCAKE RECIPE:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, melted and cooled
• 4 eggs
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and all spices. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together both sugars, butter, and eggs. (I used my KitchenAid stand mixer at Speed 2 for about 1 minute.)
4. Slowly add the flour mixture, mixing until smooth.
5. Add the pumpkin puree. Beat at medium speed until smooth and almost fluffy. (KitchenAid Speed 4)
6. Fill each paper liner about half-full.
7. Bake for about 25 minutes.
8. Remove from cupcake pan and let cool completely.

GLAZE RECIPE

• 1 to 1-1/2 cups confectionary sugar
• milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  

1. Pour about confectionery sugar in a bowl. Whisk in a small amount of milk to thin out the sugar.
2. Add vanilla. Whisk until blended. Consistency should be thin but not watery.
3. To glaze the cupcakes, dip them into the bowl of glaze and let the excess drip off.
4. For a finish, sprinkle with confectionery sugar.

COMMENTS

The cupcakes are a lot like pumpkin muffins - very moist with a mellow flavor. My workup of the recipe produced 27 cupcakes, much more than the 18 suggested by Martha. They would also pair well with cream cheese frosting if you were looking for something more substantial than a thin glaze. I could probably eat a hundred of them.

Happy autumn!